Good Morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many years ago Andrew and I were out working in the woods when we saw a big animal on the trail. I stopped momentarily to watch it’s movements but it just sat on the trail. I got closer and it remained motionless. We realized that It was dead, but it looked incredibly alive. It was a huge racoon. I picked it up, looked at it, and then stood it upright on a stump on the trail as we went about our business. About a month later a trapper that we knew approached me and asked if I was the one who had put the raccoon on the stump because it had really freaked him out as he was walking down to the lake. It looked so incredibly alive on the exterior but the truth was it was lifeless and dead on the inside.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
This is the same way it is when people wake up each morning and gaze at the reflection in the mirror. They look alive, they feel alive, while the truth is, they are dead inside because of their own sins.
Matthew 8:21-22 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
People can surely look alive, even your own relatives, while the truth is that they are dead in their hearts. They have never truly been converted to Christ and gone through the process of becoming born again through the truth. They are dead in their sins.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:……
Some have never undergone a spiritual transformation through faith in Christ that would release them from sin so that they could have life inside of them. It’s called quickening. Quicken means to make alive or to come from death unto life.
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
There are numerous people who knew Jesus, but that does not mean that they believed in him with their hearts. There are many people today who sit in church pews religiously, who know the name of Jesus but have never gone through the process of being born again. It’s simply religion without Spirituality. Being born in the Spirit through Christ is required to enter into heaven someday.
John 3:1-7 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.
Without this process you cannot obtain heaven. It’s a rebirth from death unto life, starting with being baptized by submersion into His name. Many people may feel like they are a decent upright moral person in society, even religious, while the truth is that scripture clearly teaches us that there are none good no not one. Most of the New Testament that we have today was written by the hand of the Apostle Paul. Even though he was an Apostle he called himself the chief of sinners and a wretch. He humbly recognized the depravity of man. We are dead in our sins. We must be made alive through Christ.
Romans 6:11 – Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The dead must listen to the voice of Jesus and live. It requires hearing His Word and the things He taught.
John 5:24-25 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Some people will die in their sins because they don’t believe in Jesus or the things he preached and commanded.
John 8:21-24 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Even though we are dead in trespasses and sins, we can be reborn through the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life and faith towards Christ.
John 11:25-26 – Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
We are born again by trusting Him and His doctrine. Keeping His Word shows that you love the one who died so that you might live.
1 Peter 1:23 – Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
We are born again through the acceptance of Biblical truth.
James 1:18 – Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures
It is believing the words and teachings of Christ that result in life.
John 6:63 – It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life
Remember that there were people who came out to listen to Jesus preach who didn’t believe in Him, who didn’t listen to him, and didn’t care about His teachings. They were only there to find out something disparaging about him. Without Christ and His teachings in a person’s life, it’s not a life at all. Everyone needs to be born again through God’s Word because no matter how alive one may appear, without it,… they are just as dead as that……
….. Wagner Lake Raccoon.
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
tlkjbc.com
.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 