Larry Brincefield
larkayb@earthlink.net
Sunday Evening, March 9, 2003
Title: What We Believe...About Regeneration
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Introduction
I used to be a big Star Trek Fan...
I watched some of the classic Star Trek series...
but my favorite was Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I guess the thing that I loved about the series and the movies is:
the sense of exploring new and mysterious places..
and the fact that no matter how hopeless a situation became...
with a little original thinking and ingenuity, they would come up with a plan to overcome all odds.
In one of the movies that was made, Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan...
part of the story revolved around the "Genesis Project"...
The Genesis Project was a device whereby a completely dead planet...
incapable of supporting any life....
could basically be brought to new life.
I assume that they got the name from the idea of God creating the world in the Book of Genesis...
But there is also another application...
which brings us to our study tonight...Regeneration.
The Manual says, "we believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of the repentant believer is spiritually quickened and given a distinctively spiritual life, capable of faith, love, and obedience."
Read Text:
Regeneration has the idea of something that is dead,
finding new life...
renewal...
restoration...
rebirth...
In the Star Trek Movies, the Genesis Project was responsible for not only bringing a dead planet back to life...
it was also instrumental in bringing a beloved member of the crew (Spock)-- who had died-- back to life.
We believe the same thing happens when we get saved.
When we invite Jesus into our hearts...
He takes what once was dead...
He takes our dead, sinful, lives...
and regenerates us...
gives us new life.
Body
1. If Anyone...
Our text says, "IF ANYONE is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
The Gospel Message is for ANYONE and EVERYONE...
regeneration is available for anyone.
God is not willing for anyone to perish but for all to come unto repentance.
If anyone is dead in their sin...
If anyone is lifeless in their spirit...
If anyone is lost in their sin...
Then this Scripture is for you!
2. That little word "if" is conditional...
you have to meet certain conditions for this to apply to you...
"If anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation"
In one of the movies that was made, Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan...
part of the story revolved around the "Genesis Project"...
The Genesis Project was a device whereby a completely dead planet...
incapable of supporting any life....
could basically be brought to new life.
I assume that they got the name from the idea of God creating the world in the Book of Genesis...
But there is also another application...
which brings us to our study tonight...Regeneration.
The Manual says, "we believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of the repentant believer is spiritually quickened and given a distinctively spiritual life, capable of faith, love, and obedience."
Read Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Regeneration has the idea of something that is dead,
finding new life...
renewal...
restoration...
rebirth...
rejuvenation
In the Star Trek Movies, the Genesis Project was responsible for not only bringing a dead planet back to life...
it was also instrumental in bringing a beloved member of the crew-- who had died-- back to life.
We believe the same thing happens when we get saved.
When we invite Jesus into our hearts...
He takes what once was dead...
He takes our dead, sinful, lives...
and regenerates us...
gives us new life.
Body
1. If Anyone...
Our text says, "IF ANYONE is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
The Gospel Message is for ANYONE and EVERYONE...
regeneration is available for anyone.
God is not willing for anyone to perish but for all to come unto repentance.
If anyone is dead in their sin...
If anyone is lifeless in their spirit...
If anyone is lost in their sin...
Then this Scripture is for you!
2. That little word "if" is conditional...
you have to meet certain conditions for this to apply to you...
"If anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation"
If you are lost, dead in your sin, lifeless in your spiritual walk...
you just come to Christ and He will give you new life...
He will regenerate you...
He will make you a New Creation!!
You just have to be IN Christ!
In Christ is one of Paul’s favorite ways to describe the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ.
That’s why in Christianity, it’s not a RELIGION, it’s a RELATIONSHIP with the risen Lord!!
3. "If anyone is in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATION"
Christ takes our old, dead, and lifeless life...
and He regenerates us...
He makes us a NEW CREATION
Romans 12:2 says that God will transform us into a NEW PERSON!!
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord" 2 Cor 3:18 (NIV)
I can remember when Christ TRANSFORMED my life...
I was dead...
numb...
angry...
And Christ did an incredible miracle in my life...
He took what was dead and bitter...
and made my life brand new!!
4. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; THE OLD HAS GONE, the new has come"
We are all getting older...
we aren’t as young as we used to be...
I turned 40 last year...
I’m not as fast as I used to be...
I’m not as athletic as I used to be...
some of our "parts" start to wear out.
I heard that Michael Jordan is the only NBA Basketball player over 40 years old to score over 40 points in one game...
People kind of tease Michael...
He’s starting to lose his touch...
They think that this next retirement will be his last.
And I guess I kind of relate...
To think, I will probably never score 40 points in Basketball game again...
(wait a minute...I never did that BEFORE I was 40 either)..
I will probably never improve my best time in the mile from the 5:20 I ran in High School.
My 40 year old parts, I’m stuck with them...
they aren’t going to get any better...
PHYSICALLY speaking, the old has NOT gone...I’m stuck with the old...
It’s going to stay with me...
My bald spot is stuck with me...
oh, I suppose I could cover it...
or color it...
or have transplants...
But I’ll just stick with my old bald spot...
and my retreating hairline...
But SPIRITUALLY speaking...
THE OLD HAS GONE...
The dead part in my life has been rejuvenated!!!
I have been regenerated...
Christ has taken what was old and lifeless...
and made it BRAND SPANKING NEW!!
5. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, THE NEW HAS COME!
I, for one, am glad that the old is gone and the new has come!
I like the new!
I didn’t like the old dead feeling of sin in my life...
I wasn’t happy...
But praise God for the new thing that Christ has done in my life
Conclusion
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come
Doesn’t that bless you?
Jesus Christ came up with a Genesis Project long before Star Trek!
And you can find regeneration throughout Scripture...
Ephesians 2 says, "you were dead in your transgressions and sins...but because of... God...
Colossians 2:13 says, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ"
Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit"
Ezekiel 36:26 says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh"
London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling.
The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and completely trashed the inside. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage. "Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building; I want the site." You know, we can TRY to clean up our own life... but that is kind of like trying to sweep the floor of the warehouse before the wreaking ball tears it down.
God wants to do a complete renovation He wants to make us brand new! All he wants is the site and the permission to build. (Ian L. Wilson)
Regeneration...
another one of those long 5 syllable theological words that I usually don’t like to use...
but if we begin to grasp the meaning behind the big word...
You can find new life in Christ...
He will take what is dead and lifeless and make it brand new!!!
The song says,
"Something beautiful, something good;
All my confusion He understood.
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife (just my dead ol’ self)
But He made something beautiful out of my life"
