“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Exhausted from many days of training leaders to disciple parents and their children to Jesus, I asked my Zimbabwean hosts where I was supposed to spend the night. I had just preached that night to over seven hundred students on a high school campus in Zimbabwe, and it was already well past sunset.
My hosts led me to a dormitory on the edge of a university campus nearby, not far from a high fence which was meant to keep the leopards out. Once we got to my room, they handed me a long, narrow skeleton key. I stuck the key in the lock, and the door popped open. With gratitude, I said goodnight to my hosts.
After preparing for bed, I knelt by my bed to pray. “God, I am leaving for home the day after tomorrow. What is on Your heart?”
Instantly, the quiet voice of God whispered softly to my heart and mind. “Come out under the stars, Don. There is something I want to tell you.”
Hopping up, I pulled on some warmer clothes and laced up my hiking shoes. Grabbing the key, I stepped out of my room, locked the door, and walked out into the night.
I headed down a dirt path, and then knelt in some tall grasses. Looking up at the sky, I gazed with awe at the stars. With no artificial light for many miles, the sky was a brilliant canopy of twinkling galaxies. It was simply breathtaking.
“God, I am here!” I greeted Him. “What is on Your heart? What do You want to tell me?”
Again, He spoke inaudibly to my heart and mind, “Ask Me to do much more for Africa!”
Now I felt that this was a strange thing for God to tell me. Why did He want me to ask Him to do much more for Africa? He could answer His own prayer by doing anything He wanted for the continent. However, I knew it was His voice speaking, and He was clear in what He wanted me to do. In obedience, I stretched up my hands in the darkness to God and prayed out loud, “God, please do much more for Africa!” My short prayer was spoken in faith.
I waited. Would God have anything else to say? The only sound was the sot breezes blowing through the tall grass. I heard nothing more, but His peace was with me.
Standing to my feet, I turned and walked back to the dormitory. Eagerly I pulled out my skeleton key as I neared my room. I was ready to sleep, very ready to sleep. I stuck the key into the lock and turned it once. The door would not open. I tried it again. It still would not open. I tried it again, five times, ten times, fifteen times. The door simply would not open.
“How could this be happening to me?” I grumbled to myself. “The key just worked a few minutes ago. Why isn’t it working now?”
Immediately the still, small voice of God told me, “You are not getting into your room because there is someone you are supposed to meet.”
“Lord, I don’t know anyone here in this dormitory. Besides, the lights are all out, so that means everyone is asleep.”
But God had spoken. There was someone I was supposed to meet.
Not sure where to go, I started walking down the long, dark hallway. “This is crazy!” I muttered again to myself. “No one is awake.”
“Lord, show me—who am I supposed to meet?”
I walked past room after room. Every door was closed. Every light was out. Peering through the darkness I saw one door, the only door in the long hallway with light streaming out from under it. I timidly tapped on the door.
The door swung open, and a man stuck his face out into the dark hallway. Seeing my white face staring back at him, he stepped back, slightly startled. “Who are you?” he challenged me.
Quickly, I told him that there was no reason to be afraid. Then I introduced myself and told him briefly about the discipleship work I had been doing for leaders there in Zimbabwe.
“I am Pastor Willard Sichilima from North Zambia. How can I help you?” he asked warmly.
I held up my key, “I am embarrassed to tell you, but I cannot open my room with this key. It worked before. I am not sure what to do or who to ask for help.”
“No problem!” he exclaimed. “I have been coming here each summer to work on my master’s degree and have stayed in many rooms in this dormitory. Lead me to your room, and I will open it for you.”
As we got near my room, I handed him the key. He confidently slipped the key into the lock and turned the key, and guess what happened? Nothing. He tried again and again, but the key would not open the door.
Baffled, Pastor Willard went and found the night watchman on duty, a strong, young man who towered over me in height and looked like he could have been a wrestler. However, his face was friendly as he gave me a joyful smile. “Please give me the key, sir. I can open any door here for you!”
I was delighted to hear this and handed him the key. He tried to open the door, but it would not budge. He then turned the key with all his might. He pushed and shoved and strained as sweat began trickling down his face. I wondered if the key would break. Still the key would not work.
“Don’t worry! I will get the men’s dean to help us,” the young night watchman promised. In a few minutes, the dean came with a basket full of keys, including many duplicates for my room.
“We will have you in your room in no time!” The dean told me. He took a copy of my key and popped it in the lock and turned. It would not open. Every duplicate key to my room would not open the door!
Why is this happening to me? I silently complained.
God’s voice spoke to my heart in response: “Ask Pastor Willard, ‘What do you need? How may I help you?’”
“Now Lord,” I reasoned, “I only have one hundred US dollars in my wallet for emergency money. What if this pastor from Zambia asks me to help him pay the tuition for one of his children? I don’t have that much! What if he asks me to help him pay for the tuition of all his children? What would I do?”
But God was not impressed with my arguments. As I hesitated, God prompted me again to ask Pastor Willard the questions. I thought of the possibilities as I fingered my wallet in my pocket. I was genuinely afraid that Pastor Willard would ask me for something beyond what I had in my hand. I did not ask the questions but watched as the dean continued struggling to open my door.
God prompted me the third time with urgency! I sighed.
“Pastor Willard,” I finally spoke up. “God is impressing me to ask you, ‘What do you need? How may I help you?’”
Pastor Willard’s face exploded into a big smile. His smile was much too big for my comfort. “That is exactly why I didn’t want to ask him, God!” I cried inwardly. But my mind was jolted back to the moment, as Pastor Willard was already speaking in response.
“That is a wonderful question!” he told me enthusiastically. He then bent over and asked the dean, who was still looking for a working key for my door, “Would you please give me Don’s original key?”
The dean straightened up, looked at Pastor Willard with a puzzled expression, shrugged his shoulders, and handed him the key. Pastor Willard took the key, stuck it in the lock, turned it, and the door opened! We all stood silently around the opened door for a moment, staring in awe.
After thanking the dean and the night watchman for their valiant efforts, I invited Pastor Willard into my room. “God obviously wanted me to meet you, but before you tell me anything, we need to pray.” We knelt down together, and I prayed first.
“Please Lord, help Pastor Willard to tell me only what You want him to share as the need.”
Pastor Willard then prayed, “Lord, please help Pastor Don to hear what You want him to hear.”
We got back up, and I looked at Pastor Willard with expectation. “So, what do you need?”
He followed my question with his own question. “Well, what do you do?”
“I oer training to help parents and other mentors disciple their children to Jesus Christ,” I told him.
“Wonderful!” he responded enthusiastically. “Why don’t you come to North Zambia and train us?”
Instantly I felt relieved. I thought to myself, He is asking me to do something I know how to do. I can do this! I smiled. But immediately God spoke to my heart again, “Don, offering them the training is good, but ask him what he really needs now.”
“Pastor Willard, God is impressing me to ask you, ‘What do you really need now?’”
Pastor Willard paused briefly with his head bowed. Then he looked up with tears in his eyes. “We need a school in North Zambia!”
“Oh,” I spoke nervously. “You mean like a one-room school?” I was trying desperately to keep the request small enough that I might be able to consider it.
“Oh no, Pastor Don, we need a full secondary school campus that is a boarding school for hundreds and hundreds of students.” Now I began to squirm inwardly.
“Actually,” he continued, “We need two secondary school campuses complete with boys’ and girls’ dormitories, classrooms, kitchen, toilets, showers.” He went on listing the needs of both campuses. By now, I was completely stressed and overwhelmed.
“Well, thank you for sharing this with me,” I said weakly, with little enthusiasm. “I’ll pray about what you’ve shared,” I promised. We stood up, shook hands, said good night, and parted.
I knelt and prayed at my bedside once more. God spoke: “This is the man I wanted you to meet, and that request was from Me!”
Crawling into bed, I pulled the covers up across my chest as I tried to sleep. How was I ever going to build two secondary school campuses in Zambia? I wondered to myself as I drifted off to sleep.
The Law of God is summed up in two parts. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God – and your neighbor as yourself.”
How do we love our neighbor? We are to minister to those who do not know God. Some knew about the love of Jesus but have drifted away from the truth. It is the responsibility of people in the church to tell others so they too can be saved.
However, it is not the case at this particular time. Church members are just club members (they go to church regularly and disregard the duty of evangelism and ministry to others). Read “Mr World and Ms Church Member“.
Not all are able to go to the mission field and do God’s work. But giving their time and treasure to the work of the gospel can speed the spread of God’s love and saving grace to others. The work is in need of finances to sustain the people who are doing God’s work.
While church denominations are busy with internal issues, it has forgotten and rejected the important work of spreading the gospel of salvation to others. It is also allowing subtle and worldly pressure to dominate their decisions which are contrary to Bible teaching.
The sealing process is the end result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Which is the reason why we have to pray more for God to help us do what He wants us to do and make and teach us what to do.
Humble yourselves before God and resort to prayer, for you cannot and must not attempt to work at variance.
Walk the narrow plank of faith. Trust all on the promises of the Lord. Trust God in darkness. That is the time to have faith. But you often let feeling govern you. You look for worthiness in yourselves when you do not feel comforted by the Spirit of God, and despair because you cannot find it. You do not trust enough in Jesus, precious Jesus. You do not make His worthiness to be all, all. The very best you can do will not merit the favor of God. It is Jesus’ worthiness that will save you, His blood that will cleanse you. But you have efforts to make. You must do what you can on your part. Be zealous and repent, then believe. (Testimonies for the Church 1:167)
I saw that if we do not feel immediate answers to our prayers, we should hold fast our faith, not allowing distrust to come in, for that will separate us from God. If our faith wavers, we shall receive nothing from Him. Our confidence in God should be strong; and when we need it most, the blessing will fall upon us like a shower of rain.
When the servants of God pray for His Spirit and blessing, it sometimes comes immediately; but it is not always then bestowed. At such times, faint not. Let your faith hold fast the promise that it will come. Let your trust be fully in God, and often that blessing will come when you need it most, and you will unexpectedly receive help from God when you are presenting the truth to unbelievers, and will be enabled to speak the word with clearness and power.
The natural mind leans toward pleasure and self-gratification. It is Satan’s policy to manufacture an abundance of this ..
The tree in the Garden of Eden which Eve ate of the fruit was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil..
The series opens a window into the Spiritual warfare that started as a rebellion in heaven by Lucifer before creation of this Earth and the fall of Adam and Eve. The establishment of nation instituted by God and the accounts of the trials and failings of His people allow the reader to learn from the mistakes of the Patriarchs and Kings. Her central book in the series is on the life of Christ. It details God’s reestablishment of His authority over sin by sending His Son to earth to be crucified as an atonement for the sin of all mankind. His resurrection and victory over sin offers everyone the gift of eternal life. The final book relates the history of the Christian reformation and final battle for the inhabitants of this planet. It concludes with the cleansing and restoration and of our universe from Sin after the millennium. <Read The Great Controversy>
How do you fit suffering into your philosophy of life?
For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” Isaiah 14:13, 14
It is the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan.
Have you ever wondered:
How could an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-righteous God stand by and permit the humiliating injustices, debilitating diseases, and inhumane atrocities that happen to people every single day?
Did God create all this evil? And if He did, then is He not the kind of God He claims to be?
Did He just start our world and walk away? Or worse, is He a sadist who sits back and watches our suffering for entertainment?
Such questions are at the heart of this war.
The answers to these questions will ultimately determine which side of the war you’re on. This magazine is designed to help you get answers and to make informed decisions from a factual, biblical standpoint. Jesus Christ has revealed the truth to all these crucial and challenging questions.
So, get ready to experience an unparalleled journey that will take you from the origins of this war; through the pages of Bible history, down to our day; and traveling into the near future, to the final outcome of this cosmic conflict. It is our hope and prayer that at this journey’s end, the great mystery of good and evil will finally make sense and the true character of God will be revealed.
No other resource has opened people’s eyes to the great controversy between good and evil quite like Cosmic Conflict has. It answers the deepest and most troubling questions people ask: Why does God allow suffering? Did God create the devil? Where did evil come from? If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t He destroy Satan now?
A popular mistake is to take things out of context. It is easy to “create contradictions” when there are none by violating the context of the passage(s) in question.
More significant, though less mentioned, is violating the context of belief. Christian understanding is a synthesis of many beliefs, and Biblical teachings are often interpreted through this background belief which has been synthesized. Such a synthesis may include other facts, not directly related to the contradiction in question, but nevertheless, relevant. When the critic proposes a contradiction, he ought to do so within the context of this background belief. By failing to do this, he merely imposes alien concepts into the text as if they belong. This error is common when the critic tries to cite contradictions related to doctrine or beliefs about the nature of God.
Is religious liberty fast becoming a disfavored right? Is the separation of church and state constitutional principle about to become an historical footnote?
Since the accounts in the Bible are rarely intended as exhaustive and precise descriptions, it would be prudent to see if differing accounts complement, rather than contradict one another.
Approach to Bible Study
openness to the fact that it is the word of God;
reverence when they discover that it is so;
a sense of conviction that we are sinners in the view of this word;
the knowledge that it meets us with forgiveness because of Christ at the center of this book; and then,
hope that we can press on in life, and that this book will give us all the guidance we need.
We need to have far less confidence in what man can do, and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul.
What a beautiful thing it is to celebrate another year (38th) of ministry, and we want to do that with you! So tonight, you’re invited to a very special 3ABN Today Live program, as we join Greg and Jill Morikone, and Danny and Yvonne Shelton for 3ABN’s 38th Anniversary!
Satan’s End-time Deception will be based on Spiritualism and (Sunday) Worship
God’s Loving Call and Warning
A loving parent would always want the best for their children. They feed, nurture and educate the child while some even go further to their grand son or daughter. And as the child grows to adolescence, they teach good character and warn them about the dangers of going with the wrong crowd.
God is a loving Father who has given us principles to follow found in the Holy Bible. He warns us of what is coming in these last days of earth’s history (the book of Revelation). He has given us the Freedom of Choice and will respect the choice we make. And it is up to us to choose Him or someone else.
People are fortunate to have the Freedom of Choice. Unfortunately, there are only two choices .. Eternal Life or death
Since the beginning of time (even in the Garden of Eden), God has warned Adam and Eve about the consequence of sin. Unfortunately, Eve was deceived by the devil – she accepted the lie (thou shall not surely die) rather than the truth (you shall not eat of the fruit .. lest you die – Genesis 3:2)
Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 3 – New King James Version
The Temptation and Fall of Man – Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the ga…
Christianity has been infected with Satan’s deceptions. Paganism and spiritualism have slipped into the church and many believers are unaware that the doctrines they have long believed are not founded in the Bible scriptures. These spiritual poisons are destroying God’s people, but we should not be surprised since the book of Revelation reveals these events would take place.
Satan has long worked to confuse people about the state of the dead. Do you go straight to Heaven or somewhere else? What about the change of the Sabbath to Sunday? You might be surprised to find out that both of the current mainline doctrine taught on these topics is rooted not in the Bible, but in spiritualism and sun worship.
Changing the day of worship from the 7th day to (Sun)day / paganism
Sunday – sol / roman sun god Monday – luna / roman moon goddess Tuesday – mars / roman god of war – tiw / anglo war god Wednesday – mercury / roman god of commerce – woden / saxon king of gods Thursday – jupiter / roman god of sky and thunder – thor / norse god of thunder, lightning & storm Friday – venus / roman goddess of love – frigga / norse goddess of home, marriage & fertility Saturday – saturn’s day – roman god of fun & feasting
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 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 that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 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?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man [b]who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [c]not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Desire of Ages Chapter 17
Nicodemus held a high position of trust in the Jewish nation. He was highly educated, and possessed talents of no ordinary character, and he was an honored member of the national council. With others, he had been stirred by the teaching of Jesus. Though rich, learned, and honored, he had been strangely attracted by the humble Nazarene. The lessons that had fallen from the Saviour’s lips had greatly impressed him, and he desired to learn more of these wonderful truths.
Christ’s exercise of authority in the cleansing of the temple had roused the determined hatred of the priests and rulers. They feared the power of this stranger. Such boldness on the part of an obscure Galilean was not to be tolerated. They were bent on putting an end to His work. But not all were agreed in this purpose. There were some that feared to oppose One who was so evidently moved upon by the Spirit of God. They remembered how prophets had been slain for rebuking the sins of the leaders in Israel. They knew that the bondage of the Jews to a heathen nation was the result of their stubbornness in rejecting reproofs from God. They feared that in plotting against Jesus the priests and rulers were following in the steps of their fathers, and would bring fresh calamities upon the nation. Nicodemus shared these feelings. In a council of the Sanhedrin, when the course to be pursued toward Jesus was considered, Nicodemus advised caution and moderation. He urged that if Jesus was really invested with authority from God, it would be perilous to reject His warnings. The priests dared not disregard this counsel, and for the time they took no open measures against the Saviour.
Since hearing Jesus, Nicodemus had anxiously studied the prophecies relating to the Messiah; and the more he searched, the stronger was his conviction that this was the One who was to come. With many others in Israel he had been greatly distressed by the profanation of the temple. He was a witness of the scene when Jesus drove out the buyers and the sellers; he beheld the wonderful manifestation of divine power; he saw the Saviour receiving the poor and healing the sick; he saw their looks of joy, and heard their words of praise; and he could not doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was the Sent of God.
He greatly desired an interview with Jesus, but shrank from seeking Him openly. It would be too humiliating for a ruler of the Jews to acknowledge himself in sympathy with a teacher as yet so little known. And should his visit come to the knowledge of the Sanhedrin, it would draw upon him their scorn and denunciation. He resolved upon a secret interview, excusing this on the ground that if he were to go openly, others might follow his example. Learning by special inquiry the Saviour’s place of retirement in the Mount of Olives, he waited until the city was hushed in slumber, and then sought Him.
In the presence of Christ, Nicodemus felt a strange timidity, which he endeavored to conceal under an air of composure and dignity. “Rabbi,” he said, “we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him.” By speaking of Christ’s rare gifts as a teacher, and also of His wonderful power to perform miracles, he hoped to pave the way for his interview. His words were designed to express and to invite confidence; but they really expressed unbelief. He did not acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah, but only a teacher sent from God.
Instead of recognizing this salutation, Jesus bent His eyes upon the speaker, as if reading his very soul. In His infinite wisdom He saw before Him a seeker after truth. He knew the object of this visit, and with a desire to deepen the conviction already resting upon His listener’s mind, He came directly to the point, saying solemnly, yet kindly, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, margin.
Nicodemus had come to the Lord thinking to enter into a discussion with Him, but Jesus laid bare the foundation principles of truth. He said to Nicodemus, It is not theoretical knowledge you need so much as spiritual regeneration. You need not to have your curiosity satisfied, but to have a new heart. You must receive a new life from above before you can appreciate heavenly things. Until this change takes place, making all things new, it will result in no saving good for you to discuss with Me My authority or My mission. Nicodemus had heard the preaching of John the Baptist concerning repentance and baptism, and pointing the people to One who should baptize with the Holy Spirit. He himself had felt that there was a lack of spirituality among the Jews, that, to a great degree, they were controlled by bigotry and worldly ambition. He had hoped for a better state of things at the Messiah’s coming. Yet the heart-searching message of the Baptist had failed to work in him conviction of sin. He was a strict Pharisee, and prided himself on his good works. He was widely esteemed for his benevolence and his liberality in sustaining the temple service, and he felt secure of the favor of God. He was startled at the thought of a kingdom too pure for him to see in his present state.
The figure of the new birth, which Jesus had used, was not wholly unfamiliar to Nicodemus. Converts from heathenism to the faith of Israel were often compared to children just born. Therefore he must have perceived that the words of Christ were not to be taken in a literal sense. But by virtue of his birth as an Israelite he regarded himself as sure of a place in the kingdom of God. He felt that he needed no change. Hence his surprise at the Saviour’s words. He was irritated by their close application to himself. The pride of the Pharisee was struggling against the honest desire of the seeker after truth. He wondered that Christ should speak to him as He did, not respecting his position as ruler in Israel.
Surprised out of his self-possession, he answered Christ in words full of irony, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Like many others when cutting truth is brought home to the conscience, he revealed the fact that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. There is in him nothing that responds to spiritual things; for spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
But the Saviour did not meet argument with argument. Raising His hand with solemn, quiet dignity, He pressed the truth home with greater assurance, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus knew that Christ here referred to water baptism and the renewing of the heart by the Spirit of God. He was convinced that he was in the presence of the One whom John the Baptist had foretold.
Jesus continued: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil, and “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” Job 14:4. No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Romans 8:7; Matthew 15:19. The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus was still perplexed, and Jesus used the wind to illustrate His meaning: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.”
The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,—a patient, protracted process.
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself in every act of him who has felt its saving power. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God.
It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.
While Jesus was speaking, some gleams of truth penetrated the ruler’s mind. The softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit impressed his heart. Yet he did not fully understand the Saviour’s words. He was not so much impressed by the necessity of the new birth as by the manner of its accomplishment. He said wonderingly, “How can these things be?”
“Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” Jesus asked. Surely one entrusted with the religious instruction of the people should not be ignorant of truths so important. His words conveyed the lesson that instead of feeling irritated over the plain words of truth, Nicodemus should have had a very humble opinion of himself, because of his spiritual ignorance. Yet Christ spoke with such solemn dignity, and both look and tone expressed such earnest love, that Nicodemus was not offended as he realized his humiliating condition.
But as Jesus explained that His mission on earth was to establish a spiritual instead of a temporal kingdom, His hearer was troubled. Seeing this, Jesus added, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” If Nicodemus could not receive Christ’s teaching, illustrating the work of grace upon the heart, how could he comprehend the nature of His glorious heavenly kingdom? Not discerning the nature of Christ’s work on earth, he could not understand His work in heaven.
The Jews whom Jesus had driven from the temple claimed to be children of Abraham, but they fled from the Saviour’s presence because they could not endure the glory of God which was manifested in Him. Thus they gave evidence that they were not fitted by the grace of God to participate in the sacred services of the temple. They were zealous to maintain an appearance of holiness, but they neglected holiness of heart. While they were sticklers for the letter of the law, they were constantly violating its spirit. Their great need was that very change which Christ had been explaining to Nicodemus,—a new moral birth, a cleansing from sin, and a renewing of knowledge and holiness.
There was no excuse for the blindness of Israel in regard to the work of regeneration. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah had written, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” David had prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” And through Ezekiel the promise had been given, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes.” Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26, 27.
Nicodemus had read these scriptures with a clouded mind; but he now began to comprehend their meaning. He saw that the most rigid obedience to the mere letter of the law as applied to the outward life could entitle no man to enter the kingdom of heaven. In the estimation of men, his life had been just and honorable; but in the presence of Christ he felt that his heart was unclean, and his life unholy.
Nicodemus was being drawn to Christ. As the Saviour explained to him concerning the new birth, he longed to have this change wrought in himself. By what means could it be accomplished? Jesus answered the unspoken question: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Here was ground with which Nicodemus was familiar. The symbol of the uplifted serpent made plain to him the Saviour’s mission. When the people of Israel were dying from the sting of the fiery serpents, God directed Moses to make a serpent of brass, and place it on high in the midst of the congregation. Then the word was sounded throughout the encampment that all who would look upon the serpent should live. The people well knew that in itself the serpent had no power to help them. It was a symbol of Christ. As the image made in the likeness of the destroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was to be their Redeemer. Romans 8:3. Many of the Israelites regarded the sacrificial service as having in itself virtue to set them free from sin. God desired to teach them that it had no more value than that serpent of brass. It was to lead their minds to the Saviour. Whether for the healing of their wounds or the pardon of their sins, they could do nothing for themselves but show their faith in the Gift of God. They were to look and live.
Those who had been bitten by the serpents might have delayed to look. They might have questioned how there could be efficacy in that brazen symbol. They might have demanded a scientific explanation. But no explanation was given. They must accept the word of God to them through Moses. To refuse to look was to perish.
Not through controversy and discussion is the soul enlightened. We must look and live. Nicodemus received the lesson, and carried it with him. He searched the Scriptures in a new way, not for the discussion of a theory, but in order to receive life for the soul. He began to see the kingdom of heaven as he submitted himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
There are thousands today who need to learn the same truth that was taught to Nicodemus by the uplifted serpent. They depend on their obedience to the law of God to commend them to His favor. When they are bidden to look to Jesus, and believe that He saves them solely through His grace, they exclaim, “How can these things be?”
Like Nicodemus, we must be willing to enter into life in the same way as the chief of sinners. Than Christ, “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. And we cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God. The Scripture says of Christ, “Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5:31. Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon.
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
In the interview with Nicodemus, Jesus unfolded the plan of salvation, and His mission to the world. In none of His subsequent discourses did He explain so fully, step by step, the work necessary to be done in the hearts of all who would inherit the kingdom of heaven. At the very beginning of His ministry He opened the truth to a member of the Sanhedrin, to the mind that was most receptive, and to an appointed teacher of the people. But the leaders of Israel did not welcome the light. Nicodemus hid the truth in his heart, and for three years there was little apparent fruit.
But Jesus was acquainted with the soil into which He cast the seed. The words spoken at night to one listener in the lonely mountain were not lost. For a time Nicodemus did not publicly acknowledge Christ, but he watched His life, and pondered His teachings. In the Sanhedrin council he repeatedly thwarted the schemes of the priests to destroy Him. When at last Jesus was lifted up on the cross, Nicodemus remembered the teaching upon Olivet: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The light from that secret interview illumined the cross upon Calvary, and Nicodemus saw in Jesus the world’s Redeemer.
After the Lord’s ascension, when the disciples were scattered by persecution, Nicodemus came boldly to the front. He employed his wealth in sustaining the infant church that the Jews had expected to be blotted out at the death of Christ. In the time of peril he who had been so cautious and questioning was firm as a rock, encouraging the faith of the disciples, and furnishing means to carry forward the work of the gospel. He was scorned and persecuted by those who had paid him reverence in other days. He became poor in this world’s goods; yet he faltered not in the faith which had its beginning in that night conference with Jesus.
Nicodemus related to John the story of that interview, and by his pen it was recorded for the instruction of millions. The truths there taught are as important today as they were on that solemn night in the shadowy mountain, when the Jewish ruler came to learn the way of life from the lowly Teacher of Galilee.
