Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
LET US PRAY: Our heavenly Father – you who have called us to be born into the Kingdom of God, let all those who read hear your voice, heed and be transformed. Bless every soul to believe and gain understanding. Holy Spirit, move among us mightily. Remove the scales off of every eye, melt every hardness of the heart with your holy fire, destroy every doubt and unbelief – bless us all with Eternal Life. In Jesus name!
Today as you look at the body of Christ, you will notice especially in the Western churches that most people are just Christians, while very few people are truly born again Christians. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). In order to enter into the Kingdom of God, one must be born of water[the word of God] and the Spirit (John 3:5), there is no other way to see or enter the Kingdom of God.
First, we are beings who are born of flesh and blood; born of the will of our parents.
Being born again however means you are born from above, born from God (John 3:3). When this process of being born again takes place, you are changed by the power of God from inside out. This means that your life comes to a new level; your desires and appetites for things change; your lifestyle becomes completely changed from the wrong direction into the right direction. We embark on a journey where we allow God to transform us continuously. This is a continuous process, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Being Born Again – A Must Take Step
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5
Being born again from God is an important part of our lives, it is a must take step that need to take place in our lives because without it, there is no chance to enter the kingdom of God even if one went to church or prayer for a thousand years. (John 3).
- When Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, he became a born again believer. His life was changed from a persecutor to an apostle who proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God
- All the Lord’s apostles were born again believers
- When he encountered Jesus, Zacchaeus had a conviction of his own faith, he repented and had a radical change of heart, thoughts and lifestyle exhibited in his behavior and actions.
When a person becomes a born again Christian, the effect is changed behavior, desires, lifestyle motivated by a growing desire to become like Jesus. This does not mean that they immediately become perfect, but their lives are never the same again but changes; they have a desire to obey God; they have a desire to do what is righteous in the sight of God. “you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of God” 1 John 2:29.
After you become born again, you desires change; your speech changes; you choose to love, to forgive, you choose to repent and not harden your heart; you long and desire to obey the word of God and you work at your salvation with fear and trembling. “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” (1 John 3:9).
How Being Born Again Takes Place
John 3:5 tells us this process takes place when one is born of the water[signifies the Word of God = Jesus] and the Spirit. God has to speak first, usually this happens through a sermon, reading the Word of God and being moved. When God speaks, we must believe, we must respond, we must make up our minds to not harden our heart (Hebrews 3:7-8). The Word of God we hear or read combined with the power of God is the power that make us born again as we submit to it. We must be careful here though because this goes the same in the world. The lies people listen to and pay attention to end up converting them!
- Even after making it a habit of watching fake news, those who see can become blind.
- Even after hearing the lies of the enemy and believing them, one can be deceived.
- Even after listening to false teachings, ungodly counsel, one can be led astray.
- Even after hearing the Word of Truth, the sinner who believe and repent is forgiven and a change begins to take place at all levels of their lives (process often times). ““THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:8-10
Prayer to Be Born Again (Prayer of Salvation - Prayer to Invite Jesus in Your Heart)
Here is a simple prayer to invite Jesus into your Heart
Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross and rose again from the dead on the third day. Because of your love for me, you died to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the Father. Today I choose to turn away from my sins, my self-centeredness and every part of my life that does not please you. Today I invite you, "please come into my heart, take your rightful place in my life as my Savior and Lord. I surrender to you. Come reign in my heart, change me, mold me, fill me with your love, your life and your Spirit. I choose you. I give myself to you. I receive your forgiveness and ask you to Help me to know the truth and to become like you all the days of my life. Amen!"
If you have said this prayer and you mean it with all your heart, you life will never be the same! From today forward, a new journey begins - Jesus has moved into your heart and satan has moved out. Transformation has begun and you are now a child of God. If you said the prayer, please email our ministry so that we may send you a free Bible.
A butterfly goes through 4 stages before it is transformed and it can fly.
First it is just an egg, after some times it becomes a caterpillar. When the egg hatches, the caterpillar need to eat so it can grow. From there, the caterpillar forms into a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, there is a change that takes place, the soon to be butterfly changes, goes under a transformation called metamorphosis. When the butterfly is done going through all the changing steps, we behold an adult butterfly. A fully developed butterfly get to fly!
A Christian who is not born again is like a caterpillar. It is a Christian who has not gone through a transformation.
A Born Again Christian is like a butterfly that has come out of the chrysalis. This butterfly is complete and ready to fly.
For a Christian to transform: They must hear/read the word of God “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 For people to transform, they must hear the word of Truth. Jesus is the Truth. It is important to share Jesus and introduce Him to people. It is important to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and share about the Kingdom of God. When we hear the word of God, we must believe “ Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS…”
Hebrews 3:7-8. It is to obey and practice the Word of Truth we have heard/read.
When you obey and practice the Word of God, transformation follows.
Here is a warning though! Even good Christians, if they hear the lies and the deception of the enemy, believe it and act upon it, it is dangerous for their salvation because if they habitually continue in that direction, they can be born again not of God but of the will of satan who is the father of all lies.
The human old nature i.e flesh does not like to practice the Word of God. The flesh likes to do own will, to do what the Word of God says to not do. The flesh likes to be angry, to think and speak negatively, to murmur and to complain; the flesh likes to argue and justify sin; the flesh likes to make people self-centered and feel self-pity and to practice the things that pleases the flesh (for example of deeds of the flesh we must avoid – Galatians 5:19-21). So we must overcome the fresh by killing it daily, we must work at it [ example of how to kill the flesh: say NO to the flesh and not carry out the desires of the flesh; subject the flesh to the Spirit and the Word of God; discipline yourself for godliness, fasting, using self-control and working to possess the fruit of the Spirit…] Paul said, “I die daily” “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Galatians 5:16-17). It is to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. It is to say NO to satan, the world and the flesh. It is to practice the Word of God little by little; this might require a great effort in the beginning but before you know it, it becomes a lifestyle. When you transform, you will know, God will let you know!
Let Us Pray
Our Father in heaven, may your name be glorified in all the earth. Speak to us Your Word of life, we choose to believe. Open the eyes of our heart God to behold spiritual truths. Let every scales on our eyes be removed. Let every lie we believe in be exposed and destroyed forever from our lives; let the spirit of unbelief be cast out completely in the name of Jesus. Let us have understanding and see with your eyes God! Give us new desires oh Father, your own desires. Transform us into the likeness of your Holy Son Jesus Christ. Amen!
~ To be continued - Your comments are very welcome. Let us have a fire chat conversation. These are life teaching messages God has commanded me to share with you; so remember to subscribe and invite all your friends to subscribe so that you do not miss any Monday Devotions. God bless you!
Christine Coleman BHF Lead Pastor
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