(LAST) Kickstart Package - 2 - The new birth

KICKSTART PACKAGE

THE NEW BIRTH
Lesson Two

Welcome to lesson two
of this Kickstart Package.

In the last lesson we talked about
discipleship,

that we are disciples of Jesus,
and a disciple is like an apprentice.

We talked about that we need to learn
to live this amazing life,

the life we read about in the Book of Acts,

powerful life, the normal Christian life,
a life with Jesus.

And that is a holy life. That is a life
where we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit.

That is a life where we learn
to preach the gospel,

where we learn to heal the sick
and cast out demons.

In this lesson we are going to talk about
what it is to be born again,

because you cannot live this life
I talked about, if you are not born again.

I want to start with quoting one of the
very famous verses in the Bible.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Paul is saying this:

"For I delivered to you as of the first
importance what I have also received:

That Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures,

that He was buried and that He rose up
on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures."
1 Corinthians 15:3-4

And later we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21

"For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus)
to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in Him we (you and me) might
become the righteousness of God."

This is the foundation. This is the cross.
This is the center of Christianity -

that Jesus died on a cross,
for you and me,

and that we (you and me) in Him
can get a new life,

that we in Him can experience freedom -
freedom from our sins.

In Him we can receive the righteousness
that is from God.

This is the most important.
This is the center. This is why we are here.

And it's not enough that you hear about it.
It's not enough that you read about it.

It's not enough that you dream about it.

You, me, we - need to experience it.

We need to experience the new birth.

We need to experience this righteousness
that is from God.

The gospel of Jesus is the good news.
But...

...it is only life-changing for those who
believe in it and those who experience it.

And it's only life-changing for those
who experience the new birth -

those who are born again.
Jesus is saying:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again (or born from above)

he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3

When He said this, where He talked
about being born again,

about seeing the Kingdom of God,
about entering into the Kingdom of God,

He was saying this in John 3
to a guy called Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was the teacher in Israel.
He was not just a teacher. He was the teacher.

He was a very, very smart man.
He was a priest. He knew the Word.

He knew the Word. Like no one else understood
the Word - He understood it, but...

He didn't understand this.

He didn't understand spiritual birth
Jesus came with.

So Nicodemus asked Jesus a question.
In John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Jesus: "How?"

Like, "How can a man be born
when he's old?"

"He cannot enter into his mother's womb
for the second time and be born."

Nicodemus did not understand it.
He did not understand

that Jesus was not talking about being
born again in the flesh,

like a new physical birth, but Jesus was
talking about a different born again,

a different birth, a spiritual one.

And He continued saying: "Truly, truly
I say to you, unless one is born

(born spiritually) out of water and
the spirit,

he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God."

So, according to Jesus' words,
for us to enter into the Kingdom of God,

we need to be born again
with the spiritual birth,

a birth that is taking place
out of water and spirit.

And therefore I wat to say to you -
it is not enough...

it is not enough that you have
a faith in God.

Demons believe in God.
And there's people who believe in God,

but faith in God by itself
will not save you.

It is not enough that you
come in a church.

It is not enough that you
think that you are good person.

It is not enough that you
grew up in a Christian family.

All of this is not enough.
You need to be born again.

You need to be born from above,
out of water and spirit, as Jesus is saying.

And here the amazing life is starting.

This is where it starts.
This is what transforms everything.

And before we are going to look at what
the Bible says more about being born again

we want to look at the Bible.
And I would like to as you a question.

I would like to ask you:
Where in the Bible...

where in the Bible do we see the early church
was preaching the gospel,

where in the Bible do we see how people
responded to the gospel,

and how they got born again the same way
you and me today need to be born again.

Where do we find that in the Bible?

Do we find that in the 39 books
of the Old Testament?

The answer is: No.

Why don't we find that in the Old Testament -
how people got born again? Why?

Because the Old Testament
was all before the cross. We don't see that.

We don't see in the Old Testament
the new birth Jesus was talking about.

Where do we then find it?

Do we find it in the four gospels,
in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

Many people here would say:
Yes, that makes sense,

because the gospel means the gospel,
but the answer is: No.

You also don't find all of this
in the gospels.

You do not find how people were getting
born again like you and me need to

experience today in the gospels, because
the four gospels:

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
are also before the cross.

The four gospels was the time
between the Old and the New Testament.

What do we see in the four gospels?
We see things, we see that Jesus was preaching.

Jesus was preaching: "The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe in the gospel!"

So Jesus was preaching that the time was
near and people need to repent

and believe in the gospel.
We read that in Mark 1:15.

But Jesus did not say: Repent,
get baptized and you shall receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. Why?
Because He could not do that at that time.

Because at that time Jesus
was walking here on earth.

There was no baptism in the name of Jesus,
to Christ.

There was no baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Why?

Before it was all before the cross.

Jesus has not yet died on the cross,
He has not yet got buried,

He has not yet rose up again,
He has not yet ascended to heaven

and sent His Holy Spirit
down here.

So that was why He preached:
"Repent for the kingdom of God is near."

But He did not do what we read later,
after the cross.

So no one, no one, no one in the four gospels
got baptized to Jesus Christ.

No one in the four gospels received
the gift of the Holy Spirit,

spoke in tongues,
as we read after the cross.

So don't use the robber on the cross
as an example.

I've heard many people say:
"Oh, baptism is not important

because what about the robber on the cross?"

The robber on the cross did not get baptized.
That is correct.

The robber on the cross did not get baptized.
The woman at the well did not get baptized.

No one before the cross got baptized
to Jesus Christ, but...

after the cross
everything looked so different.

After the cross
we saw everything come together.

So, when Jesus walked here on earth
He could only say:

"Repent, for the kingdom of God is near!"

And then He could teach about it
that we besides repentance,

need to be born again
out of water and spirit.

So He could teach about it.
He could talk about it,

but we could not see come together
in the fullness.

We could first see that after the cross.
And we see that in the Book of Acts.

So we see it in the Book of Acts,
not in the 24 letters. Why?

Because the 24 letters
we have in the Bible,

we have to understand that 24 letters
were written to already believers.

So the 24 letters start with:
To the church there, to the church there,

to the church there,
to the believers there.

Those people wrote letters to already
born again people.

They've already repented,
they've already got baptized in water,

they've already received the Holy Spirit.

So the Book of Acts between the gospels
and the letters

is actually the only book in the entire
Bible

where we see how people, like you and me,
got born again,

where we see how the early disciples
were preaching the gospel

and how they responded to the gospel
and how they repented,

got born again out of water and spirit.

The Book of Acts is where we see it
and it's so amazing.

And the first time when we see it
so clear, after the cross,

after the Holy Spirit came down here,
is Acts 2:37.

In Acts 2 we read that the disciples
were filled with the Holy Spirit.

They stood up and the big group
of people was gathered.

And people came together and they heard
some of the things they were preaching.

And we read here in Acts 2:37:

"Now when they heard this
they were cut to the heart,

and they said to Peter and the rest
of the apostles,

"Brothers, what shall we do?"
(Acts, 2:37)

So here we see the early apostles,
disciples, after the cross,

after the Holy Spirit poured out
on the earth,

stood up for the first time,
preaching about the Kingdom of God.

And they were preaching in a way
so they were cut to the heart

and those people who listened,
who heard what Peter and the rest

were saying, they asked:
"What shall we do?"

And that is a really, really good question.
That is a really, really important question.

When people ask:
"What shall we do to get saved?

What shall we do to get born again?"
What answer do we give?

In Acts 2:38 we can see the answer
Peter gives to those people,

and that is the answer we see
again, again and again

through the Book of Acts
and what the Bible is saying.

So Peter said to them:
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you

in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins

and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit."

This is the cross. Jesus died on the cross,
He got buried and He rose up again.

Now we, you and me need to take up
our cross and follow His example.

Now you and me need to die,
like Jesus died.

We need to die for our sins,
die to ourselves.

And then, like Jesus was buried,
we need to bury the old life.

We need to bury the old life
and that is what happens

when we get baptized to Christ.
And like Jesus rose up,

we need to rise up in the new life,
in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And it's really amazing. It's really beautiful
when a person is getting born again.

When a person sees their sins and turn
away from their sins,

die to themselves and then
bury the old life in baptism

and stand up again and
receive the Holy Spirit.

And it's so beautiful. It's so amazing,
and hopefully it will be so clear to you also

when we move on and look more into it.

So, let's look at some of the other
examples in the Book of Acts

where we can see a little more clear
of people who repented,

got baptized and received
the Holy Spirit.

Paul was out traveling. One time he came
to Ephesus and we read that in Acts 19

where he met some believers, and there
in verse 2 he asked those believers:

"...Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?" (Acts 19:2)

This is a very, very important question.
It's actually a question

we need to ask people today,
when we meet people who think

they believe in God, who are Christians,
come to church, we need to ask them:

"Hey, did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?"

Because it's possible to have faith in God
without receiving the Holy Spirit.

And I want to ask you the same question,
who are looking at me right now:

Did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed?

In Acts 19... They answered,
"No, we have not even heard

that there is a Holy Spirit."
(Acts 19:2)

It was the same answer I would have
given many years ago.

I was a Christian, or I thought
I was a Christian. Why?

Because I came in a Lutheran church,
I was baptized as a baby,

I was confirmed later. I had a faith in God
but I have not heard about the Holy Spirit,

or let's say - I've heard something
about the Holy Spirit,

but I have not received Him.
I was not yet born again.

I needed to understand the full gospel.
Like the people here in Ephesus.

When Paul heard that they have not yet
received the Holy Spirit

Paul took the time to sit down with them
and then he explained the gospel to them,

like I want to explain the gospel to you
today.

And we read later that on hearing this,
"When they heard the Gospel,

they were right away baptized
(in the name of the Lord Jesus),

when Paul then laid his hands on them
the Holy Spirit came over them

and they spoke in tongues and
prophesied." (Acts 19:5-6)

Hallelujah! This is the same today.
This is exactly the same today.

What we have just read,
there in Acts 19

is what we are seeing
all over the world today.

We meet people who have faith in God,
who believe in God,

but when we ask:
"Have you received the Holy Spirit?"

They said: "No, no, I haven't."
And then we take the time

so share the gospel with them,
and then, after they've heard the gospel

we see how they repent and get baptized,
as you can see in our videos,

and then we lay hands on them and then
they receive the Holy Spirit.

And it's so powerful, it's so beautiful.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The Holy Spirit is the same
yesterday, today and forever.

You can be born again today.
You can get baptized to Christ today.

You can receive the Holy Spirit today,
like we read in Acts 2,

like we read in Acts 19,
like we read all over the Book of Acts

in the New Testament.
And it's really amazing.

Another place in the Bible we want
to look at is Acts 10.

This time we read about how Peter
came to a guy called Cornelius,

and he came into his house and there
we read that Peter, he was in the house,

and while Peter was speaking in the house,
with Cornelius and his family,

the Holy Spirit fell over all of them.
Why?

Because he heard them speak in tongues.

"For they heard them speak with tongues
and praising God." (Acts 10:46-48)

So it's so beautiful.
And then we continue reading:

..."Can anyone forbid them to get baptized
in water now they have received

the Holy Spirit just like we have?"
And he commanded them

to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...
(Acts 10:47)

I love it. Why do I love it?

I love it because this is not only
something we read happened that time.

This is what is happening today.
We are seeing it day after day,

all over again. We see it so many
places. This is what we see.

Sometimes people receive the Holy Spirit
first and then get baptized.

Other times they get baptized first
and receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the same
yesterday, today and forever.

The Holy Spirit is the same
yesterday, today and forever.

So, as I said, sometimes people repent,
get baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.

Other times people repent, receive
the Holy Spirit and then get baptized.

What is important that you experience
all three -

that you have experienced true repentance,
after repentance baptism in water

and the Holy Spirit.

The problem today is religion.

We grow up in religion.
We grow up in tradition.

As I said, I myself grew up in
the Lutheran church.

It was not because I was in
the Lutheran church a lot,

but because I lived in Denmark.
It was what I've been introduced to.

And I was told by the priest
in the Lutheran church

that we all have the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because we were all baptized as a baby.

But that was a lie.
It is a lie.

It is a lie that I and my family
have been told, what we grew up in.

What they told us was not the full gospel.

What they told us was wrong.

And I was living in a lie for years,
but I say to you, I guarantee you:

when I understood the full gospel,
when I repented and got baptized

and received the Holy Spirit,
my life was changed forever.

I got baptized in water and
I experienced freedom.

I experienced freedom when
the Holy Spirit came over me.

I experienced freedom from my sin.

But do you know what?

It took me six years to get all of it.

From really a personal faith, repentance
and baptism in water and the Holy Spirit -

it took me six years. Why?

Because there was no one there to really
explain to me and help me what it was.

So I came to faith, I repented and long
time later I got baptized and then...

it took me six years.

It doesn't have to take so long time
for you.

Paul is saying about the gospel
in Romans 1:16.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for this is the power for salvation

to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and to the Gentile."

Yes, the gospel we are preaching here
is the power for everyone who believes.

It's the power to transform a person
from inside and out.

Like it has transformed many people
in the times of the Bible,

through the times, and today,
it can also transform your life.

So, let's look at it again.
There are three things Peter spoke about.

There are three things we see
in the Book of Acts,

that come together with having faith
in Jesus. And what is that?

That is repentance. You believe,
but you also need to repent.

You need to repent for your sins.
And then you need to get baptized

in the name of Jesus, for
the forgiveness of your sins.

And number three -
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,

or getting baptized with the Holy Spirit.

So we repent from our sins
toward God.

Then we get baptized to Jesus Christ
and then we receive the Holy Spirit.

This is how it should be.

Let's read a longer place in the Bible,
where we can see a picture

of what repentance is.
Because repentance is more than

going from not believing to believing.
Repentance has to do with sin,

it has to do with turning away from sin,
it has to do with feeling sorry in your heart,

turning away, and changing your life.

"Put to death, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature:

sexual immorality, uncleanness, lust,
evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Because of these, the wrath of God
is coming.

...You used to walk in these ways,
in the life you once lived.

But now you must put them all away:
anger, wrath, malice, slander,

and filthy language from your lips...

...Do not lie to each other, since you have
taken off the old self with its practices

and put on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge

in the image of its Creator."
(Colossians 3:5-10)

This is amazing. What we read here
really describes what repentance is.

Repentance has to do with burying
the old life,

putting of the old life
and putting under the new life.

Repentance goes together
with baptism.

And here we see what it is.

We see sin and then we decide
to turn away from our sins.

We see things we have done,
that are not pleasing to God.

We've been living our own life.
We see sin in our life.

And then we say: I don't want
this old life anymore.

I want to turn away from this life.
I want to change my heart.

I want to give it over to God.
I want to turn away.

I want to give everything to God.

Repentance has to do with changing
your heart, when it comes to sin.

It has to do with hating sin,
as God hates sins.

When we repent and turn away
from our sins

God is going to come and do
something beautiful.

God is going to come and take out that
stone heart and give us a new heart of flesh.

He is going to write the law on our hearts.

Oh I remember when I believed
and repented.

Oh I remember how it changed
everything inside of me.

My conscience became new.
There were things before I have done,

I loved to do it, because I was used to do it.
I was doing it again, again, again and again,

and I did not feel in my conscience
it was wrong at that time

because I was so used to do it.

But when I saw sin, when I turned away
from sins, I got a new conscience.

I could not do what I did before.

I could not continue living in sin,
as I did before. Why?

That had to do with my old life.
That had to do with before God.

Now I got a new heart.
I wanted to please God with my life.

I wanted to live a new life.

1 John 3:5-6 is saying this:
"You know that he (Jesus)

appeared in order to take away sins,
and in Him (Jesus) there is no sin.

No one who abides in Him
keeps on sinning;

no one who keeps on sinning has either
seen Him or known Him."

This is very radical word we read here,
from John,

that when we abide in Him,
when we know Him, when we are in Him,

we don't keep on sinning.
We cannot.

Why?
Because we've got a new heart.

And then he continues here
in the next verse:

"Little children, let no one deceive you.

Whoever practices righteousness is righteous,
as he is righteous.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning
is of the devil,

for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning...

...That is the reason the Son of God appeared,
to destroy the works of the devil.

No one born of God makes a practice
of sinning, for God's seed abides in Him.

and He cannot keep on sinning,
because he is born of God." (1 John 3:7-9)

This is beautiful what we read here.

What we've read here is not just written
in the Bible, as being there.

It's real, like everything else.
It's the truth. And we can experience it.

It's not enough you hear about it,
read about it. You need to experience it.

You need to experience this new heart,
the seed of God inside of you,

so you cannot keep on sinning
the way you did before.

It's very radical text we read here,
and I want to say:

in the beginning, of course,
you will make mistakes.

You will fall because you need to learn
to walk this new life.

There is a difference between
learning to walk this life and fall,

and then continue willfully in sin.

Everyone who is truly born again
cannot continue living in willful sin.

As a newborn believer in the beginning
you can fall, but then you rise up again.

And then you do what 1 John 1:9
is saying:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins

and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."

This is also the truth,
what we've read here.

When you get the seed of God inside of you
you cannot go on sinning.

You cannot have a sinful lifestyle.

But in the beginning,
especially in the beginning,

you fall and you need to learn
to live this new life.

But then you confess your sins and
He's faithful and righteous to forgive you.

Some of you, when I talk about this new heart,
know what I'm talking about.

You have already experienced it.
You have experienced this new conscience,

where you cannot go on sinning,
like you did before.

You know what I'm talking about,
when I talk about the seed inside of us.

If you listen to me right now and
you don't know what I'm talking about,

you have not yet experienced this -
you are lost.

You are lost right now
if you don't repent...

...because you have not truly repented,

because if you truly repent and put
your faith in God

you will experience what I've just read.
You will experience this new life.

So this is where we start.
We start with recognizing our sins

and then we turn away from our sins.

But that is not all of it.
You also need to get baptized.

You need to get baptized.
We want to look a little what baptism is.

If we look at the word "baptized"
that is baptizó (βαπτίζω).

That means to dip, or to immerse.
Baptism is under water.

It's always under water. It's where you dip
under water or you immerse under water.

And not like it had become many places -
sprinkling of water.

I want to tell a little story about baptism,

when it comes to baptism
as sprinkling of water.

Jesus and His early disciples baptized
with full immersion.

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!