5. To notice and experience the Kingdom of God I must invite God to birth in me a spiritual awareness. 

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

What do you think about the idea that we can only notice God and His spiritual space if He first gives us the ability to notice Him?

In Psalm 103:7, David says, “He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel (NIV). How might you explain the difference between noticing God’s deeds and understanding the ways God works in our lives?

If the capacity to understand and know God personally is only given to those who desire an ongoing relationship with God, does this seem fair?

If God’s purpose in creating us was to be able to enjoy a relationship with us, why would He design it so that not everyone would be able to experience Him?

Our motives for wanting to notice God may fluctuate between wanting to simply be with God, to wanting to in some way use God for my own benefit. Where do you find yourself on this continuum? Where would you like to be?

What do you desire to experience with Jesus in His Kingdom?

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual reality: we live in a world that has spiritual elements, and we are spiritual beings. But to notice and connect with God and His Kingdom, we must be “born again.” Just because we can notice the spiritual things in our world does not qualify us to notice God. We need an additional ability to notice and connect with God within our spiritual world.

The phrase “born again” is often quoted. Commonly, it is repeated to convey the idea that we have moved from a condition that would result in an eternity in hell after we die to a condition that provides us with eternal life with God after death. This understanding is correct but incomplete. Being born again gives us the means to live spiritually in God’s Spiritual Kingdom. Jesus refers to this capacity as resulting from a second birth—not physical, but spiritual.

Being born again means that we receive the Spirit-guided capacity to notice and experience God in our everyday lives. This second birth is not simply changing our beliefs and opinions about God. It is not like changing political loyalties. It is not developing extensive knowledge about the Bible, God, or topics about God. Attending or even becoming a member of a local church does not constitute being born again.

The “born again” that Jesus refers to must include a personal, ongoing awareness of and connection to God, initiated by God’s Spirit. This second birth can happen in a variety of ways, but it typically will include an experience in which we perceive the reality and love of God not just with our minds, but with the deepest part of ourselves. We move from knowing about God to knowing that we have met God.

Just as the birth experience is unique to each individual, so too the growing process after the birth will be different for every person. Although God always initiates our birth and growth, our openness and desire is also important. If we are not ready, hungry, and thirsty for God, He will not force us into this second birth. On the other hand, if we sincerely invite God to grow in us a capacity to notice and know Him for the purpose of an ongoing relationship, He surely will.