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(BORN AGAIN)
SCRIPTURE- St. John 3:3 JANUARY, 1994
Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily. I say unto you,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
SUBJECT : YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
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Let me ask you a question? It's really quite simple. Are you born
again (saved)?
If you are like most of the people that I have put this
question to, that say they are Christians, you would probably answer by
saying that you are a Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, or one of the
other denominations that are part of the Christian faith.
However, that
is not what I asked. There is a difference between being saved, and
being a member of a group, or congregation.
When Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, a religious leader of that
time, He put forth a truth, that today, is, for the most part, largely
ignored or misunderstood by the Christian community.
That truth, is one
that will determine the eternal destiny of every man, woman, boy and
girl.
Heaven and hell, are the two final places that we will be facing,
when we die. The only way, we will get to Heaven, is if we are, as
Jesus said, born again.
To understand the term, we must go back to Adam and Eve, more
specifically, Adam.
When God, created man, He gave him a free will, as
far as making a choice to obey the commandment, that God gave him.
Quite simply, it was one commandment. And that was, not to eat of the
fruit of the tree, in the middle of the garden. That tree, was the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil (not apple).
Before they ate the
fruit, there was no evil inside of them. They were perfect, and had
they not eaten that fruit, they would have lived eternally, meaning
they would be alive today.
But, once Adam ate the fruit, he corrupted
himself. And that corruption, was passed on to every human, born after
that. This came about, because of the curse that God put on them as a
result of their disobedience.
One of those curses was, physical death.
But, an overlooked part of the curse, was spiritual death (eternal
separation from God).
It is this spiritual death, that is at the focus,
of Jesus' statement.
You see, God deals with us, in both the physical
and spiritual realm, but the primary realm is the spiritual. Since God
is a Spirit, and since we are spirits, that possess a soul, and live in
a body, the only way we can do anything to please God, is through the
spirit.
The things we do, through what is known as the flesh, do not
please God, because many people do things that God wants them to do,
but they do it for all the wrong reasons.
Most of us work and support
our families, because we want to. But, there are others of us, who do
the same things because, someone has made them do it. If they could get
away with it, they would quit, and start doing what they want to do.
The difference between the two, is what we have in our spirit.
What a
person does outwardly, can fool anyone, but what is in the spirit, is
what God looks at. This is why, going to church everyday, singing in
the choir, preaching, paying tithes and anything else you can think of,
that is what God says we should do, is not worth a hill of beans, if
you are not born again.
When Jesus told Nicodemus, that he must be born again, the first
thing he thought of, was going back into his mother's womb, and coming
out again. This was because he was thinking of natural, fleshly things,
and Jesus was talking about spiritual things.
Jesus went on to say,
"that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit, is spirit..." What Jesus meant, is that the spirit of all
men, is a corrupt spirit, that will stay in a man, until one of two
things happen. Those two things are, death, or that spirit is replaced
by a new spirit. That process will only happen, when a person, asks God
for it.
So then, why would a person ask for it?
Well, they wouldn't, if
they didn't know what was in store for them, if they stay the way they
are.
You see, most people think that there is no hell. Others think
that even if hell is real, God wouldn't send them there, because He
loves us too much, to send us to a place like that.
And, they are
right, He wouldn't. However, we send ourselves there.
God commands
obedience to His Word. And a corrupt spirit, won't obey, so outside of
being born again, a person, can't obey, because that spirit won't let
them.
Only when we turn to God, admit that we are sinners, repent of
the sin of rejecting Him, ask Him to come into our hearts (the term
spirit, can be used interchangeably), will He do it. When He does that,
you have been, born again.
Many people, think that they are too far gone, and God will not
save them. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Jesus said,
"whosoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out."
That means, the
prostitute, the homosexual, the lesbian, the child molester, the
murderer, the adulterer, the fornicator, and whosoever...., can come to
Jesus, and get saved.
One other thing you need to know, and that is,
Jesus, is the only one that can save you. The bible says, 'there is no
other name, given to mankind, whereby we must (can) be saved' (Acts
4:12).
As good as many other religions, and denominational doctrines
are, only the name of Jesus, will get God's attention.
People like to call God by many different names. Because of this,
God gave us a name, by which we can gain access to Him. Just like if
your name is Charles, you wouldn't answer to James would you? Well,
since God, wrapped Himself in flesh, and called Himself Jesus, then
that is the name we must use.
As far as where you have to go, to get saved, you can do it right
now, right where you are.
All you have to do is say, "JESUS, I AM A
SINNER, AND I AM SORRY FOR MY SINFUL WAYS. WILL YOU COME INTO MY HEART,
AND CLEANSE ME FROM ALL MY SIN, AND BE LORD OF MY LIFE. I ACCEPT YOU AS
LORD AND SAVIOR, AND WITH YOUR HELP, I WILL LIVE MY LIFE FOR YOU. I
BELIEVE THAT YOU DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS, AND WAS RAISED FROM THE
DEAD, FOR MY JUSTIFICATION."
If you prayed that prayer, from the heart,
meaning every word, congratulations, you are now saved. The next thing
you need to do, is start learning about what God wants you to begin
doing.
Among these things, is get water baptized, in the name of Jesus
as a symbolic act of the remission of your sins. Also, seek the baptism
of the Holy Spirit, which will be the evidence of God's power, being
given to you, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 2.
NEW LINKS!!!
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