Jesus Has Never Lost a Case: Diligence and the Power of Confession
Dr RJ Sing, 14 March 2021, 36 min
This is the whole service. The video opens where he begins, at 30:34.
Originally preached as “Secrets to a Year of Favour, Abundance and Overflow”
Sermon outline
A year of abundance and overflow comes by the blessing of the Lord added to our own diligence, and by holding fast a bold confession that agrees with God's Word, which gives Jesus, our High Priest and advocate, a case to plead.
Main text
- Hebrews 4:11
- Hebrews 4:14
- Ephesians 4:13-16
Opening
Speaking to the camera, he welcomes the church family and friends following the broadcast and prays Colossians 1 over them, for full knowledge of God's will and strength for every kind of endurance with joy. He reminds viewers that the theme of the year is a year of 'shefa', abundance, favour and overflow, and that he is teaching twelve secret steps to experiencing it; last week was the first secret, and today he takes the second. He reads Ephesians 4:13-16 as his foundation: growing up into the fullness of Christ instead of remaining infants.
Secret two: let us be diligent
'Let us be diligent to enter that rest.' To enter means to go in, to rest means to abide, and diligence is constant, attentive, persevering effort to do what is right. Many Israelites never reached the promised rest because of misconduct, a wrong attitude, unbelief and disobedience: they had the externals of religion but not the inner reality of hearing the voice of the Lord. To enjoy a year of abounding grace, God wants us to have the right attitude.
“They had the externals, but they did not have the great essential, that is, hearing the voice of the Lord.”
- Hebrews 4:11
- Hebrews 3:17-19
The opposite of diligence is spiritual laziness
The surest way to understand diligence is to look at its opposite, laziness, and especially spiritual laziness. Hebrews urges the same diligence to the very end, imitating those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Peter says to add to faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love: the Christian life is a life of adding and growth, and to stand still is to backslide.
“To be static in the Christian life is really to backslide.”
- Hebrews 6:11-12
- 2 Peter 1:5-7
Never forget that you were cleansed
Without these qualities a person becomes ineffective, unproductive, short-sighted and blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his past sins. Remember how you came to Christ and all you have learned. If you do these things you will never fall and will receive a rich welcome into Christ's eternal kingdom.
“We can do something to guarantee that we will never fall.”
- 2 Peter 1:8-11
Spiritual laziness is a hidden sin
Most Christians rightly view drunkenness with horror, but he says spiritual laziness is condemned more severely in Scripture, and many who would never be found drunk are habitually spiritually lazy. Give the first part of your day to the Lord, be an active member of a local church, and keep the spiritual disciplines Scripture teaches.
“Many Christians who would never be found drunk are habitually spiritually lazy.”
The Lord's side and our side
Two proverbs have long guided his own life. On the Lord's side, the blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow; on our side, the hand of the diligent makes rich. The blessing will not accomplish its purpose unless you add your own diligence, so wherever you are responsible for something, do it, and leave it better than you found it.
“It takes the blessing of the Lord added to your personal diligence to attain true wealth.”
- Proverbs 10:22
- Proverbs 10:4
- Colossians 3:15
Secret three: let us hold fast our confession
Since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, let us hold fast our confession. In the Greek, confession means to say the same as: making the words of our mouth agree with God's Word, and saying it boldly without intimidation, as believers through history have done at great cost.
“We say the same thing that God says.”
- Hebrews 4:14
- Hebrews 3:1
Our confession gives our High Priest a case
Salvation itself begins with believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth: no confession, no salvation. Our words determine our destiny, because death and life are in the power of the tongue. When we confess God's Word, Jesus has obligated Himself to make it good in our experience; He is our advocate, our attorney, and He has never lost a case, but if we make no confession we silence our High Priest and the case goes against us by default.
Illustration: Jesus as our attorney in the courts of heaven, who has never lost a case.
“Our words determine our destiny.”
- Romans 10:8-10
- Proverbs 18:21
- 1 John 2:1
Putting it into practice
- Guard against spiritual laziness, not only obvious sins.
- Give the first part of each day to the Lord and be active in a local church.
- Add your diligence to God's blessing: leave everything better than you found it.
- Make the words of your mouth agree with God's Word, boldly.
- Keep confessing and declaring the Word so your High Priest has a case to plead.
Closing
He leads viewers who do not know Jesus in a short prayer of salvation and urges them to join a good Bible-based church when it becomes possible. He prays for believers facing financial, physical or relationship challenges, rebuking sickness, asking God's angels to bring wholeness, and speaking to the mountain to be removed. He pronounces the priestly blessing and an empowerment in every area of life, and invites viewers back as the series continues.
Declarations he led
- Dear Lord Jesus, please come into my heart, forgive me for my sins.
- I believe with all my heart that you are Lord, that you died for my sins.
- I'm now born again. I'm a child of God. I now walk with a new consciousness that Jesus is my Lord.
In his words
- “The Christian life is not supposed to be a static life. It is a life of adding, a life of growth and a life of progress.”
- “The blessing of the Lord makes rich. But second, the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
- “If there is no confession, there is no salvation.”
- “If we do not say the right thing, then we silence the lips of our high priest.”
- “He's our legal expert, and he pleads our case in heaven. And so far he has never lost a case.”
Every scripture in this message
- Colossians 1:9-12
- Ephesians 4:13-16
- Hebrews 4:11
- Hebrews 3:17-19
- Hebrews 6:11-12
- 2 Peter 1:5-11
- Proverbs 10:22
- Proverbs 10:4
- Colossians 3:15
- Hebrews 4:14
- Hebrews 3:1
- Romans 10:8-10
- Proverbs 18:21
- 1 John 2:1
- Mark 11:23
- Numbers 6:24-26