"Conviction"

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation" ~ Hebrews 11:1-2 (ESV)

Since the beginning of time, those who know and fear God have moved with absolute assurance that He is real and His word is truth, even when others around them chose not to see it. Noah built an ark nearly a century in advance of the promised flood, Abraham left his home and native people, Rahab hid the spies, Joshua and the people marched around Jericho in plain sight, David took on Goliath, Esther went to the king, and many more faithful heroes did things we have a hard time imagining simply because their conviction about God was greater than their fear of the world. But many of them also had to deal with another kind of conviction - the kind that comes from the guilt of sin. Noah got drunk, Abraham lied about his wife, David's sins destroyed marriages and families, Esther initially resisted obedience out of fear, and many more were convicted by God. But upon their conviction, they repented and were restored. This week at Friendship, we'll talk about the "Conviction" we see in Acts 5. Some are convicted of sin and do not confess and repent, others show an unrivaled boldness and courage to obey God in the face of physical persecution because they are persuaded that nothing, including their lives, is more important. Join us as we reflect on how conviction in our own lives impacts us in these different ways.