We have devoted ourselves to bringing people to God, to establishing them in the faith, and to equipping them for ministry — pouring ourselves into them, motivating them and helping them to reproduce themselves in many generations of followers of Christ. This is our mission. We love Bulgaria and the people of our country, and our goal is their salvation. We do not want a single person to go to hell, together with the devil and his angels, but we long for everyone to receive the gift of God — eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Through these messages we want to give people the truth about God, the spiritual world, and mankind. A great deal of ignorance and illiteracy was planted in our hearts and minds during the last years of the totalitarian regime, and afterward during the so-called “Transition,” and this lack of knowledge has bound and limited us. We have become slaves to an atheistic and consumerist way of thinking that leads us to nothing good. But Jesus Christ says to us: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” May this liberating truth reach every one of us, and all those with whom we share the good news.
IF ANYONE IS NOT BORN AGAIN
In our previous messages we looked at the biblical teaching about God, mankind, and faith — and these are foundational matters of God’s Word. But today we will look at a decisive question, and that is the truth about our new birth. In the third chapter of the Gospel of John we have recorded an intriguing meeting between the Jewish leader Nicodemus and Jesus Christ.
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. (John 3:1)
Nicodemus was afraid of public opinion, but at the same time he was eager to learn the truth, so he met with Jesus secretly, at night. He came to Jesus with the words:
He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” (John 3:2)
Nicodemus wanted to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we see the first truth that Jesus wants His followers to know. In reply Jesus said to him:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
In other words, He said to him — “Nicodemus, if you want to have access to the spiritual world, if you want to have contact with God and the things that are His, you must be born not only into the material world but also into the spiritual world.”
Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, which is the equivalent of a member of parliament today. He was a high-ranking, noble man. And the very first thing Jesus tells him is that, in order to be saved, he needs to be born again. The truth of the new birth is foundational to the Christian faith and to our discipleship and following of Christ, so we must know it and teach it, and share it with people.
Why do we need the new birth? By nature a person is spiritually dead because of sin, which separates him from God, so if he wants once again to have access to the kingdom of God, he must be born again. Because of sin his spirit is dead toward God.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)
Only his flesh is alive, and he lives in it. And here the law of kinds applies — a peach tree does not bear apples, nor does a cherry tree bear blackberries. In the same way, the flesh cannot give birth to anything other than flesh. That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus:
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:6)
If you want your spirit to become alive to God again, this can happen only if you are born again of the Spirit. And if you are to live in God’s world, the One by whom you must be born again is the Holy Spirit.
HOW DOES SPIRITUAL BIRTH HAPPEN?
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
When he heard these words, Nicodemus was simply astonished, but he wanted to be born again, and so he asked in what way this could take place:
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)
Impossible! Many people, when they hear talk of the new birth, twist the subject and start speaking about reincarnation. But Jesus was not talking about reincarnation. There is no reincarnation, as the Eastern religions teach. If you have been born of the Holy Spirit, your born-again spirit is also holy and does not sin. You may sin, because you do not listen to your born-again spirit, but your born-again spirit does not sin.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. (1 John 3:9)
When a person is born again, he has within himself a holy, divine “seed” that is from the Holy Spirit and that is in him, and he “cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” So you have no need to be reincarnated in order to be perfected, since, if you have been born again, your spirit is already perfect, because it is born of God, and He makes everything perfect.
But let us return to our question — “How does spiritual birth happen?” As with every birth, here too a seed, soil, and a sower are needed. The seed is the Word of God. The soil is your heart, and the sower is the Holy Spirit. He scatters the seed through His preachers and evangelists, but in the end everything depends on the soil — that is, on you — on how far you will receive the Word of God. To receive the Word of God means to believe that things are just as He says they are. If in the Bible Jesus says something, you are to believe that it is exactly as He says, even though your mind may raise objections, even though this world may reject these truths. And this does not mean shutting your eyes to something, but rather opening them to the facts that God speaks. For God it is impossible to lie, and His Word is always truth, so if there is anyone worth believing, it is most certainly Him.
To receive the Word means to receive Jesus Christ. Because He is the Word itself. If you receive Him, you gain the right to be adopted by God and to become His son.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — (John 1:12)
Then all the authority that a King’s son has is given to you, and you can act with authority in your Father’s kingdom — in the spiritual world. The only way to have all these privileges, however, is to be “born of God” and to become a “participant in the divine nature.”
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4)
If you desire to be born again, this can happen right now — close your eyes, open your heart, and pray to God with these words: “Lord, I am sorry that until now I have lived in ignorance and sin. Please forgive me. Jesus, I believe that You came to earth, died for me, redeemed me from my sins, and rose again for my justification. Come and live in me. I surrender my life to You. From now on, lead me and be my Master. Amen.”
LIKE THE WIND
If you have prayed sincerely with this simple prayer, if you have invited Jesus into your heart, if you have received Him, if you have confessed Him as Lord, your life will never again be the same. You will have the same face, the same hands and feet; outwardly nothing will look different, but something within you will have changed. Your spirit will have become alive to God again. You cannot see it. It is like the wind. It is not seen, but the effects of its working reveal it. This is what Jesus said in John 3:8:
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
From now on you will have a new goal — you will strive after God; you will have a new meaning in life — righteousness, peace, and joy in your heart. You will have many new friends. Because once you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Everything old has passed away, and now everything has become new.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
You can have access to the throne of heaven and see the kingdom of God, to be a member of God’s family. And I would like to congratulate you by saying: Welcome to life!