WEBVTT 00:00:11.109 --> 00:00:28.629 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, 00:00:28.949 --> 00:00:31.670 a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:33.899 night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:36.280 are a teacher come from God, for no one can do 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:38.299 these signs that you do unless God is with him. 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:42.219 Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:45.000 unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.920 of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:50.399 be born when he is old? Can he enter a second 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:53.079 time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:55.740 answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.100 one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.659 enter the kingdom of God. That which is born 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:02.829 in the flesh is flesh. that which is born of 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:05.250 the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:07.950 to you, you must be born again. The wind blows 00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:10.230 where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:12.810 do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:15.450 So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 00:01:16.090 --> 00:01:18.650 Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? 00:01:19.769 --> 00:01:22.290 Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel 00:01:22.290 --> 00:01:25.069 and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:27.370 truly I say to you, we speak of what we know 00:01:27.370 --> 00:01:29.590 and bear witness to what we have seen, but you 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:32.230 do not receive our testimony. If I have told 00:01:32.230 --> 00:01:34.909 you earthly things and you do not believe, how 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:37.049 can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 00:01:37.450 --> 00:01:39.530 No one has ascended into heaven except He who 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:42.349 descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:44.170 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 00:01:44.650 --> 00:01:47.290 so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:50.409 believes in Him may have eternal life. For God 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:52.549 so loved the world that He gave His only Son, 00:01:52.930 --> 00:01:54.909 that whoever believes in Him should not perish 00:01:54.909 --> 00:01:57.569 but have eternal life. For God did not send his 00:01:57.569 --> 00:01:59.409 Son into the world to condemn the world, but 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:01.049 in order that the world might be saved through 00:02:01.049 --> 00:02:03.650 him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, 00:02:03.930 --> 00:02:06.049 but whoever does not believe is condemned already, 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:08.310 because he has not believed in the name of the 00:02:08.310 --> 00:02:11.289 only Son of God. And this is the judgment. The 00:02:11.289 --> 00:02:13.729 light has come into the world, and people loved 00:02:13.729 --> 00:02:16.469 the darkness rather than the light, because their 00:02:16.469 --> 00:02:18.949 works were evil. For everyone who does wicked 00:02:18.949 --> 00:02:21.169 things hates the light and does not come to the 00:02:21.169 --> 00:02:24.300 light, lest his work should be exposed. But whoever 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:26.840 does what is true comes to the light so that 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.639 it may be clearly seen that his works have been 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:37.300 carried out in God. Let's pray. Father, I thank 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.360 you for this church. I thank you for this opportunity 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:43.180 to preach your word here in this church. Lord, 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:45.680 I pray that you would give us your spirit. I 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:47.939 pray that by your spirit we would be born again 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:50.580 and that we would see the kingdom of God. that 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:53.219 we would see who Christ is, that we would understand 00:02:53.219 --> 00:02:55.300 what he has done, what he has come to do for 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:57.680 us. Lord, I pray that this would drive us to 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.340 deeper faith, to deeper repentance, and that 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:03.159 we would no longer do wickedness, but that we 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.680 would be people who live in the light and do 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.659 what is good and right and true. Lord, give us 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:13.759 faith, help us to believe, help us to not ignore 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:15.979 what the word is saying to us, what the spirit 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:18.280 is saying to us in the scriptures. And Lord, 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:21.729 may everyone hear. be born again. We pray these 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:28.569 things in Jesus' name. Amen. As Pastor Kenny 00:03:28.569 --> 00:03:31.849 said earlier, I'm a pastor of a little church 00:03:31.849 --> 00:03:34.289 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Our church's name is New 00:03:34.289 --> 00:03:36.669 Life. And this morning we will be talking about 00:03:36.669 --> 00:03:39.490 how to have new life in Christ through the spirits. 00:03:39.889 --> 00:03:41.590 And I bring you greetings from the church in 00:03:41.590 --> 00:03:46.849 Bulgaria. As Pastor Kenny said earlier this morning 00:03:46.849 --> 00:03:49.750 when we read the Apostle's Creed, That's the 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:52.229 same creed that the church has been reciting 00:03:52.229 --> 00:03:54.449 together for thousands of years, and it's a creed 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:57.250 that we recite together in Sofia, Bulgaria, because 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.370 there is only one church and one faith and one 00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:02.710 spirit. And it's a pleasure to be with you here 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:06.389 this morning to learn about our one Lord and 00:04:06.389 --> 00:04:12.509 Savior, Jesus Christ. But there is something 00:04:12.509 --> 00:04:15.810 wrong with us. There's something wrong in our 00:04:15.810 --> 00:04:20.050 hearts. There's something wrong. with every human 00:04:20.050 --> 00:04:22.910 being close to the core of who they are as people, 00:04:22.949 --> 00:04:26.029 of what it means to be a person. There's been 00:04:26.029 --> 00:04:29.370 something wrong with humanity almost since the 00:04:29.370 --> 00:04:34.930 beginning of humanity. And we feel it. We see 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:39.310 it in the news. We see it through tales of war, 00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:44.269 famine, plague. We see it in our daily lives, 00:04:44.769 --> 00:04:48.370 in our families. It shouldn't be the case. that 00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:51.110 mothers tear down their daughters. It shouldn't 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:53.990 be the case that fathers are cruel to their sons. 00:04:54.569 --> 00:04:57.069 It shouldn't be the case that children disown 00:04:57.069 --> 00:04:59.689 their parents. It shouldn't be the case that 00:04:59.689 --> 00:05:02.209 people lie to each other, cheat each other, steal 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:04.810 each other. It shouldn't be the case that neighbors 00:05:04.810 --> 00:05:08.870 would fight and feud for years over two inches 00:05:08.870 --> 00:05:16.730 of property. But that's the case. We sin. We 00:05:16.730 --> 00:05:20.139 are sinners. We were made in the image of God, 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:23.819 but our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:27.920 against their Lord, chose to do sin instead of 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.800 following the Lord. And we, every human being, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.339 has since followed suit. We participate in that 00:05:34.339 --> 00:05:37.600 rebellion, so much so that we cannot imagine 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.779 a different reality. We were made in the image 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:47.740 of God, and we don't act like it. Instead, We 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:53.240 act like monsters, tearing each other apart and 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:58.360 blaspheming the Lord, his holy name. And we pretend 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:01.920 like everything is normal. We might even go to 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.959 church on Sunday morning after screaming at our 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:09.939 kids. And we open our Bibles and we pray and 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:13.639 we open our hymnals and sing praises to the Lord, 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.100 even though we... hate people made in his image. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.319 Brothers and sisters, this should not be the 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:27.379 case. Is there any hope to this story? Is there 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:31.860 any way that we monsters could be made into living 00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:35.879 beings again, living humans again? Is there any 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:37.899 chance for our story to have a happy ending? 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:43.100 There is a chance, but it would take a miracle. 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:49.620 But that's exactly the thing that our heavenly 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:55.439 father sent his son Jesus Christ to do, to bring 00:06:55.439 --> 00:07:01.740 us his Holy Spirit. He came to do more than just 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.819 be a good counselor. He came to do more than 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:08.579 just be a good teacher. He even came to do more 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:11.209 than just forgive us for our sins. All these 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:13.189 things are good and necessary, and we needed 00:07:13.189 --> 00:07:16.129 those things, but we need more than that. We 00:07:16.129 --> 00:07:22.949 need new life. We need new birth. We need the 00:07:22.949 --> 00:07:25.790 Holy Spirit to change us from the inside, to 00:07:25.790 --> 00:07:32.129 make us into new people. And the Son promises 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:39.009 that for us today. Brothers and sisters, we must. 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:47.680 be born again. We need to be born again. And 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.120 so this morning from this passage from John 3 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.660 verses 21, 1 through 21, I will be talking about 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:55.079 three aspects of what it means to be born again. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:57.779 Yes, even in Bulgaria, that's another thing that 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:00.600 unites the church. I preach in three points. 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:05.600 We must be born again of the Spirit. We must 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.240 be born again to faith. and we must be born again 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:15.060 to good works. What does it mean to be born again 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:19.259 of the spirits? John chapter three is one of 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:23.660 the most famous chapters in the book of John, 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.420 and one of its verses, John chapter three verse 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:29.000 16, is one of the most famous verses in all of 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:32.379 scripture. But John chapter three verse 16 is 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.919 in the context of a story of Nicodemus. coming 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.120 to see Jesus in the middle of the night. Nicodemus 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.399 was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. Now, 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:45.519 for those of you who have been in church, who 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.220 read the Gospels, we know a little bit about 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:51.500 the Pharisees. They are always the bad guys. 00:08:51.820 --> 00:08:54.799 They're the ones who are constantly fought and 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:56.600 bickered with Jesus throughout his ministry. 00:08:56.860 --> 00:09:00.639 They're the ones who conspired with the Sadducees 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.299 to have Jesus crucified. But at this point in 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:08.960 the story, they don't yet hate Jesus. This is 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:14.139 still early on in Jesus' ministry. And so, Nicodemus, 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.779 a Pharisee, could be coming to Jesus in the middle 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:21.960 of the night trying to figure out just who is 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:25.899 this Jesus fellow, this Jesus of Nazareth. In 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:28.480 the chapter before, Jesus had gone to the temple. 00:09:28.649 --> 00:09:31.309 And he had cleansed the temple from the tradesmen 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:33.990 selling things there. And the Pharisees would 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:35.990 have thought that that would be a pretty good 00:09:35.990 --> 00:09:37.830 thing to do. They had been wanting to do that 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:41.809 themselves. And so maybe this new teacher, this 00:09:41.809 --> 00:09:44.450 popular teacher, is someone that they can play 00:09:44.450 --> 00:09:49.090 ball with. And so Nicodemus, the Pharisee, flattered 00:09:49.090 --> 00:09:52.149 Jesus. And he says, Rabbi, we know that you are 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:54.269 a teacher come from God, for no one can do these 00:09:54.269 --> 00:09:57.529 things that you do unless God is with him. He 00:09:57.529 --> 00:10:00.730 was paying Jesus a big compliment. He was coming 00:10:00.730 --> 00:10:05.110 to this young teacher and saying, hey, we'd like 00:10:05.110 --> 00:10:09.370 you to join our team, maybe even to become a 00:10:09.370 --> 00:10:13.929 Pharisee. Do you want Jesus to be on your team? 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:19.169 Do you want Jesus to be a part of your life? 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:23.450 Would you be willing to give Jesus a five -star 00:10:23.450 --> 00:10:28.690 review on Google? I remember a few years ago, 00:10:28.690 --> 00:10:31.230 scrolling on Facebook, and you would see these 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.330 pictures of a very sad -looking Jesus. And he 00:10:34.330 --> 00:10:38.710 would say, please like my photo, or please like 00:10:38.710 --> 00:10:42.730 this post. It only takes a second. Why wouldn't 00:10:42.730 --> 00:10:47.870 you just like this post of Jesus? The thing is, 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:53.669 brothers, Jesus does not need our likes on Facebook. 00:10:55.129 --> 00:10:59.929 Jesus does not need our Google reviews. Jesus 00:10:59.929 --> 00:11:05.370 does not need our approval. Jesus does not care 00:11:05.370 --> 00:11:09.929 about an invitation to join his team or to our 00:11:09.929 --> 00:11:14.350 invitation for him to join our team. Because 00:11:14.350 --> 00:11:21.529 Jesus is Lord and not us. Jesus is the one who 00:11:21.529 --> 00:11:26.190 invites us to be a part of his family, to enter 00:11:26.190 --> 00:11:31.330 into his kingdom. And he will not accept anything 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:37.629 less than our whole hearts. And so that's why 00:11:37.629 --> 00:11:43.470 when Nicodemus flattered Jesus, Jesus rejected 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:49.190 his invitation, didn't even answer it, and said, 00:11:50.350 --> 00:11:53.230 You think you've seen, you think you see me? 00:11:53.870 --> 00:11:56.429 You think you know who I am and what I'm about? 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:02.970 You can see nothing unless you have been born 00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:08.789 again. We have no chance to understand who Jesus 00:12:08.789 --> 00:12:12.330 is and what his ministry is unless we have been 00:12:12.330 --> 00:12:18.769 born again by water and the Spirit. What does 00:12:18.769 --> 00:12:22.649 that mean? How can we be born again by water 00:12:22.649 --> 00:12:25.210 and the Spirit? Nicodemus didn't understand what 00:12:25.210 --> 00:12:27.429 Jesus was talking about either, and Jesus said, 00:12:27.610 --> 00:12:31.669 you should. Don't you know the scriptures? Don't 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:34.789 you know the promises from Ezekiel, chapter 36, 00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:38.629 verses 25 through 28? I'll read them for us. 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:43.149 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:45.669 be clean from all your uncleannesses. From all 00:12:45.669 --> 00:12:47.809 your idols I will cleanse you, and I will give 00:12:47.809 --> 00:12:50.389 you a new heart. and a new spirit I will put 00:12:50.389 --> 00:12:52.730 within you. And I will remove the heart of stone 00:12:52.730 --> 00:12:55.529 from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:58.409 And I will put my spirit within you and cause 00:12:58.409 --> 00:13:01.350 you to walk in my statutes and be careful to 00:13:01.350 --> 00:13:04.529 obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that 00:13:04.529 --> 00:13:07.309 I give to your fathers and you shall be my people 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:12.610 and I will be your God." Jesus said to Nicodemus, 00:13:13.269 --> 00:13:17.210 that has to happen to you before you can understand 00:13:17.210 --> 00:13:19.659 who I am and what's going on. or what I'm doing. 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:24.899 Being baptized with the Holy Spirit is another 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:30.740 way of saying you must be born again. Jesus said 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:36.259 to Nicodemus, you, even you, the Pharisee, the 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:39.840 greatest theologian of your day, the best church 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:46.299 people of your day, you must be born again. This 00:13:46.299 --> 00:13:50.299 would have been shocking to Nicodemus. Being 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.679 born again, being baptized with the Holy Spirit 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:55.179 is something that needs to happen to other people. 00:13:55.899 --> 00:14:00.200 I already know the law. I already know the scriptures. 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:06.299 I already know what the Lord wants from me, and 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:14.940 I can do it. And Jesus says, no, even you need 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:20.700 to be cleansed from your idolatry. Even you need 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:25.000 to be cleansed from your sin. Even you are hard 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:32.620 -hearted, and even you need to be saved. Being 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:35.539 born again, being baptized with the Spirit is 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:40.559 not something that we can do by ourselves. It's 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:45.340 not something that we can make God do for us. 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:48.500 It's even not something that we want to happen 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:55.259 often. As it's written in John chapter 1, verses 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:59.679 1 through 13, becoming a child of God is not 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:01.779 something that can be done by the will of flesh 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:05.480 or by the will of man. It is only done by the 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:11.059 will of God. It's a miracle. And it's our only 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:19.460 hope for our salvation. And brothers and sisters, 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:27.620 in our flesh, we hate this doctrine. We hate 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:33.039 it. Because we, like the Pharisees, feel like 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:37.500 we need to contribute to our salvation. That 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:40.600 we have to participate in order for it to be 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:43.379 real. And why do we feel like we need to participate 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:46.740 in order for it to be real? So we can compare 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:51.720 ourselves. with others, so we can compare ourselves, 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.220 and especially to compare ourselves favorably, 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:01.500 so that we can claim that we were the wise ones 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:04.299 who really got it, whereas those who didn't get 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:11.200 it, they're the fools. We want our good works, 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:16.980 our theology, our churchiness. We want to use 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.860 these to commend ourselves to the Lord and somehow 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:26.879 earn our salvation. But the doctrine of new birth 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:33.940 ought to humble us. Because we, like Nicodemus, 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:38.179 like the Pharisees, like every Christian throughout 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:41.379 all of history, throughout all the world, are 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:47.529 only saved by the grace of God. and there are 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:56.350 no other options. All Christians are baptized 00:16:56.350 --> 00:17:00.309 by the same spirit into the same church. All 00:17:00.309 --> 00:17:03.629 Christians have only one Lord, one faith, one 00:17:03.629 --> 00:17:11.910 water baptism, and one future hope. All Christians, 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:14.789 by definition, are baptized by the Holy Spirit. 00:17:14.970 --> 00:17:18.069 All Christians, by definition, have been born 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:21.730 again. If we have not been born again, we are 00:17:21.730 --> 00:17:26.769 not Christians. We are not saved. There are not 00:17:26.769 --> 00:17:30.890 two levels of Christianity. There is no such 00:17:30.890 --> 00:17:33.309 thing as a carnal Christian who does not have 00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:36.430 the spirit. There are two types of people in 00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:38.390 the world. There are those who have been born 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:44.099 again and those who have not. And if we aren't 00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:49.519 born again, we aren't saved. There is no two 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.019 levels of Christianity, a normal level where 00:17:53.019 --> 00:17:56.619 most Christians reside, and a future higher level 00:17:56.619 --> 00:17:59.799 that we can reach through being serious, through 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:04.359 praying hard enough, through constant study. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:08.400 It's not that we can access some sort of Christian 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.200 superpowers, that we can somehow through our 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.920 deeper faith have access to miracles, to reach 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.420 a point where we will never be tempted again, 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:23.160 or to understand the full counsel of the Lord, 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.680 to have these hidden things revealed to us. There's 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:32.599 only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:36.319 Holy Spirit, and he is common for all Christians. 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:42.730 And we cannot, therefore, Lord, our faith and 00:18:42.730 --> 00:18:48.930 our spirituality over other believers. We must 00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:55.809 be born again. So, how do we know if we're born 00:18:55.809 --> 00:19:01.930 again? How can we be born again? This can be 00:19:01.930 --> 00:19:06.109 a difficult question to answer. Jesus says in 00:19:06.109 --> 00:19:09.799 John chapter three, verses eight, that the wind 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.900 blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:14.440 but you do not know where it comes from or where 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.359 it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:22.079 the spirit. The spirit's invisible. And his work 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:25.059 of the inward heart is often invisible. How can 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:28.359 we see and know that we are born again if we 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:34.420 cannot see the spirit? We can know from seeing 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:38.380 the effects of the spirit. I cannot see the wind, 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:42.579 but I can see the branches of the trees rustling. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:47.299 So it is with the Holy Spirit. I'll share my 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:50.700 personal testimony. I was raised in a Christian 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:54.559 home. I made a confession of faith when I was 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.900 seven. I was in a Baptist church, so I was baptized 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.500 when I was seven. But I was still doubting whether 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:07.460 or not I was really saved. I wasn't certain. 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:11.460 I knew cognitively that the Lord saved sinners, 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:14.960 those who believe in him. But I wasn't sure that 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:16.660 I was one of those sinners that the Lord would 00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:21.579 save. And so I was afraid. I was afraid of the 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:24.460 Lord and His judgment. I was afraid that I would 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:27.079 die and I would go to hell for all eternity. 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:29.900 And so at night I would sleep with a baseball 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:32.859 bat next to my bed so I can ward off any intruders 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:34.640 that might want to break into my house and kill 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:39.140 me. It sounds funny, but I was a little kid. 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:43.059 I was eight years old, and I was terrified of 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:47.779 death, and I was wondering what prayer can I 00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:52.980 pray to get God to love me? It was a mystery, 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:57.579 and I didn't know how to get it. And so I would 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:59.759 constantly go up whenever they had altar calls 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:03.420 and pray, Lord, if I am not saved, please save 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:08.539 me. And I never felt. Different. Something was 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:18.059 wrong. What was it? It was when I was 13. And 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:22.680 I realized that the Lord doesn't just love sinners 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:30.720 generally. The Lord loves me. The Lord sent his 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:38.250 son to live, to die. to rise again to save me. 00:21:40.349 --> 00:21:44.750 And I believe in him. And so now, no matter what, 00:21:44.970 --> 00:21:49.710 I am safe. And after that night, I did not need 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:53.349 a baseball bat next to my bed, because I knew 00:21:53.349 --> 00:21:58.150 that no matter what, I was safe. So when was 00:21:58.150 --> 00:22:03.630 I born again? It is impossible to answer that 00:22:03.630 --> 00:22:09.000 question. Was I born again after I made my first 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.819 confession of faith? After I was baptized the 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:14.599 first time? After I made my 10th confession of 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.920 faith? After I finally got it when I was 13, 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:20.720 when I was baptized again later on? When was 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:25.900 I born again? It does not matter. What matters 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:30.980 from my perspective is that I heard the call 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:35.259 that I was loved by the Lord and that I have 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:39.539 responded with faith. And so no matter what, 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.480 those who are born again will hear the Lord's 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:50.099 call and they will respond in faith. And so brothers 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:54.319 and sisters, if you want to be born again, believe. 00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:00.400 Because you are born again to believe. You are 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.900 born again to have faith. Now, what must we believe? 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:11.420 John 3 16 is one of the most wonderful verses 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:14.259 in all of the Bible. It's almost a cliche, but 00:23:14.259 --> 00:23:16.660 it doesn't mean it's any less true and any less 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.839 magnificent. It's a wonderful summary of the 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:22.440 gospel. And if you know only this verse, you 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:25.720 have a good start. For God so loved the world 00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:28.579 that he gave his only son that whoever believes 00:23:28.579 --> 00:23:31.900 in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 00:23:37.069 --> 00:23:39.190 I want to point something out in this passage, 00:23:39.430 --> 00:23:44.470 in this verse. When did God the Father start 00:23:44.470 --> 00:23:49.809 to love us? When did he start to love his church? 00:23:52.269 --> 00:23:55.190 He didn't start to love us when we believed. 00:23:56.829 --> 00:23:59.490 He didn't even start to love us in our lifetime. 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:05.609 He didn't send his Son into the world so that 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:09.880 He could love us. He didn't send His Holy Spirit 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:13.759 into the world so that He could love us. The 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:18.079 Father loved His people from all eternity, and 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:23.140 that's why He sent His Son into the world to 00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:33.319 save us. How beautiful and how terrible is the 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:37.579 love of God. that he would send his innocent, 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:43.000 his beautiful, his gorgeous, his magnificent 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.180 son into the world to save monsters like us? 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:53.099 People who tear each other apart? Sinners like 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:58.420 us? People who blaspheme his holy name? How dare 00:24:58.420 --> 00:25:01.740 he send his beautiful son to save people like 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:08.700 us? How could he send his wonderful son into 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:13.079 the lion's den to save the people who would consume 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:19.480 him? That's the love of the Holy Father for his 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:23.599 church, that he would be willing to send his 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:31.759 son to die for us. How amazing is that grace. 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:37.380 Don't ever Take that grace for granted. Believe 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:40.920 it, church. This is the love of the Father that 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:46.380 He sent His Son to die for us because He loves 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:51.579 us. There is no gift that we could ever give 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:53.980 that could repay the Father for this kind of 00:25:53.980 --> 00:26:00.460 love. Even to try would be offensive. What He 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:05.230 wants us to do In response to that love is only 00:26:05.230 --> 00:26:10.269 believe. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:10.589 --> 00:26:13.670 And he will save us and he will draw us to himself. 00:26:13.789 --> 00:26:17.009 He will make us his children so we can live with 00:26:17.009 --> 00:26:21.470 him and be blessed with him forever. And so Christian, 00:26:22.109 --> 00:26:27.009 do you believe in the son? That's the point of 00:26:27.009 --> 00:26:31.450 the book of John. The point of the book of John 00:26:31.710 --> 00:26:33.970 according to John chapter 20, is that we would 00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:36.569 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and 00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:39.589 that we would have life in His name. So do you 00:26:39.589 --> 00:26:43.069 believe? The struggle is that sometimes we mix 00:26:43.069 --> 00:26:49.609 up the fruit of faith with faith. When asking 00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:52.809 do you believe, what we often do is point to 00:26:52.809 --> 00:26:56.730 our good works. Of course I believe. I go to 00:26:56.730 --> 00:26:59.950 church every Sunday. But I'm not asking you, 00:27:00.069 --> 00:27:02.410 do you go to church every Sunday? I'm asking 00:27:02.410 --> 00:27:06.190 you, do you believe? I'm not asking you if you're 00:27:06.190 --> 00:27:09.750 a good father. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:12.170 I'm not asking you if you're a good businessman. 00:27:12.569 --> 00:27:15.329 Do you believe? I'm not asking you if you're 00:27:15.329 --> 00:27:18.710 moral. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? I'm not 00:27:18.710 --> 00:27:21.329 asking you if you're reformed. Do you believe 00:27:21.329 --> 00:27:25.130 in Jesus Christ? I'm not asking you if you tithe. 00:27:25.329 --> 00:27:28.980 Do you believe in Jesus Christ? I'm not asking 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:31.660 you if you're a good pastor, a good elder, a 00:27:31.660 --> 00:27:35.359 good deacon, a good missionary. If you can't 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:37.599 answer yes to the question, do you believe in 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:40.619 Jesus Christ, none of those things matter and 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:48.660 you're on the road to hell. Do you believe? If 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:50.259 you don't believe, none of those things have 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:55.200 any meaning. But if you do, they carry eternal 00:27:55.200 --> 00:28:07.299 meaning. Don't mix up the fruits of faith with 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:13.440 faith. But that doesn't mean the fruits of faith 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:18.460 are useless. Because on the basis of the faith, 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:25.000 we ought to live in the light. In fact, that's 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.859 the purpose of our being born again. We were 00:28:28.859 --> 00:28:35.460 born again to do good works. We are born again 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:42.660 to be in the light John chapter 3 verse 17 Continues 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:46.220 the thought from John chapter 3 16 for God did 00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:48.839 not send his world and son into the world to 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:50.759 condemn the world But in order that the world 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:55.920 might be saved through him Why didn't God need 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:58.200 to send his son into the world to condemn the 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:02.819 world John continues and answers that question 00:29:03.890 --> 00:29:06.670 Because whoever does not believe is condemned 00:29:06.670 --> 00:29:13.250 already. Whoever does not believe is in the darkness 00:29:13.250 --> 00:29:18.670 because their work is evil and they are condemned 00:29:18.670 --> 00:29:27.890 already. A little while ago, my son Frank, if 00:29:27.890 --> 00:29:29.950 you get our prayer cards, he's the boy, he's 00:29:29.950 --> 00:29:34.000 the one making the silly face. It was 3 a .m. 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:37.420 in the morning. I was asleep in one room, in 00:29:37.420 --> 00:29:39.779 our room, he was asleep in the next room, and 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:42.819 I heard a scream in the middle of the night, 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:45.039 three o 'clock, and I ran into the room, and 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:48.460 I said, Frank, Frank, what's wrong? And he said, 00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:52.259 there's something scary in my room, on my bed. 00:29:52.380 --> 00:29:54.579 I was thinking, what is it? Is it an intruder? 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:58.819 Is it a bear? Is it a curtain? Is it this stuffed 00:29:58.819 --> 00:30:02.430 bee from Ikea? And he saw it. And he laughed 00:30:02.430 --> 00:30:04.750 and he said, oh, I thought it was something scary. 00:30:04.829 --> 00:30:08.309 And he fell right to sleep. And my heart was 00:30:08.309 --> 00:30:14.450 still beating. Kids naturally are afraid of the 00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:17.630 darkness. They're afraid of what might be hidden 00:30:17.630 --> 00:30:21.329 there. But as we grow older, we lose our fear 00:30:21.329 --> 00:30:25.109 of the darkness. And in fact, darkness seems 00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:28.109 a little bit appealing. Because in the darkness 00:30:28.109 --> 00:30:33.190 we can hide. In the darkness we can play. you 00:30:33.190 --> 00:30:35.470 start to think that the darkness is a fun place 00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:40.089 to be. Now, as I said earlier, we have no business 00:30:40.089 --> 00:30:42.089 being afraid of the darkness because our Lord 00:30:42.089 --> 00:30:46.390 is the great protector. But there are monsters 00:30:46.390 --> 00:30:54.250 in the darkness. And if we play in the darkness, 00:30:55.309 --> 00:30:58.490 away from the light of God, away from the light 00:30:58.490 --> 00:31:03.480 of truth, we will become the monsters and the 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:08.200 darkness. Christian do not play in the dark. 00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:12.319 We are called to be people of the light to live 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:15.059 in the light and those who live in the light 00:31:15.059 --> 00:31:19.400 do what is true so that it may be clearly seen 00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:21.519 that his works have been carried out in God. 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:26.660 How do we get out of the darkness and into light? 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:31.559 It happens through repentance. Kenny very conveniently 00:31:31.559 --> 00:31:35.160 defined repentance earlier, but I will read from 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:37.640 the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 87, 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:41.440 that defines what is repentance unto life. Repentance 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:44.279 unto life is a saving grace whereby a sinner 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:46.619 out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension 00:31:46.619 --> 00:31:49.140 of the mercy of God in Christ does with grief 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:52.420 and hatred of his sin turn from it unto God with 00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:56.200 full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience. 00:31:58.519 --> 00:32:00.920 Repentance is more than just saying, I'm sorry. 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:04.799 Repentance is also more than just confessing 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:07.680 your sin. I know plenty of people that confess 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:11.059 their sin and then shamelessly confess their 00:32:11.059 --> 00:32:13.299 sin and continue to do the same thing. They're 00:32:13.299 --> 00:32:16.640 even proud of it. It's more than just a desire 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:25.819 to change. Repentance means hating our sin. Loving. 00:32:25.950 --> 00:32:30.109 the grace of God offered in Christ, and deciding 00:32:30.109 --> 00:32:34.950 to turn after it in new obedience. To illustrate 00:32:34.950 --> 00:32:40.329 this, for those of you who are parents, it is 00:32:40.329 --> 00:32:43.990 Father's Day after all, you might offer your 00:32:43.990 --> 00:32:50.390 kid a wonderful handmade meal full of delicious 00:32:50.390 --> 00:32:53.670 vegetables, delicious meats, homemade bread, 00:32:54.029 --> 00:32:58.369 And they will say, yucky, I don't want it. But 00:32:58.369 --> 00:33:02.329 give your kid a candy. And they are walking down 00:33:02.329 --> 00:33:04.910 the streets, and they drop the candy in the mud. 00:33:05.329 --> 00:33:07.250 And they think, that's not a problem. And they'll 00:33:07.250 --> 00:33:09.190 bend down and put it right back into their mouth. 00:33:10.230 --> 00:33:21.289 And you think, ugh, that's terrible. Why is it 00:33:21.289 --> 00:33:25.150 that your child thinks that Nasty floor candy 00:33:25.150 --> 00:33:29.150 is appetizing, whereas the thought of us putting 00:33:29.150 --> 00:33:31.150 that in our mouth is the most disgusting thing 00:33:31.150 --> 00:33:33.029 we can think of. I can see the horror on your 00:33:33.029 --> 00:33:41.769 faces. It's because you have repented. When we 00:33:41.769 --> 00:33:45.890 repent, we see that that floor candy is no longer 00:33:45.890 --> 00:33:50.089 delicious. It is something disgusting. And that 00:33:50.089 --> 00:33:53.650 delicious homemade meal is no longer yucky. but 00:33:53.650 --> 00:33:58.630 something delicious. That's what happens when 00:33:58.630 --> 00:34:04.890 we repent of our sin. We decide when we realize 00:34:04.890 --> 00:34:09.030 that something that's yucky, disgusting, lying, 00:34:09.590 --> 00:34:14.190 cheating, stealing, lust, those things which 00:34:14.190 --> 00:34:20.760 used to seem good to us are now abhorrent. And 00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:23.320 those things that used to seem too difficult 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:28.539 and even foolish to us, being honest, sharing 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:33.340 the gospel, being faithful, even to our hurt, 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.519 and being generous. Those are the things that 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:43.039 are beautiful. And as we grow in our repentance, 00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:47.300 sin will seem more and more disgusting to us, 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:50.909 like floricandy. and righteousness will seem 00:34:50.909 --> 00:34:56.690 more and more beautiful. Now it isn't always, 00:34:57.409 --> 00:35:00.050 it doesn't always happen in an instant, though 00:35:00.050 --> 00:35:05.250 sometimes it does. It doesn't always like turning 00:35:05.250 --> 00:35:07.010 a light on the switch, sometimes it's something 00:35:07.010 --> 00:35:10.909 that we have to fight for. Repentance is a process 00:35:10.909 --> 00:35:12.949 that will take our whole lives and it's not something 00:35:12.949 --> 00:35:17.610 that will be perfected in this life. But brothers 00:35:17.610 --> 00:35:20.090 and sisters, we can't use that as an excuse not 00:35:20.090 --> 00:35:27.789 to try. If we truly believe that righteousness 00:35:27.789 --> 00:35:33.869 is beautiful and that sin is disgusting, then 00:35:33.869 --> 00:35:36.010 that ought to characterize our life and bring 00:35:36.010 --> 00:35:40.969 about real and honest change. If we truly repent, 00:35:42.309 --> 00:35:45.250 we no longer think of ourselves as victims. of 00:35:45.250 --> 00:35:48.829 our personal wants and desires, that they'd be 00:35:48.829 --> 00:35:52.829 impossible to fight. We can no longer justify 00:35:52.829 --> 00:35:56.429 ourselves saying that I had to sin, that I had 00:35:56.429 --> 00:36:00.530 no options. We no longer think of ourselves as 00:36:00.530 --> 00:36:05.050 victims, but we realize what's true. When I sin, 00:36:05.590 --> 00:36:10.550 I'm the criminal. And there might be explanations 00:36:10.550 --> 00:36:14.409 for my actions, but there isn't any justification. 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:19.719 We take responsibility for what we have done. 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:24.019 And we realize how we have hurt the people around 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:28.739 us. How we have hurt those we've said we love. 00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:31.460 How we have hurt our brothers and sisters in 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:33.280 the church and how we have hurt our neighbors. 00:36:34.219 --> 00:36:37.300 And how we have dishonored the name of our God. 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:45.000 But it's not all bad news. Because in repentance, 00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:48.780 we realize that we remember the grace of God. 00:36:49.619 --> 00:36:54.340 That because of Jesus, we are truly forgiven. 00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:00.579 That fills us with love. That fills us with joy. 00:37:01.860 --> 00:37:06.079 And that brings us to new, and that causes us 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:12.719 to live in the light and bear fruits of repentance. 00:37:15.530 --> 00:37:19.710 The Holy Spirit who has given you new birth is 00:37:19.710 --> 00:37:23.510 more powerful than any of our twisted fleshly 00:37:23.510 --> 00:37:28.610 desires. And when we repent and when we actually 00:37:28.610 --> 00:37:35.250 desire to change, we can be changed. There is 00:37:35.250 --> 00:37:45.909 hope for real change. But if we continue to justify 00:37:45.909 --> 00:37:51.250 ourselves, if we continue to harbor bitterness, 00:37:51.869 --> 00:37:54.869 harbor selfish thoughts, if we continue to hide 00:37:54.869 --> 00:38:00.349 our sins, if we continue to think that the Bible 00:38:00.349 --> 00:38:02.670 has no right to tell us how to live our lives 00:38:02.670 --> 00:38:05.269 or the pastor or someone has no right to tell 00:38:05.269 --> 00:38:08.829 us how to live our lives, if we think we have 00:38:08.829 --> 00:38:11.809 reached a certain point of holiness and that's 00:38:11.809 --> 00:38:14.110 it, I don't want anymore. This is fine, I'm fine 00:38:14.110 --> 00:38:15.750 the way I am and I don't really want to change 00:38:15.750 --> 00:38:20.389 anymore. We're not acting like the living, like 00:38:20.389 --> 00:38:23.710 living beings anymore. We're acting like we're 00:38:23.710 --> 00:38:25.550 returning right back to the darkness that we 00:38:25.550 --> 00:38:29.389 thought that we should have escaped from. So 00:38:29.389 --> 00:38:35.989 don't let that happen to you. The Christian life 00:38:35.989 --> 00:38:38.929 is one of repentance. That's why this church 00:38:38.929 --> 00:38:41.070 and our church in Bulgaria practice repentance 00:38:41.070 --> 00:38:44.429 every Sunday. so that it be a constant reminder 00:38:44.429 --> 00:38:49.730 that sin is disgusting and righteousness and 00:38:49.730 --> 00:38:57.630 the grace of God is beautiful. And so let us 00:38:57.630 --> 00:39:02.289 be changed by the Holy Spirit. Let us believe 00:39:02.289 --> 00:39:07.429 in the Son of God. Let us rest in the Father's 00:39:07.429 --> 00:39:16.250 love for us. By these things, know that we are 00:39:16.250 --> 00:39:23.670 born again. That being born again has a look. 00:39:26.250 --> 00:39:28.750 I'm going to read from 2 Corinthians, close out 00:39:28.750 --> 00:39:31.110 with reading from 2 Corinthians 3, verse 16 through 00:39:31.110 --> 00:39:45.380 18. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil 00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:48.420 is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where 00:39:48.420 --> 00:39:50.539 the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:53.639 And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the 00:39:53.639 --> 00:39:55.539 glory of the Lord, are being transformed into 00:39:55.539 --> 00:39:58.360 the same image, from one degree of glory to another. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:02.260 For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:10.599 We will be continuing this battle throughout 00:40:10.599 --> 00:40:13.519 our whole lives. The Lord will be changing us 00:40:13.519 --> 00:40:16.280 throughout our whole lives. He will be transforming 00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:20.860 us throughout our whole lives. But one day, by 00:40:20.860 --> 00:40:24.739 the Spirit's power, we will see the Lord, and 00:40:24.739 --> 00:40:28.000 we will be perfected, and we will be glorified, 00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:32.059 and we will shine with a radiance brighter than 00:40:32.059 --> 00:40:36.940 the sun. Keep going, church. We're gonna make 00:40:36.940 --> 00:40:38.719 it. Let's pray.