Confident - Joy

Confidence

What does being confident look like?

Defined - feeling or showing certainty about something

Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation. - A.W. Tozer

Confidence

How does this work in faith

1 John 5:13 CSB

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

There are things that just are - whether we believe or accept them

There are things we can know an be certain

There are things we take by faith

In all of it we can be confident.

Over next few weeks we are going take a deep dive into 1 John

Have confidence in following God, know ing He hears us, we can hear Him, love wins.

Today we are going to look how we can be confident in what God has done for us and that we can live in joy.

Turn to 1 John and let’s pray

Story of 1 John

John is much older when he wrote this - most believe this 30-40 years after Christ has left

Growing persecution from Rome on the outside

On the inside- false teaching is rising

Gnosticism - gnosis meaning knowledge - they were granted special secret knowledge

Denied the incarnation of Jesus and said he was just a spirit, not fully man and God.

By being confident in who Christ is and what He has done we find Joy

Joy is deeper than happiness and is not based on circumstances

It is a promised fruit of following Him

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

John says this is one of the reasons he wrote the letter

1 John 1:4 CSB

We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

What is required for Joy?

Joy requires

1 An absolute conviction that God is good.

1 John 1:5 CSB

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.

Joy requires

1 An absolute conviction that God is good.

I told you there are things that just are - this is one of them

No matter your opinion, understanding, or belief - God is good

His goodness is not dependent on us or what we do.

Always hear - Why did God do this? or Why did God allow this?

We live in a broken world and we live in the consequences of that.

Everything works to the good of those who love Him - not everything that happens is good

Joy requires

2. We must walk in the light.

1 John 1:6–7 CSB

If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Joy requires

2. We must walk in the light.

One commentator put it this way:

The Teacher’s Commentary 166: 1 John 1:1–2:2—Walking with God

Our values, our behavior, our attitudes, our commitments must be in harmony with God’s character rather than with the natural passions of fallen humanity.

We need to look more and more like Jesus

We can not say we love Him and not be obedient

Also notice it is the thing that ties us to Him and each other

1 John 1:7 CSB

If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

it is our common ground

“Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” ― John Newton

Joy requires

3. We must admit that we are sinners

1 John 1:8 CSB

If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Joy requires

3. We must admit that we are sinners

We admit we have an issue we cannot fix

We begin a journey that as we walk more in the light, more is exposed.

We still have the capacity to sin, but it is that fullness we talked about that enables us to not

Everyday we have choices - we must admit we cannot make the right one but,....

1 John 1:9 CSB

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confidence

We can be confident in the Joy we live in and is available

It all starts with the understanding that He is God and I am not

Letting God do His work in our lives as we trust and obey Him

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am” ― John Newton

Confidence

This morning we will take communion together as a response

As the band plays and the elements are passed ask you to do 2 things;

Acknowledge that God is God

Admit and confess anything that is not of God and trust His forgiveness

Let’s pray