Living With Confidence.
Philippians 1:1-6TPT
Arriving late for a little league game, a retired grandfather stopped to ask his grandchild how his team was doing. We are behind 15 to nothing, he said. The grandfather asked, are you discouraged? Of course, not, the boy responded we haven’t been up to bat yet!
That’s the kind of confidence Christians can have because we know the Lord completes His mission.
1 John 5:4NKJV For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
AW Tozer, ”Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you.”
Did you know that the Lord is working in you?
“Sometimes, we forget that He will complete His mission in us.” P.H
Now here is where we start, Jesus is teaching the multitudes, (Sermon on the Mount) and finally he decides it’s time to leave.
Mark 4:35-41NKJV ”On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”“
Who could this be? Jesus fully obeyed His Father in everything. -In Everything.
Jesus was tested in every point. He won the test! In every temptation, Jesus never failed.
Jesus was obedient in every way. He even became obedient to a tree, Philippians 2 speaks of.
“Jesus is eternal, and His greatest desire for you is to be eternal!” PH
So what does Jesus say about you? You are loved. -You have worth.
Psalm 139:15TPT ”You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place; carefully, skillfully you shaped me from nothing to something.“
You have been made new and filled with the spirit. -You are transforming.
Paul states, “From one degree of glory to another degree of glory.”
Here’s a key one, Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Everything that was created was created by Him, both visible and invisible, Colossians 1:16-17.
At the end of the book of Revelation, Jesus wins, We win, and resurrection will take over! P.H
One of Paul’s Prison Episodes will be our text:
Philippians 1:1-6TPT ”From Paul and Timothy, both of us servants of Jesus, the Anointed One. To all his devoted followers in Philippi, including your pastors, and to all the servant-leaders of the church. 2 May the blessings of divine grace and supernatural peace that flow from God our wonderful Father, and our Messiah, the Lord Jesus, be upon your lives. 3-4 My prayers for you are full of praise to God as I give him thanks for you with great joy! I’m so grateful for our union 5 and our enduring partnership that began the first time I presented to you the gospel. 6 I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!“
The Apostle Paul states, “I have full confidence in you because of Jesus Christ!”
I have often been intrigued by the apostle Paul's statement in, 2 Corinthians 7:4 I have the highest confidence in you, and my pride in you is great. You have greatly encouraged me; you have made me so happy in spite of all my suffering.
And then, at the end of the chapter, 2 Corinthians 7:16, the apostle Paul writes, I am glad I could have complete confidence in you.
Has the apostle Paul lost his mind? I could see where Paul would say, “I have confidence in the church of Ephesus," but the Church of Corinth?
It was a church wracked with dissension, immorality and carnality of every kind.
Is this just some type of phony, psychological hype?
No, I believe Paul conveyed a very biblical principle. Phil. 1:6 “The work that God begins, He completes!”
This underscores the value to be gained by expressing confidence in others and encouraging, one another to keep on keeping on. P.H
The famous guard for the Green Bay Packers, Jerry Krammer, talking about his first year on the team. He was a rookie and the great coach, Vince Lombardi, was riding him constantly. Adding insult to injury, when the rest of the team was excused for the day, he was told to do another 20 minutes running through the tire obstacle course!
Frustrated and defeated, he went into the locker room and sat there contemplating quitting the team.
At Jerry Krammer’s lowest moment, the coach walked by and thumbed him on the back of the helmet, and said, “Someday, Krammer, you're going to be the greatest guard that football has ever known.”
The Article Goes on to say, Vince Lombardi had the reputation of riding his players to perfection, but he was also a master
of timing.
-NFL Great, Jerry’s Krammer’s reflection of that moment sounded like this, “I went from complete despair to total delight or rapture, willing to do whatever the coach might have required of me, even another 20 minutes on the tires.”
Listen again to Paul’s words, Philippians 1:6KJV 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:
Can I tell you that Jesus is confident in you.
-He believes in you.
I’ve seen believers seemingly defeated, wanting to give up. However, every time we should say, “I believe in you.”
Philippians 1:6NLT Again verse 6 ”And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is- finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.“
Back to Mark 4:35-41, Notice, Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat. -The disciple were freaking out!
Can I be straight forward? If Jesus is in your boat you won’t sink! -You will get to the other side.
Testimony, I once had this Christian lady that came to me because her unbelieving husband left her. -He left her with nothing. After years of marriage he went to Biloxi Mississippi, and gambled his home away, and his land. (Signed away all their title deeds away)!
-And now she comes to me and tells me he has filed for divorce. She was broken. She felt like her life had ended.
I gave her this advice, I reminded her that she was a strong believer, and because of that I believe in you. I told her, but you have let yourself go. She was a pretty lady. - I told her that God is with you, and you need to start taking care of yourself. Care how you look.
Here’s the testimony, sometime later she came into the church totally transformed!
Listen, if you are a believer, I have confidence in you solely, because I have confidence in God!
I’ve had people tell me that they had a sense of worthlessness wash over them, and that their life was seemingly over, and several of those people believed it, and acted on it.
-The devil is a liar.
I have full confidence in God. How about you?
Hebrews 10:35TPT ”So don’t lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward!“
KJV- Refuse to castaway your confidence! -It’s your bold courageous faith!
Another biblical record, Mark 6:45–50TPT ”After everyone had their meal, Jesus instructed his disciples to get back into the boat and go on ahead of him and sail to the other side to Bethsaida. 46 So he dispersed the crowd, said good-bye to his disciples, then slipped away to pray on the mountain. 47 As night fell, the boat was in the middle of the lake and Jesus was alone on land. 48 The wind was against the disciples and he could see that they were straining at the oars, trying to make headway. When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the surface of the water, and he started to pass by them. 49-50 When they all saw him walking on the waves, they thought he was a ghost and screamed out in terror. But he said to them at once, “Don’t yield to fear. Have courage. It’s really me—I Am!” 51 Then he came closer and climbed into the boat with them, and immediately the stormy wind became still. They were completely and utterly overwhelmed with astonishment. 52 Their doubting hearts had not grasped his authority and power over all things in spite of just having witnessed the miraculous feeding.“
Again, there’s something that really stands out to me. My mind is reverted on the phrase, “he intended to pass by them.”
I believe that even today Jesus intends to pass by the self-sufficient. “If we think getting to the other side is a question of how hard we row, we may never get there.” P.H
We must never forget, “That it is He who began the good work in us, and it is He who will carry it to completion.”
Like the little boy who’s team had not come up to bat yet, He believed. -I don't know what inning of life you are in, but the odds are you have at least one more opportunity to come to the plate.
Are you running against the wind? Is a storm about to swap your boat? -Have you failed in the past? -Do you believe God has given up on you?
I don't believe He has! In, Philippians 3:12–14 Paul reflects the attitude I believe we ought to have.
Philippians 3:12-14MSG I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
“-Come on get in the game, you haven’t even come up to bat yet!” P.H
Benediction. Dear heavenly Father, I am thankful for the good work of salvation that You have begun in me. I know You are not finished with me yet, and I renounce the lies of Satan that would suggest that you are. Forgive me for the times I have lived in my own sufficiency. I renounce my self-sufficiency, and I choose to forget what lies behind, I now commit myself to press on to Your upward call and express with confidence that I shall see You face-to-face on the other side. -I put no confidence in the flesh, for my confidence lives in You, and that You will bring me to completion in Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, the strong Son of God. Amen.
