Let’s start today’s message by talking about confidence. When I was in the Navy, I was a flight weather forecaster, and I gave weather briefings to pilots all the time. If you have ever been around a bunch of military pilots before, you are very aware of what ultra-confident folks they are. I suppose they have to be, really, to be able to do the job they do.
Part of my training was going to school to learn physics and meteorology. Part of my training was to recognize different weather patterns by sight alone. Part of that training consisted of the memorization of many codes, all consisting of numbers and every number meaning something else, depending on where it was placed in the sequence.
That sounds like a lot of technical stuff, doesn’t it? It was. But after we had passed all that, we were given one more bit of training. It was a short and intense course in self-confidence. The chief who was our instructor said that no matter how accurate we were, if we could not convince the pilots at the briefing, we would be reassigned to a lesser duty. So, they gave us this course in self-confidence.
The chief wrote his definition of ‘confidence’ on the blackboard. It said, “To know you are right on.” That’s all it said. But the more I read it, the more it said to me. It was like a light switch that someone came along and turned on. It finally made perfect sense.
To know you are right on. I wonder how many Christians know if they are truly right on or not. I wonder if very many of us have that kind of self-confidence. How can we tell if we do or not? Is there some kind of gauge we can use?
The next time you are in an airport waiting for a flight, look at the people around you. There will be two types of people. There will be those whose tickets have already been confirmed, and there will be those flying stand-by. The ones who have confirmed tickets have absolute knowledge that they will be able to get a seat on that plane. These people will be reading newspapers; talking to loved ones on the phone; or spending their time in some other relaxed way. These people have assurance, and therefore, they have the confidence level of that assurance.
Those flying stand-by will not know if they can board that plane until the actual minute of boarding. These people cannot relax. If they don’t get on this plane, they will be late getting to where they are going; or they will have to wait for hours for another plane. They will be pacing back and forth. They will be agitated for the most part. These people do not have any assurance, all they have is a ‘maybe’.
MATTHEW 7:21 says,
‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who in heaven.’
When we think about whether or not we will be going to heaven, how do we act? Do we act with the confidence of having a confirmed ticket, or do we act like we have a stand-by ticket and might not get in?
Today, I want to talk about how we can have the assurance we sing about; the confidant air of a true Christian. Let me ask you a question. If you knew that in 15 minutes, you were going to be standing before the judgment seat of God, are you confident that you will be invited in, or will He quote …
MATTHEW 7:22 to you …
‘I never knew you – away from Me, you evildoers!’
I wonder if you are sitting here this morning with any doubt at all in your mind as to what God would say to you. In your mind, are you the relaxed ticket-holder who is confirmed, or in your mind are you pacing back and forth nervously like the ticket-holder that is flying stand-by? I cannot help but think how surprised we would all be to know just how many of us might be nervously pacing, awaiting a judgment that we are not sure of.
Many Christians doubt because people always keep telling them how wrong they are, or how many mistakes they keep making and they accept it. We all make mistakes and none of us are right – but as wrong as we are and as many mistakes as we make, there is one thing that overcomes it all; God’s loving forgiveness.
I know I speak a lot on having a humbled heart, and some of you might be tired of it by now, but here is the bottom line. If you have truly humbled your heart to God Almighty, through Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will be saved. It will not matter how many mistakes you made, because your heart will compel you to keep relying on God to get you past them – and He will!
But, if you are proud and have not humbled your heart to Him, you probably are not saved, and you stand a very real risk of Him telling you to get away from Him. Now, there are ways for us to examine ourselves to make sure we are saved. Today, I am going to talk about three of those ways.
The first way is having an attitude of …
1. HUMILITY
The first thing we must do is display an attitude of humility to God.
MATTHEW 5:3 –
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
This verse speaks volumes. The first thing it tells us is that there are two groups of people; the blessed and the unblessed. Who are blessed? The blessed are those who are poor in spirit, or the ones with truly humbled hearts. That leaves only one group of people, the people who are NOT blessed. Those are the ones who have not humbled their hearts; the ones whose hearts are still full of self-pride. The blessed are headed to Heaven. The unblessed are … well, they aren’t.
We could use that verse alone as a benchmark to see if we are really saved. All you would have to do is determine where you heart is. Not where you might tell other people where it is, but where you know it is.
The word ‘blessed’ comes from the Greek word Makarios (Măk ă rē’ ōs). The word means happy. That is where we get our word ‘bliss’. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, He means Happy are those who have humbled their hearts to Him.
The first thing we think of when we say the poor in spirit, is a person who is lacking. We think of a person in need. But that is the world’s concept of poor. Think of it this way: You have a dollar bill. I have a hundred dollar bill. If I were to offer you my $100. if you would give up your $1., would you do it? If you did, you would be sacrificing something and in return, you would be getting much more than you ever had before.
But … and that is the hardest part for many, they cannot see that far ahead, all they can do is focus on giving up their dollar. And by doing so, they will never inherit the $100. Likewise, by holding on so tightly to their own hearts, they fail to see that they cannot really receive Jesus or His abundance. It would be much easier to understand if it said something like, “Happy are the rich in spirit”.
Poor in spirit. This is the opposite of self-sufficiency. It tells us of a person who has realized their total hopelessness and have become aware of their separation from God. It tells us of a person who comes to know the reality of it all and has chosen to literally surrender all to Jesus.
Too many times, we satisfy ourselves that we are okay because we don’t drink and we don’t chew – and we don’t go with those that do. But that is merely a game we play with ourselves. We know when we are not right, yet we don’t always do anything about it because it is unchartered territory, and it would require us to trust in someone other than ourselves. Many people cannot do that.
As I have said before, you have either given all of your heart to God, or you haven’t given Him any of it. Either you have become poor in spirit, or you are still full of self-pride.
LUKE 18:9-14 -
‘To some who were confident in their own righteousness, and looked down on everyone else; Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Then, Jesus said – “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
How it cuts the heart to see those who have not humbled themselves and yet pretend to be devout Christians. All of us have seen them. My one plea every single day is, “God, how can I help them?”
When a person surrenders their hearts, they are given a unique calling from God. Have you ever thought about what your distinct calling is? Many people say they are called to be a Christian. The word ‘Christian” means to be like Christ. Christ touched others for God’s glory. If we are like Christ, don’t you think we should be doing the same? If you take the word ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christian’, you don’t have anything left, do you? If you take Christ out of your heart, what do you have left? Nothing.
A few weeks ago, I told an illustration of sheep in the Scottish Highlands who would go into places they couldn’t get out of so they could eat sweet grass. They would be out on this narrow ledge, with a cliff within a few feet of them that would drop hundreds of feet.
If the shepherd jumped down there to save the sheep, the sheep would run to protect itself and in so doing, it would run off the edge – killing itself. The shepherd waits until the sheep has eaten its full, and then literally wears itself out trying to get back but can’t. Finally the sheep will lay down and start bleating. It is a cry for help. The shepherd waits until the sheep is so weak it cannot run, then he goes and saves the sheep from itself.
Please listen carefully as to how this equates to our spiritual lives.
When we wander off to do those things we want to do, we end up in a dangerous place that we cannot get back from by ourselves. We deceive only ourselves when we say we are in no danger. It is only when we show the humility of the sheep, who is calling for help, that our shepherd, the Good Shepherd, comes down to lovingly save us.
It all starts with a heart that has been weakened in humility. So the first way to see if we are saved is to check our attitude; to make sure it is an attitude of humility.
The second way is having an attitude of …
2. REPENTANCE
MATTHEW 5:4 says,
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’
Again, this verse seems to give us the idea that those who mourn are the unhappy or hurting. We would think it should say, “Happy are those who laugh and rejoice.”
What does Jesus mean when He says “blessed are those who mourn?” Jesus means that for those persons who mourn over their sinful lives and grieve over how they have been separated from God in their hearts, they will receive blessings because of their attitude of repentance. Now, that seems to help us understand it better, doesn’t it?
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” When we hurt because we have been so sinful, we release all the pride from our hearts and we become empty. That is where we need to be for Jesus to enter in. And when He enters in, we will be blessed because He will be led to salvation.
That isn’t talking about being sorry you did something and got caught, but being full of Godly sorrow that you sinned against Him.
PSALM 51:4 explains how David felt.
‘Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight – so You are right in Your verdict, and justified when You judge.’
David knew the sorrow of his ungodly heart, and he repented out of that sorrow. He mourned and He was comforted by God’s loving forgiveness. But how did that start? It started when David had an attitude of humility, and an attitude of repentance.
In PSALM 51:17, David says –
‘A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.’
The devil shows us all the sin in our lives and then asks us how we can be Christians with all that we have done. The devil tells us that we have been so bad that God doesn’t even want us anymore. But is that the truth? What does the Bible tells us about what God will do?
In ZECHARIAH 3:3-4,
‘Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.’
The devil was accusing Zechariah of sin, but the Lord rebuked the devil. The devil stands ready to accuse you, too, but if your heart is in Jesus, fully and humbly, the Lord will rebuke the devil for your sake, too. See, it doesn’t ever matter where you have been or what you have done; it only matters where you are and what you are doing now – for God.
In his retirement, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. Before long, students began rioting and demonstrating. The following day, the University’s board met, and there was Thomas Jefferson. He met with the leaders of the riot. As he began to address them, he was caught up in emotion over what happened at the university he loved so much.
The rioters all quietly apologized and said there would be no more riots. One later said that it wasn’t Mr. Jefferson’s words that changed their hearts, it was his tears. Just like the students were moved by Jefferson’s brokenness, so is God by ours.
The third way we can check our salvation is through an attitude of …
3. SUBMISSION
MATTHEW 5:5 –
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.’
It seems like it should read, “Happy are the strong”, doesn’t it? But don’t think that meek means weak. Mr. Rogers, was a very meek man, but he showed in World War II, that he was not weak. He won medals for his courage and braveness in the Pacific front. Captain Kangaroo was meek, but he wasn’t weak either. He was Mr. Rogers’ platoon sergeant, and he received medals for his bravery and leadership. Too many of us see the word meek, and believe that we are supposed to be wimps, afraid to do anything about the sin around us.
Jesus was meek, yet He turned over tables in the Temple Courts because of the sin that had been brought there. Why did He do that? Because He could not stand by and see sinful hearts operating in His Father’s house.
I think the greatest example of submission and obedience was when Jesus willingly died the horrible death on the cross – for us
Let me read the main text today. It is found in PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8
‘In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.
Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!’
Jesus had the power to instantly call upon angels to come to his rescue. But he did not. He had the power to kill all of his enemies. But he did not. Jesus had the power, but Jesus was also meek. He did what he had to do, for the glory of God, and for the love of mankind.
Would the Victory Singers please come back on stage?
In closing, let me remind you that you do not have to sit and wonder whether you are really saved or not. You do not have to wonder if our Lord will invite you into heaven or not. You can go to heaven if you posses these three things.
···· an attitude of humility - to Jesus.
···· an attitude of repentance - for your sins.
···· an attitude of submission – to His will.
It all starts with a decision made in your heart: A decision to finally surrender. To surrender to Jesus Christ, giving your will away to Him. I firmly believe that each Christian should fervently pray this prayer daily;
‘Dear Lord, please put me in a situation today that I literally cannot get through unless I rely fully on you to lead me through it.’
In GALATIANS 5:25 it says we live by the Spirit. And we are told what the fruits of the Spirit are in GALATIANS 5:22-23,
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.’
So, let me ask you again. What are the feelings down in your heart? Are you relaxed and have the constant assurance of one who has a confirmed ticket to a destination of bliss, or are you nervously pacing, uneasy in all you do because you just don’t know if you will get there or not?
There is one sure fire way of making sure. That way is Jesus Christ. You have a decision to make today, and I pray that you make it for Jesus – finally and totally.
INVITATION
