The Confession of Faith
The confession of faith is saying 'Amen' to God's promises, even when we haven't seen the fulfillment of the promise, and expressing our faith in God.
Zac Poonen emphasizes the significance of confessing our faith, highlighting that true belief involves agreeing with God's promises, as illustrated by Abram's faith in God's promise of numerous descendants. He explains that confessing God's Word is a powerful act of faith, allowing God to work in our lives, even when we do not see immediate results. Poonen encourages believers to use their testimony to overcome doubts and the accusations of Satan, just as Jesus did by quoting Scripture. The sermon underscores that our confession aligns us with God's truth and empowers us against the lies of the enemy.
Text
The Bible says that we must confess what we believe. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Rom.10: 9,10).
The confession of our mouth is important. To confess God's Word means to say the same thing that God says. That shouldn't be difficult for it just means saying "Amen" ("It shall be so" ) to God's promises.
The first time the word `believe' is used in Scripture is in Genesis chapter 15. There we read that God told Abram, when he was childless, that he would have as many children as the stars in the sky. And it says that "Abram believed the LORD" (v.6). The Hebrew word for "believe" there, is "aman" from which we get the word "Amen", meaning "It shall be so." So all that Abram did was to say "Amen" to God's promise.
That is what true faith is - saying "Amen" to God.
We read later that Abram called himself by the new name that God gave him - Abraham (which meant "the father of a multitude"). Sarah, his wife was still childless. But that didn't make any difference to Abraham. He still called himself the father of a multitude, because he believed what God had said (Gen. 17:5).
That is the confession of faith - confessing what God has said, even when we haven't seen the fulfillment of the promise.
That's all that God asks us to do - to say the same thing that He has said in His Word. When we confess God's promises, we express our faith in God; and then God is able to work on our behalf.
It's by the "word of our testimony" that we overcome Satan (Rev. 12:11). Satan, the accuser, is always trying to rob us of the assurance of our salvation and of our boldness before God. We must quote the promises of God directly to Satan if we want to overcome him.
Jesus Himself overcame Satan by quoting Scripture to him, saying "It is written...It is written...It is written" (Matt. 4:1-11).
If we doubt God's Word, we make God a liar. But when we confess God's Word to Satan, we take sides with God and His Word against Satan and his lies. In that way we also tell Satan that we believe that what God has said is true, in spite of what our circumstances and our feelings may be telling us.
This is the confession of faith.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Importance of Confession
- A. Confession is a declaration of faith
- B. It is saying 'Amen' to God's promises
- II. The Example of Abram
- A. Abram believed God's promise
- B. He said 'Amen' to God's Word
- III. The Power of Confession
- A. It expresses faith in God
- B. It enables God to work on our behalf
- IV. Overcoming Satan
- A. By quoting Scripture
- B. By taking sides with God and His Word
Key Quotes
“That is what true faith is - saying 'Amen' to God.” — Zac Poonen
“It's by the 'word of our testimony' that we overcome Satan” — Zac Poonen
“When we confess God's promises, we express our faith in God; and then God is able to work on our behalf.” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We must quote the promises of God directly to Satan if we want to overcome him.
- When we doubt God's Word, we make God a liar.
- By confessing God's Word, we express our faith in God and enable Him to work on our behalf.