True Conversion

Q: What does the Bible say about true conversion?

True conversion is a divine act where God regenerates a sinner, cleansing them from sin and giving them a new heart. True conversion, as described in Ezekiel 36, is characterized by God's initiative in salvation. God states, 'I will cleanse you' and 'I will give you a new heart.' This illustrates that salvation is entirely God's work, devoid of any human merit. All whom God saves are transformed, showcasing His sovereignty and grace. True conversion is not merely an act of choice but an effectual calling where God takes the initiative to bring sinners to Himself, ensuring their complete cleansing and regeneration through His Spirit.

Q: How do we know salvation is entirely God's work?

The Bible assures us that God alone initiates and completes the work of salvation for His glory. The sovereignty of God in salvation is made abundantly clear in the Scriptures. Ezekiel 36 emphasizes that God acts for His holy namesake, not because of any human worth. Salvation is an act of grace, wherein God cleanses and regenerates those He has chosen, demonstrating that without His divine intervention, we would remain lost in our sins. This is echoed throughout biblical theology, affirming that God's election, calling, and justification are solely His doing for His glory.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is crucial as it evidences the grace of God at work in a believer's life. Repentance is more than a singular act; it reflects a continual state of the heart in a true believer. As illustrated in Ezekiel 36, when God saves a person, they come to loathe their past sins, recognizing their profound need for Christ. This change in attitude, from self-love to self-loathing regarding sin, shows the transformative nature of grace. True repentance is not a prerequisite for salvation but rather the result of it, revealing the inner workings of God's grace that leads to a life of faith and obedience.

Q: What does it mean to be part of God's people?

Being one of God's people means being chosen and redeemed, living in covenant with Him as His possession. Belonging to God's people is a profound covenant relationship that signifies ownership and identity. As stated in Ezekiel 36, God declares, 'You shall be my people, and I will be your God.' This ownership highlights that believers are sanctified, cleansed, and set apart for a divine purpose. It reflects the transition from being under the dominion of sin to being part of a holy nation, where we are equipped to live in accordance with His statutes and glorify Him in all that we do. Our identity as God's people is not based on ancestry or merit but solely on His grace and calling.

Q: How does God ensure the salvation of His elect?

God ensures the salvation of His elect by His sovereign will and the redemptive work of Christ. The assurance of salvation for God's elect is rooted in His unchanging nature and the completed work of Christ. In Ezekiel 36, God emphasizes His initiative in choosing and saving His people, affirming that His purposes will not fail. The doctrine of justification by faith affirms that believers are declared righteous based on Jesus' sacrifice, ensuring their salvation. God's justice is maintained because Jesus bore our sins, and as a result, those whom He has chosen will be saved and preserved till the end. This unbreakable covenant of grace highlights the certainty of salvation for the elect.

Turn to Ezekiel chapter 36. I titled this message, TRUE CONVERSION. TRUE CONVERSION. Everyone whom God saves will experience what's written in these verses that I'm going to deal with this morning. Everyone whom God saves. And it's clear in this chapter that Israel did the sinning and God did the saving. Can you identify with that? I did the sinning and God did the saving. He's the one who saved me and you who believe from your sins. Not just a place called hell, but the very nature you're born with and the power of Satan he has saved you from. God did that.

He tells us in this chapter, I will cleanse you, I will cleanse you. And you'll notice in these verses that I'll deal with, the whole of salvation is on God's part. You do not read and never will read in the Word of God where he has done his part, now the rest is up to you. If the rest is up to you and me, we'll all perish under the wrath of God. Every one of us will perish.

Just like that man with the unclean spirit we looked at Thursday night. That man no more wanted to be saved than that demon wanted to be saved. But Christ said to that demon, you come out of him. This one's mine. This one's mine. So it's clear that we do the sinning, God does the saving.

Now I do not know what God's going to do with that nation over there in the Middle East called Israel. I don't know. I know some things that are written in the Scripture, and I'm not going to get into that. That's not the message for you and I this morning.

The message is evidence of true conversion. what happens when God saves, when a sinner is regenerated. This will happen to every one of them. Everyone whom God saves, I know this also, everyone whom God saves is true Israel. I am preaching to some true Israelites this morning. Turn over to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. Let me read verse 1.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. We should always rejoice in the Lord, shouldn't we? Whether we're having a good day or what we call a bad day, because all our days are of God and everything in that day is of God. TO WRITE THE SAME THINGS TO YOU, TO ME INDEED IS NOT GRIEVOUS, BUT FOR YOU IT'S SAFE.

BEWARE OF DOGS, BEWARE OF EVIL WORKERS, BEWARE OF THE CONCISIONED, OF FLESH MERCHANTS. Now listen, listen to verse 3, FOR WE ARE THE CIRCUMCISION, WE ARE THE TRUE ISRAELI, WE ARE THE TRUE JEWS. He's telling you who the true Jews are. WE ARE THE TRUE CIRCUMCISION WHICH WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT AND REJOICE IN CHRIST JESUS AND HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH. They said to Christ, WE BE ABRAHAM'S SEED, WE ARE NOT SINNERS, WE ARE ABRAHAM'S SEED. Paul said in another place, NOT ALL ISRAEL IS ISRAEL, NOT ALL OF THEM. A true Israelite is one who believes on Jesus Christ and looks to Him for everything and has zero confidence in the flesh.

My ancestry means nothing. In salvation it means nothing. I'm not saved for Abraham's sake. You know why I'm saved? Christ's sake. That's why. Not my family tree. It means nothing. It means nothing. So we see here that the true, I want to deal with the true Israel of God are all those who believe. And all those who believe are the children of Abraham. That's what it tells us over in Galatians. And every one of them will experience this. This is true conversion.

In verse 22, this is a message that God tells His prophet to speak to His Israel, His elect. He said, You say this to Israel, this is not to the Babylonians, this is not to the Philistines, this message is to God's people, and we do not take the message that is applied to God's people and applied to everyone across the board in general. That's a misapplication of the Scriptures. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, My people, Mine elect, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes.

This is the first thing. Everyone whom God saves, This is the first thing you and I will learn. I'm not doing this for your sake. This is not for your sake. We must understand that why God saved us. He saved us for His glory. We know that. And I'm not saved for my sake because if I were, listen, if God saved me for my sake, He'd save everybody. He'd save everyone because everyone has the same sake. Everyone has the same need. He has the same need. We are saved and forgiven for Christ's sake. Christ died for us. Christ put away my sins. He didn't die on the cross. He didn't die on the cross and then just put it out there as an offering. He offered it to everybody. We all would trample it under feet, wouldn't we? We would trample the pearls of grace under our feet, if that's so. You don't offer a rebel your son. You take your son and you save the rebel.

That's what God did. Ephesians 4 verse 32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. And here's the basis of forgiving one another, here it is. Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. And that's one of the first things you'll learn when God saves you. He has saved me for Christ's sake, for His glory, He died for me and if He died for me, He's going to save me.

God is a just God. He can't punish His Son for my sins and then turn around and punish me for my sins. That's double jeopardy. It can't happen. If Jesus Christ was punished for my sins, God's going to save me. You can bank on it. You can bank on it because He paid the price that I owed. He paid the price. He said, I'm doing this for my holy namesake because of who I am. God saves sinners because of who He is.

There was a whole multitude of angels that failed They did not keep their first estate. They all went with Satan and they failed. But the ones that did not fall, how are they spoken of in the scriptures? They're called the elect angels. THEY WOULD HAVE FALLEN TOO. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED SATAN.

BUT GOD DETERMINED AND PURPOSED THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A MULTITUDE OF THEM THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO LET FALL. AND GOD DETERMINED WHEN ADAM FAILED THERE'S GOING TO BE A MULTITUDE OF SINNERS THAT'S GOING TO BE SAVED. BECAUSE THIS IS WHO GOD IS. IT'S WHO GOD IS.

LISTEN TO THIS IN HEBREWS CHAPTER 2 VERSE 10. FOR IT BECAME HIM FOR WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND BRINGING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY." The first reference here, the first application in this verse is to the Father. It's to the Father. FOR IT BECAME HIM. It means this, an act worthy of the Father. The saving of sinners is an act worthy of the Father. It is just like our Father to save sinners, just like Him. It's characteristic of His nature.

God is holy, God is just, God is love. THAT'S MORE THAN JUST GOD LOVES. GOD IS THE VERY EMBODIMENT OF LOVE. AND THAT LOVE IS GOING TO BE EXPRESSED. YOU KNOW WHY IT'S GOING TO BE EXPRESSED? BECAUSE HE'S HOLY. HE'S HOLY. AND HIS HOLINESS ENSURES THAT EVERYTHING THAT GOD IS, IS GOING TO BE EXPRESSED. AND IT'S GOING TO BE EXPRESSED IN A HOLY MANNER.

THAT'S WHY HIS SON WAS DEAD TO THE CROSS, THAT HE MIGHT BE JUST AND JUSTIFIER. them which believe in Christ, in Jesus. He might be able to justify us from all things. This is why His Son was nailed to the cross. This is why He tormented His Son. He took our hell. He was punished in our place. That is what substitution is. That's substitution.

Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, literally taking my place. Only God can do that. You know, there's many things that only God can do. I can't justify you, you can't justify me, no judge on this earth can justify me, but God can. Let me give you an image.

He stepped off the bench, stepped into human nature. and took the punishment I deserved, He took it. God did. God in His Son, in the person of His Son, He did it. He did that. It's an act worthy of the Father. It became Him, just like Him. I wrote that out in my Bible.

It's just like Him to save sinners. They were so aggravated with the Lord, those Pharisees, they said, this man eateth with publicans and sinners. It made them so mad because he ate with people like me and you. Well, that one that eats and drinks and fellowships with publicans and sinners is God. Is God.

In verse 36, And I will sanctify my great name which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them." Well, this is a portrait of us, isn't it? We've profaned God's name. All those years before I knew Him, I profaned His name. I took His name in vain.

I took God's, you know, when I was not at home, Mom, Dad, they'd slap me out of the house. They would. One time I was standing there and I said, son, I said, darn it. And mom, boy, she took her hand. She slapped the daylights out of me. She slapped me right in the mouth. I mean, right in the mouth. She said, don't you be saying that again. But that was my mother.

But boy, when I wasn't there, I profaned the name of God like everybody else around me. I was His. before I knew Him, and I profaned His name." Oh, I profaned His name. But God says this, I will honor, I will vindicate, sanctify, I'll vindicate My great, My great name. Is God's name great to you? My great name.

Not only in justice by punishing the heathen, but also in grace by saving My people. And listen here in verse 24, I will take you from among the heathen. This is God's electing grace. Scripture says there's an election of grace. And you know what that election of grace has been since the beginning? Able. What about able? Did not God choose able? I'll take you from among the heathen, those heathen friends you run around with. I'll take you from among them and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land.

I'll take you. You're mine. You're mine. What did the Lord do when He came in to the synagogue and that unclean spirit had that man? He said, I'll take you. He took over the house, didn't He? Isn't that what I told you Thursday night? He took over the house. The stronger man came in and took over the house. He bound the strong man and he spoiled his goods, which was that sinner. And the Lord took him. No, I'll take you. You're mine. I will effectually call you out of darkness into my marvelous light and bring you out from this wicked world.

Turn over to Colossians chapter 1. Look at this in the Word of God. In Colossians 1, look at verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet, or fit, He made us fit. which hath made us fit, or meet, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, He did that, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. I could go through every verse here and say, SALVATIONS OF THE LORD, SALVATIONS OF THE LORD. You could write that on our forehead, stamp it on our forehead, SALVATIONS OF THE LORD. He made us fit In Christ, we are made fit to be with God in heaven.

He did that. He did that. God has a people from every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation under heaven. He said, I'll take you from among the heathens and gather you out of all countries. You're mine. You're mine. God has a people in every nation and He'll call them out and they'll be saved. They will be saved. and he will bring every one of them to a new heaven and a new earth. He says here, and we'll bring you into your own land.

Where's the land? Where is the land of God's people? What did the Lord say to that thief on the cross? Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. That's where our land is. It's not just a piece of land on this earth. HE'S TALKING HERE ABOUT HEAVEN, NEW HEAVEN, NEW EARTH. THAT'S WHERE HE'S GOING. HE'S BRINGING US TO A NEW HEAVEN, A NEW EARTH. IT'S WHAT GOD'S DOING.

AND I WILL SANCTIFY YOU. LOOK HERE IN VERSE 25, THEN WILL I SPRINKLE CLEAN WATER UPON YOU, AND YOU SHALL BE CLEAN. WHEN I'VE CALLED YOU AND I'VE BROUGHT YOU, HE SAYS HERE I'M GOING TO CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL YOUR FILTHINESS. ALL YOUR FILTHINESS. and from all your idols will I cleanse you." You know, everybody has an idol until God saves them. It might be money, it might be fame, it might be your children, it's one thing or another. But when God saves you, it's Christ. You worship Him. You worship Him.

But listen here, Went, then will I, I sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean. Now you know what it is just to feel clean after you've been out working all day, sweating, dirty. Well just put that on an infinite level. You've come in, you've taken a shower, you feel clean. Boy, this is being cleansed from sin.

We can't do that. We can wash our hands. WE CAN WASH OUR BODY, BUT WE CAN'T WASH THE HEART. WE CAN'T WASH OUR SOULS. ONLY GOD CAN DO THAT. BUT HE'S SPEAKING HERE OF THE BLOOD, FULL CLEANSING BY THE BLOOD, WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND YOU SHALL BE CLEAN. YOU SHALL BE CLEAN.

God will both justify and sanctify His people in the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 that He has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Sanctified in Him. We are made holy in Him, righteous in Him. Now look here in verse 26. You see God not only does this work of grace for us, But He does a work of grace in us. He does a work of grace in us. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and not that stone, that hard, hard heart that will not listen to God.

You see, God does not renovate the old man. God does not renovate the old heart. Give the Lord your heart. How many times have you heard that said? Seriously. I don't need to give God my heart. I need God to give me a heart. I need God to give me a heart that loves Him and believes Him and will follow Him. That's what I need. I need God to do something for me, is what I need.

God said, I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit within you. David said, give me a clean heart and a right spirit in Psalm 51. And then he says here, I'll put my spirit within you. Here's a work of grace within, a new heart, God said, I'll give you a new spirit and then I'll dwell in you. I'll put my spirit in you, the Holy Spirit. Is He not God? Is He not God? Are you not sealed with the Spirit of God?

And I'll cause you to walk in my statutes, the gospel, paths of righteousness, His righteousness. You shall keep my judgments and do them. You know, we kept God's judgments and we've done them in Christ. They are imputed to our account. But we also desire to walk in the path of righteousness and godliness. That's in the heart of everyone whom God saves. And we are owned and possessed of God. We are His. We're not our own. We're not our own. Everybody before God saves them believes I'M MY OWN PERSON! I'M MY OWN PERSON! NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU NEVER HAVE BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE!

YOU'RE EITHER UNDER THE SPIRIT OF DARKNESS, EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2, YOU GO OVER AND READ EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2, YOU'RE UNDER THE SPIRIT OF DARKNESS, AND YOU'LL DO WHAT THE SPIRIT OF DARKNESS HAS YOU TO DO! LOOK OVER THERE! I WAS TRYING TO QUOTE IT BUT I CAN'T DO IT RIGHT NOW! THE EFFECTS OF GETTING OLD, THAT'S WHAT THAT IS. EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2 AND YOU HATH HE QUICKENED WHO WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS?

WHEREIN IN TIME PAST YOU WALKED ACCORDING TO THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT THAT NOW WORKS IN THE CHILDREN, of disobedience. I can read it like this, the spirit that now worketh in the children who do not believe. Who do not believe. The spirit of darkness works in them.

But God saved you from that. God said you're mine. He's brought you out. He's called you out. He's given you a new heart. He's given you a new spirit and He's put His spirit in you. And listen, verse 28, and you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You know, sooner or later, and I've done a lot of funerals, I've done a lot of funerals of believers, and you know what happened when they died?

They went to the land that God promised our fathers, our forefathers in the faith, Heaven. heaven. You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, you shall be my people and I'll be your God, possessed of God, owned of God, a people owned of God. Now God owns everything and everyone. In Psalm 24 it says, The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof, and they who dwell therein.

But He has special ownership of us. He purchased us with His own blood in Acts 20, 28. You read of where God purchased the church with His own blood. We are a purchased people, a peculiar people, spoken of over there, I think it's in 1 Peter, that word peculiar means purchased. Peculiar people, a holy nation. WE ARE OWNED OF GOD AND WE ARE INHABITED BY GOD. HE SAID YOU SHALL BE MY PEOPLE AND I'LL BE YOUR GOD. We really, even though we believe, we can't even begin to comprehend how unclean we are in God's sight apart from Christ.

He says here, I'm going to clean you from all your uncleannesses and I'll call for the corn and will increase it and lay no famine upon you. Christ died for our sins and we are justified from all things and cleansed from all things. And he says here, I will call for the corn and we'll increase it and lay no famine upon you.

Salvation is a blessing with no curse in it. There is no curse. I will lay no famine. I'll bless you. He said, I'll call for the increase. I'll give you spiritual blessings. And I lay no, no, and there's no curse in it. You know, Adam was told, God said to Adam, Adam, you can eat of all the trees in the garden except one. Now you eat that one, you could die. We don't have that no more. We don't have that no more. God has saved us in Christ and all our blessings have no curse in it. No curse.

And you'll be fruitful. He says in verse 30, And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. I will give you all your spiritual blessings. You will be blessed.

But this verse came to my mind and boy, it just hit me special this morning. In the Psalm of Solomon, I'll read it to you. AWAKE, O NORTH WIND, and come thou SOUTH, that is, thou SOUTH WIND, thou COLD WIND and that HOT WIND. And I thought the trials that the Lord sends us, convictions of sin, that's one of the first things God will bring to you when He saves you, is a real conviction of sin. TRIALS BRING OUT THE SWEET SMELL OF GRACE. GOD SAYS AWAKE, O NORTHWIND, AND COME, THOU SOUTHWIND, BLOW UPON MY GARDEN, MY GARDEN.

Do you ever see yourself as a garden? The planting of the Lord. It says in Isaiah, we are called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. UPON MY GARDEN, THAT THE SPICES, THE SWEET SMELL OF GRACE THEREOF MAY FLOW OUT, LET MY BELOVED COME INTO HIS GARDEN, O THAT HE WOULD BE HERE THIS MORNING, WE ARE HIS GARDEN, THERE'S BELIEVERS HERE, WE ARE HIS GARDEN, O THAT HE WOULD COME INTO HIS GARDEN THIS MORNING, AND EAT HIS PLEASANT FRUITS, FELLOWSHIP WITH US, And you'll notice it says, EAT HIS PLEASANT FRUITS.

The fruit of the Spirit, the fruit that we have, is from HIM. It's HIS. It's HIS. I'm the vine, you are the branches, and the fruit hangs on the branches. But I tell you what, without that vine, there ain't gonna be no branch and there's gonna be no fruit.

And then we see here at verse 31, REPENTANCE. Everyone whom God saves will repent and listen, that's not a one-time act. That goes on and on in various degrees throughout your whole life. FAITH AND REPENTANCE GO TOGETHER THROUGHOUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE. Then shall ye remember when I do this for you, when I save you, when I bless you, I bring you to myself. This is how you remember your own evil ways.

My whole life before Christ was nothing but an evil way. And so was yours. It was either in just out and out sin or self-righteousness. It was one or the other. THEN SHALL YOU REMEMBER YOUR OWN EVIL WAYS AND YOUR DOINGS, THAT'S YOUR ACTIONS, THINGS YOU'VE DONE. YOUR WAYS AND YOUR ACTIONS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN HE DOES THIS? AND THIS IS A BLESSING. THIS IS A BLESSING. AND YOU SHALL LOATHE YOURSELVES. HAVE YOU EVER LOATHED YOURSELF? SERIOUSLY. Have you ever really loathed yourself? You shall, and it's not going to maybe, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Repentance follows or is the evidence of the work of grace. You know, faith and repentance are not the CAUSE of salvation, it's the EVIDENCE of it. It's just, it's the EVIDENCE. And you'll HATE YOURSELF before GRACE WE LOVED OURSELVES.

Listen to Job, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse 5 and 6, Job 42 verse And I'm talking about in a true church and under the true gospel.

You've been brought up and you've heard of God. You've heard of Him. You've heard of His holy character. You've heard of His sovereignty. You've heard of His grace. You've heard of Him! But in verse 6, He said, but now, in verse 5 to finish it, I have heard of thee by the ear and of the ear, but now. But now my eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." You see what it took for God to bring Job to this point. Job said, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear.

My fathers, my grandparents, my father, grandparents, I've heard of you, but now I have experienced God. I've heard of you, but now have you experienced God? I brought a message one time on have you ever been afraid of God? If you've never been afraid of God, you've never met Him. A vile, wretched sinner cannot meet a holy God and not be afraid. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

And here's another reminder of grace and I'm going to wind this down in verse 32. Not for your sakes do I this, SAITH THE LORD GOD, BE IT KNOWN TO YOU, YOU BE ASHAMED, AND CONFOUNDED FOR YOUR OWN WAYS, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL. I'M NOT DOING THIS FOR YOUR SAKES. DON'T EVER FORGET THIS. DON'T EVER FORGET THIS. NEVER FORGET WHO I AM AND WHAT YOU ARE. DON'T FORGET THAT. WE HAVE NOTHING TO BOAST ABOUT BUT CHRIST HIMSELF. HE'S OUR BOASTING. and give attention to this.

Thus saith the Lord God, verse 33, In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I'll cause you to dwell in the cities. I'll cause you to dwell with My people, and the way shall be built. Thus saith the Lord, In the day I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will cause you to dwell in the cities. and the way shall be built.

Salvation is immediate. We're not put on probation. We're not put on probation. It's immediate. When God saves, He saves immediately and forever. And He makes us into good ground. See, this work of grace that God begins never ends in this life. It goes all the way to the grave. It follows us home. and the desolate land shall be tilled." If God has saved you, He's tilling you.

He's working on you. He's conforming you to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Every day He's conforming you. You and I need to quit complaining. He's whittling away everything that does not look like His Son. And sometimes that's painful, very painful at times. But He's whittling away everything that does not look like His Son. He's conforming us to the image of His Son.

He's making us good ground, you shall be tilled. You know what that's like, you people who've grown gardens, you plow the garden, you clear the garden, and then you plant the garden. You fertilize it and you plant it. You shall be made into good ground. You're not naturally good ground. God's made you into good ground and all who know you will confess they will confess God has blessed you in verse 35 and they shall say this land that was desolate is become like the garden of the Lord alive and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced and are inhabited when God saves a sinner there's a profound change and it's clear to others it is YOU SHALL HAVE LIFE, AND YOU SHALL HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY. YOUR SALVATION SHALL BE CLEAR TO ALL. A PROFOUND CHANGE IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE. Your old friend, you're going to say, Let's go down to the bar, and you're going to say, Nah, not anymore. I've told you, my friend said to me, I wish God hadn't saved you. That rings in my ear because he was killed in a car wreck at 19 years of age. I'll never forget that statement. It just rings in my ear.

Only God can make such a miraculous change. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I, the LORD, built the ruined place. I did it. Only God can make a miracle of grace. And what they said there about the unclean man, what manner of man is this? He cast out demons. Even the unclean spirits obey him. They knew there was a great change in that man.

Only God could do this. Only God can save a sinner. Only God. And the church will pray for this. Listen. God said, all this that I have spoken of, all this that I've given you this morning, He says here in verse 37, Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel. TO DO IT FOR THEM. I WILL INCREASE THEM WITH MEN LIKE A FLOCK. DON'T WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL SAVE SINNERS? I DON'T PRAY TO SINNERS. I DO NOT TALK TO A SINNER AND SAY, WON'T YOU ACCEPT JESUS AS YOUR PERSON? WON'T YOU LET GOD SAVE YOU?

YOU KNOW WHO I TALK TO ABOUT THAT? YOU KNOW WHO I TALK TO ABOUT MY LOVED ONES THAT I WANT SAVED? YOU KNOW WHO I TALK TO? God, I talk to Him first because salvation is of the Lord. I'll talk to Him about the gospel, I'll talk to Him about Christ, but it's God who saves sinners. Nobody wants to be saved until God saves them.

And I pray this, I pray this often that God will fill this place up with His sheep. He said to, He said, I'll be inquired of, I'll be prayed to for this. TRUE PRAYER, LISTEN, TRUE PRAYER IS OF GOD. HE MOVES HIS PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR THE THINGS THEY PRAY FOR THAT'S ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. NOW WE PRAY FOR A LOT OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DON'T NEED TO BE PRAYING FOR. BUT WE DO PRAY THIS, THY KINGDOM COME, THY KINGDOM PROSPER, AND THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. WE PRAY TO GOD TO SAVE SINNERS. here's what every blood-bought sinner knows in verse 38 and the holy flock as the flock of jerusalem in our solemn feast so shall the way cities be filled with flocks of men and here's what every blood-bought sinner knows and they shall know that i'm the lord i know who the lord is i know who he is the lord jesus christ i know that and everyone whom god saves knows that Alright.

True Conversion

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about true conversion?

How do we know salvation is entirely God's work?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What does it mean to be part of God's people?

How does God ensure the salvation of His elect?

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True Conversion

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about true conversion?

How do we know salvation is entirely God's work?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What does it mean to be part of God's people?

How does God ensure the salvation of His elect?

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