Are You Confident in Christ?

Confidence in Christ is more than saying the right words. Faithfulness reaches beyond church attendance into Bible study, private time with the Father, and love for others. Christ proved his love by his action on Calvary. A believer’s confidence likewise needs to show up in action, with the simple trust of a child who depends on a parent’s care.

Elijah’s stand on Mount Carmel brings that confidence into plain view. Israel cannot keep halting between two opinions, trying to follow both the Lord and Baal. One prophet stands against 450, but the numbers do not settle anything. What matters is who they are following. Baal’s prophets pray, leap, and cut themselves, yet no voice answers. Their effort cannot make a dead god live.

Elijah repairs the broken altar with twelve stones and saturates the sacrifice with twelve barrels of water. His confidence does not rest on making the fire easy to start. His prayer makes the purpose clear: the people must know that the Lord is God and that Elijah is only his servant, acting at his word. The fire consumes the sacrifice, wood, stones, dust, and water. The people fall on their faces and acknowledge the Lord as God.

The soaked altar exposes the difference between depending on God and trying to help him along while leaving prayer out. Church activity, preparation, and publicity cannot take the place of looking to the Father first. Christian service must point people toward God rather than gather praise for the servant.

Confidence also means accepting an outcome that benefits the Father rather than personal interests. Obedience is not a bargain for comfort or recognition. Christ’s finished sacrifice grounds the believer’s assurance of everlasting life, while God’s unlimited power calls the church to pray first, trust his will, and expect him to work.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Confidence Must Show Up in Action. Words can claim love and trust without proving either one. Christ demonstrated his love at Calvary, and a child recognizes a parent’s care through steady attention before understanding the words. Confidence in the Father likewise becomes visible in dependence, not merely in a confident answer. [40:48]
• 2. The Object of Faith Matters Most. Baal’s prophets had numbers, energy, and hours of prayer, but no one answered. Religious effort is not enough when confidence rests in the wrong place. Even trust in a church leader must remain dependent on whether that leader follows Christ. [57:17]
• 3. Service Belongs to God Alone. Elijah repaired the altar and offered the sacrifice, but his prayer identified him as a servant acting at God’s word. The goal was not Elijah’s reputation but the people’s recognition of the living God. Christian service loses its proper center when praise for the worker becomes more important than glory for the Father. [51:25]
• 4. Prayer Comes Before Human Arrangements. The water-soaked altar left no room for pretending that Elijah had made the fire happen. Church plans can move in the opposite direction, multiplying flyers and banners without taking time to pray. Preparation must not become a substitute for recognizing that God alone can accomplish the work beyond human ability. [1:01:09]
• 5. Trust Accepts Outcomes That Honor God. Obedience does not guarantee personal advantage or protection from being mistreated. Confidence in Christ includes accepting an outcome whose purpose is the Father’s glory rather than the servant’s reward. God remains the center even when faithful effort does not produce the result a believer wanted. [1:06:19]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:41] - Faithfulness Joined With Love
• [40:11] - Confidence Proven Through Action
• [43:52] - A Child’s Confidence in a Father
• [45:07] - Elijah Challenges Divided Israel
• [48:21] - Baal’s Prophets Receive No Answer
• [50:21] - Repairing and Soaking the Altar
• [51:25] - God Answers for His Glory
• [55:13] - Anything Before God Becomes a God
• [57:17] - Confidence in God Rather Than Man
• [1:00:21] - The Soaked Altar and Prayerful Dependence
• [1:02:19] - Fire Falls and Hearts Turn
• [1:06:19] - Accepting the Outcome for God’s Benefit
• [1:06:59] - Salvation and Everlasting Life
• [1:10:29] - Confidence for Revival and Prayer First

Bible Reading

1 Kings 18:20-39
“So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” [35:01]

Psalm 118:8
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” [57:17]

Ephesians 3:20
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” [53:04]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Kings 18:20–29, how do the people respond to Elijah’s challenge, and what do Baal’s prophets do as their prayers go unanswered? [45:25]
2. What steps does Elijah take to prepare the broken altar and sacrifice, and what details show how thoroughly everything is soaked? [50:21]
3. In 1 Kings 18:36–37, what does Elijah ask God to make known about himself, his servant, and the people’s hearts? [51:39]
4. What does the fire consume, and how does the people’s response differ from their earlier silence? [52:27]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does the contrast between Elijah and Baal’s 450 prophets show that the object of faith matters more than numbers, enthusiasm, or effort? [46:31]
2. Elijah prepares the altar carefully but depends on God to send the fire. How does this help distinguish faithful preparation from relying on human arrangements instead of God? [01:01:31]
3. How does Elijah’s prayer help a believer recognize the difference between serving for God’s glory and serving for personal recognition? What might reveal that difference in ordinary church service? [51:53]
4. How can a believer take encouragement from God’s power in Ephesians 3:20 without treating obedience or prayer as a guarantee of a preferred outcome? [01:06:19]

Application questions

1. Confidence in Christ becomes visible through action. Where in your life is it easier to say you trust God than to act on that trust? What might one small step of dependence look like this week? [40:48]
2. What most often competes with God for your attention—work, relationships, entertainment, or something else? How could you make room for unhurried Bible study and private time with the Father? [55:33]
3. Think about a current responsibility, church activity, or difficult decision. Have you spent more time arranging things than praying about them? What could praying first look like in that situation? [01:02:00]
4. When you help someone or serve in church, how do you respond if nobody notices or thanks you? What would help you keep pointing people toward God rather than seeking credit? [59:40]
5. Is there an outcome you are finding difficult to entrust to God because it may cost you comfort or recognition? What would it look like to seek his glory while being honest with him about your disappointment or fear? [01:06:19]
6. Christ’s finished sacrifice, rather than your performance, grounds your assurance of everlasting life. When you fall short, what do you tend to rely on for reassurance? How might resting in what Christ has done help you return to faithful obedience? [01:07:30]