Living Hope Fellowship Church

BORN AGAIN

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

BORN AGAIN

Preface

(changed from natural to spiritual)

          In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Jesus told him about going from natural carnality into the Spirit where you can see the kingdom of God. 

          The very basis of our salvation is on the fact that we have an experience with God.  When the Spirit of God convicts you, and makes you feel miserable in the fact that you are way out here and God is way up there, you become hungry and thirsty for God.  You have to have something from God.  He draws you, and then you can be born again

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Some people say they tried, but they didn’t get anything.  GO AGAIN!  Maybe you need to SEEK, or go to KNOCKING!  In John 3:7 Jesus said, “. . . Ye must be born again.”  Salvation is for you.  James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. . . .”

BORN AGAIN

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

John 3:1-12 says, “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.  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

Nicodemus was a Pharisee.  The Pharisees believed in resurrection, angels, and spirits, and devils.  The Pharisees knew the scriptures, and were probably the most educated in the Word of God of the Jewish religious sects, the scribes and Sadducees included.  The Pharisees were the PhDs of the law in their day.

Nicodemus was of this group.  He was not ignorant of the Word of God and its interpretation in most cases.  He was described as a godly man, and he had a heartfelt desire for God, but he did not understand Jesus and being born again.  He did not understand the separation between carnality and spirituality. 

Jesus was amazed at very few things, but He was amazed at the unbelief of God’s people.  Once he was amazed at the faith of one man who didn’t have much knowledge of the Word of God.  He was also amazed at Nicodemus that night when he asked how he could be saved, born again!

Nicodemus came by night, knowing it was probably one of the few times he could get to Jesus without somebody interrupting their conversation.  Some have decided that it was out of cowardice, out of fear for his reputation among the Jews.  That may be true, but he wanted to talk closely to the Lord and get some answers from Him.  He came with great questions. 

In John 3:2 Nicodemus told Jesus he knew He was a teacher come from God, but in Verse 3 Jesus interrupted him and started telling him about going from natural carnality into the Spirit where you can actually see the kingdom of God.  In John 3:2 Nicodemus said,   “. . . for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”  Before he could ask how Jesus did it, Jesus interrupted him and told him he had to be changed.  He had to be born again, leave the natural, and go into the Spirit. 

The standard in the church has been so lowered that the born again experience is not yet fully understood.  Devils manifest, and speak, and counsel, and preach and the church doesn’t even know it.  It has nothing to do with how much Word is going out or how much Word a person knows, or how many times they preach. 

Nicodemus knew the Word of God, but when the Word of God Himself manifested, he did not know Him.

The first person to recognize Jesus as the son of God was Nathaniel.  Peter was recorded as the second one to know.  Neither of these were Bible scholars, so how did they know when Nicodemus did not?  It was revealed to them by the Spirit of the living God.  Matthew 16:17 says, “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

God’s kingdom, power, great anointing and revival will not be recognized by flesh and blood.  It can only be discerned, received, and seen by the power of God on His people.  It will be revealed by the Spirit of our God. 

Sinners can know God is dealing with them, and you know it is NOT because they have studied the Word of God.  If can know the Word of God forward and backward, but if you are not living it, you wouldn’t know it if Jesus stood in front of you.  You think you would, because of His glorious power and anointing, but sometimes He doesn’t come like that.  Sometimes it is just with a still small voice. 

We are living in perilous times, and one sign of these times is found in 2 Timothy 3:7 which says some people are, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  This is a description of the church today. 

Nicodemus knew Jesus was a man, but He was doing miracles, and he wanted to know how He did it!  He had to find out.  However, Jesus was trying to get him to know that if he would turn around and get out of the natural and into the Spirit, he already knew enough to do that, because he had already studied the Word of God. 

The church doesn’t need more programs, it needs more Spirit.  I believe it was Smith Wigglesworth who said, “The man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with just an argument.”  I can tell you all about something, but if you’ve been there, I can’t tell you anything.  There has to come a time when we stop just learning, and experience the thing, and become able. 

Jesus was amazed at the ignorance of Nicodemus concerning the things of the Spirit.  He knew God was a spirit, and that the Word of God was a channel to the things of the Lord, but he did not understand how to be saved.  The very basis of our salvation is on the fact that we have an experience with God.  You can KNOW to come to an altar and get saved, but that doesn’t save you. You can WANT to get saved in your mind, but if you have no draw or influence by the Spirit of God, it is only head knowledge.  You aren’t born again. 

When something gets on you, convicts you, and makes you feel miserable in the fact that you are way out here and God is way up there, you become hungry and thirsty for God.  You don’t know how, but you know you have to have something from God, and God draws you.  Then you can be born again. 

People have lost their hunger and thirst for righteousness.  They want knowledge and intellect.  They want to be fed and entertained.  We NEED an experience and a position in God.  Jesus said He has prepared that place for us.  We can know all about it and talk about it, but we need to impart it.  We can’t impart something we don’t have. 

It can be in your soul and words, but also in your hands.  The Bible says that they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover! 

Jesus laid hands on a woman who had been afflicted and bent over, bound of the devil for many years.  Jesus cast the devil out and the woman was made straight.  Jesus IS the Word.  God desires more than we just know the Word.  God desires that we become LIKE Him. 

America is lulled to sleep.  The church standard is so low the rest of the world has lowered theirs.  Some states have legalized homosexual marriages.  People are hammering against the truth that it is an abomination.  They call it a human rights issue, but it is a devil’s rights issue!  If you lower the standard enough, it takes away discernment between righteousness and wickedness.  It makes a shield for sin.  When you drop the standard of truth for what it takes to walk right and live for God, people compare you to themselves and there is not enough difference for them to make the transition and become born again.  They say they don’t need it, because they already have what you’ve got.

          We need a witness.  Jesus said His witness was greater than that of John.  Jesus said in Matthew11:11 that, “. . . Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. . . .”  However, John did no miracle.  John pointed to Jesus, the One who was about to do the miracles.  Jesus confirmed His word with the signs following, so that is why Jesus said His witness was greater than that of John. 

          We start out with the witness of John, but God wants us to go on and have the witness of Christ.   We testify, There is One greater than me.  There is one who is doing the work I can’t do.  We are supposed to get to the place of, Thus saith the Lord!  We have to become more than just the bearer of the news!  God wants to change us so completely that there won’t be any debate or argument. 

When Jesus came into the synagogue and spoke, the devils cried out for Him not to torment them before their time.  They could not coexist with the Holy One of God!  It is time we raise the standard and ask the Lord to help us reach it.  Instead of wrestling with the Word of God, we need to let Him change us.

You have to be born again.  You are different.  You have not lost the potential to sin, but God wants to get us to that place.  God wants us to cease from sin and get to the place we can’t sin.  1 John 3:9 thrills me.  It says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

We are born again, and we have the potential as a child of God to become a son of God and cease from sin.  What good is that?  All that does is cramp my style.  That is the attitude of the church!  It allows God to move in your life in a greater fashion than ever before.  It will convince the gainsayers, and it will save that lost son or daughter that you are worried about.  There are souls God put in your care that you may not even know about yet.  

The church has lowered the standard to keep the tithes up and going, or so that people won’t feel so bad when they leave church.  I have felt on a few occasions when church was dismissed that there was a heaviness on souls.  Sometimes God continues to deal and convict even after a service. 

God wants us to raise the standard, not lower it so anyone can get over it.  If you lower a hurdle enough, an ant can jump it.  God’s design of his Word and His spirit is not to lower Himself down to where a man can clear the hurdle.  He wants to reveal to you how much higher that hurdle is than your life is and then endue you with power to clear it.  God is not changing for you and me.  He is changing you and me for Him. 

One reason some people are not delivered is because the people trying to deliver them are not delivered!  Satan can’t cast out Satan.  You lower the standard enough in the church and the devils can come and sit, say amen, they can sing, they can come to the altar and cry, and not be bothered one iota.  That soul is not any more saved than they were the first day they got into iniquity.

If you raise the standard and people see the difference, and feel the presence and witness of Christ, the devil will cry out.  People are ashamed that one of their family members might be devil possessed.  Even some preachers in the pulpit are devil possessed.  If you lower the standard enough, the devil can clear it.  However, you are no longer holding God’s standard.

We wrestle against our own flesh and blood, and we wrestle against principalities and powers, but if there isn’t a driving force in your soul to go away from sin, I wonder if you are truly born again!  The Spirit of God should be in your soul talking to you, leading you like a shepherd.  He should be telling you, You have got to fast and pray today or else!  You have to read the Word. 

The church is filled with Nicodemuses.  This was an upright man, and he knew the description of the Messiah who was about to come.  Israel looked forward to that day, but not one soul knew who He was UNTIL the Spirit of God revealed it.  You have to have an experience with God to know who God is.  You have to keep that experience or you will forget who He is.  Some of the same people Jesus healed also said to crucify Him, because the unbelieving church stirred them up.

God has shown us how to get higher, but I find a tremendous indifference in people.  I am getting tired of church as usual.  I want Christ.  I am tired of ritual.  I want to see, not just hear the Word of God!!!

God called us to be a church that moves on with God.  I’m talking about His bride all over the earth.  You are supposed to see Christ when you see His people.  The sinner is too comfortable, because the standard has been lowered. 

If you don’t confess your sins, you sure can’t avoid them.  Drinking booze, smoking, cursing and carrying on is sin.  Get these things under the blood. You have to confess your sins.  1 John 2:1 says, “. . . we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. . . .”

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

He cannot and will not forgive us until we come to God with the fact that we have got problems.  Some people are not born again.  Because they come to church and talk in tongues, and come to the altar and cry, does not make them born again.  Matthew 12:33 says, “. . . the tree is known by his fruit.”  You will know if the fruit is like the vine Jesus Christ.

Nicodemus did not know the Son of God.  Is it possible the church is in the same condition?   When Jesus started performing miracles they were amazed.  Miracles are rare but they should be common among God’s people.  A partial healing or deliverance doesn’t impress me much.  When something is impossible, and God does a miracle, it moves my soul.  God is a miraculous God, and He does not need the arm of flesh to help Him one bit. 

You must be born again, and there are some things you aren’t even going to consider, let alone do, because the Spirit of God moves you inside where you can’t stand sin.  If you have Christ, the devil STINKS to you.  If you come out of the cesspool into the purity of God, that stink will leave. 

You are so vexed. Maybe you need to start over. You need to get born again and get a real blood bought salvation experience.  Many of your vexations leave automatically.

Nicodemus was a spiritual leader, but he did not know these things.  In some churches in America it seems people get up and say, Who wants to be the preacher?  If God called you to preach, you are being “eaten alive” with that calling.  If God is NOT dealing with you to preach, you’d best stay put.  If you are called to preach, you’d better be running, and be on fire, and doing whatever God says to do, and quit piddling around.  

Because of the lowered standard, the presence of God is slack in many churches and lives.  If the devil came in and preached some wouldn’t know it, because God is not normal, the devil is normal.  In preaching, prophesying, political speaking, and even witnessing, devils voices are more common, more accepted, and more highly esteemed than God’s voice. 

If God spoke right now, straight out of heaven, many of us would just burn up.  It is just too high of a standard.  We’ve allowed the standard to lower, and because of it people are lowered and become brutish, beast like.  Preachers are allowing homosexuality, and abortion, and promote under the “human rights” banner that everybody should be allowed to do what they want to do, regardless of God’s laws.  There is only one place for homosexuals, or crooks, or any other sinner to get born again.  They have to come to Jesus and get holiness without which no man shall see the Lord!

People say I went forward and prayed, but I didn’t get anything.  You go to the restaurant and give your order.  If you wait long enough, you will get it.  However, in a few hours you will be ready to eat again!  At the altar, you are asking for things no man can help you with.  You are asking for eternal life, healing, deliverance, revival in the church and in your soul, and you won’t wait a little while for it!

I didn’t get it!  Then GO AGAIN!  Ask again.  Maybe you need to SEEK.  I did, and I can’t find it.  Maybe you will have to go to KNOCKING!  Somebody says, My spouse is such a big devil.  I’d like to come on for God, but I can’t, because they will kick up.  Jesus said that He opens doors no man can shut.  If they get in your way too long God will do something to move them out of your way.  You’d better get to praying some more, but people get to complaining instead. 

Some people come for prayer, and not for a miracle.  They already decided God isn’t going to do anything for them.  If you are just hoping, go back to your seat.  Tell God He is going to have to answer, or you are not going to get off that altar.  John 3:10 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?”

Some people seem to know all about heavenly things, but they can’t tell the difference when God moves or when the devil moves!  If it suits their fancy, if it blesses or entertains them, they don’t seek to know which one it is.  Some people realize that they are headed for hell.  All that most people today care about after hearing they are headed to hell for their sins is, I hope I can live as long a life as long possible, because I am going to hell in the end.  Let us eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow we die!

There is no fear of God, because God’s own people do not fear God.  Jesus said in John 3:11, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen. . . .”  When Jesus says, “Verily, verily, it means “emphatically, I want you to know positively, absolutely.  They KNEW what they had seen. 

A person can have a high position in the church and still go to hell.  Just knowing about the deep things of God does not give you insurance about going to heaven.  You have to have an experience with God and it has to stay hot.  You have to keep that experience fresh or you won’t keep your relationship long. 

Before Jesus could operate in the temple of God, He had to deliver it.  In Matthew 21:13 Jesus said, “. . . It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”  He had to deliver the temple before people could in the temple to get saved, healed, and delivered.  Afterward, even the little children were praising God after the tightness in the services was gone. 

Have you ever felt liberty in church?  Jesus got all the devils out, put out the moneychangers who were trying to make money off of the gospel, and others who just didn’t care.  He began to preach the gospel and the people came to him in the temple to be delivered.  He was healing on dusty roads before he could get in the church.  However, it made the Pharisees MAD.  It makes some people mad when they see someone advancing in God!  Oh, I’m just a little jealous, and I need to pray through.  You need deliverance.

Jesus said he had a greater witness than that of John.  Jesus wants us to not only walk with the witness of the baptism of repentance, but also as Jesus walked in the Holy Ghost so that people can come and get saved, and get diseases healed, and get devils cast out.

In John 5:39 says, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”  People are searching the scriptures right and left, writing books, making tapes, and are putting stuff on airways and cyberspace.  You can reach everybody on the planet with this information, but Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

It is a witness, manifestation, proof, and confirmation, not just words or promises yet unfulfilled.  Manifest sons of God are in the place where Christ is, and they move together as one.  They are in heaven as much as they are on earth and people are drawn to Christ, because He is lifted up from the earth.  Right now many are so very carnal.

Nicodemus saw John the Baptist, but he did no miracle.  Some came to John and said that all men were following Jesus.  John’s disciples began to leave him and follow Jesus.  Why?  He had more than just a testimony; He had the manifestations of God.  John 3:27 says, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”  It didn’t bother him one bit.  John said that he rejoiced, because that is what he came and preached for, so the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world could be manifest.

Talking about the Lamb of God does not take away sins.  Talking about sin does not remove sin.  Promises to heal do not heal.  Casting out devils must be done, not just talked about.  The manifest Son of God in people brings changes in lives.  It brings the anointing that destroys every yoke of bondage where it won’t come back.   

Man has testified, but not manifested Jesus.  We don’t meet God’s standard.  God didn’t call us to be moody, bound, sick, blind, halt, lame, or deaf.  Let’s get like Jesus, and He will work so that we will be every whit whole! 

Are you free?  Are you scarcely saved?  Could be there is a reason for a lot of your troublesome questions, and why your answers won’t come.  Go back and pick up where you left off.  Come to God.   You mean to tell me that I might not be saved?  You might not.  You may be bound and vexed.  Are you constantly plagued with thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God?  Are you divisive in your heart about getting around the things of God?

We need to quit leaning and hoping in man and other things.  We need a fresh experience with God.   What little pea is under our feet ready to flip us over?  Many act like they want to give up.  We need to pray through.  Job 13:15 says, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. . . .”  Let’s pray through!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL  62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail  livinghopefellowship@lazernetwireless.net

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord.  Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication.

 © Living Hope Fellowship, Inc.