Abandoned At Birth-6

ABANDONED At BIRTH-VI—John 3:1-21

Concessions For New Birth

Attention:

Training for a S.W.A.T.(Special Weapons & Tactics) or police assault team.

Anticipation needed to meet worst-case scenario.

On the day you begin your S.W.A.T. Team service, Everything you ever held to before concerning being a free citizen, must be let go of. Now you are protecting other free citizens. You protect others with your new outlook, trusts, knowledge, & equipping.

You see the same things differently, from a different perspective. You notice nuances which you by-passed before. You enter situations you would never have entered previously. You recognize life situations, living patterns, personal & group behaviors, & body language that are all potentially life threatening to you & your mission. You Abandon the way you lived before, opening yourself to new dangers.

Likewise, when you were saved/born again/born from above, you abandoned everything you held to in the flesh. You now strive for what God wants you to be & have & do. You Abandon the way you lived before, opening yourself to new dangers. Unless you surrender your hold on your previous life & way of living, you withhold God’s gift to you of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In God’s scheme of life for mankind, New Birth—being born again— is the only means of...growing close to God, finding & employing His power, being faithful in service, finding God’s purpose for your life, becoming dedicated to His direction at every moment.

Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus yielded the essentials of being born again.

Being born again is essential to God’s plan.

What is essential to achieve new birth?

What is essential to be born again?

6 things abandoned at birth.

We have already found that

Those born from above, Abandon their previous & limiting...

1. POSITION(:1-2)

2. WISDOM(:3-7)

3. DIRECTION(:8)

4. ACCEPTANCE(:9-13) Accept Jesus & His testimony

5. BELIEF(:14-18)

6—Those born from above, Abandon their previous & limiting...

APPROACH(:19-21)

Explanation: (:19-21)Participation/Light

:19—“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

The reality of the condemnation which hangs over an unbelieving person’s head is clarified outright here.

The pure fact remains for the unbeliever that “the light” has entered the creation of God, in the open presence of everyone(1:4-10). Though the Light was both physically & spiritually in men’s presence(observable by them), these same men(generally) “loved” & thus preferred their “darkness” over & above the light(1:5, 10-11) made available to them.

Unbelievers exercised the free-will granted to them negatively rather than for their benefit. Their poor choices being made simply “because” the very things that they enter into & accomplish were “deeds” of “evil.”

“Light”—fwv—from an obsolete faw(to shine or make manifest, especially by rays; Luminousness(in the widest application, nat. or artificial, abstract or concrete, literal or figurative).

“Loved”(See :16)—agapaw—1) of persons—1a) To welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly; 2) of things—2a) To be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing. Strong—To love (in a social or moral sense). ‘the highest form of love’—RWP

“Darkness”—skotov—Strong—Shadiness, i.e. Obscurity(literally or figuratively).

“Deeds”—ergon—from a primary(but obsolete) ergw(to work); Toil(as an effort or occupation); by implication, An act.

“Evil”—ponhrov—Strong—Hurtful, i.e. Evil properly, in effect or influence, figuratively--Calamitous; also passively--Ill, i.e. Diseased; but especially(morally)--Culpable, i.e. Derelict, vicious, facinorous; neuter(singular)--Mischief, malice, or (plural)--Guilt; masculine(singular)--The devil, or (plural)--Sinners. Thayer—Ponhrov is a word at once stronger & more active(than kakov or faulov(see :20)), it means mischief-making, delighting in injury, doing evil to others, dangerous, destructive. :20—“For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

Thru their heartfelt love of darkness, their living is a mutual complement to it, in that they “practice” such “evil” things. Even their ‘good’ is in reality, “evil.”

Lovers of darkness naturally “hate” “the light.”

They “hate the light” so much, that they refuse to approach the light(with favor).

*They will not approach the light because of an inward fear that the evil they practice might be openly called out(exposed) for the evil that it really is.

“Practicing”—prassw—Verb—1) To exercise, practice, to be busy with, carry on—1a) To undertake, to do; 2) To accomplish, perform—2a) To commit, perpetrate; 3) To manage public affairs, transact public business—3a) To exact tribute, revenue, debts; 4) To act. Strong—To "practice", i.e. Perform repeatedly or habitually; by implication--To execute, accomplish, etc.; specifically--To collect(dues), fare(personally).

“Evil”—faulov—Adj.—1) Easy, slight, ordinary, mean, worthless, of no account; 2) Ethically, bad, base, wicked. Faulov is the bad chiefly as the worthless, the good for nothing. Strong—apparently a primary word; “Foul" or "Flawy", i.e. figuratively--Wicked. Used 4X.

“Hates”—misew—Verb—1) To hate, pursue with hatred, detest; 2) To be hated, detested. Strong—from a primary misov(hatred); To detest(especially--To persecute); by extension--To love less.

“Exposed/Reproved”—elegcw—Verb—1) To convict, refute, confute—1a) Generally with a suggestion of shame of the person convicted, 1b) By conviction to bring to the light, to expose; 2) To find fault with, correct2a) by word—2a1) To reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove, 2a2) To call to account, show one his fault, demand an explanation, 2b) by deed—2b1) To chasten, to punish. Elegcw means to rebuke with sufficient cause, & also effectually, so as to bring the one rebuked to a confession or at least a conviction of sin. In other words, it means to convince. Strong—of uncertain affinity; To confute, admonish. RWP—To correct a fault, to reprove, to convict. Used 17X.