Born Again
click on the pic to hear the sermon
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.
There are a couple of events in history that are tied to this nursery rhyme. Today it is a reminder that all of us have had a great fall. Romans 3:23 says, ” 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
We all (100%) have fallen short. We all are broken. We all have sinned. Not a one of us can measure up to God’s standard.
None of us can put ourselves together again. Nothing can put us back together again
Our friends can’t put us back together. Our parents can’t put us back together. Our church attendance can’t put us back together. Our Bible reading can’t put us back together. Your pastor can’t put you back together. You can’t put yourself back together.
Have you ever tried to put an egg back together? No one can do it. It is something that is impossible. Go home. Drop an egg on the floor and try to get everything back in. It is never the same once you crack it. It is forever imperfect.
We are forever imperfect. We are the Humpty Dumpty that sat on the wall. We are the Humpty Dumpty that had a great fall. And nothing and no one can put us together again.
But we all of us have a longing to put be put back together again. We all have this longing in our heart for something much greater than ourselves. We are looking for something or someone who will help put us back together. We get disappointed in them when they don’t. We try to ourselves back together again – but we fail miserably.
All of us in here will (or already have) come to a point in our life where we realize something/someone is missing. We are all longing for something new to happen in our lives.
The only one who can put us back together again is Jesus Christ. He is the one we are longing for. He is the only one that can meet you at your deepest need. Our deepest need is a relationship with God. Everything and everyone else falls short.
He is the only who can unscramble scrambled eggs. He is the only who take the mess of your life and put it back together. But we must be willing to be born again. We need to enter a relationship with Him.
Todays scripture comes from John 3:
John 3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[b] 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[c] 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?
Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a religious scholar. He had followed all the rules of the church. He was a well-respected religious man. Nicodemus was the Billy Graham of his day. Respected by everyone. But he didn’t understand what it meant to be born again.
The term “born again” was used when a Jewish boy was circumcised. He was born again into the house of Israel. A gentile who was baptized into Judaism was said to be born again. When a man was married to his wife – he was born again. All of these became new phases or new seasons of life. The term “born again” was used the Jewish culture whenever anyone enter into a new season of life.
In Judaism – there were 8 born again experiences you could have as a man. The last experience to be born again happened after he was 40. If he was selected to be a Rabbi, a teacher of Israel, that was the greatest born again experience he could have.
Nicodemus as a ruler of the Jews had that experience. He was at the highest phase of life. Nicodemus has had all the born again experiences that he could have. Why Nicodemus was baffled was because Jesus looked at this super religious man and still says to him – YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!
Jesus was telling Nicodemus – “yes you have had all the born again experiences that you can have – but you haven’t had the most important one. The one that is called born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus was thee religious person. The one who has grown up in church. Sang the songs. Went to vbs. Went to church camp. And was dutiful and regular in church attendance but had never been changed from within.
This past summer we baptized a young man who for a while only gave lip service to God. Matt’s story helps us to realize that we can grow up in church and never be born again.
If you watched the video you learned that Mat was changed from within. He was born again. He was born of the Spirit. He had gone to church all his life. He was a good child, good student, and a good role model. But if confessed that he was not born again.
Being born again is about willfully surrendering your life to the one who can put you back to together again. No matter how good or bad you think you are God can take the mess of your life and turn it into a message of hope.
Being born again is not a one – time event. It is a daily surrender.
If you were to go to Alaska (or anywhere where true Eskimos live) and ask a true Eskimo how old they are – they will tell you they are almost a day old. You see …. Every day they get up they believe they are born again. Let’s apply this same principle to those who follow Christ. Each time you wake up you are born again. His mercies are new. His compassion is new. You have new opportunities. You just have to be willing to surrender your life on that day. And at the end of the day when someone asked you how old you tell them – almost a day.
Jesus makes it pretty clear in verse 5 that “no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit”. You must be born twice. No you can’t go back into your mother’s womb. Your mother doesn’t want you back in their womb.
That second birth comes when you say, ‘’God I need you.” Not, “mom I need you” or “dad I need you” or “spouse I need you” or “boy/girlfriend I need you.” God I need you. Your mom can’t put you back together again. Your dad can’t put you back together again. Your spouse can’t put you back together again. Your boy/girlfriend can’t put you back together again. Your pastor can’t put you back together again. You can’t put yourself back together again.
Most of us in here have tried to put our life back together again. But we have failed or are failing. All the kings horses and all the kings men can’t put your life back together again.
A lot of us have tried or are trying to put our life back together again. As Dr. Phil says, “how is that going for you?”
Only God can put your life back together again. He is the only one that can unscramble the scrambled mess you have made of your life.
As we learned the past couple of weeks, God doesn’t want control of your life. He doesn’t want to change your personality. He doesn’t want to take away the free will he has given
He wants you and I to willfully surrender. He wants us to be born from within. (or born again).
I am not just talking to those who don’t know Christ yet. I am talking to all of us. There are some of us in here who are like Matt and myself. We have grown up in the church. We had great Christian parents. We have sung Christian songs all our life. We have done all the religious rituals but have never prayed the prayer – “God I need you.” We have never been desperate for God.
If God is speaking to your heart and you want to recommit your life to Christ then come and put your name on the cross. Or maybe you have prayed that prayer and today you just want to reaffirm your commitment to following Christ by putting your name tag on the cross.
if you don’t know Christ and you want to be “born again” come and put your name on the Cross.
Note: Since we can’t relive the full experience of this Sunday morning, I suggest you pray this simple with all your heart. “GOD I NEED YOU.” He will come. Your life will be changed forever.
to you.
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