R526 What Does It Mean To Be Born Again

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about what it means to be born again. We'll be headed to the book of John today for the teaching from Dr. Don Wilton and as we do so, I want to invite you to gain insight from our website and the new resources that are available there. Dr. Wilton's good friend, Dr. Charles Stanley has a wonderful book on the cost of following Christ and alongside that, the pressing forward message from Dr. Wilton are two resources that will help you grow in an immense way and they're available right now.

Take a look online at tewonline.org or give us a call at 866-899-WORD and remember that number is available for prayer as well 24 hours a day, 866-899-9673. And now today's message with Dr. Don Wilton here on The Encouraging Word. The Encouraging Word I'm a born again believer. Now for some listening this morning, that might strike a little bit of a chord in your heart. I remember some years ago when President Jimmy Carter went public and announced that he was a born again believer and of course some of the media just certainly didn't know how to handle that properly and people went into rather a frenzy over that issue. Well I want to tell you today and I hope that you get into a frenzy over it, I want to announce to you that of all the things that I could tell you today, I am a born again believer.

Now what exactly does that mean? What does it mean to be born again? I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 2. John's Gospel chapter 2, I want to invite you to take a copy of God's Word because friend, I have nothing to say to you about being born again. Outside of God's Word and the Spirit of God, I wouldn't even be able to understand it myself. In fact the Bible teaches us about this incredible statement, Jesus spoke about it himself and in fact I'm going to invite you this morning to make your decision to be born again.

You might say to me, well pastor, what in the world is that? How can I be born again? Besides I've already been born, how can I do it all over again? I don't know that I want to go through all that struggle and I'm certain there are hundreds of moms who say, uh-uh, I don't want him going back into my womb again.

Once is enough, thank you very much. What does it mean to be born again? Well Jesus had something to say about it. I'm going to read to you from John chapter 2, the book of John, chapter 2 and beginning at verse 23.

Listen to the Word of God. I'm going to read quite a long passage for you. The Bible says, now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and they believed in his name.

Now I will stop once or twice if you'll beg my pardon, but I want you to note something there. The Bible does say that there were many people that believed in the name of Jesus Christ. Now why did they believe? Well the Bible says they believed because they saw the signs that he was doing. That was the basis of their belief. Then we see something remarkable in verse 24. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men and he needed not that any man's testimony about man was valid.

Why? Because he knew what was in man. In fact the Bible says man looks on the outward appearance, but where does God look? God looks upon our hearts, doesn't he? Looks right into our hearts.

We have the capacity to look on the outward. Don't you think I look quite good today? Well not like this choir.

I need some support. Don't you think I look good today, Kent? See, if you look at me this morning and say, my you look sharp, I'm just kidding you. But you know we can say to one another, oh we look so good and we look on the outward appearance, but where does God look? God looks right beyond all these things and he looks right into my heart. He doesn't see the outward appearance, God sees the inward appearance. And what happened was there were many people who said that they believed in his name because they saw what he was doing and the Bible says Jesus was not convinced.

Why? Because while they were saying on the outward appearance, oh yes I believe in Jesus, look what he's doing, he must be a good man. Jesus said, wait a minute, in order to know me and to be born again, you must believe in your heart.

Well let's see how this all works out. He gives us an illustration in John chapter 3 and what Jesus did, he took a real life illustration. Jesus borrowed from what was going on in and around him and he took a real life illustration of a man by the name of Nicodemus. The Bible tells us about him in verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. Evidently this man was very highly regarded, he was seminary trained. According to some of the pundits, this man probably spent at least 15 years at the Jerusalem Baptist Theological Seminary.

We have no idea, but he was a very highly regarded, highly held, religious leader. And this man came to Jesus, verse 2 says, by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, because no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing unless God were with him. Now that's exactly what happened at the end of John chapter 2.

Did you see that? Nicodemus was saying the same thing, he was believing in God because of what he had seen Jesus do. He became convinced of his miracles. Well Jesus said to him in verse 3, he said, I tell you the truth Nicodemus, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Now I've heard people say to me, well pastor don't ever use that word, born again.

I can't help myself because Jesus used that. That's the term Jesus used, he said, are you born again? And here Jesus said, no one can see.

And did you see that word see, do you know what the word see means? It means literally no one can enter, nobody can become a participant in, no one can come into heaven unless he is born again. It's not good enough just to believe that Jesus is a good man because he does miracles. You must be born again in order to go to heaven. Well Nicodemus had some questions the same as I have. How can a man be born when he is old, Nicodemus asked. Surely he cannot enter the second time in his mother's womb and be born. Now listen, I'm only going to read up to verse 8. I'm only going to read to verse 8 and I want you to listen carefully because it's very important. Jesus answered and he said, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and of the Spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you, and by the way that you is in the plural. That means all people, he wasn't just talking to Nicodemus. You is in the plural there, that is second person plural. You must, all people, must be born again.

The wind blows wherever it pleases, you hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. And from that point on Jesus goes on and talks about it in great, great detail.

And what does he do? He points to the Lord Jesus Christ. Friend, I want to ask a question today of myself. I've made a statement this morning that I'm a born again believer. What in the world does that mean? What does it mean to be born again?

Well let's take it from the opposite perspective first of all. What does it mean if you're not born again? It means three things. If you are not born again, it means number one, that you are born once.

Well that's no surprise isn't it? Hands up all those who have been born at least once. Come on now, every hand should be up. Brother you're not dead, you may feel dead this morning but you're not dead. All of us have been born once. And we all have a story to tell don't we?

I have lots of stories to tell. I remember when my oldest son was born. And everybody was so nervous when he was born in New Orleans. Almost 19 years ago. I'll never forget it, I was there, my wife was lying on that table.

I was in a state folks, I've never hurt so much in all my life. I know the one thing people wanted to know when my first child was born. They weren't interested whether he was going to be a he or a she or how this or that. Nobody ever asked us that. Nobody said do you want a pink room or a blue room or what are you prepared?

Nobody was interested. The only thing people were interested in was how was it going to sound like when it was born. Was it going to have a southern accent or an English accent or a South African?

That kind of accent. And I'll never forget when it came into the world, it arrived into the world. And when it came into the world, it looked around, saw the doctors, the nurses, the pediatrician. And then it said at the top of its voice, hey, how y'all doing?

I said by Jove, this little chap's a southerner. And we've all got stories about our birth, don't we? Go and ask Mom about it sometime, by the way.

She'll tell you. You see, the Bible says if we're not born again, we've still been born once. The Word of God says if we're not born again, it means that we are going to die once. We're going to die once. Now folks, all of us are going to die someday, all of us. The Bible says all of us are going to die one time.

It is absolutely guaranteed. And if you are not born again, you are born once, you're going to die once, but the Bible says you are going to die twice. Now you can go with me into the book of Revelation.

I'm not going to do it this morning. Revelation chapter 20, the Bible talks about the second death. The second death, my dear friend, is spiritual death. And you see, if you haven't been born again, that means that you are going to be suffering or you are subject to, you become a participant, not in the first death alone, but in the second death. You are going to die twice. You're not only going to die physically, you're going to die spiritually. The Bible says if you die spiritually, you're going to be taken and cast away from the kingdom of God and you're going to live separated from Him forever and forever and forever. You see, that's why Jesus said to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, listen to me, my friend.

I know that you're a religious teacher. I know that you've done a lot of good things, but you cannot see or enter the kingdom of God unless you are what? Unless you are born again. You see, friend, if you're not born the second time, it means you're only born once. It means you're going to die once and then you're going to die twice.

You are going to be separated from God and you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. And so here it is. I want to make an announcement to you this morning. I'm a born again believer. What does that mean?

Here it is. Write this down because I know that so many of you can testify to this today. Jesus explained it. I'm a born again believer. What does it mean? It means, number one, that I am born once. Are we coming back to the same thing again, aren't we?

Yes, indeed. We're coming back to the same thing again. I tell you, I was born once. I am. I'm not a figment of your imagination.

Here I am. I'm getting a little older and turning a little grey on my temples and all the other kinds of things that go with the ageing process, but I was born once. My brothers were born once, all of us. If I'm born again, I had to be born once. Otherwise, you cannot be born again. You see, friends, salvation is not for those who are outside of the saving grace of God.

It is intended for God's creation, for people into whose nostrils God has breathed the very breath of life. Jesus said, you are eligible not just to be born the first time, but to be born the second time. And if I'm born again, I'm not only born once, but I'm born twice.

Isn't that great? You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word. Please don't go away.

He'll be back with the rest of today's message in just a moment. But Dr. Don insists I remind you that we're available to have a conversation. It's not just a presentation, but each and every moment of every day, we're available to pray alongside with you about what God is doing in your life. Our prayer line is 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. But we'd also love to pray for you if you'd like to email us. As a matter of fact, Dr. Don would love to hear about how God's using this ministry of The Encouraging Word in your life, or perhaps how he can just pray for you.

866-899-WORD is the way you can call that information, but you can also email Dr. Don at Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online, dot O-R-G. That's Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W, online, dot O-R-G. Dr. Don would love to hear from you. Now back to today's great teaching from Dr. Don Wilton. Jesus spoke about it. He said, I tell you the truth in verse five. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

He's putting it right there. Well, what is water birth? Water birth is our natural birth. Did you know that when a child is born, the mother's water breaks? That is water birth. We are born of our mothers, and her water breaks. That's an expression that is very commonly used when an expectant mother is waiting to find out whether it's time for her delivery.

She'll very often say to her husband or to her doctor or friend, she'll say, my water has broken. It's time for delivery. It's time for that birth of my child. And Jesus said there, he said, listen, if you want to be born again, you must be born, first of all, of water, but you must also be born the second time of the Spirit. That means that God, by his Spirit, draws me to himself and convicts me of my sinfulness. And when the Spirit of God convicts me of my sinfulness, I come to recognize that in the presence of a holy God, that I am so far removed from his righteousness that I can have no access to him. And the Spirit of God draws me to himself and says to me, listen, you who were born once, Jesus Christ died for you. And I, by the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of my sin. And by faith, I receive Jesus Christ into my heart. And I am born again of the Spirit of the living God. Amen. That'll preach now, folks.

That's what it's all about. I've got an announcement to make to you this morning. I am a born again believer.

How do I know this? You see, friends, there came a time in my life when I acknowledged my sin before the Lord Jesus. The Bible says all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one.

All of us have fallen away from him. We were born in sin. We were conceived in sin.

There is no semblance of righteousness within us. The Bible says in Adam and because of the sin of Adam, all people die, but in Christ Jesus, we are all made alive. You see, because of Adam, my Adamic nature, my first birth is a death birth. But my second birth in Christ Jesus is an alive birth. I am made alive. I am risen to walk in newness of life because Jesus Christ is life. He is the way and the truth and the life and no man can come unto the Father but through Jesus Christ. I am brought into his presence. Jesus Christ paid the price for me. I can be born again because of the Spirit of God. I can come into his presence and I can know that I know that I know that I know that I know that when I die or if Jesus were to come back again that I'm going to be transported by the angels. I'm going to be carried by the very angels into the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and I'm going to live with him forever.

I've got an announcement to make this morning. I am a born again believer. Jesus said, if I'm born again, you know what that means, Don Wilton? It means that I'm born once.

It means second, I'm born twice. And it means third, I'm only going to die once. I'm only going to die once because I'm going to die physically. I've got bad news for my sons and my daughter. No matter how much they keep me running around the kitchen table, I'm going to die.

It is guaranteed, but guess what? I will see them again. We are going to be together again. We're going to live forever in the presence of the Lord Jesus.

Is there anyone here today who's lost someone you really love? I'm going to see him again. I tell you folks, I can see Bill Thompson standing in heaven right now. That dear man that I miss so much, I can see him. He's already tasted of eternal life saying, you know, in just a moment, I'm going to be reunited with the wife I love and the sons that I love, my family that I love.

I can see Claude Rhodes Dunbar. He's probably having a dialogue with one of the angels right now, convincing them that whatever it was, was not a good idea after all. But I can guarantee you something, my friend, Mr. Dunbar is in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

I know that for sure. I can see Miss Ginny Walker walking around in the portals of glory saying, I know that I know that I know that my beloved husband is born again and that we're going to be reunited together in heaven. I know, I'm so glad that I'm born again. Jesus said, accept a man, accept a woman, accept a boy, accept a girl, be born again.

He or she cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I'm going to ask you today to turn your life over to the Lord Jesus Christ, just as we've asked hundreds upon hundreds of people to do. Why don't you give your life to Jesus today?

Would you bow your heads with me this morning and pray this prayer in your own heart? Lord Jesus, I want to be born again. I want to go to heaven. I know that I've been born once because I'm alive. I want to be born again so that I can die only once and that is physically.

Because if I'm born again, I know that I'll never die spiritually. I'm going to be with you forever and I'm going to be with all those that I love forever. And Lord Jesus, I give my life to you right now.

Why don't you tell someone about this? I'm going to ask you to respond this morning. I'm going to ask you to settle the issue of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Friend, I want to ask you today, with all the love in my heart, could you have stood in this place where I'm standing today and have made an announcement that despite yourself, you're born again? Do you know that?

If you don't know that, make certain of that. But you know what I've come to discover about the Lord Jesus, my friend? Yes, Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw the crowds.

Did you notice that? He was moved with compassion when He saw the crowds. But did you notice something about Jesus Christ?

Right in the middle of the crowds, when just one insignificant little old woman touched the hem of His garment, He stopped everything He was doing just for that one person. And you may be here this morning and God has heard you. Why don't you step out for Him today? I don't know what it is that God has put in your heart. Maybe it's just simply to come and pray.

Maybe God has spoken to you about some special things in your own life. We're convinced that God is always speaking, and if He's speaking to you about something that has been triggered today through the message of God's Word from Dr. Don Wilton, perhaps praying with him earlier, giving your life to Christ or rededicating your life to Christ, we would love to walk alongside you. Dr. Wilton has unique resources he wants you to have absolutely free if you've given your life to Christ or rededicated your life to Jesus today if you'll call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. It'll connect with one of us not only to get you those free resources, but also to pray with you at any time, day or night, 866-899-9673. And of course, if you haven't been to our website lately, let me encourage you to drop down and take a look at all the resources we now have on our kind of new and improved website, tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. You'll be able to listen to today's broadcast, be able to see the weekend broadcasts and so much more. That's online at tewonline.org.

You'll also discover great resources like this. What's going on in your life today? Are you thinking about giving up? Don't give up. We cannot afford to be deterred on the Christian journey.

Too much is at stake. This month, Dr. Wilton has two special resources to send you for your gift of support to the Encouraging Word. You will receive Dr. Wilton's inspiring message, Pressing Forward, along with Courageous Faith by Dr. Charles Stanley. Both of these ministry resources will help fortify your faith to stay the course on the Christian journey. Call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. And request Pressing Forward and the bonus book, Courageous Faith, today. Thank you for supporting the Encouraging Word. We cannot fulfill our mission without you. Again, that's just one of the many powerful resources available on our website at tewonline.org.

That's tewonline.org. And while you're there, let me encourage you to sign up for the daily Encouraging Word devotional from Dr. Darren. It is sent out email-a-phonically, so to speak, every morning about 6 o'clock in the morning. It always includes a powerful word from God and some encouragement from Dr. Wilton about how you can apply that word to your life every day. You know, it's so important to take time to eat God's Word, to feast on the Word of God every day.

You don't just get together once on a Sunday and eat and then fast the rest of the week. We believe you need to be in God's Word every day and this is a free resource for you. Email-a-phonically, or you can have a physical copy as well.

You'll find out how to sign up on our website at tewonline.org for your copy. And before we get away, we have a closing thought from our pastor and chief encourager, Dr. Don Wilton. You know, before we go today, what a day of worship we've had. You know, you and I have in the middle of our hearts our beloved nation, don't we? How much I love America.

I'm so proud to be an American. And you know, this broadcast is seen by so many of our armed forces across the world and we hear from many, many of them and we love them, we admire them, we respect them. They are our real heroes and I want you to join with me as we are praying for them that God would protect them and their families and loved ones. Let's do that right now, shall we, just before we go? Why don't you join with me? Lord Jesus, I'm joining with thousands of people right now and praying for our members, our brave, brave members of our community and our world who are in uniform.

Many are overseas in strange and difficult places, families left behind. Lord Jesus, bless them, keep your hand upon them in every way, in Jesus' name, Amen. Our time's just about gone, but don't forget that this number, 866-899-WORD, will connect with us 24 hours a day, 866-899-9673, as well as on our website at www.tewonline.org. Tomorrow Dr. Don begins to talk to us about a unique subject, Making Disciples. We'll be heading to Matthew chapter 28 and we want to encourage you in your discipleship. Remember, there are wonderful resources on our website at www.tewonline.org that will help you grow in that way.

Some of them we ask for an investment, some of them are absolutely free. Discover more on our website at www.tewonline.org. God is moving this ministry and we're grateful for the way that you are investing prayerfully and financially in the ministry of the Encouraging Word. The Encouraging Word