THE MIRACLE OF NEW BIRTH
Sunday, September 1 2002 am

Mike Blume


TEXT:

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
(Gen 2:20-23)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
(Eph 5:25-32)

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(Mat 16:18)



The miracle of BIRTH is a fascinating and awesome reality when you stop and think about it a little bit.

And this all came about in Genesis after two former miracles had to occur.
The Hebrew term for MADE in the phrase, "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman" is literally "builded" as some bible margins indicate.
People have all sorts of ideas of what the "church" is.
God created Adam by His own power from the dust of the ground.
This has very deep meaning.
Let's look at the picture further.

God built a woman from Adam's rib.
And this was the end of direct working with humanity to see them multiply.
There was the miracle of Adam's creation from dust.

There was the miracle of the woman's creation from Adam's rib.

But there was another miracle altogether.
Just to think of the awesome ability human beings have.
Stop and think about that for a moment or two.

God gave man and woman the ability to bring living souls into the world.
Woman was very special in creation.
We will be judged with how we handle this miracle working power of child birth.
With woman's great position in this wonder, its no wonder Satan aimed his targets upon her in Genesis chapter 3.
I propose that homosexuality was never intended to exist in God's creation by reason of the fact that no life and no miracle occurs through it.
So Satan tempted the woman.
Well, we read how Christ and the church are spoken of in terms of a husband and his wife.
And as Adam laid down his life and Adam's side was opened, from which the material to build the woman, Christ laid down His life in the death of the cross. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(Heb 12:2)

The joy set before Him was similar to Adam's joy upon contemplating what God would do through his deep sleep experience.
And Christ's side was pierced to prove His death.
And as miraculous as it was for God to make and build woman as it was to make Adam from dust, the creation of the church was as directly the work of God's hands as Jesus' incarnation of GOd and birth of a virgin.

But as much as the woman and man were given the gift of miracle working procreation, to have a hand in the supernatural, so to speak, so the church and Christ have been given the gift of PROCREATION.

Sons and daughters of God are BORN A SECOND TIME because there is a church and there is a Saviour.

To be born of the water and of the spirit refers to water baptism and Spirit baptism.

Jesus answered, 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.
(John 3:5)

Look which part Jesus has to play in these two elements.

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
(John 1:33)

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
(Mat 3:11)

Jesus baptizes us with the SPIRIT.
As a human man John the Baptist baptized with water, it was the people of God who comprised the church who baptized candidates who desired salvation in water in the name of Jesus Christ!

New Birth of SPIRIT AND WATER shows us the MAN and the WOMAN in God's Kingdom -- Christ and the Church -- procreating the lives of sons and daughters of God.

And if there is one thing in this world that Satan has aimed his targets upon, it is this woman called the church.
You just won't get the nourishment you need from some other nanny or woman who never birthed you in Jesus name baptism where God's Spirit filled you.

Its union between Man and Wife.... Spirit baptism and water baptism coming together in one experience of salvation... that brings life, just as man and woman unite in intimacy and together work the miracle of birth.

You claim you have God, but don't need the church.
STICK WITH THE REAL CHURCH.

Don't settle for compromises and shortcoming so-called churches.

She is Christ's means of procreating sons and daughters of God.
It was the church, with spokesperson and preacher, Peter who told people how to come to God.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Act 2:37-38)

Which Church is Which?
You don't think you need the church?
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
(John 17:6)

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
(John 17:14-20)

He said he prayed for those who would be his church.
He needs His little lady!

He needs them to baptize in water as He baptizes in Spirit.

And Satan hates this lady called the church.
And Satan succeeded in having Eve focus upon herself and some alleged things she lacked.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
(Gen 3:1-5)

The fact was that Adam and Eve were made in the image and likeness of God.
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
(Col 2:9-10)

We are complete in Christ.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
(John 15:5)

Without Christ we cannot bring forth children of God.
Whenever you think about how weak you are, then think about how strong He is!

On our own we have no miracle.
Since Satan is so fearful of the church and her role in the kingdom of God, please forever understand how much you need the Apostolic Church.

You need the preaching in Church.

You need the nurture of your heart in church.

You need the baptism the church performs in Jesus' name.

You need church as much as a child needs its mother.

God's Spirit works in the church as the Word is preached.
Forever love the Church  -- the mother who baptizes in Jesus' name, and preaches the Apostolic doctrine.
The miracle of New Birth!

This world has all sorts of rights for people that are good.
I recall times I fought with mom when dad was at work.
Jesus is coming back, church!