Released September 16, 2013 – Download PDF:  09.16.13.Confessing Our Sin

James 5:16–18 (NASB95)

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

Recently, the Holy Spirit has been emphasizing the point of confessing sins one to another (James 5:16), demonstrating that He will move in tremendous power when we align with this truth.  Most of us know that Scripture declares that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I Jn 1:9)  We may even regularly confess our sins to God, but never confess our sins to another person.  Why do we do one and not the other?  In our heart we fear being judged if we confess our sin to another…and yet we are commanded in James 5:16 to confess our sins to one another so that we can be healed of our separation from the Lord and the root heart issues that lead to sin.

The Lord is intentionally highlighting a basic truth that will allow the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon us and through us in incredible ways.  Am I suggesting confessing our sin to just anyone?  Absolutely not!  What we must do is reach out to someone that we are already in relationship with and ask them, “Would you be interested in going to the next level in our friendship that would allow us to share anything in an atmosphere of unconditional love, prayer and support?”

If we are thirsty, miserable and in agony to see the Lord move in our lives and in the nation, then we must humble ourselves and confess our sins to one another.  This is where revival begins.  Mark 1:2-5 clearly describes John’s ministry–

Mark 1:2–5 (NASB95)

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way;

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’ ”

4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

The Holy Spirit was working through John to prepare for the MANIFESTATION OF JESUS! (John 1:31)  In this hour, the Holy Spirit is at work to prepare us for the outpouring of Himself that has been prophesied time and time again, but it will not come without confession of sin and

being transparent with another.  I promise to you that if you will take this step you will be able to testify, as I am testifying today, that the power and presence of the Lord has dramatically

increased in your life and ministry.  Furthermore, you will feel that your soul is being satisfied by a depth of fellowship with another brother or sister in the Lord that you have been longing for.  Here is the promise–if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (I Jn 1:7)

One word of caution for those that are single, it is essential that you establish this type of relationship with a person of the same gender as you are.   It is a relationship of mutual accountability that allows anything to be shared in an atmosphere of unconditional love and support without judgment or condemnation.  The power of this type of relationship should not be underestimated.  James likens the power that the Holy Spirit will exert in answering a prayer over one that confesses their sin to that of Elijah praying for the rain to stop…and it did for 3 ½ years.  He then prayed again and the rain fell.  The Spirit through James could have chosen a number of examples, but He chose to highlight the effective prayer of Elijah that resulted in power being demonstrated to an entire nation.

What should you and I be confessing?  We should confess our sins, our weaknesses, our concerns, the temptations we feel plagued with, and our burdens.  It is in confessing of our sins to another that brings us to the Cross and into the light.  Confessing our sins to another gets after the root of our separation from the Lord—our pride.  It is the act of going to the Cross and humbling ourselves before the Lord AND in front of another person.  This type of humility will allow the Holy Spirit to move suddenly and powerfully.

On both sides of the equation humility is being worked out.  First, the person confessing in front of another is allowing their pride to be crucified.  Second, the one hearing the confession is is praying in humility, neither condemning nor judging the other person but rather holding them accountable to move forward and walk in the Light and the power that Jesus made available through His death and resurrection.

The power of confessing our sin is dramatically portrayed in the life of Daniel, although the Bible doesn’t say that he was confessing his sin to someone else–

Daniel 9:20–23 (NASB95)

20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,

21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.

22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

23 “At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.

Humility and confession received prompt attention from Heaven in the form of an angel that appeared to Daniel bringing revelation.  I testify that as I have worked to establish these types of relationships in my life, revelation has been given and angels have appeared to me.

Since I came to Christ in 1980, I’ve heard sermon after sermon about II Chron 7:14–

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NASB95)

14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I would submit to you that we have glossed over “humbling ourselves” and have moved straight to prayer.  It’s as if we want to pass “Go” in the game of Monopoly and automatically get revival without humbling ourselves through confession of sin.  The truth is that God isn’t playing our game.  If we want to take the promised revival (and it is ours for the taking) then we must follow the path that He has laid out for us.  Furthermore, we readily recognize, complain and/or may confess the sins of the nation to the Lord but we forget about confessing our sins.  What is the result?  God resists us.  Why?  The Lord resists the proud. (James 4:6-10)

James 4:6–10 (NASB95)

6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The Lord himself proclaimed that, “where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst”. (Matt 18:20 NASB95)  We cannot come to the altar, confessing our sin only to the Lord and walk in the light as He is in the light.  The Bible is clear.  We must confess our sins to another to receive the spiritual healing that we seek.  If we want the full manifestation of Jesus in our lives and see the power of the Holy Spirit that we crave, then we must align with this foundational truth set forth in Scripture.  Protestant theology has stripped the power from the believer saying that a person only needs to confess to the Lord.  James makes it clear that this type of confession is not enough.  We must embrace the full counsel of Scripture. 

The ministry of the Holy Spirit today is the same as in the days of John the Baptist.  The Lord is actively and intentionally preparing His people for the multi-dimensional manifestation of Jesus by His Spirit which we can see clearly portrayed in the New Testament.  Why aren’t we seeing the manifestation of power that the Scripture proclaims?  We have not humbled ourselves and confessed our sin to one another. (James 5:16)  When we do, we will see the Holy Spirit come in power and fight for us, stripping the enemy of his power in our lives.

Scripture proclaims that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (I John 1:7 NASB95)  The Holy Spirit flows through us in great power as we walk in the Light and the fellowship with others where we agree to be safe harbor for one another.  This type of fellowship is very rich.  It satisfies our longing to truly connect with the Body of Christ and with His Spirit.

What does it take for the promised outpouring to come to us, our families, our communities and our nation?  It requires that we confess our sins to one another and that we take whatever steps are necessary to put sin to death.  Jesus said of John the Baptist, “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” Matthew 11:12 (NASB95).  Confessing our sins to one another requires a violent attitude and a determination that we will not allow anything to come between us and the Lord.

When we cleanse ourselves by confessing and repenting of our sin, we will be prepared for the Lord to pour out His Spirit into us, so that He might flow through us.

Psalm 24:3–6 (NASB95)

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob.Selah.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will guide you to the right person (or group) that is appropriate for confession.  You may feel the risk that a step like this entails.  But I want to encourage and say that your obedience will be richly rewarded.

Mark C. Biteler