by Richard Gazowsky
Even though I am a 53 year old fifth generation Pentecostal preacher it wasn’t until almost a year ago that I realized I had not accessed the full power of the born again experience. If you are an intellectual theologian you should probably quit reading this right now because nothing I am about to say will make any sense to you. If you are still reading you might be able to grasp the simplicity that is in this basic truth that I’m trying to share. Jesus taught the religious leader Nicodemus that he must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. I know we usually read this as a basic salvation scripture but I want to deal with this verse in its full simplistic meaning.
To be born again actually means to change the state of your origins. You are no longer from your mother and father but you are actually from God. This conversion is total and complete and by going through it, which is a simple act of repentance and belief, you have 100% access to everything that a full son or daughter of God should have. This statement is cool and accepted by everyone if you take it in its symbolic form. But what happens if you take this as a literal truth? That is what it is, isn’t it? Didn’t Jesus Himself tell Nicodemus that “this is a literal truth”? Jesus told Nicodemus to quit asking questions because he was just weakening the meaning of this truth by trying to make it too complex. When you are born again you are changed completely. Even your DNA structure is changed. Everything about your body now reflects what it means to be a son or daughter of God. That’s the truth that Jesus was trying to impart. But if this is the truth it changes the dynamics of all of your actions. You are now that live wire to God.
Let me tell you how this revelation came to me. I picked up an old tape of TL Osborn teaching Africans about the incarnate Christ. He said that when he taught them the translators did not have the ability or the words to translate what he was saying in a theological sense. When he would say, “You have got to be like Jesus,” the African translators would simply translate this to “You are Jesus,” or, in a more accurate translation, they said, “You are the man.” After TL Osborn had spent years teaching this truth he began to recognize that these pastors had received a greater revelation through the simplicity of this truth, “You are Christ.” So one day he took one of the pastors in front of his crusade and said, “Do you want to know what Jesus looks like today?” Everybody said, “Yes!” He then pointed to the pastor and said, “That’s what Jesus looks like.” When these African pastors realized that they were literally actual sons of God they began to access God’s miraculous power in stunning ways. The dead rose again, blind eyes were opened and the lame walked. They took that simple truth and used it to do incredible accomplishments. For example, Pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is from Logos, Nigeria now pastors a church in the Ukraine that is filled with more than twenty thousand white Russians every Sunday. His church services have more people than the Pope’s Vatican church services. This is a phenomenon that is inexplicable but it shows the power that can happen to you if we get the simple truth of what it means to be born again.
If you have read my writings very much you will know that I’m a real stickler for making the truth that I’m talking about have a practical purpose in your business or life. This is why theologians who love arguing about philosophy should not be reading this because what I am talking about is something that is very practical and not pie-in-the-sky philosophy.
The last feature film that our company, Christian WYSIWYG Filmworks, completed was called “The Roman Trilogy.” We were ten days from taking the cut of the film to Budapest, Hungary to record the soundtrack with their National Symphony Orchestra. The gentleman that we had hired to score the film came to me and said that he could not complete it in the three months time he had been allotted and that he had actually not even started on the project at all. He asked me to change my mind and cancel the session with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and let him just do the score on synthesizer. I explained to him that God had called me to excellence and since I was the Director of the film it was my responsibility to see that we obeyed God’s original command. My daughter Rocki heard this conversation and when we drove home she said, “Dad, I have heard symphony music in my head since I was a little girl. Could I score the tracks?” Well, I knew my daughter had taken piano lessons when she was 11 and 12 years old but she could not read music and had absolutely no experience with stringed instruments. If she was to score the movie she would have to play it on a keyboard and then use a translating software to transfer it to notation for the orchestra to read. To top it all off we only had 10 days for 70 minutes of a full symphony score to be composed.
This is the point where it becomes important for you to get what it means “to be born again.” If Rocki was my daughter there is no way on Earth she could have done this. But if she is truly born again of God then her DNA structure is an exact replica of Christ and it is her belief in this truth that gives her access to the power of this truth. Who was I, her earthly father, to hinder this supernatural process? All I needed to do was to encourage her to take on the challenge. I love the scene in the original Matrix movie in which Trinity, a friend of protagonist Neo, is asked if she can fly a B-212 helicopter. She says to him, “Not yet.” She calls her headquarters and instantly the skills required to fly this helicopter are downloaded into her spirit. Here’s a link to that scene in the movie. Fast forward to the 5:55 minute marker and watch until 6:12 minutes into the clip.
(Click Here to view)
This to me is a perfect example of what happens when you fully understand the born again experience. The Holy Spirit can download into you instantaneously His power to do anything. This is what happened to my daughter Rocki. In ten days she wrote a complete score. The paper of the finished score alone weighed 70 pounds! When we arrived in Budapest this is exactly what we heard:
(That is my daughter Rocki singing on the score as well.)
So now I want to take you to the current challenge that I am facing. Years ago I received a command from the Lord to seek excellence in filmmaking and to be a leader in the industry based on the Scripture found in Deuteronomy 28 that says, “You shall be the head and not the tail.” This meant, to me, excellence in everything. One of the areas that we pursued was the development of an advanced sound system for the movie theater. My first discovery was the new audio format called DSD. Then God told me in August of 2004 to go to Starbucks and buy a New York Times.
(Click Here to see the article)
In it I read an article about this technology called Wave Field Synthesis and the Lord spoke to me and said, “This is what I want you to do.” So I went to hear the system with my audio staff. We were totally convinced that it was the wave of the future but we ran into a problem. God had told us to be leaders in the audio format we utlized. Wave Field Synthesis was definitely a leading technology when it came to speaker systems but it was using an obsolete format that was designed for CD’s called PCM. Though they keep upgrading the PCM format it is not capable of handling the frequencies that analog recording can. DSD is actually a digital analog format. So I called and spoke with Dr. Karlheinz Brandenburg the Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology who also happens to be the inventor of MP3. He is a very prestigious man. I mentioned to him our desire to use the Wave Field Synthesis System but that we needed to upgrade it to the DSD format to meet our needs. He expressed no interest in doing this and then gave us a large price for doing a ‘white paper’ on the concept to prove that it was not necessary to upgrade. I had already asked the Lord if DSD was the wave of the future for professional audio and the Lord confirmed that it was. He also confirmed that the Blu-Ray disc would be used in that format. When I presented this to Dr. Brandenburg he still refused to upgrade the system so I told him, “If this is so then I’m going to have to develop the Wave Field Synthesis system from scratch.” Suddenly his assistant began to laugh loudly and mock us in the background. Since I was just a pastor of a church how could I do something as sophisticated as that? Our sound department still has a recording of this conversation which I just listened to yesterday. I feel the same humiliation today that I felt four years ago when they first laughed because I am well aware that i do not have a college education and I am not a scientist. But I am born again.
As a result of their rejection of our idea I approached another friend in Los Angeles to begin developing our Wave Field Synthesis from scratch. His company worked on the project for a year and a half but before they could finish it the employee that was in charge of the project got hired by a different company. This brought the development of the audio system to a grinding halt.
Now let me bring you up to date on the real reason for this article. Two nights ago I had a dream and I saw our theatrical auditorium which seats 1500 people. We were building an audio mix down platform. We were installing a new Wave Field Synthesis System. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Because they mocked you and said you could not build the Wave Field Synthesis System I am now anointing you to do it. I the Lord have brought all of the necessary people into your church and they will now help you to complete this task. You can start now.” This was Sunday morning. So I went in front of the congregation and I told them about the dream and described in layman’s terms the Wave Field Synthesis System. No one in the church immediately responded to help me. But at the end of the service Prophet Ed Traut said, “I believe I have a friend in San Diego who makes sub woofers that could help you with the speaker side of the technology.” Then, right after that a new member of our church Michael, who has worked with Intel for 20 years as a chip engineer, came up to me and said, “Richard, I’m sorry I got here late to church but the Lord spoke to me to take the next week off because I’m supposed to help you do something.” It’s hard for me to describe the emotion that welled up within me because I saw God’s glory right before my eyes. I realized His anointing had come upon us to handle something way beyond our technical expertise. The next day we had our first technical white board session. We realized that being born again takes you on an adventure that only the sons of God can enjoy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah! That’s the key. The simple key. He changes your DNA so you can do things that are impossible for you. Take the challenge. Try it sometime. Of course it’s full of risks but that is the adventure.
Richard Gazowsky pastors a church in San Francisco called The Voice of Pentecost, and is also president of Christian WYSIWYG Filmworks. He has directed the films, “Guardians” and “The Roman Trilogy.”
6 Comments
April 23, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Changes your DNA? This is the first I have heard of this amazing revelation. I would love to know more.
April 24, 2008 at 6:08 am
Wow… Thats amazing!
April 25, 2008 at 12:23 am
Dear Richard,
I just wanted to confirm your DNA analogy. The Lord recently spoke to me after I taught a lesson on the crucifixion of Jesus to my 7th grade Bible Class. He said: “I died for you, now you live for me.” This is something I have heard for years, however this time I had a revelation of me living for Him, as me Being Him. Such as, I AM a Man of God. He told Moses, “tell them the I AM sent you.” I believe we can safely say, through the blood of Jesus, the I AM is in me. In a homoginized state, I AM.
God Bless Your Ministry,
Robert The Redeemed
PLF Ministry at Large
April 26, 2008 at 2:51 am
Can it really be? That we, individual human beings who are born from above, who are called, christian..become… the person who birthed us..namely, God?!
Are we really..”I Am”??
What about being the son of ‘I Am’. Or daughter. Does that sound more reliable? Would that be a more feasible nomenclature?
Have I misread the theme of the letter as well as the comments? I’m certainly capable of doing so!
Feel free to re-advise me of all this.
Do I have nail prints in my hands; did I die for the sins of the world; should I be regarded as the Messiah?
I read that in the Book of Genesis that Satan tempted Eve, in part, by suggesting to her that she “shall be as God..”. The incorporation of this Genesis narrative ought to be warranted when embarking upon a theological inclination, whereby humans-become-God.
This ‘inclination’ appears to have tenuous roots if inclusion of the aforementioned narrative is to be present.
The ‘Human Potential Movement’ has as it’s primary precept, that man equals divine. That “we are the Almighty”.
God says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”.
I think that christians will always have the status of being God’s creation. I see no scriptural support that christians ever attain the status of ‘Creator’.
It may be that the tenor of the letter, and ensuing comments, stem from the following excerpted scriptural references, such as:
‘Christ in you, the hope of Glory’, or, ‘Greater works will you do’, or, ‘If you have the faith of a little mustard seed’, or, ‘And when Peter’s shadow fell upon them, they were healed of their diseases’.
Perhaps the reference from John’s Gospel, “I am the Vine, ye are the branches”, might induce some to suggest that as branches, we’re part of the vine, therefore..we are the vine.
But..Jesus said that we were ..the branches..
Finally, we are not just the creation by name, are we. We are called slaves, servants, sons and daughters. We’re also called the Bride, aren’t we.
I, humbly think, that as God is differentiated from the Son; as the Son is differentiated from the Holy Spirit; as the Bridegroom is differentiated from the Bride–we should maintain that ‘differentiation’ in the positioning of our status, in relation to God.
God-Jesus-Holy Spirit are One. But they are 3 distinct and separate personalities. Jesus has come to earth to invite us to be ‘One with Him’.
But, that wonderful invitation to join His eternal family does not confer upon me “God-Hood”; just Joint-Heirs.
I welcome any elucidation from one and all on this, for you can readily perceive that I’m very new with the Word of God.
Thank you,
Benjamin
April 27, 2008 at 12:24 am
“…her DNA is the exact replica of Christ’s…”
This is an excerpt of the Pastor’s letter that is bound to exercise thought and theological discussion amongst us. The Pastor suggests, at the outset, that his missive should not be earmarked for the “intellectual” or theologian, but the above excerpted quote is bound(!!) to invite their respective thoughts!! It probably should.
I doubt that there is anything “simple” about the excerpt, itself, or the ramifications thereof, and might notably merit the attention of both the theologian and the non-theologian.
In my Seminary experience, we studied a course called, ‘Systematics Theology’, and the issue of the Nature of Mankind replicating the Nature of God was a good part of the course.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and, to a lesser extent, Paul Tillich were proponents of this ‘evolutionary’ theology. Their respective dialogues included, to a great extent, the status of mankind achieving the status of God and taking ownership unto itself, God’s Nature. This endeavor was accomplished through a very abstruse and complicated process, called, “The Highest Evolution”. They were regarded as ‘existentialist theologians’, which always remained a paradox for me.
Existentialism began as an economic philosophy through Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, and served as a predicate of belief that launched the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ throughout Western Europe in the 19th Century. Existentialism championed the eschewing the knowledge, the presence, the practice and the belief in/of God and the writings of the 66 Books of the Holy Bible.
This is why the labelling of the aforementioned theologians, ‘existentialist theologians’, remains a paradox for me.
I failed, academically, in Seminary. I was kicked out. But 3 months later I was invited back–don’t really know why as I didn’t return.
I am not a theologian, nor, an intellectual.
Getting back to the excerpted quote of the Pastor’s letter, “..her DNA is the exact replica of Christ’s..”, I wanted to make some comments. I don’t think my previous comment box harbored much perspicuity on this topic!
Please be advised, however, that I failed chemistry as well, save for the last semester, so this comment box may be just as inadequate, and I apologize to the reader on this.
Succinctly stated, my DNA does not replicate(exactly) my earthly father’s(or mother, for that matter). As ‘pertaining to the adoption’ into Jesus’ family through faith in His Word, I do not(as of this writing) see in Scripture where my DNA replicate’s Christ’s DNA, either.
I want to attempt to be pragmatic as well as faithful w/in this commentary. Along with the Pastor’s comment on ‘practicality’, I want to stay in keeping.
When 1st Corinthians discusses the ‘glorified body’, the ‘resurrected body’ or the ‘new creature(in Christ)’, this might pertain to the Millenial Reign or heavenly realm, but dubious at this point that these “new” human bodies exist prior to those events on this earthly plane.
Will these ‘new’ bodies possess Christ’s literal DNA configuration at that appointed time? I see no scriptural support for that type of configuration at this juncture of my understanding.
The Pastor has not provided scriptural support for this, in his letter, either.
We are in earthly tabernacles, which harbor the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think one should surmise that this is comparable to ‘replicating’ Christ’s DNA.
The Pastor makes several references to this theology of (becoming) Christ in his letter. One of the commentator’s seems to see it this way, as well as agree w/ this theological facet. I want to offer the Pastor the latitude of interpretation here, in that he may be ’spiritualizing’ or speaking, perhaps, metaphorically about the “new nature” of the born-again christian believer.
Flocks and throngs of us sheep and congregants know the gravity of the scripture that says, “Out of the mouth of the man speaks the abundance of the heart”. We go with the words & doctrines of our respected and revered christian leader(s).
For centuries, the catholic community followed the doctrines and commandments of the Papacy of the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Scriptures were not available to the masses and there was little access to comparing/proving the decrees that reigned/rained down from Rome.
I think of the Bereans who had heard ’something new’ from the Apostle Paul, and would continually check their Old Testament Scriptures to “test” Paul’s new Gospel Message of Salvation through Christ.
Rome became outraged over the printing of the Bible in German, French and English, as they suspected, correctly, that reformations and (protest)ant revolutions would soon follow, thereby, weakening their hold on the ‘hearts & minds’ of the inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire.
I think that if a forensic scientist were to deduce that my DNA exactly replicated my earthly father’s, then that specialist would assume I WAS my father..and NOT me!!
If I have Christ’s DNA, the specialist has no recourse but to say that I am Christ!! This has to be regarded as a very tenuous theology, if taken to be literally. Even, figuratively, it really has to experience a ’suffering’ revisitation, I think.
I think it is easier(and certainly supportable by a myriad of Scripture) to assume that the Pastor’s daughter wrote a 70lb.- musical score in 7(?) days through the ability of the Presence of the Holy Spirit; not through her possession of exact DNA as the Christ. I think the authors of the 66 Books of the Bible wrote through the ‘vehicle’, the guidance(of the Holy Spirit) rather than through possessing the ‘exact replica’ of Christ’s(or God’s) DNA.
I certainly hope so(!!), because the now-touted notion that the born-again believer owns the exact DNA of Christ’s, and is able to ‘download’ this (DNA information) to accomplish miraculous feats, is, indeed, very, very new to many, many people.
It may be that the Pastor ultimately meant this to be, at the least, poetic and figuratively-linguistic.
I really do not know…
Cordially,
Benjamin
June 22, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Richard,
I found the article I was looking for. It was dated April 23, 2008. Born Again DNA.
My life in Pentecost is a few months short of 40 years. The influence of Pentecost in my life started in the mid to late 1940’s through the family living upstairs of our home. I was a young boy (born 11/1936) yet the memories of the Roberts family has never left me. When I had my personal encounter with the Holy Spirit, I traveled to see Mrs. Roberts in Belpre, Ohio. She was in her 90’s. Most Pentecostals have no idea of the experiential differences when a person is Born Again and when they are Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Your article in the DNA of when a person is born again makes very clear the power within us when we are born of the Spirit – “born again” into His Kingdom.
Buz Swyers