“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26
ANGEL & PRISCILLA ALVARADO WERE MARRIED!
Moses was a man of conviction and perspective. He found himself in the Pharaoh’s household primarily due to the faith his parents displayed in preventing his death at the hands of the king (v. 23). As Moses grew up, his faith became his own, and he developed personal convictions rooted in his relationship with God. It was the conviction in Moses’ heart that compelled him to leave the pleasures of sin and join the people of God. In the same way, Moses’s eternal perspective allowed him to see that the pleasures of the life of sin are only temporal compared to the eternal reward of a life lived for God. Moses was undoubtedly one of the most influential people in God’s service because of his conviction and perspective as he approached life. And assuredly, God needs men and women of the same conviction and perspective in his church today. But what does this mean?
(1) Conviction: Moses’ faith was most influenced by his family’s actions. Like Moses, our faith is also affected by the actions of our families. As young Christians, we found ourselves obeying the teachings from our Bible Studies. While these teachings come from the scriptures, we can confuse the messenger with the message and see ourselves doing what we do without regard for God and His Word. Inevitably, we must develop our own beliefs from the Bible and develop a deep conviction and desire to do what’s right – no matter what. Then we begin to know who is right because of our conviction about what is right. We must learn to find the Will of God through our knowledge of the Word of God.
As we influence the lives of those around us, we must impart Biblical methods and, more importantly, the Biblical principles behind the methods, for it is on godly principles that godly convictions are built. We must teach each other the desire to obey the words of Christ (Matthew 28: 19), thereby showing ourselves to be faithful disciples (John 8:3 1-32). Ultimately, God alone imparts godly conviction and any conviction not based on God’s Word is worldly.
(2) Perspective: Perspective is seeing it like it is; perspective is a product of conviction. The person who has things in proper perspective is able to make his own decisions in light of ultimate consequences. We must not ever let our perspective go out of focus. For in fact, the only time a person willfully sins is when their perspective goes out of focus. They deceive themselves into sinning and then think they can get away with it. What bank robber would commit the act of stealing $100,000 if he could see himself in a jail cell for the next 25 years? He lacks perspective. As God’s people we must have an eternal perspective as we walk through life. We must be willing, as Moses was, to give up the immediate pleasures of sin for an eternal reward. Let us be men and women who develop deep personal conviction from God’s Word.
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13-14
In Luke 22, as Jesus spoke of the things to come, Peter replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (verse 33). There must have been an absolute sincerity and genuine desire in his voice and expression as he spoke these words. And yet, only hours later, we find that Peter has denied even knowing Jesus not once but three times; he has rushed outside, weeping bitterly. This incident in the life of Peter is characteristic of the lives of far too many Christians today. It is hard for us to imagine Peter denying Christ at this point in his life. Yet every time one of us as Christians gives in to a temptation to sin or fails to take advantage of an opportunity to speak to someone about Jesus, we deny him in our hearts as Lord, just as Peter did. We sit in various classes throughout the week, hearing capable teachers share multiple ways to grow and be more effective. We invite relationships into our lives to help us with our struggles, and still, we do not overcome the fundamental difficulties of our Christian lives. The result is guilt and bitter frustration because, like Peter, we know what we should do and even have a sincere desire to see it done yet ultimately see little or no results.
(3) Courage: In Acts 4, however, we find a Peter who impresses the Jewish rulers and elders as a man of great courage (verse 13) as he speaks boldly about Jesus and silences those in his presence. Peter has become a man of courage because he has become a man of deep personal conviction. On the day of Pentecost, these intense convictions are first revealed as Peter is now personally convinced of the resurrection of Jesus and its implications for all humanity. In Acts 4:20, he replies: “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Only deep convictions can motivate consistent, courageous action.
If there is anything needed in the church today, it is men and women with deep, burning personal convictions based upon God’s Word and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those most determined to live blameless lives are the most convinced that anything less is wrong and that God will not tolerate undealt-with sin. These people who are the most active in sharing their faith, are the most convinced of both the eternal relationship with God that is available to all and the eternal condemnation that awaits so many. The essence of growth in the Christian life involves deepening personal convictions such as these.
How is conviction developed? In basically two ways. First, conviction comes through personal discovery in the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 2:7, Paul tells Timothy to reflect on what he has said, and the Lord will give him insight. It is easy to skim through the Scriptures in our study times and rely on others for wisdom, but the power comes when a person reflects on the Scriptures on their own and allows God to give them insight that brings personal conviction. Secondly, conviction comes through association. In Acts 4:13, Peter’s courage and conviction came about primarily because he had been with Jesus. The character of a person of conviction cannot be adequately described but must be seen and experienced.
Jesus entered the defiled temple courts, walking with conviction. Stephen preached before the Sanhedrin, standing with conviction. Peter addressed the crowd on Pentecost, speaking with great conviction.In our generation, we will only influence this world for Christ if we stand, walk, and speak as men and women of deep Conviction, Courage, and Perspective.
Ron Harding, Lead Evangelist
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