it is dangerous to have too much
confidence in the wrong place in the
wrong place but the Bible says be
confident you know in this I will be
confident doesn't the Bible say that yes
but the question is in what will you be
confident in what and sometimes we want
to have a confident belief without the
behaviors that build confidence in our
lives you know because to have real
confidence you got to have consistency
don't you I mean to have confidence you
got to have competence competence is
built through consistency you got a if
your gonna have real confidence you got
to have character amen amen
you know what i'ma spend the rest of my
life preaching what I think is true
whether anybody says amen to it or not
I'm committing to that these little gray
hairs that keep popping up are trying to
tell me you don't have time to get up
there in that pulpit and just hype
people anymore because while we're
hyping people in one sense to believe
God we are actually making the problem
worse because when their circumstance is
not reflecting their confession their
faith collapses beneath the weight of
unmet expectations
and so the Lord was really speaking to
me you know because I go back and forth
of feeling really confident sometimes
and then sometimes I feel I can't find
my confidence anywhere and so then I
think well I had too much confidence I
need to be more humble and then
sometimes I think well I don't have
enough confidence I need to just bump
myself in a mirror mirror a few times
and get out there and put myself back in
the game coach get out there and I'm
back and forth and and God spoke to me
this week he said it's not how much
confidence you have is where you put it
there coughs Paul said I have no
confidence in the flesh all of these
people who are telling you you need to
be circumcised and that's how you prove
that you have a relationship with God or
you know this temptation that we all
have to to to fake it until we break
that's what really happens you know
you've you fake it and you never make it
because no matter how much you work to
develop your confidence in your flesh it
will always fail you it will always fail
you and all of this behavioral
modification that I know is necessary
for us to make improvements in our lives
and maybe it's important for us to have
confidence if we're gonna stand onstage
and give a presentation or go into a
meeting that we don't feel qualified for
I understand that but my question is
have have you put that confidence in the
right place and the other day I noticed
Holly didn't have a wedding ring on
wasn't anything sketchy we were just at
the house she wasn't going out without
her wedding ring on in fact I got that
covered too I made her put a tattoo on
her ring finger
so even if she wanted to take it off it
says H and s and so she wants to leave
me the dude is already gonna be narrowed
down his name better start with s or
she'll have to turn it into an 8 but she
is mine
[Applause]
[Music]
but I said where's your ring she said oh
I put it over here washing dishes and I
asked her question I didn't have to say
much I said is that a good place to put
it cuz listen she lost it once and when
she lost it we had insurance and she got
a better one so now I'm starting to
wonder are you trying as somebody next
to you is that a good place to put it
because you keep putting your confidence
in people and you keep putting your
confidence in your performance and you
keep putting your confidence in your
ability to be disciplined and our my
exercise and now on the stay on my diet
this time and I'm gonna pray for 15
minutes every day you know I hear people
say sometimes I gave up on God because
some people in the church let me down
but let me ask you a question your
relationship with God is so precious why
would you put your confidence in God in
how people treat you people will always
let you down
they will always fall short even if they
have good intentions they have limited
ability do you really want to put it in
people haven't you spent enough time
trusting in people to meet your needs I
feel like preaching
[Applause]
ask them again is that a good place to
put it
do you really want to put confidence in
your flesh your effort your ability to
keep the law now Paul said if you want
to play the game of who has more reasons
to be confident on the basis of
lifestyle or legality he says if you
want to play the game whose circumcision
is better let's play watch this he
starts reading off his resume and what a
weird game this is push this you know
people try to top everything Paul's like
my circumcision is better than your
circumcision but that's watch first like
I was circumcised on the 8th day when
you're supposed to be a lot of the
Judaizers the dog guru they were
circumcised
after the fact Paul said I was
circumcised when I'm supposed to be
circumcised because I was born the way
you're supposed to be born into the race
that God said that he would use to bless
all the nations of the earth through so
I was circumcised before all y'all on
the eighth day I don't remember it I'm
glad I got that out of the way
early in life I was of the people of
Israel so I have connections I was not
only of the people of Israel I was of
the tribe of Benjamin that was the tribe
that the Kings came out of the tribe of
Benjamin so he's like I'm already one of
God's favorite people because I'm an
Israelite and then I'm the favorite
tribe within the favorite people come on
you want to talk about flesh my flesh is
impressive mm-hmm and I was not only of
the tribe of Benjamin it was not only a
matter of birth I wasn't only born into
fortunate circumstances but I was a
hebrew of hebrews wow i was i was a
hebrew of hebrews i I was competent
watch this I was connected I was
competent in regard to the law a
pharisee that's the
strictest order of religious law for the
Jewish people so he says I was on a
scholarship I was I was a prized pupil
of Gamaliel he doesn't mention that in
Philippians 3 he mentions that elsewhere
that he's he sat underneath the tutelage
of one of the greatest teachers of his
day this is like you interned under Elon
Musk
Paul said let's talk you want to talk to
me you dogs that think you're so much
better than other people he said I had
all of that I was so good at it that I
was promoted to the highest level I was
so jealous verse six please I was
persecuting the church asked for
righteousness based on the law faultless
so stop make sure we got this he's
connected he's competent and his
character he says according to human law
and what you can measure and what you
can see and what you can judge faultless
connected competent and his character is
faultless and he builds confidence to a
certain level but then something
happened to Paul Paul saw a contrast and
sometimes what we need when we get a
little too full of ourselves come on
happens to all of us quiet people loud
people flashy people low-key people it
can happen to every one of us that we
start to trust in our flesh and about
the time you think you get it figured
out you know how we do we get our
categories exactly right okay here's the
kind of people that are going to heaven
and here's the kind of people that are
going to hell and the way I know is
there are certain things that people who
are going to heaven do and don't do and
certain people who are going to hell
here's what they do and they don't do
the only problem that I'm finding what
this is a lot of our confidence that we
put in our judgments and our assessment
is based on our external observations of
people
and we can never really know anyone's
heart and here's what I'm trying to say
let's stop being so quick to categorize
people based on what we see with our
eyes or where they are in certain
behaviors in their lives judge nothing
before the appointed time you don't even
know what battles they're fighting and
you don't know how far they've come and
you don't know what it's taking us to
keep running the race and they might be
limping but they might make it to the
finish line because they live I don't
know anymore
I put no confidence in the flesh I don't
have categories they're not as clear
anymore for who's a godly person and
who's not in anoonan and who God is
favored and who God hasn't because some
of the people that I thought were
walking in the favor of God were faking
it but I know until they fell apart
Paul's riding to Damascus one day a
hebrew of hebrews a Pharisee of
Pharisees in regards to the law
righteousness connected and competent
connected and competent and all of a
sudden he was blinded by a light on his
way to imprison Christians in Damascus
and bring them back to Jerusalem to be
sentenced and something happened to him
that will happen to all of us in one way
or another if it hasn't happened to you
yet send me a a text message when it
does God in His mercy and God in His
wisdom knew that if I allow Paul to
remain confident in his flesh he will
not fulfill my purpose for his life he
will live the rest of his life putting
his confidence in himself and his
competence and his character and so all
of a sudden you can read it in Acts
chapter 9 a blinding light throws Paul
from his horse he is thrown to the
ground on the way to exercise his gift
with authoritative letters from the
Jewish ruling council he falls off of
his horse and a voice from heaven asks
him Saul Saul who do you think you are
and Saul said back I don't know who are
you and the voice said I am Jesus and
Paul spent three days blind and someone
had to lead him by the hand you know
that's when life gets really interesting
when you're used to leading others when
you're used to knowing what to do when
you're used to making it happen when
you're used to smiling and getting
through it but then every once in a
while something will come along in your
life and you'll say I didn't take a
class on this I didn't read a book about
this nobody told me it would feel like
this I wasn't prepared for this I I
didn't know would be like this and Paul
said I lost my confidence I lost my
confidence and I had to start all over
and I had to I had to give up all my
connections cuz everybody hated me that
I used to serve with and I had to start
all over because I didn't know how to
preach Jesus cuz I just met him and I
had to humble myself and I had to
re-evaluate my character because I had
been comparing myself to others you know
how we do if you compare yourself to
others long enough you will come to the
place eventually if you're not there yet
you get there just keep doing it keep
comparing yourself to others just keep
right on doing it and do it do it to
make yourself feel better do it when you
see somebody whose kids are on drugs you
just silently tell yourself my kids
would never do that
go ahead go ahead and go ahead and do
that just go ahead and do it just go
ahead and do it when you see somebody
who's not married I'll tell you if they
did that they have to go ahead and
compare yourself to them because you
know you're better than them that's why
you're married they're not just going to
compare yourself go ahead and do it go
ahead and do it too the other way to go
ahead and compare yourself to people
that are better than you all the time
just all the time look at everybody
sucking in on the ground and then
compare yourself bloated after a whole
day of running your kids around and then
compare yourself who didn't have time to
eat healthy because you actually care
about other people and that's why you
had to go through me
but compare yourself to them you won't
even know that they're selfish and
that's why their body looks like that
because they never they never have time
for anybody else and all their that's
going here's what I want you to do I
want you to completely compare
out-of-context for as long as you can
and don't ask the question you know like
they're real successful on their job but
I wonder are they happy don't ask that
question because if you could compare
across all the categories you might see
that their success is costing them their
fulfillment but don't do that
just compare just completely take it all
out of context and compare what people
show you to what you can see and and
don't take time to wonder what's really
going on and it'll take time to stop and
think about how they're so gifted and
there's someone who just compare
yourself to them until you feel so
terrible that the only place left for
you to go the only thing left for you to
conclude the only thing left for you to
do is to fall down off your horse and
say god I'm sick of myself
I'm sick of false standards I'm sick of
worldly measurements I'm tired of my
flesh I'm tired of keeping up I'm tired
of falling short I'm tired of looking
around and in that moment you will come
to the point that Paul came to in verse
7 where he said I compared myself to
everyone else so long and it finally
brought me to a point not because I hit
the bottom but because I was on top and
then something happened in my life I
compared myself to Jesus
and when I compared myself to him I
didn't have anything left to brag about
when I compared myself to him I wasn't
such a good person after all
when I compared myself to him I lost my
confidence in me I lost my confidence at
how nice I am and how sweet I am and how
polite I am and how educated I am when I
compared myself to the fullness of
wisdom that was revealed in Jesus Christ
I didn't bring up my IQ anymore and I
didn't show him my SAT scores when I
compared myself to him
my posture changed when I compared
myself to him I quit trying to be first
place in a race that I realized I
couldn't win when I compared myself to
him I fell off my horse and I was led by
the hand and Paul says in verse 7 now
whatever we're gains to me I consider
loss I lost my confidence or watch this
I gained Christ
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