Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the ever-worthy name of the Lord Jesus, our Savior. We welcome you with appreciation to the ministry of the precious Word of God over this program. We earnestly pray that under God, by His Spirit, the ministry of God's Word will bring to you eternal blessing with divine instruction in relation to God's precious truth. Our present study regarding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one that we personally feel is greatly needed in these particular days. And we are seeking, by God's grace and His blessed health, to present an outline from the Holy Scriptures concerning the Spirit of God, both His personality and also His great ministry of work. during the age in which you and I are living, which is the age of the church, the dispensation of the grace of our Lord. We are now particularly considering a second truth regarding His ministry. We are touched upon His ministry of convicting souls. Now we are touching upon and studying the ministry of the Holy Spirit in regenerating. That is, giving. by divine power, the impartation of a new life, even the life of God and the life of Christ, to precious souls. We read again the words of the Lord Jesus in John three, verses five through eight. 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listener, and thou hearest the sound thereon, but canst not tell whence it come, and whither it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. We have already suggested this portion of Scripture, can be analyzed into four particular divisions. We are first emphasized the necessity of being born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. This is the emphasis the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. And the necessity of the new birth for entrance into God's eternal kingdom is very definitely given. The second thought that we have touched upon already is the fact we must realize the new birth is distinctly separate from the first, that is the natural. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and pertains, of course, to the natural birth. But the Lord Jesus certainly declares That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. It is a spiritual birth that is required in order to be born again and to have the entrance into the kingdom of God. Now let me just raise the question clearly again. My radio friend, have you had two birthdays? I know that you've had one, for every living person has had one, but it is necessary that we should indeed have a spiritual birthday. We come now to the third fact that is revealed in this Scripture section. We must not be surprised that we have the necessity of the new birth. We must not marvel at the need of this new birth. For the Lord Jesus says in this portion of Scripture, John three, verse seven, Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. Now there are many religious persons, I'm sure, who fail to realize the need of this new birth. That was true of Nicodemus, who came to the Lord Jesus by night. And Nicodemus was very religious. His religious character was certainly indicated. He was amongst the rulers, that is the spiritual and the religious rulers of the Jews in that day. He was not only a ruler amongst the Jews, he was an able teacher of Judaism, as the Lord Jesus called him, a master in Israel, a very proficient doctor of Judaism. Yet he was shocked to be told by the Savior that he should not be amazed that even he must be born again. Oh, my beloved radio friend, you can be exceedingly religious and yet never be born again. The profession of being a member of a church will never get you into the kingdom of God. Whatever may be your character, whatever may be an exceeding religious association, and affiliation, and even religious character that you may assume. Your religion will never get you into the kingdom of God. No religion will ever give you this new birth. And let the truth of this fact sink deep into the soul and into the heart. God says, through the lips of his beloved Son, marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. He does not say that you must be a member of some church, but he says you must be born again. It has come to my attention through my experience as a Christian servant of God, again and again by some of my preaching friends who have confessed to me, and I quote the words of one in particular, Brother Bramhall, where I preach I am greatly fearing many of my members in this church have never been born again. What a sad confession that is to make. But how true it often is. May I say, my radio friend, you need the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. You must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. Now there is a false fact that is declared by the Savior. in our scripture of John chapter three, and in verse eight. And listen to it carefully. As he seeks to explain, or can he, can anyone explain how the Spirit works? But the Savior would give an illustration of his work. The wind bloweth where it listered, 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. Now may I point out to you, these words declare the mystery of the new birth is impossible to explain. It is a divine operation of the Holy Spirit in his power, whereby he gives to any soul this eternal life, the life of God, the life of Christ, It would be just as impossible for you and for me to catch the wind in our fists, as the wind in its power can never be grasped. It can never be caught in our hand. You never see the wind. You cannot hold it in your hand. And thus, as we know, the wind blows wherever it wills. We hear the sound of it, but we can't tell. Now just where did it come from? Where is it now going? So it is just as difficult for men to explain how the Spirit works in this sovereign power. Now beloved, let me state again, and I quote the words of a hymn writer, I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through his word, creating faith in him. but I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Let us reflect again upon Nicodemus, who came to the Lord Jesus by night, and his astonishment, when in amazement, twice Nicodemus asked, how can I be born again? How can I be born again? For Nicodemus was a mage that he needed to be born again. The very first thing that Nicodemus did, he reasoned about it upon the natural level. And then he began to reason on an intellectual level. But then the Lord Jesus brought him down. He brought him heart to heart with a problem. And let me quote the words the Savior said to Nicodemus. From John three. Fourteen and Fifteen. 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. This is how Nicodemus, for you to be born again, it is an eternal necessity. But Jesus said, I must be lifted up to die upon the cross for you. You must believe it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, according to John three and verse sixteen. My radio friend, God says, that is how you can be born again. For the necessity of the new birth by the Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died. upon the cross for your sins and for mine, that through faith in his atoning death this everlasting life can be obtained for you and for me. Oh, my beloved friend, it is the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit that gives you this new life, for this power belongs to the Spirit of God alone. But may I add very carefully, your responsibility and mine is to believe that Christ died in order to bring this life to you and to me. The Spirit of God will do his work of regenerating. He came into the world to do it. But you and I, we can do no more than the work of believing. And if you and I believe upon that blessed son who died for us, our faith receiving him and believing upon him, will subtly be manifested and proved to us we have been born again. To as many as received Christ, to them gave you the power to be called the sons of God, even to them which believe upon his name, who were born not of the will of man, nor the will of the flesh, nor of blood, but of God. My beloved, let us recognize every one of us need the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit to give us this life. We ask the question, Have you been born again? Father, bless the truth in the Saviour's name for its glory. Amen.