It's my privilege this evening to open the word of God with you for a brief meditation, and then I've been asked to share the testimony of the work of God and grace that the Lord has done in my life. But before I begin, let's begin with a word of prayer. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Let thy bright beams arise. Dispel the darkness from our minds. and open all our eyes. To our desponding hearts, thou heavenly paraclete, give us to lie in humble hope at our Redeemer's feet. Amen. I invite you to turn with me in the word of the Lord to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Now I imagine that for our unbelieving neighbors, one of the more fascinating things about the Christian faith is its insistence upon true spiritual change. You probably have heard the old adage, people don't really change. This is a common sentiment that most of us have likely heard in conversations in the broader culture, maybe in our workplace, movies, television shows. But in a sense, there is some truth to this statement. It points to the reality that people often try to change, but mostly fail to achieve any significant change. But while this can be true in a sense, this saying is much abused as well. Today it's common to hear that certain patterns of life, patterns that most civilizations in the history of the world would describe as deviant, are not subject to change and are immutable. not able to change. We were made this way as becoming almost universally authoritative proof that justifies any given lifestyle that one wants to claim. And so the idea that people can be fundamentally changed in the core of their beings has become quite a radical idea. But can people really change? And we must say, yes, they can change, or better said, they can be changed. God has revealed in scripture that there is a way for people to be really changed, not a mere change in superficial behavior, a work of the flesh brought about by the cunning of men and that so lasts only for a time and then returns to the way it was, but a true change and a very reorientation of the heart, a new creation, people brought from death to life. A change of the will, the deepest part of a person, going from desiring one thing to desiring a completely another thing altogether. From enmity with God to love for God, a new person who is never the same again. And the Apostle Paul speaks about this kind of change in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6, but I would like to begin in verse 1 for the sake of context, and let's read that together. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word. But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This is the word of the Lord. Now the apostle is speaking here about the results of a new covenant ministry. He is saying this to defend the fact that his ministry comes from and through Christ. in contrast to those who seek to discredit him. But for our purposes this evening, we want to especially meditate on this idea of supernatural change that is wrought by God in the hearts of sinners, that we see particularly in verse six, so that we might have occasion to marvel and to give him glory for what he has done in those who have been saved by grace. That is our objective for this evening and this brief time together. The new covenant ministry is bringing about new creation light. which is bringing light into a dark, old creation. In verse six, the apostle compares the result of a new covenant ministry, which is conversion to Christ, to the light of creation, which lit up the world by the word of God, which said, let there be light. The world was formless and void until the Lord spoke these words. But upon speaking them, the earth was filled with light, light that was in no way dependent upon the sun and moon. They were not yet created, but a light that flowed forth from God, illuminating that which was dark and revealing the creative work of the triune God as it was being shown forth in the creation. And this light was the beginning of God's creative work. And do you know that there is something like this light of creation in every individual conversion to Christ. And we want to consider that this evening. Paul teaches here that when the gospel is preached and enjoined effectually with faith in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit, there a new creation is formed. There the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines into a dark soul by the same spirit who hovered over the waters in the first creation. John Gill says this, the hearts of men are like this dark globe, having no light in them. God is as the sun, the fountain of light, which shines upon them and in them. so as to give them a true sight and sense of sin, and of their lost state and condition, so as to cause them to see the fullness and suitableness of Christ as a Savior, so as to warm their affections and draw out their desires after Christ, His ways, truths, ordinances, and people, and so as to give them light into the mysteries of the Gospel. This is the analogy that the Apostle Paul makes for conversion to Christ in the New Covenant. It is the result of a New Covenant ministry that is empowered alone by the Spirit of Christ. And this is not some kind of change that can be manufactured by human power or cunning. The Apostle is setting forth the nature of the ministry of the Spirit, and this is no work of man. This is the work of God. It is no less miraculous than that word of God which was spoken into the darkness at creation when God said, let there be light. This kind of change is unattainable by human effort. Our Lord said, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Human fleshly effort can only produce human fleshly results, and we see this in the world. Do we not? There are so many practitioners of change in the world who are selling tricks and gimmicks, promising that if you just buy what they are selling, you can finally change and achieve that which you desire to do. But these tactics are only of the flesh. They are temporary, and they are superficial, so they do not endure or bring the true change that our souls need. for God that fits us for eternity. No, what we need is the ministry of the new covenant, which is the ministry of the Spirit of God. This change is not a matter of mere outward change of mind, morals, or behavior. Superficial in that sense. The Christian faith is not some collection of facts that stimulate the mind. It's not simply a list of rules that we are to follow. This is a holistic change of the will in the entire person. A person is brought from darkness to light, from death to life, from hatred of God to love for God. A person who has ever only lived for his own pleasure and for the praise of men, for collecting temporal things, and for the ambitions of his own sinful heart, suddenly he is struck by the light of the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ. The light shines upon his heart and he becomes irresistibly aware of the glory, the holiness, and the immensity of God. His heart is struck to its core by a sense of his own guilt and wickedness before God. Yet he's overwhelmed by an even greater sense of the love and mercy of God in Christ Jesus as the Savior is held out to him. saying, come to me and live. And as he says, I am yours, save me. Now, isn't it wonderful when we get to see this happen in someone that we have known, loved, and prayed for? It's truly a remarkable thing, isn't it? If you've ever had the privilege to talk with a dear saint who interceded for his child for years with little hope little worldly hope, yet he was blessed by God to see the fruit of those labors, blessed of God, to see the improbable conversion after not giving up for this person that they had interceded for for so long. What a glorious thing to witness. What a glorious gospel that takes a man from abject wickedness and makes him a beloved and righteous servant of God. Many of us have had the privilege to see that. Just think of it. You can look around this room and remember many of the testimonies that have been read to us as people have joined our church. The way that these brethren who loved sin even to death in their own testimony and against all human odds are here now worshiping the Lord. What brings this hodgepodge group of people together that come from different places, different interests, different kinds of sin, fervency and love for sin to this place to worship the living God. It's truly marvelous. What a glorious gospel this is. But I ask others of you, have you known this glorious power? Have you experienced something of these realities within your own souls? Have you felt the darkness of your heart? Have you been convinced of the wickedness of your person and the depravity of your sinful heart? Have you been convinced of this? Has this brought you to tremble at the thought of the justice of God and to fearfully acknowledge the wrath and curse of God that is due to you for sin? Has this caused you to cry out something like, God, be merciful to me, a sinner, or woe to me, for I am an unclean person with unclean lips? But then has the light of the glorious grace of Christ come to you in that place with such wondrous comfort and peace, saying to you, live, and has your soul said to God, I am yours, save me? Have you set your faith in Jesus Christ and gloried in a true sense of these words? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Brethren and all of those hearing my voice, has this happened to you in some fashion? Have these things that I'm describing been a reality in your life? This is what it is to have light shine out of darkness, shining in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This light is that which opens our eyes to see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and begins to transform us into his image by his grace. This is the nature of real change and true change which our God can bring about in any heart. So the question we began with is, is there really change? And yes, we must say there is change, new creation change through the gospel. of our God. So brethren, let us rejoice as we think on and remember our own salvation. We want to stir ourselves up to remember what God has done, this new creation work in our hearts. Let us rejoice in this. And let us also remember the wonderful testimonies of the salvation of others as well. Let the memory of these stories stir our souls as we think about the goodness of God and the power that he displays in radically changing our hearts to both to love him and serve him through the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And for any of those who are outside of Christ, know that for you, no true change that I'm speaking of can be wrought in you outside of Christ by your own effort, as I've said. But you don't need to wait. You don't need to wait. His testimony to you in scripture is that he is willing and he is able. None who have come to him have ever been cast out. And so if this has not happened to you this morning, I invite you, come to Christ and live and you will be forever changed. Let's pray. Our Father, we give praise to you for this glorious gospel, how we have seen with great rejoicing its power at work in ourselves and our own hearts and in those of whom we love. And as we look around in a room like this and think upon these wondrous things that you have done in our brethren as they have testified to you in the great congregation, we lift up praise to you. And we thank you for this great work. which you do every day to the glory of your son, to the praise of your glorious grace. Let us rejoice in these things. Let it stir us up to give you praise and to walk in all thanksgiving before you for what you have done. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Now a few months ago, my brother pointed out that though the giving of testimonies is distinct from the preaching of the word, it is appropriate to occasionally and publicly give praise to God for his particular work of grace in the corporate worship, for his work of grace in the hearts of his people. And so that's what we'll do this evening. I've been asked to do that this evening. On May 16th, 1988, I was born as a sinner, spiritually blind and unable to see the glory of Christ. As an infant, I was sprinkled with water in the church where I would spend my first 14 years, which was John Calvin Presbyterian Church, somewhat ironic to me now, which is a PCUSA assembly in Florence, South Carolina, as liberal Presbyterians, very, very liberal now. My family attended each Sunday and Wednesday and were very involved and active in the church. Throughout my childhood, I was exposed to a regular diet of sermons, Sunday school lessons, children's services, youth Bible studies, camp devotionals, et cetera. I remember participating in Bible classes with enthusiasm and enjoying the praise that it brought to me from adults. Around the age of 13, I went through the confirmation process. That's what they call it in the Presbyterian Church, confirmation. And I went through that process to become a member of the church. But in the following year, due to some particular circumstances, my family actually left that church and joined a Baptist church where I was immersed at the age of 14. As my high school years ended, I went on a few summer mission trips at the encouragement of my parents, who had done that when they were that age. Being a senior, I had to have a plan for what I was going to do after high school. And so having enjoyed greatly those two summers abroad, I decided, well, I'll be a missionary. That's what I should do. So a friend told me there were degrees and missions at a university, Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. And so I visited there once and decided that this was the place that I should go. Now, by the age of 18, I had been baptized twice, was a regular and enthusiastic church attender and member, had taught from the Bible, had gone on mission trips, and was entering a Bible college to become a missionary. Yet, I was blind to the glory of Christ. I had never seen it. I had never perceived the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I was a false convert. Now, my blindness was manifested in several ways. I had a disproportionate love for worldly entertainment, for things such as television, video games, and for various kinds of sports, not just enjoying those things, mind you, but constantly, constantly availing myself to them. I loved television shows and movies that blasphemed God and made a mockery of Him. I would spend hours and hours watching talk shows on sports. And I knew nearly every player and every statistic there was to know on any sport that mattered. My conversation, although sprinkled with the occasional bit of scripture, was very much empty of significance. I was constantly disrespectful to my parents. I obeyed when I wanted to obey, when there was gain for me. But I would always try to put on display that I knew better than them. The Bible was something to be read when I or someone else had a question about life or to test my knowledge, to show off, but there was no vibrancy or regular desire to read it for the sake of knowing God. In short, my surface level Christianity was covering darkness in my soul. However, in the first year of college, the Lord graciously began to afflict me with an unexpected and disturbing depression. It all began in my New Testament class. As the professor was teaching on the New Testament letters, I still remember, I began to suspect that the characteristics of believers found in the New Testament were not true of me. Some of the things that were being described there. And so it was about that time that I began to feel great anxiety about this. Why are these things not true of me? And it was at that time that times of corporate singing and chapel, church services, my heart began to feel particularly cold and unwilling to sing. I walked as one afraid to be alone, but doubting that any friend could help to ease my burden. Those things I so enjoyed before began to be unenjoyable because of a constant anxiety for my soul's condition before God. Now, I sought to find many ways to busy myself so that I would not have to think about this because of how much it bothered me. But these things were still often present, though I found many ways to push it to the back of my mind. So for two and a half years, I went on like this, convincing myself that I was just subject to spiritual warfare and some melancholy, essentially. However, in the summer of 2009, between my junior and senior year, I was required to go abroad on a summer internship as part of my degree program. And I went to Sheffield, England, in the Yorkshire area, to work in a Christian bookstore for that whole summer. Now there, I had none of my friends, I had none of sports and entertainment that I would distract myself with, none of the kind of extracurricular activities that I would do in the college. I had nothing familiar with which to busy myself. Every wall that I had built around this depression and anxiety was really broken down by the Lord. And the spirit of God unleashed upon me at that time the full weight of my sin. I was alone with my Bible and I was terrified of what I saw there. I understood that I was vile and a sinner, uninterested in God and loving so many other things before him. I lived contrary to his commands in so many ways and had never cared about any of them unless demanded by social pressure. I understood that my sin deserved God's just punishment. I was afraid of God, I was afraid of dying, and I was very afraid of hell, which I knew I deserved. And it was at this time that the fear of death stalked me wherever I went. It was irrational. I would look left and then right four times before crossing a street for fear that I would be struck and brought before the Lord. I worried that I would die in a plane crash on the way home, back to the States, and meet the one to whom I must give an account. So those days passed by very slowly. I would weep and beg that God would save me, yet my Bible remained closed for much of that summer. It contained no comfort to me at that time, but only dreadful news. And that summer I learned two things. I did not know the gospel, and salvation is from the Lord. When that summer finally ended, I boarded the plane to return home. It didn't crash. And at the beginning of my senior year, which was the next year where I was to finish, I was sharing a room with a good friend to whom I confided my troubles. And upon hearing much of my struggles, he invited me to join him in reading through the Bible chronologically in a year, the whole Bible from cover to cover. At the same time, I was becoming more involved at a church in Columbia that was being pastored by a Reformed Baptist minister who was an interim pastor at the time. It was this consecutive reading of scripture and hearing faithful biblical preaching for the first time that God would use to call me to himself. In 2 Corinthians, Paul teaches that the gospel is veiled to unbelievers. Although they may touch, taste, and read the words of God, they are blind to it. The glory of God is veiled by the God of this age. Though it is in plain sight, it cannot be seen. It is impossible for them to perceive it on their own account, by themselves. Unbelievers are lost, helplessly lost. They can have godly parents. They can do great things. They can read the scriptures and even memorize them, and they still should. They can be members of churches and go on mission trips and go to Bible colleges. But if Christ does not take away the veil, they are lost. And praise be to God that he removes the veil from his children and shines in their hearts the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. As I read the scriptures, God was pleased by his grace to remove the veil. And he shone the light of the glory of God onto my heart for the first time. The reading of God's word ceased to be impersonal, obligatory, and abstract and suddenly became relevant, joyous, and powerful. I saw a God whose mercy is lavished upon his people. I saw a God who took on human flesh, the likeness of sinful men, and demonstrated the righteousness of God before us. Now, I knew these facts before, but they were facts. It was at this time that the Lord truly opened my eyes to believe them and to know them as they applied to myself. I saw one who perfectly obeyed the law of God and did all the things which I had failed to do and which I could never do in my own strength. I saw a God who took upon himself the curse of sinful men, the wrath of God which I had deserved and dreaded, and he took it on willingly and fully. absorbing it on my behalf. And I saw a God who truly changes people, who changes their affections to love him and seek after his glory all of their days. I saw a God who is beautiful, awesome, faithful, just, righteous, merciful, and gracious. And I saw a Christ who died for my soul and who now interceded for me. I saw that I was justified by his work and stood in his righteousness and not my own. I saw God in his glory and I began to treasure him by his grace." And there were many changes that came about from this. Prayer became frequent and longed for. Worship became constant, engaging, and joyous. Preaching and teaching about God became sweet and desirable to my ears for the first time. Sin became tasteless and unwholesome, a thing to be dreaded and avoided. The things I loved before I now lost complete interest in. The things I cared for so little then now became everything. And it was in 2010 that God shined the light of his glorious gospel into my heart. and I was brought into his kingdom. I rested in the saving work of Christ and began to live by his grace and for his glory. Now in 2014, after discussing church membership and baptism with my pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina, I came to the conclusion that my previous baptisms were not valid because I was not converted at that time. So I was baptized in 2014 at Grace Fellowship Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Gracious to me beyond measure in the years after my conversion. He's blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and so many wonderful earthly blessings in my family as well. My wife Alina and I were married in 2014 and it was around 2016 that I began to aspire to pastoral ministry. In 2017, the Lord enabled me to begin my studies at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary after hearing Rex present the seminary at the G3 conference. It was exactly what I was hoping for, something I wouldn't have to leave or leave my job to pursue. I had no idea at the time that in the providence of God, I would leave my career and come to serve as a seminary administrator at CBTS and a pastoral intern at GRBC. This took place in 2019 and it has been such a great privilege for me to serve God and the people of God in this place and all the students at CBTS. And it's my desire to serve you as an undershepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ in this local embassy of the kingdom of God, which I very gladly and contentedly submit to the will of God and to your call as the people of God. All glory be to Christ for his work in my life. For our hymn of response, I invite you to turn