Heart of Confidence

We are to develop confidence in God not Ourselves. When we are confident that God can use us for his purpose, no matter the size of the purpose, then we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.

1 Samuel 14:1-23

INTRODUCTION

Today is you open up your bible to 1st Samuel chapter 14.1 just wanted to take a little time to recap what we’ve been going through. We have being going through becoming God’s person. I hope and pray as we go through this series you and I will become more of the person that God wants us to be, the person God wants to use, the Person we should be because of what he has done for us. I want to define again the term god’s person like I did in the 1st week of this study. God’s person is that person God goes too, that person who cannot live without him, that person who knows God won’t stay mad at them, that person God supports in everything.

As we have been learning how to become God’s Person we have looked at the type of a heart The person of God has. The 1st week, the last week of 2020, we talked about the heart of repentance this is the start for every Christian. We must repent of our sin, and that means to turn away from, to go the opposite direction from our sin. It doesn’t mean just to ask for forgiveness. If you don’t think repentance is a big deal, then look at the way John the baptist preached, Repent for the kingdom of god is it hand (Matthew 3:2), or Jesus Christ, Repent for the kingdom of god is it hand (Matthew 4:17). God does not want us to continue to live in sin, and just asked for forgiveness, he wants us to go the other way. This is what we do at salvation.

Then last week we talked about the heart of submission. After repentance, submission is the most important thing we must do. We must learn to take our self and make it smaller and take everything of God and make it bigger, because when we focus on our wants instead of God’s wants we’re not being god’s person, but we are being our own person.

Today as we come to 3rd heart. The heart of confidence. Many people in this room may think that you have this one in check, but I want you to know and understand that when we come in true confidence, with the heart of Christ, it is nothing like this world sees confidence as. In Fact that reminds me of a jokes.

A college youth said to his mother, “I’ve decided that I want to major in Political Science and work towards cleaning up the mess in the world.” “That’s very nice of you,” said his mother. “You could go upstairs and start with your room.”

Lets read 1 Samuel 14 starting with verse 1.

BIBLE VERSE

1 Samuel 14:1–23 ESV

One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba. Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there. Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel. Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.

1. Confidence in Ourselves

Define self-confidence - a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgment.

I want to start with as a Christian It is ok to be Self confident in things you have natural talent in and or worked hard at. For instance I am confident in myself that I can give you a 1st, 2nd, 3rd derivative of a function if one exist. It is something I am good at, but as a Christian I start to see that my self confidence can only exist in the life, talents, and cognitive ability that God has given me.

Therefore I have come to the realization that all my self confidence is completely reliant on God and acknowledged through my confidence in him.

I also believe self confidence often leads us to do things our way not gods. So self confidence can be bad, also. I think Saul was self confident when he made the offering.

I don’t believe he wanted to sin. I think he actually thought he could fix a bad situation. But he didn’t. He made it worse. Self confidence can be a good thing, but only can it be best when we see it through the lens of Confidence in God.

This, I believe is how Jonathan approached the Philistine Army. I am sure he was confident in his abilities of a fighter. But probably not against the whole Army, but he was completely confident in God's ability to use him to win the battle.

ILLUSTRATION

James Dobson tells of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was

walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and

ordered something to eat and a milkshake to wash it down. He balanced it all on top of his

briefcase and began looking for an empty table at which to sit. While looking, the milkshake got

the better of him, and he bent down without looking in order to take a sip from the straw. The straw missed his mouth and ended up in his nose. Embarrassed, but not at a loss, he thought that if he straightened up the straw would stay in the shake. But when he lifted his head, the straw came out of the shake and remained in his nose, dripping the milkshake down the front of his suit. In amoment, all his confidence evaporated. (Source unknown, Lou Nicholes - Missionary/Author).

APPLICATION

Confidence in self can so quickly tun into an embarrassing moment in life. Take Sampson for instance. He was completely self confident and that lead to his pride and arrogance. Incase you don't know the story Sampson's was a super strong man, great worrier, and set aside as God's. But a woman named Delilah (Hey there Delilah) found out his secret was long hair. She cut it off and he became weak. Point is he was confident in his strength but it wasn't actually his, but God’s. Much like James Dobson's friend they were both humiliated. So how do we apply this to our life.

What do you hold in your life that you have self confidence in. Maybe Job, Grades, Strength, Finances, Talents, Health, Children. I don’t know. You would be surprised how many people constantly tell me if I did this or that a church would be huge. They can be so confident in their knowledge and wisdom. I can't tell you how many pastors approach ministry like this. They tackle it with their talents. We do the same with school, jobs, life as a whole. We rely on our own self confidence and talents to navigate it without a thought towards God till something go wrong, Then all of a sudden we are like Jesus take the wheel. Now that my wants, desires, and self confidence has me with a straw up my nose, weak, and in the enemies hands.

But if we would follow Jonathan's direction of trusting in God our lives would be all the batter. Which brings us to our second point.

2. Confident in God

EXPLANATION

Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.9lf they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.

10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”

11So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”

Jonathan and David was such great friends and I believe that grew from both of their hearts, They where both God's person.

God's person is that person God goes too, that person who cannot live without him, that person who knows God won’t stay mad at them, that person God supports in everything.

They both had come to a point in their life where they knew their confidence should be in God not themself. When we arrive at this point we will see that God is trustworthy. He is Someone we can have utmost confidence. Jonathan here use a test to make sure it wasn't self confidence that he walked over there with. Much like Gideon and his fleece. It's good to make sure every day of our life the directions we go come from God and not ourselves. It's good to learn not to trust our ambitions but to have complete confidence in God and his abilities.

ILLUSTRATION

When he was 88, the Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes found himself on a train. The conductor called for tickets, but Justice Holmes couldn’t find his and seemed terribly upset. He searched his pockets and fumbled through his wallet without success. The conductor was sympathetic. “Don’t worry, Mr. Holmes,” he said. “The Pennsylvania Railroad will be happy to trust you. When you reach your destination you’ll probably find the tickets and you can mail it to us.” The conductor’s kindness did not put Holmes at ease. He said, “My dear man, my problem is not ‘Where is my ticket?’ It is ‘Where am I going?’

APPLICATION

Confidence in God is never a bad thing. Our God is ultimate and supreme. In fact I would tell those out there who suffer from self doubt that when we realize all of our abilities, every breathe, our strengths all come from God, and as we can learn from Sampson, and are sustained by God then we can put all confidence in him and walk this earth with a Confidence that will never fail, never lead the wrong direction. I believe as we mature in Christ we should be able to leave behind confidence in self and replace it with utmost confidence in God. Which brings me to an important Last point. Much like Justice Wendell trusted in his ticket for Direction we should only be confident in God who is always there for us. And that brings me to my last point.

3. Confidence in Christ

EXPLANATION

Jonathan not only had confidence in God, he was a type of Christ to the nation of Israel. Don't Get me wrong he wasn’t Christ but like Moses who saved the people of God, like Joesph who saved the people of God, Jonathan, using his confidence in God, saved his people.

6Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

As we see this simularity we need to remember who our confidence is in to enter the Holy of holies

BIBLE VERSE

Hebrews 10:19–22 ESV

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

EXPLANATION (CONTINUED)

Our Confidence should be in Christ for our salvation. This is important to remember that we never saved ourselves. Must like the last verse of the Chapter:23So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.

It is Christ the Lord who saves us. Not our good works, not our wealth, not our self confidence in anything we can do!

Solus Christus - Christ alone

As Huldrych Zwingli, a reformer during the Reformation proclaimed, “Christ is the only way of salvation of all who were, are now, or shall be."

ILLUSTRATION

An American missionary couple and their family were home on furlough, and spending their vacation at a cabin near a lake. They had three children, ages twelve, seven and four. One day the four-year-old slipped away from his brother and sister, went out on the dock to play, and fell into the lake. He didn’t know how to swim and he wasn’t wearing a life jacket. The screams of the two older children alerted the father to the danger. He ran to the dock and the kids pointed to where their brother had fallen in.

The father dove into the lake. He went all the way to the bottom and felt around frantically for his little boy. Finally, he ran out of air, came to the top, took another huge gulp of air, and went down again, searching for his son. On his way down a third time he felt his little boy's leg. He turned and found his four-year-old son with his arms and legs wrapped tightly around one of the pilings, about three feet below the water. The father pried him loose, carried him onto the lawn, and they both caught their breath. After about thirty minutes, when things had calmed down and were restored to normal, the father asked, “Son, what were you doing down there, hanging on to that piling?” The little boy answered, “I was confident that my daddy would rescue me.” (Lou Nicholes, Conquest of the Promised Land, 2004).

APPLICATION

If today you are drowning in life, if today you have no direction, if today God is calling to you put all confidence in him then all you have to do is put your confidence in Christ to Save you from your sin and lead you where you should go. To make him Lord and Savior, if you are a Christian today but you have used your strengths and self confidence to lead you to defeat like Saul, but you want to be like Jonathan then ask God to direct your ever step. Put you faith and trust back in him.