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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
A GREAT CHANGE SOMEWHERE
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit," JOH 3:7-8.
The most decisive and important message of the entire gospel is to properly understand the new birth. There are so many variations or interpretations of what constitutes the new birth, and the Lord Jesus Christ says, "Ye must be born again."
Without the new birth there is no eternal salvation. Without the new birth we are condemned to hell eternally. That is how important it is that we be born again. Therefore, it is vitally important that we properly and rightly understand the new birth. There is probably no other thing Satan would rather do than deceive us on this one point; he would let us think we have been born again when in fact we have not been born again.
Nothing is more important than to understand that summons of the Lord Jesus Christ, "...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," JOH 3:3. We cannot see God's kingdom unless we are born again.
The new birth is a marvelous thing which cannot be comprehended with the natural mind, i.e., it is a miracle of grace. Nicodemus was the ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee, the teacher of the Jews; the Jews were the tribe of Israel, the chosen of God, but Nicodemus did not understand the new birth. Look at JOH 3:4, "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
Nicodemus did not understand that Christ was speaking about being born spiritually. In V:5 the Lord Jesus Christ answered him saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
Water is the symbol of the Word of God. The Word of God is the vehicle or the instrument whereby the Holy Spirit quickens us unto newness of life. We are quickened by the Holy Word of God. So if we are blind to the authority in the Word of God, we may lay spiritually dead thinking we are alive. We must see the importance of understanding the authority of God’s Word.
It is by the power of the Word that Jesus "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth," JOH 11:43. And Lazarus who was dead in the grave four days (Lazarus was stinking) came forth by the power of the Holy Word. It is the Word of God that has the power to quicken us spiritually. The Holy Spirit uses the authority of the Word to bring us out of spiritual deadness into a state of spiritual life.
When a little girl in Scotland was asked if she had received the new birth she replied, "I know something has changed, it might be the world--it might be my heart--I'm not quite sure what it is but there has been a great change somewhere."
What is she saying? She had loved the world and the pleasures and entertainments of the world, and now all of a sudden nothing about the world charms her. She didn't know if the world had changed. She thought maybe there was something about the entertainments that had changed. She wasn't sure what it was; she didn't know if it was that or that her heart had changed.
Take note of the second verse of the hymn, "O Jesus, Friend Unfailing," "Nought, nought I count as pleasure, Compared, O Lord, with Thee; Thy sorrow, without measure, Earned peace and joy for me. I love to own, Lord Jesus, Thy claims o'er me divine; Bought with Thy blood most precious, Whose can I be but Thine?"
Verse 3 says, "O worldly pomp and glory, Your charms are spread in vain!" Why? Something has changed.
Our text says, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." We cannot tell where it came from or where it went; all we know is that something has changed. We can feel the wind, the effect of it, but we can't see it.
That is the way it is when you are born of the Holy Spirit. You become a different person; have a new desire and a new nature. You no longer have pleasure in the things of this life. Your pleasures become centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, in serving Him and doing His will.
The new birth is referred to in Scripture as a quickening from the dead. It quickens new desires. A dead person has no senses. A person can be so near death that the only way the medical personnel can tell if there is life is by taking a brain scan. Sometimes that is the way I can tell if I have been quickened spiritually. It is what goes on in one's head. What brain waves can I detect? In other words, our vital signs become the very elements whereby we can detect life. Is the heart pulse correct? Are we breathing? Do we understand what it is to have the breath of life?
If we can see that a person is breathing and has a pulse, there is no need to take a brain scan because the vital signs prove there is life, but if they are missing, a brain scan can determine if there is still life. I want you to think about these vital signs as we go into this text; look for spiritual vital signs, senses, and tastes.
We have a wonderful sense of taste. What is sweet? Is it the charming things of this world or is it the blessed atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ? When our spiritual senses are quickened, our taste buds begin to work. No longer can we swallow the things that are bitter. No longer do we delight in those things which are bitter. We now have a taste for the things which are precious, those things of more value. Amen.
O Jesus, Friend unfailing, how dear Thou art to me!
Are cares or fears assailing? I find my strength in Thee.
Why should my feet grow weary of this my pilgrim way?
Rough tho’ the path and dreary, it ends in perfect day.
O worldly pomp and glory, your charms are spread in vain!
I’ve heard a sweeter story, I’ve found a truer gain.
Where Christ a place prepareth, there is my loved abode;
There shall I gaze n Jesus; there shall I dwell with God.
Our sermons and devotions are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion and sermon notes on-line. We pray this devotion has been a blessing to those who read it. Thank you.