Tension

• Confidence comes from a Latin word meaning with surety. 
• So many are unsure! 
  • Unsure in their salvation 
  • Unsure in God’s will
  • Unsure about their relationship with God
• God does NOT want you to be unsure
  • FAITH is actually becoming more confident in what you believe to be true
• John is writing, not to decrease their confidence, but to INCREASE their confidence. 
  • Increasing the confidence that Jesus came in the flesh
  • Increasing the confidence that their sins are forgiven
  • Increasing the confidence that the Father loves them

Passage

1 John 5:13–15 (NLT) — 13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

Comments - John’s goal here is that we be confident before the throne of God. As a matter of fact he uses the word courage four times in this epistle. 

• Confident to see Him - 1 John 2:28 (NLT) — 28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.
• Confident to approach Him - 1 John 3:21 (NLT) — 21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
• Confident in judgement - 1 John 4:17 (NLT) — 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
• Confident in prayer - 1 John 5:14 (NLT) — 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 
• What will be the source of this confidence? 

Why are we so confident? 

1. Our IDENTITY is the children of God
   1. 1 John 3:1–2 (NLT) — 1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
   2. God wants us to have the confidence of being his kids
      1. Deal with the orphan spirit, the spirit of rejection, the spirit of abandonment.
   3. Kids have confidence
      1. They don’t knock at the door.
      2. They don’t ask for food.
      3. They don't ask for rest. 
      4. They have an understanding that they belong HERE and WITH. 
   4. Your identity to God?
      1. I am his creation
      2. I am his servant
      3. I am his child
   5. God sees you as His child
   6. We will be transformed into the likeness of God
   7. We will see Him as He really is. 
2. Our VALUE is the cross of Christ
   1. 1 John 4:9–10 (NLT) — 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
   2. Culture gets it wrong so much
      1. Love is a feeling
      2. Love is conditional
      3. Love is primarily romantic
      4. Love is self serving
      5. Love is proportional 
      6. Love is safe
      7. Love is earned over time
   3. God defining what love is - HE is love
      1. Love is action
      2. Love is giving
      3. Love is self-initiating
      4. Love is sacrifice
   4. Love has a shape ✝️
      1. John 15:13 (NLT) — 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
   5. For a moment, just contemplate on the love that Jesus demonstrated for you
      1. He traveled a long way
      2. He lived a tough life
      3. He lived a perfect life
      4. He laid down his divinity
      5. He died for you! 
   6. That should fill you with GREAT confidence. 
3. Our LOVE is being perfected
   1. 1 John 4:16–18 (NLT) — 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
   2. His love is working in me
      1. I love grows more perfect
      2. Paul said being rooted and grounded in love
         1. Ephesians 3:17 (NLT) — 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
      3. Our roots are going down
      4. The more we believe, he loves us the more it changes us. 
      5. The action here is receiving that Love
   3. That Love is casting out fear
      1. When we fear of punishment, it means we need to dwell in him in his love
      2. His love is perfect
   4. His love is flowing through me
      1. 1 John 4:7-8 (NLT) — 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
      2. His love working in us will also work through us
         1. It is impossible to love God and hate your brother
         2. The way to show up to God is to show it to the face of your brother
      3. Here’s the truth about God’s love - It is the actual proof that God has made his home in you. If you have not stepped into love, or are not walking in love, you are displaying proof that God is not having his way in your life. 

TRANSITION

This is going to produce in us a confidence that is unstoppable.

• The goal is that we have confidence before the throne of God
• 1 John 5:13–15 (NLT) — 13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
• When we pray
  • Have the assurance that HE IS LISTENING! 
    • Jesus said “Thank you that you hear me when I pray”
  • Have the assurance that YOU ARE FAVORED
    • Just as Esther came before the throne and the King stretched out the scepter, you have access to God like that. 
  • Have the assurance that HE WANT TO GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASK FOR
    • Over and over the Bible says that God will give us what we ask for when we pray.

Closing

• So many are not confident in their relationship with God.
  • You feel like an orphan
  • You feel like a sinner
  • You feel like your unclean
  • You feel like He doesn’t love you
• Let’s start here GOD LOVES YOU!! 
  • While you were a sinner, Christ died for you.