The Power of God (part 5) - Boldness and Confidence
Introduction. If we truly seek the same boldness and confidence of the great men and women Scripture records, we must do the same things they did to gain it. What we witness day by day in the heavens and upon the earth is a spectacular display of God’s everlasting power and Divine Nature! If we ignore or are blinded to this, then the “truth that will make us free” will not help us as it did them. We need to understand that even all the power of this creation is not really enough to fully reveal His power working in us, since it is “exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think!” (Eph 3:20-21). If we want to live with confidence and assurance, we have to understand this. We all know God “Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” But if we still can’t respond with “So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5), we must seek for more faith by looking more closely at the things that are made.
Jesus sought to give each of us the truth that will unlock this confidence. In the Sermon on the Mount, He addressed anxiety and worry, commanding us to stop. He used the amazing display of God’s everlasting power in just the birds created on the fifth day. Perhaps we don’t even see or hear them every day and feel the amazing power of God in creating them. But if we want to remove anxiety from our hearts, we must see them every day as Jesus revealed them. When Jesus commanded: “do not worry about your life,” He defined life as “what you will eat, drink, or put on.” The solution to exchange this anxiety for boldness and confidence is to “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Thus, God’s obvious providential care of the birds of the heaven should give us confidence.
We must make applications like this or we will forever be locked into doubt, fear and anxiety. As Jesus moved to clothing, He gave a second command: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow” and once again makes the application: “if God so clothes the grass of the field, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Mt. 6:25-34).
If we obey Jesus’ command, seeing God’s power in the birds, lilies and grass, we will conquer anxiety. To those who can’t or won’t obey, Jesus proclaimed them: “O you of little faith.” His command to “do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear’” can only be obeyed by looking at the material creation and seeing God’s everlasting power. Only then can we have the faith to feel confidence and boldness. This exactly is how Isaiah revealed it: “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isa. 26:3-4).
We must understand that the basis of access to trust, confidence and assurance in God’s power is this faith. When we draw faith from the things that are made, we are doing what our home does with the transmission lines bringing the power of electricity from the generator. Whenever we lose power in our home, we immediately think of an accident that has broken a line. We then wait patiently for it to be fixed and the power restored. We must have this same response when God’s power is no longer giving us the same boldness and confidence David had when standing before Goliath and later said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4).
Jesus also expected His miracles to give even more confidence and boldness. He wanted His apostles to be our examples in making these applications, and every time they failed, He rebuked them, as He would us. He expected His miracles to do more than just create faith He is the Son of God. After witnessing Jesus turning the water into wine, they should have become convinced Jesus had absolute power over all the elements. He was the Word who was with God, was God, and all created things were made through Him. Though He had become flesh, He was manifesting His power to reveal that while under His care, there is nothing to fear! After a violent storm arose on the sea, Jesus was sleeping. Instead of an inward calm of peace, knowing Jesus was with them, they became fearful. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” (Mk. 4:39-40). He was disappointed that they felt fear. He expected them to have the confidence of Joshua and Caleb to enter the promised land. He saw clearly there was only one reason for their fear: “They have no faith!”
After He had fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, Jesus once again expected them to see the exceeding greatness of His power to intervene in the natural order. He rightfully expected this sign to instill confidence as it had in Moses after witnessing the ten plagues. Jesus sent them ahead, and gave them an opportunity to show confidence. Peter tried. He initially felt the same boldness as Daniel at the lions’ den, and asked to come out on the water. But, as he looked at the wind and the waves, he wavered. Jesus expressed His disappointment: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt. 14:29-32). Later, the Holy Spirit summed up the response of all twelve: “And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” (Mk. 6:51-52).
Until we understand why the Holy Spirit revealed that their amazement was because of their hardness of heart, we will never have boldness and confidence. What Abraham and Job could do just by witnessing the elements, what Joshua and Caleb could do after witnessing God’s ability in the ten plagues, and what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could do after witnessing everything the Scriptures had revealed about God’s power, the apostles had even more reason to have confidence. There was no excuse for them to be amazed at this point in Jesus’ ministry.
After His resurrection, Jesus once again rebuked them. His entire ministry should have given them faith and confidence. Yet after His death, they were still hardened with unbelief. From the time Peter made the good confession, “Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised.” (Mt. 16:21). Yet here they were, acting just like the ten spies. Even with all the evidence, they still refused to accept and believe it. When “He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (Mk. 16:14).
The apostles are examples of how hard it is to make these applications. Even in Jesus’ presence they could not do it. So few have risen to full trust and confidence. When Abraham never wavered in unbelief, he truly gave glory to God! (Rom. 4). Today, it is my turn and your turn. If we can trust Jesus and look intently at the birds, lilies and grass, we can rise above anxiety and worry into boldness and confidence. If we can read about His signs and wonders and be filled with confidence and boldness as disciples of Jesus, we need no fear. Since He said, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Mt. 28:20), it is just as true today as it was then. This is captured in the song “Anywhere With Jesus:
This is what Jesus had sought to teach His apostles in His earthly ministry. Although they failed every time before His ascension, afterwards even the Jewish leaders could see it. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13-14)
Conclusion: We can draw from the entire material creation, all the while understanding that God’s power is greater toward us. We can look at all of Jesus’ miracles and have great confidence and boldness realizing He is with us until the end of the age. If we can’t find the faith in these things, and still doubt, we must realize that “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (Jas. 1:6). The greater the faith, the greater the confidence, and most importantly, the greater the power in God’s response.
Jesus sought to give each of us the truth that will unlock this confidence. In the Sermon on the Mount, He addressed anxiety and worry, commanding us to stop. He used the amazing display of God’s everlasting power in just the birds created on the fifth day. Perhaps we don’t even see or hear them every day and feel the amazing power of God in creating them. But if we want to remove anxiety from our hearts, we must see them every day as Jesus revealed them. When Jesus commanded: “do not worry about your life,” He defined life as “what you will eat, drink, or put on.” The solution to exchange this anxiety for boldness and confidence is to “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Thus, God’s obvious providential care of the birds of the heaven should give us confidence.
We must make applications like this or we will forever be locked into doubt, fear and anxiety. As Jesus moved to clothing, He gave a second command: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow” and once again makes the application: “if God so clothes the grass of the field, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Mt. 6:25-34).
If we obey Jesus’ command, seeing God’s power in the birds, lilies and grass, we will conquer anxiety. To those who can’t or won’t obey, Jesus proclaimed them: “O you of little faith.” His command to “do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear’” can only be obeyed by looking at the material creation and seeing God’s everlasting power. Only then can we have the faith to feel confidence and boldness. This exactly is how Isaiah revealed it: “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength.” (Isa. 26:3-4).
We must understand that the basis of access to trust, confidence and assurance in God’s power is this faith. When we draw faith from the things that are made, we are doing what our home does with the transmission lines bringing the power of electricity from the generator. Whenever we lose power in our home, we immediately think of an accident that has broken a line. We then wait patiently for it to be fixed and the power restored. We must have this same response when God’s power is no longer giving us the same boldness and confidence David had when standing before Goliath and later said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4).
Jesus also expected His miracles to give even more confidence and boldness. He wanted His apostles to be our examples in making these applications, and every time they failed, He rebuked them, as He would us. He expected His miracles to do more than just create faith He is the Son of God. After witnessing Jesus turning the water into wine, they should have become convinced Jesus had absolute power over all the elements. He was the Word who was with God, was God, and all created things were made through Him. Though He had become flesh, He was manifesting His power to reveal that while under His care, there is nothing to fear! After a violent storm arose on the sea, Jesus was sleeping. Instead of an inward calm of peace, knowing Jesus was with them, they became fearful. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” (Mk. 4:39-40). He was disappointed that they felt fear. He expected them to have the confidence of Joshua and Caleb to enter the promised land. He saw clearly there was only one reason for their fear: “They have no faith!”
After He had fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, Jesus once again expected them to see the exceeding greatness of His power to intervene in the natural order. He rightfully expected this sign to instill confidence as it had in Moses after witnessing the ten plagues. Jesus sent them ahead, and gave them an opportunity to show confidence. Peter tried. He initially felt the same boldness as Daniel at the lions’ den, and asked to come out on the water. But, as he looked at the wind and the waves, he wavered. Jesus expressed His disappointment: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt. 14:29-32). Later, the Holy Spirit summed up the response of all twelve: “And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.” (Mk. 6:51-52).
Until we understand why the Holy Spirit revealed that their amazement was because of their hardness of heart, we will never have boldness and confidence. What Abraham and Job could do just by witnessing the elements, what Joshua and Caleb could do after witnessing God’s ability in the ten plagues, and what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could do after witnessing everything the Scriptures had revealed about God’s power, the apostles had even more reason to have confidence. There was no excuse for them to be amazed at this point in Jesus’ ministry.
After His resurrection, Jesus once again rebuked them. His entire ministry should have given them faith and confidence. Yet after His death, they were still hardened with unbelief. From the time Peter made the good confession, “Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised.” (Mt. 16:21). Yet here they were, acting just like the ten spies. Even with all the evidence, they still refused to accept and believe it. When “He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (Mk. 16:14).
The apostles are examples of how hard it is to make these applications. Even in Jesus’ presence they could not do it. So few have risen to full trust and confidence. When Abraham never wavered in unbelief, he truly gave glory to God! (Rom. 4). Today, it is my turn and your turn. If we can trust Jesus and look intently at the birds, lilies and grass, we can rise above anxiety and worry into boldness and confidence. If we can read about His signs and wonders and be filled with confidence and boldness as disciples of Jesus, we need no fear. Since He said, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Mt. 28:20), it is just as true today as it was then. This is captured in the song “Anywhere With Jesus:
- “Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go, Anywhere He leads me in this world below; Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid. Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know; Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.”
This is what Jesus had sought to teach His apostles in His earthly ministry. Although they failed every time before His ascension, afterwards even the Jewish leaders could see it. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13-14)
Conclusion: We can draw from the entire material creation, all the while understanding that God’s power is greater toward us. We can look at all of Jesus’ miracles and have great confidence and boldness realizing He is with us until the end of the age. If we can’t find the faith in these things, and still doubt, we must realize that “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (Jas. 1:6). The greater the faith, the greater the confidence, and most importantly, the greater the power in God’s response.