So we'll be in John chapter 3. Children, do you have children's bulletins? There's some kids' bulletins in the back. Did you guys get some of those? Feel free to get up and get some, or the deacons can get up for you. Actually, I saw some people come in late. Does everyone actually have a bulletin? Is there anyone that needs a bulletin? Are we out of bulletins? No? Okay. So there's some folks in the back row that would like a bulletin as well. If we've run out of the adult bulletins, maybe somebody would be willing to share with the folks that are in the back. But we'll be in John chapter three. Yeah, I think we are completely out of them. Would someone be willing to share with a few folks? Okay. Thank you. Thank you all. It's funny, we have 8 or 10 people traveling, so I printed a few less bulletins than normal, and then we need every one of them. So that's the way it goes sometimes. I know. So we'll be in John chapter 3 as we preach through the Gospel of John in the morning service. The evening service we're preaching through Deuteronomy. In chapters 1 and 2, we saw that Jesus is being introduced by John, the apostle, as God. In chapter 1, the prologue, the whole point is that Jesus is God. He's eternal God. Then in chapter 2, we see him beginning his ministry. And the first miracle he performs is turning water into wine. And then later he goes to the temple and he clears the temple and they said, show us a sign that shows us you have the authority to do this. And Jesus said, destroy this temple and I will raise it up. So in both of these instances in chapter two, what Jesus is saying is that all that the old ceremonies of the Old Testament point to is me. It points to me. I am the temple. I'm the place where you come to worship the father. You come to Jesus. and all the ceremonies, the purification represented by the water was turned to new wine. He gives us true and living wine, the spiritual wine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, now in chapter three, we see a transition where Jesus talks to Nicodemus. He talks to three other people in the following chapters, the woman at the well, the official whose son was healed, the crippled man who was at the pool of Bethesda, And in these four relationships that Jesus has with these four different people, what we see is that Jesus is showing that he knows men, and men can only know him by work of the spirit. And that's really the message to Nicodemus. Knowing and being known by Jesus is something that God and God alone would do. So we'll be reading John chapter two, starting in verse 23, through chapter 3, verse 8. Would you please stand for the reading of God's holy and inspired Word? Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people, and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs unless you do, unless God is with him. Jesus answered him and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. Amen. Please be seated. Remember that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. I was on the internet this week looking up whether there's actually ever been someone who is thought to have been dead, but was actually alive. And I was shocked. There are dozens of stories like this all over the internet. Stories of people who were declared dead and then surprisingly woke up. Some of them woke up at their own funerals. Can you imagine? Some of them woke up at the embalming table or during an autopsy or some woke up in the morgue freezing. They all have one thing in common. They were all actually alive. Because they were. They had a weak pulse or maybe weak breathing and certainly sloppy medical care. They were presumed to be dead, but they were actually alive. The point is you're either dead or you're alive. There's nothing in the middle that the movie that kind of defined part of my generation, the Princess Bride. You remember the hero. They thought he was dead, but the guy tells him now he's only mostly dead. He's still a kind of alive. Well, that's because dead people don't come alive again. You could be one or the other, but you can't be both, and this is also true spiritually. Ephesians 2 teaches this truth very clearly Paul speaking to the church in Ephesus the church These Christian people and he tells them you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked Following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the year Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of body and mind. And we're by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. So he says we all once lived like that, we're physically alive, but we're spiritually dead. Dead in sins and trespasses. Not a little bit dead, not a little bit alive, all dead, spiritually dead. So this context is important to understand what Jesus is actually teaching Nicodemus. To understand John 3 and the lesson of Christ to Nicodemus, you need to understand that all humanity are spiritually dead, as we read in the call to worship, are conceived in iniquity. Completely unable to do anything to pursue God on our own. So Jesus talks about regeneration. That's the title of the sermon, and I'm going to make seven points as we walk through. The text. Beginning in verse 23, the first point that Jesus knows all men completely. Verse 23 says when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing, but Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them. because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in man. So Jesus apparently has been performing miracles after the Passover, during the Passover feast. So many believed in his name. They saw what he was doing and they believed in him. but this wasn't a real belief, it wasn't a real faith, and that's what John is telling us, that Jesus, Jesus did not entrust himself to them, and it's actually the same Greek word. They believed in him, they pustuo, that's the Greek word, they pustuoed in him, but Jesus, on his part, did not pustuo himself in them. He didn't believe in them. He didn't entrust himself to them. John makes the same point in John chapter 6. This is after Jesus had a large gathering of disciples, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. And after one of his particular teachings, they all left. Except for the 12. And in John 6, John tells us that Jesus knew from the beginning those who were. Those who were his and those who did not believe. Jesus knew that these people had false faith and their belief was not true faith. He knows all people. He himself knew what was in a man. He knew he knew men in general, but he knew in particular each man. And in these four. These four relationships we see John going through with each one of these four people, starting with Nicodemus, then the woman at the well, then the man whose son is healed, and then the man who's here with the pool. We see Jesus addressing each person. Right exactly where they need to be addressed with amazing tact and skill. Remember, the rich young ruler was told to give away all that he had. Why? Because Jesus discerned exactly what his idol was. The Samaritan woman was told she had been married five times. Why? Because Jesus knew everything about her. And we'll see Jesus addressing Nicodemus at the point of his greatest spiritual need. Which should inspire all of us, actually, because Jesus knows each one of us that we should live transparently before God and man. You can fool some men, but you can never fool God. He knows everything about you. He knows what you're full of. My dad used to tell me you know what somebody is full of because when they get bumped, you'll hear what comes out. You'll hear what spills over. Are you full of the fruit of the Spirit? Are you full of flesh? Are you full of God or full of yourself and pride? But more than knowing the particulars of each person's life. Jesus knew what was in man. He also knew what was not in man. specifically the Holy Spirit with those. Without the Holy Spirit. Are not God's people. So that's the first point is that Jesus knows everything about everyone. And so it's no surprise that Jesus comes right at Nicodemus right where he needs to. That's the second point is that although Jesus knows everything about Nicodemus, Nicodemus actually doesn't know anything about Jesus. We can know nothing about God except that he exists. and we're in rebellion against him apart from the spirit. So there was this man verse one named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. And he comes to Jesus at night for reasons that we are not told. Nicodemus, we learn, is a master, a professor, a theologian, a teacher of Israel. He's part of the Sanhedrin. He's part of the ruling council of all Israel, and he comes to Jesus. It seems to find out if he might should believe in Jesus. In verse 2, this man came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God, for no one can do the signs that you do unless God is with him. Nicodemus is actually a very respectful rabbi. So rabbis had to go through particular training to receive the title rabbi. It's like in the PCA, you can't be a pastor, a teaching elder, unless you've been through the particular training. It was the same for rabbis. Jesus had never been through any of this training that we know of, and yet this teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, calls him rabbi, a sign of respect and deference. And then he begins to proclaim what he knows. We know. We know that you're a teacher come from God. He used the pronoun we as well, which I find interesting. Maybe he's too prideful to suggest that Jesus might have something that he personally wants to know. But he says that he knows that Jesus is a teacher because of the miracles that he's performed. That's what Nicodemus claims to know anyway, what he thinks he knows. He thinks he knows something about God or something about Jesus. And Jesus goes straight to the heart of the issue. Jesus notice doesn't spend any time with chit chat with this man. Remember, Jesus is God and he knows he's God. And he looks at this intimidating, imposing teacher of Israel. And he treats him as a son who needs to be instructed. This man who has been meticulously keeping every possible detail of the law, who's thinking he's righteous before God and knows things about God because of all of his studies, because of his Jewish heritage. And Jesus cuts right across all of Nicodemus' presumptions at right angles, and He shows that unregenerate, unredeemed man that he can know nothing about right relationship with God in and of himself. He doesn't even answer Nicodemus' question. He goes right to the heart of what Nicodemus needed to hear. And this is the third point, and that's although man can know nothing apart from God existing and that we're in rebellion against Him, in our flesh. That there is a work of the Holy Spirit, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, which can change everything. And Nicodemus was told by Jesus in verse 3. Truly, truly, I say to you. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Born again. I remember when I was young, I've been told this is when the phrase, born-again Christian, actually came into vogue. Does anyone remember that? It was in the late 70s maybe. Jimmy Carter, when he ran for president, he said famously, are you a Christian? He said, I'm a born-again Christian. What did he mean? What does society mean today when they say things like that? A born-again Christian. Often what's meant is that this person is a serious Christian. This is not a worldly person claiming to be a Christian. It's not a prideful man who's who's just coming to church as a Christian. It's not a cultural Christian as opposed to being a Muslim or a Hindu, but he's a born again Christian. He's a real Christian, a follower of Jesus. Born again Christian, though, is what R.C. Sproul calls a kind of theological stuttering. Because there is no other kind of Christian, you're either born again. Or you're not. And if you're born again, you're a Christian. And if you're not, you're not. Regardless of whatever else you might think. And it's that simple. You're either alive or dead. So this righteous Pharisee, the son of Abraham, this heir of all the promises, this master teacher of Israel is told by Rabbi Jesus, you can't even see the kingdom of heaven. Unless you're born again. And he says, truly, truly, this is the exclamation point. This is emphatic. He's saying if you don't hear anything else, listen to this. You cannot. Cannot. See the kingdom of heaven. The implication for Nicodemus is obvious. He thinks he knows something about Jesus. But Jesus says you know nothing. Apart from the spirit, you can't even see the kingdom of God unless you're born again. This is a spiritual kingdom. Now, yes, God rules over all the universe. All the universe is part of his kingdom. This is true. But Jesus is talking about that spiritual kingdom made up of the invisible church. It's all the people whom Jesus will draw to himself from every age. But the irony is, and this is the great irony, that Nicodemus would have been certain that he was already in this kingdom. He would have been certain that he was already that guy. And Jesus is telling him, no. You must be born again. He's referring to the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in which God brings spiritually dead men and women to life. Changes a stony heart, as we read in Ezekiel 36, to a heart of flesh. Jesus tells this teacher of Israel that children of God are what He said in 1.13, more not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. In other words, being right with God has nothing to do with your heritage, your parents, your ability to discern things, your knowledge of the Word, your religious affiliation, even all of your public righteousness, or even private righteousness. It's all about the work of God on your dead soul. There's a word in theological circles, monergism. It's important just to understand this text. Monergism means the regeneration happens mono. It's God alone working on the soul of a man. There's no synergism here. There's no. There's no human cooperation in the regenerating work of God. You remember the? The movie you're not mostly dead. And there's a little part of you that's alive that can't choose God. It's not like that at all. You're all dead. You're spiritually dead. And a dead person cannot cooperate with anything. When the light switch of faith is turned on in your heart, it's turned on by God alone. The totally depraved human will have no inclination toward God at all. Because you're spiritually dead. We're saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. None of us has any reason to boast. If it were not this way, you would have reason to boast. Well, I'm a Christian because I heard that gospel and I responded. Boy, howdy, I did that thing. You would be able to boast, wouldn't you? Because the person next to you who didn't respond, he's suffering in hell. Why? Because he's not as smart as you. But you see, we all deserve exactly the same thing, and that's wrath. So to be born into the family of God, is a special grace that only God can do. And when you think of being born again, remember that Jesus is using something that we all understand human birth. Isn't he? We all understand human birth. Did any of you choose your parents? Seems fairly random, doesn't it? You didn't choose your mom or dad. Did any of you choose to be born in the 20th century or the 21st century? No. Did any of you choose to be born in America or wherever you're from? No. Did any of you choose to be born whatever your ethnicity is? No. Well, who chose all that stuff? God. So Jesus is pulling from that same strand of reasoning and saying this is what it's like to be born again. You don't choose anything. God does the choosing. Regeneration, remember, is preceded by election, if you read Romans 8, and it's followed by conversion, sanctification. Why is that? Because after the heart is changed and your eyes are opened, you can do nothing else but run after God and run from your sin. You respond immediately with faith and repentance. You're converted. As soon as your heart is changed, you cannot help but pursue God. I love the fact that Charles Wesley, who did not really embrace the idea of God's sovereignty and salvation at all, whenever he wrote about salvation, when he wrote hymns about salvation, he had to be biblical, and he wrote in ways that are certainly displaying the sovereignty of God in the hymn, He describes this dead spirit bursting forth into life, the regenerating work of the Spirit. You may know these words. He says, "...long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. But thine eyes have diffused a quickening ray. I awoke, and the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, and my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. So that's what Nicodemus is being told by Jesus. You came in the night. That's fitting because your heart is in the night. It's fast bound in nature's night. You're blind, Nicodemus. You must be born again. Well, Nicodemus' response, and this is the fourth point, man's only response to spiritual truth is going to be bad. because you can only understand spiritual things by work of the Spirit. Nicodemus said to him, how can man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? So the natural response to spiritual truth is always going to be confusion and pride. Nicodemus certainly seems confused. But in verse 10, Nicodemus is rebuked by Jesus for not understanding these things. The implication is that He of all people should have known the doctrine of the new birth by the Holy Spirit. It's not only in Ezekiel 36, it's all over the Scriptures. Nicodemus should have known this. Some think his response is just the height of rudeness and pride. He knows that Jesus is referring to something spiritual, something else, but the implication that it applies to him just prickles his pride. And he responds with an absurdity. That he might be talking about going back into his mother's womb, but maybe really Nicodemus is confused. We don't know. He might be confused. He might be filled with pride. It might be both. But this depravity of man is such that pride and confusion is going to fill the heart of the unregenerate. Calvin says in Nicodemus. He was so full of thorns and choked with noxious weeds that there was scarcely room for spiritual teaching. And this is all of us before Christ. It's the bondage that we all live in, the bondage of our fallen wills. And since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, all mankind are so totally fallen that we're unable to grasp even the simplest things of God. or to do anything good at all that would please God, or even to take one step toward God. Why? Because all spiritual truth is spiritually discerned. Nicodemus, like all unregenerate men, is captive by sin and Satan. Blind to truth. I thought of Joseph and his brothers. You remember Joseph after his father made a coat of many colors and his brothers all hated him. They could not say a kind word to him. This is Genesis 37 for Genesis 37 for the brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. The NIV says could not speak a kind word to him. Not would not. They had mouths. They had tongues. They know how to talk. They could not. Literally could not. It was against their nature. To do anything but be filled with jealousy and pride and hatred. We have a rooster who about drives me crazy. At 5 in the morning, 5.30 in the morning, he is up and making all kinds of noise. Sometimes I'm tempted to be frustrated at that rooster and want to go kill him. But that rooster is just doing what roosters do. That's his nature. He's going to crow in the morning. There are lions who starve because they don't have meat to eat. They have mouths. They can eat grass. They can eat leaves. But it's against their nature to eat grass or leaves. They only eat meat. So the unregenerate will of man is in bondage, only able to do what bonded, what bound people do, what depraved people do. To be prideful and confused and argumentative like Nicodemus. Apart from the supernatural regenerating work of the Holy Spirit making you born again, you have no hope. You will remain depraved. Your whole nature is corrupt, wholly inclined to evil, unable to do any good apart from Christ. Now, unregenerate people like Pharisees may be able to clean up well on the outside. They may be may even be able to come to church and convince everybody that they're they're as clean as ever. But Jesus called those Pharisees whitewashed tombs. They look great. They acted perfect, whitewashed tombs, clean on the outside, but full of dead men's bones. They had never been born again. And like Nicodemus, such people live in darkness. Dead and trespasses and sins following the prince of the power of the air, that Satan. So not only are you either dead or alive, you either follow Satan or you follow God. There's nothing in the middle. And that's why Nicodemus responds so poorly because he's spiritually dead. Something on the outside of a man must act on his soul. Before he can have faith in God. And this is exclusively the work of God. And that's how Jesus responds in verse 5. This is the fifth point that the Holy Spirit does a purifying work. He says, truly, truly. Again, the second time He said that. Truly, truly. He's just hammering Nicodemus with truth. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. This is essential truth. You have to understand this, Nicodemus. You have to be born of water and the Spirit. to not only see the kingdom of God, you cannot even see it, you cannot enter it as well. Now there's some debate about what Jesus means by being born of water and spirit. Some believe Jesus is referring to baptism. This doesn't make sense in the context at all. Jesus rebukes Nicodemus in verse 10 for not knowing these things, and it's not reasonable to suspect that Nicodemus would in any way understand the New Testament sacrament of baptism. Although what's represented in baptism, I do believe is in view, and that's the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in water and all the ceremonial laws was seen as ritual cleansing. Remember the the first miracle he performed was taking those jars of water, which were for purification and turning them into wine. He has replaced all that. But the point remains, the purifying water all through the Old Testament worship pointed to the purifying work of the spirit. There's a constant connection between the work of the spirit and the cleansing of the soul. And the Holy Spirit's work is often pictured as water, as we read in Ezekiel 36. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your unclean cleanliness and from all your idols. I will cleanse you and I'll give you a new heart and a new spirit. I will put within you. You see, the spirit is put within him. and clean water is sprinkled on Him. That's the picture. I'll put My Spirit within you. So Jesus says that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. In other words, Nicodemus, I'm not talking about you and your mother. This isn't a physical thing. Not only that, your flesh, your human will and reasoning, you cannot even walk toward God. You must be born of the spirits. Hey, W Pink says the new birth is. The impartation of a new nature. When I was born the first time, he says I received from my parents their nature. When I'm born again, I received from God his nature. Must be born of the water in the spirit. You must be born again. You needed. Not just rebirth, but you need repentance and cleansing. Nicodemus and you can imagine Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, the teacher of Israel. All of his education. All of his learning. And he's being told that. He's apart from God and needs to be born again. This is the sixth point, the sovereign work of the Spirit. Verse 8, the wind blows where it wishes. You hear it sound and you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. Jesus trying to explain to Nicodemus exactly what he's talking about. This rebirth. This is birth by the spirit. He's trying to show Nicodemus that this is not something he can work up on his own. It's a sovereign work of God, so he uses the wind as an example. And Jesus, speaking in Hebrew, most likely, almost certainly, speaking in Hebrew to Nicodemus, well, it's the same, John speaking in Greek as he writes this gospel. The word for Holy Spirit is exactly the same word in Hebrew and in Greek. It's exactly the same word as the word for wind. In Hebrew, the word for wind and spirit is rua. In Greek, the word for spirit and wind is pneuma, But the point is that Jesus is playing on the word wind and spirit. To help Nicodemus understand. This work of the spirit. The spirit blows where it wishes. The wind blows where it wishes. So look at the particulars of of just what we can learn from the work of the Holy Spirit just from this one verse. Number one, the wind blows wherever it pleases. There's complete freedom. Their sovereign movement. Sometimes it blows hard, sometimes it blows less hard. Sometimes it blows from the mountains, and sometimes it blows to the mountains. Sometimes it blows in circles. But no one controls the wind. It blows wherever it wants to blow. It can't be manipulated by any man. It goes where it wants to. And it's irresistible. And number two, you can hear it sound. In other words, you may not see where it's going or where it comes from, but you can hear it. You feel the effects of it. And thirdly, you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. It's unpredictable. You cannot figure this thing out. You cannot manipulate the wind and get it to do something. Your your sinner's prayer isn't forcing God's hand to regenerate your heart. But you certainly know when the wind strikes. You know when the wind. Has moved and this is. The same as the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of a man. That's the 7th and last point you see the visible. You will see visible effects of the wind and of the spirits. You do hear it sound after something has happened. You usually see what has happened. This is the same with wind. The wind blows really hard where we live. Whenever we come home, we'll know if the wind is blown or not, because if it's blown, the chairs will be off the deck. Everything will be blown over. The chickens will be hiding in the barn. You know, after the fact that the wind has blown in the same way, you know, when the spirit has moved in someone's life, you know, in your own life, How is it? Because you're a brand-new creation. It's a new Genesis. It's a re-Genesis. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, and the new has come. It's a radical life change. There's nothing like it, and it's observable. You observe your own heart that's changed. Now you desire to do the Word of God, to please God. The fruit of your life is different and everyone else notices it as well. You begin bearing fruit. Where there was once pride, now there's great humility. Where there was once hatred, now there's love. You have a brand new nature and it shows and everyone sees it. This should be a wake up for all of us. that there are no secret Christians. If you have the light, it will shine. There are also no prideful Christians. The first mark of the Spirit's work is to break a man's pride. The fruit of the Spirit will be ever present in your life. You see the effects of the work of the Spirit. The most important thing you see is a great love of Christ and a great recognition of your own sin. This is the first thing that the Spirit does. You realize that you are under God's wrath and you absolutely deserve it. And you come to God. You come to God in faith. So just as the wind and its effects are felt by all around, so the work of the Spirit is felt by the person and all who know him. You love Jesus, you love the teaching of Jesus, and if there's no change in your nature, there's no new birth, it's that simple. So it is with everyone, he says, who is born of the Spirit. This is without exception. All who are born of the Spirit, will be changed, and all who are in Christ's family will be born again. So I'll conclude with verse 7. Jesus says, do not marvel that I say you must be born again. You can imagine Nicodemus was absolutely stunned. And Jesus says, don't be surprised. Don't marvel that I'm telling you you must be born again. Do you realize that many of you are just exactly like Nicodemus? You think that you're OK with God. You think you're on the right side of God that you have God's favor for some of the same reasons Nicodemus did. Because you hear a long history of looking righteous because of your great knowledge of the Scripture because of your family, your heritage, your church membership. Maybe because of a decision you made one day at a revival. But your heart and the fruit of your life in your heart, you know that you're still dead in your sins. You're filled with pride. You're filled with selfish desires for this world and everything it offers. You can fool everyone else, but Jesus knows all men. And he's a consuming fire, so don't be surprised when I tell you now you must be born again. Every church is filled with regenerate and unregenerate people. And pastors are always calling people to come to him. And you must do that. You must be born again. And some of you may be responding just like Nicodemus. Oh, that's ridiculous. That's ridiculous. That was Nicodemus response. And yet it was true nonetheless. Jesus said, don't be surprised. Don't marvel that I tell you you must be born again. You think you're good with God? You're not. You're unregenerate. You're wicked and you are deserving of wrath. Your foolish heart has been darkened. And it's as dark as the night. Now, for those of you who have been born again, the gospel is a great comfort. And what does it do to you? You recognize that your heart was as wicked as anyone else's. And somehow, for some reason, God saved you. And what does this produce in you? It produces such humility, such love and grace toward others and love for God. That you cannot help but know that God has done a great work in your life. But for those of you who are wondering, I don't know if I am born again. Well, the process is the same for you as for someone who knows for sure they're not born again, and that's turned your heart to God. Apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit, you will never see the light. You must be born again. So you might be thinking, well, Pastor, you've told me before that I must repent and believe in the gospel. but how can I repent and believe the gospel if my heart is bound in sin? You're asking me to do something that I cannot do myself, which is truly believe. This seems like a hopeless business. And the reality is that it truly is hopeless. Apart from the Spirit in your life, you will be just like Nicodemus in your depravity Corrupted by sin and unable to come to God. And your sin makes you abhorrent to God. His righteous wrath is what you deserve. And the wrath of God awaits some of you. And there's nothing you can do to change this except to come to Christ. You must be born again. Brother, sister. Child, you must be born again. Don't be surprised that I'm telling you all you must be born again because you must. So I don't know what to do. Throw yourself down at the foot of the cross. Plead the mercy of Jesus Christ. Beat your chest like the tax collector saying give me faith. I believe Lord help my unbelief. Ask God to break your pride. Ask God to open your eyes. To help you repent and believe in Jesus. Don't wander off into the night as Nicodemus probably did. Unsure if anything has changed, but if you truly are unsure and you're truly desiring to be God's. Child. Then continue to come to him. Continue to run to Jesus. Run to the cross whenever you're wondering, Lord, I don't know. I don't know that anything has changed. Run to Jesus. And continue to turn to Jesus every day with all your heart. Embrace the forgiveness that he's offered. To us because of his sacrifice, and it's often in this seeking and in this pleading. That God does change your heart. Let us pray. Almighty God, we do come to you as your people and we thank you for your word. We pray in Jesus name. That you would open every blind eye. You would soften every hard hearts and that you would produce new life. in everyone here who needs it. Holy Spirit, whatever the work is, do it. And for those here who have been born again, Lord, comfort their souls. What great assurance. Do we have who have the Holy Spirit living within us, knowing that it's nothing that we've done? That's caused us to be right with you, but only a work of your Holy Spirit to make us born again. Lord, for those whose faith is just weak. Remind them that it's not the amount of faith. Which saves a soul, but it's the quality of the faith, and if that faith is given by the Holy Spirit, then it is faith. Indeed, do not snuff out a smoldering wick or break a bruised. We read, we pray. And comfort your people. In Jesus name, Amen. Would you please stand with me and sing our closing hymn? It's number 203.