How To Confess Sin To A Faithful God (Nehemiah 9:16-21)

What this episode covers

Learning how to confess sin to a faithful God is as easy as following the example we have in Scripture. The human heart is made to reach out beyond itself and so, as G. K. Chesterton is alleged to have said, when people reject God they do not worship nothing, they worship anything.Murray Capill, The Heart Is the Target That is the history of humanity in a nutshell. God made us for worship, and if He is not the object of our worship, we will ceaselessly replace him with anything else. Idolatry is at the root of all sin. The first commandment says “You shall have no other gods before me.” You don’t break any of the other nine commandments until you have broken the first one. So, whenever we confess sin, we seek to root out the idol in our heart that has distracted us from worshiping the one true God. Praise and Confession This is the primary reason the Israelites have gathered together. The Levites led the assembly in praising God for his attributes as well as his actions—especially his covenant faithfulness. They gathered to confess their sin, but one-third of the way through, and all they have done is praise God. It reveals an important principle: true repentance is not separate from praise. That might sound obvious, but it is actually quite profound. Imagine how much more sincere your apologies would be if you began by first acknowledging your love and appreciation for the one you offended. Learning this principle would revolutionize conflict resolution in your marriage. But, we aren’t talking about our relationship with our spouse. Far more important is the way we communicate with God. To that end, passages like this are helpful. They show us the language of prayer. The Levites began by highlighting God’s name, and his authority over all things as our Creator. Then they recalled how God established the covenant with Abraham and faithfully kept his promises. Pray and read Nehemiah 9:16-21. Let’s begin with a bit of recap… I. Confess Our Faith Our confession of sin is not divorced from our profession of faith. We confess sin in light of what we know to be true about God. Unfortunately, so often we rush past or completely ignore adoration in our prayers. It is easy for us to focus on the need or request we have without hallowing the name of the One to whom we pray. God preserved his people by rescuing them out of their bondage in Egypt and performing many miracles “against Pharaoh”. During their wilderness wandering, God provided his law, bread from heaven, and water from a rock. This generation had received an abundance of privileges and advantages compared to most people before and since. Yet, the author of Hebrews tells us that they were rebellious. Their disobedience prevented them from entering into the rest of the Promised Land (Heb. 3:16-19). Their tragic story is found in Exodus and Numbers, but it is recalled throughout Scripture. Fallen Condition Focus Every time I preach on a passage, one of my first goals is to understand what aspect of our fallen condition the text addresses. Bryan Chapell calls this the Fallen Condition Focus (FCF). In order to get to the gospel, we need to understand the problem that the gospel solves in the context of this passage. This morning, the fallen condition focus is easy to discern. The Levites lead Israel in the confession of the iniquities of their fathers. Those sins were passed on to their children and eventually became their own sinful tendencies. While it is easy to recognize the consequences of original sin in ourselves and others, the hereditary component of sin is one of the greatest mysteries of Christianity. As we consider this doctrine, I hope you will see that…When we are ready to admit our flaws we are more apt to submit to our Father. This brings us to the first point in your outline… II. Confess Our Sinfulness (16-18) The faith they confessed brought them to a reverent frame of mind before God. We are on the

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