Being born again means, we are changed instantly by God.
A young man told me he walked out on his back porch and "something happened."
A woman, who was a long time drunk, said one day "something happened" and she had a great desire to read the Bible after that happened. She told her husband she was going to quit drinking. He didn't believe her because he'd heard her say that before. But this time the power of God was in her to enable her to do those things she could not do before.
In my case, the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me: "Joan ... you know those mistakes you've been making all these years? Those weren't mistakes. Those were sins."
After I heard the word of God, by the Spirit of God, I believed and was instantly changed by God.
I read a portion of Bible (Deut. 18:9-12) to my mother one day and she thought about that which I read to her and she said, "Well ... I guess we'd better not do that anymore." And instantly she was changed by God.
My uncle wrote to me and said: "Your mother is changed. She is really changed."
My dad was born again instantly by God when he was in his 70's. All of a sudden he wanted to go to church.
Jesus said to Peter: Mt. 16:17 Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
It is not that we learn things and change. We are instantly changed by God and are given the Holy Spirit to live in us.
No man can do this for himself. He can go forward at church and be baptized and do what they tell him to do to be a member of their church group, but he cannot change inwardly as those who are born of the Spirit of God change. Being born again is an act of God, not an act of the will of man.
Countless numbers are members of a church group, but few are born of the Spirit of God and changed instantly into completely new creatures by God HIMSELF.
Being born again is instant change caused by God and not by mental learning of man. And it is having the Spirit of God living inside of you now to lead you and guide you.
These statements will make no sense to the vast number of church goers who have not been born again by the Spirit of God.
They think we learn everything by acts of our own will, by reading the Bible.
But we cannot understand things of God by reading the Bible until we have been born again by God.
Jesus said: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3
Paul says they are: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (II Timothy 3:7)
But we cannot understand things of God by reading the Bible until we have been born again by God and have the Spirit of God in us to guide us and teach us. It is HIS Spirit causing us to change and to be recreated in the image of God.
The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23)
We cannot obtain these "gifts" by copying others who have these gifts. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are given by God and are not a learned thing but rather a part of the new creation which God causes us to be when HE lives in us.
I Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
When we were born as babies from our natural parents, we did nothing to cause ourselves to be born. Neither can we cause ourselves to be born again. We are children of God by the will of God and born of HIS Spirit and recreated by God in HIS image.
As Jesus was born of the Holy Ghost, we also are now born of the Holy Ghost when we are born again.
And as Jesus could hear from God the Father now we also can hear from God the Father by HIS Spirit who now lives in us.
As we inherit traits from our natural parents, now we inherit HIS characteristics by being born of HIS Spirit.
We are changed by God and we are no longer like that person we once were.
Have you experienced that instant change from God? If you have, you know it. And others see that change in you also.
That is what being born again is. We now have living in us God's Spirit.
I Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
It
is not that we try to be godly. We are godly, for God lives in us now,
for we are born of God our Father and have HIS Spirit in us.
*****
Comments by Pam Padgett
My
great-aunt, Aunt Eunice, had gone to the Baptist church, I think all of
her life. As an adult she was very active in the Baptist church, even
cleaning the church each week. I'm sure everyone in our family had no
doubt that Aunt Eunice was a Christian.
When she was in her 80's, there was a large family reunion. At one point during the gathering, Aunt Eunice got up and announced with great joy and excitement that she was now born again! She said she had always thought she was born again, but she now knew that she hadn't been born again until recently.
I was sitting next to Aunt Eunice's oldest daughter. She leaned over to me and said "I
don't know why Mother is saying this. She just recently started
talking like this. But she has always been a Christian. Everyone knows
how she has worked at the church and done whatever needed to be done
for years."
This daughter obviously didn't understand being born again, but it caused me to rejoice to hear what Aunt Eunice said.
Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said: Not every one 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.
22 Many will say to ME in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from ME, ye that work iniquity.
22 Many will say to ME in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from ME, ye that work iniquity.
***
Comments by Joan Boney:
My aunt was Church of Christ all her adult age. She was different from all the other relatives. We got along great. They were afraid of her but I was never afraid of Aunt Ardath. They would say, "What would Ardath say?" She was their gold standard concerning what was right and wrong. But she wasn't that way with me.
After I was born again, I was at her house and the Holy Spirit said to me, "Tell her about being taken into heaven." I didn't want to do that! She was Church of Christ! You don't tell supernatural religious things to Church of Christ.
But I knew it was the Holy Spirit telling me to do this so I yielded myself to that which the Holy Spirit said for me to do.
I began telling my aunt this story: After
I was born again, I was transported into heaven in the night while I
was sleeping. I was with God and Christ and the Holy Spirit. (I saw no physical images. It was in the spirit.) At that time I was merged into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.
As I told her this story, I noticed that a type of dreamy look came upon her face.
After I finished speaking, she said to me: "Something like that happened to me once and it was all golden."
Then I knew why we always got along so well.
She once said to me, "I always knew you would never do anything wrong."
I did everything wrong! But she must have seen me by faith. For after I was born again I was completely changed instantly.
***
When
we are born again, we know we didn't do anything to cause us to be born
again or to justify our being born again, it was all by the will of
God.
I think this causes us to be more merciful toward those who are not born again.
Romans 9:
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall Thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of HIM that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For HE saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew MY power in thee, and that MY name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath HE mercy on whom HE will have mercy, and whom HE will HE hardeneth.
(If you have never experienced these changes from God, I suggest you fall down before God and beg God to have mercy on you.)
7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall Thy seed be called.
8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of HIM that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For HE saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew MY power in thee, and that MY name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath HE mercy on whom HE will have mercy, and whom HE will HE hardeneth.
(If you have never experienced these changes from God, I suggest you fall down before God and beg God to have mercy on you.)
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