Physical Birth / Spiritual Birth - What Does God's word say?

Physical Birth and Spiritual Birth - What Does God's word say?

I want to talk today about birthdays and I’d like to contrast our physical birth with our spiritual birth, first off our physical birth, with each birthday our memories may not be as good as they use to be…I have a story to tell you regarding our memories :) 

·        Three older women discussing the problems that come from getting older.

·        One said, “Sometimes I catch myself with a jar of mayonnaise in my hand in front of the refrigerator and cannot remember whether I need to put it away, or start making a sandwich.”

·         

·        The second woman chimed in, “Yes, sometimes I find myself on the landing of the stairs and cannot remember whether I was on my way up or on my way down.

·         

·        ”The third one responded, “Well, I am glad I do not have that problem; knock on wood.” Oh “That must be the door. Let me get that!”

(Laughter is GOOD MEDICINE J Poverbs 17:22)

On a serious note though - Today’s society has a hard time deciding when life begins for believers we have God’s word and it’s very clear it is at conception

Psalms 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

And then we were born, That was you,  that was me…(Can you imagine if we could remember the birthing process??? I thank God that our memories are NOT that good LOL) all of us had God’s eyes on us before our bodies were even formed, that is beyond what our minds can even begin to comprehend 

With each birthday we get a year older, some don’t like birthday’s or have stopped celebrating them all together, for me I want to celebrate, I mean after all if God is going to allow me to have a birthday I want to CELEBRATE it, to thank God for another opportunity to live my love for him and all He’s done for me and to contemplate what I am doing with my life.

Our society however doesn’t necessarily embrace getting older, but God however values us at every age and He’s given each of us specific gifts to share with others in every season of our lives, so don’t let the world define who you are….

What IF instead of dreading our birthdays we shift our focus from the fear of growing old to the Full LIVES God is calling us into? One of using our lifes daily to bring honor and glory to Him and when we find a gray hair or a wrinkle (laugh lines), ache a little or have some pain and yes even when our memory fails us from time to time try to not be discouraged cause God doesn’t demean aging, instead He reminds us that it is an honor to grow old

Proverbs 16:31 Gray head is a crown of glory

As we grow older there is so much that we can share with those younger than us, we have more experiences (good and bad) and wisdom and a perspective that we’ve gained to be able to see our lives and others in new and beautiful ways.

Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, ⁴ so that they may ^[b]encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

(and you young kids, you’re not off the hook, we all have someone younger than us to be discipling  and encouraging, so don’t think you have to wait until you have gray hair to make a difference, start today, start now.)   

   

1 Thess 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

As we age the fear of the unknown may grow stronger (all the more reason to be in Gods word daily)  God is with us every step of the way.  Most recently I got re-acquainted with my 1st and 2nd grade teacher Bernice Schmucker or as I knew her Miss Kropf, she is 90 and loving life still She hasn’t stopped being used of God, she has a twinkle in her eyes just like I remember from school, her sweet face shines Jesus through and through, how is it that at 90 she still has a zeal for life?  I truly believe   She is this way and has Joy because she leans on God daily.  Knowing everyday matters from her first to her last.

Isaiah 40:31

Yet those who ^[a]wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will ^[b]mount up with ^[c]wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

This is Miss Kropf and she can do this because she doesn’t allow the world to define her worth but totally leans on the Lord.

(lets smile at the gray hair, (there highlights) laugh at the future and remember who’s holding it ALL)

Isaiah 46:4 

Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you!
I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you

A couple of little sayings I came across 

A Joyful Spirit is always young Live your life and forget your age Spiritual Birth So now to talk about our Spiritual Birthday, it is truly the MOST important birthday of all. Each of us in this room if we have trusted Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sins then we have a New Birthday!!! Some of us remember the exact moment we were saved, some can’t remember an exact date but know that you did trust Him, for me I claim August 2, 1982….I was Born Again, a new birth, a New Birthday!!! Spiritual birth is only possible by the forgiveness of sin, since the wages of sin is death - Romans 3:23. The free gift of God is eternal life (Rom, 6:23) to all who believe in Jesus Christ (John 5:24) and this begins our spiritual birth. So what happens after you are saved?  Just as a new born you long for milk 1 Peter 2:2 says “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord” (the kindness of the Lord is Him giving you Salvation)  and as you take it in you grow, grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word and how it applies to your life.  After Milk comes food with more substance, just as a baby wouldn’t grow if they only drank milk the same is true for believers who only drink milk, there will be no growth Hebrews 5:12  By this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. You don’t want to identify with this verse, (although all of us from time to time have, but we don’t want to live there for long), we should desire to grow and to see growth in our lives. Do we get it right always?  NO, we are still sinners and every day and sometimes every second of every day as God brings things to our attention that is when we repent of those things (turn and go the other way) this is all part of the sanctification process that we will experience until the day the Lord calls us home.  But we should be able to look back on our lives and see changes, and in our daily lives right now!  sometimes they will be BIG, sometimes small, all of us have stories we could share and examples of Christ working in our lives and changing us to be more like Him.  As a fairly new believer I read the book “Children are like Wet Cement” by Anne Ortland I was reading it to be a better parent and while it helped me see the delicateness of my children and their mold-able lives, it ministered to me as well.  The difference was the cement in my life had hardened, unlike a small child who is still “Wet cement and moldable” my cement was hard. As I grew in the Lord there were times I felt as if  God was using a Jack Hammer on me, breaking apart all the hard set concrete (in real life just imagine how that would hurt to have concrete broke away from your body) well spiritually it hurts as well, I remember asking for a break as He chipped away at my insecurities, pride, self-doubt (How could He love me, was I truly His)(this was satan whispering lies in my ears) I would run to scripture and I remember reading 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate (meaning a man who acts feminine), nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. WOW those words flowed over me like a soothing breeze on a warm summers day There is so much comfort in scripture along with conviction as well….as there should be IF we are not being convicted we should be concerned.  Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Hebrews 12:8) But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. So how do we grow?  By being in God’s word daily, not just on Sundays or when we go to a bible study… I’m afraid there are a lot of people in many churches who rarely miss a Sunday and are at every function and every bible study and yet have NOT trusted Christ. It’s NOT doing and being involved in all the “church things” that saves us it is believing in the One who died for us, His shed blood was and IS the payment for our sins, we have been washed, sanctified and justified.  We are NEW creatures in Christ and we need to take hold of that If you are a believer you have God living in YOU, the creator of the universe…. what are we afraid of? (and I’m speaking to myself here) we need to be living our lives out to an audience of ONE, Jesus Christ and stop listening to the whispers of the evil one that says “You are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough to serve, to love, to do God’s work.   You’ve heard the saying “Not All Super Heros wear capes” well that’s true… WE ARE much MORE we are DAUGHTERS OF THE KING!!! And  we have the Maker of the Universe living inside us What should we fear?  Psalms 27:1 “The Lord is my light and MY Salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?  NOTHING, and most definitely not growing OLD. It’s an honor and privilege to grow old and serve our Lord and Savior!!! We ARE daughters of a King who is NOT moved by this WORLD but we should be Moved by His loving Grace that he bestowed on us, both with our physical and spiritual birth so as to…. LIVE our lives VICTORIOUSLY