Have You Been Converted?

6/28/2026 Park Service. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I've called this sermon Have You Been Converted? Okay? And I wrote all these down in my little notebook here. And you know what? I completely forgot my reading glasses, but I will try to make it happen anyway. But I wanted to start just by um reading Saul's conversion in Acts chapter 9. Okay. So let's just kind of take a look at it when Saul was converted. Alright. It says Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Alright, I'm getting a little too far ahead of myself. Okay. It says, um Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. So if he found any there who belonged to the way, where whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. He neared Damascus on his journey, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound, but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision. Ananias, yes, Lord, he answered. The Lord told him, Go to the house of Judas on Strait Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He's praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, Ananias said, I've heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from chiefs priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, Go. This is the man that I've chosen as an instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who has appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regrained he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in this Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. You read that, that is absolutely amazing. I mean, here is a guy going to hunt down Christians, to bring them back as prisoners, to punish them for believing in Jesus, for following the way. I kind of wish we would get back to that. I like uh, you know, like, do you believe in God if you ask like a hundred Americans? Almost a hundred of them will say, Yeah, I believe in God. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah. But do you follow the way? Do you follow his ways? That's a different question, isn't it? I almost kind of wish we would get we would get back to that because immediately Saul started following the way. I mean, an instant conversion, an instant transformation. I love the part where it's it's like Saul's is riding on his horse, thinking about how, you know, we've heard you get knocked off your high horse, right? And he's just trumbling up through there, and it's like God just goes bam, you know, knocks him off his horse. And like, what are you doing? Who are you, Lord? I'm Jesus who you're persecuting. You're not doing this to the people that you think you're about to go out to, you're doing this to me. He says, now I have taken your sight, and you're gonna go where I tell you to go. And when you go there, I'll tell you what to do. I don't know, man. That's just such a cool story. And to him to see that vision, to show that to Ananias, and them meet up, and Ananias being able to say, Yeah, the Lord showed you that I would be here and I would restore your sight. Let's do it. How could you not believe? How could you not think that God was the greatest God that ever has existed? You know, that he's the one true God. So Matthew 18, verse 3 says this unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And you know, that that's like the prerequisite for being converted is that you come like a child. I know if you you you guys have been our parents, you know, and grandparents. Isn't it amazing how our children believe everything that we say? If we say we're gonna do something, I mean it's just set in stone. They trust us, they believe us. And you know, I know a lot of people when you start talking about this word, well, I don't know if it was really written by God. I don't know if it's really reliable. I don't know if God can be trusted. But we just become like children and say, you know what? I believe it. You know, and I I can tell you what helps me believe it is seeing people truly be converted. I remember playing golf with this guy at Falcons Lair in Wahla. We were playing like a little tournament, and the guy ended everything he said with GD. He cussed like crazy. I mean, I was like so uncomfortable for like the whole 18, but it wasn't like I was bold enough to like say anything at the time, you know. I was probably in my 20s, I don't know, I don't remember how old I was. But years later, we were playing at O'Connor, which in Seneca, which was his uh club. And I ended up playing with him, and I kept thinking, man, he reminds me of that other dude that we had. But he was super respectful, he was calm, he was cool, he didn't get mad, and he didn't say a single cuss word. And at the very end, when we were done, I couldn't help it. I said, Listen, years ago we were at Falcon's Lair and we were playing, and there was a guy who I'm telling y'all, like I couldn't believe how much he cussed. He said, Yeah, it was me. He said, and I just tell you right now, I'm I'm sorry, I'm ashamed, and just thankful the Lord got a hold of me when he did. What a testimony that I didn't even recognize the guy anymore because of the Lord's work in his life. That guy had been converted. But we still need to talk a little bit, I think, about what conversion is not. Because, you know, I've never been to a funeral where the person has not gone to heaven. You know what? Like, like they could be a killer, they could be anything, whatever. And somebody's gonna be like, oh yeah, but he was a good boy. Like, what? You know, but I get it. I do get it, I really do, and I understand. But conversion is not just simply doing better and improving your life. You know, like my first year of college, I was on academic probation because all I did was party and be stupid, right? And that letter in the mail that said, hey, you got to get your grades up or you don't get to come back to Clemson University scared me enough to go to the library on weekends and study. And my grades came up. That did not save me. And I'm sure people said, oh man, look at what look at how good he did to get to get those grades. He's more disciplined now. He's partying less and studying more. Is that conversion? No, it's just me doing what I need to do in this life, you know, and and and that's the thing. If you do godly things, I mean, the principles still work. If you've never given anything to the poor or given anything to church, whether you're converted or not, you start being smarter with your money and more generous, the Lord's gonna bless you. Whether you're converted or not, you know, like he just blesses generous people. If you follow these rules, you treat people like you'd want to be treated. Whether you're converted or not, that's gonna help you in this life. It just will. It's what it does. But conversion is not just simply doing better. I'm gonna look at John 15, verse 5. I wanted to read this for you. I got a few verses I'm gonna read, and I sure wish I'd brought my readers with me. He says, I am the vine, you're the branches. If a man remains in me and I'm in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. You think about bearing the fruits of the Spirits love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. I wish I could conjure that stuff up, you know. But if I get away from this for too long, just let me be inconvenienced in traffic. Patience just goes right out the window. I'm complaining, I'm doing this, but you know what? When I'm close to the Lord, when he is the vine and I'm just a little branch in him, he instantly gives me patience. He instantly gives me kindness, he instantly gives me all that. And I don't get to say, well, y'all be like me because I treat people like this and I'm patient in traffic. No, I'm only that way when Christ is where he needs to be in my life, right there at the front and the sin and the and the center of my life. Look at any um any video about grafting. I'm just absolutely amazed that that works. That you can change the kind of apples that you get from a tree by grafting a branch on there. That like I saw where you know this guy wanted, you know, he had he had these great, wonderful looking grapes, but they didn't survive pests, they didn't survive, you know, the the heat, they didn't survive like they needed to, they didn't survive disease. But he had others that produced grapes that weren't as profitable, but man, they were healthy. He took that good grape and he went over to that healthy stem and he just wrapped a little bandage around that thing and stuff, and dude, it worked. How in the world? I mean, to me, it's almost like this arm's bad, so I'm gonna chop it off and get somebody else's good arm and just kind of put it there and put some tape around it, and that thing is gonna work. I mean, that's the way it really works in the plant world. So that's what we we need is to just allow God to do his grafting, even in that Saul conversion. I just imagine, man, he just chopped off the bad limbs. He loved Saul's zealousness, he loved Saul's perseverance, his tenacity, his aggressive nature to go after those, man, and he just chopped it off right there, made him blind for three days, and when he opened his his uh eyes, he still had all that useful stuff, but God grafted his son onto his life, grafted the Holy Spirit into his life, and he used that same zeal for his purpose. That's what it looks like. In 1 John chapter 5, verse 12. I wish I'd marked my little spots here. Um 1 John 5, and those are little letters. Um I know they're just like a pay. There we go. 1 John 5, 12. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Either Jesus has been grafted onto your the stem of your life, or he has not. Conversion is not just simply doing better. We need God to prune us and to graft into us. Number two, conviction is not conversion. For years I was convicted of my sin. When I was in college being stupid, there was always a moment at those parties when I was talking like I needed to talk, and didn't need to talk, and doing what I didn't need to do, that I was convicted that the Lord would be like, you know what? I I don't want this for you. You don't belong here. And I would I would just ignore it. I'm glad the Lord was was was there, but I wasn't I wasn't converted. You know, just because I was convicted, and here's like an interesting thing. Um, I remember a moment being in a bar and I was drinking, you know, doing doing stuff, you know, that I know I I wasn't supposed to be doing. And for whatever reason, um I spilled like beer like all over me. And I said G D right there. And and I meant it just that just flowed right out of my mouth. And I was so convicted. You know, I I was just like, but but here's here's what the Lord told me. You know, uh, he he told me as I as I um Adam, I want you to leave this life, and I'm never gonna convict you of this again. And I'm telling you, I I I that scared me to death. You know, like all I really knew about the Lord was his conviction, you know, because I I wasn't living in any kind of way that he could bless me. So he was just constantly telling me, you don't belong here. Stop doing this, stop doing this. And I just ignored it. And that day he said, you know what? I'm really done convicting you of this. And I'll finish the rest of that story on part uh three, but just because you're convicted of something, I'm glad the Lord's calling you, and today can absolutely be the day of salvation. But conviction is not conversion. And then the final one is compromise is not conversion. Now here's the rest of that story. I got in my car and I knew driving home that if I got pulled over, I am so done. I'm never becoming a teacher, you know, like whatever. And I made like this little deal with God. Okay, God, you get me home, and I am done with this lifestyle, you know. And you know what? I drove under the speed limit on the way home. He got me home, he did his part. I actually did my part. You know, I did what he asked. Here's the weird thing. He never convicted me of that again, you know. But in my mind, well, I'm gonna keep going to the bars and he's not gonna convict me anymore. And, you know, I'm I'm I'm not gonna care anymore, I'm not gonna follow him anymore. But he was right. He didn't convict me of that anymore because I didn't live that way anymore. So he was right in a in a way that I didn't realize. But because he kept his end of the deal and I kept my end of the deal, that didn't mean I was converted. I did get a little bit better, I improved my morality a little bit, but that wasn't conversion. And here's the heart of the matter. We want our own way. All we like sheep have gone astray, Isaiah says. You know, all of us have fallen off the path, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans chapter 3, verse 23. And here's the thing: we inherited that from Adam and Eve. As soon as they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you think about what happened to them. Adam, where are you? Uh oh, well, I was naked and I hid. Why are you hiding from God all of a sudden? Because sin has entered in your life. Why do we hide from God? Did you ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Well, the woman you gave me, it's her fault. She she did, and so I just followed the crowd. You know, I was really just doing what she was doing. And in fact, God, if you hadn't made her, she wouldn't have tempted me, and we'd all still be good. So kind of this is your fault. Ever since then, whatever we do wrong, whatever it is, we make an excuse for it. You know? Uh, why'd you why why'd you quit your job? Oh, well, you just don't know what what happened, how those people are over there, you know, or why, why, why are you why's your grade? Why are you getting an F in this class? Oh, it's that teacher. You know? I mean, like, all excuses all the time. But even before the excuses, what did Adam and Eve try to do? They went out there and found some fig leaves and tried to cover themselves up, you know, and it's what we do. Well, oh, I've been bad, but maybe God will be more acceptable of me if I do good or I give $20 to the church. Or if I do something good, we're constantly trying to cover ourselves, make our good maybe outweigh our bad so that we're accepted. But the Bible clearly says it does not work like that. Okay? If you want God in your life, I'll finish these um last few verses of Isaiah chapter 55, verse 7. And hopefully this will wrap it up nicely. 55 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him and to our God, for he will freely pardon you. What a beautiful verse. Let us return to the Lord. Let us receive him into his life and then into our lives. And then if we go to Ezekiel chapter 36, I love this line too. Ezekiel 36. In verse 27. Come on, 36 or 27. Boy, I'm getting more and more blurry as I go on. Um I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from your impurities and from your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. God says, I there's coming a time where I will do this for you. We take no credit for the good that we do in our life. It is only God that has done this. Guys, there's no way. If I don't get the Lord working in my life as a 16-year-old kid, there is no way that I care about sitting here as a 51-year-old man and talking about the Lord. I mean, I would have probably such a bad attitude. I'd probably be like, oh, well, it ain't gonna be but five people there anyway. Like, are you kidding me? There's five people there, and we can go and talk about the Lord and feel his presence and our and just burn, our spirits burn as we talk about him and read this word. That would be amazing. But it's two very, very different ways of thinking if you had the Spirit of God and if you just trying to get through this world on your own. Last one, Romans 10, 9. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that Christ that was raised from the dead, you will be saved. Guys, that verse, if you confess Jesus is Lord, is in Romans. Now, if I yell right here, Jesus is Lord, people are gonna be like, oh, that guy's weird. Well, good for him, you know. But what would what would happen to you if you did that in ancient Rome and just went out in the city streets and said, Jesus is Lord, you are dead. They will kill you because who was Lord? Caesar was Lord. That was the only thing you could say. So to be able to say Jesus is Lord is to give up your own life and say it belongs to him now. Even Saul, I don't think he realized it when he did it, after he got knocked off of that horse. Remember what the first word he said? Who are you, Lord? You know, I don't think he realized what he was saying, but it ended up being true. He became the Lord of his life and wanted to live this stuff out. So, guys, there's no reason for any of us to not leave here clean, to not leave here saying, to not leave here being so thankful that he is the Lord of our lives.