The born again experience

[thephnxman]

ARE YOU BORN AGAIN?

“Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot SEE
the kingdom of God.”

I was “born again” in a jail cell; it was the “HOLE” in a sheriff’s substation,
actually. I was arrested on an seven years old warrant. It was for a very minor
traffic violation. So why was I in the “HOLE”? Well, the warrant read, “DO NOT
RELEASE!”: so it was solitary confinement for me. No, I was not running from
the law: I was running from God and didn’t know it.

Yep. God definitely got my attention. But it wasn’t the jail cell that did it: I was an
obstinate old mule intent on sinning, and jail was God’s way of dealing with me:
getting me alone. God took me aside, and showed me that I was a sinner: I
was
as unrighteous on my extreme, as He was righteous and holy on his. But He
also allowed me to SEE the extent of my sins. I confessed to Him that I was
wrong and He was right: and I knew that I was on my way to hell. But that
didn’t worry me. You see, I deserved to go straight to hell that very night, and I
told God that. But as I spoke to God, I felt a stirring in my soul: and I told
God that I repented of my sins: but not just because of the sins I had committed,
but because my sins had OFFENDED the ONE who had created me for Himself!
I was then “born again”.

So, was I saved? Of course not! Had I repented? YES! Listen: “…except a man
be born (genao) again (anothen) he cannot SEE (understand, perceive, discern)
the kingdom of God.” In order for anyone to make a godly decision, it must of
a truth be genao (begotten) anothen (from above): it must come from God. No
man can repent on his own: it must be a calling from God. It is HE that calls us,
and shows us whom we really are: sinners in need of a Savior. God does with us just
as He did with the Israelites, He first took them out of Egypt and brought them
to the edge of the Jordan River. They SAW the Promise Land, but “…did not enter
in because of their unbelief.” They made a choice to believe the ten unfaithful
witnesses, and that decision took them BACK to wander in the wilderness for forty
years…and to die there!

The “born again” experience is simply a valley of decision. It is where a person can
agree with God and REPENTS, or stays on the wrong side of the Jordan River!

Brother Villa