The New Birth (Part 2) - Jesus Teaches the New Birth | Ep. 148 - Our Father's Heart

Episode Transcript
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j - Jesus M. Ruiz (00:03):
The vision received was that of blood cells
traveling throughout the body,supplying the much needed oxygen
and other nutrients to thediffering members of the body to
fulfill their purpose.
Once the blood cells are spent,they must return back to the
heart to be refilled beforebeing sent out again and fulfill
their purpose.
Welcome back.

(00:27):
I think when last we met, wewere focusing on the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We focused on the last words ofJesus before his ascension.
And that leads us to wherewe're going right now, and I
guess the topic or the questionwe want to address is what did

(00:48):
Jesus himself teach about thenew birth?
What do the scriptures teach usabout?
What is this new birth thatreally only one person in all
the scriptures really spokeabout, and that was Jesus.
And according to one of theGospels, the Gospel of John,
that's the only place where itwas recorded that he spoke about

(01:11):
this new birth.
So we're gonna start in John.
The term born again has beenused to mean a lot of different
things, especially in modern dayChristianity, but the most
important thing for us tounderstand is what did Jesus

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mean when he used that term,because he's the only one that
used that term.
We need to know what he said aperson must do to get a second
chance, which is to be bornagain, and the only place in the
entire Bible that this isspoken of is in the third
chapter of John.
It was one particular nightthat a Pharisee came to him by

(01:59):
night, privately, to discusswith him some matters or
questions that he had, and thisis when Jesus brought forth this
topic, or this idea of beingborn again.
So we're going to read thatfrom John 3, verse 1 through 8.
With us here, I'd say we'llread two verses at a time.

(02:20):
Elder John, you can start fromyour end and we'll go around.
At a time, elder John, you canstart from your end and we'll go
around.

John H. S. Leyva (02:27):
There was a man of the Pharisees named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
The same came to Jesus by nightand said unto him Rabbi, we
know that thou art a teacher.
Come from God, for no man cando these miracles that thou
doest, except God.
Be with him.

Before we run more verse and pause.

Willda Leyva (02:50):
Jesus answered and said unto him Verily, verily, I
say unto thee Except a man beborn again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.

Now, the idea that's run rampant in
Christianity today is that allyou got to do is confess that
Jesus is from God or that Jesusis the Messiah and that's it.
But Jesus specifically saidthat if you're going to see the
kingdom of God, you must be bornagain.

(03:23):
Let's read verse 4 and 5.

Nicodemus said unto him how can a man be born
when he is old?
Can he enter the second timeinto his mother's womb and be
born?
Jesus answered Verily.
Verily I say unto thee Except aman be born of water and of the

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Spirit, he cannot enter intothe kingdom of God.

Now to Nicodemus.
This phrase be born again wasvery peculiar to him.
He did not understand whatJesus was talking about.
He thought about being bornagain at a natural birth.
That's what he immediatelythought.
But Jesus said that to be bornagain, you must be born of the

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water and of the spirit.
So he's clarifying his own termborn again and he says no, no,
no, I'm not talking about anatural birth.
I'm saying that to be bornagain, you must be born of the
water and of the Spirit.
Then you can enter into thekingdom of God, because without
being born of the water and theSpirit you cannot enter the

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kingdom of God.
Let's read 6 and 7.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit isspirit.

Now the natural childbirth process
produces a natural human being.
But to become a spiritualperson or a new person in the
spirit, you must be born of theSpirit, you must be born again.
And Jesus did not consider thisto be an optional part of being

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a Christian.
Because how did he phrase it toNicodemus?
You know we've talked a lotabout how these things are not
suggestions.
The things that we read in thescriptures they're not like
recommendations.
We kept saying in thescriptures they were
commandments.
That's a more direct thing.
And he says the same thing toNicodemus.

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He didn't say it's like anoptional.
Well, you know what?
You should consider being bornagain.
He didn't say anything likethat.
How did he say it?
What was the phrase he usedwhen he said whatever he said to
him you must, must means youhave to.
There's no ifs, ands or butsabout it.

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There's no way around it orbelow it behind it.
You need to do that, you mustbe born again.
You need to do that, you mustbe born again.
And then he comes out with someweird stuff.
At least the Nicodemus probablyis very weird to us.
You know, having been bornagain, we have a much better

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understanding.
But we're going to look at thescriptures to see.
How does the scriptureelaborate on this very
interesting way that Jesus putsit in verse 8.
Or is it my turn?
Oh, okay, the wind blowethwhere it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, butcanst not tell whence it cometh

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and whither it goeth.
So is everyone who is born ofthe Spirit.
So Jesus says that being bornagain of the Spirit, or the
Spirit of God, is like the wind.
He's using the wind as ananalogy to describe the move of

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the Spirit of God.
And He says just like you can'tsee the wind, you can't see the
Spirit of God.
He says everyone that is bornof the Spirit is like the wind.
Everyone makes a sound.
He's using the idea of a windis invisible, we can't tell

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where it comes, we can't tellwhere it goes, but we hear a
sound thereof.
So there's something about thewind that we can detect, discern
or perceive, even though wecan't see it.
And then there's a sound thataccompanies the wind.

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So I want to see what do thescriptures elaborate on this
idea of the spirit of God beinglike the wind, and you can't see
it, but you hear the soundthereof, and we're going to come
to that in just a little bitand discover what is this sound
that Jesus was talking about.
But right here it sort of ends.
This is all that Jesus has tosay about being born again, and
in order to properly interpretwhat the Bible says, we have to

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use the Bible to interpret theBible.
We can't read a.
.
.
Let's see what's a good subject?
Read a grammar book and startlearning about.
You know the English language,and then go to a Russian
textbook to understand what thisEnglish grammar was trying to

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teach us.
That doesn't make any sense.
Within this grammar book, we'resupposed to learn the rules and
the parameters of this Englishlanguage, understand how to
pronounce the consonants Is it A?
Is it A, you know?
And is it a silent E?
Does it give its power to theother vowel?

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And all of this, all of this islearned within the context of
that grammar English book.
And so I say the same thing inregards to the scriptures.
The scriptures must interpretthemselves, otherwise we don't
really have any understanding,because we weren't there when
Jesus spoke to us, spoke to them.
We didn't get to privately askJesus well, what did you mean by

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that?
Like we've seen the disciplesdo when He was speaking in
parables unto the public, we sawthe disciples say Jesus, what
do you mean by that?
What are you talking about?
The parable of the sower?
I didn't understand that.
What were you talking about?
And then Jesus gives therevelation, or the

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interpretation.
And we must do the same thingwith all of these scriptures,
because right now it ends.
This idea of being born againdoesn't really come back anymore
.
He begins to talk about someother things, but he introduces
that seed of thought and it'svery important.
So let's go a few chapterslater.
In John, chapter 7, we're goingto read verse 37 through 39.

Brother John, you can read those three verses.
Chapter 7, verse 39?
37 through 39.
Christ reveals the living water.
In the last day, that great dayof the feast, jesus stood and
cried, saying if any man thirst,let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as thescripture has said, out of his

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belly shall flow rivers ofliving water.
That this of the spirit whichthey that believe on him should
receive, for the Holy Ghost wasnot yet given, because that
Jesus was not yet glorified.

So in previous chapter, john, chapter
3, there's a connection thatJesus was trying to use in
regards to the Spirit of God andconnecting it to the analogy of
the wind.
And now Jesus stands up in themidst of everyone and says
something about rivers of livingwater flowing out of the heart

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of man.
Because that word belly, if youlook at it in depth into the
Greek word, it actually meansthe heart.
So out of the heart of man willflow rivers of living water.
And then the author of thisparticular book gives an
interpretation of what Jesus wastalking about.
Was he talking about naturalwaters that you find in a river

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or in a stream?
No, the author says.
But this Jesus spoke concerningthe Spirit.
So when Jesus spoke, out of hisheart shall flow rivers of
living water.
The author's saying he wastalking about the Spirit.
So now Jesus is using water inconnection to describing the

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move of the Spirit of God andthat it's going to happen within
the heart of man, and it wouldonly happen within the heart of
man for those that would believeon him.
But he was talking aboutsomething prophetic that had
been spoken of many times in theold covenant, this promise of
God, this blessing of Abraham,this gift of God.

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It's also known as the promiseof the father.
It was prophesied of old andJesus is now talking about it in
his days, concerning thepouring out of his Spirit, and
he's using water, living water,to describe it.
But it said the author says theSpirit had not been given yet
because Jesus had not beenglorified.

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Not been given yet becauseJesus had not been glorified.
So the living water that JesusChrist gives us is to those who
are thirsty for the Holy Spirit.
This is the very same Spiritthat Jesus spoke of and likened
to the wind.
But to find the completeunderstanding and interpretation
of what Jesus Christ wasteaching, we have to examine how

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did his disciples put histeachings into practice.
If we can figure out, well, howdid his own people that were
close to him, that he sharedtime with, that he slept on the
ground together with out in theopen, that he went to their
family's houses, that he atewith them, he drank with them,

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that he sat to eat and meet withthem.
How did they understand it?
How did they put it intopractice?
Because if anybody's gonnaunderstand what Jesus said, it
must have been the people thatwere there.
He must have had to give themclarification and understanding,
and the only place that we canfind this is in the book of A
cts.
Now let me explain somethingthat I know.

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I've talked about it before,but it bears reiteration.
We have to understand that thisbook, the book of Acts, is the
only place in the entire Biblewhere we can find the exact
words that the originalChristians told sinful men and
women about how to be born again.
It's the only place foundbecause the letters were written

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to Christians.
They were not written to theworld to evangelize to the world
on this gospel message.
They were instructions toChristians for living godly in
this world.
But the book of Acts is notlike that.
The book of Acts is recordingwhat did the disciples do after

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Jesus died, was buried, roseagain and ascended.
What did they do with hiscommandments?
What did they do with hismessage to them?
And so that's why we have to gothere, and we're gonna start in
Acts, chapter one, and we'regonna read three verses, one
through three.

So the next person who's ready to read, go ahead
and you can read that the formaltrustees have our name O
Philopolis, of all that Jesuswas able to do and to teach
until the day in which he wastaken up.
After that, he, through theHoly Ghost, had given

(15:17):
commandments unto the apostleswhom he had chosen, to whom also
he showed himself alive afterhis passion, by many infallible
proofs being seen of them fortydays, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom ofGod.

This is very important for us to understand.
When Jesus died, was buried andhe rose again, it says He
literally spent another 40 dayswith the disciples After he
resurrected.
He called them apostles and hetaught them things concerning

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the kingdom of God.
Now, considering he brought outthis idea to Nicodemus
concerning seeing the kingdom ofGod, remember, unless a man is
born again, he cannot see thekingdom of God.
And then Jesus said unless aman is born of the water and
Spirit, he cannot enter thekingdom of God.

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If Jesus was with the disciples, who then became the apostles,
for 40 days, teaching themthings pertaining to the kingdom
of God, it probably safe to saythat Jesus then elaborated and
clarified what did He mean whenhe said you must be born again?
Because, he told Nicodemus,without being born again, you
cannot see or enter the kingdomof God.

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And so now he's teaching for 40days the disciples the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God.
And since we must be born againto enter the kingdom of heaven,
I think it's safe to conclude.
He taught them what it meantand we have already read most of
what the Bible records Jesussaid during the 40 days.

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We haven't actually all readthem together, but they're found
at the end of Matthew, chapter28.
At the end of Mark, chapter 16,and at the end of Luke, chapter
24.
I don't want to go into all ofthose end of the chapters, but I
want you to.
I want you to confirm a listthat I'm about to give you right

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now, because I'm going tosummarize what Matthew, chapter
28, had recorded, what Mark,chapter 16 recorded and what
Luke 24 recorded concerning whatdid Jesus say to the disciples
after he resurrected.
It wasn't a lot, but it wasrecorded in three different

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places.
And John you can include Johnif you want, but at the end of
John it ends with Jesuschallenging Peter Do you love me
?
Do you love me?
Do you love me, Feed my sheep.
And that was something verypersonal for Peter.

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And then he went away with Johnand we don't know what he said
to John.
But John did write more booksof the Bible, not just the book
of John.
So we can sort of figure outwhy did Jesus put him aside?
But I want to focus on what didMatthew say, what did Mark say?
And what did Luke say?
Because he did give finalinstructions to his apostles,

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because Acts, chapter 1, tellsus he did so.
If we put the passages ofMatthew, Mark and Luke together,
we find that just before hisascension, Jesus instructed and
I'm just making a list of ninethings, I want you to verify it.
Number one he taught hisdisciples to go make disciples.

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Number two he instructed hisdisciples to go preach the
gospel, to go preach the gospel.
Number three he told thedisciples go and preach what I

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preached.
Jesus preached repent, for thekingdom of God is at hand, and
he told the disciples go preachrepentance.
Number four he taught them togo preach about believing, which

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is the same as faith, at leastbiblically speaking.
Number five he taught hisdisciples to go baptize, in
other words baptism.
He taught his disciples thatbaptism and remission of sins

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are tied together.
Remission of sins is alsoanother word for forgiveness of
sins, pardon or removal of sins.
Number seven he taught themthat they must be endued with
power from on high, from heaven.

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They needed to receive powerfrom heaven.
Number eight he taught themthat there would be speaking in
tongues, in languages that theyhad not learned before.
And nine he taught them toobserve his commandments.

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Now I make that list tosummarize it, because if we go
through all of them, we'll spenda lot more time here, and it's
not that it's not important, butI thought we'd just summarize
that so that we can see.
Is this what the disciples did,if Jesus really told them these
nine things?

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If we read the book of Acts,the book of Acts should confirm
it for us.
It should show us that theyfollowed these nine elements
that I summarized.
So let's read the book of Acts,let's watch and see if the
apostles followed all of theseinstructions that Jesus left

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them.
So if we go to Acts, chapterone, we can read now four and
five.

Being assembled together with them, commanded
them that they should not departfrom Jerusalem but wait for the
promise of the Father, whichsaith he ye have heard of me For
John truly baptized with water,but ye shall be baptized with
the Holy Ghost not many dayshence, okay, it is true that

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there is no explicit indicationin the scriptures that the
disciples were baptized in water.

It's not there.
But we do know that Jesus wasbaptized by who?
John the Baptist.
And if he said to John theBaptist, hey, we need to do this
to fulfill all righteousness,that in and of itself is a good
indication that his disciples,after he called them, he had

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them get baptized.
When it happened, I don't know.
I can't prove that to you.
But if Jesus said to John theBaptist, we must do this to
fulfill all righteousness, andJohn the Baptist was already
preaching a message from heaventhat he had received from God to
preach repentance and remissionof sins, that in and of itself

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is a good indication that hisdisciples also followed suit.
It just wasn't recorded for us.
Now there is some indicationthrough one particular verse in
John, chapter 4, that I'm justgoing to read very quickly to
you and you can decide foryourself what it exactly means,
but I'll read it out loud, justlisten.
Therefore, when the Lord knewthat the Pharisees had heard

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that Jesus made and baptizedmore disciples than John though
he Himself did not baptize, buthis disciples I'll leave it to
you to figure out what thatactually meant.
It's not a mystery.
It's John 4, verse 1 and 2.

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There was some idea that thePharisees were talking about wow
, Jesus is baptizing more peoplethan John.
But then, in the very nextverse, it says, though, Jesus
did not baptize but hisdisciples.
So you can go from there andsee it and say, well, maybe he
only baptized his own disciples,okay, but it's not a strong

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indication, because you're notsure whether Jesus was the one
baptizing or was his disciplesthe one that were baptized.
You don't know.
But I think there's enoughscriptural indication that we
could safely assume.
Well, if Jesus got baptized andJohn the Baptist was preaching
a message sent from God torepent and be baptized, then
that in and of itself is a goodindication that somewhere along

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the line the disciples gotbaptized.
But here we're in Acts, and hereit talks about that Jesus
wanted them to be in Jerusalembecause he had been telling them

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before he died.
You've heard from me, you'veheard from John the Baptist.
John the Baptist said the onewho comes after me, who's
mightier than I, whose sandalsI'm not worthy to lose, he's
going to baptize with the HolyGhost and fire.

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And then Jesus said for John,truly baptized with water, but
you shall be baptized with theHoly Ghost not many days from
now.
That's what he said to thedisciples before he ascended.
Go to Jerusalem, you mustreceive power from on high.
And let's read verse well,remember what Jesus said.

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Jesus said you must be born ofthe water and of the Spirit.
Well, he wasn't talking aboutthe water right now, because
there's a pretty good indicationthat they, that order, had been
taken care of, but they neededto be baptized with the Spirit.
Remember, you must be bornagain.
You must be born of the waterand of the Spirit.

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You must.
Let's read 6 through 9 now.

When they therefore would come together,
they asked of Him saying Lord,is that what you're reading?
Wilt thou, at this time,restore again the kingdom to
Israel.
And he said unto them it is notfor you to know the time or the
seasons which the Father hathput in his own power, but ye
shall receive power after thatthe Holy Ghost is come upon you,

(26:44):
and ye shall be witnesses afterthat the Holy Ghost is come
upon you, and ye shall bewitnesses unto me, both in
Jerusalem and in all Judea andin Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth.
And nine.
Oh, sorry, it's okay.

And when he had spoken these things, while
they were beheld, he was takenup and a cloud received him out
of their sight.
So the last thing Jesus toldhis disciples or his apostles
before ascending into heaven hadto do with the coming of the
Holy Spirit, which would givethem power from on high.
Let's go to Acts, chapter two,and let's read verses one
through six.
I'll read three, elder John, ifyou could read three.
When the day of Pentecost hadfully come, they were all with

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one accord, in one place, andsuddenly there came a sound.
Remember that A sound.
We talked about that in John 3,8.
The wind comes, it blows whereit lists us and you hear the
sound thereof.
Well, here, suddenly there camea sound from heaven as of a

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rushing, mighty wind.
See that connection Wind sound.
And it filled the whole housewhere they were sitting.
Then there appeared to themdivided tongues as a fire, and
one sat upon each of them.
John, read the next one.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost
and began to speak with othertongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance and there weredwelling at Jerusalem, jews,
devout men, out of every nationunder heaven.
Now, when this was noisedabroad, the multitude came
together and were confoundedbecause that every man heard
them speak in his own language".

Notice the terms that were used.
Jesus is not speaking here.
The person who wrote this wasLuke.
He was the physician in thegroup.
He wrote the book of Luke andhe wrote Acts.
He was writing it to Theophilusto let him know how did these
things come about, how did theytranspire?
And he's just describing whathad happened in that place.

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And he's using the same termsDescribing what had happened in
that place.
And he's using the same termsHeaven, wind, tongues, sound All
the type of terms that Jesusused in John 3.
So when the apostles were filledwith the Holy Spirit, the sound
that the people heard was themspeaking in tongues.

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When they were filled with theHoly Ghost, they began to speak
in tongues.
It says in verse eight how hearwe every man in our own tongue?
Because there were a lot ofpeople coming in from different
regions of the world becausethey were coming to celebrate
Pentecost, but they spokeanother language where they came

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from and they didn't understandhow these Galileans, these
common fishermen, were speakingin their tongue.
Th at didn't ,m ake sense to them.
So they heard the sound thereofand it says in verse 33, having
received of the father thepromise of the Holy Ghost which

(30:03):
you see and hear, and thatencapsulates much of what Jesus
said in John 3, verse 8.
Same terms and you get to seehow it played itself out.
How did this prophetic decreethat Jesus was making to
Nicodemus you must be born againhow did it play out?

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And we see here same termsbeing used to describe to us
what Jesus was talking aboutbeing born again of the Spirit.
Let's read 12 through 18.
Wilder, you can read three, andMonica, you can read three.

Same chapter.

Yes, 12 through 18, same chapter.

I'm reading I'm sorry, Jay 12, 13, 14.

(31:20):
Okay, yeah, okay.
Acts 2, verse 12.
And they were all amazed andwere in doubt, saying one to
another what meaneth this?
Others, mocking, said these menare full of wine.
But Peter, standing up with theeleven, lifted up his voice and

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said unto them Ye, men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known untoyou and hearken to my words, for
these are not drunken, as yousuppose, seeing it is but the
third hour of the day.
But this is that which wasspoken by the prophet Job, and

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it shall come to pass.
In the last days, said God, Iwill pour out my Spirit upon all
flesh, and your sons and yourdaughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visionsand your old men shall dream
dreams.

And on my menservants and on my
maidservants I will pour out myspirit in those days and they
shall prophesy.
So Peter said to those thatwere coming to celebrate the
Feast of Pentecost exactly whatwas happening Right then, and
there was what Joel prophesiedmany centuries before, and that

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comes from Joel 2.28.
You might want to write that inyour Bible so you have a
reference.
Where was Peter quoting thisfrom?
Now, peter had just been filledwith the Holy Ghost and he
stands up in the midst of all ofthe other disciples because
there was about 120 of them andhe begins to preach to those
that are there listening andthose that are questioning what

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is going on.
What's going on with thosepeople?
Are they full of wine?
Are they drunk?

let's read verse 32 and 33 now no, no, no, it's

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acts chapter 2, 32 and 33.
This jesus has got raised up.
Where of real?
All our witnesses therefore,being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received ofthe Father the promise of the
Holy Ghost, he hath shed forththis, which he now sees and
hears so Peter said it was Jesusthat poured out what the people
were seeing and hearing Peopleacting drunk and speaking in

(34:18):
tongues.

What did Jesus do in John chapter 7?
According to John chapter 7.

Out of their bellies shall flow the living
water.

He just poured out the living water.
Jesus just poured out theliving water and it was now
bubbling up in the hearts of thepeople, for out of their heart
shall flow rivers of livingwater.
So there's no, there should beno quibble about what exactly
happened in this place and whodid it.

(34:52):
It was Jesus pouring out hispirit upon all flesh.
And then we're gonna read Acts2, 36 through 42.
I'll read 36 through 39 and youcan finish up to 42, joe.
Therefore, as a result of all ofthis, let all the house of

(35:15):
Israel know assuredly that Godhas made this Jesus whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ.
And when they heard this, theywere cut to the heart and said
to Peter and the rest of theapostles, men and brethren what
shall we do of the apostles, menand brethren?

(35:40):
What shall we do?
Then?
Peter said to them repent andlet every one of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ forthe remissions of your sins,
and you shall receive the giftof the Holy Spirit or the Holy
Ghost, for the is to you and toyour children and to all who are
afar off, and as many as thelord, our god, will call and

(36:03):
with many of the words did hetestify and exhort, saying save
yourselves from this untowardgeneration.

then they that gladly received his word were
baptized, and the same day therewere added unto them about
three thousand souls, and theycontinued steadfastly in the
apostles' doctrine andfellowship and in breaking of
bread and in prayers.

When asked what they should do, peter told
them very simply to repent, tobe baptized in the name of Jesus
for the remission of your sins,and that they would receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.
Those who were glad to hearwhat Peter had said did what he
told them to do, so that theywould also enter into the

(36:50):
kingdom of God.
Now remember that list of ninethings that Jesus told them to
go to.
Did they make disciples Right?

then, and there they did?

Was he preaching the gospel?
He absolutely was.
The gospel is Jesus' death,burial and resurrection.
Did they preach repentance?
Absolutely.
Were they preaching aboutbelieving?
If you read the whole chapter,it was all about you need to
believe that Jesus was theMessiah.
You just killed him, but nowhe's being both Lord and Christ,

(37:25):
Hallelujah.
Did they preach baptism?
Yes.
Did they preach remission ofsins?
Yes.
Did they get endued with poweron high?
Yes.
Did they speak in tongues?
Yes.
Did they teach to observe theChrist commands?
How do you know?
Where does it say that?

Because it says that in the verses that we read
already, it says that Afterabout 3,000 souls were added,
what happened?
And they continued steadfastlyin the Apostles' doctrine and
fellowship and in breaking ofbread and in prayer.

And the apostles' doctrine is Jesus'
commandments.
The apostles' doctrine is theapostles' teachings.
Their teachings were from Jesus.
They were taught by Jesus whatto teach.
So, yeah, that whole list rightthere is confirmed in chapter 2
.
And as you continue reading thebook of Acts, you continue
seeing this played out.
What is it that they'repreaching?
What is it that they'repreaching?

(38:17):
What is it that they'reteaching?
They are obeying thecommandments of Jesus, as it was
said in Acts, chapter 1.
Or no, no, yes, acts, chapter 1.
Where it says, through the HolyGhost, jesus had given

(38:37):
commandments unto the apostlesspeaking of things pertaining to
the kingdom of God.
Now, to be born again, a personmust be born of water.
This is what it is to bebaptized in water in the name of
Jesus, for the remission ofyour sins.

(38:59):
When a person obeys God bybeing properly baptized, God
forgives him.
Right there.
He declares him to be innocentagain, without fault, without
blame, without guilt.
But Jesus said a person alsohad to be born of the Spirit.

(39:19):
He had to be born of the Spiritand he calls this the gift of
God.
He also calls this the promiseof the father.
He also calls this the blessingof Abraham.
Those three figures or termsare all synonymous and they're
speaking of the same thing thepromise of the gift of the Holy
Ghost.

(39:40):
Now to be baptized but notreceive the gift of the Holy
Ghost is like a baby being bornbut not taking a breath.
Think about that.
You wanna be born again fully.
And when you're born out of thewomb, if that baby doesn't
breathe, think about that.

(40:00):
You want to be born again fully.
And when you're born out of thewomb, if that baby doesn't
breathe, do you enjoy that birth?
No, he's got to breathe.
He's got to take that firstbreath and then scream, and then
yell and shout and do all thethings that we stereotypically
feel that babies do as soon asthey're born out of the womb and
then scream and cry.
Well, the new birth is like that.
You have to be born.

(40:21):
You have to be born of thewater, you coming out, and then
of the spirit.
You take your first breath, butthat breath is actually the
breath of God coming in you,dwelling in you, and then you
begin to speak in tongues andthere's that sound thereof.
So to be born of the Spirit isevidenced by speaking in tongues

(40:44):
.
That was the evidence.
As we continue to read the bookof Acts, we will find that the
born again plan preached by theapostles of Jesus Christ
consistently included everythingwe just read about.
So let's look at anotherexample Acts, chapter 8, verse 5

(41:11):
.

Just want me to read that one verse.

No, just keep reading two at a time and I'll
tell you when to stop.
Okay Acts, chapter 8, verse 5.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and
preached Christ unto them, andthe people, with one accord,
gave heed unto those thingswhich Philip spake, hearing and
seeing the miracles which he did, For unclean spirits crying
with loud voice came and thatwere made, and there was great

(42:05):
joy in the city and there was acertain man called Simon, which

(42:26):
before time, in the same city,used and they heeded him because
he had astonished them with hissorceries for a long time.

But when they believed Philip, as he preached
the things concerning thekingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ, both men and womenwere baptized.
Then Simon himself alsobelieved and when he was
baptized he continued withPhilip and was amazed seeing the
miracles and the signs whichwere done.

Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had receivedthe word of God, they sent unto
them Peter and John who, whenthey were come down, prayed for
them that they might receive theHoly Ghost.

For as yet he was fallen upon.
None of them.
Only they were baptized in thename of the Lord Jesus.

So right now, just so that we're all on the
same page Philip goes to Samaria.
He's going to be preaching thegospel to the Samaritans.
Luke tells us that there wasalready a man there he was
already impressing the people,astonishing them with his
sorceries, and his name wasSimon the sorcerer.
But then Philip came andpreached and he was astonishing

(43:50):
them with miracles of God thateven Simon the sorcerer was
astonished at and he believedwhat Philip was preaching and he
got baptized, according to thegospel that Philip was preaching
.
But even though they believedwhat was being preached by

(44:11):
Philip because it does say Simonhimself also believed it says
that they had not received thegift of the Holy Ghost, even
though they believed.
This is important because themodern Christianity today says

(44:32):
something contrary.
It says as soon as you believe,you receive.
But that didn't happen in thescriptures.
I don't want to talk about whatyou think.
I want to talk about whatsayeth the Lord, what sayeth the
scriptures.
And the scriptures said thateven though they believed, even
though they got baptized, theystill had not received the gift
of the Holy Ghost.

(44:53):
I'll go back to my analogy.
If you're born, yeah, you wantto come out of the womb, but you
want to breathe, and withoutbreathing, it's not a very good
birth, it's a.
What do they call it?
A stillbirth, stillborn birth,because you were never really
alive.
That breathing brought you thatlife.

(45:17):
Well, they were believing theywere baptized, but they had yet
to receive the gift of the HolyGhost.
I have to point that outbecause that's very important
for us to understand.
Go ahead and read the next two,17.

They laid their hands on them and they received
the Holy Ghost 17.
And the next verse too yeah wasgiven.
He offered their money sayinggive me also this power, that on

(45:56):
him, so ever, I lay hands, hemay receive the holy ghost.
But peter said unto him mymoney perish with thee because
thou has thought that the giftof god may be purchased with
money and there's peter usingthat phrase the gift of god.

That that's referring to the Holy Spirit
that had just been poured outupon the Samaritans through the
laying on of hands.
And even though Simon hadbelieved what Philip preached,
even though Simon had beenbaptized into the gospel that
Philip had been preaching, hedidn't receive the gift of the

(46:31):
Holy Ghost.
He wanted the power to be ableto do that and he tried to buy
it with money.
So I want to leave this chapterwith this understanding you
don't receive the gift of theHoly Ghost simply by making a
some sort of confession of faith, simply by believing, nor by

(46:52):
getting baptized in water.
Now we all have read that thefirst time people received the
gift of the Holy Ghost, how wasit known?
What was the evidence, what wasthe sign or the sound?
Anyone Speaking in tongues?

(47:17):
They spoke in tongues.
Now, did it say in thisparticular chapter that they
spoke in tongues?
Nope, it didn't.
I can honestly say that.
But Philip saw something.
It says Philip saw that throughthe laying on of hands I mean,
I'm sorry, not Philip Simon sawthat through the laying on of
hands of Peter and John, theyreceived the gift of the Holy

(47:39):
Ghost.
He saw something.
Well, what did they see andhear back in Acts, chapter 2?
They saw them speaking intongues, they saw them acting
like they were drunk, and so theonly indication, or the only
assumption that we could safelymake of what did Simon the

(47:59):
sorcerer see, it must have beenthe same thing that they saw and
heard back in Acts, chapter 2.
There's nothing else.
We can go on, or we can simplysay, well, we're not sure there.
Okay, well, let's keep onreading.
So the next example is Acts,chapter 10, verse 1 through 6.
Who's turn to read?

(48:23):
Am I Yours?
Okay?
There was a certain man inCaesarea called Cornelius, a
centurion of what was called theitalian regiment, a devout man
and one who feared god, with allhis household, who gave al

(48:46):
ninth hour of the day.

An angel of god coming in to him and saying
unto him cornelius.
And when he looked on him hewas afraid and said what is it,
lord?
And he said unto him thyprayers and thine alms are come

(49:08):
up for a memorial before god.

And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon
whose surname is Peter.
He lodges with one Simon, atanner, whose house is by the
seaside.
He shall tell thee what thououghtest to do.

It's interesting how Luke introduces
this man, because he speaks veryhighly of this man.
He was devout, he feared God.
That's good.
He gave alms generously to thepeople.
Alms is like money orbelongings to the poor.
Oh, he was taking care of thepoor.

(49:51):
This is all biblical.
And you know what?
He prayed to God always Fourvery good things to have as a
part of your reputation ifyou're one who fears God, who
believes in God.
All of those are great.
But he saw in a vision an angelof the Lord tell him that you

(50:16):
need to send men to Joppa andget this guy named Simon and
bring him over here.
His name is also Peter.
And what are the last eightwords of verse six?

He shall tell thee what thou art to do.

Oh, my goodness, wait a second.
Luke introduces this man.
He's devout, he's God-fearing,he's taking care of the poor,
he's praying to God always, andstill an angel comes to him and
says hey, there's somethingyou've got to do Now.
Remember what Jesus said toNicodemus you must be born again

(50:56):
.
According to the transitionthat I use, it says he will tell
you what you must do.
What you ought to do is whatyou must do, is what you have to
do.
There's still something thatCornelius needed to do, even
though he acknowledged theexistence of God even though he
had a great reputation amongstthe people around him as one who
feared God.
He was always praying.
He had a great reputationamongst the people around him as

(51:16):
one who feared God.
He was always praying.
He was always taking care ofthe people.
But that is not what gets yousaved, Jesus said if you want to
see and enter the kingdom ofGod.
It didn't say you got to bedevout.
It didn't say you got to fearGod.
It didn't say you had to prayto God always.
It said you must be born again.
You must be born of the waterand of the spirit.

(51:38):
And so what do you think?
Peter, who stood up on the dayof Pentecost and told the people
what they must do?
By the way, I skipped that.
I want you to go back to Acts,chapter 2.
I want you to read somethingreal quick Verse 37.
Verse 37.
Now, when they heard what Peterhad preached, that you had

(52:00):
crucified the Lord of glory, youwere the ones that put him up
on the cross.
And he has been resurrected,he's been made both Lord and
Christ.
And when they heard this, whenthey were convicted and felt
guilty that they actuallycrucified the Messiah, the one
that they were waiting for, whatdid they ask Peter and the
guilty that they actuallycrucified the Messiah, the one
that they were waiting for.
What did they ask Peter and therest of the disciples?

Men and brethren.
What shall we do?

What shall we do?
What must we do?
Must we do?
Is I got to do something torectify the situation?
And it's the same thing that'sbeing said to Cornelius.
He will tell thee what you mustdo.
Jesus said you must be bornagain of the water and of the
Spirit.
I forgot to mention that, butthat's incredibly important as

(52:45):
well.
So let's now skip to verse 42and 48.
I will tell you that Peter wentthere hesitantly but obeyed the
voice of the Lord, because hesaw in a vision about eating
unclean animals and things.
And you know, it was Godshowing him that.
Hey, those unclean people thatyou have been calling unclean

(53:06):
since many, many centuries ago,the Gentiles don't you call them
unclean anymore, because I havecleansed them.
Remember, jesus didn't just diefor the sins of his own people,
he died for the sins of theworld, and that made salvation
available to all mankind.
And he made them clean by hisown sacrifice.

(53:30):
So he's telling Peter I've madethem clean.
Now go tell him what he must do.
And when he got there, he washesitant and he told him you
know, jews are not supposed togo into the house of the
Gentiles, but God has shown mesomething and I'm here to tell
you, and he starts talking aboutJesus.
He starts talking about thismiracle working man whom God was
with, doing all sorts of things, and before he even finishes,

(53:53):
this is where we get to chapter40, sorts of things, and before
he even finishes, this is wherewe get to chapter 40 or, excuse
me, verse 42.

Go ahead and read that.
And he commanded us to preachunto his people and to testify
that it is he which was ordainedof god to be the judge of quick
and dead.
To him give all.

So Peter is doing it again.
Remember that list of nine he'stalking about.
Jesus commanded us to preach tothe people To testify that he
was ordained of God.
The people to testify that hewas ordained of God and to him.
All the prophets witnessed thatthrough his name, whoever
believes in him should receivethe remission of sins.

(54:44):
All those elements not all ofthem there, but at least four or
five of them are right therefrom that list of nine where
Peter is preaching.
And then what happens?
Patricia, I think that's you.
You're next, yeah.

Well, peter, yet spake these words, the Holy
Ghost fell on all them whichheard the word, and they of the
circumcision which believed,were astonished as many as came
with Peter, because that on theGentiles also poured out the
gift of the Holy Ghost, For theyheard them speak with tongues
and magnify God.
Then answered oh, okay.

Peter didn't get to finish.
While he was preaching, theSpirit of God fell on them and
we can ask ourselves well, howdid they know?
Well, we've got some examplesalready previously set before us
.
We really have Acts chapter 2,which is very explicit, very
detailed, into what happenedwhen people received the gift of

(55:45):
the Holy Ghost.
Acts chapter 8, well, we haveto kind of assume it was kind of
alluded to Philip.
We know, heard and sawsomething, but we don't know
exactly what.
We can only go by the previousexample, which is called a
precedent.
But here it says specificallyagain Luke is very detailed in
this account the gift of theHoly Spirit had been poured out

(56:06):
on the Gentiles.
And the very next verse see, webreak up the verses like it was
a complete different thought.
But it's actually acontinuation of the thought,
because the gift of the HolyGhost have been poured out on
the Gentiles also, for theyheard them speak with tongues
and magnify God.
That's the complete thought.
Because then it says then Peteranswered so what was the sign

(56:33):
to the Jews that were with Peter?
Because Peter didn't go byhimself.
Peter went with a few of theJews that were also disciples of
Christ and they heard themspeak with other tongues.
And so read the next two versesoh, I'm sorry, it's my turn.
And this is important.

(56:54):
And those of the circumcisionwho believed, meaning those of
the Jews who believed in Christ,were astonished because the
gift of the Holy Ghost waspoured out.
They heard them speak withtongues.
How did they know?
Well, they were on the day ofPentecost, they experienced what
happened, they knew what toexpect when the Holy Spirit was

(57:16):
poured out, because they hadalready experienced it.
So Peter says can anyone forbidwater?
You see, Jesus said you must beborn again.
And right now they were born ofthe spirit.
But Peter says wait, wait, wait.
We can't forbid water.

(57:38):
Jesus commanded us to preachabout baptism.
He commanded us to preachbaptism for the remission of
sins in his name.
So can any one of us hereforbid water when we all
recognize that they all receivedthe gift of the Holy Ghost,
just like we did when on the dayof Pentecost, and he commanded

(58:00):
them to be baptized in the nameof Lord?
And so we see the fruition offulfillment of all the things,
all these nine elements that welisted in the beginning.
Listed in the beginning.

(58:24):
This is what Cornelius must orneeded to do.
He needed to be.
What?
Two words Born again.
You're not born again,Cornelius, but I'm going to make
a way for you.
I've already made the way.
I'm going to send someone tonow deliver the message to you
so that you can be born again.
And that's exactly whathappened to them.
If we go to Acts, chapter 11,verse 12, Peter is recounting
what transpired.

(58:45):
Because the Jews back inJerusalem, they were like what
are you doing, peter, going tothe Gentiles?
What is the matter with you?
They had issues.
And then he said the spirittold me to go with them.
What is the matter with you?
They had issues.
And then he said the spirittold me to go with them.
Then, don't doubt anything, andsix brethren accompanied me.
So six other Jews accompaniedhim so that be their more

(59:06):
greater witness in that place.
It wasn't two or three, it wassix plus him, that's seven.
And we entered into the man'shouse and he told us that he saw
an angel telling him to go getme.
But look at what Peter says inverse 14.
Peter will tell you words bywhich you and all your household

(59:29):
will be saved.
Peter reiterates what Corneliuswas told by the angel.
He will tell you what you mustdo.
Peter says I came here to tellyou how to be saved, so we can
connect the two right there.
What you must do is how youmust get saved, and that's
exactly what Peter went there todo.

(59:49):
He says and as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
, as upon us at the beginning.
He was telling the Jews inJerusalem hey, the Holy Spirit
fell upon us, like it did at thebeginning when we all received
it.
How did they know?
For they spake in other tonguesand they magnified God, just
like we did when we received thegift of the Holy Ghost.

(01:00:10):
So then I remembered how Jesushad told us indeed baptized with
water, but you shall bebaptized with the Holy Ghost or
the Holy Spirit.
If, therefore, God gave themthe same gift, the Holy Spirit,
as he gave us when we believedon the Lord Jesus Christ, who

(01:00:31):
was I, that I could withstandGod?
That's tremendous testimoniesright there of what one must do
to be born again.
What was the gospel?
How did people respond to it?
What was the evidence?
What secured the whole thing?
The promise of the Father, thepouring out of his Spirit that
secured it.
But Peter said we can't forbidwater.

(01:00:53):
He remembered what Jesus said.
He remembered you must be bornof the water and of the spirit,
for John indeed baptized withwater.
Let's go to chapter 16 in Acts,and on the Sabbath day, in verse

(01:01:20):
13,.
We went out of the city to theriverside where prayer was
customarily made, and we satdown and spoke to the women who
met there.
That was Paul.
And now a certain woman namedLydia heard us.
She was a seller of purple fromthe city of Thyatira and she
worshiped God.

(01:01:41):
The Lord opened her heart toheed the things spoken by Paul,
opened her heart to heed thethings spoken by Paul, and when
she and her household werebaptized, she begged us saying
if you have judged me to befaithful to the Lord, come to my
house and stay.
So she persuaded us.

(01:02:04):
Now this is not a great detaileddescription of what happened,
but there's enough elementsthere, based upon all that we
know of before in Acts, chapter2 and Acts, chapter 8 and Acts,
chapter 10, that this woman, herheart, was open to the message
that Paul was preaching.
And Paul was preaching the samemessage Peter was preaching,

(01:02:29):
the same message Philip waspreaching.
Let's go to verse 25, samechapter.
John, you can read three versesand we'll go around reading
three verses until verse 34.

John H. S. Leyva (01:02:42):
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed
and sang praises unto God, andthe prisoners heard them and
suddenly there was a greatearthquake so that the
foundations of the prison wereshaken and immediately all the
doors were opened and everyone'sbands were loosed and the
keeper of the prison awaking outof his sleep and seeing the
prison doors open, he drew outhis sword and would have killed

(01:03:04):
himself, supposing that theprisoners had been fled.

Willda Leyva (01:03:08):
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying Do
thyself no harm, for we are allhere.
Then he called for a light andsprang in and came trembling and
fell down before Paul and Silasand brought them out and said
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:03:31):
There it is again what must I do?
That's the same thing that wassaid in Acts 2, verse 37.
Men and brethren, what shall wedo?
Cornelius, he will tell youwhat thou oughtest to do.
Here's that question again.
What must I do to be saved,paul?
And what does he say?

simply, and they said Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be savedin thy house.
And they spake unto him theword of the Lord, and to all
that were in the house and toall that were in the house.
And he took them the same hourof the night and washed their

(01:04:14):
stripes and was baptized, he andall his straight way.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:04:21):
That means right away, he and all his
family right away.

And when he had brought them into his house, he
set meat before them andrejoiced right away.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:04:38):
There's other elements of the nine listed.
What must we do to be saved?
A lot of people stop at verse31 and say well, all I got to do
is believe.
Can you finish reading theaccount, because it says a
couple of verses.
Later, in that same hour of thenight, they washed their
stripes.
Immediately, he and all hisfamily was baptized.

(01:05:01):
It wasn't just that particularphrase, although that's the
start, because he has to tellyou what to believe in.
He told the disciples go, teachthem who to believe in.
Who am I?
Who to place their faith andtrust in?
Hey, believe on the Lord JesusChrist, and you will be saved.
Yeah, that's where it beginsFaith toward God.
But don't think repentance wasbypassed, because Jesus taught

(01:05:25):
them to preach about repentance,taught them to preach about
baptism, taught them to preachabout baptism.
Taught them to preach aboutremissions of sins.
Taught them to go preach thegospel, taught them to go abide
in my commandments that I havegiven you.
And so we see it played out inlittle elements.
It doesn't have to be the samefull-fledged, detailed account.

(01:05:45):
We have enough evidencesalready.
So, as Luke continues toprogress through this, he
doesn't continue to giving allof the elaborate details of what
was said and what was done.
He's just now summarizing,because he's already set a
pattern, a precedent, and thenwe can just follow that pattern
and precedent.

As we read through the scriptures, acts, chapter
18, verse eight and Crispus, thechief ruler of the synagogue,
believed on the Lord with allhis house, and many of the
Corinthians hearing believed andwere baptized.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:06:24):
Again, it's not a huge detailed account,
it's just a one sentence summary.
Hey, this man was preached to,this Crispus, this ruler of the
synagogue, and he believed onthe Lord, because that's what we
were taught to go out andpreach, believing on the Lord.
But notice, they heard, theybelieved and were baptized.
It didn't just end with beliefand they were baptized.

(01:06:51):
Acts, chapter 19.
Peter is preaching to theapparent disciples as he was
passing through Ephesus.
We can read two through six Me.

And he said to them, as he was talking to the
apparent disciples 6.
Me.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:07:09):
And he said to them, as he was talking to
the apparent disciples did youreceive the Holy Spirit when you
believed?
This is Paul?
And they said to him we haven'theard as much as whether there
is a Holy Spirit.
In other words, what HolySpirit, what are you talking
about?
And he says in verse 3, Paulsays that, wait, wait, wait,
what are you talking about?
And he says in verse three,Paul says well, wait, wait, wait

(01:07:30):
, wait, what were you baptizedinto?
And they said well, we werebaptized into John's baptism.
See, Paul was having adiscourse with them, he was
dialoguing with them.
And after he's dialoguing withthem, something is said,
something is.
There's something there thatPaul discerns and he starts
asking well, wait, wait, wait,wait, wait, wait.

(01:07:51):
Did you receive the gift of theHoly Ghost?
What are you talking about?
What Holy Ghost?
Wait, wait, wait.
You don't know about the HolyGhost.
Okay, what were you baptizedinto?
See Paul's trying to get to theroot.
What kind of disciples arethese?
They don't have the Holy Spirit.
They ain't even heard of him.
Well, wait a second.
What were you baptized into?
Oh, John's baptism.
Oh, you're John the Baptist'sdisciples, but you're still not

(01:08:15):
in.
And so he then begins to tellthem well, yes, John did indeed
baptize with the baptism ofrepentance, saying to the people
that they should believe on him.
Who would come after him, thatis, on Christ Jesus.
So now Paul is telling them whodo they really need to believe
in, which is exactly what Jesustold the disciples go and preach

(01:08:38):
who to believe in, to believein my name and baptism.
And so he continues and sayswhen they heard this, they were
baptized into the Lord JesusChrist.
They had believed what he said.
They responded to it, Whetherthey said, well, what do we do?
How do we fix it?
We don't know what they said,we just know what they did.
And what they did was theybelieved on him and they got

(01:09:00):
baptized.
And then it says and when Paullaid hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came upon them and theyspoke with tongues.
Just in case you missed it,Just in case the little details
that were not spoken of in theprevious examples, here let me
repeat it again Luke says theyreceived the gift of the Holy
Ghost and they spoke in tongues.

(01:09:21):
So, from Acts, chapter 2, toActs 19,.
There's a common witness thatspeaking in tongues is the
evidence that you received thegift of the Holy Ghost and wham
bam, right in the middle is Acts, chapter 10, that said the same
thing.
So you got the beginning, yougot the middle, you got the end
and you got a couple of otherexamples which are not as
detailed, but the pattern isthere.

(01:09:42):
It's obviously there, as towhat is expected to be born
again of the water and of thespirit.
Paul recounted his conversionexperience in Acts, chapter 22.
You know, Paul was met on the.

(01:10:03):
Was it Emmaus?
No, it's not Emmaus Road.
He rode to where.
Where was he going?
Damascus, Damascus?
Yes, it's not Emmaus Road.
He rode to where.
Where was he going?
Damascus, Damascus, yes, on theDamascus Road.
And he met Jesus in a blindinglight and he had scales on his
eye and he was blind and he hadto go fast for three days
because he told him to wait inthe city.
And then, when he waited in thecity, Jesus sent a servant of
his named Ananias who came andlaid hands on him.

(01:10:26):
And when he came to Paul hesaid Jesus sent me that you
would receive the gift of theHoly.
Ghost.
There wasn't a lot of detailsin there, I just sort of
paraphrased and summarized it.
But Paul recounts what happenedto him.
He says the story himself inActs, chapter 22, verse 12
through 16.
Can someone read that?

John H. S. Leyva (01:10:55):
12 verses 16.
But Peter Acts 12 verses 16 or22?
.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:11:01):
No.
Acts 22, verse 12 through 16.

John H. S. Leyva (01:11:07):
And one, ananias, a devout man according
to the law, having a good reportof all the Jews which dwelt
there, came unto me and stoodand said unto me Brother Saul,
receive thy sight.
And the same hour I looked upupon him and he said the God of
our fathers hath chosen theethat thou shouldest know his

(01:11:42):
will and see the just one.
And he said thy sins, callingon the name of the Lord.
And it came to pass.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:11:48):
That's good.
Yeah, right there, that's good.
So Paul is recounting himselfwhat happened to him, which was
recorded of by Luke in Acts,chapter 9.
And if I go back and read Acts,chapter 9, just to show you how
it was originally recorded,just to show you how it was
originally recorded, whenAnanias came to Paul, ananias

(01:12:11):
went his way, entered into thehouse, put his hands on him and
said Brother Saul, the Lord,even Jesus, that appeared unto
me in the way as thou camest,hath sent me that thou mightest
receive thy sight and be filledwith the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell fromhis eyes, as it had been scales
, and he received sight for itwith, and arose and was baptized
.
That's how it was recounted byLuke.

(01:12:34):
And when Paul recounts it, yousee that even he had to call
upon the name of the Lord goinginto the waters of baptism
himself.
But what was he specificallysent for?
That he might receive his sightand receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost, he also had to beborn of the water and of the

(01:12:55):
spirit.
What must Paul have done?
Be born again, just likeeverybody else.
Paul was no different and hewas not exempt from any of the
requirements.
Now we have just read everybiblical account of people
obeying the gospel and enteringinto the kingdom of God.
If you read the letters whichwe call the epistles, the

(01:13:17):
apostles explain thesignificance of water baptism.
Romans, chapter six.
Well, the verses one throughthree, monica verses four-6.
We've got three references andthen we're done.

(01:13:37):
Romans, chapter 6, 1-3, 4-6.

What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin?
That grace may abound, Godforbid.
How shall we that are dead tosin live any longer therein?
Know ye not that so many of usas were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into HisChrist, were baptized into his

(01:14:09):
death.
Therefore, we are buried withhim by baptism into death that,
like Christ, like as Christ wasraised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father.
Even so we also should walk inthe midst of life, for if we
have been planted together inthe likeness of his death, we

(01:14:32):
shall also be also in thelikeness of his resurrection,
knowing this, that our old man'scrucified with him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed,that henceforth we should not
serve sin.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:14:49):
When we are baptized, the body of our sins
is done away with and we areburied with Jesus Christ so that
we can rise to walk in thenewness of life.
This is just another way ofsaying we're born again.
Just as the water of the RedSea brought freedom from slavery
to the children of Israel, thewater of baptism brings freedom

(01:15:13):
from the slavery of sin.
Let's read Titus 3, 4-7.

I'm going to put some of these on my teeth.
It's kind of an opportunity.
Teeth, teeth.
Yes, here it is Okay.
Thank you chapter 3, 4 through7 sure, and then she can

(01:16:19):
piggyback.
I thought she had already readRomans oh, I'm sorry.
Okay, go ahead but after thatthe kindness and love of God,
our Savior, toward man appeared,not by works of righteousness,
which we had done, but accordingto his mercy.
He saved us by the washing ofregeneration and renewing of the
Holy Ghost.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz (01:16:39):
Whom he poured out on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, having been justified by
his grace, we should becomeheirs according to the hope of
eternal life.
That phrase, the washing ofregeneration, that's referring
to the washing away of our sinin the water, baptism, the birth
of the water.
Isn't that what Ananias toldPaul?
Go, wash away thy sins.

(01:17:01):
Calling on the name of the Lord, there's your washing of
regeneration.
You're putting to death thatold man.
But it also said and therenewing of the Holy Spirit
refers to the nature of Christbeing placed within us through
the spirit, baptism, the birthof the spirit.
Together they constitute thenew birth.

(01:17:23):
They're inseparable.
We've talked about this beforewhen we talked about the blood,
the water and the spirit in theOld Covenant.
The blood caused the angel ofdeath to pass over, the water
caused them to find escape fromtheir enemies, and their enemies
were then taken care of.
But they needed to be led bythe spirit for the rest of their

(01:17:47):
days.
What happened to those firstgeneration of Israelites that
came out?
Because of their unbelief,because they would not let
themselves be led by the spiritand follow after him?
They died in the wildernesses.
Their carcasses rotted there.
So you need to have the spiritlead you and guide you in all of

(01:18:07):
your ways, and our last verseor last book is 1 Peter, 3, 20
and 21.
Who formerly were disobedientwhen once the divine

(01:18:32):
long-suffering waited in thedays of Noah, while the ark was
being prepared, in which a few,that is eight, souls were saved
through water?
There is also an antitype whichnow saves us Baptism.
Not the removal of the filth ofthe flesh, not by taking a

(01:18:55):
shower, but the answer of a goodconscience toward God through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Because it wasn't your brightidea to go get yourself in water
to baptize yourself.
You did it out of obedience andbecause you did it God's way.
That's why you should have aclear conscience before God.

(01:19:17):
Lord, I did what you said andthat's what I put my faith and
trust in.
You told me to do it.
I went and did it.
Maybe it didn't make much sense, but I knew enough to know that
if I did it your way, that youwould not have any cause to be
angry with me.
Now, if I did it my own way andI just came up with my own

(01:19:42):
bright idea to please you, youmight have cause, like you did
with Saul.
Remember we spoke about Saulstepping out and doing stuff
that was not what he wascommanded to do.
But when you do things God ways, you should have a clear
conscience before God.
And that's what it's talkingabout.
I did it your way, God, and Itrust it in your way.

(01:20:05):
I trust it in your word.
So, according to Peter rememberhe preached on the day of
Pentecost we are saved by themeans of water baptism.
And some people say, well,that's not really significant,
that's just an outward sign of ainward witness of something or
other that happened to you.
But that's not the way it'sdescribed by the apostles of

(01:20:26):
Jesus Christ.
The salvation of Noah throughthe floodwaters was a type, was
a pattern of our New Testamentsalvation, and the fulfillment
of that New Testament pattern iswater baptism in the name of

(01:20:47):
Jesus Christ.
Be baptized in the name ofJesus Christ.
Be baptized in the name ofJesus Christ.
For what?
The remission of your sins.
Remember that the Israelites notthe Israelites, the Egyptians
that came after them.
They were forgotten when theygot under the water.
Do you think the Israelitesworried about the Egyptians
coming after them anymore?
They never mentioned theEgyptians coming after them

(01:21:08):
anymore.
They never mentioned theEgyptians coming after them.
They never mentioned beingafraid.
Oh, they're still after us,they were done away with.
Now.
They had different issues.
They had lust in their ownheart for the things that they
had in Egypt, but that's adifferent story.
But they didn't have to worryabout the Egyptians coming after
them, their old self comingafter them.

(01:21:29):
So the word answer that is usedin this passage but the answer
of a good conscience toward Godis actually a Greek word that
refers to making a legal appeal.
If you think of being in thecourt of law, what Peter is
saying that when a person isproperly baptized, he's making a

(01:21:51):
legal appeal to God for a clearconscience.
This clearing of our consciencetakes place when God forgives
us and washes away our sin.
Because if you go get baptized,believing what God said, that
if you get baptized for theforgiveness of your sins, then
you should have a clearconscience before him.

(01:22:12):
He's forgiven you.
What a marvelous state to be in, where your sins are forgiven.
That is a tremendous blessing.
That's spoken of in Romans 4.
So what we described issomething that we talked about
in this whole series.
There's a witness.
It's spoken of in 1 John 5, 8.

(01:22:32):
Does anybody remember thewitness in 1 John 5, 8?
There are three that bearrecord in the earth, bear
witness in the earth.
What are they?
The blood, the water, the spirit.
And I've already mentioned theExodus story.
Had the blood, the water, thespirit we all spoke about or we
all shared about the tabernstory?
Had the blood, the water, thespirit we all spoke about or we
all shared about the tabernacle?
Had the blood, the brazen altar, the water, the brazen labor,

(01:22:55):
the spirit?
You had to be anointed fromhead to toe so that you can be a
high priest.
That's anointed to be able toenter into the holy of holies In
the work of Christ.
We have the blood, the sheddingof his blood.
We have the burial of him inthe tomb, the water, Christ.
We have the blood, the sheddingof his blood.
We have the burial of him inthe tomb, the water.
And we have the spirit, theresurrection of Christ.
And then in our lives we havethe blood repentance from sin.

(01:23:18):
We have the water, the water,baptism for the remission of
sins.
And we have the spirit, whichis the receiving of the Holy
Spirit.
It's all throughout thescriptures and it's at work in
our lives now if we obey thegospel as it has been given to
us through the apostles, whoknew better than anyone what

(01:23:38):
were the commandments of JesusChrist, Amen.
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(01:24:23):
and obey His voice.

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The New Birth (Part 2) - Jesus Teaches the New Birth | Ep. 148

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