The Beginning of Our Confidence - Part 2

Teachable Woman Podcast

Reverends Michele Owes and Diana P. Cherry

The Beginning of Your Confidence – P2

Rev. Michele Owes: [00:00:00] Welcome. Welcome back to the Teachable Woman podcast. We're excited to be with you today. I am Reverend Michele Owes. I am with Reverend Mrs. Diana P. Cherry, and together we are Teachers of Good Things. Mrs. Cherry, please say hello to our podcast family

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hello, podcast family, and I have one question for you today. you teachable?

Rev. Michele Owes: How do you know? Are you applying that which we pour out into you? Are you applying it to your life? so that's the question of the day.

Okay. Mrs. Cherry has come out of the block slugging, but I'm gonna, I wanna take it a little slower. In our very last podcast, we were talking about the beginning of our confidence and just [00:01:00] examining where we are in the Lord as it relates to the beginning of our confidence. We talked about Hebrews chapter number three, starting with verse number 14.

It says, "For we are partakers..." No, I'm sorry. "For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." And that was our question. Have we held the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end? In order to do that, the first thing we must do is just remember, just take a moment, stop the presses, stop the running here and the there and the doing the this and the that, and take a moment and take inventory of the things that God has done in your life, and primarily way back in the beginning.

And look at the quality of the relationship [00:02:00] that you had with Christ Jesus and how you just believed Him for everything. And when others counted Him out, you trusted Him to do a great work. And how He was never a disappointment to us. He never left you nor had forsaken you. So when we look at where we were then and you compare it to where we are right now, where are you?

All right, Ms. Terri, you get a chance to hop in. You don't have to a- that's a personal question, so you

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah

Rev. Michele Owes: don't have to answer it on the podcast

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: it ties right into my beginning sentence.

Rev. Michele Owes: you go. Let's go with it

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: you? How are you? What are you doing? what you been doing with yourself? Are you teachable? Are you receiving the teachings? I'm serious, because we pour out, we pour out, and the teachings are such a blessing.

I listen to every podcast teaching, I have my, [00:03:00] on some kind of a system where every time I g- get in my car, it starts playing, and it's always the podcast. But, where are we? We can so quickly lose sight of the fact that it is Jesus and the rest of us,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: without Him, we can do nothing, and apart from Him, we are nothing.

Rev. Michele Owes: that takes some sober, self-examination.

Yeah

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But, I really do wanna encourage us. Things do happen, and things come up and... Jesus Christ, like I said last week, He is the same yesterday, today,

Rev. Michele Owes: and forever. He will not change. And my prayer for the entire body of Christ, especially for the beautiful women in the body of Christ, is that we learn not to change. we don't have to change. We don't have to the great big, long, thick eyelashes that cause us to be unable to see [00:04:00] clearly. We don't have to dress so tight that we can count every cellulite bump that's on our behinds. We don't. We don't have to change. It's okay to be virtuous women of God. think more than anything, I really, I really want our women to know that we don't have to change. We can have that same beginning confidence, and we can trust God for the little things. We can trust God for the big things. We can have confidence that He's never gonna leave us, He's never gonna say, forsake us. And I wanna read a scripture that's just so encouraging. What'd I do with it? There it is. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Yes, sir.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Whom shall I fear? Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes," and we all have foes,

Rev. Michele Owes: "came upon me to [00:05:00] eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble, shall hide me in His pavilion. In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me. He shall set me upon a rock. Now, if we have all that going for us,

how could we not have confidence? how could we let anything between us that beautiful relationship that we had with God in the [00:06:00] very beginning of our confidence?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I remember the day I got saved, August the 14th, 1980, walking to work. And I fleeced God and I said, "God, if what that young man taught in Bible study last night is true, want Jesus to be my Lord and Savior." you couldn't convince me, you couldn't persuade me, you couldn't discourage me. I knew that I knew that my new knew that I was saved, that something had And, what causes us to lose that confidence? my answer is really nothing should... we're gonna waver sometimes. We're gonna have little battles, but in the big scheme of things, we shouldn't turn our backs on God. We shouldn't leave the God who made us all those wonderful promises. God who, at that time that we got saved, if somebody said pulpit, altar, pew, we would [00:07:00] cry.

anything that reminded of God, we would be so full. And, of course, it's hard to maintain that at that level always, but we have to try to, 'cause God is not going to change. He's the same. He has set us up on a rock. We have to have that confidence in Him. He's the only thing really that we can have absolute confidence in. 'Cause I know I sure thought I could have confidence in my husband. I sure enough never thought that dude was gonna leave me. I just knew I was set. I knew, he wasn't that old. 79 to me wasn't that old, especially since I'm 80, almost 83 now. But, I just knew that he was gonna always be with me, but he's gone. But you know what? God never left me. never has forsaken me. He's always there to encourage me. He's always there to tell me, "Turn it off. Turn it on. Turn [00:08:00] around. You're going the wrong direction." And so we have, we just have to have that confidence in Him because He changes not, He's the only, and His Son and the Spirit, only thing I know in this world that will not change.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I think that's the key, Mrs. Chair. The key is confidence in Him and not allowing the confidence, to shift to us because maybe we did a few things well. Maybe we have a few more letters behind our name. Maybe we've gotten some certifications or we have earned some accolades and somebody maybe knows my name.

And we can shift from confidence in the Lord to having confidence in ourselves. And it can be ever so subtle. and a long-term subtle shift, you look up one day and the ship has sailed somewhere where you didn't intend for it to go. And

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: All right

Rev. Michele Owes: when I examined my own life [00:09:00] and examined the beginning of my confidence and where it is now, the question that I asked the Lord was, where did it shift?

And when did it shift? And was there a situation or... And there was none of that. It was little subtle things that I just began to take care of. I could see its problem, and I worked on the problem. I could see something was needed here, and I provided what was needed there. I-- It was just what I would consider natural living.

But even in the course of natural living, if we are not seeking God to ask what His will is, we are operating out of our own confidence rather than our confidence in Him. Because I tell you, some of the things that you start that you think you're helping someone, it is-- You end up not being a help, and you a- you're sitting back asking yourself, "My Lord, how did I get involved in this?

I had only planned to do A and B. How are we now down to [00:10:00] Z and it's still not done?" And so now we know we did it out of our own confidence and out of our own thought of what our abilities could achieve or how we could help someone. And so those are the kinds of things that drain us of some of our spiritual energy because we're so busy trying to work what we thought was a good idea, that we had confidence would be quick, short, and to the point, and now it's maybe dragging out.

and so we are absolutely seeking God's help to, Bring down

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: us

Rev. Michele Owes: situation. Look, fix it, Jesus, fix it. That's what we're talking about. Fix it, Lord. But I don't, it's, I don't think it's a natural, I'm just not gonna seek the Lord kind of high-minded decision.

it's a day-to-day ebbing away because we do a thing or two and it works out well.

We do a thing or more or two and it seems like it's going okay, like we're making natural decisions, and we can even pick a couple of scriptures to support what our decision is. But it is [00:11:00] still not the same as seeking the Lord and saying, "God, is this your will? Is this what you want me to do?" Yes. Yes. And but the scripture tells us that we are partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

And so when a partaker is a participant, it's a fellow. So are we not participating when that beginning confidence is gone or is waning? are we losing some of the benefits that God has set up for us because we're off doing our own thing? And what did we miss? Oh my goodness. What did we miss in terms of what God had set up, which we absolutely know is better for what we set up

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. Yeah, I think, I love that scripture says steadfastly till the end.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: think that's, I think that's what happens. We allow little slip- slippages come in, [00:12:00] and we're not steadfast. We're a wishy-washy, a little unbalanced, if you will. And, I think that's the key, is holding on steadfastly

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: end. And, the devil is subtle, and he comes at us in very subtle ways.

the Bible teaches clearly that he was the most subtle of God's creations, and he knows exactly how to pull us off course. And what we have to do is know ourselves

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: well as he thinks he knows us. He doesn't really know us unless we say something or do something to reveal to him. But we have to, we have to know ourselves, know what our strengths and our weaknesses are, and then we have to walk in a way that we don't succumb to any of those weaknesses.

Rev. Michele Owes: And the weakness might not be some kind of a sin or, anything like that. It's just, a weakness in believing that we're stronger than we are.

[00:13:00] Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And people tell you that a lot. "You're a strong person. I've watched you go through s- through so many things and you're strong." But the kind of strong we want is strong in the Lord, right? That is the kind of strong we want. We don't want the strong that people think we are because we can hold our heads up and keep a straight face when it's a tough situation.

Rev. Michele Owes: That's-- and if we're able to do that and we're not faking it, we are strong in the Lord at that moment 'cause we're relying on Him, right? But, and I think that's, that's another one of those things that slowly causes us to ebb away. People telling you're strong and you know how to do this so well, and you've been through so much and it doesn't show.

You're-- all of the world's kind of comments, I think is another thing that kinda contributes to us moving through life thinking that we can handle some things, and thinking that we can manage some things. [00:14:00] As the scripture said, that we have to hold the confidence steadfast to the end.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: The best. Yes

Rev. Michele Owes: the confidence, of course, is our assurance.

The confidence is the substance, but it is also the hope. And at, from the Heart Church Ministries, we've learned three definitions for hope, and one of them is a happy anticipation of good. Another one is... What's the second one?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It's not con- what we fully expect to receive. Thank you so much. But my favorite is confidence in the outcome.

Rev. Michele Owes: There's that word again, confidence. and that is in God, and it is in the outcome that He will bring about. It's not confidence in what I did or the call that I made, or, the letter that I wrote, or my ability to do a thing. It's my confidence in Him to change a situation. I said those last night and [00:15:00] earlier today so beautifully, and then when it came for the podcast, it's no, you missing one 'cause you're trying to get to confidence in the outcome 'cause that's your favorite, right?

but knowing that God is working on our behalf in whatever a situation is, knowing that He's working on our behalf and whatever the outcome, we can have confidence in it because He's working on our behalf, not us.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. and that, th- one, one of them is, the, of course, a happy anticipation of good. And it doesn't mean that, you're looking for things and stuff,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: a happy anticipation that whatever the outcome is, it's gonna be beneficial, because I heard someone say one time, it might not be good," but it's a happy anticipation that God's gonna work it out.

Rev. Michele Owes: And if God's gonna work it out, it's gonna be good. And if it's gonna be good, it's gonna be beneficial. And so that was [00:16:00] that third definition that we, used to give,

at the, at, a- and from the heart, of course. So anyway, and we... My husband used to teach that, and confidence are the same, and hope is not negative.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It's not

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: heard some of the preachers say, "You can't be hoping for stuff. You just have faith." hope is faith. It is full confidence, full assurance that God has it, He's gonna work it out as long as we obey Him, and as long as we do what we're supposed to do. God's got it, it is going to work out to have a beneficial effect.

Rev. Michele Owes: It is going to be good, and we just have to put our confidence in that. But, it's... know that sometimes things will happen that pull you off course and you feel like, "Oh my God, I didn't acknowledge God in this particular situation." I you that there are very few things that we do in life whereby we don't [00:17:00] really acknowledge God. We might not, be in prayer about a thing the way we used to be, but I know for me, I live my life acknowledging Him. I really do, 'cause I'm so helpless and hopeless without God. Wha-

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I'm a pitiful mess without God. I am

Rev. Michele Owes: what? Really we all are. And you know what's so beautiful about it is that we can come t- come to Him no matter where we are.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right

Rev. Michele Owes: about making sure that we remember the... There was such a beautiful thing about the beginning of our confidence. Something so wonderful, something so majestic, something It was heavenly. the beginning of our confidence, the way that our natural mind shifted so much from just who we naturally were to depending on a God that we could not see, and trusting with all of our [00:18:00] hearts that He was able to do whatever was necessary, to perform His will in the earth.

And as long as we were part of His will, it would be b- being performed on our behalf.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I think it's important for us also to remember that Hebrews 10:35 says, "Cast not away therefore your confidence,

Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: which hath great recompense of reward." So now when we move away from our beginning confidence, that means not only are we messing up the fact that we were partakers, but we're also messing up the fact that we got some rewards out there, right?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: We don't even know what they are, but we know they're wonderful because God planned them for us. It says, "For ye have need of patience, that after having done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes

Rev. Michele Owes: we pray and we anticipate something that God is going to do something on our behalf and we don't see [00:19:00] it right away, we still have need of patience because just because man said the time was this time, that may- that ain't God's time.

God's time is the time that we are looking for and counting on and trusting Him in. And so To re-- get back to the beginning of our confidence, we first have to remember what it was, and then we have to repent for not being where it is,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that's

Rev. Michele Owes: then get busy about doing the things that we know were necessary.

How we used to run to our quiet time 'cause we couldn't wait to hear what God had to say. How we made sure we weren't missing church and we were not missing Bible study. How we went over our notes, how we prayed, how we made sure that God was our priority. The tithe and the offerings got in the storehouse 'cause we wanted there to be meat in the house.

We wanted God to rebuke our devour. [00:20:00] And so we obeyed Him out of not only obedience, but our love for Him. But our heart was there to make sure that the kingdom of God progressed according to the will of God. And so our hearts have to return to being the witnesses that God needs us to be and not just, "God did this for me, and so it's between me and God.

It's my business. And so I'm not, I'm no longer sharing the wonderful works of the Lord. Now I'm sharing my resume. I did this and I got this, and I finished this, and these letters are behind my names. I got these kind of certifications." now all of a sudden, our resume is more important than the works of the Lord.

And I think that's when our confidence is being moved away from where it should be

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah, it's a dangerous thing to trust in yourself.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes. Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It's a dangerous thing to trust in one's accomplishments, one's achievements, [00:21:00] because really without God, we really can't... Apart from God, we can do nothing, and apart from Him, we are nothing. The scripture's very clear on that. And, we really have to be very careful in, accolades and accomplishments and achievements and things of this world,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah

the world does pass away. all of the- anything that we get, in the world, any, degree, whatever it might be, accolade, any accomplishment, it really pales in comparison to the fact that we have a right to eternal life. That no matter what happens here in the Earth, I really don't have to worry about the by and by, because the by and by I'm gonna be in the heavens, Amen

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that's a comforting thought.

Rev. Michele Owes: It is

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: it is, it's very dangerous for us to trust in our worldly accomplishments, our worldly goods, our worldly [00:22:00] whatever, our worldly mates,

Rev. Michele Owes: because even though they're Christians, they're still worldly mates. they are. my husband was a human being, so that means he was worldly mate, Hey

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and sometimes we can become attached to and so dependent on people or things that it can pull us off course.

Rev. Michele Owes: But thank God, God is so good when we recognize it, all we have to do is just say, "God, forgive me.

Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: back."

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and it

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes. Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: we change, strive with all of our hearts to, change to be

Rev. Michele Owes: Unchangeable.

I don't wanna take away, and I don't want anyone to believe that we are discounting the fact that you showed up and you did the work to get the letters behind your name to, achieve the out-- You showed up,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: He was working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

good

Rev. Michele Owes: Were He not working in you, [00:23:00] showing up would not have made a difference. Were He-- Had He not given you the ability to accomplish what you accomplished, again, showing up would not have made a difference. And so even though it was your name that showed up on the certificate or in the plaque, it was Him working in you.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hear you

Rev. Michele Owes: A- and that's how we keep our confidence steadfast to the end because we remember that it's not our work, that it's His work. And if He allows us to achieve something in this world, it is for His glory and it is for the fulfillment of His will. And we may not know that right away when we get the certificate.

We may not know why God allowed us to achieve this or achieve that, but, God is a master networker and He will call for the deposit, right?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Oh, yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: so then it's our responsibility to submit to His will and not challenge [00:24:00] ourselves with trying to make a dollar or profit off what God has blessed us with for the body of Christ.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't work. don't misunderstand. We are saying that there are times that God wants to use the deposit for the body of Christ, and it may not necessarily be for a profit at that moment. It is for the body,

because each joint supplies the need of another and what He allowed you to achieve may be a joint that someone in the body needs who can't pay you, but yet God prepared you to be able to serve them at that hour

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: The bottom line is keep God in the f- forefront of all that we do, say, think, speak. And th- that's what I, that's what I try to do. I really do. As I leave the house... I don't pray as fervently as I used to. we're fessing up. I fess up. But seem to, I seem to live more in a state of prayer in [00:25:00] every thought that I think, in every move that I make.

and I guess maybe it's because I'm getting older now and I spend a lot of time by myself. But, like, when I get ready to go down the stairs, I'm reminded, hold onto the banister. You're alone. Watch out for that silly little dog.

Yeah

like that. As I'm walking down the steps, I'm thanking God that I'm able to walk down those steps.

And as I run up the steps occasionally, I thank God that I'm still able to pick my feet up high enough

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: steps. I really am... I really do try to live in a constant state of... I don't do long prayers down on my knees in a prayer closet or anything like that, but do pray a lot, all day long, with everything that I do.

Even when I'm eating, I'm here by myself, I could easily, choke.

Rev. Michele Owes: every bodily movement, when I wake up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed. I don't hop right up, and I'm, I just, I inventory [00:26:00] me. "Thank you, Lord, my ears are still hearing. My eyes, I can see. My hands are moving, though they might hurt a little bit." And then when I stand up, I stand up and I don't have a loss of, I don't lose my balance. so my prayer life is like that more and more. And I know it's because I'm here by myself and that, ever aware that God is with me and that He's leading me, guiding me, directing me, protecting me, providing for me, that's just where I am right now.

So I'm not sure I've lost my, any of my beginning confidence. I'm sure I have, 'cause I'm a human being. I really do. I'm so needy right now, It's always good to know where you are,

I'm needing, the old hymn says, "I need thee

Yes. Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: need

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: moment." I know I need God.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. Amen

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that's where I am right now. But all of us can be encouraged. We all come short [00:27:00] once in a while, and, we just have to pick up the grace and get back in the race and be confident to the end

Rev. Michele Owes: That's exactly right because the scripture did say, "Cast not away therefore your confidence," which means we had it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: it. We had the confidence in the Lord that was necessary to hold on to steadfast to the end so that we can be a partaker. And I'm putting both of those scriptures together. We had it.

Rev. Michele Owes: And so no matter where you are today, you-- if you find that you have moved over just a little bit and-- or if you find that you have not depended on God the way that He so desires for you to, one of the things I realized, and this is just me, it doesn't have to be you, that not only did God like me better at the beginning of my confidence, I liked me better at the beginning of my confidence.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Because at the beginning of my confidence, I didn't worry about a thing. I was a great caster. I could cast [00:28:00] that care upon the Lord and just trust and obey as the old song would say, it's the only way to be happy in Jesus. I could do that, and I could do it so swiftly and not carry and not hold on to excess luggage and baggage that I was never designed to carry.

Rev. Michele Owes: And if you find that you have moved a little bit from your beginning confidence and in remembering what it was like, if you like the old girl or the old God better, whoever's listening, go back. You can go back to the beginning of your confidence. You can recapture that love and that excitement, at the beginning of your confidence.

And now let's just hold that fast to the end. Let's...

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: will forgive us of all things. He will not hold it against us. We just have to repent of a broken and contrite heart and then get busy about the business again.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah, a little jingle. Take me back. [00:29:00] Take me back, dear Lord, to where I first believed. And that's

Rev. Michele Owes: I remember that song. Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: a good little jingle for us to hold on. Take me back. Take me back,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes. Yes

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: wonderful little jingle to keep in our hearts.

Rev. Michele Owes: I love the fact that you had the courage to sing that. I am-- I would never. I would absolutely never. And I tell you why. God and I are real clear with one another on some things, and the fact that He did not give me a voice for singing, we are 100% clear. No mistakes ever made. I'll only do it in two places.

One is in the shower, and the other is in my car when I'm alone. Because music is supposed to sound well, and God put a scripture in there just for me to confirm what I know, which is, "Make a joyful noise

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: noise.

Rev. Michele Owes: the Lord, all ye land." [00:30:00] I get to make my noise unto Him, and it is well, but I love you too much to try to do it.

Miss Cherry, you were on a key, and that was good. I don't have a key, and that's where the problem is. But anyway, our time has come to a close. We so enjoy talking with you every chance we get. Thank you for tuning in. Please share this podcast with others who may be able to be blessed. And until our next podcast, we'll see you soon.

We love you

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Keep praying. 37 seconds

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.