New Confidence

New Confidence

This Sunday at CDC, we had the privilege of our chosen camp speaker for 2007, brother Eric Tan, give us the message from Philippians 3:1-9 on the topic “New Confidence.”

Starting off the message, brother Eric gave us the picture of a man who had fallen off a steep cliff, and hung precariously on some branches for dear life. Calling out in desperation, the man cried “Is there anyone up there?” And God replied “I am here”. “God, can you help me out of this situation?” he cried. And God replied “Yes, I can. Just trust me, and let go.” After a few moments of thought, the man cried again “Is anyone else up there?”

The topic of the morning was on confidence, and the man in the story did not have sufficient confidence to trust God. In contrast to this, brother Eric shared an event he saw in his friend’s house in Singapore. His friend called to his seven year old son “Jump, son”, and the son jumped off the stairs into the hands of his father. The son has complete confidence that his father would catch him.

…. it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh Phil 1:3

Today, most people in the world have confidence, but there is false confidence and there is new confidence. Most people are confident today in their money, job, families, spouses, children, pastors, technology, education, skills, and even themselves. Yet, all these things are all of the flesh, and the apostle Paul explains that we who are in Christ Jesus do not put our hopes in all these things.

….. I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. Philippians 1:4-6

Using himself as an example, Paul explains that from a typical Jewish point of view, he has every reason to be confident in himself. He was circumcised on the eight day, the first sign of a true Jew. Furthermore, he was a pure Israelite, and a Benjamite! The tribe of Benjamin was a noble tribe in Israel, being traced to Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, and the Benjamites stayed with Judah when the rest of Israel broke away. As a Pharisee, he was an expert of the law, and he was passionate for his God, persecuting the church which he perceived to be a threat to God’s honor. Finally, he was faultlessly obedient to the laws of Moses. As a Jew, he had all the credentials and prestige anyone could wish for. Yet, Paul recognized that all this was actually nothing, even considering them rubbish when compared to the glory of Christ.

 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Philippians 1:7-9

The nemesis of confidence is worry and fear, and our greatest fear is usually our uncertainty of the future. Yet, our Christian faith is centred on our confidence of Jesus Christ, because we know that “He holds tomorrow”! Our health, our families, our jobs, and everything else on earth may fail, but if we hold on to our confidence in Jesus Christ, we will stand secure!

In conclusion, brother Eric pointed out two fundamental pillars that we must have in building our confidence in our Lord. The first pillar is Relationship. Paul considered everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord! The more we spend time reading His Word and praying, we will draw closer to Jesus, and our confidence in Him will grow as we know Him more and more as our gracious and loving Lord. The second pillar is Righteousness. Paul talks about a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, that is given by God, and not earned by anything we can do. As we allow our Lord Jesus to work in us through His Holy Spirit, we will be transformed into a holy people who will do what is right in God’s eyes.

May the Lord help us grow in our confidence and hope in Him, and blossom our relationship with Jesus Christ, and enable us to live righteous lives before Him. In Jesus name, Amen.

God bless,

Jason