Confidence in God

 Instilling self-confidence in a child is an essential task for a parent. If the child doubts their self-worth, it will be an ongoing problem in adulthood. However, it is even more important to instill another kind of confidence. This is the confidence that God gives us that we belong to him and that nothing can take us away from him. We get this confidence when we give our heart to him—at our conversion. Paul wrote to Ephesians: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

The helmet of salvation is the assurance of salvation. Any helmet gives us confidence that we are protected to some degree. This helmet enables us to stand and fight in a spiritual war. This confidence is that God will not will not abandon us. The work he began will continue until he has done what he intended to do in our lives. He does not walk away from his projects. He doesn’t leave us like an abandoned building project that went belly-up. He finishes the job.

Christians with that helmet have spiritual confidence in their God, not themselves. Do you need that confidence? Do you need help to refute the lies that you belong to the king? Do you doubt that you matter? Do you doubt your worth to Him? Then, reach for your helmet and put it on.

Paul encouraged the Ephesians to take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible. We must understand that when we take up God’s Word to fight spiritual warfare, we have the weapon that defends us and enables us to fight. When Satan attacked Jesus in the desert, he tempted him three times. But each time, Christ responded from the Scriptures. If Christ, in battle with Satan, used the sword of the Spirit, how much more should we. Moses told Israel that the scriptures are not idle words, but they are your life (Deuteronomy 32:47).

The simple preaching and teaching of God’s Word will change lives. Yet many pastors do not expound its truths. It is a great deal of work to extract the truths and let them speak to your soul before sharing them with others. Second, it is far easier to speak about what is trending and what everyone else is talking about. Third, sharing something nobody else is saying is exciting. This can be done by stringing together illustrations and stories that grab people’s emotions. Sadly, this will not prepare people for the battle they are facing. They need to hear the truth of God’s Word. It must speak to them!

We are at war and must not keep the sword in the sheath simply because our culture tells us that it is irrelevant. Today, pastors are afraid to say what the Bible says for fear of ridicule. Our culture has become the umpire of what is right and wrong. How shameful this is! We must be Jeremiah or Ezekiel who stand and speak God’s Word even though those who hear it don’t like what it says.

The Down Payment

Those of us who have purchased a home know the thrill of buying your own home. We have saved and dreamed of this moment, and it has finally come. Most of us did this by putting down a down payment. When God redeemed us from sin and saved us from our own destruction, he put a down payment on our redemption. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph 1:13). This happened when we believed when we placed our faith in Jesus as our savior.

The seal not only assures us that we are his but also assures us of his protection. Our Lord owns us, and we are protected until the great day of redemption. Along with his mark, the Holy Spirit serves as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. This down payment announces that more of the same will be coming—this is the first installment. God redeems us and promises to bring us to full redemption with our bodies, minds, and spirits and as citizens of heaven where there is no more sin, sorrow, and death.

When my family and I left for Argentina as missionaries for the first time, we took crates marked in giant letters, “Boyd Brooks, Buenos Aires.” I later built cabinets for our house out of the plywood of these crates. That was always a reminder of our destination. Those crates left Oakland, California, bound for Buenos Aires; it was stamped on every crate. God did that for us when we believed and trusted Jesus for salvation.

The best we have ever experienced in coming to know Christ is a foretaste of what is to come. The day we experienced freedom from shame and guilt and knew our sins were forgiven was just the beginning. This seal of the Holy Spirit guarantees that God will give us the rest of our inheritance and keep his promises.

We are “God’s possession.” This message inspired Israel as a young nation: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession” (Deut 14:2). We too are reminded that we are God’s possession and have his mark of ownership and destination in our lives.