The Rebirth
Pastor Dan Denning
Hall Wesleyan Church
John
3:1-21
March 8, 2020
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.”
The
Art of Communicating in Extreme Situations.
There are 3 main
Steps or Situations when to use The Art of Communicating
[1] The Gratifying
of someone
[Lifting
someone up, Showing the importance there of]
[2] The Calming down of someone
[3] And the last is –
YOUR Fight or Flight
Our Scripture for today, comes with some very Fascinating as
well as displaying a Very Fascinating Encounter between
Jesus and Nicodemus.
BUT Did you notice,
·
That Nicodemus’ Heart
o
Was NOT TOTALLY Sincere?
o
And was there some Trickery within it?
Nicodemus came to Jesus – THRU the Secretly
of the Night, Most likely - because he didn't want Anyone to see him
talking to Jesus. NOW, Isn’t that itself - so Sad?
And Nicodemus came bearing a
“Gift” for Jesus. And
this “Gift” was a compliment.
o
Nicodemus said, (John 3:2)
“Rabbi,
We
all know that God has sent You
to
teach us.
Your
miraculous signs are evidence
that
God is with You.”
This is much like for me to say to my wife:
“Cheryl,
I love you so much!
And
I know you are a gift from Heaven
And
Because of your Love and Understanding
Which
you have for me.
Do we not
ALL do
this ALL of the time?
My intent on buttering up Cheryl
·
Is so that I can tell her
o
Something like, I just bought a new pickup.
o
And we are financially strapped
§
For the next 8 years.
And Possibly, Nicodemus was thinking that Jesus,
·
Is also so much - like the rest of us,
o
That Jesus would have been
impressed
§
By receiving such a compliment
§
From the Great Leader - Nicodemus.
What Nicodemus was trying to do –
·
Was to get the upper-hand within this
conversation.
o
And of course,
§
This is done So That - whatever
follows
§
Is easier on the one WHO
§
Is doing the complementing.
YES - I believe Nicodemus
came to Jesus To discuss His Own, Nicodemus’ Theology in such a way as to Enlighten Jesus.
But
what Really Happened on that Dark Night?
Just like, My Lovely Wife –
Jesus was not so easily fooled.
My wife would say – “Dan
- What did you do?!?!?!”
And Jesus did likewise: He did Something That took ALL Of the Wind Out of Nicodemus’
Sail.
Jesus made such a Surprising Remark
That Just Blew Nicodemus’ Shoes Clear off. It has such a deep shaking Nicodemus’
Very Own Foundation of His Faith
Jesus said:
“I
tell you the truth,
unless
you are born again,
you
cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
(John 3:3).
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must experience
·
Death & Rebirth
o
In order to inherit the Kingdom of God.
“How
are these things possible?” (John 3:9)
Jesus said that Spiritual Rebirth into
the Kingdom of God
·
Comes from WATER and the SPIRIT.
Baptism and Faith - Give Rebirth.
·
Baptism ‘Begins the process of rebirth’
·
And Faith ‘Continues on with that
process’
I visited with a man who was of some age this past week.
·
He told me that he no longer goes to
Church
o
However, Nature now is his church.
Although he was proud of his
faith As well as to his claim to his religion
But He also said that he has lost Faith
“in the Church”.
NOW he was the 2nd man within these last
2 weeks who told me:
·
That their church is now in Nature
·
That is where they find God, is within God’s Beauty
of His Nature.
You know,
·
In the Water,
·
Seeing the birds,
·
And squirrels,
·
And watching the fish.
·
Now unlike the 1st, I was able to carry on a
conversation with the 2nd man.
I ASKED HIM TO SHARE WITH Me:
·
What good IS FAITH
if you keep it in here? INSIDE?
·
What good IS FAITH if we DO NOT SHARE IT?
He gave me a puzzled look.
So,
I went on and purposed a thought for him
Could JESUS CHRIST have
come to the earth?
·
Lived by himself?
·
Did Absolutely NO Teaching?
o
No Preaching?
o
& For Sure - No Healing?
Could Jesus still have
gone to the Cross?
·
To die on the cross for us?
·
And could He have risen from the dead?
·
And gone back to the Father?
Could Jesus have done
all of that?
·
Fulfilling all
of the Scriptures?
o
Could He have done all of this
o
Without touching another single
soul?
Yes
– He Could Have.
But
that just Isn’t Our Lord’s Ways!
And I ASK –
·
To what Good Results would that have left?
·
Who would have followed
Him?
·
Who would be Following Him Today?
·
What would our world be like today?
IF we have God
within Us
·
BUT – we do not do anything with
Him
o Then – to what Good is it to Be of HIM?
o And Are we really of HIM?
We are BORN – TO BE OF THE CHURCH!!!
·
We ALL have a story
o We
ALL have Our Strengths.
o And
YES – We ALL have Our Weaknesses.
WE ARE TO Give to others (Our Strengths)
And WE ARE TO Receive from others (Our Weaknesses)
SADLY - I have to say,
·
ANYONE who has God within them
o But
then keeps God within them
§ JUST
For themselves
o
And they Do Not share Him
THEN In ALL TRUTH –
§ Are They Even Of HIM ?
Let me put it in another way
What happened to all of the
·
Men and women and even the children
·
Who went through the sea with
Moses,
·
And into the dessert
·
Who turned at the Jordon out of Fear
·
Who wondered for 40 years
What happened to them?
What we know is that:
·
They never made it into the
Promised Land!
·
And it was All Because
o Of their ‘Rebellion against God’.
Now we are talking of 1,078,000 + People.
ALL OF THEM EXCEPT FOR 2. (Joshua & Caleb. But my question was
– WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 1,078,000 MEN, WOMEN
AND CHILDREN?
Do
they have tickets to Heaven? Or does
their Tickets take them elsewhere?
FOLLOWED The MAN OF
GOD! (Moses)
But on the other hand, They also rebelled from
following God And they DID NOT Get to go Into the Promised Land.
But what
is even more important than that question is:
·
What
will happen to us?
o
What
will happen to YOU?
Is it “HEAVEN” because YOU have Accepted God.
But – What IF we keep God –
·
Inside of us.
·
As our Own.
·
JUST for ourselves?
Does Jesus story of the Talents come to mind?
And What about Jesus’ Last Commandment to us –
·
Now Go - And Make Disciples of all of the land.
To help us Understand
·
What is involved within this “REBIRTH”
Let us look at 3 words
·
Which Just Seems to Spring from Our Text.
(1)
Reoriented,
(2)
Refocused,
(3)
And Renewed.
The 1st one is: Reoriented to God's
Kingdom
Jesus said:
"No
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again ... No one can enter the
kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:3-5).
In other words, Isn’t Jesus saying That
this Rebirth:
·
Is a matter of a ‘Total Rebutting US’!
(Like
shutting off our phones or computers
and
then starting them once again.)
Isn’t it like we are
·
‘Redesigning OUR Very Own Thought System?’
Moving from the world - To the Kingdom of
God.
We know that it is Only the Kingdom
of God that lives on - forever.
·
Every other kingdom
FADES.
·
Every other kingdom
around us
o
Which is often what we build our lives
upon,
§
Is TEMPORARY at IT’S BEST.
Jesus said:
Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in
and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.-- Matthew
6:19-21
Jesus wants us to
invest our lives
·
INTO something that has
lasting value.
·
He urges us to stay away from those things which
pass away.
·
That's why GOD urges us to store up
treasures in heaven where they
have value.
·
That's why He wants us to reorient
ourselves, To Start over and Invest our life to Him.
·
To Rebut our thinking into the Thinking of Kingdom of God.
We are called by God to be Re-claimed
into God's kingdom.
Yes - Into the Kingdom of Truth
·
Where God is the God
o
Of Love and Truth
o
And where He is the one who rules
o
And where we are loved and taken
care of.
BUT - Rebirth into God's kingdom,
·
YES – IT INVOLVES A MOVE
-
o
Moving from the things of this world
§
Into the
things of God’s World.
So, WHAT IS THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
anyway?
To put it in a short way,
o It is Jesus Christ
Do you Remember, It was at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, When
He said these wonderful Words:
"The
kingdom of God is near.
Repent
and believe the good news"
(Mark 1:14).
However, we must also understand that
·
The Kingdom OF GOD
o
Will not be in its FULLNESS
§
Until the return of Christ.
But IN
This Life - Through
·
OUR BAPTISM and FAITH,
o
We all get a preview
§
Of
that GLORIOUSNESS that is coming.
Jesus said,
"Whoever
believes and is baptized
will
be saved"
(Mark 16:16).
Our Life in God's Kingdom begins in
baptism.
·
We are baptized "in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
IT IS IN Baptism That WE are CLAIMED and
CLEANSED.
·
CLAIMED By the Father as His Sons and Daughters.
·
CLEANSED by God for His Service and Witness.
In Baptism - We BEGIN to
know
·
The Fullness of the Eternal God.
Baptism is Spiritual Rebirth.
Baptism-in-the-Name-of-the-Trinity
·
Is the planting of the seed
of
the Kingdom of God.
·
This seed grows toward harvest,
·
When it is nourished in the Church
- and the Home.
Baptism is the
Beginning of the Rebirth.
Let me give you a ‘Word of Advice’.
·
If you are ever approached by another Christian with the question,
"When were you born again?"
·
Give him or her the best answer possible –
o
And that would be the date of your Baptism.
Baptism
is the time
·
When you were adopted as God's son
or daughter.
·
That is when You were made a child
o Of
the Heavenly Father
§
By the Water and the Spirit.
·
You came into the Kingdom of God by Baptism.
·
You began the process of being changed
§
Into God’s Son or Daughter
§
Thru in Baptism.
This change within you
·
Needs to continue to Grow to Maturity
o
BY and THROUGH Your Faith in
§
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Faith is a 3 - Sided Triangle
o Knowledge,
o Decisions,
o And Trust.
1st - We
must KNOW about God
·
Before we can believe in God.
Our Educational Ministry HERE at Hall
·
Can Not Be More Important.
Through our Sunday School Programs,
·
Cradle Roll
·
Preschool
·
Elementary 1st and 2nd
·
3rd, 4th, and 5th
Grade
·
Junior High being 6th, 7th,
and 8th
·
High School
·
And Adult Education Programs
Along with our Sunday
Evening Services
·
Which have Adult Class in Growing
Deeper
·
Our Younger Students in Kids
Club
·
And our older Students in Youth
Group
From the very
beginning
·
And all the way through our
senior age,
·
It
is so VITAL for us to continue to learn
·
More and More about Our Father, Our KING.
And If you haven’t done so lately,
·
I would encourage for you
o
To thank your teachers
o
For not only of their efforts
o
But for the Love which goes into
such leading a class.
This type of Education cannot be over-emphasized,
·
But we all know that FAITH
o IS
MORE than mere knowledge.
Faith
includes – DECISION MAKING!
For example,
We must respond to what God has done for us
·
By making decisions about the priorities
of:
o Worship,
o Prayer,
o Bible
Study,
o And
Our Christian fellowship in our lives.
We must choose Christ
·
Over ALL other options
in life.
BY Saying "YES"
to Christ
·
Also means that We Are saying "no"
o
To the unChrist
§
And Our unChrist-like Behavior.
We must decide to respond
·
In a Positive Way to God and of God's Ways,
But FAITH is more than a Matter of
the OUR WILL.
·
Faith
is also a matter of the HEART.
It means TRUSTING
JESUS CHRIST
·
As our
LORD and SAVIOR.
By Putting
·
Knowledge of God in our Heads
·
Our WILL of God on our Tongues
·
And Our TRUST of God in
our Hearts
The process of Our Rebirth has
begun.
We are becoming
acceptable to God’s Kingdom
·
As well as being Worthy of being
called One of His.
Rebirth is also a matter of Refocusing.
We are called to refocus
our lives on the Cross of Christ. [Part 2 Next Week]
