SERMON NOTES
Week 1
Philippians 1
With every new position and responsibility comes more pressure. The greater the decision, the greater the pressure.
We shouldn't choke or underperform when under pressure.
We handle pressure through confidence.
God wants to take us places we have never been, but we can’t get there without Confidence.
Confidence Perspective:
1) It sees obstacles as an opportunity.
2) It sees crisis as a challenge.
3) It sees distress as a door for opportunity.
A Christian without confidence is like a jet without fuel.
When we are sinners we have One Good Enemy (God), but when we become saved we have 3 enemies: Flesh, Devil, World System. This is why we have more pressure and life seems harder when we are Christians.
5 Levels of Confidence:
- People with a lack of confidence.
- People who have self-confidence (not enough).
- People with overconfidence (this can be a self-mechanism. It’s destructive).
- People who put their confidence in other people (don’t!).
- People who put their confidence in God (This is the way to do it!!)
We can undertake and achieve everything He calls us to do.
Confidence in the Lord comes from our relationship with God (Law of Association).
We handle the world’s pressure with Godly confidence. We have Godly confidence if we have a Big and Bold view of our future.
Philippians 1:6 KJV
"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ":
-God has a good ending in us. The dream He put in us will come to pass. It will be a successful ending.
-When we know God is doing a good work for us, it will create a confidence that will OVERRIDE the pressure in us.
Philippians 1:6 MSG
"There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." If we have Godly confidence, we will have a Bold, Big view of the future.
We build our confidence on the principle of identity. That’s why the devil wants us to question our identity.
Joshua received a new position from Moses to lead people to the promised land. God’s instruction to him was: Be Strong, Be Bold, Be of a Good Courage (be confident of the call that is on your life).
4 steps to the Law of Identity:
- Focus on Who’s we are.
- Focus on who we are.
- Focus on what God has available for us.
- Focus on what we can do through Christ.
CONFESSIONS:
These confessions will help us in our identity.
“I am a child of the Most High God”.
“I am called and anointed”.
“I am an overcomer, strong in the Lord, blessed, chosen of God.
“GOD is doing a Great work in us”.
RESOURCES
“Performing Under Pressure”- Book
GOLDEN NUGGETS
A Christian without confidence is like a jet without fuel.
We cannot follow Christ, nor fulfill our purpose without confidence.
Week 2
This week Pastor Blunt continues teaching us how to deal with and perform under pressure. He explains how a God-given confidence will help us overcome the daily challenges of pressure. We believe that as you read these notes you will grow your confidence!
NOTES
With every new position and responsibility comes more pressure.
The more confident I am, the more pressure I can handle.
5 Levels of Confidence:
1. People with a lack of confidence.
2. People who have self-confidence (not enough).
3. People with over-confidence (this can be a self-mechanism, its destructive).
4. People who put their confidence in other people (Don’t!).
5. People who put their confidence in God (This is the way to do it!!).
When we are sinners we have one good enemy (God) but when we become saved we have 3 enemies: Flesh, Devil, World System. This is why we have more pressure and life seems harder when we are Christians.
Philippians 1:6 KJV
“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
-With every new level, God wants to bless me. It will be more pressure, but He won’t give me something I can't handle.
If my confidence is in the Lord, I have a big view of my future.
Psalm 27:1 KJV
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
-If I don’t have confidence I will respond to pressure with fear, anxiety, and it will create depression.
Psalm 27:3 KJV
“Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”
-Even on evil days, I will not give in or underperform because my confidence is in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 AMP
“7 [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.”
• When heat comes up in my life, I won’t give in or burn or choke. I don’t respond in fear.
• People who put their confidence in the Lord will be most blessed, and successful. Even when others are not producing, I will.
3 Ways to Build my Confidence:
1. I need to have a correct picture of God.
a. God is for you and He wants the best for me. He will never let me down.
b. My picture of God determines my confidence level.
2. Have the right picture of myself.
a. I will never outperform how I see myself.
b. Self-esteem is connected to my achievements.
c. Have a Christ-centered identity.
3. Have the right picture of my future.
a. God started a good work in me and He will perform it.
CONFESSIONS
List your "I am" - that will build your confidence. Not the "I can’t”.
"I am blessed of the Lord".
"I am an overcomer".
"I am accepted".
"I am predestinated".
"The best is yet to come".
RESOURCES
“Performing Under Pressure”- Book
GOLDEN NUGGETS
If my confidence is in the Lord, I have a big view of my future.
My picture of God determines my confidence level.
I will never outperform how I see myself.