"The Breakthrough: Being Born Again" - The Apostolic Connection
by Kenneth Carpenter

Kind: sermon
Scripture: John 3:1-8, John 3:5, John 3:9-10, John 3:16, John 3:16

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--the-breakthrough-being-born-again-the-apostolic-connection
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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John chapter 3 and verse number one. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. For no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, and please note the double verily. It's there intended to call close attention. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, hearth the sound thereof, but can't not tell whence it cometh and whether it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the spirit. Now drop all the way down to John three and verse number 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Today for just a couple of moments I want to minister on the breakthrough. The breakthrough. Being born again. The breakthrough. You may be seated. The breakthrough being born again. The definition of breakthrough according to our dictionary is a sudden increase in knowledge, understanding etc. An important discovery that happens after trying for a long time to understand or explain something. a breakthrough, a sudden increase of knowledge. On December the 17th, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a windswept beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 ft. Three more flights would happen that day. But that was a tremendous breakthrough in aviation in history when those two brothers, the Wright brothers, had that tremendous breakthrough there at Kittyhawk, North Carolina, and flew airborne for 20 uh 12 seconds, excuse me, 12 seconds. at the height of 20 feet and the distance of 120 ft. It was a breakthrough. It was a breakthrough. A breakthrough in aviation. Do you know that their breakthrough has led today that the distance covered by the Wright brothers first flight is less than the wingspan of today's 747 jumbo jet. A jet that you can get in and fly around the world. Fly for hours. first breakthrough was 120 ft. There's nothing like the breakthrough of being born again. The life of being born again is similar to the 120 ft. But you see, the best is yet to come. It's the life of a breakthrough bornagain person. That's right. that goes a distance that is simply unbelievable. It's unbelievable what God does with people's lives. When people will allow themselves to be born again, it's unbelievable. The man Nicodemus, the religious ruler, came to Jesus by night. Whether it was for secrecy or whether he wanted special time with him, we would have to judge in this matter. But he came to Jesus by night and he complimented the master by telling that our Pharisee group know that you're a teacher come from God because no man could do the miracles that you do. And when he said that, Jesus addressed an issue with this man that was the greatest issue of a man's life. No one has ever lived who has not had the breakthrough of being born again. He knew what Nicodemus needed wasn't some cold stone letter of a law. But Nicodemus needed the power of a breakthrough of being born again. He said, Nicodemus, he said, verily, verily, Nicodemus, except a man be born again, he can't even see the kingdom of God. Unless a man be born again, he cannot even enter into the kingdom of God. Do you understand where that leaves the man, the person who is not born again? Brother Snitzer, do you understand the plight of the individual who is not born again? Jesus said the man who is not born again is blind. He cannot see. He is unable to see. But you know that if that wouldn't be bad enough, Jesus said you can't even enter the kingdom. Which means he is crippled. Now look at the pitiful plight of humanity. Without being born again, you can't see the things of the kingdom of God. And if you could see the things of the kingdom of God, you can't even walk to get the things of the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, "Well, how would this phenomenon, how would this new birth take place? How would this born again experience take place?" And Jesus said, he he said, "Would I enter my mother's womb and be born a second time?" Oh no, Nicodemus, stop thinking in fleshly realms and in fleshly terms, Nicodemus. He said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh." In other words, he said, "If it were possible to enter your mother's womb and be reborn, you know what? That would make you twice the sinner you already are. Because you're born once in sin. And if you could be born again, you would be twice the sinner that you already are. Now he said, "Oh no, this birth comes by being born of the water and being born of the spirit." He said that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the spirit, it is spirit. He said in John 3:5, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water or out of the water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." So Jesus said, "It takes a baptism of water and it takes a birth of water and it takes a birth of spirit." Now, there are those that try very hard to explain this scripture away to get out of what is about to happen today with our dear, precious sister Chapman. Sister Chapman is going to be baptized in water today in the name of the one who died for her. Now, let it be known that Sister Chapman is not being baptized to join this local church. She is not being baptized for membership here. She is not being baptized solely on the example that Jesus was baptized. Oh no, she is being baptized because the scripture emphatically teaches that it is in the water with the name of Jesus called out that part of this new birth begins to take place. There are those there are those that try very hard to explain this away. Uh there have been um explanations that lack a lot of uh of just uh common sense. If I would just say it so fast, maybe they wouldn't get so offended. But um uh it's just uh that that that Jesus was talking about the the water that surrounds the infant, the baby in the womb. that that was the water. But but yet he calls for something to take place, not something that had taken place. He said a man must be born again of the water. He is talking about something that is to take place, not something that is to that that that needs to take place. That is already this needs to be done. But but then there are others that say that he is talking about the word that you've got to be born again of the word of God of of of which that still lacks to be propped up by scripture. Um, I I simply would ask if Jesus would have wanted to use the word water, what word would he use? If he meant H2O, what word would he have used? Water. If he had wanted to use the word word, he was versed with the word. He spoke about the word. He said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and their life." Could he not have easily said here, "You must be born again of my word." And we would have believed it when it fell like that. But he used the word water because he knew that part of the new birth experience, the breakthrough of the new birth experience is when a person surrenders their will and life to God and is willing to walk into the water and to be buried, baptized in the name of the savior, Jesus Christ, that there is a removal of those sins. Acts 2:38 speak of the remission of sins. Nicodemus Jesus told him that you must be born again. And in verse number nine, Nicodemus said answered and said, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Art thou a master of of Israel?" and knowest not these things. In other words, when Nicodemus said, "How in the world would the born again experience happen?" And Jesus said, "You mean to tell me you're schooled in the laws of Ezekiel and Isaiah? You're schooled in the laws of Jeremiah that they all spoke about a new heart and a clean heart. Will I give you? You mean you're schooled in all of the Old Testament laws that that the purpose the totality of the word of God is that man would get another chance after Adam failed? Man would get another chance. How is it that you have studied this and you don't know? And then Jesus Christ for several scriptures talked about the serpent that was put on the pole and they looked and lived in Moses day. And then Jesus came to John 3:16 and he simply said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Dear people here in the audience today and those watching by television, will you please understand and see with me that John 3:16, the most popular of all scriptures in our New Testament, was actually the altar call to a man who needed to be born again of the water and of the spirit.