Message Outline

Confession

Pastor Joel Stockstill
Sunday, Jul 5, 2020

Matthew 21:18–21 ESV: 18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.”

  • Words are the most powerful thing in the universe!
  • You are living in the words you spoke yesterday. Your finances, health, family, and work are all a result of the words you have been speaking. 
  • It is not the words you say once, but what you say all the time that shapes your world. 
  • You know you have faith when you don’t give up. That doesn’t mean you don’t want to; it just means you keep getting back up on the horse of victory.

1. What is confession?

Confession is when your words come into agreement with God’s words. 

  • Open your mouth (thoughts don’t count)! 
    • Jesus is the apostle and high priest of our CONFESSION (Hebrews 3:1).
    • He can’t ACT or ADVOCATE for you if you don’t give Him the right confession. 
  • Words are how God created the world.
  • Words are the way we communicate our faith. 
    • In the Old Testament, they walked on the ground they claimed. In the New Testament, we do the walking with our tongues!

2. Why don’t we use confession?

  • Ignorance — of God’s Word
  • Circumstances
    • Symptoms are the circumstances of sickness. 
    • Lack is the circumstances of poverty. 
    • Addiction is the circumstances of bondage.
  • Complaining — grumbling and whining about things instead of using our words to change them

3. What happens when we use confession properly?

  • The swords agree and become a double-edged sword. 
  • The devil cannot stand against the double-edged sword. 
  • The Holy Spirit is released to act out the script of the Word. 
    • He has been hovering ever since creation (Genesis 1:2).

Jacob made his confession: “I will not let go until You bless me!” Start there this week: “Lord, I’m not going to let go until You bless my _________!”


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