OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL 30TH MAY 2020

DON'T LOSE CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

Hebrews 10:35-39

35.  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

36.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

37.  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

38.  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

39.  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

MESSAGE:

Hebrew 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Losing trust in Christs ability to do anything and everything has several terrible spiritual implications. For example, if anyone loses confidence in the sufficiency of Christ regarding the atonement for sins, such a person could turn to idols for supplementary atonement. A displeased Paul wrote to the church in Galatia:  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain (Galatians 2:21). They had apparently lost confidence in the grace that earned them salvation and had begun to resort to self-righteousness through religious activities.

Today, like the Galatian Church who considered keeping of the Jewish traditional laws, some people do not think the gospel is enough for them. So, they give in to demonic alternatives.

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?                 Galatians 3:1,3"

Do not lose confidence in God due to impatience.  The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Some people doubt Malachi 3:10-12  and then blaspheme because things are not going as planned despite their faithfulness in the payment of tithes and offerings. Some others now query monogamy as a Christian doctrine. Jesus Christ is however the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8 ). We cannot modify Gods laws to suit ourselves. Brethren, nothing should make us fret, not severe persecutions, not trials of faith. God wants you to trust Him completely; there is no problem He cannot resolve. Never seek solutions to your problems from the devil or his agents. Psalms 16:4  says: Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god Make God your refuge and strength. He is a very present help and will never forsake you (Psalms 46:11 , Romans 8:35 ).

POINT:

Father, please help me to hold on to You and let my confidence in Christ increase, rather than diminish in the mighty name of Jesus.

HYMN

In Christ Alone

1.  In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

2.  In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live.

3.  There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

4.  No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home