THE POWER OF CONVICTIONS
Good morning and a very happy Monday to you dearly beloved. I hope you had a splendid weekend, a good night rest and an amazing morning so far. I know some persons may skip this first paragraph because I only greet and thank viewers and as such may see it as a waste of time. The truth is sincerely, I don't do it for courtesy sake, I truly truly appreciate every single person who reads these posts published, get blessed by them and most especially share to their friends, families and colleagues on social media in whatever form in any country across the world. I do not know you but my heart goes out to you and from the depths of my heart, I appreciate and love you specially.
Welcome to living waters blog, a blog where write-ups that are inspirational, Life-giving, truth revealing, soul searching and drawn from scriptures as the Holy Spirit gives guidance are published. I enjoin you even as you read and get blessed by these posts to please share with friends, colleagues and family on any social network in your country. I want you who reads and get blessed by these write-up to realise that there are very few blogs out there that focus on teaching the truths from God's word, I have a vision to build a blog that causes more traffic than any pornography, film or football sites. One that persons who read the posts, get blessed and grow more and more into the understanding of their stature in Christ.
Today, I will be exhorting on the topic,"The power of convictions". One of the many reasons why governments of different countries of the world fear terrorist groups is their conviction. You see, they hold on to a belief so much that they are ready to die for that cause. Even more surprising is how they can be very persuasive so as to initiate others into their groups or belief systems. Isn't it baffling how someone would willing strap him or herself with bombs with the intention of killing hundreds of other humans and still believe they are fighting a just cause. This is what is lacking in Christianity today. Today, we believe one thing, tomorrow another, no convictions at all. We are like babes tossed to and fro by every wave of doctrine and teaching. Isn't it surprising how you will see someone who believes so much that he is saved, a firm believer and tomorrow he comes to you and says, "bro I nor con sure again whether I be Christian o". What is conviction? Conviction is defined by Merriam Webster's dictionary as the state of mind of a person who is sure that what he or she believes or says is true see that? Are you sure of your salvation, do you believe with absolute certainty in Jesus?, do you believe in the gospel? are you rooted in Christ or does your faith always get shaken?
Let's take a look at scripture,
Heb 12:1-2f
AMP:Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,
AMP:Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
This particular scripture begins with a "Therefore" which means the author was indirectly saying, now let's conclude everything we have been discussing since. It says, " therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses", which means somewhere the cloud of witnesses had been discussed, so let's take a look at the proceeding chapter
Heb 11:32-40
AMP:And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,
AMP:Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
AMP:Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts.
AMP:[Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life.
AMP:Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.
AMP:They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—
AMP:[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.
AMP:And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,
AMP:Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].
I encourage you to read the whole chapter 11. I plead with you dear to read and read again the scripture pasted above before you continue. Verse 33-37 tells us what these hosts or cloud of witnesses did and how did they do it? Through faith, yes that's right, they were able to do all that through faith. What is faith? Faith is the strong belief in doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. So you see that faith isn't all about working miracles, it also includes staying with God no matter what, whether what He says, you see it manifest or not. Infact verse 39 tells us that they did not receive it. The question becomes what did these guys have faith for. Hebs 11 is filled with tales ordinary men like you and I who strongly believed God as the only true God, the sovereign Lord and creator of all the earth, men who believed unto death, they believed in the promise of the coming Messiah and even though they didn't see with their eyes yet nothing in the world could change their convictions. They would look their persecutions, challenges or persecutors in the face and scream, "do what you want, we will not bow nor bend our knees, we will not denounce our God". How painful it must be for this great cloud of witnesses to look down at us and see how so many of us who are fortunate to have seen, heard and be taught what they longed for, still be men/women of double minds. Hear me dearly beloved, God cannot work with you, if He cannot trust you, it still doesn't stop Him from blessing you, showering you with favours and goodness, even if He doesn't trust you because He is God, Oh, let God be true and all men be liars. Yes I say again, my Father can give you prosperity as you so desire but He can't work with you until He trusts you. Let me tell you the truth, the difference would always be clear. Now let's look at verse 38, these men walked with so much convictions that the world wasn't worthy of them. How many of us believers have such convictions, how many are sure if their salvation?, how many are sure of whom they have believed? Dearly beloved, what are convictions, what do you believe? Going back to Heb 12:1-2
AMP:Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,
AMP:Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Brethren therefore, having seen who some of these crowd of witnesses are and what they did because of their convictions, let us lay aside everything that would prevent us from looking unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith. He was saying dearly beloved, you don't have any excuse, you too have to believe unto death without a strain of doubt. So you see that that doubt has got to go, that sin that easily besets you has got to go. NO EXCUSE, NO STUMBLING BLOCK, NOT AT ALL.
Now let's look at Matt 16:13-20,
AMP:Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
AMP:And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
AMP:He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am?
AMP:Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
AMP:Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.
AMP:And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].
AMP:I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.
AMP:Then He sternly and strictly charged and warned the disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Have you ever wondered why when Jesus asked, "who do people say that I am?" why His disciples didn't rush to be the first person to answer. I mean the question was simple enough, Jesus had walked on water, he healed the sick, calmed the storm, fed five thousand and four thousand, raised the dead, taught spiritual truths yet, they couldn't tell He was the Messiah. They still doubted that He was the Messiah that they had been waiting for. They were expecting a Messiah but this man didn't really meet their expectations despite the signs and wonders. These men slept together with Him, ate with Him, travelled with Him, they saw the signs and wonders first hand, yet they weren't convinced. You see say e don tey since when this conviction problem dey? Apostle Peter was convinced that this Man was the Messiah, Jesus confirmed by saying, he could have only gotten that revelation from God. Let's look at 2 things that followed His convictions
1. A NEW IDENTITY :
Many believe that it was this scripture that Christ ordained Peter as the head of the church and the first Pope. Well, I believe Christ made Peter the head of the church, he did that in Lk 22:31, Jhn 21:15-17, that isn't what He was doing here. If Jesus was saying that he was going to build His church on the man "peter" then by all means the church would eventually fall. Why? Because he was human, infact look at the fragility of his himan nature in Gal 2:11-14, rather Jesus was saying, Simon your convictions are as solid as a rock, it is on this rock solid conviction that I would build my church. Which means that the conviction that Jesus is Lord and saviour of the world, that He is the only Son of God, that He came to the world, that He has risen, He is now seated at the right hand of God the father and He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead is going to be the foundation on which His church would be built on. Note also that the church mentioned here wasn't talking about a physical building or a particular denomination. He was talking about a spiritual building made up of individuals. So Christ was saying my followers who would make up the body of Christ (as apostle Paul called it) would all have this common conviction. It is this conviction that would prove or show that they are my followers. Their convictions would be so strong that the Gates of Hell(the teachings, false doctrines) would be able to shake it (He wasnt talking about power there, we would soon get to where He was talking about power). So the first thing conviction does, is that it gives you a new identity. Before you can be allowed into any sect or group, they must first be sure that you share similar beliefs with them. So I ask you, do you believe truly and absolutely in Jesus Christ?
2. IT GIVES ACCESS :
The next thing conviction does for you is, it gives you access into secrets, truths, power and hidden mysteries. Notice it wasn't until after the disciples became convinced that He is the Messiah that Jesus began to teach them some very powerful truth about His death, the church, explaining and expounding parables and scriptures to them. Why?, they now had the foundation to begin to learn the ways of the Lord. Verse 19 says, I will give you the keys of heaven, why? So you would know what isn't permitted in heaven and standing on the strength of that knowledge and the authority we have in Him, we won't permit it on the earth. We will only permit what is permitted in heave, now that is POWER. That is legislating on behalf of heaven on the earth. Isn't that the work of an ambassador? If you agree to join a secret cult or a group for instance, after they have told you their beliefs, rules and regulations, if you say yes. Then they begin to allow you to learn the basic fundamentals of their group and can even be their spokesperson incase of any negotiations. Now, that is THE POWER OF YOUR CONVICTIONS. As I round up, I want to ask you again, are you truly convinced of your salvation? Can you die for your faith? Honestly answer these questions and do the needful. God bless you
if you realise that men need to hear the gospel more than any other thing in the world then assist us in increasing our world audience by being a constant visitor to the blog and see sharing of the blog as an opportunity to evangelise the gospel to the ends of the earth that you may never get to but internet has made possible. God bless you as you do so in Jesus name. Amen. If you have questions or need clarifications or even counselling then please write to me on my gmail at anointedsaviour1@gmail.com, I so much desire to discuss with you. Join us again on Monday. Remember the world is in dire need of the word of God, so join us spread this word. God bless you richly. Shalom
Comments
Post a Comment