And as we're turning to the book of 2 Timothy chapter one, marking that and going back to the book of Acts chapter 28, I wanna ask you a question today. What do you have confidence in? I thought this morning would be, as we begin to read this verse in Acts chapter 28 and the verse 30, listen to what we read. Acts 28 and verse 30, and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. This morning, I want you to look at those three words, with all confidence. So this morning, the question would be, what do you have confidence in? We're gonna see about some of these things, and I wanna begin this morning and teach you a few things in the book of 2 Timothy chapter one. And let's read if we can the seventh verse. Paul had written in the 28th chapter under house arrest of the book of Acts about how that even under his house arrest that he wanted to proclaim about the things of God. He was confident about Jesus Christ. Now here in a different imprisonment, actually in a cell, he wrote these words to young Timothy in the book of 2 Timothy chapter one and in verse seven. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but a power of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. We see that Paul begins to go to young Timothy and said, Timothy, I don't want you to be ashamed. He said, for God had not given us the spirit of fear. I've never been in an arrest. I've never been under house arrest. I've been grounded to the house before, but I've had been restricted to the house, but not in the capacity by which Paul was. Now, Paul, when he was arrested, the reason was is that he had caused a stir in the communities by which he was going out and spreading the gospel there in Acts chapter 28. And he was falsely accused of the gospel that he was spreading for Christ. Now in 2 Timothy, in his actual imprisonment that he was going through, he wanted young Timothy to do this, do not get discouraged and do not get even intimidated that he had confidence in God. I'm asking you this morning, and I'll ask you over and over and over again, what do you have confidence in? I have to admit to you, there's a lot of things in life that I have put my confidence in and you get let down. It's not just people, sometimes it's objects or vehicles or whatever it is. We put our confidence in so many things. And maybe often that those things will come through or they work or they provide, but maybe they fail. But if you'll notice what Paul is talking about here in the book of Acts, he said, teaching those things which are the concern of the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. He had confidence in God. He had confidence in Christ. Now, when we talk about confidence, let's look at what that word means. The word means simply means that you have a freedom of speaking about something because you're confident in it, you're free about it. Now, if you wanna talk about why your vehicle has a knocking noise, I am not one today that I am confident in what I can say because I'm not one that's qualified to talk to you about why your engine's knocking. If you wanna ask me today why something may hurt, I'm not qualified and I'm not gonna tell you why your elbow hurts or your knee hurts or why your back hurts, that's just not what I'm qualified. But I can tell you this, I don't want this to sound bad, qualified means I'm confident not in what I know about Jesus, I am confident in what Jesus has done for me. Can I say that to you one more time? I'm not confident in everything that I have done for him, but I have the utmost confidence and trust in what he has done for me. Today, when Paul said that he was confident in Jesus Christ, he simply means that he had an assurance that nobody else could change. You know what? The Bible teaches us that people are being tossed to and fro about with every wind of doctrine. Today, folks, it's not about what the Bible says about this or the Bible says about that or maybe how we translate this. I want to ask you something first and foremost. Do you know that you're saved by the grace of God? Let's talk about assurances. Let's talk about what we have confidence in. I hope that of all the things that we talk about, what our confidence is, is that we believe in the confidence that God has given us. For God, he said in 2 Timothy here, he was telling young Timothy, he said, for God has given us the spirit of fear. God said, I'm going to equip you with what you need so that you can have confidence in something. Now, I don't have a lot of confidence in a lot of things, but I do have confidence in him. But a power? and of love and of a sound mind. Paul said, Timothy, you're going to find opposition in your life. He said, but I want to give you what you need. You've got to have confidence in me. You've got to have confidence in God that he can give you what you need to overcome. Now this is preacher Paul talking to preacher Timothy. And you know what, this morning we could come in and just say, well that's just one preacher trying to tell another preacher. You get ready. People's not going to like what you're going to say. I want to throw this out there to you this morning. Whether you're a preacher or whether you're a child of God, it's not about the position or it's not about the calling that you have in life. It's the rejecting of the gospel that people don't want to hear. So whether it's from you and your witness, and you know what, when you testify of what God's done for you in your life, the world doesn't want to hear that. Matter of fact, they want to put a blame, or they want to put a reason why things happen. But the truth is today, folks, God has given us what we need. And he tells young Timothy, he said, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, And he wanted him to understand of all the things that he had that was the most powerful thing that he had. It was a testimony. A testimony of what God had done for him in his life. And today I want you all to know something. Do not underestimate the power of your testimony. The testimony of a time in your life when God convicted your soul and you was troubled and you sought Him and the burden of sin was rolled away and you found peace. Don't think today about the testimony of a time in your life that God brought you from probably the lowest point you've been and God changed your life. Don't underestimate the power today of how that God has worked in your life. Folks, people need to hear how God is working in the lives of His children. Would you agree with that? Can I ask you, let me give you a poll question today. What do you hear mostly about in a week? I can tell you probably what you heard a lot about this past week, but on any given week, what do you hear so much about? I pray today that we hear about what God has done for us. Let me ask you something. Do you have anything in your life that God has done for you that's worthy of telling? Do you? But do we tell it? Sometimes I get caught up in the race of life. We got to talk about this, this, this, this, and this. And we forget about all the things that God has done. Listen to what Paul said. Be not thoufore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. Now, usually, if we know somebody in jail, we're gonna distance ourself from them. Paul said, you know, Timothy, he said, Paul was telling Timothy, he said, don't distance yourself from me because I'm in prison. He said, I'm still gonna proclaim the gospel. I'm still gonna teach people about Christ and the work that he's done. He said, don't be ashamed of the cause, even if it gives negative connotation to the life by which you live. Folks, let me tell you something about being a child of God. It's not always something that's heavily and maybe even positively looked upon. Ponder that for just a minute. It's not always positively looked upon doing the right thing. Because sometimes the world says, why don't you just do it like this or deviate and do it like this? But the truth is, Paul said, that there's one thing that he had with all confidence and it was in Jesus Christ. He told Timothy, he said, don't be ashamed. He said, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Do you believe in the power of God? I wanna ask that question again. Do you believe in the power of God? Now, the question is, why? Well, that's what my Sunday school teacher said that I was supposed to do. I was supposed to believe in the power of God. That's a good person to hear from, but folks, the power of God is not something for us to hear about. It's not something for us to just witness somebody else. The power of God was meant that we might experience. in our life. You know, Paul used a word that in the Greek talks about power of God is like that of dynamite. I've never played with dynamite. I've played with some pretty serious firecrackers, but I've never played with dynamite. But I have enough understanding of dynamite to know this. Dynamite can drastically change things. Folks, I thank God for a night in my life many years ago that there was a drastic, major change that happened to me. You know what that change was? It was the power of God. What about you? How many times? Do you want me to tell you about all the times in my life? Let me tell you folks, that was the first, but that wasn't the last time that I experienced the power of God. I've been in services and the power of God pour out upon a place. I've been in my life and I've seen the power of God pour out on a place. I've been all alone in my vehicle driving down the road and the power of God just pour out, folks. The power of God is real. It's real. And a lot of people want to hear about it, or they want to see somebody experience it, or maybe they just want to know if it's something that is possible for them to endure and to go through. But the truth is, the question would be, have you experienced the power of God? And I'm telling you this, if you've experienced the power of God, my prayer is, God, burden your heart that you would tell people about the glorious things God has done for you. So let's rewind for about, I don't know, a couple of minutes ago and ask yourself, what do we hear so much about what's going on in the world? Let me tell you something. You probably already know this already. You don't have to listen very long to all the murmuring and complaining about how bad things are. But you know what folks, let me tell you something. God is still in control and Jesus is still living in my soul this very day. Folks, there's nothing gonna take that away. You know what, no matter what happens, no matter what goes on in our life, nothing can take that away. Aren't you glad today to know that even as we talked about in Sunday school, the greatest storms of life come, that we still have Jesus? That we talk about what God is able to do for us and it said, but the power, that's what he said, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. If we have a sound mind, that means that we have a total belief in God and what he is able to do for us and that God is able to provide the things that we stand in need of. Do you believe in these things? But let's look at Acts chapter 28 for just a minute. In his house arrest, Paul comes and he said, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. Now when you're under house arrest, the Bible teaches us there in those couple of verses that people were coming and going for those period of about two years and you know what he could have said, you know what, they've done me wrong. When people come in, you know what would be the easy thing to do? For him to plead a case to a community about why he is falsely under house arrest. That's probably what I would do. I can't say we, you and I would do. What I would do is people coming in my house, I want to say these people have falsely accused me of what I'm doing. When I was preaching about the circumcision, he said I was teaching them, these were things that they didn't have to do to have a relationship with Jesus. But they put him under house arrest. So I would come in and plead my case saying, let me out, free me, I am unjustly kept in this place. But you know what he did? He used the place that he was in to talk about Jesus. I don't wanna ask you if you ever been under house arrest and the capacity of, have you ever been restricted, but God still used you in that situation to be able to still be a witness for him. Folks, you know what I believe? That there's never a bad time, it's a wonderful thing that we can be a witness for him. There are people today going through some pretty extreme things in life, but you know what? God can bless them with a great witness and a great testimony that they can be able to see and be able to acknowledge and understand what he is able to do. But do you believe in the power of God? Yes, I do. What do you have confidence in? Let me read to you, if I can, the book of Matthew chapter 28. Some familiar scripture, Jesus teaches us Folks, there's one thing that I'm confident in today. I am confident in the presence of Christ in our life. Matthew chapter 28, into verse 20. Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the world. Amen. I want to ask you another poll question if I can. Do you believe in the presence of Christ? You know, there's a lot of people today that don't know what it means to have the presence of Christ. They want a knowledge of Him, or they want to be able to have an intellect about Him. But the question is, not do you know Him in your mind, do you know Him in your heart? That's where you know Him at today. Do you know Jesus? Jesus teaches us, He said, Lo, I am with you all, even until the end of the world. Amen. Do you think that we can only know Christ when we are free people? Can we only know Christ when we are out and about? Paul said, I'm knowing even when I'm in prison, even when I'm under house arrest, that I still believe in the existence of Christ. You know what today, folks? Here's what I love about the Holy Spirit of God. If things are going well in your life, we believe in the power of God. But you know what? Even in the prisons, folks, I believe in the power and the presence of an almighty God that can be with you. I wish I could reach you all to come in this day and say, you're never going to go into a prison. Not physically, but a spiritual captivity. I wish that I could tell you today that you're not going to get to a time in your life where you're restricted because you're doing the things that God bid you to do. I wish today that I could tell you these things do not exist in your life, but know this, God wants to use those things in your life. I have confidence today in the presence of Him. And you know what I found out is that as long as we know that somebody's with us, our confidence level goes up. I remember growing up, I want to deviate for just a second to make a point. We'd come across some of these really dark, really gloomy places. I wasn't going in there by myself, but if I had somebody with me, I felt a whole lot braver if I had somebody with me. Folks, let me ask you this. Does it change things in your life knowing you've got God with you? Oh, absolutely it does. What would your morning be like if you had to wake up this morning? And you had to face this day without God. Folks, I wouldn't want to get out of my bed. But you know what? Bad things can happen while you're laying in your bed, too. Folks, I wouldn't want to see the sunlight of a day without God. I wouldn't want to get in my car without God. I wouldn't want to do anything in my life without God. But you know what? I don't have to do those things. Why? God is with me. I believe in His presence. A lot of people think, well, I've got to get up and go to church. I want to be where God is. Folks, know this. God wants to be everywhere that you go. He's inside of us. He dwells with us. We carry him. He's embedded inside of us. He is taken up in a boat in our life. And do we believe and do we have confidence in the power of God? I hope that we do. Paul said in the book of Philippians. I'm gonna turn back and read for just a minute. It's a familiar scripture. Philippians chapter four and verse 13. We believe that I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, Philippians 4, 13. I think that Paul, in these particular scriptures that you're reading about, he didn't let the idea that he was in prison hinder him. You know what, folks? Is it possible for us to allow circumstances that are beyond our control to hinder us? And what I mean by that is this, is that folks, don't let sometimes a situation or a circumstance or an environment change who you are. Paul said, I have the utmost confidence, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. We see here today is that Paul knew that the strength did not come from within himself. Paul knew that what he needed was not something that he was gonna get from any other person that he was around. He knew that his strength, he had confidence in what God was able to do to him and do for him. Can I ask you another question? I don't ask a lot of questions, but what do you believe God is able to do for you this morning? What do you have confidence in? Vehicle's making a strange noise. And you come up and say, Scott, I need you to help me. We're gonna leave church in a minute. I need you to help me figure out what's going on. Don't put a lot of confidence in me. But I'll tell you this today, folks. Whatever your spiritual needs are in your life, have confidence in God, what he is able to provide. You know what God will do? Sometimes he'll send somebody in my life and say, well, you may not be able to fix it, but I can help you. You know what? God gives us the things that we need. And those are just things that we're reminded of that God is able to provide the things that we stand in need of. What are you in need of today? What is God able to provide for you? Let me read to you if I can in the book of Romans chapter one. We talk about the power of God, and you know what, today, I thank God today, and I have confidence that a message is, and I believe, and I have confidence today that these words are not things that come from a mere man. I believe in the Holy Spirit-inspired word of God. So preacher, what does that have to do with anything? What's the importance of inspired? That just means, folks, it did not come from the intellect of a man. It was sent by God himself. And I wanna tell you something about the Word of God, folks, I believe in. The Word of God will stand even when this world burns up. The Word of God's still gonna stand. You disagree with the Word of God? That still doesn't mean it's gonna be gone. People don't wanna abide by the Word of God. It doesn't mean we're gonna forget about it and it's gonna disappear. It's still there. We read here in the book of Romans chapter one, in verse 16, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Folks, I am confident today that the very words of God are what we stand in need of. For he said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to every one that believeth. You know what Paul said? Paul said, I believe in the divine authority of the gospel that comes from heaven. There's a lot of people that meet together from service to service and time to time. Somebody can stand up and they'll talk about things. And let me tell you, there are some very, I don't want to say intelligent, but there's some very smooth saying things that are said and sometimes you just listen. But you know what, it meets the satisfaction of a mind. You know what, I want to drive into a point this morning. My point is this, is that folks, we don't just need a word that is appealing to our minds. We need something that pierces down into our souls. We need a gospel today that can be proclaimed that will prick the heart of a person, that we realize that God, that we need you. And that's what he's talking about here in Romans chapter one in verse 16, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth. Do you believe in the power of God in your life? Yes. Now, here's where it gets really good. What do you believe about the power of God about the person sitting beside you? If the power of God is instrumental in your life, do you believe that the power of God and the word of God can be instrumental in other people's lives also? Absolutely it is. Folks, and I know that there are people that need the power of God and the word of God. There was a time when there was a generation of people that they had God, they had the power of God, they had the truth of God, and yet I was the one that did not have that. But you see today, God, through their witness and their testimony, and God being using them, that that gospel reached a sinner such as I, and God was able to take those things, and he was able to prick my heart and to teach me the things that I needed. And I believe today with all confidence, I believe in the powers of the very word of God and what he's able to give us. Psalms chapter 27. Probably one of my favorite psalms. I love many of them. But in the 27th Psalm, David said this, the Lord is my light. I have confidence that God can light your way because he has lit my way. Can I tell you that again? I am confident that God can be a light for you in your way because he is a light for me in my way. Do you notice how personal the psalm is getting right here? Go through this and start reading about eyes and my's. For the Lord is my light. You know, Paul, through all the threats, through all the intimidation, by all the imprisonments that he had, he still had God watching over him. You know, we get frustrated with people like, okay, I'm done with you folks. God has never done with us. God's using us. And Paul was not doing anything wrong. He was proclaiming the gospel and God definitely was with him. For he said, the Lord is my light and my salvation. So he's asked the question, whom shall I fear? Folks, when God calls us, God's gonna protect us and keep us from all harm. For he said, the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine, again, look how personal this is. You've got enemies, I've got enemies, folks, let's remember that. But you know what I'm confident in? The God that gives me the victory over my enemies is the God that'll give you the victory over your enemies. You know what, we all have an Achilles heel. There's some things that people just get adhered to and addicted to, all these things. I'm like, that's not me, but you know what? I have my own things that are battles that we face and that we fight. But listen to what he's saying. He said, you've got your fears, I've got my fears. You've got your enemies, I've got my enemies, but we all serve an all-encompassing God that will deliver us. And folks, I am confident in a God that will provide. When I ask you what all you're confident in this morning, I'm confident, he said, he said in the second verse, when the wicked, even my enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh. Anybody wanna relate to that one? You know, when the enemy's coming, the enemy's coming strong, is he not? Folks, when the devil goes into houses and to, into jobs and he goes into churches, when he goes in, he is going in full steam with the intent to destroy. He said, that's what he said. David said, he said, my enemies, he said, they were, notice what he said. Even my enemies, my foes came upon me. He said, they wanted to eat up my flesh. That means they wanted to destroy and devour me. But notice what happened. They stumbled and fell. You know, this morning I believe that you, many of you have a testimony about a time in your life where the devil stumbled and he failed. You know why? Because you were confident that God was gonna deliver and he did. Do you believe that God is a God of deliverance? Do you believe that we serve a God that is able? Do you have confidence that God is able to provide? He said, though a hole should encamp against me and my heart shall not fear, though wars should rise against me, Do you notice how personal the 27th Psalm is? I know that we have battles and we have things that we go through, but you know what? There comes a point that it's all down to each one of us individually. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I desired of the Lord that I will seek after. that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. And in that, he said, to behold the beauty of the Lord. You know what that means? He said, Lord, I delight or I rejoice in what you're able to do. And then to inquire in his temple. You can keep reading about that 27th Psalm, but we see today that God is able. God is definitely able to protect us and to guide us and that God is able to give us the things that we stand in need of. And I want to close with the book of Romans. Romans chapter eight, we read this in Sunday school just briefly. But in Romans chapter eight, I wanna skip down to the 28th verse. Are you confident in God's purpose? Are you confident in God's timing? Sometimes we think God's a little early or Really, we think God's late. I don't know why, but it just seems like it's not that God's too early. We usually think God's too late. Do you have confidence in God and what his purpose and his timing is? Romans 8 and 28 said this, and we know, do we? And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Folks, I'm a believer today that all things work together for the good to them that love the Lord. For I'm gonna close back in the book of Acts chapter 28. And notice what he said in the 37th verse. Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. This morning, what do you have confidence in? Don't put your confidence in man, but may your confidence be in God. God bless you. That's what I felt like I needed to read this morning.