"You Must Be Born Again" These are the words Jesus spoke to one of the most religious men of his day (John 3:1-8). Nicodemus had come to Jesus one night to inquire about His new doctrine. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He believed in God, he prayed, fasted, tithed, attended worship services, read the Scriptures and tried to keep high moral standards. Yet, with all these credentials, Jesus told him he had to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus said, " Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."(John 3:3). "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Later in the book of John he said, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). Paul wrote that Christ gave Himself to sanctify and cleanse the church with the washing of water by the WORD (Ephesians 5:26). Peter wrote that we are born again "not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, (1 Pet 1:23). The WORD is the seed that comes into your heart and causes faith to grow. Not only must you have God's Word in order to be born again, but you must have God's Spirit. It is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the HOLY SPIRIT" (Titus 3:5). There are several ingredients needed in making concrete. You need sand, cement, and water primarily. There is plenty of sand in the desert, but concrete doesn't appear just because it's there. There is an abundance of water in the ocean and plenty of sand, but the ocean is not full of concrete. Likewise in order for you to be saved, the Word and the Spirit must be mixed with repentance and faith in your heart. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - God is not a religion ;-). Religion: 1. An organized system or institution of belief based upon the traditions of men INSTEAD of the pursuit of friendship with God. 2. The act of playing church, exchanging internal truths for external performance; substituting spiritual realities with carnal rituals. -------- http://www.myspace.com/bondservant007 You can read (every version of) the bible online at http://www.biblegateway.com/ You can read or listen to excellent biblical teaching online at http://www.preachtheword.com/sermon/1... You can read this little book online "Jesus Loves Me" at http://www.jesuslovesme.org/ You can read my blogs, listen to more music, and find more links at http://www.myspace.com/bondservant007 You can listen to my favorite online radio station at http://klove.com/ You can post a comment, rate this, etc. PLEASE do so - to help spread the MESSAGE of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Where is God when things go wrong? Read this book online at http://www.preachtheword.com/bookstor... Always ride with your LIGHTS ON! This isn't a prayer request, this is an action request: Let the redeemed of the Lord SAY SO! Please rate and distribute this video as much as the Lord leads you. You can help spread God's Word to others, and plant seeds for our Redeemer to grow, by rating this (evidently the more ratings, views, comments, number of times added to favorites, and # of subscribers, the higher the percentage is for more exposure ... for HIM). If you think this message is GOOD NEWS, please say so ;-) Other videos are also available. And this is my prayer for YOU all each and every day: HEY! JUDE 24 & 25: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, "to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."
