A Crucified Life - - Speaks With Confidence

 

2 Corinthians 7:4

Great is my confidence in you, great is my pride in you: I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3954

Confidence: freedom of speech, openness, boldness

From the Greek word 'parrésia' (pronounced par-rhay-see'-ah).

    The KJV reads like this:

Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

    It is speaking plainly and honestly and factually all at the same time. To make known publicly, as the disciples began to do in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit came upon them and endued them with power to speak in other tongues, languages, that they might make known the mystery of the gospel of salvation to all nations.

    There are currently 7,168 known spoken languages in the world today ( ethnologue). That does not include the languages no longer in existence. But when the Spirit fell on the waiting disciples, each one received a language that made it possible for them to witness Jesus to everyone to whom they were sent. 

    In that Spirit of speaking plainly, let me now say:

    God is Love and He speaks the language of Love. In His Love created He the whole world, including men and women. Time and again we have let Him down but those who love Him in return get picked back up by Him in His Love. 

    In His Love He sent us a Savior to atone for all of our sins, Someone Who could pay the price for sin once and for all. Someone Who could conquer death, hell and the grave. Someone Who could represent God's Infinite Love to the people He loves. Someone Who could save God's people from death, hell and the grave. Someone God called His Beloved Son.

    Know this: it is not the denomination which saves. It is not the good works, good deeds, acts of kindness which saves. Nor does growing up in a Christian family save us. Only the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. Only believing on His Name for our salvation saves us. 

    Only the blood which Christ shed on the cross washes away our sins. Only the stripes He received on His back heal us in every way; not just physically, but spiritually as well. 

    No one is good enough to go to heaven. No one is good enough to enter Christ's kingdom and live under His kingship (Romans 3:23). We must all go through Him to enter the kingly city in which He will reign. He is, after all, the Door and the Gate.

     But it's a narrow Door and a narrow Gate which require a small key. That key is faith. Jesus tells us if our faith were the size of a mustard seed, which is 1-2 millimetres in diameter, we could move mountains. Our faith starts out smaller than that when we first begin to believe in Him. 

    Putting that into perspective: mustard seed size faith is smaller than a postage stamp, tinier than the widow's mite. But that's all it takes to enter the Door and the Gate. 

    If you have the key, you can enter the Door and the Gate. The key:

    Romans 10:9, 10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

SOAKING WORSHIP (listened to this while I studied)

    

A Crucified Life - - Has Strong Confidence

 

2 Corinthians 5:6

Therefore, we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2292

Confident: to be of good courage; of good cheer

From the Greek word 'tharreó' (pronounced thar-hreh'-o): to be of good courage, hopeful, be bold

TRUST, SECURITY

    Proverbs 14:26

In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

     Psalm 27:3, 4

Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust. One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

    Hebrews 6:11, 12

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

    Hebrews 11:13

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

    Romans 8:38, 39

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I AM PERSUADED

    As Paul has written in Romans 8:38-39, so, too, do I say: "I, Terri, am persuaded that 'neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord.' 

    See, it's a personal thing. Each of us must choose whether or not we will believe not only in God, but that God has a plan of salvation for those who believe that His Word is Faithful and True.

     His plan is Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23-24). His plan is Christ defeating death and hell and the grave  (Matthew 28:2-3; Revelation 1:18). 

    His plan is Christ resurrected, transformed/changed from the body He wore while He was in this world to a glorious body (Luke 24:46; John 2:22; John 20:17; Acts 2:24).

NO CONFIDENCE

    Acts 26:28

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 

    Mark 6:6

And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, teaching.

    John 3:18, 19

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil."

    Where is your confidence? Is it in yourself? or is it in Christ? We, the born again believers, have our confidence in Christ. In all aspects of Christ's Name we have placed our trust and He is our Firm Foundation. We declare to you who have not yet believed that "on Christ, the Solid Rock," we take our stand in Him, in the Living Word of God. 

    In John 3:16-18, we read that God loves the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to pay for the sins of the world, and that the people who believed on Jesus would be believers. So, although Jesus is everyone's Savior, not everyone will believe this and their unbelief will condemn them. 

    

STRONG CONFIDENCE

Amadeo - Ryan Stevenson

No Impossible With You - I Am They

Where You Go, I Go - Jesus Culture

Whom Shall I Fear - Chris Tomlin

Battle Belongs - Phil Wickham

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Graves Into Gardens - Elevation Worship

All My Hope - Crowder