You knew it would be a heart -to -heart talk
today. At least you were hoping. All right. Oh,
I tell you, there's nothing in the world like
the Word of God. It is alive. It is practical.
I mean exactly that. So is this thing of living
a Christian life. It isn't just an experience.
that took place for 5 minutes, 15 minutes. It's
a life. Literally. Now, when it comes to salvation,
salvation is instantaneous. Remember what the
word says. Working out your own salvation. But
you've got to have something there before you
can work it out. You can't work out something
that you've never had. When there's nothing there
to work out, when are you going to work out?
And there are a lot of folks that are killing
themselves working at it, making themselves so
miserable trying to work at something when they
haven't had anything in the first place to work
out. Work out your own salvation. But before
you can work it out, you've got to have the new
birth experience. This spiritual experience,
which is as definite as your birth in the flesh.
And it's like that. You can't be putting clothes
on little babies before they're born. You can't
be dressing up the dear little titan bee. Putting
him in his crib and feeding him his milk and
taking care of him until after he's born. But
there are a lot of people who are so inconsistent
when it comes to spiritual things. They are getting
themselves all dressed up and working out something
and they've never been born. They've never had
that spiritual birth. You can't dress up a baby
until after there has been the physical birth.
After the baby is born, then you feed it, then
you clothe it, then you train it, then you work
on its future. But it's got to be born first.
In exactly the same way when it comes to the
spiritual birth. There are a lot of people working
at something that they had never had. You've
got to be born again. You've got to have the
spiritual birth first before you can work out
your salvation. And your spiritual birth is something
that's instantaneous. It's a definite experience.
A definite time, a definite place in exactly
the same way that there is a definite time and
a definite place for the physical birth. Now
we got that settled. All right. And you want
to know something? There are thousands of people
who are so sincere in believing that they are
Christians. I really don't believe that they
recognize the fact that they have never had this
spiritual birth. They go to church every Sunday?
For one solid hour? I'll tell you, they're right
there. There are those who run to Mass. They're
there. They wouldn't miss Mass for anything.
There are those who take communion. They wouldn't
miss it for anything in the world. They're working
on something that they've never had. They've
never been born again. Now, that is the reason
that this portion of the Word of God that we
started in our last heart -to -heart talk is
so important and so grossly misunderstood. I
should take it very seriously Slowly. I shall
speak so. That the little mama who has such a
hard time and keeps writing to me and she says,
Dear Miss Cooman, you forget. I'm 86 years old
and sometimes you talk so fast. My poor little
worn out ears. Can't hear it all so fast. All
right, honey, Miss Kuma talked a little more
slowly today. Yes, for you. Now, let's read it.
Let's begin with the fourth verse of the sixth
chapter of Hebrews. For it is impossible. What's
that word, impossible? And then the two words
that follow. For those. Now we know immediately
that Paul is not speaking to the folk who are
in his presence right there. It is impossible
for those who were once enlightened and have
tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers
of the Holy Spirit 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
meeteth 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. He's talking to two different
classes of people. I'm going to say something
that will probably shock some of you, and all
I ask of you is to sit there with an open mind
and open heart. Let the Holy Spirit be your teacher.
These things are only spiritually revealed. I
don't care what you've been taught. Please just
now do not have any preconceived ideas in your
mind. Just sit there with an open mind. Let the
Holy Spirit be your teacher. Because I know that
there are many, many... many different interpretations
to this portion of the Word of God. Some feel
as though it is the unpardonable sin. It is not.
Watch. And before I give the interpretation of
this, as the Holy Spirit has given it unto me,
I want to just remind you of something. And that
is the fact that There are an awful lot of phonies
in the world. Oh, the world is loaded with phonies.
You've got them in your office. You'll agree
with me that wherever you work, wherever you
are employed, you've got some phonies hanging
around. And you folk who are employers. You'll
have to be honest and admit you've got some phonies
in the organization. And your neighborhood. Oh,
sure. They aren't kidding you one bit. I know.
She gets all dressed up like the f***. first
horse in the parade, and you know the whole thing
is charged, and it hasn't been paid for yet.
You know that. Oh, I hear them talk. You hear
them talk. We don't say anything, but we know
they're phonies. And then, you know, An awful
lot of people doing an awful lot of bluffing.
Oh, my goodness, a life. An awful lot of bluffing
goes on. And when it comes right down to producing,
they can't do it. Oh, they've gotten by a long
time. Sometimes they get by six months. Sometimes
they get by a year. Sometimes they get by five
years. But sooner or later, When the crisis comes,
sooner or later, when they're brought face to
face with something, it's proven that they're
nothing more or less than a big bluff. Just a
bluff. I hate to admit it, but we've got an awful
lot of bluffs and we've got an awful lot of phonies.
When it comes to this thing of religion, we're
loaded, my friend, we're loaded. And these are
the people that have brought such a reproach
on the things of the gospel. They have brought
such reproach on the things of God. They have
literally put Jesus to... open shame. And it's
just like that. Every time that I bring a heart
-to -heart talk on the power of the Holy Spirit,
every time I say anything about speaking in an
unknown tongue, I get letters from people who
will say, Oh, Ms. Kuhlman, we believe what you
say. We know it's in the Bible. This speaking
in an unknown tongue is there. It's in the Bible.
But we know somebody who can turn it off and
turn it on, and they don't live the life. all
the things that bring a reproach on something
that's very wonderful. Every time I speak on
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I'll get letters
from those who say, Miss Gorman, we know it's
in the Word. It's there. We have followed you
in the Scripture. And yet, there is somebody
in our church who professes to be filled with
the Holy Spirit. And if the life that they live
is a Spirit -filled life, we want nothing to
do with it. Even when it comes to this thing
of being a Christian. You know somebody who makes
a Big pretense of this thing of being a Christian.
Even the very attitude of being holier than thou.
And these are folk who'll sit on the little throne
of judgment and judge. Oh, they'd love to judge
their neighbors. They'd love to judge their in
-laws. Holy horror. Who we. So self -righteous.
But they only do it. It's the only means they
have of covering up their own sins. It's a matter
of defense. They are really on the defense. Because
they know their own hearts and they know their
own dirty lives. And it's like that. Mm -hmm.
Sometimes they'll get themselves all dressed
up in long sleeves and long skirts and long hair
and long faces just to cover up what isn't on
the inside. Phonies. Ducks. After all, my friend
is that which is in the... that's important.
You know what the Master said? I want to read
just a couple of verses in 1 John, the second
chapter, the fourth verse. He that saith, I know
him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar.
And you can't be a liar and be a Christian, too.
He's a liar. And the truth is not in him. But
whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the
love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we
are in him. If you've been born again. You'll
keep his commandments. You'll live like it. You'll
walk like it. You'll talk like it. There will
automatically be the fruit of the Spirit. That's
exactly what Paul meant here when he said, but
beloved, we are persuaded better things of you
and things that accompany salvation. There are
certain things that accompany salvation. And
you don't have to go around and tell everybody
you're a Christian. You don't have to. Your life
will prove it. The way you live, the things you
do, the way you talk. Your very speech will betray
you. These things accompany salvation. And in
the final analysis, you aren't fooling. Anybody
but yourself. Now let's go back to the first
part of the sixth chapter of Hebrews. It is impossible
for those who were once enlightened, have tasted
of the heavenly gift, were made partakers of
the Holy Spirit, have tasted the good word of
God and the powers of the world to come, if they
shall fall away to renew them again. On to repentance.
Seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of
God afresh and put him to an open shame, they
have never been born again. I'm going to be still
just a minute until this penetrates a little
bit. Because perhaps you've never seen this.
Perhaps there has never been this revelation.
And it seems so fantastic to even consider the
fact that there are those who've been enlightened,
who've tasted of the heavenly gift, who were
made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have tasted
the good word of God and the powers of the world
to come. Do you know that right? Right now, you
are tasting of the good word of God. That's exactly
what I'm bringing to you. The good word of God.
Right now, you are being enlightened. If you've
been listening to me for the past 20 minutes,
you know the way of salvation. I've made it so
plain. You know how to be saved. liked just listening
to me in the past 20 minutes to know that you
need to be born again. Once enlightened, have
tasted of the heavenly gift, were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost. How often I think in some
of these wonderful miracle services. In some
of these wonderful services in the Shrine of
the Torium. When the power of the Holy Spirit
is falling, and I tell you the truth, there is
so much of the power of the Holy Spirit that
not only those who have come to attend the service,
but even those who are employees, perhaps as
union men, who are stagehands, or who have helped
to put up the chairs cannot but help feel the
presence of the Holy Spirit because the place
is literally saturated with the power of the
Holy Spirit. Those who stand in the wings, those
who stand in the open doorway, if they only realized
it, are partakers of the Holy Spirit. And they
will acknowledge readily that they have felt
something wonderful. There was something strangely
different. I'll go even further than that. There
are those who have been in great caring meetings.
There are those who've been in the presence of
others who had received the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. Partakers of the Holy Spirit. They've
been those who literally have felt the resurrection
power of God going through their bodies. Partakers
of the Holy Spirit. They have tasted of the heavenly
gift. Sure, when it comes to being born again,
they have tasted of the heavenly gift. They've
tasted the good word of God and the powers of
the world to come. Totally they know what it's
all about. But lo, they are running a bluff.
They have never really been born again. Never.
There are those in our pulpits. There are those
who are serving as... deacons. There are those
who are serving as elders. There are those who
sing in the choir every Sunday. There are those
who hold high positions in our churches, both
Catholic and Protestant, who have never been
born again. And then, by their actions, not living
the life because they can't live the life. They
can't work out their own salvation because they've
never been converted. Then by the life that they
live, they put Jesus Christ to an open shame.
And they bring a reproach on the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the neighbor says, if
that's being a Christian, I don't want it. And
the relatives say, if that's being a Christian,
I don't want it. Mm -hmm. I don't care how often
you've spoken in tongues. You can turn it on
and turn it off. If you don't live the life,
it's best you do not speak in tongues. I said
a mouthful. It's much more important that you
live the life. Why does the word say, after once
enlightened, if they shall fall away, to renew
them again unto repentance. Because, my friend,
there is nothing more. If you will not listen
to the Holy Spirit, if you will not accept the
Christ, even after the Holy Spirit has convicted
you, and you have all of this light, there is
no further peace. help for you because there's
nothing more God can do. There's nothing more
left. That is it. If you're looking for something
more, there is nothing more to get you to repent.
You've had the works. You've refused it. And
in refusing it, you're lost. If you don't live
it, then don't profess it.