INTRODUCTION
• What is it that will drive some to great things while others sit and do little of nothing? What will drive some to attempt to reach heights that seem to be unreachable?
• What will cause that young man to ask out the beautiful young cheerleader while the other young man will not dare ask?
• GET 2 VOLUNTEERS.
• SLIDE #1
• Confidence!
• Many people have faith at some level, but do we have enough faith to follow Jesus where ever He wants to lead us? Are we willing to step out in faith? Are we willing to take stands that are not popular? Are we willing to walk were others are fearful to walk?
• DID Rachel HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN ME TO FALL? DID Andie HAVE CONFIDENCE? Why did Andie have confidence in me when Rachel did not seem to?
• Do we do we find ourselves not getting too far with our faith? Do we find ourselves living out an average faith? Do we see our walk with Jesus as an adventure or as something we are a bit afraid to totally open up to?
• One of the things we need to have in order to reach places we have never reached with our faith confidence. We need to have a confident faith! SLIDE #2
• Hebrews 11:1
• Confidence is all the difference in life. Confidence can make all the difference in our faith.
• Are we confident in the promises that God has made to us? Are we confident that God really will do what is best for us?
• John is going to share with us some thoughts which give us a basis to have a truly confident faith. Faith is all about trust, when we can fully trust we will have full confidence.
• When you start to live out a confident faith, you will find that God will do great things in your life that you never thought possible!
• Let us look at 1 John 5:13-15 together this morning. SLIDE #3
SERMON
We can have a confident faith because of the assurance of: SLIDE #4
I. ETERNAL LIFE (13)
SLIDE #5
1. God wants us to live in Him with confidence.
• In verse 13 we see that John has written this letter so that we could know that we have eternal life.
• In chapter one he tells us that he is proclaiming these things so that we could have fellowship with one another. SLIDE #6
• Verse 13 is not too different from John 20:31 where he says that he was writing so that people could believe in Jesus and therefore could have life.
• How many of you here today know without a doubt that you are saved?
• How many of you are pretty sure you are saved?
• How many are not really sure either way?
• Now, of all that answered, how many are Christians? When I ask if you are a Christian, I am asking you if you have placed your faith in Jesus, repented of your sin, confessed Jesus as Lord and have been immersed into Christ.
• If you have done what God has told us to do in His word then why do you doubt your salvation?
• Do you think that God wants you to go through life not knowing if you are saved?
• Do you think God wants you to have doubts concerning your salvation?
• If you believe in Jesus you HAVE eternal life.
• John says he wants us to KNOW this. The word John uses for “know” in verse 13 is not the word that just means to perceive, but it means to know with settled absolute knowledge.
• If you belong to Jesus you need to know without a doubt you are saved! SLIDE #7
• Though doubts come and shake us, though we sometimes falter in our faith, we do not have to worry or wonder about our salvation. If we have the Son (through faith), we have eternal life. It is ours, now and forevermore. Why? Because Christ is life (John 14:6), and eternal life is knowing him (John 17:3). On the other hand, those who do not have the Son of God have no such assurance because they do not have the life. When doubts begin to eat away at your confidence in Christ, let the truth of this verse be your assurance. (Life Application Bible)
• The other thing we need to realize once again is that we NOW possess the eternal life promised. We have not received it in full as of yet, but we will one day when the lord returns!
• Why is it important for us to have confidence in our salvation?
SLIDE#8
2. Confidence in our salvation can lead us to do great things for God.
• If you are in doubt as to where you stand with God, it will affect how you live out your faith. If you are not confident on God’s promise to you, you will be easily led down the wrong path, you will have nothing to anchor to in order to keep you on the right path.
• If you may not be saved, then why worry about living for Him? It is kind of like knowing you are going to get in trouble for something you did not do. If you are going to get in trouble, the thought is that you might as well carry out the act.
• If you have full confidence in your standing with God then you will be more apt to try to serve Him in greater ways.
• You will have a deeper faith because you trust in Him enough to have confidence in Him.
• How did Satan get at Eve? He tried to get her to doubt what God said and He tried to get her to doubt that God was really looking out for her best interests. SLIDE #9
• We see this in Genesis 3:5.
• Satan is implying that God really was not looking out for Eve, that God in some way was cheating her out of something.
• If you have confidence in your salvation you will live up to the standard that God has set. We will rise to the challenge!
• Our behavior, our lifestyle and our priorities will change when we trust God enough to believe what He has told us.
• I believe we will live up to standards and expectations if we know who we belong to and where we are going.
• If we do not understand where we are with God, then we will always live out a “sort of” saved faith where we will sort of follow Jesus and sort of try to live for Him.
SLIDE #10
We can have a confident faith because of the assurance that:
II. GOD HEARS US (14)
SLIDE #11
1. We must know that we have God’s ear!
• One of the most discouraging things for us can be thinking that God does not hear us or listen to us.
• Verse 14 reminds us that when we ask anything from Him that is according to His will, we can have confidence before Him.
• Let’s face it if you do not think God hears you, you will not speak to Him. Have you ever known a person you knew was not listening to you? Most of the time we will quit trying to speak with them.
• If you do not think God has the time or cares enough to listen to you why would you waste your time?
• If we know God is listening, it will give us confidence to pray to Him.
• Too many times we think our request is either too bog or too small for God to handle. If we feel this way, we will not pray to Him.
• I think some of the reason a typical church does not have a vibrant prayer ministry is because many think it is a waste of time.
• If I were to tell you that if you would call me on the phone daily that you would receive $100 million, I bet you would call me. God has more to offer than $100 million.
CLICK #11
2. We must have the confidence to be persistent in our prayers. (Luke 18:1-8)
• In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a parable to emphasize the importance of being persistent with our prayers. It is one of the few times Jesus gave the explanation before He told the parable. READ Luke 18:1-8.
• If we are not confident in God hearing us, we will not pray to Him very often.
CLICK #11
3. God will hear prayers that focus on His will.
• Why does it seem that God does not hear our prayer? More times than not it is because we are praying for things that God would want is to have.
• As a parent, aren’t there times you do not “hear” what your child is asking for because you know it is not what they need?
• Let us look at a clip from the Movie “Bruce Almighty.
DVD Chapter: 18 Start Time: 1:26:31 End Time: 1:29:23 ENDS WHEN BRUCE IS BEING SHOCKED BACK TO LIFE BY THE PARAMEDICS
• God wants us to pray from His eternal perspective, and wants us to develop His way of looking at the world. He also wants us to pray honestly, casting our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. (www.movieministry.com)
CLICK #11
a. The outcome does not mean we are not heard. (Matthew 26:39)
o When Jesus prayed in the garden just before He was arrested. He prayed to God three times asking that if there was another way other than the cross that God do it.
o God did not make Jesus avoid the cross by coming up with another way to save mankind. God did hear Jesus; the request was not God’s will.
o We must be careful not to equate the results that WE want with God hearing or not hearing us.
SLIDE #12
We can have a confident faith because of the assurance that:
III. GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS (15)
SLIDE #13
1. God will grant our requests!
• The language used in verse 15 lets us know that if we are praying for things within God’s will, we will have the requests we ask for! SLIDE #14
• Matthew 7:8 says: 8“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
• What is John’s formula for prayer that moves the hands of God? Pray in line with his will and pray with confidence! God always hears and answers requests that are in accordance with his plan. To pray effectively, then, believers need to determine God’s will.
• Most of God’s will is revealed to us in His word.
SLIDE #15
2. Prayer is a conversation with God concerning His will for us.
• Many times our prayers fall short because our prayer life is all about telling God what we want, how we want it, and when we want it instead of truly seeking His will in our situation.
• Prayer should be more of a conversation with God asking Him what His will is for us and then asking Him to carry it out, much like the clip we saw earlier.
CLICK #15
a. Paul asked for something that was not God’s will for him. ( 2 Cor 12:7-10)
• In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul was praying to God about something he called “ the thorn on the flesh”. Paul prayed three times that God remove it, but God in verse 9 (2 Cor 12:9) told Paul the thorn was going to stay because it was His will for Paul.
SLIDE #16
3. It is all about God!
• When we realize that it is all about God and not so much about us, we will grow in our confidence and prayer life.
• Our purpose is found in God our faith is found in God and our life is found in God!
• Our life is about spreading God’s will and sharing the love God has for mankind.
CONCLUSION
• Confidence is something that can help us to soar to heights unknown to us. If we have confidence in the God we serve, the shy is the limit for us.
• God wants you to know that you possess eternal life if you belong to Him. He wants you to know He hears your prayers and when we pray to Him and are in tune with His will He will responds to our petitions.
• Satan is working on you every moment trying to get you to doubt your faith, doubt where you stand with God concerning salvation, and He wants you to think God does not hear your or care to answer you.
• Every time we fail to lift our prayers to God, we give Satan a victory in our lives.
• Every time we let him cause us to doubt our salvation, we give him a victory in our lives.
• A non-confident Christian is a defeated Christian. In life those who lack confidence tend to lose.
• Do not let Satan defeat you; know where you are with God! Have a confident faith and you will not believe what God can do with you and through you!
