If we want to see the kingdom of the Lord, we must be born again
Deuteronomy 30:6
“The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”
● Instead of a slight shift in the heart, rebirth means the person has an entirely new life
● God plants life into our dead life.
John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
● You are born good when you are born again.
● Offers a fresh start with God
● New birth brings a new quality of life that only God can give.
OLD TESTAMENT METAPHORS
Heart, Circumcision
Ezekiel 36:25-37
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.
30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.
31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.
32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!
33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.
35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.”
36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’
37 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep
Born again- an expression used by Jesus that every human must undergo to see the kingdom of God.
John 3:1-6
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.
Flesh gives birth to flesh; spirit gives birth to spirit.
God himself is the source of power.
We are sometimes the only bible that people will see.
Maturing with God- means we are growing to be more like Him. Psalms 51:5
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned—
● It’s only through God that we can be born again
● It starts with us; God gives us new spirit with a life
● A spiritual birth
● Our whole being is changed; brand new life with the glorifier. ● God gives us a new life, a new heart, and a new way of thinking. ● God is looking at us like we are royalty.