Beloved radio, friends, we greet you in the ever-precious and the worthy name of the Lord Jesus again. It is a great joy to come to you with the confidence that we know the Word of God teaches. God is the Father of all who believe upon his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our great desire in so speaking and studying concerning this subject is to make the theme very precious to the hearts of all of God's dear children, and also that God by his Spirit may awaken the conscience of some unsaved listener to realize they need to be born again and to be brought by God's grace and matchless love through the Savior's death to become a child of God. We would once again go immediately to the scripture that we have read in our preceding message. John's Gospel, chapter one, verses twelve and thirteen. Where John, by the Holy Spirit, tells us what we are seeking to consider. The manner in which we can become children of God. These are the words that John wrote. Precious they are. May the Holy Spirit rivet them home. to every heart and every mind that is listening. But as many as received him, meaning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son, but as many as received him, to them gave he power, the word means authority, right, the privilege, to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. These are the words, the divinely written words of the Holy Spirit, telling how we may become the children of God. There are two things that we must emphasize regarding this involvement of becoming a child of God. One we have already stressed in our preceding message. And it was from the thirteenth verse. indicating that every child that comes into the family of God, every one that is his has been born into his family. There has not been a birth by the natural means. It was not a birth by human blood. It was not a birth by the will of human flesh. It is not a birth by the human will of man. But this is a birth that is entirely in this operation and in its power. divine in its source. It is of God. How we must remember that. For the actual birth, the actual new birth of a child of God is a sovereign act of God. It is the implantation of a new nature and of a new life that God gives. In other words, it's his own life. For instance, my name is Graham Hall, as many of you may know. Why is my name this? Because I was born into that family. Whatever your name is, it may be Smith, it may be Jones, it may be Brown, it may be some other. Whatever your name is, why are you called by that name? You were born into that special family, bearing that particular name. All right, make the application. It's simple, but it's clear. In order to be in God's family, In order to be a child of the Father, the one who is the Father in heaven, you need to be born into his family. You need his life. You need to have life from him. And this is the impartation of the Holy Spirit, who thus gives that life. For the Holy Spirit is the divine agent. That's what the Lord Jesus said, except a man be born again. born of water and of the Spirit. He cannot see the kingdom of God. And there is an incorruptible seed that is not of man, that is not of earthly blood, that is not of the will of the flesh, and that incorruptible seed that the Spirit of God uses to implant life into the soul of those who believe upon the Lord Jesus. That incorruptible seed is the incorruptible word of God, as Peter writes about it. In first Peter one, verse twenty-three, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. My beloved, there's one thing you can be grateful for. If you are not yet saved, you're hearing the word of God. The incorruptible seed of the Word of God is being ministered to you. The Holy Spirit of God is attending this ministry. I cannot bring new life to you. I cannot impart this new life. I cannot make you a child of God. It is a divine operation by the Spirit of God. You must be born again. And God's Word is the instrument that he uses to bring this life to the soul. Now when does he bring this life to the soul? And this is important. When do you and I know that we are children of God? Now let's go back to verse twelve in our scripture. Now I want you to know. But as many as received Christ, to then gave ye power to become the sons or the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now let's put two thoughts together, shall we? We have noted in verse thirteen the necessity of the new birth. Being born, and may I speak carefully, I cannot explain the new birth, I cannot explain how the Spirit of God works, how He implants that new life into the soul. But I tell you one thing I do know, one fact that I can say clearly, that that new life is never imparted, that new life is never yours nor mine, until We give evidence, as verse twelve declares, we have believed on his name. In other words, our personal concern is not with God's sovereign power in action. Your concern in mind is, have we believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ? Have we believed on his name? Now may I state again, the mystery of the new birth, I am not able to define. With the poet and the songwriter, I must say, I cannot tell how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus in His Word, creating faith in Him. But I can be very emphatic that the Spirit of God, as He uses the Word of God, is seeking to bring you and bring me into personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read verse twelve again. Everything depends upon whether I see that Christ is my only Savior and my reception of him is imperative, but as many as receive him. To them gave you the power to become or to be called the sons of the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now I'm going to put the question faithfully. Have you received Christ? Have you received Christ? Verily, your responsibility and mine is to receive Christ as Savior and believe, to say in the spirit of faith, I do believe. I now believe that Jesus died for me, that on the cross he shed his blood from sin to set me free. My beloved, this is the way to become a child of God. You can join all the churches in the world. T'will never make you a child of God. You can receive the rite of baptism. T'will never make you a child of God. You can take the Lord's Supper. T'will never make you a child of God. You may carry out many things that are so declared to be done in the Christian testimony. But there's only one way that you can become a child of God. by the new birth, and that new birth will be evidenced by you receiving Christ. My beloved, may I emphasize what it means to believe upon him? Let me go back to verse twelve in the opening words, but as many as received him, meaning Christ the Son of God. Let me go back to verse eleven, connected together. Jesus came unto his own nation, and his own received him not. And the world is today filled with people who are Christ's rejectors. Now we must confess, and we do, one who rejects Christ is not a child of God. One who rejects Christ cannot be a child of God. But one must receive Christ, and as many as receive him, To then give ye the power, the right, the privilege, the authority, to become the sons or the children of God, even to them that believe on his name. My beloved radio friend, I hope that we have faithfully, as well as clearly, expressed the truth that God the Father wants a family. And he predetermined to have that family before the foundation of the world. And then in time, He sent His Son to accomplish the work of redemption, whereby through that Son and the value of His sacrificial death, sinners could be forgiven, and they could be made the children of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, having been born again by His Spirit. Now, beloved, we'll leave the question with you. Are you a child of God? We raise the question in another manner. Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ? For may I point out to you, it's not believing about him. It's actually making a reception. Receiving him and saying, Lord Jesus I will trust thee. Trust thee with my soul. Guilty, lost and helpless. Thou canst make me whole. There is none in heaven nor on earth like thee. Thou hast died for sinners. Therefore, Lord for me. Lord Jesus, I receive thee as my Lord and my Savior, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Again, may I say with love, I do not ask what church you belong to. that I'm not interested in. I am more concerned. Do you belong to Christ? Have you received Him? For we present on this program for your salvation, not a religion, not an ecclesiastical denomination. We present a person, that person is Christ, who alone can bring you to the Father. Have you received Him? Father, we lift our hearts to thee in supplication. May many receive thy Son as Saviour today in his own worthy name. Amen.