This study was first taught on December 25, 2016

Topic: Understanding the Acts of the Apostles_3: Conviction

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Background
In our meeting last week, we discussed the threat and danger of false ministers/ministries, false churches, and false doctrines, all making claims to being led and directed by the Holy Spirit, Who is the connectivity of believers in Christ to heaven. We were warned not to take at face value everyone who comes to us claiming that they are speaking the word of God or doing the work of God by the Spirit of God; rather, we were admonished to subject all such claims to the test of the Spirit. Thus, we must distance ourselves from anyone whose character is not consistent with the divine nature; we must dissociate from people whose claim of authority of the word of God, does not agree with the Deity/humanity of Jesus, the First Advent of Christ via the virgin birth, and, the impending Second Coming of Jesus Christ; and, we must disavow messages ostensibly from the Holy Spirit, that do not align with the word of God, or if the messenger does not exhibit the divine nature.

So as not to be deceived by false ministers, whose approach can be subtle, we noted that we can either discern them or their works through the written word of God—discernment; or through the application of the gift of the discerning of spirits, which has been given to every believer in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, so that we can know for a certainty, false claims to the connectivity of the Holy Spirit. The main difference between discernment and the gift of the discerning of spirits, is that the former relies on observing the character of the individual or the works of the ministry in the light of the word of God; whereas, with the gift of the discerning of spirits, the Holy Spirit simply tells us that the individual or ministry is of false origin. To be able to use the gift of the discerning of spirits, we ought to be in a right and tight relationship with the Father and His word—being able to rightly divide the word of truth.

If we are open to the Holy Spirit, He will reveal every false claim of connectivity through Him to heaven. We saw some biblical examples of this: Micaiah v. 400 prophets of Ahab; Peter v. Ananias and Sapphira; the Lord v. the Zebedee brothers; the Lord v. Peter; the Lord v. the man possessed by an evil spirit in the synagogue; and, Paul v. the girl possessed with the spirit of divination; to mention just a few. We should seek to manifest the gift of the discerning of spirits which is very crucial in this end-times as we see all manner of manifestations claiming to be our connectivity to heaven—the Holy Spirit. It will require us patiently submitting to the Holy Spirit’s leading overtime, and corroborating/verifying such leading/revelation with actual manifestations.

Scripture Text(s)
Acts 1:3
We now move to the third consideration which will enable us to understand the Acts of the Apostles. So far, we have seen that to understand the Acts of the Apostles, we must realize and appreciate that the actions, activities, deeds, and ministry of the apostles of old was a continuation of all that the Lord Jesus began both to do and teach; and that it was essentially the Acts of the Holy Spirit by the hands of the apostles. In our scripture text, we see that the Lord Jesus Christ “presented Himself alive” to His disciples, after His crucifixion and resurrection, “by many infallible proofs” over a period of “forty days”. One may wonder, why so many infallible proofs? And, why over so many days? The simple answer is that the Lord wanted His disciples to be convinced beyond any doubt that He had indeed resurrected.
The word ‘conviction’ can be defined in general terms as a fixed and firm belief in something, which cannot be altered by persuasive arguments to the contrary. The word also means the unshakable belief in something without the need for proof or evidence. The Lord’s reason for showing Himself by many infallible proofs and over a period of forty days, was to bring irrefutable conviction of His resurrection—a matter of controversy at the time—to His disciples, who were to go all over the world preaching about His life, death, burial, and resurrection.
Matthew 28:1-15, 16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:10; Hebrews 6:1-2; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-25; Luke 24:13-45; John 20:26-29; 1 Peter 1:8-9; John 21:14; 1 Corinthians 15:12-34; Romans 8:11; 2 Timothy 4:6-7; 2 Peter 1:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 2 Timothy 1:12; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59; 1 Peter 4:19; Romans 4:18-25; 8:35-39; Matthew 24:9-13; Galatians 5:6-8; Luke 16:31; 2 Corinthians 4:8-18; 2 Timothy 4:10.

Conclusion
The Acts of the Apostles is not just about the preaching of the word of God, the praising of God, and the performance of miracles, signs, and wonders; but, it also includes, the preaching about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as well as, the persecution, pauperization, and pulverization of the apostles. Despite all the negatives that attended their doing the work of God, the apostles of old did not lose heart; they did not give up, neither did they ‘abandon ship’, nor did they desert their post or their Lord!

What was responsible for such commitment despite the many difficulties, challenges, and over-exposure to death? It was their conviction, not just in the message of Christ, but most especially, in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, surmising that as the Lord was resurrected, so would they also be resurrected if they died at their post! They did the work of God through suffering, chains, and execution, committing their souls to the safe-keeping of God, who alone can take very good care of it unto eternity.

If we are to account for much, vis-à-vis, the work of God, we must likewise, be totally and completely convinced about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that it is a token of our own resurrection when we die; otherwise, we will be dominated by the fear of death, and desire for pleasures and material things; resulting in a ‘gospel’ which is no gospel at all, but which has become the pursuit of many so-called believers in Christ, as is the case in many so-called churches today. If we are not fully persuaded or convinced in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, our witness of Jesus Christ will be weak and ineffective; we will not be fully committed to the Lord; and, we would be unable and unwilling to endure persecution, pauperization, and pulverization, till the end. Such was the case of Demas.

To be fully persuaded about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by extension, ours also, we must have confidence in God, and in His word—that what He has said He will do, He is not only just able to do; but He will do it! May the Lord help us, Amen!

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