Recently, I saw a post in a reformed Christian group online lamenting the supposed dirth of the pastor-scholar.  This particular individual was complaining that there seems to be very few pastors who are also drinking in heavily from reformed scholasticism.     While pastors should be well-read and seeking to grow in knowledge and wisdom, what I lament is the absence of pastor-warriors. What I mean is that there seems to be a real lack of pastors who are willing to pick up the sword of the spirit and use it to engage in the battles of our day.   Very few pastors are willing to rock the boat.  We need pastors who want to sink the boat.  

It can be a very tempting prospect to look at the world around us and to be overwhelmed.  A week ago our church was in Indianapolis where 90 thousand people were celebrating sexual immorality.  There were two pastors involved in our outreach.   Then this past week the mayor of Louisville had a press conference celebrating pride, arrogance and rebellion to God on behalf of all Louisvillians.  The month of June can feel oppressive and not because of the heat. God’s word says that Lot living in Sodom was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men.  It says "for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds."  If you have your eyes open in our day you will have your soul tormented day after day.  The temptation will be to close your eyes to it all.

In addition to the sexual perversion being paraded around, this past week the Southern Baptist convention voted to approve a resolution regarding the use of the Marxist and God-hating philosophies of intersectionality and critical race theory.  Josh Buice gives a helpful definition in an article he wrote reviewing the action taken at the Southern Baptist Convention.  He writes:

"Intersectionality was originally coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a political activist and radical feminist, in order to describe oppression against women on specific different points of intersection. Today, it’s used in a more broad sense. In short, intersectionality as it has been defined, is the study of discrimination based on overlapping layers of individual classes of discrimination. It’s when a person is subjected to discrimination for more than one classification such as a woman who is black and lesbian. She would classify, under this line of reasoning, for three basic discriminatory marks—being a woman, who is black, and is also a lesbian. According to the definition of intersectionality, where these three marks “intersect” is the focus of her greatest and most severe discrimination which places her at the greatest risk of oppression in our culture."

On the flip side of the coin, we would see that for every line of intersect not available, one is considered more privileged and therefore is more likely to be an oppressor.   On one hand, we are looking for those who are most oppressed and therefore should be given the most favor and power to counteract their supposed oppression.  On the other hand, we should see who is most likely to be oppressing and work to remove or counteract any supposed privilege they have. To be a victim is powerful. Victimhood becomes the ultimate weapon and therefore is a race to the bottom.   All of this is foreign to scripture, yet the Southern Baptist convention adopted a resolution saying while intersectionality and critical race theory are insufficient alone,  they are helpful tools.   It is sly and sneaky.  Hundreds of Pastors approved it, while very few brought out the sword of the spirit to destroy it.

Between sexual immorality, feminism, and now these social justice philosophies invading the church along with the constant stories of some Christian or another falling into sin and bringing great shame upon the church, it can be exhausting and oppressing.   None of this is new, however.   The Apostles in the first century of the New Testament church had to deal with battles and false teachers.  And they had to work to equip other men for the ministry who would also do battle with false teachers.   The Apostle Paul tells Titus to appoint elders in every city because this was one of the things that had been left undone in the work of planting the church in Crete.  And they needed elders precisely because the Church is a church besieged and besieging Church.  It is a Church on the march against the gates of hell and yet also a Church constantly under siege.  When Satan could not defeat Jesus Christ, the book of Revelation tells us that that old dragon in fury went forth to make war on the children of God.  The Church is a Church at War.  The Pastor is to be a Man at war.

Jesus came to bring peace between man and God.  He came to reconcile the people of God with their God.  In bringing peace from God to man he also came to bring peace between the children of God.  In Christ Jesus, we have peace with each other.  Jesus also said that he did not come to bring peace but rather the sword.  That is while we have peace with God and are to strive for peace with those who are in Christ Jesus, we do not have peace with the world.  We do not have peace with our sinful flesh.  We do not have peace with the enemy of our soul, Satan.  The church on earth therefore is not a church at peace.  It is not a church in tranquility, comfort and ease.  It is church that makes war.  It is a church that has been given the sword of the spirit.  It has been called to go forth taking dominion through the preaching of the gospel.  It is a church with weapons far greater than carnal weapons.  Its weapons are not the temporary weapons of earthly powers.  Its weapons are powerful for taking down strongholds of the enemy.  The Church is a church militant.  It is at war. 

Because it is at war, it has enemies who seek to destroy it all costs.  It will face all kind of attacks.  Some attacks will be head on assaults.  The enemy seeks to eradicate the church by attacking it physically.  Christians around the world are persecuted for their faith.  They are spit on,  mocked, tortured, and killed.   If you dare to stand up, speak against sin and proclaim the gospel, you will see this type of warfare.   If you want to see this kind of attack, Pastor lead your church to to the pride events and preach the gospel.
 
The enemy, however, is not satisfied to leave itself to the most blatant of attacks.  The enemy is not content with shock and awe tactics.   The enemy recognizes the need for espionage and stealth.   The enemy will seek to enter in and undermine from within the church.  It is these undercover attacks from within that do real damage.

In the 1960s, the Soviet Union had a plan called  Operation Cedar.  They spent over ten years in preparation (1959-1972) with the intention to seriously disrupt the U.S. power supply. The idea was to destroy giant hydroelectric dams, as well as the Hungry Horse Dam and Flathead Dam in Montana. This would result in the loss of power to the entire state of New York and all the regions nearing the dams. KGB agents used a safe house near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to coordinate the attacks, which would lead to unimaginable chaos. The plan also called for destroying oil refineries and oil pipelines between the U.S. and Canada. The ultimate goal for the operatives was to plant explosives in the Port of New York – a key harbor for commerce.   This plot was discovered in what is called the Mitrokhin Archive.  This was a collection of handwritten notes by a KGB spy who worked for 30 years before finally defecting to the UK.   In that collection of notes, the spy mentioned that Stalin in 1943 installed the "Moscow Patriarchate" as a front organization for the KGB.  That is he infiltrated the Russian Orthodox Church installed bishops and priests to be used as agents of influence in the World Council of Churches and in front organizations such as World Peace Council, Christian Peace Conference, and the Rodina ("Motherland") Society founded by the KGB in 1975.   The communists sought to use religious organizations to promote their godless system.  This is a pretty clear attempt to seek to infiltrate and use a church for one’s own purposes.   It is not always so blatant as a communist tyrant seeking to infiltrate the church, though it does appear that the communists of our day have not given up this line of attack. 

Our enemy wants to sneak in unnoticed so as to stir up division, destroy families, and lead others astray while hoping the church has forgotten it is at war.  The enemy is hoping not to encounter any Pastor-warriors.

The problem is that we too often forget this to be true.  We are good at seeing the big battles but close our eyes to the battles closest to us.  We alsohave a habit of thinking once we have fought a battle that the war is over and we are finished.  Not to pick too much on our Southern Baptist friends but within their convention is a push from some to promote women in the pulpit.   This is a battle that the SBC fought in the late 80’s and 90’s.   The conservatives were able to win that battle.   The roaring lion does not give up so easily and is back working once again to undermine biblical sexuality.   One of the men who helped lead the fight the first time tweeted that he never thought he would see the day that the convention would be fighting over this again.   My question for him is: why not?  We are in a battle and our enemy does not have a lot of new tricks.  He constantly brings out the old tried and trued battle plan.   It works far too often because we forget that we are not in heaven yet.  We are not yet done with the battle and we cannot put our armor down.
It was when King David did not go out to war that he fell to sexual temptation. It was when he let his guard down.  The church cannot ever afford to let her guard down.  She needs guards who keep watch over the camp to protect it from without and from within. Therefore, if  a local church is going to be established one of the most important components it needs is elders who have led their households well, who represent the people of God, who will serve as a steward of God not forgetting who the owner of the house is and who will be able to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict.   The church needs pastors and elders who will stand guard as watchman on the wall.  Men who will not fall asleep or forget that they are in the midst of battle.  

The qualifications of elders includes traits to be avoided.   Someone who has the negative traits mentioned in Titus 1 for example, is someone who forgotten he is at war.   A man at war cannot afford to be a drunkard or a man controlled by his emotions unwilling to bend his will in submission to the captain.    The traits of an elder are the traits of a man who knows he is in battle.  He is a man who is able to command a platoon or a company of God’s army.   In order to do so he must be hospitable- able to care for those under his charge.   He must be self-controlled and just. 
He must be these things because he is expected to be on guard over the flock that he pastors

 John Calvin says "It is not enough for a shepherd to draw his flock, and gather it together, and keep it where it is folded: but he must also have a voice to fear [frighten] away wolves and thieves, he must cry out when he seeth his flock set upon, the dogs must bark, to drive them away that would scatter the flock."

Ezekiel 33 describes this task  “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

A pastor is a man of war.  In Titus 1, Paul says he must be able to exhort and refute. He has been given the sword for this type of work.  Why?  In Verse 10 Paul says:  "For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision."

The reason we need pastors and we need to submit to the instruction of the pastors and heed their warnings is because we are at battle and there are many who would seek to destroy.   Notice that is says there are many.  Not just some or a few or a little.  But there are many. 

There are many who would seek to attack the church.   We often forget that scripture warns us that there will be many who will seek to undermine the truth.  We think about big named heretics like Pelagius or Arius in history.   Or we think of big named heretics and false teachers in more modern history like Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Jim Jones, David Koresh, or some other well known cult leader.   We might even think about well known hucksters and false teachers like Benny Hinn, William Brenham,  and Kenneth Copeland.   Speaking of Copeland, has anyone here seen his interview on inside edition.  It was just creepy.  They caught him in his car and asked him questions about why he needs a private jet.   They asked him why he said he didn’t want to fly commercial because he didn’t want to be with all the demons.  He was just creepy and the fact that he has made millions off of false teaching is so sad.   Sometimes we think of it being all the false teaching being out there and being so noticeably creepy.  But it is not always the guy who has the private jet or claims visions from God, it can be the down home southern gentleman who knows how to avoid answering the hard questions while sounding so loving and kind.  

We need pastors who will keep their eyes open and will not move from the truth.  We need pastors who are willing to lead the troops into battle.  We don't need another pastor huddled in his office all the time fawning over the pastor-warriors of yesteryear.  We need those who will exhort and rebuke.   We need those who will rebuke the sins of their own people so that they will be sound in the faith.  We need pastors who will warn against the false teacher.   

Imagine if you hired someone to watch your house while you were on vacation and that person heard thieves breaking in to the barn out back and yet closed the blinds. They locked themselves in the bedroom and watched tv as if nothing was wrong. They didn’t call the police but feigned ignorance while thieves also broke into the home and stole whatever they wanted. Imagine this person is a really nice guy and just didn’t want to say anything bad about anybody, meanwhile the whole house is cleaned out. Would you not conclude that the person you hired was in cohorts with the thieves or recklessly negligent?

Join me in praying for pastors to become warriors again.    If you are a layperson and wanting to know how you can help your pastor become this warrior,  pray for him daily.  Submit to his leadership.  Be careful of doing things that undermine his authority in the eyes of others.  Talk with him often, encourage him in his work, and seek to set an example in faith, speech, and conduct. 
 

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

If you have children you have probably seen the watered down version of the ten commandments designed to make it easier for a child to memorize. Typically the ninth commandment, ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor’, is reduced to things like: ‘no lying, or always tell the truth’. While these are accurate terms in a very narrow sense, they do not capture the essence of the ninth commandment.
The Westminster Larger catechism explains in rich language what the ninth commandment is forbidding.
The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own, especially in public judicature; giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others; speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful or equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of the truth or justice; speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, talebearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring; misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; flattering, vainglorious boasting, thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others; denying the gifts and graces of God; aggravating smaller faults; hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession; unnecessary discovering of infirmities; raising false rumors, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense; evil suspicion; envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any; endeavoring or desiring to impair it, rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy; scornful contempt, fond admiration; breach of lawful promises; neglecting such things as are of good report, and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.
Now, to properly unpack all of this would take more time than we have available today, so, I would like to focus on a few lines from the confession: wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil.
Yesterday in Indianapolis, approximately 2 dozen Christian men and women stepped into a mosh pit speaking the truth in love to their neighbors. What was promoted as an event of tolerance and inclusion, Indy Pride Fest quickly degenerated into an insane scene of rage, hatred, violence, intolerance, perversion, and the promotion of lies, the likes of which I had not experienced before. Truth was twisted. Lies and slander were thrown about. The truth about God was exchanged for a lie, and the Word of God was shown to be true again, as many were seen to have been given over to degrading passions.
Proverbs 25:18 says
Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
Is this not true? Were not the lies being slung at us yesterday at times like flaming arrows directly from the evil one? Were not the lies being leveled against our Lord Jesus delivered like the blows from a club and thrusts of a sword?
As I fluctuated between compassion, anger, and flat out nausea as the scene unfolded before us yesterday, I remembered the words of Jesus as He reminded us that “if the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you”.
Any lies uttered against you and I yesterday, are lies uttered directly against Almighty God. Any lies that will weasel their way onto social media over the next few days and weeks, are lies leveled against God, Who is not a liar. As we spoke the truth to those who were perishing, Satan, the father of lies, showed up. This should serve to remind us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Those who blasphemed our Lord, mocked you for your faithfulness, denied the truth of God’s Word, and uttered all manner of wickedness against you falsely on His account, are to be pitied. They are doing the work of their father the devil. Our response, in relation to the ninth commandment, should be to not repay evil for evil. Instead of hanging our heads low, and shrinking back, let us rejoice!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12:
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
If you are able, let us kneel together and pray for grace and mercy to our Heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father, we come before You this morning tired and wounded, yet thankful for Your Mighty Arm of protection and Your generous provision in the face of conflict. We know that Your Son Jesus is the truth, yet everywhere we look, and sometimes within our own hearts, we hear lies about You. When we speak the truth in love, the response is often lies and slander being used to silence us. Father, sometimes we too engage in bearing false witness, repaying evil for evil. We take attacks against You personally, forgetting that hatred for you is at the root of the conflict, and call You a liar as we respond in ways that marr Your good name. Father please forgive us for when we bear false witness against our neighbor by failing to speak Your truths unashamed. Please forgive us for repaying evil for evil when we witness lies being leveled against You. Father, please help us to walk in the Spirit, so that our response to lies being uttered about You will be a response filled with love, seeking to see a soul saved from damnation, rather than one meant to simply even the score. It’s in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
 
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

Leader : To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!   


(From the 6/9/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)

 Elders are men who are to stand firm.  He is to hold fast.   That term hold fast is one we take for granted that everyone knows.  To hold something fast though is not the opposite of holding something slow.  It means to hold something securely.  Think of the word fasten your seat belts. You put your seat belt on and lock it into place so that you won’t be tossed out of the car if it crashes.  You are tethered in. It means being securely tied to something.  It means being unable to be moved.   It means standing firm.

The elder must be dialed in, fastened in, locked in, secured, and standing firm to the word of God. They have a deathgrip on the truth and won’t let go.  Nothing mentioned in the previous virtues should lead you to think of anything less than firmness.  When it comes to a hospitable and loving man who is not pugnacious or self-willed, we cannot see that as a weak man.  So often in media, pastors are portrayed as mousy effeminate men who are soft spoken and tender like a gay therapist.  We think that being hospitable and loving must mean that a man is timid and soft.

Nothing in these qualifications are about weakness, rather they are a display of masculine humility. Elders are fathers and they therefore will love their flock like a father loves his child.   A masculine father can care for his child with tenderness while still being able to protect his family.   An elder must be a man who holds firm to the faith. 

Even when the scriptures say that God is made strong in weakness, we don’t turn that as an excuse to make a virtue of weakness.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10  Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!  Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was not a weakling.  He faced shipwrecks, wild animals, hatred, foul weather, and he was beat, left for head, and returned right back to the same place to preach again.  He is not a soft man.  He doesn’t boast in his own strength but rather that it is the strength of God which makes strong even where he is weak.  He does not make a virtue out of being soft, rather he writes in 1 Corinthians Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

The apostle Paul though was not writing anything new.  For example we learn from another man of God about standing firm in  Joshua 23:6 Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.

Therefore an elder must be and we all must aspire to be people who stand on the word of God firmly.  We must hold fast.  We must latch on, fasten, secure ourselves to the truth.  We are to know whom we have believeth and not turn from him to the left or the right.  We must be men of the word, not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.  We don’t chase after every latest fad but are firmly planted in God’s word. We are to delight in God’s word so that we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Paul says that the man who is to be an officer in the church must stand firm, hold fast, to the faith word which is in accordance with the teaching.   He is to be a man of the word.   Not an effeminate man who is always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  There are people who read and read  and read theology and they trade doctrines like baseball cards.  It is a hobby where they chase all kinds of fads.  They are no more secure than pop up tent in a tornado.

On the other hand, the characteristics of humility previously mentioned also means that we cannot be brittle in our holding fast.  We must be correctable by the word of God.  When we read it and it convicts us of sin or presents to us something we have not practiced before, we need to be able to bend our will to the scripture.  A brittle person is just as fragile.  

Stand firm and hold fast.   Don't be soft or brittle.

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

A very familiar street evangelist is known for asking probing questions to expose the fact that the person they are conversing with is not a good person. Frequently he asks: “Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of its value or significance? Something as small as a pencil perhaps?” Typically the person responds with a yes, a smile on their face, an excuse along the lines of “sure, who didn’t steal candy as a child?”, and a certainty that they no longer steal.
The truth is, all of us have stolen from our neighbor, whether it was candy or a pencil as a child, or time from your employer as an adult. Shoplifting, identity theft, plagiarism, embezzlement, and taxation are but a few of the ways that stealing might manifest itself in this world. Like all other sins, God hates this one. Why?
First, God hates the sin of theft, the taking of someone's property without permission, because God is not a thief. Man, created in God’s image, is meant to reflect the character of God. Stealing is a distortion of God’s image, and is therefore sinful in His eyes.
Secondly, stealing from your neighbor is theft from God Himself. Psalm 24:1 states “The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.” Psalm 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”
When we steal, we ultimately rob from God, taking that which He has seen fit to give to another. We do so, often failing to be good stewards of that which He has entrusted to us.
Lastly, we know that all sin is against God and Him alone. One of the more subtle, intangible thefts we are guilty of, occurs when we pridefully give credit for that which God has done, to another, robbing Him of glory. Isaiah 42:8 says “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor my praise to graven images.”
We are successful in our careers saying “Look how great I am” and rob God of the fact that He blessed us with our skills and talents.
We defend our faith online against some unhinged atheist and think to ourselves, “Wow, I really gave that guy the business. He had no response for that pithy little argument I came up with.”
We know that in the beginning he created them male and female (Genesis 1:27), and that we were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7), yet live much of our lives fighting against His created order. Men shirk their responsibilities as men by not leading their homes, not laying down their lives for their wives as Christ laid down His for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), and not disciplining their children. God is a man of war, and we men are created in His image. When we as men would rather sit idle in the world, saying “peace, peace” where there is no peace, pursuing the latest toy or fashion rather than making war in the time when kings go out to war, we rob God of His glory due. Women rob God of His glory in their failure to submit to the headship of their husbands in the home. Many self professed Christian women across this land would rather submit to the demands of an employer, have complete strangers raise their children, and watch as their homes fall apart at the seams, than to submit to their husbands and manage their homes wisely to the praise of God’s glory. Seeking their rights, equality, and freedoms, modern women are enslaved to their passions, and in their pursuit of these things, steal glory from Almighty God.
Children steal. Maybe you don’t steal candy, or pencils, or pokemon cards, however, every time you fail to honor your father, you rob glory and honor from your Heavenly Father, from whom ALL fatherhood gets its name (Ephesians 3:15).
 
 
 
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Brothers and sisters, remember that you have been washed, sanctified, and justified by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins when we confess them to Him. If you are able, let us kneel at this time and seek forgiveness.
Heavenly Father, Your Word commands Thou shall not steal, yet often, we Your children find ourselves guilty of theft, having robbed You of the glory that is Yours alone. Father, when we steal, theft is not the only sin present: pride, arrogance, covetousness and unbelief are there as well. Father, please be merciful towards us sinners. Please forgive us for our thievery, and help us to be satisfied with the good things You have given us: especially Your Son Jesus. It’s in His name we pray, Amen.
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe:

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!   

(From the 6/2/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)