Sermon Snippet – Confidence in Christ Jesus
INTRODUCTION – It is easy to feel inadequate in serving our Savior God. He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Yet, people will try to elevate themselves by tearing us down (an approach that does not elevate but actually tears both parties down). Furthermore, some of us are simply not as confident as others; like Timothy, we might be somewhat timid (I Timothy 4:12-14). Moreover, we do not want to become “puffed up” like the Corinthians (I Corinthians 4:6, 19; 5:2; 8:1; 13:4), nor do we want to fall into the self-delusional trap of false modesty, like Uriah Heep in Dickens’s David Copperfield, who famously declared, “I am well aware that I am the ‘umblest person going.” We need Biblical counsel on this issue of confidence.
1. WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS STRUGGLE
The Bible provides examples of God’s good people who lacked confidence. Gideon believed that his social status disqualified him from serving God in any substantial way (Judges 6:14-15). In modern terms, he grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet, God lifted Gideon to a position of leadership and to success in defeating the invading Midianites. We cannot commend Gideon’s testing of God (Judges 6:36-40), but we can see it as an expression of his insecurity. The prophet Jeremiah thought that he was too young and inexperienced to deliver God’s message to the people (Jeremiah 1:6). In a culture that rightly valued elders, he was concerned that he would appear presumptuous and disrespectful. God forthrightly and forbearingly dealt with Jeremiah’s trepidations (1:7-10). The experience of the prophet Isaiah is one that every sensitive Christian has felt: he simply did not believe that he was spiritual enough to serve God effectively (Isaiah 6:1-5). God did not dismiss Isaiah’s self-evaluation, but He also did not dismiss Isaiah. Instead, He provided tangible forgiveness (6:6-7). An evangelical ministry of sixty years ensued. I Corinthians 10:11 reminds us, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Gideon, Jeremiah, and Isaiah are just three examples of many.
2. WE ARE NOT TO REMAIN IN A CONDITION OF UNCERTAINTY
When Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he professed a sense of utter inadequacy (Exodus 3:7-11). I am sympathetic to his initial response. He was eighty years old, had been a shepherd for forty years, and was settled in his wife’s land. He undoubtedly expected that he would live out his remaining time in a similar manner, many miles and many years from Egypt. God’s gracious response (3:12), though, was met with repeated refusals (3:13; 4:1, 10, 13). This lack of faith and obedience was the cause of God’s “anger” (4:14) against Moses. God’s righteous indignation, unlike our unrighteous ire, was remedial (4:14-17). This positive outcome should not blind us to the lesson of this story: it is possible to displease God by resisting His kind call. He truly does know what is best for us and for others. Moses was the right person to lead Israel; each one of us is the right person somewhere in the plan of God.
3. WE ARE TO RELY UPON GOD
The only reasonable alternative to debilitating self-doubt is to rely on the grace and power of God. II Corinthians 3:5 provides this encouragement: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.” Paul testified to this efficacy in II Corinthians 12:7-10, the account of his intense and prayerful desire that a challenging affliction be removed from him. Instead, Jesus reminded him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9a). Paul’s thoughtful response is one of winsome humility: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (verse 9b). Our confidence is thus not in ourselves; rather, our confidence is in Christ Jesus.
CONCLUSION – Philippians 4:13 is one of the first verses that I memorized as a lad: “I can do all things through Christ [Who] strengtheneth me.” I can grow as a Christian. I can serve God as He chooses. I can be faithful even under great adversity. I can live forever in heaven through faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ. May each one of us be certain that our confidence is in Him.