The Three Conversions You Need AFTER You Become a Christian
This year I celebrate following Jesus for forty years of my life. I became a Christian at the age of eighteen and a senior in high school in Anaheim, California. If you can do basic math, you now know how old I am.
In those forty years, I have learned some things and made tons of observations about a lot of things in life. I have also run, walked, stumbled, fallen, gotten up, run again, walked again in the Christian journey. I have been two steps forward and one step back like so many other pilgrims.
I was pondering the other day the whole idea of following Jesus and I realized that there are post-conversion "conversions" that happen to those who follow Jesus. There may be more than three but I have noticed these and experienced them. Perhaps someday I will write a blog about the five post-conversions that Jesus followers have but today I see only three. Here they are:
A post-conversion experience with the Holy Spirit. Well, I got your attention there, didn't I? The idea of a "second blessing" or a "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is prominent in many Christian circles and movements. It has also been the source of much conflict among believers over the years. My personal conviction is that you receive ALL of the Holy Spirit at your first conversion/regeneration (Romans 8:9). However, there comes a time in the young believer's life where he or she will yield their life fully to the control of the Lordship of Jesus and to an on-going fulness of the Spirit. Many, many of those in the faith make a childhood decision to follow Christ only to then have an experience in the mid- to late-teenage years that seems like a first-time commitment-- it is so powerful. This is what I am talking about. Do you need to speak in tongues at this experience? Some groups in the faith so say. I'm not going to argue with them. I would just say that the most genuine expression of the fulness of the Holy Spirit is love, holiness and a desire to share your faith. Those traits are powerful and life-changing and world-changing. All believers should be seeking that.
A post-conversion into a white-hot worshipper. I steal the white-hot worship thought from the writings of John Piper. We were made to worship. We have wiring in our soul that will give great devotion to something. For most of humanity, that wiring serves pleasure, fame, and money. God placed in us a desire for Himself that nothing else can satisfy. "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14 I can easily tell if someone has made this conversion into a worshipper: they LOVE to sing (even if they are not musically talented), they raise their hands to God, they bow their hearts and their heads before Him. Their praise is sincere. Others, though headed toward heaven, say things like, "I skip the music.... I just want to hear the preaching." These loved ones sit on their hands during worship and resist the Spirit's invitation to ... "praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:4
A post-conversion understanding of God's heart for the nations. I was extremely blessed as a young Christian to be introduced to God's heart for all peoples through the ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, Urbana and a local church that was passionate about God's work in other lands. My conversion to God's heart to be worshipped by some from every tribe and tongue and people (Revelation 5:9; 7:9) was early on and has formed me. I have been an active sender and to a lesser extent a goer. This "conversion" happens when the Spirit of God turns the light of scripture on in the believer's life to see God's purpose and plan that started with His first promise to Abraham and fulfilled in the final scenes of the Revelation given to John. But this conversion ruins the believer for the ordinary. They now look at all their resources- time, money, talents in light of how it might be best used for the great commission. These people understand concepts like unreached people groups, E-1, 2 & 3 evangelism and more.
Do you agree with me? Have you experienced any of these post-conversion "conversions?" Let me know, I'd love to hear about it.
In those forty years, I have learned some things and made tons of observations about a lot of things in life. I have also run, walked, stumbled, fallen, gotten up, run again, walked again in the Christian journey. I have been two steps forward and one step back like so many other pilgrims.
I was pondering the other day the whole idea of following Jesus and I realized that there are post-conversion "conversions" that happen to those who follow Jesus. There may be more than three but I have noticed these and experienced them. Perhaps someday I will write a blog about the five post-conversions that Jesus followers have but today I see only three. Here they are:
A post-conversion experience with the Holy Spirit. Well, I got your attention there, didn't I? The idea of a "second blessing" or a "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is prominent in many Christian circles and movements. It has also been the source of much conflict among believers over the years. My personal conviction is that you receive ALL of the Holy Spirit at your first conversion/regeneration (Romans 8:9). However, there comes a time in the young believer's life where he or she will yield their life fully to the control of the Lordship of Jesus and to an on-going fulness of the Spirit. Many, many of those in the faith make a childhood decision to follow Christ only to then have an experience in the mid- to late-teenage years that seems like a first-time commitment-- it is so powerful. This is what I am talking about. Do you need to speak in tongues at this experience? Some groups in the faith so say. I'm not going to argue with them. I would just say that the most genuine expression of the fulness of the Holy Spirit is love, holiness and a desire to share your faith. Those traits are powerful and life-changing and world-changing. All believers should be seeking that.
A post-conversion into a white-hot worshipper. I steal the white-hot worship thought from the writings of John Piper. We were made to worship. We have wiring in our soul that will give great devotion to something. For most of humanity, that wiring serves pleasure, fame, and money. God placed in us a desire for Himself that nothing else can satisfy. "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14 I can easily tell if someone has made this conversion into a worshipper: they LOVE to sing (even if they are not musically talented), they raise their hands to God, they bow their hearts and their heads before Him. Their praise is sincere. Others, though headed toward heaven, say things like, "I skip the music.... I just want to hear the preaching." These loved ones sit on their hands during worship and resist the Spirit's invitation to ... "praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:4
A post-conversion understanding of God's heart for the nations. I was extremely blessed as a young Christian to be introduced to God's heart for all peoples through the ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, Urbana and a local church that was passionate about God's work in other lands. My conversion to God's heart to be worshipped by some from every tribe and tongue and people (Revelation 5:9; 7:9) was early on and has formed me. I have been an active sender and to a lesser extent a goer. This "conversion" happens when the Spirit of God turns the light of scripture on in the believer's life to see God's purpose and plan that started with His first promise to Abraham and fulfilled in the final scenes of the Revelation given to John. But this conversion ruins the believer for the ordinary. They now look at all their resources- time, money, talents in light of how it might be best used for the great commission. These people understand concepts like unreached people groups, E-1, 2 & 3 evangelism and more.
Do you agree with me? Have you experienced any of these post-conversion "conversions?" Let me know, I'd love to hear about it.
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