CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE

Psalm 27:3  …In this will I be confident.

Why was King Saul’s army standing down, backing off, and cowering in fear, while a visiting shepherd lad was standing up, moving forward, and facing the Goliath challenge?

Eye witnesses reported that as David ran toward Goliath he shouted, “THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S!”  After a spicy exchange of words with his nemesis, the shepherd loaded his sling and let fly a perfectly targeted stone that dropped Goliath with a history changing thud.

What was it that David possessed that Saul and his men did not?

It wasn’t military experience.  David was a shepherd.

It wasn’t armor. David spurned Saul’s offer for his uniform.

It wasn’t weapons. David chose to take only his sling.

It wasn’t encouragement.  David’s brothers scorned his offer to meet Goliath on the battlefield and King Saul was doubtful of the outcome.

It was confidence that moved David to the frontline of the battle.

But David’s confidence was not grounded in his skillset (though he had practiced target shooting with his sling for years). 

David’s confidence was not simply based on his conviction that his cause was right. He’d seen good causes falter.

David’s confidence sprang from his unshakable faith—not in himself, nor in his cause—but in his God! 

Hear David as he dashes toward the giant,

“…I come to you IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OF HOSTS, the God of the armies of Israel

…This day THE LORD WILL DELIVER you into my hand

…that all the earth may know THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL.

…all this assembly shall know that THE LORD SAVES not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands…”  1 Samuel 17:45ff.

Peering from their hiding places, hundreds of Saul’s soldiers watched as the giant fell to the earth.  Emboldened by David’s triumph, they emerged from hiding and joined in routing the Philistines.  

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Thoughtful observers of the Church in America are troubled as they witness not only declining numbers (From a weekly Sunday attendance of 40% in 1970 to 17% today), but diminishing influence, decaying allegiance to God Word, and disappearing discipleship.  We are seeing more degeneration than regeneration.

What makes it all the more shocking is that we are suffering these losses at a time when our Churches have better buildings, impressive schools, and an arsenal of outreach tools unparalleled in all the history of Christendom.  We can literally reach the world by the phones we all hold in our hands.

Ours is not a crisis of competence.  Ours is not a crisis of insufficient capital. Ours is a crisis of confidence! 

Like Saul’s army, we cower in fear and uncertainty at the precise moment that the enemy is threatening us.  We shake our heads in bewilderment.  We back away from commitments that we once held with conviction. We look around at others and rather than standing strong, we follow the crowd.

We talk and talk and talk about the Word of God, but few of us trust and trust and trust the Word of God.

Christian Confidence is not grounded in our greatness, it is founded on the greatness of the true and living God.

Christian Confidence is not built on our assertions, it is based on the plain truths of the infallible inerrant Word of God.

Christian Confidence is not based on hearsay evidence, it is based on the immediate witness of the Holy Spirit with our Spirit testifying, “this is the way, walk ye in it!”

The Apostle Paul exuded Christian Confidence. 

Keenly aware of his sinful past, “I am the chiefest of sinners,”

defeated by his carnal heart, “O wretched man that I am,”

painfully mindful of his human frailty, “I will glory in my infirmities,”  

and humbled by repeated rejection “no man stood with me, but all men forsook me,” the Apostle finally affirmed “I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12).

The Apostle’s unshakable confidence was centered in Christ.  He met Him on the road to Damascus.  He knew Him. He loved Him. He humbly and joyfully submitted to Him.  “For me to live is Christ!” he testified.

And here is the secret to our Christian Confidence.  We too must meet Him.  We too must know Him.  We too must love Him. And we too must humbly and joyfully submit to Him in everything. 

“Jesus promised his disciples three things,” wrote G. K. Chesterton, “that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.”  To his list we might add “perfectly confident.”

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