YOUR MUST BE BORN AGAIN
I Samuel 10:6 The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.
When I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart, I became a different person too! It is really one of those things that you almost have to experience to really be able to relate to. It is like knowing how to parachute out of a plane and having done it. God changed me from the inside out. Just like verse 9 says that God changed Saul’s heart, he changed mine and I am so glad he did.
We see in John 3:1-8 that Jesus tells Nicodemus that although Nicodemus was a rabbi and a member of the very prestigious and important Sanhedrin, Nicodemus needed to be born again. While he was born of water, he needed to be born of the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. We all need to be born again or born of the Holy Spirit if we want to go to heaven. This new birth begins when we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and to come into our heart. Until we do this we are like new wine in old wineskins. The new wine is active and growing and needs new wineskins that can expand with it. As a pastor of 32 years, I have seen many people that while religious were never born again. They weren’t really even Christians. They went to church, gave offerings and even tithed. They served on committees and even some were pastors. They were good people with good intentions, but they were never born again. They had a great deal of frustration with me, because they related to God by their own efforts, and I preached and lived the born again Holy Spirit life. They just couldn’t obtain it on their own, because no one can. It is a gift of God that must be desired and asked for. Lk 11:13 says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” This new birth, being born again or being baptized by the Holy Spirit all comes by asking the Heavenly Father for it following our surrender and commitment with Jesus. It has to be after, because until we become a Christian we are still lost in our sinfulness, and controlled by our carnal nature of rebellion to God. We have to want it, because God will always respect our free will. It all about a matter of choice. We can be like Satan and the powers of darkness and refuse God’s will, or humble ourselves and seek God’s will for our life. Being born again as we heard from Jesus is his will for us. And as with our salvation in that we are saved from going to hell and we continue to be saved from going to hell, our new birth is also immediate and also on going.
The first thing that happens in this new covenant with Jesus is we are forgiven of our past, present and even future sins as we continue in our covenant relationship. It is just as a marriage covenant. In fact Jesus even see’s us as his Bride. Until one of the parties of the wedding covenant dissolves the covenant, each day that covenant is binding.
The second thing is that reconciliation takes place, and this is instantaneous with our receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God now relates to us as though we never sinned, and will never bring up our sins again. (Micah 7:18,19) In Gal 3:26 it says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
The third thing is that the Holy Spirit comes into us so we can have fellowship with God in a personal relationship. (Jn 20:22,23)
The fourth thing is God sets us free of our carnal nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve. This nature prods us to rebel from God’s will, as a little child defiantly says no to their parents who are greater and more powerful than they are. (Rom 7:5,6 & Rom 8:1-17)
The fifth thing is the Holy Spirit begins to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. We see this in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Gal 5:22,23) This is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. As with our maturity in our Christian understanding and life, our transformation is ongoing in ever increasing waves of glory. (II Cor 3:18)
The sixth thing is to empower us, so we can serve Jesus and help his church and kingdom be all he would want it to be. (Joel 2:28-32 & Acts 2:1-41 & I Cor 1-11) The Holy Spirit gives these gifts for the common good of the church. Each Christian can have one or more gifts depending on those willing to have them and the gifts needed. I personally believe that for every need in the church, the Holy Spirit will empower someone to meet that need. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts as he chooses, but we can desire gifts as well. (I Cor 12:31 & I Cor 14:1)
This second work of grace or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can come at different times due to the desire and knowledge of them. (Acts 10:44-48 & Acts 19:6,7) Being born again is a wonderful gift of God. It enables us to have a taste of the wonderful glory that awaits us in heaven. But as Paul points out in Phil 1:23,24, as wonderful as heaven will be for us while we are on earth still in our fleshly bodies, we can serve Jesus and help others to know and love him too. What a wonderful and glorious gift God has given us because of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit!
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for sending us the Holy Spirit, so we can be born again transformed into your likeness and empowered to serve you. We love you Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit and Heavenly Father.
