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KICKSTART PACKAGE
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THE NEW BIRTH
Lesson Two
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Welcome to lesson two
of this Kickstart Package.
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In the last lesson we talked about
discipleship,
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that we are disciples of Jesus,
and a disciple is like an apprentice.
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We talked about that we need to learn
to live this amazing life,
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the life we read about in the Book of Acts,
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powerful life, the normal Christian life,
a life with Jesus.
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And that is a holy life. That is a life
where we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit.
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That is a life where we learn
to preach the gospel,
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where we learn to heal the sick
and cast out demons.
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In this lesson we are going to talk about
what it is to be born again,
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because you cannot live this life
I talked about, if you are not born again.
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I want to start with quoting one of the
very famous verses in the Bible.
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In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Paul is saying this:
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"For I delivered to you as of the first
importance what I have also received:
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That Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures,
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that He was buried and that He rose up
on the third day
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in accordance with the Scriptures."
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
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And later we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21
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"For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus)
to be sin who knew no sin,
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so that in Him we (you and me) might
become the righteousness of God."
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This is the foundation. This is the cross.
This is the center of Christianity -
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that Jesus died on a cross,
for you and me,
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and that we (you and me) in Him
can get a new life,
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that we in Him can experience freedom -
freedom from our sins.
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In Him we can receive the righteousness
that is from God.
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This is the most important.
This is the center. This is why we are here.
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And it's not enough that you hear about it.
It's not enough that you read about it.
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It's not enough that you dream about it.
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You, me, we - need to experience it.
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We need to experience the new birth.
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We need to experience this righteousness
that is from God.
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The gospel of Jesus is the good news.
But...
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...it is only life-changing for those who
believe in it and those who experience it.
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And it's only life-changing for those
who experience the new birth -
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those who are born again.
Jesus is saying:
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again (or born from above)
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he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3
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When He said this, where He talked
about being born again,
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about seeing the Kingdom of God,
about entering into the Kingdom of God,
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He was saying this in John 3
to a guy called Nicodemus.
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Nicodemus was the teacher in Israel.
He was not just a teacher. He was the teacher.
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He was a very, very smart man.
He was a priest. He knew the Word.
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He knew the Word. Like no one else understood
the Word - He understood it, but...
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He didn't understand this.
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He didn't understand spiritual birth
Jesus came with.
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So Nicodemus asked Jesus a question.
In John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Jesus: "How?"
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Like, "How can a man be born
when he's old?"
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"He cannot enter into his mother's womb
for the second time and be born."
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Nicodemus did not understand it.
He did not understand
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that Jesus was not talking about being
born again in the flesh,
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like a new physical birth, but Jesus was
talking about a different born again,
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a different birth, a spiritual one.
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And He continued saying: "Truly, truly
I say to you, unless one is born
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(born spiritually) out of water and
the spirit,
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he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God."
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So, according to Jesus' words,
for us to enter into the Kingdom of God,
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we need to be born again
with the spiritual birth,
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a birth that is taking place
out of water and spirit.
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And therefore I wat to say to you -
it is not enough...
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it is not enough that you have
a faith in God.
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Demons believe in God.
And there's people who believe in God,
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but faith in God by itself
will not save you.
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It is not enough that you
come in a church.
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It is not enough that you
think that you are good person.
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It is not enough that you
grew up in a Christian family.
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All of this is not enough.
You need to be born again.
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You need to be born from above,
out of water and spirit, as Jesus is saying.
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And here the amazing life is starting.
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This is where it starts.
This is what transforms everything.
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And before we are going to look at what
the Bible says more about being born again
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we want to look at the Bible.
And I would like to as you a question.
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I would like to ask you:
Where in the Bible...
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where in the Bible do we see the early church
was preaching the gospel,
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where in the Bible do we see how people
responded to the gospel,
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and how they got born again the same way
you and me today need to be born again.
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Where do we find that in the Bible?
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Do we find that in the 39 books
of the Old Testament?
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The answer is: No.
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Why don't we find that in the Old Testament -
how people got born again? Why?
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Because the Old Testament
was all before the cross. We don't see that.
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We don't see in the Old Testament
the new birth Jesus was talking about.
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Where do we then find it?
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Do we find it in the four gospels,
in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?
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Many people here would say:
Yes, that makes sense,
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because the gospel means the gospel,
but the answer is: No.
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You also don't find all of this
in the gospels.
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You do not find how people were getting
born again like you and me need to
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experience today in the gospels, because
the four gospels:
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Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
are also before the cross.
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The four gospels was the time
between the Old and the New Testament.
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What do we see in the four gospels?
We see things, we see that Jesus was preaching.
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Jesus was preaching: "The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand.
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Repent and believe in the gospel!"
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So Jesus was preaching that the time was
near and people need to repent
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and believe in the gospel.
We read that in Mark 1:15.
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But Jesus did not say: Repent,
get baptized and you shall receive
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the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why?
Because He could not do that at that time.
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Because at that time Jesus
was walking here on earth.
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There was no baptism in the name of Jesus,
to Christ.
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There was no baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Why?
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Before it was all before the cross.
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Jesus has not yet died on the cross,
He has not yet got buried,
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He has not yet rose up again,
He has not yet ascended to heaven
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and sent His Holy Spirit
down here.
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So that was why He preached:
"Repent for the kingdom of God is near."
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But He did not do what we read later,
after the cross.
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So no one, no one, no one in the four gospels
got baptized to Jesus Christ.
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No one in the four gospels received
the gift of the Holy Spirit,
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spoke in tongues,
as we read after the cross.
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So don't use the robber on the cross
as an example.
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I've heard many people say:
"Oh, baptism is not important
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because what about the robber on the cross?"
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The robber on the cross did not get baptized.
That is correct.
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The robber on the cross did not get baptized.
The woman at the well did not get baptized.
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No one before the cross got baptized
to Jesus Christ, but...
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after the cross
everything looked so different.
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After the cross
we saw everything come together.
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So, when Jesus walked here on earth
He could only say:
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"Repent, for the kingdom of God is near!"
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And then He could teach about it
that we besides repentance,
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need to be born again
out of water and spirit.
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So He could teach about it.
He could talk about it,
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but we could not see come together
in the fullness.
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We could first see that after the cross.
And we see that in the Book of Acts.
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So we see it in the Book of Acts,
not in the 24 letters. Why?
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Because the 24 letters
we have in the Bible,
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we have to understand that 24 letters
were written to already believers.
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So the 24 letters start with:
To the church there, to the church there,
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to the church there,
to the believers there.
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Those people wrote letters to already
born again people.
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They've already repented,
they've already got baptized in water,
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they've already received the Holy Spirit.
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So the Book of Acts between the gospels
and the letters
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is actually the only book in the entire
Bible
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where we see how people, like you and me,
got born again,
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where we see how the early disciples
were preaching the gospel
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and how they responded to the gospel
and how they repented,
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got born again out of water and spirit.
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The Book of Acts is where we see it
and it's so amazing.
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And the first time when we see it
so clear, after the cross,
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after the Holy Spirit came down here,
is Acts 2:37.
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In Acts 2 we read that the disciples
were filled with the Holy Spirit.
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They stood up and the big group
of people was gathered.
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And people came together and they heard
some of the things they were preaching.
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And we read here in Acts 2:37:
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"Now when they heard this
they were cut to the heart,
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and they said to Peter and the rest
of the apostles,
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"Brothers, what shall we do?"
(Acts, 2:37)
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So here we see the early apostles,
disciples, after the cross,
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after the Holy Spirit poured out
on the earth,
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stood up for the first time,
preaching about the Kingdom of God.
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And they were preaching in a way
so they were cut to the heart
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and those people who listened,
who heard what Peter and the rest
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were saying, they asked:
"What shall we do?"
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And that is a really, really good question.
That is a really, really important question.
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When people ask:
"What shall we do to get saved?
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What shall we do to get born again?"
What answer do we give?
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In Acts 2:38 we can see the answer
Peter gives to those people,
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and that is the answer we see
again, again and again
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through the Book of Acts
and what the Bible is saying.
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So Peter said to them:
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you
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in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins
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and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit."
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This is the cross. Jesus died on the cross,
He got buried and He rose up again.
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Now we, you and me need to take up
our cross and follow His example.
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Now you and me need to die,
like Jesus died.
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We need to die for our sins,
die to ourselves.
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And then, like Jesus was buried,
we need to bury the old life.
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We need to bury the old life
and that is what happens
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when we get baptized to Christ.
And like Jesus rose up,
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we need to rise up in the new life,
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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And it's really amazing. It's really beautiful
when a person is getting born again.
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When a person sees their sins and turn
away from their sins,
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die to themselves and then
bury the old life in baptism
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and stand up again and
receive the Holy Spirit.
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And it's so beautiful. It's so amazing,
and hopefully it will be so clear to you also
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when we move on and look more into it.
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So, let's look at some of the other
examples in the Book of Acts
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where we can see a little more clear
of people who repented,
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got baptized and received
the Holy Spirit.
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Paul was out traveling. One time he came
to Ephesus and we read that in Acts 19
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where he met some believers, and there
in verse 2 he asked those believers:
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"...Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?" (Acts 19:2)
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This is a very, very important question.
It's actually a question
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we need to ask people today,
when we meet people who think
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they believe in God, who are Christians,
come to church, we need to ask them:
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"Hey, did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?"
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Because it's possible to have faith in God
without receiving the Holy Spirit.
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And I want to ask you the same question,
who are looking at me right now:
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Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?
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In Acts 19... They answered,
"No, we have not even heard
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that there is a Holy Spirit."
(Acts 19:2)
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It was the same answer I would have
given many years ago.
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I was a Christian, or I thought
I was a Christian. Why?
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Because I came in a Lutheran church,
I was baptized as a baby,
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I was confirmed later. I had a faith in God
but I have not heard about the Holy Spirit,
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or let's say - I've heard something
about the Holy Spirit,
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but I have not received Him.
I was not yet born again.
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I needed to understand the full gospel.
Like the people here in Ephesus.
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When Paul heard that they have not yet
received the Holy Spirit
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Paul took the time to sit down with them
and then he explained the gospel to them,
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like I want to explain the gospel to you
today.
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And we read later that on hearing this,
"When they heard the Gospel,
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they were right away baptized
(in the name of the Lord Jesus),
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when Paul then laid his hands on them
the Holy Spirit came over them
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and they spoke in tongues and
prophesied." (Acts 19:5-6)
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Hallelujah! This is the same today.
This is exactly the same today.
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What we have just read,
there in Acts 19
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is what we are seeing
all over the world today.
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We meet people who have faith in God,
who believe in God,
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but when we ask:
"Have you received the Holy Spirit?"
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They said: "No, no, I haven't."
And then we take the time
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so share the gospel with them,
and then, after they've heard the gospel
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we see how they repent and get baptized,
as you can see in our videos,
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and then we lay hands on them and then
they receive the Holy Spirit.
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And it's so powerful, it's so beautiful.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
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The Holy Spirit is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
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You can be born again today.
You can get baptized to Christ today.
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You can receive the Holy Spirit today,
like we read in Acts 2,
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like we read in Acts 19,
like we read all over the Book of Acts
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in the New Testament.
And it's really amazing.
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Another place in the Bible we want
to look at is Acts 10.
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This time we read about how Peter
came to a guy called Cornelius,
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and he came into his house and there
we read that Peter, he was in the house,
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and while Peter was speaking in the house,
with Cornelius and his family,
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the Holy Spirit fell over all of them.
Why?
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Because he heard them speak in tongues.
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"For they heard them speak with tongues
and praising God." (Acts 10:46-48)
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So it's so beautiful.
And then we continue reading:
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..."Can anyone forbid them to get baptized
in water now they have received
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the Holy Spirit just like we have?"
And he commanded them
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to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...
(Acts 10:47)
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I love it. Why do I love it?
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I love it because this is not only
something we read happened that time.
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This is what is happening today.
We are seeing it day after day,
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all over again. We see it so many
places. This is what we see.
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Sometimes people receive the Holy Spirit
first and then get baptized.
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Other times they get baptized first
and receive the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
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The Holy Spirit is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
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So, as I said, sometimes people repent,
get baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
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Other times people repent, receive
the Holy Spirit and then get baptized.
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What is important that you experience
all three -
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that you have experienced true repentance,
after repentance baptism in water
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and the Holy Spirit.
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The problem today is religion.
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We grow up in religion.
We grow up in tradition.
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As I said, I myself grew up in
the Lutheran church.
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It was not because I was in
the Lutheran church a lot,
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but because I lived in Denmark.
It was what I've been introduced to.
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And I was told by the priest
in the Lutheran church
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that we all have the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because we were all baptized as a baby.
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But that was a lie.
It is a lie.
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It is a lie that I and my family
have been told, what we grew up in.
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What they told us was not the full gospel.
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What they told us was wrong.
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And I was living in a lie for years,
but I say to you, I guarantee you:
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when I understood the full gospel,
when I repented and got baptized
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and received the Holy Spirit,
my life was changed forever.
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I got baptized in water and
I experienced freedom.
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I experienced freedom when
the Holy Spirit came over me.
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I experienced freedom from my sin.
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But do you know what?
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It took me six years to get all of it.
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From really a personal faith, repentance
and baptism in water and the Holy Spirit -
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it took me six years. Why?
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Because there was no one there to really
explain to me and help me what it was.
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So I came to faith, I repented and long
time later I got baptized and then...
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it took me six years.
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It doesn't have to take so long time
for you.
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Paul is saying about the gospel
in Romans 1:16.
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"For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for this is the power for salvation
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to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and to the Gentile."
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Yes, the gospel we are preaching here
is the power for everyone who believes.
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It's the power to transform a person
from inside and out.
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Like it has transformed many people
in the times of the Bible,
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through the times, and today,
it can also transform your life.
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So, let's look at it again.
There are three things Peter spoke about.
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There are three things we see
in the Book of Acts,
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that come together with having faith
in Jesus. And what is that?
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That is repentance. You believe,
but you also need to repent.
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You need to repent for your sins.
And then you need to get baptized
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in the name of Jesus, for
the forgiveness of your sins.
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And number three -
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,
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or getting baptized with the Holy Spirit.
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So we repent from our sins
toward God.
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Then we get baptized to Jesus Christ
and then we receive the Holy Spirit.
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This is how it should be.
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Let's read a longer place in the Bible,
where we can see a picture
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of what repentance is.
Because repentance is more than
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going from not believing to believing.
Repentance has to do with sin,
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it has to do with turning away from sin,
it has to do with feeling sorry in your heart,
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turning away, and changing your life.
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"Put to death, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature:
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sexual immorality, uncleanness, lust,
evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
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Because of these, the wrath of God
is coming.
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...You used to walk in these ways,
in the life you once lived.
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But now you must put them all away:
anger, wrath, malice, slander,
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and filthy language from your lips...
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...Do not lie to each other, since you have
taken off the old self with its practices
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and put on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge
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in the image of its Creator."
(Colossians 3:5-10)
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This is amazing. What we read here
really describes what repentance is.
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Repentance has to do with burying
the old life,
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putting of the old life
and putting under the new life.
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Repentance goes together
with baptism.
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And here we see what it is.
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We see sin and then we decide
to turn away from our sins.
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We see things we have done,
that are not pleasing to God.
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We've been living our own life.
We see sin in our life.
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And then we say: I don't want
this old life anymore.
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I want to turn away from this life.
I want to change my heart.
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I want to give it over to God.
I want to turn away.
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I want to give everything to God.
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Repentance has to do with changing
your heart, when it comes to sin.
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It has to do with hating sin,
as God hates sins.
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When we repent and turn away
from our sins
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God is going to come and do
something beautiful.
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God is going to come and take out that
stone heart and give us a new heart of flesh.
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He is going to write the law on our hearts.
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Oh I remember when I believed
and repented.
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Oh I remember how it changed
everything inside of me.
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My conscience became new.
There were things before I have done,
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I loved to do it, because I was used to do it.
I was doing it again, again, again and again,
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and I did not feel in my conscience
it was wrong at that time
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because I was so used to do it.
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But when I saw sin, when I turned away
from sins, I got a new conscience.
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I could not do what I did before.
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I could not continue living in sin,
as I did before. Why?
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That had to do with my old life.
That had to do with before God.
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Now I got a new heart.
I wanted to please God with my life.
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I wanted to live a new life.
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1 John 3:5-6 is saying this:
"You know that he (Jesus)
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appeared in order to take away sins,
and in Him (Jesus) there is no sin.
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No one who abides in Him
keeps on sinning;
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no one who keeps on sinning has either
seen Him or known Him."
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This is very radical word we read here,
from John,
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that when we abide in Him,
when we know Him, when we are in Him,
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we don't keep on sinning.
We cannot.
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Why?
Because we've got a new heart.
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And then he continues here
in the next verse:
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"Little children, let no one deceive you.
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Whoever practices righteousness is righteous,
as he is righteous.
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Whoever makes a practice of sinning
is of the devil,
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for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning...
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...That is the reason the Son of God appeared,
to destroy the works of the devil.
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No one born of God makes a practice
of sinning, for God's seed abides in Him.
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and He cannot keep on sinning,
because he is born of God." (1 John 3:7-9)
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This is beautiful what we read here.
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What we've read here is not just written
in the Bible, as being there.
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It's real, like everything else.
It's the truth. And we can experience it.
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It's not enough you hear about it,
read about it. You need to experience it.
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You need to experience this new heart,
the seed of God inside of you,
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so you cannot keep on sinning
the way you did before.
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It's very radical text we read here,
and I want to say:
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in the beginning, of course,
you will make mistakes.
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You will fall because you need to learn
to walk this new life.
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There is a difference between
learning to walk this life and fall,
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and then continue willfully in sin.
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Everyone who is truly born again
cannot continue living in willful sin.
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As a newborn believer in the beginning
you can fall, but then you rise up again.
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And then you do what 1 John 1:9
is saying:
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"If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins
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and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
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This is also the truth,
what we've read here.
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When you get the seed of God inside of you
you cannot go on sinning.
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You cannot have a sinful lifestyle.
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But in the beginning,
especially in the beginning,
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you fall and you need to learn
to live this new life.
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But then you confess your sins and
He's faithful and righteous to forgive you.
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Some of you, when I talk about this new heart,
know what I'm talking about.
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You have already experienced it.
You have experienced this new conscience,
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where you cannot go on sinning,
like you did before.
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You know what I'm talking about,
when I talk about the seed inside of us.
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If you listen to me right now and
you don't know what I'm talking about,
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you have not yet experienced this -
you are lost.
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You are lost right now
if you don't repent...
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...because you have not truly repented,
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because if you truly repent and put
your faith in God
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you will experience what I've just read.
You will experience this new life.
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So this is where we start.
We start with recognizing our sins
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and then we turn away from our sins.
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But that is not all of it.
You also need to get baptized.
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You need to get baptized.
We want to look a little what baptism is.
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If we look at the word "baptized"
that is baptizó (βαπτίζω).
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That means to dip, or to immerse.
Baptism is under water.
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It's always under water. It's where you dip
under water or you immerse under water.
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And not like it had become many places -
sprinkling of water.
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I want to tell a little story about baptism,
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when it comes to baptism
as sprinkling of water.
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Jesus and His early disciples baptized
with full immersion.
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But in year 253 AD sprinkling was permitted
by a local bishop in a few cases.
-
753 AD we saw the first official approval
of baptism with sprinkling,
-
but it was only in a few cases,
when it was necessary,
-
when people were laying in a bed,
when they were sick.
-
People were sick and you had to hurry up
and other things.
-
In 1311 AD Council of Ravenna said
that this sprinkling of water with baptism
-
was official way of doing baptism.
But I want to say to you out there...
-
Just because a bishop or council says
it's okay - doesn't mean it's okay.
-
We need to build on the Bible
and not tradition.
-
And there is so many traditions
that have come into churches.
-
The whole idea of baptizing babies
is crazy.
-
I want to show you a picture of me.
Here you see me. Am I not cute?
-
This is me when I got baptized,
as a baby in the Lutheran church.
-
And as you see, they put me in a
nice white dress.
-
If somebody would put me in
a white dress today, I would say: No!
-
No! Don't do that. But that time
I did not say anything. Why?
-
They did not ask me.
I was a baby. I did not care.
-
Even if they took me naked in the church
and baptize me naked, I would not complain.
-
Why? I was not aware of sin.
I was a baby. I was not aware of anything.
-
Like Adam and Eve. Before sin came and
opened their eyes...
-
they were walking around naked and
they did not care.
-
They did not see their shame. They did not
see their nakedness, when they walked around.
-
But when they took of the fruit, their eyes
were open and they saw their nakedness.
-
They saw their shame.
And they needed to cover themselves.
-
The same way, to baptize babies
that is crazy.
-
Because babies are not aware of sin.
It's first when you grow up
-
and become older, 9, 10, 11, 12 years,
where you: "Ah!"
-
You suddenly see your nakedness
and want to cover yourself.
-
So the whole idea that the early church,
or let's say like that:
-
the early church did not baptize
babies.
-
It was first something that came later.
-
Yeah, you don't find baby baptism
in the Bible.
-
It was something that came hundreds
of years later.
-
So Peter did not baptize his babies,
his grandkids did not get baptized,
-
his grand grandkids did not get
baptized,
-
grand grand grandkids did not get baptized,
-
grand grand grand grandkids
did not get baptized... and then suddenly,
-
500 years later somebody got that idea:
"Hey, let's baptize babies!
-
That should be the norm."
That is tradition. There is so much tradition.
-
But tradition cannot save.
Jesus can save.
-
So what is baptism?
Is baptism just a symbol?
-
No. That is also tradition,
to say that baptism is a symbol.
-
Baptism is not a symbol.
Jesus is saying this in Mark 16:16.
-
"Whoever believes and is baptized
will be saved,
-
but whoever does not believe
will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)
-
So Jesus said that one who believes
and is baptized will be saved.
-
What did they say in the Book of Acts?
If you go to the Book of Acts
-
we read this in Acts 2:38.
When Peter was preaching the gospel
-
they asked: "What shell we do?"
Peter said: Repent, as we looked at,
-
and then he said: "Be baptized
for the forgiveness of your sins."
-
When Ananias baptized Paul in Acts 2:16
he said to Paul:
-
"Rise up and be baptized and
wash away your sins."
-
So here in Acts we see that one place
they say that is the forgiveness,
-
another place says it washes away sins.
-
Does it sound like a symbol?
-
I don't think it sounds like a symbol to me.
-
How can we read what the Bible is saying
about baptism and then say
-
that is just a symbol.
I don't understand it.
-
Let's move on now and look what the letters
in the Bible are saying about baptism.
-
If we start with Romans 6 we read here
that in baptism you die with Christ
-
and you rise up with Christ.
Galatians 3 is saying that in baptism
-
we put on Christ. Colossians 2 is saying
that in baptism we are circumcised,
-
it's a circumcision of Christ.
Titus 3 is saying
-
that is washing of regeneration.
1 Peter 2 is saying that baptism
-
is the baptism that now saves us.
Does this sound like a symbol?
-
No. How can people read this,
read what the Bible is saying
-
and conclude that baptism is not important,
that baptism is just a symbol?
-
The only reason is that they build
on tradition of men
-
instead of what the Word is saying.
This is what the Word says.
-
So they were very radical,
when it comes to baptism.
-
But we also see that in how they
did it, not only in what they believed,
-
but what they did in the Bible.
-
Because when did people get baptized,
when they came to faith in the Bible?
-
Did they get baptized first Sunday
after coming to faith?
-
Or, did they get baptized after some
teaching in the church, some weeks later?
-
Or, did they get baptized after many years,
when people felt they were somehow
-
ready for it? No.
In the Bible they got baptized right away.
-
In Acts 2 3000 got baptized in one day.
Acts 10, as we read before,
-
with Cornelius and his household,
they got baptized right away.
-
Acts 16 with the jailer and his house - they
got baptized even in the middle of the night.
-
Come on! In the middle of the night!
Why?
-
Because the baptism was the beginning.
It was a new beginning.
-
That was where you put off
the old man,
-
together with that faith and repentance.
That is in the beginning.
-
Oh! We need to do it God's way.
We need to repent
-
from our own way of doing it
and obey the Bible.
-
We need to do it as Jesus is saying.
He is truly saying
-
that one who believes and is baptized
shall be saved.
-
He is saying: If you want to be born again
you need to be born out of water -
-
that is the baptism,
and Spirit - that is the baptism -
-
the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
-
What is happening in the baptism
in water?
-
In baptism we read verses like:
"put on Christ", "die with Christ",
-
"rise up with Christ". We read:
"washing away your sins";
-
we read: "for the forgiveness
of your sins".
-
In baptism what is happening is
that we experience freedom from our sins.
-
We bury the old life, that was under sin.
-
We bury the old life so we can move on
and live a new life.
-
A very good picture is Moses
and the Israelites.
-
Remember in the early church,
when they were preaching the gospel
-
they did not have the New Testament
the way we have it,
-
so they were preaching out of
the Old Testament.
-
That was all shadows and pictures
of the New Testament,
-
the new time we are living in.
In the Old Testament we can read
-
how the Israelites were slaves in Egypt,
under pharaoh.
-
So they were slaves in Egypt.
-
And then one day Moses came (that
is the picture of Christ) and said:
-
"Let my people go!" But pharaoh did not
want to let the people go.
-
So they were fighting against each other.
But then in the end God did something amazing.
-
He saved them by the blood.
Because death went through the cities
-
and those homes that did not have
the blood of the lamb over the door,
-
they would loose the firstborn.
-
And that is, again, the picture of Christ,
the blood and the firstborn.
-
And there, by the blood of the lamb
over the doors,
-
death went by and the firstborn
in that family did not die.
-
And there the pharaoh said:
Okay, now you can go.
-
And they were saved out of Egypt.
So now the Israelites came of of Egypt
-
rejoicing: We are saved! We are saved!
We are saved! They came out of Egypt,
-
by the blood. But they were still
somehow captives,
-
they were slaves still to the old life.
-
So they needed to bury that old life
that was following them,
-
out of Egypt. They needed to get
the chains off them.
-
They needed to stop, to bury the old
life.
-
They were still slaves to the old life.
They were still slaves to sin.
-
How did they bury that old life?
-
So what happened there was that
the Egyptians, the pharaoh
-
regretted that he has let the people go.
And he sent his army after the people.
-
And the army was sent after the Jews.
-
They were just been saved out of Egypt.
They were rejoicing:
-
We have been saved! We have been saved!
We have been saved!
-
But now they were like: Oh no! Oh no!
We are going to die!
-
We are going to die!
We are going to die!
-
The old life! The people are coming
after us! They are going to kill us!
-
So they need to be saved one more time
to be fully saved, to be fully free.
-
They need to bury that old life.
-
So they went down in the water,
the Red Sea, that was open for them,
-
and the old life followed, but when
they came on the other side
-
God closed the water and
drowned all the Egyptians.
-
And they were saved. They were saved,
one time for all.
-
They were not in chains anymore.
They were not afraid that the old life
-
will come and take over them.
They were saved from their old life.
-
And that is what it is -
to be baptized to Christ.
-
By the blood of the lamb we are saved
out of this world.
-
By the blood of the lamb we are saved
out of this world but that is not enough.
-
We also need to go to the water, to bury
that old life through baptism to Christ.
-
And they came out of the water and
they rejoiced, they rejoiced, they rejoiced,
-
because the old life has been
dealt with.
-
The old life is buried one time for all.
But that was not enough for them.
-
Now they need to continue walking
by the pillar, the pillar of light, the cloud.
-
They needed to walk by the spirit to enter
into the promised land God has for them.
-
The same - this is the picture
of our salvation.
-
We get saved by the blood
out of this world.
-
We get saved through the baptism of water
from the old life.
-
And then we need to receive the Holy Spirit
and walk by the spirit
-
and the one who keeps on to the end
shall one day be saved.
-
So this is a picture of salvation and
it's so beautiful when you see it,
-
and this is what we need to experience
today.
-
And that is clear if we continue and
read in Romans 6.
-
We want to read a long part from
Romans 6. We read here.
-
"Do you not know that all of us who
have been baptized into Jesus Christ
-
have been baptized into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him
-
through baptism into death, so that as
Christ was raised from the dead...
-
...through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life.
-
For if we have become united with Him
in the likeness of His death,
-
certainly we shall also be in the likeness
of His resurrection...
-
...knowing this, that our old self
was crucified with Him,
-
in order that our body of sin
might be done away with,
-
so that we would no longer be slaves to sin,
for he who has died is freed from sin."
-
Hallelujah! This is so beautiful.
This is what is happening in baptism.
-
Him who has died is free from sin.
We have buried that old life,
-
that was a slave to sin, and we are
risen up in a new life with Jesus Christ.
-
We are talking about freedom. Freedom.
We are no longer slaves to sin.
-
We are free from sin. And Romans 6:14
is saying this:
-
"For sin will have no dominion over you,
since you are not under law but under grace."
-
I remember that day I read this verse,
Romans 6:14. It changed my life.
-
I was still struggling with sin.
I was struggling with things in my life.
-
I was not free yet. I've just been baptized,
but I have not received the freedom
-
that was in baptism,
because I did not understand it.
-
I came home and I read Romans 6.
And when I read it:
-
"Sin has no dominion over you.
You are not under law but under grace."
-
It became revelation to me.
And I experienced a freedom from sin
-
I've never experienced before.
And I would say, that day in my office...
-
I really got truly born again.
It took me six years
-
to come to that point
where I experienced that freedom...
-
where I was no longer a slave to sin.
And I would say today
-
I'm still not a slave to sin.
It is so different.
-
It's so different
from what I walked in before.
-
It doesn't mean that we cannot make
mistakes and we will fall in the beginning,
-
we will do mistakes, but then we ask
for forgiveness and he's righteous
-
to forgive us, but we are not slaves to sin,
where we keep on going back to sin,
-
and sin, and sin, and sin, all over again,
because we are free.
-
So I would say to you out there,
there are many today
-
who are still slaves to sin,
for different reasons.
-
One reason is that they have not yet fully
repented, turned away from their sins.
-
Or, they have turned away but they
have not got baptized in the right way.
-
What I mean with "the right way" is that
first you need to turn away from your sins
-
and get that new heart,
before you can bury the old life.
-
Many people today grow up in church
and come to church
-
and get baptized as teenagers,
and live in the world,
-
and first 10, 15 years later they fully
understand what repentance is
-
and turn away. If you turn away
10, 15 years later
-
the baptism you did that time is not
true baptism.
-
You cannot bury the old life
if your old life is not dead.
-
You need to recognize your sins
and turn away, before you can bury it.
-
So that is why people are
struggling with sin.
-
Some people have not fully repented,
or some people have repented,
-
but after they got baptized.
All like me, you repented
-
and you got baptized,
but when you got baptized
-
you did not understand it.
-
You did not understand what it was
that actually happened,
-
and you need to receive it in faith.
-
And you need to go home and read
Romans 6, like I did,
-
and ask God to open your eyes
so you understand it,
-
so you can live this new life.
-
So, it's so important that we,
that you who are seeing this,
-
experience new birth.
-
That you experience that you are
saved out of Egypt,
-
that you are saved from the old life
in baptism,
-
and also that you receive the Holy Spirit,
-
which we are going to talk more about
in the next lesson.
-
So, much more about that in the next lesson
where we will put it all together.
-
I look forward to see you next time.
God bless you all out there! Bye-bye!