Coming to God with Confidence

Can you come to God sure of your welcome? In this message at Little Falls Chapel, guest speaker Ronnie Stine, who has known this chapel since the 1960s, spoke about approaching God with confidence, and about where peace and rest actually come from.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.

1 John 5:14 (KJV)

Confidence, not nerve

John writes so that people who believe may know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13–15). Ronnie made the family point: when a grandchild comes asking, you listen, because they are yours. If you belong to God, He is listening. Confidence here is not nerve. It is knowing whose you are.

The half-verse worth finishing

Paul spends the end of Romans 7 admitting he does the thing he does not want to do, and cries out about what a wretched man he is. Then comes the relief: there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Ronnie pointed out that some translations stop there, while the King James carries the sentence on: “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).

He put it simply. The enemy drags up your past to tell you that you are disqualified. The answer is that there is no condemnation for those who walk after the Spirit rather than after themselves.

God was in the whisper

Elijah waited through a wind, an earthquake and a fire, and God was in none of them. After the fire came a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11–12). After all the noise, God speaks quietly, and usually on the inside.

Ask for the old paths

“Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16). Ronnie said that what most of us actually want is peace and rest, and that we miss it when we will not let God lead. Israel heard the promise of rest and did not enter it (Hebrews 4:1). The invitation is still open.

Something to do this week

Take one decision you are carrying and ask God about it plainly, then be quiet long enough to listen. Related messages: What Is Prayer? and Safety in God’s Presence (Psalm 91).

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