SOMETHING OF SIGNIFICANCE:
A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
Scripture: John 3:1-7
Now there was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. At dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to the spiritual life. So, do not be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’
John also put it this way: Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor human decision or passion, but born of God. John 1:12-13
Jesus and John both made it exceedingly clear that there were two births: a human birth and a spiritual birth!
But, how do we differentiate the between the two experiences so that we can not only live as children of God but lead others to understand the powerful difference the born again experience makes not only in this life but in eternity to come?
The Apostle Paul brings powerful clarity in the following Scripture that there are two rival kingdoms operating in the earth:
“Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light, for he has rescued us from the KINGDOM OF DARKNESS and TRANSFERRED us into the KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON.” Colossians 1:12-13
How would we be able to comprehend all that took place in that transfer and what belongs to us as children of God when we said yes to Jesus unless we either hear about it through preaching or teaching or study of the Word of God?
Understanding this does, however, help us to understand how people who are not born again have a difficult time understanding those who have become what God’s word calls children of Light.
Our “journey of discovery” out of darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son is similar to that of children who begin their journey in life starting with the help of their earthly parents and relatives, then progressing to kindergarten, elementary school all the way to high school, university and onwards.
As with a child, we as believers grow in grace, and miss-takes are all a part of our growth!
What is exciting is Luke 2:52 which says, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”
I am sure Jesus must have spent many hours being trained to become a skilled carpenter and the Bible also says that He would go into the Temple and listen and ask questions of the religious leaders! Just as us, he was trained in everyday life as well as spiritual.
I think it is often easy to forget that although Jesus was God, he emptied himself and became a man who experienced life as we do.
In Matthew 20:19, Jesus, speaking of Himself said: “And they will deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
I was so moved one day when I heard someone speaking about this
Scripture because it shows that Jesus knew
exactly what he was going to go through to pay for the sin of man and
sicknesses, but He did it anyway!
I remember one time the church we were part of asked for volunteers to help on a building project for the new church building that was being built. This was in the Cayman Islands at a church work day and, not only did the men work hard but the ladies were throwing rubble into wheelbarrows from the building that had been torn down and as I was helping, I stepped on a board with a nail protruding upward and it went all the way through my shoe and through my foot. OMG! I pulled it out and rushed to the hospital. It took a long time for my foot to get back to normal just from that small injury.
I know we all can remember similar instances that were excruciating but to think of what Jesus experienced and knew ahead of time he would experience should heighten our sensitivity to be intentional to become knowledgeable of all he, in his lovingkindness, paid for us to receive by faith!
In our “journey of discovery” it is also important to focus on Jesus’ two-fold statement that:
“He came to give us life and give it to us in a more abundant way.” John 10:10
This is significant because people can receive Christ into their lives and have their heavenly destiny secured and still live with painful and frustrating issues during their life’ journey the same as the world does because of lack of knowledge of what has been paid for and what God desires for them to have!
Salvation gives us the status of being new creations in Christ Jesus!
Salvation that Jesus bought for us encompasses deliverance, faring well, prosperity, preservation, and safety; not to mention heaven!
Just as Colossians 1:12-13 states: We were rescued out of the control of
darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son.
So, you see, before we became born again, Satan’s dominion, according to the scripture, had control over us! We were rescued!
Philippians 3:20 says: “But our citizenship is in heaven.”
That is why in the Lord’s prayer Jesus taught his followers to pray: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
In heaven there is no sickness, disease, confusion, strife, deception but quite the contrary!
Jesus came to give us life; so, what does that really mean so we can release our faith with confidence to receive the fullness of it:
Life in Hebrew means: A possessor of vitality, life real and genuine, active, and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed with every spiritual blessing that is in Christ Jesus!
Jesus said: You go in my Name! Our part as King’s kids is, as we read the scriptures, to agree with it and stay in faith until it shows up.
What the world system teaches is: I will believe it when I see it, but God’s Kingdom says: Believe it and then receive it! That takes the limitations off.
I remember when I went to live in the UK how different the lifestyle was in every area of life: weather, dialect, food, attitudes, etc. It was incumbent on me to learn the protocol of the country I was living in because I was no longer in the U.S. and by doing so, life became much more productive and enjoyable! The same is true for us as citizens of heaven—the more we understand how things operate, the more abundant life we will experience!
So, the second part of Jesus mission in John 10:10 was: I came to give you life more abundantly. Well, we saw the in-depth meaning of “Life”, so it is interesting that Jesus also added - life more abundantly!
I love all the adjectives Jesus and Paul used in describing what God has for us!
ABUNDANT as it was originally translated means: More, greater, excessive, preeminence, advantage, beyond what is anticipated, going past the expected limit-continuously!
Was Jesus endeavoring to give us word pictures that would increase our expectations? I think so! If we look at it with our natural eyes, it sure seems beyond expectation; however, if we look at it with our spirit eyes, Jesus said, “Nothing is ever too difficult or impossible with God.” Luke 1:37
Final Thoughts:
The Apostle Paul had an intense desire for us, as born again believers, to experience the fullness of what Jesus gave his life for and expressed it in this powerful prayer that I believe is important to pray on a daily basis as it provides a continual unveiling of God’s purpose and power to those who will receive it:
Ephesians 1:15-22
“Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your hearts being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come and He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all!”
Today let your testimony be: I declare YES and AMEN (2 Cor. 1:20) for all the promises have been fulfilled in Christ and I thank my loving Father that his word is truth and I can confidently declare it and put my trust in it!
