Good Friday - Part 2

Good Friday Part 2 Confession -

After they had taken part in eating the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil, “ the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Pause

It’s what we do. When we do what we aren’t supposed to do, we instinctively isolate ourselves. We are afraid. We don’t want to be ridiculed. We don’t want to be shamed. We don’t want to face the consequences.

But paradoxically, all those things that we fear, shame, ridicule, and pain all come from isolation. It is in the tombs of the dead, where the garsean demoniac heard the devil the loudest. It is when we leave our community, our relationships, our God, that we are convinced we are too far gone.

The problem with Adam and the problem with us is that we don’t trust God's character.

 We are afraid of the one, who gave it all for us. We don’t seem to realize the extent of what Jesus did on the cross for us. We, through Satan, have convinced ourselves that the sin we deal with is too dark. Too messed up. We couldn’t possibly tell other people about that. It would burn bridges, cause divorce, and break up relationships.

There is a moment in John 5 when Jesus comes upon a paralyzed man who has been waiting at this pool for 38 years. Jesus walks up to him and asks a simple question…Do you want to get well?” Do you want to be healed?”

Church, do you want to be healed? Do you want to be free from this sin?

There is not one person in here who has not committed sin and hidden from God. Romans  3:23-24  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Yet “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

We are here to remember what Christ did, but in that, we ought to remember that we are free. Free by the grace shown to us by the redemption on the cross. You are not controlled by your sin. You are not defined by your sin. You are not under the shackles of sin anymore.

But the longer you sit in isolation, the longer and more intensely Satan will convince you that what Jesus did on the cross wasn’t enough.

You remember when your mom used to come into your room in the morning to wake you up? She’d greet you, and then do the worst thing possible. She would turn on the light and then walk away.

And what did you do? You took the covers, and you brought them over your face. Why? Because the light hurts at first? It exposes. It brings out in the light what you wanted hidden. So you hide. You hide in the darkness because it’s more comfortable there. Maybe you are okay with your sin. Maybe you’d rather stay this way. Do that thing, you wouldn’t want anyone to know about.

Are we like the Isrealites, who would rather go back into the oppression of Egypt than be free in the desert?

Do you want to get well?

As James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Let me invite you over the next few moments, see what Christ has done and the power it holds over your life. See the sins you have committed. And stop hiding. Trust in the character of the Lord our God, and consider that what Christ did was enough. Enough to set you free of this addiction. Of this habit. Of this way of thinking. Step into the light, and confess your sin. Lay it all at the foot of the cross, and ask for forgivness, because it will be given to you. And when you leave today, I pray that the Holy Spirit will convict you to open up to your family, your community, your church.

And I am not just asking you to simply say a silent prayer in your head. I want you to take that note card that we gave you, use the pencil in front of you and take these next few moments, and write it out.

Write the thing that you have been dealing with since you were a kid. Write down the thing you haven't even told your wife.

Write the thing that you know is holding you back from a deeper relationship with Jesus. Write thing thing down that you have found comfort in. That you don't want to give up but know you need to. That thing that you know is wrong, but it helps you cope with the pain. It's time you give it up. Stop hiding. He died on the cross for you, so that you wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Was it not enough? Are you not convinced?

Jesus said on the cross, “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” But what if we in fact do, and continue to do it?

Because what Christ has done is enough, and you don’t need to hide anymore.