Change Your World | Chapter 1 | "Alive"

My first recollection of being alive on planet earth was when I was about 3 years old or so. It’s interesting that the few recollections I have are all traumatic. I remember being forced to take a nap on a cot at the preschool my parents had me enrolled in. Later, I learned that the preschool was a part of a large Assemblies of God Church in Concord, North Carolina, where my parents lived at the time. Around the same childhood stage, I remember going into surgery as a young child, surrounded by surgical lights, and doctors and nurses in blue surgical gear. I remember falling asleep and then awaking in a bed at my grandparents house in Charlotte, North Carolina. I remember painfully playing with my brand new Star Wars toys that were lavished on me for successfully coming through surgery. I’m sure you have similar memories from childhood, we all do.

We soon discover — who our family is, what city and country we live in, and the fact we reside on a circular planet called earth. For me, the next huge question that begged to be answered was, “How in the universe did we all get here?” And I remember asking my mother that question on multiple occasions. “So mom, who created the first person?” Of course she said, “Well, Ted, God did." I didn’t quite get it, so I asked, “ But who created God?” I took my mother into an endless circle of questions about the origins and purpose of life and soon learned I had to just believe that no one created Creator God, he just has always been.

As I grew older, I discovered that not everyone believed in the existence of God like my family did. My father, Pete, was raised Greek Orthodox by a Greek father, Theodore Pete Thevaos, who’s parents immigrated from Greece through Ellis Island, New York. And occasionally, growing up, my father attended a Methodist Church with his mother, Sarah Harkey’s, side of the family. So needless to say, my father believed in God, although it was more impersonal rather than personal.

My mother Rosalind, on the other hand, was raised Lutheran and then shifted Pentecostal by a Hispanic father and an Austrian mother. Her parents met during World War II in Wels, Austria when her father, Abel Vela, helped to liberate his wife, Angie Hager’s, family from the brutal Nazi Regime. So my mother, like my father, experienced teaching on the existence of God throughout her formative years, however, her understanding was on a deeper more personal level.

Being that faith and religion plays such a pivotal role in family traditions, it was no different for me. I was sent to Christian faith-based schools from the very beginning, vacation Bible schools, and youth camps in the summer. The first time I realized that there was more to life then living in a body on planet earth was at a kids summer camp.

By this time, my family had moved from the Charlotte, North Carolina, where my dad’s family lived to San Antonio, Texas, where my mother’s family lived. I was about 4 years old when this transition happened. My parents began attending Revival Temple, the Pentecostal Church that my mom attended when she was a teenager. They enrolled me in Kings Academy, the church school, and when the age of 10 rolled around I remember going to a kids summer camp at the H-E-B Campgrounds on the Frio River in Leakey, Texas.

Like any kid, I was thrilled to stay in cabins, swim in the river, jump off cliffs into the water, and play with my friends. What I didn’t expect was what happened to me during the ministry portion of the weekend. A preacher, by the name of David Cook, brought a typical gospel message with a big booming preachers voice. He had my attention throughout the message, but his closing was what captured my heart. He said, “If you’re not 100% sure that you’re going to meet Jesus in heaven when you die, then you need to pray the salvation prayer with me today. Today is the day of salvation!” Pastor David invited me and all the boys and girls, that I knew, down to the front of the cafetorium to pray with him to be 100% sure of our salvation. I was petrified for a few seconds, concerned about what everyone would think of me, or whether I’d be the only person to respond and stick out like a sore thumb. Quickly, something shifted in me for the first time ever. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was more concerned about what God thought about me and about my long-term future. I thought, “If this preacher is right, I want to be on the right side of eternal life.”

So I took the steps of faith to the front, only to discover I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. My older sister, Natalie, got there first. That was a reassuring feeling, so I closed my eyes and repeated the salvation prayer. The next thing that began to happen was very unusual, I began to feel a powerful presence come over me and I couldn’t stop crying. In that moment, I believed everything that Pastor David had told me from God’s Word. I believed it was true and I could feel the truth within me. The only other times I had cried, were because someone hurt my feelings or because I didn’t get my way. But this time I was crying for what felt like a good reason. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded with boys and girls who had responded as well. To my amazement, Natalie and I, later were awarded the Camp Queen and Camp King awards for our excellent Christian character. I like to joke and tell people, we received the Christian character awards and we were barely Christians. I like to think it was because our parents raised us to respect authority figures and to be polite; and we were also naturally kind of shy. The rowdy rambunctious kids didn’t even have a chance!

So as you’re probably beginning to discover, before you can “Change The World” by “sharing your Jesus story with heart”, you have to first experience a change in your own heart by none other than Jesus himself, the Son of God. The Word of God says in Colossians 1: 15-23,

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
    in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
    and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
    Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
    and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is his body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead.
    So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

It was this section of scripture that gave me a clearer understanding of what happened inside of me that summer day at kids camp. Then about 15 years later, at age 25, this scripture also inspired the song “Alive”, which is the first song on the “Change Your World” album that goes along with this book.

I returned home, with my wife Anna, late one evening to our apartment. It was in the middle of our annual missions conference at Destiny Church in San Antonio Texas, where I served as youth pastor and one of the worship leaders. Marcos Witt, an ambassador and worship leader to the Spanish speaking world, had just preached an inspiring message from this very passage. So, I felt compelled to sit down at my keyboard, with my Bible open to these verses, and a strong feeling that a song was coming on. It’s hard to explain why a songwriter writes a song, except to say, there’s a passion burning inside that begs to be expressed. I guess, I want others to know and feel what I’m feeling in that moment. The revelation is so strong, at times, that I feel that everyone can be moved like God is moving me. Many times it’s so strong that I feel the weighty presence of God and I can’t stop crying. It’s such a special emotional experience that I feel some of God’s best attributes like — love, joy, and peace — in such a burst that I don’t want it to ever end. I feel complete, whole, accepted, and like I can do anything in life for the glory of God. Kind of makes me feel like Superman, if you know what I mean.

This is the same feeling I felt for the first time at 10 years old, when I felt the presence of God for the first time in my life. In this first chapter called “Alive”, I want to give you a biblical understanding of what it means to become spiritually alive in Christ. To actually have the God of the universe, that I asked my mom about as a child, living inside of you. To become Born Again, will change you for now and for eternity and should draw the attention of everyone around you as well.

Before I take a few pages to explain the born again experience, I’ve left some space below for you to write down your born again experience or what I like to call your Jesus Story. If you can identify with my Jesus Story, that I’ve already shared, you should be ready to write down a brief version of your Jesus Story that a lost world needs to hear. It’s super important that you think through and write down that first transformational moment of following Christ in faith. This story can and will be like second nature to you, by the time you finish reading this little guide book to “Sharing your Jesus story with heart.” People you care about will feel the love of God and the love he’s put in your heart for them.

In the late 1970’s, there were a few splashes in the pan when several notable public figures came out with the news that they had become “Born Again.” President Jimmy Carter actually wrote a book called — “Born Again.” This was around the time of the Jesus movement in America and many people were indeed coming to faith in Christ. But as you well know, everyone only appreciates and respects what Coca-Cola coined as their slogan around that same time in 1971, “The real thing.” Instinctively, God has written his truth in creation and in the hearts of people that cause them to long for genuineness, fidelity, and authenticity. People generally believe that actions speak louder than words and they’re looking for “the real thing” when it comes to knowing God.

With that being said, let’s look at what the Bible has to say about the born again experience for the new believer in Jesus. Let’s first revisit, in more detail, the passage in Colossians that we already read and then we’ll take a look at a story in the Gospel of John where Jesus speaks with a religious leader, by the name of Nicodemus, about being born again.

In Colossians 1:15-17 we are introduced, by the Apostle Paul, to the eternal truth that the God of the universe is a triune being that has revealed himself throughout human history as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are sections of the Bible that helpfully speak of God as a loving Heavenly Father and other sections that speak of God as the Holy Spirit who indwells believers for holy living and boldness to share the gospel. All of these explanations, and more, are very helpful as you understand more about God. However, I think it’s fascinating that God gives us revelation here, through the Apostle Paul, about one of the biggest hinderances to people trusting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The hinderance is this! All world religions, and millions of people, have a problem believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Simply put — they don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God, and God himself, that created the universe and created them in his glorious image. You see, this is an extremely important truth for you to establish in your heart and to convey to those who you share your Jesus Story with. This is the crux of the entire Gospel Story. In fact, this is why the word “gospel” literally means “good news” because it’s the best news in the history of the world. If God didn’t grace this planet in the flesh, as Jesus, as God himself “seeking and saving the lost” then there is no punch line. Your Jesus Story will fall flatter than an iHop pancake.

Here’s the story! Even though Jesus was there at creation and co-creating with the Father and Spirit as one, he came and showed us what a loving Heavenly Father actually looks like, sounds like, and acts like. This is powerful because it shows us that even though Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary, and grew up like the rest of us in strength and wisdom; as Creator he has the power to deliver us from disease, sin, and oppression. You need to know that Jesus was more than just a good man, or like many espouse, a prophet. Jesus was and is the Creator of you and me and the entire universe. He has no beginning and no end. He is eternal. And because of his divine nature, he has the power to set you and all you will share your Jesus Story with, free. And most importantly, he has the power to reveal his love and acceptance to you that ushers you into the eternal family of God. That’s why the Colossians passage says, “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.” The church of Jesus Christ is synonymous with the family of God. God always wanted kids and now you’re one of them!

Now the second half of Colossians 1:18 gives us the definitive proof that Jesus is God and the only way to have a relationship with the Heavenly Father when it says, “He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.” (Colossians 1:18) Do you realize that Jesus is the only founder of a world religion that actually rose from the dead? Mohammed, the founder of Islam, died and was buried. Ramakrishna, the founder of Hinduism, died and was buried. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, died and was buried. You get the point. Every other founder of a world religion went the way of dust as the Bible says, “For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19) However, Jesus was in the beginning as the eternal God of creation, he lived a perfect sinless life, and then he was the first of many Christians to rise from the dead. The first to leave these mortal bodies tainted by sin and sickness and enter immortality where there is no more suffering, no more pain, and no more tears in heaven.

Resurrection from the dead and eternal life, my friends, is the first benefit of following Christ. As a believer in Christ, you’re receiving the coveted fountain of youth that Ponce DeLeon searched for in the New World of America. You’re receiving what people distraught with the aging process long for, but settle for some temporary plastic surgery. You’re receiving what people gripped with anxiety long for as they are paralyzed with the fear of dying. You’re receiving what the Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 1:8-9, “8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Because you stepped out in faith to embrace the historically accurate record of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you have nothing to be afraid of. Your life is on the upswing and no matter what happens you are destined to live with Jesus in heaven, forever. How do you like those benefits? That’s why the Word of God again expresses the strong assurance that overtakes the follower of Jesus when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:9,  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” and then continues in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What a reassuring future we have as believers in Jesus and what a reassuring message of hope we have to share. Eternal life is the greatest of the news that you need to include in your Jesus Story. Again, no other world religion can touch it!

Now, let’s finish this chapter by looking at how Jesus emphasizes the born again experience to a secret follower of Jesus who came to him in the cover of darkness. Nicodemus was a wealthy, well connected, religious leader during the time of Jesus. When the majority of his peers where ruthlessly opposed to Jesus’ ministry and the possibility of him being the Messiah, the long-awaited Savior of Israel, Nicodemus began to believe and feel something completely different. The small fire of curiosity that began to burn in his soul brought him to the place of a secret meeting with Jesus. Let their conversation change your life forever:

2 “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

I want you to hone in on two verses in particular. “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” and secondly, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” When you prayed that salvation prayer in faith, like I did as a 10 year old boy, two things instantly happened inside your being. You begin to see and enter the kingdom of God and secondly you were born again in your Spirit. Something supernatural happened to you that’s beyond your natural birth, of which Jesus refers to as, “being born of water.” When you were born in your mother’s womb, your body was formed and protected by the water of her womb, called amniotic fluid. But this is not what Jesus is referring to. Jesus was teaching Nicodemus then, and is still teaching us today, that we are not simply a temporal body aimlessly wandering planet earth. Not at all, like I expressed at the outset of this book, we are humans that are triune beings similar to our Triune God. You were created by God as a Spirit, that has a Soul, and who lives in a Body. In essence, you are Spirit, Soul, and Body. And when you’re born of water into this world by your mother, you’re very much alive in body. However, because of inherited sin from Adam and the law of sin and death, you were spiritually dead. And beyond that, your Soul which is comprised of your —mind, will, and emotions — was unregenerate by the power and presence of God. So in short, you came into this world as a body with an empty spirit and soul. But you came into this world with the God-given freedom to choose life or death, good or evil, God or Satan.

And God in his infinite love for you did everything he possibly could to help you make the right choice, so that he could reward you. Here’s what Jesus told Nicodemus that God did for you in John 3:16-17, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Imagine that, my friend! God is so good and so great that he loves you and the world. He loved you so much that he decided to send his only Son, Jesus, to convince you of His love and to save you. He never wanted to condemn you, but rather rescue you from the sin and destruction of the devil, his disloyal arch enemy.

What a wonderful loving choice God has given you! You have the freedom to ask him to make your dead spirit come “Alive.” Then as you understand more of God’s truth in His Word, He will begin renewing your soul with his glorious presence. Before long, you’ll sound and look a lot like Jesus because you have the same spirit that was in Christ. In fact, scriptures says, “The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead will quicken your mortal body.” This is such exciting stuff, I’m already getting into God’s desire to see you whole and healed in your body, but we’ll leave that for a later chapter. I can’t wait!

As we close out this chapter and put a nice big bow on it, I want you to pray this salvation prayer to God if you haven’t already.

Heavenly Father, thank you for making me your new friend and bringing me into your family. I desire to be your child. I now realize, that my sin has separated me from you and the Tree of Life. I want to live with you forever in heaven, one day. I ask you to forgive my sins and wash me with the blood of Jesus, your saving Son. I turn away from my old life, to a new life in you. I choose to make you my Savior and Lord. Thank you for putting the seed of your Spirit into my heart. I will follow you all the days of my life!

Welcome to the family of God, my friend. Guess what? Now you have a Jesus Story. So go back up to the empty space I provided and write down your Jesus Story. Express what you felt while reading this chapter, how you felt reading the Bible truth, how the presence of God felt, or what’s been going through your mind. Listen, this is the most important and lasting choice you’ll ever make in your life. Now you’re ready to — “Change Your World” — with the rest of us!