Pastor Richard Waialeale
September 1, 2019 - W1935

Confess to One Another

Our One Anothers

Pastor Richard Waialeale

August 31 & September 1, 2019

Welcome, New Hope! 

Let me begin with this story: When I was 16 years old, I got my driver’s license! Several months before that, my dad bought his first brand-new truck—a white Ford Courier pickup! In the Waialeale family, that was huge—buying a brand new truck!

A couple months after I got my driver’s license, I wanted to ask my dad if I could use the truck to go to the store. We lived in Palolo Valley, and the store was less than a half-mile away, so I asked, “Dad, can I borrow the truck? I’m just going to the store to pick up something and come back.” He said, “Yes.” So, I got in the truck, started reversing out the driveway, and I heard something scrape, but I said, “Nah, that’s nothing.” I drove all the way out the driveway, and saw a stick tree tied down with thin ropes doing the hula! I said, “Oh that’s strange. I’ve never seen that happen before.” So I went to the store and did what I had to do, and came home—all the while thinking, I didn’t hit anything, but I hadn’t even bothered to check to see if I had scraped the side of the truck! How bad is that? 

So I went through the motions: straight to dinner and to my room, all the while talking to myself and rationalizing the whole incident—it was eating me up! I looked out the window and saw my dad puttering in the yard, picking up mangos that had fallen off the tree. I said to myself, “Man, I better tell my dad.”

So I went outside and said, “Hey daddy, you know when I left to go to the store, I think I scraped the side of the truck.” He said, “Oh, no you didn’t.” I said, “How do you know?” He said, “Because when I saw you reversing the truck and you left, I saw the tree wobbling from side to side. And when you returned, you went straight into the house, and I looked at the side of the truck and nothing was there.” I said, “Man, I was so stressed out upstairs in the room. Why didn’t you say something?” And then he said to me, “Because I wanted you to come to me.”

Sometimes I wonder why we need to confess our sins to God when He already knows our failures, right? Sometimes I wonder why we need to voice our requests to God when He already knows what we need. And then I remembered that afternoon as a hardheaded 16-year-old kid from Palolo Valley that my father simply wanted me to come to him. And God wants us to come to Him!

Proverbs 28:13 NIV says,“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

 Boy, that scripture was all about me, all about my dad’s mercy, and all about God’s mercy. It was the example of what I just went through. The first step toward forgiveness is confession: 

I John 1:9 NIV says,“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

This scripture is saying that confession is necessary to allow the Holy Spirit to readjust our mindset, our thought life, and to set us free! What’s interesting is that it’s nonthreatening to engage in silent confession—but when it comes to confessing to one another, or to confess in a small group, that can be a little bit challenging, a little uncomfortable, and yet, this is what we’ll be talking about today.

A lack of understanding of what confession is, and what confession does affects our growth and relationship with God. Confession is not an option to a believer. The purpose of confession is not for God’s sake, but for our sake! It’s not for restoration; it’s for liberation—to set us free! I want us to take steps towards understanding how we can feel more comfortable confessing to one another in a small group, and make it a natural thing in our lives. 

There’s a difference between committing a sin and continuing in sin. Even the most faithful believer sometimes commits sins, but we don’t have to stay stuck in that sin—we can move past that. When I repent and confess my sin, then I can expect to find forgiveness!

Confession to God on a regular basis is healthy for us, but when you can do it to one another, in a small group, there’s something powerful that happens there. We’ll look at four key principles about confession and how we can use that to set us free—to liberate us. Follow these principles, and confession will become our friend,rather than a misguided fear: 

1. Confession Promotes Prayer

Prayer should come first because God is powerful and infinitely greater than anything we can do. It should be the first thing we do. It should be a natural thing that we rely on, especially, since He encourages us. Here is a foundational premier scripture that sets everything up for us: James 5:16 ESV says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” 

Confession promotes/produces compassion: When someone confesses, it produces compassion; compassion leads people to become concerned for one another; then compassion produces intersession. In other words, confession leads people to be concerned for one another, and because they're concerned, watch them start praying for you.  That's how it works. 

Remember in the Old Testament Book of Job? Job was a wealthy man doing great, lived in a land called Uz, had a large family, extensive livestock—everybody was doing well in Job’s family. And God boasts to Satan about Job, but Satan argues and pushes back and says, “Job is only good because You have blessed him abundantly.” And Satan challenges God that if given permission to punish this guy, Job will turn and curse You. God says, “No way, not Job!” So Job’s life gets turned upside down, right?

Throughout the Book of Job we see him confessing his sins to God, and pleading to God, and not once cursing God. Job 13:15 NIV says: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face. ”Earlier in Job 7:20 NIV says: “If I have sinned, what have I done to you,you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?”

In this prayer we see respect, reverence, and a raw honesty of Job asking the Lord, “Man, what’s going on here?”

We learn from Job that when it comes to our relationship with God, one of the most powerful resources we have is prayer—not silently, but loudly. When we confess out loud, there’s something powerful that happens: We’re engaging with God! The second point is:

2. Confession Provides Protection

Confession provides protection from potential hostility or aggressive behavior because the moment you stand up and confess your sin is the moment you disarm the enemy!  The enemy always seeks to cause whatever we're struggling with to be exposed, and his method of operation (modus operandi) is to suck us into sin; then, publicize our sin to bring confusion, division, and embarrassment. But confession provides protection the moment you stand up for yourself.  

Later in the book of Acts, we read a story about how the enemy caused a couple to lie and avoid confession:

Acts 5:1-4 NIV says: “ Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.  ³ Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  ⁴Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

The problem was that they were trying to appear more religious than they actually were. The issue was hypocrisy.  Everybody in the church is going one way, and here comes two wolves going the other way. The third point is: 

3. Confession Prohibits Pride

Job 34:32 NIV says: “Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.”

In other words, confession can help get rid of pride! People say, “If I confess my faults to one another, what will happen if it leaks out?” Your pride will be destroyed, and that’s the best thing that could ever happen! Even though we’re so careful to cultivate a certain image, the Lord has ways of making sure that it never lasts. Pride will never last. Proverbs 16:18 NIV says:“Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall.”

I may not know what tomorrow will bring—all I need to know is that the Lord God knows all and is all-powerful, and cares for every single one of us! Confession prohibits pride and it breaks down an otherwise tragic fall. Job answers that indeed he does not know what he has done, but he knows one crucial thing: God is in control! The fourth point is:

4. Confession Produces Praise

Confession produces what? Praise! In the end, sin will lose its grip if you take seriously this command: Confess and pray for one another. Whatever you do, know this: You are forgiven! You can experience freedom when you confess your faults to one another or in a small group—liberation, folks! People may laugh, tease, and not understand why you choose to stand up for Jesus Christ, but after all, we need His approval—the only approval that we need! Psalm 159:6 KJV says: “Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD: Praise ye the Lord.”

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.     How are you encouraging others to repent and confess their sins?
2.     What challenges are keeping you from confessing your sins?
3.     How do you plan to overcome these challenges?
4.     How will you utilize confession to promote prayer?
5.     What prideful ways will you try to get rid of to honor God?
6.     How will you praise others when they confess their sins?