THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
a fellowship of faith, family and friendships
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February 1, 2004
I am thankful for the ministry of the church where I was saved. I happened to pull the history of that church from my files the other day. It was Long Island, a fish-shaped strip of land, jutting-out 110 miles from the southeastern tip of New York State into the Atlantic Ocean. Halfway out on that island stood the little town of Lake Grove; hardly a town, just a few family homesteads. The American Revolution was just 32 years before, and the Civil War was still 45 years in the future. James Madison was the president with only 9.6 million Americans. There were only 23 states (Florida wouldn’t become a state for 4 more years). The first entry in the ledger for the church of my spiritual birth,
March 27th A.D. 1815 West Middle Island. A number of the inhabitants met and took into consideration the state of Religion and thought proper to form into a church.
Perhaps it is only curious fascination that makes us study the past. But it is nonetheless important to learn from the past. Over 130 years before I was born, a church was waiting to minister Christ to me. I am grateful! It’s no small thing that Azariah Hawkins, Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Wheeler, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hallock, the Smiths and Mr. Isaac Gould formed a church. The ancient, crumbling paper read that they considered the state of religion and THOUGHT PROPER to form into a church.
When first I read those words it seemed like a "typo" of the quill. Should have said, "thought it proper." But, it was right....they "thought proper." They thought correctly. God knew an 8 year old boy would find Jesus there in the 1950’s. They thought "proper!"
“Thinking proper” means making wise decisions. In our text for today we find the disciples standing in the shadow of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus had shared His plans and power with them for reaching the world with God’s good news of salvation. They had waited for God’s “go-ahead” to begin. It came at the time of Pentecost in the form of the Holy Spirit descending upon them in power, and urging them to go out and spread the news.
Peter was the spokesman, and he stood in front of a very large crowd of his fellow countrymen. He told them that we are all sinners before God, and guilty; therefore we all need to be saved. Our text records their response:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Acts 2:37-40 (NIV)
Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. There is ‘proper thinking’ if ever it was proclaimed! To be saved from corruptness is all about Jesus, all about being forgiven and welcomed into God’s “Forever Family”.
I read something years ago which was attributed to George Ingles. He said that there are really “…three conversions in a man: First to Christ; Second to the church; and Third back to the world.” If a man comes to Christ, he ought then set his sights on the Church, the bride of Jesus, and then on the world, bringing the Christless to the Lord.
Three conversions – yet, there is something that comes before conversion. The people standing and listening to Peter’s sermon understood that. They understood it enough to ask the question…what should we do? They understood that they were sinners before God. That “understanding” is what we commonly call conviction. If there is going to be a true conversion in a person’s life (or true conversions), then conviction comes first like a doorway to each of the conversions in a man’s life. Let’s look at those doorways of conviction that lead to true conversion.
I. Conviction for Christ
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:41
Peter’s sermon was Jesus-centered. The convicting power of that sermon was not Peter’s clever words. Peter was no public speaker; whenever he opened his mouth it was usually only to exchange one foot for the other. The convicting power of that retelling of the Gospel story was the Holy Spirit working on the hearers to produce conviction. Jesus told the disciples it would be this way:
8When he [the Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin,…because men do not believe in me; John 16:8-9
Conviction – a holy conscience – is a powerful thing. It can change everything. A man said his daddy used to read the comics to him on Sundays. “One of the main characters in the comic strip was a guy named Willie. In one strip, he’s slumped in front of the television set with a coffee cup resting on his pot belly as he flicks his cigar ashes into his cup. He says to his wife, ‘you’re awful quiet this morning, Mamie.’ And she says in return, ‘Willie, I’ve decided to let your conscience be your guide on your day off.’
Next scene, Willie is surrounded by a lawnmower and an edger and a hoe and a shovel and he’s frantically washing the windows and muttering, ‘Every time I listen to that dumb thing I end up ruinin’ my relaxin’.’”[1]
Conviction is never an easy thing. Sometimes preachers can make coming to Christ a too-easy pathway. However, if you take the conviction out of the conversion process, there will not be a true conversion to Christ.
And just how can you tell the difference between a false or genuine conversion? The difference is in the changed life; it is when priorities change that you know the conversion was genuine.
In Acts 9 we read about Paul the Apostle. He had an experience on the road to Damascus; Paul met Jesus, and he was convicted. His heart was pierced with guilt because Paul had been putting Christians in jail, and even seeing to their executions. Paul was under great conviction and it led to a genuine conversion, because Paul did an immediate and lasting turnaround. Where once he persecuted the church and her Lord, now Paul gave his life to preach Jesus and love His bride, the church.
Does that describe how you came to Christ? Was there a conviction deep-within that your sin had offended a holy God, and things would never be right until your entire life and priorities were changed – put at His disposal? That’s true conviction for Christ; it leads to a conversion to Christ. That will lead to another conviction.
II. Conviction for the Church
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Acts 2:42-45 (NIV)
In true conversion to Christ, conviction for the Church is what naturally follows. You can read about Paul’s love, his conviction for the church in Scripture. There are many passages in which he wrote of his love for the brothers and sisters.
I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-8
How does it come about that Paul, a man who hated and tried to exterminate the church, became one who loved the church like that? The answer is that he was linked to them by love.
• People who love the Lord and belong to the Lord love what and whom the Lord loves.
• I’ve heard it said before that everyone who belongs to the Lord belongs to everyone who belongs to the Lord.
Do you recall the story of Ruth? As a Moabites, Ruth was part of a race that was not highly cherished in the eyes of the Jews. Yet she married Naomi’s son, a Jew, and when he died Ruth gave her entire life to watching after and caring for her mother-in-law, Naomi. As a Christian you cannot come into the family without being truly linked in love to the family.
Do you belong to the church Jesus loves? Are you linked in love to the church? Tonight I will be preaching about the Peculiar People which are the Lord’s church. We will see what it is to be a personally-convicted and converted part of the church of Jesus Christ. For now, let me just ask a couple of questions as a kind of self-test we can all do to discover the answer to that question, am I a part of the Lord’s church:
• Do I care what happens to this church, enough…?
• Do I care about the ministries of this church, enough…?
• Do I care enough about this church to tithe, labor, and sacrifice and defend her?
If I can answer “yes” to those few simple questions, there is a good chance that my conviction for Christ led to a genuine conversion, and my conviction for the Church brought about a conversion to the Church. There is a third conversion, back into the world…
III. Conviction for the Christless
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47 (NIV)
Did you notice that there is a transition in this story? They continued meeting in the temple area. That’s like our church meetings. But it also spread to the homes where fellowship and sharing became the norm. But, understand this clearly – it did not stay within their “holy huddle”. Doctor Luke tells us (v.47) that they began to enjoy the favor of all the people.
There are two important words there. I looked up the meaning of the word “favor” and it means the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.[2] The word is actually charis or grace. The word “people” indicates those different from their own folks. This means they didn’t keep Jesus to themselves!
If you consider this, that group of folks had such a conviction to reach the Christless that they paid attention to them and began to have an influence upon them. Those people without Christ were glad to have the Christians around. Unbelievers looked at their Christian neighbors and saw their Christian Master!
Beloved, that is what it is like for people who have a genuine conversion to Christ and His church. When you are truly saved by grace, you will be a blessing to those who are without Christ. You’ll be kind, generous and a really good neighbor. You’ll take a lot of “shots” and overlook a lot of obnoxious behavior just so someday you will have the opportunity to share Jesus with someone who needs to know.
Am I right about this? And if so, how did I know that will be the case?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:43-44
When Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the good news, He knew that the journey around the world begins at our neighbor’s doorstep.
How about today?
• Have you been convicted once…to Christ?
• Have you been convicted a second time…to His Church?
• Are you a three-time convicted winner…to the Christless?
Have you “thought proper” about these? Have you allowed the conviction to lead to conversion? If not, why not? And will you?
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ENDNOTES
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[1] Charles R. Swindoll, quoting Jerry White, Honesty, Morality, and Conscience, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 117.
[2] Strong, James, Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries (Parsons Technology, Quickverse Ed.)
