GOD’S PRESENCE IN PRACTICE.
PART THREE - THE CONFIDENCE
Hebrews 13:5-6
GOD’S PRESENCE IN PRACTICE.
THE CONFIDENCE
Over the last two Sunday Mornings we have been looking at the wonderful promise of the presence of the Lord. We looked at THE CONDITION that was laid down for us to fulfil, and we also saw THE COMMITMENT that the Lord makes to those who keep His ways, now we are going to move on to see that we can now have the greatest CONFIDENCE in the promise the Lord has made to us.
THE CONFIDENCE
We must look first at the starting point of this confidence, and we will see that the source is ‘The Lord’.
1. THE SOURCE
6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; [NIV]
You will see immediately that the source is ‘The Lord’. It is not our own ability, or the capability of others – it is ‘The Lord’ who is our helper. Perhaps I should make clear that we should all seek to develop our ability, and we should never despise the capability of others, but the real source of our help is ‘The Lord’.
Poole has a comment worthy of note just here, he says
So that we may boldly say; upon the account of which promise of God all the true subjects of Christ’s kingdom, together with the apostle, may with an undaunted boldness of heart, above all fears and doubtings, and with a daring confidence, professing that which they believe, nor staggering, nor shrinking, nor being ashamed of their faith, but openly owning it to all the world, own that The Lord is my helper; the Lord in the infiniteness of his power, wisdom, and goodness, is a real, present, universal, and permanent help against all trouble, and for all supplies in all cases, and at all times, to every one of them.
This is a thought that David rejoiced, and had confidence in,
Psalm 27: 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom should I be afraid? [Holman]
With this truth firmly bedded in David’s spirit, it is no wonder that he was constantly praising the Lord; even in adverse situations! There were times when his circumstances were more than he could handle, and when there was no man who could help him, but he knew were to look at a time like that. It appears that in the midst of trouble he begins to sing, and what a song; it is so uplifting that he shares it with others.
Psalm 121:1-4 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. [NLT]
This particular Psalm was one of a number sung by pilgrims as they went to worship the Lord, and it suggests that they take their eyes off the surrounding hills where the nations around worshipped their gods, and lift their eyes higher, much higher, and look to the Lord. There is also the thought that they were to take their eyes off the Temple which was built on the hill they were climbing, with all its magnificence, and look to the Lord, not the Temple. Here is something that we can bear in mind. It is not the size or attractiveness of a building, but the power and wonder of the Lord on which we should focus our attention.
To know the protection from our ‘Divine Helper’ we need to be near to Him, otherwise we cannot be ‘in the shadow of His wings’! David makes this point in Psalm 63:7;
Psalm 63:7 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. [NLT]
Here is the source of our confidence – it is not ‘wishful thinking’, or positive thinking, it is simply taking God at His Word! Let us take a note of David’s confidence,
Psalm 54:4 God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life. [[Holman]
When we take all this into our hearts, we begin to feel a little like Paul must have felt,
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to all this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can be our foe, if God is on our side? [Amp]
THE SOURCE of THE CONFIDENCE is the Lord, who is our helper! THE SEQUEL, or follow-on to all this, is that all fear will be gone!
2. THE SEQUEL
I will not be afraid. [NIV]
Barnes, in his commentary says of this
The sentiment is beautiful, and full of consolation. What can we fear if we have the assurance that the Lord is on our side, and that he will help us?
The assurance that Barnes refers to is because of our confidence in the Word of the Lord.
Let me remind you of what I said last Sunday Morning
Get to know what God has said and claim it for yourself, and don’t be afraid!
And also a comment that I mentioned by John Trapp
God loves to be bound by his own words, to be sued by his own bond.
We can only place our full confidence in the Lord and His Word when we get to know Him and are prepared to study His Word for ourselves, and make it our own! It is then that our trust will be correctly placed. David shares this with us in his Psalms;
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. [AV]
Some people trust the power of chariots or horses, but we trust you, Lord God. [CEV]
Some call on chariots, some on horses, but we on the name of Yahweh our God. [NJB]
Think about this for a moment please – when we are in trouble of some kind, where do we turn? Who do we call? It is excellent knowing these verses, but we need to excel in living these verses! Our first call should be on the Lord – our helper!
One of the greatest barriers to living an abundant Christian life is fear! There is something built into us that makes us afraid, and this can be good, as there are some things we should avoid. But fear misplaced can be devastating. It can rob us of a right relationship with God, and with fellow Christians. Why are we afraid when we are threatened by something? Usually it is because we think we feel unable to face-up to the situation, and we are looking to ourselves, and not to the Lord.
Let us take a moment to look at an example from the Word of God. The Israelites had arrived at the Promised Land, and the 12 spies had returned from their viewing of the land and its inhabitants. Ten of the men were full of fear and wanted to turn away, and as a result lose the blessing the Lord had in store for them. Two of the men, Joshua and Caleb, were full of faith, they had their eyes on the Lord – their helper, and wanted to go and possess the Land. See what they said,
Numbers 14:7-8 “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us.
The sad end to that part of the story is that the people had their way, and missed out on the blessing of the Lord, living a miserable wilderness experience. Joshua and Caleb, because they were full of faith, not fear, went in to enjoy the promise, possessing the land God had for them. The question must be faced, where are we looking? Are our eyes on the Lord and His promises; or on our circumstances?
Let’s again take encouragement from David. We are not sure when David wrote this particular Psalm, but, from the context, it was obviously at a time of distress. Where is David looking? He did not ignore his situation and remain under the circumstances, but lifted his eyes to the Lord, with the result that he was above the circumstances!
Psalm 27:1 THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation - whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? [Amp]
It seems that he has the same strength of faith as the writer to the Hebrews,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Just a little earlier in Hebrews we have the challenge to stay firm,
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Are we really convinced that God means what He says? If so, then we should have no fear! Fear suggests a lack of confidence in the reality of the Word of God. Our faith needs to be grounded on Christ’s faithfulness!
Ephesians 3:12 Because of Christ and our faith in him {Or Because of Christ’s faithfulness} we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. [NLT]
With a firm faith like that it leads to the conclusion that there is no need to be afraid.
THE CONCLUSION
What can man do to me?"
The Psalmist conveys the same thought in Psalm 118.
Psalm 118:6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Poole, in his commentary says,
Faith expelleth fearfulness of, and introduceth fearlessness of, any created evils incident to a believer; and of which man may be an instrument in inflicting. Implying in it an unshaken settledness of mind, judgment, and thoughts on God’s help, a fixed frame of heart, without tumultuous passions or perturbations, with an unmovable resolution to keep close to God and his word both in word and deed, amidst all oppositions and persecutions of men for it.
Clarke says
God is omnipotent, man’s power is limited; howsoever strong he may be, he can do nothing against the Almighty.
Matthew Henry
Men can do nothing against God, and God can make all that men do against his people to turn to their good.
These great commentators all express the same strong belief that the Lord is to be trusted, and is able to do what He has promised. David shares the same thought,
Psalm 56:4 I praise your promises! I trust you and am not afraid. No one can harm me. [CEV]
Let us close this meditation with a reminder of the text we commenced with, from Hebrews 13:5-6 [NIV]
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
