The Look Of Confidence

Nothing worse than a cocky person. You know him; struts like a rooster thinking he’s all that and so full and sure of himself. I’ve been accused of being cocky; been guilty of it too. Oftentimes we cocky ones respond with, “I’m not cocky; I’m confident.”

Confidence can be a great characteristic to have but it is all dependent upon the reason for one’s confidence. If your only source of confidence is your abilities, then I don’t give you a half-a-hallelujah of having eternal confidence.

There’s a difference you know? Let me show you how the Bible describes confidence. There was no more confident man than the Apostle Paul, but you can read where he states that he was not easy on the eyes nor was he an eloquent speaker. But his confidence was grounded in aletheia truth. Look what he told the Corinthian church:

    “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:5-6)

Paul was speaking of our assurance as Christians of being resurrected, not because of anything we have done, but because of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross and our trusting Him for our future. It is that trust in God that allows us to face an uncertain future of even certain disaster with confidence that in the end all will work out for the glory of God. Why? Because He is in control and we can trust Him!

Did you know that you are never more in control or even intimidating to others than when you are trusting God? The Bible has many examples of this, too many to list, but a few this morning are in order. Remember the Prophet Elijah’s victory against the 450 prophets of Baal? Elijah challenged them to a contest and he was so confident in God that he made the lighting of his sacrifice beyond human possibilities:

    “And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, ‘Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it a second time,’ and they did it a second time; and he said, ‘Do it a third time,’ and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.” (1 Kings 18:33-35)

We all remember Stephen’s boldness before the Council. His strong words meant certain death, and unlike most of us he did not mince God’s truth:

    “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” (Acts 7:51-53)

Last and certainly not least is our Lord Jesus’ quiet confidence before both Herod and Pilate. These men imagined themselves powerful, and in some respects they were. However, they were no match for King Jesus and they knew that not knowing why. Major W. Ian Thomas describes it for us:

    “It was the look upon the face of the Lord Jesus Christ which, perhaps more than anything else, frightened Herod and Pontius Pilate on that day when Jesus stood trial before them, and yielded to false accusations and to the cries of the crowd to crucify Him. A bad conscience is always uneasy in the presence of truth. You may shoot truth between the eyes when it looks you quietly in the face, but it will not be truth which falls victim to your bullet…That is why you can now be at peace with God, enjoying a peace that gives you that sense of quiet, unflinching confidence, a confidence that comes only from God, through your trust in Him.”

Do you know that peace? Do you have that confidence? If you claim to be a Christian and do not understand what I’m writing about, then it is most likely you have never truly been saved. Or there may have been a moment or an event in your life that made you believe you were saved, but where is the evidence? You should have the quiet assurance of your salvation and that eternity is a guarantee bought with the price of Jesus’ precious blood.

If you do not have that blessed assurance then that look of confidence you think you have is nothing more that human cockiness. That is worthless currency in the Kingdom of God. You need Jesus. Please call on Him right now to save you. Confess your sins, acknowledge Christ’s subsitutionary work on the cross for your sins, and by faith believe on Him for salvation. Repent of your past and turn to King Jesus to be your Lord. I pray you do that right now.

I also pray that all of you have a very blessed and restful weekend and please remember to go to church on Sunday.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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Copyright © 2012 David Jeffers

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