-How do you normally respond when you feel regret or guilt?

-Let’s assume that you have said or done something and you are able to justify it in your own mind or ignore it, but then someone confronts you about it, how do you respond?

(David has been confronted by the prophet Nathan for Bathsheba) Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. —Psalm 51:1-3 NLT

-What did David do here that might be a prescription for us when dealing with guilt?

-Who in your life do you have who can confront you?

-So how do we fix our guilt?

-No one can ever be free from guilt until it’s acknowledged! You have to shine a big shiny light on it!

Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. —Numbers 5:6–7

-What did this scripture just say we must do to right the wrong done to another?

-Jews couldn’t just say sorry to God. They had to say sorry to those they offended. AND they were required to make it right - with interest.

-Scriptural Confession involves acknowledging our guilt not just to God, but to the person we have wronged AND making restitution.

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. —Luke 19:8,9

-You cannot resolve your differences with God without resolving them with the people around you. Telling God you’re sorry doesn’t resolve your guilt because God wasn’t the only offended party.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. —James 5:16

-Why is it important to confess to one another?

-Confession isn’t about feeling better about sin, but a public step toward abandoning it!

-The goal of confession isn’t just a clear conscience, it is a changed life: and you live from your heart!

-Confession is a requirement of healing.

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. —Matthew 5:23-24

-Your burden of guilt won’t be lifted until you confess to the offended party. Then, and only then, can you live out in the open free from secrets that have formed walls between you and those you love.

-Yet, Perhaps the GREATEST consequence of our unwillingness to confess to one another is the fact that it allows the fires of bitterness and anger in someone else’s life.

-Perhaps all they need is you to set them free .. I can’t fix it or repay, but I’m sorry, please forgive me.

-Painful? Yes! Inconvenient? Yes .. humiliating? Possibly .. but a bad conversation of 30 minutes could save you a lifetime of pain and misery because of the enemy of guilt. It literally could heal your HEART!

-So, what call are you dreading making? Conversation you’ve avoided having? Make it right with the person you’ve offended. Guilt will lose it’s hold and the power of sin will be broken in your life. As early as tomorrow, you can know what a healed heart feels like!