Divine love and human need
Coming to Jesus moment
John 3:1-21
Good morning and welcome. We are glad that you are here.
If you would turn to John chapter 3
We are going to look at the encounter of Nicodemus and Jesus.
We will quickly see that when we have an encounter with Jesus, the Son of the living God that you and I will have to make a decision to follow Him or reject Him.
You get to choose, it is not forced, and to make no decision is to reject Him.
Prayer-
Let’s read John 3:1-3 to find out what is happening
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a teacher of the law (5 books of the bible-Torah)
Sadducees were also of the law but did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, angels, anything supernatural, they were more politically motivated.
Nicodemus watched Jesus and realized that there was something special about him. He could not do these things (miracles) if God was not with him.
Jesus uses for the first time the expression that no one will see (or enter) the kingdom of God without “being born again”.
From Jesus own teaching, we see that infant baptism is not a way of salvation.
We see many today that will shy away from this teaching. Jesus makes it very clear and defines what it is to be born again.
He makes no apology- he says that no one will experience and see heaven without having a born again experience.
The world may say that there are many ways to find and be with God but Jesus who is the authority as the Son of God said that there is one way.
Nicodemus came by night- We do not know if he came by night because of the crowd that Jesus had around him and Nicodemus wanted to talk or he did not want to let his religious friends know that he was seeking knowledge from Jesus.
Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was saying, it went against everything he was taught.
How can a person travel back into the womb?
God says I love you unconditionally.
?I love you enough to direct your path.
?Correct you when you stray.
?Speak to you when something needs to be changed.
I also love you enough to give you the freedom of choice.
To accept what he has done or reject it.
Illustration-
Unconditional love of a parent means that you love your child so much, that you do not give them everything that they want, even if they cry. You correct them when they stray from your teachings. You are not concerned what others think, you have the welfare of your child at heart.
! I will always love my children. I will always be my children’s father. I love them when they make mistakes, I love them when they hurt me. There will come a point in their lives where they direct their own lives, and make their own choices. I have to honor their freedom even if I don’t agree. I would not have done it that way.
?People know they need to make a change.
?They know they need a Savior.
?They know that Jesus is available.
!People like Nicodemus, come at night, ask their questions. They have head knowledge, with no heart transformation. People say,
?I am a good person!
?What I do won’t or don’t hurt anyone else!
?One day I’ll get serious about making a decision.
James 2:10
“For who ever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all”
Hebrews 2:3
“How shall we escape fi we neglect so great a salvation?”
I’ll become a Christian someday.
Remember my definition of Christian.
Think like Jesus. Speak like Jesus. Act like Jesus. Help like Jesus.
Proverbs 27:1
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth”
!The prefix “Un” means that you are against and do the opposite of the root word.
?Un-conditional- no conditions.
?Un-compromising- you will not compromise.
?Un-committed- you are committed to the task.
?Un-constitutional- it is against the law established.
!The way that God’s love is unconditional is that it is freely given to everyone. To all people! Jesus went to the cross for every single person. He was not selective, Jesus Christ died for all. He arose for all. By accepting Him as your Savior you can have eternal life.
In that action of live, Jesus loved mankind.
What does John 3:16 show us?
The great love- God loved mankind enough to provide a way of unholy people being able to spend eternity with a holy God.
The greatest gift- To have God the Father, send His only Son and be that sacrifice and bridge to redeem mankind.
The greatest faith- that whoever believes or puts their trust in Him shall not perish (Promise).
Provides the greatest life- better life now, eternally better life later.
!I have done a lot of stupid things that at one time I thought fun. But I look back and know that it was empty, meaningless. If you are honest, fun for the moment, empty, and guilt ridden as soon as it is over. God tells us and shows us that He has provided a way to make heaven your home. He has provided by the Holy Spirit dwelling in our olives, guidance and protection. He has done everything but force us to accept it as a gift.
Acts 4:12-
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men on which we must be saved”
?saved is nothing less than realizing the path that you are on without Jesus, you will die in your sins. Because they have not been forgiven. It has nothing to do with being a good person.
1 John 5:12-
“He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Closing:
!Our nation is/has been on a slippery slope. You look around and you see corruption at every level. We have seen it at levels that once were secrete.
!The church has to bring the message! To the dying world. No more living for yourself.
!Christians living out their faith and no more just talking about it.
II Chron. 7:14-
(5-8) “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear the sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
There is a natural process for men and women to have children. Physical contact and swimmers fertilize an egg in the women and nine months later with God’s miraculous hand a baby is born.
Water refers to the physical birth. The water sack that is around the baby.
Jesus is telling Nicodemus and telling us that to be born again is a spiritual thing.
Nicodemus- “How can this be…The answer, because Nicodemus was thinking in the physical realm and in the natural mind of man instead of in the Spirit of the living God.”
What was he asking? What must I do to experience heaven- what must I do to be saved?
(10-15) “You are Israel’s teacher, said Jesus, and do not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so shall the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”
Jesus is saying it is all about Him! The one that you Jews don’t recognize, the one who has been prophesied to come and redeem mankind, I am Him!
Nicodemus, you are a Jewish leader and you do not understand the difference between the flesh and the spiritual.
16- “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting Life.”
God the Father sent me His Son, to die, be resurrected, to sit on the right hand of my Father and intercede and pay the price for all those who would believe on me and they shall not perish but have eternal life.
That is a narrow road and many don’t like that or believe that but Jesus said… “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.”
I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
“I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me.”
I have heard with my ears people who say they are Christian but they don’t believe like those born again people… what are they saying? I don’t want to be a radical and closed minded as they are.
They do not understand the importance of being born again- it is God’s divine love intersecting with human need. We have had a change of birth- physically we are born into this world as sinners of fallen man. When we accept Jesus as savior and Lord of our lives, we are reborn spiritually because of what Jesus has done and invit3es us into the family of God.
If you are not born again, you are not going to make heaven because you are still in your fallen state of human need for a savior.
Anything less is trying to get into heaven by your works or talents. It is man’s attempt to life without Jesus and still make heaven and the world right now is full of people trying to do that.
You were born in the flesh a sinner because of the fall of man- unless you have a BORN AGAIN EXPEREIENCE WHERE Jesus forgives your sins and you take him as lord of your life and surrender you life to Him and follow.
Jesus tells Nicodemus to be born again!
Definition of a Christian is to be born again.. a mind like Christ, a voice that speaks like Christ, a hand that helps like Christ, and a heart that loves like Christ.
If you are truly a believer, you think, act, speak and mold your life as the example that Christ gave us.
Illustration
I was never a boxer, but if you are right handed, you lead with the left. You use it to protect yourself, take small jabs. You look for the time when you can unload with your right hand. Your right hand is cocked and ready to give the knockout punch. Jesus has delivered the knockout punch when he told the religious leader, a person who thought he was okay that unless you are born again, you will never see heaven.
God so loved the world that He gave the world Jesus!
God’s love is the sacrificial love
2 Peter 2:9-
“God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God loves you this much….hold arms out! You! You! You!
Illustration
Larry Moody
We’re not in the land of the living trying to get to the land of the dying, we are in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living.”
There are people sitting in churches every Sunday that don’t understand it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. They have head knowledge.
Baptized as a kid and think that this is all they need to make heaven.
There name is written in a church membership book.
Their family gives to the church.
Everything we do in ourselves is meaningless without Jesus. It is what Jesus Christ did for us. It is accepting what He has done.
We are not robots-God choose to give us a choice- we have a mind, soul, spirit and God desires all three. When we don’t surrender all, it is where we begin to compromise and backslide away from him.
God says I love you unconditionally.
I love you enough to direct your path.
Correct you when you stray.
Speak to you when something needs to be changed.
I also love you enough to give you the freedom of choice.
To accept what he has done or reject it.
Illustration-
Unconditional love of a parent means that you love your child so much, that you do not give them everything that they want, even if they cry.
You correct them when they stray from your teachings. You are not concerned what others think, you have the welfare of your child at heart.
I will always love my children. I will always be my children’s father.
I love them when they make mistakes, I love them when they hurt me.
There will come a point in their lives where they direct their own lives, and make their own choices. I have to honor their freedom even if I don’t agree.
People know they need to make a change.
They know they need a Savior.
They know that Jesus is available.
People like Nicodemus, come at night, ask their questions. They have head knowledge, with no heart transformation.
People say,
I am a good person!
What I do won’t or don’t hurt anyone else!
One day I’ll get serious about making a decision.
James 2:10
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all”
Hebrews 2:3
“How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
I’ll become a Christian someday.
Remember my definition of Christian.
Think like Jesus. Speak like Jesus. Act like Jesus. Help like Jesus.
Proverbs 27:1
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth”
The prefix “Un” means that you are against and do the opposite of the root word.
Un-conditional- no conditions.
Un-compromising- you will not compromise.
Un-committed- you are not committed to the task.
Un-constitutional- it is against the law established.
The way that God’s love is unconditional is that it is freely given to everyone. To all people! Jesus went to the cross for every single person. He was not selective, Jesus Christ died for all. He arose for all. By accepting Him as your Savior you can have eternal life.
What does John 3:16 show us?
The great love- God loved mankind enough to provide a way of unholy people being able to spend eternity with a holy God.
The greatest gift-
The greatest faith-
Provides the greatest life-
I have done a lot of stupid things that at one time I thought fun. But I look back and know that it was empty, meaningless.
If you are honest, fun for the moment, empty, and guilt ridden as soon as it is over.
God tells us and shows us that He has provided a way to make heaven your home. He has provided by the Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives, guidance and protection. He has done everything but force us to accept it as a gift.
Acts 4:12-
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men on which we must be saved”
Saved is nothing less than realizing the path that you are on without Jesus, you will die in your sins. Because they have not been forgiven. It has nothing to do with being a good person.
1 John 5:12-
“He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Closing:
Our nation is/has been on a slippery slope. You look around and you see corruption at every level. We have seen it at levels that once were secret.
The church has to bring the message to this dying world. No more living for yourself.
Christians living out their faith and no more just talking about it.
