Tag: god

Being Confident

Philippians Chapter 1 and verse 6 says:

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

“Being Confident” is a present position.

  • It is not necessarily a position of looking forward to the future with hope;
  • It is not resting in the past – “I was confident.”

Paul is speaking in the present position of “being confident.” “Confident” means “being fully assured.” You might say Paul was “Being fully assured that He which hath begun a good work will complete it until the day of Christ.

I remember vividly the day I rededicated my life to the LORD. I remember thinking to myself:

  • “How will I ever get past the things I’ve done in my life?”
  • “How will I ever become what God has intended for my life?”

Then I remember reading this verse, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

I remember thinking to myself, “I don’t have to put my confidence in me or my abilities, I just need to put my confidence in somebody that can get the job done!”

So, I don’t want you to put your confidence in the past or in the future – and I don’t want you to put your confidence in me, because if you put your confidence in me, you have put your confidence in the wrong place. I don’t even want us to put our confidence in one another – cause we will surely fail. I want us to have our confidence in the LORD Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul said, “Being confident of this very thing, that HE which hath begun a good work . . .”

So let share with you just a few simple points I see in this verse:

WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD’S ABILITY

You see folks, after all, He’s the one who started the work and He knows how to get the job done.

If you think about our salvation, none of us started our salvation.  We are saved BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH – it is the work of God.

And none of us are even “keeping” our salvation – that is a job He is doing for us! I know that statement is freaking some of you out, so let me put it this way:

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

Our complete confidence should be in Jesus.

  • He is the Alpha and Omega
  • He is the Beginning and the end
  • He is both Creator and Sustainer
  • He is the Potter that knows how to mold clay.

And I can promise you with confidence that you can find fault in me.  I am just as confident that you can find fault in each other.  And with that same level of confidence, I can tell you that you’ll never find failure in Jesus Christ!

WE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD’S CONSISTENCY (HE IS GOING TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED)

As I was sitting in my study meditating on the message, I couldn’t help but notice several unopened boxes of items my wife has patiently been waiting for me to open and put together.

And I can confidently say that this is not the first time I have found myself in such a scenario around the Moore household, and it probably will not be the last.

I believe I can also confidently say that I am not the only husband with that same issue.  Can I get an AMEN from the ladies reading this?

But you know what, that’s not our Jesus – whatever He starts He always finishes. And do you know why?  Because He is always faithful.  He said at the end of the book of Malachi “I CHANGE NOT.”  He said “I am the same today, yesterday and forever.”

He was able to feed 2 million people in the wilderness without Walmart, Publix or Ingles – how about that!

The work that Jesus Began is the Work that He is performing. So, we need to put our confidence in the Lord’s ability and in the Lord’s consistency.

WE CAN BE CONFIDENT IN THE COMING OF CHRIST (THE PROMISE OF A BETTER DAY)

Of course this is a reference to the Rapture of the Church.  There is an old hymn I love that goes, “What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.  When I look upon His face – the one who saved me by His grace.  When He takes me by the hand and leads me to the Promised land – what a day, glorious day that will be.”

I am far enough along this journey in life to know that I’m getting closer to being over there.  My grandparents are over there.  My daddy’s over there.  My brother’s over there.  What a day it’s going to be, not only when I see my Savior’s face, but I’m looking forward to seeing my family again.

I looking forward to not having to wear hearing aids anymore.  I’m looking forward to not having to walk with arthritis anymore.  I’m looking forward to not having to battle the demons of PTSD anymore!

One day the trumpet of the Lord is going to sound and the dead in Christ are going to rise first and then those of us who are alive and remain are going to be called up together in the air to meet the Lord!  WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!  I have come to far to turn back now!

You know I don’t think Joseph in the Old Testament thought there would ever be a better day coming.  He was pursued daily by Potiphar’s wife and was falsely accused and sent to prison.  I’m sure when he thought about being betrayed by his brothers, and after being falsely convicted of a crime – I’m sure he never saw a better day coming.  But when the truth floated to the top (and it always does), Joseph rose to be the 2nd in command of the entire Kingdom and was reunited with his father Jacob, who he hadn’t seen since he was a young boy. 

You know who did that?  God did that.  And folks I’m going to tell you from experience, God can take your worst day and turn it into your best day!

So, I want you to put your confidence in the Lord’s Ability, and I want you to put your confidence in the Lord’s Consistency, and I want you to put your confidence in the Fact that A Better Day Is Coming.

Now let me share one final thought with you. In I Peter chapter 5, and verse number 1 is written to elders. Now an elder id one that has been ordained by the church – it can be a Bishop, a Pastor, it can be deacon, a person who is there to help serve the church body. It can be an evangelist or a missionary. It is one that the church has put it’s confidence in.

And in I Peter 5, verses 2 & 3, they are given responsibilities:

  • To feed the flock of God
  • To have a ready mind
  • To be an example to the flock

And then in verses 4 & 5 they are told the attitude they are to have:

  • Younger elders submit to the older elders
  • Be clothe with humility
  • To resist pride
  • And give grace to the humble

And then they are told in verse 7 what they can do with their burden – that they can “cast all your cares upon Him; for He careth for you.” Aren’t you glad there’s a God in Heaven that can carry your burden – when you don’t have the power to?

So in verses 1-7, he is addressing the elders.  But in verse 8, he will address the adversary.  He says:

  • Be sober,
  • Be vigilant
  • Because your adversary – the devil
  • As a roaring lion
  • Walketh about seeking whom he may devour

You see folks, just as confident as I am in the Lord’s Ability, and the Lord’s Consistency, and the Lord’s soon Coming, I’m just as confident that:

“Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” But remember, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”

How To Fight a Good Fight

The Apostle Paul Says in II Timothy 4, beginning in verse 5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Paul is at the end of his ministry and is encouraging Timothy to continue on. If you and I are going to fight our good fight of faith, here are some things we will need to do every day:

I. EVERY DAY – MAKE A COICE ABOUT YOUR LIFE. Josh said in Joshua 24:15, “Choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve . . .” It is not a onetime decision (though salvation is), but it is a choice every day to serve God.

II. MAKE A DECISION TO LIVE UP TO THAT CHOICE. Identify the areas of your life that are preventing you from living up to the choices you’ve made, and then learn to overcome them by faith, by prayer and by the Word of God.

III. DON’T DO IT FOR RECOGNITION – DO IT BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND IT IS WHO YOU ARE. Remember that God formed us from the dust of the earth and breathe into our nostrils the breath of life and we became a living soul, created in the very image of God.

IV. DETERMINE TO HAVE HONOR IN YOUR LIFE. Romans 12:10 says, “Honor one another above yourselves . . .” Others Lord, yes others, let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I might live like Thee!

V. MAKE YOUR WORD YOUR BOND. Because what you say will determine the decisions and direction of your life. Words have power.

VI. IF YOU FOLLOW YOUR EMOTIONS, YOU WILL MISS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE. Listen, feelings ad emotions change. Learn to live your life by facts, not feelings.

VII. DON’T QUIT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO, YOU WILL MISS THE CHOICE YOU MADE. Paul fully understood that statement while he was sitting in a Roman prison cell waiting to be executed.

VIII. BE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY STRONGER AND HARDER THAN ANYTHING YOU WILL FACE. Part of the US Army Ranger Creed states, “I accept the fact that as a Ranger, my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.” For the past 4 years, my daughter Jenni, a wife and mother of two young children, has been fighting cancer. Every single day she makes a choice to get up and face that giant in her life, and every single day, she “moves further, faster and fights harder” than any one I know.

IX. ULTIMATELY, THE SUCCESS (OR FAILURE) OF LIVING UP TO THE CHOICES YOU’VE MADE REST SOLELY ON YOUR SHOULDERS.