Are you starting to understand the difference between John the Baptist with water, and Jesus with the Holy Spirit though? There is a big difference there. Yes, once we recognize Jesus, confess, tearing down who we were, and then follow through on the changes of who He wants us to be, your talking to a white guy that hung out in the hood, I come from a era killings everyday and I knew who they were a lot of the time, before hurricane Katrina I could be found smoking weed in the projects of New Orleans. I looked up to drug dealers, and that I became.
Now listen to me, it is a complete 180 change, from listening to soulja slim and c-murder, " I know these guys uptown and the hood they rep " to stuck in the word of God. I knew nothing of the Spirit, I lived a real dirty and hard lifestyle, people feared what I was capable of. Now I'm more peaceful then a monk or a lap dog, My thoughts, my language, my speech, my presentation, my character, my whole personality has flipped.. From around guns to none, around drugs to none, around thugs to none, overnight, And then to add the fruits of the Spirit that help me with discretion, discernment, and destinations.
Its night and day... I'm glad Dc said what he said a few days back, that it strengthens his faith to see a two bit criminal that was worth nothing, to a productive citizen in society... Only Jesus could do this, I've done time in prison, I'm a two time loser for being a thief at 17 and my second was intent to distribute ... I still did not care, I came out and fell back to my old ways fast.
There was nothing NO ONE could tell me, ..only thing that could help me, did.. God, period. Why I will be in debt to Him for life, He's got me, and I got Him. So there was no water, and no works that brought me to Him, it was me begging for my life and if He still cared about me, satan offered me the level of success I finally wanted, but when I got there.. I found out I didn't want it.. I'm hard headed and wasn't good at listening to who I really was deep, deep down. He tried a few times, this last time, I seen the door and dove head first, I'm dead to my old self, I live through His Spirit now, I'm walking on water, and I'm not taking my eyes off Jesus. I live to help others find who they really are, it's deeper then just hearing church for the hour a week. It's a life long process not everyone reaches, I'm blessed to have found out in my 20s.. I know who I am
Gods child.