Elijah Hayes - March 28, 2021
Confession
Psalm 32:1-5. We fear the consequences of confessing our sins. 1.We fear that we will be judged by God and judged by others, they will give us the punishment we deserve if we are honest about our sin struggles. 2. We fear we will be rejected by God and others, they won’t accept us and will write us off, if we share what’s really going on. 3. We fear our sin defines us, that is now the label that we will have to wear… “Oh that’s the guy who had the affair” “That’s the woman who's out of control” “that’s the controlling parent” “that's the kid who gets in fights” and so on... 4. We fear we are more messed up than other people, believing we are the only one that struggles, that they just have it all together and they don’t have the struggles and issues like we do. But the freedom of confession is always greater than the bondage of concealing our sin.
From Series: "How to Eat an Elephant"
We all want to experience a meaningful, joyful life. No one wants to drag themselves out of bed in the morning, wishing they didn’t have to get up at all. We all want to want to get up, to have a reason and deep purpose for each day. For followers of Jesus we know that’s found in relationship with God through Jesus. But somewhere along the way the newness and excitement wore off. The intimacy shrank back, like a long distance relationship that you’ve tried to make work but it just doesn’t. It just feels like God’s not there any more, like he’s let go. And maybe you’ve started to let go too. But for those who have tasted the goodness of God, who have felt the joy of Christ well up inside of them, we there’s more. We long for an intimacy with God that doesn’t fade away, that doesn’t seem to disappear when you need it most. The good news is: you can have that! It won’t always be sunshine and roses. God does not promise us that if we seek after him, everything in your life will be perfect. But he does promise us that if we seek him, we will find him. That if we knock, he’ll open the door. If we taste, we will see that he is good. And we do that through the spiritual disciplines. That is the secret to a meaningful, joy-filled life--even in the worst times of our lives: disciplined tasting and seeing how good God’s grace is. That’s “How to Eat an Elephant.” One bite at a time.