This being the fourth Sunday of the month, we will look at one of the nine characteristics of a successful participant in fulfilling the mission of our church. The mission of our church is to help more and more English-speaking Asians in our community to have a right and healthy relationship with God and with one another through Jesus Christ. And the characteristic we will look at this morning is that of living by the authority of God’s Word, the Bible.
When I say the Bible is God’s Word, I’m describing at least three ways the Bible contains God’s communication to us. First, the Bible contains God’s dictation. For instance, the 10 Commandments recorded in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 are the words from God Himself.
Second, the Bible contains God’s revelation, those truths and events that we cannot know, except that God revealed them. For instance, happenings in Heaven are revealed in Job 1, and happenings in the future are reveled in Revelation 21.
Third, the Bible contains God’s inspiration, the writing by men as guided by God’s Spirit. For instance, the letters of Paul, Peter and John have truths and instructions from God that are written by men as taught by God’s Spirit.
The question is sometimes asked, "Why did God use men to write and compile His thoughts and instructions to mankind?" The answer is, "Because God wanted to communicate to mankind. After all, God uses mother birds to communicate to baby birds. Why would He not use mankind to communicate to the children of mankind?"
What God communicated to us has numerous benefits. This morning we will look at one benefit of knowing and living by God’s Word. The benefit is confident living.
If I were to ask for a show of hands to reflect how many people experience confidence all the time in all situations, I would probably not see a single hand up. As a campus minister at UC Davis, I worked with some very smart and good-looking college students. Even the smartest and best-looking students are frequently unsure of themselves.
We know that business leaders and other successful professionals also need confidence, because books on leadership and programs for personal success almost always contain ways to build confidence. We are encouraged to repeat self-affirmations such as "I believe I can."
Others instruct us to operate on our greatest strength. Still others tell us that confidence comes from relating skillfully with others or looking at our past accomplishments. And there is the admonition to "act confident and you will be confident." Smile, give a firm handshake and look them in the eyes.
Confidence is very important to all of us. Without confidence, we will procrastinate and miss out on life’s opportunities. Without confidence, we can be overwhelmed with anxiety rather than filled with peace. Without confidence, we are prone to make more mistake more often or give up too early.
No one, whether young or old, wealthy or poor, male or femail, feel, act or think confidently all the time. This morning we will learn why and how we can experience confidence in life more often. The text comes from Psalm 19.
The Psalm writer tells of three sources that God gives to us for confident living. The first is God’s platform, the universe in which we live. The second is God’s prudence, the wisdom, instructions and truths by which we ought to live. The third is God’s pardon, the forgiveness by which we can have peace with God.
Let’s look at each one in detail and see why and how they enable us to experience confidence in living.
First, we can have confidence in our lives because God’s platform demonstrates God’s power. We see this in verses 1-6.
Erwin Lutzer said, "In creation, God went public." Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
God’s universe in which we live is also God’s platform from which we can know God. The telescope allows us to see the vastness of God’s creation. The microscope allows us to see the design of God’s creation. The enormity and complexity of creation declares God’s tremendous power.
There is no sufficient explanation apart from a Creator for the tremendous amount of matter in our universe to come from nothing. There is no sufficient explanation apart from a Creator for the complexity and design in our universe to come from random chance. If we would just consider how the relationship between the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars to allow for the prediction of an eclipse hundreds of years in advance, we would begin to recognize the great order with which God created rather than the random chance in which evolution proposes.
Back in 1990, I was a teacher’s aide in a math class at a middle school in Woodland, California. The teacher not only loved to teach math, but he loved to teach students. His students loved him, because he made learning fun, and he cared for the students.
I remember before a math exam, the students were moaning and complaining. The teacher knew they lacked confidence and did not feel ready to take the test. So he asked the class, "What is the worse thing that can happen? Will the sun rise tomorrow if you don’t do well on your test?"
Almost immediately, the class stopped moaning and complaining. They were reminded of something far bigger than passing or failing a test. Sometimes a lack of confidence to do what we need to do comes from an over-emphasis on the importance of that thing we need to do.
Princeton physicist, Freeman Dyson noted that the more he examines the universe and the details of its architecture, the more evidence he finds that "the universe in some sense must have known that we were coming." When we consider God’s creation we are reminded that God has provided a universe that takes care of us.
The earth has all the needed ingredients for life. The consistency of our sun in our galaxy makes possible for life for us. Even the strategic placement and design of Jupiter shows God’s protection of earth. Without Jupiter’s position in our galaxy and its powerful gravity to alter the direction of moving comets, the earth would experience impact by comets a thousand times more (from You can Trust the Bible by Erwin Lutzer).
Whatever you feel inadequate about doing, do it. What’s the worse that will happen? Will the sun rise tomorrow if you don’t do well on that project? On that phone call? In that meeting? In that interview?
Remember God has created a universe that provides what we need for life. Get a grip on the right perspective. We can have confidence because God, through His platform, the universe in which we live, has shown us how powerful He is.
Second, we can have confidence in our lives because God’s prudence makes life predictable. We see this in verses 7-11.
On Thursday night, before the worship team began their rehearsal, Connie asked Brian to read Psalm 19. Then each member shared which verse meant the most to them and why. Almost everyone replied that what meant most to them was that God’s wisdom, instructions and truths were reliable guides for life with predictable good outcomes.
Bobb Biehl stated, and I agree, that confidence is the byproduct of predictability. In other words, confidence comes from knowing what to do to bring about good and consistent outcome in life. The unknown or inconsistency of outcomes make confidence almost impossible.
We all need basic principles for living that bring about predictable good results. God offers such principles through recorded examples, through clear instructions and through proverbs in the Bible.
The Psalm writer uses different terms to describe God’s prudence, truths and instructions. He calls them the law of the Lord, the statutes of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the commands of the Lord, the fear of the Lord and the ordinances of the Lord. These are all God’s prudence or wisdom.
And the Psalm writer tells us the characteristics of God’s guidance and the predictable consequences of living by them. They are perfect; they make the simple people wise; they give joy to the heart, they are pure and altogether righteous.
Our culture teaches that we receive joy in life by doing what feels good, but there is no consistent predictable outcome for doing what feels good. Sometimes we will experience joy when we do what feels good. Others times, we will be filled with guilt, shame or resentment, when we do what feels good. Doing what feels good does not give predictable outcomes nor lead to living with confidence.
Earlier this week, Susan and I did something to hurt each other. I struggled for two days to forgive her. It felt good not to forgive her, even though I knew God commanded me to forgive just as Jesus Christ forgave me. My hanging onto the wrong she did against me made me feel more holy than her.
Unforgiveness felt good in a wicked kind of way, but it did not make my life joyful. My heart was filled with anger and guilt. Not until I forgave Susan did my heart experience joy again.
Whatever God says "do," we need to do, if we desire to experience the predicted outcomes. Only living by God’s prudence will make us wise, lead to joy in our heart and offer great rewards. Only when we do what is right by God’s instruction can we count on such predictable outcomes, which offers confidence in living.
Third, we can have confidence in our lives because God’s pardon brings God pleasure. We see this in verses 12-14.
Only Christianity has forgiveness from God as a way to achieve peace with God. Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism and all the other man-made religions expect mankind to perform, reincarnate or evolve out of the present sinful state. Only the Bible teaches that we can have peace with God through receiving forgiveness from God made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross. In fact, the Bible tells us that God is pleased to forgive us and restore our relationship with Himself.
1 Timothy 2:3-6 reads, "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men...."
No matter what you’ve done wrong in your past or what you may do wrong in the future, God’s offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ is for certain. We don’t need to be perfect and we can’t be perfect. Our confidence in life and peace with God comes not from our perfection but from the pleasure of God to pardon us. We simply have to trust in Jesus Christ to receive His pardon.
Steve Brown tells about a Mother who got tired of the cooking, the cleaning and the kids, and she simply walked out one day. When her husband returned home from work in the evening, he found a note that read, "I’ve decided to leave. There is food in the refrigerator, and the kids are fed already."
A week later, she called her family and the husband picked up the phone. She asked, "How are you?"
The husband replied, "Where the hell are you?" She hung up the phone.
A month later, she called again. Again, she began with, "How are you?"
This time, the husband replied, "We’re doing alright, but the kids and I really miss you." She hung up the phone.
Over the next six months, she would call from time to time to simply ask, "How are you?" And the husband would tell her how he and the kids love her and want her to come home.
Finally, the husband hired a private detective to look for his wife. Within a week, the private detective traced the Mother to a downtown third-rate motel in a nearby city. The husband hired a baby-sitter and then drove to that city and found the motel.
Without hesitation, he walked up to the room and knocked on the door. When she opened the door, he embraced her. They both broke down in tears, as he helped her pack to go home.
John 1:14, speaking of Jesus’ coming, tells us, "The Word [of God] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." God proved His words of love to us by coming in person.
The heavens declare the power and love of God. But mankind still questioned, "Is there a God? And if there was, does He love? And does He love me?" And God came in person, that we might have confidence in His love in our lives.
