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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
IS THERE LIFE?
"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)
There is one message that I think is the most decisive and the most important message of the entire gospel, and that is to properly understand the new birth. There are so many various interpretations of what constitutes the new birth. 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 doomed eternally to hell. That is how important it is that we are born again. So how important is it that we properly and rightly understand the new birth? There is nothing Satan would rather do than to have us deceived on this one point: to think that we have been born again. What 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 it unless we’re born again.
This new birth is a marvelous thing which cannot be comprehended with the natural mind: it is a miracle of grace. Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee, and a teacher of the Jews - the tribe of Israel, the chosen of God - did not understand. "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?" (JOH 3:4) He did not understand that what Christ was speaking about is to be born spiritually. In verse 5, "Jesus answered, 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." Last week we studied what it means to be born of water. 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 find there’s no authority in the Word of God, we can lie spiritually dead thinking we’re alive.
See the importance of understanding the authority of the Word. It is by the Word of God that the Lord Jesus said, "Lazarus come forth," and Lazarus, who was dead in the grave four days, came forth by the power of the Word. It is the Word of God that has the power to quicken us spiritually, and the Holy Spirit uses the authority of the Word to bring us out of spiritual deadness into a state of spiritual life. There was a little girl in Scotland, and she was asked if she had received the new birth. Her answer was, "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 was she saying? She had loved the world, the pleasures of the world, the entertainment of the world, and all of a sudden there was nothing about the world that charmed her anymore. She didn’t know if the world had changed. She thought maybe there was something about the things she had loved so much that had changed. She wasn’t sure what it was. She didn’t know for sure if it was the world or her heart that had changed.
In the song we just sang, verse two says, "O Jesus, friend unfailing, naught, naught I count as pleasure compared, O Lord, with Thee." Verse three says, "O worldly pomp and glory, your charms are spread in vain." Why is that? It is because something has changed. It says that to be born of the Spirit is as "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof," you can’t tell where it came from or where it went: all you know is something has changed. You feel the wind; you can feel the effect of it. You can’t see the wind; you don’t know where it came from, and you don’t know where it went. That is the way it is when you’re born of the Holy Spirit. You become a different person. You have a new desire. You have a new nature. You no longer have pleasure in the things of this life. Your pleasures become centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your pleasures become centered in serving and doing His will.
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." The new birth is referred to in Scripture as a quickening from the dead. It quickens new desires. A dead person has no senses at all. Do you know that a person sometimes can be so near dead that the only way to truly tell if he’s still alive is by taking brain scans? Sometimes that’s the way I can tell if I’ve been quickened spiritually: what brain waves can I detect? Our vital signs become the very elements whereby we can detect life. We can detect it by our brain scans. We can detect it by our vital signs: are our heart pulses correct, and are we breathing? Do we understand what it is to have breath? If I can see a person is breathing, and I can feel his pulse, I don’t need to take his brain scans. I know that those elements (their vital signs) prove there’s life, but if those are missing, and I cannot detect them then I can still tell by brain scans whether or not there’s still life.
Think about these vital signs as we go into this – spiritual vital signs, spiritual senses, and spiritual taste. Can you tell what is sweet and what is bitter? You have the 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, and no longer can we swallow those things that are bitter nor delight in those things that are bitter. We now have a taste for the things that are precious, those things that are of more value. The nature of the quickening is real, and it is revealed by our Saviour in the parable of the prodigal son. I want you to notice how the Lord Jesus Christ shows repentance. What shows repentance but your brain waves, your attitude, and your mental disposition? It’s a change of mind. Have you known a change of mind? Have you known a change in your values? Have you noticed the difference in your taste buds so that you now have your spiritual senses quickened? 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.
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?
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 on Jesus:
There shall I dwell with God.
For every tribulation,
For every sore distress,
In Christ I’ve full salvation,
Sure help and quiet rest.
No fear of foes prevailing!
I triumph, Lord, in Thee:
O Jesus, Friend unfailing,
How dear art Thou to me!
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.