2 TIMOTHY 3:15-16 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.

2 TIMOTHY 3:15-16 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. And how from infancy you have know the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in CHRIST JESUS. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.2 TIMOTHY 3:15-16 KING JAMES VERSION. And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in CHRIST JESUS. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:Dear heavenly Father, we come to You this morning in the name of JESUS and ask forgiveness of our sins as we have forgiven those that have sinned against us.Dear Lord, Your eyes are searching the whole earth to strengthen those who are fully committed to you. May Your missionaries be fully committed today, and give them strength equal to the work You have assigned them? Enable them to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. We pray this especially for those laboring in Satan's strongholds where his power has scarcely been challenged. And we want to include in these request all missionaries in all the world.May they cultivate a strong and fresh grasp on You Word~~the sword of your Spirit? Increasingly make them men and women of prayer. Protect them from getting swamped by demands that crowd out time alone with You.Mat they rejoice in Your sufficiency and rely on Yo for wisdom and peace. Grant love and harmony in how they relate to their partners and children, to other missionaries, and to the people they work among. You know their personal trials today~~loneliness, homesickness, the need for patience, official red tape, struggles in language learning, on and on. Give each one grace to trust You as their refuge and strength, as their sun and shield, as the best Person in their lives.Put Your full blessings on their evangelism, their discipling, their church responsibilities~ ~and on those with other gifts and callings. In the name of JESUS, the mighty Victor, defeat satan's attempts to blind people to the gospel and prevent the growth of believers.IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN. Rebel-For-Jesus

POWERFUL MESSAGE FOR YOU

Just One Day Too Late

I never thought I'd see the day, when you came to kneel and pray I never thought that I would see, the church-house filled to capacity and outside the door there's more, who have never come before Oh what a shame that Jesus came, one day before. And you came one day too late, yes, just one day too late Jesus came and you've been left behind, you will be left behind Yesterday you couldn't find time for Jesus on your mind You finally came to call His name, one day too late. You tried to live the best you could, you tried to do the things you should But when it came to serving God, you said, "I still have time to wait" Now it's all turned around, time for Jesus now you've found How sad to think that you found the time, but one day too late. Chris Perver - http://www.evenmore .co.uk/prophecy/ 2007.html Who will make up this large capacity crowd overfilling the churches of the world the day after Jesus the Christ snatched away His bride to take her to His Father's house? Will it be our mothers and fathers? Will it be our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters? Will it be our neighbors and co-workers? What will be the state of mind these people will have? Will there be great fear when they realize what has happened? Many will become depressed and despondent. There may even be many who cannot accept the truth and maybe some who will commit suicide because they knew the truth but refused to believe. And there will probably be some who will become enraged that all their good deeds have not been rewarded. Will the truth finally sink in that salvation is by the grace of God and not by works of the flesh? No one can earn their way into heaven. God never meant for anyone to earn their way, that's why He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to pay for our sins. It is God's free gift to His creation so there could not be any one who could say they were not given an equal opportunity to spend eternity with Him. It doesn't matter how rich or how poor you are, how intelligent, how lovely, tall or short, fat or thin, all one has to do is look around and see all the things God has made; all the things He has done to make Himself seen in His creation (Romans 1:20) and by faith believe that He is and know that He is a rewarder (Hebrews 11:6) of those who believe in Him. The above poem does not paint a very pretty picture but it does paint a very accurate picture of a day that is coming very soon to this planet. I hope this is not a picture you can live with. I hope this picture makes you want to fall on your knees and pray for everyone you know, for God to touch their hearts before it is too late and they find themselves "just one day too late!" I hope this picture makes each of us see that today is the day of salvation and We are the ones Christ commanded to go and preach the Gospel, (Matthew 28:19) the good news, the ones He told to "OCCUPY until He returns" not "occupy when He returns". (Luke 19) We have God's word today that He left for us in the Bible. All the lessons are in it that He wanted us to know. There are over three hundred prophecies of the coming of Christ that were fulfilled in the Old Testament when Christ came into the world and died for our sins. All the prophecies of His return for His bride, the Church, have been fulfilled. We know God has never failed to keep His promises. As this world spirals down into sin and evil, I believe all who live with the gift of the Holy Spirit know our time is running out and His return is imminent. We have only one thing left to do while we are still on this earth - we must love everyone enough to tell them the "Good News" that Jesus has paid for their sins; "it is finished" (John 19:30) there is nothing left to do but believe and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord; (Romans 10:9) repent and turn away from evil and He will remove our sins as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12) John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 KJV Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. In writing this I have developed a picture in my head of the scene that will take place around the world when Jesus comes in the clouds to rapture His church, and frankly I am ashamed of not doing more to spread the "Good News." Yes I know people who scoff and ridicule Christianity and even deny there is a God of creation. Yes, I even have family members who refuse to believe, even some who have a form of Godliness but not the power, who like many believe "good works" is all they need. Some are wonderful loving people but still live without the Holy Spirit. I put this challenge out today, search your heart and don't lay your head on a pillow tonight without asking Jesus to come into your heart and become the Lord of your life, then repent of your sinful ways, confess Him with your mouth and then you will know that the day after He comes you will not be left behind. Bob Goulding © July 2007 This story should have a background, graphics and music. If it doesn't click here. Was this message "forwarded" to you by a friend? TO SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE  simply reply to this message and write either SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE and we will take care of it for you. Do you know of any family, church family, friends, coworkers, or others (anyone) who would enjoy receiving these messages? Please send them this issue and encourage them to subscribe! TO VISIT Our Website click on this link: www.walk-by- faith.com Thank you, Bob and Pam Goulding Thank You 4 Sharing this powerful message, i am Praying! God Bless you! http://www.freewebs .com/praisinggod /guestbook. htm 4 Prayer Call: ( 954)885-1560 Love, GrannyFaith http://www.shoutlif e.com/GrannyFait hMinistry

catcmo2006 would like to Thank You for allow in this site,group sites, web sites and other prayer sites as well in holding one another up for prayer's being totally united in everyone around this world, it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers,intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.

Ask Your Father in Heaven

By John Piper Matthew 7:7-12Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raisedâ€"when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.The Tragedy of PrayerlessnessWhich means that one of the great short-term tragedies in the church is how little inclination we have to pray. The greatest invitation in the world is extended to us, and incomprehensibly we regularly turn away to other things. It’s as though God sent us an invitation to the greatest banquet that ever was and we sent word back, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it,” or, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them,” or, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Luke 14:18-20).A New Inclination to PrayWell, that was then. But my prayer is that God would use this message and this word from Jesus in Matthew 7, and other influences in your life, to awaken a new compelling inclination to pray in 2007. I hope you will ask God to do that as we look at this text.We will do it in two steps. First, we will look at eight encouragements to pray in Matthew 7:7-11. Second, we will try to answer the question of how we are to understand the promises that we will receive when we ask, and find when we seek, and have the door opened when we knock.Eight Encouragements from Jesus to PraySix of these encouragements are explicit in this text and two are implicit. It seems clear to me that Jesus’ main purpose in these verses is to encourage us and motivate us to pray. He wants us to pray. How does he encourage us?1. He Invites Us to PrayThree times he invites us to prayâ€"or, you could say, if you will hear it lovingly, three times he commands us to prayâ€"to ask him for what we need. It’s the number of times that he invites us that gets our attention. Verses 7-8: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” The repetition is meant to say, “I mean this.” I want you to do this. Ask your Father for what you need. Seek your Father for the help you need. Knock on the door of your Father’s house so he will open and give you what you need. Ask, seek, knock. I invite you three times because I really want you to enjoy your Father’s help.2. He Makes Promises to Us if We PrayEven better and more amazing than the three invitations are the seven promises.Verses 7-8: “Ask, and [#1] it will be given to you; seek, and [#2] you will find; knock, and [#3] it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks [#4] receives, and the one who seeks [#5] finds, and to the one who knocks [#6] it will be opened.” Then at the end of verse 11b (#7): “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”Seven promises. It will be given you. You will find. It will be opened to you. The asker receives. The seeker finds. The knocker gets an open door. Your Father will give you good things. Surely the point of this lavish array of promises is to say to us: Be encouraged to come. Pray to him. It is not in vain that you pray. God is not toying with you. He answers. He gives good things when you pray. Be encouraged. Pray often, pray regularly, pray confidently in 2007.3. God Makes Himself Available at Different LevelsJesus encourages us not only by the number of invitations and promises, but by the threefold variety of invitations. In other words, God stands ready to respond positively when you find him at different levels of accessibility.Ask. Seek. Knock. If a child’s father is present, he asks him for what he needs. If a child’s father is somewhere in the house but not seen, he seeks his father for what he needs. If the child seeks and finds the father behind the closed door of his study, he knocks to get what he needs. The point seems to be that it doesn’t matter whether you find God immediately close at hand, almost touchable with his nearness, or hard to see and even with barriers between, he will hear, and he will give good things to you because you looked to him and not another.4. Everyone Who Asks ReceivesJesus encourages us to pray by making it explicit that everyone who asks receives, not just some. Verse 8: “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” When he adds the word everyone in verse 8, he wants to overcome our timidity and hesitancy that somehow it will work for others but not for us. Of course, he is talking about the children of God here, not all human beings. If we will not have Jesus as our Savior and God as our Father, then these promises don’t apply to us.John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” To become the child of God, we must receive the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who gives us the authority of adoption. That is who these promises are for.For those who receive Jesus, everyone of them who asks receives good things from his Father. The point is that none of his children is excluded. All are welcome and urged to come. Martin Luther saw the way Jesus is motivating here:He knows that we are timid and shy, that we feel unworthy and unfit to present our needs to God. . . . We think that God is so great and we are so tiny that we do not dare to pray. . . . That is why Christ wants to lure us away from such timid thoughts, to remove our doubts, and to have us go ahead confidently and boldly.” (The Sermon on the Mount, translated by Jaroslav Pelikan, Vol. 21 of Luther’s Works, [Concordia, 1956], p.234.)5. We Are Coming to Our Father. We have implied it, now let’s say it explicitly with its own force: When we come to God through Jesus, we are coming to our Father. Verse 11: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Father was not a throw away label for Jesus. It is one of the greatest of all truths. God is our Father. The implications is that he will never, never give us what is bad for us. Never. He is our Father.6. Our Heavenly Father Is Better than Our Earthly FatherThen the Jesus encourages us to pray by showing us that our heavenly Father is better than our earthly father and will far more certainly give good things to us than they did. There is no evil in our heavenly Father like there is in our earthly father.Verse 11 again: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” I am aware, and Jesus was even more aware, that our earthly fathers are sinful. This is why the Bible repeatedly draws attention not only to the similarity between earthly fathers and the heavenly Father, but also to the differences (e.g. Hebrews 12:9-11; Matthew 5:48). So Jesus goes beyond the encouragement of merely saying that God is your Father, and says that God is always better than your earthly father, because all earthly fathers are evil and God is not. Jesus is very blunt and unflattering here. This is a clear instance of Jesus’ belief in the universal sinfulness of human beings. He assumes that his disciples are all evilâ€"he doesn’t choose a softer word (like sinful, or weak). He simply says that his disciples are evil (ponÄ“roi.).Don’t ever limit your understanding of the Fatherhood of God to your experience of your own father. Rather, take heart that God has none of the sins or limitations or weaknesses or hang-ups of your father.And the point Jesus makes is: Even fallen, sinful fathers usually have enough common grace to give good things to their children. There are terribly abusive fathers. But in most places in the world, fathers are jealous for the good of their children, even when they are unclear about what is good for them. But God is always better. In him there is no evil. Therefore, the argument is strong: If your earthly father gave you good things (or even if he didn’t!), how much more will your heavenly Father give good thingsâ€"always good things to those who ask.And there is something implicit here that underlines encouragement #4 aboveâ€"the word everyoneâ€"“Everyone who asks receives.” If Jesus says to his disciples, “You are evil,” then the only people that can come to God in prayer are evil children of God. You are children of God. And you are evil. In other words, even after you are adopted by God into his family, sin remains in you. But Jesus says, everyone will receiveâ€"everyone of God’s evil children! We will see why in a moment.7. We Can Trust God’s Goodness Because He Has Already Made Us His ChildrenHere is another implicit encouragement to pray: God will give us good things as his children because he has already given us the gift to become his children.This insight came from St. Augustine: “For what would he not now give to sons when they ask, when he has already granted this very thing, namely, that they might be sons?” We have already seen that being a son of God is a gift we receive when we come to Jesus (John 1:12). Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:42, “If God were your Father, you would love me.” But God is not their Father. They reject Jesus. So, not all are the sons of God. But if God has freely made us sons, how much more will he give us what we need?8. The Cross Is the Foundation of PrayerFinally, implicit in these words is the cross of Christ as the foundation for all the answers to our prayer. The reason I say this is because he calls us evil and yet he says we are children of God. How can it be that evil people are adopted by an all holy God? How can we presume to be children, let alone ask and expect to receive, and seek and expect to find, and knock and expect to have the door opened?Jesus gave the answer several times. In Matthew 20:28, he said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He gave his life to ransom us from the wrath of God and put us in the position of children who only receive good things. And in Matthew 26:28, he said at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Because of Christ’s blood, our sins are forgiven when we trust in him. This is why even though Jesus calls us evil, we can be the children of God and count on him to give us good things when we ask him.The death of Jesus is the foundation for all the promises of God and all the answers to prayer that we ever get. This is why we say “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers. Everything depends on him.The summary so far is that Jesus really means to encourage us to pray. Why else talk like this about prayer if his goal for us in 2007 is not that we pray. So he gives us encouragement upon encouragement, at least eight of them.One Final QuestionOne final question: How shall we understand these six promises in verses 7 and 8: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened”?Does this mean that everything a child of God asks for he gets?I think the context here is sufficient to answer this question. No, we do not get everything we ask for and we should not and we would not want to. The reason I say we should not is because we would in effect become God if God did everything we asked him to do. We should not be God. God should be God. And the reason I say that we would not want to get everything we asked is because we would then have to bear the burden of infinite wisdom which we do not have. We simply don’t know enough to infallibly decide how every decision will turn out and what the next events in our lives, let alone in history, should be.But the reason I say that we do not get all we ask is because the text implies this. Jesus says in verses 9-10 that a good father will not give his child a stone if he asks for bread, and will not give him a serpent if he asks for a fish. This illustration prompts us to ask, “What if the child asks for a serpent?” Does the text answer whether the Father in heaven will give it? Yes, it does. In verse 11, Jesus draws out this truth from the illustrations: Therefore, how much more will your Father give good things to those who ask him. He Gives Only Good ThingsHe gives good things. Only good things. He does not give serpents to children. Therefore, the text itself points away from the conclusion that Ask and you will receive means Ask and you will receive the very thing you ask for when you ask for it in the way you ask for it. It doesn’t say that. And it doesn’t mean that.If we take the passage as a whole, it says that when we ask and seek and knockâ€"when we pray as needy children looking away from our own resources to our trustworthy heavenly Fatherâ€"he will hear and he will give us good things. Sometimes just what we asked. Sometimes just when we ask it. Sometimes just the way we desire. And other times he gives us something better, or at a time he knows is better, or in a way he knows is better. And of course, this tests our faith. Because if we thought that something different were better, we would have asked for it in the first place. But we are not God. We are not infinitely strong, or infinitely righteous, or infinitely good, or infinitely wise, or infinitely loving. And therefore, it is a great mercy to us and to the world that we do not get all we ask.Take Jesus at His WordBut if we take Jesus at his word, O how much blessing we forfeit because we do not ask and seek and knockâ€"blessings for ourselves, our families, our church, our nation, our world.So would you join me in a fresh new commitment to set aside time for prayer alone and in families and in groups in 2007. All the rest of this Prayer Week, with its special booklet prepared for you, is meant as extended application of this sermon.------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----------

10 reason to Believe in Christ rather than religion

10 reason to Believe in Christ rather than religion
1. Christ Is Someone To Know And Trust
Christ is more than a system, tradition, or belief. He is a Person who knows our needs, feels our pain, and sympathizes with our weakness. In exchange for our trust, He offers to forgive our sins, to intercede for us, and to bring us to His Father. He cried for us, died for us, and rose from the dead to show that He was all He claimed to be. Conquering death, He showed us that He can save us from our sins, live His life through us on earth, and then bring us safely to heaven. He offers Himself as a gift to anyone who will trust Him ( John 20:24-31).
2. Religion Is Something To Believe And Do
Religion is believing in God, attending religious services, taking catechism, being baptized, and receiving communion. Religion is tradition, ritual, ceremony, and learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is reading and memorizing Scripture, offering prayers, giving to the poor, and celebrating religious holy days. Religion is singing in the choir, helping the poor, and making amends for past wrongs. Religion is something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those Scripture-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders who hated Christ enough to call for His death. They hated Him not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9 ) but because He saw through their religion to their hearts
3. Religion Doesn't Change Hearts
Jesus likened the religious Pharisees to a group of dishwashers who clean the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty. He said, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" (Luke 11:39-40). Jesus knew that a person can change his image without changing his act ( Matthew 23:1-3). He knew that religious credentials and ceremony cannot change the heart. He told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a person is "born again" by the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Yet from that day until now, many of the most religious people in the world continue to forget that while religion can give attention to outward appearance, only Christ can change the heart.
4. Religion Makes Much Of Little
Jesus spoke to religionists who had a passion for detail when He said, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone" ( Luke 11:42). Jesus saw our tendency to make rules and to focus on "morally correct" behavior instead of keeping our eyes on the bigger issue of why we are trying to be so right. While the Pharisees were big on knowledge carried out to its logical conclusions, they forgot that God doesn't care how much we know until He knows how much we care. It was this greater "why" that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" ( 1 Corinthians 13:1,3).
5. Religion Offers The Approval Of Men Rather Than God
Jesus reserved His strongest criticism for religious people who used their spiritual reputation to get social attention and honors. To such religionists Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces" ( Luke 11:43). Then, speaking to His disciples, He said of the Pharisees, "All their works they do to be seen by men" ( Matthew 23:5). Jesus saw clearly into the practice of religion, which holds the opinions and attention of man to be more important and desirable than the approval of God.
6. Religion Makes Hypocrites Of Us
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them" ( Luke 11:44). What looks better than being dressed right, attending religious services, and doing things that mark us as decent, God-fearing people? Yet how many religious scholars, ministers, and faithful followers withhold honor and encouragement from their wives, attention from their children, and love from their doctrinal enemies? Jesus knew what we often forget: What looks good may have a heart of evil.
7. Religion Makes A Hard Life Harder
Because religion cannot change a heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations that are not even kept by the religionists who interpret and apply the rules. With this "burden factor" in mind, Jesus said, "Woe to you also, lawyers [experts in religious law]! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior and relationships, but poor at giving real and merciful help to those who realize they have not lived up to those expectations.
8. Religion Makes It Easy To Deceive Ourselves
It's been jokingly said, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." The Pharisees acted out a similar idea, but it wasn't funny. According to Jesus, the Pharisees prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real prophet they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets; when they met a living one, they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This is the point Jesus made in Luke 11:47-51 and in a parallel passage in Matthew 23:29-32. The Pharisees had fooled themselves. They didn't think of themselves as prophet-killers. Religionists don't see themselves as the God-rejecting people they are.
9. Religion Hides The Key Of Knowledge
One of the greatest dangers of religion is that it causes us to be a danger not only to ourselves but also to others. To the very religious biblical experts of His day Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" ( Luke 11:52). Religionists take away "the key of knowledge" by distracting people from the Word of God and from a "right attention of heart" by the unnecessary additions of denominationally correct traditions and expectations. Rather than leading people to God, religionists shift the focus to themselves and their own rules. Religionists are those who trust the beliefs and actions of their religion to do what only Christ can do.
10. Religion Leads Its Converts Astray
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Converts of religion are in double jeopardy. They bring a double enthusiasm to their new way of life, and with zeal they blindly defend their blind teachers. They put themselves in the trust of people who have exchanged a system of rules and traditions for the life, forgiveness, and relationship of an infinite Savior. Religion is important in its place (James 1:26-27), but only when it points us to the Christ who died for our sins and who now offers to live His life through those who trust Him (Galatians 2:20; Titus 3:5).

The Rich Young Ruler

John 3:1-16 (King James Version

John 3

1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus 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?

5Jesus 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.

6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The 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.

9Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Big Picture:

Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginnings, although weak. And though now he came by night, yet afterward he owned Christ publicly. He did not talk with Christ about state affairs, though he was a ruler, but about the concerns of his own soul and its salvation, and went at once to them. Our Saviour spoke of the necessity and nature of regeneration or the new birth, and at once directed Nicodemus to the source of holiness of the heart. Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again, is to begin to live anew, as those who have lived much amiss, or to little purpose. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. By our first birth we were corrupt, shapen in sin; therefore we must be made new creatures. No stronger expression could have been chosen to signify a great and most remarkable change of state and character. We must be entirely different from what we were before, as that which begins to be at any time, is not, and cannot be the same with that which was before. This new birth is from heaven, ch. 1:13, and its tendency is to heaven. It is a great change made in the heart of a sinner, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It means that something is done in us, and for us, which we cannot do for
ourselves. Something is wrong, whereby such a life begins as shall last for ever. We cannot otherwise expect any benefit by Christ; it is necessary to our happiness here and hereafter. What Christ speak, Nicodemus misunderstood, as if there had been no other way of regenerating and new-moulding an immortal soul, than by new-framing the body. But he acknowledged his ignorance, which shows a desire to be better informed. It is then further explained by the Lord Jesus. He shows the Author of this blessed change. It is not wrought by any wisdom or power of our own, but by the power of the blessed Spirit. We are shapen in iniquity, which makes it necessary that our nature be changed. We are not to marvel at this; for, when we consider the holiness of God, the depravity of our nature, and the happiness set before us, we shall not think it strange that so much stress is laid upon this. The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is compared to water. It is also probable that Christ had reference to the ordinance of baptism. Not that all those, and those only, that are baptized, are saved; but without that new birth which is wrought by the Spirit, and signified by baptism, none shall be subjects of the kingdom of heaven. The same word signifies both the wind and the Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth for us; God directs it. The Spirit sends his influences where, and when, on whom, and in what measure and degree, he pleases. Though the causes are hidden, the effects are plain, when the soul is brought to mourn for sin, and to breathe after Christ. Christ's stating of the doctrine and the necessity of regeneration, it should seem, made it not clearer to Nicodemus. Thus the things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to the natural man. Many think that cannot be proved, which they cannot believe. Christ's discourse of gospel truths, ver. #(11 to 13), shows the folly of those who make these things strange unto them; and it recommends us to search them out. Jesus Christ is every way able to reveal the will of God to us; for he came down from heaven, and yet is in heaven. We have here a notice of Christ's two distinct natures in one person, so that while he is the Son of man, yet he is in heaven. God is the to �HE THAT IS, to � and heaven is the dwelling-place of his holiness. The knowledge of this must be from above, and can be received by faith alone. Jesus Christ came to save us by healing us, as the children of Israel, stung with fiery serpents, were cured and lived by looking up to the brazen serpent, Nu 21:6 to 9. In this observe the deadly and destructive nature of sin. Ask awakened consciences, ask damned sinners, they will tell you, that how charming soever the allurements of sin may be, at the last it bites like a serpent. See the powerful remedy against this fatal malady. Christ is plainly set forth to us in the gospel. He whom we offended is our Peace, and the way of applying for a cure is by believing. If any so far slight either their disease by sin, or the method of cure by Christ, as not to receive Christ upon his own terms, their ruin is upon their own heads. He has said, Look and be saved, look and live; lift up the eyes of your faith to Christ crucified. And until we have grace to do this, we shall not be cured, but still are wounded with the stings of Satan, and in a dying state. Jesus Christ came to save us by pardoning us, that we might not die by the sentence of the law. Here is gospel, good news indeed. Here is God's love in giving his Son for the world. God so loved the world; so really, so richly. Behold and wonder, that the great God should love such a worthless world! Here, also, is the great gospel duty, to believe in Jesus Christ. God having given him to be our Prophet, Priest, and King, we must give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him. And here is the great gospel benefit, that whoever believes in Christ, shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and so saving it. It could not be saved, but through him; there is no salvation in any other. From all this is shown the happiness of true believers; he that believeth in Christ is not condemned. Though he has been a great sinner, yet he is not dealt with according to what his sins deserve. How great is the sin of unbelievers! God sent One to save us, that was dearest to himself; and shall he not be dearest to us? How great is the misery of unbelievers! they are condemned already; which speaks a certain condemnation; a present condemnation. The wrath of God now fastens upon them; and their own hearts condemn them. There is also a condemnation grounded on their former guilt; they are open to the law for all their sins; because they are not by faith interested in the gospel pardon. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy. It springs from the enmity of the heart of man to God, from love of sin in some form. Read also the doom of those that would not know Christ. Sinful works are works of darkness. The wicked world keep as far from this light as they can, lest their deeds should be reproved. Christ is hated, because sin is loved. If they had not hated saving knowledge, they would not sit down contentedly in condemning ignorance. On the other hand, renewed hearts bid this light welcome. A good man acts truly and sincerely in all he does. He desires to know
what the will of God is, and to do it, though against his own worldly interest. A change in his whole character and conduct has taken place. The love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost, and is become the commanding principle of his actions. So long as he continues under a load of unforgiven guilt, there can be little else than slavish fear of God; but when his doubts are done away, when he sees the righteous ground whereon this forgiveness is built, he rests on it as his own, and is united to God by unfeigned love. Our works are good when the will of God is the rule of them, and the glory of God the end of them; when they are done in his strength, and for his sake; to him, and not to men. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a subject to which the world is very averse; it is, however, the grand concern, in comparison with which every thing else is but trifling. What does it signify though we have food to eat in plenty, and variety of raiment to put on, if we are not born again? if after a few mornings and evenings spent in unthinking mirth, carnal pleasure, and riot, we die in our sins, and lie down in sorrow? What does it signify though we are well able to act our parts in life, in every other respect, if at last we hear from the Supreme Judge, to �Depart from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity? to � (Jn 3:22-36).

The Bottomline: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN (3:3,7)

Nicodemus came by night,but Jesus Christ said, "This will not do" His religion must be acknowledged before men. What is that required?

1. We must live a new life. We must not think to patch things up the old building but begin from the foundation.
2. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. We must be born again from above. By our first birth, we are corrupt, shaped in sin and iniquity. We must therefore undergo a second birth; our souls must be fashioned and enlivened anew. This new birth has it rise from heaven (ch.1:13) and to be to born to a divine and heavenly life of communion with and the upper world. Being " born again" is an indispensable necessity.

3. We cannot understand the nature of it. Such is the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, in which Nicodemous desired to be instructed, the soul must be remodeled and molded. The natural man must become a spiritual man before he is capable of receiving and understanding them 1Cor.2:14.

4. We cannot receive the comfort of it, cannot expect ny benefit by Jesus Christ and His gospel, nor have any part in the matter.
Regeneration is absolutely necessary to our happiness here and hereafter. Considering what we are by nature, how corrupt and sinful, we must be born again because it is impossible that we should be happy if we be not holy. 1Cor.6:11,12.

PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for Your love and kindness toward me. It is Your kindness that has led me to repentance, turning from all my sins and turning to you.
I admit that I have not been kind, patient and loving to others when they have offended me. I have allowed bitterness and resentment to grow in me, separating me from others and You, Father. At times, I have forgotten this unforgiveness in my heart. This unforgiveness festers deep within me, at times beyond my conscious reach. This affects every aspect of my life and gives the enemy a right to torment me as stated in Matthew 18. I confess that this unforgiveness and bitterness is affecting my life and relationships today. Because of these past hurts, I acknowledge the inability to love or trust others.
I understand that forgiveness is not an emotion but an act of my will. I now choose to exercise my will to forgive others as You, Father, have forgiven me. Father, I know that You are a searcher of the heart. I ask You to search my heart. Reveal to me any hidden and secret unforgiveness or bitterness toward others that have hurt or offended me. I choose not to be ruled by a spirit of bitterness. I choose to forgive and have a spirit of peace and love in my heart. I repent, forgive and release these people right now.
I ask you, Heavenly Father, to forgive me and restore me as I forgive those who have offended me. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring everything to our remembrance. Dear Holy Spirit, I am asking You to bring to my remembrance anyone I have to forgive and I will forgive them in Jesus' name. Amen.