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"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2Corinthians 5:17NIV Therefore: refers to the verses just before which are: For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ's love compels us: This means that the Love that Jesus Christ has for us pushes us onward to serve and love Him daily! because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died: This means that we are aware of Christ's Love for us because we are convinced, sure and positive, that Jesus' death on the cross was so that your sins and my sins and all people's sins are atoned for. Jesus' one death was to cover all of our sins, to make an atonement, or payment, or a way that we would be acceptable to God Almighty. When, by faith, you and I accept Jesus' punishment on the cross as our own punishment for our sins, then we accept the joy of dying to our own sinful desires out of love for Jesus Christ and for the fruit that He bears in our lives through the Holy Spirit! that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again: This means that you and I, who accept Jesus' atoning sacrifice for our wrong-doing, should no longer live for our own selfish desires, but for Jesus Christ who was punished on the cross for our sins, and then was raised to life again, or resurrected after he had died. We know that we too will rise again after our death if we give our sins to Jesus and live in a close and loving, obedient relationship with Him. We give our sins to Jesus in the Sinner's Prayer. if anyone is in Christ: To be "in Christ" means to be in Christ's family. To be in Christ's family, you must accept God's free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ and you must reject your sins and the sinful life you have led. It must be a very personal choice and a commitment to having a deep and abiding relationship with the Lord God Almighty for the rest of your life. This choice must be made with your heart and your head, with your very soul. This choice is between you and God only. (bring me to: Salvation or Righteousness ) he is a new creation: Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again....unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to the flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:3,5-6 We hear that we are to have a second birth. This second birth is the New Creation! The re-creation of our spiritual life to now be in Jesus Christ. To be made new creations because we are born of the Holy Spirit, born of God. Thus we become God's own personal children. We ourselves do not become God, but we are adopted by Him and are God's children permanently, according to His own promises. (For more information, read: Romans 8:1-17, 29-30; Galatians 3:26-29; Galatians 4:1-7; Colossians 1:15-23; 1Corinthians 15:3-7,20-28; James 1:17-18; and Ephesians 1:3-14) Jesus Christ said: "I promise you this. If you don’t change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3,4 CEV God says that to every one who believes and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for their personal Atonement, making Jesus his or her personal Savior and Lord, then they are adopted children of God, and He will never leave or forsake them. Child of God = John 1:1-3; John 1:12-14; John 1:29; John 3:3-8; John 3:16-18; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 3:10; 1 John 5:1; Romans 8:16-17; 1 John 5:19 And God's Promises
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered tat they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 10:44-48 Jesus explains His Living Water to the Samaritan woman at the well: Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water....Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Jesus declared, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." John 4:10,13,14,21-26 This is the new creation of being born again. When you are born of God, of the Holy Spirit, through the acceptance of Jesus' death on the cross for your sins, you ARE a NEW Creation. You are a child of God. God has adopted you for His own, and will always enable you to enjoy the life that He has lovingly prepared for you. His Promises are true! Jesus explained our new creation like this: No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Matthew 9:16-17 If you have tried to live a good life but have come up short. If you have not done all that you expected of yourself. If you have done good things but with a selfish motive or attitude. If what you have done has not brought you the joy and peace that you hope for, then you are pouring good wine into old wineskins. It is impossible for you to be holy and good without the power of God in your life just as it is impossible for you to create your own new wineskin. the old has gone, the new has come! Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again....unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to the flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:3,5-6 God is Love and Spirit and Truth and Light. All people were born from a human mother. When you were born, your birth was accompanied by water flowing from your mother's womb. Flesh gave birth to flesh. However, if you want to be a child of God, you must have a spiritual birth. You must be born of the Spirit of God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son....But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:16-18,21 Jesus Christ also says, "I promise you this. If you don’t change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew18:3,4 CEV "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 Do you want to be NEW? Only God Himself can make you new. Only Jesus Christ has the power to raise you above your circumstances and abilities. Only the Holy Spirit can teach you and help you change into a child of God. Are you tired of trying to make it on your own power? Do you find that you end up messing it all up? -- Well, you are no different than me or any one else. Without the Lord Jesus Christ at the helm of our lives, without God's All Knowing and All Loving help, and without our accepting His Lordship over our lives, we will never stop making mistakes. Would you like to receive Jesus Christ right now? Jesus loves you and wants you to let Him enter your heart and live in you. Just pray the Sinner's Prayer! He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep...I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved...I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just s the Father knows me and I know the Father -and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:3,4,7,9,11,14-15 When you receive Jesus as your personal savior, you decide to have a loving relationship with Him. When this happens, He will place the Holy Spirit in you, and you are no longer limited, or dead as you once were. You are made a new creation in Christ. That is how He can accomplish all the wonderful plans he has for you. For you to prosper and be joyful! Would like to know the promises of God for all who commit their lives to Him? Would you like to know the living God? Do you think you need to be saved? Would you like to receive Jesus into your heart? 2Corinthians 5:18-21: continues with: "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2Corinthians 5:18-21 Bring me to instruction on 2Corinthians 5:18-21. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pouring out of the Holy Spirit Prophesized The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord you God will make you most prosperous in all... Deuteronomy 30:6-9 And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughter will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28,29 "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will our out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessings on your descendants...." Isaiah 44:3 Are you thirsty ground? Are you dried up trying to accomplish good things that never seem to turn out well? Then the Lord is calling you to Himself. Won't you accept His Love and relationship now? Bring me to Prayer. Jesus said, "He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matt 22:32, Mark 12:27, Luke 20:38 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws....you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness....I will put my Spirit in you and you will live." Ezekiel 36:25-29, 37:14 Would you like the Lord God to do that for you? He is offering this freely out of His Love for you. He sees your sadness, and all of your circumstances, and He is reaching out His hand for you. It only take a small but sincere Prayer to God. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction...Now choose life... 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 is for the person who has received Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. You, who have humbly and lovingly submitted to Jesus and want a relationship with Him. Thus, you understand and accept the fact that Jesus Christ led a sinless life and took on your sins as the atoning sacrifice which is needed to come before a Holy God. Jesus' dying for you, and for all of us, means that we who accept His love, no longer choose to live for ourselves, in our own sins, but choose to live for Jesus who rose from the dead. We allow Jesus to be the Lord of our lives. Jesus will have us who believe and trust our lives in Him also rise from the dead. Rising from the dead means resurrection.
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