Check Yo'Self B4 You Wreck Yo'Self

 We decided to go virtual for this Summit because the Winter Retreat is this weekend, and I for one did not want to take any chances of a Covid exposure and ruin the retreat. We tried out something I saw another youth group do, which is having one student "dance" "interpretively" through a song while everyone else does their best to mimic them. We opted for "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys with The Whiz Kid as the lead. It was... interesting. Can't wait to see how it goes in person!

Well, as some of you know, I am currently taking a class on the practice and theology of worship – basically, what does it mean to truly worship God and what does that look like. Right now, the class is going through the Old Testament worship of the Israelites, back before Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross, and the author is comparing those rituals (and the sacrifices) with what Jesus did for us on the cross. The imagery alone is really cool.

I would like to share a quote with you from one of the books, and while I know it is hard to follow along, please try to listen to what is being said about sin, confession, and forgiveness.

 

“In the Old Testament forgiveness of sin was granted whenever confession was made… the sacrifice symbolically completed the process, showing that forgiveness was based on the shedding of blood. The confession without the ritual was incomplete, but the ritual without the confession was worthless. In this way the Israelite experience is not unlike the Christian’s. We also need to confess sins and acknowledge defilements in order to participate fully in the worship and service of the Lord. God forgives people when they confess to Him. The ritual is the public expression of faith in the provision of forgiveness through the blood of the Lamb.”

 

You all know that mankind suffers from separation from God because of sin, and that it is only through the blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, that we can get to God and have a relationship with Him. On a grand scale, we admit to our sins and believe in Jesus, and we are saved. Romans 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Our salvation comes through confession of sin and belief in Jesus as our ritual sacrifice. His death in place of ours. And this bridges the gap.

 

But this is also true on a smaller scale. Jesus’ blood covers over our sins so that when we confess them before God we are forgiven. And I know from my own experience that when I have unconfessed sin in my life – where I have chosen to sin and then try to come before God – it is like that gap is back, like there is something separating me from God again. I haven’t lost my salvation or anything, but I have wandered away from God. How many of you have experienced this? Where you feel like you have somehow become far away from God again?

 

This is the result of unconfessed sin. When we are holding on to something, or doing something, that we know doesn’t please God. And when this is going on, it can be very hard to engage in worship, prayer, Scripture reading, and sharing our faith with others. And if we let it go on unchecked, it will lead us further and further from God. Sin, especially when we consciously choose it, drives a wedge into our relationship with God – it doesn’t separate us completely, but it certainly gets in the way.

 

This weekend some of us are going to Rock Mountain for the Winter Retreat (woot woot), and there we will be spending time in prayer, reading, and worship. But first, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to look inside and see what sin has taken hold in our lives. What are we doing (or not doing) that is driving us away from God? We need to identify those things and confess them to God, looking for forgiveness. Then, when we are at the retreat, we will be able to engage in full and genuine worship.

 

And this is not just for those going on the retreat. This is something we all need to do regularly – daily, weekly, monthly. I think the phrase is “check yourself before you wreck yourself”. Reflect on who you are and what you have been doing, identify any sin that exists in your life, and confess it to God. He will forgive you, but you must confess and believe in Jesus for forgiveness.

 

God is looking for worshippers who worship both in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We must have a spirit which is willing to submit to God and be humble before Him, as well as be honest about who we are, who God is, and who deserves all the honor and glory. So tonight, tomorrow, and pretty much every day for the rest of your lives, “check yourselves before you wreck yourselves”.