The word 'confident' here is ‘peitho’
(pronounced ‘pi-tho’) in Greek, which can be defined as ‘assured, convinced,
or having the conviction of’, and the word 'complete' here
is ‘epiteleo’ in Greek, meaning 'fulfil, finish, accomplish'.
In other words, the apostle Paul had this conviction that
'God who has begun a good work (in the saints in Philippi) will also 'fulfil,
finish, accomplish' it until the day of Jesus Christ (i.e. until Jesus
Christ comes)'.
As a matter of fact, the apostle Paul was someone who 'walk the talk', a man who meant what he said, and you can see this even in his own life and ministry. In his final epistle addressed to his spiritual son (Timothy), he wrote, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day (of Jesus Christ), and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8) Indeed, the good work God had begun in his life, God had also brought it to full completion!
Someone asked me recently if there is a difference between the words 'conviction' and 'faith' from the biblical point
of view. There is a fine line between these two words, but here's the
difference:
‘Conviction’ = ‘what the Lord
has put in your heart’.
‘Faith’ = believing what
the Lord has put in your heart will be accomplished.
Notice it is the Holy Spirit who puts
a conviction in you. It is not a mere presumption or a human
idea.
With this conviction, comes also the faith to
do what He has put in one's heart to do (or to accomplish), even when one is faced with the odds, opposition,
hindrances, or mockeries.
The other day, I heard and released
these prophetic words to the congregation:
“Receive the supply of My faith!
Yes, even the faith to overcome all odds! Look not to the world and its
troubles, but look to Me. In the midst of the storm and confusion,
I will give you a lifeline, and I will sustain you. I will see to it that the
good work I have begun in your life, I will also bring it to full completion.”
The word ‘odds’ here is defined as 'conditions
that make it difficult for something to happen', and ‘a lifeline’ is 'a line
(or rope) attached to a lifebelt thrown into the sea for saving life'.
Let's look now at Hebrews 11:1. It
says 'faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen'. See? Faith is
a substance! It is real! It is supernatural! And it is a proof of
things not seen!
And how does faith come?
The Bible says 'faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God' (Romans 10:17). In other words, faith is upon God's
words, i.e. upon 'what God has spoken to you (or put in you)'!
The early apostles (e.g. Peter, John, Paul) had
such deep conviction to preach the good news of Jesus
Christ that literally nothing
could stop them from advancing God's kingdom! See? It all began with the conviction in
them, i.e. what the Lord had put in their hearts to do (or to
be).
Notice when there’s a conviction from the Lord to do something, there will also be faith to sustain you till the whole ‘project' is accomplished. He will supply you if you look to Him!
On the other hand, if you don’t have the conviction from the Lord to do something, it isn't easy to have the faith to
do it. And without faith, nothing supernatural can happen!
Therefore, people of God, take time to listen to
what He has put inside of you. Take time to hear Him and commune with Him. He can communicate with you through your inner witness, dreams, visions, thoughts, words, or prophecies. What
it takes is a heart that is open before Him. Be honest and true to yourself on what He has put in your heart to do (or to
be).
The below are two examples of people who walked in the conviction that the Lord had put in them.
The below are two examples of people who walked in the conviction that the Lord had put in them.
Example 1: Abram (Genesis 12:1-5)
Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country, from your family and your
father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will
bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So
Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him… And Abram
was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran (to go
to the land of Canaan).
The word ‘spoken’ here is ‘dabar’ in Hebrew, which
can mean ‘arranged, commanded, appointed, declared, pronounced,
promised, purposed (i.e. put in his heart to do)’.
Note:
Conviction in one’s heart usually
leads to a new direction in one’s life. It wasn’t easy for anyone to ‘move
into the new’ at such (old) age, but because of the conviction that the Lord had put in him, Abram did. For the record, all that the Lord had spoken to him eventually came to pass.
Example 2: Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:11-18)
Nehemiah wrote:
So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God
had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there
any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.
Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we
are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come
and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a
reproach.”
And I told them of the hand of my God which had
been good upon me… So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they
set their hands to this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the
Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and
despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing?”…
So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of
heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build,
but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
Note:
Conviction in one’s heart is
‘contagious'. It will spread to others around you. Nehemiah eventually went on to successfully complete all that the Lord had put
in his heart to do, even when he was faced with opposition, hindrances and mockeries from the enemies.
People of God, like the apostle Paul and the men (and women) of faith who have gone before us, and 'since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has (now) sat down at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews 12:1-2). Amen.
As I was preaching and ministering this message to the congregation recently, someone saw a vision of tongues of fire falling upon the hands of the people in the house of God, enabling those hands.
Let the Lord enable your hands as well, whatever He has purposed for you to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
People of God, like the apostle Paul and the men (and women) of faith who have gone before us, and 'since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has (now) sat down at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews 12:1-2). Amen.
As I was preaching and ministering this message to the congregation recently, someone saw a vision of tongues of fire falling upon the hands of the people in the house of God, enabling those hands.
Let the Lord enable your hands as well, whatever He has purposed for you to do. In Jesus' name. Amen.
