Confess or Repent

God is greater than my sin.  I, therefore, do not need to focus on it.  Instead, I focus on God and his grace, his mercy, his forgiveness, and his power to change my life.  When Christians are continually "confessing their sins," such as in worship, it's possible that we are turning away from God and instead focusing on ourselves.  (I wonder where the idea came from that we ought to do that?)

In worship we ought to help one another, and pray for one another, so we repent!  Instead of constantly confessing our sins to God in worship, can we let God teach us a new way?  This new way would be to be to not wait for worship, but, instead, to allow God to have constant access to our hearts and lives, to reset right away.

The truth is, God is the only one who can convict us of sin rightly.  And when God does that, whether in worship or at any other time, then you or I can turn to Jesus immediately, and, without hesitation or doubt, be reminded of his wonderful and eternal forgiveness.  And then, right away, I will ask Him to change me.  And He will!  What a glorious God we have!  God is greater than my sin!

Sometimes people may want to convict me of sin, but that is not their business.  The Holy Spirit may speak to me through other people, but even so, for confession and repentance to be good, the conviction will need to come to me straight from God.  Read the book of Job if you would like an example of that.  When God does speak to me, then I will repent.  And then God will receive me, fresh and new, as if I had never sinned at all.  God remembers my sin no more.

The devil also wants to condemn me and point out my sin, tempting me to take my spiritual eyes off the One who sets me free.  Begone, Satan!  You have no part in my life or in the life of anyone who turns to Jesus.  In Jesus' name, I will not grovel.  I will claim a new identity... a pure identity that is given to me by Jesus, when he died to take away the sins of the whole world and rose to give me new life.  Amen!

Beginning on September 16, we'll begin a series of messages at Crossroads that will RESET our identity, giving us new joy in Jesus.  Come and share what God can do!

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