You guessed it. Another heart -to -heart talk
today. You knew it. That's the reason you were
all ready for me. And you had your Bibles open.
Oh, thanks for those nice things that you're
saying about these heart -to -heart talks. And
really, when it comes to the Word of God, His
Word is very understandable. The Holy Spirit
is one's teacher. And when you sit there with
an open heart and an open mind, He is the one
who is the great revealer of the Word. And even
now, Heavenly Father, I pray that before we begin
this little heart -to -heart talk, open our understanding
to the deep truths of the Word. For Jesus' sake.
Amen. You know, we've been talking about this
wonderful inheritance. This great life of being
a Christian. And that's exactly what it is. It
is a life. It isn't just one experience. It isn't
just a matter of stepping on your knees and praying
a prayer of repentance. and then getting up and
wiping the tears from your cheeks, and then going
out and living the same life that you lived before
you knelt. It's a whole lot more than that, believe
me. And as we've been talking about this wonderful
inheritance that God made possible unto those
who accepted that Christ is their personal Savior
and Redeemer, in His great plan, For man, he
predestined that literally by adoption, man could
become his heir and a joint heir with his son.
Now, remember something. The believer's relation
to God as a child, this wonderful inheritance
that I've been talking to you about in these
heart -to -heart talks, results... from the new
birth experience just because you are a part
of humanity just because you follow a code of
ethics just because you live according to some
doctrine just because you have accepted some
creed or just because you are a member of some
church does not automatically place you in that
position of being an heir of God. Remember, this
wonderful relation to God as a child results
from the new birth experience. That's what those
two verses mean in the first chapter of John.
But as many... As received him. To them gave
he power to become the sons of God. Even to them
that believe on his name. Which were born. Not
of blood. Not of the will of the flesh. Nor of
the will of man. But of God. Now the thing that
we all have in common. If you are a part of humanity.
The one thing. that all of us have in common
is the fact that we have been born of the flesh.
That first birth. But the Bible teaches a second
birth. The new birth. One is the birth of the
flesh. The other is the birth of the spirit.
That new birth experience. And just because you've
had the first birth, The birth of the flesh does
not make you an heir of God. God is your creator.
But you are not his heir and you do not become
his heir until you've had that second birth.
The birth of the spirit. And that's what we've
been talking about in this personal word of God.
The first chapter of Ephesians. Oh, this is wonderful.
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose
of him, who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will, that we should be to the praise
of his glory, who first trusted... In Jesus.
Every man and every woman who has had this second
birth, this spiritual birth, should live to the
praise of his glory. I want him to be proud of
me. I want to be an awful good representative.
The family to whom I belong. I want to live so
that... They can say, well, I have never seen
Jesus. But I've met one of his children. Yeah.
I want that more than anything in the world.
You see... Jesus isn't here on earth. He's at
the right hand of God the Father. He holds a
great position. The position of great high priest.
I have a great high priest. All of God's children
have a great high priest. In the person of Jesus
Christ. Jesus is no longer here. Men cannot...
look upon him and see him in bodily form as they
saw him one day as he walked this earth. The
only Jesus that they can see with their natural
eye is the one who is his joint heir. And the
greatest compliment in the world that can be
paid me is for someone to say, I want what you
have. I want that same wonderful spiritual experience.
I see Jesus in you. I'm not a great preacher
and never will be. I'm very limited in my ability.
Very limited. I do not pretend. to have anything
unusual when it comes to gifts. I don't have
anything that is unusual. And nothing that you
could say, regardless of how complimentary you
want to be, wouldn't affect me one iota. I know
my limitations. But the greatest compliment that
you could pay was to say, we see Jesus in your
life. You live what you preach. There's something
different about you. We know to whom you belong.
I told you the other day about Concordia Missouri.
You go to Concordia, Missouri, that little town
just off of Highway 40 between Kansas City and
St. Louis. And I don't care where you would stop
in Concordia, whether it was at Krennicke's Drugstore
or Roman's Meat Market. Or even stop at the post
office and say, say, do you know Catherine Kuhlman?
I'll promise you something. They'll come back
with this question. Do you mean Joe Kuhlman's
girl? Catherine Kuhlman really doesn't mean a
thing. Speaking to those folks in Concordia,
Missouri. And Papa's been gone, my goodness alight.
My Papa's been gone for years. My Papa, who was
killed almost instantly during the holiday season
through an accident, has been gone for years.
And yet, to this very day, Catherine Kuhlman,
even though thousands and thousands Know the
name Catherine Kuhlman. To that little town in
Concordia, Missouri, I am just Joe Kuhlman's
girl. It's Papa who is important. Beloved in
this family to which you and I belong. An heir
of God. Remember, he is the one that... is important,
and you and I dare not bring reproach on his
name. It means something to be a Christian, believe
me. We put him to open shame if we profess something
we don't live. We bring a reproach on the family.
I want you to know that. Every time one of his
children does something that is against his principles
and his laws and bring a reproach on him, I am
ashamed. I am humiliated. For I am a part of
that great family. Let's be careful how we act,
what we do. And when it comes to this gross inheritance,
remember something. It wasn't. in God's great
plan, that we should enjoy this wonderful inheritance
because he had so much faith and confidence in
you and in me. It said, who first trusted in
Jesus. His faith and his confidence was in Jesus.
When at that great conference table, they talked
her over. And Jesus offered himself through the
Holy Spirit to be given to God the Father. And
plans were made for redemption of man. And Jesus
came. And all of these things were taken care
of at the great conference table. And it was
in the will of God that all men and all women
should be redeemed. None should be lost in his
glorious plan that through the shed blood of
Jesus, we might be adopted of the Father and
be called the very sons of God. God approved
all. of this before Jesus came because he trusted
in Jesus. And he knew Jesus wouldn't fail. He
wasn't so sure about you and he wasn't so sure
about me. But he had complete faith and confidence
in Jesus. Now, Follow me a little closer. I want
to stop right here and bring you another portion
of the Word of God. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood
portions in the Bible. Hebrews. I'm going to
give you just a second to find Hebrews in the
Bible, your New Testament. It's the sixth chapter
of Hebrews. I'm going to begin with the fourth
verse. For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly
gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost
and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the world to come if they shall fall
away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame. For the earth which
drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom
it is dressed, receiveth blessings from God.
but that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected,
and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be
burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better
things of you, and things that accompany salvation.
But, beloved, we are persuaded better things
of you. He is talking to two classes of people
here. He is talking to the unregenerated. And
he is talking to the child of God. And I'm going
to take this very slowly that you might understand
it. First of all, remember something. It means
something to be a Christian. It means much more
than shedding a few tears. It means much more
than going down to an altar and kneeling. It
means much more than just signing a card. It
means much I believe in church membership. I
am not against the church when I make that statement.
But there are tens of thousands of people living
this very hour who have their names on church
records, who joined the church. who have never
been born again. There's many a person who feels
that they're absolutely secure because they belong
to the Catholic Church. There are thousands who
feel they are absolutely secure because they
are a Good Episcopalian. There's many a person
this hour who feels just because they sit in
that pew, the same pew, week after week in that
Presbyterian church, and God help anyone else
who dares to sit in that same pew. It's theirs.
It's an unwritten law. It's... But they've never
been born again. You can be the greatest church
member in the world and not be born again. There
are literally thousands of Baptists. I know.
I can say this because I still have my name on
the record at The Baptist Church in Concordia,
Missouri. It's still there. I'm a Baptist. But
there are thousands of Baptists who have never
been born again. Oh, sure. You've been immersed
in water. Sure, you've been baptized. But water
isn't going to save you. Just because you were
immersed. doesn't mean you've been born again.
Just because you were sprinkled as a baby doesn't
mean that you've been born again. Just because
for generations you've all been Roman Catholics
doesn't mean that you've been born again. Just
because you go through all the ritual of the
Episcopalian Church doesn't mean you have been
born again. I am convinced that there are thousands
and thousands of people in the world today who
are being grossly deceived by their own self
-righteousness. There's many a preacher's son
and daughter who have never been born again.
They were brought up in the parsonage. They were
forced to go to Sunday school. They were taken
to church when they were only a baby in arms.
And they've just taken for granted, because dad
was a preacher, mom was a wonderful woman, they
were brought up in the parsonage, that they automatically
are Christians. There's many a man in the pulpit.
We talk about Dr. Jarman, a man in the pulpit
for over a half century. Preaching. Eloquent
in his delivery. A personality to be envied.
A vocabulary that one would envy. And yet, as
he said, it wasn't so much what he said as what
he left unsaid. Sure he could quote the Bible.
I have sat across the table from Dr. Jarman and
have heard him quote chapter after chapter. With
his Bible closed, word for word, and yet that
man preached from the Bible without having been
born again for over a half century. In our next
Heart to Heart Talk, I'm going to explain to
you under the inspiration guidance of the Holy
Spirit, the meaning. of the sixth chapter of
Hebrews. God bless you.