Belief to conversion

Belief is often something we think tone enough when pursuing our spiritual relationship. Whilst it is important, it's actually the practical experience that we gain through different moments and circumstances that lead to conversion. The unshakable, absolute knowing that irrespective of the how it feels, your faith is rooted in what you know (The Word of God).

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hello, everybody. Good morning and welcome to Rima Reloaded with me, Sean Williams. It is a pleasure, an honor, and a privilege, all of those things to have you with us again this morning. I hope you enjoyed our last Bible study. Um it was it was enjoyable, um, incredibly deep. I took a lot from it. I hope you did as well. And also, more than anything, I really want our Bible studies to be able to encourage you and to push you and to inspire you to do your own reading. That's the biggest thing with what we're trying to develop with the Rema platform, um, the Bible study and the youth Bible study, that I just want to be a stepping stone for you to then build the bridge for your own relationship with the Holy Spirit so that he can speak into you directly because that's what he really wants with each and every one of us. He he doesn't want your relationship to be dependent on me, God forbid. Um, he wants his own relationship with you, and having these moments, sharing these moments, creating these platforms help us to do that. So, today I want to talk to you from the subject, conversion. Are you converted? Um, it's that's not the topic, by the way. I'm not asking you that question. It was more rhetorical than anything else. Of course, you're converted. If you're sitting here and you're listening to me, then there is a part of you where your belief system has been what I would call activated. Um, and you are either in the process of relationship or you're in the process of building a relationship or you are intrigued and want to know more. Um, I want to give you the definition of the word conversion. To be converted or for conversion to happen, it is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another. Okay, I want to say that one more time. Conversion is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another. And on that basis, if you will, I want you to go with me to the book of St. Matthew, chapter 16. I will read, because obviously you're not here. Um, and I'm gonna start from verse 13 and I'm gonna conclude at verse number 19, and I'll read just for time and purposes. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I am? And I can imagine his disciples were looking amongst each other, like, is Jesus being serious? Is he asking a real question? He was asking a real question. Verse 14, and they said, Some say that you're John the Baptist, whilst others say that you could be Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jesus taking in what they were saying, verse 15, he saith unto them, But who do you say that I am? I can imagine there was a silence, there was a hush, and then the moment arrives. Verse 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now, based on Jesus' answer in verse 17, it is quite easy for us to be able to deduce and deduct and to tell, Jesus was surprised by this answer. This answer took him back. I think Jesus was hoping they would get close, but I didn't think he thought any of them would actually hit the bullseye. Verse 17 it says, And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonh. Now, it's very important that we understand that he does not use the name that he gives him. He is still calling him according to the name that he used when Peter, when he met Peter as a fisherman. Okay. So he says, Blessed art thou Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood, that just means natural senses, natural self, our natural environment. That hasn't revealed this to you, but my father, which is in heaven, verse 18, and I say also unto thee that thou art Peter. Because of this revelation, Jesus stops and says, Simon, you've just tapped into information I haven't even released yet. Perception is everything. Perspective is something, but perception is everything. Why? Because perspective sits from a state of subjectivity. That means I deal with the situation according to what is in my natural eyesight, eyeline, and view. Perception tells me I will look beyond what I can see and see the intention or the foundation upon which something is standing. Okay? So Jesus realizes that Peter is dealing with perception coming through revelation from heaven. And he says to him, Um, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Okay. Now, the reason why it's so important for us to take this point here, because many of us understand what the arc of Peter's journey and what he would do would be. Okay, let me qualify that, let me simplify it a little bit more. So Peter was a fisherman, he and his brother had a very successful fishing business, and Jesus wanted them to follow him. Okay. Now, how did Jesus manage to get the fisherman to follow him? Remember, Peter had been out all night, he'd been fishing, had caught nothing. And Jesus says to him, He says, Listen, cast your nets on the other side. Okay. And in the moment that Jesus wants him to give up everything, he gives him the biggest catch of his life. He puts the decision in Peter's hand. Do you want to transact on a natural level the biggest opportunity of your life? Or are you going to come with me and pursue destiny and find out something about yourself that will not only impact this life, but it will shape the one to come. So Peter is aware that Jesus has the ability to do these amazing things, but historically, Israel have been waiting for the Messiah. All of us know what it's like to wait for something for a very long time, believing it's gonna come, but knowing that the longer we wait, the more it feels like it's not gonna come. And then you have the overwhelming feeling of it coming. And then what happens? We ask ourselves, is it really happening? We all know what it's like to be in a situation where there's something we've prayed for, we've hoped for, and it didn't come when we thought it was gonna come. And then all of a sudden it comes in a moment that we're not expecting it so much so we get to the place and the point where we ask ourselves, is it really happening? So at this point, Peter and the rest of the disciples, they had started to see Jesus do wonderful things. They had been there for the miracle at the wedding of Canaan. Okay, they'd watched him turn water into wine. They were there for the Sermon on the Mount, where thousands of people came to listen to him speak, and we know that it was an amazing sermon. Why? Because we're still talking about it today. Almost 2,000 years later, we are still talking about this sermon on the mount. Peter, James, and John were there when he raised Jairus' daughter. They were the ones that Jesus said, Boys, she's asleep. I need you to put everybody out because I'm gonna do something and I only want you to see it. So what does that tell us? There is a difference between believing and being converted. How do you mean, Sean? I like to go to the gym, okay? Um, and I go to the gym because as I am getting on in age, I realize that on the other side, my body's starting to slow down. Now I believe that working out is good for me. I believe that a balanced diet is good for me. I believe that walking and being active in my everyday is good for me. When did I become converted to the action of sustaining these things? I started to wake up and feel a bit achy. I started to eat one too many mini eggs on a Sunday night. And my body started to let me know that I was losing the balance that I needed. So even though I believed that I should have been doing these physical activities and other things to keep myself in a balanced state, it wasn't until I had actually gone through the situation myself or that I was experiencing the consequences of my belief that converted me to the point of action. So belief is knowing through feeling, conversion is knowing through practical application. Okay, how do I know this? I tell you why. We are going to go very quickly to the book of Luke chapter 22. Okay, and I'm gonna read with you. Um, and we're gonna start, we're gonna go from 31 to 62. But before you sit and go, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's way too much reading, it's not because I'm gonna break it down, okay? We're gonna do it in a couple of bite size. We're gonna go from verse 31 to 34, and then we're gonna tie a little bow around it, and we're gonna go from 54 to 62, okay? So, very quickly, we're gonna go to the book of Luke, chapter 22. I will read, because you're not here, are you? Um, and I'll start from verse 31. So I want you to be aware, at this point, Peter has told Jesus that he's the Messiah, that he's the Son of the Living God. Jesus has said to Simon, flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you, Simon, but my father which is in heaven, so much so that I'm now going to speak into you about what is to come. You're not gonna be called Simon, you're gonna be called Peter. And upon this rock I will build my church. That's the first clue. And you're like, Sean, what do you mean that's the first clue? The minute Jesus is now speaking into Simon and telling him that you are going to be the rock upon which I'm gonna build my church, that's the first clue to us realizing Peter's about to go through some stuff. Have you ever noticed that the minute that you get upgraded in your spiritual walk or even in your natural job, when that promotion comes, it's like that's when all hell breaks loose. Why? Because that's the proofing process. Promotion can't come without a proofing process. The reason your managers give you a promotion is because they watch you secretly over an extended period of time, through different seasons, different moments, triumphs, crisis, and they get a rounded view about who you are, and at the appointed time they then give you the step up. So when Peter is now telling Jesus, you're the Messiah, you're the Son of the living God, Jesus is like, okay, Peter, I'm gonna speak into you, but me speaking into you is a foretelling of what you're gonna go through. None of us think when we read this early on in the gospels that Peter is gonna be the one that potentially denies the person that he named. When we're listening to Peter and Jesus have this conversation, there is no part of my natural thinking that sits there and goes, he's gonna deny him. I can't see very recently. I saw my best friend and he came down with his children, and it was amazing to me because I haven't seen them for a little while, but when I saw them and they saw me, it felt like we'd just seen each other yesterday. Now, Fraser's a natural man, flesh and blood, just like you and me. I don't, even if he was super angry with me, I don't think there's a world where my best friend, even though he may not want to know me, there's not a world where Fray's or Sylv turns around and they go, never seen him. What do you mean? There's a thing and go, never heard of him. Nah. But yet, we understand this is something that the rock, the cornerstone of the church that Jesus was gonna build, the man that would have the keys that would be able to bind in different worlds, was gonna straight up deny him. Let's jump into Luke chapter 22, 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold. Okay, let me give you a little bit of background because I'm just assuming that you all know your Bible, and let's just assume that you do. We're at the Last Supper, okay? Peter's already showed out. How do we know he showed out? Because Jesus got down to wash their feet, and people said, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You will not be washing my cheesy feet. I don't know if those feet were cheesy, you will not be washing my feet. And when Jesus explained to him that he had to, this was a part of the plan and the process. Peter being Peter was like, Well, as soon as you're gonna wash my feet, wash my hair and my hands as well, Lord. Okay, so they're at the Last Supper. Jesus has continually told his disciples what his mission was. But like anybody we love, the hardest thing to hear is that they're leaving. At the heart of a lot of Peter's trauma and his grief was you can see through Peter's character, even through the gospels, he was often misunderstood. People that appear to be aggressive and brash, they often are misunderstood. And they were all trying to get their head around the fact that A, the Messiah had come, B, he had chosen them, and C, the most important thing, they really loved him. The things we become most precious about are the things we love the most. That's why a lot of the time when we have conflicts within our family or with our close friends, it hurts to a very deep place because it's the guilt and the shame that comes after the fact that sometimes either burns the bridge of return or closes the door on reconciliation. But Jesus being God manifesting flesh knew that it was his job to not only go to the cross and do for us what he'd come to do, John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He also knew he had to prepare his apostles but comfort his friends. Okay, and so we get to the point at the table where Jesus is starting to get just more clear about what's about to go on. We know what Judas is planning, um, and we understand that this is part of Peter's conversion process, okay? So Luke 22, verse 31, and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I've prayed for thee. And just a little sound bite, a little footnote. Prayer is the communication between you and God that allows your relationship to be renewed every moment of every day in every single way. I was doing a podcast with my dad a couple of weeks ago, and he said, Sean, without communication, no relationship can be successful. Jesus used to get up a great while before day to go and pray. He was setting the ultimate and perfect model for you and I to follow, for us to what? Extract all the potential out of our spiritual relationship, but also to endure ourselves with power. Okay? So we said that Satan has decided to sift you with wheat, but he says, But I have prayed for thee. That your faith. We spoke about faith in our last Bible study. We spoke about the woman with the issue of blood who was making her way through the sea of people because God was in the midst. And what did Jesus say? Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Your faith can get you to places that your natural thinking can't. Okay. We also know in Hebrews 11 that faith, now faith, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of what you can't see. So Jesus knew what he was looking for in Peter wasn't there. Not in the physical, not in the natural. Sometimes we'll pray for people. If we don't see it the first time, we're like, oh, that prayer didn't work. What seed do you know that when planted grows up first? The Bible tells us, unless a seed goes into the ground and dies, it will not extract or transact the potential that it has. Seeds grow down first in order to then grow up. Okay? But I've prayed for thee that thy faith fail thee not, and when thou art converted, and listen, if you have one of those Bibles that you can underline, verse 32, underline that. So he's prayed for him, he's also been specific about what he's prayed for, and then he said, and when thou art converted, strengthen your brothers. I need to break that down. How can you be telling Jesus who he is and not be converted? This is the same Peter that Jesus took on the mountain with Peter and James. And you know, we should have known they were gonna fall asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane because when they went on the mountain, they fell asleep on the mountain when Jesus was praying. And the Bible says that when they woke, Jesus' whole countenance had changed. And they said that they saw him there talking with two others. Peter recognizing it was Moses and Elijah. And when Jesus came back to them, Peter was so overtaken, he's like, Lord, let's build you a temple. In fact, we're gonna build three: one for you, one for Moses, one for Elias. But yet, to see those miracles, to speak that level of revelation over the Christ, to want to go and build temples, we find that when the moment had arrived, though he may have believed, he wasn't converted. Some of us are sitting in services and fellowships, believing, trying to believe, but knowing we're not converted. Why? Because conversion is the practical application of the process. It's you going through the thing to come out the other side with the knowledge, the truth, this is exactly what I know it to be. Okay, um, let me go to verse 33. And he said unto him, Lord, I'm ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. Don't this sound just like Peter? Instead of him sitting there going, Okay, since I was able to tell the Messiah that he's the Messiah, if he's saying to me, Listen, you're gonna do some stuff that's a bit crazy. The devil wants to have you, but don't worry, because I've prayed for you. And that your faith won't fail you. And when you've gone through the process, when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. And instead of Peter just taking this in. And realizing, okay, cool, maybe there's something I need to examine within myself. No, he's like, Lord, I'll come and die with you, it's fine. Jesus, like, Peter, can I be real? He's like, before the cockadoodle-doo goes this morning, you're gonna tell a whole bunch of people, not once, not twice, but thrice, I don't know him. They're gonna be like, I've seen you with him, and he's gonna be like, mm-mm, I ain't never seen that man in my life. Okay, now I want you to jump with me down to verse 54. Now, after this point, Jesus has told Peter, Peter has tried to rebut him and tell him, Oh, no, no, no, no, that's not what's gonna be the case. I'll never do that, I'm gonna come and die with you. Jesus then takes his disciples from the Last Supper and he says, Listen, let's go pray. Jesus is aware that he is coming to the point, he's coming to the crescendo point of doing what he came here to do. Don't forget, throughout the Gospels, Jesus only proclaims that he's here to do the will of his father. He only says that he is coming to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. So he now realizes he's coming to the point where he's going to be offered up. Judas has left. He's called his disciples, he said, Let's go pray. Um, now at this point, they have gone to the Garden of Gethsemane. The disciples couldn't stay up, they were sleeping again. The soldiers have come and taken Jesus. Okay, and at this point that the soldiers have come and taken Jesus, Peter has lashed out. He's taken out the Rambo. Now, for those of you that are a little bit older, the Rambo is the knife, it's a it's a sharp tool that you'll use to create an incision. Do harm. Okay? And Jesus told Peter, no. Now, the reason why Peter went for the sword was because the truth is, in their in their heart, the disciples believed that the Messiah was coming to overthrow Rome. They didn't understand the spiritual revelation of the coming of Christ. They thought it was to restore Israel back to what we know to be the Davidic reign. So when we say the Davidic reign, in our country, in Europe especially, especially in England and Great Britain, we associate the golden age of the monarchy to be Queen Elizabeth I. She was the child of Henry VIII, who was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, and we all know that because she wasn't a boy, her mother ended up losing her head. Her father became extremely displeased with her mother, and um, I think it was Jane Seymour. I enjoyed my history at school. It was Jane Seymour that he left Anne Boleyn for, and she obviously was beheaded, so on and so forth. But it would be her daughter, their daughter, that would then go on. And when historians would look back through the annals of time, would sit and say the actual golden age was her reign. So within Israel's hearts for them, the golden age was the Davidic reign. Why? Because the Ark of the Covenant was restored, the Philistines were beaten, David was all conquering, he was a man after God's own heart. Yeah, there was a little bit of trashy stuff going on in there too. David liked to get himself in the butt he loved God. And when Israel would look back, because don't forget that much after that period, Israel found themselves either being besieged by other nations, they were they were captive, and they never fully felt like they were restored back to that place. So they were always hankering after the time of David, and they believed that Jesus was going to bring this back, which is why when he went into Jerusalem on the donkey, which obviously signified the prophecy from Isaiah, they were seeing Hosanna. Hosanna to the son of David. And this is where we see the duality of the roads of what Jesus' process and destiny and his reason was now they start to do this. Because they think he's coming to overthrow the Romans, he's come to conquer death, hell, and sin. Okay, so they've taken Jesus and um they are leading him to the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Verse 54. Then they took him and led him and brought him into the high priest, which is Caiphus, and Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire and earnestly looked upon him and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. I see you with Jesus. And Peter said, Man, I'm not. And about the space of one hour, now my first thing was like, You're gonna hang around for another hour after you've done already twice proven Jesus right. But that's what fear will do. When fear and love are fighting, it often creates paralysis. I'm gonna say that one more time. When fear and love are fighting, it often creates paralysis. And about the space of one hour after another, confidently affirmed, saying, Of truth, this fellow also was with the Nazarene, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what you're saying. And immediately while he spake, the cock crew, and the Lord, meaning Jesus, turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him before the cock crows, You're gonna deny me three times. Verse 62. And Peter left and he cried bitterly. Now, the reason I wanted to leave it at that point in the in the scripture was because it's clear to us that Peter believed. You see, believing's easy because in order to believe, we just have to give our heart. Conversion's harder because in order to be converted, we have to change our mind. So it's clear that you can have revelation without true comprehension. Peter told Jesus who he was, but if he really believed that he was the Son of the Living God and he had seen the miracles, would he have denied him? No. Why? Because we see after this point, when Peter denies Jesus and disappears for three days, when Jesus rises, the first thing he says, tell my disciples and Peter. Jesus knew that once he had overcome what he'd come to do, the conversion that he spoke to Peter about when Peter was having that revelatory moment about who he was, he knew it was going to make sense. With believing, I just need to give my heart. When I'm being converted, I need to be able and willing to change my mind. Peter going through that process, seeing Jesus crucified. I believe through Jesus' crucifixion, Peter's idea of what the Messiah was supposed to be was also crucified. And when he saw his Lord and Savior, but more than that, his friend. When his friend came back to life, and his friend kept every word that he said to him he was going to do, Peter never looked back. Not on belief, anyway. When thou art converted strength from thy brethren. So you might be going through your own conversion process. And if you are, let me give you the honest truth, it's not gonna be nice. It's not because conversion means tearing away everything you believe to be true, everything you believe to be solid, everything you believe to be a cornerstone and a foundational point for you to build your life upon. No, because God is saying that He's the firm foundation, He's trying to tell you that He wants to be the chief cornerstone in your life. You may believe, but you might not be converted. And if you're going through that practical process and application of conversion, the only thing you need to do is hang on to the words of Jesus. What are the words of Jesus? I'll never leave you nor forsake you. My peace I leave with you, my peace I give onto you, not as the world give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither be afraid. I have overcome the world. I'm going to a place that where I am, you may be also. It's not just about belief, it's about conversion. Pray with me as we finish. Father, thank you for another time. Thank you that we can look into your word and study together and individually. I'm praying, let this word speak to hearts and minds. Um, let it go where my natural voice can't. And Lord, the only point of this is to allow the world to know your love and to see you as the ultimate light, that you may change someone's life through the transforming of their mind, that they may give their heart and their mind and their life to you, to know you as their personal Lord and Savior. We say thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Guys, thanks for hanging out. I'll see you next time.

unknown 33:25

I really enjoyed that.