1. Where does it belong in your life?
Confession
Where does it belong in your life?

2. James 5:13-20 (NIV) 13 Is any one of you in trouble. He should pray
James 5:13-20 (NIV) 13  Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14  Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

3. 16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17  Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

4. 19  My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20  remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

5. 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143 What is James saying?
Confession of your sins is a Jewish practice that is mentioned over and over in the Old Testament
The Penitential Psalms
6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143

6. Numbers 22:27-34 (NIV) 27  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28  Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

7. 29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me
29  Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now." 30  The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said.

8. 31  Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32  The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.

9. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times
33  The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her." 34  Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."

10. Joshua 7:19-22 (NIV) 19  Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." 20  Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done:

11. 21  When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.“ 22  So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.

12. Joshua 7:23-26 (NIV) 23  They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.24  Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.

13. 25 Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us
25  Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26  Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

14. 1 Samuel 15:  Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11  "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night. 12  Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal."

15. 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions." 14  But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" 15  Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."

16. 16 "Stop. " Samuel said to Saul
16  "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied. 17  Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18  And he sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.'

17. 1 Samuel 15:19-23 19 Why did you not obey the LORD
1 Samuel 15:  Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?" 20  "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21  The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

18. 22  But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23  For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

19. 1 Samuel 15:24-3124 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned
1 Samuel 15:  Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. 25  Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD." 26  But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you.

20. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!" 27  As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.28  Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors--to one better than you.

21. 29  He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." 30  Saul replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God." 31  So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

22. 2 Samuel 12:1-5 (NIV) 1 The LORD sent Nathan to David
2 Samuel 12:1-5 (NIV) 1  The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2  The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3  but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children.

23. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms
It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4  "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

24. 2 Samuel 12:5-7 (NIV) 5  David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." 7  Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

25. 2 Samuel 12:8-13 (NIV) 8  I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9  Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

26. 10  Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' 11  "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12  You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'"

27. 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD
13  Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
15  After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16  David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.

28. Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV)  Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2  Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.3  When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah 5  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
salm 32:1-5

29. Psalm 41:1-5 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. 2  The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. 3  The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness. 4  I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you." 5  My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die and his name perish?"

30. Psalm 51:1-4  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

31. 1 John 1:5-10 (NIV) 5  This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

32. What Conclusions can we draw from all this?
First God is a God of Grace. We do not get forgiveness because we do this or don’t do that which means your salvation does not depend on making a prayer at the right time.
1 John 1:7 is God’s gift to us. Verses is to offset the teaching of the Gnostics.

33. James 5:16 is relying on what the converted Jewish people that had been converted. Please notice that James is not dealing with your salvation , but healing from an illness. (Check Psalms 32; 41; 51). These Psalms deal with the guilt that is occurring in the person’s life and not their salvation.

34. When confessing your sins, there are a couple of things to for which to look.
You are looking for a person that teaches grace and not works.
You are looking for someone who will forgive you because when another Christian says I forgive you, it teaches the person is loved no matter what.

35. Make sure the person you choose to go to will not reveal anything you tell him.
Look for people that are very spiritual in your opinion.
Counselors are good because if they reveal anything you will probably get enough in the settlement to buy a new home.

36. The one truth you are trying to get across is that you forgive them no matter what they have done and if you being a human being can forgive them God won’t have any trouble at all.

37. Sometimes you need to include forgiving God, not because He has done something wrong, but because you feel He should have acted differently. Take the time to read Psalms 73 and Psalms 137; 4; 10; 22; 64;142