Good morning and welcome in today. Today we’re going to take a look at some scripture from the book of Acts but before we do that I wanted to tell you a personal story.
Many years ago when I was going to start to enter high school, I had some difficulty. They wanted me to take a class of summer school to make up for a course that I had failed in the 8th grade.
To be completely honest I really don’t know what class I failed but I had to spend six weeks in a class retaking the course at the high school.
I used to live about 18 miles from the high school and I would have to get up and get on my bicycle at 5:45 in the morning and ride those 18 miles on my bike to and from my summer school classes.
It was actually a good way to get in shape but there is one thing about that summer that I will always remember. Somebody at the school would like to give me a ride home because he had his own vehicle and I didn’t. He had a beat up Blazer and because he lived out in the general area where I did, he would drop me off so I wouldn’t have to ride that long trek back home.
The very interesting thing about that summer was one time he showed up with a 100 pound propane tank in the back of his Blazer. He had a little switch on the front dash and when he got out onto the highway, he would flip the switch and it converted to propane. According to what he told me it would save piles of gas on the highway. That old pickup that was used to running on gasoline he had completely changed over to run on propane out on the highway.
That’s one of the words were going to take a look at today in our study. What does it mean to convert something?
One definition says having been adapted to be suitable for a new purpose. It means to be changed into a different form so it can be used in a different manner.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
God wants us to be converted. He wants to convert us from a sinner into a saint. He wants to change us from our immoral ways to a person who does what’s good and right with their life. In the same way that that Blazer was converted to suit a different purpose God wants to change each of us into new people. A synonym for the word convert means to adapt. That means to make suitable for a new use or a new purpose. It means to modify something.
Think about children in the 12th grade in high school who decide to go to the high school prom. Most likely they’re going to modify the things that they normally wear. Instead of wearing jeans and a t-shirt and a baseball cap, they’re going to rent a tuxedo and put on a corsage for the event. Modify has to do with change.
In order for change to happen in our hearts and our minds, the Bible teaches clearly that we have to repent in order for that conversion to truly happen.
Repentance is about having a change of your heart and a change of your mind. It’s taking a look at something differently in your life than you did in the past. Let’s look closer at this word repentance for just a moment.
The word repent means to have a change of your mind. In just a simple act of saying I’m sorry you’re admitting fault. You are admitting that you were in the wrong. A regretfully apology doesn’t seem to be enough for some people in society today. It’s the same thing that the scriptures foresaw that in the end times people would be implacable unforgiving and unmerciful.
In order for each of us to have lives that lead to a complete turnaround conversion, we have to first be able to admit fault and wrongdoing to God and others. You have to be able to admit the truth.
I have taught everywhere for 20 years that the very first step toward salvation, is about admitting the truth that I am a sinner. My son bears witness to these facts. When you finally accept the fact that you are a sinner then you will be capable of telling God and others that you are truly sorry for what you did. You will reach out to Him to profess the frailty of the human nature and like the humble publican claimed, God be merciful to me a sinner. That simple confession of truth leads to conversion, because in that admission you can be forgiven. Conversion happens through an acceptance of truth in your own life and in God’s mercy. We get forgiven for our sins which leads to a change and conversion. A false teaching in the world today by many moderate Christians is that conversion comes before forgiveness. The truth is this.
- Acceptance of truth in your own life that you have sinned.
- Admitting fault and getting forgiven by God and others.
- Those two qualities mentioned above done in sincerity and faith will lead to conversion.
Each day in the church God is changing our hearts and our minds through the teachings of the Holy scriptures.
The act of repenting is feeling true remorse in your heart. Remember that the church is a place that is filled up with sinners. We confess our sins not only to God but to each other. Things happen even in the church that hurts other people. God wants us to be very very forgiving with each other because he is very very forgiving with each of us.
pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
As I’ve taught numerous times in the church, everybody is growing in different stages. You wouldn’t expect a three month old baby to go out and ride a 10 speed bike because they’re not capable of doing it yet.
In the church nobody is perfect at day one either. That is why God requires us to be so forgiving with each other in the church. Everybody has got their own problems, and there is none that is righteous no not one. God doesn’t want us to be a stumbling block with other people in the church.
How can a woman who professes to be a Christian show up at church in a mini skirt and immodest attire, knowing that the person in the pew behind them had problems with adultery and fornication. That is called being a stumbling block. That is just one example, but everybody has a weakness, and each of us in the church can help others to overcome those weaknesses. That is called love.
I’ve actually heard people talk about the Christian faith like it’s a one strike and it’s over. If that was the case there would be no need for forgiveness in the Christian church or Holy Communion to wash away our sins after we become Christians. These things are actually said said by people who are unforgiving and bitter with others. It said by proud and arrogant people. Remember when Jesus openly forgave people when he was upon the earth, he was hated for it. The Prodigal Sons brother was upset that his dad had completely forgiven him. God requires that we are very forgiving with others so that people can grow and overcome problems in their lives.
As a child grows up in a household, a dad needs to be very forgiving. Welcome to Parenting 101. Children make all kinds of mistakes as they grow up into maturity. But we each need to understand that we made mistakes in our lives as well.
In the church we do not want to abuse the grace that we’ve been given but rather use it as an opportunity and a springboard to begin a new life in Christ. Remember Peter who was chosen by Christ to be an apostle but later on he denied Christ. Later on he was forgiven and reinstated by Christ himself. Because Jesus forgave his own apostle, whose forgiveness on this Earth cannot be reached when we admit the truth of what each of us truly are… a bunch of sinners, who are in need of lots of grace.
Admitting the truth and getting forgiven as Peter, are processes that lead to our conversion.
Repentance, forgiveness, Conversion. It’s the realization of God’s goodness and forgiveness and mercy that truly leads any of us to do His will.
Believe in His forgiveness, and have your past blotted out through His blood that He shed for us at the cross. It’s time for a new beginning and that day begins today.
I think that’s where I’m going to stop right now but Lord willing I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye-bye everybody.♥️
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