Prayer Suggestion: (You don't have to pray exactly these words)
Lord, I thank You that for have given to me Your eternal life and that I have such an awesome future because of what Jesus Christ has done for me. Lord, I want to live for You. I want my life to be all you want it to be. Help me during this next lap to receive from you everything You want me to. In Jesus name! Amen.
Bible Reading: (These Scriptures are found in the New Testament)
Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 16 through 21 (2 Cor. 5:16-21 ) - So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now! 17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun 18 All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20 We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
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A New Creation of God:
If you have genuinely repented of your sins and given your heart to Christ and received Him as your personal Lord and Savior you have become a "Born Again" Believer, or a Christian. Being "Born Again" takes place in your heart (that's your spirit, not the physical "blood pump" but your inner self ). Just like the heart of a tree is the deep inner part of the tree, so your spiritual heart is the deep inner part of you, the engine room of your life. It's that part of you that has now become alive. Your "new inner self", your heart, your spirit has been made new. The God consciousness that Adam lost from His person and every person born through him, has been rebirthed in you.
Note: When "Born Again" it's your spirit that's been created new by God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! . A new life has begun! What Jesus did when you gave your heart to Him was to create a "new heart" a new spirit within you.
James 1:18 tells us that the "new creation" within you, the "new self" is a kind of "first fruits" of all that God has created". In other words, the "new self" in you is like a new species of God's creations. You are no longer "only human"! You are a new creation of God with a whole new nature, a whole new destiny, and a whole new purpose. This is an important point for you to understand.
Note: The "Born Again" you, the "new self" is a whole new creation of God within you.
The "new self" or the "new you" is still very much a "new born". It's like a baby. So there is a growth process. This spiritual baby, your "new self" has an incredible destiny and has the spiritual potential of being like Jesus. Yes, the "Jesus life" is now alive in you. Eph. 4:24 says that the new self has been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness". Colossians 3:10 says that the "new you" (your new heart) has the spiritual potential of its Creator. So there's an awesome future and God has begun to bring Christ-likeness into your life. Step by step you will experience more of the Jesus in your life. Your thoughts and actions will become more and more like those of Jesus as you continually remain in close fellowship with the Lord through prayer and Bible reading. You to make the quality decision right now that you're going to be determined to have God's complete purposes fulfilled in and through your life.
Note: The "New creation" within you, the "new you" has been created to be like Jesus.
At this point it will be very helpful if you gain some understanding of what exactly is going on inside you. You may have already discovered that even though you've given your heart to the Lord and are "Born Again", there still seems to be some things from your "old life" the "old self", the "Adamic sin nature" that trouble you. Remember the "new self" has to grow up within you. As the "new you" increases, the "old you" decreases. The more you grow in God the less of the old self you'll experience.
Note: The "New creation", the "new you" needs to grow and mature in you.
The more of the "Jesus life" you allow to control you the less of sin you'll experience. Jesus just has a habit of chasing sin right out of where He lives. Don't forget that Jesus is alive in you.1Jn 3:9 - 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. The new creation is purposed of God to please Him therefore it is purposed of God to live free from sinning.
It's very important for you to understand that the power of sin in your life has been broken. Before Christ came into your life you were just like everyone else who's born in Adam: sin ruled. That was your nature and you just did what came natural to you. That has changed. Isaiah 9:4 says that Jesus has shattered the yoke that once burdened you and shattered the rod (the authority) of the oppressor (the devil). Psalms 124:7 says, "We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!" In this case, the fowler (bird catcher) is the devil, the snare is sin. It once had the power to hold us in its deadly grasp. Jesus has broken the snare. He has broken the power of sin in your life. Right now, regardless of what kind of sin that may be trying to keep you in its grip, it's power over you has been broken. Jesus' blood bought salvation for your life frees you from both the penalty of sin and the power of it.
Jesus has broken the power sin in your life. It no longer has the authorit to rule over-you.
We win or lose by how we choose. Once we never had a choice! Now we do! If we choose to say no to sin it can never have dominion over us. Like Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not be your master..." So, we simply learn to say "Yes" to Jesus and "No" to sin. As we do this we experience the power of God giving us victory and freedom. Ph. 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire AND the power to do what pleases Him.
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QUESTIONS:
1) When we get saved what part of us is "Born Again"? ___________
2) Is the "Born Again" you a whole new creation of God?_______
3) Who has the "Born Again" you been created like?___________
4) Is there a need for the "new you" to grow and mature spiritually?______
5) What has Jesus broken the power of in your life? ________
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SCRIPTURE MEMORIZING:
Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17 or (2 Cor. 5:17 ) - What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
