I have shared with you that our biggest enemy is not satan (sometimes I forget he exist). Our enemy is ourselves, we stand on our own way through religion and mind set. Jesus did all the work, paid all the prices but we still are guilty of sins, we do not have receiving hearts, we have ‘I am not worthy mentality’ or simply LOW SELF-ESTEEM. Lack of confidence is lack of trust and prevents God from doing all these great things and wonders that He IS trying to do for us.
We limit ourselves inside boxes of race, sex, height, family, finance status, geographic region, culture, education level e.t.c.. We like saying we cant do this because ‘ no one in my family ever did it, I am female, have no money, education e.t.c. But the problem is that God knows He placed ability in you, all you need is confidence and courage.
Hebrews 11:1 NLT Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:6 NLT “And it is impossible to please God without faith…”
Will I be correct if I say that without confidence, you can not please God?
Faith is like when a woman is pregnant.. You can not convince her that she cant or wont have a child . She knows and would be confident that she has a baby even though she has not seen it . She would live or behave like she does/will have a baby and wouldn’t be shaken.
Arrogance
Though it is wrong to be arrogant, let’s face the fact that there is an element of confidence in arrogance. According to world people’s standards, the Notorious BIG was not the most “good looking” guy and he was very fat but he had a lot of confidence and as the result he dated the nice women that people would not expect him to. I have seen “good looking” and even rich guys without self-confidence who could not even get dates.
Sean ‘Puff Diddy’ Combs once said ‘You can throw me ‘butt-naked’ in the jungle but I will come out with a coat, a leopard hat, “all wild animal clothing after eating them”.
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If someone can be confident on what they can do, what about you who’s confidence is in God? Ephesians 3:20 KJV Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
All I am trying to show is that there is something about confidence that on it’s own, God has already blessed it to bring forth results. Satan would prevent you from having confidence and allow you to have empty faith (just words with no action, fruits or results)- I still don’t understand how people can have a relationship with the Holy Spirit and do nothing. Read everywhere where the word talks about the Spirit of the Lord poured into people, there was always action!
When I go to church, I don’t want to hear what God is gonna do for me. I want to hear what God will do through me! I don’t want God to do things for me because I will not grow like many Christians , I would be like the Israelites from Egypt, useless, faithless, slave-mentality , entitlement-minded, ‘cant do nothing’ people. I want to be like Joshua, there more giants I see, the more I get excited that saying ‘Lord send me send me!’ I get more life out of overcoming than being safe and having no action in life.
To be honest with you, I have that Puff Diddy’s confidence and I don’t want to talk more because I am afraid that some people would be offended or some would misunderstand me. Some things I wish I could share.
I grew up with a low self-esteem but ever since I have known who I am in Jesus, ‘you can not close me into a pot’ (‘Athi fheleli bodoni’). The only thing I can say is that ‘ you can not limit me, I can be anything, I can do everything, you can take anything from me and I will always get better ones, you can put me anywhere in the world, I am so confident that I will always make it anyhow because I have been fearfully (carefully) made, there has never been anything like me before. That’s why I am not dependant on my job, money, family, country, friends and I fear absolutely nothing and you can put me into that test. I know who I am in and through Jesus. That’s why I never care or see what others are doing or what is the in-thing in the world, I know my purpose, I know the paths and I will knock out everything that would stand in my way. Through faith, I know and will things that no one ever knew since the beginning of the world, not even Paul. Who am I ?, I am whatever the Lord says I am in the Bible or through the Holy Spirit and I receive by faith and act on it.
Intimidation
I was advising a sister never to share or bring everyone into a party when God is doing big things for her. There is no way you can be confident and other people don’t get offended. It is usually friends, colleagues and family. I was advising this sister because her friend was going around saying bad things about her that are not even related to anything. 1 Samuel 17:28 NLT But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!". We all know the story of Joseph.
If you are to be confident, you must always be willing to loose some close people and you must not expect to be accepted or supported by others. People don’t like being next to an overcomer because they get exposed, they would try to kill it or you would shrink yourself to fit. You can not hide it, they would notice you like Peter denying Jesus. You better hang with others like you.
If you think I am harsh, Joyce Meyer says there are eagle Christians and chicken Christians. Eagle Christians are confident and they fly up high alone, not mediocre or trying to get everyone’s approval or acceptance, do not seek safety or comfort.
Experience
You can be moved by a message and jump around all you want in church but when it comes to action for those great things, you wont have the confidence because you got no experience on even smaller or other things.
1 Samuel 17:36 NLT I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
The first time is always difficult but after that you are confident. You hear me talk a lot, it’s because I have experienced a lot of God’s hand. Once God speaks, it has become natural for me to move without seeing if it is dangerous or not ,I do not need that faith like before where I would be asking ‘is it your will’ (knowing very well it is but I am just scared).
My point is that you do not have confidence because you have not yet experience. Take just one risk once and believe the Lord in one thing. After that you will walk on serpents and scorpions. I have seen people overcoming their fears and there after, there are just testimonies over testimonies. Satan would make sure that he puts more opposition on the first one. So it wont be easy but be courageous in the name of Jesus.
Persistence
Bernice likes swimming and I hated it BUT I just realized that
· I was not hating it because it is bad but it was because I cant do it and
· I could not do it because I tried and I failed but I failed because I gave up,
· I gave up because I was not confident (had no hope because I failed a few times – I stoped , I was not persistent).
Few weeks back I got into a pool fool of expert kids giggling. But I told myself that I am not getting out of the pool not swimming no matter how loud the kids laugh. After 3 attempts, ladies and gentlemen, I am now a fish. My brother stil can not swim, he insist on using those life-saving tubes and gives up when we laugh at him. Guys, you will always meet oppositions but you must be persistent. You may fail a few times but go back even after a long time but win because after that win, you will be confident to do greater things like David (1 Samuel 17:34).
Source of confidence
I always thought that when the Lord want to use me He would use me in my music. But He has a tendency of messing around with people’s minds calling them to do things they are not qualified or can’t even do, things you are not confident about. The classic is when He called Moses to be a speaker, Exodus 4:10 GNB But Moses said, "No, LORD, don't send me. I have never been a good speaker, and I haven't become one since you began to speak to me. I am a poor speaker, slow and hesitant."
And you know that you can not argue with the Lord and … Exodus 4:11 ESV Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
After this statement, I thought the Lord would enable Moses to speak properly so that the man can at least gain some confidence, yo!, but He sends him as he is with Aaron and a stick.
Imagine being Moses. You are an Egyptian prince going to the king, who is probably your uncle or cousin wondering where you have been and why you killed your subject… Here you come to tell him to free the Hebrews because they are your people (apparently) and their God send you. Confused or probably laughing at you, they asked who is this God and you say ‘I AM’… stuttering.
Guys, let God be God. Allow Him to do His thing. He does the impossible and once you see what He can do through you, you are 100% doubtless and 100% confident. It is better to be confident on the strength and abilities of God than our own.
For God to show Himself, He won’t do the little things that would leave you thinking that it was you who did it. He would do bigger things that you would be scared to take credit for. Although it is the lord who provide our food and stuff, be thankful but you will not know god until you allow him (thru faith) to do real miracles. i have seen a lot, that’s why i am very confident of the lord, I don’t somebody to tell me about him. this makes it EASIER for me to take risky steps of faith.
1 Samuel 17:37 NLT The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!" Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"
I don’t agree with people who say ‘I don’t believe in myself, I believe in God’. I think this is a brainwash self-deceit religious empty statement from satan to cripple Christians making them inactive and ineffective. Because if you believe in God and not yourself, you are supposed to do greater things. So, why aren’t you?
I believe that if you believe in God, you must believe that He has laid the ability in you to do it or He will enable you to do it.
Confidence in the Lord cost more than confidence in yourself, it is highly risky.
How can you believe in God who do the impossible, while you cant believe in yourself who only do the possible? To me it sounds like ‘ I don’t love myself but I love God’. The Lord say if you can not love your neighbor whom you see, you lie if you say you love God. The way I know God, His ways and standards are much higher than ours, how would you believe in Him e.g. If God comes and say
Leave your people and land to the place where I would show you. (instantly)
God send you to stand for people in Egypt (where you are a prince) and you cant speak well.
Go to battle with trumpets and music instruments.
How then can you believe in God who do the impossible, when you can’t believe in yourself who do the possible?
PEOPLE WHO DONT BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE. Religious people would think I am talking about one’s intelligence when I say believe in yourself. (Believing in your intelligence or wisdom is self-deceit.)
You say such statements as ‘I don’t believe in myself but God’ or ‘ I am not worthy’ because you believe you are being humble but believe me when I say I believe words like that stink before God and it is disrespectful to God. WHY?
· Firstly you can not define me without God, you can not separate me with God. All I am is sourced from God. JESUS DIED TO MARRY ME TO GOD, I AM BORN AGAIN. ONE WITH GOD.
· Jesus has died and restored me back to God giving me power to be what God designed me to be. I am the body of Christ.
· God,The Holy Spirit, the exact power that created the earth, angels, universe, and heaven is IN ME, in other words I have in me the power to create life and planets. Nothing will be impossible to those born of God! How dare you come and say I must not believe in myself and try to entice me into believing that it has some form of humbleness. THA STATEMENT is satanic and I wont take it !
· I am more than a conqueror,
· I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,
· I am the head not the tail, I am above not beneath,
· I am a king, I am light and salt of the earth, without me this earth will rot and explode. I am the one preserving it!
The foundation of us coming to Him is that He cleans us and YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE WHAT HE SAYS YOU ARE. Then you can be confident to do what He says you can do.
Guys, to avoid arrogance, you do not have to loose confidence. You just need to know your source or roots of that confidence. You actually allow God to work through you and you would have the confidence.
1 Samuel 17:45-46 NLT David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
David could have told Goliath that the Lord will send fire from heaven but David knows better that a believer needs to stand in confidence for God and do everything through the Lord. All our confidence must come from the Lord knowing that He can not let us down. But we must act by believing in ourselves that He can use us.
Let me give u a break… To be continued
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