Sunday, 30th March 2014
Rev Daniel Poon
in John 3:1-9 (NIV), it talks about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
Nicodemus was a well-respected teacher, but he humbled himself to come to Jesus, a carpenter, and asked the meaning of “born again”. Jesus knew Nicodemus would not completely understand, so He said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8)
It’s just like asking an Engineer how the spaceship was made. No matter how deeply the Engineer explained, it will not be possible for us to understand fully on the spot – it takes time. So what is going to happen when we are born again? Rev Daniel shared some indicators with us today, about being born again:
1. Face Spiritual Warfare (Romans 7:25a) – everyday we are facing challenges and the world is always dragging us to make the wrong choices; we should stand firm and believe that God will help us to the end.
2. Have a Deep Affection for God (Romans 8:15) – when we are born again, we become the sons and daughters of Abba Father, therefore it’s important for us to build a closer relationship with Him, like how a child loves his mother; we should do our very best to please Him, treat Him as how we would treat a VIP!
3. Hunger for Spiritual Food (Matthew 4:4) – we need the Spiritual Food! This is what feeds us and makes us grow bigger, healthier and stronger in faith; we should read the Bible and pray to God EVERYDAY, and He will give us enough strength to face the challenges everyday.
4. Love the Lord’s Work (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) – Jesus gave us the big commandment to preach the Gospel to the unbelievers; He has already loved us so we should let others also experience this love!