I would like to talk to you today about what it feels like to give your heart and life over to Jesus Christ. Many of you are Somali Christians and you know that believing in Christ saved your soul. You know that when you put your faith in Jesus Christ you were born again. Jesus Christ washed away your sins and you received eternal life. God poured His Holy Spirit into you and you were born again. Maybe you had a vision about Jesus Christ; maybe you had a dream about Jesus. But whatever happened to you – you understood that Jesus is the way, the truth and life.
It says in the Bible:
“And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” – 1 Peter 1:17-23
“Haddaad Aabbow ugu yeedhaan kan nin walbaba u xukuma eexashola’aan iyo sida shuqulkiisu yahay, cabsi Ilaah isku dhaafiya wakhtiga aad qariibka tihiin. Waxaad og tihiin inaan dabiicaddiinnii bilaashka ahayd oo aad awowayaashiin ka dhaxasheen laydinkaga soo furan waxyaalaha baabba’aya oo ah sida lacagta iyo dahabka, laakiinse waxaa laydinku soo furtay dhiiggii qaaliga ahaa oo Masiix oo ah sidii wan yar oo aan wax ceeb ah iyo iin toona lahayn. Isaga horaa loo yiqiin intaan dunida la aasaasin, laakiinse wakhtiyadii dhammaadkoodii ayaa loo muujiyey idinka aawadiin, idinkoo isaga aawadiis ku ah kuwa rumaysan Ilaaha isaga ka soo sara kiciyey kuwii dhintay oo ammaanay isaga, in rumaysadkiinna iyo rajadiinnu ay Ilaah ku xidhnaadaan aawadeed. Sidaad naftiinna u daahiriseen markaad addeecdeen runta xagga jacaylka walaalnimada oo aan iska yeelyeel ahayn, aad iyo aad qalbiga isaga jeclaada. Idinka mar kale laydinkuma dhalin abuur baabba’aya, laakiinse waxaa laydinku dhalay abuur aan baabba’ayn oo ah erayga Ilaah oo nool oo waara.” – 1 Butros 1:17-23
It also says in the Bible:
“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-8
“Ciise ayaa u jawaabay oo ku yidhi, Runtii, runtii waxaan kugu leeyahay, Qof hadda anu mar kale dhalan, boqortooyadii Ilaah arki kari maayo. Nikodemos wuxuu ku yidhi, Sidee baa nin mar kale u dhalan karaa isagoo duq ah? Miyuu mar kale uurkii hooyadiis geli karaa oo ka dhalan karaa? Ciise baa ugu jawaabay, Runtii, runtii, waxaan kugu leeyahay, Qof haddaanu ka dhalan biyo iyo Ruuxa, boqortooyadii Ilaah geli kari maayo. Waxa jidhka ka dhashaa waa jidh, waxa Ruuxa ka dhashaana waa ruux. Ha la yaabin haddaan ku leeyahay, Waa inaad mar kale dhalataan. Dabayshu way u dhacdaa meeshay doonto, waxaadna maqashaa xiinkeeda, laakiin ma ogid meeshay ka timaado iyo meeshay u kacdo; waa sidaas oo kale qof kasta oo Ruuxa ka dhasha.” – Yooxanaa 3:3-8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. When you put your faith in Christ you received His Spirit.
Then another thing happened to some of you. You told your family and friends that you are a Christian. It was like going over a waterfall and not knowing where you were going to land. And in some ways it was harder to tell your family that you were a Christian than it was to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior it was probably a personal experience; you were likely alone with Christ as He did His wonderful work in your life and body. Then, when the time came to tell your family and friends about your faith in Christ your faith became public. It was no longer a secret; it may have felt like you were going over a waterfall. This was a much different experience.
May God protect you and guide you and help you in all your difficulties. One young man was only 14 years old when the police caught him and tested his faith. This happened in Romania under the communist government. The communist government wanted to find the Christians to arrest them all and put them into prison. So they took a Pastor’s son and started to beat him so that the boy’s father would tell them where all the Christians lived.
They began to beat the boy so badly that the father finally agreed to tell the police where the Christians lived. But his son cried out to his father and told him not to give up the names and places of the other Christians because he didn’t want to have a coward for a father. So the father remained silent as they beat his son to death.
Not all of us will have to suffer such a death; not all of us will have to suffer at the hands of torturers. But we all at one time or another are faced with the decision of whether or not we are going to trust in Jesus Christ with our life. It is easy to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but it is difficult to live to face people who are angry with us for following Jesus Christ.
All of us will one day face death and our earthly bodies will pass away.
This is what the Bible says about the death and after life of a Christian:
“It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.
What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” – 1 Corinthians 15:42-55
“Sarakicidda kuwii dhintayna waa sidaas oo kale. Waxaa lagu beeraa qudhun, waxaana lagu sara kiciyaa qudhunla’aan. Waxaa lagu beeraa maamuusla’aan, waxaana lagu sara kiciyaa ammaan, waxaa lagu beeraa itaaldarro, waxaa lagu sara kiciyaana xoog. Waxaa la beeraa jidh naf leh, waxaana la sara kiciyaa jidh ruux leh. Hadduu jiro jidh naf leh, jidh ruux lihina waa jiraa. Haddaba waxaa qoran, Aadan oo ahaa ninkii ugu horreeyey wuxuu noqday naf nool, Aadankii ugu dambeeyeyse wuxuu noqday ruux wax nooleeya. Hase ahaatee, kan ruuxa lihi ma aha kii ugu horreeyey laakiin kan nafta leh, markaa sna kan ruuxa leh. Ninkii ugu horreeyey waa kan dhulka oo cammuud ah, ninkii labaadna waa kan jannada. Sida kan cammuudda ah kuwa cammuud ahina waa sidaas oo kale, oo sida kan jannada, kuwa jannaduna waa sidaas oo kale. Oo sidaynu ugu eg nahay kan cammuudda ah, sidaas oo kale ayaynu ugu ekaan doonnaa kan jannada.
Waxaan leeyahay, walaalayaalow, Jidhka iyo dhiiggu ma dhaxli karaan boqortooyada Ilaah. Qudhunkuna ma dhaxli karo qudhunla’aanta. Eega, waxaan idiin sheegayaa wax qarsoon. Dhammaanteen ma wada dhiman doonno, laakiin dhammaanteen waa layna beddeli doonaa, dhaqsiba, intaan il laysku qaban, markii buunka ugu dambeeya la yeedhiyo; waayo, buunku waa dhawaaqi doonaa oo kuwii dhintayna qudhunla’aan baa la sara kicin doonaa, waana layna beddeli doonaa. Waayo, kan qudhmayaa waa inuu gashado qudhunla’aanta, oo kan dhimanayaana waa inuu gashado dhimashola’aanta. Markii kan qudhmayaa uu gashado qudhunla’aanta, oo kan dhimanayaana uu gashado dhimashola’aanta, markaas hadalka qorani wuu noqon doonaa ee ah, Dhimashadii waxaa liqday libtii. Dhimashoy, meeday libtaadii? Dhimashoy, meeday micidaadii? – 1 Korintos 15:42-55
May the God of peace fill you with all joy as you believe in the blessed Savior Jesus Christ.
Let us pray…