JOH 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

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?

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.

>>The unregenerate are not only unwilling, but unable to enter God's service.

ROM 8:7 Because the carnal mind [i.e., the minding of the things of the flesh] is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

>>This minding of the things of the flesh, or human reasoning is spiritual adultery.

JAM 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

>>Balaam said in NUM 23:10, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" but we read in JUD 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

>>What was this error of Balaam?

2PE 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

>>It has been said that everyone wants to go to heaven, but who wants to die to self to come into the kingdom of heaven?

>>The new birth spoken of in our text is a change of heart/or attitude; it is the braking of our enmity against God and a desire to enter the service of the Lord.

LUK 15:17-19 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

>>When our enmity against God is broken then our hearts desire is to enter the kingdom/or service of God.

MAT 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

>>Entering the kingdom of heaven must begin in this life or it will never happen after death.

Our text says, JOH 3:5 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.

>>We cannot serve two masters, MAT 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

>>Therefore "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, [i.e., regenerated by the Holy Spirit.] he cannot enter into the kingdom [or service under the Lordship] of God.

>>To live in heaven we must have the life of heaven, i.e., that our will is totally dissolved into the will of God in this life as we see in the heart's desire of David in PSA 119:12-16 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.

13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

>>Our attitudes in this life is what will separate the sheep from the goats in the judgment day

ROM 2:6-8 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Unless we learn through the work of sanctification to serve Jesus as Lord in this life, we will never serve Him in the life to come.

PSA 112:1 Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

>>To be born of the Spirit is the work of regeneration, i.e., the quickening of the Spirit of Christ in the heart.

ROM 8:13-14 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

>>Our mental attitude is what identifies whom we serve.

ROM 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

>>This new birth breaks the rebellion and the power of sin in our hearts against God's will bringing us into the service, i.e., the kingdom of Christ, which makes us heirs of the promises.

2PE 1:3-4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

>>The fruits of being partakers of this new nature are found in 2PE 1:5-8 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

>>It is by serving in the kingdom under the Gospel law of love that we find our entrance into the eternal kingdom.

2PE 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

>>Before there can be any entrance into this kingdom, there must be a delivery from the fallen old man by the cross, i.e., through death to our present old nature.

1CO 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

>>The new birth is a change of heart/or attitude from a state of carelessness about God, or a slavish fear of Him, to a Godly fear, i.e., a filial reverence for Him and His will. See what David said in PSA 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

>>The new birth is a two-fold operation of the Spirit, i.e., regeneration and conversion.

>>Through the regeneration of the Spirit the heart's desires are changed, TIT 3:3-6 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

>>As generation produces natural life, so regeneration produces conversion, i.e., a new life which is spiritual.

EPH 4:22-25 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

>>A man's attitude is changed the moment the new birth takes place. When Paul was arrested his whole purpose of life changed in a moment.

>>ACT 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

>>The home will never become Christian until the cradle becomes the sanctuary and the parents become the ministers.

>>Day in and day out children must be brought up into adulthood in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

EPH 6:2-4 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

It is far better that a child should never know a time that he served the world, but that they should be brought up to fear the Lord from their youth

1TI 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

>>Repentance, i.e., a true remorse over, and a turning from sin is one of the first and most positive signs of the new birth in the soul, 1JO 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

>>This is what Jesus said in JOH 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

>>Those who do not abide in Christ are made manifest by whom they serve.

JOH 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

>>Being born of the Spirit humbles the sinner with a revelation of the condescension of their Saviour.

JOH 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

>>Regeneration is more than a reformation of life, it is a new creation.

EPH 4:22-25 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

>>The first step in a Christian life must begin where Jesus began His gospel.

MAT 4:17 Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

>>The apostle Paul was arrested by the Lord Jesus Christ at the climax of his persecution of the church of Christ. What was his first step towards a Christian life?

ACT 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"

>>This entering the kingdom of God i.e., with being born from above is coming to ourselves to see the foolishness of our attitude and turning from sin to serve the living God through the new birth.

LUK 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

>>When the Spirit opened the prodigal's eyes to see what a fool he had been he began a carefully planed repentance.

LUK 15:18-19 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

>>This change of attitude causes the heavens to ring with the rejoicing of the angles in heaven.

LUK 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.