At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. Titus 3:3-8
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:3-6
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.Rom. 8:9-11
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Col. 2:6-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace and faith you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph. 2:1-10
Good morning to all peace to all , and I hope you all are awake today, during the break in-between Christmas and New Years, It has all been a stressful but joyful week for us all, may we find the truth today, though our Lord a Savior Jesus Christ.
I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence. Eph.1:19-23
In verses 1-3 it states all about our past, our sinful nature. We don't have to live underneath the power of sin, or of sins power. Christ conquered sin, and all its power on the cross at Calvary. Through faith in Christ we are blameless, but we have to be devoted to Christ. We just can't say I believe we have to live it, eat it, smell it, taste it, and breathe Christ. You have to be hungry for Christ, close to Christ, and live for Christ. As before we all had a sinful nature, and we all still live somewhat in the flesh and we still sin, and we need forgiveness constantly. Do we want to be slaves of the devil, or of the world? Or do we want to be complete in Christ.
Because Christ was resurrected, we are a part of him, we are complete in Him, and we will be raised too, with Him. So why does anyone fear? Our eternity starts now- as soon as we are converted into the Body of Christ. What is so fearful to be seated in the heavenly realms with Christ? It is a joyful occasion to look forward to.
I stand here today and make a point that you all are a part, and complete in Christ. This is what preaching is all about, to lead the sheep as a Shepard, to Christ, and to make sure that you are fully complete in Him. So you can stand up and say, “I am a part of my Savior Jesus, I love Him, and want more of Him, and so I can get through this broken world of sin and death, and know that I will eventually be with Him, in paradise forever.”
In these scriptures in the Book of John, Jesus is telling an old wise man, a biblical man, that he must be born again to be in the kingdom of God. Now in Luke 17:21 it reads; nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." Nicodemus was perplexed and confused, but Jesus tries to explain it in a personal way through the voice of God. Being born again, the spirit of the living God works within you, and lives in you, and is in your thoughts, and fellowships with you. We must always look deep into our hearts, which they may change, and all of this process, will be done by the spirit. Next will be of water and the spirit, We have to move over to Titus for an explanation of the water, but we cannot miss a point that Jesus makes that you don’t enter the kingdom of God being a good person, or leading a good and loving life, you have to be spiritually reborn.
As we read the scriptures we learn certain explanations of God’s word, we all try to interpret truth, which is the importance of being saved and to not follow what we think in this world as freedom to do what we wish to do. Which in any event, do the freedoms of the world usually lead us to sin? Christ frees us from this control, or freedom we think we have in the world. So we must ask ourselves are we free from this gratification of self, or have we learned the ways and truth through the Spirit of God?
He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. Or it could be said; He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Our water baptism is a further dedication, and devotion to Christ, which is an additional part of our salvation, and our loyalty to Christ. To die and to be raised in a new life in Christ, by coming out of the water, we further dedicate our rebirth from death, to life with Christ, being washed and cleansed all at the same time. This adds another step to being guided and being complete in Christ.
In these verses are we all wondering are we Christians? Is the Spirit of God controlling our lives, or is it the spirit of evil at the wheel? God’s promise is this; that anyone who trusts and believes in Christ, shall have the Holy Spirit in them. It also makes you wonder, what are the people in the rest of the world, the Non-Christians guided and directed by?
We still all live in the flesh, and we are being renewed day by day, Rom. 12:2, some of us it takes a short time and others it takes longer. Spending time with the Lord, studying your bibles daily, Christian fellowship, and learning truth, can defiantly rectify your understanding that you are a Christian. You must throw that sinful nature of the past away and always try to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit. You all know who you are, and you know amongst yourselves, are you doing and acting and loving as Jesus would? Lean on the spirit not on your selves because within our own decisions they are human, and of the flesh, before we think and act and do the things we do we should always consult with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is promised to us, but we as Christians must rely on spiritual guidance, not within our flesh. If we continue and rest, and live by the Spirit, our reward is eternal life with Christ forever.
When we receive Christ, it is our life with Him, it is a new life, we must follow His love and teachings and His leadership. Picture a tree that is deeply rooted in the ground, pulling strength and life from Christ; this is the way the tree will grow. Christ wants to help us with all things; we must draw from Him spreading our roots out, with Him, and draw in the moisture of truth, from Him. We must not draw on the moisture of the teaching of human wisdom and tradition. If we draw moisture from man’s tradition we end up focusing on a false religion. There are many man made moisturizers that disregard God and the truth. Keep drawing from Christ and the Word of God, resist any different or man made teaching, or soil, or rain, or a different kind of light, which will end up in a false growth. You can only grow from Christ. We have all we need in Him, and I say again, draw from Him only, don’t be fooled or tricked, or your branches and leaves will wither and die. Christ is all, and in all, we are complete in Him, and we must remain with, and in Him, and this tree will grow strong and healthy, and produce an abundance of fruit to be shared with the rest of Christianity.
