0940 Hitting a Homerun - Spiritual Birthmarks

Spiritual Birthmarks

Rick Warren: Member. Maturity. Ministry. Missions

G12: Win. Consolidate. Disciple. Send.

HungryGen: Believe. Belong. Become. Build

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

There can be no spiritual growth without spiritual birth.

You cannot join the family of God, we must be born into it.

A birth is the coming into a being of new life which has the nature of your parents.

New birth is not religion (it’s a relationship)

New birth is not morality (it’s a miracle)

New birth is not reformation (regeneration)

New birth is not by works (by word)

Being a member of family is different from being a member of the gym:

We sign up for the gym, we are born into the family

In the gym, rules condition my relationship with the gym. In my family, rules confirm my relationship with my family. In the gym, rules before to joining the gym. In the family, rules come after birth. In the gym, breaking rules means losing membership. In the family, breaking rules means time out. In the gym, we have you pay monthly fees to keep membership. In the family, it’s about relationship.

New birth is greater than new car. Baby is forever, house is temporary. You can’t appraise your baby. Gaining the world is not a win if your soul is lost (Matt. 16:26)

New nature makes growth natural. When you are born again you get a new spirit, not a new soul. New creation (2 Col. 5:17). One spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Made forever perfect (Heb. 10:14). Made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5). As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2:2

Behavior is learned, not birth. (Some non believers act better than believers)

During birth baby is bloody. In funerals, the dead are clean.

During birth baby is loud. In funerals, the dead are quiet.

During birth baby is rowdy. In funerals, the dead are in order.

Baby has life, the dead don’t

Baby grows, the dead decay.

It’s better to be rowdy loud baby than a quiet clean corpse.

New nature doesn’t remove presence of sin but practice of sin. When you are born again you don’t lose your ability to sin, you lose your ability to enjoy sin. Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him 1 John 2:29 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 1 John 3:9 NLT

Practice is performing an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.

Born again believer doesn’t look for excuse to sin, but for ways to overcome sin.

Righteous man falls save times and he rises up again Prov. 24:16 Pigs play in the mud, sheep cry in the mud.

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matt. 7:21-23

Christians possess salvation, not just profess. (You can profess to be Savchuk)

Christians hide in Christ, not Christian crowd. (Airplane and plane) Christians know Christ, not just about Christ. (I NEVER KNEW YOU)

Christians practice righteousness, not lawlessness. (struggle, not practice)

You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. Heb. 12:4

My spirit is perfect but my soul is being perfected by practice

By practice I walk out what God has put into me.

Practice didn’t change my place in the family.

Christians don’t lose their salvation by struggling with sin. As a Christian you don’t lose your salvation when you sin, you lose the joy of your salvation (Ps. 51:12). Lose their reward, shorten your life, open door to demons. You can’t lose your salvation like you lose your keys. Passenger on the plane is guaranteed to reach its destination overseas. Unless you choose to do something crazy and open the emergency door and jump, you will arrive at your destination safely. Christian can’t lose their salvation but they can choose to forfeit their salvation by walking away from the Lord. We don’t lose free will upon salvation. “I will blot him out of my book” Ex. 32:33 Branch without fruit, He lifts up (John 15:1). Branch that doesn’t remain in Him is thrown away (John 15:6) For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, Heb. 10:26 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb.10:29 *No longer remains a sacrifice for sins: willfully sin (fruit), trample Son of God underfoot, count blood as nothing, insult the Spirit (root). We don’t outgrow our need for God’s grace. Don’t jump the plane signing I believe I can fly. Judas was called devil, son perdition, unclean, possessed by devil, called Jesus teacher, betrayed Christ, tried to do good works to undo bad, punished himself, apostate. Christians go to heaven even if we die with unconfessed sin. Christ saves us not our confession (Eph. 2:8). Confessing Christ as Lord gives salvation (Rom.10:9) Repent and be saved (Acts 2:38). If we confess, he will cleanse us (1 John 1:9). “I do” vs “I am sorry” Confession in marriage is not for sake of covenant but for sake of closeness. I can break my covenant by going to another woman. Jace. Viktor. George Floyd.