Sunday: March 15, 2020

Pastor Dan Denning

Hall Wesleyan Church

The Rebirth (Part 2)

John 3:1-21

John 3:1-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

^3:1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.

² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you; we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

There are 3 steps to being REBORN.

1.   Being Reoriented to God

2.   Being Refocused Upon God

3.   And Being Renewed to God.

The 1^st one we talked about last week:  

Reoriented Ourselves -

Rethinking To -

Reprocessing ourselves -

to God's Kingdom

Baptism is the beginning

And then Faith Finishes it.

With the 3 sides of Faith being:

o   Knowledge,

o   Decisions,

o   And Trust.

The 2^nd one is:

Refocused On Christ's Cross

Jesus said,

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,

so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14).

Jesus was talking about refocusing our lives around the cross.

·         Only what Christ does on the cross will last.

·         When we die,

o   Only the cross of Christ

o   Will make the difference between

§  Heaven and Hell.

Nicodemus knew the story of Moses

·         And of the bronze snake which he held up

·         For the disobedient people to look at

·         And for them to be healed (Numbers 21:8-9).

Moses told the disobedient Jews

·         Who were in the wilderness,

·         To look up at the bronze serpent he held on a pole.

"Look up and be healed," he said.

But he said Much More than Just that, he said:

"Look up and live."

Did you notice that To this very day,

the symbol which represents the profession of medicine

·         Is a snake on a pole.

But at the time when Nicodemus was talking with Jesus,

·         He did not know that Jesus would be crucified,

o   But Jesus knew it.

Jesus spoke this eternal truth:

"Look up at the Son of Man on the cross

and you will be healed and forgiven.

Look up and find real life."

Tradition says that Nicodemus did just that.

·         He became a Christian

o   At the time of the crucifixion.

He may very well have been - one of the people who took Jesus down from the cross.

We do Know: Nicodemus was a wealthy Pharisee

·         And a member of the Sanhedrin,

o   WHICH IS the SUPREME COURT of the Jews,

But Nicodemus made the transition

·         Just as we are CALLED to do

o   From focusing on the world's values

§  To focusing on the Cross.

It is not so easy to refocus your life

·         Around the cross

o   When you are wealthy and powerful.

Do you recall Jesus’ Words when He said:

"That It is easier for a camel

to go through the eye of a needle

than it is for a wealthy man

To enter the Kingdom of God"

(Matthew 19:24).

No, Not that type of Needle.

But rather - This type.

The eye of the needle

·         Is a very low gate in the wall of Jerusalem.

·         In order to get in,

o   You had to get down

§  And crawl through the low opening.

That isn't easy for a camel;

·         And as you can see,

And It isn’t very easy for human beings,

§  Especially rich ones.

In order to be born again of the Spirit,

·         We must be humbled by

o   What Jesus did for us on the cross.

The cross must be the center of our attention.

E. Stanley Jones said,

"What gets your Attention, - Gets you."

If you gaze, watch or seek of Money,

Then Money will get you.

If you Seek at Power,

Then Power will get you.

If you Seek at the world's values,

Then the World will get you.

If you Seek at your Problems,

Then Your Problems will get you.

If you Seek your desire of your sins,

Then Your sins will get you.

If you Gaze, Watch or SEEK of God

And You Give Him your Full Attention,

While only glancing at your Problems and Sins,

Then God will get you.

You will be able to

·         Leave your problems

o   At the foot of Jesus’ Cross.

One man called this

"the Magnetism of the uplifted Lord."

There is a Pull of the Cross

·         To Every Man,

o   To Every Woman,

§  And Every Child.

There is a Power Here which we,

·         Mankind cannot fully Explain.

When you look at the Cross

·         Do you Not Find New HOPE?

Even If You ONLY Glance at it

·         Do You Not Find LIFE?

BUT WHEN You Look At It

·         Really Look At It

o   When You See What JESUS Is Doing

§  On The CROSS,

·         Can Your Life be anything

o   Other than

§  REFOCUSED!!

Just as Moses held up the bronze snake in the wilderness

·         and those who looked – lived.

So NOW - Those who look at the

·         Son of Man

o   WHO IS Lifted up on the cross

§  THEY will also Find LIFE!

Rebirth

·         Means to be REORIENTED TO:

o   GOD - Our Father

o   And To His Kingdom (Jesus Christ)

·         And it means to be:

o   REFOCUSED BY THE CROSS OF CHRIST

·         But - Rebirth also means TO BE

o   RENEWED By the Holy Spirit

§  So that We Can Witness to the World.

The 3^rd One is:

Renewed By The Holy Spirit For Witness To The World

Jesus said,

"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.

For God did not send his Son

into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him”

(John 3:16-17).

Jesus did not say: "God so loved the church,"

But Rather, He said: "God so loved the world."

The task of taking the

·         Gospel to the world

o   Is given to Spirit-Filled Witnesses (US).

Rebirth means:

·         That our lives are

o   Renewed

o   By the Holy Spirit

o   So that

o   The whole world

o   Hears

o   The Gospel of

o   Jesus Christ

o   And His Cross.

·         Only what God Gives,

o   His Love for us in the Cross of Jesus,

§  Lasts.

Do You Not want to Invest

·         Your time and money

o   And Witness (Be Involved within)

o   Something that will last

§  To the end of time?

The Creating

·         And Recreating,

o   Redeeming

§  And Sanctifying

·         The Work of God

o   Last for an Eternity.

What is done BY God lasts.

What is done FOR God also lasts.

We all know What God has Done. Right?

·         But – What can be Done FOR God?

SEE – What Is DONE FOR God is called:

·         Witnessing to the world.

Now don’t panic.

I know almost all of us are thinking –

·         THAT’s NOT FOR ME!

·         I Can Not do that!

·         That is WAY TOO BIG OF A JOB for Me!

·         I Can Not Handle Doing That!

And You Are all TOTALLY CORRECT!!!

It is TOO BIG and

·         You Can Not Handle it – Alone.

That is WHY WE ALL NEED the HOLY SPIRIT.

It is The Holy Spirit Who:

·         Calls us to Faith to Begin with,

o   He is the One Who Enlightens us with His Gifts,

§  And He Is The One Who Sanctifies Us.

And Part of that Sanctification

·         Is sharing Our Faith.

We receive More than we can Possibly Imagine

·         From the Bounty of God's Grace,

And Here is the Thing.

·         WE Are Expected

o   To Pass it on to The Whole World,

§  To Pass it on to Our Whole World.

Of Course – This Is More

·         It is a SUPER BUNCH MORE

o   Than WHAT WE THINK

§  Or Even, WHAT WE ARE

§  COMFORTABLE WITH DOING.

THAT IS WHY IT IS CALLED - FAITH!

"God so loved the world that he gave ..."

(John 3:16).

Renewed Christians -

·         Who Love God,

o   In Return of His Love,

§  Are Expected to Give As Well.

 

There is a story of a Christian couple

·         Who prayed to have a big family,

·         But for whatever reason – it just didn’t take.

Finally, they put in for adoption.

·         He had a very good job.

·         They had money in the bank.

·         They had a great house with a yard.

·         And they were well respected within the community.

So, it didn’t take long before the adoption agency called and asked

·         If they consider on accepting twins.

o   They talked it over and agreed.

§  Now they have a new born Boy and Girl.

Within six months the adoption agency called once again.

·         They said: "You are doing so well with the first set of twins; how would you like another set of twins?"

o   They had always wanted a big family.

o   And they had prayed for a big family.

§  Now they understood, having 4 little babies would be a challenge.

§  But after some prayer – Yes, they would.

Then soon after the adoption was complete, guess what.

·         Yes, she became pregnant.

o   But not with one child.

§  And not with twins.

·         But with triplets.

Now, here they are with 7 little children, all under 2-years-old.

 

Yes – maybe a little more than what they had originally dreamed of…

BUT Here is the Thing.

The young couple raised their 7 little ones

·         ALL In the Glory of God.

o   But - What at first seemed like a Huge Job

§  Soon become just a normal way of life.

Going to the world is a HUGE JOB

Just as raising 7 little ones.

·         I Totally Agree – It Seems Very Scary

o   BUT With the Spirit of God,

§  It is Just a Way of Life.

This is the WHY

WE Need the Renewal of the Holy Spirit.

When we are Riding the Wave

When we are Surrendering to God’s Ways

·         And we are being Submissive to His Ways

o   Do We Not AWAYS RECEIVE MORE then

§  What We Deserve and

·         Even more than we had Expected.

When the Holy Spirit IS AT WORK –

·         REORINTING US To The Kingdom of God

·         REFOCUSES Us on the Cross of Christ.

·         We also get more than what we think we can do

o   But we get RENEWED by God's Holy Spirit for EVERY TASK.

Can we Ever Repay God

·         For what He has FREELY already given to us?

o   In a simple 2 letter word – NO!

BUT - He expects from those who are RENEWED

·         From being Born Again of Water and the Spirit,

·         God, Jesus, Expects us to Pass Along

·         His Gospel on to others.

·         When we are RENEWED,

·         God Expects Us to be His Instruments,

o   To pass the FAITH OF HIM on to others.

CHRIST has Given Us a job to do.

·         YES – It Is Bigger than what we Think we can handle –

·         And that is to witness to Our Whole World.

God gave His Very Son for us.

He also gave his Son for the Whole World.

·         He Expects us to Witness to Our Whole World for Him.

·         YES - It is a Bigger Job than we can do.

·         AND That Is Why We Need and Have the Holy Spirit.

 

There is a story of a pastor

·         Who was trying to explain to a Sunday School Class

o   That God is calling people everywhere

o   Within the world to Believe in Him.

The Pastor Said: "God Is So Much Bigger than what we imagine of him to be.

And God can use all of us in lots of different ways  To do His Work - Everywhere."

"God is everywhere!"

·         "Everywhere?" asked the little boy.

"Everywhere!" said the pastor.

The boy went home and told his mother,

·         "God is everywhere! The pastor said so."

"Yes, I know," said the mother.

·         "You mean he is even in the cupboard?"

"Yes," said the mother.

·         "In the refrigerator -- even when we close the door and the light goes out?"

"Yes," said the mother.

·         "Even in the sugar bowl?" the little boy asked as he took the lid off.

"Yes," said the mother, "even in the sugar bowl."

·         The boy slammed down the lid and said,

o   "Now I've got him."

We cannot lock God into a sugar bowl

·         Nor any other container.

God is everywhere.

He wants to save the Whole World.

·         He wants to use REBORN,

o   RENEWED Christians to reach

§  The World through

·         The Power of the Holy Spirit.

After this talk with his mother, this little boy

Went back to the pastor with an important question.

·         The little boy said: "God is everywhere, right?"

"Yes," said the pastor.

·         "And God is big, right?"

"Yes."

·         "Bigger than my dad's garage?"

"Yes."

·         "Bigger than the mountains?"

"Yes."

·         "And God is inside me, right?"

"Yes," said the pastor.

·         "Then why doesn't he stick out more?" the boy asked.

 

RENEWED LIFE

through the Power of the Holy Spirit

·         Not only means receiving an

o   Unbelievable gift from God;

·         But It also means "Letting God Stick Out"

o   By giving our Witness To The World

§  So That the World May Know

·         The Power of the Cross.

Christ alone is eternal.

·         Christ alone will last.

When We RENEWED Christians Embrace that Truth,

o   We will ALWAYS Want others to know it.

o   We get Caught-Up in the Wonder of the Cross

§  And we cannot help

·         But to Tell the story to others

·         So that they too

o   May have New Life.

REORIENTING Your Life to the Kingdom of God,

·         Reorienting Your Life to Jesus Christ

REFOCUSING Your Life on the Cross of Christ

And LIVING RENEWED BY God's Holy Spirit

·         For Being a Witness to the world –

These are the Values which last - Forever.

In the Gospel:

·         God gives us Something of Value which lasts.

In return - He Expects us to witness to this Gospel by telling others.

Witnessing for Christ is something of value which lasts.

 

I will close with just one more story.

There was a Bishop in France

·         Who told a story of a group of tough guy punks

o   Who stood outside a cathedral

o   And made fun of all of the people who were

o   standing in line to confess their sins.

·         The punks shouted:

o   "So, you believe in forgiveness, do you?

§  Well, there is nothing to it.

§  It is just a hoax.

o   So, you believe in Jesus, do you?

§  He is a fake."

·         One of the boys said to the leader of the gang,

o   "I dare you to go in the church

o   And tell the priest what we have been saying."

o   "I'll do it," said the leader and so he did.

·         When he got to the priest, he said,

o   "We have been outside, mocking your parishioners 

o   And my friend dared me to come inside and tell you what we are doing.

o   We do not believe in forgiveness.

o   And, We don't give a hoot about Jesus.

o   There, I have said it. Good-bye."

·         "Just a minute," said the old priest.

o   "I have a dare for you too.

§  Go to the altar,

§  Look up at the cross,

§  And say, "Jesus died for me and I don't give a hoot."

o   "Is that all?" asked the young boy.

o   "Yes”, said the priest.

§  “Just do it and come back and see me."

So, the young boy rushed down the aisle,

·         Looked up at the crucifix and said,

o   "Jesus died for me and I don't give a hoot."

o   Then He went back to the priest and said,

o   "I have done it. Now, good-bye."

·         "Do it again," said the priest.

o   "I don't want to do it again," said the boy.

o   “Are you Afraid?" inquired the wise priest.

o   "No," said the boy.

§  So, Slowly he went down the center aisle

§  Of the church to the central figure

§  Of Jesus hanging on the cross.

§  Once again,

§  But only this time, it was more slowly,

§  He said, "Jesus died for me and I don't give a hoot."

·         "Good-bye," he said to the priest.

·         "Do it one more time and then you may go," said the priest.

o   So, this time, Very slowly the young boy walked down the aisle.

o   When he got to the foot of the cross,

o   he said, "Jesus died for me...."

o   Then He broke down

o   And knelt at the foot of the cross

o   Unable to raise his head nor talk.

The Bishop ended his story by saying,

"I am that boy."