A Confident Faith Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• Relationships can be difficult to maintain.

• It can be easy to lose confidence in a relationship with people we know and can see, imagine how difficult it can be to have confidence in a relationship with someone you do not see and does not text you back.

• I have to wonder as I deal with my brothers and sisters in Christ, how many of us possess a confident faith because our faith us built on the level of confidence we have in Jesus.

• What is it that causes one to get that way? It could be that they are in the midst of a fierce battle with some sin you want to overcome but do not seem to be making any headway. Your conscience is telling you that you are not trying hard enough.

• It could be that you never feel like you are good enough for God. You serve and serve and serve, but you still do not think it is good enough. Your conscience tells you that you are not good enough for God.

• Maybe there is something going on in your life that you know you need to address and you have failed to address it? Your conscience is telling you to take care of it.

• It does not feel good to doubt where you stand with God. Guilt can be something that will keep you from wanting to serve Jesus because of your feelings of unworthiness. If you do not feel accepted by God, then your desire to serve Him will diminish.

• Admittedly, some guilt is good for us to the point it motivates us to work on weaknesses in our faith. Guilt can also be bad when it comes from the enemy.

• The conscience is something that can be a blessing, but if you let Satan get a hold of it, it can cause a great deal.

• There is nothing that Satan would like better than getting you to feel so guilty about yourself that you give up on your relationship with Jesus.

• When you are starting to feel like your relationship with Jesus is not going well, it takes a lot to keep from thinking He no longer loves you.

• You need to know that when you are in Christ, YOU CAN HAVE A CONFIDENT FAITH!

• Today we will examine three reasons you can possess A Confident Faith!

• SLIDE #2

• 1 John 3:19–20 (HCSB) — 19 This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, 20 even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

One can possess a confident faith when one realizes…

I. God is greater than your sin.

• Our love is evidence of our relationship with God. (19)

• Verse 19 ties us back to the thought of brotherly love. John tells us that one of ways we can tell that we have a relationship with Jesus is by the love we have for one another. I am not going to spend a lot of time on this one since we been spending a lot of time on the subject in past weeks.

• SLIDE #4

• The word KNOW means to know by EXPERIENCE. So when we look back to verse 18 from last week it explains 1 John 3:18 (HCSB) —Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action.

• When you fulfill the requirements of loving our brothers, you can know that we are of the truth.

• So if that is your experience, then you can know that you belong the to the truth.

• One of the many blessings of brotherly love is the fact it shows our relationship with Jesus!

• The brotherly love you exhibit assures you that you are of the truth and therefore you can approach God with confidence because you are one of His children!

• This assurance can only come to one who is in the truth.

• If believers are demonstrating love by their actions, they will not constantly be wondering whether God will accept them—they “know” it and they can “rest” in that fact. (Life Application Bible)

• If you start to think you are not in good standing with God, you can look at the way you love others as evidence of your relationship with Jesus.

• Verse 20 joyful proclaims that you will receive encouragement from God when youy heart condemns you.

• 20 even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things.

• As Christians proceed in their lives with Christ, it will happen that their hearts will accuse them. Whatever the source—an overactive conscience, the realization that they don’t love others enough, or even Satan’s false accusations—they will feel the accusation. (Life Application Bible)