Hold Fast Your Confession - Robbie Phillips

Present Word Ministries

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches’

1101 Garden Dale Drive, Columbia, SC  29210-4910

(803) 791-7538     robbiewphillips@gmail.com

February 17 & 18, 2012

 “Hold fast your Confession!”

– Hebrews 4:14

Perhaps it’s just me. That must be it. Nobody else feels like I do. Then again, maybe not. For it seems to me that we live in a particularly discouraging time, at least here in America. The economic climate is darker than at any time I can remember during my lifetime and getting steadily worse, for the uncurbed out-of-control deficit spending by the current administration and congress is simply staggering. In the political arena, the unrelenting frontal assault on our Constitution and therefore on our ‘inalienable rights’ grows bolder so that ‘political correctness’ seems to be the order of the day. On the religion side of things, Christianity and our godly heritage are on the retreat in the public arena on every hand. The ‘enemy has come in like a flood’ – and I’m starting to wonder when (and if) ‘the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him’, Isaiah 59:19.

Let’s not underestimate the power of the forces working against us. When things are ‘going south’ around us in society, or more personally when things in our immediate world seem to be spiraling downward, the overall inner negative affect on us can be considerable. Just recently a man of God commented to me: “Everything seems to be working against me.” When we’re in that “everything’s against me” mindset (and who hasn’t been at some time or other?), then the ‘blues’ sneak up on you. You find yourself down, depressed, perplexed, wondering “what’s going on?”, “why was I born”, “isn’t there something more to life than this?”, “where did I miss it?”, “what have I done to deserve this?”, “where’s God?” Sound familiar?

In reply the Holy Spirit says regarding both our larger and smaller life circumstances: “Hold fast your Confession!” Get alone. Declare – speak out loud – and say it loudly – declare your faith in Jesus Christ! Declare His glory, power, invincible rule. Declare His majesty. Confess what you believe and the One you believe in. Declare aloud that you absolutely refuse to succumb to the negative. Declare aloud that you reject the low, blah feelings, the sense of worthlessness and impotence. Stand up, as it were, and having done all, stand! Refuse to budge, to yield, to bow. Submit to God; resist the devil. Declare your faith boldly, confidently. Remind yourself of your God and of His great faithfulness. Rise up in the strength and power of your bold confession and defy the enemy to his face.

David, not much more than a mere wisp of a boy, when confronting Goliath, ran to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Let’s be like David – let’s rush at our ‘Goliath’ – let’s rout the enemy as David did and do it with bold declaration of our faith!