Sermon Notes from Morning Worship
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Series: “Alone With God”
Today: “Deepen Your Talk With Him”

Scripture:  Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 10:19 & Hebrews 10:22a Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, … ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.

Intro:  One of the values of our small group ministry is to provide a safe place for everyone in a small group to speak freely, without fear of     rejection      .

A.   The three scriptures read today have the word     confidence      in common.

B.   Going deeper in our talks with God will depend on our deepening of our      confidence       in God.

I.    THE     REASON      FOR OUR CONFIDENCE.

A.   Hebrews 4:14-16 gives us the reason we should have confidence in prayer:

Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

B.   Our prayers can go deep because Jesus    gets you     ! 

II.    THE     RESULT     OF OUR CONFIDENCE.

A.   Hebrews 10:19-22a paints the picture of what results when we have confidence in our prayers:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith

B.   If today’s message can instill confidence in you as you approach your prayer time, you and Jesus are going to be      close friends      !

Hebrews 10:22 (AMP) – Let us all come forward and draw near with true  (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by ^[b] that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

III.   THE     REWARD     OF OUR CONFIDENCE.

A.   1 John 5:14-15 makes clear the reward that is ours for praying with confidence and boldness: Our Father hears our prayers and grants His       answer     .

B.   Confident praying boils down to who you truly believe has the best answer or solution:      you or God      .

Conclusion:  I want to close by going back to Hebrews 10.

Hebrews 10:15-18 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
            ¹⁷ Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus

* We can enter into this                                              where only High Priests used to be able to go, we go in prayer, to talk with God!