This sermon emphasizes the importance of confession, highlighting the element of humbling oneself and the need for genuine repentance. It references biblical instances of confession in Leviticus and Nehemiah, stressing the significance of acknowledging sin and seeking forgiveness. The speaker addresses the lack of true confession in society, the need for heartfelt mourning over sin, and the transformative power of genuine prayer and action in response to sin and national decline.

Now, dear friends, you know, you have all heard of confession. What is the sticking point in confession? The element of humbling yourself, or in other words, pride. That's the sticking point. Well, everyone has need of confession. And the first mention of confession in the scriptures is in the book of Leviticus, and the fifth chapter, the fifth verse. And it shall be when he shall be guilty in one of these things, Leviticus 5.5, that he shall confess that he had sinned in that thing. Here, reference is made to swearing and uncleanness. Then he shall be guilty in one of these. And when he shall be guilty, that he shall confess that he had sinned in that thing. So, we see how a kid, a lamb for a sin offering had to be presented to the Lord to make atonement for him concerning his sin. Well, so even swearing was forbidden, for good or evil. You know, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. How simple that makes life, you know. A Muslim businessman said to me last week, you know, our fathers and grandfathers, they just settled matters over the phone. Big transactions. They never needed a contract, nothing on paper, and it was done. Mark you, this was a Muslim businessman. And today, he added, you make a contract, and then to get the fellows to fulfill the contract is so hard. You see, they go back on something, they delay something. Oh, yes. But the Bible teaches us, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Neither of these have people learned. They simply don't mean yes when they say yes. And they simply don't know how to say no, and to stick by it. They don't know how to say no. You see, everything goes. They're ready for all evil. And so, to friends or others, who will ask them to do things which compromise their conscience, they will say, okay, but your yes should be yes, and your no should be no. And failing which, you see, you don't have to swear to confirm the truth of what you are saying. So, I wonder how the workplace is in Britain today. I would think it's full of swearing, you know, swearing. And many people swear by the name of Jesus Christ. And to those who are strangers, it is a very surprising thing when they hear the name of Jesus being used as a swear word. It's a very shocking thing. But back in history, John Wesley observed that even the boatmen on the Rhine in Germany swore less than the British nation. That was back in history. And he remarked about it. So, swearing goes on. And every other sin goes on. And there is no confession. That which we ought not to do, we have done. And that which we ought to do, we have not done. We miserable sinners. I'm not able to quote the exact words, but you know that every Sunday in the liturgy of the Anglican church, you have these words originally meant to be meaningful. You see, if you have a whole nation acknowledging the sins of commission and omission, well, there is much hope. You know, when I know that I'm doing something wrong and I come and publicly confess it, hey, it is almost tantamount to saying, I'll never do the thing again. You see, folks, but it has just become a parrot-wise saying. It must be very offensive to God to have to hear the same thing again and again, week after week, from people who simply don't intend it. You see, if someone said sorry to you and thought it was a big joke saying sorry to you, well, you would be offended, wouldn't you? Not just disappointed, you'd feel aggrieved, offended. All right. So, then, you know, in the 16th chapter of Leviticus, you have confession again. 21st verse, Leviticus 16 and 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. You see, here we see what God had ordained, that there should be an actual, definite cost for confession. And confession here carries with it certain forfeiture. You're forfeiting or offering a goat here. And the symbol is that by this public acknowledgement, you are acknowledging before God that you have grieved. The nation has grieved. Well, there is in the liturgy all the provision given for these confessions. And some of those are rich prayers. But as you can see, they have become very formal prayers. And you just run through them and that's it. Nobody thinks of even what he is saying. Now, Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 39 and 40. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity. In your enemies' lands and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers with their trespass, which they have trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me. Now, here is a confession of the sins of our fathers. My, you know, a man said to me, a very famous man and a noted author. He apparently was Ghana in the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. And he said, oh, I am happy I did not kill anybody in warfare. You know, even in warfare where killing is supposed to be legitimate, this man, oh, of course, long after the war, he was telling me this. He said, yes, I'm so glad I didn't kill anybody. But you know, there are many who have shed blood. And some of these soldiers are returning with such scars in their minds and strange psychological disorders. And that's happening to many American boys and girls. Go and fight a battle somewhere in Kuwait or Iraq and come home, but be rendered practically useless for life. Oh, it's very sad. So, the sins of our fathers. Oh, my. Martyr blood has been shed a plenty in this land. And I would recommend to you that you read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. It's a very inspiring book that takes us to the roots of what the Christian church stood for and stood against. You see, today the Christian church seems not to stand for anything. You know, it is trepzying just a foot behind the world, imitating the world as closely as it can. And we call that the church. The Lord Jesus Christ said, these are in the world, but they are not of it. So, when we turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not ashamed to be in conflict with the values of this world. We simply have different values. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand. Of course, when you don't begin to seek those things, and it is all, you know, a race, a competition with somebody else, you know, and we are running neck and neck with the world. Well, we don't count for anything, really. No moral values, no spiritual values, nothing, nothing in the pulpit and nothing in the pew. And we call that the church. We'd rather call it the club meeting. Only the club meeting can be more serious and come out with certain programs that work. You see, if our soccer clubs worked as the church worked, nothing would be done. Not a goal would be scored. You see, the team will never appear on the grounds at those, what, opening whistle, isn't it? They won't even show up. There's simply no comparison between a soccer team and the church, absolutely none. The dedication in a soccer team is something else. Of course, you'll have odd balls like your Rooney, Ronnie or Rooney or whatever you call the fellow who had to be sent out at a critical moment in the game. You know, who is wrong? A mother did not apply the old British prescription. Get down your pants now. Turn it out. You're administered the medicine that cures. You know, you'll find yourself in court if you did such British things. It's very un-European to do it. You see? My dear friends, let us turn to 1 Peter, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. So, don't forget that. 2640 of Leviticus, confessing our sins and the sins of our fathers. You know, this family pride is an awful impediment. You know, our pedigree can be a guarantee to take us to hellfire. Second chapter, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if so be you have tasted the Lord is gracious. So, it's only a newborn babe that acquires taste for milk. The unborn babe does not and the stillborn babe does not. There are too many stillborn babes who have no desire, hunger for God's word. So, the indifference of this nation, outward indifference, I will say, because if you get into conversation with any thinking person, you will find how deeply disappointed they are in their hearts. And some of them will come out and tell you that they are disappointed with themselves. Yes, but they simply see no way out of it. So, we have a people who have never been introduced to the power of Jesus, which regenerates, makes you a new person. So, when that is not known or expected, what have you got? You have a bunch of automatons. They come out of habit. They have no real hunger for God or righteousness. They haven't got any deep concern for their neighbors. They just come out of the force of habit and they sit there and, you know, they're already thinking of, oh, the football game will be starting any minute now. Their mind is somewhere else. They're just there fulfilling their weekly chore for the appearances of it. Now, my dear friends, we have to show Britain that there is something vital, something powerful in the gospel, something which is down to earth, something which is relevant today. You see? And that is not hard to do at all. You just have to live the Christian life and people will be asking you, what is it that makes you tick? What is it that makes you happy? You see, here the Bible tells us that all guile, hypocrisy, malice, you know, goodwill is something which should come into the new heart with the birth. See, it's not something which you put on. You see your brother promoted and you see him as somebody who hasn't got any special talents, but here he is, he's promoted, he's acknowledged, he's honored. Do you find it hard to take that? But why? Have you got goodwill? Is it so hard for you to rejoice when your brother is elevated to the throne? You know, my dear friends, that's a very practical test of how real your regeneration is, because envies, sibling rivalries, things like that easily take hold of us. All right, there are a bunch of doctors here and in any of our retreats, you know, from the time I was practically a student, we always had a lot of university people as well as medical graduates and others in the professions, any number of them. All right, but we never had any sense of competition. Oh, that fellow is making so much money. I'm not. He has got so many talents. You know, my dear friends, you must look at my reports. I wish they had been preserved, school reports, prep school reports, in a tent. I wish that remains in my head, of course. They, you know, on one occasion, my mother was my class teacher and I annoyed her to no end. I don't know how I did it. But she came home one day and said to my dad, either Joe must leave the class or I must leave the class. I remember the remark of another teacher. She called, in her exasperation, she called my sister and said to her, your brother is a rogue. Well, those were some of the comments. Another teacher, when my father inquired how I was getting on in my academics, he said mediocre. So, listen, there was nothing at all, especially, or something remarkable about it. Well, but God had chosen the foolish things of this world. Don't forget the weak things of this world. Take heart. And so, God chooses even people like me. How wonderful that he can make something out of you and me. But this business of hypocrisy and envy and putting on a false facade, these are so alien to the Christian nature, completely alien. You know, I have always believed in encouraging talent. And I would see talent where others would not see any talent. You know, this world cares only for the top people. But a Christian heart says, I will lift this weak one. I have found remarkable qualities in people with very modest or with no talents at all. Remarkable qualities. So, I never would ignore the poor or the people who appear not to outshine everybody else. No, my dear friends, this is a different world. You get a different heart. You begin to love people who are hard to love. And you begin to see talent where it doesn't seem to exist at all. You know, the people of the world are so different. They only care for their gain or their prestige or some such thing. So, I see small little families here. Let me say this. Not all children have the same talent. And when you see somebody with some talent, the Christian heart says, oh God, bless and keep these little ones. Bless and keep them. It's not a question of saying, oh, my people, my children don't have the same talent. That's the world. The world reacts like that. But the Christian heart reacts with goodwill. You know, I never competed with anybody. Of course, I was a pretty good runner. You know, now I'm finding it hard to walk even to the gate or to that little church there. But it's the good Lord that keeps me going. And I have to try and keep mobile just to be able to do my work. But otherwise, I never competed with anybody. Some of my classmates were outstanding fellows, brilliant. And I was nothing besides them. But I never turned green or yellow or any such color. You know, I never said, hey, I don't have this. I don't have that. Look at that beautiful brand name shirt he is wearing. Oh, I wish I could get it. Never felt a sense of deprivation. We didn't have money. I was one of the poorest in the class in the prep school. But I never competed with anybody. And so when I heard this distinguished, well-known, I won't name the person, internationally known speaker and pastor and Bible teacher say in America, I've never seen such competition as exists between preachers. Hey, I was horrified to hear that. What is this man saying? Preachers who can't stand their brother being elevated? What kind of preachers are they? They're fit for hellfire. Are they regenerate men? No. So you see that all the nature, that all the nature, you must know yourself. Now, these things are eating up this world. See, for instance, there's no need at all for Europe to feel outdistanced by America. You see, there's no need at all. There are so many talents in Europe, so many things which Europe has experienced and survived. And here is a new nation. Of course, the Puritan ethic started it off. The Puritan ethic has great blessing. Although today we talk about the Puritanical Victorian age of something in a kind of contemptuous manner. Oh, the hard work ethic. It is a hard work ethic. And some of those laws taken from the Bible, which were applied in public life. So you will find what is a great crime in America is a joke in Europe. Hey, what big deal is this? All our people are this way here. All the royals are known for their immoral antics. This is an old story in Europe. And what is the big deal about President Clinton or whatever? They must have gone off their heads. This man, President Bush, he is a headless man. Well, that's how Europe dismisses some of the Christian values. Listen, my dear friends, I find it even in people who say they are converted people. This kind of competition. Why? Why do you have to be green? After all, you know, Michigan has lost much of its manufacturing. Michigan, which is famous as the home of the automobile. You know, Detroit is full of unemployment, houses for sale, foreclosures, people who have no chance of getting a job because all the jobs have been outsourced to India or Bangalore or someplace. You see, when that happens to a father, when he's educating his children in midstream, when he's 40 years, his job is gone, no likelihood of getting another opening. Hey, listen, there is a lot of suffering. But people have become so small-minded. I can even sense it in, say, like in some of our retreats. I have to educate them in Europe. I say, when your brother is up, are you down? No. When my brother is up, greater likelihood of my being drawn up. When my brother is down, is that any time for rejoicing? No, not at all. See, see how this evil nature, unregenerate nature, carries over into the national life, even to the Christian church. What does the Christian church have to do with this? Nothing at all. Nothing at all. If my brother is seeing revival, oh, yes, it will be a blessing to me. If my brother is high up here spiritually, oh, well, it's going to lift me also. Goodwill. Let me tell you, my dear friend, if you're lacking in goodwill, your health will suffer. Your family will suffer. You will give that contagion to your children, and they will suffer. It is just a part of the old nature, that old degenerate nature, which should have been crucified with the cross, at the cross. No more to stick its head out. It's still there. It's still there, an evil nature. See, heathen people hardly know how to acknowledge or to confess. If you turn to Psalm 51, Psalm 51, 3, verse 3, for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. You know, acknowledging transgression, and the next verse, against thee, thee only have I sinned. You see, sin is a very theoretical thing to the heathen people. Sin against whom? Sin against his idol? The idol has no moral values. Sin against whom? No consciousness at all. Against thee, thee only have I sinned. You see, the cross of Jesus Christ defines sin, the dire consequences of sin, the death and the degradation which is in our sin. You see, if you don't come to the cross of Jesus Christ, oh yes, I did something wrong. I should be ashamed of it, I suppose. That's it. Pass it by, do the same thing in the afternoon. But when you look at the cross of Jesus Christ and say, now my sin cost my sinless Savior, this kind of shame, nakedness, grief, pain, blood, torture, death. My sin cost my Savior. Well, you know, my dear friends, that defines your sin and the depths to which it plunges you. But if the cross is not there, what is my sin? Oh, who are you to tell me that I have sinned? See, sin is a plaything when the cross is not there. Today, we have got the cross stuck on the top of our church steeple, but not stuck in our hearts. We've got a cross which is just an emblem or even a fashion statement. That's all. It does not turn you away from sin. What is this? That means we have got a crossless Christianity, a Christianity which has no atonement in it, no redemption in it, no cleansing blood in it, nothing. So, confession is just a lip statement. I have grieved God, carries no weight with me. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So, my dear friends, you know, conversion implies an acknowledgement, a confession, and of course, with a confession, there is always a turning away, a restitution. This is abominable. I won't touch it again. That's it. A revulsion which divorces you from your own nature. So, my dear friends, confession we have seen just a little. Last of all, let me turn you to Nehemiah and the first chapter. Now, you know, my dear friends, when Nehemiah heard of the captivity and their sufferings in Jerusalem, the third verse, first chapter, and they said unto him, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven and said, I beseech you, O Lord, God of heaven, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eye open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my father's house have sinned. Both I and my father's house have sinned. Now, here is a mourning person. I don't know how much mourning there has been in this land in the past month. Well, England is apparently taking comfort in the fact that it derives its national genes from the Anglo-Saxon stock. So they are making a claim to the third place. You'll see all that grunt. After all, you know, my dear friends, did you see anybody weeping in the buses or subways underground? Lamenting? Mourning? Well, I suppose many people shed tears in this country. No question about it. And when they lost to what? Was it Portugal? Oh, shame on me. Very well. I'm sure there was considerable mourning over that inflated ball of leather, which went the wrong direction. But what about mourning for the nation? What about confessing the sins of this nation? My dear, it is so sad. We hardly know what to rejoice about, what to glory in, and what to grieve over. But here, you know, this is not an aimless kind of confession. It is accompanied by action. Now, that's, that's the difference. When I saw a sordid situation, I would always take it to heart. Well, in many cases, I wish I had always done it. If I had always done it, mine, it would have been something else. However, very often, I allowed some of those things which I saw to go to my heart. The consequence was that I would go to that place again and begin a work that would bring enlightenment. A different scenario would meet me after a short time. I could do it. The gospel did it. The word of God did it. That's it. You see, it is not a kind of sterile kind of sullen admission of failure. No, no, no. It is a real springboard of action. You begin to act, and God begins to use you. And there comes a transformation. That is real prayer. My dear people, you know, we are playing at some of these most important things. Just play. Let us pray. Oh, loving Father, we have not even graduated to this normal level of acknowledging, acknowledge, and then confess. Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight, that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest. Yes, Lord, speak the word of condemnation. Speak the sentence of eternal death. I deserve it. Oh, Lord, my God, help us, help us to see that old, unregenerate heart, those emotions that spring out of that heart, those irrelevant, unspiritual, uncharitable thoughts that arise from that heart. Save us, Lord, save us. It would be such a serious thing for us to miscalculate and compliment ourselves for achievements that certainly don't belong to us. Oh, Lord, our God, forgive us when we could not rejoice in a brother's gain or advancement, that old, wicked nature which was back there in Cain, that old, wicked nature. Why should it grip me? Why can't I rejoice when my brother's offering is accepted and mine needs to be a different offering to be accepted? Oh, loving Father, we pray and ask You, Lord, all the national sentiments and piety which surface at the World Cup. Lord, our God, I wish it were something a little deeper, a little deeper than a one-and-a-half-hour excitement over a ball of leather. Oh, gracious Father, while nations are coming down, America, England, Germany, France, Middle Eastern nations, and some of these supposedly very successful economies in China and India, preening themselves over their new-found flair and achievements, oh, my Father, help them to know that the foundations of their economic success are very weak and cannot sustain a continued growth in their economy. The lack of character, the lack of truth, oh, Lord, this plague that has hit Britain and Europe, sleaze and sex and impurity in the highest quarters, in the court and out of court, loving Father, we plead, help us to know that there is, help the nation to know that there is a God to see it and greet it over this awful spiritual and moral and mental and physical decline. Oh, my Father, why did you allow us to be alive at such a time as this, just to be spectators of this sad spectacle? Oh, Lord, our God, move us out as you moved, Nehemiah, as you brought David out of his gloom and out of that horrible pit. Bring us out, Lord, bring us out. Give us a concern. Give me tears. Oh, Lord, my God, how illiquid I feel to minister in truthfulness to this country. But, Lord, at a time when you're looking for someone to stand in the gap, would you cause us to be that someone? There are so many young people here, not just a momentary stirring, not just a little emotional awakening. But, Lord, let this be a complete turning around into seeking those things which endure, those things which are eternal. Hear our prayer. Oh, precious Master, help us, we pray. We hardly know how to think and how to react, but your word has put before us very clear guidelines. We plead with you at such a time as this, let it not be just a convivial gathering, a gathering of good, well-meaning friends who have come here for a little spiritual repast. Oh, no, Lord, no, Lord, this has gone on for some time now. Such shallow reaction to the word of God. Lord, our God, help us to react scripturally, even as the men in scripture reacted to the prevailing situations which confronted them. Please, Lord, let us rise in spiritual stature. Let us awake out of stagnation. Please, Lord, hear our prayer. Whatever it takes to blow us out, out of our sloughs of despondency or discouragement, bring us out, we pray. Hear our prayer in Jesus' holy name. Amen.