Warren W. Wiersbe - Be Confident. Live by Faith, Not by Sight

BE CONFIDENT

Published by David C. Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C. Cook Distribution Canada

55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

David C. Cook and the graphic circle C logo

are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.) Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version . NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved; TLB are taken from The Living Bible, 1971, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60189. Used by permission; and AB are taken from The Amplified Bible . Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All italics in Scripture have been added by the author for emphasis.

LCCN 2008937430

ISBN 978-1-4347-6735-6

eISBN 978-1-4347-0313-2

1982 Warren W. Wiersbe

First edition of Be Confident by Warren W. Wiersbe published by Victor Books
in 1982 Warren W. Wiersbe, ISBN 978-0-89693-728-4

The Team: Karen Lee-Thorp, Amy Kiechlin, Jack Campbell, and Susan Vannaman

Series Cover Design: John Hamilton Design

Cover Photo: Veer Inc.

Second Edition 2009

This book in the BE series is
dedicated to my good friend JIM ADAIR

whose editorial skill and constant
encouragement have shepherded me
through many days of study and writing.
Thanks, Jim!

Contents

: An Introduction to Be Confident by Ken Baugh

1. (Hebrews 1:13)

2. (Hebrews 1:42:18)

3. (Hebrews 3:14:13)

4. (Hebrews 4:145:10)

5. (Hebrews 5:116:20)

6. (Hebrews 7)

7. (Hebrews 8)

8. (Hebrews 9)

9. (Hebrews 10)

10. (Hebrews 11)

11. (Hebrews 12)

12. (Hebrews 13)

The Big Idea

An Introduction to Be Confident
by Ken Baugh

Dr. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who lived as a prisoner in Auschwitz and other concentration camps during World War II. Dr. Frankl experienced unimaginable horror during his years of captivity, yet during that time he was able to discern the reasons why some people survived the camps while others did not. In his book Mans Search for Meaning, Dr. Frankl writes about how hope was the key factor to a prisoners ability to survive. He says,

For the prisoner who had lost faith in the future, his future was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and become subject to mental and physical decay. The only chance people had of making it in the camps was their ability to focus on some future goal, it had nothing to do with who was the healthiest or strongest, but who had someone waiting back home for them or who had some vocational goal they dreamed of realizing one day. (Beacon, 2000, p. 82)

It surprises me that hope helped people survive the concentration camps. One would think it would be something more tangible like good health, food, warm clothing, and shelter; but, as Dr. Frankl discovered, it was the power of hope.

At times, life is dark and ominous. I cannot think of a season in my life that could ever equal that of Dr. Frankls, but I have had my share of difficulties and no doubt so have you. Yet one thing that always serves me well during a difficult season of life is my confidence in Gods characterthat He can be trusted even during my darkest days. In fact, the Big Idea that runs throughout the book of Hebrews is simply this: You can trust God. And throughout the book, especially in chapters 1112, we discover men and women of faith who have done just that, trusted God despite difficult circumstances.

We are reminded of the confidence of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as our forefathers in the faith. We read of Joseph and how he trusted God even after being unjustly accused and thrown into prison. We are reminded of Moses and his willingness to leave the riches of Egypt because of his confidence in God. And there are so many othersRahab, Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, David, Samuel. All these people knew that they could trust God, and we remember them as great men and women of faith.

But if youre like me, as you read the stories of these people, its tempting to think that theyre different from you and me, that they had some type of supernatural gift of faith that we do not have that enabled them to trust God so completely. However, I dont think thats the case at all. I think they were just as normal as we are, and I believe that their level of faith is available to every follower of Christ. Thats right: You, too, can become a great man or woman of faith if you remember the following three principles.

The first principle of great faith is I must remember that God is with me. This is a truth that we all know but need to be reminded of time and again. David says, Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way (Ps. 23:4 TLB ). Jesus promised us that He would never leave us. He is always watching over us, and He knows exactly whats going on in our lives. The apostle Paul assures us that God will never give us more than we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13). He is constantly monitoring everything in our lives. We may not like the fact that God allows bad things to happen to us, but we can be confident that He is using even those things for our good and His glory. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy (Ps. 111:7 NIV ).

The second principle of great faith is I must remember the honor and rewards that await me in heaven . The writer of Hebrews reminds us that it was the certainty of heaven that helped Jesus endure the cross. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (12:2 NIV ). Jesus kept one eye on the reality of heaven, one eye on eternity, and it enabled Him to endure the pain, humiliation, and rejection He experienced on the cross. The same will be true of us if, during the difficult seasons in life, we remember that heaven is sure and that we will each be rewarded for our faithfulness to God during this life. Paul says, These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and wont last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in Gods richest blessing upon us forever and ever! (2 Cor. 4:17 TLB ).

The third principle of great faith is I must remember that God will guide me when I am confused . Confusion is a close companion during difficult times, but if I look at my life and situation through the vantage point of Gods Word, the confusion clears and I can better see Gods purpose.

When NASA launches a rocket, their job is not over after the launch. Instead, NASA constantly monitors the rockets progress, and the rocket continually receives instructions from ground control to keep it on the right heading. A rocket can reach its destination only if it maintains constant contact with ground control, and the same is true for each of us. The Bible says, Trust God from the bottom of your heart; dont try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for Gods voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; hes the one who will keep you on track (Prov. 3:56 TLB ).