If you are not yet a Christian and would like to become one, please pray this prayer out loud;

 

Almighty God, I come to you in the name of Jesus.

I believe that Jesus is your son who died for me on the cross and rose again three days later.

He has paid the penalty for my sin. 

I renounce all other gods and declare that Jesus is my Lord and my Saviour.

I therefore ask you to fill me with the Holy Spirit who will become my guide and comforter as I start out in this new life.

Praise the Lord!

Amen

 

 

Born Again

 

Although many people think the term Born Again is a new concept applied to a certain type of Christian in the 20th Century,  it was actually first mentioned by Jesus when He was speaking to Nicodemus;

 

John 3.3-7  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

 

Here Jesus tells us that we must all be Born Again, otherwise we will not be able to see the Kingdom of God. Even if some churches do not use the term “Born Again”, if they believe the basic tenets of Christianity –

 

• That Jesus is the Son of God, 
• That He is one with God,  True God from True God,
• That He was born of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit,
• That he was crucified and died for our sins and rose again on the third day, 

 

No matter what term people use to describe it (converted, saved etc), they are Born Again.

 

The Bible tells us in Genesis that God created Adam and gave him dominion over all the earth and over all that was on the earth, and he could eat of anything in the garden of Eden except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Instead of obeying God, he obeyed the devil who had deceived Eve, and ate of that tree. In so doing, Adam handed over all his rights to Satan and allowed a curse to come upon mankind.  Man was now lost, spiritually dead and unable to fellowship with God. 

 

We have inherited our sinful nature from Adam, so it important that we be born again so we can inherit the righteous nature from Jesus.

 

It is important that everyone realises that Jesus is the only way by which you can be saved. Not by doing good works,  not by believing in God, not by worshipping Buddha or any other god,  not even by attending church. The only way to be saved is by believing in Jesus Christ and confessing Him with your mouth -

Rom 10.9-10 says if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

The word ‘believe’ in the original Greek, is continuous present tense.  This means we are saved the mo0ment we believe but we also have to go on believing until we go to be with Him.

 

In John 14.6  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. In other words as Peter said in Acts 4.12 Jesus is the only way by which men can be saved  "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

 

God Himself wants you to be saved, His desire is that you are saved, Not only has He made it possible for you to be saved by the sacrifice of His own son, but He has even caused you to come to this point now where you have the opportunity to be saved.  John 6.44 says "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;  this verse is telling us that God has deliberately sought us out and drawn us to his son Jesus.  1 Tim 2.4-6  talking about God says,  “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,  who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

 

If you have not yet accepted Jesus, say this prayer right now.  Speak it so you can hear yourself talking to God and say ;

“Almighty God, I come to you in the name of your beloved son Jesus.  I believe he is your son, that he died for me so that I might be saved.  I believe he rose again on the third day victorious over sin and death.  I accept his sacrifice for my sin,  I renounce all other gods and I ask you Lord Jesus to come into my heart, I declare that from this moment on, you are my Lord.  God you are my father and I am your child.  Teach me your ways,  change me, correct me, protect me.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to be a minister of your gospel, to share the good news with my family, my friends, and everyone I meet.

I love you Lord Jesus.

Amen”

 

Now that you are Born again

Firstly let me welcome you into our family.  The Bible tells us that the angels in heaven rejoiced when you accepted Jesus as your saviour (Luke 15.10).  What a party they must have had !!

You are starting out on a wonderful journey, and the ticket has already been paid for. Let me assure you, God has great plans for you but it is up to you to see that those plans are fulfilled.

 

What should I do now?

• Church. It is important to spend time with other Christians who can help you in your walk with Jesus and answer any questions you may have. So find a good church or group of Christians who will help you and encourage you.  Find a church where they actively believe  the Bible is God speaking to us. Where they preach His Word (the Bible), and where you feel comfortable.  Join in the activities of the church, don't just attend on Sundays, but become a fully participating member. There are many different types of church, so find one that suits you, your age group, your interests, your taste in music, whether you have friends there etc). If they have a beginners course or home groups then join in one of them.
• Read. Study God's Word (the Bible) every day.  Treat it as spiritual food and feed on it as you feed on natural food.  Read it, study it, and meditate on the scriptures.  Find out how the scriptures apply today, how they apply to your situation.
• Pray. Spend time each day talking to God.  Thank Him, Praise Him, Tell Him your concerns, Ask Him for answers and for guidance, and take time to listen to Him.
• Repent. God accepts us not when we are perfect but when we are far from it, when we still do all the wrong things.  Repentance means to turn around and go the other way. When you were born again, you turned around from going where you were going to heading towards God. Repentance means changing the way we live to live according to the way God wants us to live.  Part of repentance is confessing you sins (The word ‘sin’ means ‘missing the mark’).  As you learn more about God, you will become more aware of the things in your life that need changing.  So confess the wrong things you have done or said and God will not only forgive you but He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness .(1John1.9).  Repentance is an ongoing process we follow everyday whilst we live on this Earth.
• Watch out! Don't allow the devil to get a foothold in your life.  Don't listen when he tries to tell you that you're a failure, that you are going to be sick, that you made a fool of yourself, or that God doesn't love you anymore.  God does love you, He wants the best for you and that best includes prosperity in every area of your life, physically, mentally, socially, financially as well as spiritually.  If you sin, confess it to God as soon as you realise you have sinned
• Baptism. Baptism is an important part of being a Christian.  You are immersed totally in water and when you come up again, it symbolizes Jesus washing away your sins.  Invite your friends so they can see you making a public confession of your faith.
• The Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit comes into us when we are saved but we should also ask God to fill us with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person (the third person of the Godhead) who came upon the disciples after Jesus had ascended to His Father. The Holy Spirit brings many gifts.  He teaches us and reminds us of what Jesus taught, He comforts us, counsels us, guides us and helps us to live the life God has planned for us. He gives us the ability to speak in other tongues, to prophecy, to speak words of wisdom, words of knowledge, to heal, and even to perform miracles if needed.  He also gives us many other gifts as we need.  These are gifts to help us to better help other people.  Ask your pastor about being filled (or baptized) with the Holy Spirit.

 

Where do I begin ?

• Begin right now by reading the Gospel of Luke in the Bible which tells you all about Jesus.  Find a version of the Bible you can understand easily. Then read the Gospel of John.  John has a wonderful understanding of who Jesus really is, and what He has given to us.  It will really encourage you. When you finish John, carry on reading the rest of the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, Genesis and then the rest of the Old Testament.  This will give you a great foundation.  Set yourself a goal of reading so many pages a day.  Make sure you always read some of the New Testament, this is the contract God has with the church.  It is good to set a target of reading the bible everyday so you will read the whole lot in one year. It is often better to read it out loud as they used to do in the old days.  There are now many free Bible apps you can get for your phone or tablet.

 

Satan and friends often try to make you feel down about your faith. If you are feeling discouraged, think on what happened when you first came to know God.  Think on the good things He has done for you, how He drew you, how He loves you and what He has delivered you from.

Keep a note of all the blessings God has given you so you can go back and 'count your blessings'. 

Keep company with people who encourage you and lift you up. Ask God to help you.

 

You are now a New Creation, old things have passed away and all things have become new (2Cor 5.17).