My life may and will have many problems, but there is no reason for me to ever lose my peace. The LORD has promised me a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that cannot be explained. Will you not pour out all your cares upon the LORD and ask Him for help today?
0:00 – A Warm Greeting
0:35 – Philippians 4
1:54 – Who Is Paul Writing To?
5:06 – Why Is Paul Writing This Letter?
9:02 – One of the Saddest Verses in the New Testament
11:53 – One of the Greatest Verses—No Reason to Lose My Peace
14:41 – Question 1 – What Sort of Peace Is Given?
21:37 – The Peace From Christ
27:40 – Question 2 – How Do I Get This Peace?
36:15 – Question 3 – What Does This Peace Do to You?
42:45 – In Closing
43:42 – Closing Prayer
45:19 – QA – In Practice, How Do You Pursue This Peace?
47:14 – QA – Where Have You Gone Wrong in This Area?
48:37 – QA – Can You Lack Assurance and Have True Faith?
[The following is an automatic transcript and has not been proofed.]
Well, it’s a considerable privilege to be here. I’ll speak just for a few moments so you can get adjusted to these tones from across the Atlantic. Some people seem to have a bit of trouble understanding the King’s English. I feel comfortable in Texas because normally when I’m in the US, I say it’s nice to be back in His Majesty’s rebellious colonies. But of course, Texas was never one of His Majesty’s colonies, so I can’t say that to you. Thank you very much for rebelling against somebody else.
Now, we’re going to go to Philippians today, so we’re going to chapter 4. So, we’re going to Philippians chapter 4. A Philippian, of course, is somebody who lives in Philippi. Philippi was a Greek city. If you were a citizen of Philippi, you were a citizen of Rome. You had all the privileges of a citizen of Rome, even though you’d never live there, as long as you lived in Philippi. There was a Church of Christ there, I’ll be talking about that in a minute. And we’re going to read Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verse . Be anxious, for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in, that’s the correct translation, in Christ Jesus.
Now, the Philippian church was a lovely church. It started when the sun shone on a flower. The flower was a woman called Lydia. She was a businesswoman. And the sun which shone was the gospel message as Paul preached it one Saturday afternoon by the riverside in Philippi. And as the sun, the gospel message, shone on the flower of Lydia without any noise, without any fuss, the flower opened quietly and Christ came in to Lydia’s life. That’s how the Philippian church started. The Philippian church continued with an earthquake. Not everybody comes to Christ the same way. There was a jailer. A jailer in the Roman Empire was always a retired military person who would shed blood. It required an earthquake to bring the jailer to Christ, and so the church started with Lydia, and her staff and her family servants and the jailer and his family and servants. It was a lovely church, this Philippian church. It was founded in the year 50 and it was mostly Greeks but a few Jews.
What’s this church composed of? probably a lot more different than that church. But already it was a mixture, a mixture which would have surprised the world. So mostly Greeks, some Jews making up the Philippian church. Paul preaches there, he doesn’t stay very long, but to make sure that these young Christians are looked after, when Paul has to go and Silas goes with him, they leave Luke behind. Luke, who wrote the Gospel. And Luke stays there six years, looking after these new Christians and seeing this church develop. And when Paul’s been away ten years, he writes this letter to the Philippians, and we’re very privileged to have it in front of us.
Now, I hope you’ve got it open now, Philippians. Paul doesn’t just write to the elders, he doesn’t just write to the deacons. So look at Philippians 1, verse . Paul and Timothy, born servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops, that’s the elders, and deacons. So, here I am, Paul with Silas. I’m writing my letter, he says, to you boys and girls. I’m writing my letter to you teenagers. I’m writing my letter to you church members. Oh, and by the way, I’m also writing my letter to the elders and to the deacons. Nobody is to be left out in this letter, which is why these two verses are for everybody in the church this evening. Philippians 4, .
Now, why is Paul writing this letter? Well, he’s in prison. He wants to talk a bit about that. The Philippians have been very kind to him and sent him some help. He wants to thank them. That’s what we should do. He’s sending some people back to Philippi, Timothy and Epaphroditus, to encourage them. But that’s not the real reason why he’s writing this letter. In your Bible, how many chapters are there in Philippians? Four, in your normal Bible, how many pages are there in Philippians? Four, and yet in four pages, four chapters, Paul mentions joy or rejoice 17 times. There’s no letter like this in the New Testament. So personal, so happy, and so heartbroken. Because the joy in the church is likely to disappear soon. In fact, it’s already on the way out. And we’ll find out why.
Let’s look at it now. Chapter two, verse two. Fulfill my joy by being like-minded. Now, why would he write that? because some of the Philippian Christians were no longer like-minded. He goes on, chapter 2, verse , having the same love, but they didn’t all love the same thing and they didn’t all love each other anymore. Being of one accord, of one mind, the church was in danger. There were church members who were not comfortable with some other church members. If you like, there were some church members sitting over there because they didn’t want to sit with you over there. And there were some people who came in late because they didn’t want to meet anybody else on the way in. And that’s what was happening in Philippi. Look at chapter 2, verse 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. Why did he write that? Because they were church members now, instead of saying them, them, them, them, them, we’re actually saying me, me, me, me and my wife, me and my family, me and my friends, me, me, me. So the church, which had been so happy, was now becoming an unhappy church because of these ungodly attitudes.
Look at verse four, chapter two, verse four. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Stop thinking about yourself first, says Paul. Start thinking about others as much as you think about yourself. It’s a shame, it’s sad, it’s a heartbreaking letter that this happy church was now beginning to be an unhappy church. Look at chapter two, verse 14. Do all things without murmuring and disputing. Why would he write that? Because there were people who were grumbling. They were grouchy. And disputing. Some people like to talk simply because they like an argument. And there were some of those now in the Philippian church. It’s really sad that this is happening.
Now look at chapter 4 now. Chapter 4 verse 2. This is one of the saddest verses in the New Testament. I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel. Can you just imagine these two women? Euodia and Syntyche. Eurodius. Did you get the pun? Did you get the play on words? You owed ya. And he said, you sinned, I see. Sintaiki. There were people looking at each other like that, pointing the finger. You’re not what you should be. You’re not what you should be. You’re not what you should be. That’s the way they were beginning to think.
So, Paul is writing this letter But we’re coming to chapter four, verse six. When I was a boy, a very young boy, a very, very young boy, I was taught a prayer to pray before I went to bed. It began like this. Jesus, tender shepherd, hear me, and all my conscious life I’m glad to tell you that I’ve known this, that Jesus is a tender shepherd. Now here’s a church in a mess. People are falling out with each other, people are suspecting each other, people are arguing with each other, people are not pleasant with each other, there are people who are not comfortable with each other, and Jesus tender shepherd speaks through the Apostle Paul to this church and gives that church this great promise of chapter 4, verses 6 and 7. And I think tonight you should stand back and you should admire the kindness of Christ. These Christians aren’t what they should be. They’re disappointed with each other. But Jesus, in his kindness, sends his apostle to bring us this great promise. He’s so kind, you know, and we call it grace. This is undeserved kindness by the head of the church to a church which is no longer what it used to be.
Now, so why not just pause for a minute and look again at chapter four, verse six? Let me read it again slowly. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, every day of his life used to say this, there is a living God. He speaks in the Bible. He means what he says. And he does all that he promises. Now, just keep those words in mind and run your finger or your mind through chapter four, verses six and seven again. There is a living God. He speaks in the Bible. He means what he says. And he does all that he promises. So what this passage is teaching you is this. My church may have problems, but there is no reason for me ever to lose my peace. So when you get home tonight and somebody says, what did he speak about? There’s the answer. My church may have problems, but there is no need for me ever to lose my peace.
So we’re going to ask now three questions. What sort of peace? We’ll ask that first. How do I get this peace? We’ll ask that second. And what happens after? We’ll ask that third. What sort of peace? Well, I decided to look up in the dictionary. Yeah, I’ve still got one. I don’t do it all on Google. I decided to look in the dictionary. I looked up peace and this is what it said. Peace is a state of undisturbed calm and quiet. And the moment I read undisturbed calm, I was sitting by a lake and there weren’t even any ducks on it. The water was just completely untroubled. Didn’t have to build a bridge over troubled water this time. Peace is a state of undisturbed calm and quiet. My church may have troubles, but there is no need for me ever to lose undisturbed calm and quiet. That’s what the Bible is saying. Think of it. Now, there are many troubles in this world. There are international troubles. There are national troubles. There are family troubles. They’re tough, aren’t they? And there are church troubles. And they’re the hardest of all, I think. I think they are the hardest of all. And now I’m reading a Bible passage which says, my church may have troubles, but there’s no need for me ever to lose a state of undisturbed calm and quiet.
Look at verse six, chapter four, verse six. What sort of peace? Be anxious for nothing. So it’s a piece which is the complete absence of worry. Ooh, think of that. Absence of worry. No worrying. So you’re no longer nervous, you’re no longer on edge, you’re no longer uptight, you’re no longer fearful, you’re no longer uneasy, you’re no longer haunted by, oh, what’s going to happen next? anxious for nothing. And look at verse 7. The peace of God, what? The peace of God? Come back to that in a minute. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding. You can’t nail it down. Now today I was offered an ice cream and I accepted, knowing that I was going to give this illustration. But I didn’t know that in this great United States of America, you actually had salted caramel ice cream. But you do. I think you call it caramel salt or something, but it’s the same thing anyway. How do you describe salted caramel ice cream? And so somebody says, well, what makes it wonderful? What does it really taste like? And you think, well, it’s a little bit salty, and it’s a little bit caramelly. Oh, try it for yourself. That’s what we do, isn’t it? There’s some things in life you experience them, but you can’t nail them down. You can’t actually put it into words. That’s what Paul is saying. With God’s peace, it surpasses all understanding. So, the children can’t understand it. The adults can’t understand it. The folk have been to seminary. They can’t define it. No book can actually put into words what it is. But it’s the reality of which Paul is speaking in this passage. Now, if you go on YouTube, you’ll find a lady sitting at a piano. It’s a really nice tune, and this is what she sings. Like the sunshine after rain, like the rest which follows pain, like a hope restored again, is the peace which Jesus gives. Oh, the peace which Jesus gives. It never dies. It always lives. Like the music of a psalm, like a glad eternal calm, is the peace which Jesus gives. What’s wrong with that song? The peace of God surpasses all understanding. The peace of God is not like anything. I like the song, by the way, and I still sing it. But actually, it won’t do. Because God is not like anything, and the peace of God is not like anything. It’s supernatural! It’s the personal experience of what the Father is experiencing, the Son is experiencing, and the Holy Spirit is experiencing. And just as we, when we believe, receive eternal life, which is the life of God in our soul, So says the apostle Paul, you may experience the peace of God in your soul. You may have the peace which God has, you may have it. It’s too big to handle, this verse. Jesus said something about this. Listen to these words. You’ve heard them before, but just listen. Peace, I leave with you. Now listen. My peace, I give you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Have you read the gospels? Have you read Matthew? Mark? Luke? John? Then you’ll know about the peace of Jesus. He’s been teaching all day, and he gets into the boat, and the boat sets off across the lake, and it’s just a lovely day, and the wind is just kissing the tops of the waves, and they come up all white and foamy, and the sky is blue, and it’s a perfect end to a perfect day, and then there’s a terrible storm, and even the men who are fishermen are terrified because the water is pouring into the boat, they’re going to sink, they’re going to perish, And where’s Jesus? He’s in the back of the boat sleeping. He’s sleeping in the storm. That’s his peace. Oh, don’t you care that we’re perishing? And in that boat which nobody can stand up in, he stands up. And he speaks to the wind and the waves, and he says, peace. And then there’s an undisturbed calm and quiet, except inside the apostles’ hearts because they’re actually frightened by this whole experience. And then they hit shore, And look who’s coming. There’s a man with no clothes on, yelling and shouting like a lunatic, because actually that’s what he is, possibly with the remnants of chains and shackles hanging from him, cutting himself with stones so that he’s bleeding. You would be terrified if you met that man. He’s so strong that he’s broken the shackles and the chains, and nobody’s been able to tame him for years. But Jesus says, what’s your name? Legion, for we are many. He’s demon possessed, but not with just one or two, with dozens, maybe hundreds. And Jesus speaks. And the next thing we know, the man is sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. You have an undisturbed Jesus, and an undisturbed Jesus. And then, they cross the lake again, and when they get back to where they started, more or less, there’s crowds of people waiting on the shore for Jesus, waiting for him to speak. bringing him their complaints about their illnesses and their needs. And there’s one person who particularly demands his attention and says, it’s urgent, it’s urgent, it’s urgent, it’s urgent, it’s urgent, please, my 12-year-old daughter is going to die, it’s certain she’s going to die, but if you could get there in time… But he doesn’t hurry. Because there’s peace in the heart of the Son of God. And on the way, he stops to heal a woman who’s been bleeding for 12 years. And he’s unflustered, unhurried, unruffled, and everybody else is tugging him along, as it were, at least mentally, let’s get to the girl’s house. And you have a undisturbed, calm Jesus. Eventually he gets to the house and there’s crying and there’s wailing and there’s shouting and there’s screaming and there’s weeping and there’s moaning and there’s mourning. And an undisturbed Jesus walks in, tells them to leave, walks into a bedroom where there’s a little white pale corpse, gets the little girl’s hand and says, Talitha, Kumi, little girl, I say to you, get up, give her something to eat. And Jesus looks to the Christian and says, come on now, this peace which surpasses all understanding, my peace I give to you. Oh, the peace my Savior gives, peace I never knew before, and my way has brighter grown since I’ve learned to trust Him more. What sort of peace? Well, we’ve answered that, except we haven’t answered it because it surpasses all understanding. Number two then, how do I get this peace? Well, look at it, chapter four, Philippians, verse six. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. How do I get this peace? The answer’s there. You tell the Lord everything. You tell the Lord everything. You talk to the Lord about you. your sins, your doubts, your fears, your mistakes, your misunderstandings, your perplexities, your troubles, your past, your present, your future, your wife, your husband, your uncle, your aunt, your children, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your job, your neighbors, your leisure, your school, your studies, your church, your pastor, your fellow elders, the chairs that you’re sitting on, the amplification, the new walls and the new doors, you talk to the Lord about everything. Everything. Have you ever met Christians who say, I really find prayer hard? Why? Why? When all the time you’ve got a tender shepherd, and he’s saying, come on men, come on women, come on you lads and girls, tell me everything, everything, everything. And you ask him about everything. Lord, How can it be that you love me so much that you died for me? Lord, you know all about my sin, but how could it be that you could love a sinner like me? Lord, what am I to do with my difficult neighbors? Lord, how am I to behave to my unbelieving wife? Lord, How can I do better as a mother or a father or a parent? You ask him about everything. Everything. How could I be a better church member? Actually, one of the best ways to find that out is actually say to the Lord, Lord, how could I be a worse church member? And then when you’ve answered that, you’ll know how to be a better church member, surprisingly. You talk to the Lord about everything. You ask him about everything. Have you got a doubt? Tell him about it and ask him the answer. Have you got a fear? Tell him about it and ask him for the answer. Have you got someone you don’t get on well with? Talk to the Lord about them. Ask him, yes, to do something in their life, but first of all to do something in your life so you might know what to do. Is there anything in your life, come on now, is there anything in your life which you’ve not talked to the Lord about? Is there anything in your life you’ve not asked the Lord about? This is what the Apostle Paul is teaching us. With thanksgiving, he said. Did you notice that? So every day sometime you’re going to say something like this. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to me your great salvation, so rich and free. Thank you, Lord, for my health. Thank you for my Food. Thank you for my friends. Thank you for my house. Thank you for my hearing. Thank you for my sight. Thank you for my senses. Thank you for my church. Thank you for my pastors. Thank you for my… With thanksgiving. So there’s nothing between. You talk to the Lord about everything. You ask him about everything. And you thank him for everything. So I do know a couple which they’ve got something written over their double bed where they sleep and it says, hallelujah anyway. And maybe sometimes you feel like that at the end of the day, it’s been really tough. But hallelujah anyway, but I don’t actually think that’s really what Paul’s getting at. Do you know that there’s an invisible hand at work? And even our setbacks are part of his plan. Even our tears, which are real tears, I’m not gonna play that down, are nonetheless part of his fatherly care for us. So we thank the Lord for everything. This is the old hymn, count your blessings. Do you know that hymn? Name them one by one. When did you last do that? But usually when people sing that hymn, they’re thinking about all the good things which have happened to them. But some of the greatest blessings are the bad things which happened to you. C.H. Spurgeon, the great preacher says, one of the greatest blessings you can have in life is good health. But there’s a greater blessing than that. It’s illness. Well, he should know, he was ill for a third of his life and kept out of the pulpits a third of his ministry. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, there is such a thing as praying yourself empty. You talk to the Lord, and you make requests to the Lord, and you thank the Lord, and you talk to the Lord, and you ask questions to the Lord, and you make requests to the Lord, and you thank the Lord, and eventually you’ve nothing left to say. Ah, but somebody says it’s not like that with me. I talk to the Lord about this, and then by the time I’ve talked to him about other things, that thing’s come back again and is worrying me again. Well, talk to him again about it then. And you’ll find that if you talk to the Lord about everything, some things come back. So you talk to the Lord about them, and they come back, and talk to the Lord about them, and some of them come back. And talk to the Lord about them, and fewer of them come back. And then suddenly you find you’ve nothing left to say. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding is now your experience. All your anxiety, all your care, bring to the mercy seat. Leave it there. Never a burden he cannot bear. Never a friend like Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is your best friend. So, what sort of peace? How do I get this peace? And what follows after that? Philippians chapter 4, verse 6. be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds In Christ Jesus. This piece does something to you. It affects your mind. And you can’t stop it affecting your mind. Your mind is, as it were, being guarded, garrisoned, directed, protected. You think about Jesus. Well, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. You think about his eternal person. You think about his Old Testament appearances. You think about his conception, his birth, his life, his miracles, his teaching, his Gethsemane, his cross, his burial, his resurrection, his presenting himself alive by many infallible proofs. His ascension, His sitting down, representing you, His coming again. You think about it. You think about His care today, His promises for tomorrow, His forgiveness for yesterday. You think about the fruit which His Spirit brings about in your life. You think about your job, but you think about the fact that you’re a conjoined twin with Jesus Christ. I’m told that 160 times in the New Testament. I’m in Christ, and Christ is in me. So I do my work in the presence of Christ, with Christ, with the strength of Christ, and for Christ. My mind cannot rid itself of Jesus Christ. That’s what the peace does to you. And, look, verse seven, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When I think of his eternal existence, I love him for that. When I think about how he took on a human nature, I love him for that. When I think that he went through every temptation that any of us and all of us will face, and he went through all those temptations without sin, I love him for that. And when I think of his teaching, his parables, his Sermon on the Mount, his last words to his disciples in the upper room, I love him for that. When I think of his cross, I love him for that. and when I think that he was limp and lifeless, lying in the tomb. I love him for that. Who would have thought that God, who cannot die, would die so that I wouldn’t have to? I love him for that. And when I think how he provides my needs, and I can count on his presence and his promises. And when I think that he says, I will never leave you or forsake you. And when I read, I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. I love him for that. And when I think that all history which appears to be out of control actually is accelerating towards that great day when the sky will be rolled back and the trumpet will sound and I’ll see the Lord in the air and be snatched up with the dead in Christ and meet Him there. I love Him for that. And then when I think that there’s a voice which is going to say, come, you blessed of my Father into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And I will hear that voice and the invitation will be made for me. I love him for that. And when I think that eternally, I’m going to be in a place where there’ll be no sun, because all the shining will be done by the Lord Jesus Christ. I love him for that. It’s pretty wonderful really to be a Christian, isn’t it? Don’t you agree? And it’s remarkable that to a church where things have gone wrong, this kind, kind, kind Saviour puts that promise there. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Has he finished? Not quite. Are you in tension? Suspicion, difficulty with another person? Ah, but now you’ve heard the sermon. Perhaps they’ve heard the sermon. Now you’re experiencing the peace. And they’re experiencing the peace. And now your mind is flooded with Jesus Christ. And their mind is flooded with Jesus Christ. And the Philippian church once more is filled with joy. Thank you for listening to me. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you that there is a living God. We thank you that you do speak in the Bible. We thank you that you do mean what you say. We thank you that you do all that you promise. We worship you, Lord, this evening for your kindness, that in a church which was in such a dangerous position, you gave such a wonderful promise. We thank you that you preserve the promise. It’s become written in scripture. and all the churches of Jesus Christ have this promise made to them. Every Christian in every church, in every part of the world, in every generation has this promise. And we thank you, Lord, that when we get to heaven, we shall find that not one word has failed of anything that you’ve promised. And now we pray. Bless this church, this Grace Church here, and grant that the men and the women and the girls and the boys who make up this church will believe this promise, lay hold of this promise, and find that wonderful gift which you give, this peace which surpasses all understanding, all human intelligence, all definition, which keeps our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. O Lord, hear our prayer. Grant us this blessing. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. After the sermon finished, a few questions were asked in regards to the message. The first being, practically, how do you pursue this peace? So the question is, in practice, how do we do that? You’ll have to find your own way on that one. But what I do is I go out for long walks. I find it much easier to pray walking. Some people don’t. Some people find it easier to pray in a room. Some people find it actually easier to pray in the dark. I can’t pray so easily at home because I see things, you know, oh, there’s a bit of dust over there, that needs cleaning off. And there’s a smell of onions in the kitchen, I must go and put an aerosol in. You don’t have those sort of distractions, but I do. So I just get out of the house and I talk to the Lord, and talk to the Lord, and talk to the Lord. That’s the way I found that’s helped me the most. I’ve been doing that since I was a teenager. When I was a teenager, late teenager, we moved from a city into a very, very tiny village in West Wales. I was about to become a theological student. I had no money, I had no transport, I had no friends, I knew nobody in the county, so I just went for walks. I studied Greek in the morning and went for walks in the afternoon and evening, and I found that you can talk to the Lord, and you can talk loudly, and you can shout in the countryside, and it’s terrific. Then I moved to a city. What do you do then? Well, you can talk to the Lord in a city too, I found. You can walk down the road with taxis making their noise, and trucks with all their exhaust, and even in the pouring rain under an umbrella, you can still talk to the Lord. So that’s the way I do it. You’ll have to find your own way. The essential thing is, tell him everything. Where I’ve gone wrong is when I’ve not told him everything. Sometimes as Christians, we sin. And then there’s a little voice which says, come on now, you better do better than that. And we feel something, a little voice says to us, you can’t really talk to the Lord until you’ve got your act together, till you’ve improved. That’s the devil’s voice. And I listened to it from time to time. No, if I’ve sinned, I must confess it and talk to the Lord about my sin. After all, He came into the world to save sinners. That’s why He came. He knows all about failures, and I’m one of them. But that’s where my mistakes have been, listening to that other voice which says, so come on now, improve, improve, and then talk to the Lord about it. That is not the Lord speaking. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. That’s where I’m made by big mistakes. You have to talk up because I’m deaf and I’m in a foreign country. Yes. You’re going to have to translate that for me. I genuinely can’t hear you. Can a person who lacks assurance have true faith? Yes, they can. Assurance is not of the essence of faith, as the old confessions say. God wants all Christians to have assurance. We’re told that quite clearly on the pages of the New Testament. But the very fact that we’re told that is because some Christians do actually lack assurance. I simply ask people, do you pray? And they always say yes. So I say, well, why would God listen to you? And if they say, well, because I need him so much, or God listens to me because I’m sincere, or God listens to me because I pray with urgency, I know I’m talking to a non-Christian. But if someone says to me, why should God listen to me? Well, because of Jesus and what he did on the cross. Ah. So deep down they have assurance, but up till now they haven’t begun really to realize it. But they are actually depending upon Jesus Christ for their acceptance with God. But assurance can waver. We know that from experience, we know it from the Bible, and we know it from the great confessions of the church. So you can be a true Christian without assurance, but you can’t be a true Christian without clinging to Christ.
