Sermon Tone Analysis

Walking in the Confidence of God

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’

So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Those who walk in the confidence of God have the marks of contentment

Those who walk in the confidence of God have the marks of contentment.

They live a life without covetousness, they are satisfied with what they have, and they experience the constant companionship and care of Almighty God.

There is that confidence that the Lord Jesus will never leave them nor forsake them.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’

So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

I would propose to you that Christians must be free from the love of money and the things of this world.

They must be content with what they have and learn to walk in the confidence of God.

Christians have the continual presence of the Lord within them.

God’s protection and provision are offered to them as well.

The writer of the Book Hebrews quotes two great Old Testament passages of Scripture.

One is Joshua 1:5, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Two, the writer quotes Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?”

Just who makes such a promise and to whom is it extended?

Today’s text shows obedient Christians that God will be with them and will provide what they need.

No matter what the call or the need, those who are walking in accordance to God’s directions will have the hand of the Almighty God upon them.

Who makes the promise?

Our text says, “…because God has said…” In at least two places in the New Testament it says God does not lie.

(Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18) Therefore, it is a yes and Amen.

When God says it, it goes down, it will be, you may stake your life upon it.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews states a powerful truth, “…What can man do to me.” (Hebrews 13:6) According to the Bible, all people throughout history stand in some relationship to God, whether living in rebellion and disbelief, or living in acceptance and faith in the Lord.

They are under God’s sovereign control.

Therefore, the child of God who is walking in the center of God’s will need not fear any man for all are under the power of the living God.

(Who’s Who in the Bible)

The God who makes this promise is the one who says, “See now that I myself am He!

There is no god besides Me.

I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of My hand.”

(Deuteronomy 32:39)

Christians can walk in confidence because this God is self-existent

Christians can walk in confidence because this God is self-existent.

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

The apostle Paul tells us this about the Supremacy of Christ, “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.”

(Colossians 1:16-18)

Jesus is the one who holds all things together.

He is the agent of creation and the goal of which all things will find their end.

Between the time when this earth, the atmosphere around it and the galaxies were created and until the new heavens and earth come about, Jesus is the one who holds it all together.

In other words the laws of gravity and laws by which the universe hold together are not only science but are divinely controlled.

Man does not hold this earth and everything in it together, the Lord does all that.

We need one another to survive.

We cannot exist without parents whom God used to bring us into existence, we could not have grown up without someone to feed us, provide shelter and give some kind of guidance.

Everyone needs someone to do what they cannot do.

This is not the case with God.

No one made the way for Him to come into existence, nor makes the way for Him to exist.

The word “supremacy” (proteuo) means to be first, chief, to hold first rank, the highest dignity.

The application is that Jesus Christ is given first rank over everything.

(The Complete Word Study Dictionary; Word Meaning in the New Testament) The God of heaven and earth did just that.

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:18-20)

Christians can walk in confidence because they possess the Living Christ whom the Bible says, “It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.’

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:11-12)

It is not a matter of if all mankind will kneel before God, it is a matter of when will they bow the knee and confess Jesus’ supremacy.

It is a matter that there is a God, the Father of Christ and the giver of the Holy Spirit.

There is a God, He has a Son who is the Savior of the world and they have eternal existence.

In Revelation we read of Jesus saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

(Revelation 1:8) Jesus is Lord of all and there is nothing, literally no event and no time in the future which can separate Christians from the love of God.

Christians can walk in confidence of their God because of the dominant theme of the Bible, which is the sovereign, continuous, purposeful activity of the eternal God.

All of life and the Word of God speak of a living Lord.

Every living animal and human being get their very heart beat from God. Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being...” (Acts 17:28a) In his song of praise the Psalmist writes, “[God] makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, [and He] brings food from the earth” (Psalm 104:14).

At the Lord’s choosing He waters the trees (Psalm 104:16), He feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field and not one sparrow falls to the ground outside of God’s will (Matthew 6:25-28; 10:29)

Christians walk in confidence because they serve not only a God who exists but also a “Providential God” as well

Christians walk in confidence because they serve not only a God who exists but also a “Providential God” as well.

Christians serve a Lord whose plans and purposes come about.

Psalms 33:4-11 says, “For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does.

The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD?

Let all the people of the world revere Him.

For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.

The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”

In gratitude toward God (The Pulpit Commentary; Barnes Notes), Job writes, “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

(Job 10:12) Job was recognizing that he owed God his entire life because God had gave him constant vigilance and had absolute control of his life.

(Barnes notes)

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives us this explanation of “providence.”

It “implies more than just seeing in advance.

It is anticipation causing one to take steps to meet a need through making a plan.

It is in a sense that pre-vision becomes pro-vision… Applied to God, providence obviously includes the divine foreseeing, but God’s foreseeing has a fuller and broader reference in view of divine overruling.

Providence, then, is the preservation and superintendence of all things by God.

It is divine governance whereby all possible events are woven into a coherent pattern and all possible developments are shaped to accomplish the divinely instituted goal.”

The Book Esther is a remarkable book that shows God’s providence in the life of a person for the deliverance of a nation.

God’s name is not mentioned in the Book of Esther.

However, the key purpose of this book is to show The Lord’s providential care of His people.

In this book we see that God’s providence overrules all things.

Even in a distant country and in dangerous situations, God’s people are yet in His hands.

(Thru the Bible; The Expositors Bible Commentary; Matthew Henry)

Dr J. Vernon McGee wrote a book about Esther, entitled, “Esther, The Romance of Providence.”

As we study the Book of Esther and examine how God raised up Esther, a woman for such a time in Jewish history, we see that all obedient children of God have a purpose in God’s great plan.