Confession on SermonAudio

1 Samuel 25:28 'I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.' The sermon explores the biblical narrative of Abigail interceding for her household by seeking peace with King David, using this event as a typological picture of salvation. It contrasts the foolish defiance of Nabal, who rejected God's offer of peace and faced judgment, with Abigail's humble confession and plea for forgiveness. The preacher emphasises that sinners must recognise God's impending wrath and approach Christ with humility, owning their own guilt rather than blaming others. By confessing sin and requesting mercy, the penitent sinner finds reconciliation, the removal of divine condemnation, and a restored relationship with God as King. Ultimately, the message urges listeners to awaken to the reality of judgment and flee to Christ for the peace that comes through faith.

Scripture: I Corinthians 2:1-5; I Timothy 1:15 Belgic Confession Article 21 Sermon Title: Christ Alone Sermon Theme: Seek Christ alone in a world that pursues... Sermon Points: I. Looking Good II. Feeling Good III. Doing "Good"

The sermon emphasizes that spiritual armor is ineffective without the active power of prayer, which serves as the vital force enabling believers to withstand demonic attacks. Drawing from Ephesians 6 and Matthew 6, the text argues that mere knowledge of biblical truths leaves a Christian spiritually lifeless, like an empty suit of plate armor. True strength and endurance in the spiritual battle come only through consistent communion with God, who provides the necessary power for standing firm. The preacher outlines various forms of prayer, including adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, as essential practices for maintaining this connection. Ultimately, the message calls believers to rely entirely on divine grace rather than their own fortitude to resist the enemy.

This confession addresses the struggle with discouragement and depression by examining the psalmist's fight against despair in Psalms 42 and 43. It emphasizes that emotions often deceive believers into feeling abandoned by God, necessitating a conscious decision to question one's own spirit rather than succumbing to self-pity. Drawing on Martin Lloyd-Jones, the message outlines three steps for spiritual recovery: questioning the soul, exhorting it to trust in God, and clinging to His faithful promises. The preacher encourages listeners to actively preach truth to themselves using specific scriptures like Romans 8:28 and Psalm 23:4 to combat feelings of hopelessness. Ultimately, the central message is that restoring hope requires intentionally shifting focus from circumstances to God's character and faithfulness.

The sermon establishes a Christ-centered hermeneutic as the essential framework for interpreting Scripture, emphasizing that Jesus is the unifying theme connecting the Old and New Testaments. It distinguishes between the Covenant of Works, which requires perfect obedience and leads to condemnation after the Fall, and the Covenant of Grace, which offers salvation solely through faith in Christ's finished work. The speaker warns against theological errors like Pelagianism and Arminianism that attempt to mix human effort with divine grace, arguing that such synergism undermines the monergistic nature of salvation. By maintaining this distinct covenantal structure, believers can correctly understand biblical continuity and avoid the error of Biblicism or legalism. The message concludes by urging reliance on God's sole initiative in redemption to ensure proper theological clarity and assurance.

In "The Sons of God, Part 4," Pastor McNutt returns a fourth time to Romans 8:14, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God," asking again how a believer may know he is a child of God. Opening with the memory of a Sunday school teacher who wanted nothing but his good, he presses the far greater truth that God has placed the Holy Spirit Himself in every believer as the One who is in our corner. Drawing on Galatians 5:17 and James 4:5, he shows that the Spirit exerts a strong, jealous influence against the flesh, yearning for our sanctification and final glorification, and that this jealousy is the same holy jealousy God declares of Himself in Exodus 20. He then answers the practical question of what such leading actually looks like: a spiritual outlook that hungers for the Word and the company of the brethren, a citizenship in heaven that loosens our grip on what is seen, a life aimed at God's glory rather than self, a growing desire to know Christ, a deepening awareness and grief over indwelling sin that drives us to confession, a watchfulness against temptation, and the active putting to death of the deeds of the body. God leads, but we must walk; sanctification is cooperation with the Spirit and the Word. The evidence is the singular fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, increasingly manifest in a changed life. God did not save us merely for heaven, or He would have taken us home at once. He saved us to make a difference now, and the Spirit will transform us into the image of the Son.