October 29, 2023 - An Encounter that will Transform Your Life, Pastor Paul Vallee

John 3:1-21 Soren Kierkegaard, the noted Danish Theologian, once said: “God creates out of nothing.  You may say, that’s wonderful. But He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners.” No person ever became a Christian apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. The reason is that the natural mind is hostile to God, but when God’s Spirit begins to work in the hearts and minds of people, something spiritual and supernatural happens within people. Here is how the apostle Paul describes it in Romans 8:5-9: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so [This explains rebellion in the heart of man. The sinful mind is hostile to God and will not submit to God’s word.] Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” One expression we use to explain the spiritual transformation is conversion. Too often, we focus on the human side of conversion, the person responding to the call of God. But conversion begins as a work of God. This is what the apostle Paul pointed out in Romans. Our natural state is hostile to God, and it takes the Holy Spirit influencing, challenging, and guiding our lives. Briefly, I want to explain how we enter the kingdom of God. One of the great stories from the New Testament that explains the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion is found in John’s gospel. A religious leader came to Jesus by night to gain a private audience with him. In Nicodemus’ encounter with Christ, we find three elements in an encounter with God that explains how we enter God’s kingdom.