Title: Regenerating Faith, Changing Life (John 3...
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Reborn Faith, Changing Life (John 3:1-8) August 8, 1999
In the past week, our country has lost countless lives and property due to flood damage and typhoon damage caused by heavy rains in northern Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province, Gangwon Province, and many flood victims are suffering. This kind of suffering is being shared in many parts of Asia. On the other hand, in the United States, thousands of people have died from extreme heat and drought.
Unfortunately, humans do not have the ability to control history and time. Like a flood or a typhoon that is approaching, humans only have to face the coming history and time head-on.
The 21st century is coming. Humans are now entering a new century with half expectations and half concerns. While there are expectations or expectations that the development of science and technology will maximize the development of science and technology, and live a life that goes beyond human limits and imagination, there are also skeptical views that humanity and the Earth will face a disaster beyond imagination.
So, bizarre apocalyptic theories may be rampant. How will we face this new history and time? Shouldn't we be calmly preparing for this kairosian history and time that marks a new mark in human history?
Among the many predictions of the 21st century, it is worth pondering Andr Malraux's insight that "the 21st century will either be a spiritual century or it will not exist."
A newborn baby seeks milk because it is there. No one taught babies how to suckle, but sucking is instinctive.
When a person is thirsty and hungry, he seeks water and food because there is food and water. So Nicodemus came to the Lord.
Man's spiritual troubles and struggles longing for spiritual satisfaction have existed in all ages.
Nicodemus, who appears in today's text, was also a person who came to the Lord amidst such troubles and struggles. Unfortunately, there is no record in the Bible that he confessed that he believed in Jesus as Lord.
There have been many, are, and will continue to be people who long for spiritual gratification. Among them, there are those who meet the Lord and find true satisfaction, but like Nicodemus, there are those who do not get any change.
The question is, how can humans obtain eternal life and enter the kingdom of heaven? The Lord Himself reveals the way in the text, and the Lord said, "Unless you are born again of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God."
The Christian faith is the faith of change and the faith of being born again. Whereas traditional shamanism is a religion of ups and downs that seeks to receive blessings using God, how can I be renewed as a person of God in the Christian faith? It is the faith of change that seeks this.
Today's text emphasizes "belief that is born again, life that changes."
When Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a Pharisee, came to Jesus in the middle of the night, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was deeply impressed by the mysticism of Jesus’ words and miracles that he had performed so far, so he said to Jesus, “I believe that you are from God and that God is with you.” You are talking from the side.
Believing in Jesus is not just about knowing who Jesus is, but going one step further, we must be born again into the life of Jesus together with Jesus because we know Jesus and have received Jesus as our Savior.
What we can feel from the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is that Nicodemus had an accurate knowledge of Jesus and who Jesus was. We know that Jesus is from God and has the power of God.
I was also very impressed with the words of Jesus. Looking at the miracles of Jesus, I felt a certain sense of mystery.
But what Jesus expected of Nicodemus was not to have knowledge of Jesus, to feel through His words, or to be impressed.
He said that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The same is true of our situation today. Come to the Lord for an hour to worship. We sang a hymn of grace, and we sang a hymn ourselves. I prayed earnestly, heard the word of God, and was impressed, and I am feeling and realizing something in my heart. And return home. However, the life of faith should not end with this.
As much as I worshiped before the Lord for an hour, listened to the Word, sang hymns, and prayed, I must be born again, become a new person, and change. This is what Jesus expects of Nicodemus and of us today. So Jesus taught Nicodemus that he must be born again. To be born again means to be born again spiritually.
Just as our bodies are born in the bosom of our mother, there must be a day when our spirits are also born in the bosom of God. The day our spirits are reborn in God's bosom is called the day of being born again or the day of change. When these changes occur, you become a new person and become a person of God.
Our flesh has a lifespan. Someday you will die. But our spirit, born again in the Holy Spirit, lives forever with God in the kingdom of God. But that new life becomes the present life that is always possible in the Holy Spirit. Those who experience this kind of rebirth and have confidence become a new person.
Jesus said that unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Here, water baptism means repentance and forgiveness of sins, which is the death of life through the flesh. means to get
Thus, the reborn life is not a continuation of the old life, but a completely new life, as true as light and free as wind.
Different people have different ways of living, and they can be broadly classified into two types:
One type of people are people who live by trust. These are the so-called fatalists. That is why people artificially manipulate the date and time of their birth.
Another class of people are those who live by creating their own destiny. These people live by strong faith or beliefs. So, in many fatalistic philosophies, there must be an exception, and that is belief.
However, there is a task that must be met by those who live by faith. It is a clearing of the past. Because you cannot start a new life without clearing the past.
That is why Jesus also commanded the mother that a new age has arrived, so we must clear up the past and set up a new attitude of life suitable for the new age.
Religion is going through the stage of repentance to the stage of faith. Repentance means breaking free from the past, and faith means leaping toward the future. Only through the process of repentance can the future look clear and hopeful, and faith can deepen and grow.
The escape from the past is called the Exodus, and the leap to the future is called the Resurrection. True religion lies between the escape from the past and the resurrection event. Only escape from the past can prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God, and therefore Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, that is, to clear the past.
To repent means to forsake oneself. French writer Andr Gide. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was fascinated by the old water lily that gave a rosy vision to all European intellectuals, and went on a trip to the Soviet Union, completely forgetting Christ. However, every time he went, what he saw and felt was only so disappointing. In his work, "The Return of the Prodigal Son," he left these words while addressing the issue of repentance.
The prodigal son, with big dreams, along with his colleagues, declared independence and freedom from his father's foundation. However, his independence and freedom have reduced him to a life of pig-eaten nuts. He rediscovered his father's existence at the bottom of life's gutter and confessed his existence.
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. From now on I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Please make me a servant" (Luke 15:19).
Repentance is abandoning oneself. Sinners cannot be saved without the courage to forsake themselves. Gaining Christ and acknowledging that I am in Christ should be the reason for my life. A person who cannot give up his attachment to the past cannot be reborn as a new person. The thing that gives people the greatest joy is seeing themselves change into a new form every day. In terms of health and mindset, it is so joyful and moving to see a more mature self rather than the former self. It is the happiest thing to be born as a new creature every day. And above all, the good thing is to love people.
If we are born again, what specific changes will there be?
There is a change in thinking, and there is a change in attitude. The German philosopher Kant said, "The human brain is like paper, and depending on what it contains, it can be either a triangle or a square."
A person's personality and life are determined by what he or she thinks and embraces. What does it mean to be born again? Today, we live with the heart of Jesus Christ in our hearts. It also specifically changes your life. To say that there is a change in life means a change in values, and it is a change in values for success.
Everyone wants to be successful. Most people think that success is in possession. But when you are born again through Jesus Christ, you discover that success lies in giving, not in possessing. You discover that you are contributing. It changes from "owning values" to "contributive values".
When you are born again in Jesus Christ, your attitude in life changes from being obsessed with possessions to sharing, contributing, serving, and loving. There must be such a rebirth.
Also, life is changed by the power of Jesus Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
A new creation, a new thing is made possible in Jesus Christ. When people come to their senses, everyone makes these promises to live a new life, to change, and to start anew, but things don't work out the way they want them to. It is very difficult to get rid of bad habits and bad values of the past.
When the power of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit work in us, we can make new decisions, make a new start, and live a life of change.
Dear saints,
During this time of worship, I hope that you will receive the Lord deeply in your heart and that the Lord will be the master of your life. The Lord regenerates you, makes you a new person, and gives you new power and new strength.
I hope you will live a week with the power of the Lord. I pray that God's grace and blessings be with you all who continue to march toward a born-again life.