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Have You
been Converted
We hear a lot
about being converted now days just exactly what is conversion? A
Bible dictionary says this; a turning which may be literal or
figurative, ethnical or religious, either from God or more frequently,
to God. It implies a turning from and a turning to something, and is
therefore associated with repentance. (Acts 3:19) "REPENT YE THEREFORE AND
BE CONVERTED THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE BLOTTED OUT". Yes friends it has two
sides. On the negative side it is a turning from sin, and on the
positive side it is a faith in Christ, although it is an act of man, it is
done by the power of God (John 6:44) say, ”NO MAN CAN COME TO ME,
EXCEPT THE FATHER WHICH HATH SENT ME DRAWS HIM".
Let’s take a look at these two elements that are important to
the act of conversion. First, a person needs to repent, God says we must
repent of our sins. Repenting means to turn away from your sins, change
from the way you are headed in a life of sin, and start seeking after
the things of God. Friends this is the first step of conversion. If we
are to do the first step we must have the second step as part of our
lives, which is faith, God says we must have faith without it, we can
not please Him. When faith is put with repentance the results is
conversion you see friends our faith in God’s Word will bring us new
life in Christ Jesus. Halluah.
Friends these two elements are very important to a Christian so I
think we need to take a little better look at them.
The first elements of conversion we want to consider in order to
understand faith is that of repentance. God said we must repent of our
sins, to repent means to turn from one way of living and direct your ways
in another. All through the Old Testament we are told to repent of sin.
This is very important to God. God is a Holy God
thus being Holy, he can not stand sin. If we want to be united
with God we must take the first step in conversion and repent, because
sin keeps us apart from God. Now in the New Testament we still have
repentance. Jesus tells us through His Word, that we must repent to be
born again we as people we are the ones which do the repenting but God is the
one who draws us ( by the Holy Spirit) to know our sins without
repentance, means there is no remission of sin. Next we want to look at the
second elements of conversion.
:"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen". This is what the Bible teaches faith is God also says
without faith it is impossible to please God. God says if man has enough
faith so as to move mountains, and have not repentance iit is of no
value to anyone. To God the most important thing we possess
is “faith”. Faith like repentance is something we have, but it is
also something that comes from God. Without God we would have no faith,
without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God
must believe that he is and that He rewards them that diligently seek
Him, (Heb 11:6) if we are lacking in faith we are to look to Jesus
Christ because He is the author and finisher of our faith.
A Sunday school teacher asked one of the young boys in class to
give a definition of faith, the young man thought a while and finally
replied that faith is believing what you know is not true. Friends we
know that this is opposite of the faith for a believer. So if you find
your self weak in faith have a little talk with Jesus who will add to
your faith. As we have already seen faith, real your faith is action.
Putting to work what you know
If you have faith that God answers prayer and you never pray,
your faith won’t do you much good. You must put your faith to work. If
you have faith that God will save your soul from hell and you never put
faith to work through repentance, then your faith would be in vain. You
must put your faith to work.
A Man’s life is governed by what he believes and in what he has
faith in. His religion is determined by the object in which he places
his faith. Yes, faith is about the most important thing for a
Christian to have. Everybody that was healed in the Bible was healed
because of Faith.
The most important elements of faith which the Bible declares is
that we are saved by faith ( Acts 16:31; Rom 5:1,9,30,32; and Eph 2:8).
To a Christian these are the greatest verses in the Bible, because these
are the scriptures which form the basis for our salvation. We are
enriched with the Spirit by faith, and healed by faith kept by faith,
established by faith, and sanctified by faith. Yes, when we as
Christians are looking at faith, we find our only reason as Christian to
exist is through our faith in God and His Word. Everything we do should be
by faith. Our every need, desire, hope, or blessing comes to us through
our faith in God. Our faith is very important to God. Without it, we
couldn’t get God to work in our lives, because all we do as Christians
is done by faith that God is going to work for us. That is how we pray,
believing in faith that God is going to give us what we ask of Him. Our
love, joy, peace, and all our happiness comes from God. According to
God’s Word the reason God doesn’t always answer our prayers is
because we don’t believe that He is going to give us what we ask of
Him. (James
1:6,7) BUT LET HIM ASK IN FAITH, NOTHING WAVERING. FOR HE THAT WAVERETH
IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA DRIVEN WITH THE WIND AND TOSSED.
FOR LET NOT THAT MAN THINK THAT HE SHALL RECEIVE ANYTHING OF THE
LORD.
Now we need to understand some words that are connected with
faith, such as “believe”
illus
Are you a true believer?
What is a true believer? There are doubtless as many answers to this
question as there are people in the world. You could be a believer in an
airplane or TV, or electricity, but that is not the kind of believer I
am talking about, of course to find the answers to this we as believers
would not even think of looking anywhere other than in the Bible for
this answer, only the Bible can give correct and complete answers to our
spiritual question First friends I want you to know that it
is possible
for a person to be true believer, because I am one, and all my friends
are one and many of you that are reading this message are true believers. This
word implies “commit” and
“surrender”,so faith is commitment.
Belief also involves the intellect. Desire involves the emotion.
Commitment involves the will. Now we find faith is what we know, how we
feel, and what we do about Jesus Christ. Thus faith becomes action, and
the action is faith seen in our commitment.
Now we find some people have great emotion when they are
converted. Some cry, some laugh, and some don’t show any emotion.
Conversion is sometimes quite and tender, sometimes uprooting, or
rearranging of the life under great emotional status.
Faith also has an
element such as the act of a person will. To the person who cries and
the one who laughs upon conversion, it is all void unless there is an
act of the will. A person must act and accept and make a commitment
before this conversion can or will take place. A person must act in
accepting God’s Son as their Savior and then make a commitment to do God’s will. Now
we have looked at some of the elements in faith, emotions, commitment,
and
the act of a person’s will.
Now we need to look at the source of faith. It can be broken down
into two parts.
First, we will look at the divine side. In the book of
Hebrews we find that Jesus is the author and perfects our faith. Our
faith is a gift of God, given by His sovereign will.
Next we see the
human side of faith. Faith can only come be the Word of God. Take away
God’s Word and the Bible says in (Rom 10:17). There would be no faith in
God. There is one thing about our faith; it is not a fixed amount. We
find the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith. I believe as we
pray, read, and Study God’s Word, our faith will increase.
The last thing we will take up is the end result of Faith. This
is what salvation is based on, our faith.
Do
you have faith? Will you exercise your faith now, by following Jesus
Christ? Your faith will be the essences of your relationship to Him. Your
faith will be the best education you ever received. Friends faith obeys
the call. Faith considers life here as temporal. Faith looks upward to
heaven. Can it be said of you as it was of Abraham, that you believed
God and it was counted to you for righteousness. Are you going to obey
the call of God on your life. Do you consider that your stay here on
earth is nothing besides a short journey. Does your faith look beyond this life to
a home in heaven, the city of God. If so then put you faith to work, and
you to can say that you are justified, sanctified, and have become the
adopted child of God, through your faith. And lastly we will have good work for
Jesus as we walk a Spirit-filled life. All this begins with God dealing
with our hearts. Friends we are saved by Faith.
Friends (Eph 2:10) tells us that “we are His workmanship creation
in Christ Jesus. Friends we who are saved are the product of God’s
marvelous grace. We are not what we are because of works, it is no labor
or merit on our part. We are the workmanship of God, we are the product
of God’s work. Today thousand of preachers are substituting education
for regeneration; religion for repentance; works for God wonderful
grace; but
“except a man be born from above he cannot see the kingdom
of God.” The natural man must be created in Christ Jesus, there by
becoming a new creation. Friends this happens by the provision and the
operation of the grace of our God.
The first man (Adam) because a dead sinner because of
disobedience. The second Adam (Christ Jesus) became flesh, and in the
flesh did what the first Adam failed to do. He conquered the world, the
flesh and the devil death, hell and the grave. Therefore
“if any man
be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature,” ( II Cor 5:17) A person who
is truly born of the spirit regenerated by power of God, saved by the
grace of God is the Master piece of all Gods creative Acts.
Friends salvation isn’t of works, but salvation is unto good
works. By our good works we prove to ourselves and to our fellowman
that we are saved. A blood bought born-again child of the king.
Friends
if you have never been born again come to Jesus today. Come to Him the
way you are He will accept you the way you are. He will create in you a
new heart and a new desire to live that new life. Friends He in the
Messiah do you want to meet Him today.
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