LESSON OUTLINE: "New Birth"

“New Birth”

Tony Thomas

Family Life Class

May 25, 2014

The birth of a healthy new baby is the most exciting event in any family. It is also the most exciting event in the “Family of God”. In this lesson we will explore what the New Birth is and discover why Salvation causes heaven to rejoice.

John 3:3-6 Jesus and Nicodemus discuss being “born again”.

Salvation is a new birth of the Spirit. Let’s do a little Biblical anthropology (study of mankind). Every person is composed of body, soul and spirit.

Your body makes you aware of the world around you. It houses your five senses.

Your soul makes you conscious of self. It is composed of your intellect, will and emotion.

Your spirit is the seat of your God-consciousness. Sin essentially causes a “deadness” in our Spirit with regard to our ability to communicate with God. Our spirit makes it possible for us to interface with the Spirit of God. So the new birth in a person’s spirit enables him or her to communicate with the Father through the Holy Spirit.

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV

Man's natural state: Separation from God. Romans 2:11:15

1. How does sin (both as behavior and nature) affect a person’s ability to communicate with God?

2. Does sin eliminate a person’s consciousness of God? [Read Romans 2:11-15]

3. How important is parental “touch” to a child?

4. What comparsion can be made between a child's need for parental touch and a Christian's needs?

David’s cry for restoration. Psalm 51:10-12 .

5. What are the circumstances of Psalm 51?

6. Should the children of God have “separation anxiety”? [Read Psalm 27:7-10]

Signs of Health: Crying

Luke 18:7,8

7. In What way does the child of God cry?

Signs of health: Hunger

Psalm 1:2, 119:16

8. How does a child of God show hunger?

Signs of health: Joy Luke 10:17-20.

9. Why did Jesus instruct His disciples about rejoicing?

10. How does this compare to events in heaven? [Read Luke 15:7]

1 John 3:1-3

“Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

Supporting missionaries without losing wealth.

 It seems to me that people respond to a call for missions giving in one of three ways:

First, there are a few people who simple refuse to give into a missions program. For these people I truly feel pity. They are robbing themselves of one of the greatest blessings on earth. There is nothing quite as fulfilling as being able to give generously into the lives of others, expecting nothing in return.  It is wonderful to recieve God's blessings into our lives, but unless we have an outlet through which we can bless others will become stagnant and eventually lifeless like the Great Salt Lake  or the Dead Sea.

The second kind of response comes from the person who has learned the blessing and joy of giving to missions. They have realized their greater calling in life and with whatever means they have they delight to do their part in spreading the Gospel. To these people we owe a heart felt "thank you."

Third, is the group who agrees in principle, but not in practice. They agree with Christian missionary outreach. They want to give, but they feel like they can't afford it.

Maybe this is you.

Maybe you are looking at "giving" the wrong way.

I want you to think of something that costs about $1000 that you either need, want or will need in the next year. Maybe it is a set of tires. Or a new appliance. Or a rifle. Or a set of stainless steel pot and pans with copper bottoms. Whatever it is, my guess is, that if I could offer that to you today for $100 you would find some way to come up with $100--even though you can't afford it. Why? Because you see the value. You may lose $100 in cash but you will gain $1000 worth of mechandise. In this scenario you spend your money because losing money increases your overall wealth. You give away $100 but end up $900 richer.

 

Here is the thing, if you could come up with $100 for stuff you can come up with $100 for missions. You just have to see the value.  I want you to read this verse from the Gospel of Matthew:  

" Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Mat 6:19-21 KJV]

Did you see that? Jesus isn't tell you not to lay up treasure. He is telling you to choose the right bank to put it in.

When we give to missions we are not giving away our wealth, we are multiplying it.  When we give to missions programs we are losing a little cash, but we are gaining wealth in other ways. Giving lets us reach people, eternal souls really, with the life saving message of the gospel.  Steering a soul toward heaven is the greatest wealth any of us can gain.

So, giving to missions is not a loss of wealth, but a multiplication of our wealth. Yeah, you'll lose a little cash but in doing so you transfer treasure to a place "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal".




Have a great day!

Getting The Last Word...and I like it!

If you go to the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible you will read this:

Rev. 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Is this the most important verse in the book of The Revelation? I don’t know. We really can't elevate one verse over another, but I am sure that it is one of the most often overlooked. This phrase (or some variation of it) is contained in nearly one-half of the books of the New Testament.

This passage follows on  the heels of some pretty dramatic reading. For twenty-two chapters the reader has been reading about some pretty astounding things. There have been trumpets and vials and bowls of judgment. Mountains are falling out of the sky. Weird creatures have come out of the earth to torment mankind. Prophets breath fire. All kinds of judgments have been unleashed on a sin corrupted earth. Wars have been waged and kingdoms over thrown. We have also been ushered into the throne room of God to witness the greatest worship service the universe has ever seen, and the King of kings returns to earth on a white horse.

Now imagine you are one of the first people to hear the message of the Revelation. Perhaps you are sitting with the church at, say, Philadelphia when the minister reads the message. As he finishes this letter and reads this last verse the audience sits in stunned  silence.

Most of the crowd thinks they have heard from God.

Some of them may think that John has been out in the sun too long.

To be sure, the closing verse is not the most notable one in the book; yet, it is a very important verse. Here is why.

First, the Revelation is addressed to  working churches, persecuted churches, faithful churches,   loving churches, dying churches, patient churches, healthy churches and lukewarm churches. I am guessing that you and the church you attend fit somewhere in that list.

Second, these the final words of this book to these churches. In fact the final words penned to the church, the entire church, in the canon of scripture is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

I want to take this phrase apart and look at it.

I. First of all is the word “grace”. It is that unearned, unmerited favor of God. It is one of those churchy words that we use in church and in very few other places. Yet, grace is so important because without the grace of God we cannot be saved.#

You see, here is the thing:

We cannot demand salvation because we are too weak.
We cannot buy it because we are too poor.
We cannot scheme our way into it because we are too simple.

Salvation comes only by faith through grace.#

II. The next stop on our tour of this verse is the word “Lord” . It means “master”. Our times are an oddity in the history of the world. Odds are, you were born as a free person, as you should be. You may not have two nickels to rub together, but you are a free man or woman, and (unless you commit a crime that warrants incarceration) you will die a free man or woman. That has not always been the case. In fact, for most of the history of this world, slavery has existed as the accepted norm.

Because we are a free people, the word master does not carry for us its full meaning, but Jesus, by virtue of the fact that he is God, is our Master. The good news is that we have the grace of the master. That is, we have His unearned favor. It is his grace which elevates us above the status of a mere servant. In John we are called friends. In Galatians we are called sons.*

III. “Jesus” . His name means “Jehovah is salvation”. The wonder of the incarnation is contained in this name. This name, in five letters, contains the entire meaning of John 3:16.

The first instance we have of anyone who says his name “Jesus” is when the angel announces his birth with the words “…And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”^

Have you ever felt inferior? Well, think about this for a bit. Within the name of Jesus we have a description  of the unearned favor of Jehovah, the great I AM at work to redeem the helpless.  Christians who routinely hide behind “I ain't.....” and "I can't...." statements need to realize that they have received grace from the omnipotent "I AM".

IV. “Christ”. This is not Jesus’ last name. It is a title. It means the anointed one, chosen of God. The Messiah. The Deliverer. He came to this earth the first time humbly, as a servant to save.

Soon, the Bible teaches, he will return to this earth as a King. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

 And I have his unearned favor.

V. Here is an important word you may not suspect. It is the word "With". This little word is sometimes translated from the Greek as “after”, “among”, or “behind”.  

This best way I know to illustrate for you the meaning of this word is to compare it to perfume.

Have you ever known someone who really, really likes their perfume or cologne?

Grace is like that. I’ve known people whom you could identify by their perfume. You didn’t have to see them to know they were in the room. Strong perfume will fill a room where a person is. It will linger after they are gone. If they hug someone, the perfume will transfer to that person. They carry their fragrance "with" them wherever they go.

Similarly, grace not only flows from God to us, but through us to those around us. In other words, to be like Christ we show "unearned favor" to those around us.

It is not enough to be kind to those who are kind to us. That isn't grace. That's normal. Grace goes beyond normal. We truly display grace when we show our favor to those who have not earned it.

The Conclusion on all of this is tied to the little word “all” . Do you want to know how to get this blessing? How to receive the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

I have the secret right here. Look at 1 Peter 5:5.

 “ ...all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Have a wonderful day my friends!  And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with each of you!

 

# Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God...
* Galatians 4:4-7, John 15:15-17
^ Matthew 1:21

 

Things that wiggle

"Snake, big snake!" yelled my oldest son one day last fall as he came bounding though the front door of our house.

Soon thereafter the serpent lay in edge of the yard with his rather juicy head buried in the dirt just a few feet beyond. Now, a headless snake is a dead snake (obviously) but a headless snake still wiggles. This started me to thinking...

Way back in the book of Genesis, right after Adam and Eve pulled that fiasco with the forbidden fruit, God showed up. In response to God's inquest, Adam blamed Eve for his sin, Eve blamed the serpent and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on.

Then, as God delivered his judgments on all of the participants in mankind's original sin, a curious thing happened. In one sentence the serpent  (Satan)  realized the finality of his defeat and humanity realized their hope of a Deliverer. To the serpent God said,

"And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15 NKJV).

Now back to my snake, where this train of thought started.  My dead rattler was still wiggling at least four hours after I shot him. More than once Satan is referred to in the Bible as the "serpent", and the quote from Genesis is prophetically referring to Jesus Christ's defeat of Satan at the cross. Satan is defeated, but he does still wiggle. If you step on his tail you might get slapped around a little, but that doesn't mean you're whipped!

If you are a Christian, you have overcome Satan through the blood of Jesus Christ. Don't forget this!  Ultimately the Christian's victory is assured! As horrible and horrific as the cross was for Jesus, it was far worse for Satan! Jesus suffering is equated to a bruised heel as compared to the skull crush delivered to Satan.

Take heart friend, the snake may wiggle still, but he is very much defeated!

"...so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." Hebrews 9:28 NKJV

Smokey Eyed Christians

The presents are open. The "oohs" and "ahhs" have subsided. Toys are sitting abandoned and kids are playing with boxes. Dad decides to clear the room by taking the wrapping paper out back to burn. Then, just as the flames begin to catch in earnest, he sees that $20 bill from grandma lying  in the wrapping paper. Heroically, Dad charges in and saves the twenty.

Now that I have that image in your mind, take a look at this verse:

"And of some have compassion, making a difference:  And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Jude 22,23

Pulling them out of the fire!  The hard truth is that many of those we are called to reach with the Gospel are living within the grasp of hell's flames. All around us are people simmering with bitter memories, igniting in dysfunction, and engulfed in addictions. I suspect that more children than any of us realize are growing up in truly awful situations.

As Christians we become comfortable in our own universe. We go to church with nice people. We may work with nice people. When we go to the grocery store we habitually checkout in the aisle where the nice Christian lady runs the register, and we are quick to invite those nice middle class neighbors to church.

I get it. Part of being "saved from my sins" means that I should, by virtue of a new nature, recoil from sin. I'm not a drug addict, and have no desire to be around addicts. I am not trapped by some perverse immorality and really do not want to deal with the aftermath of someone else's perversion.  It isn't that we hate sinners. We love them, really... but we are busy, and dealing with all that baggage is going to take a lot of time and effort. I get the reasoning. The problem is that Jesus didn't operate that way.

To be like Jesus, we have to go where we do not want to go, in order to save those who need to be saved.

The fear of falling (especially where fire is concerned) is both natural and good.The miracle is that in this fire we can reach into the fire and pull someone out without falling in ourselves. Look at the next verse. Jesus is "able to keep you from falling" and to "present you faultless".  In fact, he even does it with "exceeding joy". How about that!

So the question isn't whether or not we should reach in those flames to rescue a soul. We know we should. There isn't even a question about the danger of the fire. Sin is dangerous. Period. The question is, do we trust Jesus to "have our back"? Do we trust him to "keep us from falling" and "present us faultless"?

If you get close enough to the fire to rescue a soul, you are going to get smoke in your eyes, and this smoke will make you cry. I can promise you that. The challenge is this: will you get out of your comfort zone?  Will you rescue someone who needs rescuing? Will you be like Jesus?