This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of Isaiah 40:3-8; 1 Peter 1:22-25, John 16:5-11.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – HE JUDGES THE LOVELESS WORLD

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (Jn 16:5-11).

Just before the Cross, Jesus told His disciples that He will send the Holy Spirit, who will come in His name. The Holy Spirit is a Person, is God, and the greatest Helper the believer has. He is the Spirit of Love, Truth, and Freedom. Jesus said: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever” (Jn 8:32-35). The way the Holy Spirit makes a believes free, is by adopting him in Christ. A son is free. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption and freedom. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:14,15). Glory!

God the Father has planned salvation. He is in heaven. God the Son became a Man to execute the plan of salvation on earth. He is now also in heaven. The Holy Spirit is the only God on earth now. His main work is the glorify Jesus Christ. He makes salvation real to us through His Word. Without the Holy Spirit no man understands the Bible, no man can believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit has many other functions. He leads believers into Truth and helps them to love. He gives them the power to run the race, to persevere to the end. Jesus said that the world cannot accept the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:17). The world is the system of men who ignore or oppose God and live like God does not exist. The Holy Spirit ‘convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment’. In Greek, the word ‘convict’ means to expose, proving to be guilty, to rebuke, or to discipline.  

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit ‘testifies’ about Him. The Holy Spirit does not attract attention upon Himself. He directs all attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. He glorifies Jesus. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning” (Jn 15:26, 27). By testifying of Jesus, of His Words, of His Person and His work of salvation on behalf of sinners, the Holy Spirit will prove wrong all who hate and reject Jesus. Darkness is proved to be evil when the light starts to shine. There are two opposing kingdoms: The world, with its ruler, the devil and the Kingdom of God whose King is Jesus. You cannot see the contrast between these two kingdoms except God’s light starts to shine. The revelation of Jesus Christ rebukes and condemns the world. Love condemns hatred, truth condemns lies, light condemns the darkness of sin.

Historically, the first time the Holy Spirit convicted the sinners was on the Day of Pentecost, when Peter was preaching. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ac 2:37, 38). This conviction of the Holy Spirit is described as ‘they were cut to the heart’. In Greek, the word ‘cut’ is a violent word. It means to pierce thoroughly, to be stung (like by a serpent), to agitate violently, with anxiety, fear of judgment, and godly sorrow for their sins. Without this deep work of the Holy Spirit, these men will mock and reject Peter. But now, they were speechless. They were paralyzed with the fear of God. See how the Holy Spirit works as the Helper. He helps Peter to preach, to do ministry and see fruits in it. It manifested as salvation of souls. Peter became a fisher of men, as Jesus promised him. Since then, the Holy Spirit has been doing the same work in all sinners who gave their lives to Christ. Nothing and nobody else can do this work, except the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can convict and later, comfort! Glory!

The Holy Spirit convicts the world about three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment.

*Conviction of sin: ‘Because the world does not believe in Jesus’. The Holy Spirit exposes and confronts the world’s unbelief and lack of love. Unbelief in Jesus is the greatest sin. The Holy Spirit does not only tell sinners about their sin. He ‘convicts’ them about their sins, proving that they are going to hell. In the past, sinners were judged by the Law, by the Ten Commandments. For example, if you are a murderer, you go to hell because of murder. If you are an adulterer, you go to hell because of adultery. But now, since Jesus died on the Cross, the judgment is not based on what sinners do or don’t do. The judgment now is given based on your rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unbelief is now the reason why a sinner goes to hell. It is not because he is an adulterer, but because he has rejected the Savior. In the past, Law was the judge. Now, Love is the judge! Sin is found in the rejection of a relationship with the Lover of your soul. “If anyone does not love the Lord [does not obey and respect and believe in Jesus Christ and His message], he is to be accursed. Maranatha (O our Lord, come)!” (1 Cor 16:22). Practically, hating and rejecting Jesus is proved by hating our ‘neighbors’. These were men in need, and we had resources to help them. But we choose not to. This hatred of men is a sin against Judge Love. The Holy Spirit gives us all we need to prove our love for Jesus by helping and loving our neighbors. Even if you do not have money to give, you can at least pray for them who need help. Those who go to heaven, praise, and pray without ceasing. They are blessed! Selah!

*Conviction of righteousness, ‘because I go to My Father, and you see Me no more’. Righteousness means right standing before God. A sinner cannot ‘stand’ before a Holy God. As darkness cannot stand before Light, as sin cannot stand before Holiness, so hatred cannot stand before Love. Jesus became Man. He lived to show us what righteous living is. Practically, righteousness means Christian character, manifested in thoughts, words, and deeds. Only the Holy Spirit can work this type of righteousness, and only in a sinner who is saved by grace. This is called the process of sanctification, by which the believer becomes holy like God. Jesus became sin so that He can give us His Righteousness. This is called ‘imputed’ righteousness. The word ‘imputed’ means to credit something to another’s account. It is an exchange or a transfer (of money, for example). God used the infinite ‘account’ of Christ, to credit grace into our bankrupt account as sinners. This is the basis of our salvation, by grace and through faith. Because of God’ grace, and by faith in Christ crucified and resurrected, we are now freely justified by God. We do not merit it and we did not earn it by our good works. It is the gift of God. From the moment of justification, the believer starts to work out his salvation, by behaving righteously. Therefore, righteousness is always connected with a Person, our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).

The world lacks both imputed and imparted (sanctifying) righteousness. The Holy Spirit convicts the religious world. He is like a wind who blows away our self- righteousness. “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Is 64:6). God’s Righteousness now is through faith in Jesus and His Gospel. For the believer, his righteousness is not by obeying the Law, but by faith in Christ. “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Rom3:21,22).

*Conviction of judgment, because ‘the ruler of this world is judged’. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of God’s judgment on sin. The first person to be judged was the devil. At the Cross, Jesus died on behalf of sinners, to save them from the bondage to the devil. At the Cross, the devil was ‘cast out’. Judge Love has condemned to death the chief Hater, the devil! The sinner who has faith in Jesus, by the grace of God, is free from the bondage of sin, and of Satan. He is also free from the curse of the Law. The Cross draws people to Jesus. “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (Jn 12:31-33). By His death, Jesus destroyed the power of the devil over men. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14, 15). The Holy Spirit exposes the fact that the devil is a defeated foe. He is already judged. There is no redemption for the devil. One day, the devil will be permanently destroyed. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10). It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can believe this promise that will manifest in the future. By the resurrection of Jesus, the kingdom of the devil among men was totally destroyed. The sinners who reject Christ and insist to stay with the devil, will join him in hell. Religion cannot save you! No man can save you! Give your life to Christ!     

LOVE FREES YOU FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:10-14).

Apostle Paul says that in Christ we become free from sin and from the curse of the Law. God gave man His Law. God said: if you obey all My Commandments, I will bless you. If you break even one of My Commandments, I will curse you. In The Book of Deuteronomy 28 we read the blessings and obedience and the curses that follow the breaking of God’s Law. The curses manifest as sickness, poverty, defeat, loneliness, breaking of marriage, scattering in the world, lack of identity, no peace, no joy, fear of the future and many others. It is a fearful list. It is only in Christ, that we can be free from the curse of the Law. Meditate on the price Christ had to pay to give us this freedom, healing, and deliverance.  

To be free from the curse of the Law means at least two things: First, we are not under the Law. We are free from its (impossible) demands. The Law is not our Master or Judge anymore. Secondly, we shall not be judged on Judgment Day. The Law basically refers to the Ten Commandments. We are born sinners. The Law was our master. No sinner can obey God’s Law. The Law has no mercy. If you break one, you have broken all the Laws. Christ died to redeem us from the curse of the Law. To ‘redeem’ means to pay for the freedom of a slave. As sinners, we were slaves under the Law. In Christ, we do not have to obey the former master, the Law. We are now free from it. The Law does not require faith or love, only obedience. We now live by faith in Jesus. Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt 5:17). Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s Law. That is the meaning that He fulfilled the Law. He is the only Man who obeyed God’s Law. He obeyed the Law actively all His life. He also obeyed the Law passively, when He chose to become sin and die for us. In this way He pleased God and accomplished what God intended when He gave man His Law. Because we are free from the curse of the Law, we shall not face God on His judgment seat. We shall not be judged based on the Law. “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:56, 57). Because we are free from the curse of the Law, we lose the fear of death and judgment. The Law is now in our hearts, and we shall be judged according to the Law of Love. But even though Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, we are not totally free from the Law itself. For example, ‘you shall not murder’ is a law that stands to the end of time, for all people, everywhere. Nine out of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. Christians are not lawless. They have received the Holy Spirit so that they can now obey God’s Law, like Jesus did! Amen!

FREE TO LOVE AND FREE TO SERVE

“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (Gal 5:13-26).

Jesus died so that we are free from the bondage of sin and of the Law. This liberty is God’s gift to us. Liberty has two main enemies: legalism and license. Legalism is responsibility without freedom. License is freedom without responsibility. Both these extremes are wrong.

*Legalism is bondage to the Law. Legalists believe that they can obey the Law to be saved and go to heaven. They believe that they receive God’s approval because of their obedience. They believe that they can earn their salvation by doing good work. They focus more on obeying God’s Law than on a relationship with God. They add to God’s Law other human rules and regulations and count them as divine.

*License is another extreme. License is defined as freedom of action, but with disregard of any law. It is loose behavior and abuse of freedom. For example, some say that having sexual relationships with many people is ‘free love’. But this cannot be love. The reason is because love is always responsible and careful not to hurt others. The danger for Christians is that the freedom we have in Christ becomes ‘an opportunity for the flesh’ to manifest (Gal 5:13). In Greek, the word ‘opportunity’ means ‘a starting point’. It is a military term describing the base for the operation. Do not allow the freedom in Christ to become a foothold from where the devil will attack you. The devil tries to convince the believer to allow him to have a little space in his life. From there, he attacks with greater sins. The result is that believers backslide. They become wild in behavior, totally lacking discipline. They think that grace is given to indulge in sinful activities without any guilt. That is a form of spiritual slavery! Christ died to free us FROM SIN, not free TO SIN. The freedom from the Law is given so that we Love and serve one another in Love (Gal 5:13). The purpose of Freedom in Christ is love and serving others! If you hate men and refuse to serve them, you are taking your freedom for granted. The Holy Spirit is a free Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor 3:17). The Holy Spirit does not help those who practice legalism or license. God helps only those who use their freedom to love others, and to serve them for Christ’s sake.

The Holy Spirit brings at least two kinds of freedom to the believer:

*Freedom from sin. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). To walk in the Spirit means to listen and obey the Holy Spirit. It means to live in the realm of grace. The promise is clear: if you abide in this realm of grace, ‘you shall not sin’. This describes the process of sanctification by which you become holy, like Christ. This sanctification is not by obeying any Law but by obeying the voice of a Person, God, the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is not mechanical. It is a relationship with God based on His leading. This freedom from sin releases the believer to be able to love and to serve others. Freedom from sin is not only negative. It is not enough to say: ‘I do not commit adultery’. You have to do more than that. You have to use the strength you wasted on past adultery to love others and serve them now. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. This ‘walk’ is total freedom from the guilt of sin and experiencing pure heavenly love!

*Freedom from the curse of the Law so that now, you keep the Law and Love people! The Law could not save sinners. The Law was a Teacher, a Tutor, who drove us to Christ. Once we knew Christ, the Law was not necessary again to be our teacher. “Before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal 3:23-25). The Law did not disappear. In Christ, our liberty is not lawless. The sinner was UNDER THE LAW. Now, the believer is Christ, is ABOVE the Law, but not lawless. The Law is now a street of gold. Step by step, the Christian walks on the Law. The Holy Spirit leads him and empowers him to obey the Law. As a sinner, the Law was a rod to punish him. Now, the Law is a road that leads him to heaven. This walk of obedience is powered by Love. Jesus: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15). As you can see, the Law cannot save (cannot justify) but the Law helps in sanctification!!! We are therefore free from the bondage of the Law. But now, the Holy Spirit uses the Law to help us exercise our freedom to love, and not go astray into legalism or license. Now, faith in Christ uses the Law to make spiritual progress in sanctification. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:1-4). God’s Law is like a pair of ice skates. If you walk with them on the grass, you will fall. But if you use them on ice, you will glide easily, quickly, and beautifully! Oh, the Wisdom of God!!!

In a believer, there is a war within. The flesh and the Spirit are mortal enemies. The Holy Spirit helps the believer kill sin in the flesh. This is the road to spiritual maturity. The Holy Spirit cannot make peace with the flesh. It does not just arrest the flesh as a prisoner of war. The Spirit arrests and kills its prisoner. Then, finally, there is peace. Against the fruit of the Spirit, including Love, there is no Law (Gal 5:23). This is because the Holy Spirit is never lawless. His fruit is manifested as obedience to the Law of Christ, which is Agape Love!

LOVE IS LIKE A WIND

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever” (Is 40:3-8).

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:22-25).

Love hates sin like no other. Love “thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:5, 6). Love desires a pure heart for her house. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and Love. He does a special and specific work of love and grace, preparing the soul for the new life in Christ. We are all born sinners; therefore, we are all proud. Religious pride is the worst. It manifests as hypocrisy. The Holy Spirit comes like a hot dry wind blowing from the desert. Nothing stops Him and nothing can resist Him. This work of withering is necessary to kill the flesh, the pride of life. The farmers burn the wild grass before they use the ground to plant new seeds. In the same way, the Holy Spirit prepares the ground of the heart to be ready to receive the incorruptible seed of life, which is the Word of God. As a farmer cannot plant on a stony ground, the Holy Spirit will not waste the Word in an unprepared proud heart. John the Baptist was that voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. John did not come with seeds. He came with the baptism of water. John told sinners to repent. That word ‘repent’ is the sound of the withering wind of the Holy Spirit. Grace comes as wind and fire before the glory of God shall be revealed to all men. John prepared the ground the best way he could. He also said that another One will come to ‘finish the work’ of withering before plantation. He said that the Messiah, Jesus, will come and baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire (Matt 3:11). To be baptized means to go down, to be submerged, and die, in the river of water, or in the river of fire. Flesh cannot survive the baptism. Then the soul will rise and be free from the bondage of sin and death.

The withering work of the Holy Spirit has some peculiarities. It comes like a wind from God. Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for Wind and for Spirit is the same. First, the wind comes suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. Isaiah, the prophet, is surprised too. He says: ‘What shall I cry?’ It is hard to describe the effect of this Wind. The sinner ‘enjoys his life’ when suddenly, things change. He cannot explain how this change came. Suddenly, the things he used to love he now hates. Things he used to be proud of, his beauty, intelligence, achievements, and all success, seem like dung to him now. This is a form of mourning. Jesus said: ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted’ (Matt 5:4). To the natural man, these are strange words… This is a godly sorrow. The man feels like dying. He sees the world, the flesh, for what it truly is. The beauty of man is transitory. Money does not attract him again. Fleshly success looks fragile and dying. The unbelievers still enjoy the things of the world, but this man, feeling the love wind, has lost interest in them. He thinks of death, of judgment, of God. For the first time he says, ‘vanity upon vanity, all is vanity!’ He now sees that he needs a Savior. He desperately seeks the Savior. He has no peace.

Secondly, the withering work of the Holy Spirit is total. It affects the whole personality. We are told that ‘all flesh’ is affected. Under the blow of the Holy Wind, the sinner’s mind loses its interest in dreaming about the world. The emotional attraction towards sin dies. When trying to choose new ways of sin, the will is weakened. Please note that this ‘attack’ is not done by the devil. It is the wind of the Holy Spirit that dries the flesh. The devil wants the sinner to love the world, not to hate it. No man on his own can stop loving sin or the world. The flesh cannot survive this wind. Eventually, the flesh starts to fade and fall away. Pride is gone. Self-righteousness is dead. No rain can revive the fallen flower. No prayer can revive the fading flesh. This is the time when the man bows down and totally surrenders to Jesus. The battle is over.

Thirdly, this work is extremely painful. The flesh fights back against the Spirit and that increases the pain. But flesh can never win. People who say that they are Christians, and have never experienced such pains, cannot be strong believers. Most of the time, they are only religious and not truly saved. The withering work of the Holy Spirit, though painful, is a work of grace. It is the work of Love. It prepares the soul for the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Jesus said that salvation is a new work done by the Holy Spirit. A sinner cannot be repaired or improved. A sinner must die to sin. Then the Holy Spirit will give him new life, God’s eternal life. The Holy Spirit blows like the wind, sovereign, free and powerful. “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” (Jn 3:7, 8). Once this work is done, it is time to plant. Most of the time, God’s Word comes thru preaching. This is a reminder to truly respect the preaching of God’s Word. Jesus plants His Word in the heart. This Word of life stands and endures forever. Hell has tried many times to uproot it but always failed. Nothing can uproot God’s Word planted in a prepared heart. No one can pluck a true believer from the hand of Jesus! Worship the Lord!

MY TESTIMONY

I was born in Romania, about 70 years ago. My husband, Richmond Sisan Leigh, a Nigerian, came to study medicine in Romania. We were classmates. We fell in love, and we got married. After graduation, we came to Nigeria to settle. We have three children. We founded Lily Clinic (now Lily Hospital). We became as they say, ‘rich and famous’ in Warri, Nigeria. Until I became saved in March 1986, I was an atheist. I did not believe that God, devil, heaven, or hell, exist. I did not see a Bible before I came to Nigeria in 1980. I did not attend church. Many people, mostly my patients, tried to preach to me about God, about Jesus, but I totally rejected their words. I was convinced that ‘religion is the opium of the masses’, as we were thought in Romania. In January 1986, something happened to me. For no good reason, I suddenly became depressed. I am generally an optimistic person. But now, I lost my happiness. I was not happy with my achievements (my good marriage, my children, my profession as a doctor, my money and fame). I felt like dying. For the first time in my life, I started thinking of God, of death, of heaven and hell. The words of the people who preached to me hunted me. I asked myself: ‘What if I am wrong? What if God exists? If I die, what will I tell God?’ The idea of God, of Jesus entered as a nail in my mind and I could not remove it. It was a time of terror, hell on earth. The Holy Spirit arrested me, and I could not get free. That is when, for the first time in my life, I prayed. I was totally broken. I wept like a desperate dying woman. I asked Jesus to forgive my sins. Better said, I begged Him to have mercy on me. I did not know the Bible or doctrines, but I just had a feeling the only Jesus can help me. He did! The Holy Spirit suddenly came into my heart and gave me peace. It was a sudden influx of power, peace, and joy I could not imagine human beings experiencing on this earth. I was never the same again. I started reading the Bible like a mad woman. The first sin that the holy Spirit convicted me of the sin of abortion. As a doctor, I did abortion at request. I did not know that it was a sin. The Holy Spirit changed my heart ‘overnight’. I started to love all the unborn babies. I repented. I have never done abortion on any patient since 1986. This is my first victory as a Christian. I started growing spiritually, in favor with God and man. Later, my husband also got saved. We sold our private hospital and started a church called Father’s House Bible Church, in Warri/ Effurun. We became pastors. God blessed our labor of love. To Him be all the glory! Worship the Lord!