Obtaining Pardon From God — Erlo Stegen

Sin Upon Sin and the Warning to Rebellious Children

We will be reading from Isaiah chapter 30 from the first verse. Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, that take counsel, but not from Me, and that cover with covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.

What does it say there? Woe to the rebellious children. Woe to the rebellious children. Woe to the rebellious children. Woe to the rebellious children.

This word pierced my heart after the services. It says in some translations, rebellious, some obstinate, and it says, Woe to these obstinate children, says the Lord, who do not want to listen. You hear children, if you don't want to listen, God says, Woe to you.

And we all are children of somebody, so God speaks to all of us and says to those, Woe to those who don't listen. And then it says, they add sin to sin. They do sin upon sin.

They don't want to listen, that's why they die. They are stubborn.

So God is becoming stubborn as well. God says, you'll be measured with your own measurement, you'll be beaten with your own stick. He who confesses me, I'll confess him. He who denies me, I'll deny him.

He who deserts me, I'll desert him. He who denies me, I'll deny him. He who denies me, I'll deny him. So says the Lord, they take counsel but not from me. In other words, they make plans but not from me.

They make a covenant but not of my spirit. They get together, they have a meeting on their own, make these schemes and plans. But not with God, just like Ananias and Sapphira. So watch out, if God draws nigh unto you, don't harden your heart, because whatever you do to him, he will respond like that to us.

Now here it says, they stack sin upon sin, they add sin to sin. You know that sin is like a chain. A chain is made out of different rings and so that's how sin works, it's one sin connecting onto another sin.

So the first ring is a person for instance, steel. Then the second one, he hides it. And then the next thing you ask him and he denies it. He denies it and then it continues, one upon the other. Until it becomes a long chain that ties that person hands and feet.

And it becomes like that witch who came to me in Mapumulu and said, I'm bound by chains of hell, can I be set free? And even though you confront that person, he defends himself and put it in another way that's not so serious.

Double Standards and Excusing Personal Sin

It's easy if the sin is with another person to judge him. And to condemn him. But if the sin is with yourself, then you cannot clearly see it and you try to defend it. I remember one day there was a certain white young man, man who was after a girl and chatting her up.

Long ago, very long ago.

He was with us, he preached with us in the beginning and he spoke against dating and say that young men and girls shouldn't go out together.

He said it was evil, he condemned it. If somebody did it, he would condemn that person and said it's wrong.

And after some time, he fell in love with a girl and he did that witch he condemned before. And when I confronted him with it, he was ducking and diving and saying that he doesn't really see sin in it.

And I thought that is what the devil is like. If you yourself are in sin, this is how we react.

And I thought, let me speak a language that he'll understand. It was a white person. I said to him, well just forget that you've done this.

And I said, if you would find a black boy alone in a room with a girl, what would you say? I said, speak the truth. He said, I would say it's wrong, chase him away. And I said to him, that's wrong. When you see it in others, you condemn it, but when we confront you, you polish your sin.

That's an abomination, it's a curse. That you have double standards. In others, you are very strict, but with yourself, not. And I said, what are we like?

It's like some parents. If it's their own children, then they cover it up and try to hide it. But if it's somebody else's child, then they attack them. Paul speaks to the Galatians, he says, what has happened to you?

Because you were in the gospel, and then others came, and they spoke to you and influenced you, and now you've changed. Pray, pray a serious, deep prayer and say, Lord, help me that I will not be like that, Lord.

I will not be like that. I will not be like that.

Pray and ask that you won't be sharp when it comes to others' sins, and blunt when it comes to your own sin, and when you are confronted, no, I didn't mean it like this, this wasn't really my intention, I didn't really want to do it, that's evil.

That person is in the flesh, he's not in the spirit. The Bible says, stay away from everything with the appearance of ungodliness. So if something just appears ungodly, stay away from that. So I would like to touch upon a few points on what sin does to a person when he gets involved in it.

Adam and Eve Hide From God

Let's get to Adam and Eve. Eve sinned, then she went to Adam, and she got him dragged into it, and she made as if it was attractive to him. And you see, instead of Adam standing, he was influenced and a spirit was put into him by Eve.

Maybe if it was his enemy, he would have reprimanded him, but because it was Eve, somebody who was one with him and whom he loved, he allowed it and he went with her into it. After they had sinned, what happened?

They heard the sound of God. What is it in your Bible? Which verse is that? Chapter 3, verse 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord.

And they heard the voice of the Lord.

They did not physically see God, but they heard his voice, and they could hear that his voice was drawing closer to them. If you have sinned, you will see God will draw closer to you with his voice, but what do the people do?

They go and hide. One day I spoke to someone and I said,.

As you've been staying on the mission, don't you tell me when you're going, when you're leaving here, has sin come into your life? I thought I'll just go straight to the point.

He didn't say goodbye, but I said, has sin come into your life?

He said to me, no, I have sinned. He said to me, no, I came, they told me you were sick. I said, okay, I understand that. Because if we are zealous for the Lord, we are one and we draw close to each other.

But if we are zealous for the Lord, we are one and we draw close to each other.

If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. But where there's separation, where there's division, you must understand that there's sin. So when Adam and Eve had sinned, they heard God's voice coming closer and they hid.

So when Adam and Eve had sinned, they heard God's voice coming closer and they hid. So when Adam and Eve had sinned, they hid.

God came and he called Adam. He did not call Eve. He saw Adam's sin as greater than Eve and kept him responsible. Eve sinned, she came to Adam. Instead of reprimanding her, he should have reprimanded her.

Love hurts at times, but instead of that, he went and he loved her, covered her up. That's evil. But instead of doing that, exposing evil, you say no, you love and you cover up evil. The Bible says, love those who do good and reprimand those who do evil and hate sin.

Don't just love everything that's debauched.

Don't just love everything that's debauched.

Instead of just acknowledging and saying, Lord, I've sinned, finished, he excused himself and then he pointed the finger at Eve.

And he didn't stop there. He says, the Eve whom you have given to me, he went so far as to blame God. He blamed God. Whom you have given to me, so it's God's fault. Never, never excuse sin. Never, never defend it.

If you've done wrong, admit it immediately. I have sinned. No other way about it. Not sin upon sin.

Understand that if you've sinned, admit it and get forgiveness. Then Eve, have you eaten of the fruit? Have you eaten of the fruit? Instead of admitting it and saying, I've sinned, I'm guilty and apologizing, no, she accused the snake.

Why is it so difficult to us to admit that we have sinned, to confess that we have sinned, to plead guilty even in court? They ask you, do you plead guilty or not? It should be the easiest thing. Yes, I plead guilty.

I have sinned.

I have sinned. May God be merciful to us that we don't deny that we have sinned. That we don't deny our sins and that we don't get together and scheme and say, all right, we'll deny it. You'll say this and I'll say this.

Confession and the Example of Achan

And then we'll go to Joshua chapter 7 from verse 19. And Joshua said unto Achan, my son, give, I pray you glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him. And tell me now what you have done.

Hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua and said, indeed, I've sinned against the Lord God of Israel and this is what I've done. When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment at 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold and 50 shekels weight, then I coveted them and I took them and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it.

And I said, my son, give, I pray you glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him. And tell me now what you have done. Hide it not from me. And tell me now what you have done. Hide it not from me.

And I said, my son, give, I pray you glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him.

He took it and he hid it in his tent. We could say he was hiding sin in his tent, just like Eve. When she committed it, she hid it. Do not. He took the garment, he took some silver, some gold, put it underneath his tent.

Do not try and hide your sin. Often people die, not because in the first place they have committed sin, but because they have committed sin. But they've hid it because if you don't hide it and you confess it, that's the end of the story.

But they go and they hide it and then it kills them.

But if you don't hide it and you don't confess it, that's the end of the story.

And Achan had an opportunity to confess it because Joshua said to them before, sanctify yourself. You should have then come out and confessed it. And so some people say, well why was Achan killed? Because he confessed his sin.

Yes, he confessed, but when he was under pressure only. When God gives you a chance, an opportunity of grace, use it, run and do it. It doesn't help to keep quiet and shut up and keep quiet about your sin until you're in a corner and then you come out with it.

You know that Joshua ordered the Israelites to stone him. Maybe some argue and say, well he's my friend, I can't stone him. If you don't obey God's command in this, then you are guilty together with this person.

Finally, his wife, his children and even his donkeys were killed with him. So even if you've made an agreement or a covenant with somebody, that you'll keep quiet with him, then break that agreement, be disobedient to that agreement and come out and confess it to God.

Achan's wife and children were stoned. Why? God won't kill you if you don't have sin.

God won't kill you if you don't have sin.

So they must have known, our father, my husband, has taken this gold and the clothing and hid it at the bottom of the tent and they kept quiet with him about it. And so they were guilty and died with him.

So Achan's wife and children should have run to Joshua and said, Joshua, he's taken things that he's stolen, taken from Jericho and hid it and they should have confessed it. But they kept quiet about it and finally they were stoned with him.

They also had an opportunity. They were also told to sanctify themselves, but they made an agreement that this is something between us here at home, they covered it up together and that's how it happened.

You know that Proverbs 27 says, he who hides and covers up his sin will not prosper, but he who confesses it will receive forgiveness. You won't overcome, friend, there's no blessing in covering up sin and to keep sin upon sin.

Secret Sins Exposed in the Light

Psalm 90 verse 8.

Song of Solomon's 19, I'm sorry, Psalm 19 verse 8. Psalm 90 verse 8. Psalm 90. It says, secret sins, our secret sins in the light of your countenance you have set our secret sins.

Our secret sins, there are some that are secret.

Some sins are secret, some are known. Because you can hide some sins, but others will come out.

You know what monkeys are like, there's a lot of monkeys here. You don't see them. If you are lucky and stand still, then suddenly you'll see, they just open a bit and then you see an eye and then they close again.

But it's difficult, if you keep quiet you'll see them just opening the curtain slightly and then quickly closing it again. But they tend to forget one thing and that's their tails and so if you look you see the tail dangling down.

So even if they hide and cover their things, their tail always sticks out, they forget their tail. And even you, if you cover your sins, the tail will stick out. That's why the Lord Jesus said, there's nothing hidden that shall not be revealed.

There was a white, he was a drunkard, his wife was very fiery.

See, women have rights, wives have rights now. And so where you were quick to reprimand her when you were young, men are now slow and they are afraid to do it. Long ago the whites abandoned doing that.

Long time ago that a white man should hit or beat his wife.

You might get it now and then. So the husband was afraid of her. So you see men are like children, if they don't get what they want, then they start crying and you must give them a bottle. And some men, if they can't get their wives right, then they run to the bottle to be comforted.

So you wives who have husbands who are alcoholics, treat them well, they might forget the bottle and get attached to you.

So you see men are like children, if they can't get their wives right, then they run to the bottle to be comforted. So you see men are like children, if they can't get their wives right, then they run to the bottle to be comforted.

And so his wife was making a big noise about his drinking and one night she didn't want to let him into the house. Sometimes it is like that, the wives don't want to let the husbands in. And there was one incident where she threw the pyjamas out to him and said, you can sleep outside.

And he said, well don't just give me pyjamas, please give me a razor to shave as well.

What's this knife called? Cutthroat. Give me my cutthroat as well. Uncle Friedel knows who it is. It was a person who wasn't so far away from us. A relation of ours. And she'd get furious. They'd have a hotel and a bar.

So when he got home his wife would argue and fight and he would say, well what should I have done because my friend came and he asked me just to have one glass with him. And so his wife started hating other men because he was telling lies and he was trying to hide his son.

So this wife was like this and the husband was afraid to go and drink. So one day he came back and fortunately for him the door wasn't locked and he got in and he took off his shoes and very cat foot he slowly walked, they were sleeping upstairs, he started walking up the stairs.

Into the bathroom, locked quickly. But on that particular night while he was drunk he had been fighting with others and so he was black and blue and he was bleeding. Now he's hiding to his wife that he's drunk.

So he was extremely proud of himself that he got the better of his wife, got into the bathroom quickly locked and he thought it's fine. And where he was bleeding he wiped the blood. You know a white person shows a bruise very quickly it goes blue.

So he was looking for the elastoplast, couldn't find it, couldn't call his wife because you know God had made the wife to be a help me to the husband and they need to help them getting things. And he couldn't do that but finally in the wardrobe he found it.

You know elastoplast.

Then looking for the scissors finally he got it and he thought I'm okay now. So he cut the plaster, covered all the different patches and wounds. So he was laughing by himself thinking that he got the better of his wife.

Got quietly into bed and fell asleep. So he slept past 8, 9 o 'clock he was bubble lust. His wife came. So the wife came she says were you drunk again last night he says no no I haven't been drunk. She says come on tell me the truth I know you've been drunk last night.

Says you telling lies I didn't drink. How do you know who told you that I've been drunk. She says I know because I went to the bathroom and you had stuck the plaster on to the mirror in different spots.

He didn't stick it on to himself but on to the mirror. You see what a drunk person thinks he's clever but he's actually foolish and he was sticking the plaster on to the mirror. Mirror full of elastoplast.

Wife said no you've been drunk. So he said. We are born. Don't try and hide your sins because God sees. Your actions show clearly you have sinned. Because God wants us to be pure before him. He doesn't want to find sin with us.

Seeing Sin in the Heavenly Light

Billy Graham once spoke. He says the reason why sin falls short of the righteousness of God. Because God is holy he wants us to be holy. One day he decided to buy his wife a ring. Because when they got married he gave her a very small diamond ring.

You needed a magnifying glass to see it.

He didn't have money so he bought her a cheap diamond ring. Now when he was older.

So when he was older he thought let me buy her a nicer ring now. Got to a jeweler. Jeweler. Says I want a diamond ring. Want to make my wife happy give her a nice big one. So the jeweler brought the first one.

It was a very big diamond. Says how much?

That's what he said.

So he dug in his pockets and with his last cent he managed to scratch 65 dollars together to buy this ring. Went away happy. He was going to give his wife this great big diamond which costed 65 dollars.

Got to another jeweler. Went in. Took it out. Took the ring out. But I'm telling you. Says sir tell me how much would you say is the worth of this diamond? He thought he really had struck a bargain for 65 dollars.

So the man examined the diamond he went to fetch his magnifying glass to look at it. Says well you know you might be able to get it if you're lucky for 35 dollars. If you're really lucky or if you're lucky 40 dollars.

He says they told me that this diamond had so many carats. Says come. Just look. And you will see what you can't see with the naked eye. So he looked to the microscope. And he says the man said do you look do you see all the faults?

He says when he looked it was just riddled with faults. Then he saw the man and deceived him. He thought it was such an excellent diamond. But when he looked on the magnifying glass it was worth only half the money he paid.

You see we can think our lives are quite okay. But then when God applies the heavenly magnifying glass he can see many sins. We need to see ourselves in the light of heaven. Draw nigh to the light of heaven.

One day the Lord Jesus said. John 3 verse 20. Everyone who does evil hates the light. They hate the light. They hate the light. They don't want the light. And he will not come into the light. For fear that his deeds will be exposed.

These are words from Christ.

He who does evil hates the light. Doesn't want to come into the light. Because he fears his sin might be exposed.

The Lord Jesus said. We are all people. We are all people. We are all people. But we are not afraid to die. We are not afraid to die. We are not afraid to die. We are not afraid to die. Is there somebody afraid.

And hating the light? We should hate darkness. But some are hating the light. Because they fear their sins might be exposed.

Last verse, Ephesians 5 verse 11. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

So God will expose secret sins, so let us expose them ourselves and bring them to God. Is there nobody that has secret sins, secret things of darkness, God's word says expose them. So that it won't be sin upon sin and that you'll be a stubborn rebellious person before God.

So that you won't be a person that's tied and chained down hand and feet, but that the Holy Spirit will be free to work inside you. And that the Lord Jesus will be able to use you to help and bless others.

Time is out. Remind me one day to tell you the dream of the girl who came back from hell. I told the story the last service of the youth conference. I was told this by an Anglican minister who promised me, gave his word that it's the truth.

In her dream she saw people through a window in hell. Because of that her brother, because of the dream, got converted and became a pastor. And at his church children came for Sunday school, 20 ,000 of them every Sunday.

And when they asked him, how do you get it right that souls get saved daily? He says, I cannot forget that which my sister saw. Let me just say this, as she was about to turn around and go back, she saw her own father in hell.

Because her father had never surrendered his life to the Lord and never said, Lord, yes, I agree. So we've heard, Adam, Eve, where are you? They ran away from God. What are you going to do? Are you going to turn away and hide?

Let's pray. Lord, we ask you to speak to us and to be with us in this meeting. Please, Lord, work in a wondrous way that we won't be like Adam and Eve who hid when they heard your voice, but that we'll come and draw nigh to thee.

Amen.