SERMON - ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN HIM

Are You Confident

In

HIM

Hebrews 10: ³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." ³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

These verses were addressed to some of the most harassed, tried and suffering Christians on earth. These Christians had walked faithfully in the fear of God. They were repentant and looked for the coming of our Lord. They trusted in God who is the faithful that promised.

These Christians had also taken to heart all warnings against apostasy knowing of the many who had fallen away and would be seen as those devoured by Satan.

Just as these Christians were set against as they were subjected to terrible persecution, we too must face that possibility. They had faced all types of afflictions, endured character assignation, had their property seized and were poverty stricken.

These terrible hardships fell on those Christians immediately after they were illuminated.

Hebrews 10: ³²Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.

Think on this particular verse.

Many ask, ‘Why do some Christians seem to breeze through life? I see Christians who never seem to suffer and only seem to prosper. They always look happy as if they have no problems at all.’

You might have also asked yourself, ‘What’s wrong with me?  Why must I be the one to endure one difficulty after another since I gave my all to Jesus? When I was cold and lukewarm in faith everything seemed OK. It was not until I got serious in my faith that such hardships began...

To have “received the light” is to have been ‘illuminated.’    It was after you saw the light that you truly opened your life to Jesus and were flooded with His light that your troubles began!

Brothers and sisters you must realize that Satan attacks Christians in accordance to the ‘measure of light’ we receive and walk in. Satan aims his afflictions towards those who walk in the light of Jesus; who love the light and embrace all that Christ has for them.

Christians who have no part in darkness and have ‘laid hold’ on faith have been named as ‘endurers.’ They have become soldiers of God who walk in the full assurance of faith. It is because of this that Satan has targeted them for the most vicious of attacks.

Satan seeks to make everything in the lives of those that are God’s warriors to seem as obstacles that cannot be overcome. Satan seeks to make them believe that even their prayers to God go unanswered.

At such times your heart can whisper condemnation of yourself!

“If only I believed more righteously, if only I were closer to Jesus, if my thoughts were not so evil…if, if, if.”

Do not fall prey to Satan and his evil thoughts!  Even as the Hebrews who were under attack do as they did. Endure in your faith!

Satan’s main objective is to douse the light of Jesus that has illuminated your heart. Douse it or dim it, but make you doubt in our Lord.

Show me a Christian that has burst out of Satan’s darkness and I will show you a Christian who is in for the fight of  his/her life for his/her very soul!

Any Christian that truly has invited Jesus Christ is, in all probability, in that fight this very moment. You must realize that it is a certain fact that the greater your confidence in Him, the greater your trust in Him is the ‘why’ behind Satan’s determined  attacks and his having aimed the powers of hell to drag you into fear and unbelief.

Hebrews 10: ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

To ‘persevere’ is to exhibit ‘patience.’ Simply put, in order to receive God’s promises you must not fall into Satan’s trap. Satan’s trap, properly identified, is ‘impatience with God.’

After a long period of affliction, even with you praying, Satan plants a thought in your mind. “God knows you have trusted Him and you have been faithful to Him. Although you have trusted Him, where is He when you need Him? Why hasn’t He heard you and helped you? Is this how He treats His servants?”

It is this very same tactic Satan uses on many Christians that walk in the light. He tries to instill in you the thoughts of, “I am going to lose my job, my home, my health, my savings. Where is He? Just how much patience am I supposed to exhibit?”

Each of us must realize that we must have the willingness to allow God to act in His own time and not ours!

Hebrews 10: ³⁷For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.

In our minds it may seem as if God is late if He does not respond to our every need right away! But, just as Jesus told Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus and Jairus, whose daughter had died, after being told, “You are too late,” and ordered Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus, “RISE,” and they were brought back to life. The lesson is, HE DID IT IN HIS TIME NOT IN THEIRS!

If each of us is totally honest we must admit to placing more confidence in other men and women in our time of need than we do in God.  We often spend hours, days, and weeks trying to solve problems. We often resort to manipulation and working countless angles to arrive at answers we think to solve the problem.

Micah 7:  ⁵ Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace        be careful of your words.

And,

Micah 7:  ⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior;        my God will hear me.

There are very few Christians who doubt the Jesus is the source of their every need but they do not have confidence and assurance that they will receive their need. They have forgotten a simple but very meaningful Word of God. He is concerned and knows of your needs.

Matthew 6: ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

God truly cares for each of us.

1 Peter 5: ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

If you truly want to bring pleasure to our Lord then you must give Him your total confidence and do not waver in your faith and keep His promises in your mind and heart.

Hebrews 10: ³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

(Closing prayer)

Abba, Almighty God, Creator of all there is we come to You with praise of You and Your awesome power. You have created all with a wave of Your hand and we ask that You accept our worship. We are Your children and seek to have You in our lives for eternity. To You we say, Holy, Holy, Holy. Holy are You Lord, King of all there is.

Lord, we often are guilty of impatience asking for things in our own time frames instead of allowing You to act in Your own time. Please forgive us this weakness and instill is us a calm patience that is pleasing to You. You have that power Lord and we ask that it be Your will we seek to fulfill and not our own.

Father we also ask for Your blessings on our efforts to restore our nation to what You bestowed upon our forefathers. We pray asking that You be our Guide in all of our actions and if we are in error that You guide our paths.

Lord, protect us from the evils of Satan and put the thoughts of righteousness foremost in our minds and hearts.

In Jesus’ name we pray who is One with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever,

Amen, amen and amen.

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Pastor Lee S Gliddon Jr
God's Word Christian Ministry
Conservative Patriot http://conpats.blogspot.com