Person & Work of the Holy Spirit
Mike Doyle · Mar 24, 2013
Holy Spirit (2013), No. 11
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926346571466

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Okay, we are in lesson five. Randy got down to... I wrote down that he got down to probably question three. We've done three and four. We've done four, too? We did four, huh? Well, let's just see how smart you are then. Completely different, new person. What does regeneration mean? Completely new person. Do you know what the Greek words are? I love this, you know why? You know what the word for re is? Palin. It's Palin Genesis in the means to Genesis again or again generated. The word again is the word Palin. P-A-L-I-N.

Regeneration is a very important word because it gets away from the idea that becoming a Christian is adding something on to what you already are or improving yourself or becoming better or looking better or acting better. Regeneration which is salvation, means exactly an entirely new beginning, a new genesis, something that you never were before.

Now, when that happens, you don't look any different, still got the same old crummy body you came in with, but internally, spiritually, you are a brand new creation and you must, in order to rest in the provision God has for you, you must recognize it as such. One of the problems I find with lots of believers when you have discussions about how crummy things are going with them is that they don't believe what God has already given them. And like starting with new birth, regeneration, if you just look at the word, regeneration and what it means, you're an entirely brand new creature. Now when you look in the mirror, things aren't going to change because you don't get the new body right away. But you and your essential identity is brand new. And so therefore, as we've taught a lot, to go on and understand as you grow spiritually all of the nuances of regeneration, you have to be faced with what we call identification truths.

How in fact did you get regenerated? How did that happen? Through the work of Christ. What are the mechanics? Before you can get born new, you've got to do what? You've got to die. So you cruise along through the book of Romans and you get to Romans 6 and it says, don't you realize that you were baptized into Christ's death? You were identified with him when he died because he was made sin for us. and he died unto sin and so did you. Just as he was risen from the dead in newness of life, so were you.

So the idea that Christianity is the ultimate fix-up program is psychobabble. It's not true. Did God start over with us? What do you think? Did it start over? No. What do you mean? So if it says a new genesis or new birth, what came over from the old? Our body. Yeah, your body. But you're going to get dumped at and you're going to be able to dump that and get a new one. So what came over from the old?

Nothing. He said nothing. He's contradicting himself already. He hadn't been back ten minutes. Well, you kicked your old self to the curb, so now you're new. So what have you taken with you? Nothing. Your memory of being miserable? Maybe. What came over? What was the one thing about you It survived your identification in the cross. In nature? No, it didn't. Your soul? No, it's your personhood. Your personhood.

What we are, are persons. And God created us in his image and likeness. He created us a person, because he's a person. Now, those that aren't saved, they're personhood. their body, soul and spirit is animated through their soul by the sin nature. That was a trick question. Of course it was. You have to get used to this when you get back here. So you're animated as a non-believer by the sin nature prompting your soul.

Your spirit is dead to God and it doesn't, you know. Then you get regenerated, Genesis again, born again, and what happens? You become spiritually alive, your spirit is now alive in the God, and the Holy Spirit himself indwells your spirit, and your soul doesn't know everything that went on. So spiritual growth is really an illuminating process by the Spirit of God to teach you what really happened.

And the thing that survived, the cross and you, was your personhood. Nature didn't. It was crucified with Christ. You're going to get a new body, and when we go to be with the Lord face to face, there will be no impediments between him and us. We'll be just like him. Kind of cool, isn't it?

I was thinking too, like sometimes I think of my dog and stuff, like how we can't help God either. Like I'll be doing the laundry, you know, and I'll think, I wonder if my dog wanted to help me. And he just can't. And he just makes things worse. You know, he sits on it and like, just get off and let me do it.

And just, you know, don't even think you're trying to help me because you're not. Yeah, that's a good analogy. You don't have thumbs, you can't help it. You're not going to get thumbs. What's great about that analogy is it shows that the dog by his very nature can't help you. Right, he just can't. A human being by his very nature can't help a dog. We might want to, we might think we can, but we're not helping.

One of the things that hopefully we're going to learn through this study of the Holy Spirit is that God wants us active, involved in his program, his life, but it's the work of the Spirit to do it. If you do it out of yourself, you're just trying to help him. He doesn't need any help. But he wants you to function as one of those who's been regenerated. See that? And my dog does that when I say that. Go sit down, just go sit down and I'll tell you what to do. And the dog looks at you and says, okay. He bites the intruder, so he does help in a way.

Okay, so on page 24 of your book, it says that we were born of water. What does being born of water mean from a biblical standpoint? Water stood for the Word of God, didn't it? Okay, so this isn't our donkey in the tub upstairs. The washing of the water of the Word?

Yeah, that's exactly right. So born of water is really the Word of God does the washing. We've studied through this class Old Testament types and the spirit himself in the Old Testament is sometimes referred to as the water. So you have an expression. Several passages.

1 Peter 1.23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides forever.

New Birth is ascribed to the Living Word, Ephesians 5.25 and 26. Christ so loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify it and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. Now, a couple of questions here, and these aren't trick questions. If we're talking about the Word of God that does in fact, does the washing, Right here.

How does it do it? What are the mechanics? The Holy Spirit. What's that? The Holy Spirit's not speaking to you through it. You don't get washed. Okay. What I'm after is... The Holy Spirit does the understanding and illumination. Okay, now you're getting there.

What does the word do? How does it clean you up? Maybe put it that way. How do you get washed by the Word? You change. What does the Word, in apprehending what the Word has to say, just the objective information, what does it do? Come to know who you are. There you go. That's really good. What the Word of God does is it teaches a believer who they are, where they are and what they have.

And so, as you study the Word of God, you find out, oh gee, I was born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God. And oh by the way, the Word of God lives and abides forever. How did that happen? Rebirth doesn't happen without the Word, because you don't have the information without the Word. Now it may be verbal, You may walk up to a non-believer and invite them to become a Christian, but what's the information that they believe that makes them a Christian? It's the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 15.

The other thing that's interesting about the Word of God, in and of itself, it's powerful. Do you understand what I mean by that? In Hebrews, what chapter is that? living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Here's the interesting thing about the Word of God.

How many of you have been to Sunday school classes that taught you how to evangelize? That you've got to come up with a good story and your own testimony and all of that and you've got to be effective. You know what they leave out of that? How about just the Word of God itself? Romans 5 says that the Word of God is the power unto salvation.

So if you just give them those words and stop, that's probably more effective than any story you could tell them. See that? Yeah, you said. You know, when you meet somebody like that, you say, okay, well, let's just see what the Bible says. Perfect. That's your words.

Let's just see what the Bible has to say and then the words themselves. Here's the thing, any human being that is confronted with the gospel has to decide right then about it. It's one of those things that you just don't say, well, you don't give it the Scarlett O'Hara number and say I'll think about it tomorrow. go for it or you reject it right then. That's the way it is, and that's the power of the Word.

Do you think different people plant seeds that kind of move them towards that? Yeah, I want to make that clear too. It's not just a one time and out. You make that decision at that point, but that may be in the process of several years of people in the Holy Spirit working on you. But yes, you reject it to that point, but that's not a permanent thing. Or you make a decision that you're going to investigate it further, you're going to listen. But there are others that just say, that's nonsense, I'm done. But a decision was made.

That's the interesting thing about the Word of God. It's the same thing with believers. You're cruising along in your good, I was going to say Baptist church, but I better not. Presbyterian church. And you show up at a Bible study some night and here comes the teacher and he starts telling you that you were crucified with Christ. What are you going to do with that information? You're going to accept it or reject it. You can't dance around with that. What do you mean I died? Two thousand years ago I was on that cross with Christ and the guy says, yeah. You say, no way.

Oh, but gee, the Word of God says that. What do you do about it? That's the effect of the Word of God washing you, persuading you that the information that is given to you from the word through the auspices of the Holy Spirit is designed to wash everything of Adam away so that you rest in the facts and in the person of Christ. See that? That's how it works.

And so if I'm the opposition to Christianity, I'm Bill Zabug, what am I going to do? I'm going to try to keep you away from that word. I'm going to try to get you involved in any and all kinds of religious exercises so that you don't ever get to the word. Because the word is the thing that cleans you up, so to speak. Because it tells you, again, who you are, where you are, and what you have. And you don't have to work for it because you live under grace.

So I was driving and I got this confused message from Hugh Hewitt was talking to somebody that wrote a book about God as King and then all of a sudden he said well you know I'm Catholic but at the same time he also goes to the Presbyterian Church so isn't that two messages but if he goes into the Bible how can you how can you come to the point of believing when there's all different views of it? well who's the teacher?

The Lord Jesus said that we didn't need any man to teach us. Didn't he say that? How come? Does that mean we're going to be stupid forever? Faith comes by hearing. Who did he say would teach us? The Holy Spirit. Oh, so when, you know, Mr. Opinion, how do you respond to something like that? If the Word of God is the final source, of authority and practice in life. Where do you go? Is it okay for you or somebody who is a young believer to go to the Word of God on their own without somebody helping them? Sure it is. Because they have the Spirit of God in them and He will teach them. He will teach them through that Word. That's all you don't need. We are interdependent on each other for spiritual growth.

There is no question about that. But the issue is you and the Word. And whatever Mr. So-and-so said, if it doesn't line up with what the word says, then you have to reject him. It's because he wears a white cape and a white beanie, you don't have to listen to him. I hope I didn't offend any Catholics.

Mike, I keep thinking of that book again, What's Going On Down the River. Yeah. By the way, I ordered 20 of those. What's the name of it? What's going on down river? And I'm going to give it out because I think it's something we all ought to read. And it's a book written by some missionaries from new tribes. And how much of it should I give away? Give it all away. It's an easy read, but it's about two young missionary families in the 70s and early 80s. that went to Papua New Guinea, got on a boat and went up a river, stopped at a village and said, hey, is it okay if we live here?

They said, why? And they said, well, we have God speak and we want to live here for a while and learn your language and then we'll tell you. They said, okay. So they lived there three years and they don't tell them anything. because they're learning the language. You know how New Tribes works, they go into a place and they listen to the language and then they form an alphabet and they create a written language so that the natives, whatever they speak, whatever they call it, has a written language and then they translate the word of God into their written language. That's how they do their missionary work. So after about three years, the one guy who's in charge, he's going down the river to talk to somebody who's above him in the mission field. And this guy says, well, you know, you don't know the language quite well enough. Give it another six months before you tell him. So he comes back and the natives came into his house and said, we've waited long enough. We are not waiting any longer. You have to tell us what this God speak is.

And so they did. And that whole village and villages around all came to Christ. It was really cool. So it's a very exhorting book as to how it works. And I'm really the guy who wrote it. The author is really good at. having your mind go into this village and with the personalities of the people and how the Spirit of God worked in them so that when the Word of God came to them, boy were they ready. I mean they were more ready than the people who were supposed to give it to them were ready to give it to them. And that's because of the Holy Spirit's work. That's right.

You guys remember Jim Poole? was involved with new tribes to some degree and he and his wife went and spent, or no it was his friend from the church in Virginia, went and spent some time in a New Guinea village with some missionaries and after four years or something only like one or two people in this village came to Christ. And they were really frustrated, they didn't know what to do and they decided that they were going to pack up and move across the valley up into the other side to a village that was over there. So they did. And within a year that whole village had come to Christ.

Very interesting. God prepares the way. He does. Now that you're really clear on what is meant by being born of water, what does it mean to be born of the Spirit? The Spirit does the work. I think I'm still on, if you have the book on page 24, what the write-up says, we understand our Lord to teach that new birth is absolutely essential for entrance into the kingdom of God, right? Isn't that what the Lord said in John 3? And that this birth is by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Do you see that?

Both elements are there. It's the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, received by faith. So those are the three elements. It's the Word of God, it's the Holy Spirit and it's faith. We saw that those who believed on his name were those who were born of God.

I think I'm in John 1. Here we see the beautiful suitability of our Lord presenting his cross and himself as the object of faith to a man like Nicodemus. Now you know what's interesting about Nicodemus? In John 3, was Jesus telling Nicodemus that if he believed he'd become a Christian? How many think he was? Come on cowards, get your hands up. How many think he wasn't? The whole room is chicken.

The question is, do you think that when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and he said to him, unless a man be born again he can't enter into the kingdom of God, do you think he was soliciting Nicodemus to become a Christian? No. What was he doing? Telling him. Giving him information. Was he telling him to become a Christian? Why do you think, yeah, that's really what he was trying to do?

Oh, you guys know me too well, you won't put your hands up no matter what. Well, being a Christian is implied. I mean, doesn't Christian mean Christ follower? Now think about this. Here's the language. Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now when you were saved, is that what happened to you? Did you come into the Kingdom of God? Yes. No you didn't. No. You came into the King. There's a difference. There's a difference. You came into Christ? King is Christ? That's right. You came into Christ. That's right. And then you learned and therefore you went up. Yeah, okay.

So here's the difference. The difference is that Christ is making appeal to Nicodemus to enter the kingdom. Do you see that? What's the kingdom? It's the rule and reign of Christ on the earth. And he's telling a Jewish man, you want to get into the kingdom? You have to be born again. I'm born, I'm a Levite, I've got all the stuff down, and Christ is saying, really, unless you're born again, you cannot, of water and the Spirit, you can't enter the kingdom of God.

That's not Christianity. That's not Christianity. They weren't called Christians until after Pentecost. Yeah, and when did this happen? It was a little bit before the cross, and it was a little bit before the death, birth, and resurrection of Christ, and it was a lot before Pentecost. So when did the church start? After Christ's cross. After his resurrection. That's right, but when specifically?

On Pentecost. Is he telling Nicodemus, you've got to wait until Pentecost so you can become a Christian? No, he's telling him if you want to go into the kingdom of God, you have to be born and born in the Spirit. So what does that tell you? A couple of things. One, that even if you're born a Jew, to be a member of the kingdom of God, you must be born again of water and the Spirit. Just to get into the kingdom of God, let alone become a Christian. Now is the principle the same with becoming a Christian?

Yes, the principle is the same, but the position of where you go is different. Do you see that? That's a fundamental dispensational truth. So are you saying then that you have to believe the truth being revealed up to that time? Yeah, because the New Testament wasn't there yet. Isn't it interesting that Nicodemus, what did Jesus tell Nicodemus he needed to believe?

Nothing. What did he tell him? He just said to him, hey look, unless you're born anew, you're not going in. And there wasn't a discussion about what born anew meant, Was it? No. But he's saying to Nicodemus, look, here's the way in. This is the way you get in and this is the only way you get in. And Nicodemus, rather than say, well, what am I supposed to do here? He said, well, how can I go back and be born of my mother? How can that happen? And Jesus repeated Unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he can't ever enter into the Kingdom of God. Now, I think Nicodemus, via the Spirit, figured it out.

He was there taking Christ down off the cross and help burying him and that kind of thing. He's around. Here's another example. When Christ is crucified, and there are these two guys hanging on either side of him, both of them thieves. There's no such thing as a good thief. One of them says to him that he believed them. And Jesus said to him, today you will be with me in paradise.

Is that man a Christian? No. No way. Why not? The church hasn't started yet. The church started at Pentecost. So what is this guy doing? Hanging around in Catholic limbo until Pentecost? No. Where did he go? He went to this place called paradise. What is paradise? It's the kingdom.

When the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and they're in Sheol and he's in a place of comfort and the other guy's across and he's in torment. They're in the same dimension but one of them is in torment and the other one isn't. The Lazarus who's not in torment is in the kingdom.

Now there's a difference between being, well I'll explain it this way, if your last name was Windsor and you lived in London, who's mom? You live in her kingdom? Sure you do. But who is she to you? She's mom. Yeah, if your last name is Windsor. She's mom. So if you live in the heavenly realms and you are in Christ. Is Christ your king? Yes. Is he Lord? Yes. But who else is he? He's my life. Who's the father? Is he Yahweh or Jehovah? No, he's my dad. We share life. We share his very resurrected life.

That puts you in a much different position than if you're just a member of the kingdom. You alright with that? You should be. Okay, because we all have the same Father. Is that what you're talking about? Well, we have the same Father in the sense that if we're born of water and the Spirit, and in the Holy Spirit you're born anew, that means you are born into Christ. You're not born into the kingdom. It's different. And it's important to understand there is a difference. You're born into the person of Christ and his life. and he is the new creation. He's going to be king over a kingdom which will be populated by believing Jews and Gentiles. What are you going to do, other than sneeze, what are you going to do in the Millennial Kingdom? What's Bruce going to be doing in the Millennial Kingdom?

Is he going to be there? What's he going to do? Looking for me. He's going to be ruling and reigning. Is he going to be a Jew? No. How are we going to recognize him? God's glory. God's glory how? It will radiate out of him. Why? Because he's a member of the bride of Christ. He's not in the kingdom. He's a member of the bride.

So you're talking dispensational. That's what I'm talking about. So if you, maybe put it this way, if you think kingdom, you qualify for spiritual handicap parking. Because there's an awful lot more that you are than what kingdom affords you. You see that? And Randy handed out that list of the 34 things. Did we print a bunch of those up? I'll get a hold of them.

Those 34 things are the things that are true of you, are true of you right now. You're an inheritor. One guy says, well you are a king so act like one. You're not becoming one, you already are one. You're a son of God, an organic offspring of the God of the universe. A Jew can't say that.

Can you explain, say that Nicodemus lived long enough to have lived after Pentecost? I think he did. And if he did, he could have had a new birth? I don't think there would be any problem with him understanding and believing. Sure. Were there 120 disciples sitting in the upper room between the death, burial and resurrection and the day of Pentecost? I think Pentecost didn't happen in that upper room. I think it happened in front of the temple. That's a good time period. There were 120 disciples, not just the 11. I think he probably got saved on the day of Pentecost with those other 3,000 people. I think so.

So the formation of the body of Christ began that day. Then it's important to understand that if the language talks about the body of Christ, that's different than being in a millennial kingdom or being in any kind of kingdom. What does it mean to be a member of the body of Christ? It means that you have a spiritual union with the king that the subjects don't have. Do you see that? The Holy Spirit is the agent through which this happens. Now the reason it has to be him, well maybe you tell me, what's the reason that the agent of new birth has to be the Holy Spirit?

Because we can't do it ourselves. Can't do it ourselves, well how about two or three of you together? None of us have opposable thumbs to do it on our own. That's a good point. It's a spiritual transaction to begin with. To unite you in eternity with the death, birth and resurrection of Christ takes the Holy Spirit to do it. I was just thinking like you said on the cross with the other two thieves, what a neat opportunity that we have the word to record that, to show that it doesn't take the works, and it can take, you know, just the faith and the Holy Spirit working even up to the last minute. That's right.

You know, because if it would have been that, you know, Jesus died and that never happened, I don't know if there are any other examples of where a person, like, at the last second... Here's the thing about those two thieves. Do you think the Spirit only worked on one of them? No. I think he worked on both of them. Because does the Holy Spirit work on all the criminals in jail?

Sure. He nudges them, right? Sure. God's wish is that none should perish. And the offer is that whosoever will may come. And He doesn't work on you until Thursday and say, well, you're a lost cause. I've got to go work on somebody else. He doesn't operate like that. He really does wish that none should perish. But only Republicans get saved. Only Republicans get saved. Well, I wish they only would. So question seven. Question seven is a short question. What are the elements required for regeneration? Bottom of page 24. Three elements for regeneration, what are they?

Didn't you say them? Faith, Holy Spirit, and the Word? That's it. It's the Holy Spirit, it's the Word of God, and it's faith. So I have a sub-question under that. Does new birth precede faith or does it follow it? Do you understand what I'm asking? Does new birth come before you believe? It can't come before. Huh? Can't come before. Okay, so then does it follow it?

I think it's part of the constellation probably. Yeah, I think it's interesting what Rideout says because he gets his back up on this question. He says, such questions seek to separate what God has and to solidly join together. That there are mysteries here none would question. Does not our Lord say the wind blows where it lists and You hear the sound thereof and you can't tell where it comes from or where it's going. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.

John 3.5.

Right now it says here is mystery and there is much, I'm sorry, and there must be in divine things. God is sovereign and his work must be to some extent inscrutable to finite minds. but we must not reduce to the compass of logic these mighty truths. I think he sort of jumps behind the question and doesn't really answer it. Surely it suffices to say that new birth is a sovereign act of God, that he is first in it and that is by his word and through faith.

I think it all happens simultaneously. I agree. I know you're not into testimonies, but my personal experience is I would say I really don't think I had faith before God came to me. I don't know. It doesn't seem like it was any... You had faith in the sense that you got in an airplane and pushed the throttle to the wall and off you went.

That sucker's going to fly. You had faith that that was going to happen, but the issue was this. The word of God says, gives you the gospel, and it's explained to you that there is something available to you called a new birth. And that if you believe the gospel, God will save you for all eternity. And then he stops.

What's next? Do you buy it or not? Or do you answer Colby's phone? It's your choice. That's right. And here comes where the exercise of your will enters in. What does your will do? What does it choose to do? Or not. That's where the will is operable. Your will is used to believe or not. It's not ever used to implement. Now, here's the other cool thing about faith. Faith is a non-meritorious act, right?

You know what I mean by that? God says, you know, your contribution here is your faith, and if you believe, then I'll owe you salvation. Is that the way it is? No. So if the gospel is there, and the promise of eternal life is there, And the word of God says all you have to do is believe it. Where's the value? Is it in my faith or in what I believe? The value is in what I believe.

Faith is the one thing a man can do he can't take credit for. What did you contribute to your salvation? Nothing. You brought your sins. Right? But it's your person that believes. It's a faith. You believe, so that's your personhood that believes. Now you have faith. You know what's interesting? If you believe before you're regenerated, who does the believing? Is it Adam? Yeah, it is. Guess what?

That's his last act. Because as soon as he does, he gets the cross. It seems like, okay, sorry to argue the point, not argue the point, but okay, let's say the guy on the cross again, the thief. He didn't, he wouldn't say like, oh, I'm going to use this to believe and it's my choice. It's like, it almost seems like it comes upon him like, oh, now I get it. Not like now I choose, it's like now I get it.

Here's where the will comes in. He says to his fellow thief, why are you picking on this guy? He doesn't deserve to be here, we do. And then he turns to Jesus and says, remember me when you come into your kingdom. What did he do? So he must have got it. He recognized that the guy next to him was in fact the king and when he died he was going to come into his kingdom and he wanted to be part of it. It's like a recognition versus a I'm going to choose, let me weigh all the facts. Choice almost seems like let me decide which it is. It's more of a recognition. Yeah.

So in a way it's kind of a neat thing because let's say you've been a miserable son of a gun all your life. At the end you can get it and still go to heaven. You sure can. So isn't that wonderful that God gives you that tiny little window still. All the time. Yeah. If he can save me he can save anybody. I know. Isn't that a wonderful gift? Sure is.

That's why you never know. I always get puzzled by this. Why is it only Luke? It's only Luke who tells about this, you know, the thought. And then I think about it and I think, going through that pain and agony, can you be so reasonable about something, you know? And I think it's so important because that's what we base our belief that the moment that we die we're going to be going, you know, that's what people use and we'll be right there with Jesus. Or the other thing about... I guess there's one other place that we...

But I'm always a little puzzled by that. Why Luke is... Luke is such a good storyteller. He almost embellishes things, I think. Because he always makes it a good story. We like to read it. Well, you should always read Luke and Axe together. Because Axe is Luke's too. Axe is Luke's too. That's really what it is.

And so there's plenty of information in Acts about the salvation message, how it's received, and how it's the two main characters in the New Testament, Peter and Paul. It's kind of cool. The thing about, it's interesting, in John's Gospel there's not very much about it. It just says he died. That's it. But there's all kinds of information in John's writings about what exactly you're to do. He says, I write these things that you might believe. So here's the information. How do you respond to it?

You believe it. Real simple. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ was a transaction that he and the Father worked out under the eternal covenant and he carried it out motivated by the joy set before him. We look at it as a horrible murder, which it was, but it was the one act in all of history that allowed God to extend his grace towards us. And so he extends it and says the only thing you need to do to enter into what my son has accomplished is believe him.

But you know what? You study the Old Testament. We were just finishing up studying Hebrews 11, the Hall of Fame of Faith. All these Old Testament saints, it was always the same issue. Do you believe me or not? And if they did, I mean, my favorite in all of the Hall of Fame of Faith is Rahab.

She's a hooker in Jericho. She's selling her body for money. And yet the Spirit of God convinces her that the God of the Jews was the real God. And look what she did. And you know what? She ends up in David's line and she ends up in the line of Christ. A hooker from Jericho, my favorite lady of all time.

And it seems like, okay, this is kind of changing it a little, but John wrote, you know, if you, I wrote this so that you believe, and it seems like that's more of a growth thing, because before you're saved, you don't sit around and read the Bible. No, you don't. You don't have one. No. You're maybe heard it. Yeah. Not heard it, but you saw lips move. No, that's true. That's exactly right. Until the Spirit comes and applies, It gives you the call. I'm like you.

I grew up a Catholic and my parents sent me to Jesuit schools like Bruce. I had eight years of Jesuit education and eight years of Catholic nuns. When this guy took me to lunch and said, I want to talk to you about Jesus, I said, well how about John Elway? I know Jesus better than I know John Elway. I was in religion class for 16 years. He said, no you don't. He started to tell me about Jesus. He wasn't sitting around reading scrolls.

I think that's true also of people that are raised in Christian homes. Unless the Spirit opens your eyes, you don't get what you're looking for. It's also true of the natives in Papua New Guinea. When the Spirit of God operates on you, you're going down. And then it's to be able to get into the Word and to learn who Christ is and who we are in Christ. When I was a new Christian, the first time I saw that first John 5 13, and I think Cal explained how it works, I write these things to you to believe in the name of the Son of God so that you will know that you have right in Yeah.

No, this is like no, absolutely no. Yeah, that's right. And then it seems like you know once you're saved because if you, I think to me, and this is how I was before, when I would hear people say, if you believe you'll have eternal life, that's going to be a reward. And I didn't like to hear that. Because that's not the right approach.

Right, it's like, really? So you want me to believe so I get eternal life? What's it matter to you? And why are you putting a prize out in front of me? I think it just sounds like it's something easy to believe. It is so easy. It is, but it's also, when you talk about it, there's a great depth to it.

There were guys that worked on me for hours and all I could see was that if I went for what they were telling me, I was going to die. It scared me. I somehow knew my life as I knew it to be was going to be over if I believed in Him. I think the Spirit of God saved me and He drug me through the cross. Father, how we thank You for Your Word and how we thank You for Your Spirit who implements the Word in our life that we may continue to grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus. We pray in His precious name, Amen.