Brace yourselves for a LONG post! :) I tried to take a nap today, but it didn't last long...I just kept feeling very strongly that I needed to get these notes typed up (however 'rough' they are-I know I couldn't catch everything) and posted, emailed, printed, etc. And in saying that, if you would like a more printable copy, let me know and I will email it to you.
Before I begin, however, just let me say that the conference was pretty amazing! We were given the VIP treatment, as in free tickets and 3rd row seats!!! Beth sat not five feet in front of us during the worship times! It felt a little unreal at times...I will post pictures after the notes...anyway, the message of the conference was something that spoke intimately and deeply to each and every one of us that was there. And I think that God might have something in there for you, too! So happy reading!
Treasure in the Trash
Hebrews 10:23-25, 32-39 NIV
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds.
Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another—
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Remember those earlier days after
you had received the light,
when you stood your ground in a
great contest in the face of suffering.
Sometimes you were publicly exposed
to insult and persecution;
at other times you stood side by side
with those who were so treated.
You sympathized with those in prison and
joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property,
because you knew that you yourselves
had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence;
it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when
you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him."
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved.
Topic: Losing confidence and experiencing self-doubt
Do you suffer from a slow leak of confidence? 2 or 3 ounces at a time?
Where do I get the most affirmation?
Am I looking to someone else or my circumstances as my source of confidence?
No one can threw away my confidence except me!
Reconnect with God-given confidence
-feelings can be toxic and need to change
-time to “fire” the ones that I have allowed to become my mirror of confidence
Three ways to lose confidence
1. Can come from a “slow leak”-dribbling out over time
2. Can come from a “break”, sudden loss of confidence
3. Or you just never really had any in the first place
-brokenness-just seems not to hold the Holy Spirit
-this may be a stronghold of unbelief in God and His Word
Results are still the same-you have thrown away your confidence!
Don’t confuse Confidence with Pride or Lack of Self-Confidence with Humility!
If I don’t have confidence in God or His Word, I will not be able to fulfill God’s will for my life.
What we need is Humble Confidence
HUMBLE Apart from Me, you can do nothing. John 15:5
CONFIDENCE Through Me, you can do anything. Phil. 4:13
**Do not throw away your confidence, for which there is great reward!
Acts 4:13 “courage” Hebrews 10:35 “confidence” translated from the Hebrew
“parresia” which means “confidence with much courage”
-the people were astonished at their confidence with much courage and noted that they
had been with Jesus
God can take ordinary, unschooled people and turn them into brilliant and extraordinary
The enemy seeks to undermine my God-confidence
-we allow people and circumstances to steal our confidence and our identity
-the leading source of “identity theft” in America comes from “dumpster diving”
We need to claim back the things that are ours!
Sometimes we treat trash like treasures and treasures like trash.
Find your identity in Christ and use it with confidence.
Anyone set up as a false savior will devastate us eventually, even if it is someone that loves and cares for us
Digging my Treasures out of the Trash
1) Stop giving people power over us that only God should have
-you can love them and be committed to them without giving them power only
God should have
-relationships do not have to equal bondage
2) We are going to check the trash bin for some truth
-head and heart full of Scripture is what will keep me from throwing away my confidence
-Acts 4:13-15-having the kind of life that attracts others to Christ
-the truth of Scripture is meant to rock our world, not sit in our minds
3) Stop halting the work before some trash turns into treasure
-Don’t give up too soon just because the pain and suffering has been relieved
-God works every single little bit of “trash” in our lives into good if we persevere
-God can take the experience and make me a miracle, but if I shrink back, God will not
be pleased with me
-I will not be done with the process of trash turning to treasure until I have been
rewarded-DON’T STOP THE PROCESS
-Persevere in my area of gifting
-it might not come naturally or smoothly at first
-stir the gift into a flame-perfect it
-see it through to the reward
-Hebrews 12 We perform before witnesses
Who are the witnesses? Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Isaiah…
-You cannot serve God and remain a WIMP! Character is developed over time
-SADD=Spiritual ADD-we haven’t listened to God’s answer to a request before we put
in another one
-Our culture is mass-producing wimps and social wimps
-Don’t allow technology (email and social-networking sites) to replace personal
social relationships
-face-to-face relationships require change in me!
-important for my character and true transformation
-keep a circle of friends that will help in this area, esp. if you are single
4) Remember the victories that you and God have had together
-stand on those victories
-God and I have a history with each other!
-Am I going to quit now over some small obstacle when God has gotten me through
greater things before?
-God has been faithful to me
5) Show courage even before you feel courage
-"Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong" I Cor. 16:13 NET
-courage and confidence are not necessarily synonymous
-confidence must always have courage
-we tend to repeat the same old response patterns
-Carnal Coping Skill-we all have a CCS in our human flesh and nature
-panic, binge, starve, drink, sleep, disconnect, self-gratification
-THAT is WIMPING OUT
The pattern goes like this:
Threatened --> Carnal Coping --> Failure --> Affirms Carnal Coping --> Leads us to Trash our Confidence, and then we become confident that we ARE trash! --> back to Carnal Coping…etc.
This pattern Destroys Confidence
The new pattern:
Threatened --> Do the God Thing-SHOW COURAGE --> Pray, Do the Courageous Thing --> Builds Confidence/Breaks Addictions -->SHOW COURAGE…etc.
This pattern Boosts Confidence
-Our children need to see us show courage; be an example for them
-God knows that it’s scary to be us
-He knows it can be brutal
-And yet He says, take confidence
6) Trash the self-condemnation
-I John 3:19-21 – confidence before God=no self-condemnation
-CONDEMNATION = ENEMY
-CONVICTION = GOD and leads to repentance
-self-loathing does not please God
-Come to a place of believing God’s truth MORE than I believe my emotions
-Heb. 4:16 I have a High Priest-confidence to go before the throne
-God will make it worth my while to persever
-Promise of Scripture = Reward
-if we persevere…even if we die persevering, we will die faithful
-the reward will come, in this life or our eternal reward
-be wary of people who make you feel like you have a weak will
-Heb. 10:23-25
-letter of Hebrews a Call to Community
-I Cor. 12-we NEED one another!
-we aren’t meant to overpower or be overpowered
7) Encourage and receive encouragement
-some people comfortable receiving, but not giving
-some people comfortable giving, but not receiving
-It helps build our confidence to accept an encouragement
-Encouragement is so different from flattery
-flattery focused on the “encourager”
-want to get something out of you, favor, reputation, etc.
-One reason we hesitate to encourage others is because we’re afraid to build up pride
in each other-but that's really between them and God
-In our culture, women will never be able to measure up
-we are looking to the media for our self-confidence. And it’s all a LIE.
-older generations didn’t have to deal with the assaults of visual media
-We are hurting!
-Take the chance that my encouragement will NOT build pride, but BOOST their
confidence enough to continue on one more day.
-Err on the side of encouragement!
-Heb. 10:24 “Consider how…” Perceive and discover individual needs in this area
-what will motivate different people to love and good works
-Joshua 1:8 Success before God
-“Meditation” What am I “consistently thinking about”?
-“stronghold” is anything that takes an obsessive stream of thought in my mind
8) Daily and deliberately believe God over every other influence
-Persevere in Scripture memory
-We need our Scripture in our brain
-choose verses for ME (not my spouse, children, etc), choose what I need.
Back Pocket: small stuffed animal (I have no idea-apparently it belonged to Gracia because she snatched it up as soon as she saw it on the table), a writing pen, another business card (my chiropractor in the U.S.), sugar packet (from Venezuela!), a very old peppermint candy (hmmmm...might keep a kids occupied one of these days...), an emery board (I don't know why I even have emery boards, I have no fingernails to speak of!), another flosser (un-used), and a paper clip
