Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who with her family helped hide many Jews during the Nazi Holocaust. Many of the family were arrested, and Corrie and her sister ended up in a concentration camp. Corrie survived, but her sister did not. Corrie's deep and abiding faith in Jesus, and his work in her life, led to many speaking engagements, books, and the movie, The Hiding Place. Below is a link to one of my favorite sermons by Corrie concerning forgiving others and coming clean with God. I've excerpted part of an illustration from this talk (an illustration she used in other presentations), that is a wonderful metaphor on what prevents us from living for Christ and showing the world who He is in our lives.
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=21563
You know this flashlight does not give light. It is not broken, but I only have one battery in it. We all know that it cannot give light when there is only one battery in it. But I could not get the second battery in it, because it is full of rags. First, I must remove these rags. Do you know what I mean with this (flashlight)? This is your heart and my heart. And this first battery is what happened when you and I for the first time in your life you first said a real "Yes" to Jesus. Do you remember that moment when you first saw you were a sinner? And that you needed a Savior...and you saw suddenly it is Jesus who is my savior! You said, "Oh, yes Lord Jesus. I need You. Come into my heart. I need your help, your cleansing, your forgiveness!" and you brought all your sins to the Lord. I see many of you with such happy faces, because of that moment-when angels rejoiced...for a sinner was saved for eternity. Some of you do not look so happy, because you did not yet do it. No, don't laugh, for that is terrible, because that means if Jesus should come this morning, you would not be ready for Him. And when He comes, everyone will have to be ready.
The great joy is that Jesus said, "Come unto me, ALL." That is also, you! And when you come, then do it. And perhaps you will see the way of salvation a little bit clearer than before you listened this morning. When I am through with my talk, we will all be quiet for a few minutes...then ask the Lord, "Have I to give an answer?" and then give the answer. I pray and I hope it will be a "Yes" for all of you. Not only for you who have never received Jesus Christ, but also to many of you who belong to Jesus. There is a challenge that I must give to you in the name of the Lord Jesus....that is that you have to be right with God and right with man.
Now the flashlight is your heart and that second battery is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It is written in the Bible, and I believe it is also Peter who says, "You have been eager to get His gift in this time of waiting for His final appearance." The Bible has no suggestions, only commandments. One of the most joyful commandments is "Be filled with the Spirit."
These rags are sins. When in your heart there are unconfessed sins, you cannot expect that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. To be right with God, we have to clean out the rags in the flashlight, like the sins in your heart. This rag is bad temper. Hebrew 12:15 says, "A bitter spirit (of bad temper) which is bad in itself, but can also poison the life of many others." A bad temper is terrible for yourself and for your family.
This rag is pride! In the Bible, it is read when Josiah says, "Pride is that feeling of "holier than thou." It is smoke in God's nose." Yes.
This one(rag) is inferiority feeling. Wait...is that a sin? Isn't that humbleness? No, that is also pride. You do not accept your limitations. 1 Corinthians 7:17 "Each man should live his life with the gifts that God has given him, and in the condition which God has called him." Isn't that good? Then you should have no inferiority feeling. She is far more beautiful than I. It doesn't matter. I have the gift with a face with many many wrinkles, but it doesn't matter. I have to live with the gifts that God has given me. And every inferiority feeling is pride.
Now this rag is worry. This one is jealousy. This rag is criticism....a rag that is in the heart of many Christians. The danger is that we often criticize other Christians. Paul says, when he uses the translation of Phillips, "Don't criticize somebody else's servant, especially when that somebody else is God!" He is able to make Himself a servant that is satisfactory. Someone said something about, "We have not to carry the burden for each other, we have not to protect each other. We do not have to bring the other Christian to his master and say, "Lord, I see that she is not quite right." No, no, The Lord says, "Do not criticize someone else's servant, when that somebody else is Me. Leave it to Me." And I don't doubt Him.
Now, these rags are forgotten promises. Did you make a promise? Did you forget it? God did not forget it.
(She brings out another rag)...Unforgiveness. I will speak about that more. (Out comes another rag) Stubbornness. In the Bible, it is written, "Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witch craft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols."
This one (rag) is lying. When we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves. (She pulls out more rags, one at a time and calls out the names of each) Lust...Disobediance... Now, what can I do with these rags? No problem. What can you do with the rags in your flashlight? No problem. At the cross, you see the answer. And the Bible tells us, "Confess your sins and forsake them." In the power of Jesus, we can ask, "Oh, Lord, forgive me of that stubbornness! Forgive me from that bad temper! Forgive me from that slander...and that worry!"
And perhaps I am speaking here for very "decent" sinners...that have some "decent" sins. (everyone laughs) But in God's eyes, "decent" sins can also be a difficulty. You know, it is terrible. We have to be at peace with God. And we cannot be at peace with God, when we keep our sins. So bring it to the Lord. And the great joy is...when we ask for forgiveness, the Blood will cleanse us. Not only that, the Lord will give us His victory through the Blood. We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb. It is not only that we can ask for forgiveness, but then we can go in the strength of the Lord. When you have a cleansed heart, it is the dwelling for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Then you are the light of world, because the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, and kindness and goodness and self-control. It is the Holy Spirit that makes you the light of the world. (She puts the 2nd battery in and tries to turn on the flashlight, but it still doesn't work. The audience laughs) But I see He doesn't do it. I fear that I have left a few "decent" sins...a few very little rags. Yes, I found some...no, it isn't a rag. That's money! Bermuda dollar. There is nothing wrong with a dollar. This is not a sin, it was only in the wrong place. It has to be in my purse. It is possible that there is no sin in your heart, but you are not full of the Holy Spirit because there is money in your heart. And there are very able people here who can help you with that money. So just come to us. (Laughter breaks out again)
Many other Corrie Ten Boom sermons are available at the following location:
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=14
