Upside Down Church- Confidence

Upside Down Church

Upside Down Confidence

Psalm 27:1-6

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. 4 One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Introduction

Have you ever been confident about something? Have you ever been confident in something, only to find out that your confidence was misguided?

A.Our Confidence rests in ourselves

1.We learn to distrust others

2.We learn to watch out for ourselves

3.We learn that life revolves around US!

B.Our Confidence should be in God and His Finished Work

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

God’s blessing rests on those who are willing to remove confidence in themselves and place it on God.

Hebrews 4:16 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

When we place our confidence in God we can access the grace and mercy that He provides.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Our confidence is not based on what is visual, but rather in what is hoped for! (Jesus Christ)

We are not who we are because of our Good Work, but because of His Good Work

1 John 5:14 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

We can be confident because of Christ’s work, that when we approach Him in prayer, He will be there with us and fighting for us.

C.Communion is a reminder of what Jesus did.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1.When Jesus instituted communion it was prior to him fulfilling the work of Calvary. – He knew what would lie ahead of them would be so complicated and confusing that they would need to be able to constantly be brought back to who their confidence rested in.

2.Jesus wanted to remind the disciples that regardless of the hardship they faced, they must remember that it was God that would fight their battles and be with them through it all. We do not trust in our ability, we trust in His ability. We do not rely upon our Work, we rely upon His Work!

3.Communion is a moment in your life when you can reflect upon your life and realize your great need for Christ, but more than that, it is a time when we pause and reflect upon the Work that Christ did on the Cross. When we partake in communion we are saying, God, I place my confidence in what you did! I remember Your Sacrifice on Calvary.