Fully Convinced
There is something powerful about being convinced… I mean fully convinced. I was thinking about my life and how it has evolved as it has and I realized I have done what I have done, and I do what I do because I am fully convinced without a doubt that God has a plan for my life. I have sold my house, left the church that we started six years ago, Vida has quit her job and we have started a brand new work here in Cleburne when all around people are struggling to survive and find work and the economics are unstable… when it should seem crazy and irresponsible… because of one reason and one reason alone. We are fully convinced that God is able to do all that he has told us He would do. In reality the truly unstable thing to do would have been to not follow God’s leading. What seems in the natural to be the wrong thing is actually the only right thing we could have done. It is with this fully persuaded confidence that we move through life without fear or stress.
So in looking at life that way then I have to ask myself if I feel afraid, scared, tense, uncertain or any other negative emotion then why? Why in life do you feel like your world is without hope? Why do find yourself in fear? Simple… you are not fully convinced that God is able to take care of the situation your find yourself in. It is exactly the opposite results for a lack of faith than a heart full of faith. One moves forward in life expecting the victory to come and the other moves always expecting defeat and failure. Do you find yourself wondering what will go wrong next?
I want to talk about this today. Not the worlds view on the power of positive thinking even though I do believe it to be a much healthier way to go through life. This is not about wishful thinking… this is about being fully convinced that God will do all that he has said that He will do. That God does have a plan for your life and it is a good one. The power of believing even when life screams something different to you.
The simple truth is that you can only go so far on your own strength and then you are tired, you are wore out and find yourself quitting. You just do not have the strength for another day. Ever been there?
What if today I told you that starting now your life will be different? Finally you will see the good things come your way. Well most likely you would want to believe but would struggle to do so. You know it can happen but you find it hard to believe that it will happen for you. You find yourself wanting to know why you have no faith. Well the truth is that everyone has been given the measure of faith.
3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3
This scripture says God has given to each of us “THE measure of faith” No one has been left out when it comes to this. The issue is not do you have faith but have you developed the faith given to you. To believe for the right thing. You see you have faith to believe for something… the problem is that you have been believing for the wrong things. You have listened to the lies of the enemy, the testimony of others who do not have the God faith and they tell you what you can’t have and what you will have. You allow past days to dictate your faith for your tomorrows. You have been fooled into believing that is easier to accept life as it comes rather than to believe for the goodness of God. You have been told that you have to work up your faith, you have to get serious about it and that sounds too hard for you. The truth is this… a life of faith is easier to live and takes less energy than a life of no faith or misdirected faith.
You see a life lived on your own and in your mindset and in your own ability is exactly that. It is a life lived in your strength. That is a life that is constantly being beaten down, a life that is discouraged and a life that seems to be going thru one hardship after another. Now listen to me on this… do not get discouraged because this is not it has to be. You just need to have an adjustment done. You need your faith directed the appropriate direction and it is time to believe God for a change. I am talking today about be Fully Convinced and Fully Committed to Him! It does make a difference to God. He does care if you just give a portion of your life to Him and a part you hold out.
The life that God has for you takes a life fully committed to Him. When you are sold out to Him then you will find strength like never before. You will find joy that you never knew and a peace that replaces your stress. Think about this, if you are fully committed to Him then God is looking for you and out for you. He is protecting you, equipping you, directing you and blessing you.
2 Chronicles 16:9
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…
This says that God is searching the entire globe looking for those fully committed to Him so that when He finds them He can strengthen their heart. Now that is a good word. You find yourself needing strength? Draw close to God and He will draw close to you. Tell God what you need, let him know that you need some strength… he wants to give it to you.
You see the power of being Fully Committed to God and being Fully Convinced that God can and will do all that He has promised will change your life. To be able to say that it is no longer you that lives, but Jesus that lives in you. Your life is His life.
You see some of you find yourself needing a Turning Point in life today. You know your life is more of a struggle than the life I am declaring this morning. Abraham found his Turning Point when he believed what God declared to him. Abraham didn’t just think it might happen He knew beyond a doubt that God would do what He said He would do.
Romans 4:21
He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.
Abraham heard the plan of God for his life. He heard that God wanted to bless him, protect him and use him greatly and he didn’t doubt it. He was fully convinced that God would do it. This is what made Abraham so special. Not that Abraham did anything great… He just believed with his whole heart that God was great. That is all that is required in your life. It is not hard and it does not take a lot of work. It just takes you believing that God is able to do what He said He would do for you.
This means being fully committed in the life you live, the things you say, the way you act and so on. This is not about works… it is about the way you will live if you are fully convinced that God is who he said he was.
Let me help you with this. It is easy to do and easy to start off. You simply believe that what God says is true.
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
So simply put, here it says if you believe in Jesus as Lord with your heart and confess Him with your mouth you will be saved. Your sins will be forgiven and you can stand rightly before God without fear or shame because it has nothing to do with you… it is the free gift of God that delivers you from your sin and gives you a future. Now this is important because you need to be fully convinced that you are saved, that you are forgiven and that God has a plan for you. Not by your strength but by His. Then you can do as Hebrews 10 tells us
Hebrews 10:22
Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
If you believe God’s Word and will fully trust Him with your heart then you can go straight in before Him without being guilty or feeling ashamed and trust your life to Him simply because He loves you and He wants to strengthen you, bless you and protect you.
Can you be fully convinced today to know that God has a plan and all that he needs from you is your fully convinced heart and fully committed life. With your trust in Him and His love for you a successful life is promised and guaranteed.
Will God’s promises work for you? A 100% YES! 1 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that all of the promises of God are YES and Amen!
