Confession

Week 4 - Confession

I asked my friend the other day why he decided to buy a boat, he said there was a sail!

In the old days, excessive use of commas was considered to be a serious crime, it usually resulted in a long sentence.

Big Idea: Confession is the process of recognition of sin, turning from it and experiencing the forgiveness of God. Having a regular practice of searching our lives and coming into the light can cultivate a life full of grace and mercy as we rise from the ashes of past sins and poor decision making in our lives.

Scripture: Joel 2:12-13, James 5:16, Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 32:5, Romans 10:10, Luke 15:11-32, 1 John 1:19

Introduction

Hubb computer story… really tell it.

Admitting failure is difficult. Confessing and coming clean when we are at fault is not an easy task. I’m sure many of you here today have a similar story like the one I just shared. Honestly, we probably all have numerous stories that sound eerily similar.

Thankfully, the stories end differently when God gets involved. With God, we are promised forgiveness when we confess our sins and come clean. And when we bring ourselves into the light we are able to live free, unburdened or hindered by the sin that so easily entangles so that we can run the race set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Confession is the 4th topic of our 6 weeks together in our journey to abundant life. Obviously Jesus led a sinless life so we won’t see any specific examples from His life including sin. However, it is because of Jesus’ sinless life and humble sacrifice that we can experience the unrestrained forgiveness of the Father over our sin. As I said in week 1, you are not broken beyond repair.

Jesus is the reason we can confess and experience complete forgiveness in our lives.

This divine forgiveness is truly amazing grace and it is such a different response to our wrongdoing than what many of us grew up experiencing.

Our teaching today is going to follow the story of an arrogant son and his journey from the ash heap back to the arms of his father.

We Squander It All

Luke 15:11-13

This story is where most of our stories begin. We are convinced we know how to run our life better than God does. So, we take all that he has given us and we waste it on living however we want. We double down on our bad decisions and hurt ourselves and others in the process.

This is also the story of the younger son, the prodigal son;

Luke 15:11–13 ESV

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

Listen, the request of the younger son is a slap in the face…patriarchal society.. what the father said goes…so this is a huge slap in the face… this is him saying he wishes the father was dead… think about that… thats a harsh statement.. I don’t need you… I don’t want you… I can do this better than you just give me my share...

Some of you already knew this, but did you know that by law, even if the parent DID grant the inheritance, he still had a legal right to live off of it? One could take it if it was given, but one could not remove it from availability to the parent. But of course the son not only asks for his share of the inheritance, but then packs his things and takes off.

So the son’s request is a rejection of the father, his leaving is a cruel rejection of his father’s values and the values in which the father has trained and raised and brought up his son. Luke writes simply that the son, “left for a distant country.” This is not sight-seeing, it is rejection of home, of family, of community, and of culture.

He’s saying I hate this way of life, I hate the way you do things, I am sure I can handle this much better on my own.. let me show you how good I can do this...

It is a radical break with the stream of tradition of which he is a part. Up until now he has belonged someplace in every sense of that word, but now he has chosen to no longer belong and to drive a massive wedge between him and everything that could ever have held him close to home, close to the love of his father, close to the faithful friendship of his friends and community.

The word used here for reckless living is only used once in the New Testament. It describes an extravagantly wasteful lifestyle. It may seem like the right thing for a time, and after all in the case of the younger son, he was only spending his rightful inheritance. But eventually the money runs out, the parties come to an end, and the nerves wear thin.

It’s at this point we realize we’ve squandered it all. In the words of the prophet Isaiah; “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way…” (Isaiah 53:6)

Thankfully, that’s not the end of the prodigal’s story nor is it the end of ours.

No Longer Worthy

Continuing in Luke 15 we read;

Luke 15:14–20 ESV

14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

End with A^

There needs to be a time in each of our lives where we simply come to our senses and realize that our life will never be what it was meant to be apart from the Father. My prayer is that none of you here have to lose everything, become shattered, or have your dreams reduced to ashes...

But the good news is, we are able to make the decision to head home at any time. Some of us simply have to come to the end of our worth and realize that in Christ alone we are found worthy before the Father. Not based upon anything we can or cannot do but based upon the finished work of Christ on the cross.

As the younger son reaches his end, look at the confession he was practicing: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you…” He recognizes the depravity of his life and he understands his sin not only touches his earthly father but His heavenly Father as well.

Alive Again.

Luke 15:20–24 ESV

20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

This is one of the most beautiful scenes of compassion in the entire Bible. The younger son reaches bottom, and begins heading home. But even while he’s still a long way from home, his father sees him and RUNS out to meet him.

We can assume the young man had used his money to acquire friends, status, women, and much more, but as normal is the case in these types of situations, when the money is gone, so are the friends. All of a sudden he had become a nobody, not even fit to eat as much as the pigs...

Look at the father and the other man standing tall, they are both wearing cloaks and nice linens, but the son kneeling is in what appears to be just underclothes. They look worn out and barely visible, they are barely covering him, he doesn’t have a left shoe, and only half of a right one, listen, this guy has lost it ALL.

But look closely at his right hip, you will see the one thing he was never willing to part ways with… his sword..as desperate as he has been, he has never sold it… this is what he is the son of his sonship, of who he belongs to… he has never let that go… This isn’t shown in the parable but Rembrandt is trying to paint a picture for us… well obviously, but he’s trying to show us this idea, that rEmbrandt says, there comes a day that the son says, What am I doing out here, even my fathers hired hands have it better than I do… and the sword is what reminds him that he is his fathers son...

You can almost hear the son's muffled apology coming through the sound of his fathers warm embrace and smothering kisses. The younger man's humility, confession, and willingness to return home after having lost everything says a lot about his true character. Yes, he was physically starved and yes he was in a foreign land with nothing to show.

But there at rock bottom, what really mattered became clear to him. The abundance of food, mercy, compassion, warmth, etc… of his fathers house called him home.

How many of you need to humble yourselves this morning, confess your sin against God and others, and return to the Father?

Conclusion/Application

(Pastor - What an amazing moment for you to share your own story of repentance and faith… Or maybe the story of a family member or relative. The whole point of sharing is to set up the opportunity to invite others to confess and repent.)

Let me ask you, what’s keeping you from the Father today?

- Anger?

- Unforgiveness?

- Offense?

- Unmet expectations?

- Past hurts?

What can be confessed, repented of, and healed today?

James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Come home today.

Let’s pray together.