Rick Hughes shares his personal journey of faith, from growing up in challenging circumstances to finding spiritual salvation and growth. Through vivid anecdotes, discover the profound connection between the physical and spiritual self, and explore how the Bible outlines a path to becoming a spiritually mature individual. Whether you are new to these concepts or deepening your existing faith, this episode provides invaluable insights and guidance.
00:00:08 Introduction to The Flatline with Rick Hughes
Welcome to The Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
SPEAKER 02 :
Good morning and welcome to the FLOT line. I’m your host, Rick Hughes. That’s right, FLOT, F-L-O-T, FLOT line. That stands for the Forward Line of Troops. What we’re using is a military analogy to describe how you can live your life and stop the outside source of adversity. before it ever becomes the inside source of stress. There are unique problem-solving devices found in the Word of God, in the Bible, that’s right, the canon of Scripture, and it can help you in your life if you orient and adjust to those things. You always have the freedom and the privacy to do whatever you want to do, but my job is to be accurate, to get you the information, hopefully to find you, whoever you may be out there listening to this radio show, and spark some interest in you to where you would begin to grow spiritually where you would have an interest in understanding what God’s plan is for your life. So the Flatline is designed to remind you of these ancient biblical truths, nothing new. I didn’t discover anything new. These are things that my pastor taught me a long time ago, but they’re phenomenal problem-solving devices. The first problem we have is we are born spiritually dead. And we’re going to talk about that today. This show is dedicated to you and the name of the show is Spiritual Birth and Physical Birth. We’re gonna deal with those two aspects of living. So if you’ll stick with me for just a few minutes, I’ll try to explain these things to you and hopefully they’ll click and make sense and spark an interest in you to where you may want to learn more. So let’s get this one down to start with and we’ll kick it off from here. All humans, me and you, unless somebody came out of an egg somewhere, All humans are born into the cosmos diabolicus. That’s a big fancy word, cosmos diabolicus, and that’s Satan’s world, Satan’s system of the cosmic system. We know he’s the God of this world. We know that he runs the show here, and we know that his time is limited. But when we’re born, we are born into the devil’s world. Now, I don’t know when your birthday was. Mine’s in August, and I was born. And I just plopped in one day, and I don’t really know who my father is. Never met my father. My mother raised me in a single-parent home in a federal housing project in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. I was kicked around to various guardians and eventually killed. Found some stability in playing football and eventually was able to play football in high school, make some awards, get a scholarship to go to college and play. And the rest is history because after college, Leaving college and going down to my way highway, it was three years later that I found out the wonderful news that God loved me and Christ would forgive me of my sin and save me. And I did not know he had been judged for me on the cross. I didn’t understand that. I didn’t know he had paid the penalty for my sin. And someone told me, for by grace you can be saved through faith and not of yourselves. It’s a gift from God, not of works, lest any man should brag about it. And I wanted that gift. I wanted that peace that it offered. And I received Christ as my Savior. And from there, I had to grow. So let’s take a look at it. In this world, in this world, everything decays or dies, whether it’s a man, an animal, a plant, et cetera. I mean, like me, you may be three-quarters dead already. You might be approaching the door to go across to the other side. It’s gonna happen to all of us. It happens to everything living in this world. Everything in this world decays and dies. And let’s get this one straight. How did you get here? Well, when you were born, God merged into your soul, soul life, along with biological life. So God put a soul in you, and your mom and dad copulated and created you, and now you have human life. And thus we have a human life, and the human life is you and me. Listen to Psalm 139, 14. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know that full well. Here’s a great thing. I don’t care if you’re skinny or fat, short or tall, red-headed, brown-headed, black, white, yellow, green, doesn’t make any difference. God made you wonderfully made. Don’t ever complain about how you look. God made you, unless you don’t take care of yourself, obviously. But God made you. He made you wonderfully. Unique assets that you have. As a matter of fact, our human bodies are the most complex and unique organisms in this present world. I mean, think about it. Your brain is like an amazing computer. I don’t know. My brain may not be. When I work on my computer, sometimes it seems to think faster than I can, but I have recall, and I can remember things, and I have pictures in my mind, and I can process information. I can make decisions. So my brain is like a computer and our hearts, if you still have one, is like a power system that pumps energy to the body. And your limbs, arms, legs, whatever, uniquely designed by God for a special, special privilege. As a matter of fact, your DNA is very unique. It cannot be copied by any other person on this earth. We are truly unique individuals. Physically, God made us unique. However, because of one man’s sin, we’ve got a problem. Our problem begins with Adam’s original sin that was imputed to us at birth. So the minute you came out of your mother’s womb, And everybody said, my, what a beautiful baby. And in fact, you might have been, but you were born spiritually dead. Physically alive, yes. Spiritually dead. Romans 5, 12, therefore, just as though one man Through Adam, one man, sin entered into the world and death through sin, that’s spiritual death, and then death spread to the entire human race because all have sinned. So we’re born physically alive but spiritually dead. Sometimes people ask me, what happens to a baby that dies? Well, a baby goes straight to heaven. They don’t have any volition. They don’t have the ability to choose. They don’t have a frame of reference yet. So obviously they are going straight to heaven if an infant dies. But once a child grows up and hits what we often call the age of consent or the age of accountability, they’re responsible to make a decision to God. And I don’t know what that age is. No one knows what that age is. It may be different in different people. I know my children at their ages when they made those decisions. But we have to make a decision because we have a dilemma. We’re here in the devil’s world. and we’re rocking along, and we’re buying into this human viewpoint that he spews out, such as people or circumstances can make you happy, or you can gain God’s favor if you’re good, treat other people nice, and don’t do bad things. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. This body will deteriorate, and this body that we inhabit will ultimately crash. Because the Bible tells us in Hebrews 9, 27, its opponent and a man wants to die, but after that, the judgment. So, as you and I, as we approach the day of our demise, the question remains, what’s on the other side? Well, I can tell you this, that unless you’re born twice, you will, in fact, die twice. Did you get me? Born twice or die twice. How’s that possible? What am I talking about? Well, listen to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when he was quizzed by a religious leader during his time on this earth. In John 3, 1 through 10, I’ll simply read it to you, and you’ll understand what I mean about being born twice. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This is no dummy. This is a pretty smart individual. And the same man came to Jesus by night. He didn’t want to be seen talking to Jesus, but he had some curiosity. And he said unto him, Rabbi, we know you’re a teacher come from God because no man can do the miracles you do. and lest God be with him. And Jesus answered and said to him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Born again. Well, I’ve already been born once. How can I be born again? Nicodemus was confused. In verse four of John three, he said, how can a man be born when he’s old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? And Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, that’s physical birth, and of the spirit, that’s spiritual birth, He cannot enter into the kingdom of God because 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 you, you must be born again because the wind blows and where it listens and you hear it, but you don’t know where it’s coming from and you don’t know where it’s going. So is everyone that is born of the spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these things be? I mean, he was a religious leader. He was a religious ruler, a man of great prominence and power. And he didn’t understand this. And listen to what Jesus said to him in John 3, 10. Jesus answered and said unto him, are you a master of Israel and you don’t know these things? No, he did not know these things. And it’s very, very possible. that many pastors today who have great influence and great power don’t know these things either. Because organized religion often fails to recognize that Christianity is in fact a relationship with God through Christ Jesus, not a religion. So the question then becomes, how does it work? How do I get born again? In John 3, 12, the Lord Jesus went on and said, I’ve told you earthly things and you did not believe me. How would you believe me if I tell you about heavenly things? And no man ascended up to heavens, but he that came down from heaven. even the Son of Man, which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that’s the cross, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Whoever believes believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Whoa, wait, wait. Whoever believes in him and quits chewing gum. Whoever believes in him and quits drinking sodas. Whoever believes in him and loses weight. Whoever, no, no, no, none of that. Whoever believes in him. And see, that’s the verb, pistouo, from the word faith, pistos, the word faith in the Greek New Testament. Pistouo, that’s your faith, your believing. For God so loved the world, John 3, 16, the verse you well know, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, there it is again, should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son, this is Jesus speaking, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, Christ didn’t come to send you to hell, but the world through him might be saved. That’s why Christ came, to deliver you from hell. And he that believeth on him, there it is again, he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not, that’s the opposite side of the coin, is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. What do you have to do to be born again, according to these verses? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. He that believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, 1 John tells us, chapter five. Paul told the Roman jailer, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You can demonstrate your faith to God by simply praying and saying, Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your anointed son and I want to receive him as my savior. That’s a simple act of faith. That’s a simple prayer of faith. But it will bring shouts and applause throughout heaven when you do that. Have you ever done that? Have you ever by faith simply told God, I’m a sinner and I know I’m a sinner and I believe Jesus Christ is your son and I’m willing to receive him as my savior? I hope you have. This is the most serious, critical decision you could ever make in your life. So here’s a principle. Your first birth is a physical birth and it’s non-volitional. You didn’t have anything to do with it. You just showed up. But your second birth is spiritual and is completely volitional. What’s the second birth entail? Well, here it is, listen carefully. When you’re born, you should have a body and a soul and a spirit. But once Adam’s original sin is imputed to you at birth, you’re born spiritually dead. You still have a body. You still have a soul with mentality, with volition, with a conscience, with a self-consciousness, but you’re spiritually dead. So when you go to the cross and receive Christ as your Savior by faith alone, then you are not changed in your body. Then you’ve still got the same body. and your soul doesn’t change, but now God the Holy Spirit comes to indwell your dead human spirit, and you are made spiritually alive. And now you can have a relationship with God. The first death is physical, non-volitional. The second death, see you don’t control when you die unless you commit suicide. Unfortunately, some people do that. Did they lose their salvation? No. The Bible doesn’t say you die and go to hell if you kill yourself. That’s not what the Bible says, and people are mentally deranged and do that. They go to heaven. But that’s never, ever God’s will for anyone to do that. So the first death is physical, non-volitional. The second death is eternal, but it’s completely your choice. Does the Bible talk about a second death? You better believe it does. Listen to Revelation chapter 20, verse 11. And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books, notice that it’s plural here, the books… were opened and then another book that’s a singular word books and book so another book was open which is in fact the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books the books those books record all the good deeds you did all the nice things you did you helped the little old lady across the street you tithed at church you didn’t cheat on your income tax you didn’t cheat on your spouse. You didn’t chew tobacco. You didn’t smoke cigarettes. You were a good person. According to their works, they were judged. Unfortunately, the Bible says there are none that are good. No, not even one. All of our righteousness is like a filthy rag in God’s eyes. If you think for one minute that then your righteousness can equal the holiness of god you are sadly mistaken just being in his presence you would melt people were not even allowed to see him or they would die in his glory you think you can impress him because certain things that you do so here they are they’re now at the great white throne of judgment great white throne you’re not going to be here this is not your judgment if you’re a christian if you believed in jesus christ and received him as your savior this is not your judgment this is for the unbeliever and so they were judged according to their works minus good it doesn’t equal the righteousness of god listen to verse 13 the sea giveth the dead which are in it and death and hell here comes people out of hell people that have died and gone to hell and now here they are at the great white throne of judgment Hell delivered up the dead that was in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And then death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Whoever was not found written in the Lamb’s book of life was cast into the lake of fire. How does your name get written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Well, when you’re born, your name is recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. When you die without receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior, your name is blotted out and you’ve died the first death. Believers aren’t said to be dead, they’re said to be asleep in Christ. So if you’re a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and you pass away, your body may go to the grave, but your soul and spirit will go to the presence of God and await a resurrection body, whenever that may be. But here, the unbeliever goes to hell. And he, body goes to the grave, he goes to hell, his soul goes to hell, and he awaits the final judgment called the great white throne judgment. And here at the great white throne judgment, he’s then thrown into the lake of fire. And it’s called the second death. Whoever was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. This is what the Bible says. So let’s assume you’ve been born once by means of physical copulation. And the second time by means of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So you’ve had two births. Good. That’s great. I’m glad to hear that. So what’s next? Well. When you were born into this world, you came in as a little baby. I’ve got some grandchildren, little babies, another one on the way, and little babies are cute. You came in as a little baby, and you wanted a bottle, and you wanted breast, and you wanted milk, and you wanted nurturement, and you wanted food, and you had to grow up. Well, 1 Peter 2 says, as newborn babies, Desire the sincere milk of the word of God so that you may grow thereby. So the word of God is the nutrient you need in your soul so you can grow spiritually. See, the apostle Peter recognized that just as a physical baby must grow, so also new babies in Christ must grow. Paul essentially said the same thing in Ephesians 4.15. He said, but speaking the truth in love, you may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. So when you’re born spiritually, you’re born spiritually a spiritual baby. And then you want to become a spiritual adolescence, and you want to become eventually a spiritually mature individual. The psalmist recognized it in Psalm 92, 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, and he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. It is God’s desire for you to grow up. So there’s the question we have to answer it. How do we grow spiritually? We know how we grow physically. We eat, we metabolize, we process. But how do you grow spiritually? Well, the answer is you live your spiritual life in your soul before it’s ever demonstrated in your physical actions. In other words, the soul has the ability to think, to maintain, regard decisions. So to grow physically or to grow spiritually, either way. The mentality must be trained. So if you have a physical baby and you want to feed that baby and you want him to grow physically, you also want him to grow mentally. You want him to be able to think, process, logic, reason, understand. Same thing spiritually. You must learn to think, process, logic, and understand in your spiritual life. The soul has mentality, and so here’s what the Bible says about that. Proverbs 22.6, if you’ll train up a child in the way he should go, even when he’s old, he won’t leave it. In Deuteronomy 6, 7, you shall teach them God’s laws to your son and to your sons, and they shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up. Talk of them, teach them, share the word of God with your children. In Psalm 34, 11, come, you children, listen to me, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. in psalm 92 12 the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and he shall grow like a cedar in lebanon paul instructs us in the new testament to grow up and the only way you can do that is to train your mind to reject the thought process of the cosmos diabolicus the devil’s world to reject the cosmic system way of thinking and you must retool your thinking with the mind of Christ. That’s why Romans 12, one through three says, stop thinking in terms of arrogance beyond what you should think, but think in terms of humility as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from his word. And so as a newborn babe in Christ, You learn God’s word and you learn to rethink things. You don’t think in terms of human dynamics and human energy. You think in terms of spiritual dynamics using the mind of Christ. The Bible clearly says in Philippians 2, 5, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. So we’re told to have the mentality assets that Christ had. Is that possible? Well, sure it is. How do we do that? It’s in the Bible. Everything he did is in the Bible. All he taught is in the Bible. And so as you learn what’s in the New Testament, you learn how Jesus Christ our Lord lived. You learn how he thought. You learn how he acted and reacted to situations in his life. You learn what he taught the disciples. Like in John 17, I’m teaching you these things so my joy might be full in you. You learn these things. And when we get the mind of Christ, when we stop thinking in terms of human viewpoint, arrogance, then we begin to process God’s Word in our soul and grow. The only way you can ever grow is to sit under a real qualified pastor. It’s a spiritual gift. A man that can teach it to you. It’s not a novel. The Bible, I’m glad you read the Bible, but it’s not a novel. It’s a textbook. It’s designed to be taught to you. And as he studies and as he teaches, as you process the information and apply it into your life, then you do what we call LAG, L-A-G. Learn it, apply it, and glorify God. But invariably, some believers get distracted with the details of life, and they never make spiritual growth a priority. Hebrews said in Hebrews 5.11, we have many things to say about It’s hard to be uttered since you are dull of hearing. For when for the time you ought to be a teacher, you have need now that someone come back and teach you all over again the very first principles of the word of God. And you are like a baby that needs milk and you cannot chew strong meat. Everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of God. He is still a baby. So God wants you to get past the milk stage. He wants you to get to the steak stage. He wants you to grow up spiritually. Verse 14, strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern the difference between good and evil. This is critical for you and critical for me. Where do you stand? Is spiritual growth a priority in your life? The advantage of thinking like Jesus Christ includes having a relaxed mental attitude, having virtue love, sharing the happiness of God, living by grace, living by divine viewpoint. It’s a whole new different way to live, a unique way to live in the devil’s world. And it all begins with spiritual growth in your life. Yes, you’ve been born physically. Yes, you are alive. You’re listening to me. Have you been born spiritually? Do you know God’s plan for your life? It starts the moment you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. My prayer is you’ve listened today. You’ve comprehended as best I can. I’ve tried to break it down simple. I hope it made sense. I hope you will apply it into your life. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
