March 24, 2024 • 25 mins
In this enlightening episode of the Post Sermon Reflections podcast, hosts Ruth, Elder Chris, and ministry resident Ben Burlaga navigate the intricate narratives of repentance, confession and divine mercy found in the Book of Daniel. They provide insightful emphasis on the necessary elements of genuine repentance; humility, confession, accountability, and plea for God's mercy, in the journey towards restoration.
Throughout this engaging discussion, the team explores the vital aspects of repentance. From its necessity in individual and collective contexts, to the life-transformation that occurs through forgiveness, they provide an illustrative look into the often overlooked realities of religious growth. Delving into the narrative of Daniel 9, they present practical interpretations, showing listeners the ways in which confession, repentance leads to personal and communal restoration.
The central theme of the episode revolves around the reaffirmation of God's endless love, mercy, and forgiveness. It offers spiritual encouragement to individuals battling their shortcomings, whilst providing a guide to living a life of ongoing repentance. It shines a light on the possibility of restoration, regardless of the depth of one's fall, and the lasting impacts of sin on their life and community.
In an inspiring segment, personal testimonies and experiences are shared, emphasizing the liberating power of Christ's forgiveness. The hosts also delve into the benefits of becoming self-aware Christians, encouraging listeners to confront their sins head-on and begin their journey towards spiritual growth. As a noteworthy climax of the episode, the team encourages a lifestyle devoid of ungodly habits and concepts, reminding listeners of the healthy relationships that Christ wants for all.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the Post-Sermon Reflections Podcast,
where we want to help you apply Sunday morning learning into Monday morning
living as we connect others to the love of Jesus and help them live on gospel mission.
My name is Ruth, and I'm joined by two good friends of mine.
I'm joined by Elder Chris and Ben Berlaga, who's a ministry resident here at
our church. And this conversation is heavy.
(00:21):
We're sitting here at this table, man, aware of God's grace and his kindness,
but also, man, we want to be confessing people. So we are coming to the close
of our series, The Test, which is through the book of Daniel.
And so we're landing, it's chapter nine, correct?
Yes. We're in chapter nine. So we got a little overview of what happens between
seven and eight. And so we're going to hop in. You guys want to say hello? What's up?
(00:43):
What's up, Ruth? What's up, Chris? Happy to be here. Happy to have you guys.
And so Chris is going to hit us with an overview of what happens in nine.
And we are one week out from Easter, which is really exciting.
And so Chris, take it away. So we pick up with Daniel continuing his influence
after the downfall of the Chaldeans, who brought Daniel into captivity like 67 years earlier or so.
(01:07):
And now Darius, a Mede, has begun to rule and Daniel decides to read scripture.
He's tired. He's weary. The chapters before talk about, and specifically he
reads Jeremiah and his prophecy about the 70 years of captivity before Jerusalem is restored.
Jordan. Daniel realizes this time is almost up. We're almost there.
(01:30):
And Daniel begins praying and fasting for God's mercy.
He confesses his own sins, and he confesses the sins of the people.
And he includes himself as being accountable for the sins of the nation.
We sinned this way. We sinned that way. Not they sinned, Lord, by doing this or that.
(01:51):
But then he asks God to act because Because of who God is. God is righteous.
Not because of who they are, sinful. And while Daniel's still praying,
God sends the angel Gabriel with a response.
And what's awesome is how the angel includes how God loves Daniel greatly, he says.
(02:13):
And then the angel tells Daniel what God will do.
He'll rebuild Jerusalem and eventually send an anointed one who will be cut
off for the people and essentially and essentially establish in this new everlasting righteousness.
Yeah. So it's awesome. Amen. That is so good.
And so in the conversation that Pastor Brennan was having during this sermon,
(02:35):
we really had the conversation of what does it mean to have true repentance
and confession versus just being sorry that you're supposed to be sorry or having
kind of an apology culture that is not truly repentant,
that is not really stepping out asking for God to forgive you and taking responsibility.
And the two lines that I kind of want us to always have in our mind that Pastor
(02:57):
Brennan hit again and again and again was true confession always becomes before
forgiveness and true repentance always becomes restoration.
And so, brothers, I just love to ask you what really stuck out to you in this sermon? Yeah, I was...
Truly thankful for the sermon. It was challenging and encouraging,
but what initially stuck out was what is true repentance, truly, if that makes sense.
(03:19):
We talk about repenting. We feel like it's something that as Christians,
like, oh yeah, that's something I need to do.
I might do it before I go to sleep. I might do it here. I might do it then.
But what does it truly mean to repent?
And as well, as Christians, we ongoingly need to repent.
So those are the two things of true repentance happens when there's a true heart
that's repenting, not really before others, just for mere actions that have
(03:40):
affected them, but repenting before God for actions that have offended and broken
God's law and have offended God.
It's like that's true repentance before God and not merely before others.
And then that being something that continually happens in the life of a Christian.
That doesn't just happen initially, but it continually happens as we continue
to fall short in our path of obedience. Yeah.
(04:01):
I mean, what I love about this message and really should should be true of any
gospel message is that it's applicable both to the unbeliever and to the believer.
For the unbeliever, they need
to confess their sins. They need to repent before coming to salvation.
And yet for the believer, you also have to confess and repent,
but it's more for coming to restoration, to restore your relationship with the
(04:24):
Lord where it's been. You're in the family.
Nothing's going to remove you from his family, but sometimes there could be
tension between a child and apparent between us and God.
And we need to confess our sins, acknowledge what we've done,
turn away from that, and that restores our relationship with the Lord.
Yeah. So let's talk like an example to exist,
(04:45):
and maybe we'll keep this in the conversation and we'll come back to it and
say, someone's screwed up in their life and that truth comes out and they have
to deal with that. They have to deal with the narrative that comes out.
The example of Bill Clinton was used throughout the sermon, which was like so funny.
And to say, what does it look like that we're taking responsibility for America's
sins, but not taking responsibility for my personal sins as Bill Clinton.
(05:07):
But this person, they have to deal with the narrative. People know I've done something.
For that person, what should be their first step? So that person who screwed
up, man, this is happening.
I want to deal with it. I'm in the community of God. Because I think that's
where it feels trickiest, is when you say that you're with Jesus.
I know as someone, I've sinned while I was a believer in ways that I'm ashamed
(05:28):
of, and I had to bring that to the light. And so walk us through kind of what that would look like.
You know, first, it's an understanding of God and his righteousness,
his holiness, and what his expectations are, what his will is for your life
to be representing him on this earth.
And it's seeing, okay, here's God's standard and now here's how I'm living.
(05:49):
And it's that recognition of, this is how I am specifically falling short of God's standard.
This is how I am not walking according to his will.
And this is how I am making the Lord look bad as his representative. Yeah, yeah.
And so even when, because there's kind of two experiences we have with sin,
(06:09):
we either get called out for that sin or the Holy Spirit makes it aware to us
outside of an outside pressure.
And both of those, it's true, like, hey, I need to take responsibility for how
I've fallen short of God's image.
And when that happens, what made me wait this step after that?
Yeah, I would really encourage people, they feel convicted of their sin,
to bring it into light is the phrase you use.
(06:31):
But what I mean by that, and like really practically, is you find a brother
or sister who you're close with, who you trust, an elder, someone who's in your
life, who's a believer, and you confess your sin to God and to them.
So bringing it to them is saying, hey, like this is hard, but this is my sin against God.
You have to do your work before God, you have to confess your sin before God,
but you don't live out your faith privately by yourself in your own bedroom.
(06:53):
You You have to bring it to the light of the community that you're a part of. Yeah.
So that was, that's one of the questions that I had from the sermon.
And that is, what is the relationship between confessing to God and is it mandatory or just helpful?
Because I would lean towards, hey, I've never confessed of a sin to myself,
to God, and it's been as helpful as confessing to God and confessing to another
(07:17):
person for that accountability.
Sure. What's your guys' thoughts on that? I know in James, it talks about when
you confess to another, especially to one who is righteous, confess your sins
one to another. And there's value in that.
God did not create us to live this life alone.
We're created to be in relationship. And especially when we're in relationship with another believer.
(07:42):
God is in them and the Spirit's in them. And, you know, we are in relationship
with God as we are in relationship with other believers.
And, you know, they could come alongside us.
You know, if we're not living right, you know, I'll go to the husband.
And Peter talks about that, you know, if you're not living with your wife with
understanding, your prayers could be hindered.
Yeah. That's a scary verse. God's like, nah, nah, nah.
(08:04):
That's what I always picture. Yeah. God with his fingers in his ears.
Right and and it's not right he hears you
but you know your prayers could be hindered yeah
you know and thus you're going to someone who yeah can
help you you know if you know about that person you
know it shouldn't be someone struggling with the same thing you're struggling
with yeah right it's someone who who maybe you know they i'm sure they may have
(08:28):
different struggles but who can pray for you you know and that you you know
that it'll be effective yeah and their fervent effectual prayer And I would
even like, I would like take it to like,
no, you like need to go and tell somebody else, if that makes sense.
And that's like, and if someone pushes back on that, the question is like, why would you not?
Like, that's the question is like, the reason that people are afraid to confess
(08:49):
their sins to other people is because they care so much about what that person
thinks of them, how they perceive them. They care more about their reputation.
It's actually something about us that we fear telling man, other men than we
do fearing God. Yeah. And like us telling sins before God.
Yeah. And like, I've been on the other side of like, I've literally had to sit
with brothers and sisters in the faith, not sisters.
I've sat with brothers and be like, hey, I am sorry. I sin in this way.
(09:12):
I sin in private. I'm bringing this to public so you guys can walk with me in life.
Yeah. And it's not so much, hey, confessing to another person is for the sake
of God hearing it, but rather it's the other side of healing.
Because it's, if we confess our sins one to another, like there's healing that happens there.
It's for that continual growth past, because the goal of confession and repentance
(09:34):
is that we don't continue to turn back, that we're saying with Christ, hey, I actually,
like we've been singing a worship song in the past through this series,
like you have freed me to sin no more.
And that is the cry of the Christian to pray.
I want to not be bound by sin.
I want to experience the freedom of sin.
There's a specific joy that happens too when we confess, when we have a brother
(09:57):
or sister in your context, be able to speak grace over you. Yeah.
And just like the ability of someone looking in your eyes and like,
you know, you can read the word of God that you are forgiven of all your sin.
1 John 1, 9 was in today's sermon. But having someone tell you that truth.
Yeah. That, hey, like I hear you, God heard your sin and God forgives your sins.
I don't forgive your sins, but I'm just telling you what God's word says.
(10:18):
And that comfort and that encouragement that comes with it. And a mature believer
will understand grace, you know, and that.
All of us are sinners. You know, elders still have sin that we struggle with.
Pastors still have sin when they struggle with. And if you create a community
of grace like that, you know, when you understand how much you've been forgiven,
(10:39):
you can show grace to somebody who is struggling with a sin and be an encouragement to them. Yeah.
That's so good. Well, thank you guys for sharing. I want to ask you guys,
what was encouraging to maybe your tired heart today? day?
What was something, as you're walking, trying to walk in faithfulness to Jesus,
what was maybe a breath of fresh air to hear?
I think it was, you know, when Gabriel, you know, first of all,
(11:02):
Gabriel shows up before he's even like done praying.
You know, it's like, your prayers have been heard. You know,
they've been processed and a plan has been figured out.
You know, it's like, but he shows up. The mail doesn't feel that quick right
now in my prayer life. Right, right.
But he says, and Daniel, you are greatly loved by God. Amen.
You are great. And you know what? As believers, we are one
(11:22):
flesh with christ amen and we know
how the father loves his son you know and yet we share
in that love now and we are greatly loved by god
so that's extremely encouraging yeah i'll that's good word brother that's a
really good word i was really encouraged by first john 1 9 of just like the
seriousness of sin and like sin is offense towards god but knowing that like
(11:44):
when we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us of all of our
sins forgive us of all of our unrighteousness.
And that, well, some kind of noise just turned on in this room,
but y'all heard that. Y'all can join us in that.
He is faithful and just to forgive us of all of our unrighteousness.
Like that just truth that, okay, I'm an idiot sometimes. I still sin sometimes.
And it's just like, sometimes I look at my sin, I'm confessing my sin,
(12:05):
like, Ben, what the frick are you doing, man? Like, that's so stupid.
But knowing that like the grace of Christ is new every day.
Like when I wake up as far as the East is from the West, so far as He removed
my of transgressions from me.
So I'm just encouraged that he is a God who loves, a God who continues to forgive.
And that's just something I'm comforted through this sermon.
(12:25):
That's really good. And so for the believer who is trapped in sin right now,
and they're saying, man, I have the secret. It's holding me captive.
And they're hearing, I don't feel greatly loved by God. I am struggling.
What is our encouragement to them? Obviously, we want it to be repentance,
and we want them to walk in the truth.
(12:47):
How can we come alongside of them, even in them hearing
this this podcast one is to help them in their faith yeah right believing that
they are forgiven you know as a believer a pastor i think referenced last week
a quote by rc sproll that where he told someone you need to repent of the sin
(13:07):
of not believing that you've been forgiven,
you know and so it's it's really having faith that jesus really did die for
all your sins not just the ones in the past or the ones you're in now but even
for the ones in the future that You don't know what you're going to do yet,
that he died for all those sins. And it's just reminding them of the gospel.
And that restoration is possible for anyone. Yeah.
(13:29):
You know, and no matter how far you've fallen, don't use that as a license.
Yeah. You know, don't use that as a license to keep doing what you're doing
or excusing it, saying, well, I'm forgiven. I know I'm forgiven.
I'm going to keep doing it. But no, also understanding the seriousness of what
you're doing. Yeah. That sin kills.
It kills everything it touches. It kills relationships.
(13:50):
You know, it'll not just impact you, but your family and friends and those around you. Yeah.
And stop. Yeah. Whatever it is, stop.
You know, in terms of- Yeah, I would echo that.
Like we need to stop and bring it to the light. And like, there might be sin
that's so long lasting, so secret, so hidden, only you, maybe your spouse knows about it.
(14:12):
And like, you need to bring it to the light of your local church,
in the light of like community of people who know you and love you.
And if you don't feel loved by God, like in my head, I'm like, that makes sense.
Like you've literally been running from him in sin. Yeah. Like you're running
from the love of God when you're sinning against him.
So no wonder it feels so far removed from you because you're entrenched in a
hole that like you put yourself in, but it's knowing in your head that Christ
(14:34):
is loving and forgiving and that he does restore his people.
I think you can take comfort in that, like Peter's own restoration of like the
story of how God restored Peter and use Peter can be the story of your own life.
Something I go back to often is Isaiah chapter 40.
I'll just read verse 31, but the whole surrounding context gives more light to it.
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount
(14:57):
up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary. they shall walk and not faint.
We know that from the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians. The will of the Lord is our sanctification.
So the will of the Lord is that we are actively obeying and walking in the love
of Christ and loving others.
But it makes sense for us to feel seasons of repentance.
And this was a comfort in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was given to the people
(15:17):
of Israel who were entrenched in sin. And he said, hey, God will renew your strength.
But the thing that we need to do is we need to bring it to light.
We need to feel the guilt before God, but then we we need to wait upon the Lord.
And each day of just choosing to be faithful, choosing to say no to that sin
for this day and choosing to say yes to Christ, maybe yes to loving Christ, loving your family.
And the Lord has a way of restoring over time. It takes time,
(15:41):
but that's what the Lord is in the business of doing is restoring people.
And so take comfort, but really there's no comfort to be taken if you don't bring it to the light.
Because you'll be stuck in that hole until you let the Lord bring you out. Yeah. That's so good.
In my own testimony, testimony i can like
speak of like the liberating power of the cross even
(16:01):
as a believer who's fallen into sin and i was somewhere talking talking to someone
who's trapped and i just said like i can hear like the sound of your chains
and like he actually is the only one who has the power to let those chains fall
like i experienced having a sister look at me and saying you are forgiven in in Christ,
like freedom is available to you.
(16:22):
And like, that is the beauty of the cross is that there's nothing in this world
that I can offer that is actually lasting, that no one can take away the forgiveness that Jesus has for you.
And like, we just wanna say, come out, come out into the light and experience
the cleansing power of the light in God's truth, because it does,
(16:43):
it wants to clean everything up and not for.
It's for your goodness that he wants to clean it up. Like sin is anti what God
wants for you, but it's also anti goodness.
And he wants goodness for you. You're not being hoodwinked into believing, oh, that's good for me.
And I have to do this thing that's not good for me. No, like the truth is,
is God's will for you is ultimate goodness for you.
(17:05):
And I think when I started believing that to say, no, no, no,
walking in the light and walking in truth is ultimate goodness.
That was a big change for me.
Yeah, we need to believe that God wants us to be better.
Like God wants healthy relationships. God wants us healthy relationship with
him, healthy relationship with our spouses, healthy relationship with our family.
But when we have sin, it's gonna get worse before it gets better.
And you need to go down into the sin you need to bring the thing into light. It's gonna suck.
(17:28):
I'm not telling you it's not gonna suck. Bringing sin and confessing sin to
people, you're dealing with the ramifications of that sin when you're bringing it to light.
It's gonna suck, but God does restore. And God is in the business of doing that.
So it's gonna get worse before it gets better, but it's entirely worth getting
worse or you're just gonna stay
in this place of meteorocracy and numbness for as long as you stay in it.
(17:49):
Oh, that is so good. And all right, brothers, I want to end kind of on this
note to say, hey, what has challenged us and maybe what are we challenging others
to believe, to act in, to walk in?
And so, yeah, I just would love to hear your thoughts. What challenged you from this sermon?
I think it's just understanding and being accountable for my own sins, right?
(18:11):
We need to recount what we personally have done wrong and how we contribute
to the sins of the community as well.
You know, here's a little insight about Crosspoint. We're not perfect.
Amen. And we recognize our sins. When we recognize them, we need to confess them.
You know, and I know those of us doing the first 15 are getting close to the
(18:33):
end of Deuteronomy and about to get into Joshua.
And whenever I get in Joshua, you know, one of the stories from history I think
of is there was sin in the camp, Achan, and they didn't know about it.
And Joshua's like, what's going wrong? Why are we struggling here?
You know, until it came out that
Achan had taken gold and spoils that he wasn't supposed to and hid it.
(18:54):
And that affected people around them. You know, and sometimes we need to realize,
like, as a church community, your secret sins can be impacting those around you and those you love.
And personally, we can't just be sorry for hurting others, or even sorry for
(19:15):
the consequences of our sin.
We often hear, or we say, I'm sorry you feel that way, or I'm sorry I hurt you,
rather than confessing, I'm sorry for doing this.
I did this, I did this and that, and my actions, you know, naming them were wrong.
(19:36):
You know, it's not just, I feel bad, Lord, that my marriage is a mess or that
there's tension with a close friend.
No, it's, I have sinned against my wife and against you, Lord,
or I've sinned against my friend by speaking harshly or sarcastically to them
in an angry, mean-spirited way.
(19:57):
You know, forgive me, Lord, help me to change and seek the appropriate restoration.
Yes. Yeah, that's good. Yeah.
I'm just left challenged. Something that I think was brought up through the
sermon, and that's something that's just been pressed on my heart and stuff
that's going on in my life recently, is just that growing Christian needs to
be a self-aware Christian.
If we're not aware of our own sin and self-aware of the way that our sin is
(20:20):
affecting others, it's impossible to grow because the path towards obedience
and growing is a life of repenting and believing.
And if we're not self-aware, we can't repent to the sin that's so close to us.
And so we live in this world that's just entertaining us to death.
Like we live in a world that's constantly amusing us. And we like listen to
a podcast like you're doing right now probably, maybe when you're driving and
(20:41):
then we get to work and we're thinking about work and then we get home and we're
like have the TV on while we're eating dinner and then we just watch the TV and go to bed.
Like we're not even thinking and quieting our souls before God.
And it's just like the need to just be still before God and tell God,
hey, search me, see if there's any grievous way in me and lead me unto the way everlasting.
Like we need to be self-aware. So I would just challenge you guys,
slow down and look inward.
(21:01):
And if that's hard for you, ask somebody you love, like what sin do you see
in my life that you see me continuing to live in? Like that's a hard one to ask.
People who really watch you and know you, but that can help us continue to grow
in Christ as we seek to say no to sin and yes to Jesus every day that we follow him.
That's a good, yeah. Yeah. One of the mentors in my life said,
anything in our life that is not like Jesus, Jesus has the right to take away.
(21:25):
So he says like the way that you joke, if Jesus wouldn't joke that way,
like he has the right to take it away.
And so like some people feel like totally fine in their sarcastic personality
or feel totally fine in like all these things.
And I would just say like everything has to be submitted to Jesus.
That was like really challenging. I like love to joke.
I love to make fun of things. I like view myself as a cultural commentator and
like being able to to observe something and make a joke about it.
(21:46):
But I remember her saying that, I think about it all the time to say,
man, if Jesus wouldn't joke this way, why would I joke this way?
And just to say everything, young brother, I was having a conversation with
like two weeks ago and he said, you can grow as fast as you're willing to give
up. And like, that has stuck with me.
Like you can grow as fast as you're willing to give up. Like if the Lord is
asking and you're willing to release your hands, like you can grow in Christ.
(22:09):
You can take hold of him because you've given up what is holding you back.
And that like, I mean, it's been, I think about it every day.
And so this brother, thank you so much if you're listening, but just a joy to
say, hey, Jesus is worth everything.
Absolutely everything. And so friends, there's probably things you need to give
up today and there's probably things hindering your growth.
And if you hear anything from this, it's to confess to the Lord,
(22:30):
to confess with others, to repent,
to have a change of your mind and then a change of your belief,
to believe that Christ wants more for you and that more is the path of goodness
with him, where he is guiding and directing your life.
Any last thoughts before we close in prayer, brothers?
That was good. I thought that was a good. Close? I thought that was a great close. Ruth kills it.
(22:52):
All right. Can you guys pray for our listeners that Christ would draw their hearts to him?
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are gracious and merciful.
Father God, we thank you that you are faithful and just to forgive us of all
of our unrighteousness.
Oh, Lord, I pray for my brothers and my sisters who are listening to this.
Oh, God, I pray for those who are entrenched in sin.
Oh, God, those who are feeling the weight of their sin. They're feeling they're
(23:14):
stuck in that hole. Oh God, they feel down.
They feel far from you, God. I pray that you would just show them your love.
God, I pray that you would show them and give them the strength to bring it
to the light, oh Father God, to confess their sin to one another and ultimately to you, oh God.
I pray that you'd give them the strength to do that as they wait upon you,
oh Lord, to renew their strength, oh Lord.
Lord, we do thank you and praise you for who you are. Lord, grow us as people
(23:36):
who are just growing in you and seeking to follow you and are confessing our
sin and believing in you as you have so graciously loved us and we wanna follow
you with our life. We pray this in Christ's name.
Lord, you are good and you do good. And I know I personally am not.
I have no righteousness apart from Christ.
And I often misrepresent you in my words, in my actions, in my thoughts.
(24:00):
And our church is made up of forgiven sinners like me.
We have not loved you with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength like we should.
We understand that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins.
So that we might receive his righteousness through faith. And yet,
we still walk in those sins all too often.
(24:21):
We have idols, things we treat as if they're more valuable than you.
We misuse your name. We don't keep the Lord's day, today's Sunday, holy as we should.
We do not love you or our neighbors as we should.
We disrespect our parents and those who care for us.
We hate and hurt people we commit
adultery if not physically in our lust we
(24:44):
take what is not ours we lie and we
covet what others have rather than being content with what you've gracious graciously
given us forgive us lord yes grant us repentance so that we walk in your ways
praise loving you and those around us sincerely and unselfishly.
(25:05):
Restore us so that we might live in such a way that represents you well.
Help us to glorify you as lights in the darkness by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.
Friends, if this is an encouragement to you, I'd ask that you share it with
a friend. And if you are not subscribed, that you would subscribe so you'll
get a notification every time we have a new episode.
Guys, thank you so much. It's always a joy to get to talk to you.
(25:28):
And we pray that God God blesses you on your way. See you guys. Take care.
Welcome back to another episode of the Post-Sermon Reflections Podcast,
where we want to help you apply Sunday morning learning into Monday morning
living as we connect others to the love of Jesus and help them live on gospel mission.
My name is Ruth, and I'm joined by two good friends of mine.
I'm joined by Elder Chris and Ben Berlaga, who's a ministry resident here at
our church. And this conversation is heavy.
(00:21):
We're sitting here at this table, man, aware of God's grace and his kindness,
but also, man, we want to be confessing people. So we are coming to the close
of our series, The Test, which is through the book of Daniel.
And so we're landing, it's chapter nine, correct?
Yes. We're in chapter nine. So we got a little overview of what happens between
seven and eight. And so we're going to hop in. You guys want to say hello? What's up?
(00:43):
What's up, Ruth? What's up, Chris? Happy to be here. Happy to have you guys.
And so Chris is going to hit us with an overview of what happens in nine.
And we are one week out from Easter, which is really exciting.
And so Chris, take it away. So we pick up with Daniel continuing his influence
after the downfall of the Chaldeans, who brought Daniel into captivity like 67 years earlier or so.
(01:07):
And now Darius, a Mede, has begun to rule and Daniel decides to read scripture.
He's tired. He's weary. The chapters before talk about, and specifically he
reads Jeremiah and his prophecy about the 70 years of captivity before Jerusalem is restored.
Jordan. Daniel realizes this time is almost up. We're almost there.
(01:30):
And Daniel begins praying and fasting for God's mercy.
He confesses his own sins, and he confesses the sins of the people.
And he includes himself as being accountable for the sins of the nation.
We sinned this way. We sinned that way. Not they sinned, Lord, by doing this or that.
(01:51):
But then he asks God to act because Because of who God is. God is righteous.
Not because of who they are, sinful. And while Daniel's still praying,
God sends the angel Gabriel with a response.
And what's awesome is how the angel includes how God loves Daniel greatly, he says.
(02:13):
And then the angel tells Daniel what God will do.
He'll rebuild Jerusalem and eventually send an anointed one who will be cut
off for the people and essentially and essentially establish in this new everlasting righteousness.
Yeah. So it's awesome. Amen. That is so good.
And so in the conversation that Pastor Brennan was having during this sermon,
(02:35):
we really had the conversation of what does it mean to have true repentance
and confession versus just being sorry that you're supposed to be sorry or having
kind of an apology culture that is not truly repentant,
that is not really stepping out asking for God to forgive you and taking responsibility.
And the two lines that I kind of want us to always have in our mind that Pastor
(02:57):
Brennan hit again and again and again was true confession always becomes before
forgiveness and true repentance always becomes restoration.
And so, brothers, I just love to ask you what really stuck out to you in this sermon? Yeah, I was...
Truly thankful for the sermon. It was challenging and encouraging,
but what initially stuck out was what is true repentance, truly, if that makes sense.
(03:19):
We talk about repenting. We feel like it's something that as Christians,
like, oh yeah, that's something I need to do.
I might do it before I go to sleep. I might do it here. I might do it then.
But what does it truly mean to repent?
And as well, as Christians, we ongoingly need to repent.
So those are the two things of true repentance happens when there's a true heart
that's repenting, not really before others, just for mere actions that have
(03:40):
affected them, but repenting before God for actions that have offended and broken
God's law and have offended God.
It's like that's true repentance before God and not merely before others.
And then that being something that continually happens in the life of a Christian.
That doesn't just happen initially, but it continually happens as we continue
to fall short in our path of obedience. Yeah.
(04:01):
I mean, what I love about this message and really should should be true of any
gospel message is that it's applicable both to the unbeliever and to the believer.
For the unbeliever, they need
to confess their sins. They need to repent before coming to salvation.
And yet for the believer, you also have to confess and repent,
but it's more for coming to restoration, to restore your relationship with the
(04:24):
Lord where it's been. You're in the family.
Nothing's going to remove you from his family, but sometimes there could be
tension between a child and apparent between us and God.
And we need to confess our sins, acknowledge what we've done,
turn away from that, and that restores our relationship with the Lord.
Yeah. So let's talk like an example to exist,
(04:45):
and maybe we'll keep this in the conversation and we'll come back to it and
say, someone's screwed up in their life and that truth comes out and they have
to deal with that. They have to deal with the narrative that comes out.
The example of Bill Clinton was used throughout the sermon, which was like so funny.
And to say, what does it look like that we're taking responsibility for America's
sins, but not taking responsibility for my personal sins as Bill Clinton.
(05:07):
But this person, they have to deal with the narrative. People know I've done something.
For that person, what should be their first step? So that person who screwed
up, man, this is happening.
I want to deal with it. I'm in the community of God. Because I think that's
where it feels trickiest, is when you say that you're with Jesus.
I know as someone, I've sinned while I was a believer in ways that I'm ashamed
(05:28):
of, and I had to bring that to the light. And so walk us through kind of what that would look like.
You know, first, it's an understanding of God and his righteousness,
his holiness, and what his expectations are, what his will is for your life
to be representing him on this earth.
And it's seeing, okay, here's God's standard and now here's how I'm living.
(05:49):
And it's that recognition of, this is how I am specifically falling short of God's standard.
This is how I am not walking according to his will.
And this is how I am making the Lord look bad as his representative. Yeah, yeah.
And so even when, because there's kind of two experiences we have with sin,
(06:09):
we either get called out for that sin or the Holy Spirit makes it aware to us
outside of an outside pressure.
And both of those, it's true, like, hey, I need to take responsibility for how
I've fallen short of God's image.
And when that happens, what made me wait this step after that?
Yeah, I would really encourage people, they feel convicted of their sin,
to bring it into light is the phrase you use.
(06:31):
But what I mean by that, and like really practically, is you find a brother
or sister who you're close with, who you trust, an elder, someone who's in your
life, who's a believer, and you confess your sin to God and to them.
So bringing it to them is saying, hey, like this is hard, but this is my sin against God.
You have to do your work before God, you have to confess your sin before God,
but you don't live out your faith privately by yourself in your own bedroom.
(06:53):
You You have to bring it to the light of the community that you're a part of. Yeah.
So that was, that's one of the questions that I had from the sermon.
And that is, what is the relationship between confessing to God and is it mandatory or just helpful?
Because I would lean towards, hey, I've never confessed of a sin to myself,
to God, and it's been as helpful as confessing to God and confessing to another
(07:17):
person for that accountability.
Sure. What's your guys' thoughts on that? I know in James, it talks about when
you confess to another, especially to one who is righteous, confess your sins
one to another. And there's value in that.
God did not create us to live this life alone.
We're created to be in relationship. And especially when we're in relationship with another believer.
(07:42):
God is in them and the Spirit's in them. And, you know, we are in relationship
with God as we are in relationship with other believers.
And, you know, they could come alongside us.
You know, if we're not living right, you know, I'll go to the husband.
And Peter talks about that, you know, if you're not living with your wife with
understanding, your prayers could be hindered.
Yeah. That's a scary verse. God's like, nah, nah, nah.
(08:04):
That's what I always picture. Yeah. God with his fingers in his ears.
Right and and it's not right he hears you
but you know your prayers could be hindered yeah
you know and thus you're going to someone who yeah can
help you you know if you know about that person you
know it shouldn't be someone struggling with the same thing you're struggling
with yeah right it's someone who who maybe you know they i'm sure they may have
(08:28):
different struggles but who can pray for you you know and that you you know
that it'll be effective yeah and their fervent effectual prayer And I would
even like, I would like take it to like,
no, you like need to go and tell somebody else, if that makes sense.
And that's like, and if someone pushes back on that, the question is like, why would you not?
Like, that's the question is like, the reason that people are afraid to confess
(08:49):
their sins to other people is because they care so much about what that person
thinks of them, how they perceive them. They care more about their reputation.
It's actually something about us that we fear telling man, other men than we
do fearing God. Yeah. And like us telling sins before God.
Yeah. And like, I've been on the other side of like, I've literally had to sit
with brothers and sisters in the faith, not sisters.
I've sat with brothers and be like, hey, I am sorry. I sin in this way.
(09:12):
I sin in private. I'm bringing this to public so you guys can walk with me in life.
Yeah. And it's not so much, hey, confessing to another person is for the sake
of God hearing it, but rather it's the other side of healing.
Because it's, if we confess our sins one to another, like there's healing that happens there.
It's for that continual growth past, because the goal of confession and repentance
(09:34):
is that we don't continue to turn back, that we're saying with Christ, hey, I actually,
like we've been singing a worship song in the past through this series,
like you have freed me to sin no more.
And that is the cry of the Christian to pray.
I want to not be bound by sin.
I want to experience the freedom of sin.
There's a specific joy that happens too when we confess, when we have a brother
(09:57):
or sister in your context, be able to speak grace over you. Yeah.
And just like the ability of someone looking in your eyes and like,
you know, you can read the word of God that you are forgiven of all your sin.
1 John 1, 9 was in today's sermon. But having someone tell you that truth.
Yeah. That, hey, like I hear you, God heard your sin and God forgives your sins.
I don't forgive your sins, but I'm just telling you what God's word says.
(10:18):
And that comfort and that encouragement that comes with it. And a mature believer
will understand grace, you know, and that.
All of us are sinners. You know, elders still have sin that we struggle with.
Pastors still have sin when they struggle with. And if you create a community
of grace like that, you know, when you understand how much you've been forgiven,
(10:39):
you can show grace to somebody who is struggling with a sin and be an encouragement to them. Yeah.
That's so good. Well, thank you guys for sharing. I want to ask you guys,
what was encouraging to maybe your tired heart today? day?
What was something, as you're walking, trying to walk in faithfulness to Jesus,
what was maybe a breath of fresh air to hear?
I think it was, you know, when Gabriel, you know, first of all,
(11:02):
Gabriel shows up before he's even like done praying.
You know, it's like, your prayers have been heard. You know,
they've been processed and a plan has been figured out.
You know, it's like, but he shows up. The mail doesn't feel that quick right
now in my prayer life. Right, right.
But he says, and Daniel, you are greatly loved by God. Amen.
You are great. And you know what? As believers, we are one
(11:22):
flesh with christ amen and we know
how the father loves his son you know and yet we share
in that love now and we are greatly loved by god
so that's extremely encouraging yeah i'll that's good word brother that's a
really good word i was really encouraged by first john 1 9 of just like the
seriousness of sin and like sin is offense towards god but knowing that like
(11:44):
when we confess our sins he's faithful and just to forgive us of all of our
sins forgive us of all of our unrighteousness.
And that, well, some kind of noise just turned on in this room,
but y'all heard that. Y'all can join us in that.
He is faithful and just to forgive us of all of our unrighteousness.
Like that just truth that, okay, I'm an idiot sometimes. I still sin sometimes.
And it's just like, sometimes I look at my sin, I'm confessing my sin,
(12:05):
like, Ben, what the frick are you doing, man? Like, that's so stupid.
But knowing that like the grace of Christ is new every day.
Like when I wake up as far as the East is from the West, so far as He removed
my of transgressions from me.
So I'm just encouraged that he is a God who loves, a God who continues to forgive.
And that's just something I'm comforted through this sermon.
(12:25):
That's really good. And so for the believer who is trapped in sin right now,
and they're saying, man, I have the secret. It's holding me captive.
And they're hearing, I don't feel greatly loved by God. I am struggling.
What is our encouragement to them? Obviously, we want it to be repentance,
and we want them to walk in the truth.
(12:47):
How can we come alongside of them, even in them hearing
this this podcast one is to help them in their faith yeah right believing that
they are forgiven you know as a believer a pastor i think referenced last week
a quote by rc sproll that where he told someone you need to repent of the sin
(13:07):
of not believing that you've been forgiven,
you know and so it's it's really having faith that jesus really did die for
all your sins not just the ones in the past or the ones you're in now but even
for the ones in the future that You don't know what you're going to do yet,
that he died for all those sins. And it's just reminding them of the gospel.
And that restoration is possible for anyone. Yeah.
(13:29):
You know, and no matter how far you've fallen, don't use that as a license.
Yeah. You know, don't use that as a license to keep doing what you're doing
or excusing it, saying, well, I'm forgiven. I know I'm forgiven.
I'm going to keep doing it. But no, also understanding the seriousness of what
you're doing. Yeah. That sin kills.
It kills everything it touches. It kills relationships.
(13:50):
You know, it'll not just impact you, but your family and friends and those around you. Yeah.
And stop. Yeah. Whatever it is, stop.
You know, in terms of- Yeah, I would echo that.
Like we need to stop and bring it to the light. And like, there might be sin
that's so long lasting, so secret, so hidden, only you, maybe your spouse knows about it.
(14:12):
And like, you need to bring it to the light of your local church,
in the light of like community of people who know you and love you.
And if you don't feel loved by God, like in my head, I'm like, that makes sense.
Like you've literally been running from him in sin. Yeah. Like you're running
from the love of God when you're sinning against him.
So no wonder it feels so far removed from you because you're entrenched in a
hole that like you put yourself in, but it's knowing in your head that Christ
(14:34):
is loving and forgiving and that he does restore his people.
I think you can take comfort in that, like Peter's own restoration of like the
story of how God restored Peter and use Peter can be the story of your own life.
Something I go back to often is Isaiah chapter 40.
I'll just read verse 31, but the whole surrounding context gives more light to it.
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount
(14:57):
up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary. they shall walk and not faint.
We know that from the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians. The will of the Lord is our sanctification.
So the will of the Lord is that we are actively obeying and walking in the love
of Christ and loving others.
But it makes sense for us to feel seasons of repentance.
And this was a comfort in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was given to the people
(15:17):
of Israel who were entrenched in sin. And he said, hey, God will renew your strength.
But the thing that we need to do is we need to bring it to light.
We need to feel the guilt before God, but then we we need to wait upon the Lord.
And each day of just choosing to be faithful, choosing to say no to that sin
for this day and choosing to say yes to Christ, maybe yes to loving Christ, loving your family.
And the Lord has a way of restoring over time. It takes time,
(15:41):
but that's what the Lord is in the business of doing is restoring people.
And so take comfort, but really there's no comfort to be taken if you don't bring it to the light.
Because you'll be stuck in that hole until you let the Lord bring you out. Yeah. That's so good.
In my own testimony, testimony i can like
speak of like the liberating power of the cross even
(16:01):
as a believer who's fallen into sin and i was somewhere talking talking to someone
who's trapped and i just said like i can hear like the sound of your chains
and like he actually is the only one who has the power to let those chains fall
like i experienced having a sister look at me and saying you are forgiven in in Christ,
like freedom is available to you.
(16:22):
And like, that is the beauty of the cross is that there's nothing in this world
that I can offer that is actually lasting, that no one can take away the forgiveness that Jesus has for you.
And like, we just wanna say, come out, come out into the light and experience
the cleansing power of the light in God's truth, because it does,
(16:43):
it wants to clean everything up and not for.
It's for your goodness that he wants to clean it up. Like sin is anti what God
wants for you, but it's also anti goodness.
And he wants goodness for you. You're not being hoodwinked into believing, oh, that's good for me.
And I have to do this thing that's not good for me. No, like the truth is,
is God's will for you is ultimate goodness for you.
(17:05):
And I think when I started believing that to say, no, no, no,
walking in the light and walking in truth is ultimate goodness.
That was a big change for me.
Yeah, we need to believe that God wants us to be better.
Like God wants healthy relationships. God wants us healthy relationship with
him, healthy relationship with our spouses, healthy relationship with our family.
But when we have sin, it's gonna get worse before it gets better.
And you need to go down into the sin you need to bring the thing into light. It's gonna suck.
(17:28):
I'm not telling you it's not gonna suck. Bringing sin and confessing sin to
people, you're dealing with the ramifications of that sin when you're bringing it to light.
It's gonna suck, but God does restore. And God is in the business of doing that.
So it's gonna get worse before it gets better, but it's entirely worth getting
worse or you're just gonna stay
in this place of meteorocracy and numbness for as long as you stay in it.
(17:49):
Oh, that is so good. And all right, brothers, I want to end kind of on this
note to say, hey, what has challenged us and maybe what are we challenging others
to believe, to act in, to walk in?
And so, yeah, I just would love to hear your thoughts. What challenged you from this sermon?
I think it's just understanding and being accountable for my own sins, right?
(18:11):
We need to recount what we personally have done wrong and how we contribute
to the sins of the community as well.
You know, here's a little insight about Crosspoint. We're not perfect.
Amen. And we recognize our sins. When we recognize them, we need to confess them.
You know, and I know those of us doing the first 15 are getting close to the
(18:33):
end of Deuteronomy and about to get into Joshua.
And whenever I get in Joshua, you know, one of the stories from history I think
of is there was sin in the camp, Achan, and they didn't know about it.
And Joshua's like, what's going wrong? Why are we struggling here?
You know, until it came out that
Achan had taken gold and spoils that he wasn't supposed to and hid it.
(18:54):
And that affected people around them. You know, and sometimes we need to realize,
like, as a church community, your secret sins can be impacting those around you and those you love.
And personally, we can't just be sorry for hurting others, or even sorry for
(19:15):
the consequences of our sin.
We often hear, or we say, I'm sorry you feel that way, or I'm sorry I hurt you,
rather than confessing, I'm sorry for doing this.
I did this, I did this and that, and my actions, you know, naming them were wrong.
(19:36):
You know, it's not just, I feel bad, Lord, that my marriage is a mess or that
there's tension with a close friend.
No, it's, I have sinned against my wife and against you, Lord,
or I've sinned against my friend by speaking harshly or sarcastically to them
in an angry, mean-spirited way.
(19:57):
You know, forgive me, Lord, help me to change and seek the appropriate restoration.
Yes. Yeah, that's good. Yeah.
I'm just left challenged. Something that I think was brought up through the
sermon, and that's something that's just been pressed on my heart and stuff
that's going on in my life recently, is just that growing Christian needs to
be a self-aware Christian.
If we're not aware of our own sin and self-aware of the way that our sin is
(20:20):
affecting others, it's impossible to grow because the path towards obedience
and growing is a life of repenting and believing.
And if we're not self-aware, we can't repent to the sin that's so close to us.
And so we live in this world that's just entertaining us to death.
Like we live in a world that's constantly amusing us. And we like listen to
a podcast like you're doing right now probably, maybe when you're driving and
(20:41):
then we get to work and we're thinking about work and then we get home and we're
like have the TV on while we're eating dinner and then we just watch the TV and go to bed.
Like we're not even thinking and quieting our souls before God.
And it's just like the need to just be still before God and tell God,
hey, search me, see if there's any grievous way in me and lead me unto the way everlasting.
Like we need to be self-aware. So I would just challenge you guys,
slow down and look inward.
(21:01):
And if that's hard for you, ask somebody you love, like what sin do you see
in my life that you see me continuing to live in? Like that's a hard one to ask.
People who really watch you and know you, but that can help us continue to grow
in Christ as we seek to say no to sin and yes to Jesus every day that we follow him.
That's a good, yeah. Yeah. One of the mentors in my life said,
anything in our life that is not like Jesus, Jesus has the right to take away.
(21:25):
So he says like the way that you joke, if Jesus wouldn't joke that way,
like he has the right to take it away.
And so like some people feel like totally fine in their sarcastic personality
or feel totally fine in like all these things.
And I would just say like everything has to be submitted to Jesus.
That was like really challenging. I like love to joke.
I love to make fun of things. I like view myself as a cultural commentator and
like being able to to observe something and make a joke about it.
(21:46):
But I remember her saying that, I think about it all the time to say,
man, if Jesus wouldn't joke this way, why would I joke this way?
And just to say everything, young brother, I was having a conversation with
like two weeks ago and he said, you can grow as fast as you're willing to give
up. And like, that has stuck with me.
Like you can grow as fast as you're willing to give up. Like if the Lord is
asking and you're willing to release your hands, like you can grow in Christ.
(22:09):
You can take hold of him because you've given up what is holding you back.
And that like, I mean, it's been, I think about it every day.
And so this brother, thank you so much if you're listening, but just a joy to
say, hey, Jesus is worth everything.
Absolutely everything. And so friends, there's probably things you need to give
up today and there's probably things hindering your growth.
And if you hear anything from this, it's to confess to the Lord,
(22:30):
to confess with others, to repent,
to have a change of your mind and then a change of your belief,
to believe that Christ wants more for you and that more is the path of goodness
with him, where he is guiding and directing your life.
Any last thoughts before we close in prayer, brothers?
That was good. I thought that was a good. Close? I thought that was a great close. Ruth kills it.
(22:52):
All right. Can you guys pray for our listeners that Christ would draw their hearts to him?
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are gracious and merciful.
Father God, we thank you that you are faithful and just to forgive us of all
of our unrighteousness.
Oh, Lord, I pray for my brothers and my sisters who are listening to this.
Oh, God, I pray for those who are entrenched in sin.
Oh, God, those who are feeling the weight of their sin. They're feeling they're
(23:14):
stuck in that hole. Oh God, they feel down.
They feel far from you, God. I pray that you would just show them your love.
God, I pray that you would show them and give them the strength to bring it
to the light, oh Father God, to confess their sin to one another and ultimately to you, oh God.
I pray that you'd give them the strength to do that as they wait upon you,
oh Lord, to renew their strength, oh Lord.
Lord, we do thank you and praise you for who you are. Lord, grow us as people
(23:36):
who are just growing in you and seeking to follow you and are confessing our
sin and believing in you as you have so graciously loved us and we wanna follow
you with our life. We pray this in Christ's name.
Lord, you are good and you do good. And I know I personally am not.
I have no righteousness apart from Christ.
And I often misrepresent you in my words, in my actions, in my thoughts.
(24:00):
And our church is made up of forgiven sinners like me.
We have not loved you with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength like we should.
We understand that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins.
So that we might receive his righteousness through faith. And yet,
we still walk in those sins all too often.
(24:21):
We have idols, things we treat as if they're more valuable than you.
We misuse your name. We don't keep the Lord's day, today's Sunday, holy as we should.
We do not love you or our neighbors as we should.
We disrespect our parents and those who care for us.
We hate and hurt people we commit
adultery if not physically in our lust we
(24:44):
take what is not ours we lie and we
covet what others have rather than being content with what you've gracious graciously
given us forgive us lord yes grant us repentance so that we walk in your ways
praise loving you and those around us sincerely and unselfishly.
(25:05):
Restore us so that we might live in such a way that represents you well.
Help us to glorify you as lights in the darkness by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.
Friends, if this is an encouragement to you, I'd ask that you share it with
a friend. And if you are not subscribed, that you would subscribe so you'll
get a notification every time we have a new episode.
Guys, thank you so much. It's always a joy to get to talk to you.
(25:28):
And we pray that God God blesses you on your way. See you guys. Take care.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.