When We Don’t Feel Like Christians
Notes
Transcript
Intro; A little girl attended a wedding for the very first time. While watching the ceremony the little girl asked her mother, “Why is the bride dressed in white?” The mother replied, “Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life.” The child thought about this for a moment, then said, ‘So why is the groom wearing black?”
Let’s apply this to the christian life. There are days we feel like christians, blessed and happy, and to be honest, there are some days that we don’t feel this way.
We can’t be Contagious Christians if we don’t feel like one and Satan knows that. So he tries to plant seeds of doubt in our minds and make us ineffective in our walk and witness of Jesus Christ.
The apostle John knew this and that’s why he reassures believers in their faith and how to overcome the seeds of doubt.
Lets look at “When We Don’t Feel Like Christians”
Text; 1 John 3:19-24
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1. Assurance of Love; 19-20
1. Assurance of Love; 19-20
There will be times that a christian may not feel like a christian and even doubt their salvation in Christ due to certain circumstances in their life.
One is unconfessed sin in a persons life
When we have unconfessed sin in our life, we have pulled the curtain that blocks the SON from shining in our heart.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
The second is when seeds of doubt are sown into our life by the devil
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
In each case our heart will condemn us
Condemned heart- guilt [sin], unnecessary guilt [doubt]
Assure our heart- persuade, to set at rest our heart concerning our salvation in Christ.
Whether it is unconfessed sin or doubt from the devil we need to realize that God never condemns us in Christ, even if our heart does. He wants to forgive us, because He loves us.
A condemned heart can come from feelings, but an “assured heart” comes from the promises of God!
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Peter failed the Lord miserably by denying Him 3 times. Peter went away sorrowful, with a condemned heart. I imagine Peter felt that Jesus would never want to see him again. But on the first Easter morning when the women came to the tomb looking for Jesus, an angel tells them this;
6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”
Why do you think that Peter is the only disciple mentioned by name? Jesus knew that Peter was broken-hearted because of his sin, but Jesus wanted Peter to be assured that He still loved him and had a purpose for his life!
There are times we will fail the Lord or, that Satan will place seeds of doubt in our life. What we need to remember is the assurance of God’s love in Christ for us. Feelings can be deceptive but the promises of God are sure!
2. Answered Prayer; 21-23
2. Answered Prayer; 21-23
When we don’t feel like a christian, we need to pray! Prayer is another way to assure our hearts that we belong to God and nothing can change that!
To have confidence in God is not to be arrogant, but to be sure that God hears our prayers and answers them.
[v. 22] To know that God not only hears our prayers but desires to answer them and give us what we pray for is one of the greatest promises of the Bible.
But we must remember every promise in the Bible has a premise/assumption! Every promise is conditional, and so this promise is only valid if two things from God’s Word are governing our lives: precepts and principles.
Precepts- commands that apply to particular areas of our lives. John says, “we must keep His commandments”
4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
Principle- applying truth to our lives when there is not a clear precept concerning something.
John also says, “doing things pleasing in His sight”
There is no direct precept/command in the Bible that says “you should not use addictive drugs.” But there is principle that applies.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
To let anything control us except the precepts and principles of the promises of God, is to pray in vain. If we do that then we cannot expect God to hear nor answer our prayers. But when we walk with the Lord according to His promises, our heart is assured in Him.
3. Awesome Presence; 24
3. Awesome Presence; 24
Consistently obeying His precepts and principles will cause us to know His presence in our lives and will be evident to the world that we belong to Him.
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus told Nicodemus that though you cannot see the wind, it can be felt, heard and you can see the effects of it. In the same way, you cannot see the Holy Spirit in your life with your physical eyes but He can be felt, heard and seen in our actions and attitudes as we consistently obey Him!
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Close;
When there are times that we may not feel like a Christian, we need to remember that salvation is not a one-time event in a prayer, but a way of life that is willing to follow Jesus not matter what.
So the next time we feel this way, remember that God loves you regardless, pray and seek his forgiveness and assurance, and let His presence and peace guard and guide our heart in Christ Jesus.
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
