Spiritual Surgery

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:46

D.L. MOODY
After all, we do not gain much by discussion. Let objectors or inquirers only get one personal interview with the Son of God, and that will scatter all their darkness, all their prejudice, and all their unbelief. The moment that Philip succeeded in getting Nathanael to Christ, the work was done.

ERWIN LUTZER
My brothers and sisters, when the Holy Spirit of God does His work to show us our sin and our need of Christ, it is a great work. According to the Bible, you cannot believe without the action and direct intervention of the Holy Spirit because it isn’t just an intellectual issue, it is a heart issue. Even when everything within us says, “No, no, no,” God has to overcome that resistance through the action of the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8–1; 1 Corinthians 2:10–13).
Jesus said the Holy Spirit of God would convict a person of their sin, but notice also the one standard given: the standard of righteousness. The Bible says there are two different kinds of righteousness. There is the righteousness of man and the righteousness of God—and what a difference there is between the two. God uses His Word and usually brings that Word through one of His people. The Spirit comes to you. Through you, He will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. And so the gift of the Spirit is poured out upon the church, not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of the wider community that needs to know the good news of the gospel, and believe, and be saved.

PRAYER
Father, I pray that you might overcome everything that would keep others from you.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How does our knowledge of God’s Word help us to discern the false doctrine in the world?

Read Hebrews 1:1-3. What does this suggest about how God speaks to us?