Daniel 9 - Corporate Confession

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We are returning to the book of Daniel this morning, Daniel chapter 9 to be exact, if

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

you want to turn there with me.

Two more messages left to close out our study of this challenging book.

We have seen the lions and fires of Babylon responded to by the prayers of Daniel and

his friends as they seek to follow the true king in a land that honors other kings.

Now this morning we come to the longest of Daniel's recorded prayers.

It's a prayer that shows us a lot about what I'll call corporate confession.

It's a counter-cultural idea in our individualistic American society, but we're going to see the

Bible challenge our every man for himself American culture.

Notice the corporate, the group aspect of Daniel's prayer as I read beginning in verse 1.

This is God's holy, inerrant, infallible word.

In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, by descent Amid, who was made king over the

realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books

the number of years that according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet must

pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years.

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting

and sackcloth and ashes.

I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession saying,

O Lord, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love

him and keep his commandments.

We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments

and rules.

We have not listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings,

our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day to the men of

Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who

are far away, and all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery that

they have committed against you.

To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because

we have sinned against you.

To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not

obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws which he set before us by his servants,

the prophets.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, yet we have

not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight

by your truth.

Therefore, the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us.

For the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed

his voice.

And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand,

and have made a name for yourself, as at this day we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from

your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers,

Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.

Now, therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy.

And for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.

O my God, incline your ear and hear.

Open your eyes and see our desolations in the city that is called by your name.

For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

O Lord, hear.

O Lord, forgive.

O Lord, pay attention and act.

Delay not for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.

Thus far, God's holy word.

Pray with me.

Father, we do thank you for your word.

We ask that you would teach us from it this morning.

That you would show us more of yourself.

That you would show us even our sin.

And that you, through the work of your spirit in our hearts, would turn us back to you.

And we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I think we are going sans technology at this point.

So if you have your Bibles, you can look at Daniel chapter 9 there.

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

And I promise I will try to think as I go what things to cue you on that are not on the screen behind me.

But let me start with this.

One year ago, at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, that's the annual meeting of the denomination that Southwood is a part of,

individuals, churches, and presbyteries were urged to consider present and past racial sins and the need for racial reconciliation.

As a result of that year of consideration that we have taken together and wrestling through some of those things,

ten days ago in Mobile, we made the following statement, of which I will read only a part for sake of time.

The 44th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America does recognize, confess, condemn, and repent of corporate and historical sins,

including those committed during the civil rights era,

and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers,

such as the segregation of worshipers by race,

the exclusion of persons from church membership on the basis of race,

the exclusion of churches or elders from membership in the presbyteries on the basis of race,

the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages interracial marriage,

the participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations,

and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that love does no wrong to a neighbor.

This General Assembly does recognize, confess, condemn, and repent of past failures to love brothers and sisters from minority cultures

in accordance with what the gospel requires,

as well as failures to lovingly confront our brothers and sisters concerning racial sins and personal bigotry

and failing to learn to do good, seek justice, and correct oppression.

This General Assembly praises and recommits itself to the gospel task of racial reconciliation,

diligently seeking effective courses of action to further that goal with humility, sincerity, and zeal

for the glory of God and the furtherance of the gospel.

There was more to this statement than I've read there,

and you'd be encouraged to know there were more than just words said a couple of weeks ago.

There's a great sense, if you're there at gatherings like this,

of the Spirit moving in our denomination on these racial issues.

We also approved a multi-ethnic committee to continue advising us on racial realities moving forward.

We approved a fund to support minority training in our seminaries to prepare more minority gospel ministers,

which are much needed.

It's all very, very exciting.

You should be very encouraged at what God is doing.

But I want us to notice particularly this morning,

back to the first part of the statement,

that we were confessing and repenting of sins both past and present,

during the civil rights era and continuing sins.

That we were confessing and repenting of sins both individual and corporate of ourselves

and corporate ones of our fathers even.

Many of the specific examples that I read come from before the PCA was founded in 1973.

Many men who voted a couple weeks ago to confess these sins

have never done some of these particular things in their churches.

Does that seem odd?

Is that a little bit strange to confess something that you haven't personally done?

Did it seem odd to you when I read Daniel's prayer to hear this faithful prophet,

himself confessing sins time and again with we?

Did you notice that word?

We.

You'll notice he's very clear about this corporate aspect of confessing the sins of God's people.

We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled.

Verse 5.

All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside,

refusing to obey your voice.

Verse 11.

We have sinned.

We have done wickedly.

Verse 15.

And so it's for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers

that God's people in this generation have been sent into exile.

Yes, because they are sinners, but also for what their fathers had done.

Now, you may be okay with Daniel confessing sin in general.

I mean, we're all sinners, right?

So we can all confess sin.

But he handles specific sins the same way.

The example that takes the cake for me is in verse 6.

We have not listened to your servants, the prophets.

Seriously, Daniel.

You are a prophet.

They are the ones who have not listened to the prophets, right?

But Daniel says we.

Again, we have not.

I don't know about you, but I don't really like confessing someone else's sin as my own.

I've got enough of my own to deal with already.

Thank you.

I didn't need to bring on a corporate dynamic to it.

But we see from Daniel's prayer a biblical principle runs all through the scriptures

that corporate confession is grounded in our connectedness as God's people.

Our connectedness as God's people.

See, unlike other parts of the world that have a more corporate emphasis in their culture,

in their religion,

we in individualistic America don't naturally think about confessing sin in the church as a team activity, do we?

But we do know this corporate connectedness and how it works in another arena, sports.

Let me explain.

You see, when Alabama narrowly defeated Clemson in the national championship game this year,

many of my friends were very happy.

They were rejoicing.

We won.

We beat y'all.

We won our, like, 49th national championship or something.

They have trouble counting.

Side note, it's so much easier to keep, there's less controversy if you just keep the number lower.

Like, one.

We won.

It's easier to count that way.

We did that.

But regardless of how many national championships,

regardless of that, there's a deep sense of corporate identity, isn't there?

There is.

It's deeply felt.

When we cheer for our teams, don't we?

The actual connectedness may be as strong as a degree from the institution,

or it may be as thin as some money given,

or a red shirt worn on Saturdays.

But regardless, many of us feel we win or we lose with our team.

Many of us will feel that corporate connectedness on a national level watching the Olympics in a few weeks

and asking, how many medals have we won?

Or this fall, you'll watch election returns from states you didn't vote in, like Ohio and Florida,

and you'll be anxious and you'll say, oh, we won or we lost

because of the connection you feel to a particular party or candidate that you've connected yourself to.

Again, it's yet another area where we understand and deeply feel a corporate sense of connectedness.

And I have you ask yourself this morning, why do I feel more deeply connected with sports and politics than I do with the church?

How much more should we appreciate the connection that we have in Christ that we actually have because of Him?

If you remember Ephesians when we talked last year about being connected in Christ,

that the reality of our connectedness with each other because of our identity in Christ

far outweighs all the other differences that would set us apart, right?

It's not artificial or theoretical.

It's far beyond the bond of team or party loyalty.

It's an actual connection in one body, one family by our union with Christ.

And it matters more than all of our differences.

Daniel models that reality for God's people as he says,

we, we, we, we, our sins.

Whether God's people is a particular congregation,

a national denomination,

or the universal church,

we are called to rejoice together

and weep together.

When one part of the body is honored, all are honored.

When one suffers, all suffer.

1 Corinthians 12.

It's why we value being together like next Sunday night

when we're gathering for ice cream

and just to celebrate nothing more but nothing less than each other.

The connectedness, the fellowship that we have in Christ.

It's why we see Christians beheaded across the globe

and we mourn

and say we were attacked.

It's why we confess particular racial sins

committed by our brothers and sisters,

fathers and mothers,

some of them before we were born

or in other congregations

because we have sinned.

This is a biblical pattern all the way back to Adam, isn't it?

Adam's first sin affects the entire human race

all connected to him by birth.

Romans 5 tells us that in Adam,

death came to all men because all sinned.

Many died through one man's trespass.

So while I will admit there is a difference in individual sins

that we confess particularly

and corporate sins,

we confess the sins of our fathers

and should expect that because they're our fathers,

just like with Adam,

in many ways,

those sins still impact us

and those same heart attitudes are found in us.

The Presbyterians in the 1860s

and the 1960s

may have done things that we personally haven't done.

But their prejudices against those different from them

and pride in their own social standing

are idols and sins we know quite well

and must confess alongside their particular sins.

So we need to be challenged here.

It's a cultural blind spot for American Christians.

We often feel more connected to a football team

than a family of God.

More connected to a political party

than to the people of God.

And part of following the true king,

if that's what God is calling us to do,

and he is,

part of that is realizing

that following that king

connects you inextricably

and beyond anything else

that you're connected to,

to the joys and sorrows,

the victories and defeats

of many others

following the true king with you.

Not only is corporate confession

grounded in our connectedness

as God's people,

but Daniel also shows us in his prayer

it is based on sins of omission

as well as sins of commission.

The things we neglect,

not just the actions that we take.

Certainly we see Daniel confessing

that God's people have acted wickedly,

rebelled against God

and transgressed God's law.

They've committed particular sins,

violating God's commands

where he specifically told them

to do something different.

But it's also vital for us

to consider the duties

that we have neglected doing.

The ways we have not shared

God's heart and priorities.

Notice this twice in his prayer.

What they have not done.

First verse six,

where we have not listened

to your servants,

the prophets,

who spoke to all the people

of the land.

We have not listened.

And then later verse 13,

yet we have not entreated

the favor of the Lord our God,

turning from our iniquities

and gaining insight by your truth.

Even when called to it repeatedly,

we have not done these things.

See, when the people of God

lose their zeal for the heart of God,

when they fail to heed his word

and have it shape their lives,

when they neglect to form their lives

around his truth and his priorities,

that is just as grievous to God

as specific violations of his commandments.

That's what these verses are telling us.

And Daniel confesses that

from the people of Israel,

that over and over again,

they have omitted things

they should have done.

They've neglected God's heart

for the poor,

the oppressed,

and the alien.

They have failed to truly

be a kingdom of priests,

spreading his light

to the nations.

I want to help us think corporately

about broad sin patterns

in our lives this morning

that are or have been

both sins we have committed

and opportunities to share God's heart

that we have neglected.

Some of these,

as we talk about them,

you may feel uniquely

in a personal way.

I certainly do.

It's a hard but needful thing

when God's word and spirit

convict us of our sin,

isn't it?

But when you don't feel

that same conviction personally,

I'd urge you to remember

that the idea here

is corporate confession.

To let these corporate realities

break your heart

before your Father.

I'm just going to mention

three areas for us to consider.

The first to follow

the lead of our denomination

is racism and racial brokenness.

Some have observed

that in our society,

Sunday is the most segregated

day of the week.

And that sad reality

is partly due

to the attitudes

in our hearts

that emphasize

and focus on our racial

and cultural differences

rather than allowing

the gospel to break down

those barriers

in beautiful ways

like God has promised

it will.

We harbor underlying prejudices.

relationships with people

like us

and so subtly elbow out

those who look different.

We're content

with the comfortable

status quo

and don't make room

at the table

for others who are different

because we are so full

of those just like us.

If you look back

at the denominational statement,

the whole second paragraph

is about our sins

of omission

in this regard.

All we've neglected

while sitting around

denying that we're racist,

we've said these things

in this statement.

It's our failures

to love brothers and sisters

from minority cultures

as the gospel requires.

Failures to confront

brothers and sisters

who are in racial sin

and have personal bigotry

and we've let it go

without challenging them.

Failing to learn

to do good,

seek justice

and correct oppression.

Maybe not actively

going to do something

but not taking up

the cause

as God would call us

to in His Word.

Do we long

as we should

for every tribe

and tongue

and people

and nation

vision of the kingdom

in Revelation?

Do we long

for that kingdom

to come today?

Our relationships

today tell me

we don't.

We're in the state

of Alabama, y'all,

where we're reminded

regularly

just by names

of cities

and events

on the news

of the pain

and oppression

of our African-American

brothers and sisters

and fellow image bearers

that they've undergone

for centuries

all around us

right here

in our towns

and cities

and we have not

sought aggressively

to correct oppression

and listen to their pain

and their experience

to enter in

to listen

and mourn

and grieve

with them.

We know

there are systems

that benefit us

and exclude them

and others

but we don't

sacrificially

seek to remedy that.

An Asian-American

PCA pastor

named Duke Kwan

spoke to a couple

hundred of us

gathered to talk

about these issues

one evening

during General Assembly

a couple weeks ago

and among other

great challenges

he said

I call you tonight

dear friends

not simply

to repent corporately

for past

overt acts

of racism

which we must do

and Lord willing

which we will do

I call you

to commit

to the dismantling

of white cultural

normativity

in the PCA

and I call you

to the establishment

of a new norm

a new vision

for our denomination

that might be called

multicultural normativity

he's saying

a vision

that you would

commit to

that your kitchen

table

and your church

would look more

like heaven

like the throne room

in Revelation

than it does

today

amen to that

that's what he means

that we would long

for that

that we would want

our church

to look like that

and so that it would

start in our hearts

and in our homes

we've worshipped

a God

made

in our own image

and neglected

others created

different

in his image

secondly

we have worshipped

the idol

of materialism

and neglected

the poor

and the oppressed

money is not evil

but our hearts are

we're proud

of what we have

earned for ourselves

aren't we

and honestly

in our hearts

we feel it proves

we're better

smarter

harder working

more deserving

than those who have

less

we shape our lives

around consumerism

demanding more features

better service

and increased choices

we debate

which restaurant

to eat at

or which outfit

would look better

while others

are neither fed

nor clothed

and we know

we have been

worshipping self

instead of God

because we neglect

to have his heart

for the poor

God wrote laws

to care for the oppressed

and the marginalized

Jesus loved

the poor

and the downtrodden

but we have been

quicker to lecture

and criticize

than we have been

to sacrifice

and love

we have been

fearful

and self-protective

rather than humble

and self-sacrificing

when we consider

a day

where no one

is truly impoverished

in the entire city

of Huntsville

no one homeless

no one hungry

can you imagine that?

our first thought

is how nice

that would be

for us

not what a joy

it would be

for them

finally this morning

because

my heart

could only take

so much conviction

in one week

we worship

the comfort

of a busy silence

and neglect

the lost

all around us

our lives

y'all are packed

full of things

that we do

for ourselves

for our kids

for our futures

we're just

packed to the gills

there's not room

for anything else

meanwhile

the only hope

for a world

desperately in need

of hope

is kept

consistently

to ourselves

eternity

hangs in the balance

and we are

too comfortable

in what I'll call

our busy silence

to be inconvenienced

by the risk

of rejection

embarrassment

or failure

you see

it's often

not that we plan

to avoid

the lost

but that we plan

so many other

things first

that we can't help

but miss

the lost

and we're not

bothered

when it happens

God so loved

the world

that he sent

his son

from heaven

to earth

to rescue

lost souls

but we have

neglected

that passion

of God's heart

we can't be bothered

to walk next door

to alter

vacation plans

to share

that same

good news

we've worshipped

ourselves

and lost

sight

of the heart

of God

we have loved

and prioritized

ourselves

and we have

neglected

the ethnically

materially

or spiritually

different

sounds actually

if you read

the Old Testament

like the people

of Israel

especially in

Daniel's day

just read through

any of the prophets

prophets

I'm going to let us

confess these things

together

in just a minute

but first one more

question from this

passage

is there any hope

it's just sin

sin

sin

failure

failure

failure

is there any hope

when we consider

these realities

in our hearts

and in our churches

the last thing

about corporate

confession

this morning

from Daniel

is that it is

fueled

by hope

in God's promises

to his people

that's what

drives corporate

confession

and makes it

a reality

just as we know

personally

that it is the

kindness of God

that leads us

to repentance

so corporately

we cling

to his promises

and his faithful

character

as we confess

our failings

Daniel

in this passage

is driven

we're told

by reading God's word

through the prophet

Jeremiah

to pray

and confess

sin

he reads God's

covenant promises

to restore

his exiled people

after they've been

gone from the

promised land

and he opens

his prayer

by claiming

these covenant

promises

verse 4

I prayed to the

Lord my God

and made confession

oh Lord

the great and

awesome God

who keeps covenant

and steadfast love

with those who love

him and keep

his commandments

we are your people

he says

the ones you set

your love upon

your faithful

covenant love

the ones you rescued

out of Egypt

verse 15

the ones you promised

to redeem

with your faithful

covenant love

the love that promises

you will be reliable

even when we

aren't

even when we

fail

it's your promise

to come through

for us

one commentator

Dale Ralph Davis

says

the Lord's promises

drive his

servants prayer

here's this picture

it's as if

God's promises

have velcro

on them

and our prayers

are meant to

get stuck there

I love that picture

our prayers

stuck

on the promises

of God

and then Daniel

appeals to God's

character

as a merciful God

who delights

to forgive

verse 8

look

it's the

open shame

that is ours

because we've

sinned against God

but to the Lord

our God

belong

mercy

and forgiveness

that's the kind

of God

he is

look down

to verse 18

we don't present

our pleas

before you

because of

our righteousness

but because of

your great

mercy

do you see

what Daniel's

down to

as he goes

through and

confesses the

sin of his

people

his only hope

is God's

great

mercy

he's broken

hearted over

the sin of his

people

and he pleads

for mercy

from a faithful

merciful father

who loves

to forgive

it's that mercy

from God

toward his

covenant people

that is our

hope

as we confess

our sin

in fact it's

what drives us

to confess

one of the

primary things

I believe

has sparked

this renewal

and repentance

in the PCA

is the way

our African

American

brothers and

sisters

have patiently

modeled

the merciful

and forgiving

heart

of God

to us

they have

been unrelenting

in their work

for justice

and equally

unrelenting

in their

gracious

commitment

to forgiveness

that's prompted

us to feel

safe

to confess

it's that

mercy of God

his kindness

that leads us

to repentance

you see

God didn't

just use

the principle

of corporate

connectedness

one time

he didn't

just have

someone

stand in

our place

once

he didn't

just have

Adam's

sin

counted

to our

account

as sin

and death

now in

Christ

he has

credited

righteousness

and life

to our

account

Romans 5

is all

about this

read the

whole thing

later

verse 15

says

if many

died

through

one man's

trespass

that's

Adam

much more

have the

grace of

God

and the

free

gift

by the

grace

of that

one man

Jesus

Christ

abounded

for many

and the

free gift

is not

like the

result

of that

one man's

sin

for the

judgment

following

one

trespass

brought

condemnation

but the

free gift

following

many

trespasses

brought

justification

for if

because of

one man's

trespass

death

reigned

through

that

one man

much

more

will those

who receive

the abundance

of grace

and the

free gift

of righteousness

reign in

life

through the

one man

Jesus

Christ

therefore

as one

trespass

led to

condemnation

for all

men

so one

act of

righteousness

leads to

justification

and life

for all

men

for as

by the

one man's

disobedience

the many

were made

sinners

so by the

one man's

obedience

the many

will be

made

righteous

glory

hallelujah

by one

man's

obedience

the many

will be

made

righteous

the many

sinners

the many

who had

fallen apart

who'd

sinned

themselves

and their

fathers

and they'd

failed to do

what God

had called

them to do

Jesus

in one

man

brings

them

life

and righteousness

that they

didn't

deserve

that is

great

mercy

mercy

that frees

us to

confess

our

deep

sin

that's

why

confession

is a

unique

mark

of the

church

because

we have

a God

who

forgives

because

we have

a righteousness

that's not

our own

it's not

based on

our

record

it's

mercy

that gives

us

hope

because

we may

well

initially

feel

that this

whole

corporate

connection

thing

is

unfair

we'd

rather

just be

judged

like we

always

are

on our

own

merits

that's

what we're

used to

in our

culture

right

but in

fact

it's our

corporate

connectedness

that is

our

only

hope

on our

own

merits

we are

hopeless

unrighteous

and facing

death

but being

connected

to Jesus

changes

everything

by the

one man's

obedience

many

will be

made

righteous

will receive

the abundance

of grace

and the

free

gift

of

righteousness

let's pray

and then we'll

confess

together

father we

praise you

for the

grace

that is ours

in Christ

Jesus

we thank

you for

his sacrifice

on our

behalf

taking the

punishment

that our

sin

deserved

once

and for

all

the

righteous

for the

unrighteous

father would

it lead us

even this

morning

into

repentance

that we

might hate

our sin

and love

our

savior

holy

spirit

even now

work in

our hearts

to show us

our sin

and our

savior

as we

take a few

moments

silently

amen

we

skipped our

typical

confession

of sin

earlier in

the service

so we

could do it

after wrestling

with our

need

for confession

from this

passage

I've written

an extended

corporate

confession

for us

this morning

taken from

some of the

issues we've

talked about

and some of

Daniel's words

in Daniel 9

let's stand

together and

confess

our

sin

heavenly

father

we confess

that we

have sinned

and turned

aside

from your

commands

and your

heart

we have

thought more

highly of

ourselves

than of

others

different

from us

we have

harbored

prejudice

in our

hearts

we have

spoken

carelessly

we have

laughed

hurtfully

and God

we have

failed to

love our

neighbor

by defending

our minority

brothers

and sisters

we have

neglected

to address

broken

systems

we have

been

satisfied

with

relationships

with others

like us

we have

not longed

for a

multicolored

kingdom

that you

have promised

us your

kingdom

is

oh

Lord

have

mercy

on us

heavenly

father

to us

belongs

open

shame

because

of our

unbridled

materialism

we have

sought

security

and created

things

rather than

the creator

we have

been proud

in our

own

accomplishments

rather than

grateful

for your

gifts

and God

we have

neglected

the poor

and the

oppressed

in our

fear

and selfishness

we have

not cried

over their

suffering

or shown

your benevolent

heart

at all

times

oh

Lord

have

mercy

on us

heavenly

father

we have

rebelled

and failed

to obey

your voice

you have

called us

to share

the good news

of Jesus

with all

people

to make

disciples

of all

nations

but we

have

busied

ourselves

with the

temporal

pleasures

we desire

and avoided

the eternal

souls

of people

created

in your

image

and God

we have

refused

to risk

discomfort

rejection

or even

persecution

for the

sake

of your

name

oh

Lord

have

mercy

on us

forgive

us

Lord

for these

and many

other

violations

of your

holy law

we have

done

as well

as many

other

duties

we have

left

undone

oh

Lord

hear

oh

Lord

forgive

oh

Lord

pay

attention

and act

delay

not

for your

own

sake

oh

God

for we

do not

present

our

pleas

before

you

because

of our

righteousness

but because

of your

great

mercy

amen

let's

continue in

confession now

as we sing

the words of

David's psalm of

confession

psalm 51

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Thank you.