| September 2007 | |
The 2 conversions So� you've� been converted !! That's� Great,����������� really� and� truly� great .... You've been�� born again,�� had a second birth You've been�� born of the Spirit of God,��� regenerated You've� received� Jesus as�� Saviour,�� Lord,� Redeemer That's� so� wonderful,� awesome,�� life-changing��� ..... But� tell me� ......� where� did you� receive this� ? Were you� out on your own� somewhere ...... ? Were you� on some� Damascus� road,�� like� Saul of Tarsus ? Were you� called as you sat at business, �� like� Matthew ? Were you� called while up a sycamore tree,� like Zaccheus ? Were you� called as you had just finished fishing, mending nets like James and John ? Did it happen as you drew water from the well, like the Samaritan woman ? Or were you brought to Jesus by someone,� like� Andrew brought Simon Peter ? The chances are,� in this day and age,� that you were taken to a church,� by some well-meaning friend� or acquaintance,� or relative. Or you responded to some advertisement, or you even responded to a Tele-Evangelist,� then sought out a Church to visit. Or perhaps,� you were even born into a Christian family� who attended Church ? Any way,������� any how,����� ����������� by what-ever� means ..... You were born-again .....� � or converted��� (which simply means���� changed) CONVERTED� ......� a change of direction,�� from� serving self� to� following Christ CONVERTED� ......�� that's awesome, and life-changing But just a minute ..... !! From my contacts and observations, very few folk have this life-changing experience on their own, with no-one else around,� on their own somewhere with God Himself. By far the great majority of people were inside the doors of some Church meeting, at an� evangelistic rally,� or some other grouping of Christians. Usually some other person is involved,� some "coincidence"� of contact with a Church service occurs. And� this� opens up� some thing else ...... If you were born-again�� or� Converted ......��� at a Church� service or meeting I can almost guarantee� you� ....� that in the� spiritual and emotional�� heat of that occasion ����� SOMETHING� ELSE� WAS� OCCURRING Something� that� probably� you� weren't� even� aware of !! Another� Conversion was in the process,� that you may not have been,� nor ever were to become aware of ..... �� �� A������ S E C O N D������� CONVERSION ......... Every� bit as real� as the� First� Spiritual� Conversion What� on� earth� do you� mean ...... I hear you say ! ����� A������ S E C O N D�������� CONVERSION�� indeed ?? ����� How ?��� �����Where� ?��������� What ? What is this� Second� Conversion you� speak of ??����� Get� Ready�� for the Answer ....� Its� a� CONVERSION� to the Church group you have attended,� to the group of� Christians amongst whom you have been born-again ! Now, �the impact and experience of being born-again,� for me,�� was so wondrous,� and enveloping,� so life-changing ........��� that the awareness of the second,� more subtle� Conversion, did not even register until, in my case,� many years,� even decades, later (And by then,� I had married a girl I met at that Church and raised a family,� gone into partnership with another member of that Church,� made many friends there, gone on countless holidays with other members of that Church,� spent a quarter of a century of effort there, etc, ) But,� as I look back,� and ponder ...... The reality of that Second Conversion was every bit as real as the First Spiritual one,�� but I didn't even know it at the time,� or indeed until a long while after. The First Conversion was so impacting on me, so revolutionising,� so enveloping, that the Second one�� �just happened�� without my conscious awareness� .......� and� I let it happen to me !!!! As I grew spiritually,� and fed my spiritual appetite for the Bible,� and Christian books,�� why -- so did my involvement with the meetings and programmes and affairs of that particular Church. I never questioned any difference between my spiritual growth as far as God was concerned,� and my Church involvement .......� not for years,� even decades later,� until eventually I sought to leave that particular Church. And� then,� horrors upon� horrors,�� the truth slowly dawned on me .......� the Second Conversion was every bit as real as the First,� and they had converted me to their own particular but� �narrow�� way� of� Church� attitudes and� outlook ! I had� Converted� to �.�� their way of ......... ����� Dressing,��� Clothes,�� the Dress Code,��� Haircutting�� (amazing but true !) ����� Beard shaving�� (further amazement, but also true !) ����� Smiling,�� Handshaking,�� Greeting others even,� Jargon� and phraseology,� attitudes, viewpoints,� world-view,� Interpretations of just about any and every subject I had become just another Clone shining a pew each meeting My own personality and individuality had become absorbed and drowned in the style of that particular Church ! And� when I tried� to leave that Church assembly� ...... all Cultish� �Hell�� broke loose ....... the trauma almost cost me my life� both spiritual and natural !! Truly, truly, from my own observations and contacts, another� Second� Conversion� occurs in most folks experience� when they receive Christ as Lord, and are born-again��� at some established� Church group or Denomination� with their own building ........ This is an absolute� FACT� that countless people have discovered to their eventual cost and dismay. For some, the contemplation of this Second Conversion is so overwhelming�� that they believe it is �too late to change�� or to do anything about it, and so they resign themselves to the situation, and grow old in sadness and dissatisfaction, frustration and disillusionment. Either that,� or they� �count the Cost�� and view the necessary effort to leave,� as being too painful to have to endure,� so they settle back for the downward ride to� "whatever." But� the distinction� must be made ...... The First Conversion�� ������ is a work of God�� ������� and� of� the Spirit of God The Second Conversion��� is the work of a person� and to a particular Church group The First Conversion� brings total spiritual Freedom and Liberty The Second Conversion� brings the opposite -� bondage and the look-alike-ed-ness� of a particular Church group The First Conversion� brings freedom to pursue your individual giftings and calling� ANYWHERE� in God's creation that he leads you --� now that takes earnest seeking and following God's leadings. The Second Conversion�� brings �Faithfulness� to one man's work and empire -- now that takes very little effort,� just listening to and doing what the chap in the pulpit says. The First Conversion is�� exhilarating and� fresh �� as God leads by His Spirit,� ����� just like the wind� "blowing where it listeth (wills)" The Second Conversion eventually becomes predictable,� ritual,� and boring, ����� and then frustrating� (and then anger sets in !) The First Conversion� ������� has its security in� God alone The Second Conversion� �� has its security in a man or a group of Christians and that security� produces its own comfort and takes away responsibility� ����� its easier to just� �trust the leaders�� isn't it? The First Conversion��� ����� is just�� you and� God The Second Conversion� �� is� more-or-less� .... follow� "the party line" The First Conversion ........ ����� is what� Adam� & Eve�� enjoyed ����� is what� Saul / Paul�� experienced ����� is what� the Ethiopian eunuch found,� via� Philip�� [and notice how that Philip� got caught away,� he didn't have to concrete him into a denomination ! ] ����� is what� Jesus disciples� experienced as He called them personally�� one by one The Second Conversion ...� is what many of us experience isn't it ?����� Now be truthful� !! And another interesting observation ........ Some,� even many, dear people,� have somehow missed out on the reality of the First Conversion, the one that matters, and have only had the Second one and they end up sheltering in a secure group of people or Church or denomination. (I guess that's why we are often referred to as sheep,� do you think ?) The First� Conversion� ������ is� necessary .......... absolutely The Second� Conversion� � is� absolutely� UNNECESSARY B E W A R E��� the� Second� Conversion,�� and its� effects. Its� just� man� piggy-backing� on something� that� God� has� done Man�� "horning in"�� on Gods� work of spiritual enlightenment,�� to build a person's own empire�� (whatever spiritual name they may give to it!) B E W A R E��� .....���� and� spot� the� difference��� !! Ray Miller |