In Christ, I Am...confident Series

In Christ, I am…Confident—Ephesians 1:15-23

(Series on Ephesians: In Christ, I Am…)

We have all known people who struggle with lack of confidence. It is not that they lack opportunity or ability; they just lack the confidence to believe they can succeed.

***I grew up across the street from ten tennis courts. From a young age, I could look out of our picture window, and see boys my age taking lessons. By age 8, some of them were playing matches against boys from other cities.

Every summer, the city offered free tennis lessons. I could have walked across the street, and learned to play. I had a racket, a place to play, time to practice, and the support of my parents. I lacked one thing: confidence. Only when I was 12 years old did I get up the nerve to sign up for tennis lessons.**

Living as a Christian in the world takes confidence. It takes confidence to stand for Christ, to speak the truth, or to reach out to people who need love. It takes confidence to lead, to confront what is wrong, and to attempt great things for God. Where does that confidence come from?

The Apostle Paul is writing to people who have been “chosen by God for his glory.” (Hold up last week’s card.) We are chosen by God to display his glory, by how we live! That gives meaning and purpose to everything we do, whether big or small. But it is also rather intimidating. As Paul said to the Corinthian church, “Who is equal to such a task?” Can we really display God’s glory in the way we live?

Paul wants to encourage Christians to step up and attempt great things for God, so he begins by praying that God will give them the confidence they need.

Read Ephesians 1:17. We all want to know God better! Paul says we can know God by “wisdom and revelation.” “Revelation” would be the Bible, and “wisdom” would be our minds; it is good to study the Bible, and use the minds God’s gave us, to know God better. But knowing God with our minds is not enough; we need spiritual understanding. Paul prays that God will give believers “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation”). Whether Paul is referring directly to the Holy Spirit is uncertain, but he is certainly implying that God must help us understand what is in the Bible, and what we can know with our minds.

Paul goes on to say, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…” We all know that there is a difference between knowing that something is safe, and feeling it in our gut. Paul prays that they may understand, at a deep personal level, things that will give them the confidence they need.

So Paul prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know” three things.

1. “…the hope to which God has called you”

Hope is more than wishing for something. A child might say, “I hope I get a pony for my birthday,” when there is no chance at all that her apartment-dwelling parents will give her a pony. It would be different if her farm parents invited her, even directed her, to hope for a pony.

God has called us, even directed us, to hope for the fullness of his kingdom. Our final hope is a perfect life forever with God in heaven. In heaven, there will be no more sorrow or pain, no frustration or injustice, but righteousness, peace and joy. In heaven, we will be transformed into the perfect people that God created us to be. In heaven, everyone and everything will be made right. That is our hope, because God has promised us all of that.

Hope is not just for the future, however. Hope helps us rise above the challenges and disappointments of life in this world.

***President Ronald Reagan loved to tell a story about twin boys, about five years old. One of the boys always looked on the bright side, while the other boy was hopelessly pessimistic. The parents worried that their sons were unbalanced, so they took them to see a psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist treated the pessimist first. Trying to brighten his outlook, he took him into a room piled high with toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the boy burst into tears. “What’s the matter?” the psychiatrist asked. “Don’t you want to play with the toys?” Through his tears, the boy mumbled, “Yes, but if I did, I would only break them.”

Then the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his outlook, he took him into a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. Instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the boy gave a yelp of delight. He climbed onto the pile, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. “What do you think you are doing?” the psychiatrists asked. “With all this manure,” the boy replied, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”**