January 16
Bible Reading: John 3:4-15
John 3:7, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.”
I love Christian biographies. One of my favorites is the account of the life of George Whitefield. He was undoubtedly the most famous religious figure of the eighteenth century. Newspapers called him the “marvel of the age.” Whitefield preached before thousands on two continents and played a preeminent role in the Great Awakening of the mid-1700s. In his lifetime, he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million hearers.
As amazing as was his life, his conversion experience was equally so. George Whitefield was a student at Oxford and a member of the so-called “Holy Club” together with John and Charles Wesley. He was religious, but lost. He became increasingly dissatisfied with his life, quit school, and was bedridden for a time. In his despair, he was Spirit-led to abandon his religious self-efforts and trust only in Christ. He prayed, “I thirst, I thirst for faith in pardoning love. Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
God heard his prayer. He was born again and, according to his own words, “filled with peace and joy in believing.” His experience compelled him to write immediately to his family members of the necessity of the new birth. That message was well-founded in his heart and became the chief characteristic of his fruitful ministry until his death. “You must be born again” was the message that he loved to share. One time a friend asked him, “George, why is it that you preach so often upon the text, ‘ye must be born again?’ Whitefield stared at him for a moment, then said, ‘Because….ye must be born again!’” Religion, no matter how impressive, is not enough—you must be born again!
The question, with respect to salvation, is not whether you are a member of a church, or have been baptized, or have walked the aisle, or done any other “religious” thing. The question is “have you been born again?” There’s no substitute for being “born again with life from above into God’s family divine!”
“No one enters life with God by resolving to do better, turning over a new leaf, and trying their hardest. Unrenewed man cannot enjoy Heaven apart from the new birth.”—George Whitefield
HEAVEN CAME DOWN
O what a wonderful, wonderful day.
Day I will never forget;
After I’d wandered in darkness away,
Jesus my Savior I met.
O what a tender compassionate friend,
He met the need of my heart
Shadows dispelling, with joy i am telling
He made all the darkness depart.
Refrain
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.
When at the cross my Savior made me whole.
My sins were washed away
And my night was turned to day.
Born of the spirit from life of above
Into God’s fam’ly divine,
Justified fully through calvary’s love,
O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made
When as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer of grace he did proffer-
He saved me, o praise his dear name! [Refrain]
Now, I’ve a hope that will surely endure
After the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure,
There in those mansions sublime.
And it’s because of that wonderful day
When at the cross I believed
Riches eternal and blessings supernal
From his precious hand I received. [Refrain]
LookingtoJesus 