Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
For many years, people missed the open-roof feeling of early cars. After all, for hundreds of years, people had become accustomed to riding horses and buggies and liked having the wind in their face. That all started to change in 1922 when a man by the name of Ben P. Ellerbeck finally invented something that truly would revolutionize the car industry. It was a little ahead of its time, and wasn’t used in a production model until a few years later. This creation became so popular that many popular movies have been made using cars equipped with his conception. There are rock and roll bands that have been named after his brainchild. It has even become a status symbol in society.
One of the earliest known cars that utilized his creation was the 1935 Peugeot 402 Eclipse Decapotable. Since then, there have been many manufacturers who have had great commercial success with His invention. Versions of his innovation still continue to be placed in automobiles that are produced today. What he dreamt up was a retractable hardtop system for cars, and today, these vehicles have become better known as the “convertibles”. In future years, these cars would be capable of conversion at the simple push of a button.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
These vehicles were aptly named because the word convert means to cause to change in form, character, or function, or to transform. We too, need to change into something different. We must allow God to push the button inside of our heart so that we can be converted to the teachings of the Christian faith.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Conversion is so important that without it, people will miss out on paradise. I don’t feel conversion is a difficult concept to comprehend. Many people are involved with the conversion process each and every day, but they really don’t even stop to think about it. Have you ever put water into an ice cube tray and placed it into the freezer? If you did, you became a part of converting something into something else. In the freezer, water is changed into ice cubes, and an ice cube serves a completely different function than water.
To become a Christian, we need to become like a convertible. Our hearts are like a hardtop vehicle, hardened through sinful living, who must allow spiritual light to penetrate the inside of the vehicle. To correct this, we need to be re-tooled on the assembly line, and allow ourselves to be equipped with a new innovation. We need to be able to take our hardtop down, completely laying bare the interior of our heart. Conversion requires a breaking of our hearts, like cracking an egg and throwing it into a frying pan. The cold and hard outer shell of our hearts needs to be broken before Christ.
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;
Scriptures teach that conversion is about changing from the old man that you used to be, to a new one.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When something is new, it has never been seen before, or has recently been made or created. Like a convertible we have to be capable of converting into something completely different than what we were before. Instead of being closed off, our hearts need to open up to biblical truth, God’s grace, and to a brand new way of living.
Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Renewal means to make something new; or to make new spiritually; to regenerate. In our carnal state there is nothing good. The old person is a corrupt sinner. In order to inherit eternal life, we must go through a transformation. We need to put the top down and open up our hearts and our minds to the Word of God.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The final goal for those who become a Christian is to walk in the perfect will of God. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. In order to begin this walk towards perfection, we must first humbly admit that we are not perfect. Without humility, lasting conversion and transformation can’t take place. It is when we humbly recognize our own faults and shortcomings that we can be empowered to overcome them through God’s grace and faithful submission to Him.
2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
The walk towards perfection is a day by day process that requires taking one step at a time. For a concert pianist to learn their part perfectly, it requires practice. Eventually after enough practice, they can get to the point where they can play the song flawlessly. Perfection is not having any faults. The pianist certainly made mistakes along the way, but corrections needed to be made, hand positioning needed to be altered, and dynamics needed to be addressed. The result of hard work and practice eventually resulted in a transformation of notes that were written on a sheet of paper, into something that was alive, floating through the air for our ears to hear and enjoy.
Colossians 3:9-10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
We want to practice the things that we have obtained through the knowledge of God’s Word, until we can get to the point that we can keep it perfectly. A good musician will get a part 99.5 percent perfect, but refuses to quit at that point. They will keep at it until they can perform flawlessly. When I was young, people told me that I wasn’t perfect, and I would never be perfect. They explained that it was a waste of time even to try. Years later I finally realized that with that kind of attitude, you could never be good at anything you attempted in life. Everything that you did would only be done halfway or in a mediocre fashion.
Christians are called to perfection, walking in the perfect will of God. We prove our love for God, through faithful obedience to His commands and teachings. Jesus pleases the heavenly Father perfectly, and this is the same way that we want to treat Him, having a perfect heart in His presence. A pure heart will result in faithfulness, loyalty, obedience, and complete submission to His every will and whim. To become this person, it is going to require conversion. It’s going to demand a contrite and penitent heart. It’s going to involve removing the hardtop, so that the light of God’s Word can shine down upon us, penetrating our hearts as we drive down a new road and in a new direction.
Perfection is a scary word to some people, but with God’s help, it’s attainable. The man of God can become perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, but it’s going to require some effort. It’s going to require humility, daily practice, and diligence. We will have to put the top down and go through a complete transformation, just like many cars on the road today, including……..
………The Ellerbeck Conversion
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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