TEXT: JOHN 3: 1-10
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of
the Jews:
2 The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him.
3 Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter
the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.
6 That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.
7 Marvel
not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of
the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus
answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus
answered and said unto him, Art thou
a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Introduction
From the text above, which essentially was
a conversation between our Lord, Jesus Christ, and one Nicodemus, who was a
ruler of the Jew, and who came to Jesus. The Lord, Jesus Christ, told him that
no man can see the kingdom of God except unless becomes born again. The man
became stunned and asked the Lord if it was possible to enter the mother’s womb
and be born the second time.
While the man was
totally confused about Jesus’ instruction to be born again, the Lord, Jesus Christ, was
totally surprised that the man did not understand the doctrine of new birth. To Nicodemus, carrying out the literal meaning of Jesus' instruction
was not ‘possible’, but to the Lord, Jesus Christ, it was surprising that a man of high
caliber as Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews and, by virtue of that, a custodian
of Jewish tradition’ could not understand the
new birth which is a basic doctrine. There are many cases of Nicodemus confusions and misconceptions, even today,
that the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ is as near as it can ever be. I will
mention a few.
Once, I heard a message preached by one man
of God. In the message, the man of God said that some youths, probably youths
who were just invited to a church, went to meet the pastor of that church and
asked him what they shall do to be saved now that they have started attending
church. It was said that the pastor just told them to go and join the church
workers and that is all they need to do. It was said that the pastor never told
the youths they needed to confess Jesus. That was a big heresy! If you asked
such workers if they are born again, their answers will be a ‘Yes’. If you
asked further how they knew they were born again, they might have told you that
they knew they were born again because they were workers in the church.
If you asked some other people if they were
born again. They will also answer you with a positive reply. And yet, If you
asked them further how they knew they are born again, some will tell you ‘my
father is a pastor’. Some others will tell you ‘I have been going to church
since I was small’. Others may also tell you some other things that suggest
that they never knew what it really meant to be born again.
What I have seen with some
‘so-called-pastors’ even suggests that many of them who bear that title conveys
or behaves themselves in contradictory ways or basically do not also know what
it means to be born-again. If Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, could not
understand what it means to be born again, some pastors, who are also church
leaders in their own right, may also not know what it means.
The Two Types Of Birth
1.
Birth by flesh.
This is the birth of a person as result of
joining, through sexual intercourse, of the flesh of two people, basically
those of a woman and of a man, who eventually will be the mother and the father
of that person. 1 Corinthians 6:16 talks about this joining of the flesh of two
people to produce another flesh (a person).
1 Corinthians 6:16
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an
harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
Everybody that is born of flesh is born
into sin and shapen in iniquity.
Psalm 51:5
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin
did my mother conceive me.
That is why if a new child is born, nobody
will teach him/her how to tell lies before he will begin to tell lies, steal
and commit some other sins.
The following inferences can be drawn from
the few lines above.
1. Everyone that is
born of flesh is flesh.
2. Everyone that is
born of flesh is born into sin.
3. Everyone is born
into sins except Adam, Eve and Jesus.
4. This birth cannot
take anyone into the kingdom of God and as such there is a need for correction
and thus ‘the new birth’
The New Birth (Being Born Again)
Man’s flesh always has affinity for sin
while his spirit has affinity for God and godliness. But through our being born
into sin, dominance is given our flesh over our spirit and man always commits
sins and does that which displeases God all the time.
The new birth is meant to give man’s spirit
dominance over his flesh so that he can always do that which pleases God and
consciously run away from sins. See Galatians 5:16-17.
Galatians 5:16
16 This I say then, Walk
in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye
would.
To achieve this, a
man has to deliberately repent of all his past sin by confessing them to Jesus
Christ who is the savior of all mankind. Also he should ask Jesus to wash away all
his sins with Jesus blood and invite Jesus to be his Lord and Saviour.
Once this is done genuinely, all the past
sins of the will be forgiven. At that instance, it is as if that man is just
born before God. All his old records of sins have been destroyed. The man is
starting afresh like a new born baby. That man is now in Christ.
17 Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.
However, it does not
end there. After this, the man must deliberately open and submit his heart unto
the Holy Spirit for destruction of the seed of sin he was born with,
regeneration of his wicked heart and activation of his once dormant spirit in
tune with the Spirit of God and godliness.
Once this is achieved it will always be
easy for the man’s spirit to always be in tune with the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 6:17
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Why Every Man
Should Be Born Again?
Consider the
itemized points below.
1. God is a Spirit (John 4:24a).
John 4: 24
2. Holy Spirit is a Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ was made a
Spirit in a body.
1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living
soul; the last Adam was
made a quickening Spirit.
4. Angels of God are spirits.
Hebrews
1:13
13 But
to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until
I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation?
5. Heavenly resources are spiritual resources.
Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
From all the above points, the following
points can be inferred.
1. Heaven is a
spiritual place.
2. Only spirits and
spiritual things are in and can be in heaven.
Let us go back to the answer of the Lord,
Jesus Christ, to Nicodemus.
John 3:5-6
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.
6 That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.
From the scripture above, in John 3:5, The
Lord, Jesus Christ, mentioned the two types of birth and stated categorically
that NO MAN can enter the Kingdom of God unless
he undergoes these two births. In John 3:6, He explained the basic difference
between these two types of birth.
Once again, the two types of birth are
1- Water Birth. (The natural birth or the flesh birth).
The delivery of
every man by his mother involves 3 primary things – flesh, water and blood: the
blood and the water she sheds during delivery (child birth) and the two fleshes
joined together during sexual intercourse and which led to the formation of him
in his mother’s womb. This is perhaps why the natural birth is referred to
birth by water or flesh and blood.
2- Spiritual Birth. (to be born again)
This is the new birth we have been
trying to explain.
Let us look at another scripture, 1
Corinthians 15:50 which is a direct confirmation of the statement of the Lord,
Jesus Christ, above.
1 Corinthians 15:50
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
This scripture
clearly states that flesh and blood, that is a man who has undergone the ONLY
the natural birth, cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
Why can flesh and blood not inherit the
kingdom of God? The answer to this question is the difference between the two
births mentioned by Jesus in John 3:6.
Simply put, a man
born in flesh is a flesh. A man born of Spirit is spirit. Since heaven is a
spiritual place, then flesh cannot enter it. For you to enter heaven, a
spiritual kingdom, then you must be converted into a spiritual body. This is achieved
through the spiritual birth when a man is born again and lives and dies or
raptured as a born again person.
Practical Ways To Know if You Are Genuinely
Born Again
1. Date of Encounter With Jesus
There is a day each person is born by
his/her mother into this world. That is the date of their natural birth. Most
people know and keep the record of their dates of natural birth. Many even
celebrate the anniversary of this day on yearly basis – that is birthday
celebration.
Just as there is a date a man was born was
born by his mother, there must be a date a born again Christian encounters
Jesus Christ and repents of his sins. That is the date of his new birth or date
of his spiritual birth. The day a man comes in Christ is very important because
it marks a day that spiritual turn around that you cannot forget begins in your
life. Spiritual birth is more important than that of the natural birth and such
date should be well kept.
2. Experience of Encounter with Jesus.
Though, we mentioned above that most people
know and keep their dates of natural birth because it is important to them.
However, there are still many people who don’t know their dates of birth due to
one reason or the other.
In the same manner, many born again
Christians may not know the dates they gave their lives to Jesus. That still
does not mean they are not born again. But one thing that a born again child
of God must not forget is the event that led to his salvation encounter with
the Lord, Jesus Christ, because that is a real event that marks a turn
around in his life.
If you forget the date you gave your life
to Jesus Christ, you must not forget how you came across Jesus. It may
be when a preacher was preaching inside the bus. It may be that you encounter
Jesus in a supernatural way like Apostle Paul. It may be during a crusade. It
may be you had a dream of hell or rapture and then give your life to Jesus. You
must be able to narrate the story of how you gave your life to Jesus Christ. If
you asked me how I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I can recount how it happened.
The Bible has accounts of how different
people had salvation encounter with the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Samaritan woman
could narrate how she encountered the Messiah at the well (John 4). So also was
the adulterous woman: she could tell the story of how she met the Lord and was
saved (John 8:1-11).
Apostles Peter and Andrew could tell how
they encountered Jesus Christ during their fishing adventure. So also was the
rest of the disciples. Two times, in the book of Acts of Apostle, Paul,
himself, narrated how he had salvation encounter with the Lord, Jesus Christ,
Acts 22:6-10, Acts 26:12-18.
In like manner, you
also must be able to narrate how you encountered Jesus Christ otherwise your
salvation ‘may not’ be genuine. The impact of salvation encounter with the Lord, Jesus Christ, on
your life can be so significant it turns your entire life around totally. The
Lord, Jesus Christ, mentioned the impact of salvation encounter with him in
Acts 26:18. The impacts are underlined in the scripture below.
Acts 26:18
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
When you have genuine salvation encounter
with the Lord, Jesus Christ, your spiritual eyes suddenly become open, and at
the same time, you are turned from spiritual darkness to the marvelous light of
the Son of God, from power of satan to that of God and also receive forgiveness
of sins and inheritance. How can you suddenly forget all these things that
bombard you like hailstorm?
Some Christians may tell you they know they
are born again because their parents are pastors or ministers or because they
have been going to church since their childhood. That does not automatically
make you a born again. You must still deliberately come to Jesus for salvation.
You can do that, NOW.
3. Sorrowful Repentance
At the
instance of repenting and giving your life to Jesus, you must be very
sorrowful. True repentance comes with remorsefulness for past evil deeds and
sins. In actual sense, nobody truly wants to repent except that Holy Spirit
convicts him. And once you are convicted, the guilt of conviction is what will
make you remorsefully ask for mercy and determine not to return to your wicked
ways anymore.
How can a
pastor preach about prosperity and then make alter call after such. It does not
work like that. Holy Spirit ‘cannot’ convict of sin in such ways.
Mathew 5:4
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall
be comforted.
Here, the Lord
Jesus Christ is talking about mourning for your sins in repentance. After that
the Holy Spirit, the Comforter will comfort you with Joy after forgiveness.
Psalm 51:17
also confirms sorrowful repentance.
Psalm 51:17
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
4. Strong Determination to Follow Jesus
Through
You must make
a strong determination to follow Him through. The journey of salvation is not
easy and is not going to be any easy, soonest. In fact, it is going to be more
difficult by day to follow Jesus. Your strong determination and the Holy Spirit
will keep you going. Many people just make a lip confession of sin without any
serious determination to pull through no matter what. It does not work like
that. If the three Hebrew men had not been firm in their determination to stand
by the Lord, they would have fallen in the face of threat/persecution, (Daniel
3:16-18)
5. Joy of Salvation.
Remember, you
come to Christ with a broken heart and you sorrowfully repent of your sins and
regret ever committing them and make a strong determination never to return
into sin. The Holy Spirit will not leave
you in this position of heaviness of heart. He will comfort you and replace the
heaviness of heart with joy in your heart.
Those who are genuinely born again must have this joy. The Holy Spirit
will pump this joy into your heart once you are reconciled back to God.
The joy over a
sinner that repents begins in heaven and is eventually transferred into the
heart of the now-repented-sinner.
Luke 15:10
10 Likewise, I say unto
you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth.
Jesus Christ
says that those that mourn (for their sins) shall be comforted. It is the Holy
Spirit that will comfort that person with Joy of heart.
Mathew 5:4
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall
be comforted.
It is the same request for joy of salvation
that David was asking in Psalm 51:8, 12.
Psalm 51:8,12
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and
uphold me with thy free spirit.
6. Holy Spirit’s testimony.
The Spirit of God must bear witness in you
and with your spirit that, now, you are a child of God. He must bear witness
with you that your sins are now forgiven you. This, in fact, is what will
spring up the Joy of salvation inside you.
If the Holy Spirit has not borne witness
with you concerning your new birth, please, check yourself. Without Him, you
cannot give your life to Jesus Christ in the first place, He is the One that
will witness to your heart that will convict you of your sins after listening
to a message of salvation from the preacher. He is the One that will encourage
you to answer the alter call. 1 Corinthians 12:3.
1 Corinthians 12:3
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
After leading you to the Lord, Jesus
Christ, the Holy Ghost will also testing to you that you are now a child of God
and also be leading you accordingly.
Romans 8:16
16 The
Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Romans 8:14
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
7. Forsaking of Sins.
Mathew 3:8
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
2 Timothy 2:19c
19 …………... And, Let everyone that nameth the name
of Christ depart from iniquity.
The primary reason you gave your life to
Jesus is that you may be able to forsake your sins and live a godly life. If
you say you give your life to Jesus and you are still continuing in your
smoking, fighting, fornication, ungodly dressing and other works of flesh, it
may be that you really have not become born again. It must be noticeable by the
people around you that you have become a totally godly person in your dressing,
talking, eating, thinking and so on.
8. Concentration on Heavenly Treasure.
Once you become born again, you must
consciously begin to be heavenly conscious above everything in life. You must
seek the kingdom of God above everything the world can offer.
Mathew 6: 19-21
19 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
If your heart is always about building
treasures in this world, and you barely think of heaven and the coming of the
Lord, you may have backslided or may not be genuinely born again, at all.
9. Leading Others to Jesus (Evangelism).
No one
genuinely encounters the Lord, Jesus Christ, and keeps quiet about it. How can
you keep quiet of the spiritual opening of eyes, turning from darkness to
light, from power of satan to God, forgiveness of sins, joy of salvation, and
witness of the Holy Spirit that all fall suddenly upon you like a torrential
rain. Let us look at a few people who encountered Jesus in the scripture and
tell others of their encounters with him.
1. Samaritan woman, (John 4:1-28).
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her
way into the city, and saith to the men,
2. Apostle Phillip, (John 1:43-45)
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto
him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets,
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
3. Apostle Paul testified to King Aggripa, (Acts 26:12-19)
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not
disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
This is what the Lord, Jesus Christ, calls
the First Love. If you have stopped witnessing Jesus to others, you may be
backsliding gradually.
Revelation
2:4
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast
left thy first love.
Return to evangelism.
10. Forsaking of Worldliness.
James 4:4
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Worldliness is the trademark of all who
have not been born again. Check yourself, here, for signs of worldliness.
CONCLUSION
You need to check your salvation before the
trumpet sounds. If you are not sure of your salvation. Go back to Calvary for a
fresh encounter with Lord.
SUMMARY
Any one born of
through intercourse is flesh and such a person cannot enter the Kingdom of God
which is a spiritual kingdom. To enter such a kingdom, you need to be born of
the Spirit of God. This is the whole essence of the new birth. You need to be
born again, now, and be sure of your salvation before the rapture takes place.
PRAYERS
1. Lord, Jesus
Christ, let me have a fresh encounter with you today.
2. Holy Spirit, lead
me to Calvary and wash me deep- inside and outside.
3. Lord, Jesus, forgive
me all my sins and write my name in the book of life.
4. Lord, give me
the grace to bear all the fruits of repentance.
5. Lord, fill me
with the Holy Spirit and the Joy of Salvation.
ACTIONS
Are you an elect of Christ? Are you truly saved? Are you on the narrow road? Do you want to make the rapture/heaven? If your answers are yes, then,
• Make all efforts to heed the warnings of Jesus Christ.
• Be watchful. Pay attention to what is happening around the World and see whether they match what the scriptures say.
• Be filled with the Holy Spirit and be in the Spirit all the time.
• Fast, consecrate yourself, run away from sin and worldliness.
If
your answers are NO, then you can repent today. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Saviour. Kindly sincerely and faithfully pray the prayer of repentance
below and make a determination never to commit sin again.
PRAYER OF REPENTANCE
Lord,
Jesus Christ, I am sorry for all my sins. I confess them with my mouth and I
ask for mercy. Please forgive me and wash me in your blood. I accept you as my
personal Lord and Saviour. Write my name in the book of life. Give me power
over sins and fill me with your Spirit and Joy of Salvation. When rapture
trumpet sounds, let me make it. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, I pray.
Begin
to read bible. Begin with the book of John. Pray always. Fast regularly (you
can begin with once in a week). Look for a bible believing church where they
teach repentance, holiness, salvation and fellowship with them. Pray before you
go. Always run away from SINS.
NEED MORE
INFORMATION?
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more information, question or contribution, please send email to us at raptureglorious@gmail.com or jesuscoming@yahoo.com or visit us at www.jesuscoming1.blogspot.com and please tell others to join us. We teach
people deep word of God about holiness, righteousness and how to prepare for
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We will like to get as many people as possible ready for rapture. We wish nobody goes through the great tribulation. What are happening now are child’s play.
Shalom.
JESUScoming.
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