let’s get to the heart of the matter AJ. I have been away awhile so things may have changed, but you wrote in an earlier post that you were not sure if you were born again...
Because you can’t understand the things of the spirit if you haven’t been born of the spirit, having a relationship with Christ is a pre-requisite for your healing. I am not talking about religion; I mean a relationship with Jesus Christ. God loves you so much He wants a relationship with you, and He has a plan for your life.
How do you become born of the spirit? I Corinthians 2:14 says, 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (NIV)
Read John 3:1-21 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.†3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.â€Â
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?â€Â
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.â€Â
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?â€Â
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God
Let’s take these verses one-step at a time. Nicodemus came to Jesus with questions, and at first Jesus, answers confused him. He asked, “How can a person be born again? Go back into his mother’s womb?â€Â
Jesus answer was “unless one is born of the water†(the womb) “and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.†Take note of verse nine, Nicodemus says, “How can these things be?†He wanted to know how to be born of the Spirit, And Jesus gives him the answer, gives all of us the answer in verse fifteen.
“Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life.†You may say to your self I have always believed in Jesus, but examine the word believe. What does it mean?
Read James 2:19-20 19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believeâ€â€and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
It doesn’t matter that you believe with your head you have to believe with your heart. What’s the difference you ask. The word “believe†is to follow as a creed, a way of life.
God tells us in His word, He wants us all to be with Him in heaven, yet heaven is a perfect place. God won’t let it be corrupted by sin, any sin.
Jesus was speaking about heaven when He said; Revelation 21:27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
So unless you are perfect, without sin you are not allowed in heaven. However, we are all sinners and separated from God, so now what do we do?
Romans 3:23,24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:23 For the wages (or price) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus is the perfect Son of God and He took the punishment paying the price for our sin, because we couldn’t afford it, we can’t be perfect. It’s important we realize our need for Christ and except Him as your own savior. Confess your sin and need for him.
I John 1: 8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins Jesus is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Romans 5:8-10 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him; to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name (or follow Him)
Romans 10:8-13 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heartâ€Â(that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.†12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.â€Â
It’s as simple as acknowledging you are a sinner and believe in your heart Jesus died on the cross for your sin. II Peter 3:9 God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance.
Pray a prayer like this, to Jesus, in your own words, and mean it with all your heart.
~Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I receive You as my Savior, and ask You to forgive my sins. I acknowledge You are the Lord of my life and I turn my life over to you, and ask you to help me turn from my sin and turn to You.
Thank you my Lord in Jesus name amen.~
Now you have prayed this prayer and meant it, God will begin to change you from the inside out, He will change your desires. In fact, your desire will be for the things of God.
It’s a process and takes some time. You need to understand you will still make mistakes. You will never be perfect while on this earth but just keep confessing those and God will keep forgiving them.
God makes this simple to go to heaven, we are without excuse, you can never tell God it was too hard.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
By grace you are savedÀâ€a gift from your Lord!
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The cost of sinning (wages) is death (separation from God) but the Gift is eternal life. You can’t be good enough to get to heaven on your own. It’s a gift!
Accept His free gift and be free.
Love, Kelli
