It isn't true confession unless it is.

63 I think one of the thing that keeps our people from being healed is the lack of confession, is the lack of sincere confession. Now, for instance, this might sound a little bad, but I don't mean it in this way. But, looking at my wife sitting here. If I would go out here today and throw my arms around some other woman and—and make love to her, and I'd know then, after I did that, that I was wrong, so wrong. Now, of course, my Comforter would keep me from doing that. See? See? But I mean if I—if I did that, and I… it happened that I did it or anything similar to it. And then I know the first thing is to say to my wife, before I can say to God, "forgive me," 'cause I sinned against her. If you come to the altar and remember you have ought, go make that right first, before you offer your gift. So I've got to go to her. I believe in confession is straightening up also. It isn't true confession unless it is. 

64 What if I said now, "I'm going to confess it, that I done wrong, I say, 'Good Lord, O Friend of mine, You know that I know You real well. Praise God! Hallelujah! I—I—I—I think You're a good old Fellow. Forgive me. You know, old, old Friend, I—I didn't mean it that way'"? See? 

65 Now, you say, "That's sacrilegious." It is. To make a confession like that, it is. 

66 But what if I go say, "Lord, I—I didn't mean to do it just that way, and You help me and I won't do it again"? He'll refuse my sacrifice until I first go and make that right with my wife. 

67 Then what if I come to her with the same irreverence, and say, "Say, old girl, old friend of mine, old mother of my children, and old sweetheart, you know we been old chums for a long time. Say, what if I put my arms around another woman? And what do you say about it, old kid, would you forgive me?" 

68 I imagine how she'd look. She'd think, "What's happened to my husband?" See? Now, the first thing, she wouldn't know whether I was kidding or whether I wasn't. 

69 And you don't go that way to make a confession to your fellow man or God. You go with the depths of sincerity, with godly sorrow of your sin. First, you must be sorry. I must tell her, "Sweetheart, come here, it may mean the rest of our married life. The woman that I live with, that's my sweetheart, and how I've loved you all these years. But now you may leave me, from this on, you may not stay with me, you may not accept me. And I'm knowing that. But yet, to make it right, I got to get right." I got to tell her with the depths of my heart. 

70 Then I've got to tell God the same way. And tell both her and God, with the sincerity, that I'll never do it again, by the grace of God. See? Don't just really… Now, I might be able to put it over her, and she (see?) won't see. Maybe my speech to her would—would convince her, but my speech won't convince God. He looks in my heart and He knows. And after all, just a few more years with her, if God permits, and we'll be taken out of this world. But with God, it's Eternity, so I must be deeply sincere with God. And then if I am sincere, He'll hear me. But if I'm not sincere, there's no need of me wasting God's time listening to me. 

71 And that's where it's come to today, amongst people, there doesn't seem to be the depths of sincerity that—that they ought to have.

63-0721 - He Cares Do You Care?

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