“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
Foundation Scripture: Ephesians 3:10-12 (NAS)
10in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly {places.} 11{This was} in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
The word “boldness” in all these verses can mean outspokenness, frankness, bluntness, and/or assurance. It can also be rendered as boldness of speech, confidence, or to speak or act freely, openly, or plainly. When you begin to talk about boldness or to act boldly, certain people might interpret it as arrogance. But it does not mean that at all. It simply means confidence – confidence in the power of God and in His grace and mercy. It means to have confidence in His word and in His promises – confidence in the fact that He has washed our sin away with His blood and removed our iniquities as far as the east is from the west. We can be both confident in what God has done in and for us – and humble, knowing that it is all because of Him and nothing to do with us.
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NKJ)
15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJ)
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus came down to our level to bring us up to His level. Because He understands us and sympathizes with us, we can come confidently to Him, knowing that He accepts us unconditionally. A sin-consciousness will cause a person to want to retreat from God and hide from Him. The blood of Jesus has made the way open for us to come into His presence with confidence, because we have been made righteous by our faith in Him.
Hebrews 10:19-23 (NAS)
19Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and since {we have} a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled {clean} from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
As we allow the Blood of Jesus to purify our hearts and the Word of God to wash us clean, it causes us to have the confidence to come even closer into God’s presence. We have the confidence because of what He has done not because of what we have done. We can make requests of our Father and be sure of the answer, because our God is faithful.
I John 4:16-18 (NAS)
16And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
We can have confidence on the day of judgement because there is no judgement for us because we are washed in the Blood. We have confidence because His life and His love, lives in us.