Pastor Paul Chappell: Assured In Our Relationship With God

first john 3 and 21 beloved if our heart condemn us not then we have confidence toward god and whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight and this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son jesus christ and love one another as he gave us commandment and he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us assurance in our relationship with god let's pray together father thank you for this time to open your word and to preach and i asked tonight that you would fill me with your spirit and may we be eager to respond in this service may we not wait for two weeks from now but may we respond even tonight bless the song that we're about to hear and then the preaching of your word help us this week that we might be found faithful in your service i pray in jesus name amen you may be seated over the years i've had many people come to my office or speak to me after church and say something like this pastor i know what the bible says about salvation but i've had some doubts lately how could god love me i did this or in the past i did this i've had people tell me things such as i had an abortion before i got saved i just don't see how god could really forgive me or i've done a sin so great since i've been saved i don't know how god could really love me questions about assurance come to good christians from time to time now i've never been a pastor to try to give a false assurance i don't want to assure someone that they're saved if the holy spirit is troubling them and if they truly have never been born again there's one way to settle that issue and that is to be born again jesus said you must be born again but i'm here to say that our enemy is an accuser and from time to time he will accuse god's people concerning their relationship with jesus christ now what i find interesting in many of these conversations is that normally the person i'm speaking to is not questioning the promises of god they're not questioning the finished work of the cross they can give a testimony to the fact that they have prayed to accept jesus christ as their savior and most of them have said to me i knew exactly what i was saying i i had a spirit of confession or repentance and i was serious about what i said when i asked jesus to be my savior and yet these doubts have come into their heart normally the doubts are not based upon the promises of the bible the promises of god but it is actually their own life that is indicting them it is something from their own heart and actions that has created the difficulty you show me a man who struggles with his thoughts who struggles with sin or sinful thoughts for an extended period of time there's going to come a doubt in his heart about his relationship with jesus christ by the way in some way shape or form that relationship needs to be evaluated in the light of scripture and there he needs needs to either be true salvation or repentance and returning back to the first love of the lord jesus christ in other words these questions these concerns are they are not something that is for not but god is allowing them for a time of examination in our lives next sunday night we'll observe the lord's table the bible says concerning the lord's table let a man examine himself first there should be a time of examination even this week of our own hearts and of our own lives tonight i want to share with you how that you can have the assurance of god concerning your relationship with him i'm not preaching this message to give false assurance i'm preaching this message to give biblical assurance and should this message not give you assurance in your heart then you should seek out counseling and you should make sure that you know that you've been saved the bible way let me begin tonight by sharing with you the confidence that is available to the believer the confidence that god wants a believer to experience notice if you would in our text beginning in verse number 20 the bible says for if our heart condemn us god is greater than our heart and knoweth all things beloved if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence toward god god tells us in his word that sometimes a believer's heart will condemn them and then he quickly tells us that we should be thankful that his promises are greater than our worries uh that god is greater than our heart and knoweth all things but in our text tonight verse 21 beloved if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence toward god and i believe tonight the confidence that god wants in your heart is oftentimes directly related to the way that you're living your life now you say well i thought it was related to the doctrine of god's word it is in other words without atonement without salvation you cannot know that you're saved the bible does tell us in first john 5 13 these things have i written unto you that believe in the name of the son of god that you may know that you have eternal life god wants you to know it god wants you to have confidence in him and in salvation but he gives us further evidence for knowing that we are saved and this is found in verse 21 if our heart condemn us not then we have confidence toward god someone that is doubting their salvation does not have confidence toward god they're wondering their concern and so the confidence of the believer of course is foundationally affixed to the finished work of jesus christ but experientially it is born of a pure heart someone whose heart is right with god is going to have confidence in their heart you cannot mistreat your wife and speak abusively and have security in your heart that you are right with her that she's going to be glad to see you walk through the door at six o'clock tomorrow night there will be doubt in your heart because your lifestyle has created that doubt the bible speaks and challenges the believer to have a good heart a pure heart a good conscience acts chapter 23 and verse 1 paul earnestly beholding the council said men and brethren i have lived in good conscience before god until this day he's letting his audience know that his life's goal was to live with a heart that was right before god i think a wonderful verse for this subject is found in acts 24 16 and i'd like you to turn there very briefly tonight as we consider the connection between a pure heart and an assured heart there is a connection between living with a pure life and having an assured heart with god acts 24 and verse 16 the apostle paul is giving testimony and once again says and herein do i exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward god and toward men now he's been accused by modern day accusers of the the modern day aclu of his day was accusing him of being a seditious man an ungodly man and as he gives his defense in acts 24 16 he gives this great verse i want you to read it with me if you found it there acts 24 16 ready begin and herein do i exercise myself to have always a conscience a man whose conscience is void of offense toward god is a man who's resting in assurance with god he is someone that can say as the songwriter of old nothing between my soul and my savior and here is a man who has a pure heart the word conscience speaking of the inner most being of a man distinguishing that which is uh immoral and that which is moral having the understanding of knowing what to condemn and what to accept and he said this is how i exercise my life so that i'll have a right conscience before god there are several consciences mentioned in the bible one conscience is referred to as a defiled conscience may i say tonight that someone whose conscience is defiled or as another bible verse speaks of it is evil will often times wonder about their salvation the bible says in titus 1 15 unto the pure all things are pure but unto the unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure but even their mind and conscience is defiled you take a man who's made a profession of faith in jesus christ he's living a defiled life he's away from god i do not believe that someone can do that for extended months and months and truly be born again but if someone's living a life of debauchery and sin i'm telling you there will come a point early on in that pattern where he will begin to wonder if he's ever truly been saved he will begin to doubt whether he is saved why because there is a correlation between the assurance of the heart and the activity of one's life and the bible teaches that we should strive for the good conscience for the pure heart matthew 5 8 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see god and so we see a pure heart is indicative of an assurance of heart and a sinful heart is often indicative of a doubting heart and so we see that the confidence of the believer is born of a pure heart there is the foundation of having been saved absolutely yes but there is this walking with god in faithfulness and walking with god in purity and it gets sweeter as the day goes by and you understand the necessity of quickly repenting of sin and restoring fellowship listen we do not repent of sin or confess sin in order to get saved again but it's for the sake of fellowship that repentance is made and when that takes place uh there is the restoration the sweetness of that relationship and so a pure heart brings confidence into the believer concerning his relationship with god something else that brings confidence is a powerful prayer life a powerful prayer life now notice what the bible tells us here in verse 22 and whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight now i find it amazing tonight to think that there is a connection in god's word between the keeping of the commandments and the effectiveness of the prayer and god is teaching us in his word that an effective prayer life is going to hinge upon an obedient christian life illustration first peter chapter 3 and verse 7. likewise ye husbands dwell with them your wives according to knowledge giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life listen to this that your prayers be not hindered god says husbands if you are not right with your wife if you're living in animosity toward your wife if there's anger towards your wife your prayer life is going to be hindered you're going to wonder why it seems like your prayers are just going to the ceiling and then bouncing off sometimes terry will tease me and normally about friday i just start making sure everything's okay with with our relationship honey you're doing okay you need anything and uh sure love you you're the best wife in the whole wide world saturday will roll around sure love you sweetheart and by the way the lord brought to my mind something i said three weeks ago i don't know if it was right for me to say that will you forgive me sweetheart she'll say you want god's power for the services tomorrow don't you you don't want your prayer life to be hindered no the bible is clear that if a man is not right with his wife his relationship in that regard it will hinder his prayer life biblically there's no way to divorce obedience and fulfillment in prayer they are always going to go together look if you would at a few verses tonight john chapter 15 and verse 7 john 15 and verse 7. and i'm going to share just a few there are many but john 15 and verse 7 the bible says if ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you we're beginning to see some prerequisites for an effective prayer life there must be right relationships in the family there must be an abiding in christ in other words don't wait for the emergency room at the hospital to get things right with god why do you think we have an altar call at lancaster baptism somebody help me tonight because you may need instantly to be in the presence of god and to not question whether your prayers are going to be hindered turn to mark 11 25. turn back just a little bit to mark chapter 11 verse 25. notice what the bible says here and when ye stand praying forgive if ye have ought against any that your father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses once again jesus is teaching on prayer and he says when you get ready to pray make sure that you're forgiving others don't stand up to pray if you're mad at someone don't stand up and ask god to help you if you're angry at someone and we begin to see the prerequisites for an effective prayer life that is we must be right in our family relationships we must be abiding with jesus we must be forgiving those that have brought harm to us or to our spirit there is a powerful prayer life because we are keeping his commandments because we're doing those things that are pleasing in his sight john 15 and verse 7 abide in me and my words abide in you first john 5 14 and this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us so we're beginning to understand that god doesn't want us living with a doubtful life wondering about his love wondering if he hears our prayer god wants us to live an abiding life he wants us to keep short accounts with him quickly confessing sin quickly forgiving others making sure that we're right with our spouse making sure that we're abiding with him so that when we come to him in prayer it's not like excuse me lord i haven't acknowledged you for a long time but i have a favor to ask no it's just the normal christian life to walk with him to seek him to pray to him and when you're walking with god in this fashion and when you're abiding with him in this fashion and when you find yourself according to verse 21 having a heart that does not condemn you because you're not faking this you're walking with jesus there is a confidence that comes into your life not only that he loves you but that he hears you and he cares for you and with all that we have going on in this society we don't need to live in doubt when we can abide with him and know his blessed assurance every single step of the way i want brother hopkins to come to the piano for a minute i want to have our song fellas bring up the song in just a moment blessed assurance we're going to sing that in just a moment just be ready brother hopkins i'll give the cue i'm going to lead it's going to be good we'll let them find it all right the confidence of the believer god wants you to have blessed assurance notice secondly the commandments to the believer notice the commandments to the believer verse 23 and this is the commandment the bible says that we should believe on the name of his son jesus christ and love one another as he gave us commandment now there are two commandments given to the believer here and these tie in with the principle of having that blessed assurance first of all we are commanded to believe on the lord jesus christ i think of the philippian jailer what must i do to be saved what did the apostle paul say believe on the lord jesus christ and thou shalt be saved and here we see this commandment verse 23 that you should believe on the name the idea is a one-time belief however that belief should also be a continual belief it should be something that we live with a constant faith and belief in jesus christ this verse is to the believers that we should continuously have our faith in the name of his son and i want you to notice that verse 23 that we should believe notice this on the name of his son jesus yes we believe on the works of jesus the death bone and resurrection but we're to believe on the name of the son of god to recognize that jesus christ is the son of god this is his heart for us that jesus is the son of god now there was a prevalent teaching at this time in the first century known as gnosticism the gnostics taught that jesus did not come in the flesh and they taught that anything material was evil and that god would never embody flesh and so they denied the name of jesus but here in the word of god there's a commandment to believe on the name of the lord jesus christ notice if you would in first john chapter 4 there in verse number 2 it says hereby know we the spirit of god every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ has come in the flesh is of god and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ has come in the flesh is not of god and this is that spirit of the antichrist whereof ye have heard that it should come and even now already is in the world in other words paul is saying the gnostics who said that jesus christ has not come in the flesh they are anti-christ but those who say that jesus christ was fully god and fully man they're following after the true christ and so we see there's a command to keep believing the lord jesus christ notice that again in verse 23 that you should believe on the name of his son jesus christ and i want to remind you tonight church that trials may come and disappointments may come but jesus is still on his throne tonight he is at the right hand of god the heavenly father he is making intercession for us i believe gabriel is getting ready and wet wet getting his uh his whistle wet to blow the horn and the trump of god will sound and the dead in christ will rise first and we which are alive and remain will join them in the air hey i want to challenge you tonight if you have believed on jesus to be saved keep believing on his name because that name is still above every other name and you want to keep believing on that name and oh what a blessing it is to know that he is fully god and fully man that's the command to keep believing but notice not only the command to believe but again notice the object of our belief again notice the emphasis on the name of his son jesus christ the name identifies jesus christ as jehovah it identifies him as christ the anointed one john 18 4 we find this demonstrated jesus therefore knowing all things that should come upon him went forth and said unto them whom seek ye and they said unto him jesus of nazareth and jesus saith unto them i am he and judas also which betrayed him stood with them and soon then as he had said unto them i am he they went backward and fell to the ground simply hearing jesus christ say i am he john chapter 18 and verse 6 knowing that he was the i am that i am the messiah and they fell to the ground that's all he said i am he and they fell back can i submit to you tonight there is power in the name of jesus christ can i submit to you tonight that it's time church that we begin to pray in jesus name for revival in the state of california that we begin to pray in jesus name for the pushing back of covet that we begin to pray in jesus name for the pushing back of the controlling tendencies of those who would like to slow down the work of god that we pray in jesus name for the salvation of lost souls that we pray in jesus name that god would work in a wonderful way once again yes in 2021 hey i'm glad he worked in the hearts of the puritans i'm glad he worked in the hearts of d.l moody i'm glad he worked in the heart of billy's sunday and the era of john r rise or lee robertson or whoever you want to mention but i'm longing to see god work today and he will not work until the name of jesus is high and lifted up this is our command tonight that we would believe on the name of jesus the son of god jesus christ john philip says of this passage make no bones about it he commands people to believe on the name of his son the name that is above every name the name before which every knee will bow in which every tongue will confess this commandment was given in the upper room and john was there when it was given john 14 and 13 and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will i do that the father may be glorified in the son if he ask anything in my name i will do it we understand it must be according to the will of god we understand that prayer in jesus name is not just bossing god around but do you not see tonight that god says to a forgiving christian to an abiding christian to a loving christian in his home to an obedient christian to a christian who will pray in jesus name i want to hear from you i want to answer that prayer i i want to know your heart's needs and heart's desire i want to help you through this time but it's all hinged upon the name of jesus christ so there is a commandment to the believer that we are to believe on the name of the lord jesus christ and notice secondly the second command in verse 23. notice what it says and this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of his son jesus christ and love one another as he gave his commandment now think about this we are to love one another believe on the lord jesus christ and love one another now if you haven't figured out we are all imperfect people and this is another commandment that was given in the upper room it was something that was to be practiced in the early church and in the church today john 15 and 12 this is my commandment that ye love one another as i have loved you john 13 34 a new commandment i give unto you that you love one another as i have loved you that ye also love one another by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye love one another folks it's my prayer that people when they visit lancaster baptist they won't just see a big building or a big bunch of buildings or a bunch of buses my prayer is that they will see jesus high and lifted up and that they'll sense from a bunch of people in this church the love of the lord jesus christ people that sincerely care so many people are misunderstanding today what love really is lust says what do i get out of this love says what can i give in this situation there's a vast difference one night a teenage girl brought her boyfriend home to meet her parents they were appalled at his appearance leather jacket motorcycle boots tattoos pierce nose later the parents pulled their daughter aside and confessed their concern the mother spoke as diplomatically as she possibly could she says you know he really doesn't seem that nice the daughter said oh mom come on if he wasn't nice why would he be doing 500 hours of community service sometimes love is truly blind god says i want you to hear my commandments i want you to hear this commandment love the lord your god love the name of the lord your god with all your heart soul and mind and love one another sometimes we need to just get back to the basics loving our lord exalting his name and loving one another confidence the confidence comes to the heart of an abiding believer confidence comes to the heart of an obedient believer commandments are given and god is calling us to love him and to love our neighbor this is the outflowing of a heart for god but notice not only the confidence of the believer the commandments of the believer but notice the companionship of the believer verse 24 says it this way and he that keeps his commandments dwelleth in him in other words the christian life is is not just about keeping commandments it's about dwelling with the lord and when you're dwelling with him your life will reflect his word and so they go together the bible says he that keepeth his commandments dwell within him and he and him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us now the companionship of a believer first of all we dwell in christ he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him in other words the ongoing practice of a believer is to continually be abiding with christ it is to continually be reflecting that abiding life with an obedient life it's not to live as close to the edge as we can it's not to say how can i get away with as much as i can get away with it is to abide with christ and to follow his commandments to love one another to love our neighbor as ourself to follow his commandments to suffer the little children whatever god shows you in scripture that we are to be dwelling with christ the old song said i come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses and he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me i am his own folks let me encourage you to begin your day tomorrow with prayer just talking to the lord and let me encourage you throughout the day it's okay when you're driving out to the base or driving to l.a just to say lord thank you for this new day lord give me wisdom where i'm about to go lord bless my kids at school help them to have a good day help my wife today lord bless her keep her safe you say but if somebody looks at me in the car and i'm talking like that they're going to think i'm crazy folks they're crazy just go ahead and pray to jesus it's okay i remember driving behind a car years ago and this lady she was driving she was driving really radically and she was smoking almost eating them like that people were driving by her she was shaking her fist and showing different bad symbols and screaming at everybody i remember just being behind her thinking my goodness and then i remember looking at the bumper sticker on her car visualize world peace i thought she can't even have peace by herself in her car how she can have world peace it's okay if you pray while you drive abide with him dwell with him and then notice this as we close tonight as we as we understand the assurance that god brings hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he hath given us the second part of this verse clarifies that we know that christ is abiding in us because he has given us the holy spirit god says yes you can have assurance by abiding with me yes you can have assurance by answer prayer predicated upon a forgiving life a life of sweet fellowship but you also can have assurance because my holy spirit is within you my holy spirit will assure you you see the holy spirit doesn't cause you to doubt the love of jesus the holy spirit encourages you with the love of jesus turn if you would in your bible to two quick verses over in romans chapter eight for a moment as we close tonight because i want you to see the companionship of the believer is the indwelling christ and as the abiding holy spirit teenagers i want you to understand if you're saved the holy spirit is with you he's going to help you to go in the right direction he's going to assure you notice in romans chapter 8 in verse 9 but ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit if so be that the spirit of god dwell in you now if any man have not the spirit of christ he's none of his in other words if you don't have the spirit of god living in you you've never truly been saved this is one of the indications of salvation is that the spirit of god has taken up residence in your life and if christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness but if the spirit of him that raised up jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you in other words hey if the spirit of him that raised up christ if if the spirit of the lord is living within you then there's going to be a notable difference in your life you're going to be alive to jesus christ just as jesus was alive from the grave but then notice in romans chapter 8 and verse 15 for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear in other words god's holy spirit doesn't want you to fear whether you're saved he wants you to know that you are saved we've not received this very bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry abba father the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of god and if children then heirs heirs of god and join heirs with christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together you see as you abide in christ as you obey the commandments of christ as you pray in the powerful name of jesus christ as the spirit of god is with you he's bearing witness that you are the child of god did you see that the spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of god i'm not saying that good christians don't sometimes wonder or have doubts but i'm saying to you that if you've trusted jesus christ as your savior if you're endeavoring to walk with him and abide with him to forgive to love if his holy spirit is in you he is going to assure you that you are the child of god if you have not that assurance tonight then certainly i would encourage you to come and trust christ as savior but every saved person can know the blessed assurance of jesus christ the christian life is designed to be an abiding relationship with god abiding with the lord abiding in his spirit that abiding does not produce condemnation of heart that abiding produces assurance of heart and that abiding is something that the holy spirit of god wants to be a continual relationship because he is within us bearing witness with our spirit next sunday night we observe the lord's table we don't need to wait till right before the lord's table to get right with god we can walk with him throughout this week in close relationship praying in jesus name finding forgiveness and living out the christian life according to the word of god and then with blessed assurance we can partake of the table as a normal part of our assured relationship with jesus christ let's stand together and sing this wonderful song if you have it there throw it up on the screens for me blessed assurance jesus is mine sing it out with me now as we stand [Music] bless it assure us jesus is mine oh what a foretaste of glory divine thereof salvation purchase of god born of his spirit washed in his blood this is my story this is my song praising my savior all the day long this is my story this is my song praising my savior jesus doesn't want you doubting and wondering he wants you to have blessed assurance his spirit assuring you his word assuring you if the word of god does not assure you if the spirit of god does not assure you if you're not sure you're saved in a moment we'll have an altar call get it settled but god wants you to know that you're his he wants you to have that assurance let's sing the last verse together fellas give us the words here perfect submission perfect submission all is at rest think about it this is my story this is my song praising my savior all the day long this is my story this is my song [Music] and that's how jesus wants it he wants you to just enjoy walking with him this is my story this is my song i'm redeemed forgiven he hears my prayer oh he's a wonderful savior his name is above every name this is my story oh people talk about their story they talk about their narrative let me tell you the hymn writer had it right years before this is my story this is my song and praising my savior all the day long don't let the devil boot you around with discouragement and doubt go to the word and know that you can have blessed assurance through jesus christ in a moment i'm going to pray if you're here tonight and you do not have that assurance and for weeks and months perhaps you've just not been able to find it and you're not sure that you're saved i want you to come and don't be embarrassed and come and trust christ as savior if you're here tonight and you say i know i'm saved but i'm not right with my wife i've not been obeying a commandment of god why don't you repent of that tonight don't play games with that don't wait till next sunday take care of it now if god's been speaking to you about these things he wants you to abide with him he wants you to have that blessed assurance

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, assurance, blessed, 1 John 3

Id: 704gAdJ7Bfg

Length: 36min 11sec (2171 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 20 2021