Two examples of God regenerating men to repentance and belief in Christ Jesus:

(see Romans Chapter 9, especially verses 15 and 16)

1. Puritan John Flavel was a minister in Dartmouth, England.  One day, he preached from these words: “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22, ESV).  The discourse was unusually solemn – particularly the explanation of the curse.  At the conclusion, when Mr. Flavel rose to pronounce the blessing, he paused and said: “How shall I bless this whole assembly, when every person in it who loves not the Lord Jesus is anathema?” The solemnity of this address affected the audience.

In the congregation was a lad named Luke Short, about fifteen years old, a native of Dartmouth.  Shortly after, he went to sea and sailed to America, where he passed the rest of his life.  His life was lengthened far beyond the usual term.  When a hundred years old, he was able to work on his farm and his mind was not at all impaired.  He had lived, all this time, in carelessness and sin.  He was a sinner a hundred years old and ready to die accursed.

One day, as he sat in his field, he busied himself in reflecting on his past life.  He thought of the days of his youth. His memory fixed on Mr. Flavel’s sermon, a considerable part of which he remembered.  The earnestness of the minister – the truths spoken, the effect on the people – all came fresh to his mind.  He felt that he had not loved the Lord Jesus.  He feared the dreadful anathema. He was deeply convinced of sin. The horror of dying under the curse of God was impressed upon him as he meditated on the words he had heard so long ago and he was converted to Christ– eighty-five years after hearing John Flavel preach. He lived to his one hundred and sixteenth year.

How faithful God is to His Word.  He did let none of His words fall to the ground.

2. There is a story in the biography of George Whitefield about a man named Thorpe, who was a bitter opponent of everything that is holy. He and a group of his friends—all of them young, rebellious thugs—conspired together to mock and oppose George Whitefield’s evangelistic ministry while Whitefield was preaching in Bristol, England.

George Whitefield had severely crossed eyes, if you have ever seen a realistic likeness of him. And these guys used to refer to him as “Dr. Squintum.” They called their little gang “The Hell-Fire Club,” and they disrupted meetings, mocked Whitefield on the streets and in public places, and generally tried to make his ministry a reproach in their community. Whitefield’s preaching had already made a deep and lasting impact in Bristol, and these young ruffians hated him for it. So this guy Thorpe got one of Whitefield’s published sermons and took it to the local pub, where the “Hell-Fire Club” was gathered to drink together while they made a burlesque of Whitefield.

Thorpe was apparently pretty good at doing impressions, and he had all of Whitefield’s mannerisms and gestures down pat. So he stood in the center of this pub and crossed his eyes and began to deliver a derisive rendition of Whitefield’s sermon. But in the middle of the sermon, the Word of God pierced his heart, and he suddenly stopped and sat down, trembling and broken-hearted. Right then and there, he confessed the truth of the gospel and gave his heart to Christ. His aim was to taunt and ridicule, but he was accidentally converted himself! Or rather, the power of the Word of God penetrated his soul and cut him to the heart. He became a preacher himself and quite an effective evangelist, because he knew so well the power of the Word of God to penetrate hardened hearts.

Notice that the Word of God pierces to the very depths, “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It probes to the deepest recesses of the heart, no matter how hardened or how closed the heart might be. In fact, only Scripture can do that.” (Hebrews 4:12-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)

3. And for perhaps the most notable conversion, we visit Acts 9 (for the entire story of Saul’s interaction with Stephen, see Chapters 7, 8, and 9), where we read, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

If God does gift you with opened ears and eyes, and a saving faith in Christ Jesus, you will - to varying degrees - for the remainder of your life continually ask, as did Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the Apostle, “Who art thou, Lord? And what wilt thou have me to do?”