Proverbs 28:13
Good morning, Hopewell!
Our Prayer Moment this morning is based on Proverbs 28:13 which says, “If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.”
This verse tells us if we continue concealing our sins, covering them up, keeping them to ourselves, we will not succeed – we will not prosper – we won’t progress or move forward. We are trapped, stuck, caught, imprisoned by the very thing we are trying to hide.
It takes a lot of time, thought and energy to keep things hidden. We may be successful in keeping it hidden from others – they may never see it. But the sight of it, never escapes us and that is what makes us unsuccessful. The weight of the burden of hiding the sin added to the weight of the burden of guilt and shame because of the sin becomes too heavy. We can’t move forward, can’t make progress, much less prosper.
The second half of Proverbs 28:13 shows us the way of escape. It shows us how we can move forward, be successful – even prosper. It says, “If you confess and reject them (talking about confessing and rejecting your sins), you will receive mercy.” Confessing is admitting the wrong we have done. Rejecting is loosening, abandoning, leaving behind the sin as well as the guilt and shame. If we confess and reject, we will receive mercy. God will forgive. Then we are set free to move forward in our relationship with Him, to succeed in our relationships with others, and to prosper in our service for the Lord.
There are two great passages in the New Testament that speak to the importance of confessing, rejecting, and receiving. The first is a promise. The second is a vivid picture of what this process involves and the final success it will lead us to:
1 John 1:9 – The Promise
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 12:1–2 – The Picture
1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,
2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
A college freshman went to the dorm laundry room with his dirty clothes bundled into an old sweatshirt. But he was so embarrassed by how dirty his clothes were that he never opened the bundle. He merely pushed it into a washing machine and when the machine stopped pushed the bundle into a dryer and finally took the still-unopened bundle back to his room. He discovered, of course, that the clothes had gotten wet and then dry, but not clean.
God says to us, “Don’t keep your sins in a safe little bundle of burden. I want to do a thorough cleansing in your life—all the dirty laundry of your life. [1]Bring every item out into the open, and I will make you clean to run and finish the race successfully!
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you and seek your mercy. We all like sheep have gone astray. We have sinned. We admit our sins to you and ask for Your forgiveness. We reject our sins, laying aside the weight and burden they have caused. Set us free with your mercy, that we may run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Your Son, Jesus, who makes us free indeed! We praise you, O God, and thank you for Your faithful Love! We are now ready and commit to move forward in our relationship with you, to succeed in our relationships with others, and to prosper in our service for You! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
[1] Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively, Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989).
Our Prayer Moment this morning is based on Proverbs 28:13 which says, “If you hide your sins, you will not succeed. If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy.”
This verse tells us if we continue concealing our sins, covering them up, keeping them to ourselves, we will not succeed – we will not prosper – we won’t progress or move forward. We are trapped, stuck, caught, imprisoned by the very thing we are trying to hide.
It takes a lot of time, thought and energy to keep things hidden. We may be successful in keeping it hidden from others – they may never see it. But the sight of it, never escapes us and that is what makes us unsuccessful. The weight of the burden of hiding the sin added to the weight of the burden of guilt and shame because of the sin becomes too heavy. We can’t move forward, can’t make progress, much less prosper.
The second half of Proverbs 28:13 shows us the way of escape. It shows us how we can move forward, be successful – even prosper. It says, “If you confess and reject them (talking about confessing and rejecting your sins), you will receive mercy.” Confessing is admitting the wrong we have done. Rejecting is loosening, abandoning, leaving behind the sin as well as the guilt and shame. If we confess and reject, we will receive mercy. God will forgive. Then we are set free to move forward in our relationship with Him, to succeed in our relationships with others, and to prosper in our service for the Lord.
There are two great passages in the New Testament that speak to the importance of confessing, rejecting, and receiving. The first is a promise. The second is a vivid picture of what this process involves and the final success it will lead us to:
1 John 1:9 – The Promise
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 12:1–2 – The Picture
1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,
2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
A college freshman went to the dorm laundry room with his dirty clothes bundled into an old sweatshirt. But he was so embarrassed by how dirty his clothes were that he never opened the bundle. He merely pushed it into a washing machine and when the machine stopped pushed the bundle into a dryer and finally took the still-unopened bundle back to his room. He discovered, of course, that the clothes had gotten wet and then dry, but not clean.
God says to us, “Don’t keep your sins in a safe little bundle of burden. I want to do a thorough cleansing in your life—all the dirty laundry of your life. [1]Bring every item out into the open, and I will make you clean to run and finish the race successfully!
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you and seek your mercy. We all like sheep have gone astray. We have sinned. We admit our sins to you and ask for Your forgiveness. We reject our sins, laying aside the weight and burden they have caused. Set us free with your mercy, that we may run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Your Son, Jesus, who makes us free indeed! We praise you, O God, and thank you for Your faithful Love! We are now ready and commit to move forward in our relationship with you, to succeed in our relationships with others, and to prosper in our service for You! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
[1] Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively, Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989).