WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.080 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:16.800 Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:25.600 Follow us on social media using the handle at Celebration ORL or visit our website, celebrationorl.org. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:40.960 That's where we're going to be camping out at, and and this is where we're going to be concluding the series we've been in over the past couple of weeks called Summer School. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:53.280 If you're new to our church family, every year we take a couple of weeks and we have a summer school series, and it's really meant for us to be a little bit more uh theological in a sense of understanding certain theological positions we hold. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:54.799 It's meant to be more doctrinal. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:00.320 We do this in everything we do, but it's really a great space for us to kind of get more into teaching than preaching. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:01.600 And so it's been great. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:06.640 It's been a part of what we do, and I'm glad that we have such an amazing community and team. 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:13.359 In fact, can you help me show some love for every communicator that has been declaring God's word over the past few weeks? 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:14.959 Such an amazing job. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:23.120 If you missed any of the previous messages, please go back and check them out because we've really been dealing with just incredible topics that I really think can be encouraging. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:25.760 And so today we get an opportunity to close it out. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.200 And so we're going to be looking at Psalm chapter 32. 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:40.079 And we're going to be discussing a topic that I think is one that we don't discuss a whole lot in our current faith tradition, but one that I'm hoping to normalize as we continue to move forward in advancing the kingdom. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.760 Starting here at verse number one, the word of the Lord says this to us. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:46.159 If you don't have your Bibles, okay, it'll come up on the screen. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:47.439 But but let's let's read this. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.280 The Bible says this Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:59.840 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and whose spirit there is no deceit. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.920 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:12.000 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was dried up as the heat of the summer. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.919 But I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:23.759 I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave me of my iniquity and my sin. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:32.319 Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you as the one who can be found in our time of need. 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.439 Verse number seven, you are my hiding place. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:41.199 You preserve me from trouble, and you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.120 This is God's word for us today. 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:55.759 And I think it's a very, I think it's a very timely word for us because the truth of the matter is, every one of us in this room, we carry something. 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:57.680 We're carrying something. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:08.240 Something that maybe we've never said out loud, maybe not to our spouse, maybe not to our closest friends, and in many instances, maybe not even to God. 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:13.599 And the challenging thing is we've gotten really good at being silent. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:18.639 We've gotten really good at keeping things under a measure of control. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:21.280 We protect it really, really well. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:27.840 And the sad reality is we don't even recognize the impact that it could still be having on us. 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:38.319 What if I were to tell you that hiding is not protecting you, but hiding is actually the thing that's keeping you, keeping you from getting to the thing that God wants to do next in your life. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:44.080 So today I want to spend a few moments to unpack the practice and principle of confession. 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:46.960 And I've entitled today's message, Uncovered. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:47.759 Let's pray. 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.159 Lord, we thank you so much for your faithfulness. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:58.159 We thank you for your goodness and for an opportunity for us to come together to gather um to have fellowship with one another and have an encounter with you. 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.120 Holy Spirit, we we invite you to have your way. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:07.199 Allow us to be the good ground, the blank canvas on which you can do whatever it is you want to do with us. 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:17.120 Examine our minds, examine our hearts, and take residency in every ounce of our being, God, and begin to transform us in ways we've never seen or experienced before. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:29.839 Lord, I ask that you give us open eyes to see you in areas where maybe we've lost sight, open ears to hear your truth above the lies of the enemy, and open hearts to receive the transformation that is done through the incorruptible seed of the Word of God. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:31.519 It's in Jesus' name that we pray. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:32.240 Amen. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:34.560 Amen and amen. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:43.839 You know, when I think about the practice of secrets, the practice of how we keep things under wraps. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:50.800 It's it's something that it's just an inherited seems part of the way that we function and operate. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:55.040 It just seems to be just as connected to us as the air that we breathe. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.839 It's just a normal part of our of our rhythm. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.199 And it's it's in all of us. 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.399 I want you guys to keep your eyes on me because I don't want anyone to get in trouble. 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:11.279 But but we all know that feeling where you and your spouse make a decision that we are going to be fiscally responsible. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.639 We want to make sure that we're stewarded on our resources well. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:16.240 We're gonna shut down all spending. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.399 We want to do as much as we can to pay off debt. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.560 There's some things we want to position ourselves for. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:26.000 You come to this covenant agreement that has been confirmed with commitment with one another. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:38.160 And then not far after that, you're just scrolling through social media, and somehow the algorithm gods have brought you this discounted shoe that you need to have in your inventory. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:44.879 You need to have it because the Bible says, blessed are the feet of those who preach the gospel. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.000 So it would be poor stewardship not to get it. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:54.160 It's 50% off, it's an annual sale, you also have a discount code, it would be a terrible decision not to get it. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:00.079 But now we have a dilemma here because you just had a conversation with your spouse and told them that we can't afford for you to go to Chick-fil-A. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:05.360 So, so how do I manage to get this item into the home without it causing any conflict? 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:06.639 It's a moment that we can't miss. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:16.720 And so we go ahead and place the order, we're tracking the order like air traffic control, and I'm confident um that that ring cameras have caused more discrepancies in marriages than anything else. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:30.000 Because now we have to try to figure out a way to maneuver to get this package in without anyone seeing it, and then we integrate it into our closet, and then when we finally do wear it and they ask you about said item, you're like, oh, these old things I've been had, these. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.600 Not that I have any experience with what we just described here. 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:35.199 It's it's just a part of what it is. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:43.759 We are trying to find ways to keep things under wraps, and whether it's big things or small things, sometimes it could be something as beautiful as an engagement. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:49.199 One of the things I love to do when I'm talking with a couple that say that they're recently engaged, I'm like, hey, tell me the story. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:50.560 Were you surprised? 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:51.519 Break it down for me. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:53.920 I love to hear the story of it all. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.040 I I love when people talk about surprise birthday parties. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:03.680 My wife, God bless her heart, she tried to throw a surprise birthday party for me last year when I turned 50. 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:08.240 Emphasis on the word tried, because I'm a student of human behavior. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:11.920 I'm noticing that she's acting weird and doing some unique things around. 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:27.600 I I can see what you're doing, but but one of the things that has been unanimous, whether it's somebody who's who's trying to sneak an item into the house, whether it's somebody who's trying to have a surprise party, whether it's it's bringing a gift, whatever it is, when you finally have a conversation with them, it is unanimous in what they say. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.759 And it's like, I am so glad I don't have to keep this secret anymore. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:33.519 I'm so glad that it's out. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:43.360 I was I was maneuvering things, I was hiding messages, I was doing all these things because I didn't want my spouse to know that I had planned this vacation for us, I am so glad that I don't have to hide it anymore. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.279 There's a relief with knowing that I don't have to keep this secret anymore. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.279 But but let's hold on to that for a moment. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:08:03.439 Because if we feel that way with a pair of shoes, if we feel that way with an engagement ring, if we feel that way with a gift that we want to give someone, how much more do you think it weighs on us the debt that no one else knows about? 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:10.319 How much more do you think it weighs on us with the relapse that we're struggling with, but we haven't brought it into the light and how that weighs on us? 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:15.120 What about that text thread or the internet history that you're hoping that no one discovers? 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:22.240 What about that thing that happened before the marriage or even after the marriage that you're hoping that no one discovers? 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:28.319 That thing that makes your heart sink when you get that message from your significant other that says, hey, when you get home, we need to talk. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.040 And then our mind goes through every scenario of what it could be. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:36.480 That heart drop moment, how do you think those things are affecting us knowing that we're keeping these secrets? 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:41.600 The truth of the matter is, is we've gotten to be experts at managing evidence. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:52.960 And it exhausts us, it weighs us down because we're keeping things hidden and it's become so normalized that we can't even make a distinction of seeing how indeed it does impact us. 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:56.320 But the truth of the matter is this instinct is not anything new. 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:59.360 It's something that we've inherited from Adam and Eve. 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:02.799 Let's let's rewind time a little bit and look at how this all came to be. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:08.720 The Bible tells us that when God created Adam and Eve, that he placed them in a garden and he gave them some pretty clear instructions. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:16.879 I want you to partake of the tree of life, this tree of abundance, and allow me to be Lord, allow me to define what is right and wrong for you. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:18.320 I'm trying to protect you. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:24.639 But naturally, Adam and Eve had other ideas, and so what scripture tells us is that they took from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:30.639 Simplified version is they decided that they wanted to determine what was right and wrong on their terms. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:33.919 That thing is still so prevalent in our society today. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.120 But watch what happens here. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:48.639 So when they finally take of the tree, the scripture says that their eyes become open, they recognize that they are naked, they feel shame, and then they go and find fig leaves and they go hide in the bushes. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:56.720 Before that, they were open and free, living in the presence of God and unity with one another, unbroken fellowship. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:04.559 But the moment that they began to take things on their own terms, shame entered into the picture and they began to try to cover it in their own strength. 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:06.879 Fig leaf faith is what I call it. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:08.559 I'm gonna cover this on my own. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.159 I'm not gonna invite God into this. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.840 So when God shows up and he says, Adam, where are you? 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:19.360 I promise you that the uncreated creator did not lose sight of where Adam was. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:23.120 He was asking the question of, Why are you hiding this from me? 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:24.480 Why are you running from me? 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.080 I know exactly what you've done. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.320 Who told you that you needed to hide this from me? 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.519 Bring it into my presence. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:36.720 You're trying to cover it in your own strength instead of bringing it to the one who can actually bring you healing and wholeness. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:42.559 The truth of the matter is that God was inviting them into a space of confession. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.240 But when we think about confession, all of us probably have a different image that comes to mind. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:11:00.399 We may be thinking about a TV show that we watched where someone was caught, enough evidence has been mounted, they're in a room, and we have some detectives and some people that are asking them some hard questions, wanting them to confess. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:06.960 In other words, confession can often look like you've been caught in the act, you're going to have to deal with grave consequences. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:08.159 Just go ahead and say it. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:09.840 It's going to make it easier for all of us. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:13.840 And that is not what the Bible paints as what confession is. 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:25.279 But maybe on the other end of the spectrum, if we integrate religion and history, we can often think that confession is me sitting inside of a booth with a screen and saying, Forgother, father, forgive me for I have sinned. 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:30.960 But the truth of the matter is that tradition of confession didn't start until the 1300s. 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:39.120 So that means that for 1300 years, the church had a different idea of what confession was supposed to look like. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:51.840 But the truth of the matter is that even after private confession was instituted and the Reformation divided the expression of it, the reformers still kept the principle of confession in place because it is a biblical standard. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.960 But what they wanted to do was remove the middleman. 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:56.960 Let me talk to us a little bit about the middleman. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:05.039 Scripture tells us that we no longer need to have a middleman that can go before God on our behalf, but that Jesus has given us access. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:16.240 This is why the Bible says when Jesus breathed his last breath, that the veil of the temple was ripped in half, and now we can go boldly before the throne of grace without having to go through a middleman. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.559 So can I, as your pastor, pray for you? 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:19.279 Absolutely. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.480 Can I hear a word on behalf of you from God? 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:23.279 Absolutely. 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:31.759 But listen, the greatest thing that Jesus did on the cross and he dealt with our sin is that he now gave us access to be able to go boldly and to the throne of grace. 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:32.799 You have access. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:35.279 Yes, I can pray for you, but you have access. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.960 You can go and seek God, you can pray God, you can read God's word for yourself. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:40.720 Jesus has given us all access. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:45.840 That throne room is available to you, and that is the beautiful thing that Jesus has given us. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:52.879 So if confession is not me going to man to get access to God, what is confession really mean? 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:58.559 In its simplest form, confession means to come out of hiding. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:03.519 It's the process of coming into agreement with God out loud. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:09.519 And it's not only about what you did, but sometimes it's about things that were done to you. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:14.559 Things that have happened in the dark that still seem to be carried with you. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:17.200 Here's the big principle that I want you to walk away with. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.879 If we don't bring it to the light, we're still dealing with the weight of what it was. 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:24.159 In other words, nothing you hide gets healed. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:29.440 If I continue to hide it, then I'm not inviting God into a space where He can heal it. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:33.200 Another word to say this is you're only as healthy as your secrets. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:38.159 And if I keep these secrets, then that becomes the lid of what my health and wholeness looks like. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:43.919 So David in Psalm 32, he gives us a blueprint that we can learn and grow from. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:54.399 And there's a couple of principles and ideas that I want to share with us that I'm hoping that we can revisit in a way that can shape the way that we approach this incredible, important principle. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:58.879 Here's the first thing I want you to write down what you cover, you carry. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:04.559 If you cover it, that means you're still responsible for carrying it. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.960 Let's unpack this text for just a moment. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.879 David is known to be a man after God's own heart. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.320 But also David is a profoundly flawed man. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:16.960 He has this dichotomy that exists within him. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:23.440 Because the same David that wrote the Psalms and defeated Goliath is also the same David who saw Bathsheba Sheba. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:31.120 He took her into his home, he got her pregnant, had her husband killed, and then was living as if it never happened. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:34.399 You can read about this in 2 Samuel chapter 11. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:41.600 And what we're witnessing is a man who is covering his sin with another sin and then another sin. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:47.440 And what many scholars believe is for the better part of a year, he said nothing about it. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:15:05.039 He just kept it on the inside of him, still leading, still being the one who's writing the psalms, still being the one who's being the moral authority for the Israelites, still being the one who's leading them into battle, still being the one who's leading them in worship, doing all these things for God. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:11.360 Meanwhile, there's a body buried beneath the floorboards of his soul, weighing on him. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:25.120 And the Bible tells us that David articulates that feeling in verse number three when he says these words for when I kept silent, my bones wasted away with groaning all day long. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:33.919 That while he was silent, that while he was serving, that while Israel was advancing, there was something on the inside of him that still felt off. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:38.080 There was something on the inside of him that was that was still weighing him down. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:43.759 He was doing the things of God, but yet something was incomplete on the inside of him. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:49.679 Inside of Hebrew thought, your bones were actually a core of who you are. 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:52.399 They didn't think of bones the way that we understand it today. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:55.279 They looked at the bones as literally being the core of your being. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:16:00.720 This is why the prophet receives the word from the Lord and says, Hey, can these bones live in the valley of dry bones? 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.879 The idea is that bones were literally almost synonymous with your soul. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:12.879 So what David is saying is that while I was leading and keeping the secret, there was something eroding on the inside of me. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:18.000 And the English word for this is actually a little bit subtler than what the Hebrew word is. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:23.919 He says that he was groaning, but the actual translation said is that there was a roar on the inside of him. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:29.840 That means that even while he was silent, his soul was crying out looking for redemption. 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:35.679 Even while he was silent, there was something on the inside of him that was letting him know that this just isn't right. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:41.440 Verse number four says this for day and night your hand was heavy on me. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.480 My strength was dried up as it was in the summer heat. 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:55.200 He's saying that for day and night, even while he's serving, even while he's leading with his family, having family meals, doing all these things, that this that there was something that was heavy on his heart. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.639 There was something that made him feel deeply convicted. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.840 And this is the part where I think it's important for us to lean into. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:07.279 Because now we have modern understanding of anxiety and stress and depression. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:14.799 And if we're not careful, we will think that the heaviness that we feel is a spiritual opposition from the enemy. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:19.440 But what if I were to tell you that that weight that you're feeling is not the enemy, but it's God? 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:29.839 It's conviction weighing on you, letting you know that there's some sin in your life that you still need to wring out, because if you don't, it's going to affect the way that you serve and the way that you live. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.079 Let me give us a couple of distinctions. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.000 Because I think for some of us, guilt is something that we wrestle with. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.720 And guilt is the fact of something that was done wrong. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:39.680 It's a fact. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.079 I feel guilt because this was wrong. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:50.000 Condemnation, on the other hand, it takes what was done wrong and says that you're the problem and there's no redemption, so your best hope is to hide it. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:55.279 So guilt is something is wrong, condemnation is there's no hope in it, so you just continue to carry it. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.960 But conviction is the same idea, but it's God saying, I want you to bring this into the light so that I can heal you. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:10.960 David is describing that the hand of God was on him, not to crush him, but to wring the sin out of his life. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:14.640 He was saying that there's some things that are in your life that I need to wring out of it. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:22.319 I'm not bringing you condemnation, but this is conviction that is meant to allow you to bring this to the light so that you can truly finally be healed. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:28.079 David says that his strength was dried up like heat in the summer. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:33.440 Just standing in the heat and just knowing how it affects, how it affects you. 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:37.039 There's no greater illustration than being in this room right now. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.720 The heat is on us so strong, it's getting hot in here. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.440 So take okay, so let's say stay focused. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:44.880 Say focus, focus, okay. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.559 It's it's it's the heat that drains you. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:51.200 We know that if you're outside in the heat, that it can drain us, it can, it can, it can weigh us down. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.839 As a person who sits with people for a living, David's not exaggerating. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:58.640 Secrecy has an impact on us. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:01.200 Shame has a physiology. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:07.759 Carrying something inside of you that you were not meant to carry is the thing that can often wear us out. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.000 It's the exhaustion that even when we sleep, we don't feel rested. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:21.440 The hidden thing that we carry with us into a room that makes us skeptical and unsafe no matter where we find ourselves because we're hoping that no one ever finds this thing out. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:29.119 It's the fact that we need to keep our cell phones face down because we're hoping that someone doesn't see a text coming through and begins to ask questions. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:37.359 It's the it's the half-rehearse stories that we have on the inside of ourselves, the energy that we're using to keep it all under wraps, hoping that no one ever finds out. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:42.640 And the Bible is telling us that it does affect us even if we don't recognize it. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:53.359 Now I want to be clear because I've heard people preach these concepts of saying that if you are sick, that's evidence of secret sin in your life, and the devil is a liar, that's not what I'm saying. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:59.119 But what I am saying to you is that science and what David is saying is that your body keeps the score. 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:07.519 Is that when things happen to you and through you, that if you don't deal with it, it has a way of expressing itself in some of the things that can rob us of rest. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.240 Let's look at what Proverbs 28:13 says. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:20.079 Solomon, who is the wisest man to walk the planet outside of Jesus, says this whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:24.400 But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:25.680 Let's break this down for a minute. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:29.279 Solomon is ultimately saying, You won't prosper. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:30.880 Don't hear what he's not saying. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.480 You can be successful and unprosperous at the same time. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:39.680 It is possible that you can have a lot of money in your bank account and still not be prosperous. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:44.079 It is possible for you to go on vacation and you still are not prosperous. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:49.839 It is possible for you to have everything, presumably, in order in your household and you're still not prosperous. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.000 Prospering means that you're rooted in a place where you're experiencing peace. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:21:04.000 And many of us have mistakenly made ourselves believe that because I see evidence of things in my life that's moving forward, that means that this secret doesn't need to come into the light. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:09.279 But what David is saying is that it actually is weighing on us more than we think it is. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:14.880 All this time you've been thinking that you've been keeping this secret and you haven't recognized that the secret's been keeping you. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:26.000 Keeping you from having peace, keeping you from having joy, keeping you from having true freedom, keeping you from experiencing the breakthrough that God has designed for you to have. 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:27.599 Listen to me, friends. 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.960 Just because you bury it doesn't mean that it's dead. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:37.519 It has a way of clawing at us on the inside, and we don't even realize that it's impacting the way in which we move through the world. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:41.200 So what do we do when we have these secrets that have been weighing us down? 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:42.960 David gives us the answer to that. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.039 We bring it to the light. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.960 Verse number five is a beautiful space where David shows you what that looks like. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:55.359 He says it here He says, I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:02.720 I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you Forgave my iniquity of my sin. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:04.160 Selah. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:10.000 I think that that Selah is brilliantly placed there because that's meant to mean breathe. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:11.759 It's meant to mean relief. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:17.519 David will often put this into powerful Psalms as a moment of like, let's just take a break and take that in. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:27.119 So David is saying that I've been carrying this sin, I've been carrying the secret, but the moment that I confess it and presented it to God, I can finally breathe. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.559 I can finally let it out. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:31.759 In other words, David was bringing it to the light. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.079 Now the word that David uses here is such a powerful word. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:40.960 When we look at it in the original language, which is Hebrew, the word for confess is yada. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:42.480 Somebody say yada. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:44.960 Come on, say it with your chest. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:45.599 Say yada. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:52.720 It's that word yadah, and what it ultimately means, it means to show or point out with open hands. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:59.519 It's a posture, it's a word, and it's meant to say that I have my hands open, which means I'm not hiding anything anymore. 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:01.200 It's a powerful principle. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:02.400 Think about it for a moment. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:06.319 When we think about children, that when we're trying to hide something, what do we do? 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:07.839 We we clench our fists. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:16.960 I I just saw my grandchildren a few weeks ago and we went out to get something to eat, and my grandson Trey, he took my spoon off the table. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:18.160 And I saw him take it. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.640 We were joking about it, but I said, Trey, do you have my spoon? 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:22.319 And he's like, nope, I don't have a G-pop. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:24.559 And I'm like, I I can see it in your hand. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:28.240 Like his hands were closed, but I could see it coming out both ends of it. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:35.359 And it made me think about how we in our spiritual infancy, we honestly believe that I can close my hand and I can hide this from God. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:36.960 Did you do something wrong? 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:38.079 No, Lord, it wasn't me. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:44.960 And we find ourselves with our hands closed, but but what David says, confession is yada is look, I'm not hiding anything. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.160 I'm coming to you with my hands completely wide open, Lord. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.359 I'm holding nothing back. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:57.440 But but this is where it gets really good because in Hebrew, oftentimes they will use the same word that has action attached to it in multiple ways. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:11.680 So not only is confession yada open-handed, meaning to say, I present to you holding nothing back, but yada is actually also the same word that the Bible uses for praise, meaning that I open my hands before the Lord and I exalt Jesus. 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:13.680 It's two sides of the same coin. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:18.960 So that means that when I confess to the Lord, I am not holding anything back about myself. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.400 When I praise the Lord, I'm not holding anything back that He deserves. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:31.519 Yada, same word, different posture, but it's also the same coin that when we yada before God, we're saying ultimately, God, I'm holding nothing back from you. 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:37.920 And sometimes we struggle with worshiping God because we still have our hands closed around our secret sin. 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:43.279 We're hiding it so when I come into the presence of God, I can't truly live with Yada. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:48.640 I can't really live with open hands because I have these secrets that have been holding me back. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:57.200 But David is telling us that there's a way in which we can present it before God, and I know what you're thinking because I've thought these words myself. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:00.160 You're thinking to yourself, Keith, I've already done that. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:03.200 I've said it in my head thousands of times. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:15.200 When I've laid in the bed in the middle of the night and I'm going through my day, and I think about those things in my life that I'm not proud of, I've confessed and I've repented before God, but yet I don't feel any relief. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:20.720 And to that I want to push back in a way that's loving, that's gentle, but also pastoral. 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.240 Thinking about it in the dark is not the same as bringing it to the light. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:36.400 I meditated in silence on it and gave it to God, but if I have not brought it into the light, it's a conversation that I'm still allowing shame to keep me in the shadows. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:41.839 This is why when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, they're having a conversation about light and dark. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:49.200 And Jesus says that people who dwell in the dark try to avoid the light because they know that they are going to be exposed. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:57.839 Paul goes on a step further and says that whenever something is brought to light, it will automatically change it by virtue of the fact that it has been seen. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:03.920 Ultimately, darkness is not just a place where it happens, but darkness is the place where it continues to survive. 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:10.079 But when we can bring it to the light, it can be seen and it brings a change of behavior. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:14.799 In science, there's a there's a principle called the observer effect. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:22.160 And what that ultimately means is that whenever you observe something, by the fact that you've seen it, it automatically changes it. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.640 Not only does this happen at the atomic level, but it even happens at a human level. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:29.119 Come on, you guys, let's let's let's be honest for a moment. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:37.440 If I'm at work and I know that the boss is not there, my lunch may go a little bit longer. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:42.880 I I'm I may I'm especially if you work from home, my God. 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.359 I have family members who work from home. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:50.720 And they be out in the streets more than I am sometimes. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:52.160 I'm like, aren't you supposed to be at work? 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:53.279 Like, oh, he's off today. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:58.640 I'm like, okay, like when I know that I'm not being observed, it changes the way that I function. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.799 Think about for a moment. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:09.119 You're leaving from here today, and you got this brand new vehicle, the engine, V8, all these type of things, and you're like, bro, I want to open this thing up and see what it can do. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:10.240 Hop in the car. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.000 This is not to offend any of our police officers. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.039 We're law-abiding citizens. 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:14.160 I am a law-abiding person. 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:16.000 When you see me in a car, I'm always doing the speed limit. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:16.960 I go with the flow of traffic. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:18.000 I don't want no problems. 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:19.599 Yada, nothing's in my hands. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:20.240 I'm wide open. 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:20.559 Okay. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.200 So but thank God for ways. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:32.319 Because every now and then they let you know, like, hey, if you are not careful, around that corner, there may be somebody there who's observing your speed. 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:34.880 If I know that I'm being observed, what am I going to do? 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:35.920 Slow down. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:43.039 There's something about knowing that I can be seen that will automatically change the way in which I behave. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:47.039 Because what stays hidden also has power over you. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:58.960 So what the Bible is telling us when it comes to Yadab, living our lives with open hands, recognizing that when we bring it to the light, it can be seen and it ultimately invites change to take place. 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:05.920 Change to be broken off of us because I brought it into the light and it can be seen, and by virtue of that, it's going to change everything. 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:12.640 But the beautiful thing that we see in this text is that God never intended for this just to be a one-way conversation. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:14.799 Yes, I live open-handed before the Lord. 00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:17.279 Yad, God, I'm confessing to you. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:24.799 But James builds on this idea and he says, we also need to invite others into this conversation. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:26.640 James 5.16 says this. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:33.759 It says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you can be healed. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:44.480 What James is saying is that when we confess, it's not only meant to go up to God, but we also need to find people that we can share it with so they can see it in our life. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:50.960 They can come alongside us, support us, encourage us, and then also, and here's the other thing that's uncomfortable, hold us accountable. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:29:00.480 Now that you brought this into the light, now that I know this is a struggle, not only will I encourage and support you, but now there's an accountability that ultimately strengthens you. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:13.039 One of my greatest joys has been being able to be a part of an amazing men's group, our marriage group, but I love being a part of community, and one of the things that I love is that that's where we practice Yada. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:16.960 That's a place where we can practice living open-handed with one another. 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:26.000 But if I can be honest, early in my Christian journey, I felt that the ability for us to truly open up was something that we had to grow into. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:30.640 So you would sit in groups with people and we're talking about the game. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:32.880 We're talking about life. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:35.680 We're talking about what's happening at our jobs. 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:44.240 Then we talk about the scriptures, we talk about application, but there's also been spaces where I feel that that true open-handedness had been missing. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:44.720 How are you doing? 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:45.839 I mean, things are going good. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:46.480 Things are okay. 00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:47.599 I'm struggling with this a little bit. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:49.359 It just seemed very surface level. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:55.119 But I remember a couple of years ago, I felt like this tectonic level shift in our community. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:01.119 We were having our group as we traditionally do, people are talking and sharing, and we got into a discussion around shame. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:10.240 And as we're talking about shame and how it impacts us and what it does to us, there was a brave young man who said, Can I be honest with you guys about something that I'm struggling with? 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:11.519 And he shared it. 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:16.000 And you could see through tears, he was a he was afraid of how the community was going to respond to it. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:19.680 You could see the discomfort that he had, but he he stepped out in courage and he did it. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:22.319 He practiced Yada amongst community. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:35.759 And what you saw is that you saw the men in the group come alongside him, place their hands on him, begin to minister to him, pray with him, let him know that the secret that he had been holding on to was something that we were gonna stand in a gap with him with. 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:39.279 But then the next thing that took place was somebody else said, Hey, can can I share that? 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:42.400 I'm I'm also dealing with this exact same thing as well. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:43.920 And then we began to minister to him. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:49.200 And then somebody else said, Man, I'm not dealing with that, but I'm dealing with my own version of things that I've been keeping a secret. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:31:01.359 Before long, a room that had seats that looked like a living room turned into a sacred ground where an altar took place and everyone was practicing Yadav, and people walked out of that place completely healed and set free. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:04.000 This is what confession does to us. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:09.119 It invites people, it invites the presence of God in, and it gives God permission to move. 00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:12.559 A secret's power is the fact that it stays unspoken. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:18.000 But the moment that we bring it into the light is the moment that we can begin to break the chains off of us. 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.759 Now, let me be very clear. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:28.240 I am not telling you that this is confirmation on why you need to launch your podcast explaining every struggle that you've ever had. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:35.119 I'm not telling you that this is your opportunity to bleed over everybody and say, hey, I went to church and they told me to confess, so I'm gonna go through the litany of things. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:36.240 That's not what this is. 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:41.279 Sometimes I believe that everyone can't handle the weight of what we want to share. 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:45.039 So we need to have true confidence, people who are for us. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.319 There's a there's categories in which we can recognize community. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:54.240 There are people that are for what you're for, there are people that are against what you're against, and there are people that are for you. 00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:00.799 When we're practicing true confession, be mindful that I'm sharing this with people who are genuinely for me. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:06.000 They're not for me for what I can do for them, they're not for me on how it can benefit them, but they are for me. 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:07.920 When I'm strong in my marriage, they're for me. 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:09.920 When I'm struggling with my finances, they're for me. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.319 When I got things that I'm wrestling with, they're for me. 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:16.559 Find those people and recognize those are the people that are for me. 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:22.000 And stop believing Hollywood, where we believe that we have to be surrounded by 38 best friends. 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:24.480 Listen, Jesus didn't have that. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:31.200 Jesus was surrounded by a multitude of people that then went down to 12, that then went down to three, that then went down to one. 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:36.720 Jesus was very mindful of who he shed his tears around because everyone couldn't handle it. 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:48.240 Don't believe that just because someone is in your circle that they can handle the pain that you've been walking through, use wisdom and use discretion, but we need to find the people in our life that we can share our burdens with. 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:52.640 The goal is not just exposure, but the goal is to bring it into the light. 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:58.559 Here's a third and final thing that I want to share and move quickly through this because I want us to go into a space of worship. 00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:02.480 Once you bring it into the light, you recognize something that is so important. 00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:04.799 You're already covered. 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:07.680 Let that settle for a moment. 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:15.920 Because sometimes shame makes us believe that I have found the glitch in the matrix. 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:25.519 I single-handedly am the embodiment of the sin that Jesus did not consider when he went to the cross. 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:35.759 So I have to keep this a secret because if I divulge this, then I am disqualified from any community or anything that God has for me. 00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:46.000 But David does something powerful here, and he reveals to us that confession brings it to light, and it reveals that we were already covered by the blood. 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:50.960 Psalm 32, verse 1 and 2, David starts with this identity. 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:56.720 He says, Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 00:33:57.039 --> 00:34:01.039 Blessed is the man whom the Lord does not count his iniquity against him. 00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:01.920 Watch this. 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:05.839