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Mission Statement
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CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS Confession and forgiveness are the appropriate responses to the holiness of God. They go hand in hand. They are not condemnation or ritual. A man I once knew honestly thought that the general prayer for forgiveness for “things done and those undone” that he prayed in church once a week took care of his need for confession. But we must be willing to confess more that a general prayer for forgiveness prayed in the corporate setting. Our prayers need to be specific and immediate. In fact, to live a Spirit-filled life, we want to become so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that as soon as we say something wrong or have a sinful thought, we allow Him to do His job of convicting us of sin. Then of course, we want to get rid of it by confession. CONFESSION Without confession, a barrier is put up between you and God until you confess your sins. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Isaiah 59:1,2 Confession is to acknowledge or disclose something damaging or inconvenient in one’s self; to acknowledge or admit something. Confession is not an excuse to list the other person’s sins and failings. Confession is your own stuff, keeping in mind that no one can MAKE you angry or hurt. Those are decisions we make ourselves. Ask the Holy Spirit what needs to be confessed. Sometimes we need to confess that we have no repentance! “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 You do not have to have an emotional experience to be forgiven. In addition, maturity, character and integrity means that we’ll sit before God AFTER confession to receive from God the rest of that verse. A lady (I’ll call her D) whom I was counseling confessed a sin she’d committed to me. “Have you asked God for forgiveness?” I asked. “Oh yes,” she replied. “Many times.” “Then according to I John 1:9 God has forgiven you.” I said. “Why aren’t you walking in that forgiveness?” “I don’t know,” she wailed. “I pray and pray.” “I’ll tell you why,” I told her. “When you asked for forgiveness, you didn’t stay in prayer long enough to receive His cleansing.” I prayed a prayer over her for cleansing and her countenance immediately brightened. The next week D’s best friend, R, called me on the phone. “What did you do or say to D?” she asked. “What are you talking about?” I asked. R then told me the following dialog. “The day after D was at your house, we went walking together as we usually do. But she looked so different, I finally asked, “D, you look different. What’s happened?” D responded, “I don’t know; I’m using a different makeup.” “That can’t be it,” R countered. “You aren’t wearing any makeup.” Let’s be sure we experience all of 1 John 1:9. Private sins should be confessed privately; public sins confessed publicly because a public sin is not just against the person(s) you sinned against. You do not know how your sin affected others or even who it affected so it must be public. FORGIVENESS Definition: to excuse a fault or offense; to pardon; to relinquish – THEN receive the provisions of God. Forgiveness, repentance and confession go hand in hand. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper; but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” Proverbs 28:13 Learn to be a good receiver. Unforgiveness desensitizes you to spiritual things. Forgiveness frees others and you. “For if you forgive men for their transgression, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14,15 Forgiveness allows the Holy Spirit to do His work.
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