SPEAKER_00: Good morning and thank you for beginning your day with us.
SPEAKER_00: I want to talk a little bit about guilt this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Great topic of conversation first thing in the morning, right?
SPEAKER_00: Well, let me read to you an encouragement from 1 John 1.9.
SPEAKER_00: It says this if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
SPEAKER_00: One of the most universal human experiences is the weight of guilt.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us knows what it feels like to have that pit form in your stomach.
SPEAKER_00: And guilt at times can cause us to act in a way that we know that we shouldn't, in a way that goes against what God desires for us.
SPEAKER_00: Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, we might try to cover things up, or maybe we minimize our actions, or we even try to justify them.
SPEAKER_00: Or we may even try to ignore the conviction that we feel for our actions.
SPEAKER_00: But God offers us a better way.
SPEAKER_00: This verse begins with a simple invitation.
SPEAKER_00: If we confess our sins, confession means we come honestly before God, that we stop pretending or trying to defend ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We accept that we are guilty sinners, and then we bring that sin into the light.
SPEAKER_00: We bring it before God.
SPEAKER_00: And when we do that, this verse reminds us of who God is.
SPEAKER_00: It says that He is faithful and just to forgive us.
SPEAKER_00: That means that the weight of our guilt, the weight of our sin is gone.
SPEAKER_00: That means that forgiveness is not uncertain for us.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't depend on how emotional we feel or how well we've performed.
SPEAKER_00: God is faithful.
SPEAKER_00: He keeps his promises.
SPEAKER_00: And God is also just because our forgiveness has already been secured through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin.
SPEAKER_00: God can forgive us completely.
SPEAKER_00: And notice the second promise in this verse.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't only forgive us, he cleanses us.
SPEAKER_00: God removes the stain of sin.
SPEAKER_00: He restores us and makes us clean.
SPEAKER_00: That means the sins we confess to him are covered by his grace.
SPEAKER_00: So today I want you to take a moment to come before the Lord with total honesty and transparency.
SPEAKER_00: If there is sin in your heart or your life, bring it to him, confess it, and trust this promise that God is faithful to forgive and to cleanse.
SPEAKER_00: And as you do, remember that confession is not meant to lead us into shame or guilt.
SPEAKER_00: It leads us into the freedom of God's grace.
SPEAKER_00: That's all for this morning, and I hope that it was encouraging to you.
SPEAKER_00: May we strive to love Jesus more obediently and to make him known.
SPEAKER_00: Peace.