Spiritual gifts part 54: With Jesus, it is always now.

Pastor-Teacher
John Farley
Sunday,
November 21, 2010

Spiritual Gifts Part 54: With Jesus, it is always now.

B. The second ministry of the Holy Spirit at salvation is called regeneration or being born again. It is taught in JOH 3:3-8; TIT 3:5; 1PE 1:23.

Regeneration is the technical term for being “born again”. Being born again is a result of faith in Jesus Christ, and it occurs at the instant you personally believe in Jesus Christ.

Regeneration consists of all that is represented by eternal life in a human being, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

JOH 6:47
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”

When you understand that God has placed eternal life in you, you start to understand the importance of the principle of living your life in the light of eternity.

What survives the destruction of the universe at the end of human history establishes the highest and permanent values of life at the present time.

The word appropriate is the Hebrew adjective japheh which means “meaningful, beautiful, pleasant, well”.

Our problem is not so much what happens; our problem is our perspective on it after it happens.

What we miss is God’s timing.

What we miss is God’s priorities and values.

But when we realize that God is the author of life, EZE 18:4, and He has given us eternal life, we realize that He has determined our destiny, 1TH 3:3, and that allows us to understand why certain things happen.

Now, when it comes to getting close to eternity, we figure that you can take the longest time you can think of and keep adding to it.

PSA 90:4
For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.

You are not really ready to handle life until you are ready to handle the future, which is death and eternity.

eternity is ’et-haa`olaam which means
“the eternal” or
“the desire for the eternal”.

There is a deep desire or a yearning for that which is eternal placed in the hearts of all mankind.

It is a very delicate and sensitive desire that can be hindered by arrogance or emotionalism and it can be put out by hardness of the heart, scar tissue of the soul or occupation with the details of life.

As the believer grows, his positive volition grows, being firmly grounded in the truth, and his doctrinal thinking becomes his outlook on life.

This desire is never automatic: any person, at any time, in any stage, can become dull and destroy the desire for that which is eternal within.

In His grace, God gives us passions and desires which can only be fulfilled by Him.

God has also placed the doorway to that which is eternal in our lives. And it is a door that we can enter each and every day of our lives!

Eternal Life:
The Bible tells us how to get it, JOH 5:24.

The Bible tells us what eternal life is, JOH 17:3.

The Bible tells us where it is, 1 JOH 5:11.

Every day of your life, there is an open door in your life, and it leads to eternity. It leads to eternal life.
The door is Christ.

I came that they may have life [salvation], and have it ABUNDANTLY [tastes of resurrection life in time].

The first door is the door of salvation.

The second door is the door of confession, of rebound.

The third door is the door of adjusting to the truth of God’s word.

No matter what time it is, it is always time for one of those doors.

We tend to come across our cross and treat it like it is a problem for us.

The cross is always there every day of our life. The cross is the ultimate open door.

The cross is the ultimate solution. That’s why it’s the open door every day of our life.

The cross is the open door. On one side is our problem. On the other side is Christ.

LUK 9:23 And He was saying to them all, " If anyone wishes to come after Me [destiny], he must deny himself [source of problems], and take up his cross daily [solution! The door] and follow Me [resurrection life in time].

The past is full of regrets and guilt and condemnation.

The future is full of worry and fear.

Past regrets
Future fears
Or the cross today - the ultimate present and our door to eternal life

HEB 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

This eternal God can live in any time He chooses, but his favorite time is NOW.

The call goes out to choose TODAY.
Divine timing is a DAILY principle of DECISION MAKING.

And if you need help today, if you need answers today, ask Him for it - today.

Jesus was all about TODAY. He was completely focused on the work His Father laid out for Him to accomplish each day.