“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” Jn. 20:16
For those who know the Lord, He doesn’t have to speak very many words to get their attention. Maybe we at times expect for God to say a lot of things when He just wants to bring a calm assurance by calling our name.
“Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.” Dt. 9:4
One mistake Christians make is they compare themselves to others. The worse others behave the more righteous it makes others feel. But we must never compare ourselves to others, they are not our standard, Christ and the bible is our standard. We must not look down for our example we must look up. Even when you find a man or woman of God that is a great example, you must understand that they became that way by looking to Christ and His word, not others.
“Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, 2A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! 3Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.” Dt. 9:1-3
Of course those nations are greater and mightier than Israel, what would be the big deal to go in and conquer a cowardly feeble people. This situation they were in was a constant reminder to them that their dependence must remain in God. Every time you face a trial bigger than you, you are just being reminded that your dependence must remain in God.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13
The people recognized that Peter and John were unlearned ignorant men, but that they had been with Jesus. Their boldness came through being with Jesus; if that was sufficient back then, it is still sufficient for today.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jn. 10:10
What a contrast between Jesus and the devil. The devil offers complete destruction while Jesus offers abundant life. Notice there is no middle ground? Christians should not be just getting by another day, they should not live a ho hum existence. I am not denying that we will face trials, but it is only a believer who can in the midst of a trial be living an abundant life. The reason is because Jesus is our abundant life. If a billionaire was thrown in jail for twenty years, would he still not have his billions of dollars? So too, if a believer is under persecution does he have any less of Jesus?
The most deceived people on the face of the earth
are those who think they are saved, but are not.
There is a huge difference between people who believe they are born
again because someone told them they were and those who know
they are born again because they experienced the new birth.
A person who is lost in their sin and knows it, has a much higher percentage of getting saved than the person who thinks they are saved, but has never been born again. A person who gets comfortable in their religion or their status in the church would have no reason to call on the Lord to save them. They think that everything is just fine. It is the person who is drowning who calls for the lifeguard. Even more difficult is for a minister who is not born again to get saved. The ministers that have committed their life to serve the Lord in the ministry would be the least likely to ever ask themselves if they have ever really been born again. Besides that, who would ever confront a minister about his need for salvation? Do not be mistaken there are many unsaved ministers. I trust that yours is born again.
It seems to me that so many in the church, especially when it comes to soul winning, have forgotten what Jesus said.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again†(John 3:3-7).
Nothing has changed since the days Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus. Though man has tried to ignore, rephrase or redefine the whole concept (more than a concept) of being born again, it still stands true today; you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. By the way, it is not a future kingdom, it is a kingdom you enter the instant you are born again. Jesus said, “..the kingdom of God is within you†(Luke 17:21).
I have encountered many people who claim to be a Christian. Some of them are and some aren’t. Mind you, I am not the final judge of that as you know, neither are you. Some believers fear the thought of even trying to discern if someone is truly saved. Let me put you at ease, God will not be checking with me or you about another person’s salvation. However, the Bible teaches us that we can know a tree by its fruit. So when I encounter a person who claims to be a Christian, but there is much in their life that would testify contrary to that, (if I get a chance to,) I will ask them when they were born again. Some of their answers are, “I was a Christian my whole life,†or, “I became a Christian when I was baptized.†Millions of people have been told they are a Christian because they repeated the sinner’s prayer. Some churches teach that you are born again when you get confirmed. I was raised in the Roman Catholic church and I never even heard about being born again until I was in my twenties and it wasn’t the Catholic church that told me about it either. Nonetheless, at twenty seven years of age, married with three children, I was born again. I was made a brand new creature in an instant. It was something that happened on the inside of me. I can’t explain it, in fact no one can explain it, for it is something you just know when it happens to you. Jesus described it this way:
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit†(John 3:8).
What Jesus is teaching is that you can’t see the wind, but you can hear and feel the effects of it. When someone is born again, the Holy Wind who you cannot see, enters that person and causes them to be born of the Spirit.
Think how radical it is for a baby when it is born. It leaves the warm sheltered confines of a mother’s womb and is brought out into a whole different environment than what it was used to for the last nine months. The baby does not have the capacity to understand what happened to it, but it does know that something happened. So too, with a person who is born again, they know something has happened to them even though they do not have the words or understanding to explain it. It doesn’t take long for the real believer to realize what happened to them, they became a born again believer.
I fear for many that their salvation rests in having correct theological understanding of salvation. They believe all the doctrines that they are supposed to believe such as, the word of God is infallible, all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and Jesus is the only way to the Father. In fact, they can have those famous salvation scriptures memorized such as:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation†(Romans 10:9-10).
and still not be born again. I fear many find the confidence of their salvation in their church. They believe they are saved because they attend church regularly, listen to the sermon, pay their tithes and try to live a moral life. Hell is filled with Bible reading church attenders. Going to church makes you no more a Christian than walking into the courthouse makes you a judge.
Then there are those who believe they are saved because mom and dad are, or grandma and grandpa are. Some children grow up convinced they are saved because their dad is the pastor. But no one, I repeat, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they personally are born again.
Salvation is a miracle. Every real Christian starts out as a miracle. Salvation is radical, it offends every part of your carnal nature, but is sweet to your soul. Salvation isn’t just a changing of your mind, it is powerful transformation. It takes those who have used their body to fulfill all kinds of sinful lusts and turns them into a temple for God to live in. Hallelujah!
Are you a living miracle? Are you truly born again? If not, humble yourself before Almighty God, repent of your sins, surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him with your life.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jn. 10:10
What a contrast between Jesus and the devil. The devil offers complete destruction, and Jesus offers abundant life. Notice there is no middle ground? Christians should not be just getting by another day, they should not live a ho hum existence. I am not denying that we will face trials, but it is only a believer that can in the midst of a trial be living an abundant life. If a billionaire was thrown in jail for twenty years, would he still not have his billions of dollars? So too, if a believer is under persecution does he have any less of Jesus?