1 00:00:00,650 --> 00:00:03,653 1 John 1:8–10 2 00:00:05,221 --> 00:00:06,923 If we say we have no sin, 3 00:00:06,923 --> 00:00:09,926 we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,364 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 5 00:00:14,364 --> 00:00:17,000 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,886 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, 7 00:00:19,886 --> 00:00:22,889 and his word is not in us. 8 00:00:23,990 --> 00:00:25,191 Well, good morning and welcome 9 00:00:25,191 --> 00:00:27,827 to the weekly gathering of Christ Community Chapel. 10 00:00:27,827 --> 00:00:30,263 My name is Zach. I'm one of the pastors here. 11 00:00:30,263 --> 00:00:33,333 I'm so glad that we get to be part of your weekend, 12 00:00:33,349 --> 00:00:38,488 especially if you're here because a friend or family member is being baptized, 13 00:00:38,488 --> 00:00:42,258 and we're baptizing across all of our services scheduled to baptize 14 00:00:42,292 --> 00:00:45,512 I think 40 people, might end up being even more. 15 00:00:45,528 --> 00:00:47,130 We're so glad you're here. 16 00:00:47,130 --> 00:00:50,133 Thanks for coming to celebrate with us. 17 00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:54,020 You know, this weekend we are turning our attention to what 18 00:00:54,020 --> 00:00:57,023 I think is an incredibly important topic for us 19 00:00:57,323 --> 00:01:00,376 as a culture and as individuals. 20 00:01:00,627 --> 00:01:03,530 You know, the British pastor, Charles Spurgeon, who was a pastor 21 00:01:03,530 --> 00:01:07,367 in the 19th century, said that the job of a preacher, the job of someone 22 00:01:07,367 --> 00:01:12,655 like me, was to have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. 23 00:01:13,039 --> 00:01:13,940 I love that quote. 24 00:01:13,940 --> 00:01:18,328 I mean, what he was saying is it's my job to teach the Bible, to teach God's Word. 25 00:01:18,328 --> 00:01:21,448 But of course, I teach it in a particular time and place. 26 00:01:21,448 --> 00:01:25,201 So, my job is to bring the Bible to bear 27 00:01:25,201 --> 00:01:28,705 on your actual lives and what's happening in the world. 28 00:01:28,705 --> 00:01:32,809 And when I think of that quote, the topic that immediately comes to mind 29 00:01:32,809 --> 00:01:35,962 for me is the topic we're looking at this weekend. 30 00:01:35,962 --> 00:01:38,965 It's the topic of confession. Confession. 31 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:41,401 Taking responsibility for something. 32 00:01:41,401 --> 00:01:45,388 Taking ownership for something and admitting what you've done. 33 00:01:45,388 --> 00:01:46,706 And the reason that comes to mind 34 00:01:46,706 --> 00:01:51,444 is because the Bible talks a lot about confession, and the newspaper 35 00:01:51,478 --> 00:01:57,433 tells me every day just how bad we've gotten at confession in our society. 36 00:01:57,450 --> 00:01:59,519 If I have to hear one more celebrity 37 00:01:59,519 --> 00:02:03,273 say that they're sorry if they offended anyone, 38 00:02:03,656 --> 00:02:06,392 which is a way of saying, hey, I don't think I did anything wrong, but 39 00:02:06,392 --> 00:02:10,547 if you're so weak that you need to hear me apologize, here you go. 40 00:02:10,580 --> 00:02:14,184 Or what is currently my favorite is when someone famous posts 41 00:02:14,184 --> 00:02:16,252 something dumb on the internet 42 00:02:16,252 --> 00:02:19,322 and we all get mad about it and they say there's nothing wrong about it, 43 00:02:19,556 --> 00:02:20,490 it's totally fine. 44 00:02:20,490 --> 00:02:23,459 And then when we're not looking, they delete it. 45 00:02:23,459 --> 00:02:27,480 We don't really know how to take ownership, to take responsibility, 46 00:02:27,747 --> 00:02:28,531 to confess. 47 00:02:28,531 --> 00:02:30,834 It's by the way, it's not just a problem for celebrities. 48 00:02:30,834 --> 00:02:33,319 It's a problem for regular people like you and I. 49 00:02:33,319 --> 00:02:37,040 My guess is that you have at least one relationship in your life 50 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,460 that is being damaged by either your unwillingness 51 00:02:41,010 --> 00:02:45,231 to apologize, or the unwillingness of someone else to apologize. 52 00:02:45,231 --> 00:02:48,084 We are not very good at confession. 53 00:02:48,084 --> 00:02:51,738 Of course, it's not just a societal problem or a family problem. 54 00:02:51,738 --> 00:02:54,858 It's a spiritual problem because the Bible tells us 55 00:02:54,858 --> 00:03:00,363 if we will not confess, we cannot grow in our relationship with God. 56 00:03:00,363 --> 00:03:00,563 In fact, 57 00:03:00,563 --> 00:03:02,749 we can't even begin a relationship with God, 58 00:03:02,749 --> 00:03:06,986 which is why I'm glad this weekend we're dedicating our time together 59 00:03:07,337 --> 00:03:08,304 to confession. 60 00:03:08,304 --> 00:03:09,806 So if you have a Bible, you can open it. 61 00:03:09,806 --> 00:03:12,775 The first John chapter one if you want. 62 00:03:12,775 --> 00:03:14,177 There's a Bible in the back of the pew 63 00:03:14,177 --> 00:03:18,047 in front of you, here in this room or in the back of the room in East Hall. 64 00:03:18,047 --> 00:03:19,832 Same one I use first John. 65 00:03:19,832 --> 00:03:22,502 Chapter one is on page 970. 66 00:03:22,502 --> 00:03:25,221 Or if you want to follow on the screens, that's fine too. 67 00:03:25,221 --> 00:03:27,690 Here's an outline I'm going to use to guide our time together. 68 00:03:27,690 --> 00:03:29,459 Three points. Very simple. 69 00:03:29,459 --> 00:03:32,462 I want to show you that we are lying, 70 00:03:32,478 --> 00:03:35,481 we are hiding, and we don't have to. 71 00:03:36,049 --> 00:03:37,050 Okay, we are lying. 72 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:40,286 We are hiding and we don't have to. 73 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:41,905 Let's start with the first one. 74 00:03:41,905 --> 00:03:43,489 We are lying. 75 00:03:43,489 --> 00:03:45,475 I just want to take a second and acknowledge 76 00:03:45,475 --> 00:03:48,144 if you're here because a family member is getting baptized, 77 00:03:48,144 --> 00:03:50,580 what a great way for me to start for you. 78 00:03:50,580 --> 00:03:52,548 Hey, thanks so glad I visited your church. 79 00:03:52,548 --> 00:03:54,000 Thanks for telling me. 80 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,351 A liar. 81 00:03:55,351 --> 00:03:57,270 Listen, I'm sure you're wonderful people. 82 00:03:57,270 --> 00:03:58,972 I want you to notice very important. 83 00:03:58,972 --> 00:04:00,890 The pronoun I used here. 84 00:04:00,890 --> 00:04:02,909 I did not say you are a liar. 85 00:04:02,909 --> 00:04:05,094 That would be very rude and offensive. 86 00:04:05,094 --> 00:04:08,631 I said we we are lying. 87 00:04:09,115 --> 00:04:11,000 You're going to see that all over this passage. 88 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,989 By the way, that the this the writer saying we have a problem with lying. 89 00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:17,457 Let me show you a verse eight and verse ten. 90 00:04:17,457 --> 00:04:19,859 You'll see it two different times. Here's what he says. 91 00:04:19,859 --> 00:04:24,831 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. 92 00:04:25,231 --> 00:04:26,816 And the truth is not in us. 93 00:04:26,816 --> 00:04:30,003 Verse ten, if we say we have not sinned, 94 00:04:30,003 --> 00:04:34,190 we make him a liar, and His word is not in us. 95 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:36,659 A lot of lying, a lot of deceiving. 96 00:04:36,659 --> 00:04:40,847 Going on with a writer is saying is that if if we won't 97 00:04:40,847 --> 00:04:45,418 acknowledge our sin before God, it's because we're lying. 98 00:04:45,918 --> 00:04:49,038 That's because we're lying to ourselves. 99 00:04:49,322 --> 00:04:53,042 Now to understand this, you have to have a good definition of sin. 100 00:04:53,543 --> 00:04:56,279 You cannot know what he means about confessing 101 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,882 sin if you don't understand the biblical word sin. 102 00:05:00,033 --> 00:05:02,335 And my fear is, I don't know your story. 103 00:05:02,335 --> 00:05:03,753 I don't know your religious background. 104 00:05:03,753 --> 00:05:07,290 So that's usually, for many of us, a loaded word. 105 00:05:07,523 --> 00:05:11,127 And if we misunderstand it, we can't understand the passage. 106 00:05:11,127 --> 00:05:15,048 I think for many of us, when we think about sin, we think of it 107 00:05:15,181 --> 00:05:18,167 primarily in legal terms. 108 00:05:18,318 --> 00:05:22,622 Then what I mean by that is we envision that God has a list of rules, 109 00:05:23,272 --> 00:05:27,226 and that if we break one of those rules, we have sinned. 110 00:05:27,243 --> 00:05:32,965 Sin is doing the don'ts or donating the do's. 111 00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:34,851 It's breaking the rules. 112 00:05:34,851 --> 00:05:38,538 And when we think of it this way, God becomes kind of a cosmic 113 00:05:38,755 --> 00:05:42,408 clipboard holder up in the sky, just kind of shaking his head at us 114 00:05:42,408 --> 00:05:43,676 and saying, oh, there you go. 115 00:05:43,676 --> 00:05:45,628 He did it again. And did that again. 116 00:05:45,628 --> 00:05:49,899 And keeping score, he here's the problem with that definition of sin. 117 00:05:49,916 --> 00:05:52,468 It's not that there's no truth to that. 118 00:05:52,468 --> 00:05:55,221 It's just that if that's all you think of, 119 00:05:55,221 --> 00:05:57,957 you're never going to be very interested in God, 120 00:05:59,208 --> 00:05:59,959 because 121 00:05:59,959 --> 00:06:03,479 who wants to get to know the great clipboard holder in the sky? 122 00:06:03,896 --> 00:06:09,302 But also if if sin is primarily about breaking the rules, we will always 123 00:06:09,302 --> 00:06:14,207 find a way to convince ourselves we're not as bad as we really are. 124 00:06:14,424 --> 00:06:15,892 That's what we do with rules. 125 00:06:15,892 --> 00:06:16,893 We'll say, well, you know, 126 00:06:16,893 --> 00:06:21,831 I didn't really break the rule, just this kind of partial rule breaking. 127 00:06:21,831 --> 00:06:24,751 I didn't break the spirit of the rule. You know that guy? 128 00:06:24,751 --> 00:06:27,420 That guy breaks way more rules than me. 129 00:06:27,420 --> 00:06:32,208 Will always find a way of grading ourselves on, like, a B average. 130 00:06:32,358 --> 00:06:34,827 This is how I feel about getting older, by the way. 131 00:06:34,827 --> 00:06:35,428 I've realized 132 00:06:35,428 --> 00:06:38,431 there are certain spots in my bathroom that if I stand, I still look young. 133 00:06:39,599 --> 00:06:41,067 So my wife said to me the other day, she's like, 134 00:06:41,067 --> 00:06:42,919 why do you always fix your hair in my mirror? 135 00:06:42,919 --> 00:06:44,604 And it's because I think she did something 136 00:06:44,604 --> 00:06:48,357 intentionally to make the light at her mirror way better than mine. 137 00:06:48,691 --> 00:06:50,843 And it's making me self-conscious, right? 138 00:06:50,843 --> 00:06:52,111 I'll just cheat the light. 139 00:06:52,111 --> 00:06:53,513 I mean, you know, 140 00:06:53,513 --> 00:06:56,516 as I get older, I'll just keep cheating the light to make myself feel young. 141 00:06:56,632 --> 00:07:02,054 I'll keep cheating the rule keeping system to make myself feel like a good person. 142 00:07:02,071 --> 00:07:02,839 Here's the thing, though. 143 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,142 The Bible tells us that sin is not primarily legal. 144 00:07:06,859 --> 00:07:07,760 It's relational. 145 00:07:08,878 --> 00:07:09,712 Now, here's what I mean by that. 146 00:07:09,712 --> 00:07:12,865 Let me prove this to you by an analogy and then by a Bible story. 147 00:07:12,865 --> 00:07:15,401 First analogy. You know, I have five children. 148 00:07:15,401 --> 00:07:16,135 This is going to shock you. 149 00:07:16,135 --> 00:07:19,472 But from time to time they argue with each other, right? 150 00:07:19,739 --> 00:07:22,258 And they can get heated and they can get nasty. 151 00:07:22,258 --> 00:07:23,759 I personally, I blame their mother. 152 00:07:23,759 --> 00:07:26,362 You can reach their own opinion, but 153 00:07:26,362 --> 00:07:29,332 and like most dads, I don't really get involved 154 00:07:29,332 --> 00:07:32,218 until it reaches a certain volume level. Right. 155 00:07:32,218 --> 00:07:35,872 And when I get involved, what instantly happens is they each 156 00:07:35,872 --> 00:07:37,106 start blaming each other. 157 00:07:37,106 --> 00:07:39,325 Well, she said this and he did that. 158 00:07:39,325 --> 00:07:42,562 And if he hadn't said this, then I wouldn't have done that. 159 00:07:42,562 --> 00:07:44,030 And the truth is, I don't know. 160 00:07:44,030 --> 00:07:46,382 I mean, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't paying attention or I wasn't there. 161 00:07:46,382 --> 00:07:50,036 I don't know who said what first, but every time that happens, 162 00:07:50,036 --> 00:07:51,888 I'll stop them and I go, stop, stop, stop, stop. 163 00:07:51,888 --> 00:07:55,158 I don't know who said what, but but I want you to just look at each other. 164 00:07:56,058 --> 00:07:57,827 Look at your brother. 165 00:07:57,827 --> 00:07:59,278 Look how upset he is. 166 00:07:59,278 --> 00:08:00,112 Look at your sister. 167 00:08:00,112 --> 00:08:01,614 She's crying 168 00:08:01,614 --> 00:08:05,852 like I don't know who said what, but at some point, doesn't that matter to you? 169 00:08:06,269 --> 00:08:09,772 You see, what I'm saying to them is you're thinking about this in legal terms, 170 00:08:09,772 --> 00:08:12,859 but we don't primarily have a legal problem. 171 00:08:12,859 --> 00:08:15,595 We have a relational problem. 172 00:08:15,595 --> 00:08:20,433 So the Bible says sin is not primarily about breaking God's rules. 173 00:08:20,433 --> 00:08:23,402 It's about breaking our relationship with God. 174 00:08:23,402 --> 00:08:28,457 Genesis chapter two God makes, the perfect environment for human flourishing. 175 00:08:28,457 --> 00:08:30,510 It's called the Garden of Eden. 176 00:08:30,510 --> 00:08:33,329 It's at the confluence of a couple of rivers. 177 00:08:33,329 --> 00:08:35,131 There are fruit trees and animals. 178 00:08:35,131 --> 00:08:36,933 He places Adam and Eve there. 179 00:08:36,933 --> 00:08:38,100 They have each other. 180 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:41,821 Conditions are perfect for them to flourish. 181 00:08:41,871 --> 00:08:46,859 And right in the middle of this Paradise, God puts a tree and he says to Adam 182 00:08:46,859 --> 00:08:51,631 and Eve, look, go nuts, have fun, enjoy yourselves, build shape, multiply. 183 00:08:51,647 --> 00:08:54,300 He says, just here's the thing. Don't eat from this tree. 184 00:08:54,300 --> 00:08:57,420 If you eat from this tree, you're going to die. 185 00:08:57,837 --> 00:08:59,639 I've always thought that was weird, personally. 186 00:08:59,639 --> 00:09:03,509 Like, why would God put a death tree in the middle of Paradise? 187 00:09:03,743 --> 00:09:04,794 But it occurs to me 188 00:09:04,794 --> 00:09:08,731 that that tree really wasn't about death, and it really wasn't about eating. 189 00:09:08,931 --> 00:09:10,349 It was really about trust. 190 00:09:11,484 --> 00:09:14,604 You see, God was saying to Adam and Eve, listen, what makes this 191 00:09:14,604 --> 00:09:18,090 the perfect environment for human flourishing is that you trust me. 192 00:09:18,808 --> 00:09:19,342 So every day, 193 00:09:19,342 --> 00:09:22,111 every day, Adam and Eve walked by the tree and they didn't eat from it. 194 00:09:22,111 --> 00:09:25,648 Every day they made out under the tree or climb the tree, or took fruit 195 00:09:25,648 --> 00:09:26,449 down from the tree 196 00:09:26,449 --> 00:09:30,236 and made a centerpiece for the table, but didn't eat it every day. 197 00:09:30,236 --> 00:09:33,539 They were saying to God, we trust you, we trust you. 198 00:09:34,106 --> 00:09:37,109 And on the day they finally did eat from the tree, 199 00:09:37,310 --> 00:09:39,779 their problem wasn't that they had broken a rule. 200 00:09:39,779 --> 00:09:42,949 Their problem was that they were saying to God, we don't trust you. 201 00:09:43,232 --> 00:09:45,201 We don't think you love us. We don't think you're good. 202 00:09:45,201 --> 00:09:46,519 We don't think you know best. 203 00:09:46,519 --> 00:09:47,670 And we found someone. 204 00:09:47,670 --> 00:09:50,489 We think who's better than you. 205 00:09:51,507 --> 00:09:53,159 And you see if that's what sin is. 206 00:09:53,159 --> 00:09:54,226 And then we have two problems. 207 00:09:54,226 --> 00:09:57,229 One is, can any of us honestly say 208 00:09:57,263 --> 00:10:00,049 that pretty much on a day to day basis? 209 00:10:00,049 --> 00:10:03,052 We don't struggle with trusting God. 210 00:10:04,337 --> 00:10:07,823 That we don't replace his voice with the voice of someone or something else. 211 00:10:07,823 --> 00:10:10,826 Of course we do. I do, you do, we? We do. 212 00:10:10,826 --> 00:10:13,312 And you see, the problem is you can't cheat that, right? 213 00:10:13,312 --> 00:10:16,699 You can't find a way of justifying it or excusing it. 214 00:10:16,832 --> 00:10:20,569 To not trust God is to break your relationship with him. 215 00:10:20,569 --> 00:10:23,272 We are all guilty of that. 216 00:10:23,272 --> 00:10:27,143 That's why the writer says, if we say we have not sin, we make him a liar 217 00:10:27,143 --> 00:10:30,513 because God is telling us our relationship with him is broken. 218 00:10:33,983 --> 00:10:36,669 And what are we going to do with that? 219 00:10:36,669 --> 00:10:37,553 And here's a question. 220 00:10:37,553 --> 00:10:43,643 If we all know we struggle to trust God, and we all know that were guilty of that, 221 00:10:43,643 --> 00:10:46,646 then why do we have such a hard time saying it? 222 00:10:47,463 --> 00:10:49,949 Why do we spend so much time trying to convince ourselves 223 00:10:49,949 --> 00:10:53,602 or other people that we're good with God, or that that we're doing just fine? 224 00:10:53,602 --> 00:10:57,089 Why do we go to our grave saying, I'm sure I'm going to get into heaven 225 00:10:57,089 --> 00:10:59,959 because I'm a good person, whatever that means. 226 00:10:59,959 --> 00:11:04,797 Why are we working so hard to pretend we're in a better place with God? 227 00:11:04,797 --> 00:11:07,550 Well, that's my second point. It's not just that we're lying. 228 00:11:07,550 --> 00:11:10,553 Listen, we're hiding. 229 00:11:10,586 --> 00:11:11,220 We're hiding. 230 00:11:11,220 --> 00:11:14,907 You know, when Adam and Eve do eat from the tree, God shows up in the garden. 231 00:11:14,907 --> 00:11:15,891 And this is what happens. 232 00:11:15,891 --> 00:11:18,210 Genesis chapter three, verse ten says this. 233 00:11:18,210 --> 00:11:20,479 And he said, he here is Adam. 234 00:11:20,479 --> 00:11:23,299 He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden. 235 00:11:23,299 --> 00:11:27,420 And I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. 236 00:11:27,536 --> 00:11:27,953 You know, 237 00:11:27,953 --> 00:11:32,341 the Bible doesn't tell us what fruit was on the tree in the Garden of Eden. 238 00:11:32,458 --> 00:11:36,328 But for me, when I use my imagination, I always imagine it's pomegranate. 239 00:11:37,229 --> 00:11:38,481 Okay. Here's why. 240 00:11:38,481 --> 00:11:41,484 Have you ever gotten pomegranate on your skin? 241 00:11:41,851 --> 00:11:43,018 You might as well die. 242 00:11:43,018 --> 00:11:45,321 It's never coming off right. 243 00:11:45,321 --> 00:11:47,990 And I just imagined Adam eating from the tree, 244 00:11:47,990 --> 00:11:49,975 and he's got pomegranate all over his face. 245 00:11:49,975 --> 00:11:53,179 And he and Eve hear God coming, and Eve's like, wipe it off, wipe it off. 246 00:11:53,179 --> 00:11:54,530 And he's like, I'm trying to wipe it off. 247 00:11:54,530 --> 00:11:55,498 You wipe it off. 248 00:11:55,498 --> 00:11:58,350 You know, they're licking their hands, they're rubbing and they can't get it off. 249 00:11:58,350 --> 00:11:59,452 And so they hear God coming. 250 00:11:59,452 --> 00:12:01,404 So they hide in the bushes because what are they going to say? 251 00:12:01,404 --> 00:12:04,173 They've got pomegranate all over their face. 252 00:12:04,173 --> 00:12:06,692 Adam says, I heard you coming. And I hid. 253 00:12:06,692 --> 00:12:10,079 And then he says this, and he's being literal, but also metaphorical. 254 00:12:10,079 --> 00:12:12,982 He said, I knew I was naked and I hid myself. 255 00:12:12,982 --> 00:12:17,937 Listen, have you ever had a relationship that is broken and it's your fault? 256 00:12:19,739 --> 00:12:21,390 Like, you know, you 257 00:12:21,390 --> 00:12:24,827 did the thing you said, the thing you it's your fault. 258 00:12:24,860 --> 00:12:26,912 No excuses, no justification. 259 00:12:26,912 --> 00:12:30,449 And have you ever had the experience of working through whether or not 260 00:12:30,449 --> 00:12:33,452 you're going to tell the other person? 261 00:12:33,502 --> 00:12:35,755 If you have, then you know there's no better way 262 00:12:35,755 --> 00:12:38,758 to describe that than you feel instantly 263 00:12:39,542 --> 00:12:41,327 naked, 264 00:12:41,327 --> 00:12:43,129 vulnerable. 265 00:12:43,129 --> 00:12:45,181 Pomegranate 266 00:12:45,181 --> 00:12:46,849 all over your face. 267 00:12:46,849 --> 00:12:50,419 You see, Adam hides from God for the same reason we hide from each other. 268 00:12:50,419 --> 00:12:52,071 It's the same reason we make excuses. 269 00:12:52,071 --> 00:12:53,122 We can't take ownership. 270 00:12:53,122 --> 00:12:56,659 We blame other people because when we know it is our fault, 271 00:12:56,759 --> 00:13:01,464 we're afraid that if we say that bad things are going to happen. 272 00:13:01,464 --> 00:13:03,082 In fact, I think we're afraid of two things. 273 00:13:03,082 --> 00:13:04,617 Try these on. See what you think. 274 00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:08,154 I think we're afraid of retribution and rejection. 275 00:13:09,738 --> 00:13:10,523 You know what I mean? 276 00:13:10,523 --> 00:13:14,393 Retribution is we're afraid if we were to come clean to the other person, 277 00:13:14,510 --> 00:13:19,381 if we were to take responsibility, that we would get their anger back. 278 00:13:20,483 --> 00:13:21,917 They would hurt us back. 279 00:13:21,917 --> 00:13:24,003 They would say things we don't want to hear. 280 00:13:24,003 --> 00:13:26,305 They would yell. They would punch the wall. 281 00:13:26,305 --> 00:13:27,656 They would throw something. 282 00:13:27,656 --> 00:13:31,494 The closer you are to someone, the more they know just the thing to say 283 00:13:31,727 --> 00:13:33,863 to destroy you. We're afraid of that. 284 00:13:33,863 --> 00:13:35,281 So we hide. 285 00:13:35,281 --> 00:13:37,733 And even if we're not afraid of that. 286 00:13:37,733 --> 00:13:38,567 And usually it's both. 287 00:13:38,567 --> 00:13:41,670 And we're also afraid of rejection. 288 00:13:41,871 --> 00:13:45,241 We're afraid if I own this, it's going to be the end of this relationship, 289 00:13:45,624 --> 00:13:49,128 the end of this partnership, the end of this friendship. 290 00:13:49,128 --> 00:13:51,447 This is going to cost me that person. 291 00:13:51,447 --> 00:13:52,348 And so we lie. 292 00:13:52,348 --> 00:13:57,720 We make excuses and we hide because we don't want to get hurt. 293 00:13:58,971 --> 00:14:00,973 Have you felt that 294 00:14:00,973 --> 00:14:04,143 if it's true on a human level, how much more on a spiritual level? 295 00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:07,463 In fact, many of us are hiding from God. 296 00:14:08,848 --> 00:14:11,967 Coming up with our own moral grading system. 297 00:14:12,535 --> 00:14:15,738 Avoiding him, avoiding prayer, avoiding coming to church. 298 00:14:15,738 --> 00:14:17,423 Avoiding any interaction with God 299 00:14:17,423 --> 00:14:20,960 because we're so sure that if we were to actually come into his 300 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,915 presence, pomegranate all over our face, naked and vulnerable, guilty, 301 00:14:25,981 --> 00:14:30,085 responsible, we would get his anger and we would get his rejection. 302 00:14:30,085 --> 00:14:30,719 Of course, the reason 303 00:14:30,719 --> 00:14:34,640 we think that usually is because there's some religious person in our life 304 00:14:34,823 --> 00:14:36,842 who has told us that 305 00:14:36,842 --> 00:14:38,360 I have this all the time for people to go pastor, 306 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,946 even if there is a God, he doesn't want someone like me. 307 00:14:40,946 --> 00:14:42,598 What are they saying? I'm hiding in the bushes. 308 00:14:44,133 --> 00:14:46,468 I don't want to come out. 309 00:14:46,468 --> 00:14:49,255 Have you experienced that? 310 00:14:49,255 --> 00:14:52,258 Well, of course that begs the question, doesn't it? 311 00:14:53,208 --> 00:14:56,028 What if. 312 00:14:56,028 --> 00:14:58,914 That isn't what you would get from God. 313 00:14:58,914 --> 00:15:00,482 In fact, that's actually my third point. 314 00:15:00,482 --> 00:15:04,937 Not just we're lying and we're hiding, but the third point we don't have to. 315 00:15:05,721 --> 00:15:08,641 The writer in First John chapter one nine says one of the most it's 316 00:15:08,641 --> 00:15:11,126 one of the most beautiful things you'll find in the whole Bible. 317 00:15:11,126 --> 00:15:12,177 Okay, here's what he says. 318 00:15:12,177 --> 00:15:13,712 First John chapter one, verse nine. 319 00:15:13,712 --> 00:15:16,699 He says this if we confess our sins. 320 00:15:18,233 --> 00:15:21,503 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 321 00:15:22,037 --> 00:15:25,291 and to cleanse us from all unrighteous. 322 00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:26,792 He says, if we would confess, 323 00:15:26,792 --> 00:15:29,511 if we would come out of the bushes, stop making excuses. 324 00:15:29,511 --> 00:15:32,398 Stop blaming other people, stop cheating the light. 325 00:15:32,398 --> 00:15:35,567 If we would come out naked pomegranate all over our face 326 00:15:35,567 --> 00:15:39,438 and stand in God's presence, if we would just confess, he says, 327 00:15:40,973 --> 00:15:43,976 we would get forgiveness. 328 00:15:45,527 --> 00:15:48,347 But he doesn't just say forgiveness. 329 00:15:48,347 --> 00:15:53,302 He says, listen, he is faithful and just to forgive us. 330 00:15:53,752 --> 00:15:56,689 Why does he pick those two words? 331 00:15:56,689 --> 00:16:00,326 Why not say God is merciful and kind, 332 00:16:01,010 --> 00:16:05,130 sweet and caring, warm and friendly? 333 00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:08,067 Why does he pick the word faithful and just? 334 00:16:08,067 --> 00:16:08,901 You know why? 335 00:16:08,901 --> 00:16:13,138 Because those two words speak directly to our fear 336 00:16:13,138 --> 00:16:16,141 of retribution and rejection. 337 00:16:16,976 --> 00:16:18,227 Here's what I mean. 338 00:16:18,227 --> 00:16:21,213 Retribution is the fear that if I take ownership, 339 00:16:21,213 --> 00:16:23,098 you're going to be angry with me. 340 00:16:23,098 --> 00:16:25,351 But I almost need you to be angry with me. 341 00:16:25,351 --> 00:16:26,669 You know what I mean? 342 00:16:26,669 --> 00:16:29,672 You ever you ever confess something to someone, and they kind of 343 00:16:30,089 --> 00:16:33,092 just push it off, like, oh, don't worry about it. 344 00:16:33,242 --> 00:16:35,461 There's something in you that goes, no, no, no no no no no. 345 00:16:35,461 --> 00:16:40,382 I get mad like like yell, get angry if we understand. 346 00:16:40,382 --> 00:16:46,372 If I've done something, the only real path to forgiveness is through your anger. 347 00:16:46,372 --> 00:16:50,509 If I don't get your anger, I don't feel like we've really dealt with it. 348 00:16:50,509 --> 00:16:52,978 I don't want you to sweep it under the rug. 349 00:16:52,978 --> 00:16:54,329 I want to get rid of it. 350 00:16:54,329 --> 00:16:56,749 In our relationship, when the writer says 351 00:16:56,749 --> 00:17:00,903 that God is just to forgive, what he's saying is that it's not. 352 00:17:00,903 --> 00:17:01,937 When we come to God 353 00:17:01,937 --> 00:17:05,758 naked pomegranate on our face that God says, don't worry about it. 354 00:17:06,241 --> 00:17:07,493 Forget it. 355 00:17:07,493 --> 00:17:08,394 Get over it. 356 00:17:08,394 --> 00:17:09,178 Let it go. 357 00:17:09,178 --> 00:17:11,447 No, no, no, that would be too thin. That wouldn't be helpful. 358 00:17:11,447 --> 00:17:17,269 Instead, what he says is that God forgives us, but he forgives us with justice. 359 00:17:17,302 --> 00:17:19,938 Not opposed to justice. With justice. 360 00:17:19,938 --> 00:17:20,973 How does he do that? 361 00:17:20,973 --> 00:17:23,509 Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 362 00:17:24,710 --> 00:17:24,977 You see, 363 00:17:24,977 --> 00:17:28,647 Jesus, who lived a perfect life, a an obedient life, 364 00:17:28,731 --> 00:17:33,502 a sinless life goes to the cross not to pay for his own sin, 365 00:17:33,652 --> 00:17:37,339 but to pay for mine, to pay for all the sins of God's people 366 00:17:37,339 --> 00:17:44,096 so that God the Son on the cross has placed on him all of my trust. 367 00:17:44,096 --> 00:17:49,818 Breaking with God and God the Father pours out his anger and wrath in judgment 368 00:17:49,852 --> 00:17:54,773 onto Jesus so that Jesus's dying words are it is finished. 369 00:17:54,773 --> 00:17:55,758 What is finished? 370 00:17:55,758 --> 00:17:59,661 The anger, the wrath, the justice, so that when we come to God 371 00:17:59,695 --> 00:18:01,080 out of the bushes 372 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,249 with pomegranate on our face and we say, God, I'm tired of hiding. 373 00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:06,602 I'm tired of cheating the light, making excuses. 374 00:18:06,602 --> 00:18:09,738 Our relationship is broken and it is my fault. 375 00:18:09,805 --> 00:18:11,723 And and God says, well, I'll forgive you. 376 00:18:11,723 --> 00:18:12,925 We said, no, no, you don't forgive me. 377 00:18:12,925 --> 00:18:14,726 Get mad, throw something, get angry. 378 00:18:14,726 --> 00:18:16,278 Someone's got to pay. 379 00:18:16,278 --> 00:18:18,931 Jesus holds up a nail scarred hand and says, 380 00:18:20,849 --> 00:18:23,268 I'll do it. 381 00:18:23,268 --> 00:18:26,271 So sweeping under the rug. 382 00:18:27,022 --> 00:18:29,091 He takes it for us. 383 00:18:29,091 --> 00:18:33,328 The writer also says that God is faithful to forgive, 384 00:18:33,595 --> 00:18:37,649 and what that means is that God keeps his promises. 385 00:18:38,517 --> 00:18:40,352 And what has God promised? 386 00:18:40,352 --> 00:18:45,140 Well, that everybody who comes to him on the basis of the life, death, 387 00:18:45,140 --> 00:18:48,510 and resurrection of Jesus will be forgiven. 388 00:18:49,478 --> 00:18:53,031 And everyone who goes to God and says, God, I'm a good person, mostly God. 389 00:18:53,031 --> 00:18:56,251 If I had just had a better childhood, God if I hadn't had that 390 00:18:56,251 --> 00:18:59,238 negative religious experience, 391 00:18:59,521 --> 00:19:02,508 does not get forgiveness. 392 00:19:04,042 --> 00:19:06,028 Everyone who stays in the bushes 393 00:19:06,028 --> 00:19:08,514 trying to wipe their face off 394 00:19:08,514 --> 00:19:11,250 misses out, but everyone who comes out of the bush 395 00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:15,420 is everyone who says, God, I have nothing except for this that you have told me 396 00:19:15,504 --> 00:19:20,058 you'll forgive me in Jesus receives a forgiveness that is faithful in just. 397 00:19:20,058 --> 00:19:21,093 Do you know what this means? 398 00:19:21,093 --> 00:19:24,363 What this means is you don't have to hide. 399 00:19:26,248 --> 00:19:28,917 You don't have to make excuses. 400 00:19:28,917 --> 00:19:30,769 You don't have to rationalize. 401 00:19:30,769 --> 00:19:35,874 You can come out naked, vulnerable, guilty, pomegranate all over your life 402 00:19:36,175 --> 00:19:39,178 and you can be forgiven. 403 00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:43,382 But brothers and sisters in Christ, 404 00:19:43,382 --> 00:19:46,368 this is not for us a one time thing, 405 00:19:46,585 --> 00:19:49,588 as though we never go back to the bushes, 406 00:19:49,588 --> 00:19:51,924 as though we never have pomegranate on our face. 407 00:19:51,924 --> 00:19:55,260 Confession for us is a daily thing. 408 00:19:56,211 --> 00:19:58,697 We go to God with our sin. 409 00:19:58,697 --> 00:20:01,800 The Bible says God's mercies are new every morning. 410 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:06,772 Why would they need to be except for so also is my guilt. 411 00:20:06,889 --> 00:20:11,610 I go to God every day in my nakedness and my guilt, my responsibility, 412 00:20:11,610 --> 00:20:16,498 and I receive faithful and just forgiveness in the name of Jesus. 413 00:20:16,498 --> 00:20:19,501 How many of us have been stuck spiritually for months? 414 00:20:19,501 --> 00:20:24,439 No prayer, no time with the Lord because we're so sure we face his anger. 415 00:20:24,439 --> 00:20:25,824 We face his rejection. 416 00:20:25,824 --> 00:20:30,362 No friends, brothers and sisters, it has been faced by Jesus. 417 00:20:31,013 --> 00:20:32,698 Come out of the bushes. 418 00:20:32,698 --> 00:20:34,650 Confess your sin. 419 00:20:34,650 --> 00:20:37,653 Receive forgiveness. 420 00:20:38,237 --> 00:20:42,324 By the way, this is one way that Christians can change our world. 421 00:20:44,243 --> 00:20:47,246 Why can't we be the first to take ownership? 422 00:20:48,597 --> 00:20:52,701 Why can't we be the ones in our families, or our companies or neighborhoods 423 00:20:52,801 --> 00:20:57,139 or online who can actually say, you know what, you're right, I'm wrong. 424 00:20:57,773 --> 00:20:59,725 You're right. I broke our relationship. 425 00:20:59,725 --> 00:21:05,097 I said the thing I shouldn't have because whatever someone can rightfully accuse us 426 00:21:05,097 --> 00:21:10,018 of, even if we're guilty, we can be forgiven. 427 00:21:10,352 --> 00:21:13,739 In a world of excuses and a world of blame shifting, 428 00:21:14,906 --> 00:21:17,492 let us be the ones 429 00:21:17,492 --> 00:21:20,479 who show the glory of a forgiving God 430 00:21:21,079 --> 00:21:24,082 and the confession of our own sins. 431 00:21:24,116 --> 00:21:24,866 Let me pray for us. 432 00:21:24,866 --> 00:21:27,502 Father God, thank you so much for these verses. 433 00:21:27,502 --> 00:21:30,505 Thank you for the invitation to come out of the bushes. 434 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:34,159 It is not easy to believe 435 00:21:34,159 --> 00:21:35,610 we know how we treat people 436 00:21:36,628 --> 00:21:38,697 when they sin against us. 437 00:21:38,697 --> 00:21:41,783 And so we project onto you, God, through the glory of Jesus 438 00:21:41,783 --> 00:21:44,786 and the power and presence of your Holy Spirit. 439 00:21:45,587 --> 00:21:48,056 Will you call us like Adam, 440 00:21:48,056 --> 00:21:51,243 out of the bushes and into your forgiveness? 441 00:21:51,827 --> 00:21:54,179 In Jesus name we pray. Amen.