Holy Spirit's Gifts & Salvation

Now, to you who were not here this morning, I might mention again, concerning Brother and Sister Carter, they are from London, England, and I think we are very, very fortunate that we have this opportunity to have them here with us for this week. And this was brought to our attention by our friends in Beaumont. They wanted Brother and Sister Carter to come here and be with us, and therefore Sister Crosby called me and told me they were there. And I said, sure, we want them. I said, let me see where I'm standing, I'll call you back. And so I did, because I could find out where we were and how we were going. I called her back and I said, sure, we want them. Brother Bob Willis over there sent us a wonderful, wonderful report concerning them. And of course, I've known about them for many years. And I've read quite a bit about Brother Carter's ministry. I use his book. I use his book a lot. It's a wonderful help. And I love his ministry. I love both their ministry. I've never been in her ministry. Well, I haven't in his before, but I've read more maybe about his reading his book. Anyway, but we're very happy to have them here with us tonight. We're going to ask them to come at this time. Praise the Lord. All right, Sister Carter. Praise the Lord. It's a wonderful privilege to be in a church and to feel a freedom of the Holy Spirit as there is in this church. I was so grateful for the word that the Lord gave through our sister, because I believe that that should be the theme of our meetings this week. Ho, everyone that thirsteth. If we are to receive anything from the Lord, we must have a hunger and thirst. And because he's made promises to those that hunger and thirst, he says that they shall be filled. Praise the Lord. When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, you remember the story. He said to her that if anyone would drink of the water that he would give them, you remember he had asked her for a drink of water. And she said that, then he said, if you would know who it is that's speaking to you, you would have asked of him water. And if you drink of this water, you would never thirst again. For it shall be within you as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. Oh, hallelujah. When we drink, we must be thirsty when we come to Christ, and drink of the well of salvation. Hallelujah. And then we have something within us that is a well, and that's wonderful. But, during the ministry of Christ, after that, he cried out on that great day of the feast. And they tell me that that feast lasted for several days, but this was seven days, really. And on the eighth day, they had a custom that the high priest would go down to this pool of Bethesda that the pastor's been talking about, and he would take some water from the pool of Bethesda and pour it upon the altar in the temple, looking forward to the day when their Messiah would return again, and bring to them that living water that the children of Israel received back there in the wilderness, you remember, when Moses struck the rock. And so it was on this eighth day, the last day of the feast, that Jesus stood up and cried out. Oh, again he said, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. And if he believeth on me, out of him shall flow, not a well. Now, a well is wonderful, but you know a well can't go dry. But when he says, if you come and drink, out of him shall flow rivers of living water. Oh, that's what we need today. And I trust that everyone, if you haven't already received the rivers, will receive the rivers of living water this week. For this spake he of the Spirit. It wasn't yet given then, but when the Spirit is given to us, it is as a river that flows from our innermost being. And it not only refreshes and revives and renews us as it flows through us, praise God, but it brings refreshing to all we meet for the world today needs those rivers of living water. And so we just pray that everyone will be coming very, very thirsty. I don't know whether you know what it really means to be thirsty or not. I had an experience one time that I'll never forget. I was in the mountains of California, and we thought we knew the route that we were going one day when we were going over some certain ranges of mountains, and we thought that there was a brook down in the Sturgeon Valley. But when we got to that Sturgeon Valley, we found that the brook had dried up. And as we began to go over the next ranges where we had to go, we felt the heat of the sun. It was a very hot day. And my companion, as I looked at her face, it was getting redder and redder and redder. And I saw her looking sideways at me every once in a while, and I guess I must have looked just like she did. But as we would go over one ridge and down into the next valley, hoping to find water and found none, our tongues began to swell, and our faces didn't only get red, they turned almost a purple. I'll tell you, we were thirsty. And when we were thirsty to that extent that we felt that if we could not find water to drink, that we could not live. And I pray that God will create such a thirst in every heart that you'll just feel that if you cannot have more of God, if you cannot have that thirst satisfied, you just can't live. We finally did come over a ridge, and we heard a brook down in the valley below. We could hear the water as it babbled along over the stones. And I'll tell you, we didn't care what happened. We didn't care who saw us. We didn't care about anything. We slid. We got down that mountainside somewhere or other. We slid under bushes. We didn't care whether our clothes were torn. We didn't care about anything. We had to have water. And that's what it really means when, as the pastor was saying this morning, covet earnestly spiritual gifts. That means that you must be thirsty and continue to be thirsty until you're completely satisfied. But we never will be, I don't think. Here we'll always want to drink and drink and drink again. For the dictionary says that to be thirsty, it is an intense desire. And as we have an intense desire after God, He will meet that need. So may the Lord bless you. And I trust that everybody, young and old, will come along to the meetings this week. And that you will be so thirsty that every night you'll just come and drink and drink again. If you have found a well of salvation, I pray that you'll keep on thirsting until you have those rivers of living water springing up, blowing out. Praise God always. And then that you will keep on thirsting still to covet earnestly spiritual gifts. And then after that that you'll still keep on thirsting. Praise the Lord. May the Lord bless you. Praise the Lord. It's a great joy to be in a meeting where the power of God comes down. Where there's liberty. Where the Lord can have His way. This is a wonderful church. I could wish that all the churches that we minister in had such freedom in the Spirit as you enjoy here. It makes me think back to 1909 when I was converted. Oh, that's a long time ago. And you young people won't remember very much about 1909. But it was a great year for me. Oh, I had accepted the Lord Jesus as my person and it was not in Pentecost. I found the Pentecostal movement a year later and I got into it. And I've never gotten out of it. Never found anything quite comfortable with it. And in 1910 I began to seek for the Holy Spirit. But I was at a disadvantage right away. I began to seek in a church where the leader himself was not baptized in the Spirit. And when the power of God would come upon me, as the power of God did come upon me, the pastor would come over and lay his hands on me and say, Oh Lord, restrain the flesh. And the Spirit would depart. I was five years seeking for the blessing. And I had to get away from people ultimately to get the blessing. God left me himself. But that's another story. I received the Holy Spirit in 1915. In 1919 I was attending a convention in the city of London. And the pastor, the convener said to me, I want to put you in charge of the waiting meetings, which will be held in a room at the back of the large auditorium. About the auditorium held a couple of thousand people. And I had been looking forward to hearing the messages and enjoying some spiritual feasts. And the pastor, the convener said, We put you in charge of the waiting meetings. I felt a spirit of rebellion come in. I didn't want to be shut away in a waiting meeting. I wanted to hear the preachers preach. I wanted to receive the unction of God. And I fought a battle. Have you ever fought a spiritual battle? I'm sure you have. And I fought this battle by the grace of God. He helped me. And I went into the waiting meeting. I was fairly miserable, but I went. And then God began to work and I cheered up. I began to see people baptized in the Holy Ghost. And that was wonderful. I hadn't been used of God in that way before. And when I saw the Spirit of God coming down, the waiting meeting was as good as the other meetings. And then they increased in blessing and I found that the waiting meetings were better than the other meetings. Yes. To see God at work. And I've seen him at work over the years of 1919. I've seen hundreds or I suppose thousands receive the Holy Spirit. Some who have been seeking for just a day or so and some that have been seeking for years. A number have received who have been seeking for years and years. Let me give you an instance. I was in South Africa. And a good man there, he was a church officer in the full gospel meeting at Bracken. He had been converted 30 years before in this full gospel meeting. And for 30 years he had sought for the Holy Spirit. And for 30 years he had been disappointed. And I came along and prayed for him and he was again disappointed. And then he told me his pitiful story. He touched a chord in my heart and made it vibrate. A chord of sorrow. And I felt for him in his grief. And I said, come tomorrow night. And so the next night he came to the meeting and I laid my hands upon him and he began to receive. And then something happened that he, why he was well practiced, did he? He had had 30 years of practice. That was of coming up to all the blessings and then going back. And he was about to do that again. 30 years of practice. Of learning to miss the blessing. Of coming right up to it and then going back. That night I was desperate. I cried unto God, oh God help me. And instead of going back he came right through. Oh it was a marvellous time. It broke the meeting up. The people wept. And they laughed. And they hugged one another. And there was confusion. Holy confusion. Throughout the meeting. We had no more waiting meeting that night. And the brother said to me, he said, you've caused me a lot of work, Brother Carter. I said, how? He said, well, everybody who'd ever come to South Africa, all the great evangelists and ministers, have all prayed for me. And they regard me as a hopeless case, but they have made me promise that if I ever did receive, I'd let them know. And it'll take me a long time now to let them all know. Letters, phone calls, telegrams. I shall be days and days fulfilling my promises. But the people must know. And all around the Union of South Africa, he was phoning and writing and telling the people that God had met him after all those years of seeking with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Oh, hallelujah, how good God is. Yes, and it may be that there are some, I don't, I shouldn't think so, in this wonderful church. There may be, though, some who have somehow missed the blessing. They've come up to it and gone back, up and back, up and, you know, very near and not quite. Like the boys when they go to learn to swim and they come to the side and the instructor says, dive in, and they go to the side and then go back. Then they go again and look at the water and then go back. Yes, we want to see a few dive in this weekend, during these days. Say amen for that. A few dive right in to the blessing of God and be satisfied. Well, enough regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's a wonderful thing. I found nothing, I said, nothing comparable with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This experience that brings us in touch with the Almighty and my subject tonight is the Holy Spirit's gifts in connection with salvation. I always preach the Gospel on Sunday night. I'm not an evangelist, but I do the work of one. I preach the Gospel and I've had the joy of seeing a good many make decisions for the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah, it's a grand thing to preach the Gospel of the grace of God. And I want to tell you tonight of some experiences that are recorded in the Bible that manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with salvation. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believe it. It's the power of God. The Word that God breathed, Word. The Spirit that God sent, Spirit. And then a God given experience of the new birth. That's salvation. Salvation by the Word. Through the operation of the Holy Spirit wrought in the heart, changing us, giving us, making us partakers of the divine nature. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now He didn't save by foolish preaching. No, no. By the foolishness. Preaching seems to be the most foolish thing that a man could ever be called to do. I used to think this when I was unconverted. I thought I'd like to be anything but a preacher. No, I wouldn't be anything else but a preacher. No, there's nothing comparable with it. It's marvelous to make known the grace of God. Not foolish preaching, but the foolishness, the thing that the world calls absurd. It's this mighty preaching of the Gospel that changes men's lives and gives them a hope for eternity. Salvation, salvation was planned in heaven. If not man-made and manufactured down here, salvation began in the heart of God himself. Salvation required the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation demanded the holy life of Christ. He must be the Lamb without spot or without blemish. And this is a stupendous thing. I don't know if you've ever noticed it. But the high priest when he went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he first of all took blood for himself to make atonement for his own sin. And then he took blood for the people to make atonement for their sin. But Jesus never took any blood for himself. The blood that he shed was for others. Jesus never sinned. Isn't that wonderful? We have a Saviour who has never known sin without sin. Yes, and salvation has been brought by that magnificent, that stupendous sacrifice which Christ offered upon the cross of Calvary. And it is revealed to men by faithful preaching and confirmed by the Holy Spirit and made real in people's experiences by the new birth. I want this evening to speak first of all from John's Gospel, Chapter 4. And it's a wonderful story we have here about this woman at the well and the gifts of the Holy Ghost that brought her to a knowledge of salvation. Jesus was weary with his journey and he sat by the well. He was tired. This is the Incarnate Christ as God in Heaven. He never knew what weariness was. God giveth power to the faint and to those that have no might he increaseth strength. But God coming down from the heights of glory to be found in fashion as a man was a man in every sense of the word. He grew weary and sat by the well. But Mark, if he was weary of walking he wasn't weary of soul winning. A woman came out to draw water and she got a good drink herself of living water. Yes, he might have been tired in body but he was not tired in spirit. And you say, but this woman was not a respectable woman. She was immoral. She was living with a man that she was not married to. Oh, Jesus is interested in people that are sinners. He came not to call the righteous the repentant but sinners. He didn't say to himself when the woman came, I can't talk to this woman. She died in sin. I have to wait until somebody a little more respectable comes along and then I'll speak to him or her. No, Jesus is interested in sinners. Do you hear that tonight? Can you hear me at the back? I'll speak a little louder if you cannot. I want you to know that Jesus is interested in sinners. Maybe there's somebody, I hope not, but maybe there is somebody in the meeting tonight who is a sinner. Might be living with the wrong person. Maybe. I want to tell you Jesus is interested in you. Interested to save you from your present position and condition. This woman, she had had five husbands. She was a woman difficult to please. Five husbands. Not satisfied with any of them. And I sometimes think she must have been quite an attractive woman for five men to have taken her to the altar. And she'd been to the altar so often that she got tired of going. So she was living with a man without being married to him. Why she was, this woman, was as bad as a Hollywood movie star. Every bit. And maybe she was an attractive woman. Ah yes, but Jesus was interested in her soul. She had a soul to save. And he began in his marvellous way of drawing out her interest in eternal things. Give me to drink. Why that was remarkable. He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan. And there was a great gulf between the two. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans but this Jew did. This Jew had dealings with anybody who needed salvation. And he spoke to the woman, asked her for a drink and spoke about living water and created a thirst. Until she said, give me to drink of this living water that you're speaking about. Give me to drink. Then he said, call your husband. That was embarrassing, wasn't it? Your husband. She might have said, which one? Call your husband. But she said, I haven't got a husband. She had abandoned five and now she hadn't got one but she was living with a man. And here's the spirit of God at work through the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's a gift of the Holy Spirit. Thou hast had thy husband. And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. I've got to say it. God knows the kind of life we're living. He knows all about us. The darkness and the light are both alike to him. He knows whether that companion you have is the right one. He knows every detail of life and yet he loves us. Ah, the marvel. He loves us to the end that he might save us from our sins. And the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, mightily work a manifestation of the Spirit to reveal to this woman her lost condition and to create a hunger for a better life. And when the disciples came from the village, they went to buy some food. And when they came with the food, they said, Master, we have the food. Eat. And he said, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. What does he mean? Has somebody brought him food to eat? No. Speaking to that woman about her soul's condition, speaking to her about salvation, ministering to her by the power of the Holy Ghost, giving revelation of her condition, had so filled his soul that he couldn't eat. It was such a feast. Oh, think, have you ever spoken to a soul about salvation? If you really get moved in your testimony, in your endeavour, when you go home, you might say to the wife, thanks very much, but I can't eat the dinner today. I'm so full up with joy and blessing. I've led a soul to the Lord. Thank you for that, Amen. Who said it? Yes, I want you to know that it's a wonderful thing to see people saved. And Jesus was willing to let the Spirit of God be manifested for the sake of one person. It's a mighty small congregation. You couldn't have less than one. Not very well. And here was the smallest congregation being witnessed to by a mighty manifestation of the Spirit of God. An operation of the, a supernatural operation of the Spirit of God. Oh, souls must be very valuable in the sight of God. Souls of sinners. Ah, he came to call sinners to repentance. And he's here tonight in this meeting, ready to call somebody, not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. That's my first thought tonight, Jesus speaking to an immoral woman. And then I want to talk about him speaking to a man. And by the Spirit of God leading him to salvation. Comes in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 19. And this man was a little man. But he had a big banking account. Yes, and the thing was, how did he get it? For he was a publican. And the publican in those days was a tax collector. And the tax collector was very good at figures, but very bad at accounts. That is your account. People's around. He helped himself too freely. Because the people didn't understand too much about arithmetic in those days. And they depended upon the tax collector for the amount they owed. He would tell them. And he did. In a most satisfying way for his own account. And he grew rich. Yes. He was a little man. But he had a big, a big banking account. His name was Zacchaeus. And he heard, he heard that Jesus was going, was coming his way, coming to Jericho. Yes, here he is. Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold there was a man named Zacchaeus which was chief among the publicans. And he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus. I want to tell you tonight however rich you are, riches will never satisfy your immortal soul. Riches will buy all kinds of things except, except, except what? A ticket to heaven. Yes, you can't purchase that. The things that are of eternal value cannot be purchased with money. He was rich, but he wasn't contented. There was something deep down in his soul that said, I want to see this remarkable preacher, this Jesus of Nazareth. I want to see him, but I'm at a disadvantage. I'm a little man. I can't see over the heads of the people. I shall miss him. I know what, I'll improve my statue with a tree. He was going to lose his dignity, but improve his position. He climbed the tree. He was a rich man. And he would be a well-known man. But he ran ahead to do it, of the crowd. And he climbed into the tree and looked down. He was going to get a first-class view of this great preacher. Oh, yes. And Jesus, he supposed, would just pass by and that would be that. He would then be able to say to his friends, I saw him clearly, better than any of you that were looking over the shoulders and heads of other people. I looked down on him. And there's a lot of people looking down on Christ. Yeah. In more ways than one. And Jesus came to the tree and he stopped. And he looked up. I don't know what Zacchaeus thought and I don't know how he felt. But the gaze of everybody was upon Zacchaeus. Who was Jesus looking at? Looking at the little man. What is he going to say? Is he going to say, you sinner, you hell-deserving sinner, come down. No, no, he didn't. That's not the way to get people saved, at least I haven't found it very successful. Don't tell a person he's hell-deserving until you've given... Better approach him about the wonders of the grace of God. Interesting. Zacchaeus. How did he know Zacchaeus' name? Ah, there's a Holy Spirit. There are gifts that can give you revelation and cause you to single out an individual and name him. Zacchaeus. Come down. Make haste and come down for I must abide at your house. And before all the people he slid down the tree. He came down with everybody watching him. I suppose he went up with only a few watching him. But they all watched him come down. Oh, friend, it was worth coming down for him. And if you come down tonight to this altar, a lot of people might watch you but it will be worth it all. Did you say Amen at the back there? Thank you. That's it, come down. Come down, Zacchaeus, for I must abide at your house. And Zacchaeus could feel the power of the Spirit of God. And heard the word of the Christ and down he came. The Jesus level. Yes, we get too high. We get to the place where we can look down on Christ. It's far better to come down to his level. It's a very lowly level. Jesus came down in order to lift us up. Don't climb, he'll lift you. And he called, Jesus called him by name and told him that he was to abide at his house and Zacchaeus gladly. You see, the sinner, the man whose conscience immediately began to function. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. He suddenly became philanthropic. He suddenly became interested in the unfortunate. After this time, he was only interested in himself and his own banking account. But from the time that he met Jesus, he was interested in the poor and the unfortunate. The half of my goods I give to the poor. And now his conscience is functioning furiously. And if I have taken, he might well have said, and what I've taken. And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. When you meet Jesus, something takes place in your heart first, in your life, in your dealings. Things get straightened out. And the Lord by the Spirit Ah, the presence of the Lord and the power of the Spirit and the revelation that caused him to name that man in the tree and to abide in his house made this man a changed man in a moment. And Jesus said about him, This day is salvation. Come to this house for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. How could this sinner, this tax collector be a son of Abraham? Because he was a son, he was a man of faith. He received the Lord gladly into his house. And if you receive the Lord into your heart and life, you'll be sons and daughters of Abraham. And now one more and I've finished. And this story comes in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 8. Here, this is the story of a god-led eunuch. I've talked about an immoral woman and I've spoken briefly about a a tax collector that was rich in a dubious way. And now I'm going to talk about one that was god-led. And yet he needed salvation. Yes, that's right. Thanks for that, amen. There's a lot of people sitting in the church. They're good people. They pay their bills, as of course we all should. And they are kind to their neighbours. And they attend the house of God. And they say their prayers. And yet they're not saved. They haven't had an experience of heart. Their actions are all speaking of godliness. This man, this eunuch, had gone up to Jerusalem. Travelled right from Ethiopia to Jerusalem. He was a proselyte of the Jews' religion. He was a religious man. He went up to Jerusalem. He did more than that. He purchased a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. He was an educated man. And he could read. And he wanted to read. And he wanted to read the word of God. Been up to Jerusalem. Comes back with the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And in his chariot he's reading the word of the Lord. He wants something that he hasn't got. He had been with the people of God in Jerusalem, but he hasn't got it. That is an inward personal experience. And now the Lord is at work. Sends an angel to his servant Philip. The angel said, Philip, go into the desert. Oh Lord, do you know that I'm an evangelist? I like the crowd. Yes, well you'll find one out there. The Lord's interested in ones. Amen. Yes, he's interested in crowds too. The city of Samaria had been a city moved by revival fires. But now there was something to be done in the desert. And an angel speaks to Philip. Sends him into the desert. And in the desert he wanders and the spirit speaks to him. There's a chariot coming along. Join yourself to the chariot. An angel, and now the spirit of God speaking to him, and he links himself with the chariot and says to the eunuch, do you know what you're reading about? Understand this? No, what though? He said, how can I, except some man should enter. And so, he invited Philip up into the chariot. And he's on his way home to Ethiopia. And he's reading from the prophet. And Philip began at that very scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Philly was at the very interesting part of Isaiah. We call it chapter 53. But there were no chapters on that scroll. It just went on and on and on. It was not divided up. It was an Englishman that divided up the scriptures into chapters. And he could have made a better job if he had been a little more careful. But we'll excuse him. He was reading the portion that we call Isaiah 53. He is led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep before her shearers is dumped, so he opens up his mouth. Of whom is the prophet speaking? Of himself or of somebody else. That gave Philip his starting point. It was a good starting point. He preached from that very scripture. Christ led as a lamb to the slaughter. And like came into the eunuch's farm, salvation was visited with salvation. He received this one who had been led as a lamb to the slaughter for his sins and iniquities. He was a godly man, but now God was coming into his heart. He was having a real experience of salvation. And the Lord came into his heart as the chariot moved along and he said to Philip here's water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? He didn't say take this flask and put a few spots on my forehead and baptize me. He said here's water. He believed evidently in total immersion. Yes, Philip would have preached of course a good event if he preached total immersion. And so they stopped. And both of them went down into the water. And the eunuch was baptized. And went on his way rejoicing. This godly man had a mighty experience of salvation that gave him joy of heart. And he went on his way glad and overflowing. And the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. And he was found at the Zoters. Why did the spirit of the Lord manifest himself so vitally? Why did the spirit of the Lord carry away Philip? Well firstly, because his work was done. Philip was a little star. A bright star though. A bright star and God's heavenly stars are intended to lead to Christ. Didn't that one in the east lead the wise men to Christ? And here was Philip in the desert, leading a eunuch to the Lord Jesus Christ. And when the eunuch received salvation, the sun came out and the star disappeared. And then again, Philip was a man who had four daughters. And in that sense, he was a very fortunate man. Any man, if he has one daughter, he's fortunate. And if he has two, he's twice as fortunate. And if he has four, of course, he's four times as fortunate. And this is the remarkable thing about Philip's daughter. They all did prophesy. All glory be to God. Four daughters and every one baptized in the Holy Ghost prophesied. Why? Why Philip's hope would be as near to the doorstep of heaven as anything could possibly be. He wouldn't want to be away from home very long. And in following the leadings of the Lord, he was on his way to Ethiopia. He wasn't interested in Ethiopia. He was interested in four daughters that he prophesied. And the Spirit of the Lord caught him away. He had done his work. He had followed the leadings. He had led us all to the Lord. He was caught away and brought back home. Orphan, I've given you three tonight. Each one was led to salvation through some operation of the Spirit of God and the presence and power of the Lord and the Word of the Lord. And it may be tonight, as I said, that we're going to have somebody, perhaps somebody who's living in sin. Perhaps somebody who's been a little extortioner. Or somebody who's been a godly person. But never been really converted. This is the night. This is the opportunity. The Lord Jesus Christ is interested in immoral people to make them moral. The unrighteous to make them righteous. And the godly to give them a new birth. You don't get to heaven because of your forms of worship, because you say your prayers and attend church. Saying prayers and attending church are very good things to do. But you don't get to heaven that you get to heaven because you're born again of the incorruptible thing.