Confession 7/23/17 Service

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

            Every true believer desires to be used by God in powerful, life-changing ways. We all have different abilities, talents, and spiritual gifts, but God will use anyone who is available to Him. Often it is not the size of the gift you have but the willingness in your to be used that makes a difference. He is not impressed with what we can do of our own volition. No lack of talent or physical handicap renders a child of God useless. The biggest thing that cause us to be put on the shelf or taken out of the game and made to sit on the sidelines is this: Sin! God is always using broken and messed up vessels for His purposes, but He rarely uses dirty ones.

            You can declare, “But we are all sinners!” And that is very true. The Bible even declares it for us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are sinners by birth and later by our choices. When you are washed by the blood of the Lamb, He forgives you of all of the sins you’ve committed. He wrote your name in the Book of Life and set your feet on a righteous path toward heaven. But, if you are reading this, you and I are not there yet. We still have to live in this world and deal with all of its pain, suffering, and sin. But when we refuse to repent of our sins it hinders our usefulness to God. We are to be as iron sharpening iron.

            So how do we deal with our own sin? Our first task is to see it as God see it. He views it as unrighteousness and rebellion. He sees is as wrong! Our second task is to confess our sins. Confess means to agree with one another. We must not only see it as He see it but also agree with Him that it is wrong. We cannot hide it; we must bring it into the light and admit it is wrong. Third, we must ask Him in all earnestness to forgive us. When we honestly ask for forgiveness, He is faithful to forgive us, remove it as far as the east is from the west, and He cleanses our hearts. He purifies us and makes us useful again. Do your best to a useful vessel in the hands of our loving Heavenly Father!!