Born Again

LIT VERSE: John 3:1-7, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 1:23-2:3

You cannot see the Kingdom of heaven unless you are BORN AGAIN.
Jesus, caused us to be BORN AGAIN.
The Living Word, caused us to be BORN AGAIN.

THOUGHT BREAKDOWN:

Being BORN AGAIN is not a maybe, it’s a must.
Without it, you are not in a true relationship with God.

There was a movie called “Weekend at Bernie’s”
Bernie was a rich dude who died, but two guys wanted to enjoy the weekend at Bernie’s house so they made it look like Bernie was alive all weekend.

You can’t make a dead person understand.
You can’t make a dead person change.
You can’t make a dead person move.

When something is dead, it’s dead. It can’t do anything.

When you are dead, you are done.

Jesus came to this earth born as a baby.
The difference is, Jesus wasn’t born with a dead spirit, he was born with a living spirit.
The way that happened was baby Jesus’ daddy was God.

He had one part of Him that was from flesh and the other part was from the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus didn’t need to be born again. You and I were not born like Jesus.
We had two sinful parents who brought us into the world.
We were born with a living body, but not with a living spirit.

Our body was alive, our spirit was dead.

Jesus in John 3 says we must be born again to see and enter the kingdom of God.

Well, how do we do that?

Ask, Seek, Knock. Get sincere about wanting to be part of the Kingdom.
Do whatever you possibly can to be hungry for the word and consume the word.
When your spirit is alive you have living hope.
You ensure an eternal inheritance of riches.
All of this happens through the Living Word.

Once you are BORN AGAIN you then can lead others to be born again.
You can’t pass on what you don’t have. If you are not alive, it’s tough to lead people to life.

Also, this is STEP ONE for people. We can’t forget this.
You can’t be frustrated that a dead person won’t listen or act right.
They are DEAD. They can’t listen or act right.

As followers of the Lord, step one is to be born again. Step 2 is to make disciples by leading them to be born again.

WHAT IS THE SPIRIT SAYING?

Be alive and help others come alive by leading them to Me.
I am the only way they can live, and the only One who can cause them to be born again.
This is non-negotiable. Dead things do not enter into heaven.
I am life, and I have to come to give life abundantly.

WHAT WILL I DO ABOUT IT?

I will lead others to the word and teach people to lead others to the word.
This is what will cause people to be born again.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR… the Living Word and opportunity to help others come alive.

TRACKER QUESTIONS

How do you know you are born again?
Are you hungry for more of God?
What do you crave more than anything?
Do you see the fruit of heaven in your life?
When you sin does it feel sinful?
Do you feel deep sorrow for stepping off track?