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Week three - I’m the Problem, It’s Me
Matthew 6:12 and Psalm 51
We live in a world and in a time where the idea of “being wrong” is being shunned.
Our world says:
- “If it feels good, it’s right.”
- “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
The problem is that it’s creating a deep level of sickness in our culture because no one is confused about their own imperfection.
*Staton points out that while sin is a controversial topic, it’s also where historical eras, cultures, and philosophies have found agreement from Freud to Plato to MLK Jr. to Gandhi - the way we describe the brokenness is different, and the ways we believe it gets mended is different; but we all know it’s broken and we all know we’re part of the brokenness (chapter four, “Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools”)
At best, we talk about making “mistakes.”
But there’s a difference between being sinners and being “mistakers.” (Andy Stanley)
We can
A critical part of prayer is confession.
Jesus includes it in his tutorial with the disciples on prayer:
Matthew 6:12 - And forgive us our debts
aka our trespasses, aka - OUR SINS
One of the greatest examples of confession comes from none other than David, the man after God’s own heart -
Psalm 51
Context: David knew he was wrong. This was his prayer right after the prophet Nathan came to him to address his adultery with Bathsheba. David was wrecked - on his knees before God.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. —Psalm 51:1-5
Honest acknowledgement of sin -
It’s personal - “I did it.”
It didn’t hurt just me -
Sin is a refused relationship with God that spills over into a wrong relationship with others. —Eugene Peterson
*our sin never impacts just us
Directed to God -
v 4 - “against you, you only, have I sinned”
Sin is what separates us from God - sin is what happens when we try to meet our own needs by our own resources
Sin is always personal, and it’s always against God. The way our sin hurts others is the collateral of that first refusal. —Tyler Staton
Opportunities to confess to others we’ve sinned against are always out there and good, but we’ve got to figure this out with God first - it’s why confession is part of prayer
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. —Psalm 51:6-17
Confession is a move toward
Confession is a move back in the direction of God.
Confession is how we take Jesus up on His power to heal.
To confess is to say, ‘I want to name my symptoms, completely and comprehensively, because I want healing, completely and comprehensively. —Tyler Staton
We avoid confessing for three big reasons:
1. Stubbornness - We don’t want to admit we’re wrong because no one likes to be wrong
2. Shame - confession is actually the
- a. Sin leads to hiding (think about Adam and Eve in the garden), confession is a refusal to hide.
- b. Confession is an opportunity to refuse shame and accept grace
3. Pride, pride, pride, pride, pride
- a. Scott Sauls - “Where is the kernel of truth?”
- b. Rooting out our own sin becomes an opportunity for repentance - and repentance always brings us closer to God
Another reason is that we don’t know how -
Ask God to
Prayer is an invitation to get on our knees - literally and figuratively
***We don’t want to be people without sin. We want to be people without secrets.