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before we go on. You see this naku uh being sold by morning glory. I think there's a counter outside. So do please help them out. Uh when you go out there, give them some uh Chinese New Year cheer and buy some of this. Okay. Can we have the first slide? We have a another announcement to make.
Hey, I didn't say anything, you know, so I don't need to introduce who this is, but guess who is getting married. So, just to let you know, uh those of you who are new to us, this is brother Michael. Brother Michael anchored our international ministries three years ago and that's sister Ununice. Um he misses us very much. She sends the greetings to the church and they'll be getting married end of the year. Anybody want to go to Ghana, let me know. Okay. But it is always great to see how the word of God goes out. Uh and I had the privilege of keeping in touch with quite a few of them. Uh next week I'll share with you some American friends. But the word of God has gone to Ghana and they are serving very faithfully there. Let me begin uh now with this morning's topic. And uh today we talk about something we continuing on emotions something which I think is very relevant about us. Uh when Homer Simpson wants to eat the donut in the cartoon two figures come out. One tells him eat it no problem. The other one says no your your you know your spare tire is going to get more. So this morning we're going to talk about something quite relevant. It's called guilt. And guilt is a emotion that most of us have. It spans from something like what happens we call guilty pleasures. What you eat Chinese New Year coming a lot of you going to be feeling very guilty. It goes to the other extreme where you struggle with something and it wrecks you and day by day you live with this emotion that just goes into your gut. It's a it's an important emotion. Something as flippant as food to something that no one knows that you struggle with. And this morning we want to humbly take this before God and and may God speak to us in a powerful way. Let's come before God in prayer. Lord um we ask for your spirit to move here that your word is powerful that your word will just just rest on us. And even this morning I ask for myself that you humble me that uh remove any sense of glory but to be fear and trembling that is a privilege to be up here and that make me a broken vessel and that is only your word and your voice that we hear tonight to this morning and we say this in Jesus name. Amen. Now if you go through the psalms, one of the interesting thing about the psalms is as you get to the later part, some of the psalms get shorter which is great. And this is a short psalm. Now one of the one of the best ways to appreciate the psalm is its flow. Now the early speakers can't do it because the psalm is long. I I have the privilege today to do a short one. Next week we're going to do a long one. We can't do it. And the flow of the psalm is absolutely critical to understanding how it works because the psalmist talks from the heart. So we're going to go through from the beginning to the end. I've broken it down quite simply. There are four sections to the psalm. Each takes a certain emotion. It begins with deep anguish the first four verses. Then he goes to a sense of gratitude and reverence, fearful gratitude. And then there's waiting on the Lord where he's persevering on hope and it ends on a high note with redeeming love. And notice again the structure of the psalm. It starts off where he's looking at himself. By the end of the psalm, he's actually turning outward towards Israel. Now you need to pick that up. These are quite important points. Let me pick up the first four verses. And there's a Latin word called droofundis. It's such a famous word that you Google it. There's a Wikipedia entry on it. And droandis is the Latin taken from verse one of Psalm 130. Out of the depths. Now why? Because when you look at the the the psalm out of the depths I cry to you, oh Lord, oh Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. And the first immediate reading is it is a psalm of deep anguish. And we can relate to this, isn't it? Is about a person who is so much in mourning that he is sinking in the water. The imagery here in in Hebrew language is like a guy who's just sunk in water. No, he's just just dep of the ocean. And this is a very famous psalm. It's used for requ has written on it. Uh he actually wrote a whole book when he was in prison and he quoted heavily from psalm 130. And all of us have gone through times when we have gone through deep anguish. And that's why this psalm is so beloved. It is Martin Luther's favorite psalm. But here's my question to you. What is he actually mourning about? What is he actually having such deep anguish? What is he feeling so much pain about? We relate to pain. All of us at one point have gone through moments of deep pain. What is it that makes him feel so deep anguish? Now that doesn't become quite normal because the next two verses tells you if you oh lord keep a record of sins oh lord who could stand. So what is he mourning about? He's mourning over his sins in simple English is called guilt. Now when we come to that completely different picture now so here's the first question we ask you. How do you and I respond to guilt? You remember when you were kids and you had report cards? During my time, I remember. So, you know, there was the monthly report card you gave and there was a little small column at the bottom there about the kids behavior. So, normally I get away with nothing. I think there was one time they say something never change. If my teachers here, I'm sorry I ask for forgiveness. I still have not repented, you know. So I remember I remember one day I brought my report card and my teacher wrote something about it and you know like you you try to give it to your mother to sign and you try to cover that part and hopefully she doesn't see it and and you walk away then suddenly you hear a voice li
then you what do you do? Do you go and say yes I repent I have sinned. Come on, man. What do you do? You blame the teacher or you blame everyone else. What do we do? You play it down. You play it down. You see, when it comes to a wrongdoing, we play it down. But here the verse is very clear. If you, oh Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand. The psalm isn't directed to a person who did something terribly wrong. is not Psalm 51. It's not David writing it after he had adultery. It's a general psalm. They call this a song of essence or a pilgrim song. The Jews will sing it on the way to the tabernacle. It simply means there's a very important place for all of us to feel guilty over our sins. And so the first question we ask all of us, do you feel that way? You pause and ask. Now you I put myself I say okay I feel a little bit uneasy. I'm not adulterer. I'm not this. I'm not that. I'm generally a good person. Why should I feel so guilty? Correct. A lot of us that kind of feeling will kick in. Why is that so? Because we have a problem distinguishing true guilt from false guilt. That is our issue. So let me give you two propositions on guilt. The first is this. It's my life. I won't let anyone make me feel guilty for living it my way. It's my life. I will be my own person. The second proposition, I'm being told what to do and what not to do in life. I'm not sure why I follow these rules and I feel guilty if I break them. Religious people tend to have a problem with proposition two. I had a friend who doesn't go to church, but on Christmas day, he must go to church. I say, why? Oh, I have to go to church. I feel guilty if I don't. But he doesn't go to church the rest of the year. Some people go into a routine where they feel guilty. Let's break these two down and we begin to understand why we struggle with actually confessing our sins and feeling guilty when we should. The first one is very simple. on the internet. I got this as a ad for cookie. You know, don't believe in guilty pleasures. If you enjoy something, there's nothing guilty about it. Now, Chinese New Year is coming. I don't know how many you started a mak those in the construction line started already really sick of it already. The yang come vegetable very healthy, you know, looing blah blah blah blah blah blah. But when the sushi comes su the prawn comes su [Music] after a few time you look at it ah my cholesterol high blood pressure gout tells me I shouldn't but the prawn looks so good then you do the classic Chinese answer you know the classic Chinese answer once in a while correct or not but then once in a while because very frequent you Now, what's the point? What's applied to food is applied to sin. And here's the very damning answer. The damning answer is this. When it comes to sin, I can believe what I want. Let's just say I had an argument with somebody and I said certain words which were wrong. I can either pause and say I owe him an apology or pause and then believe that what I said was justified that tougher comes up that Homer Simpson red guy white guy comes up. Proposition one is when you shift your guilt to what you want to think and it's entirely unbiblical. Let's go proposition two. But let's first give you a biblical indictment on this. You find a lot of people will tell you this. My conscience is clear. When they've done something where other people tell you, are you sure what it is right? They'll tell you, I've thought about it. My conscience is clear. And Paul will tell you, but that does not make me innocent. Clear indictment. And we're going to use chapter 4 and three of first Corinthians as a parallel text as we just go through this verse. Here's the next one. The next one is people who because of certain backgrounds, they feel guilty. I was brought up brethren. Brethren cannot watch movies. Wow, I'm a terrible sinner, man. Cannot listen to rock music. Oh, I'm really going to be stoned. All sorts of dos and don'ts. You cannot do many things. and you're not encouraged to think about it. Now, religious people have that problem. Now, what it does is that proposition two invites you to be able to separate two things. What is guilt and what is anxiety? Now, two very separate things. You look at all the workaholics among us, they will work work until 10 p.m. Why? Because boss gave them a deadline. You don't meet the deadline, they feel bad. It's a self-created anxiety or in families know I mean uh if you had I mean I don't have this but I heard this you have aged parents and if you don't treat them a certain way you feel bad because they put you on a guilt trip. Now I'm not saying everyone does that. Huh? But there's a tendency of do this and CS Lewis put it very well. He says some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defeat of faith but they are afflictions not sins like all afflictions they are if we can so take them I'll share in the passion of Christ the last line we'll pick up what Sus Lewis means at the end but here's the first thing you got to separate the two now so here's the struggle if you you are feeling anxious over something or feeling guilty over something or a lack of it, how are you able to distinguish it? And Paul tells us this. He says, "I care very little if I'm judged by you." That's proposition number one. Indeed, I do not even judge myself. Sorry, that's proposition number one. The letter is proposition number two. You hear that? Paul is clear. His conscience isn't dictated by what he thinks is right. and isn't dictated by what external pressures are put on him. And he'll tell you later, his conscience is dictated by God. But here is the framework for Corinthians 4. You are of Christ. My identity is as of Christ and Christ is of God. And what does this telling us? It means guilt feelings are actually something that's a process. What you think was wrong, you may think is right later on. What you think is right maybe later on wrong. Now how do you move out of that subjective realm to an objective realm? Simple. It will be molded if we grow in Christ. Now this is very important. When I was younger man, I'm I'm what you call very bugil Malay stubbornheaded opinionated Chinese moto machine gun whatever. So people don't talk to you because you think you're right all the time. You know, some of us have that syndrome. You think you're right all the time. It takes a lot of effort over time on your knees out of the depths in solitude to actually change. Conscience is that and we need to recognize that. But this is what guilt conscience does. As you move on, as you grow, as you realize what you did is wrong, the next question is what do you do about it? and genuine guilt feelings that do not lead to confession is worthless. This is the world's leading year doctor. He's related to Michelle Yo. Two years ago or even up to last year, he was a pillar of society in England, married with kids, but he was also a secret voyer. He was videotaping women for years until he was caught and sentenced to a long prison term and his whole world came crashing down. Now this is quite inducting because it shows you behind the facade of respectability for many of us. You don't know what likes lurks behind there. Know now what's strange was that at his trial, you know what he said? He actually says something to the effect that now that he's caught, he feels a whole guilt lifted off him. Now it's a stupid remark. You know, it's completely stupid. If you feel so guilty, what you confess, but it shows you our nature, isn't it? And I want just to humbly throw this to all of us that we are not as respectable as we like to make ourselves out to be. In this hall here, there will be men struggling with sexual sins. They won't tell you. There will be those struggling with money. They won't tell you. There will be women with pent up emotional thing. They won't tell you. But that's what guilt is meant to be. It's supposed to lead to confession. Responding to genuine guilt. One, confess. Mourn your sin. The context of Paul is this. My conscience is clear. That does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. And Paul is telling the Corinthian church, while you are on earth, search your hearts. Separate genuine guilt from false guilt. separate anxiety from what you genuine. Ask yourself, are you believing something simply because you want to like the food in front of you? And if you do, ask yourself one thing. Do you need to confess? Do you need to mourn? Let me take you to the second part. And from the depths of anguish, the psalmist shifts to another sense of emotion. He says, "If you, oh Lord, kept a record sins, oh Lord, who could stand and hear this very strange verses, but with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are to be loved, therefore there is joy." Instead, it says you are feared. Like, hello. With you there's forgiveness, therefore you are feared. Strange, isn't it? Why does it say that? Now the thing is this when guilt kicks in you know and we realize we do something wrong some part of us cannot sleep. No I feel very uneasy. So you want to do something to pulate that guilt. Let me give you example. Judas did this. When Judas who had betrayed Jesus saw that Jesus was condemned he was seized with remorse. What is this? It's guilt. He returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and elders. Now did that help him? It didn't. It didn't. Why? A simple example I I was I was in non pen last week and you know we see bagggars like this. If you go to China, you go to Indonesia, you go to Philippines, you see a lot of this and your heart breaks, right? What happens? Your guilt goes up. Let me give you what happened. I was in Nen and and and I we had a driver. A car came up and I had a six-year-old boy carrying a baby. You see it your heart breaks. So window open. You give something then you discuss. You feel very bad about it until you go to the next traffic light. Another six-year-old boy comes down with another baby. Now you common co with China everywhere. They come with flowers come with this. Now here's the tragedy, right? Why are you giving? Now we give because we mean well. But why are you giving? Let's be honest. It's a guilt trip. You feel bad. Now, here's the reality. You stop and think about it. You give. You think, you think actually you're doing something good. You may be doing something worse. You know, because you're contributing to what? To an organization that kidnaps kids, cuts off their legs, and sticks them on the streets because tourists will give money. That's why you say, "Think it through, feel it through." That's what the first vers is, first four verses is. But when he comes to next four verses, the writer tells you to deal with your guilt. Another simple example, if I say I fought with Rama Masimo, wow, I really fight. No, next day I feel very bad. The right thing to do is brother, I apologize, but my pride won't let me do it. So, you know what I will do? I blunder the mak. That's a Chinese way of dealing with it. Maka. After that, what I do? I feel better. I just took it out for dinner. I have appeased my guilt. You see where the author is going with it? You see the Corinthian text tells you it is the Lord who judges me. Meaning your response to guilt should be motivated to please God, not please your own conscience. And if we are honest, we all struggle with this. It's easier to please your own conscience because you dictate your own terms to make yourself sleep better at night. And that's why you say genuine response to forgiveness is not just with joy and gratitude. That's part of it. But it must come with fear and reverence. There's this big debate in the Christian world whether you can lose your salvation. I really don't want to get there. But the problem with that kind of debates is it's a it's a no-win situation. If you tell the guy you can lose your salvation, the guy every day gets very scared. I better do something to to to earn my salvation. It becomes ungenuine. He's not sincere. He's just scared he's going to go to hell. If you tell a guy your salvation is assured, well, then the guy say okay, tomorrow I do what I want. You see, it is the the the tension between what they call a Calvinist and Armenian argument. And we really don't want to go there. But there's a very important place in scripture in whatever camp you are in, whether you're a fivepoint Calvinist or whatever, to respond to forgiveness with fear. Fear. And that's so important. So my guilt is not satisfied by what I want to do. is satisfied when I ask God, what do you want me to do? Fear. But it's a righteous kind of fear because the Hebrew word here means to be humbled. And our sister read just now, it means reverence. So let me ask you a simple question. There are many stumbling blocks to guilt that leads to confession. But what do you think is the single most biggest stumbling block? What is the single most biggest stumbling block? I will propose to you is pride. It's simple as that. Especially Asian society is not because Asians are not very well known to apologize. And later on in in the same text as we move to Corinthians 5, Paul says this, it is actually reported that there's a sexual immorality among you and of a kind that does not occur even among the pagans. You you church, he's telling you your behavior worse than the outside world. You know, a man has his father's wife. This is incest. And here's the key verse. You are proud. Shouldn't you rather have me filled with grief? That's verses 1 to4. Out of the depths I cry to you. That's Psalm 130. Shouldn't you rather be filled with grief instead you are proud. Now are they proud literally that the guy is uh you know he has his father's is this kind of macho thing. Is it in spite of it? We don't have the details. But what we do know about the Corinthian church is they are generally proud. There are a church who are very enamored with externals. How good the preacher is, how how great they worship, how smart they are, how much talents you have. It is a proud congregation. And a proud congregation is immune to sin. and a middleclass church in Sububang where everyone makes money, where they like to see preachers who are can speak well and give good examples, where the worship is slick, where the food is good, is dangerously close, dangerously close to being immune to sin. This was a movie I saw recently, really interesting. And this is Prince Charming. And in the movie Into the Woods, Prince Charming strays. And so his wife asks his, "If you love me, why did you stray?" His answer is a classic. His answer is this. I was raised to be charming, not sincere. You ask me is one of the best lines of last year. Classic line, brilliant line. But here you must understand something before we laugh because we can be like that. We are attracted to charm, you know, external nice things. We we attracted to programs. We're attracted to preachers that don't make me fall asleep. We love worship that just lift us up. But once I get to the depths of your sin, we say, "Don't go there, brother." Now, how critical is this? I'll tell you is pandemic in the Christian world. Can I humbly tell you this? this pandemic pride begins with being enamored with external projections is this is what Paul is teaching. Now here's I I one my newest resolution is not to mention names. I don't want to I don't want to slander anyone and I want to caveat myself. I'm not saying I'm more righteous than any of the pictures I'm going to show up there in the next few minutes. But every anyone who's up here publicly as far I'm concerned you're open to exposure including myself. Now, this is Russia's most important uh so-called Christian leader. I I am not going to judge. Now, do you you look at the picture? Do you have you noticed there's something wrong with the picture? Look at the reflection of the hand. You see something there? You saw the reflection. Is the reflection and the hand the same? Anyone here can spell Photoshop? You see, he's actually wearing a very expensive Rolex. You know, he's been photoshopped out. Hello, Russians. Next time you photoshop, photoshop that table also. I saw this on Al Jazzer. It struck me so much I Googled it up. You know, the the cleric here wanted to project an image of his righteousness, but his PR department decided his couple of thousands of Rolex on his hand. His bling bling would not go down well, so they photoshop it out. The question is why? Because it was important to project. But this is the society we live in. And this is the thing we first need to be very careful. Public people in church, pastors, worship leaders, preachers, we must be very careful what we project. When the leader projects something that he is not, his guilt conscience has just completely gone downhill. And the one of the saddest stories we we we heard uh yesterday, last week, Peter told us was Roy Clemens. He's a brilliant teacher and I read him up very heavily. I think he honestly struggled with homosexuality and he struggled with for a long time and I have gay friends and I'll tell you I have gay Christian friends this is a particular topic very close to my heart and I will tell you people who struggle with this genuinely struggle another Christian leader known Henry Newman struggled with it his whole life but Henry Newman went celibate declared it Roy Clemens after years of struggle decided no and he's now very much healing involved in a gay Christian uh community. But what is this danger here is beyond the gay issue is that for many years when he was up there no one knew not the entire leadership of Eden Baptist Church and when it when he came out the closet the entire church was split and Philip Hacking says this putting gifted people pedestals is asking for distress. We all fail at one stage or another. It's tragic because we give them a prominence they never asked for. We need to pray for the huge number of people who will be devastated by the fallout too. For the more we place our gifted people on pedestals, the greater the damage when they fall. I hope we will take this important message to heart in the future. I stand here preacher been doing this for years. I will tell you brothers and sisters there is not one person who stands here who doesn't struggle with his ego. He can Chinese act like he's very humble but it will be a lie. It will be such a lie. The biggest stumbling block to a guilt conscience which genuine God honors is pride. Let me throw that back to you. If you're a businessman, you will have the problem. I had a businessman that day who was giving money like anything. So I gently asked him because you're a church goer. He looked me square in the eye and say it's not a bribe. I'm giving gifts Chinese New Year. So what's happen? The hamper had a couple thousand dollar stuck in it or a check for 10 grand or some gold or whatever. It's a bribe. Hello. But what what prevents us from seeing it? Pride. And this is a pandemic issue. You know, sadly this goes over and over and and we see the Corinthian church reflected when here's another pastor no needs mentioned. I mean if you give a pastor a hall where his posters up there maybe next time the hall out there we have pictures of Peter like that like this like that in a nice tie with verses out there you know like like like you know it doesn't do anything when you're struggling with a sin to come clean because you're projecting an image and we see this all over whether it's money you know when when when pastors look like they've been groomed my GQ, you know. Hey, Peter, you must get us something on the back screen like this, man. Next time we preach, we can go. I mean, it's flashy. It's slick. But is it crossdriven pride? And here's the response. The most lacking thing in today's church, I plead with you, is this word called accountability. And interestingly, the proverbs that says it, the purpose of a man's heart are deep waters. That's verse one of Psalm 130. When a man of understanding draws them out. Now, why is it in our church now, we we do, for example, outer calls or prayer requests. Let me let me just explain this a little bit. Some people do other forms of prayer. I like to do outer calls. It's my own preference. Maybe I it doesn't make anyone better or worse if he doesn't do it. But why do we do it? Because it takes a lot of courage to come in front. It takes a lot of courage. And I I can recall cases where some people come up and they were in tears and they say certain things and I pray. The next time I see them in church, they give me the kind of look like I wish I didn't tell that to honor. And you want to tell brother I you know but you dare not say should I ask him how are you struggling on with this? They're not ask you know but I will tell you anybody who came and said that there is already a victory because that pleases God. It's not just outer calls. It's accountability partners. It's and especially for leadership. You don't do this. You don't check yourself. You project something but you're something else. This is so critical. So I want to say this at the end of this service. We are going to do an out call. No apologies. We tried everything. A room upstairs screens at the back. You name it, we have tried it and we will keep trying it. But this today when we do it, we're going to pray first for the assembly of leaders and then the elders will pray on me because we want to tell the church we pledge to be accountable. We will do it. I tell you as I say it now a part of me doesn't want to say it. I rather not. But I must fear the Lord. I must fear the Lord. And every leader should. And if the leadership is accountable, the flock will follow. If the leadership is not accountable, why should anyone come in front for an alter call? Pointless. So I'll leave that for you as we move on as we close soon. Third part, and this is such a great part. He says persevering hope. What is the key word repeated again and again is the word wait. And what is he waiting? In his hope, I put my lord. Why is it people don't like to be accountable? Well, one is pride. Another one, they afraid. I tell you something, you tell the whole world, which is very common. But can I tell you in FBC? I haven't seen it happen yet. So have a bit more trust in your leaders. But here's the third one. I sit down with you, I share you can be anything. I got a porn habit. I don't know how to break it. I I I I had an affair with somebody in China. I I I did this in the past. I struggle with my business. I do this. You know what? What I'm afraid of telling you, if I tell you and I keep on struggling with it, you're going to judge me. You're going to judge me. You're going to send me a timeline, right? You got this sit now, right? Here's the 10e program. Every week we check KPI after five didn't do it one month. Oh, you're going to go to hell. So I after a while I see you, I turn the other way. And Tim Keller puts it in such simple English in this responding to general guilt. It takes time to change. It takes time. This man goes from so deep sin. He comes to forgiveness and he says he waits. Wait for what? What is the morning here? Theology we call this an esquetological morning. He waits for Christ to come. Some people will struggle to the day they die. But it pleases God if they come clean instead of hiding it. And we have this in actually wrong text. Romans, what a wretched man I am. The Romans 7 class attack. Who will rescue me from this body of death? He's filled with guilt. The Romans 7 text, not one Corinthians. He say, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Tim Keller says it this way. We are all in depth. We are all in a pit, you know, like a deep well. The gospel is the rope that goes down and we're slowly climbing out. And you can do two things. Either you tear one another and pull people down or you can help one another climb up the rope. And once you get up to the rope, what what teaches you? What propels you to fight this this struggle? But what propels you to keep going on with your guilt is this desire in God that comes in the unfailing love of Christ who redeems us. He will redeem Israel. He will fully redeem us and he'll pay the price on the cross. And every time you struggle with a sin, anytime you want to hide, this is what pushes you forward. Let me close with a very tragic example. the profundes. Like I said last week, I was in Nonpen and we we were there for work and I had the opportunity to take some time to go to Chong Egg. Uh those of you not familiar with Cambodian history in the 1970s, uh 3 million people were massacred and they were all buried in fields and this is the largest field. Now this is very popular and I know some of you have been there in the middle of Chong has what you call a stupa and here you have pictures of the bodies and some of the fields that kept intact. Now the stupa when you go in there does something to you know and maybe because as an architect I find it quite interesting. Now you look at it carefully. Do you know the the stupa is four-sided? Do you know to move around? You see how you see how the girls moving around? You cannot move. You know, you actually have to angle yourself by the side and go in like that. I always wondered why. But you think about it, it is the only way to confront the horror. Because as you enter it, it's just a 4ft gap. You look at this tower of skulls. Now you know Chinese people very pang when you get in for Chinese people what the first thing do is fight get out you can't face it but when you enter the stupa that's it you can't get out you have to process and when you make yourself through every corner like that it does things to you know it makes you do what it makes you do verses one to four out of the depths I cry oh lord God hear my voice, my cry for mercy. Why is man so sinful? He does that. My staff was with me. He says, "Boss, why do people do that?" I said, "The world is sinful." It teaches you to grief. But more importantly is the outside because Chong egg is a garden and people sit and I see people weep, you know, they cry and they weep. They cry and they weep. They weep and they struggle to comprehend the reality of this. Now I think besides asking ourselves we need to find time to solitude over sin I just want to tell you what this has done to me. Sometime I think no a 60 year old Cambodian man will go there and sit on the chair and probably he's one of those guys in the 1970s was a young Camilu cadet you must understand three million people died only 10 people have been indicted the rest of them have blended into Cambodian society and this 60 year old man could be an aging tuk tuk driver or a successful businessman Man, I imagine him sitting on a chair. His guilt conscience drips him and he says, "What did I do in the 70s?" He would tell himself, "I was forced to do it." Then he could swing to another part, but I did it knowingly. It is a terrible way to live. It is a life full of guilt. And then he will try to earn merit. And he will try to do good deeds. and he prays when he dies whoever is out there will give him that forgiveness. Brothers and sisters, you may not be that kind of sinner, but understand in war many people do many things. Our sins may not be dead, but never underestimate the depth of your sin. 2,000 years ago, there was another garden, another garden of tears. There was another man who griefed. The garden is called Gethsemane. And in that garden, Jesus wept for the sins of you, you, you, and me. And that's why we sing that song, burdens are lifted at Calvary. This morning, God is challenging you. Come clean. Every one of us here as we prepare ourselves for the outer core. Come clean. Move yourselves from the depths. From the depths. And at the end of it, he's gone from the depths to the top of the hill. And he's crying to Israel, put your hope in the Lord. From the profoundis, he has moved to Gloria Excelsis. Prayer the profoundis gives to God. Gloria in excelsis. We want to prepare you for an outer call. And I just want to challenge us this like some people come. You don't need to tell us anything. You can come if you're sick or you have a need. And if you're struggling with sin, you just come and hold our hands and say, "Pray for me." We will not ask. We will not ask. Just that act of coming in front says, "Brother Ann Arnold, pray for me." Honors God. I want to ask now for the assembly of leaders to come in front. Can we have the assembly of leaders to come? Because leaders, you are accountable. Can we have leaders? Assembly leaders, you're there. Please come. Every assembly of leader, you you have to be accountable. If the leaders are not accountable, the church is not accountable. If the assembly of leaders cannot come for an outer call, the church will not come. So, I'm going to pray for the assembly of leaders. Don't face the congregation. Face me and I will pray for you. And after that, Peter and Richard will pray for me because I'm a preacher. I cannot project something I'm not. And I'll tell you, I also have my struggles. And after that, as the song sings, we ask you to come to receive prayer. Put aside your pride. We give you our confidence. You will not go out. That honors God. And by that, we are accountable. So, let's now first just open in prayer and then I'll pass the mic to Peter and Richard who will pray over me. Lord, we we ask I know it's a long morning that we just pray for our leaders here that we regularly hold ourselves accountable, Lord, that each one of us commit to not just putting this as a show, but this year we make it our desire to find prayer partners that we can share our struggles. We find time every month to meet together to confess our sins so that we can lay our guilt towards one another and lay it before the cross that burdens are lifted at Calvary. We need not feel guilty. You have redeemed us and so we go forth with fear and trembling. We say this in Jesus' name. Leaders, please stay in front to receive prayer by others and I'll ask Peter and Richard to pray over me. leaders will you face the congregation and as a song sings you need any prayer do come in front we are here to receive you let's pray father Lord we just thank you for your word delivered by your servant Arnold and father Lord we acknowledge together as leaders we bear this awful burden because the weight of your word outweighs anything that we could hold with our flesh and father before you we are sinners we are guilty and we confess before you and ask, oh Lord, for the power of the cross to reign in our hearts that no matter how deep and how dark that guilt is, it is relieved as a stone is rolled open on that glorious Sunday morning resurrection when Jesus rose and sin was defeated. It's defeated in our lives. It's defeated in all of us, oh Lord. We just need to cling to the cross. And for Arnold, we commit him and all our preachers into your hands for Jesus sake. Amen. We're going to sing this song. It's a powerful
