Thus Saith God's Word
by Rev. Ted Brooks
" Ye Must Be Born Again "
"Thai which is bom of the llcsh is flesh and thai which is bom of the Spirit
is Spirit Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be bom again The wind
bloweth where it w illeth and thou hearest the sound of u. but canst not tell from
w here it cometh and where it goeth. so is every one that is bom ol the Spirit
"Nicodemus answered and said unto him. how can these things be"'" (St
John 3 6-8)
Strange words. Bom Again Bom from on high Greek word "Aw-A-then"
again, from he beginning, a very first, to be brought forth, to be delivered, a
supernatural birth, anew from abov e James declared "Of his own will begat he
us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures "
(James 1 18)
Peter declared we were begotten again by a lively hope of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead (I Peter 1 3) Being bom again not of corruptible
seed but of incorruptible by the word of God (Verse 23) Bom again means to
cruelty It means a cross, a stake-thc word of the cross It is a step over from the
love of the world to the love of Christ It is a departure from "anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of your mouth "
It is a step over from "The world to where we lie not one to another, seeing
that ye have put off the old man with his deeds "
In this step over we put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after
the image of him that created him It is a step over "As the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
long-suffering "
It is a step over to "forbearing one another and forgiving one another, if any
man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye and
above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfection."
(Colossians 3:7-14)
No wonder Nicodemus cried out. How can these things be'' Oh my friend,
to be bom again is a gift from God. Too many have basically tried to live a good
life, saying to themselves when 1 die my good will outweigh the bad. Scripture
tells us "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
Someone said. "Believe in God and pray to him " James tells us "Thou
believest that there is one God, thou doest well, the devil also believes and
trembles." (James 2:19)
Most persons, when they ask the question, what must I do to be saved, most
are told to live basically good lives and surely when you die, God will see the
good you have done He said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be bom again, not of flesh
and blood, but by the Spirit" and Christ declares so is everyone bom of the
spirit. Salvation is a gift, my friend "As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee O Lord. My soul thnsteth for God, for the living
God My tears have been my meat day and night." (Psalm 42:1-3)
My friend, the churches are filled with persons who hold to the external
things of life They have been lost in a social gospel. Their main theme has
never been Jesus, but rather hospital, orphan homes, and organized charities.
Oh my friend, when the woman came to Jesus he did not point her to a social
gospel but rather he said,*"I would have given thee living water." (John 4:114)
The main stream is Jesus. Folks need to know eternal life is a gift from God
People today need this water of life. It is not a new roof, clothes. People need
Jesus He is the main stream in all who will come
A lawver came to Jesus, tempting him. "Master which is the greatest
commandment in the law?" Notice the reply of Jesus, "Thou shall love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is
the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
. prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)
Jesus did not say to this lawyer, live good and be satisfied with the shallows
oflife. No, my friend, Jesus pointed him to the deep waters upon which he could
sail Why rave about the rushing stream and forget about the mountain spring?
Why measure Christianity in the terms of organized charities? Jesus said to
Nicodemus "Ye must be bom again." In other words, Nicodemus make me
your mainstream oflife. No need to sit in a cave that is cold and dark, come
outside where the sun is shining. Be bom again. Put off that old man of hate,
malice, get in on the mountain side spring. Drink this water that has eternal life.
There are some of you in the church whom Satan has got side tracked It has
been a long time since you have declared that you are a Soldier of the Cross.
Been a long time since you declared that for him you will live and for him you
will die. Our President of the Untied States cannot win this war with bombs. No
sir, the enemy needs to hear us tell the old story, how a savior came from glory
and became the mainstream of our lives. Tell them we were once slaves to sin.
We went about to seal, kill and rob, but we met Jesus who stood and said, ye
must be bom again. We too were slaves to sin, but the Almighty , the Main
Stream, has set us free. We were ready to perish but the Mainstream placed us
in a goodly land. We till the soil no more. Our wealth is no longer reckoned
in sheaves of com or baskets of fruit, in flocks or herds, or broad acres, for we
have found a wealth of a different kind than that which is counted in money.
It is more precious than gold. "Sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ in his
main stream is an "inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you." (I Peter 1:2-4)
Ye must be bom again. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my
words and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life." (John 5:23-24)
Ye must be bom again.
In closing let me say this. We are now living in a time that the sermon on
"Ye Must Be Bom Again" is no longer believed to be truth. Let me share with
. you a television interview shared by two well known gospel preachers
One said to the other, tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity?
Well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there is the
body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world,
outside the Christian groups, I think everybody who loves Christ, or knows
Christ, whether they are conscious of it or not, they are members of the body
of Christ. And I don't think that we are going to see a great sweeping revival
that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time.
I think James answered that. The Apostle James in the first Council in
Jerusalem, he said that God's purpose for this age is to call out a people for his
name And that is what God is doing today. He is calling people out of the world
for his name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world,
or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the
body of Christ because they have been called by Goid They may not even know
the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that
they don't have, and I think that they are saved, and they are going to be with
us in heaven.
Then follow the second question: what I hear you saying is that it is possible
for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and souls and lives, even if they have
been bom in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct
interpretation of what you are saying?
Y es, it is because I believe that I have met people in various parts of the world
in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a. Bible and
never heard of Jesus, but they believed in their hearts that there was a God and
they have tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding
community in which they live.
Then said the other preacher, his face beceaming, I am so thrilled to hear
you say this, there is a wildness in God's mercy.
The other preacher said there is. There definitely is
This television interview of Billy Graham and Robert Schuller was aired
May 31, 1997.
My friend, millions of persons have died since the beginning of time and if
this whole world was to turn to ashes, God's word is eternal It's plan for man
is eternal It is already settled in heaven. Hear the Psalmist David, "Forever O
Lord, they word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89)
Thy word is settled and will be carried out on earth to the letter. This is why
we may know the infinite details of the program of God from eternity past into
all eternity future.
We are told to stand fast without change, as the plan of God for man is
declared to be. (Matthew 24.35, Mark 13:31, I Peter 1:23-25) Please read
Conclusion next week.
1 I'--uiiii.iiLii i . .
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iy From the Desk of the ^
Superintendent I
by Dr. Barry Harding, Public Schools of Robeson County
Despite the fact that education deserves our attention all through the year,
the observance of American Education Week provides us " ith a week during
which special jUtejilion is focused on the subject. During the week, for example.
we highlight some of the ways we impart education to our almost 24.000
students as well as ways that you might be able to help.
You have often heard the saying that "It takes the whole village to educate a
child". During American Education Week, it's well to think about that saying
and some of the many ways that the village can contribute to education. It's
too bad that there are some parents who feel that their irresponsibility towards
their child's education ends when they drop their child off at the school house
door. If they were to stop and think about it. they actually have supervision for
their child most of every weekday and all weekend long. The school only has
supervision over their child for less than a third of the school day and none of
the weekend. It's during the time that their students are under parent or family
supervision the laner should engage in an ongoing effort to create and maintain
an atmosphere that stresses the importance of education and respect for
teachers and classmates.
At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to recruit volunteers. I believe it's
important to consider the positive effect that can come from the efforts of
civic club members and industry employees to contribute to the education of
our young people. When area industries allow their employees to visit the
schools to explain what those industries do. it's a definite aid to education.
They may help students to focus on what they would like to do with their lives
upon graduation. It may help the students to decide on a college major.
They may get the same kind of advantage when civic club members visit the
school to offer tutoring or mentoring services. The time they contribute is
invaluable in taking pressure off teachers while helping to provide more instructional
time to the students- time which the classroom teacher may not
have. Other people who may have had the advantage of traveling to faraway
places are in a position to allow students to compare places they've read about
in their textbooks with the information provided by people who have actually
visited those places. It's a way of broadening the students' horizon thus adding
to their education.
The church can be a vital part of contributing to students' education by
encouraging congregants to participate in some of the educational program's
I've mentioned and, also, by recognizing young congregants for special school
accomplishments.
While teachers and principals are in the vanguard of the educational process,
the rest of the members of the "village" must do whatever they can to
assure the success of that 'process. During American Education Week would
be a good time to reflect on what you can do year-round to help.
Search for Truth !
^ by Elder Joseph Bullard ^
THE SACRED TITHE
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his
people. Ps. 1 16:14.
Although it is tine that b> giving we develop a generous
nature, for the Christian there must also be a basic direction to
our giving. The Christian recognizes there is more to giving
than sharing our goods with our relatives, or exchanging gifts at
Christmas (which tna> have little of the spirit of giving in it) or
even of extending aid to the less fortunate. Christian giving is
Godward. Gifts will continue to be inacie to the poor and needy,
but they will be made with God in mind.
The Christian will give to God. Some may rationalize that they
are paying their tithe when they give a tenth of their income to
the Community Chest or to some needy family, but the Christian
hears God's command to pay the tithe to Him. "Bring the full
tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house"
(Mai. 3:10). the laird says. The tithe is not for the individual to
apportion or assign. It goes to the Lord through His church.
The Lord has designated a special purpose for His tithe. Paul
explained it to the church at Corinth. He reminded them that
under the svstem of sacrifices the priests sustained themselves by
what was brought to the altar. Paul says the same principle was
to continue under the gospel dispensation, even though no
animals would be sacrificed. "In the same way. the Lord commanded
that those who proclaim the gospel should get their
living by the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14).
According to Bible principle, the tithe is to lie computed and
paid to the Lord as the "first fruits" of our income (Prov. 3:9).
This expression applies both to time and position. The tithe
should be considered first, or foremost, of all our obligations,
and it should lie set aside first, before we spend the remainder.
Because the tithe is sacred to the l.ord, it is not for us to
decide how to spend it. Sometimes we may feel the church is not
using the tithe properly, or that some minister is not worthy to
be paid by the tithe. Or a church worker may feel he has been
defrauded by his employing organization in some way and that
he can recoup his losses by holding back on his tithe. But we
should remember the experience of Ananias andSapphira. The
tithe is not for playing games.
Thomas Jefferson Introduced many of America's favorite foods when he returned from trips to Europe.
He was one of the first Americans to eat tomatoes, serve macaroni or Ice cream, plant rice, and serve
French fries with steak., etc.
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