WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.799 But the natural man receiveth not the things 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:11.660 of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:17.359 unto him. Neither can he know them, because they 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:22.660 are spiritually deserved. Today we're going to 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:24.160 have another one of those heart -to -heart talks. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.460 And I've just read a portion of the Word of God. 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:32.539 From 1 Corinthians, the second chapter. The verse 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:37.039 that I read was the 14th verse. Now remember 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:41.799 something. The Bible divides all humanity in 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:48.460 just two classes. And only two. No more. It's 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:52.579 not the rich, the poor, the ignorant, the intellectual. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:59.500 No. The Bible doesn't divide people. The world 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:08.079 in two. More than two classes. Just two. The 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:12.760 saved and the lost. The lost man is called the 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:17.819 natural man. Because he's been born only once 00:01:17.819 --> 00:01:23.280 of natural parents. To the line of Adam. Man's 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:26.939 federal head. The saved man is called the spiritual 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:33.010 man. Because he's been born again. The second 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:37.049 time, born by the Spirit of Almighty God himself. 00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:43.109 The natural, the unregenerated man possesses 00:01:43.109 --> 00:01:49.890 the nature of Father Adam. The spiritual man 00:01:49.890 --> 00:01:54.349 possesses the Spirit of God, having become a 00:01:54.349 --> 00:02:00.510 partaker of the divine nature. Just two classes, 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:06.170 even as I speak to you right now. You are either 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:12.210 saved or lost. You have either been born just 00:02:12.210 --> 00:02:17.729 once, the natural birth, or you have been born 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:24.069 twice, the natural birth and the spiritual birth. 00:02:24.710 --> 00:02:28.240 Now, as we study the Word of God, We see that 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.360 these two natures are forever opposed to one 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:36.219 another. They're antagonistic to each other. 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.759 They can never blend. They can never compromise. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:49.120 By our first birth, we are born in sin. Children 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:52.460 of wrath. We're lost. We're condemned. The Bible 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:57.530 says we are dead in trespasses and sins. And 00:02:57.530 --> 00:03:03.349 we are absolutely helpless so far as saving ourselves. 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:09.469 We have no righteousness of our own, none. However, 00:03:09.729 --> 00:03:15.949 when we are saved, when we have our second birth, 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:21.689 that which we call the new birth, the Spirit 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:28.229 of God does nothing to this old nature. Now get 00:03:28.229 --> 00:03:35.750 this, and get this once and for all. It's most 00:03:35.750 --> 00:03:40.530 important that you see this. When we're saved, 00:03:40.870 --> 00:03:47.069 when we get our second birth, the Spirit of God 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:50.129 does nothing to this old nature, but instead 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:55.479 creates a new nature. The nature of God himself, 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:00.020 sinless, holy, perfect. And he places this new 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:04.520 nature alongside the old within the individual. 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:10.900 The new nature does not replace the old. It does 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:20.019 not improve the old. But it will overcome and 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:28.470 destroy. The old. Of the old nature with which 00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:32.329 all of us are born. Everyone listening to me. 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.370 We are born. That's one thing we all have in 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:43.550 common. We are all born of the old nature. And 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:51.209 of that old nature, Paul says, we were by nature. 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:58.389 the children of wrath, even as others. And concerning 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:02.470 this evil, natural heart of man, the Bible clearly 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:07.829 says the heart is deceitful above all things, 00:05:07.910 --> 00:05:17.769 desperately wicked. And who can know it? So corrupt 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:22.660 is this old nature by our first birth. that even 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:27.379 God himself does not attempt to improve it, to 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:35.139 fix it up, to repair it, to reform it. You can 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:42.000 ride down the street and you can see them repairing 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:49.300 an old house. Oh, it's amazing what they can 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:54.720 do to an old house. They can put some of the 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:59.060 best -looking stuff on the outside of an old 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:01.060 house, and when they're all through with it, 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:07.160 I'm telling you, it's a knockout. It looks wonderful. 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:16.759 But God doesn't do that. So corrupt is this old 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.920 nature by our first birth that God doesn't even 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.319 attempt to improve it, to fix it up. He doesn't 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.920 even attempt to repair the old house, the old 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.839 nature. He ignores the old nature as being absolutely 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:41.199 hopeless. Therefore, he creates a brand new thing. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:47.000 and he calls it a new creation. It's a brand 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:52.339 new nature. Whole and distinct from the old nature 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:56.459 of Adam. That's the reason the Word of God says 00:06:56.459 --> 00:07:03.639 that, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:11.579 is a new creature. He isn't fixed up. He isn't 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:17.600 repaired. He doesn't just get a new coat of paint. 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:27.740 He doesn't just get a new roof above. No. He 00:07:27.740 --> 00:07:34.759 is a new creature, a brand new creature. Old 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:39.079 things are passed away, and behold, all things 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:45.829 are beat. come new. Therefore, if any man be 00:07:45.829 --> 00:07:53.629 in Christ, he is a new creation. Now, that's 00:07:53.629 --> 00:07:59.189 exactly what I tried to show you in our last 00:07:59.189 --> 00:08:02.149 little heart -to -heart talk regarding this portion 00:08:02.149 --> 00:08:08.430 of the Word of God. When God creates anything, 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:17.959 He always begins with nothing. God will not use 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:26.319 any pre -existent material. Never. God's creations 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:32.360 are all new creations. When he created the world, 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:37.779 when he created the heavens, he created them. 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:46.610 out of nothing. He doesn't just repair. He doesn't 00:08:46.610 --> 00:08:58.350 just fix up. Therefore, we become new creations 00:08:58.350 --> 00:09:05.850 when we come to Him and experience that new birth 00:09:05.850 --> 00:09:13.740 experience. Therefore, there has got to be a 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:24.700 time, a place, an experience when we become as 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:37.259 nothing. And it's just like that. Again today. 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:44.399 I want to give you from God's word. The words 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:51.980 of Hannah is her prayer of thanksgiving. Now, 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:59.440 in just reading Hannah's prayer, in just reading 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:04.799 the words that came from Hannah's innermost being, 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:08.080 she literally took the lid off of her heart. 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:15.919 Just at first glance, you don't realize the full 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:20.519 depths of that which she was saying. It's recorded 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:24.620 in 1 Samuel, the second chapter, the sixth and 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:32.960 the seventh verses. The Lord killeth and maketh 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:40.110 alive. He bringeth down to the grave. and bringeth 00:10:40.110 --> 00:10:48.830 up the lord maketh poor and maketh rich he bringeth 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:58.450 low and lifteth up ah beloved watch something 00:10:58.450 --> 00:11:06.830 before god can make alive he must first put to 00:11:06.830 --> 00:11:12.259 death all of self and all reliance upon self. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:19.299 I think one of the portions of God's word that 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:24.600 is grossly misunderstood are the words that Jesus 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.720 spoke when he said, If any man will follow me, 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:38.279 let him take up his cross. His cross. We preach 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:43.399 much. We talk much about the cross of Jesus. 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:51.299 Remember, that was his cross. And as surely as 00:11:51.299 --> 00:12:01.759 there was a cross for him, so surely is there 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:06.279 a cross for every man and every woman who will 00:12:06.279 --> 00:12:10.269 die dare to follow in his footsteps. And always, 00:12:10.330 --> 00:12:16.710 the cross is a symbol of death. Whenever you 00:12:16.710 --> 00:12:22.610 see a cross, always know it's a symbol of death. 00:12:24.750 --> 00:12:30.730 And when Jesus speaks of our cross, every man 00:12:30.730 --> 00:12:35.830 shall take up his cross. That man, that woman 00:12:35.830 --> 00:12:41.850 who'll dare to follow Christ. That one who desires 00:12:41.850 --> 00:12:47.809 a new birth experience. That one who wants power 00:12:47.809 --> 00:12:55.129 in his life. Remember, there must be death before 00:12:55.129 --> 00:13:02.809 there is life. Hannah said, the Lord killeth. 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:12.059 But watch something. Before God can give life, 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:18.419 before God can make alive, he must first put 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:23.960 to death all of self and all reliance upon self. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.419 He bringeth down to the grave. Oh, sure, beloved. 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:39.639 One of these days, If I should die before the 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:46.820 great catching up, someplace they're going to 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:56.279 dig a grave. Yes, six feet below the surface 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:03.460 of the ground. And passersby will say, that is 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:07.059 where Miss Kuhlman is buried. That's her grave. 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:14.360 It will be marked. And that grave will just be 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:23.639 my body. But I can take you to a place at the 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:30.980 end of a dead -end street where Catherine Kuhlman 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:38.139 died. When she was just in her teens, late one 00:14:38.139 --> 00:14:47.740 Saturday afternoon, there are no markings. Nothing. 00:14:52.840 --> 00:15:01.340 Nothing that can be visibly seen regarding that 00:15:01.340 --> 00:15:11.889 death. And yet, it was when Kathryn Kuhlman died 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:20.730 to self, literally, when I was willing to die 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:26.450 on that cross, it was then that he brought me 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:32.519 up. That was the beginning. of my life of service 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:39.580 to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before God could make 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:47.700 me alive, he had to first of all put me to death. 00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:54.100 There had to be a death of self and a complete 00:15:54.100 --> 00:16:02.850 reliance on him. Hannah continued. He maketh 00:16:02.850 --> 00:16:12.070 poor and maketh rich. She wasn't talking about 00:16:12.070 --> 00:16:17.289 dollars and cents. We've gotten so materialistic 00:16:17.289 --> 00:16:24.029 in our thinking that we can only think in terms 00:16:24.029 --> 00:16:30.659 of money. of the material and when we talk of 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:36.299 one being poor we talk of one being rich worth 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:44.059 thinking in the sense of money that which i am 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:51.279 talking about hear me without it the richest 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:56.659 person in the whole world is poor And with this 00:16:56.659 --> 00:17:01.759 wonderful spiritual experience, the poorest person 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:08.359 in the world is rich. He's an heir of God and 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:14.180 a joint heir with Christ Jesus. Oh, Hannah looked 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:17.539 up in this prayer of thanksgiving and said, The 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:26.160 Lord maketh poor. He stripped me of all self 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:34.099 -reliance. He took away all of my egotism. He 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:40.500 took away my pride. He took all of my crutches 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:47.759 from me. Paul looked up and said, oh, I thought 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:53.539 I was brilliant. I thought I was rich. in wisdom, 00:17:53.700 --> 00:18:00.480 but it was only man's wisdom. I knew I was rich 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:06.099 intellectually. I was rich in influence. I was 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:09.160 rich in talent. I was rich in much learning. 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:18.400 But it wasn't until I became poor and recognized 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:26.730 the fact that True wisdom comes from above. True 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:36.430 wisdom is spiritual wisdom. The Lord maketh poor. 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:45.690 He has stripped me of everything. And then he 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:57.140 maketh rich. He bringeth law and lifteth up. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:07.680 What did Paul say? I am the very least among 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:16.220 you. Paul didn't gloat over his much learning. 00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:23.029 Never once can you find Paul gloating over his 00:19:23.029 --> 00:19:30.549 own ability. I say again, the greatest of all 00:19:30.549 --> 00:19:36.490 Christian graces is humility. And one of the 00:19:36.490 --> 00:19:40.990 greatest examples of that humility came from 00:19:40.990 --> 00:19:44.230 the lips of Paul when he says, I was with you 00:19:44.230 --> 00:19:50.980 in weakness and in fear and in much... He bringeth 00:19:50.980 --> 00:20:00.480 low and lifteth up. That is the greatest experience 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:07.700 that any human being can experience. God bless 00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:07.900 you.