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Trust in Jesus.

Jesus said, “I have given you the power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

I am so thankful that we have joined together in worship this Sunday as we celebrate the confidence we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Confidence is so important to us. We think of confidence in many ways – being sure of what we are doing, choosing our words carefully, and studying various approaches so to choose the best one for the most positive outcome. We don’t like making mistakes. We don’t like being embarrassed in our interactions with others or by our decisions.

Jesus sends His seventy-two disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, to evangelize talking about God and the way God wants us to live. They were people just like us with the same worries, the same need for confidence. Unlike us, they had not yet seen the resurrection of Jesus in power and glory, nor had they experienced the descent of the Holy Spirit.

They were to go in trust, asking people to change their lives completely – to prepare themselves because the Messiah was about to come into their town. The Kingdom was at hand for them.

Jesus prepares the seventy-two with certain instructions, how they were to travel, where they were to lodge. In these first few instructions Jesus asks them to make a leap of faith, to put their trust in Him. He even insisted they trust so far as to leave their money, their bags, and sandals behind. They were to trust that they would be fed and housed – it was all about trust.

He also gives them the words and authority they are to use: â€œcure the sick and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Those seventy-two went out and did as Jesus asked in complete trust. Because they did that, they were able to come back rejoicing. The rejoiced not because of who they were, nor because of their sneakers, backpacks, or money, nor because they had confidence. It was because they learned that trusting in Jesus gave them real victory over fear, doubt, hesitation, and being timid.

I began saying that we celebrate the confidence we have in Jesus today. You see, Jesus fully understands what we face if we do all He asks us to do. So, Jesus shows us that trust is enough. We don’t have to be sure of what we are doing because Jesus oversees the accomplishment. We don’t need to choose our words carefully. We have Jesus’ gospel. We don’t have to study various approaches to get the most positive outcome. All outcomes in Jesus are the best. Trusting in Jesus gives us ultimate victory, names inscribed in heaven.