NEW LIFE
In the Bible, people hear that there is new life because of what Jesus had done for them on the cross. After hearing the gospel, they asked the apostles what they must do to receive this new life."
‘When the people heard this, they were deeply touched and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
ACTS 2:37-38
REPENT
Leave your old life behind. Decide to stop with everything that is not good for you. Several times in the Bible after Jesus heals somebody, He says "sin no more”. Turn away from your old life.
’Because of this, God has promised that he will do very great and valuable things for us. As a result, you can do what is right, like God does. The people who belong to this world want to do bad things. Those bad things make them become worse and worse. But God gives you the power to be free from all that.‘
2 PETER 1:4
BAPTISM
Be baptized the same way as the Bible describes. Being baptized as a baby is not a baptism where you receive a new spirit and forgiveness of all the stupid things we have done. When you go fully under the water then your old life remains in the water and when you come out of the water then your spirit is fully new. This is a great miracle that is talked about a lot in the Bible.
In the Bible, Jesus explains to Nicodemus about birth from water and spirit.
‘There was a Pharisee called Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish leaders. He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born again, they cannot understand the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into his mother's body. He cannot be born a second time.’ Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God. People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit.’
JOHN 3:1-6
It is sometimes said that baptism is simply a physical act. It is much more than that as you can read above. In the Bible you read that baptism washes away your sins, you become new and that sin has no longer authority over you.
‘Your baptism shows that they buried you, just like they buried Christ after his death. It is like you died with him and they buried you with him. Because of that, God will also raise us, just as he raised Christ from death. God, the Father, is so great and powerful that he raised Christ to a new life. That means that we also can live our lives in a new way. We have become united with Christ, and we have died like he died. Because of that, we will also be united with him in his new life. Just like Christ rose, we also will rise to a new life. We know that God has caused our old nature to die with Christ on the cross. This happened so that God could make us free from the power of sin in our lives. We are no longer like slaves who have sin as their master. Sin no longer has any authority over someone who has died. So, if we have died with Christ (by baptism), we believe that we will also live with him.’
ROMANS 6:4-8
HOLY SPIRIT
After baptism, let a follower of Christ lay their hands on you and pray immediately for the fulfilment of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.
You will then begin to hear God's voice and experience His power in your life. Miracles will happen in your life that you also read about in the Bible.
‘When the crowds witnessed this miracle, they were deeply amazed. They shouted praises to God because he had given such authority to human beings.’
MATTHEW 9:8 TPT
CHURCH
You need someone who can baptize you and pray for you for the filling of the Holy Spirit. This can be someone who knows Jesus and has received the new life but you can also go to a church.
A church is a place where people come together who love Jesus. This can also be a group that meets in a house. As you take your first steps with Jesus, it is very good if people can pray with you and tell you more about life with God. You will grow faster if you are discipled by someone who is mature in faith.
How do I recognize a good church? In Mark 16:17-18 shows the answer.
‘These miracles will happen when people believe in me. On my behalf, they will send bad spirits out of people. They will speak new languages. If they pick up a snake, it will not hurt them. If they drink poison, it will not hurt them. They will put their hands on ill people, and God will make those people well.’
MARK 16:17-18
As you can read in the Bible text above, in a healthy church you can see God doing miracles. In these places you can experience God's power and His presence. Maybe you won't see this in the first meeting but the fruits should be visible.
‘In this way you can know if a tree is good or bad. You can know this by the fruit that the tree makes. Figs and grapes do not grow on thorn bushes.’
LUKE 6:44
There are also religious churches that do not believe God still works. Religion is what people have made, God is relationship. You can always check out a church to see what the people are like and what the atmosphere is like. Besides the church, there are also conferences. Usually this is a one-day event with worship and 1 or more speakers who have a good relationship with Jesus. A conference can build you up tremendously and deeply change your life.
YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL
These were the first important steps to the new life. You will get to know God better and you will see that God has an extremely good plan for you. You cannot imagine what awaits you.