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You MUST Be Born Again-Jesus_ Most Misunderstood Teaching · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: If you've ever wondered what it truly means to be
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Speaker 1: born again, this video is for you. Can someone be
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Speaker 1: born twice? Does being born again mean experiencing a second
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Speaker 1: physical birth? Or was Jesus talking about something far deeper,
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Speaker 1: something so profound that your entire eternity depends on it.
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Speaker 1: That's exactly what a man named Nicodemus wanted to know.
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Speaker 1: Nicodemus wasn't just anyone. He was a pharisee, a respected
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Speaker 1: religious leader. He knew the scriptures, he followed the law.
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Speaker 1: By all accounts, he was a righteous man. Yet when
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Speaker 1: he met Jesus, something didn't add up, because, for the
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Speaker 1: first time in his life, Nicodemus realized that all of
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Speaker 1: his religious knowledge still left him empty. He had spent
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Speaker 1: his whole life studying God, yet something inside him whispered,
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Speaker 1: You're still missing something. And then Jesus said the words
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Speaker 1: that would change everything. Very truly, I tell you, no
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Speaker 1: one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are
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Speaker 1: born again John three three. Nicodemus was confused, and if
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Speaker 1: we are honest, many people to day are still confused
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Speaker 1: about what it means to be born again. So let's
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Speaker 1: break it down because This one statement is the key
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Speaker 1: to salvation itself. Jesus wasn't talking about being born again physically.
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Speaker 1: He was talking about a second birth, one that only
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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit can bring. Flesh gives birth to flesh,
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Speaker 1: but the Spirit gives birth to spirit John three six.
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Speaker 1: In other words, your first birth, your physical birth, is
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Speaker 1: not enough. You need a second birth, a spiritual birth,
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Speaker 1: because without it, Jesus himself says, you cannot enter the
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Speaker 1: Kingdom of God. So what does this mean for us
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Speaker 1: to day? Why did Jesus say this to Nicodemus? What
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Speaker 1: does it mean to be born of water and the spirit?
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Speaker 1: How does being born again change everything about your relationship
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Speaker 1: with God? And the biggest question of all, how do
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Speaker 1: you know if you've truly been born again? Because by
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Speaker 1: the end of this video, your questions about being born
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Speaker 1: again will be answered like never before. So let me
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Speaker 1: ask you. What if everything you've been striving for peace, joy,
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Speaker 1: purpose could only be found through a new birth in Christ.
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Speaker 1: What if being born again is not about following religious
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Speaker 1: rules but about a radical transformation that only God can do.
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Speaker 1: What if this truth is the difference between just knowing
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Speaker 1: about God and actually experiencing him. Because By the end
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Speaker 1: of this video, you will not only understand what Jesus meant,
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Speaker 1: you will know if you have truly been born again.
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Speaker 1: We have created in depth explanation videos for every book
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Speaker 1: of the Bible to help you go deeper in your faith.
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Speaker 1: Each Deep Bible Stories video is designed to break down
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Speaker 1: scripture in a way that is simple, clear, and deeply impactful.
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Speaker 1: We also have ebooks on our website for some of
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Speaker 1: our most popular videos. If you'd like this video to
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Speaker 1: be turned into an ebook, let us know in the comments,
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Speaker 1: and if this video has opened your eyes to something new,
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Speaker 1: like and share it so more people can understand what
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Speaker 1: it truly means to be born again. It is our
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Speaker 1: hope and prayer that this video awakens something in your spirit,
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Speaker 1: a faith so strong that nothing can shake it. With
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Speaker 1: that being said, let's get started. Nicodemus was no ordinary man.
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Speaker 1: He wasn't just another curious follower or someone seeking miracles.
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Speaker 1: He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a
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Speaker 1: member of the Sanhedrin. He had status, power and religious knowledge.
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Speaker 1: If anyone should have understood God God, it was him.
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Speaker 1: And yet here he was slipping through the shadows of
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Speaker 1: the night to meet with Jesus in secret. Why did
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Speaker 1: he come at night? Was he afraid of being seen?
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Speaker 1: Was he worried about what the other Pharisees would think?
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Speaker 1: Or was this a man whose heart was wrestling with
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Speaker 1: questions too deep to ignore. He had spent his entire
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Speaker 1: life studying the law, yet something about Jesus unsettled him.
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Speaker 1: The miracles, the authority, the way Jesus spoke, it was
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Speaker 1: unlike anything he'd ever known. He didn't come to argue,
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Speaker 1: he came to understand. Rabbi, we know that you are
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Speaker 1: a teacher who has come from God. For no one
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Speaker 1: could perform the signs you are doing if God were
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Speaker 1: not with him John three two. It was a statement,
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Speaker 1: but hidden inside it was a question, a longing, a
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Speaker 1: s much for truth. Then Jesus's response shattered everything he
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Speaker 1: thought he knew, very truly. I tell you, no one
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Speaker 1: can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born
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Speaker 1: again John three three. Not unless you follow the law,
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Speaker 1: not unless you perform righteous deeds, not unless you make
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Speaker 1: sacrifices born again. Nicodemus was stunned. How could a grown
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Speaker 1: man be born a second time? It didn't make sense,
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Speaker 1: he thought in physical terms, but Jesus was speaking of
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Speaker 1: something far greater, because the problem of humanity isn't external,
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Speaker 1: it's internal. It's not about fixing ourselves or improving our actions.
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Speaker 1: It's about transformation from the inside out. The Pharisees believed
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Speaker 1: righteousness came from obeying rules. Jesus was saying righteousness could
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Speaker 1: only come through rebirth. The law could teach them about sin,
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Speaker 1: but it couldn't change their hearts. This was the moment
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Speaker 1: the conversation shifted from religion to relationship, from human effort
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Speaker 1: to divine intervention, from law to grace, and for Nicodemus
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Speaker 1: it was the most important conversation of his life. Because
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Speaker 1: if a man like Nicodemus, with all his knowledge and
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Speaker 1: good works, still needed to be born again, what does
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Speaker 1: that mean for us? The truth is many people today
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Speaker 1: are still where Nicodemus was. They believe in God, they
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Speaker 1: try to live a good life. They think that because
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Speaker 1: they go to church, pray, or do good deeds, they
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Speaker 1: are right with God. But Jesus's words make it clear
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Speaker 1: none of that is enough. You must be born again.
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Speaker 1: And this isn't just a phrase, It's the very foundation
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Speaker 1: of salvation. But what does it actually mean. What did
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Speaker 1: Jesus mean when he spoke of being born of water
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Speaker 1: and the spirit? How does this new birth happen? Because
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Speaker 1: understanding this truth is the difference between religion and transformation,
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Speaker 1: between knowing about God and truly experiencing him, between death
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Speaker 1: and life. Nicodemus was still struggling. He had spent his
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Speaker 1: entire life following religious laws, studying the scriptures, and striving
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Speaker 1: for righteousness, and now Jesus was telling him that all
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Speaker 1: of it, every effort, every law, every tradition, wasn't enough.
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Speaker 1: How can someone be born when they're old, Nicodemus asked,
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Speaker 1: surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's
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Speaker 1: womb to be born John three four. He was thinking
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Speaker 1: in natural terms, but Jesus was speaking about something much deeper.
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Speaker 1: Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth
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Speaker 1: to spirit John three six. This one state and explains everything.
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Speaker 1: Your first birth, your natural birth, made you alive in
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Speaker 1: the physical world. But to be part of God's kingdom,
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Speaker 1: you need a second birth, a spiritual birth. This is
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Speaker 1: where so many people get confused. They think being a
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Speaker 1: Christian is about trying harder, sinning less, and becoming a
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Speaker 1: better person. But Jesus didn't come to improve our old nature.
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Speaker 1: He came to give us a new one. The flesh
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Speaker 1: can only produce flesh. No amount of effort, discipline, or
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Speaker 1: religion can make a person spiritually alive. That's why Jesus
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Speaker 1: didn't say try harder. He said you must be born again.
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Speaker 1: Think of a caterpillar and a butterfly. A caterpillar can crawl,
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Speaker 1: but it was never meant to stay that way. No
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Speaker 1: matter how much it tries, it will never grow wings
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Speaker 1: just by effort. It has to go through a complete trainormation.
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Speaker 1: It has to be reborn, and once it emerges as
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Speaker 1: a butterfly, it will never go back to being a
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Speaker 1: caterpillar again. That is exactly what spiritual rebirth is. It
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Speaker 1: is not about fixing the old self. It's about becoming
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Speaker 1: a new creation. That's why Paul later wrote, if anyone
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Speaker 1: is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old
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Speaker 1: has passed away. Behold the new has come second Corinthians
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Speaker 1: five seventeen. This is why Jesus emphasized the difference between
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Speaker 1: flesh and spirit. The first birth is physical, but it
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Speaker 1: cannot give us eternal life. The second birth is spiritual
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Speaker 1: and it comes from God alone. This truth is uncomfortable
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Speaker 1: for many because it means that being a good person
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Speaker 1: is not enough. You can have the best intentions, live
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Speaker 1: morally and e and be deeply religious, but without spiritual rebirth,
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Speaker 1: you are still spiritually dead. This is what separates Christianity
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Speaker 1: from every other belief system. Other religions focus on self improvement,
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Speaker 1: do better, try harder, follow the rules. But Jesus didn't
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Speaker 1: come to teach self improvement. He came to bring new life.
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Speaker 1: That's why the Pharisees, including Nicodemus, struggled with this idea.
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Speaker 1: They believed their heritage, their traditions, and their good works
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Speaker 1: were their ticket to heaven. But Jesus made it clear
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Speaker 1: no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they
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Speaker 1: are born again John three three. This is why jesus
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Speaker 1: words weren't just a lesson. They were an invitation, an
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Speaker 1: invitation to leave behind the old way of thinking, an
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Speaker 1: invitation to stop trying to save yourself and surrender to
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Speaker 1: God's transforming power. This is why salvation is not earned,
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Speaker 1: it is received. So let's ask the question, have you
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Speaker 1: been born again not? Are you religious not? Do you
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Speaker 1: try to be a good person. But have you truly
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Speaker 1: experienced the transformation that Jesus spoke about? Because if not,
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Speaker 1: Jesus words to Nicodemus are his words to you today.
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Speaker 1: You must be born again. Nicodemus was still struggling to
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Speaker 1: understand Jesus had just told him that no one can
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Speaker 1: enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.
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Speaker 1: But then Jesus added something even more mysterious, Very truly,
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Speaker 1: I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of
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Speaker 1: God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
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Speaker 1: John three five, Born of water and the Spirit. What
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Speaker 1: did that mean? Some assume Jesus was talking about baptism,
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Speaker 1: but Nicodemus would not have understood it that way. At
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Speaker 1: this point, Christian baptism had not yet been introduced. Others
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Speaker 1: think Jesus was referring to physical birth, the idea that
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Speaker 1: water represents the amniotic fluid in a mother's womb and
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Speaker 1: the spirit represents spiritual birth. But was Jesus really just
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Speaker 1: stating the obvious that people need to be physically born first.
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Speaker 1: That wouldn't make sense in this context. To understand this,
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Speaker 1: we need to look at the Old Testament. Nicodemus was
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Speaker 1: a Pharisee, a scholar of Jewish scripture, and when Jesus
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Speaker 1: spoke of water and spirit, Nicodemus should have recognized the
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Speaker 1: prophecy from Ezekiel thirty six twenty five to twenty seven.
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Speaker 1: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will
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Speaker 1: be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities
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Speaker 1: and from all your idols. I will give you a
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Speaker 1: new heart and put a new spirit in you. I
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Speaker 1: will remove from you your heart of stone and give
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Speaker 1: you a heart of flesh. And I will put my
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Speaker 1: spirit in you, and move you to follow my decrees
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Speaker 1: and be careful to keep my laws. This was the
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Speaker 1: promise of the New Covenant, a complete transformation from the
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Speaker 1: inside out. God was not talking about external rituals or
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Speaker 1: physical birth. He was talking about the spiritual cleansing that
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Speaker 1: comes when someone is truly reborn. The water represents the
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Speaker 1: cleansing of sin. The spirit represents the new life that
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Speaker 1: comes from God. This is what Jesus was pointing Nicodemus to,
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Speaker 1: a truth that had already been spoken through the prophets.
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Speaker 1: The Pharisees were obsessed with outward purity, washing their hands,
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Speaker 1: keeping rituals, and following laws but God had already said
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Speaker 1: the true cleansing comes from him alone. Jesus was telling Nicodemus,
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Speaker 1: this is the moment, the new birth you've read about
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Speaker 1: in Ezekiel. It's happening now, but you must receive it.
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Speaker 1: Think about it this way. If you try to clean
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Speaker 1: yourself with dirty water, you will never be clean. That's
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Speaker 1: what happens when people try to save themselves by their
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Speaker 1: own works, their own efforts. But when God washes you,
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Speaker 1: when He purifies you through the sacrifice of Jesus, that's
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Speaker 1: when true cleansing happens. This is why being born again
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Speaker 1: is not just about believing in God. It is about
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Speaker 1: receiving a completely new life, and it is the work
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Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit, not human effort. This also explains
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Speaker 1: why some people can go to church their entire lives
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Speaker 1: and never truly be transformed. They may follow religious traditions,
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Speaker 1: attend services, and even serve in ministry, but without the spirit,
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Speaker 1: there is no real life. The Pharisees followed the law,
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Speaker 1: but they were spiritually dead, and Nicodemus was starting to
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Speaker 1: realize that he was one of them. This is why
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Speaker 1: Jesus told him, you must be born of water and
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Speaker 1: the spirit. It wasn't about religion, it was about transformation.
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Speaker 1: So the question is, have you been born of water
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Speaker 1: and the spirit. Have you experienced the cleansing power of
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Speaker 1: Jesus and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, or
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Speaker 1: have you been trying to clean yourself with the dirty
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Speaker 1: water of your own efforts. Because Jesus is making the
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Speaker 1: same invitation to us today, stop striving, stop trying to
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Speaker 1: save yourself. Let God do what only he can do.
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Speaker 1: Be born again. Nicodemus was struggling. He had come to
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Speaker 1: Jesus in secret, hoping to understand this man who performed
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Speaker 1: miracles and spoke with divine authority. But what Jesus had
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Speaker 1: just told him didn't make sense. You must be born again. Nicodemus,
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Speaker 1: a religious leader, a teacher of the law, a man
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Speaker 1: who had studied scripture his entire life, was now confused,
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Speaker 1: like a child hearing something for the first time. How
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Speaker 1: can someone be born when they are old, Nicodemus asked,
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Speaker 1: Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's
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Speaker 1: womb to be born John three four. It's easy to
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Speaker 1: read this and think Nicodemus was being sarcastic or dismissive.
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Speaker 1: But the truth is Nicodemus was asking an honest question.
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Speaker 1: He had spent his entire life believing that righteousness came
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Speaker 1: through following the law, through obedience, through heritage, and now
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Speaker 1: Jesus was telling him that none of that mattered unless
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Speaker 1: he was born again. Nicodemus was thinking in human terms.
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Speaker 1: He thought Jesus was talking about a physical rebirth. But
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Speaker 1: Jesus wasn't talking about being born a second time in
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Speaker 1: the flesh. He was talking about a new birth in
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Speaker 1: the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit
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Speaker 1: gives birth to spirit John three six. In other words,
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Speaker 1: your first birth is of the flesh. It is natural, physical,
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Speaker 1: and temporary. But the second birth, the birth Jesus is
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Speaker 1: talking about, is spiritual. It is supernatural, eternal, and completely transformative.
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Speaker 1: And here is where Nicodemus's confusion mirrors our own. Even today,
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Speaker 1: people misunderstand what it means to be born again. Some
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Speaker 1: think being born again means turning over a new leaf,
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Speaker 1: becoming a better person, making moral improvements. They see salvation
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Speaker 1: as self improvement. If I just go to church more,
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Speaker 1: I'll be good with God. If I clean up my
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Speaker 1: life and stop sinning, I'll be born again. If I
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Speaker 1: try harder, I'll learn my way into the kingdom. But
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Speaker 1: that's not what Jesus said. Being born again is not
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Speaker 1: about fixing up your old life. It's about receiving a
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Speaker 1: completely new one. This is what so many people miss.
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Speaker 1: Nicodemus wasn't a sinful tax collector or an immoral outcast.
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Speaker 1: He was a pharisee, a respected teacher, a religious man.
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Speaker 1: If any one was considered righteous by human standards, it
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Speaker 1: was him. Yet Jesus told him you must be born again.
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Speaker 1: Think about that. If religion, knowledge, and morality were enough
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Speaker 1: to enter God's kingdom, Nicodemus would have been fine. But
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Speaker 1: Jesus was clear none of that could save him, and
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Speaker 1: that truth still stands to day. You can grow up
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Speaker 1: in church and not be born again. You can know
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Speaker 1: every Bible verse and not be born again. You can
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Speaker 1: serve in ministry and not be born again. You can
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Speaker 1: be a good person and not be born again. Why
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Speaker 1: Because salvation is not about being good, it's about being
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Speaker 1: made new. This is why Jesus was so patient with Nicodemus.
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Speaker 1: He didn't rebuke him for asking questions, he didn't shame
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Speaker 1: him for not understanding. Instead, he gently led him deeper
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Speaker 1: into the truth, and he does the same with us.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you've had the same questions as Nicodemus. Maybe you've
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Speaker 1: been relying on your own goodness. Maybe you've been trying
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Speaker 1: to be better instead of being made new. Jesus is
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Speaker 1: telling you the same thing he told Nicodemus. You must
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Speaker 1: be born again, not through religion, not through effort, not
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Speaker 1: through tradition, but through the spirit, because only the spirit
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Speaker 1: gives life, and only those who are born of the
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Speaker 1: Spirit will see the Kingdom of God. Jesus knew Nicodemus
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Speaker 1: was struggling to grasp this concept of being born again,
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Speaker 1: so he gave him an analogy, one that was simple
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Speaker 1: yet profound. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear
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Speaker 1: it sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from
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Speaker 1: or where it is going. So it is with every
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Speaker 1: one born of the Spirit. John three eight. Imagine standing
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Speaker 1: outside on a windy day. You can't see the wind itself,
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Speaker 1: but you can see the leaves rustling, feel it moving
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Speaker 1: against your skin, and hear it whistling through the trees.
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Speaker 1: You don't control the wind. You can't dictate where it goes,
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Speaker 1: but you know it's real because you see its effects.
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Speaker 1: This is exactly how being born again works. You can't
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Speaker 1: manufacture salvation. You can't force spiritual rebirth to happen on
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Speaker 1: your own terms. It is entirely the work of God. Nicodemus,
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Speaker 1: like many religious leaders of his time, had spent his
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Speaker 1: entire life trying to ern and his way into God's kingdom.
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Speaker 1: He followed the law, he memorized scripture, he observed every tradition.
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Speaker 1: Yet Jesus was telling him that none of it could
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Speaker 1: produce spiritual rebirth. Why because just like you can't control
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Speaker 1: the wind, you can't control the spirit of God. This
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Speaker 1: is where many people struggle today. Some think being born
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Speaker 1: again is something they can accomplish by their own efforts.
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Speaker 1: They believe if they pray more, read their Bible more,
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Speaker 1: do more good deeds, they will somehow become born again.
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Speaker 1: But Jesus never said work harder and you'll be born again.
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Speaker 1: He said the spirit gives birth to spirit John three six.
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Speaker 1: In other words, being born again is not something you do,
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Speaker 1: it's something God does in you. Think about the story
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Speaker 1: of the prodigal son in Luke fifteen. The son tried
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Speaker 1: to live life on his own terms, wasted everything and
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Speaker 1: ended up broken. When he finally decided to return home,
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Speaker 1: his father didn't say prove yourself before I accept you. Number.
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Speaker 1: The father ran to him, embraced him, and restored him instantly.
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Speaker 1: That's what happens when we are born again. It's not
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Speaker 1: about proving ourselves. It's about surrendering and letting the spirit
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Speaker 1: do the work. And yet some still try to control
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Speaker 1: the process. Some churches teach that you must follow a
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Speaker 1: set of rules to be saved. Others say if you
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Speaker 1: don't speak in tongues, you're not truly born again. Some
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Speaker 1: believe if they live morally, they will automatically enter the
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Speaker 1: Kingdom of God. But Jesus's analogy of the wind tells
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Speaker 1: us something different. You don't dictate when or how you
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Speaker 1: are born again. You don't create the conditions for salvation.
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Speaker 1: The spirit moves as he wills, changing hearts, bringing conviction,
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Speaker 1: leading people to Jesus. Your job is not to control
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Speaker 1: the wind, it's to surrender to it. Just like the
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Speaker 1: wind moves in unseen ways but produces visible results, The
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Speaker 1: spirit's work in a believer's life is undeniable. You see
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Speaker 1: it when an addict is set free. You see it
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Speaker 1: when a hardened heart becomes tender. You see it when
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Speaker 1: someone who once mocked God now worships him with passion.
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Speaker 1: You see it when someone who is dead in sin
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Speaker 1: comes alive in Christ. That's the power of being born again.
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Speaker 1: So are you trying to control the wind or are
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Speaker 1: you letting the spirit move freely in your life? Are
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Speaker 1: you still trying to manufacture your salvation? Or have you
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Speaker 1: surrendered to the work of God? Because Jesus' words are clear.
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Speaker 1: Just like the wind, the spirit moves in ways we
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Speaker 1: don't always understand. But when he moves, everything changes. Nicodemus
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Speaker 1: was the kind of man that any religious community would meyer.
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Speaker 1: He wasn't just a casual follower of God. He was
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Speaker 1: a pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling Council, and
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Speaker 1: a teacher of Israel. He dedicated his life to studying
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Speaker 1: the scriptures, following the law, and instructing others in righteousness
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Speaker 1: by human standards. He was good, he was moral, he
24:21
Speaker 1: was devout. Yet when he came to Jesus expecting to
24:25
Speaker 1: have a deep theological discussion, Jesus didn't complement his religious devotion.
24:30
Speaker 1: He didn't say, Nicodemus, you're already so close to God. Instead,
24:36
Speaker 1: he told him something shocking, very truly. I tell you,
24:40
Speaker 1: no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they
24:44
Speaker 1: are born again John three three. Think about how radical
24:50
Speaker 1: this statement was. Nicodemus had done everything right according to
24:54
Speaker 1: Jewish law. If anyone should have been in the kingdom,
24:59
Speaker 1: it was him. Yet Jesus was telling him that despite
25:03
Speaker 1: all of his efforts, he was still on the outside
25:06
Speaker 1: looking in. This is where many people today get confused.
25:11
Speaker 1: They believe being a good person is enough. They think
25:15
Speaker 1: I don't steal, I don't cheat, I try to be kind,
25:19
Speaker 1: I help others, Surely God will accept me. But jesus
25:25
Speaker 1: words to Nicodemus destroy this idea. If being good was enough,
25:31
Speaker 1: Nicodemus wouldn't have needed to be born again. If following
25:35
Speaker 1: religious rules could save someone, he would have been fine.
25:39
Speaker 1: Yet Jesus made it clear none of it was enough,
25:43
Speaker 1: because salvation isn't about improving your behavior, it's about being
25:47
Speaker 1: made new. Think of it like this. Imagine someone trying
25:51
Speaker 1: to revive a corpse by giving it a makeover. They
25:55
Speaker 1: dress it in the finest clothes, fix its hair, apply
25:58
Speaker 1: make up and make it look as presentable as possible.
26:02
Speaker 1: But no matter how good it looks on the outside,
26:05
Speaker 1: it's still dead. This is exactly what happens when people
26:09
Speaker 1: try to earn salvation by being good. The Bible says
26:14
Speaker 1: we are spiritually dead in our sins Ephesians two one.
26:19
Speaker 1: No amount of good deeds, religious rituals, or moral behavior
26:24
Speaker 1: can bring us to life. We don't need a moral upgrade,
26:27
Speaker 1: We need a resurrection. That's why Jesus said, flesh gives
26:32
Speaker 1: birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.
26:36
Speaker 1: John three six. Your first birth, the one that made
26:40
Speaker 1: you a human being, came from the flesh. But to
26:43
Speaker 1: enter the Kingdom of God, you need a second birth,
26:48
Speaker 1: a birth that only the Holy Spirit can give. This
26:52
Speaker 1: is why jesus conversation with Nicodemus is so powerful. He
26:57
Speaker 1: wasn't talking to a criminal. He wasn't talking to a
27:00
Speaker 1: tax collector or a prostitute, some one that society would
27:04
Speaker 1: call a sinner. He was talking to a respected religious leader,
27:10
Speaker 1: and even he needed to be born again. This truth
27:14
Speaker 1: is just as relevant to day. You can go to
27:17
Speaker 1: church every Sunday and still not be born again. You
27:21
Speaker 1: can be baptized and still not be born again. You
27:25
Speaker 1: can read the Bible, pray, and even serve in ministry
27:29
Speaker 1: and still not be born again, because being born again
27:33
Speaker 1: is not about what you do, It's about what God
27:36
Speaker 1: does in you. The apostle Paul understood this before he
27:41
Speaker 1: met Jesus. Paul formerly Saul, was the ultimate example of
27:45
Speaker 1: religious righteousness. He described himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews,
27:50
Speaker 1: zealous for the law and faultless in his outward behavior
27:55
Speaker 1: Philippians three four through six. But after encountering Christ, he
28:00
Speaker 1: realized that none of it mattered. He called all his
28:03
Speaker 1: religious achievements rubbish compared to knowing Jesus Philippians three eight.
28:11
Speaker 1: Nicodemus had to learn the same lesson. So here's the question.
28:15
Speaker 1: Have you learned it? Are you still trying to be
28:17
Speaker 1: good enough for God? Do you think salvation is something
28:21
Speaker 1: you can earn by your own efforts, or have you
28:24
Speaker 1: surrendered and allowed the Holy Spirit to give you new life?
28:28
Speaker 1: Because Jesus words are clear. Unless you are born again,
28:32
Speaker 1: you cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus came to
28:40
Speaker 1: Jesus at night with questions, but what he received was
28:43
Speaker 1: an answer far greater than he ever expected. Jesus challenged
28:48
Speaker 1: everything he thought he knew about salvation. He told him
28:51
Speaker 1: that being born again was the only way to enter
28:54
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of God. But Jesus didn't just leave Nicodemus
28:59
Speaker 1: with a check challenge. He gave him the answer, and
29:03
Speaker 1: it came in one of the most famous verses in
29:05
Speaker 1: the entire Bible. For God so loved the world that
29:09
Speaker 1: he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes
29:12
Speaker 1: in him shall not perish, but have eternal life John
29:17
Speaker 1: three sixteen. This verse is quoted so often that sometimes
29:22
Speaker 1: people miss the weight of what Jesus was saying. But
29:25
Speaker 1: to Nicodemus, this statement would have been revolutionary. Think about
29:30
Speaker 1: what Nicodemus had just heard. Jesus told him that his
29:34
Speaker 1: religious status, his knowledge of the scriptures, and even his
29:38
Speaker 1: good deeds were not enough to save him. He needed
29:41
Speaker 1: to be born again. But how what did that mean?
29:46
Speaker 1: The answer was simple, belief in Jesus, not religious rituals,
29:50
Speaker 1: not personal effort, not even trying to be a better person.
29:54
Speaker 1: The key to being born again was faith. Jesus wasn't
29:58
Speaker 1: just telling Nicodemus that God loved the world. He was
30:02
Speaker 1: telling him that God loved him, and this love wasn't
30:06
Speaker 1: distant or abstract. It was personal, sacrificial, and life changing.
30:11
Speaker 1: God didn't just love from a distance. He gave. And
30:15
Speaker 1: what did he give Not riches, not power, not another
30:18
Speaker 1: set of religious laws. He gave his son. This would
30:23
Speaker 1: have shocked Nicodemus. The Jewish people knew that God was loving,
30:27
Speaker 1: but they also saw him as holy and just. They
30:30
Speaker 1: believed in obeying the law to earn God's favor. Yet
30:35
Speaker 1: here Jesus was telling him that salvation wasn't about what
30:39
Speaker 1: man could do for God. It was about what God
30:42
Speaker 1: had already done for man. This is why being born
30:46
Speaker 1: again is completely different from religion. Religion says, follow these
30:51
Speaker 1: rules and maybe you'll get to God. Jesus says, I
30:56
Speaker 1: am the way you can't get to the Father except
30:59
Speaker 1: through me John fourteen six. Religion says try harder, be better,
31:05
Speaker 1: and maybe you'll be accepted. Jesus says, come to me
31:09
Speaker 1: all who are weary and burdened, and I will give
31:11
Speaker 1: you rest. Matthew eleven twenty eight. Nicodemus came seeking answers,
31:17
Speaker 1: and Jesus gave him the ultimate truth. Eternal life is
31:22
Speaker 1: a gift. You don't work for it, you receive it
31:25
Speaker 1: by faith. And here's something many people don't realize. Eternal
31:29
Speaker 1: life doesn't start when you die. It starts the moment
31:34
Speaker 1: you are born again. Jesus didn't say whoever believes in
31:38
Speaker 1: him will have eternal life later. He said, whoever believes
31:44
Speaker 1: in him has eternal life. John three thirty six. The
31:51
Speaker 1: new birth isn't just about going to heaven. It's about
31:54
Speaker 1: living in relationship with God right now. This is why
31:58
Speaker 1: so many people missus understand what it means to follow Jesus.
32:03
Speaker 1: Some people think Christianity is just about securing a place
32:07
Speaker 1: in heaven when they die, so they believe in Jesus
32:12
Speaker 1: in the same way they believe in a parachute, something
32:15
Speaker 1: they'll need later, but not right now. But Jesus didn't
32:20
Speaker 1: come just to prepare you for the after life. He
32:22
Speaker 1: came to give you new life today. Eternal life isn't
32:26
Speaker 1: just about duration, it's about quality. It's not just living forever,
32:31
Speaker 1: it's living in the presence of God. It's knowing him,
32:34
Speaker 1: walking with him, being transformed by him. This is what
32:39
Speaker 1: Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand. Being born again wasn't just
32:44
Speaker 1: about escaping judgment. It was about entering into a new
32:48
Speaker 1: kind of life, one where you are no longer spiritually dead,
32:52
Speaker 1: but fully alive in Christ. So here's the real question.
32:57
Speaker 1: Do you just believe in Jesus or have you been
32:59
Speaker 1: born again? Has your faith changed your life or is
33:03
Speaker 1: it just something you acknowledge in theory. Because when you
33:07
Speaker 1: are truly born again, everything changes. Your desires change, your
33:12
Speaker 1: priorities change, your relationship with God changes, and most importantly,
33:18
Speaker 1: your eternity changes. For God so loved the world. That
33:23
Speaker 1: includes you. That includes the person who thinks they're too
33:26
Speaker 1: far gone. That includes the one who grew up in
33:30
Speaker 1: church but never really knew Jesus. That includes the one
33:34
Speaker 1: searching for something more, feeling empty even though they have
33:38
Speaker 1: everything the world says should make them happy. God so
33:41
Speaker 1: loved the world that he gave. Now the question is
33:45
Speaker 1: will you receive. Nicodemus was a scholar of the scriptures.
33:49
Speaker 1: He knew the stories of the Old Testament inside and out.
33:53
Speaker 1: So when Jesus spoke to him, he didn't just give
33:56
Speaker 1: him new ideas. He connected his message to some Nicodemus
34:00
Speaker 1: would already be familiar with, and one of the most
34:03
Speaker 1: powerful connections Jesus made was to a strange event in
34:08
Speaker 1: Israel's history, the moment when Moses lifted up a bronze
34:12
Speaker 1: serpent in the wilderness. Jesus said, just as Moses lifted
34:18
Speaker 1: up the snake in the wilderness, so the son of
34:20
Speaker 1: Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may
34:24
Speaker 1: have eternal life in him John three, fourteen to fifteen.
34:30
Speaker 1: This statement would have caught Nicodemus off guard. He had
34:34
Speaker 1: come to Jesus looking for answers about the Kingdom of God,
34:38
Speaker 1: and now Jesus was bringing up a story from the
34:40
Speaker 1: Book of Numbers. But this wasn't just a random reference.
34:46
Speaker 1: This was a prophecy hidden in Israel's history. To understand
34:50
Speaker 1: why Jesus said this, we need to go back to
34:53
Speaker 1: the wilderness where the people of Israel were wandering after
34:57
Speaker 1: being delivered from Egypt. At one point they began to
35:00
Speaker 1: complain again. They were tired of the manner, they were
35:04
Speaker 1: frustrated with the journey, and once again they started speaking
35:08
Speaker 1: against God and Moses. Why have you brought us up
35:13
Speaker 1: out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. There is
35:16
Speaker 1: no bread, there is no water, and we detest this
35:20
Speaker 1: miserable food. Numbers twenty one five. They weren't just complaining,
35:26
Speaker 1: they were rejecting God's provision. They were rebelling against him.
35:30
Speaker 1: And then judgment came. Then the Lord sent venomous snakes
35:34
Speaker 1: among them. They bit the people, and many Israelites died.
35:38
Speaker 1: Numbers twenty one six. The people were being attacked by
35:43
Speaker 1: deadly serpents, and they quickly realized their mistake. They cried
35:47
Speaker 1: out to Moses, we sinned when we spoke against the
35:50
Speaker 1: Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take
35:53
Speaker 1: the snakes away from us. Numbers twenty one seven. God
35:58
Speaker 1: gave Moses an unusual instruction. He didn't remove the snakes.
36:03
Speaker 1: He didn't tell the people to fight them off, he
36:05
Speaker 1: didn't give them a cure. Instead, he told Moses, make
36:09
Speaker 1: a snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone
36:11
Speaker 1: who is bitten can look at it and live. Numbers
36:16
Speaker 1: twenty one eight. Moses did exactly that. He made a
36:20
Speaker 1: bronze serpent, lifted it high, and whoever looked at it
36:24
Speaker 1: was healed. Now imagine the scene. People are in pain,
36:28
Speaker 1: they're dying from snake bites, and Moses tells them, if
36:32
Speaker 1: you want to live. Just look at this bronze serpent.
36:36
Speaker 1: That's it. No rituals, no sacrifices, no effort on their part,
36:39
Speaker 1: just look and live. At the time, this might have
36:43
Speaker 1: seemed like a strange way for God to provide salvation,
36:47
Speaker 1: but when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, he revealed the deeper
36:50
Speaker 1: meaning behind this story. The bronze serpent was a foreshadowing
36:55
Speaker 1: of the Cross. Just as the serpent was lifted up,
36:58
Speaker 1: Jesus would be lifting did up. Just that, as the
37:01
Speaker 1: Israelites were dying from venom, humanity was dying from sin.
37:07
Speaker 1: Just as looking at the serpent brought healing, looking to
37:10
Speaker 1: Jesus in faith brings salvation. And here's the key. It
37:15
Speaker 1: wasn't about what the Israelites did, It was about what
37:18
Speaker 1: God provided. They didn't have to crawl to the pole.
37:22
Speaker 1: They didn't have to prove they deserved to be healed.
37:25
Speaker 1: They didn't have to fight off the snakes themselves. They
37:28
Speaker 1: only had to look. And in the same way, we
37:31
Speaker 1: don't save ourselves. We don't earn our way into God's kingdom.
37:36
Speaker 1: We don't fix our own sin problem. We don't fight
37:39
Speaker 1: off death by our own strength. We simply looked to Jesus.
37:43
Speaker 1: This is why Jesus made this connection for Nicodemus. Nicodemus
37:47
Speaker 1: was a pharisee. He had spent his entire life trying
37:51
Speaker 1: to be righteous through obedience to the law. He had
37:54
Speaker 1: built his identity around knowledge, discipline, and religious effort. But
38:00
Speaker 1: Jesus was telling him that none of that would save him.
38:04
Speaker 1: Salvation isn't about what you do, It's about what Jesus
38:08
Speaker 1: has already done. This is the radical nature of the Gospel.
38:12
Speaker 1: The Israelites didn't deserve to be healed, but God made
38:16
Speaker 1: a way. We don't deserve to be saved, but God
38:19
Speaker 1: sent his son. Jesus didn't tell Nicodemus to work harder,
38:24
Speaker 1: try more, or be better. He told him to believe
38:28
Speaker 1: that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him
38:32
Speaker 1: John three point fifteen. This is why Christianity is not
38:36
Speaker 1: just another religion. Every religion tells you what you need
38:40
Speaker 1: to do to get to God. Jesus tells you what
38:44
Speaker 1: he already did to bring you to God. Every religion
38:48
Speaker 1: says climb up, Jesus says look up. Every religion says
38:52
Speaker 1: earn it. Jesus says it is finished. The Israelites in
38:56
Speaker 1: the wilderness could have ignored Moses. They could have said
38:59
Speaker 1: that's too simple, But those who looked at the serpent
39:03
Speaker 1: were healed. And today many people ignore Jesus, they say
39:08
Speaker 1: that's too easy, But those who believe in him receive
39:12
Speaker 1: eternal life. So the real question is have you looked
39:16
Speaker 1: to Jesus? Have you stopped relying on yourself and trusted
39:20
Speaker 1: in his finished work? Because salvation is not about striving,
39:25
Speaker 1: it's about believing. It's about trusting that when Jesus was
39:29
Speaker 1: lifted up on the cross, he took the full weight
39:32
Speaker 1: of our sin, so that all who look to him
39:34
Speaker 1: in faith will live. When a baby is born, everything changes.
39:39
Speaker 1: Their senses awaken, they begin to grow, They respond to
39:44
Speaker 1: the world around them in ways they never could before.
39:47
Speaker 1: Birth is not just an event, it's the beginning of
39:50
Speaker 1: a completely new life. And in the same way, when
39:54
Speaker 1: someone is born again, spiritually everything changes. Jesus didn't tell
39:59
Speaker 1: nick Kademus that being born again was optional. He said
40:03
Speaker 1: it was necessary. No one can see the Kingdom of
40:07
Speaker 1: God unless they are born again John three three. But
40:13
Speaker 1: how do you know if you have truly been born again?
40:17
Speaker 1: Because being born again is not just about believing something new,
40:21
Speaker 1: It's about becoming someone new. Paul puts it this way. Therefore,
40:25
Speaker 1: if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The
40:29
Speaker 1: old has gone, the new has come Tewod Corinthians five seventeen.
40:35
Speaker 1: This is one of the most powerful truths in the Bible.
40:39
Speaker 1: If you are truly born again, you are not the
40:41
Speaker 1: same person you used to be. So what does this
40:44
Speaker 1: transformation look like? First, your desires change. Before salvation, we
40:50
Speaker 1: are driven by the desires of the flesh, pride, lust, greed, selfishness.
40:56
Speaker 1: We pursue what feels good, not necessarily what is good.
41:00
Speaker 1: But when the Spirit gives us new birth, we begin
41:03
Speaker 1: to hunger for the things of God. We no longer
41:06
Speaker 1: crave sin the way we used to. We develop a
41:09
Speaker 1: love for righteousness, a hunger for the Word, and a
41:13
Speaker 1: deep longing for God's presence. Psalm forty two one says,
41:18
Speaker 1: as the deer pants for streams of water, so my
41:22
Speaker 1: soul pants for you, my God. Have you ever noticed
41:26
Speaker 1: how a new born baby instinctively desires milk. They don't
41:30
Speaker 1: have to be taught to crave it. It's a natural
41:33
Speaker 1: response to being alive. In the same way When someone
41:36
Speaker 1: is truly born again, they don't have to be forced
41:39
Speaker 1: to love God. It's a natural response to new life. Second,
41:44
Speaker 1: your mindset changes. The Bible says, do not conform to
41:48
Speaker 1: the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
41:52
Speaker 1: renewing of your mind Romans twelve two. Before we are
41:57
Speaker 1: born again, we think like the world. We find success
42:01
Speaker 1: by money, power, and status. We see people through the
42:04
Speaker 1: lens of competition, jealousy, and comparison. But when we are
42:09
Speaker 1: born again, we begin to think with the mind of Christ.
42:13
Speaker 1: We no longer live for temporary pleasure. We live for
42:16
Speaker 1: eternal purpose. We no longer see people as enemies. We
42:21
Speaker 1: see them as souls in need of salvation. We no
42:24
Speaker 1: longer chase the approval of man. We live to please God.
42:29
Speaker 1: This is why Paul said we have the mind of
42:31
Speaker 1: Christ First Corinthians two sixteen. Being born again doesn't just
42:36
Speaker 1: change your heart, it changes the way you think. Third,
42:40
Speaker 1: your actions change. A new born doesn't stay the same.
42:44
Speaker 1: They grow, They learn to walk, speak, and function in
42:47
Speaker 1: the world around them. And when you are born again,
42:51
Speaker 1: your life begins to reflect Christ in ways it never
42:54
Speaker 1: did before. The Bible says, by their fruit you will
42:58
Speaker 1: recognize them you seven sixteen. If you plant an apple tree,
43:04
Speaker 1: it doesn't try to produce apples. It naturally bears fruit
43:08
Speaker 1: because of what it is. And when you are truly
43:11
Speaker 1: born again, the fruit of the Spirit begins to grow
43:15
Speaker 1: in your life, not by force, but by nature. Galatians
43:20
Speaker 1: five twenty two to twenty three describes this fruit love.
43:25
Speaker 1: You start loving people with the same love Jesus showed you. Joy.
43:30
Speaker 1: Your happiness is no longer based on circumstances but on Christ. Peace.
43:36
Speaker 1: You are no longer controlled by fear, worry, or anxiety.
43:42
Speaker 1: Patience you respond with grace, not anger, even when things
43:46
Speaker 1: go wrong. Kindness you extend mercy to others even when
43:50
Speaker 1: they don't deserve it. Goodness you choose to do what
43:54
Speaker 1: is right even when it's difficult. Faithfulness you stay committed
43:58
Speaker 1: to God even when it's not convenient. Gentleness you treat
44:02
Speaker 1: others with compassion instead of judgment. Self control. You master
44:07
Speaker 1: your desires instead of being mastered by them. This is
44:11
Speaker 1: what being born again looks like. Not just going to church,
44:15
Speaker 1: not just knowing Bible verses, not just trying to be
44:18
Speaker 1: a good person, but becoming a new person from the
44:21
Speaker 1: inside out. So let me ask you. Has your life changed?
44:26
Speaker 1: Are your desires different from what they used to be?
44:29
Speaker 1: Do you hunger for the presence of God? Has your
44:33
Speaker 1: thinking shifted from worldly wisdom to godly truth? Are you
44:37
Speaker 1: growing in the fruit of the spirit? Because being born
44:40
Speaker 1: again is not just about praying a prayer. It's about
44:44
Speaker 1: living a new life. And if you're wondering, what if
44:47
Speaker 1: I don't feel any different, what if I don't see
44:50
Speaker 1: this transformation in my life, then maybe it's time to
44:54
Speaker 1: go deeper. Maybe you've believed in Jesus, but you haven't
44:57
Speaker 1: fully surrendered to him. Maybe you've prayed the words, but
45:01
Speaker 1: you've never truly repented. Maybe you've been religious, but you
45:05
Speaker 1: haven't been reborn. But here's the good news. If you're breathing,
45:09
Speaker 1: it's not too late. Jesus didn't say you must be
45:12
Speaker 1: born again just to Nicodemus. He said it for you.
45:17
Speaker 1: The question is will you step into the new life?
45:20
Speaker 1: He offers. Imagine standing before Jesus on judgment Day, expecting
45:25
Speaker 1: to hear well done, good and faithful servant, only to
45:29
Speaker 1: hear something terrifying instead. I never knew you depart from me.
45:35
Speaker 1: Matthew seven twenty three. This is one of the most
45:39
Speaker 1: sobering warnings in the Bible. Jesus wasn't talking about atheists
45:45
Speaker 1: or people who openly reject God. He was talking about
45:49
Speaker 1: people who thought they were saved, people who performed religious acts,
45:55
Speaker 1: called him Lord, and even did miracles in his name.
45:59
Speaker 1: And yet he said, I never knew you. How is
46:02
Speaker 1: that possible? Because there is a dangerous deception that many
46:06
Speaker 1: fall into the belief that religious activity equals salvation. There
46:11
Speaker 1: are people who go to church every Sunday, read their Bibles,
46:15
Speaker 1: and even serve in ministry, yet they have never truly
46:19
Speaker 1: been born again. Jesus warned about this repeatedly. In Matthew
46:23
Speaker 1: twenty five, he tells the parable of the ten virgins,
46:28
Speaker 1: five were wise and five were foolish. All ten thought
46:32
Speaker 1: they were ready. All ten had lamps, but only five
46:35
Speaker 1: had oil, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The others
46:40
Speaker 1: were left outside when the bridegroom came in Luke thirteen
46:44
Speaker 1: twenty four to twenty seven. Jesus says, make every effort
46:48
Speaker 1: to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you,
46:51
Speaker 1: will try to enter and will not be able to
46:55
Speaker 1: Lord Lord open the door for us. But he will
46:58
Speaker 1: reply I don't know you or where you come from.
47:02
Speaker 1: Do you see the pattern. Many will think they are saved.
47:06
Speaker 1: Many will expect to be welcomed into the kingdom, but
47:09
Speaker 1: Jesus will turn them away, not because they didn't know
47:13
Speaker 1: about him, but because he didn't know them. So the
47:16
Speaker 1: question is, how do you know if you are truly
47:18
Speaker 1: born again? First examine your heart, Paul tells us in
47:23
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians thirteen five. Examine yourselves to see whether you
47:28
Speaker 1: are in the faith. Test yourselves. Being born again is
47:32
Speaker 1: not about saying the right words. It's about a heart
47:36
Speaker 1: that has been made new. Ask yourself, do I truly
47:40
Speaker 1: love Jesus or do I just believe in him? Do
47:43
Speaker 1: I hunger for God's presence? Or do I just go
47:46
Speaker 1: through religious motions? Has my life changed or do I
47:50
Speaker 1: still live the same way I did before. True salvation
47:54
Speaker 1: is not about external performance, it's about internal transfer me. Second,
48:01
Speaker 1: check your fruit. Jesus said a tree is known by
48:04
Speaker 1: its fruit Matthew twelve thirty three. If you plant an
48:08
Speaker 1: apple tree, it will bear apples. If you plant an
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Speaker 1: orange tree, it will bear oranges. And if you have
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Speaker 1: truly been born again, the fruit of the spirit will
48:18
Speaker 1: naturally begin to grow in your life. Are you more loving, patient,
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Speaker 1: and kind? Do you have a deeper joy and peace
48:26
Speaker 1: even in trials? Are you becoming more like Jesus? Not
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Speaker 1: just in words, but in how you live? Third, consider
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Speaker 1: your obedience. Jesus said in John fourteen fifteen, if you
48:37
Speaker 1: love me, keep my commandments. Salvation is not about being perfect,
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Speaker 1: but it is about surrender. If some one says they
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Speaker 1: love Jesus but refuses to obey him, something is wrong.
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Speaker 1: A born again believer may struggle, but they don't justify
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Speaker 1: their sin. They don't make excuses. They repent, They grow,
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Speaker 1: and they follow Christ. First, John two three to four says,
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Speaker 1: we know that we have come to know him if
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Speaker 1: we keep his commands. Whoever says I know him but
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Speaker 1: does not do what he commands is a liar, and
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Speaker 1: the truth is not in them. That's strong language, But
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Speaker 1: John wanted to make it clear. True faith produces real obedience.
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Speaker 1: So let me ask you again, have you truly been
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Speaker 1: born again? Not? Do you go to church? Not have
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Speaker 1: you prayed a prayer? Not? Do you believe in God?
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Speaker 1: Have you experienced a spiritual rebirth that has changed everything
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Speaker 1: about your life? This is not meant to make you doubt,
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Speaker 1: it's meant to wake you up, because if there's even
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Speaker 1: the slightest hesitation in your heart right now, this is
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Speaker 1: the moment to go deeper. This is the moment to
49:51
Speaker 1: surrender fully. Jesus doesn't want you to be unsure about
49:55
Speaker 1: your salvation. He doesn't want you to just hope that
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Speaker 1: you're saved. He wants you to know you're saved. And
50:02
Speaker 1: if you realize that you've been relying on religion instead
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Speaker 1: of a relationship, if you recognize that you've been near
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Speaker 1: Jesus but never fully surrendered to him, then don't wait
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Speaker 1: another second. Fall on your knees, cry out to him,
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Speaker 1: ask him to truly make you new, because the most
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Speaker 1: dangerous thing you can do is assume you're saved when
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Speaker 1: you're not. This is one of the most debated questions
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Speaker 1: in Christianity. Can a person lose their salvation? If someone
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Speaker 1: is truly born again, can they later become unborn? Or
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Speaker 1: is salvation secure no matter what. Many people struggle with
50:42
Speaker 1: this because they've seen friends or family who once followed
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Speaker 1: Jesus but later turned away. Some lived for Christ for years,
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Speaker 1: but now they reject him completely. So what happened. Did
50:54
Speaker 1: they lose their salvation or were they never truly saved?
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Speaker 1: To begin with? Jesus gives us a powerful answer in
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Speaker 1: John fifteen. I am the vine. You are the branches.
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Speaker 1: If you remain in Me and I in you, you
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Speaker 1: will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do
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Speaker 1: nothing John fifteen five. But then he gives a warning.
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Speaker 1: If you do not remain in Me, you are like
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Speaker 1: a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches
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Speaker 1: are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned John
51:26
Speaker 1: fifteen six. This verse is clear remaining in Christ is essential.
51:32
Speaker 1: But here's where we need to be careful. Does this
51:35
Speaker 1: mean salvation is fragile, that one mistake can separate you
51:39
Speaker 1: from God now? But true salvation is not about human effort.
51:44
Speaker 1: It is a work of God. When you are born again,
51:48
Speaker 1: you are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You were marked
51:51
Speaker 1: in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who
51:54
Speaker 1: is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance Ephesians one thirteen to fourteen.
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Speaker 1: A true believer cannot be unborn. You don't wake up
52:05
Speaker 1: one day and accidentally lose your salvation. But there is
52:09
Speaker 1: a difference between true believers who stumble, and false converts
52:14
Speaker 1: who fall away completely. Jesus warned about this in the
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Speaker 1: Parable of the Sour Matthew thirteen. Some seeds fall on
52:23
Speaker 1: rocky soil. They sprout quickly, but have no roots. When
52:27
Speaker 1: trouble comes, they fall away. Others fall among thorns. The
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Speaker 1: cares of this world choke them, and they become unfruitful.
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Speaker 1: But the seeds that fall on good soil they take root,
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Speaker 1: they grow, they produce lasting fruit. This is the key difference.
52:44
Speaker 1: A true believer may struggle, but they will always return
52:48
Speaker 1: to Christ. A false convert may appear to believe for
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Speaker 1: a while, but when tested, they turn away completely. Look
52:57
Speaker 1: at Judas and Peter. Judas follow Jesus for years, he
53:01
Speaker 1: was part of the Twelve. He performed miracles in Jesus name,
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Speaker 1: but in the end he betrayed Christ and never repented.
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Speaker 1: Peter also failed. He denied Jesus three times. He ran
53:16
Speaker 1: away in fear. But unlike Judas, Peter repented he returned
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Speaker 1: to Jesus. He was restored. That's the difference. A believer
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Speaker 1: may stumble, but they will never abandon Christ completely. This
53:31
Speaker 1: is why First John two nineteen says they went out
53:35
Speaker 1: from us, but they did not really belong to us,
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Speaker 1: for if they had belonged to us, they would have
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Speaker 1: remained with us. If someone walks away from Christ permanently,
53:45
Speaker 1: they never truly belonged to him. So can a true
53:49
Speaker 1: believer lose their salvation number? But can someone think they're
53:53
Speaker 1: saved and later realize they never were? Yes, And that's
53:58
Speaker 1: why Paul tells us work out your salvation with fear
54:01
Speaker 1: and trembling Philippians two twelve, Not because we should live
54:06
Speaker 1: in fear of losing it, but because we should take
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Speaker 1: it seriously. Salvation is not a one time prayer. It
54:12
Speaker 1: is a lifelong relationship with Jesus. And the evidence that
54:16
Speaker 1: you are truly saved is not that you never sin,
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Speaker 1: but that you never stop returning to Christ. So the
54:23
Speaker 1: real question is not can you lose your salvation? The
54:27
Speaker 1: real question is do you truly belong to Jesus? Because
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Speaker 1: if you do, he will never let you go. Being
54:35
Speaker 1: born again is not just about saying a prayer or
54:38
Speaker 1: attending church. It is a complete transformation, one that starts
54:43
Speaker 1: deep in your heart and changes everything about your life.
54:48
Speaker 1: But how does it actually happen? How do you go
54:51
Speaker 1: from spiritual death to spiritual life. Jesus made it clear
54:55
Speaker 1: in John three to three. Very truly, I tell you,
54:58
Speaker 1: no one can see the Kingingdom of God unless they
55:01
Speaker 1: are born again. So how does someone experience this new birth?
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Speaker 1: It begins with recognizing your need for a savior. The
55:11
Speaker 1: Bible tells us in Ephesians to one that before Christ
55:14
Speaker 1: we were dead in our sins, not weak, not struggling dead.
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Speaker 1: A dead person cannot revive themselves. They need a miracle,
55:25
Speaker 1: and that miracle is Jesus. Some people think they are
55:29
Speaker 1: good enough without Christ, but no one can meet God's
55:33
Speaker 1: perfect standard. Romans three twenty three says for all have
55:37
Speaker 1: sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This
55:41
Speaker 1: means every single one of us needs salvation. Without Christ,
55:46
Speaker 1: we are lost, spiritually dead, and separated from God. But
55:51
Speaker 1: the good news is God doesn't leave us there. Once
55:55
Speaker 1: you recognize your need, the next step is to repent
55:58
Speaker 1: and believe. Repentance means turning away from sin. It's not
56:04
Speaker 1: just feeling sorry, it's a decision to change, to leave
56:07
Speaker 1: behind the old life and surrender to Jesus. Acts three
56:12
Speaker 1: nineteen tells us repent then and turn to God. So
56:17
Speaker 1: that your sins may be wiped out. The times of
56:19
Speaker 1: refreshing may come from the Lord. Many people want salvation
56:24
Speaker 1: without repentance. They want Jesus as savior, but not as Lord.
56:29
Speaker 1: But true faith means trusting him fully giving him control,
56:34
Speaker 1: not just believing in him from a distance. Romans ten
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Speaker 1: nine tells us exactly how this happens. If you declare
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Speaker 1: with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your
56:47
Speaker 1: heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
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Speaker 1: be saved. This is the moment of new birth, the
56:54
Speaker 1: moment you trust in Jesus, you are forgiven, washed clean,
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Speaker 1: and made new. And it doesn't stop there. Being born
57:02
Speaker 1: again is not just a one time decision. It is
57:05
Speaker 1: the beginning of a new life. That's where the Holy
57:09
Speaker 1: Spirit comes in. When you are born again, you don't
57:12
Speaker 1: just receive forgiveness, You receive God himself. The Holy Spirit
57:17
Speaker 1: comes to live inside you, guiding you, changing you, and
57:22
Speaker 1: giving you the power to live for Christ. Ezekiel thirty
57:26
Speaker 1: six twenty six to twenty seven prophesied this transformation. I
57:30
Speaker 1: will give you a new heart and put a new
57:33
Speaker 1: spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart
57:36
Speaker 1: of stone and give you a heart of flesh, and
57:39
Speaker 1: I will put my spirit in you and move you
57:42
Speaker 1: to follow my decrees. Being born again is not about
57:46
Speaker 1: trying harder to be a better person. It is about
57:49
Speaker 1: receiving a new heart, a new spirit, a new life.
57:55
Speaker 1: This is why Second Corinthians five seventeen says if anyone
57:59
Speaker 1: is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old
58:03
Speaker 1: has gone, the new is here. And when the Holy
58:07
Speaker 1: Spirit begins his work in you, everything changes. Your desires change,
58:13
Speaker 1: your mindset shifts, your love for God grows. This is
58:17
Speaker 1: what it means to be born again. It's not just
58:20
Speaker 1: knowing about Jesus. It's experiencing him. It's going from spiritual
58:25
Speaker 1: death to spiritual life. And here's the truth. If you
58:29
Speaker 1: have not been born again, you are missing everything. So
58:33
Speaker 1: the question is have you experienced this? Have you been
58:37
Speaker 1: made new? Because this is not about religion. It's about relationship.
58:42
Speaker 1: It's not about rules. It's about rebirth, and if you
58:47
Speaker 1: are ready, Jesus is waiting. Being born again isn't just
58:51
Speaker 1: about where you go when you die. It's about how
58:54
Speaker 1: you live right now. When Jesus said you must be
58:58
Speaker 1: born again, he wasn't just giving Nicodemus information about salvation.
59:03
Speaker 1: He was inviting him into a completely new way of life,
59:06
Speaker 1: one that would transform everything. So what does it actually
59:10
Speaker 1: mean to live as someone who is born again? What changes?
59:15
Speaker 1: How does this affect your daily life, your thoughts, your actions,
59:18
Speaker 1: and your relationship with God. The first thing that changes
59:23
Speaker 1: is your connection to God. Before you were born again,
59:26
Speaker 1: prayer might have felt like a ritual something you did
59:30
Speaker 1: before meals in emergencies, or maybe not at all. But
59:35
Speaker 1: now prayer becomes a lifeline. You're no longer speaking to
59:39
Speaker 1: a distant God. You're talking to your Father. Romans eight
59:43
Speaker 1: fifteen says the spirit you received does not make you
59:47
Speaker 1: slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather, the
59:51
Speaker 1: spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship, and
59:55
Speaker 1: by him we cry Abba. Father. Aba is an intimate term.
1:00:02
Speaker 1: It means Dad. When you're born again, you don't just
1:00:05
Speaker 1: serve God. You know him. You have a personal relationship
1:00:09
Speaker 1: with Him, and that changes everything. The second thing that
1:00:13
Speaker 1: changes is your desire for holiness. Before Christ, sin was
1:00:18
Speaker 1: just a normal part of life. But when you are
1:00:21
Speaker 1: born again, your heart begins to change. You start to
1:00:25
Speaker 1: hate the things that once controlled you. Temptation still comes,
1:00:30
Speaker 1: but now there's a battle inside you, because the Holy
1:00:33
Speaker 1: Spirit is convicting you, guiding you, and empowering you to
1:00:37
Speaker 1: live differently. Galatians five sixteen says, walk by the spirit,
1:00:42
Speaker 1: and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
1:00:46
Speaker 1: This doesn't mean you become perfect over night, but it
1:00:49
Speaker 1: does mean that when you fall, you don't stay down.
1:00:54
Speaker 1: You get back up, repent and keep walking with Jesus.
1:00:59
Speaker 1: The third thing that changes is your love for others.
1:01:03
Speaker 1: When you are born again, you don't just see people
1:01:06
Speaker 1: the way the world sees them. You begin to see
1:01:08
Speaker 1: them the way God does. The love of Christ fills
1:01:12
Speaker 1: your heart, and suddenly bitterness, hatred, and selfishness start to fade.
1:01:18
Speaker 1: Jesus said in John thirteen thirty five. By this, everyone
1:01:22
Speaker 1: will know that you are my disciples, if you love
1:01:26
Speaker 1: one another, if you are truly born again. Love is
1:01:30
Speaker 1: the evidence. You forgive more easily, you serve more joyfully,
1:01:35
Speaker 1: You care about the souls of people around you. But
1:01:38
Speaker 1: here's the challenge. The enemy will do everything he can
1:01:42
Speaker 1: to pull you back. Satan knows he has lost you eternally,
1:01:47
Speaker 1: but he will try to keep you weak, distracted, and ineffective.
1:01:51
Speaker 1: That's why you have to be intentional about growing in
1:01:54
Speaker 1: your faith. One petertoo too tells us, like newborn babies,
1:02:00
Speaker 1: pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow
1:02:04
Speaker 1: up in your salvation. This means daily feeding yourself with
1:02:08
Speaker 1: God's word, spending time in prayer, surrounding yourself with other
1:02:12
Speaker 1: believers who will help you stay strong. Because here's the truth.
1:02:16
Speaker 1: Many people have an emotional moment with God, but they
1:02:20
Speaker 1: don't stay connected to him. They get distracted, they drift,
1:02:25
Speaker 1: and eventually they stop growing. But when you are truly
1:02:29
Speaker 1: born again, you don't just have a moment. You have
1:02:32
Speaker 1: a new life. So ask yourself, are you living in
1:02:35
Speaker 1: the reality of your new birth? Is your relationship with
1:02:39
Speaker 1: God growing? Are you walking in the spirit daily letting
1:02:43
Speaker 1: him lead your life? Because being born again is not
1:02:46
Speaker 1: a one time event. It's a daily surrender, a daily renewal,
1:02:51
Speaker 1: a daily choice to walk in the power of the
1:02:54
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, and when you do, your life will never
1:02:58
Speaker 1: be the same. Being born again is not about being religious.
1:03:03
Speaker 1: It's not about attending church, saying the right words, or
1:03:06
Speaker 1: simply trying to be a good person. It's about transformation,
1:03:11
Speaker 1: about a life that has been completely made new by
1:03:14
Speaker 1: the power of God. And now the most important question remains,
1:03:20
Speaker 1: have you truly been born again? It's easy to assume
1:03:25
Speaker 1: you are saved because you grew up in a Christian home,
1:03:28
Speaker 1: because you pray, or because you believe in God. Nicodemus
1:03:33
Speaker 1: believed in God too. He knew scripture, he followed the
1:03:37
Speaker 1: laws of Moses. But when he came to Jesus, he
1:03:41
Speaker 1: discovered that religion was not enough. Jesus didn't say try harder,
1:03:46
Speaker 1: he didn't say do more good deeds. He said you
1:03:51
Speaker 1: must be born again. So the question is not do
1:03:54
Speaker 1: you believe in God? The question is has your heart
1:03:58
Speaker 1: been made new? Paul gives us a serious warning in
1:04:02
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians thirteen five. Examine yourselves to see whether you
1:04:06
Speaker 1: are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize
1:04:10
Speaker 1: that Christ Jesus is in you, unless, of course you
1:04:13
Speaker 1: fail the test. Take a moment and really think about this.
1:04:17
Speaker 1: Has there been a moment in your life when you
1:04:20
Speaker 1: surrendered fully to Jesus. Have you seen the evidence of
1:04:24
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit changing you from the inside out. Do
1:04:28
Speaker 1: you hunger for God's presence, his word, and his ways,
1:04:31
Speaker 1: or do you find yourself just going through the motions
1:04:34
Speaker 1: checking off spiritual boxes, but never truly experiencing transformation. Being
1:04:40
Speaker 1: born again is not about emotions. It's about change. When
1:04:45
Speaker 1: a baby is born, everything is new. The way they breathe,
1:04:48
Speaker 1: the way they see, the way they experience the world.
1:04:52
Speaker 1: Everything is different. And when you are born again, the
1:04:56
Speaker 1: same thing happens. Your desires chase, your perspective shifts, you
1:05:03
Speaker 1: begin to walk in a completely new direction. But here's
1:05:07
Speaker 1: the truth. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian has
1:05:10
Speaker 1: actually been born again. Jesus made this painfully clear in
1:05:15
Speaker 1: Matthew seven twenty one to twenty three when he said,
1:05:19
Speaker 1: not every one who says to me, Lord Lord, will
1:05:22
Speaker 1: enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who
1:05:26
Speaker 1: does the will of my Father, who is in heaven.
1:05:30
Speaker 1: Many will say to me on that day, Lord Lord,
1:05:34
Speaker 1: did we not prophesy in your name, and in your
1:05:37
Speaker 1: name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?
1:05:41
Speaker 1: Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.
1:05:45
Speaker 1: Away from me, you evildoers. This is one of the
1:05:49
Speaker 1: most terrifying verses in the Bible. It tells us that
1:05:52
Speaker 1: there will be people who thought they were saved, people
1:05:55
Speaker 1: who did religious things, who went to church, who even
1:05:59
Speaker 1: did miracles, and yet Jesus will say I never knew you,
1:06:05
Speaker 1: So don't assume examine. The good news is this. If
1:06:09
Speaker 1: you are listening to this message, it's not too late.
1:06:13
Speaker 1: If you realize that you've been relying on religion instead
1:06:17
Speaker 1: of relationship, on works, instead of grace, on tradition, instead
1:06:21
Speaker 1: of transformation, Jesus is inviting you right now to be
1:06:26
Speaker 1: born again. All it takes is surrender. Jesus already did
1:06:30
Speaker 1: the work, he already paid the price, he already made
1:06:33
Speaker 1: the way, but you have to receive it because at
1:06:36
Speaker 1: the end of the day, this is the most important
1:06:39
Speaker 1: question you will ever answer. Have you been born again?
1:06:44
Speaker 1: If you're ready to surrender your life to Jesus, stay
1:06:47
Speaker 1: with us for a final prayer. If you've made it
1:06:50
Speaker 1: this far, you've wrestled with the most important question of
1:06:54
Speaker 1: your life. Have you been born again? Maybe you've been
1:06:58
Speaker 1: in church your whole life. Maybe you've read the Bible, prayed,
1:07:03
Speaker 1: and even tried your best to live a good life,
1:07:06
Speaker 1: but deep down you know something is missing. A restlessness,
1:07:10
Speaker 1: a longing for something real, a desire to not just
1:07:14
Speaker 1: know about God, but to truly know him and This
1:07:18
Speaker 1: is the moment, the moment where you stop running, stop doubting,
1:07:21
Speaker 1: stop questioning whether you are truly saved, and step into
1:07:25
Speaker 1: the new life Jesus has for you. Because Jesus didn't
1:07:28
Speaker 1: come just to give us better morals. He didn't come
1:07:31
Speaker 1: to make bad people good. He came to make dead
1:07:35
Speaker 1: people alive. I have come that they may have life
1:07:39
Speaker 1: and have it to the full John ten ten. But
1:07:42
Speaker 1: before we pray, I want you to pause and really
1:07:45
Speaker 1: ask yourself do you want this? Not just the idea
1:07:49
Speaker 1: of Jesus, not just the comfort of knowing heaven is real,
1:07:54
Speaker 1: But do you want him? Because being born again is
1:07:58
Speaker 1: not about repeating a prayer. It's about surrender. You don't
1:08:02
Speaker 1: try to be born, you don't work for it, you
1:08:05
Speaker 1: receive it. Yet to all who did receive him, to
1:08:09
Speaker 1: those who believed in his name, he gave the right
1:08:13
Speaker 1: to become children of God, children born not of natural descent,
1:08:18
Speaker 1: nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born
1:08:22
Speaker 1: of God. John one, twelve to thirteen. So if you're
1:08:27
Speaker 1: ready not just to believe in Jesus but to follow him,
1:08:30
Speaker 1: let's pray. Father. I come before you with an open heart,
1:08:34
Speaker 1: laying everything down at your feet. I am tired of running,
1:08:39
Speaker 1: tired of searching for meaning in things that cannot satisfy.
1:08:43
Speaker 1: I know that without you I am lost. I have
1:08:47
Speaker 1: tried to be good, I have tried to fix myself,
1:08:49
Speaker 1: but I now realize that I don't need to be improved.
1:08:53
Speaker 1: I need to be made new. Lord. I confess that
1:08:57
Speaker 1: I am a sinner. I have fallen short of your glory.
1:09:00
Speaker 1: My heart has been stubborn, my mind has been clouded,
1:09:04
Speaker 1: and my life has been filled with things that have
1:09:06
Speaker 1: pulled me away from you. But to day I surrender
1:09:09
Speaker 1: not just my sins, not just my failures, but my
1:09:13
Speaker 1: entire life. I lay it all down. I believe that
1:09:18
Speaker 1: Jesus is the son of God. I believe that he
1:09:21
Speaker 1: died on the cross for me, not just for the world,
1:09:25
Speaker 1: but for me. I believe that his blood washes away
1:09:29
Speaker 1: my sins, that his death was the payment for my rebellion,
1:09:33
Speaker 1: and that his resurrection is the proof that he has
1:09:36
Speaker 1: conquered sin and death. Jesus, I invite you into my heart,
1:09:41
Speaker 1: not just as a savior, but as my lord. I
1:09:44
Speaker 1: don't just want a ticket to heaven. I want a
1:09:46
Speaker 1: relationship with you. I want to know you to walk
1:09:50
Speaker 1: with you, to live for you. Change me from the
1:09:53
Speaker 1: inside out. Give me a new heart, a new mind,
1:09:57
Speaker 1: and a new spirit. Let the old things away and
1:10:01
Speaker 1: let all things become new. Holy Spirit, come and fill me.
1:10:05
Speaker 1: Take control. Teach me your ways, Give me the strength
1:10:09
Speaker 1: to turn away from sin. Help me to desire what
1:10:13
Speaker 1: is holy. Open my eyes to understand your word. Let
1:10:18
Speaker 1: my life bear fruit that glorifies you. Lead me every
1:10:22
Speaker 1: day so that I never walk this path alone. Father,
1:10:26
Speaker 1: I thank you for your love, a love so deep
1:10:29
Speaker 1: that you sent your only son to die in my place.
1:10:32
Speaker 1: I thank you for your mercy for not giving me
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Speaker 1: what I deserve. I thank you for your grace for
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Speaker 1: giving me what I could never earn. And I thank
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Speaker 1: you for this moment, this moment where everything changes. From
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Speaker 1: this day forward, I belong to you. I am no
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Speaker 1: longer my own. I am yours fully and completely. I
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Speaker 1: will follow you, trust you, and love you for the
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Speaker 1: rest of my days, no matter what comes, no matter
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Speaker 1: the trials. I know that I am secure in you.
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Speaker 1: I know that nothing can separate me from your love.
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Speaker 1: In Jesus name, I pray, O men, if you prayed
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Speaker 1: that prayer from your heart, this is not the end,
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Speaker 1: it is the beginning. Being born again is not just
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Speaker 1: about saying words, but about stepping into a new life.
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Speaker 1: And that's exactly what you've done to day. Here's what
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Speaker 1: you do next. Get into the Word. The Bible is
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Speaker 1: your spiritual food. Read it, meditate on it, and let
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Speaker 1: it transform you. Start with the Gospel of John and
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Speaker 1: allow God to speak to you. Pray daily. Prayer is
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Speaker 1: not a ritual, it is a relationship. Talk to God,
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Speaker 1: listen for his voice, and grow in intimacy with him.
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Speaker 1: Get connected. You were never meant to walk this journey alone.
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Speaker 1: Find a Bible believing church, Surround yourself with believers and
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Speaker 1: grow in your faith. Live differently. You are an new creation.
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Speaker 1: Old things have passed away and all things have become new.
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Speaker 1: Walk in the freedom Christ has given you. And if
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Speaker 1: this video has opened your eyes to something new, like
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Speaker 1: and share so more people can understand what it truly
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Speaker 1: means to be born again. Stay blessed,