Born Again

By Odon Bulamba (summary only - 13-27th April, 2001)

(John 3:1-10)

Nicodemus was a man, it is man that needs salvation, not an animal or a plant. He was someone highly respected, he had learnt the law and theology and everybody feared him and called him master. Nicodemus was one of the Sanhedrin who were Pharisees that wanted to stick to God’s law but forgot God’s presence in that law. They would know to get drunk was a sin but would get drunk. They could apply the law to the life of others but not to their own. Nicodemus was a very highly educated man because he would teach people God’s law and he was famous in God’s knowledge. But when he met Jesus, he was called master but he accepted to humble himself and become a student to learn.

Each one of us must submit ourselves to learn. You might have 100 years experience but you still need to learn. No body knows the Bible from the beginning to the end. Nicodemus was about to see water and accepted to humble himself and he learnt. He knew if he refused, he would waste time on earth and wouldn’t inherit the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees but he put aside his doctrine and went to meet the Lord. He knew that people might talk but he put aside all of that. That can happen also to us as Christians, maybe people talk about us because we don’t drink or because we don’t laugh at dirty jokes or join in with gossip. It’s a shame to be called a Christian and some people want to hide their Christianity

Nicodemus humbled himself and put aside his authority and we must do the same. To be born again, we must humble ourselves to go to Jesus. Nicodemus studied the Bible a lot but said to Jesus, you are Rabbi.

Nicodemus went to meet Jesus at night. Night represents sin and so Nicodemus was still in sin, which is the best time for people to meet their saviour. When we are in darkness, we need light. Light can help us to see clearly.

Jesus talked to him of new Birth. What do we need to be born? We must be conceived. Jesus is the husband and the church is the wife (Eph 5). I Cor says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to conceive and keep the pregnancy for a time and after that there will be a birth. Pregnancy makes you feel weak and tired but when the child is born there is joy for everyone. We can conceive sin and let it grow or we can conceive what is good for God and let that grow. It is a decision.

We can also bring birth to new Christians but before they can be born there must be a pregnancy and while you are pregnant everything you eat will feed the child. When we read the Bible we feed what is inside of us.

When a woman is pregnant, if she is not careful she can transmit diseases before the child is born. Spiritually it is the same, if your body is not mindful of the spirit inside, it might transmit sickness spiritually. If my body doesn’t want to read the Bible or to pray my spirit will be weak and all the lives of those children will be weak because the mother hasn’t fed them properly in the womb.

Jesus asked Nicodemus was he ready for birth, “are you ready to come to this point and be called a spiritual baby?” If a child is not born, he is not even called a baby. A child that is inside the womb will leave the mother at some stage and this is decided by God. When the child is born there is pain.

When we receive the Word of God we are touched and there is pain, we feel we are losing strength, control and even our faith. We feel condemned. It’s a time we regret the past and realise all that we did before had no meaning and some people cry; this is the new birth.

Nicodemus said, “What shall I do? Jesus answered in verse 5 & 6, to be born again requires the spirit and the water. What does it mean?

John 4:13-15, Isaiah 12. With joy we will find water and get salvation. To reach salvation must have faith
- to believe all that the word of God says
- to believe that eternal life exists
- to believe that we will be judged one day
- to believe Jesus Christ died for our sins
- to believe that we are not aloud to sin

No body teaches a baby to suckle, the mother gives the milk and the child moves its mouth without being taught. This is the same with spiritual food, we don’t wait for God to come down out of heaven to read us the Bible.

Ephesians 5: 26&27; water represents the word of God which can clean our hearts. When a mum has a child she bathes it because the child is really dirty. This water (that is the Word of God) comes from a source and runs. The water of God is pure. The Word of God has divine power and this makes the Word living water.

John 6:63, you’ll find life in the Word of God. If you need the Spirit of God, come to the Word of God, which is God Himself (John 1). “I am the life,” John 14:6. John 17:17, this word is truth. Jesus Himself who is the word, is the truth and is also the bread of life, John 6:5. If Jesus is the bread of life, do we eat or not. We need to read and understand the Bible and put it into practise. When you don’t understand, just ask Jesus as Nicodemus asked, “how can I be born again”.

I Kings 17:1-6, Elijah was a man just like you and me. The only difference between him and others was the Spirit of God. The Word is Spirit and life. Elijah was a great man in God’s eyes. Doesn’t mean that there weren’t other servants of God or others praying but they didn’t know God’s will.

Many Christians suffer from hunger and are going through the desert. They can read but not understand and they can pray but never hear the answer. Elijah drank from a brook. A brook is a small stream of water that runs continually. Jesus is the source of life and when He gives water it runs forever and you will never thirst again.

The ravens would bring him bread (Jesus is the bread of life). Jesus was with Elijah on the mountain at transfiguration. The ravens also brought meat, which is means to do the will of God, John 4:32,34. Elijah fed alone and we too must find a hidden place, as salvation is personal. You will be judged alone. Mathew 7:7, if you don’t seek but wait for people to bring it to you, you will never enter the kingdom of God.

If you aren’t born again you can’t enter the kingdom of God. You can sing, and praise but unless you are born again you can’t enter God’s Kingdom. Nicodemus knew the theology but he would not enter the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus asked, “how can I go back into my mother’s womb?” Nicodemus could have thought, what will people think if I ask this question because I’m an adult. Many people lie to themselves thinking that they know everything because they want to impress everybody. People perish because of lack of knowledge. We must ask questions to discover more.

SUMMARY

So those who are not born again, you must find new birth to enter the Kingdom of God and if you don’t know how to do this then please ask someone and especially ask God. Those who have the second birth already, you must now help others to be born again. You must work hard as a pregnant mother works hard to help those around you. You must carry them, you must feed them, and you will suffer (in prayer and fasting and sacrificing your time for them) until that day when they will be born and then there will be joy. Once they are born you must help them by washing them in the water of life and feeding them the milk (Word of God) and you will be an example for them just as a mother is an example for her baby.

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