I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. -John 3:3
Jesus told Nicodemus that there is only one way into heaven, and that way is to be born again. Like any of us might do, he asked a simple question: How can somebody enter his mother's womb and be born all over again (see v. 4)? Jesus explained the answer very clearly and simply: "No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." (v.5) You must be born physically-"of water"-to be eligible to go to heaven, but you also have to be born spiritually.
If you are alive on the earth, then you have met the first qualification: You were born physically. However, that is not enough. You must be born spiritually as well.
Jesus went on to say, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (v6). He was talking about being born of the spirit. Verse 8 says, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going." Although you cannot see the wind, you can hear it and see its effects because you see the leaves blowing in the trees.
It's the same way when the Holy Spirit comes into your life. You can't see the Spirit, but you can see His effect on your life. He changes your life, and you become a brand-new person.
When you give your life to Jesus, you really come alive on the inside. Your spirit is made brand-new, and you're born again. When you make a radical commitment to give your life to Jesus, you believe that He died on the cross for you and rose from the dead. You say, "Now I am going to live for You." A transformation happens inside like you were never alive before. Basically, He is saying, "There is only one way to get into the kingdom of heaven. You have to be born into it."
Think of a barking dog. You don't get mad at the dog just because he barks. He was born a barker, and he has to bark because that is the only kind of noise he can make. No matter how much you try to get him to stop, he is going to bark because he was born a dog.
It works the same way for people. Everyone is born in sin as a sinner. No matter how much anyone tries, everyone does wrong things because everyone is born in sin. The only way to become a person in the kingdom of God is to be born into the kingdom of God. You must be made a brand-new person. That is exactly what happens when you give your life to Jesus. You sell out everything to Him because he gave up everything for you. He makes you a brand-new person. That is what Jesus tried to explain to Nicodemus.
If you have given your life to Jesus, then it is time to rejoice. You didn't pray some cheese-ball prayer. God completely changed you inside and made you a brand-new person. Take a few minutes right now and thank God for making you a brand-new person. Think about John 3:3 today. Keep repeating it and chewing on it throughout the day.
If you have never prayed to give your life to the Lord, then pray this prayer from you heart and start your brand-new life in Jesus today:
Dear Lord Jesus, I commit with all my heart to give You my life. I believe that You died on the cross for me and that You rose from the dead. From now on, I'm going to call You my Lord, my Boss. From now on, I will live my life for You. You're the center of my life. Forgive me, Lord of all my sin. Clean out my life, and I will live for You everyday for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Keeping Your Relationship With Jesus Alive
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us first and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. -John 4:10
Keeping your relationship with Jesus alive is about loving Him with everything in you. It is not about doing things to see how good you can be. It is about loving Him with every action you take. It is not about playing the "church game" or seeing how spiritual you can look. It is about loving God with your whole being, the very core of who you are.
The relationship God wants with you is one in which you love Him with everything you are because you know He loves you with everything He is.
The bible says, "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Anytime you get close to God, you're getting close to love. It's what He is made of. He wants a relationship in which you love Him willingly and are able to receive His love.
A lot of people think that having a relationship with God is just about following a bunch of rules and regulations and being good so that God will love you more. It has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with whether you keep the rules or not. He loved you before you ever gave your heart to him. When you begin to understand His love, you want to love Him back.
God's love is about having a real relationship, a friendship-with Him, and becoming the person you have always wanted to be and He wants you to be. Because you have fallen in love with the most incredible God of all humankind and realize that He is real, you want to follow Him with all your heart.
No one in the world loves us enough to die for us, especially if they knew all of our worst secrets. But that's what God did for each of us. Think about this: God loved you first, even before you loved Him.
Over the next week take some time to really think about what Jesus did for you on the cross. Journal about what the Lord has brought you through and how he has shown His love for you.
Keeping your relationship with Jesus alive is about loving Him with everything in you. It is not about doing things to see how good you can be. It is about loving Him with every action you take. It is not about playing the "church game" or seeing how spiritual you can look. It is about loving God with your whole being, the very core of who you are.
The relationship God wants with you is one in which you love Him with everything you are because you know He loves you with everything He is.
The bible says, "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Anytime you get close to God, you're getting close to love. It's what He is made of. He wants a relationship in which you love Him willingly and are able to receive His love.
A lot of people think that having a relationship with God is just about following a bunch of rules and regulations and being good so that God will love you more. It has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do with whether you keep the rules or not. He loved you before you ever gave your heart to him. When you begin to understand His love, you want to love Him back.
God's love is about having a real relationship, a friendship-with Him, and becoming the person you have always wanted to be and He wants you to be. Because you have fallen in love with the most incredible God of all humankind and realize that He is real, you want to follow Him with all your heart.
No one in the world loves us enough to die for us, especially if they knew all of our worst secrets. But that's what God did for each of us. Think about this: God loved you first, even before you loved Him.
Over the next week take some time to really think about what Jesus did for you on the cross. Journal about what the Lord has brought you through and how he has shown His love for you.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Victory-Part 2
As we continue working on our Grand Opening weekend for Harbor Life Church, I am continuing working on my message on VICTORY! Last time we talked about the "V" in Victory standing for "Viligance!" Today I move on to the "I" in Victory which for me stands for "Investing your life in the things of God!" INVESTING your life in the things of God.
The world we live in likes to shove sin and images of sin down our throats. Too many times we invest in all sorts of different avenues trying to find the right path to successs or what the world says success should look like. Spiritual VICTORY and victory over the flesh or over the enemy will never come through things of the flesh or things of the enemy. As Christian people we must INVEST in the things of Christ. Taking his word and praying to our God and holding strong to his promises will INVEST our lives into the kingdom of God. But I think it goes much further than just the normal message of "pray and read the bible!"
I bought a drum set when I was in 7th grade and learned how to play. I worked all summer long and saved up the money cutting grass in my neighborhood. As I learned to play I became drum captain of our marching band drum line in Jr. High and also in High School. I was in jazz band and when I graduated still held onto that drum set. It now sits on the stage of our church and is played every Sunday in worship to our God. (over 20 years later!) I worked for that set and invested my time, money and effort into it. I cherish it to this day. Maybe you have not felt God's presence latley or maybe you have not even spoken in prayer. How much are you investing in the kingdom of God?
When you invest in a bank there is a certain return you get on interest earned. People play the stock market and hope to get a return on their investment. How much more will God bless us when we are obedient to him and INVEST in what he promises and says we should do. It's not enough to say that you believe. True VICTORY will only come through a LIFE INVESTMENT into the kingdom. Salvation is only the beginning. Make the change and put your heart into it. Israel had everything riding on their march around Jericho. They invested their effort and prayer and time every day in obedience to God and received their VICTORY! Are you INVESTING your life in the things of God?
Next time we move forward to our "C" in viCtory!
The world we live in likes to shove sin and images of sin down our throats. Too many times we invest in all sorts of different avenues trying to find the right path to successs or what the world says success should look like. Spiritual VICTORY and victory over the flesh or over the enemy will never come through things of the flesh or things of the enemy. As Christian people we must INVEST in the things of Christ. Taking his word and praying to our God and holding strong to his promises will INVEST our lives into the kingdom of God. But I think it goes much further than just the normal message of "pray and read the bible!"
I bought a drum set when I was in 7th grade and learned how to play. I worked all summer long and saved up the money cutting grass in my neighborhood. As I learned to play I became drum captain of our marching band drum line in Jr. High and also in High School. I was in jazz band and when I graduated still held onto that drum set. It now sits on the stage of our church and is played every Sunday in worship to our God. (over 20 years later!) I worked for that set and invested my time, money and effort into it. I cherish it to this day. Maybe you have not felt God's presence latley or maybe you have not even spoken in prayer. How much are you investing in the kingdom of God?
When you invest in a bank there is a certain return you get on interest earned. People play the stock market and hope to get a return on their investment. How much more will God bless us when we are obedient to him and INVEST in what he promises and says we should do. It's not enough to say that you believe. True VICTORY will only come through a LIFE INVESTMENT into the kingdom. Salvation is only the beginning. Make the change and put your heart into it. Israel had everything riding on their march around Jericho. They invested their effort and prayer and time every day in obedience to God and received their VICTORY! Are you INVESTING your life in the things of God?
Next time we move forward to our "C" in viCtory!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
VICTORY!
We are coming up on our Grand Opening Weekend at Harbor Life Church here in Safety Harbor, FL. and on June 5th we will have our youth/childrens family worship service. My message is going tobe entitled, "Man Became Alive-7 Steps to VICTORY!" I wanted to share some of these steps over the next few weeks. In Joshua 6, Israel is told to go and take captive the city of Jericho. Jericho had a huge wall around it that kept everyone in and everyone out. It locked in what God had promised them and became this obstacle preventing Israel from obtaining their blessing. Have you ever felt like you had a wall keeping you from your blessing? I know I have.
This brings me to the "V" in VICTORY! One of the 7 steps, "VIGILANCE!" In 1 Peter 5:8, it says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
As much as you want victory in life, there is an enemy who desires just as much to rip victory out of your hands. He paints a picture of failure and seeks to devour your drive and your passion for the blessings God has promised you. He tries to place a wall or situation or obstacle in our way to God. But thank God for VIGILANCE! We are aware of the enemy.
Vigilance means, alert, watchful. Careful attention. Israel was very aware of their surroundings. They knew the situation. But they stayed true because in their vigilance, they obeyed God's command. March around that city and praise me. I will give you the city.
In our vigilance we must be aware that the verse says that the enemy walks about seeking whom he MAY devour!" MAY, not whoever he just wishes to devour. In our vigilance, always remember, Satan is defeated, the devil is defeated. Our flesh is defeated. We must be mindful not to feed the lion. Do not feed the flesh with the world but feed the spirit with the thoughts and things of God. This will bring me to the "I" in VICTORY for next time. Be blessed!
Pastor Shawn
This brings me to the "V" in VICTORY! One of the 7 steps, "VIGILANCE!" In 1 Peter 5:8, it says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
As much as you want victory in life, there is an enemy who desires just as much to rip victory out of your hands. He paints a picture of failure and seeks to devour your drive and your passion for the blessings God has promised you. He tries to place a wall or situation or obstacle in our way to God. But thank God for VIGILANCE! We are aware of the enemy.
Vigilance means, alert, watchful. Careful attention. Israel was very aware of their surroundings. They knew the situation. But they stayed true because in their vigilance, they obeyed God's command. March around that city and praise me. I will give you the city.
In our vigilance we must be aware that the verse says that the enemy walks about seeking whom he MAY devour!" MAY, not whoever he just wishes to devour. In our vigilance, always remember, Satan is defeated, the devil is defeated. Our flesh is defeated. We must be mindful not to feed the lion. Do not feed the flesh with the world but feed the spirit with the thoughts and things of God. This will bring me to the "I" in VICTORY for next time. Be blessed!
Pastor Shawn
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Welcome to our new blog for Club-D!
God is doing something great in our church, Harbor Life! Visit http://www.harborlifechurch.org/ ! Our youth group, Club-D, is in great anticipation for what comes next. Ready and willing to take our schools, neighborhoods and families for Jesus Christ. It's so exciting to be a part of God's kingdom and as the youth pastor for Club-D, I am thrilled to watch God change lives in front of me. Our grand opening or really our grand re-opening weekend is coming up as we change our name from Countryside Cathedral to Harbor Life Church. The weekend of June 4th-6th will feature every ministry and Club-D will be in worship that Saturday, June 5th! Our core is to serve Christ as he brings LIFE to those we meet. The Best Life Ever is a Life Aimed Towards God! This is only the beginning--more to come!
In him,
Pastor Shawn
In him,
Pastor Shawn
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