STAND CONFIDENT IN A DISORIENTED WORLD

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Standing firm in a troubled culture is difficult, but not impossible. God will enable you to stand sure when you feel like the bottom is about to drop out, when your heart pounds out of your chest, and your head is about to explode.

Lasting confidence can be attributed to one thing . . . WHERE DO YOUR FEET STAND?

A lot of people have self-assurance of their abilities to get things done, handle large demands, and “go beyond” their normal capabilities. But is this confidence a 24/7, lasting assurance . . .when you’re sick, hurting, and things aren’t going as planned?

Assurance worth having is guaranteed to last. It doesn’t ebb and flow with circumstances, feelings, seasons, or even your favorite coffee. Confidence worth happening lasts.

Philippians 4 begins, “Therefore, my beloved brethren . . .in this way stand firm in the Lord.” We are given the “how to” for standing strong . . .being confident . . .not feeling disoriented.

The instruction is found in Chapter 3 of Philippians and culminates in verses 20-21, “Our citizenship is in heaven, for which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

What does Philippians 3:20-4:1 teach us?

You can stand confident in the Lord.
You belong in heaven.
You wait.
Your Savior is coming for you.
You will be transformed.
God will make you harmonious with Himself by His power.

Remove Ruin

Do not attempt to be harmonious with yourself or the world.
Do not think you’re experiencing heaven while on earth.

Abolish Arguments

You cannot make yourself confident.
Your self-assurance does not have lasting significance.

Implement Instruction

Count everything loss, less than, and inadequate when compared to knowing Christ Jesus.
- Believe Christ Jesus is your Savior and He is of greater value than your perfectionistic doings, having everything your way, doing your own thing, and your gaining of the whole world.
Make your number one goal in life to be “found in Him”.
- Connect to Christ Jesus your Lord in every area of your life. Live in the approval He gives you through His life, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His power to change you from the inside out.

Nurture Newness

Feed this new way of thinking by
- Remembering it is God’s “power” that gives you confidence to stand firm.
- Grasping the difficulty and counting it joy because you know it is making you look like Christ Jesus, your Savior.
- Setting your eyes high – as high as the resurrected Christ is right now – at the right hand of God in heaven.
- Continually moving toward the perfect life of Christ Jesus by “knowing” Christ, joining as His companion, with the end result of transformation by your conformity to Him.

Thoughts To Encourage You To Reach The Goal

Desire to know Christ.
Walk toward Christ.
Be a companion of the cross.
Have an end result of being conformed to Christ.
Let God be your confidence.
Value God highly, above all things, and even above yourself.
Think on spiritual things – eternal things continually.

Conclusion

We are not “home” here. We belong in heaven – the place where Jesus is. We wait for Him who is coming from heaven for those He knows. Jesus describes people who He’s coming for as those who love Him (have a personal affection), who watch for Him (greatly desire to see), and who want to experience ultimate change (transformation).

God is working in you to change your thinking, your behaviors, your habits. You can stand confident knowing He has power to totally transform you. You don’t have to be confident in your own ability to change. Stand firm knowing the true goal and only necessary goal in life is to “know Jesus” which means you want to be found in Him, receive His righteousness, and get His power to experience abundant life.