Where do you get your confidence?

TEEN BIBLE STUDY:

How do you build confidence or more personally, what things build your confidence?

Some basketball players wear a shooting sleeves and football players wear elbow bands. Why? Mostly for looks. Like wise, some girls wear trendy clothes, jewelry and a lot of make up.

How do you feel when you wearing the latest fashions? When you dress your best and feel good about what you are wearing? Do you go to school with confidence? Of course you do!

Why do we put of confidence in such things?

Some times we get our confidence from the wrong places like clothes, Jewelry, shoes, friends...etc.

The world tells us that our self worth has to come from material things.

Where should our confidence and strength come from? God, the bible and through prayer!

Ephesians 6:10-18

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Lets break this scripture down by verse and meditate on what God is saying here.

Vs 10 – Where should we get our strength? From God and his mighty power!

Vs 11 – Put on the full armor of God! Would you fill confident in battle with out armor? What if you only had a helmet and no shield...etc. No you would not be confident until you were wearing the full armor.

Vs. 12 – Satan wants us to think our battle is against each other, but our battle is really against the status quo. The underlined forces that tell us we have to dress a certain way to be cool or have sex before marriage...etc. Our battle is a spiritual battle! A spiritual battle for the purity of our souls!

Vs. 13 – When will the day of evil come? It's not a matter of IF but when! How do we stand our ground and resist temptation? This can only be accomplished with the full armor of God!

Vs. 14-17 – In order to stand firm, to be strong and confident we must put on each piece of armor. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet have to be fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith (use to extinguish Satan's arrows), the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god!

So how do we put on the full armor of God? By upholding the truth, making a decision to live a righteous life, spreading the good news and being about our purpose, having faith in his promises and his power, accepting our salvation and reading the word of God and obeying his commands.

We can face anything life has to throw at us with strength and confidence if we have this approach. With God all things are possible and he has given us the tools and power to overcome!

Romans 8:31-35

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Our confidence should come from God and God alone! Our faith and trust should be in him and him alone! Make a decision to follow the word of God and not the status quo.