Erlo Stegen emphasizes the necessity of a personal encounter with God to truly become a child of God, as highlighted in John 1:12-13. He explains that being born again is not a result of human lineage or decision but a divine act from above. Stegen warns against relying on fleshly desires and human will, stressing that true transformation comes from God alone. He encourages believers to reflect on their lives and the legacy they will pass on to their children, urging them to seek God's will in all aspects of life. Ultimately, he challenges the congregation to discern whether their lives reflect what is born of God or merely the flesh.

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13). To those whom have received Him to them He gave the power to become the sons of God. Note that not everyone has that power, but only those who have received Him. These are children not born by the will of a man but God's will. When you are born again it is a work from above. You are not a Christian because your parents are Christians. You must have a personal meeting with God. God commanded the Israelites to circumcise their sons. Even though the father had been circumcised, the son had to be circumcised too. So too with being born again. You are not born a Christian. You must personally be born again. There is the natural birth where you are born into a certain family line. The Jews prided themselves as being descendants of Abraham. But they were not therefore children of God. Secondly there are children being born from fleshly lusts, where a person lives like a dog. Those children will one day give you all your days and live like you have lived and even worse. There are carnal desires to which belong lust, the use of drugs and alcohol and prostitution. You need to live the life you want your children to live. If you are disrespectful and disobedient to your parents, your children will be the same, only worse. For if you plant something you reap it many-fold, sometimes even hundredfold. The third type of birth is when a child is born from a husband's will. Some married couples want to have their children in their own specific time and use means to get that right, without asking God's will. Well sometimes God speaks hard to them so that when they eventually want their children in their own time, they are unable to conceive. If you don't seek God's will even in your marriage life and do it your own way you will bear the consequences. There are also those who get married out of their own will, according to their own desires and do not ask God's will in the matter. So too you will bear the consequences. Woe to you if you rely on your own intellect in stead of relying on God. Do you have that which is born of God in your life or only what is from the flesh and from man? "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5).