“‘Yes’ In Christ”: We are missing out on a great verse to boost our confidence in answered prayer.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20.
- This is such a great verse and yet it’s one that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. This is one that is worth regularly quoting in prayer. It’s just a vibrant expression of our hope and expectation in prayer.
- Let’s set up the verse by looking at the previous two.
- There was some unhappiness from the Corinthians about Paul’s failure to visit them. He had planned to visit them but then changed his mind. There were circumstances that changed those plans – circumstances that included the immature response of the Corinthians. In light of all that, there could have been the accusation that “if we can’t count on your travel promises, maybe we can’t count on the theological promises you made.”
- Because of that, Paul immediately transitions from talk of travel “yes” and “no” into talk of theological “yes” and “no.” In verse 18 he tells them that his theological message to them was not “yes” and “no.” That is, it wasn’t a message where he said one thing one day and another the next. It wasn’t a message where he was constantly adjusting what the “truth” he was sharing with them was. He was anticipating the accusation they were likely to make against him.
- He pounds home his point in verse 19 by saying that the Jesus that he and his fellow preachers had shared was one who spoke “yes.”
- That brings us to verse 20, which is where we will spend the majority of this sermon. He strongly counters the anticipated slander of shifting promises with a definitive statement about how generous and reliable the promises of God are.
- I want to unpack the other parts of verse 20, but let me first look at the heart of the verse: “they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”
- That is such a strong statement of hope, confidence, and expectation. The promises of God are yes in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus the promises of God are ones that we can count on and have confidence in.
- So, the first thing that I want to say tonight is that we need to grab onto this terrific phrase and incorporate it into our prayer life. It’s one that can give us confidence and expectation as we pray – and we can use all of that that we can get.
Living In That Confidence:
1. God does not have a capacity problem.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “For no matter how many promises God has made . . .”
- Verse 20 starts with a broad statement concerning how many promises God has made. How many is that? Well, I didn’t have the time to go through the Bible and count them, but suffice it to say that it’s a bunch.
- So let’s do the math. There are a bunch of promises in the Bible that God has said He will answer for Christians. There are hundreds of millions of Christians around the globe. That’s a lot of potential requests!
- In business they talk about “capacity” issues. That is, if too many orders come in and suddenly you don’t have the ability to fulfill all the orders that you received. Suddenly, you’ve got a backlog and a bunch of unhappy customers.
- Now, what we’re talking about isn’t a business, but similar thoughts could come to mind. “I don’t know if God can hear little old me with a whole world to run.” “Maybe He forgot about me.” “It’s a big world and He’s got bigger things to attend to.” All of those point toward capacity issues. We don’t think God can handle answering every request that claims the promises.
- God, though, does not have a capacity problem. He is limitless. He is infinite. His power is always enough. His awareness is always present. His capacity is always sufficient.
- And so Paul can confidently say that no matter how many promises God has made, the answer can still be yes in Christ.
2. It’s not because of our thoughts but because of Christ’s action.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “. . . in Christ. And so through Him . . .”
- If you listen to self-help gurus giving their motivational speeches, it’s all about revving yourself up. “You can do it!” “You have greatness within you!” Paul here point us in a different, better direction. Our confidence in God’s willingness to answer and our hope in God applying His promises to our lives does not lie in how great we are or anything that we’ve done for God. It lies in Jesus.
- “. . . in Christ. And so through Him . . .” are the words that Paul uses.
- This gives us certainty and confidence.
- Imagine that you have a daughter who is stuck in another country. The situation there is not great and you’re desperate to get her home. Yet your ability to make that happen is almost nothing. You have no connections, you have very limited knowledge. But your brother works in the State Department in Washington. You call him, desperate, and because he loves you and his niece, he works every angle and connection he has. Within two hours your daughter is safely in the U.S. Embassy there, guarded by the U.S. military. Within four she is on a plane out of the country. In that moment when she passes from the country’s air space and is safe, you’re not going to think, “I wish I could have taken care of that situation myself. I hate that I didn’t do that myself.” Not in the least. Instead, you’re going to be thinking, “I’m so thankful for my brother and what he can do!”
- Well, we have a brother who can do great things for us! And asking for His help shouldn’t make us sad that we couldn’t handle it ourselves – it should make us thankful that we have Him to turn to.
3. In prayer we say, by faith, “so be it.”
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “. . . the ‘Amen’ . . .”
- So if Jesus is the source of our power, what do we bring to the table? Well, our contribution is important, although it’s obviously the smaller part of this equation. We bring our faith in Jesus’ power.
- Paul says that the “Amen” is spoken by us. To understand what he’s getting at it is helpful to define what “Amen” means. One of the primary definitions of “Amen” is “so be it.”
- For example, when the preacher declares in the sermon that “Jesus is returning someday!” and you respond with “Amen,” you are saying “yes, may it be so.”
- This is an important part of the equation. God has the power to do many things that He does not do. No one asked for it. No one believed it could happen. In many situations God does not move unless a believer prays with expectation and faith that God has the power and willingness to move. We provide something integral to the process – our faith. We call the shot ahead of time – “it hasn’t happened yet but God promised it so watch it come about.”
4. We have to actually ask.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “. . . is spoken by us . . .”
- This is incredibly basic, but it needs to be stated. We have to actually ask for the thing we want. We need to actually claim the promise in prayer.
- It’s not enough to know that the promise is there. It’s not enough that God laid the promise out there for us. It’s not enough that it could have been asked. We need to actually speak the prayer.
- Do we know the promises of God? Are we actually claiming the promises of God in our prayers?
5. Be encouraged that answered prayer gives God glory.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 – “. . . to the glory of God.”
- Why does Paul shift from talking about prayer here to concluding with a mention of God’s glory? What’s the connection there? Well, there is a direct connection and it’s one that’s important to understand because it can give us greater confidence.
- When we face a giant problem or obstacle or look toward a challenging opportunity and then we turn to God and claim one of the promises that the Bible gives us, that’s a first step. It’s important to note that at this point we have pretty much nothing but a big problem and a promise from God. But as we put our hope in God to move even though the answer is sight unseen, it’s a statement of faith. As we pray toward an answer, we declare our belief in God to move even before we’ve seen any evidence. After the prayer is answered, the fact that we had belief in God to keep His promises sight unseen brings honor and glory to God. It’s a strong statement that says: I believe You can be trusted, I believe that You are good to come through, I believe that You keep Your promises. That faith brings glory to God and points people toward Him.
