Let us learn from this this basic fact. If you are Christian today, you are a product of God. It is not because of your cleverness. It is not because of your Christian upbringing. It is not because of the eloquence of the one who preached when you became a Christian or the ambiance present when you became a Christian. It is because of God and Him alone that you are a Christian! We must become convinced of this because if not, we will put a wrong emphasis in the wrong place. Unless you are born from above, you are spiritually ignorant. The words slipping from Nicodemus’ mouth speaks to his ignorance. This is the point. Flesh gives birth to flesh. It is the Spirit alone who gives birth to Spirit. Every preacher must recognize this- there is nothing that I can do in my own strength to bring one single soul across the gates of heaven and into the presence of God. All my eloquence and education and everything else to my name means nothing. It is absolutely impossible.
At a funeral, sure you can have just the right kind of music coming through the organ, all the eloquence you can muster, all the education, but see if you can walk outside a cemetery with a living corpse. Doesn’t he know it is impossible?
The sooner we realize this as preachers, the better it is for us. We see that we are absolutely impotent for the salvation of souls. Any individuals that we are going to produce without the power of God will land in hell in the end, however religious they may end up being. If they come out in terms of their true colors before they die it is better because without the power of God the Holy Spirit, there is nothing we can do.
Continued....
At a funeral, sure you can have just the right kind of music coming through the organ, all the eloquence you can muster, all the education, but see if you can walk outside a cemetery with a living corpse. Doesn’t he know it is impossible?
The sooner we realize this as preachers, the better it is for us. We see that we are absolutely impotent for the salvation of souls. Any individuals that we are going to produce without the power of God will land in hell in the end, however religious they may end up being. If they come out in terms of their true colors before they die it is better because without the power of God the Holy Spirit, there is nothing we can do.
Continued....
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