What does it mean to be born again?

Sermon Topic Sunday, 5/5/13 Elder Adam Porter
What does it mean to be born again?
It’s a subject we can’t fully appreciate til we stand before Him at the judgement seat and His arms are extended to us … then we will FULLY appreciate what it means.
John 3 … Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (ruling council), comes to Jesus secretly and acknowledges that Jesus is from God, or He could not do the miracles He had done. Jesus responded that “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” …. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.
There is a baptism signifying our REPENTANCE … the water baptism … and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (John 16:7ff. msl)
Verse 6 … that which is born of the flesh is flesh … indicating our physical birth, and providing the distinction between that and water baptism (born of water)
Verse 7 … Marvel not … can we look to that experience of new life? We FREELY receive of God’s power.
Ephesians 5:14 … Awake to righteousness (see also Isaiah 51:17, 52:1, 60:1) … when we wake up in the morning we see and enjoy the freshness and newness of the new day – when we are born again, we are NEW AGAIN.
He is willing to give … are we willing to receive? Those who are spiritually dead have not been willing.
The advent of Jesus into the soul of the believer is to be a life-changing event. The manifestation of Father and Son to have place in your mind and heart is by choice and submission
John 14:21-23 … those who are in Christ, who KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.
Alma 3:27-29 … Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? … Have YOU? (Hebrews 6:1-3, then go on to perfection) God has a vested interest in your progress.
This is pretty powerful stuff! We are cleansed thru the shed blood of Christ. Mercy and grace are not excuses … it takes DILIGENCE to endure in our walk with God.
Titus 2:11-14 … that He might purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works … the church must not sink with the world … look at the news today; that will be what creeps into the church … especially the “emerging church”. (Don and Brian McIndoo gave a message on the “emerging church” msl)
We should be living within a new set of divine rules, desires, and principles to guide our life. Cataclysmic events happen in life … He has provided a way through them.
1 Peter 1:15-23 … conversation (Strong’s G391, anastrophe … behavior, way of life); holy (Strong’s G40, hagios … blameless, consecrated); for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44-45) … unfeigned (Strong’s G505, anupokritos … from the Greek word for the mask a theater performer wore)
What areas of life does He affect?
The love of our brethren must be UNFEIGNED … real.
Don’t let who “they” are make you like them.
Colossians 3:18-24 … HEARTILY, as unto the Lord. Servants and masters (v. 22 and 4:1) can be understood today as bosses/supervisors and workers.
Mosiah 12:5-7 … the sons of Mosiah could not bear that any soul should be lost (see 2 Peter 3:9 msl)
Romans 12:9-21 … love without dissimulation (same Greek word as 1 Peter 1:22) … Bless those who persecute us … we want payback, we want to get back at them or to see something bad happen to them. 19 … avenge NOT yourself … God will take care of it … taking or wanting revenge/payback/”karma” is forbidden to the believer. Mind not high things … as one wag put it, “don’t hob nob with the snob mob” … and don’t be wise in your own conceit. Be honest in the sight of ALL men.
Galatians 5:13-14 … serve one another … we are called unto liberty, but we are not to use our liberty to cause another to stumble, but must love our neighbor as ourself.
Ephesians 5:1-4 … walk in love. Reject filthiness, even in talking … no foolish talking or jesting (the Greek word refers to crude ribaldry and dirty jokes, not to all humor … as in Proverbs 17:22)
Ephesians 5:11-13 … have NO FELLOWSHIP with the unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them (the world tells us to shut up and not judge msl)
Ephesians 5: 19-21 … singing, giving thanks, keeping our hearts directed to God. As we have desired a covenant with our Lord, we are conforming to His image, and we are to be appreciating the joy we have in Him.