- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Text john 3 :1- 5
" There was a man named Nicodemus,a Jews religious leader who was a pharisee,
After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus, Rabbi , he said , we all know that God sent you to teach UA.
Your miraculous sign and wonders are evidence that God is with you.
Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.
What do you mean, exclaimed Nicodemus, how can an old man go back into his mothers womb and be born again?
Jesus replied, I assure you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and of spirit "
Nicodemus was a pharisee and a member of the ruling council called the high council or the Sanhedrin. The pharisee were a group of religious leaders whom Jesus and john the Baptist often criticized for their hypocrisy.
Mathew 3 :7 says ::-
" But when he saw many pharisee and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize , he denounce them, You brood of vipers he exclaimed,who warned you to flee to Gods coming wrath "
Nicodemus came to Jesus personally instead of sending his assistant. He wanted to exermine Jesus personally.
Maybe he was afraid of what the other pharisee would say , so he came at night to see Jesus. So he bold ask Jesus a question.
What Did Nicodemus Know About The Kingdom?
He knew that it would be ruled by God.
It would be restored on earth.
And it would incorporate Gods people.
Jesus reveal to him that the kingdom will come to the whole world, and that he will not be part unless he is born again. Unless he is born of water and of spirit.
How Can I Be Born Of Water And Of Spirit?
It could refer to ::-
Matthew 3:1-2
" In those days ,John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea
And saying, saying repent for the kingdom of God is at hand, This is he who was spoken of through the the prophet Isaiah, " A voice of one crying in the wilderness , prepare he the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him" .
Basic ::- means primary ,fundamental, chief ,cardinal .
Qualification ::- A condition that must be fulfilled before a right is given.
To make heaven ( entering the kingdom of that is prepared for us) By god almighty or Jesus Christ (john 14:1-3)
There are Basic qualities that allows one make Heaven.
And the are::-
1, Displaying the love of God to neighbors
2, Accepting Christ as our personal lord and Saviour.
3, Maintaining a kingdom style.
A, WHAT ARE THE BASIC QUALIFICATIONS FOR MAKING HEAVEN?
1, Matthew 3:1-2 ::- Repentance as a basic qualification.
John the baptist was preaching repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
The kingdom of God is the Heaven we are talking of and repentance is the qualification for entering it.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
It means doing a 180 degree u-turn from our negative lifestyles of lying ,cheating ,stealing ,gossiping,sexual immorality , revenge, and abusing,to a more position live style.
.A person who repents stops rebelling and starts following Jesus Christ.
.Living by the word of God (His actions must be according to the dictate of the word of God)
She we admit our sins ,as john urged us to
Then God will receive us and help us live the way he wants.
Remember::- Only God can get rid of sin
He is not expecting us to be clean before we come to him(Amen)
2. John 3:3-5 ::- Being born again as a basic qualification.
Nicodemus the Pharisee ,came to Jesus at night. He was searching for something I.e the qualification for entering heaven
Jesus told him you must be born again.,he asked ,How Can Some One Be Born Again?
Born again means repentance and spiritual rebirth(recreation). Rebirth means spiritual enlightenment that leads to living a new life. Jesus later taught that the kingdom has already started in our heart.(john 17:21)
Jesus answered ::-No one can enter Heaven unless.
Born of water and spirit I.e it could refer to
.Rebirth by christian baptism
.physical rebirth(water) and spiritual birth (spirit)
.The water may represent,the cleansing action of God's holy spirit.
3, ACT 19:4 ::- Believing in Jesus
Paul said, John the baptist was of repentance (from sin only)not a sign new life in life.
He told people to believe in Jesus
WHAT IS BELIEVE?
Repentance is turning away from sin while believe is turning to Jesus Christ -Amen
Believe also means having faith. So what is faith?(Hebrew 11:1).
.confidence in what we hope for
.Assurance in what we do not see. Assurance and confidence is beginning and end.
Believing in God's character :- He is who he says he is
Believing in Gods promises :- He will do what he says
Believe and faith are the Basic qualification to entering Heaven.
B, WHAT CAN DISQUALIFIED ONE FROM MAKING HEAVEN?
1, Galatian 5 :19 -21 ::- The act of flesh
Examples of these are - Sexual immorality , idolatry, witchcraft ,Hatred ,jealousy, Envy ,drunkenness ,self ambition rage etc.
The warning is that, those who take part will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We are suppose to deal with our obvious of sins and less obvious ones too e.g Hatred envy and abuse.
Verse 24 ::- those who belong to christ must crucify the flesh and it desires we are suppose to to willing nail our sinful nature to the cross.
If we allow the acts of flesh to still rule our flesh, then Heaven is not for us Christians.
2. Rev 22:15 :- Those that did not wash their robes (outsiders)
WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT MAKES OUR ROBES DIRTY
1 ,Sexually immorality :- All forms of sexual perversion ,homosexual, transsexuals ,/gender.
2, practice of magic Art :- Sorcery, diviners
3, Murderers :- Anger , malice that last years
4, Idolaters :- people that covet earthly things.
5, practice falsehood ::- Deciever 419 , yahoo boys ,internet fraudsters etc.
They are like the Nicolaitans that compromise their faith for mundane things.
Today ,we ,church leaders twist the truth to serve our purposes.
We have lost the ability to separate :--
What is true
What we wish is true
We believe our own lies and we Deciever ourselves and alienated ourselves from God.
HOW CAN WE GET AND MAINTAIN THE QUALIFICATION?
1, Train to be Godly and have nothing to do with Godless myth.
Look at the old wife's tale fable.
How can I train myself to be Godly?
It is an effort to build your relationship with God.
To be Godly requires self -discipline and seriousness in the heart and mind.(require meant are:- repetition,learning the basics)
THE STEPS ARE::-
Consistent ,daily times with God in bible study and prayers.
Sharing your faith daily
Have self control in challenging situations.
We must develop our faith,how can we develop it? By using pur Gods given talents in his service.
Are we really developing our spiritual muscles?
WHAT ARE THE GODLESS MYTH?
they are the irrelevant ,profane and pointless sayings about Gods.
They are heretics teaching, false teachings, vain superstitions about the Gospel.
Examples of them are ::- Worship Mary.
Jesus is not God.
Christ blood does not atone.
2Tim 4:3- 4 ,A time will come when people will not put put with sound doctrine.
2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Equipping Ourselves With The Word Of God
Tools For Equipping Ourselves
The bible - The word of God (Jere 1:9)
It is used for teachings - Imparting and impacting knowledge in someone
Rebuking - To express sharp did approval or criticism.
Correcting - Stating the right thing to do.Training on righteousness.
The bible is God inspired words
It should be our standard for testing everything.
We should not study it simply ,to increase our knowledge or win argument.
Lets study it to know how GOD works in this world.
The bible is God breathes ,let's use it to guide our conducts. Amen.
CONCLUSION
Number one Qualification is "accepting Jesus" as our personal lord and Saviour.
Accepting him , means placing him in our new life and " New families"
"Accepting the good lifestyles taught in the bible " we Are to lived with all our family members.
Comments
Post a Comment