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kathleen1
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Joined: 2004/8/5
Posts: 226


 Why We MUST be born again

This is the best message I have ever heard on this...it will require some meditation and prayerful consideration on your part, but is powerfully rich.

2-God's Son Must Have A Birth Within Us
BH Clendennen


Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

They shall not perish, that is the only way. That's redemption secured. Php 1:21 Paul said for me to live is Christ. Man was created by God in His own image. Man was to be a living mirror of that divine nature. While man continued in an unbroken image of God, he was in paradise. He was on earth with the same outward world around him as we have now, but paradise covered all and man neither saw nor felt his outward body, or things of the world in the manner you and I see and feel them after that fall. The elements of the outward world, strife, heat, cold, storms, were unknown in paradise. Before the fall, our first parents were naked, and did not know it. In the fall their eyes were opened and they saw they were naked and were ashamed. The reason they were not ashamed though they were naked before the fall was because their nakedness was not visible. It was concealed by the glory of paradise. This we see another kind of scene was opened up to Adam after that fall. He saw the outward world in the same light as he saw his own body, naked and destitute, my God, of the glory of paradise. Now, with the loss of paradise, discord broke forth in all the elements and animals in everything upon this earth. There wasn't one thorn on a rose until man fell. Sin produced this poison in the snake. All of this was unknown in paradise.

The elementary nature in man and animals was in the same disorder with the outward world. From that time, storms, earthquakes, storms, lightning, broke in nature. The same disorder and strife broke out in man and animals. Heat, cold, pain, sorrow, fear, disease, death came upon man when he fell out of paradise into this world. This was the state of the world after paradise was removed. Instead of the light and glory of paradise, which brought peace and harmony, it only had light of the sun, which could only keep the elements in harmony, and discord as we now see in the world today. In the fall, man lost the image of God. The generation of the Son, or the Word, and preceding of the Holy Ghost in that man was lost. That life ended that day, in that day Adam sinned, in that day, Adam died this death. The question is what was Adam now? He was a soul that was deprived of that birth that was the brightness of His glory. That glory which should be to the soul what the Son was to the Father. It lost that Spirit which was to be to it what the Holy Ghost is to the Father and Son. Yet, the soul was still alive, and could not cease to be. You have people all the time wonder why would man have to go to hell? Why would God not just kill him? He cannot, he's an eternal being. It cannot cease. He'll live eternally in darkness or eternally in light Now, seeing then that every life, whether spiritual or corporeal is eternal, therefore we must conclude the soul in this state is a spiritual dark angry fire, burning with strife, yet it is unable to obtain any spark of light and love. This was the true state of the soul after the fall. When the image of God's Son and the preceding of the Holy Ghost was no longer felt or found in the human after the fall.

Now the soul in the fall became as devils, that is fallen angels, who in their fallen state were chained in darkness and could draw no light or love into that darkness. (2 Pet 2:4, Jude 1:6) The reason why the most wicked people do not know and recognize their souls to be in such a dark place is because the soul is still united with the blood of a human body therefore the sun can reach the soul. The light of the sun does for that darkened soul for a time what it does to the darkness around us. The problem is this is not the soul's own light. It only reaches it by means of the body. This light does not abide in the soul and since the soul in its fallen state has no light of its own, in death it is separated from the body. Then that soul in that instant is left to the dark veil of outer of darkness, hell itself-the same state of devils. If the sun was turned off, all the unregenerate souls of this world would find themselves in the horror of this darkness. When the horror of night engulfed Egypt, the only light was in Goshen, where God's people were.. Now, the light and comfort of this outward world keeps the worst of men from the constant awareness of the dark and self tormenting nature that is the very essence of every fallen, unregenerate soul. Yet every man in the world has at times frequent feelings that causes him to know that this fiery, dark nature is the inward ground of his soul. How many inventions, pills, amusements, modes of religion, etc., some people are forced to have recourse to, trying to ward off inward uneasiness, which they are afraid of and yet do not know its cause. All the while, it's because there is a fallen spirit, a dark aching fire within them which has never had its proper relief. It's calling out for help. At every cessation of worldly joy, it all ends. The world's richest man said some months ago "I wish I'd never seen it". Because that doesn't take away this awful darkness that has come to man because of the fall.

Why does some people when under heavy distress or some great shame, take their own life? Because worldly light and and comforts are no longer sufficient to calm the dark raging fiery nature within them. They'd prefer to destroy the body than to continue under such a sensibility of its own wrathful, tormenting fire. Who among us has not felt a bitterness which we did not know how to cope with, rising up within us without our consent? These are evidences of a dark guest within us, concealed under the cover of flesh and blood, often lulled to sleep by worldly light, amusements, modes of religion, yet at times in spite of everything shows itself to be what it is. Such outbreaks of this torment tells us that if the soul does not get is proper relief in this life, this is going to be the torment of eternity.

There is no hope but repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He accomplished in His death, burial and resurrection. It is because of this hidden hell within us that our Lord says to every soul, come unto Me, all you that are heavy laden and I will give you rest. For as the soul has become this tormenting fire, only because in the fall it lost the life of God. There is no other remedy for it either in heaven or the earth but by coming to the Son of God to be born again. Christ said I am the light and that light must be reborn in us. Frightening thought that unbelievers with this foundation of hell in their nature yet they don't seek the One and only Savior that God Himself can help them. Don't give a thought to saving yourself because it is no more in your power than to save the fallen spirits that are in hell. You can no more save yourself than you can save those demons of angels that fell. Don't talk of the mercy of God. His mercy is indeed infinite, but the infinity of that mercy consists of this: that He of His own mercy offered this Savior, His Son to all mankind. Because in the nature of things, nothing less than this Savior could redeem men. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no other way but this way. No religions. The ecumenicals try to make everything the Gospel. It's a lie, it's born in hell. To rely on the mercy of a God that is not within the Christian scheme of mercy is to rely on a lie born in hell. All the mercy of God is done and offered to man in and through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Absolutely no other pathway to God. If either devils or lost souls could possibly be annihilated, none of them would be allowed by the mercy of God to suffer for suffering's sake. God doesn't send them there to just suffer. But man is eternal, and he made a choice for the darkness. A man may as well expect that his soul be annihilated through the goodness of God, as to expect to be saved through the mercy of God without the mediation of the Son of God. On, my God, if you'd hear me today.

Therefore, man to rely on some other goodness of God besides that which He's offered in His Son, is the most dreadful mistake you can ever make on this planet. There is no other way. For as the Son is the brightness and glory of the Father, so no soul made in the likeness of God is capable of any degree of brightness of glory but so far as the birth of God's Son is in that soul. Therefore, to reject and refuse this birth, this method of salvation is to reject all the goodness the divine nature has for us. These messages are so vital for today. We've come to this ecumenical age when all religion and simple sincerity are said to make a difference. We have the invention of purgatory-as if spending a few thousand years with the Hitlers and Hamans would save a man. Man in that fall became an altogether different creature, but he's still an eternal being, he cannot be annihilated. In that fall man became altogether different. His spirit, the only communion and likeness of God died toward God. That man become a fleshly soul. In that fall that man took on outwardly the nature of a beast. Inwardly, the nature of demons. That's the reason you have to have the law like it is. The more we move on, you see more and more of the violence and murder. That's what man is without God and nothing can save him from what he is but a birth from above. To be born again Paul said was to be recreated.

Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

We are created in righteousness and true holiness. That new creature is a product of righteousness, created in righteousness, not rules of religion. No, no. There are all kinds of rules-you're not holy because of rules of religion but this life in us will produce a holy life within us. But there is no other way to God. That's the key. Multiplied millions go to church every Sunday because they are following the rules of a certain religion or church. But that old man died with Christ. He's not allowed to live. There's nothing good about him. He's lost, lost, without God, and the only hope is the redemption that is in Christ. Nicodemus was a very high man in the Jewish religion and he came to Jesus by night. Jesus said, religious man that you are you can't even see the kingdom of God unless you are born again. The miracle of that new birth is impossible to describe. You that have been truly born again, you know there was a moment when everything changed. Every action isn't yet perfected but we're moving toward the image of Christ. Every desire was perfected in that day you were born again. I was born again at 27. We weren't religious people, but I met this Christ. I was born again at 27. I went in that church one kind of man, but came out another, with a desire to walk with God. No longer did I desire to drink or do those kind of things. I had a desire to please and walk with God. What a wonderful life this has been, to walk with Christ. He said He'd keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him. That new creature is the image and nature of God. As we learn to walk in the Spirit of God then it's no longer us that lives, but Christ in us. That Christ that lives in and through us is a life of love and joy, and peace.

In our lessons on repentance, we said true repentance is a change of opinion about sin. We see sin as God sees sin, that it is worthy of death. It also brings a change of feeling about sin. We hate what God hates. Men do not run back to what they hate. You see people professing to be saved, but live like they always lived. They have not this new life in them. Their desires are still toward the world. The greatest power of a human is desire. In that fall man's desires changed. Instead of a desire for God, His kingdom, His righteousness, His peace, man's desire was for a world that was the enemy of God. Have you been born again? Do you know that time and place when Christ became your Savior and Lord and you were raised from the dead spiritually speaking, and came forth with a new desire for Christ? This is the answer. If not, then the Bible says TODAY, if you will hear His voice, believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, that God raised Him from the dead. Believing is a conviction that comes from God. If you believe, you turn from what you are to God, you will be born again and your life will change and peace will come.

We live in a very troubled world, it's falling apart. There is a refuge in God. Come to Jesus, the righteous will fare will in these darkened times. For many of you there was a time when you walked much closer to this Christ than you are now. You must recover that, or you are not going to be a part of that bridal company. Many of you have never truly been born again. You may be religious, but you've never had that encounter with God that produced that desire and hunger for righteousness instead of wickedness.

Father, I pray for those in this audience, every man, every woman, every Christian that is not walking where they once walked, that they return. Everyone listening that has never been born of God, help them to know there is no other way. Today is the day. Tomorrow may not come. Now is the time. In the name of Jesus Christ, thank You, Lord.


_________________
Kathleen

 2009/9/6 13:07Profile





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