Chalk Revival: I Need Repentance from Secret Sin
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This morning I want to continue with our series - CHALK REVIVAL.
Just curious how many here stopped this week and either drew a circle around themselves with that piece of chalk OR prayed, Lord start a revival in my life - I humble myself and acknowledge I need you???
We spoke of revitalization in our lives, families, community and nation.
We spoke how all revitalization begins with humility.
The next thing in order for REVIVAL to take place in our lives is to address SIN!
OH, Pastor, your not going to talk about sin? It’s summer, I am on vacation from doing what is right - I want to have fun, chill out, recreate ----
SIN! Not to many preach against it any more, in fact the popular notion is to excuse it away, slather on a plethora of GRACE and allow it to just grow under the surface of our lives.
Reality is, if we want revival this needs to become our prayer:
Lord, I need to repent from sin, secret sins that trip me up, I need to confess sin, offer restitution for some sins and offer forgiveness of sins toward others who have sinned against me.
OK, none of us enjoys having to confront issues in our own lives, and some right now are thinking I have no sin to confront. (except maybe pride).
Webster’s defines sin as:
…a transgression against God’s law.
The Greek word is HAMARTIA and it means to miss the mark, err, or transgress the law of God, to offend
The Hebrew word for sin is CHATA - it means to offend, incur guilt, go wrong
No one likes to hear talk about sin - being told that we have erred, or offended God, or are guilty
But the reality is, even Christians continue to struggle with sin in their lives -
TO IGNORE SIN IS TO ROB OURSELVES OF VICTORY AND ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST
TO ADDRESS SIN IS TO FIND HEALING, FORGIVENESS, AND PEACE IN CHRIST
Sinful choices lead to destruction and never fulfill our lives, while finding freedom from sin brings newness of life and refreshing!
(Two famous people who had everything committed suicide this week - where did their sinful lifestyles and adventures leave them --- EMPTY!)
I could spend all morning and the next year talking about sinful behaviors we find in the Bible --
The reality is, it is not my job to convict of sin, but the Holy Spirit’s job.
As your Pastor I URGE YOU TO NOT IGNORE THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! and STOP JUSTIFYING SINFUL BEHAVIOR IN YOUR LIFE!
What I am going to do before we move on is read some key Scripture about SOME, not ALL, but SOME sinful behaviors...
With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Eph 5.12
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Then God gave the people all these instructions:
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
“You must not have any other god but me.
“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You must not murder.
“You must not commit adultery.
“You must not steal.
“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
Pride keeps us from confessing sin - we do not want to think of ourselves as guilty or wrong — this is why we need that prayer for humility we talked of last week.
REPENTANCE is NECESSARY as CHRISTIANS...
What does it mean to REPENT
TURN FROM WICKED WAYS!
REPENTANCE is not a mere apology for being caught or doing wrong --- repentance is TURNING TO AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE ONE WE WERE TRAVELING...
Remember last week:
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
“TURN FROM YOUR WICKED WAYS”
IT begins with CONFESSION of SECRET SIN
1. Secret Sin and Confession
1. Secret Sin and Confession
Let’s face it - most sin is kept in secret!
However, the American church and society over the last decade has become brazen with flaunting sin and trying to make it “OK”
Still, many in the church are not going to place their sin out there for judgment...
There is a danger of secret sin - or UNCONFESSED SIN
When we struggle with sinful behavior in our lives and do not confess it openly to God and others - we can find that the secret holds us in BONDAGE!
Keeping secrets of any kind tends to e a dangerous and incriminating practice.
A. Let’s look at the secret...
We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
Pslam 90.7-8
It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
God would surely have known it,
for he knows the secrets of every heart.
Secret Sin exists, it is shameful and it might be secret from people, but it is known to GOD!
Secret sin holds people in shame and guilt which often presses them to discouragement and involvement in greater secret sin ---
The potential shame leaves them in fear of others opinions, judgment, rejection, etc.
Secret sin breaks and destroys relationships and makes offenses grow the longer they are kept
No one wants to lose someone they love, their security or reputation - therefore that secret sin holds us bound to it, and the devil uses it to tempt us and draw us away deeper into that same sin and others.
b. Confession
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
TO confess our sins into the open is the first step in healing and forgivness!
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
All we have to do is confess our sins to Jesus, however, there is power in confessing our sins to another, or bringing that sin out of the secret place.
The Catholics were not all wrong with the confessional - there is something about the power of confession and hearing the words of forgiveness - the error is thinking that only a priest has the power to grant it.
Confession of sin brings accountability to not repeat the same sin, and it releases the bondage that secrecy brings. Once confessed, the enemy no longer has the power to work CONDEMNATION IN OUR LIVES THROUGH THE SECRET SIN!
2. Restitution of Sin
2. Restitution of Sin
You may be saying what??? I thought grace releases us from any debt.
Yes, it does, but that does not always release us from every consequence upon this earth.
Crimes may need to be punished, and offenses made right.
Restitution is not about making it right with God, but making it right with others.
If trust has been broken in a marriage there will need to be greater accountability in rebuilding that trust.
If there is something or someplace that led us into sinful behaviors it may mean getting rid of those things and/or not frequenting those places.
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Zacheus saw the harm he did to others and repaid back 4 times to restore back what he taken from them.
We may not always be able to pay debts back in this manner, but to seek forgiveness from others and to go those we have sinned against and ask for forgiveness is still part of what God wants us to do.
Restitution is about restoring the natural order
God removes the sin, but consequences remain.
- The responsibility of a child from sexual relations outside of marriage
- Time in prison for crimes
we do reap what we sow ---
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
Owning up to our failures is a step in overcoming our wrong choices --- the great thing is that when we are repentant and take responsibility - God’s grace and strength HELP US DO THE RIGHT THING!
3. Forgiving Others of Sin
3. Forgiving Others of Sin
It would be wrong to talk about sin and not talk about the sin of unforgiveness.
Jesus continuously referred to forgiving others in His teaching, His parables and through His own actions.
The entire Bible is a story of forgiveness.
Though sometimes in our shock and pain we struggle with immediate forgiveness - we are unable to ignore forgiveness indefinitely.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!
Jesus was teaching His disciples even as you have received from me - give to others ---
well - that is forgiveness
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
matthew 6.12-
To not forgive is to block the channel of our being forgiven --- it withholds the grace of God in our lives — we must address unfogiveness.
Debts stack up against you as you stack others debts against them...
It is a horrible way to live.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
That means we have to forgive others who have harmed us. We may not have them come to us, but that does not mean we cannot start the process of forgiving them.
Forgiveness is not just a word - it is an action.
God’s grace is so powerful, but our inability or unwillingness to forgive will keep us from that grace - He is not stopping the flow - it is our prideful rebellion that raises a wall and keeps it from us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
If we truly want a personal revival, we are going to have to deal with sin in its various forms in our lives.
We need to address SECRET SIN though confession
We will need to make restitution or ask for forgiveness of those we have wronged
We will need to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged us
In so doing - we HUMBLE OURSELVES and make ready a path to revival in our personal lives.
ARE YOU WILLING TO PRAY THIS PRAYER?
LORD - I repent of my sin, secret sin, and bring it out in the open, I want to make things right with those I have sinned against, and forgive those who have sinned against me.