Conviction – Part 2

Conviction:

1. The state of being convinced
2. A strong, fixed, or firm belief

Again, I want to ask you the question: where are your convictions?

In Joshua 14, Caleb made a petition to Joshua.  “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadeshbarnea,” He said.  He was speaking of a promise that was made to him through Moses about an inheritance.  “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.”  Moses promised Caleb an inheritance in the promised land for having served the Lord “fully.”

So, for forty years Caleb fought in subordination to Joshua subduing the land that God had promised to Abraham.  His conviction pushed through as they unseated kings and uprooted kingdoms to take posession of the promised land.  In the face of every obstacle and after years of faithfully serving under another, Caleb’s conviction had not changed.  His conviction was that the Word of the Lord was good.  Come what may, he was going to follow that conviction until he could see it realized.

Seriously, take a minute to think about it…  Caleb was one of two men out of the entire congregation of Israel that held on to God’s promise when they saw the obstacles blocking their way.  Then, he watched as his entire peer group died wandering in the wilderness.  Next he bid farewell to Moses himself before ever setting foot in the promised land, where he served in an extended military campaign to take posession of the land.  And still, after forty years of holding on, there were giants inhabiting his land.  What do you think the odds are that at eighty-five years old you still be standing in faith against such opposition?

What set Caleb (and Joshua) apart from the other spies was an unswerving belief that God would honor His own word.  The rest went into the promised land to see if it was doable, whereas Caleb and Joshua went in to spy out the Land that the Lord was giving to them.  That’s why Caleb said he brought back the report according to what was in his heart, rather than saying that he brought back the report according to what he had seen.  He knew that whatever he faced, no matter the cost, God would be faithful to him if he would be faithful to God.  Caleb said “you know what the Lord said…”  and that was enough!

What about us?  Do we know what the Lord has said?  If we are not brand new converts, we should. at least know something of it  Do we know anything about what the Bible promises to those who believe?  Do we have any convictions about the nature of the God we profess to believe in?  Where are our convictions?  If we have some, where are our corresponding actions?

Do you have any conviction concerning the following:

1. God is holy.
2. God is sovereign.
3. God is a provider.
4. God is a Father.
5. God is a Healer.
6. God is a deliverer.
7. God is worthy of your complete and utter devotion.

Do you have any conviction concerning who God is?  Is your life reflecting that conviction?  Like I said, you can say anything you want-talk is cheap.  Show me your faith by what you are doing.  Show me your conviction in action.  Show me something with a little more substance than rhetoric.  Honestly, I think a lot of American preachers are trying to get the Church to act on their beliefs, but the truth is that we need to take a good hard look at wether or not we really believe at all.

It’s an honest question : where are your convictions?

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Part one is here.