Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence

Introduction

I need two minutes this morning. Now I know what you’re thinking. He’s going to take more than two. And that’s right. But I’ve got to have the first two minutes, okay? I want to talk about a verse that is, it just jumped out at me recently as so critical. So important. I want you to think about it. I want you to think about it beyond today. I want you to think about it this week. I want you to memorize it. I want it to become your anthem.

It’s in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 35. Therefore, are you still having two minutes? Minute and a half now. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence. Which has a great reward. That’s it. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence. Which has a great reward. You may notice that I’ve highlighted three parts of this verse. The first, do not throw away. What do we throw away? Something that we do not value, something that we consider to be trash. It holds no value to us, so we discard it. There’s so much clutter in our lives that we throw stuff away. If you need stuff thrown away, invite Sherry over, she’ll throw everything away. But of all the things she has thrown away of our married lives.

Do not throw away this, the Hebrew writer says, Your confidence. Not just your holiness, your godliness, your worship, but your conviction about unseen things. Your conviction about the word of God. Your conviction about the Savior, the living Savior who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as we read about in Hebrews chapter 1. Do not throw away your confidence. And then he says this, which has a great reward. It’s superlative. It’s supreme. It’s beyond anything that you can imagine. It exceeds all of your most wonderful thoughts about it. All contained in this one little verse. And I’ve got to tell you something about this verse that also struck me very recently. This verse stands upon a precipice in the book of Hebrews. In regard to all that precedes it and what is about to follow it.

And thus I think it’s even more significant in my mind. The Hebrews writer’s audience, the Hebrew writer’s audience is struggling mightily. He has talked to them already in this book about their neglect, their wavering hearts, their immaturity in chapter 5, and then in chapter 6, their sluggishness. He started in chapter 2, and then into chapter 3 and 5 and 6, identifying the spiritual problems that are plaguing them. So you need to understand that about his audience as he comes to this statement in Hebrews chapter 10.

Moving forward. So many examples of faith. Proceeding from this statement on the other side of the precipice are these examples of faith who blaze the trail ahead of them. Examples urging them on to victory. And that awesome list of heroes of faith that we’ve studied so much in Hebrews chapter 11 is preceded by this statement at the end of chapter 10. We are not of those who shrink back to destruction. Now hold on to that grace. We are not those people. We are not of those who shrink back to destruction. But of those who have faith to the preserver of the soul.

And all through the book, as he identifies their struggles, encourages them to continue on in their faith.

In order to survive spiritually. You have an amazing high priest.

He sympathizes with your weakness. Go to the throne of grace with boldness. Now that’s a part of your confidence, isn’t it? Go to the throne of grace with boldness and find grace to help in a time of need. Previously in chapter 2 and verse 18, we’re told of our high priest that he can come to the aid of attempts. You have help. That’s why you shouldn’t throw away your confidence. You have a high priest who cares about your condition. He ever lives. And I like this. I’ve told you many times. I can’t get away from Hebrews 7 25 for very long. He ever lives to make intercession for us. I need that. You need that. He’s pleading our case, our pitiful case before the Father. He makes intercession for us, and He is able.

Mark those words. He is able to save forever those who draw near to Him. This is what’s going on behind the scenes. Our confidence is in Him. And we sang that. First song out of the shoot this morning. What was that song we sang? The battle belongs to the Lord. Hold the word fast as we studied in our adult auditorium class. Hold the word fast and bear fruit with perseverance. Our confidence is in him. Yet. So many people.

This is why that verse is so important.

So many people give up. I don’t even want to think about the number of saints who have given up since I’ve been preaching the gospel. Not because they were all listening to me. But just across the width and breadth of this land and this globe. How many people in just the last three decades?

Who have given up their faith. That number is staggering. That’s why I’m preaching this lesson. What are you going to do?

If you find yourself, and you may. You may be there now.

What are you going to do?

If you find yourself in the dark place of giving up.

Hebrews 10 35 is telling you not to do that. It is telling you that you have got to hang on. Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. You’ve got to hang on. You must not throw away your confidence despite anything and everything. I don’t care what it is. Why? Why the dark place of giving up. Why is Hebrews 10 35 so hard?

1. God Seems Far Away

Do not throw away your competence, which has a great reward. So I started thinking about that. I’m not sure that I’m uncovering every stone this morning, but I want to give you a few things as to why I think people find themselves in that dark place. You may not be there now. But you might be one day. And here are the major things that I think contribute to it. Number one. People find themselves in the dark place of giving up because God seems far away. He just seems detached from me and my circumstances. You know, the phrase is almost trite. We’ve all probably heard it. If God seems so far away, who moved? And that’s a good question. Christians are admonished in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5.

The Lord is near. And that’s supposed to help us in a number of ways. First of all, it’s a deterrent to sin because he is watchful. He sees everything. He beholds the evil and the good. His eyes are in every place, Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 3. And so the Lord is near. And it’s a deterrent of doing evil because he’s watching. But it is also a help in regard to the fact that he is there to assist. He’s not far away. He’s not detached. And yet, so often in our lives, it can feel as if he is detached. And maybe that’s why Jesus quotes that statement on the cross, Psalm 22 and verse 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Oh, I know it has a peculiar reference to what was going on at that place.

But God is absolutely, God the Father is absolutely aware of what is going on at Cal. He knows of his son’s struggle. He sent an angel to strengthen him the night prior. But yet God can feel so far away.

2. People Give Up Because They Are in Pain

And yet, so often when people are in pain, and more on this in a moment, they think that he’s not with me. You can’t reason like that. Because you’re in pain. You name me one righteous person in the scripture that didn’t experience some pain. If we’re told anything at all about their lives, they went through some pain. That doesn’t mean that God didn’t care for that he wasn’t near. Pain is a part of the human condition. Life is full of pain. But don’t you lay that at God’s feet.

We are to blame. Sin is to blame for the presence of pain in our lives, and whether it’s physical pain that can debilitate us, or emotional pain, which can sometimes be even worse.

A lot of people give up because they are in pain and they just don’t want to trudge through it anymore. And they lose their confidence. Pain leads to discouragement. So some people find themselves in that dark place because of pain. And I’ve got to tell you, I would like to say I understand it. Oh, I’ve dealt with some pain. But there are some Christians who have dealt with a ton more pain than I have. And I can’t say I understand it, but our high priest understands it. And he can help you survive. Don’t give up because you’re in pain. Point number three.

3. Marriage Is Not a Fairy Tale; the Church Isn't Utopia

Some people give up on faith because they discover that marriage is not a fairy tale. I took Sherry to see Cinderella this week. You know, and I sort of got the impression when I went up to the window and said, I want two tickets for Cinderella, and Sherry and I were standing there, and the guy was going, Why are you going to watch that movie? Because that’s the kind of movie my wife likes. And that blue dress. Oh my. Well, it was a little low cut, ladies. But we love the fairy tale. They live happily ever after. I know the whole pumpkin thing happens, but ultimately, and that was a pretty cool thing, by the way, where the pumpkin comes back, but what about the happily ever after?

That’s that’s not always the experience that people get what they thought marriage was going to be, what they envisioned it was going to be, and here they are. I got one shot at that, and this is it. Didn’t turn out like I thought it would. Disappointment and sin will remove the luster and shine. Once on their best behavior, and turning on the charm.

The responsibilities and burdens of life. Making ends meet, raising the kids. Overtime. Concerns of all sorts, fatigue.

That first child. I’m so tired. Where’s the sleeping end till 10 or 11 on Saturday? They’re up with the chickens. Or before. And like I said, wow, I get one shot at this, and this is it. And so many people give up on faith because their marriage doesn’t turn out the way they thought it was going to. And Hollywood is contributing to some of that. It’s unrealistic. People in the movies and on television don’t have real jobs. They don’t have real lives. And not only is marriage sometimes a disappointment, but the church isn’t utopia either. Well, these are the people of God. These are the finest people on God’s earth. And indeed, sometimes they are and should be. But they’re a work in progress. We’re recovering sinners.

And yet some people think the local church ought to be absolutely amazing. And what that means is that everybody serves me. Wait a minute, you’re supposed to be one of the servants. Just like you’re expecting them to be.

So many people throw in the towel and throw in their confidence because some brother has disappointed them. The elders have disappointed them. The preacher has disappointed them. Well, I say about that all the time. Just get in line.

Not well timed.

4. Worship Has Become Stale; Heaven Is Unattainable

Perhaps your worship has become stale. The fervor that perhaps you once had. It’s just not there. You find yourself going through the motions. I want to feel something, but I’m not feeling anything. And I want to tell you again, you can’t let worship happen to you. You have to invest to make it meaningful. You have to display some diligence. You have to do some mental preparation before you ever come to this place. You have to do some work. If you would give up self. If you would come here focused on God and how deserving and worthy He is, you would find some zest for it. People find themselves in a rut. I just can’t go on any longer. Heaven, I’m not going to make it to heaven.

Why even try? Heaven is unattainable. And you know, that was the question the disciples asked in Mark chapter 10. If it’s like this, well, who can be saved? If it’s hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, it’s possible, Jesus says. Well, then who’s going to be saved? And then Jesus said, with men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. There are people in this audience who found that dark place and walked away from the Lord for a time and yet have returned. Have regained their confidence and have embraced it once more. Isn’t this marvelous? That God gives you another shot. And that’s really what Paul is saying in Philippians 3 when he says, forget what is before.

I press toward the mark of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You get back to work.

Heaven is attainable. But I’m so flawed and undeserving. Hear another amen for Tony. And so we’re all flawed and undeserving.

5. The Offer of Sin Is Always Inferior

Yes, we are. The Lord knows that. And then there’s the prospect of sin. So tantalizing. So inviting at times. But remember, no matter how alluring it is, the offer of sin is always inferior. It is always less than what it promises. It is always less than what God offers. And I don’t care what the sin is. What is it that you’re struggling with that you know and can identify? This is a sin that I struggle with. Whatever it is, it is less than God’s offer. It is less than what it promises. That’s what the devil does. He’s all about the luster and the shine. He transforms himself into an angel of light. He says, This is what you need. This will bring fulfillment. He can’t give you that.

He cannot. Only God can. We sing that. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. You follow what the devil is offering you. You will want. The prodigal son teaches us that. This is a can’t miss thrill. Oh, yes, it will. Because it can cause you to miss heaven.

6. The Journey Can Seem So Long

Well, and all of this can be wrapped up, probably in the final thing that I want to mention. It’s that people throw away their confidence because journey can seem so long. Day after day, and week after week, and month after month, and year after year, and a lot changes over time. A lot of things happen in our lives, bringing back that thing of pain I talked about very early on in all of this. Time can take its toll. This journey seems so long. But it’s not. I love the story of David and Goliath in this regard. Here is this strapping young kid who’s ready to take on this enemy of God, this giant Goliath. And we talk to our kids about how tall he was. This massive mountain of a man, and David’s small in comparison.

Here is a young man. You know how young people are. They’re ready to tackle the world. They’re full of venom and vigor. And there’s David, and he goes out on the battlefield with his faith and confidence in God, and he slays the giant. The battle belongs to the Lord, illustrated in the life of David. That’s great. Then he becomes king ultimately with some pain along the way. Ultimately becomes king, and Israel begins to reach its zenith as a nation. One little problem in regard to Absalom. You know, there’s always problems along the way. But when you picture David, how do you picture? I picture the young man. But I think we ought also to picture the man of Psalm 37. Trust in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart, he says in that psalm in verse 4.

But he also says something interesting in verse 25. When he says, I have been young, and now I am old. Why don’t you focus on that? I have been young, but now I am old. And I’ve not seen the righteous forsaken. Or his descendants begging bread. Yeah, the journey might seem long. But righteousness is the way to go. And here’s what I think about. As he would say a couple of Psalms later, Lord make me to know my end and how transient I am, how short-lived my life is. That strapping young man that knocked down the giant Goliath and cut off his head. He not only got old, he hasn’t walked on this earth for three millennia. 3,000 years. These people we read about in the Bible, that’s one of the things that is a stumbling block for folks.

These people have long been gone that we’re reading about in the scripture. They had their lives, their time like we did, and yet they’ve been gone for a very long time. And that’s why Hebrews 11 is so powerful. Those people lived and they died and they lived the life of faith all the way to the end. You can make it to the end.

Conclusion

Never give up. Because our salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. Paul says in Romans 13, verses 11 and following. He tells us to awake sleeper and arise from the dead. And he’s talked to us already in Romans chapter 12 about being living sacrifices being renewed and transformed in our minds, proving the will of God, good, acceptable, and perfect. And he comes toward the end of all of that in chapter 13 and says, stay the course because salvation is closer than it’s ever been. And so the verse. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence. Which has a great reward. Do you have that confidence? Have you come to Jesus for cleansing? So that he can be your high priest and assist you on the journey to his presence.

We’re going to sing a song of encouragement like we always do. Will you come to Jesus today?

We would love to assist you to embracing this competence that is more valuable than anything else in this world. Can we help you today? And once you have embraced this confidence, no matter what dark place you may find yourself, you must not throw it away. You must not. And let’s help each other not to do that. And if we can help you today in some public way, if you need to respond to embrace this confidence for the first time or to embrace it once more. Come while we stand and sing together.