Having condidence sometimes makes all the difference in the world to what you are trying to accomplish. Did you know that the Bible has a lot to say about confidence? In this sermon we learn the 3 things you need to be confident - in any area of life - but especially in your faith.
Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
Keeping My Confidence - 01.13.13
Hebrews 10:32-36 / Colossians 3:12-17
Video: "Charles Blondine - Tightrope Walker"
Introduction: There’s a difference between the man in the wheelbarrow and the crowd. And what’s that difference? Confidence. Confidence is what makes the man leave the safety of the shore and get into the wheel barrow that will go across the tightrope over Niagara Falls. This is not the confidence we usually think of - “self” confidence, but confidence in someone else. You know how important confidence is, right? When you’re confident you feel like you can be bold and that you can accomplish anything. When you lack confidence, you’re afraid to even try. Did you know that the Bible has a lot to say about this topic of confidence?
TODAY’S BIG IDEA:
If I’m not careful, I could ___THROW AWAY___ my confidence.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” Hebrews 10:35 ESV
We find that confidence is incredibly important to living the Christian life. According to the Hebrews writer, confidence is something that we can either keep... or something that we can toss aside. There’s no question that it’s something we desperately need to live the life that God has in mind for us. I’m not saying that your confidence is something that is optional - a take it or leave it kind of thing. What I’m saying is that your confidence is not “automatic.” It does not come and stay as part of your faith decision. Let’s talk about what we mean by “confidence”:
- confidence - full trust; belief, assurance, boldness (con “with” fidence “faith / belief”). Often we combine this word with self as in self-confidence. The problem is that we know ourselves all too well. It’s hard to put “full trust” into someone (ourselves) when we know our own failings so well. When we know our inside hearts and lives, when we know the difference between our intentions and our realities. In order to have confidence - even the way the dictionary describes it - we need to place our confidence in Someone or Something that is fully deserving and can live up to Full trust, belief, and assurance. Let’s take a look at the way the Bible uses “confidence”...
- parrēsía - outspokenness, boldness, courage, frankness, openness, freedom of action. The root of this Greek word actually has to do with the spoken word... with how we speak out. You completely understand this too. Do you hedge your bets when you talk with others? Are you concerned with whether they will agree completely with you? Whether they are going to affirm you and like you? Do you wait to hear what they think before you say what you think? Or are you “confident” and so have a frankness and openness about you? Do you feel a freedom of action, a courage, that comes from solid confidence?
Today I want to talk to you about this topic of confidence. As is true of so many things in the Bible this lesson today is a universal lesson. What I’m going to teach you is strictly about the confidence that we have in the LORD that comes from faith in Him and in His ability to deliver us. But because this is a universal truth, this lesson of confidence will work in every area of our lives... our confidence in our relationships, our confidence in our business lives, our confidence in our own abilities to accomplish a task. The question we want to talk about is how do we keep our confidence? We need 3 things...
How do I keep my confidence? I need...
EN ___LIGHTENMENT___.
“But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened...” Hebrews 10:32a ESV
Any kind of confidence - including and especially our confidence in God - begins with enlightenment. You have to know about something or Someone before you can truly be confident. What is it that you want to be confident about? You have to spend time learning everything you can about it... or him... or her. Yes, sometimes we need confidence in another person. All too often we throw confidence someone’s way long before they are deserving of it, and so we become disappointed.
What is it that you want to accomplish? Learn all you can. Read books. Talk with experts. Network with friends who’ve been down that path. Enlighten your mind! The more enlightened you are about anything or anyone, the more confident you will be!
Here the writer to the Hebrews is reminding his readers to remember when they first came to faith and they so confident. Do you remember your own first days? When you were so excited about your faith that you wanted to tell everyone? You had a freedom, an openness, a frankness - no hedging your bets!
EN ___DURANCE___.
“... you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.” Hebrews 10:32b ESV
Enlightenment, though, will only take you so far. You also must endure. You must stick with it. And this is not always easy... or fun. Look at the words here. Struggle. Sufferings. The Christian life was never designed for the faint hearted. Yes, the Christian life leads to success - but success the way God defines it, not the common way we often think with financial wealth, comfortable abodes, and people who always love us and accept us. Living the Christian life... or keeping confidence in any area of our lives, will require sacrifice. Perseverance. Endurance. A “stick-to-it-tiveness.” One of the reasons so many lack confidence is because at the first sign of struggle or suffering, they gave up. They quit. And quitters are rarely “confident.”
EN ___ACTMENT___.
“For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property...” Hebrews 10:34a ESV
Here is where the confident ones - in life, in faith, in Christianity - discover the difference that comes from true confidence. They act on their beliefs. They don’t just talk about it. They do it. This may be one of the most important reasons why so many Christ followers have such an unconfident faith. They say they believe, but they do nothing about it. Their faith doesn’t change the way they live. Like the video we watched, they stay to the sidelines and never get into the wheelbarrow of their faith. Enactment and confidence go hand in hand and it’s hard to distinguish which comes first. Like the chicken and the egg. The more confident I am, the more I act. The more I act, the more confident I am. Exactly what “acts” are we talking about?
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12 ESV
Notice that there is an action verb in this verse. None of the things listed in this entire section of Scripture (v. 12-17) are automatic. We must put them all on... we must “clothe ourselves.” In other words, we must take action to live the life of confidence. Otherwise we are “naked” in our faith - unclothed. For most of us that would not be a “confident” feeling!!!
So to be confident in anything... but especially in our faith in Christ, we need 3 things: enlightenment, endurance, and enactment. All three are necessary. Omit any one and your confidence will fall. Before I wrap up our talk today I want to share just a couple more quick insights...
Insight about Endurance: If there’s one question that comes more than any other - whether it’s about our faith, or sticking to anything else we want to accomplish, it’s this: how do we endure? Remember 2 weeks ago when we talked about NY resolutions and how only 8% accomplished last year’s goals? Why can’t more people stick with it?
Here’s the truth about endurance...
Where ___ENLIGHTENMENT___ and ___ENACTMENT___ intersect.
Where what you confidently know combined with what you confidently do come together in equal parts. Too often we either spend all our time thinking about doing something, without ever doing it, and so lack the confidence to endure... OR spend all our time acting on something, without ever really thinking it through. Either way is a sure way to short circuit any endurance. What does the writer of Hebrews teach us?
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Hebrews 10:36 ESV
Doing the will of God (which means we must KNOW the will of God in the first place, right? That’s enlightenment!) builds endurance. The more you know and do - in equal measures - the more you will endure, and the more confident you will become. Illustration of the Isosceles Triangle. Do you remember your high school geometry? Let me remind you. Two equal sides. Two equal angles. (Draw on white board.) God is at the top. From Him we receive enlightenment and enactment. When our enlightenment equals our enactment, meaning we do exactly what we know to do, the two bottom angles are also exactly equal. When those angles are balanced, we have just the right amount of endurance to stick with it. As a result our confidence remains strong. Focus your attention on your enlightenment and enactment, and your endurance will be there.
Geometry math too complicated? Let me make it even easier!
Keeping My Confidence Means Staying Encouraged
(Here’s the math!)
___ENLIGHTENMENT___ + ___ENDURANCE___ + ___ENACTMENT___
= __ENCOURAGEMENT___
Just remember that if I want to remain confident, I need all 3. When I’m enlightened, when I endure, when I act on what I know, I can’t help but be encouraged. When I’m encouraged, I’m confident.
Conclusion: As I said before this is true across all of our life. Apply it in any area and you’ll find it works. If you are lacking confidence you need to be encouraged. You can’t always count on someone coming along to encourage you when you need it. So how can you find it for yourself? Equal parts of enlightenment, endurance & enactment. Especially true for faith in Christ! Don’t throw away your confidence! Let’s pray.
