Message topic: What must I do to get to Heaven
Scripture text: John 3: 5-10
- There was this man who was well-known and respected in his community, he had a desire to travel to a strange place where he believe, because of his way of living in his country, he would be heard of, and be welcome and enjoy a good life there: but he had a problem, he had never met anyone from that place.
It had come to his attention that one who was known as local born was going from one city to another, doing and teaching strange things which to his knowledge no other teacher or even prophets had ever been able to do, so he decided to secretly have a talk with him to see if he know anything about this place.
He has a high reputation in his city and the people looks to him and others with his high regard to learn from him, so, how could he let himself be seen in conversation with this man whom others of his college think of as a lunatic.
What was it that he wanted to know of this man with his teachings and actions as he would go from one city to another and would do things which cause many people to believe in him and was willing to do as he was telling them to look for a better live to come.
He decided if he is to have a conversation with this man without the knowledge of his pears, he would go and see him at night which he did, and referred to him as good master: we believe that you are a teacher from God, for no man can do the things which you have done, and no other had ever don these things before, you must be one from God.
The answer he got startled him so he wanted to know more, so he asked how can this thing be? What was it that he heard that startled him? it was that for one to see the kingdom of God, they will have to be born again.
He could not understand what it ment to be born again as the principles of being born again is difficult for the sinner to fully understand: in 1st. Corinthians 2:14, Paul taught the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
This was reflected during the conversation of being born again between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Jewish leader: Their conversation reflects a confusion over a physical action being attributed to a spiritual beginning.
In John 3; 7-8, Jesus spoke of the mystery of the gift of grace to the world. He said, you must be born again. Then He detailed, the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
You must be born again: Christians are often called born again” when they made the decision to let Jesus be their Lord. But this idea can seem rather strange, because we think of being born as a physical event. But Jesus was actually referring to a life of faith.
In John 3: we see a man who wasn’t afraid to voice his confusion about the phrase, and Jesus responded with a teaching that explained the meaning and importance of this step, as well as the future for those who are willing to take step of faith.
What does it mean, you must be born again mean? Though it is impossible for one to be physically reborn, anyone can seek a spiritual rebirth, when we invite Jesus into our lives, we begin a new way of living, and experience a realignment of our values, attitudes and even our goals.
In using this term, the Lord illustrated the scope of change that can happen within a person, he was also declaring the power and grace of God to create such a transformation. When Jesus said you must be born again, was he referring to the man to whom he was speaking directly to or to all mankind?
How do you and I know that we do need to be born again? Let’s listen to the words of Jesus as He spoke to the one who was seeking how to get to heaven: that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which of spirit is spirit, we were born of flesh therefore we are flesh.
The phrase born of the flesh, refers to physical birth, which is a natural process that occurs when a baby is delivered from its mother’s womb. The phrase born of the Spirit” refers to spiritual birth which occurs when a person accepts Jesus as their lord and savior and receives the Holy Spirit.
In essence, being born of the flesh” means being born into this world with all its limitations and imperfections, while being born of the Spirit” means being born into a new life in Christ.
Becoming a born-again believer is a huge, and also intensely personal, decision to make, and because the first work God does is internal, it may take time for any outward changes to appear, but each of us goes through a similar journey to get there that includes,
Accepting that we cannot make ourselves right and realizing our need for God, admitting that we are sinners and asking for God’s forgiveness, stating our faith in Jesus and what He did for us, and vowing to follow him, if we have sincerely sought to become right with God and have received Jesus as our Savior, we can rest in knowing we have been born again, as the Apostle Paul wrote.
When you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The answer which Nicodemus got when he sought to know how to get to heaven, is the same for all mankind, we were all born in sin and sharpened in iniquity, and that which is born of flesh is flesh, and we all, mankind, need to be born of the spirit before we can enter the presence of God.
We now have the opportunity to ask ourselves, have I been born again? Can those around me see Christ through my actions, can they hear gentleness in my conversations? Remember we are to be the light of the world as Jesus was when he walked among us.