1 John 4:17 God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Now this is exciting to me. I hope it is to you too. Rather than looking on this verse in fear and worry as to what that time will be like when we see Jesus face-to-face, think of the possibility the exists in these words.
There exists a possibility to be confident on the day of judgment. And if we are confident on that day, what do you think would happen in our life from this day all the way to that day? That’s right, God gives you confidence every step of the way.
Now, let’s draw a distinction between a fool and someone who can truly be confident.
A fool’s confidence is based on nothing. He has no foundation, no history, no faith, nothing to give him confidence. He simply chooses to be confident in what he shouldn’t be confident in.
Proverbs 28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.
A fool doesn’t think about the future, you do. You are not a fool. A fool doesn’t care about standing before God, you do. Fools operate on the instinct of what will bring them pleasure. They live in they now. Even though they act confidently, when the times get tough, they will morph into something else just so they can get along. That is not what the truly confident person does.
Your confidence is based upon what Jesus said. That means that the faith that you are building is what gives you confidence. You notice I didn’t say that your faith is in what you hope will happen, nope that would be a strong lean toward foolishness.
Faith isn’t looking at what might happen to your benefit. Faith is looking at God’s word; and trusting what Jesus has already said. I have faith in what Jesus has said about my future, not my ability to hope.
When you do this confidence grows. Not a confidence in your string of good behavior or faith filled ventures, or even in your ability to hope. Confidence comes from watching God show His power to be trustworthy to you and you choosing to follow Him through thick and thin.
Every hurdle or obstacle you face Jesus is shaping you to recognize Him. Even though you may wonder about what His face looks like, you don’t have to worry. If you are trusting Him and waiting for Him to show up, you are getting to know Him.
Think about Mary near the tomb, it wasn’t until Jesus said her name that she truly recognized His voice. It wasn’t her eyes that recognized Jesus, it was her heart – she longed for Jesus.
When Jesus said that His sheep know His voice…
John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I believe that as we trust the Lord day-by-day, He is creating an understanding of His voice in us.
Although we have never physically seen the Lord and never audibly heard Him either, when we do hear His voice for the first time physically, we will know that it is Him. Because we have been following Him in this life, by faith. I believe He is building our ability or capacity to recognize His voice.
That should give us a confidence that exists in the realm of faith. You do not have to worry, “Oh, will I even recognize Jesus when I see Him?” You will because He is building a relationship with you as you are with Him.
Fools have an unfounded confidence in this world. You are given confidence in this world and the confidence in the upper realm by simply longing for the appearing of Jesus more than anything else on this earth.
Love His appearing.
Father, thank You for Your goodness to us. Thank You that You want to have a relationship with us. We can know You and You want to be known by us. Its so hard to understand that You want to know us, but by faith we receive that and want to live in that for eternity. Jesus, You have made all of this possible through your broken body and Your shed blood. Thank You from the bottom of our hearts.
Blessings,
Pastor D
