Convicted? where is the evidence?

Amen! giving honor to God, to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of my faith. and to the Holy spirit the promise whom Jesus sent to leave us not comfortless to lead, guide , and persuade us in all his truths.

My assignment this morning is a word to encourage us all to conviction and repentance. that through his word we possess.

Possess, meaning having to ones own, it belongs to. its a characteristic trait that if managed properly it becomes us.

And so this morning i want to exegete the text in a way that if you hear properly you see clearly. Conviction is a strong word because it says you are guilty. The word if it falls on good ground will always drive us to a place of looking from within, within. Because its the agent that convicts. anything driven from the outer cant maintain the inner because the outer has no means of remaining.

Ok three people caught it. Let me go get brother Collins. if dirt is on me, it creates an image and a smell. that when brother collins walks in the house , sister Rosalyn can see what hes been doing and where hes been because the outer is the indicator and how he smells is the confirmation.

indication is a sign or piece of information that indicates something. Confirmation is the action that establishes truth.

why within, within is important. Because if i came in dirty and smelled dirty. once i take a shower with water and soap i can scub the dirt and the aroma off that when Brother collins go back into Ros presence all she has is a memory of who he once was. watch this only to repeat this process the next day.

See with just the outer cleanse, its temporary. with the inner is different because if you change the inner you change the habit!!!!

Some of yall still missing it. Here you go. Thats why i dont look like what i been through. because what i been through was the result of consistant contact with dirt. but when i allowed something from within to burn my habits changed. That my character caused me to no longer exist in that capacity.

some of you need to get this because no matter what the preacher does to convince you that youre grown you still trying to hang with midgets (spirutually speaking).

My past is my past because my consciousness no longer thrives on immaturity, as it causes my present to want his presence, that my future is full from a father who is the prince of peace.

some of you too busy trying to remember a past that God trying to get you to forget. Ok Scripture? 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” . If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, Behold, all things are become new.

when i allow within, within. is my expression of saying when i allow the Holy Spirit that is in me, to be my influence, my identity no longer reflects what has died, that those around me only see freshness because i dont smell like dirt even though i was born out of it!

And so conviction. Why is this so important? why does it matter Pastor? Conviction matters because it bridges the gap between what we claim to believe and how we actually live.

Conviction is a persistent belief that if a person has a conviction it will not easily be relinquished without making a significantly person than before.

See when you full from within you dont fit in sinful situations and environments, you stand out. ask Peter when he tried to hide with the people on the night before the crucifying of Jesus. Luke 22:60–62 “And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”

you know why? He tried to sit with folk who were no longer on his level. After he had sat with Jesus for three and a half years. He saw the transfiguration, he saw the miracles, he experienced the goodness of Jesus.

and as soon as he ran into a mistake he tried to become it. this doesn’t surprise me though because i see people all the time profess new and still hang out with old thought processes!

Whenever we profess Christ we cannot still look like in character those who don’t believe.

There is a authenticity that separates you and gives you a conviction that produces action that reflects who we actually are.

1 Peter 2:9But “ ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

Peculiar (ice perepoiasis) meaning to or into a point reached that we are acquisition, a purchased possession, saving people. Help me holy spirit.

God made you different so that you act different in reaching a point directed by a God who gives favor even when we dont deserve it!

Your uniqness is the excitement that keeps you burning from within. Its the freshness of “NEW”. because new smells new.

Look at your neighbor and say NEW.

yes thats why we need a right now word for a new situation to evolve.

my lifestyle is “NEW”!

My vocabulary is “NEW”

My wardrobe is “NEW” you got a coat of many colors!

My career is “NEW”

My home is “NEW”

My children is “NEW”

im not talking natural, im speaking spiritual!!!

The more you take in the word, the less you care about the opinions of other folk that just want you to remain the same as them!

Your becoming is indictive to what exists in your life. which is why conviction is more important because conviction is different from feeling.

its from our Theological convictions that shape how we interpret the world, making ethics integral to theology from the start rather than an afterthought.

How many times must we be like Peter that conviction kicks in only after we make the mistake rather than before?

Peters conviction was consistently challenged by Jesus because Peter kept having to much outer excitement as opposed to inner conviction.

outer excitement is nothing more than a feeling enticed by pleasure as opposed to passion.

the Holy Ghost drives from excitement of the word because it connects through an identity that does not change in character but transforms our stature..

You see if Peter had stayed where he was he never would have been able to stand on a table that Jesus overthrew!

Those tables were designed to entertain flesh rather than sustain the soul. Jesus came proclaiming the gospel so that conviction could make you rise above the nay sayers, rise above the norms of society, rise above you just like your dad, or you just like your mom. Rise above the you will fail curses.

No i am a new creature created a creator who loves me.

i am a new creature produced by those that tried to slay me when i trusted them.

i am a new creature, that when you thought you buried me you didnt realize you buried a seed.

i am a new creature that apreciates the dirt, because it was dirt that made me into my identity.

i am a new creature that your actions helped me to discover that i am more than a noun, i am a verb!

i am a new creature, that through transformation my capacity increased that my shadow became bigger than my problem.

i am a new creature, that my Job experience led me to my Esther moment!

I am a new creature , that my wrestling match turned into a nation maker!

yall not hearing me this morning! touch three people and say thank God for the new me!!!!

That’s why i choose not to get too overly excited with preaching because i don’t want you to get lost in a moment and you lose the very promise that keeps you persistent. The word of God!

You need a clear conviction, because without it we become vulnerable to systems that lead us to consistent emptiness.

God never called for you to “empty” without the promise of replenishing!

never called for you drop in darkness and not come up without water.

never called for you go on the other side and not return with fish.

Absence without Presence is a work without a result.

We empty ourselves only to be filled with him!!!

The cleverness of man are like the waves that toss us around with every wind of doctrine that feels good but internally were not convicted to the point of true repentance!

Conviction brings change that repentance is real and not a consistent do over. Stop playing with God and grow up!

Here is the season were living in! Thoughts and opinions are becoming so influential that we are now questioning the existence of God’s sovereignty. Were getting lost in ordinances that we are losing focus on the promise that only comes through faith!

here it is! our conviction is the glue that keeps us consistent persistent, and insistent! Leaders you must discern which doctrines are foundational, which are secondary, and where Christian freedom exists!

Text before i come to a close:

John 8:4–9 KJV 1900

They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

John 8:4–9 KJV 1900

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

translation: Conviction keeps you at a place of looking at you as opposed to someone elses acts of adultery.

The opinions of others and the law are all objects that can be used to call someone guilty at the same time condemning yourself.

Keep your mouth off of other people so they wont be able to put their mouth on you.

the bible says he wrote on the ground and acted as though he didnt hear them.

Romans 2:1 KJV 1900

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

Ultimately, conviction matters because it prevents Christianity from becoming merely a system of abstract ideas disconnected from lived reality. Authentic theology must be embedded in the actual practices of living communities, reflecting “that set of cultural habits called church,” otherwise faith becomes spiritualized and hollow.1 Conviction anchors belief to character, making faith visible and coherent.