Tuesday, 16 July 2024
CONVICTION IS IMPORTANT
For our [preaching of the] glad tidings (the Gospel) came to you not only in word, but also in [its own inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction and absolute certainty [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved [ourselves] to be among you for your good (1 Thessalonians 1:5 AMPC).
In 1989, a young lady who had attended our services for only a few months was asked, "What’s the message of Pastor Chris?" Her response was profound and insightful. She said, "The divine life." And she was right.
She gave the response having severally witnessed my conviction of the Gospel. It’s been decades, yet the message has remained the same. It’s a message I’ve lived and taught, a reality that has permeated every aspect of my life.
How did I come about this? Well, it’s because I believe in Jesus Christ. When you believe in Jesus Christ, you should believe with all your heart. There has to be oneness with Him. His truth is not given to us to debate; His truth is given to us to accept as the only truth.
In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus Himself declared, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life...." He left no room for doubt, debate or speculation. He unequivocally stated, "No man comes to the Father but by me," affirming His exclusivity as man’s Kinsman-redeemer, Mediator and Saviour.
Paul reiterated the same truth in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Jesus is the truth. Everything you’ll ever know about God and from God is in Jesus. He’s the embodiment of all wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:3 says, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” He’s the embodiment, the totality of divinity. Colossians 1:19 AMPC says, “For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently.”
This has to become real to you. It has to become your truth; it has to become your gospel, your personal message. It has to become your absolute conviction, something for which you’d rather die than deny or turn away from.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank you for the unwavering truth of your Word embodied in Jesus Christ. I embrace this truth with absolute conviction, allowing it to permeate every aspect of my life. I stand firm in faith, unshaken by doubt or debate, and I declare that your truth is my guiding light in all things. I boldly proclaim the Gospel with absolute certainty, knowing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
John 14:6-9; Romans 1:16; Acts 4:12 AMPC
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Acts 24:1-27 & Psalms 1-6
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Galatians 4:21-31 & Isaiah 36