Greetings in the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I have been writing on this message for 18 plus years and, just recently, God has been dealing with me about Church unity. In the beginning God intended for us to be unified, one, Philippians 2:2, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." and First Corinthians 1:10, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Acts 11:26, "And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." This word Christian simply means "follower of Christ." The present day followers of Christ, Christians, are scattered and no two factions of Christianity believe the same. Try to imagine when the armed forces of any country go into battle what would happen if their naval, air and ground forces all went in to battle with a different plan totally separate from each other as Christians are doing today. One faction will witness to someone to become a Christian and tell them one thing and then another faction tells them another and then another faction another, on and on and on. When people see no unity in Christianity they get discouraged and seek many varied and diverse answers to their spiritual needs, but God never intended for us to be divided.

I was confirmed in the Methodist Church in 1952, walked the aisle of a Church of Christ in 1958 and walked the aisle of a large charismatic church in 1980, but I was not born again until October the 18th, 1983 at three pm and since that time I have cried out to God on a variety of subjects and asked Him "why." God loves to answer questions and I have kept Him quite busy in the last 19 plus years answering my questions. I feel like anytime God reveals something to us, He wants us to share what He reveals to us with anyone that will listen and I would like to take this opportunity to share what He has taught me with you and see if we, as Christian’s, can find a way to come into one accord on being born again and becoming a Christian.

Over the years I have heard many versions of being born again and mine is based on my testimony and the Word of God. Revelation 12:11, "And they [the brethren] overcame him [satan] by the blood of the Lamb [Jesus], and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Our testimony is very important to help others overcome the works of the devil when we combine it with the works of the cross and the Word of God. First John 3:8, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 

On October the eighteenth 1983 at 3 pm, I knew for a fact that I was a different person, because I was a sinner for 43 years and I used to be very unhappy if I didn't get to sin and I would even brag about my sins. After I was born again I would tell people I was born again and they would just look at me and say, "What about all that stuff you did?" I didn't know, but I knew I was born again. What happened when I was born again to make me know I was different?

"The Parable of the Sower" is found in Matthew 13:3-9 & 18-23, Mark 4:3-9 & 14-20 and Luke 8:5-8 & 11-15. We are going to use Mark 4:14-20 as the scripture basis to illustrate the born again process.

Mark 4:1-20, "And He [Jesus] began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto Him a great multitude, so that He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

And He said unto them, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

There are four stages of spiritual awareness in the parable of the sower. We see in verse fourteen that the sower soweth the Word. The sower can be any medium that God chooses to show you the truth of His Word such as, the Bible, a preacher, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, a donkey [Numbers 22:21-35], me, you, etc.

Stage one is found in verse 15, "And these are they by the wayside, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts."

Stage two, verses 16 & 17, "And these are they likewise which are sown on stoney ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended."

Stage three, verses 18 & 19, "And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful."

Stage four, verse 20, "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

As I look back over the spiritual course that my life has taken it fits into the parable of the sower quite well. I entered "stage one" when I was "confirmed" in the Methodist church at the age of twelve and I can remember feeling grown-up for the first time as we went through a time of preparation before our confirmation. But, just like Mark 4:14-15 says, satan came immediately and stole the Word out of my heart. I remember in Sunday school that we would tear the little decorative balls off the window shades and throw them at each other and "cutting" Sunday school to ride around in the city park where we lived.

I entered "stage two" when I was 18 and was attending my Aunt Benny Lynn's Church of Christ. We were having a "revival" and had an evangelist conducting the services. I don't remember what he was preaching, but it was powerful enough to get somebody that intensely disliked getting up in front of a small group to walk down a church aisle in a crowd of about 200 and be baptized that same night. I can remember going through about a year of "being good" which was a turn about for a boy of eighteen that had been arrested four times and had his drivers license suspended. But, I never read a Bible, didn't attend Sunday school and probably didn't attend church real regularly and like Mark 4:16 & 17 says, I received the Word with gladness, but I had no roots and endured but for a time.

During the next 22 years I had two experiences that stand out in my mind that made me cry out to God. The first was in 1973 when I did something that was totally out of character for me. [I feel like the churches of today make way too much out of public confession. If you sin against a person, confess to that person. If you sin against the church, confess to the church. And if you sin against God, confess to God. This was a sin against God and He has forgiven me and the only way I will confess my sins to you is if I feel like that is what God wants me to do for your benefit.] I cried out to God and asked Him why, why God, why! I have since learned that God has big ears to match His heart and is constantly listening for a repentant heart. He heard my cry and at that moment put the wheels in motion to answer my question, but unfortunately, because of me, not Him, it took 14 years.

Another thing that made me cry out to God concerned my son in 1974 when I decided to start jogging. I hadn't exercised at all in about 10 years and got extremely sore and every evening after supper I would take a walk to try to work out the soreness from jogging and this day my son, Michael, who was about two and could easily keep up with me, was walking with me. I looked over and noticed that he was trying to put his finger in his pants pocket just like I had mine in my pants pocket and I immediately cried out to God and said "Oh no Lord! He wants to be like me!" I didn't want him to grow up to be like me.

Twenty-two years after I had walked down the aisle at the Church of Christ I entered "stage three" as God began to draw me to Him. I was getting my hair cut and the young lady that was cutting my hair had a MasterCard sign that said let the Master take charge of your life. I asked her where she went to church and decided to attend the next Sunday. I was not attracted by her, but her boldness for Jesus and I feel like God used this to draw me closer to Him.

The church she attended was a very large charismatic church of about 4,000. I sat toward the back and when the pastor invited anyone that didn't know what would happen to them if they died in the next ten seconds to raise their hand for prayer, I did, because I didn't know. He asked us to stand and I didn't, because I don't like getting up in front of a lot of people. When he asked us to step out in the aisle and come down front I was not about to with all those people. An usher came over and encouraged me and I reluctantly went down front. I don't remember a word the pastor said because of being so self-conscious. We all had a counselor and went to an enclosed area in the corner of the church and as we talked I told my counselor that I felt like I needed to do this every Sunday. He told me that God forgives sin, First John 1:9. We will find out as we go along that he was telling me a half-truth, because First John 1:9 wasn’t applicable in my relationship with God at this point. I needed to know Romans 3:23-25, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [an atoning victim] through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" and Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I still needed to be born again.

I bought a necklace with a cross and two Bibles I never read, one to carry to church and another for the coffee table and took notes in church that I never studied and also bought two wall plaques with Jesus on them when I found out someone had committed suicide in my house, but I still continued to enjoy fornication, drinking, clubbing and anything else I had always done. First Corinthians 6:9-10, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God." I was on that list more than once and just like Mark 4:18-19 says, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in choked the Word and it became unfruitful.

I was in the same condition as the man in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name? And in thy Name cast out devils? And in thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Note: As we read the Bible from the book of Romans through Jude we see where there is much teaching exhorting Christians not to do everything that is on the list from First Corinthians 6:9-10. We will find that we are in a battle, a wrestling match, warfare and that we must contend for our faith and sometimes we lose a battle and we must, as a body, realize this and fulfill Galatians 6:1-3, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in a spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." Generally, if you are happy sinning you haven’t been born again.

During the next three years I would usually attend church on Wednesday or Sunday night and when they would give the altar call I would raise my hand when they asked if you were saved, but I knew in my heart that I was still lost. I would be driving on the freeway by the church on Sunday morning on my way home from spending the night with my girlfriend and I could feel the Lord drawing me to stop and go to church. I know a lot of you probably don't believe that, but I could feel Him drawing me. John 6:44, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." He's an all forgiving God of unconditional love and He had seen me step into the aisle at the charismatic church and He knew I was sincerely seeking Him.

I was attending church one Sunday night in July of 1983 and the preacher made the statement during the course of the evening that God would turn His back on somebody if they weren't careful. I remember leaving that evening and walking to my car with my head down and knowing that was what had happened to me. I now know better! Praise God forever! All I had to do was turn around. I had my back turned to Him and had been looking for love in all the wrong places and was afraid I would miss out on something the world has to offer. The next Wednesday night I decided to try it one more time since I didn't have anything better to do and he did a complete turn about and preached on the armor of God as found in Ephesians 6:10-18,

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

I often wondered whether the preachers wife or the Holy Ghost got on him about the earlier sermon and he was trying to make up for it [I now realize that God had him preach both sermons just for me], but it was exactly what I needed to hear and I had never dreamed God had armor for us. In the next three months I can't say I really prayed, because I didn't know how, but I know I talked at Him a whole lot and He must have heard me, because He began to make a way for me to become His child so He could take over my life.

On October the 18th, 1983, at 3 pm as I stood in front of a sink at my place of employment in the laboratory of the Exxon refinery in Baytown, Texas I determined in my heart to do things God's way and at that instant I was born again and entered "stage four" of the parable of the sower. At that instant Second Corinthians 5:17 became reality, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Romans 2:4 also became reality, "Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"

Like I said earlier, on October the eighteenth 1983 at 3 pm, I knew for a fact that I was a different person, because I had been a sinner for 43 years and I used to be very unhappy if I didn't get to sin and I would even brag about my sins. After I was born again I would tell people I was born again and they would just look at me and say, "What about all that stuff you did?" I didn't know, but I knew I was born again. What happened when I was born again to make me know I was different? I didn't know what had happened but just like a gust of wind will blow your hat off I knew I was changed.

John 3:1-8, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with Him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn't understand this and in verse four he says, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" The word Jesus was using that was translated "born", is from the Greek word "gennao" and it means, "to procreate (properly of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively to regenerate:-bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring."

It was a single word that contained the three-fold process of the natural physical birth, conception, development, and delivery. To Nicodemus Jesus was literally saying that he had to be physically born again and in verses 5 and 6 Jesus explains, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Jesus was telling Nicodemus that we all have to be born of the flesh, or a natural birth, plus we all must be born of the Spirit, or a spiritual birth.

The people in the parable of the sower are people that are receiving the Word, but three out of every four don't listen and are never born again and stay in the developmental stage. Matthew 7:14, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." I was spiritually conceived sometime in my childhood in the Methodist church and then went through a long spiritual pregnancy or developmental stage and after a twenty-eight year pregnancy, the labor pains really began in 1980 when I stepped into the aisle at the charismatic church. Delivery took place on October 18, 1983 at 3 pm as I stood in front of a sink at my place of employment at the Exxon Baytown Refinery Laboratory in Baytown, Texas. My obstetrician was the Holy Spirit, my pediatrician was Jesus-The Word of God, and the proud Papa was my heavenly Father and all of a sudden I had a whole host of brothers and sisters.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that you had to be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God. There is no way God could have shown me His Kingdom and I understand it and function within it, without being born again and that is why Nicodemus did not understand and the world won't listen to us, they have never determined to do things God’s way and been born again. First John 4:6, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

John 3:9-12, "Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?"

First Corinthians 1:30, "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom." Wisdom is the first piece of God’s Starter Kit by Jesus and is what Nicodemus needed and how I could begin to read my Bible and begin to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Colossians 1:9, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in all good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God."

James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [rebukes] not; and it shall be given him." Don't be afraid to ask for wisdom, because God's way is the best way and might not be what we want to hear, but it is still the best way.

I am now going to include a prayer based on the Living Bible version of Ephesians 1:16-21 and Ephesians 3:14-21. Pray this prayer over yourself and if you don’t pray for yourself, sometimes nobody will or they may not know how to pray for you. You can pray this prayer over yourself or anyone else you choose and it can be individuals, groups, churches or all Christians everywhere.

Dear Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ I ask that you give_____ wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all He has done for us. I pray that_____ heart will be flooded with light, so that ____ can see something of the future you have called ____ to share. Let ____ realize that you have been made rich, because we who are Christ’s have been given to you. I pray that ____ will begin to understand how incredibly great your power is to help those that believe you. It is that same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at your right hand in Heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader or satan. I pray, Heavenly Father that you will give______ the mighty inner strengthening of your Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in ______ heart, living within ____ as ____ trust in Him. May ____ roots go down deep into the soil of your marvelous love, and may _____ be able to feel and understand, as all your children should, how long, how wide, how deep and how high your love really is and to experience this love for _____self. Though it is so great that ____ will never see the end of it or know or understand it. And so at last _____ will be filled up with God Himself. Now glory be to God, Who by His mighty power at work within us, is able to do far more than we would dare to even ask or even dream of. Amen.

I tried three times to become a child of God by joining churches. I have heard church after church give an altar call and tell people to make Jesus the Lord of their life or to give their heart to Jesus. What did I do that caused me to know I was born again? In the book of Mark the first words Jesus speaks are in 1:15, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel." Acts 20:21, "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Peter spoke by the inspiration of God in Acts 2:38. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." We will talk extensively about the difference between repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ throughout this message. There is a difference and it is very, very, very important that we know the difference.

I had repented. I didn't know that I was repenting, but that is what I did and I had to repent to be born again. It starts with repentance!! God’s Starter Kit by Jesus starts with repentance. Second Corinthians 7:10, "For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death." This was repentance to salvation and I would never have to repent of my past life again. There are two kinds of repentance. The word repented in Second Corinthians 7:10 is the Greek word "ametameletos", which means "irrevocable: without repentance, not to be repented of." and the word repentance in this same scripture is the Greek word "metanoia", which means "for guilt, including reformation; by implication, reversal of decision:-repentance." I had to first "ametameletos" and then I could take First John 1:9 and "metanoia." "Metanoia" is an ongoing process that every Christian must do and we will discuss it in the renewing or transforming of the mind.

When we are spiritually delivered or born again, we are delivered out of satan's kingdom into the Kingdom of God. Colossians 1:12-13, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet [worthy] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." I am continually amazed that I am born again and I thank God for delivering me out of satan's kingdom and making me worthy by the works of the cross, God’s Starter Kit by Jesus, and now I was ready to use First John 1:8-10 and "metanoia", "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."

Second Corinthians 5:17-18, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God." Romans 6:6-11, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we also live with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord." First Peter 2:24, "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness." I had become dead to sin and no longer wanted to sin. Before I was born again I purposed in my heart to sin and I was disappointed if I didn't sin, but after I was born again I purposed in my heart to serve God and I am disappointed when I do sin and immediately cry out to God and ask Him to help me through First John 1:8-10.

The change I experienced was because of what Jesus did, not because of anything I did. Ephesians 2:1-10, "And you hath He quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins, Wherein in time past you walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved,) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God before ordained that we should walk in them."

Many people are waiting to get "good" before they come to God and as long as we are willing to change God will help us be "good." We feel different because we have been delivered into God’s Kingdom from satan’s kingdom by the works of the cross and become dead to sin.

In my born again experience there were three key things that had to take place for the miracle to take place:

Special note to people that belong to, or were raised around a religion that does not believe Jesus was the Son of God: Just do one and two or just one and keep reading.

One, I had determined in my heart to do things God's way. I didn't know what that entailed, but I was ready for Him to take over because I had failed all my life. To some in the world I may have been considered a success, but you can never truly succeed without doing things God’s way.

Two, I had to want to change. I was tired of doing things my way.

Three, I had believed in Jesus all my life. That He was crucified, buried and resurrected.

I once heard the testimony of a Muslim that said when he was in high school that everyone knew he was a Muslim, but he couldn’t remember anyone that was vocal about being a Christian. No one witnessed to him. After graduating from high school he met some Christians and they invited him to church. The main reason he went was that he liked one of the girls. He went to church there occasionally and was impressed with their obvious love and concern for him and others. He began to wrestle with his beliefs and he said he was in bed preparing to go to sleep one night and asked God to show him the truth. He was born again when he told God that he was ready to do things God’s way. Acts 20:21, "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Once he determined to do things God’s way then God could take over and make him His child. That is what happened when I was seeking Him and was finally born again after determining to do things God’s way on October 18, 1983 at 3 PM and then began to make Jesus my Lord.

Onward past repentance as Hebrews 6:1 says, "let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works." Let’s see if we can understand the difference between repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

One day I was reading the Bible and got to the book of Revelation. I would usually practice my speed reading when I read Revelation, because I didn't understand much of the book. As I was reading in Revelation 19, verses 11-16 the Holy Ghost showed me something that changed the way I read the Bible. John is describing what he is seeing. "And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns, and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: And His Name was called The Word of God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: And He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

I suddenly realized that my Lord was literally The Word of God almost three years after I had repented and been born again. Up until that day I would tell people that I had Jesus in my heart and that Jesus was my Lord, but I really didn't know what it meant. When I realized who Jesus is the Bible took on a new importance and became a solution to anything as long as I would believe. I could then take Romans 10:9-11, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.", and use this scripture to claim God’s promises in His Word. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Word of God and shalt believe it in thine heart for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Salvation is the Greek word's "soteria" and "soterion" and is different from born again, "gennao." The combination of the meanings is rescue or safety (physically or morally):-deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. Defender or by implication defense:-salvation. Salvation is more than being born again, it is learning how to defend ourselves against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-13, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.", is the salvation we obtain through God’s armor.

John 6:53-58, "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread that came down from Heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever."

These passages of scripture never made sense to me until I realized that Jesus was The Word of God. He was telling them that they had to consume the Word of God until it becomes a part of them and then live and breath the Word of God-Jesus. Now I could tell people that I had Jesus in my heart and that Jesus was the Lord of my life and realize that this meant that I had the Word of God in my heart and that whatever the Word of God said was what I should be doing. If I truly wanted a solution to a problem I could find it in the Word of God.

John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him [The Word of God]; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." Hebrews 11:2, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." God and Jesus-The Father and the Son are the same-The Word of God. John 1:4, "In Him [The Word] was life and the life was the light of men." John 1:12, "But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name [Jesus-The Word Of God]." John 1:14, "And the Word [Jesus] was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus], that whosoever believeth in Him [The Word of God] should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." Sometimes we will read something in the Word and then feel condemned, but the Word of God was not given to us to condemn us, but to save us.

Luke 12:8-9, Jesus speaking, "Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess Me [the Word of God] before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denieth Me [The Word of God] before men shall be denied before the angels of God." We need to be careful what we choose to believe. If part of the Word of God doesn't suit our lifestyle or doesn't line up with what we have been taught, many times, we are quick to try to find a church or teaching that does, but we need to have what we believe line up with the Word of God and when we are studying spiritual things we must make sure the conclusions we reach are based on the Word of God. If the message we hear or read doesn't line up with the Word, discount it. Romans 10:17, "So then faith [what we put our trust in] cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 tells us that God cannot lie. If He wrote it, believe it.

Second Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

I was talking to a lady one day and I made the statement that we must have absolutes in our lives and that was one of the reasons I liked the Bible because it had absolutes that you could depend on. She then made the statement that an absolute is subject to interpretation and that is true, but that will never change the absolute. We can argue an absolute from now until never and the absolute will always be an absolute. The Word of God will remain forever and Jesus said in Matthew 24:31, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33, "Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away." Don't be afraid to stand on the Word of God. Acts 1:2, talking about Jesus, "Until the day He was taken up, after that, He through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen." Remember, all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and Second Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

The reason that God teaches us through His Word is so that we can become perfect. Perfect! What do you mean perfect? Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." The perfect, "artios", in Second Timothy 3:17, is complete, sufficient, completely qualified, one with all the parts which are complete, whole, what they are supposed to be so that they might serve their destined purpose. The perfect in Matthew is "telelos", adult, full-grown, of full age as opposed to little children, mature. Perfect in the Biblical sense just simply means to be able to see the Kingdom of God the way God sees it and the Bible is our window to the spiritual realm so that we can see everything that is happening in the invisible [to us] world around us from God’s vantage point through His Word. He wants us to be able to see what He sees so that we can become one and be united against our only enemy, the devil. As we go along we will be able to see more and more of the spiritual realm.

The Bible teaches us in 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world [satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Mark 4:14-15, "The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." I can remember before I was born again going to church and being amazed that I could never tell you what was said afterwards. I also know that until we, as born again Christians, get light on a subject we can be blinded on any subject and we will study this closer when we get to faith. We need to ask God to open our understanding like He did for the disciples in Luke 24:45, "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures."

Jesus is telling His disciples in Matthew 18:18, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven." Hebrews 1:14, speaking of angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Anytime you begin to have difficulty reading or understanding what is written here bind the devil in the Name of Jesus from hindering you from learning what God wants you to learn and loose your ministering angels to go forth in the Name of Jesus to keep anything from hindering you from learning what God wants you to learn.

Dear Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus I thank you for your Word which tells us that whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. Dear Heavenly Father we now bind the devil from blinding our minds to the truth of your Word and from stealing it out of our hearts and we loose angels to go forth and minister in our behalf to keep anything from hindering us from learning what you are trying to teach us through your Word. We thank you for your Word and ask that you open our understanding to be able to grow to be perfect as you are perfect.

Second Timothy 2:19-21, "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet [worthy] for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work." Iniquity is the Greek word, "adikia", moral wrongfulness (of character, life or act):-iniquity, unjust, unrighteousness, wrong.]

To be a vessel of honor we must learn to overcome. First John 2:14, "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Overcome, "nikao", to subdue (lit. or fig.) conquer, overcome, prevail, to get the victory. Romans 8:37 says, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him [Jesus-The Word of God] that loved us." We must be born again [gennao] to learn to overcome [nikao] and obtain salvation [soteria and soterion] and become worthy for the Master’s use.

We must endeavor to learn all we can about the spiritual realm so that we can be worthy to fulfill the great commission that is found in Mark 16:15-18, "And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." We must know everything we can about what God did for us at Calvary so we can be effective ambassadors for Jesus.

Second Corinthians 5:18-20, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us [We will find out later that God is now in us just like He was in Christ] the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Once we learn to overcome and become a vessel worthy for the Master's use we then become ambassadors for Christ and fulfill the great commission and begin to lay up treasure in Heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Our treasure in Heaven will be the saints of God we have prayed for, witnessed to or in some way helped them obtain salvation.