SURRENDER AND CONVERSION
Growing from acts of denial to repentance and acts of true conviction
9/12/20262 min read
SURRENDER AND CONVERSION: GOING FROM ACTS OF DENIAL TO ACTS OF CONVICTION
What seems to be our greatest strength or weakness in the natural body can be used for God’s glory in His kingdom. We must change, but this conversion comes through belief and following Christ. Matthew 18:3 tells us “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” We don’t need to try to change ourselves before we surrender to God, but we must repent. Acts 3:19 says “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 created us just so, and He can change us as He sees fit to use us as He sees fit. Some changes are sudden, some are gradual. As we get closer to God through humbly submitting ourselves to Him, He gets closer to us (James 4:7-10)
When God changed Saul from Paul, he did not change his level of the fiery conviction and adherence of the man. God changed what Saul was convinced of, he changed what Saul believed about God and what he believed about himself. That changed him from the man who persecuted Christians “breathing out threatening and slaughter” (Acts 9:1) to the man who was willing to die as a Christian for the sake of the name of Christ (Acts 21:13).
A person like Peter, who holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19) can curse and swear while denying knowledge of Our Saviour (Mark 14:71), then weep with bitterness, then cause the lame to walk (Acts 3:6) and preach the gospel with such power and work signs and wonders so much, that people began to bring the sick into the streets so that if the shadow of Peter passed over them they would be healed (Acts 5:15).
The Word of God is what we need to live by (Luke 4:4). Luke 8:11-15 tells us that the Word is a seed planted in our hearts which produces fruit after a time. Psalm 19:7 tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul... 1 Peter 2:2 tells us to desire the sincere milk of the word so we can grow from it. Hebrews 5:12-14 discusses the need to grow up and eat the meat of the word as grownups rather than continue to feed on milk as babies. It is through the receiving the Word of God that we grow in faith (Romans 10:17), power, and discernment (Hebrews 4:12).
Let us continue to receive the word, mixing it with the conviction of our faith (Hebrews 4:2), to produce fruits of righteousness according to the will of God for each of us and unto His glory (Philippians 1:11). Let us continue growing up into Christ (Ephesians 4:15), being renewed in the spirit of our minds, putting on the new man in righteousness and true holiness which is created to reflect God (Ephesians 4:23-24). Let those who spend time in our presence take knowledge of us, recognizing that we have been with Jesus as the people saw in Acts 4:13. Let us go on to perfection (Hebrews 6:1), being confident of this very thing: that He which has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). Amen!