The Power of Conviction

Open: Difference between a preference and a conviction. Some are not so serious: I prefer pepperjack cheese on my Chick Fil A sandwich, but I will take American. Pastor Steve had a conviction about Duke’s Mayonnaise - he wouldn’t eat a sandwich that had any other kind.

Other convictions are more serious. Some people prefer not to work on Sundays, but they will if necessary. I have known others who would quit a job before working on Sunday.

Convictions that will stand the test require solid foundations (Daniel 1:8)

Explanation: Daniel took a stand against eating the king’s rich food and drinking his wine based on a conviction. The text states that Daniel purposed in his heart to remain pure before God in regards to the issue of food and drink. He was willing to publically declare his opposition and it got him noticed by those in authority

Illustrate: Martin Luther did not intend to break away from the RCC and start the Protestant Reformation. He wanted to debate a monk named Tetzel who sold indulgences and Luther considered it unbiblical. One thing led to another and he soon found himself facing down the Pope and the authority of the Church. When he was asked to recant his writings and his teachings or get excommunicated, he took his stand on the Word of God.

Argument: Daniel stood his ground against the food and drink on the basis of the Torah. Luther stood his ground against the Pope and the forces of the RCC on the basis of the Word of God, Without the proper foundations, convictions will suffer from compromise

Example: A teenager who is maintaining her virtue based on romantic notions of a pre-conceived ideal is probably not going to stand her ground when temptation arrives. A virtuous young lady who has the conviction of remaining pure because God is pure and He calls her to purity as an act of worship will remain pure

Application: Be in the Word to know it and to live it.

Godly wisdom is essential in living out one’s convictions (Daniel 1:9-13)

Explanation: Daniel respected the authority over him even when it was a pagan authority. Daniel had a conviction, but he didn’t immediately stage a hunger strike. Instead, he went to the proper authority and respectfully requested an exemption. The prince of the eunuchs was a seasoned official who did not want to rock the boat and get in trouble with Neb, so he turned Daniel down.

Daniel didn’t give up at the first roadblock; he persevered and went and talked to Melzar, a lesser official who had specific authority of Daniel and his friends. Melzar didn’t want anything to do with this idea either, but Daniel proposed a means of settling the issue with endangering Melzar. Melzar then OK’s the trial and for 10 days the boys only eat the veggies and the water.

Argument: Daniel was thoughtful and respectful to those who had a very different worldview. He wasn’t like the proverbial bull in the china shop, and it paid dividends.

NOTE the 1st: there are times when you won’t have the luxury of time to think things through. Sometimes you will simply respond at the moment and you will either stand on your conviction or you will not.

NOTE the 2nd: God was sovereignly at work in this situation. Daniel was not presumptuous towards God by trying to force God to perform. Daniel was faithful to God’s revealed Word, and God sovereignly chose to act on behalf of Daniel and his 3 friends. 10 days of a simple diet will bring about some weight loss, but it won’t make you look “fairer and fatter in the flesh” than the others. God supernaturally intervened in this situation . (See also 1:2, 9, 17 for God’s intervention)

Convictions are Essential for a long life that pleases God (Daniel 1:20-21)

Explanation: Daniel stood out because he was skilled and had integrity. He was recognized by King Nebuchadnezzar and the King gave him position in the Babylonian court (“they stood before the king”). The final verse of chapter one spans 70 plus years and declares that “Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus” (Dan 1:21)

Argument: Not every believer has a long life in this worlds-realm; some are taken at an early age and no reason is given. A long life for the believer is NOT guaranteed. If, however, a believer is granted a long life he or she will require if that life is to count for the Kingdom. We are to plan in such a way that we please God if He grants us a long life, but we are to be prepared at all times in case He chooses to take us home.

For the one who is skilled and works hard at developing God’s gifts and abilities, AND has convictions and integrity - he or she will be noticed!

Proverbs 22:29 KJV 1900

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men.