The Holy Spirit: Giving New Life

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Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, September 3rd. Have you ever wondered what the Bible means by being born again? If you aren’t sure, this series on the power of the Holy Spirit continues with an understanding of His part in giving new life.

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Lord, I really messed up my life. If I just had a new opportunity to start all over again, I think things would be different. I wonder if you’ve ever felt that way. God, if I could just get a new beginning, if I just had a new start, somehow I think things might be different. And I want to say, first of all, I’ve got some bad news for you, and then I’ve got some good news. The bad news is this. You can’t change your past. That’s history. It’s fixed. You can’t do much about that. But you can start all over. That is, you can have a new beginning. And that’s what I want to talk about in this message today because that’s exactly what God promises. No matter what you’ve done in the past, there is a way to have a new beginning. And the title of this message is The Holy Spirit Giving New Life. And I want you to turn, if you will, to the one chapter that best probably describes this in all the Bible. And that is the third chapter of John. And you recall this is Jesus in his interview with Nicodemus. And Nicodemus comes to him out of curiosity, more than likely. He knew there was something going on he couldn’t quite understand. He couldn’t explain. And so what he was saying to Jesus is this. Explain to me what’s going on. He says, now, I listen and I know. having been a teacher himself and being a teacher, he said, I know that you’re a teacher come from God, for no man can do what I’ve seen going on unless God’s with him. And you certainly couldn’t teach the way you’re teaching unless God was with you. So explain to me what’s happening. And so Jesus cut it short right there. He said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is, you can’t understand it. You won’t understand what’s going on. And then he said to him a second time, he said, Unless you’re born of water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. And then he said to him, don’t be so amazed that I said to you, you must be born again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. He said, marvel not that I send you, you must be born again. What in the world did Jesus mean when he said, you must be born again? The Bible says that there are two things that you and I absolutely must do. Number one is we must die. It is appointed unto man by God, that is, wants to die. And the second thing that we must do is that we must stand before God and give an account for our life. It is also found in Hebrews, that same verse, 927. It’s also found in Romans chapter 14 when he says that all of us will stand in the judgment of God and give an account for our life. So the two things all of us know we must do. We must die and we must stand in the judgment of God and give an account for our life. Now in order to be ready to die, And to be ready to stand in that judgment, there’s a third thing I must do. And that is I must be born again. Whatever that means, it is absolutely a must. Listen, not from my point of view, but from God’s viewpoint. He says you must die. You must give an account for your life in the judgment. And in order to be ready to do so, you must be born again. He didn’t say, I would suggest it. He didn’t say it was a good idea. He didn’t say it’s a fantastic idea. He didn’t say it’s something that everybody ought to give serious consideration to. Jesus said, and remember he says, I’m the one who holds the keys to life and death. It is Jesus Christ at his throne before whom all of us will one day stand and give an account of our life. And he says, I’m telling you, you must die. You must give an account and ought to be ready. You must be born again. Why did Jesus say you must be born again? I want to answer that before I explain what it means to be born again. Well, first of all, why did God create you and me? He created us not because he had to, but because he desired to love us and to receive our love in return and to receive our worship. So God created us for himself. How can we worship and relate to God? The only way you and I can worship and relate to God and fellowship with Him is to be able to speak God’s language and think the way God thinks and think on His terms. So, one of the primary reasons He says a man must be born again is in order for you and myself to get in the position whereby we can relate to God and fellowship with Him and worship Him and be the persons He wants us to be. The second basis for this is this. And that is that when you and I pass on out of this life, we die. All of us who know Christ as our Savior, we go into heaven. And so in order to get us ready for where we’re going to spend eternity, Jesus said, you must be born again. You say, what’s that got to do with being in heaven? Well, think about this for a moment. It’s not going to be like anything that you and I know of. And we read the 21st and 22nd chapters of the book of the Revelation. We only get a little pinpoint view of what heaven’s going to be like. And the truth is these finite minds vows cannot possibly even begin to conceive of what it’s going to be like. Because when we talk about this heavenly city coming down from heaven, it sounds like some big cube of a condominium that everybody’s going to live in. But that’s not what it’s like. Why? The mind of man cannot conceive of the glory of heaven. Now, he said, Nicodemus, you know why you have to be born again? Because I want you to be able to relate to me and the Father in a way that we can talk in fellowship. And secondly, I want you to be prepared for the place you’re going to spend eternity. Now, you say, well, but wait a minute. Look at all the things over here I’ve gotten rid of in my life and all the things I’ve added. I’m now going to church. I’m even going to Sunday school. I go to the worship service. I give money. I pray prayers and I read the Bible. And besides that, I’ve cut out my drinking and my smoking and my running around, my dishonesty, my lying and my cheating and my dirty jokes. And so, therefore, if I’ve cut out all the bad and added all the good, then you mean to tell me that I’m not accepted on that basis? No. No. Knowing all men, Jesus did not level one single form of criticism toward this man. He didn’t say, Nicodemus, when you straighten up a few things, it’ll be all right. He said to him, Nicodemus. You can’t even understand spiritual things until you’re born again. And he says, besides that, you can’t enter into the kingdom of God until you’re born again. So that whatever this means, it is absolutely essential for my fellowship with him here and my fellowship with him hereafter. So if you’re planning on having any fellowship with God whatsoever, you must be born again. And secondly, if you intend to go to heaven, you must be born again. And let me show you why. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, look in the 14th verse, what he says. He says, but a natural man, this is the lost man. He says, but a natural man, that is the unbeliever, does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they’re foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they’re spiritually appraised. That is, it’s beyond his comprehension. That’s why your unbelieving friend says, now, wait a minute. You mean to tell me that if I have eliminated all these habits over here and I’ve begun to do all these things, you mean to tell me that your God of love isn’t going to accept me? Correct. He says, that is absolutely the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard of. Correct. That’s what we thought you’d say. Because until something happens to a person’s life, they cannot understand that. Logically and reasonably, the lost person is thinking right. Wait a minute. If I eliminate the evil and add the good, surely God is going to weigh that and is going to consider me acceptable. So remember this, that your unbelieving friends are coming from a point of view of just pure human reasoning. And when they look at it from a reasonable point of view, that is a logical answer. I cut out this. I add this. God accepts me just the way I am. Look, if you will, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 tells us why. And you’ll recall in this passage, he says, if our gospel is hidden, he says it’s veiled to those who are perishing. In whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that they may not see the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who’s the image of God. They can’t, they don’t understand it. Why do they not understand it? Because their minds have been blinded. Have they been blinded by the devil? So when you say to your friend, you need more than stopping this and adding this. He says, but wait a minute. Remember where he’s coming from. He’s been blinded by the devil to always respond in human reasoning and logic. If I eliminate the evil and add the good, that makes me good. And if I’m good, then God’s going to accept me as good because God’s good. The only problem with that is it doesn’t work. That’s why Jesus said it’s absolutely necessary. What is necessary? That you go to church? No. Though it is necessary if you’re going to grow as a Christian. What is necessary? Being baptized? No. But if you want to be obedient to God, you’re going to have to be baptized. What is necessary? Giving to God? No. But if you’re going to be obedient, you’re going to have to do that. What is necessary? He says it is a must. Because it is a must that you die. It is a must that you stand before God. It is a must that you be born again. That is… That there is a spiritual transaction that goes on in your life whereby your past, which is history from this moment on, that is your sins are forgiven, past, present, and future. God wipes out the penalty for the past. And you receive, listen to this, this is the key, you receive the gift of divine life. And what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus is, except a man be born again, unless you have imparted into you the life of God, all your works won’t work in the judgment. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The new birth is the experience whereby by faith I receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and receive Him as my life and understanding that I receive when I receive Him the very life of God. That’s what eternal life is. Eternal life is the life of Christ within us. That’s what Paul’s meant when he said… And when Christ who is our life shall appear. What did he say about being in Christ and Christ in us? What makes the difference between an unbeliever and a believer is one simple thing. The believer is indwelt by the life of God and the unbeliever has no life of God in him. He is dead in trespasses and sins and living in rebellion toward God and as many bad things as he may have eliminated and as good things he has also added, he’s still spiritually dead. And what I want you to see is this. Listen, the cleaning up Listen, the cleaning up is the work of the Holy Spirit. Once I have received the gift of life, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The new birth is God’s new beginning, which is the privilege of every single person who is willing to receive the life of God, which is the life of Christ, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. He says the Holy Spirit does what? Seals us. How long until the day of redemption? You see, the newborn person is one who has been resurrected from a life of sin and disobedience and rebellion. Listen, resurrected from a life of death to a life of spiritual life, eternal life. How long does it last? Now think about this. Think about it. Eliminating all of these bad habits, adding all these good habits, didn’t get me anything in the presence of God. That is, my performance didn’t count. Now listen, if my performance didn’t count in getting me the life which I received by faith, my performance isn’t going to count in keeping what God gave me as a gift. Now listen, if I have to perform to keep what God gave me, it is no longer a gift, it is a loan. It isn’t my performance that keeps me safe. It is the grace of God. Now, I understand what you’re thinking. People say, but that’s easy believism. No. Look at the cross and see the death of Jesus. You see, it’s not easy. What I want you to see is that Jesus used the terminology. Born again. Listen. Think about this. If he has given me a new life and I was dead… How am I going to lose what God implanted within me? You say, well, sin. I didn’t get it by being righteous. I got it as a gift. He said, what about righteous living? We come into that and all the rest of this series in the Holy Spirit. Because God demands righteous living. But He does not demand righteous living in order for me to get saved, nor does He desire that I clean up my life in order to be saved when I am truly saved by the grace of God and I have a brand new life and a brand new spirit and a brand new nature. I’m telling you, I’m going to be ready to start getting it all cleaned up in a hurry because I have a whole new perspective on life I have a new power by which to see that life cleaned up. So, how can He give us new life? How can God, who is holy and cannot look upon sin, who hates all sin and is separated from it, how can God, who is holy, implant, that is impart to an unbeliever, new life and still be holy? That’s what Jesus explained in two simple verses and Nicodemus got the point. He said, as the serpent was lifted up on the post, so the Son of Man will be lifted up and all who believe in Him. And here’s the way God can take ugly, wicked, vile, dirty, filthy sinners away. and make them holy. Christ bore the sin debt of the world on the cross in one dramatic eternal act. And every single one of us who receives Him by faith as our Savior, we get the gift of eternal life. That’s the life of God. That’s what separates us from the world. Now, how does God do that? He uses three things primarily. He uses His Word. The blood and the Spirit. The Word of God is what God uses to convict us of the need of being born again. The blood is that which washes away all of our sins and takes away our guilt. And the Spirit is the one who gives me new life. Now, that’s the missing link for a lot of people. Oh, they believe. They’ve been convicted, so they felt the guilt. They know what God’s Word says. And… Yes, I do believe the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. But remember this. The work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the unbeliever is to impart to us the very life of God. Now, my friends, I’ve said that to you for years and years and years. That you have Christ living on the inside of you. But did you understand how he got there? The Holy Spirit came. gives to us the gift of eternal life. That’s His work. And I want to ask you a question. Can you, at any given point in your life, look back and say, I didn’t understand it all, but I did, listen, I did receive Jesus as my Savior. That is, I did believe the witness of Scripture about Him dying for me, and I received Him as my Savior. I know that I’ve been born again. What’s involved in being born again? Confession of the need and placing my trust in Him and receiving Him by faith as my Savior. And the Holy Spirit, in that split moment, imparts to you and to me the very life of God. My friend, the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all sin, past, present, and future. And the guilt that you feel is the Spirit of God convicting you as a believer that your life is not all it ought to be and the things you ought to confess and get right with God about. It has nothing to do with your salvation. It has to do with your daily walk. Can you look back today and say, I know there’s been a time. Now listen to what Jesus said. You must confess. You must die. And you must stand before God and give him account for your life. And if you want to be ready to do that, he said, you must be born again. And I simply want to ask you, have you ever been born again? Have you ever received the new life that God gives through his spirit? And you can do that right now if you’re willing. You must die. You must give an account. And the only way to be ready, you must be born again. Lord Jesus, what a crucial moment when we come face to face with the reality of life, death, judgment. I pray the Holy Spirit would enlighten the heart and the mind and the spirit of every single one who is a believer. I pray, Father, for those who may be watching and listening carefully. I pray, Father, for those who are listening right now, that they might consider that this is the hard, cold facts, the reality of life, that we will die. We will give an account in the judgment. And in order to be ready, we must be born again. I pray that you’ll give those who need the courage to drop all pride. Forget what anybody else thinks. And remember that right now in these brief moments hanging in the balance is their whole eternal future. Oh God. Would your spirit just draw every single person who is uncertain and those who are unsaved? And I pray this in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen.

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Thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit giving new life. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our 24-7 online station. And if you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.