[0:00] 1 John 3, verses 19-24.
[0:22] By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our heart before Him. God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.
[0:35] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.
[0:48] And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He has commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God and God in Him.
[1:03] And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. May God add a blessing to the reading of His Word. Would you please be seated? When people learn I'm originally from Kansas, they often make some kind of reference to the Wizard of Oz.
[1:26] When I went with some pastors to Latvia, a country on the other side of the world, a pastor there, when he found out I was from Kansas, said to me, Oh yeah, the Wizard of Oz.
[1:44] And then he placed his hand on my shoulder and he said, Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore. No doubt, brother, no doubt.
[1:57] When I was in third grade, our teacher had us write letters to someone famous, asking for them to mail our class an autographed picture.
[2:08] And the first celebrity who responded was Jack Haley, the actor who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. You remember the Tin Man?
[2:20] He wanted a heart so that he could feel and experience emotions like a human being. He sings, When a man's in empty kettle, he should be on his metal, yet I'm torn apart.
[2:36] Just because I'm presuming that I could be kind of human if I only had a heart. Dorothy and her three friends, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man, make their way down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to meet the powerful Wizard of Oz in the hopes that he will grant their requests.
[3:00] And as they enter his presence, smoke and fire frame his throne. And the wizard beckons for the Tin Man to approach.
[3:12] And the Tin Man steps forward, and he's shaking, and he's rattling all over. And the wizard says to him, Do you dare come to ask me for a heart, you clinking, clanking, clattering collection of colligionous junk?
[3:27] And eventually, the Tin Man retreats in fear as he continues to quake in the presence of the all-powerful Wizard of Oz, unsure and probably doubting that his request for a new heart would be granted.
[3:49] As Christians, we sometimes approach God like the Tin Man, don't we? But we shouldn't. God doesn't use intimidating tactics to strike fear into the hearts of his children to boost his ego.
[4:07] On the contrary, God's Word says that Christians are God's children. Children whom he's given a new heart in salvation, and whom he beckons to draw near to him, not timidly, but confidently.
[4:32] The author of Hebrews puts it like this in Hebrews 4.16. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.
[4:46] Later in Hebrews 10.19, we're told, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. God not only wants Christians to approach him confidently, but be confident people in this world.
[5:06] In 2 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy, a young pastor, with these words in chapter 1, verses 6-7. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
[5:22] For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. The Greek word translated as spirit of fear describes cowardly, shameful fear caused by weak character.
[5:39] Timothy was facing escalating threats, both from outside of the church and within the church. From outside of the church, those threats were coming through persecution under Nero.
[5:56] From within the church, he faced threats from members who questioned his ability to lead them. And then threats from false teachers who were deceiving many in his congregation.
[6:06] But Paul says to him, If these things are causing you to act cowardly and be fearful, that feeling that you have, it's not from God.
[6:20] Don't be timid. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Be confident in Christ, both in who he's made you to be and what he's enabled you to do.
[6:33] And so John, in our text this morning, wants his readers to be confident in Christ. And to be confident in Christ, you must know that you are truly in Christ.
[6:46] You must know that you are truly saved. John has given, to this point, a series of tests for his readers to examine their faith to determine if what they profess is something that they truly possess, namely salvation.
[7:05] To this point, John, again, has tested their doctrine, what they believe about Jesus, and what they believe about sin. John has tested their obedience and their love for God.
[7:21] And as we saw last week, which includes their love for other brothers and sisters in Christ. And these tests were given by him to build confidence in the hearts of those who were truly saved.
[7:36] But John understands that there are some Christians who at this point in these churches might have been suffering from test anxiety.
[7:49] They had the post-exam blues. Have you ever had those before? Besides me, I think no one is ready for me to be done with this doctorate more than my wife, Dani, because she's had to attend every pity party that I've thrown for myself whenever I've turned a paper in.
[8:12] And she's heard me say things like, ah, this paper is terrible. My professor is going to wonder how someone so stupid got allowed into his class.
[8:25] Wah, wah, wah. On and on it goes. And she tells me, you always say that. And you're being too hard on yourself.
[8:38] Be more confident. That's what I think John is doing here. He knows that some Christians tend to be too hard on themselves.
[8:50] They're saved. They do belong. But instead of his test giving them assurance and confidence, they are doubting what they shouldn't doubt.
[9:01] And so his message to them in these verses and his message to us this morning is our main idea. You should have an unshakable confidence in Jesus Christ.
[9:15] You, child of God, should have an unshakable confidence in Jesus Christ. To be confident in Jesus Christ, you must know that you've been saved by him.
[9:30] One of the most common questions I'm asked, and I know other pastors are asked as well, is how do I know that I'm saved? Sometimes John MacArthur has a question and answer time with his church, and they set up microphones amongst the congregants and the sanctuary, and people will come to those microphones, and they'll ask them questions about the Bible or just questions about the Christian life.
[9:58] And one time, a woman in her 30s or 40s approached one of those microphones, and her name was Joy. But it was clear from her disposition that Joy was not feeling very joyful.
[10:14] And so her voice quivered as she choked back tears, and she asked John MacArthur, how do I know that I'm saved? And he said to her, the fact that you're asking the question is evidence of God's work in your heart.
[10:31] Then he said, the way you know you are saved is by your desire. And he asked her, do you desire to know God?
[10:43] Yes, she said. He asked, do you desire that He would know you and love you? Yes, she said. He asked, do you desire to know Him?
[10:55] Yes. Do you desire to love Him? Yes. Do you desire to honor Him? Yes. Yes. Do you desire to obey His Word? She said, I do, but I can't in my own strength.
[11:12] And he said, of course not. Welcome to the club. Christian, Satan can't take away your salvation, but he will try to rob you of the joy of your salvation.
[11:26] and the confidence as well that you should have in Jesus Christ. If you doubt your salvation, if you doubt God's love for you, you will be a less effective Christian.
[11:41] If you doubt your salvation, you won't be devoted to the Great Commission. How can you share the gospel with unbelievers effectively if you question God's ability to save you?
[11:53] How can you share the love of God with others if you question God's love for you? And so I ask you this morning, are you struggling with confidence as a Christian?
[12:10] Do you question your salvation? In this passage, John says that you should have unshakable confidence confidence in Jesus Christ. And he outlines four behaviors of a confident Christian.
[12:27] But before we get into those behaviors, you need to understand why this is important. Believer, this is important because Proverbs 28.1 says, the righteous are as bold as a lion.
[12:43] There's a meme that's been floating around on social media and on one side of this picture there's a lion, a real lion and he's perched on a rock or a boulder and his mouth is open and you can just see from that picture that this lion is fierce, he's roaring.
[13:00] And underneath that picture, the caption says, biblical Christianity. Next to that picture is a picture of the cowardly lion. And the cowardly lion, he's got his curly ringlets in his mane, he's got his little red bow and he's got a bashful expression on his face and underneath that caption, it says, American Christianity.
[13:25] Christian, when you put your trust in Christ, when you believe and obey his word, your life will take on a new stability, a new focus and a new poise.
[13:41] You will be confident, not in yourself, but in God who made you, who called you, who saved you, who keeps you and who will finish in you what he started.
[13:55] I love the Apostle Paul's confidence of that in Philippians 1, 6. He said, I'm sure of this, I'm confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
[14:14] And so Christian, understand your family, your friends, your co-workers, your church, your neighbors, this world needs you to be a confident Christian.
[14:28] Confident of your salvation, confident of your purpose, confident of your mission, confident in your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
[14:41] Unbeliever, this is also important for you because maybe you do have confidence, but it's not the kind of confidence that you should have. It's not the kind of confidence that saves.
[14:54] When it comes to your salvation, maybe you think that you don't need Jesus or maybe you think that all you really need is to just basically be a good person, better than most other people and you are trusting in yourself and your own good works, your own achievements and your own merits for salvation.
[15:16] The Bible says in Philippians 3, 2-3, look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh, for we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus.
[15:32] And this is what I want you to see and put no confidence in the flesh, no confidence in ourselves, no confidence in who we are or anything that we have done. Salvation is not based on what you've done but what Jesus Christ has done for you.
[15:50] It's only those who build on the foundation that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior whose house, whose life will not be shaken and destroyed.
[16:04] And so I hope that you will come away from our time together this morning knowing Jesus and having confidence in Him. But again, you should have an unshakable confidence in Jesus Christ and John here provides us with four behaviors of a confident Christian.
[16:24] The first, confident Christians trust in God's grace. confident Christians trust in God's grace. Verse 19 is a hinge verse.
[16:38] John's noted that genuine believers are those who have received God's love and who dispense God's love to their brothers and their sisters in Christ. This love, this concern for others, this desire to be gracious towards others is proof of salvation because the person who acts in such a way is acting like Jesus.
[17:00] And the more you act like Jesus, the more confident you'll be as John says in verse 19. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him.
[17:12] Now in verse 20, John begins to shift his focus to believers who lack confidence in Christ due to a hyper active conscience that floods their hearts and their minds with dread instead of confident joy in God's grace.
[17:35] In verse 20 he begins, for whenever our heart condemns us. Now here the word heart refers to the conscience.
[17:46] The Bible says that every person, every person is born with the law of God written in their heart or on their heart and with a conscience that helps them discern whether their actions are in agreement or in disagreement with that standard.
[18:09] Romans 2 14-15 says, for when the Gentiles, here he's referring to unbelievers, who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves even though they don't have the law.
[18:26] They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts while their conscience also bears and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.
[18:38] Now our culture may deny that morality, the sense of right and wrong comes from God, but they don't deny the existence of the conscience and how it functions in a person.
[18:54] Take cartoons or children's shows for example. The main character finds themselves in a situation where they could either do the right thing or the wrong thing.
[19:09] And the wrong thing seems to be the better thing in their mind for them to do. And then poof, a little angel appears over their shoulder and it looks like them and it kind of sounds like them.
[19:28] And that little angel is wagging its little finger in their face telling them that they should do the right thing. And when they don't do the right thing that little angel crosses its little arms over its little chest and looks at the person with shame and disgust.
[19:50] So they know it but we shouldn't develop our theology from cartoons. John Wesley provided a better explanation of how the conscience functions.
[20:04] He says first it is a witness testifying to what we have done in thought or word or action. Secondly it's a judge passing sentence on what we have done that it is good or evil and thirdly in some sort executes the sentence by occasioning a degree of complacency in him that does well and a degree of uneasiness in him who does evil.
[20:35] So when you sin your conscience operates as an eyewitness as a prosecuting attorney and as the judge and sometimes the executioner and all of those things are working together against you the defendant but when God's word properly informs your conscience it will prompt you it should prompt you to confess your sins and in that receive God's forgiveness and be cleansed of guilt again we read in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water when
[21:38] God's word informs your conscience the Holy Spirit uses it to convict your heart of sin and lead you to repentance that's how the conscience should work but as John notes sometimes our conscience is hyperactive sometimes your conscience makes you feel so guilty that you forget or deny how gracious God is have you ever sinned and it wasn't that you were trying to excuse it in any way but you just felt so guilty so guilty that you didn't want to pray and you didn't want to seek God's forgiveness your conscience was accusing you saying to you something like well you've done it again you wretch and you know what you'll probably do it again no one else seems to have this problem
[22:51] I wonder and I doubt that you're truly saved other times maybe you were praying and suddenly your conscience said something to you like this you know not only are you unworthy of God answering your prayers he shouldn't even listen to your prayers after all the sin that you've committed in your life I know for me Sunday morning is an especially vulnerable time my conscience kicks into hyper drive accusing me of all kinds of sins that I've done in my past and calling into question my fitness for the task of preaching God's word sometimes those feelings of unworthiness are satanic in nature in our conscience sides with the enemy sides with
[23:52] Satan and his accusations against us and we have to agree yes I am a sinner yes I am unworthy of being saved and no I should not be forgiven like I am but but and this is what we can't forget this is the truth that puts our hyper active conscience in check and shuts Satan's accusing mouth verse 20 God is greater than our heart and he knows everything when our conscience condemns us we have a higher court to appeal our case to don't we and we have someone there ready to defend our case God saved me when
[24:54] I was a sinner he knew all the sin that I had ever commit and Jesus died to atone for all of my sin and he lives to make intercession for me right now my sin grieves me but my grief pales in comparison to God's grace you appeal your case to a higher court Martin Luther said conscience is one drop the reconciled God is a sea of comfort does God most desire you think to condemn or comfort his children what do you think is his greatest desire to condemn his children when they sin or comfort his children when they sin we have the answer it's in the Bible we see it with Peter don't we Peter denied Jesus three times I don't know him
[25:56] I don't follow him I don't belong to him three times as Jesus was led to the cross and after Jesus died and he rose again he appeared to his disciples and he singled out Peter remember and Jesus confronted him about his denials and what defense did Peter offer he said Lord you know all things and here's his defense you know that I love you and how did Jesus respond to that I doubt it I I kind of think you need to do some more groveling over this one I'm going to need to see some more proof from you before I truly believe that you understand what you've done no that's not what
[27:04] Jesus did Jesus forgave him and not only did he forgive him he entrusted him to lead his church and Peter in Acts is completely different than the Peter we see in the gospel isn't he he is unafraid he is bold he is confident because he knows that through Jesus he's been made the recipient of much much grace and that gave him a whole lot of confidence maybe this morning you need to make an appeal to a court that your condemning conscience cannot overrule and you need to tell it at the same time knock it off I don't have time for this
[28:04] I know I'm a sinner but I know that my desire is to love and to serve God and I know that through Christ I have received his grace and he has more for me to do than to listen to this hyper active condemning conscience confident Christians trust in God's grace they know that his grace is sufficient no matter how great their trouble so that's the first behavior the second behavior confident Christians are bold in prayer they trust in God's grace and they're bold in prayer in verse 21 John says beloved if our heart does not condemn us we have confidence before God if you know that your desire is to love God and love others in obedience to his commands even though you do that imperfectly you can still have confidence to enter his presence and to offer big bold prayers verse 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him now here
[29:23] John is not implying that good works are necessary for answered prayer and here I think something John Calvin said is helpful he said by saying because we keep his commandments!
[29:34] He means not that confidence in prayer is founded on our works but he teaches this only that true religion and sincere worship of God cannot be separated from faith if you know God and you know his word you know what God desires and as a Christian you love what God desires and those desires become the focus of your prayers and as you do that you don't treat God as a genie to obey your command or your personal assistant who exists to serve you or your waiter who exists to serve your order and they better get it right or you're going to send it back if you know God and it's your desire that he be glorified in your life and you pray in that way with that motivation he'll answer your prayers you can be confident of that and confident that you can be bold in prayer
[30:49] I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon about prayer he says prayer pulls the rope below and the great bells ring above in the ears of God some scarcely stir the bell for they pray so languidly so lazily so weakly others give but an occasional pluck at the rope but he who wins with heaven is the man who!
[31:19] grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might the first church I served in as a youth pastor we had a bell over our church building and if it was your birthday that week you got to come and ring the bell and you know the adults would go up there and they just kind of feel silly I don't really want to do this but I'll do it because that's what we do as a church but the kids when it was the kids birthday you better watch out I mean they were pulling that thing like crazy that's how we need to be in prayer bold John Knox was born in Scotland in 1514 he was about three years old when the Protestant Reformation started in Germany Knox lived in Scotland when the Roman Catholic Queen Mary Tudor reigned Mary the Queen was known or her nickname was
[32:20] Bloody Mary and she got that nickname because of her ruthless persecution of Protestant Christians and in her eyes John Knox was public enemy number one but Knox's greatest desire was that God would save his countrymen and that the reformation which had broken out in Germany would break out in Scotland as well and so his prayer was this very simple very bold he prayed!
[32:51] me Scotland or I die few felt the impact of Knox's prayers more than the woman who sought his death Mary the Queen of Scots and she was reported to have said this about John Knox Knox fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe Knox's prayers became the fuel of ongoing reformation in his time his prayers shook Scotland and God brought about a great revival you need to pray like that I need to pray like that we need to pray for revival revival in our lives revival in our church revival in our nation in our world pray boldly in accordance with
[33:57] God's will every person who comes to Christ who has received his grace and salvation can come before God at any time not in self confidence but in Christ confidence and as we read in Ephesians 3 12 in him Christ we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him don't act like a wimp when you pray and don't pray as if God hasn't already won pray bold prayers in line with God's word and see what God will do the third behavior of a confident Christian is confident Christians obey God's commands they obey his commands verse 23 through the beginning of verse 24 and this is the commandment that we believe in the name of the son of
[34:59] Jesus and love one another just as he commanded! God in him answered prayer is a fruit of obedience motivated by and rooted in a love for God and a desire to do what pleases him you know sinful human beings will tell someone that they love them and they'll do things to convince that person that they love them but they use love to manipulate others to give them what they want because truly they only love themselves it's a self promoting love in social circles or in the workplace it looks like using flattery to puff up the egos of other people who are in higher positions than you to gain access to their connections or whatever it is that they have or whatever it is that they can do to help you in your career in relationships it's what we call being a gold digger marrying a person because you don't love them but you love what they have and you want access to that or it's desiring someone's beauty and wanting to take physical possession of their body to use them to satisfy the cravings of your sinful flesh that's not the way
[36:39] Christians have been commanded and taught to love true love Christ like love is a love that sacrifices for others you obey God's commands because you treasure who God is you desire to know him with your life and you demonstrate that by how willingly you submit to his commands about a month ago I went to my nephew's football game in Tahlequah they were playing NSU after the game there was an elderly couple in front of us as we were walking out of the stadium and the gentleman was definitely in his upper 80s he might have been in his 90s and he was walking with a cane and right next to him was his wife who was also elderly and she had her one arm kind of hooked around his arm right here and with her other hand and you could only see it if you were behind him she had a firm grip of the back of his pants and she was keeping him up so that he wouldn't fall so that he wouldn't be embarrassed so that he wouldn't get hurt and
[38:05] I could tell that as she was walking with him like this when they would come to steps especially she would whisper something in his ear probably telling him hey there's a step here go slow go easy I've got you something like that I wasn't able to hear it but I'm sure those are the kinds of instructions she was whispering into her husband's ears and as a result of all that she did that man walked with confidence because of his wife's love and he obeyed her instructions because he knew that his wife loved him Christian this is how God's word operates in your life to keep you from falling to increase your confidence in him John 15 7 through 10 Jesus prayed and he told his disciples before he prayed if you abide in me and my words abide in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples as the father has loved me so
[39:25] I have loved you abide in my love if you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love if you have truly known the love of!
[39:40] ! you truly love God and you will desire what he desires and you will know that you can trust him in obedience and you can pray boldly and effectively and all these things will boost your confidence in Christ and now the fourth behavior of a confident Christian in the end of verse 24 confident Christians abide in the Holy Spirit confident Christians abide in the Holy Spirit and by this we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given us the Holy Spirit does not receive as much attention from us as he ought to and part of that is because we're confused about what the Holy Spirit does or who he is and we don't want to say the wrong thing because we don't want to get branded as a heretic but you know every great band has that one band member who nobody can remember!
[40:51] their name and the Holy Spirit unfortunately in the church has kind of suffered from that sort of forgetfulness we often treat the Holy Spirit as if he's the third wheel of the Trinity or we treat him like a mom you know no one appreciates mom until mom is out of town and then they realize all the things that mom does well thankfully the Holy Spirit never goes out of town he never leaves us because he is the guarantee of our salvation as we read in Ephesians 1 13 through 14 he indwells believers the moment they are saved 1 Corinthians 12 13 is the Holy Spirit who brings life to the spiritually dead John 3 5 through 8 he gives spiritual sight to the blind Acts 16 14 and he draws them to faith in Jesus Christ 1 Peter 1 2 the Holy Spirit places us into the body of Christ 1 Corinthians 12 13 and he gifts us with gifts to use in ministry in the church 1
[41:57] Corinthians 12 7 and it's through him illuminating our minds that he instructs us as we read God's word he makes it come alive for us as we read it and as we meditate it and as we understand how to apply it to our lives 1 Corinthians 2 10 through 14 and it is he who energizes our bold prayers Ephesians 6 18 he leads us and he guides us as he assures us especially when we doubt or when our conscience condemns us that you are a child of God Ephesians 1 13 through 14 in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory and you know if you've heard anything this morning and it has made you feel more confident in
[43:04] Christ that's the work of the Holy Spirit that's the Holy Spirit doing that in you and that should give you confidence in Christ shouldn't it John Stott said the spirit whose presence is the test of Christ living in us manifests himself objectively in our life and conduct if he who inspires us to confess Jesus as the Christ come in the flesh it is also he who empowers us to live righteously and to love our brothers and sisters so if we set our hearts at rest when they accuse and condemn us we must look for evidence of the spirit's working and so I ask you is there evidence of the holy spirit's working in your life when your heart condemns!
[44:04] you when Satan attacks and you are not sure if you are truly saved you are not sure if you are truly loved are you able to stop and look back at the moment when you profess to be a Christian and see evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in your life as he has made you more like Jesus Christ is there proof is there evidence is there fruit I hope that there is hope that there is if there's not there is hope for you this morning now being a Christian isn't about being better than other people it's not about being you know having a bunch of good works good deeds good things that you've done and thinking in some way that's going to save you being a Christian is about who
[45:04] Jesus is and it's about what Jesus has done and it's having faith in who he is and what he's done it's confessing and admitting I'm a sinner and I've sinned against God and my sin is worthy of punishment and eternal separation from God in hell but I understand that God in his love has sent his son Jesus to live sinlessly die sacrificially to atone for my sins and was risen on the third day and he reigns as king of kings lord of lords he is my savior he is my God and if you know that and if it's your desire no matter how poorly you've executed it in the past it's your desire to love God and to serve God and be obedient to God then be confident you're his you're saved now make bold prayers that
[46:13] God would use you in ways to advance his kingdom and be an instrument through which his grace and his love is both seen in your life and communicated through your words we need to be like the apostle Paul who in Philippians 121 he knew what his life was about for me he said to live as Christ if I'm here God has a plan for me to be here I'm going to be confident I'm going to live for Christ I'm going to do whatever he tells me to do I'm going to say whatever he tells me to say but he says if I die then that's far better for me to live as Christ but to die as gain because then I know that I've passed the finish line I've ran the course I've finished the race and I'm ready to be with my Lord and Savior forever and we need to be like that and so the adjustment is this live assured of your salvation and be confident in
[47:18] Christ live assured of your salvation and be confident in Christ three application questions for you to look at hopefully maybe sometime later today or later this week as I pray that you will dig deeper into this text number one what is your heart condemning you of today you don't already know if you feel like God is distant or your prayers are not breaking through the ceiling and going up to God whatever that feeling is maybe it's that something is condemning you what is it that your heart is condemning you of today or maybe you've just been neglectful in prayer altogether what is it that is condemning you today and how should you answer according to this passage how should you answer it according to this passage question number two what will you pray boldly to God for what will you pray boldly to
[48:20] God for if you know his word and you know his will then you know that you can pray boldly to God what will you pray to God boldly! I remember when I was coming to Highland Park it was only about three months I think between the initial interview process and my actually coming here and there was concerns both I think from within this church about how quick that was and I knew there was concerns back home with how quickly it seemed to be with people that I knew and I remember Lee saying well shouldn't we expect that God question three does your life give evidence that you are confident or that your confidence is in Christ does your life give evidence that your confidence is in Christ if so rejoice if not why not and
[49:27] I'm here I'll be standing here in just a moment I'll be here after church or you can find me sometime later this week and if there is no confidence that you have I would love to have that conversation with you in the hopes that you'll have it because you'll know Jesus Christ for who he truly is and what he's truly done let's pray Lord you your word is clear that your expectation is that we be bold confident Christians that we not be afraid that we not shrink in fear from whatever we are experiencing both personally or in our culture or in our world God you've given us a message and you've made it clear what it is that you're to say and what it is that we're to do and we're to do it confidently because we know that
[50:27] Jesus Christ has come that Jesus Christ has sacrificed on the cross for our sins and forgiven us and we can walk boldly and freely in the truth Lord that we have been saved and that our home is with you God I themselves but confident in you and that through that Lord you would have an impact in our community in our state in our nation and in our world and that you Lord would be the one who receives all the glory for it and I ask these things in Jesus name Amen