Copyright 2000 Carlotta Waldmann Cross Walk Life, Inc. 501
(c)(3)
Cross
Walk Life, Inc. is here to provide insights, healing,
teaching and training,
so that you can develop a more intimate relationship with
Father God and have
the passion of Christ, to be equipped to fulfill your God
given destiny.
Can You
Explain
What Happens
When
We Are Born Again?
Many times we have true compassion for
our friends and family who desperately want peace with
God but we don't know what to say to them. We know that we
have been born again in Christ but don't know how to
literally tell them what born again is. We are sure that God
loves them, has a wonderful plan for their life and that He
came in the form of Jesus Christ to tell them so. We know
that Christianity is not just a religion but being born
again into the family of God. We want them to know that they
will be supernaturally transformed and set free when they
choose to invite Jesus Christ to come to live inside their
hearts. (Revelation 3:20)
What do you believe really happens when someone is born
again? Are they the same person with the same nature but
they are now going to Heaven? Do they now have the old
nature and a new nature? Is the old nature now dead and they
have a new divine nature? What becomes new? Their soul or
spirit? If the old man dies, exactly what passes away? If
you are born again, are you actually able to live the
Christian life?
If some one wants to invite
Jesus
to be their Lord and Savior
but asks, "What happened to you when you prayed this
prayer?,"
what would you say?
I will not
perish but have eternal life = a new past and a new future.
John 3:16
I am saved by
grace totally apart from my good works. Ephesians 2:8-9
I can be
absolutely sure that I am going to Heaven. 1 John 5:11-13
I have
increasing faith as I know the Word of God. Romans 10:17
I am adopted
by God who my Abba Father. Romans 8:15
I will
automatically receive righteousness as a gift. Romans 5:18,
21
I am totally
forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Jesus makes me
holy and without blame before Him. Ephesians 1:4
I am given a
new divine nature by the Spirit of God. 2 Peter 1:4
I am born
again in Spirit = I become a spiritual creature. John 3:5
I know that I
have life because I have the Son of God inside. 1 John 5:12
My old nature
dies, is buried and I am raised to newness of life. Romans 6
I become a
new creation in Christ and all things are made new. 2
Corinthians 5:17
I am sealed
with the Holy Spirit of God. Ephesians 1:13
I have new
hope and am not ashamed because of God's love. Romans 5:5
I have no
fear of condemnation because I am in Christ. Romans 8:1
The Holy
Spirit assures me that I am a child of God. Romans 8:16
God gives me
wisdom and healing. James 1:5, James 5:16
I have life
and life abundantly because Jesus is the Life. John 10:10
He is my
Shepherd; I am His sheep who can hear His voice. John 10:16
I have the
fruit of the Holy Spirit who is inside me. Galatians 5:22
I ask
believing according to God's word and my prayer is answered.
Mark 11:24
If I abide in
Christ and His Word, I will be fruitful. John 15:5
I have peace
with God, beyond my understanding. Philippians 4:7, Romans
8:6
I am
transformed by the renewing of my mind. Romans 12:2
I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
I am loved
and accepted unconditionally in the family of God. Ephesians
1:6
I am finally
complete in Christ, lacking nothing. Colossians 2:10
I will be
given everything I need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3
I have God's
perfect love that casts out all my fears. 1 John 4:18
I have love,
power and a sound mind instead of intimidation. 2 Timothy
1:7
God's Truth
will make me truly free from bondage. John 8:32, Romans
8:14-15
I can be sure
that I will be resurrected and go to Heaven. Romans 6:5
Jesus Christ
in me, will live the Christian life through me. Galatians
2:20
I can be
filled with the Holy Spirit and His gifts. 1 Corinthians 12,
14;Eph. 5:18
I can be one
spirit with the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God. 2 Cor. 6:17,
John 17
You can know God personally!
Because of God's deep love for you, he has already made all
the necessary arrangements for you to enjoy His wonderful
plan for your life. We aren't born again by our
own efforts to reach God. We need a whole new heart or
spirit that can have fellowship with God. Through the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can enjoy a personal
relationship with God. Jesus made it possible to bridge the
chasm which separates us from God.
John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that
they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
you have sent."
What prevents us
from knowing God personally? We are separated from God.
Romans 8:6-8 "The mind of sinful man is
death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and
peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the
sinful nature cannot please God."
A great gulf separates man from God. Man
is continually trying to reach God and establish a personal
relationship with Him through human efforts, such as living
a good life, philosophy, or religion. But he inevitably
fails.
Jesus
Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through him
alone we can know God personally and experience God's love.
Romans 5:8 "God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us."
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 "Christ died for our
sins... he was buried... he was raised on the third day
according to the scriptures... he appeared to Peter, then to
the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five
hundred..."
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the
way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.'"
We must individually
RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; then we can know
God personally and experience His love.
John 1:12 "As many as received him, to
them he gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in his name."
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace that
you have been saved, through faith. This does not depend on
anything you have achieved, it is the free gift of God; and
because it is not earned no one can boast about it."
Receiving Christ involves turning to God
from self (a spirit of repentance) and trusting Christ to
come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and make us
what he wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died on the cross
for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an
emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as
an act of our will.
Jesus Christ is waiting for an invitation
to come in to your life. In fact, he says, "Behold, I stand
at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20).
Perhaps you can
sense Christ knocking at the door of your heart.
You can invite him in by faith right now. God knows your
heart so it doesn't matter exactly what words you use.
Here's a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you
personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I
open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my
Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for
forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the
kind of person you want me to be. Amen
If this
prayer expresses the desire of your heart, pray it right now
and Jesus Christ will come into your life just as he has
promised. Once you invite Christ into your life, he promises
to never leave you.
Hebrews 13:5
"God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake
you.'"
To know God
personally is the greatest decision you will ever make. If
you've just asked Jesus Christ into your life, we would love
to hear from you.
If
you prayed this prayer, please
Email me and let me know.
