John K. Jenkins Sr - Have You Been Born Again?

I want to talk about the third chapter of John . Any serious student of the Bible would recognize that this is probably one of the most important chapters in the whole Bible because contained within it is the revelation that Jesus gives us about what it takes for us to have a relationship with God and to make it into heaven. In this chapter, a young man, a religious man who was a leader of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, comes and talks to Jesus one night. I hope you don't mind if I call Nicodemus "Nick." You all are supposed to say, "Go ahead, Pastor, call him Nick."

Nick was a Pharisee, a religious sect of people who were basically called " the separated ones." They were people who viewed themselves as so holy and righteous that they separated themselves from everybody else. They believed in obeying the law to the letter and were very strict. The Pharisees believed they ought to obey the law meticulously; they dotted every "i" and crossed every "t." They believed in the Old Testament and in the coming of the Messiah. They embraced miracles , angels, and the resurrection of the dead, as well as the fact that we would have to stand before God. They believed in what Moses said, but the cornerstone of their belief was the strict observance of the law . They kept the law to the best of their ability.

Nicodemus was not only a Pharisee , but he was also one of their leaders. That 's why it's interesting that one night, Nick decided he wanted to talk with Jesus . So, late one evening , this religious person, who adhered to the strictest standards of religiosity, made his way to have a conversation with Jesus. It was at night because he didn't want anyone else to know he was coming. After all, the Pharisees had it all together; why would he be talking to that religious man, that evangelist, that outsider named Jesus? He came to Jesus for a secret meeting because deep down, Nick knew something that many of you recognize: religion does not satisfy your inward yearning and hunger .

He came to Jesus because he had come to grips with the reality that all of the things he was doing - dotting every "i," crossing every "t," and keeping all the laws-were not satisfying his inward yearning . So he came to Jesus and said to him, "Rabbi, preacher , Pastor, Reverend, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God because nobody can do the things you're doing unless God is with him ." Now, that's an interesting observation. He comes to Jesus and says, "We know you must be from God because you can only do what you're doing by virtue of God being with you."

What amazes me is that Jesus responds to this man by answering a question before he even asks. As a matter of fact, I have three points for you regarding the matter of being born again. That 's what I want to talk about. I'm asking you today: Have you been born again? This discussion that Jesus has with Nick spirals into the topic of being born again. I wanted to talk about this because there are many people in church who have never been born again , or they've had a religious experience-a mere emotional encounter-but they haven't truly been born again. If you want to make it to heaven and have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ , you must be born again.

As a matter of fact, I have three points for you about this. The first one is regeneration. Somebody say "regeneration!" Yeah, hang with me for just a few moments .

In the first eight verses of chapter three, Jesus discusses regeneration when he speaks to Nick. He says , "Most assuredly , I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Isn't that interesting? He states right in verse three that if you're not born again , you can't even see the kingdom of heaven. I learned , after many discussions and attempts to get people to understand, that people won't comprehend the things of God until they've been born again .

When I pastored in King George, I occasionally spent hours on the phone and in conversations with people, trying to help them see the importance of fasting, praying, and tithing- various aspects of Scripture. But no matter what I did , there were certain people I could not get to understand or embrace these ideas. Finally, God made me realize that the reason they didn't understand was that they had not been born again. When you get born again , God gives you a new perspective on life.

When you are born again, everything changes. What used to be just a historical book suddenly becomes alive. The words leap off the pages, and you begin to feel it speak to you; previously, it was merely history. So, if you want to be born again , if you want to see the kingdom , you must be born again .