I pray you read my last message. If not, you might want to go back and read that first, because I am continuing my thoughts in rallying the Church to her rightful place in Christ.
I want to start out with asking you, “What does it mean to be born again?” and “What does it mean to be a true Christian?” Do you know what happened to you when you asked Jesus to come into your heart and be your Lord? Was there a real change on the inside of you? You know, like you had no more desire to live in the same manner you were living before the commitment to Christ? You say, “Why do you always start with questions?” Well, because I want to get your mind working and get your spiritual juices flowing. Especially if you are seeking some answers. Why? Is that a bad thing to ask questions? Does it intimidate you? I say yes. When people ask me questions, especially if I am not expecting it, it can be intimidating. It causes you to scramble for an answer. What we need to do in those cases, is to say, “Give me a minute to think about that.” The world loves to formulate questions that throw you off track. It makes them feel elevated. I just want to say, I am not trying to intimidate you at all. You are the Captain of your own ship, so to speak. You can choose to read or not to read. I will speak more about how to answer people again, later in our conversation, but for now; let us stay on the subject of being born again.
We must go to the scriptures and see what Jesus said about the subject first. We will start in St John, chapter 3. I will give you an overall view of what it says but do your homework and read it for yourselves. In fact, if you read it in the Word of God for yourself, you have no doubt or confusion; and you cannot be fooled. And whether you know it or not, this gives you a peace and a powerful stand, to be able to say, “Oh, I have knowledge of that.” That is why knowledge brings freedom. Hint! Hint! This is why the Body of Christ is bogged down. The Lord told us to attend to His word and keep it before us. If we attended to a toddler like some of us have attended to the word of God — Poor Baby!!!! He or she would be in a heap somewhere with boo, boo’s all over. I know we took a little side trip, but it seemed to be the appropriate thing to say at this point.
Anyway, there was a rabbi that was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus that day wanting to know what He meant about being born again. Nicodemus, being a rabbi, knew the law. He had read about Jesus many times in the scriptures concerning the time of His birth and what He was going to suffer for mankind. He wasn’t ignorant of the scripture. Seeing the miracles Jesus performed and the way He spoke the Word, he couldn’t deny that He was from God. Jesus spoke very different than the present day Pharisees and Sadducees. He spoke the Word with authority, and He had a strong gift from God that allowed Him to reveal things about people’s lives that only they could know. So, Nicodemus was watching Jesus very closely.
He knew that changes to the way they believed would take place. For instance, in Ezekiel 11:19-20, it says He would take out the stony heart; and He would give them a new heart of flesh; and He will put a new spirit within you, and the laws will be written on your heart. There had to be a new nature, In other words; and mankind would become free to worship from the heart, not in just one place like the temple. Now, this meant that the Spirit of God would inhabit the very spirit of man. How exciting! In verse 3 of chapter 3, Jesus answered and said unto him. Verily, Verily (meaning Truly, Truly) I say unto thee, “Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” In order for God to live in man, his nature would have to be changed. Sin was the results of a sinful nature. You see in the Book of Genesis how Satan talked Eve into a change of nature, and Adam followed suit. They didn’t die in the flesh, but their spirits died that day to that pure and holy spiritual nature God gave to them. God’s involvement was replaced by another master, a hard, evil taskmaster that uses force and deception. Furthermore, he wants to keep you under his control convincing you into thinking that God is the true enemy and the blame for all your woes. This is why Jesus went on saying that man would have to be born of water and of the Spirit (His Spirit). And without that change, no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven.
My friends everything went from the laws, customs, and the sacrificing of animals, to total sacrifice of the whole man – spirit, soul, and body to God. That was the reason for Jesus coming to the earth. He was the ultimate sacrifice for man’s sins. Remember the Lamb who took away the sins of the world, meaning yours and mine? That my friend is “How Big God Is”. No sooner than Satan deceived Adam and Eve into taking his nature, God was already working out the plan of redemption. He sent Jesus His only son to take every person’s sins to the cross with Him. Jesus, by the sacrifice of Himself, wiped all your sins away and threw them into the deepest part of the sea; never to remember them again. It would be a shame if no one shared this good news with you, and you never had a chance to receive Him, and died, and faced judgement and hell. He said whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So let’s go on record right now that I am telling you that He loves you, and He died for you too. And if you will do what I have described in this document, you will come to know Him personally. And I promise you won’t be disappointed.
He said, in verse 6 “That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again”. Now, the next step is to study the manual (Bible) and find out how you can grow in this new life and how to conduct your life. The best place to start is the New Testament, because you will see what Jesus did for you in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Do not read it like a storybook, this is where we fail as Christians, because it is life’s manual to guide our lives and make us like Jesus. If we would study the Bible like a heart surgeon studied his medical books, with the great responsibility and knowledge that he literally has a person’s life in his hands; we would do well, don’t you think? Do you think he could afford to read his medical books like a storybook? I would not want to go to him if that was the case; but, yet, we read the most important book we will ever read just like that. It is the book that introduces you to the source of life, our Lord. He is the one who, through his redemptive plan, can take a pauper and make him rich man. Who can take the most oppressed and give them great purpose, joy, and a life; a life that he could in the past only dream about. But, my friend, we must approach the Father with great respect, and the seriousness of the surgeon. Our lives must be dedicated to the cause of saving lives. Just as the surgeon is dedicated, so must we be dedicated in our lives to God, and the next verses describe it clearly.
In Romans chapter 12:1-2 again, go read it, Paul stated that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy (set apart) and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. We are not to be conformed to this world any longer, but we are to be transformed. How? We are to be transformed by renewing our minds to the Word of God. God knew if we got His Word in us we would be able to prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Paul was chosen by God to write and give a vivid description of this new life in Christ; He carried this message in his missionary journeys, convincing people that Jesus had died for them and through receiving these truths, could live a sin free life. He gave an account of the new man, and our identification in Christ. Please take time to study the word carefully and stop to absorb these wonderful truths. Read them over and over; and let them penetrate your heart. Believe me, my friend, they will transform you. Now again, that’s the good news. In the following verses you will see what God revealed to Paul concerning what happens to us when Christ finds His way into our hearts.
He said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ He is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold all things are become new.” How do we become a new creature? Romans 10: 8-12 states we must receive Jesus into our hearts, and then we must confess Him with our mouths. This must become our way of life because it goes on to say if we confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Our constant confession of our salvation to others brings such satisfaction and reality of His true existence.
This also goes back to the beginning when we were talking about how to answer people when they ask us questions. We cannot stutter when they ask if we are Christians or about our stand on issues that the Bible plainly has stated. You can always say, “If you don’t agree, take it up with Him, because he wrote it.” Jesus said if we did not confess Him before men, neither will He confess us before His Father. That is pretty plain, don’t you agree? Besides, we cheat ourselves when we fail to confess Him before men, because there is such a blessing in store for those who do. You say what blessing? Seeing a life change right before you is a glorious thing; knowing that they have made heaven their home. Or to see someone with a wounded heart healed right before you. Wow! I think that is awesome! To be able to confess your love for Him before man also keeps our relationship with Jesus fresh, just like a couple in love. You say, “What do you mean?”
Well, let’s compare this to a man and woman that have a true love for one another. They can hardly stand to be apart for a moment. Their hearts melt when they look into one another’s eyes. She doesn’t see anyone else in her life in presence or future — he is the one. The man feels the same way. He will give all he is and has for her, and she will give all she is and has for him. Do you see the difference in a true Holy relationship that goes beyond just a few words of, “I do.”? This is a sacred covenant, they have totally given their lives to one another; nothing or no one can enter this union. The true relationship born out of love never thinks divorce, but they will continue to protect and be devoted to each other throughout their lives. Their hearts are set. Here they stand face to face and speak their vows to one another, and then it is consummated and sealed when they enter the marriage bed where blood is spilled. Did Jesus not say we were His bride? Paul compared the Bride and Christ’s relationship as a holy union.
Did He not give all that He is to us? And if we are truly His bride, we are giving all we are to Him. I do not see the confusion all the time when Covenant is mentioned in the New Testament. A true covenant is always consummated by the spilling of blood. Isn’t that what Jesus did on the cross? Is this not an awesome and wondrous thing to behold? Believe me Jesus won’t be going around chasing down His Bride or guessing who makes up that Body of Believers. He will know His own by their love and devotion to Him.
I understand that we here in the United States haven’t been taught on what a covenant really is, and that is a shame because I believe if we knew the true meaning of these things, we wouldn’t be divorcing our spouses at the drop of a hat. God takes these things very seriously; and believe me, if we think He is just going to be flippant about it like we are and say, “Oh well, they are just human, so that gives them the right to rewrite my laws about marriage.”; you might want to think hard and long about that. Let me just share with you this fact: the Middle Eastern countries understand covenant, and it only takes a hand shake to put it in action. Back in the days of the first missionaries to Africa they knew they could share the gospel with the various tribes if they could get them to cut a covenant with them. But do you know what was involved? The chieftain of the tribe would come out in full dress, and in front of all who were present, he spoke the blessings that would be shared with those who entered as covenant partners. That is if they honored the covenant: then a list of horrible curses was pronounced and would be enforced if the covenant were broken. Furthermore, these curses that were pronounced were not only meant for those who sought to cut a covenant; but even would be enforced and passed on throughout their generations. Ouch! That is why we need to find out how those in Middle Eastern countries think about covenant. We in our day and time must realize that when we as a government are striking deals with Iran and their neighboring countries like them, we are not just putting our name to a contract that can be canceled when it doesn’t serve our interest any longer. It is a serious agreement to them, that they will make us honor it regardless of what we say or do; furthermore, I think you will be shocked to see how they chose to enforce it. It is not a contract to them but a covenant; and, because they know we do not understand these things, they will just tell us anything. Not only that, they know as a nation we do not have the stomach to stand up and resist this kind of behavior. What do you think about what I shared? I believe they have our number, and I think they are preparing for another strike — a huge strike. Why do I say that?
They have observed us throughout the years especially since 9-11 and see that no sooner that tragedy took place, we are unconcerned and complacent again. Our enemies know we are so petty, weak, and spoiled in this nation that we will blindly set idly by and let them take over, just so it doesn’t disturb our cushy life. News Flash! You are going to be shouting May Day! May Day! To no avail, because they are not coming to play; neither, are they going to ask us if they can have something. They are going to just take it, laugh at us, and demand we bow to their god. Remember what the Taliban was doing to their own people for the most ridiculous things? Just a reminder, “they were beheading them”. I am just saying!!! The problem now is other groups are coming into being that are more brutal and have their own rules; and believe me, they could care less about anything but their chance to rule as an empire. I have read about them. They are the most uncompromising and brutal of them all. Furthermore, I know they are already here and have been training on our soil, right under our noses, and more are being allowed to come as suffering immigrants. Again, those who do not know who their enemy is will have them eating right out of their hands, convinced they are harmless peace loving people.
The truth is this group has been given the power to drive these immigrants into every corner of the world and right into all of our backyards, and when they have reached a certain number and the time is right, they will rise as one man.
We need to pray my friends like never before and receive Christ into our lives! Be prepared to stand for Him, for this is not the time to be a lukewarm Christian. The governments of the world and the United States are being ruled by the prince of the power of the air, and this means if he can get man to do his dirty work by corralling us into a one world government, he has won.
But he has forgotten about the Christians that know how to take their authority and bring God on the scene and His holy angels. We are His instruments, and His Word and His power is our only hope!
Next: Hey, What Happens Next?