Psalms chapter 27. Thank you for the special singing, special music. And again, I want to thank the visitors for being here today. I always enjoy having visitors and always want a visitor to feel very much at home and welcome. I am by nature not an outgoing person, and I know when I go to a new church or a new place, it always seems to go better if people are warm and welcoming. and you feel comfortable. You're in church and you're gonna hear something about God and God's word, and I'm glad you've come out. If you found your place in Psalms chapter 27, we'll read a few verses here. And this morning, I wanna preach just for a few moments on a godly confidence. Godly confidence, it probably will be two parts to this. We'll just look at the first part this morning. but dealing with a godly confidence. Psalms chapter 27, notice with me in verse number one, it says, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Verse four, one thing I have desired of the Lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. He says, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. And verse number five, for in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion and the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me, he shall set me up upon a rock. Heavenly Father, we bow before you this morning and we thank you for the day that you've made. Father, I wanna ask especially to be with our prayer petition that has been brought up before you. I ask that you would be with the individuals. The names have been called out and Father, the feeling and Father, the healing and the strength that the individuals need. I pray that you would be with them and especially bless them, watch over them today and give them a special day today. ask you to answer those prayers in accordance to your will. But Father, be with this message, be with the hearts of the people that have come out, that have chosen to be here. And I pray this morning that you would instill a confidence that only comes from you and from your word. Be with our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit not to be resistant this morning, but allow him to be welcomed into our lives, into our minds, and Father, especially our hearts, that it may teach us, to guide us. And Father, I pray that just give us a special moment around your word. Be with me, fill me with your Holy Spirit. And Father, we ask these things in Jesus Christ's name we pray, amen. Dealing this morning with confidence, I have written in my introduction to ask a question, have you ever spent time with or around a confident person or an individual? You might even be a confident person. There's different types of people, and I am not by nature a very confident individual. There's things that I'm confident in, And no, but I am by nature, not just some people just have all the confidence in the world. And you think, man, I wish I had that that type of confidence. Well, I know in a setting or a situation dealing with a work related situation, it's always nice to work with somebody who's very confident and competent. in their workability at the job site. You ever get around somebody that just seems to lack confidence, or the competence, I'm going to use that word, the knowledge of knowing how to do their job, and it seems to be a struggle. And so somebody has to pick up the pieces, pick up the pace, or fill in the gaps, you might say. But if you're around somebody who has confidence, it's pretty interesting and amazing to experience. I like to be around confident people. It builds my confidence, not only myself, but with what we're doing. And so it's always important. Over the years, I've had the blessing to work around people who were very confident at what they did. And so there have been times when people ask me, wow, the job that you do, where did you learn how to do it? By confident people, but confidence. People had confidence in what they knew, and they passed along that knowledge, And it's always a pleasure or always need to see somebody or an individual who has that confidence. Well, this morning, let's deal with a confidence, but on a godly level, let me ask, what about being confident as a Christian this morning? Let's ask ourselves this morning, am I confident in my Christianity? with what I know or realize or understand that I have and enjoy in Christ. Now I understand this morning there might be somebody sitting here that isn't, maybe calls themselves a Christian, or has never put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, or the cross, or the work, or the death, burial, and resurrection. And so we would, the Bible terms that individual that has not been regenerated or been born again spiritually. And so, to have confidence as a Christian, though, is so important. How much confidence do you have in God or God's word, or just simply being a born-again Christian? Let me say this about being confident. Trusting God and God's word gives you confidence as a Christian. This is where godly confidence comes from. You say, well, I thought it might be in attending church. It probably doesn't hurt, and that's a good thing, the meat of the matter, the power comes, the confidence comes from God and God's Word. And so we see this trusting in God. Let me say this about the contrast to confidence. Sin will rob you of your confidence in God. Sin will destroy your confidence in God's way and God's word. And in your life as a child of God, a Christian, if you claim to be a Christian here this morning, hopefully you do, but if you notice that you allow your relationship the relationship side that you have with God that you enjoy, if it grows cold, if it grows kind of distant, you'll notice that sin begins to take over, the flesh begins to take over, and your relationship with God gets kind of put on the back burner. Your confidence in the things of God or God himself will wax colder and colder. And I made that statement, sin definitely will indeed rob you of your confidence in God. Let me say this about the word confident or the words confident and confidence. We'll be looking at two of them this morning, both of them. They appear several times in the Bible and they remind us that God wants you and I to be confident in him and his word. And so we're going to look at some verses this morning. This godly confidence is not manufactured in our own strength. It's not manufactured from us or something we conjure up, but it's God-given. It's given by God. We're there in Psalms. Let's notice three things here, and then we'll move to 2 Corinthians. But notice first where we read. In Psalms 27, if you look at the verses carefully, look at verse one again with me, and we'll expound upon these verses. And it deals with three things here, but notice with me, a confident hope, number one, It's good to know and to have confidence and a hope. Now watch this, and he deals with this in verse one. The Lord is my light, number one, and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? This is an individual who has put full trust, full confidence in their God. And it's the same God that I put my confidence and trust in this morning. Hopefully you do as well. But notice three things. Number one, we see his spiritual illumination. We could call it my spiritual illumination. Notice with me. He says, the Lord is my light. I couldn't help but think of some verses that are found in the New Testament. If you look at John, St. John chapter one, let me read it for you. Chapter five, it says, in the light shineth in darkness, speaking of Jesus Christ as being the light of the world. And it says that in the darkness comprehended it not. This is the situation or the status of Jesus Christ. Not just God, but the Lord Jesus Christ whom we preach. And he is the light here, it is true. In Psalms chapter 27, the Lord is my light. If you're saved here this morning, the Lord is your light. And so we see another place in 1 John 1, verse seven, he says this about the light. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses thus, from all sin, that's 1 John 1, 7. Speaking of our spiritual illumination, the light that God gives, we need to have confidence in this illumination that God gives through his Holy Spirit. But there's something else here. Not only does he say in verse one, the Lord is my light, but he says, and my salvation. This speaks of your salvation. You know, this morning, my salvation that I enjoy in Christ, and that you enjoy if you're saved, it comes from Christ. It comes from God. It doesn't come from being a church member, I should say. It doesn't come from being water baptized. It doesn't come from putting money in an offering plate. It doesn't come from good works that we could muster up in ourselves. but it comes from Jesus Christ and him crucified. And he said that he had purchased us with his own blood or the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. And so this salvation, my salvation and your salvation, it comes from the Lord. We should have a confidence. We should have our hope in the salvation that we have this morning. I'm speaking or preaching this morning on godly confidence. Where is our godly confidence in our salvation or what the Spirit gives us? But there's something else here, not only light or the illumination, you might say, but our salvation. But he goes on and he says, in verse one again, he says, and whom shall I fear? The question, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? We see that our strength, Our strength comes from the Lord. Now you'll find there is a difference between man's strength, man's ability, and God's strength and God's ability. God's ability seems to be very much at ease in a trial. in a struggle, in a tribulation, because God is the ultimate source of that power and that strength. And here the writer is saying in Psalms, this verse 1 in Psalms 27, that the Lord is my strength and he's my life, of whom shall I be afraid? So we see spiritual illumination, we see our salvation and we see our strength all broken down here in this first verse. Turn with me now to 2 Corinthians. Let's go to the New Testament, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians chapter five. We're dealing with a godly confidence and we understand the Bible has a lot to say on this. Let's look at another place here, 2 Corinthians chapter five. 2 Corinthians chapter five, not only do we have a confident hope, but we have a confident anticipation. We are waiting, we are anticipating something that God has promised us. Now notice in 2 Corinthians 5, if you would, in verse 6, down through 10, starting in verse 6, therefore, we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. That's a powerful verse right there, verse seven. If you're a child of God, God has chosen his children to walk by faith rather than sight. So why would you do that? Well, if you're walking by sight, you notice that your confidence is gonna have to be in yourself. If you walk by faith, you're confident Confidence is gonna have to be in something else, that's God, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says this here, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Well, watch this in verse eight, we are confident, he says it again, I say in willing, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. He says here, wherefore, we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body. He says, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. The judgment seat of Christ for the Bible student this morning. I always try to give a little tidbit. This is a saved setting. This is dealing with saved individuals. And you'll find this in this chapter, the apostle Paul is teaching or instructing the Corinth church. And so we see that this is called the judgment seat of Christ. You can make a note. This will be a reference also to 1 Corinthians chapter three is the second reference to the judgment seat of Christ. That would deal with every saved child of God with their relationship after salvation. This is not speaking of a judgment of sin. Sin for the child of God in the context of being saved was judged or judgment was passed on all sin past, present and future on the cross of Calvary. That's why we preach the cross. It has that kind of power. You say, well, how did he defeat that? He defeated it by laying his life down, shedding his blood, and he went into the grave and he rose again, defeating death. Remember, the wages of sin is death. Death. Who defeated death? Jesus Christ. That's why he has victory over sin, sin and death. That was judged on the cross. You say, what about me? I'm into the future. The cross didn't happen yesterday. It surely didn't, but it has the power because of the eternal blood that Jesus Christ shed. because of the eternal life that Christ has and he gives to all that call on his name. That's the kind of power. That's the kind of confidence that we should have, a confident hope. But here, an anticipation. So let's break this down. We've read our verses here in 2 Corinthians 5. Notice with me verse number six. Notice here in this anticipation, this confident anticipation. Therefore, we are always confident knowing that, all right? Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. So we see here, now watch verse seven, for we walk by faith, not by sight. I wanna say this, first of all, we have knowledge of this life and the life to come according to scripture. Let's look at the verse a little closer. Therefore, we are always confident. What's it say there? Help me say that phrase there. Knowing that we have an understanding and a knowledge that comes from God, that there is two lives. There's a life here physically that we're living, and there's an afterlife. And for the child of God, you're present with the Lord. You say, wow, I think there isn't a limbo. Not according to scripture, it doesn't teach one. And so we see here that we have this knowledge, this knowledge of this life and the afterlife or the life to come, the Bible calls it. Not only this, but look at verse eight with me. Notice here in this anticipated confidence, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Secondly, I wanna say about this verse in verse eight, we have a willingness to labor for Christ. Well, let me rephrase that. That's what's in my notes. We should have a willingness to labor for Christ. In this anticipated confidence, knowing that one day, you and I, as children of God, we're gonna stand before what is called here the judgment seat of Christ. Not paying for sin, that was paid at the cross, but paying for what we do or don't do for God. All right, and you say, well, is God gonna throw us here? No, no, he doesn't throw you anywhere. He tries the works, what you actually did. And he says this, I'm paraphrasing 1 Corinthians chapter three, ad-libbing, you might say. He says this, there is going to be wood, there's going to be hay, and there's gonna be stubble, there's gonna be gold, there's gonna be silver and precious stone. So we have six, three contrasting the other, gold, silver and precious stone, wood, hay and stubble. Our works are put in one of the six. If it's wood, hay, and stubble, you know what will happen. He tries it, the Bible says, by fire. And wood and hay and stubble burns. Now gold, silver, and precious stone doesn't burn like wood, hay, and stubble. And we could ask the question right here, why, as a child of God, having this confidence, this godly confidence, why would we trade wood, hay, and stubble, or gold and silver and precious stone for wood, hay, and stubble? You know, a lot of Christians do. They go about their life, they go about their desires, they go about their accomplishments, they go about whatever the case may be, and they put it in front of God and the work that God might have called them to or purposed their life to do. But they're busy about making wood, hay, and stubble out of gold, silver, and precious stone. Be careful. And this is the warning. We should have confidence in how God has this set up. And he says, look, we have a willingness or should have a willingness to labor for Christ. Notice with the verse eight, let's pull it out here. He says here in verse eight, we are confident, I say, and say it with me. willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. We have a desire. You say, how do you know this? Well, look at verse nine. Let's look at our last point here, dealing with this topic on a confident anticipation. Now watch, wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. We see thirdly, not only should we have a willingness to labor for God as a Christian, but we should have a desire to be accepted of Christ. I often think about, man, I wonder what that day is going to look like, dealing with the individual. And in 1 Corinthians 3, I'll tell you what, we got the time, let's go over there. I keep alluding to it, let's go. 1 Corinthians 3, I'm gonna say something that isn't in scripture, and I don't want to do that, but 1 Corinthians 3, Notice with me verse 10 and we'll run through this, but notice the setting. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me, 1 Corinthians chapter three and verse 10, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There isn't anything else, it's gonna be Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, watch it, gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest. That means made known of what, he said, for that day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by, say it with me. Fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Now you need to make a Bible student, pay attention, that's not dealing with the individual, it's dealing with what you produced, all right? It's kind of like the talents, the 60 talent, the 30 talent, the 10 talent. And he gives the parable of when the Lord come back, who worked for him and how well did they do with the talents that he give them. What are you doing with your talent this morning? Are you using it for God? Are you making gold, silver, and precious stone? Well, let's read on, verse 14. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive, say it with me, a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But now watch it carefully what it says. Even in this setting, even with this guy, his stuff's burning up. So what happens to him? Let's see what the Bible says. But he himself, say it with me. shall be saved, yet so as by fire, know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, he said, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." He's saying, look, be careful what you do in your body, especially after salvation, because it's going to, you're going to have to give an account for it. Every one of us. He said, Well, my mom, she'll, she'll, she'll be there with me, your mom won't be there with you, your dad won't be there with you, your husband or your wife or your children, or your teacher, your educator, or your pastor, or your deacon. It's going to be just you and God, and God deals with it, and God does everything right. I'm saying this morning, we can have a godly confidence in how God has set this up, a confidence anticipating what is to come. I have another one here, and I wanna quickly get to it. We see, thirdly, a confident of ministry, a confident of ministry. Take your Bible, turn with me to Acts, the book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, and turn with me in chapter 28. Now we have been working our way through the book of Acts in a study on Sunday nights. We'll be there this evening, Lord willing, but Acts chapter 28, we haven't got to chapter 28 yet in our study, but look at verse 31 with me, and I'm dealing with thirdly, a confident ministry. You might work in ministry, you might be somebody who is giving their heart and life to God, and you wanna do something for God. But notice this, Sunday school we were on this, but a confident ministry. Now watch this. Verse 31, he says, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all, say it with me, confidence, no man forbidding him. You say, what are you saying? Well, I wanna ask what made Paul confident in his preaching. Well, if we look at another place, 1 Corinthians, and we won't turn there, let me read it. 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 18, it says, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. I'll tell you what gave the apostle Paul confidence in what he preached, it was the power of God. God works with what he gives power to, and he gives power to preaching. He gives power to preaching. And to have confidence in the ministry, you're going to need the power of God. You're going to need to probably, more than likely, how I look at it, is do it God's way. Use God's method, use what he's left us. And we see not only in 1 Corinthians 1, but 1 Corinthians 2, he says this, he goes on to say, and I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power that your face should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. You say, well, what are we saying here? I'm saying to have confidence in ministry, you need the power of God, and it only comes through his power. We see here, there's another one. We're in 1 Corinthians and Acts. Let's turn with me to Ephesians. Keep moving to the right, and we'll wind this thing down. First, I'm saying Ephesians chapter three. Ephesians chapter three, we'll look at another one. I wanna say this this morning, fourthly, a confident access. not only a confident ministry or in ministry, but a confident access. Watch what the Bible says here in Ephesians chapter three. Notice with me verse number 12. He says here in verse 12, in whom we have boldness and access with, say it with me, confidence by the faith of Him. Why are we able to have boldness before God when we pray? Well, only it says there, what's it say there in the latter part after confidence? By the faith of Him. Say, well, I thought it was my faith. Well, we do live in a self bubble from time to time, and that will come up. And you'll think it is your strength, your faith, your confidence. But really, if you're operating in that way, you're operating in a shallow medium. You need God's confidence. You need God's power. And here, you need to have confidence in the access that you have to your Lord and Savior. This is what he's saying here. We can have this boldness before God because of the faith of Jesus Christ. Let me say this, or ask this. Why is having access to God of such an importance? Well, if you're going through a struggle or a trial, you can answer that yourself. If everything's good, going pretty well, everything's kinda kosher, selling well, then you might struggle a little bit with answering that. But watch what the Bible says about having access to God, why it's such an importance. Hebrews chapter four, Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four. Look with me in verse number 15. There is a reason And it is important. And he says here in verse 15, I'm in Hebrews chapter four, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. We're speaking of this confidence. We're speaking of having boldness, this access to God. He said, let us boldly come unto the throne of grace. Why? Why? That we may obtain, say it with me, mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. you think you can get through this human life that we're having without any problems or a time of need, you're sadly mistaken. You got another thought coming there. If you've lived long enough, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There are times when you don't have the answers. There are times when you're stuck, and you don't know what to do. And you can't do nothing. And it's frustrating. It's fearful. It's scary. So who do you turn to? You turn to God. You have access, you and I have access to come boldly to the throne of grace. You say, why? Because of the faith of Jesus Christ, number one. Number two, because you're going to need mercy and you're going to need grace in a time of need. This morning, how are we doing with our confidence as a child of God or a Christian? We kinda, Sunday's good, we kinda get a little punch in the arm, a little shot in the arm, but then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, whew, it's looking really bad. Thursday, Friday, and you barely can crawl back in the church. Sunday, you just, the world beats up on you, you beat up on yourself, and everybody else has their say and their way, they beat up on you as well. Work beats up on you, your schedule beats up on you, it takes everything that you'll give it. I know mine does. It'll take it out of you, drain you. Yeah, I'm popping vitamins and pills and drinking beet juice and cough juice and everything else I can get my hands on. It still, it will take anything you give it, your world, your life. But listen, there's always human, we always are in a time of need. And I'm speaking spiritually this morning. Physically, I might be able to help, I might not. But spiritually, God's here and he wants us to come, not timidly, not with fear, not with depredation. He wants us to come boldly to Him this morning. Let me ask this as in closing. Have you ever come to God needing grace and needing mercy? I don't need justice. If I got justice, I would be in hell and burning. I want mercy and I want grace. This morning, you can have mercy and grace. The Bible says those that have put their faith and trust in Christ, God shelters them and protects them. Hey, he is my salvation. He is my strength. He is my shield. He is my confidence. What's your confidence like this morning? Let's all stand. I know this. I know every one of us could use more of godly confidence in our lives. God has spoken to you this morning as we do an invitation. I ask those that are getting baptized, you can come and find your place and we'll have a baptismal here just in a moment. But just here at the first start of invitation, I want you to think, begin to think and ask the Holy Spirit, God, What, where do I, you might even be able to point out the areas you need confidence in. I need confidence in this area. I need confidence in maybe being a witness for Christ. I need confidence in my Lord and Savior. Maybe it's life, maybe life in general, maybe it's family matters. You need more confidence in God. I said, well, now I thought it was in myself. It's going to be in God. God will give you the strength. God will give you the salvation and what you need, the light that you need. It might be confidence in coming to more church. It might be confidence in being more of a giver. It might be a confidence in giving and yielding your talent and ability that God give you to use for Him. But you need more confidence. Say, I just need more confidence to get through this day and maybe Monday coming up, Lord willing. Whatever it is, you begin to ask the Holy Spirit this morning, speak to my heart, give me the confidence that the preacher is preaching about. Brother Jeff, what are we saying? 270. 270.