Well good morning to you. It's good to see you guys. Good to see you guys. I hope
you're enjoying this lovely fall weather that we're having. I hope that it never
ever ends. But it's going to and everything's gonna die. I'm just trying
to prepare myself. But man it's good to see you guys. My name is Matthew Young. It's
Cal State. I'm the site pastor here in Moscow. I love the town of Moscow and my
family here has been here for eight years, been hanging around U of I and doing
this over the last six and so stoked to get to preach here this morning. All of
our site pastors are different sites are preaching and so if you know any of
those guys, Craig at UI109 will be preaching Chris Routon over at WSU here
in about an hour is going to preach his first sermon ever and so pretty
exciting stuff and so we've had a fun time as site pastors. We're all trying to
preach the same sermon roughly and so we've had a fun time the past couple
weeks working on this together and but I'm happy to be standing on this stage
mostly because it means I've avoided the plague and my family has been really
sick this week and so all the kids have had at my wife was feeling junky last
night and so I kept playing through like this scenario of like my worst
nightmare you're preaching and you get sick in the middle of the sermon or
something like that so so I'm hoping that doesn't happen so if like if I if we
do another meet and greet in the middle of the sermon you know that's what
happened. So anyhow it's what I do during sermons if I'm sitting out
there where you are and I start getting bored or something not that that ever
happens but I start like you know problem-solving okay what would happen if
I did this whatever so I've got a plan I've got a scenario worked out just in
case so anyhow we're ready to go but I'm man excited about where we're headed to
this morning continuing in this sermon series called Never the Same and we've
been looking at each week Josh looked at several different individuals Keith last
week of people who encountered Jesus who met Jesus and when they did that it
changed their life it changed the direction of their life he would speak to
them in a way they need to be spoken to they would he would meet them where they
were and that's the thing that's blown me away each week because I've sat where
you're sitting and thinking about Jesus and how he meets us he meets each of
us individually where we are in life and he's coming as we look through these
different stories in the New Testament he's coming for us and he wants to break
into our life he's wanted to say some things he wants to do some things in our
life and it's so personal which is interesting is what we've learned from
these these characters these past couple weeks from Peter and Paul and the
woman cotton adultery and the the rich young ruler and Zacchaeus and and and
these different individuals and so we're gonna continue that this morning to
look at a guy that Jesus met and has a very interesting conversation in
some ways it's a famous conversation you know I know that but some of the
scripture we're gonna read you're like oh I recognize that or I've heard that
before and maybe you didn't know the context which with with which it came
from but we're gonna get a chance to look into that this morning and I think
that's a lot of us here this morning may identify with this individual we're
gonna look at and his name is is Nicodemus and and so if you have your
copy of scripture with you we're gonna we're gonna break into that and you can
turn to John chapter 3 we'll project it up here we may want to follow along in
your own Bible or her app and and you can you can you can follow along so in
John chapter 3 one of the things that we've looked at is it's almost like it's
almost been an equation of things that we've seen from from people who who are
never the same as they've met Jesus and something happens is there they hear the
truth the truth is heard and then something happens within them they
believe this truth that Jesus shares with them and and when they believe it then
they begin to obey the truth and after that they're never the same and that's
what we see play out this equation of you hear the truth you believe the truth
and you obey the truth that Jesus shares with us and so in doing so you're
never the same and that's what we'll see and we'll refer back to here as we get
into this but again in John chapter 3 we see this encounter with Jesus things
just getting going in Jesus ministry he's began to do some in chapter 2 of
John it says things like he's began to do some signs and do some teaching and
people are beginning to really take notice he he did the whole water and a
wine thing that happened and and then he did some other stuff hanging out in the
synagogues and in the in the in the temple and so people began to take
notice and and and so we get into John chapter 3 and this guy shows up so you
can follow along with me now there was a Pharisee a man named Nicodemus who was a
member of the Jewish ruling council he came to Jesus at night and he said Rabbi
we know that you are a teacher who has come from God for no one can perform the
signs that you are doing if God were not with him and Jesus replied I'll verily
truly I tell you no one can see the kingdom of God unless you are born again
how can someone be born again when they're old Nicodemus asked surely they
cannot enter in for a second time to their mother's womb to be born that's
weird Jesus answered very very truly I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless they are born of water and the spirit flesh gives birth to flesh but
the spirit gives birth to spirit you should not be surprised at what I'm
saying you must be born again the wind blows wherever it pleases you hear it
sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going so it is with
everyone born of the spirit how can this be Nicodemus asked you are Israel's
teacher Jesus said and you don't understand these things 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 I have spoken to you of earthly things and
do not believe 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 wilderness so
the son of man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal
life in him verse 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 so as
we get into this passage and we begin to look at this a few phrases a few things
may come out and there's one of those that one phrase and they're born again
I'll take a brief poll I've been polling people this week how many guys have
heard that phrase born again born again Christian that's familiar with that so
there's different connotations that go along with this it's it's somewhat
readily known in our culture and society and suppose a label given to to a
certain group of people and born again Christian especially for me I grew up in
Texas in the south and there's a religious cultures that religious culture there
but there's kind of this idea among some and maybe this is maybe you've heard
this or you're seeing in this light but a born again person someone who's they
were doing life and they screwed it up they messed up and they couldn't
they couldn't keep it together they're weak people who had some kind of drug
addiction or their life just was off the rails or whatever and then they became
born again and they got everything back together and so there's these born again
Christians who man they needed a new start they they messed up the first time and
in fact is I in this week I was like what do people think born again I know
I've heard that phrase on my life I know what I think it is I wonder what the
world thinks and so I went to that wonderful piece of knowledge on the
internet known as urban dictionary to find out what does the world think about
this and so here's the urban dictionary definition born again Christians are the
sect of Christianity for people who messed it up the first time around they
believed that they believe that redemption will come by following the
Bible more literally than God would ever wish to the point at which their
ideology becomes culty and near immoral born again they're extremely
hypocritical and they misuse God's texts and this in discriminatory views give
Christianity a bad name ironically as these people who preach their superiority
and are the biggest jerks and of course urban dictionary use a little more
colorful language and some of that than I read to you but but anyhow so it's this
picture of this this idea and maybe the maybe you don't hold this but sometimes
our culture society says oh born again Christians that's those kind of people
it's like they're Christians but then they're like this whole other group of
Christians this like some people see it as like they're these hypocrites again
that the weak people who couldn't hold it together they needed some kind of
crutch in their life to help them get out of the mess that they made for
themselves they needed a new start and so they're the born again Christians
there's this other this other way of viewing is I always see it in polls like
in Gallup polls or Pew polls they would it's like this group of Christianity
that's like serious there's there's nominal Christians and there's people
that identify with Christianity say I have a belief in God as people that's
are polling and say what are the trends going on in our nation and and they
always say what about it born again Christians it's like this group of
Christians are like oh they're like they're like serious they're like for real
and and typically they they have a some people seem as a weird group of Christians
that that again that culty or extreme version with but morality is a big deal
for born again Christians a lot of time and so we read into this passage and
began to see Jesus interacting with Nicodemus and he's and he uses this
phrase you need to be born again that we may read into that say always it's one
of those that you need to become a weirdo or you need to oh you have to be
really messed up it's you can be born again but when we get into this and as
we look at this guy Nicodemus we see that that's not the case that our
understanding of born again is not what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus and so we
need to look at Nicodemus and who he was this character or I've been looking at
him and studying him in the past couple weeks I mean the other side pastors we've
began to affectionately refer to him as Nicky D and so that's his nickname we've
given him so if I call him Nicky D throughout this I apologize I'll try
not to I'll try to use his whole name but Nicodemus was as it says there he was
a teacher he was part of the Jewish ruling counselor the Sanhedrin which
means he was he was a leader he was in charge of something almost a political
governmental field to it but also very religious and so he was a Pharisee which
means he was like super religious he obeyed the mosaic law all the rules to a
tee that was part of his life and he was one of the best at it if he was at this
position that he was at as part of this ruling council and in that also part of
the political side of it is they would be in relationship with the Roman
government so the Israel at this point was under captivity or being controlled
by the Roman government so they would the large government would relate to
these local governments and say hey you guys have a better pulse on what's going
on there you stay on top of what's going on with that whole religious thing he
has going on the whole Judaism God thing you guys are doing you guys know how
that works so you make sure everything stays under control there quality any
issues that may be going on if there's any rebellions we're gonna look to you
you're gonna lose your jobs we're gonna be really mad at you guys you guys make
sure that stuff doesn't happen and we will pay you really well and so Nicodemus
was probably doing really well he was rich and because he was getting paid and
his position in his end as he was ruling but also he was a it was a teacher he
essentially had a PhD if you will and in Jewish culture and mosaic law and so
everybody looked at him to do it the way it was supposed to be done according to
the Old Testament scriptures he was a social elite because of his standing
religiously because of his standing politically he was if he walked into a
room and him and his boys a part of the the Sanhedrin they were it they were
that they were at the top of the of the pile they were everyone looked to them
and said okay those guys have it together leader of leaders and being a
and being a part of that ruling council everyone looked to him and he would be
leading other leaders and teaching other people and saying this is how you do it
this is how you lead others and so within all that he had it together he was he
was the best there was if you will in first century people and then Jesus
comes along and he begins to speak into this culture and do some things that
draws his attention and the tension of him and his friends the people a part of
this this ruling council and so this is pretty early on they're like okay what
are we gonna do about this guy so it appears the way they could name is to
use this language of we we have heard this and we think this and so he it's
almost like he's coming there to to represent and kind of at night when
no one else sees this kind of like a back room political move kind of thing
I'm gonna come in and connect with this Jesus guy and see what's up you also see
there's a bit of curiosity and what's really going on what's really happening
with this guy he makes the statements of we think we see that God is a part of
what you're doing there's something more than just what you're saying we think
that God is a part of this because the signs you're doing there frankly they're
amazing and so we're interested we want to know if hey maybe we can hang out we
can do something together and we're trying to feel this out he's put out as
feelers and so as we look at Nicodemus there's three things that I want us to
take away from this interaction that that Jesus has with him this morning and
and so the first of those three things is this that we learn from Nicodemus is
we don't need to be better we need to start over we don't need to be better
we need to start over so Nicodemus as I saying he's if you walked into a room
and first century people that lived in Israel and Nicodemus was in the crowd
and you asked okay who's who's the most blessed person in this room and you
would have the common people and the people who worked carpentry jobs or
worked down at the market or they had all their issues or whatever but then
there was this guy Nicodemus and he was bright and shiny and he looked good
look like I had all his junk together and he was he did life right because
clearly look how well he's doing he's wealthy everything's under control he's
he's blessed if you were to say who is blessed by God everyone who say oh
Nicodemus clearly look at him I mean he's he's got his life together he's got
stuff together and so he'd stand out in the crowd I think that in resonate we
have a lot of Nicodemuses if you will Nicodemai is that plural I think that
we have a lot of people that's come and check resonate out and they they have
their stuff together if you will it looks like they do I think we all like
to try and say hey I've got my stuff together and we all want to be the one
who looks blessed and that people would look to and say okay he's doing good or
she's doing well or I wish I was like him I wish I was like her I think that
goes in two ways I think that happens religiously there's those of us who
come to resonate or even they come to church and check things out that we
have a strong Christian background maybe our family is Christian growing up and
you became a Christian at a very early age this is my story and we come into a
setting like this and say okay I'll come here and I'll check things out and see
what this can add to my life how this can help me out what can I what can I
gain from this and what what can I add to my life or how can I become more
spiritual or some new learning wherever so we don't come into a setting like this
and say okay I need I need something new I need to start over I need God needs to
do something major in my life I think okay what can I do what can add to my
life or you come from from a non-religious setting and say okay I
don't know about this whole Christianity thing I think I've got life
figured out okay I've got some ideas some spiritual beliefs I'm just looking at
maybe add to that how can I refine some of my spiritual beliefs or refine what
I what I think about things or you know afterlife or how to do life right maybe
I can pick something up from these Christian people some of them seem like
they were they're okay or there's something to this a lot of friends talk
about it my roommates been invited me all semester whatever maybe I'll see
what I can add to this I think Nicodemus in the same way comes into the setting
with Jesus and he's like okay what's what's up there Nicodemus or what's up
there Jesus what's up what do you have for me and he comes in look Jesus I see
that you've done some stuff we're interested again college students we
often you guys those of you here in college you people you guys are in the
world you guys are at the top 6% of the world only 6% of the world has a
college degree you guys are most of you here in school are working towards that
so we were working towards the second one only 6% of the world of the
billions of people in the world have that and statistics show that when you
have a college degree you end up actually living more you know making more
money than other people the world is looking at you and saying man though
those people have it together their privilege they they have what they have
what everyone else wants and often you may like I don't think that's me I don't
know if I feel like that but oftentimes we live in that and so if Jesus is
interacting with Nicodemus in this I think he's saying he's saying I've got
something to say to you all I think he has something to say to us the
interesting thing about this this phraseology that Nicodemus hears from
Jesus about being born again that's quite confusing to him you can him will
seem like wait be born again you're joking right are you yeah I can't
actually enter into my mother's womb again that'd be weird right so he's like
question marks everywhere like what are you talking about Jesus weird what you're
saying the interesting about being born again that this language uses I don't
know if you remember being born or not I don't personally but I didn't have much
to I didn't do much in that I was just born and I've witnessed three births of
my own children and from what I do recall when my kids were born all three of
them they didn't really do much in the process it seemed like seemed like my
wife was doing most of the work and and then after the after the fact they
didn't they weren't really excited about it seemed like they wanted to go back
so the thing about being born is you don't really do much about that when
you're the one being born and I think that's what Jesus is beginning to
communicate trying to communicate to Nicodemus here and saying like you need
to be born again you need a new start you don't just need to be better you
don't need to add some things to your life Nicodemus you've got it together I
know you think you have it together but I got something to say to you you need a
new start you need to start all over you need to be born again another
interesting part about this birth language that Jesus is using he used
this more than once use it once and in John chapter 16 when he's talking to
disciples the night before he's crucified and he's saying guys it's
about to get real hard you're gonna go through some pains I'm gonna go through
some pains it's like birth pains but just like a mother goes through this
pain because of the joy that she knows she'll she's about to experience and
holding her child she'll go through that in the same way Jesus is saying I'm
about to go through some pain I'm about to die I'm about to experience
separation from the father as I take on your sins you guys are about to go
through some pain but trust me there's joy that we're moving towards and so
Jesus essentially identifying self with mother as a mother or with the mother
and using that illustration in the same way in a birth it's the mother whose
blood is spilled I my all of my kids were born by C-section there's a lot of
blood involved in that operation and I remember it's it's really red in there
and in the same way Jesus is the one who spills blood and we do nothing Jesus
saying to Nicodemus he's began to communicate this imagery to him saying
look there's nothing you can do I know you have life together and you've done
well for yourself according to the world standards you've got your stuff
together and you seem to have it all figured out but let me tell you you
need to start all over it's almost like this imagine if you were if you will
you've gone through school and you've gotten your undergrad degree and you went
on got a masters and a PhD and your graduation you walk across the stage
you're like all right I've got it together you've gotten your degree in the
arts and and you walk off stage like all right I've got my PhD I'm ready to go I'm
gonna conquer the world I think I want to become an engineer the thing is you
don't have a degree to be an engineer you haven't been educated in that and so
you've spent all your years in since first grade or pre-k moving towards this
and gaining an education you've got a PhD and in art and now you want to go on
do this other thing and this is what this is the situation with Nicodemus and
Jesus is saying look Jesus I think I have it together can you add to this can
you teach me something new we want to figure this out maybe when we work
together we can I can give a little you can give a little we can we can make
this better and Jesus is saying no no no if you want to enter the kingdom of God
if you want to enter in eternity if you want to be a part of what God is doing
everything that you've worked towards doesn't get you there you need to start
all the way over you need to go back to first grade you need a new start you
need to be born again the thing is that the beauty of that is essentially what
Jesus does for us as he says I tell you what let me get that education for you
let me do all the work for you let me go and do that homework and take those
classes and pass those tests and now here you have this new degree when we
find ourselves in Christ when we're born again as Jesus illustrates here it's a
new start and it's not something we did on our own that we earned that we did so
many good things we went to church or did so many good deeds that that eventually
God said oh look you this you've now reached the level of good oftentimes we
look at the world and we look at all the people in the world and there's bad
people and there's good people and we're somewhere in between we're the we're
the exception to everything oh you know I'm not too bad I'm not too good or
whatever but I think I'm alright and in that we missed the point that's there's
only two people in the world there's us and then there's Jesus there's sinners
and broken people and then there's Jesus and Jesus saying look I've got to do
this for you and he goes on to that so that first point you don't need to be
better you need to start over he uses this language he begins to say some
stuff it seems kind of was cryptic or mystic in verse five truly I tell you
no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they're born of water and the
spirit and flesh gives birth to flesh but the spirit gives birth to spirit you
should not be surprised at my saying he must be born again the wind blows
wherever it pleases you hear the sound you cannot tell where it's coming from
where it's going so this this language of being born again this water and spirit
and stuff he's referencing and he's speaking again he's meeting Nicodemus
with where he is he's referencing this Old Testament text out of the book of
Ezekiel this prophecy that tells of the coming day when God will establish a new
covenant there was this old covenant built on the law and built on faith in
God through the law and he's saying look I'm gonna do something new one day I'm
gonna rewrite the I'm gonna rewrite the script I'm gonna do something a new way
the Messiah is gonna come and this is what it says it's out of Ezekiel 36 verses
25 through 27 I think it'll be up here I will sprinkle clean water on you and you
will be clean again that baptism by by by water born of water I will cleanse you
from all your impurities and from all your idols I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you I will move from you your heart of stone and give
you a heart of flesh I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws and so this prophecy that Jesus then
alludes to as he's speaking to to Nicodemus and he knows Nicodemus like
that language is familiar that you're using in that from Ezekiel because these
guys again he he was very well educated he would hear Jesus saying these things
like and that sounds a lot like that bit in Ezekiel that this prophecy of a new
covenant this new thing that God is gonna do he said I'm gonna take your heart
of stone give you a heart of flesh I'm gonna I'm gonna take away what's dead
and I'm gonna give you something new says it's this change is eternal it's
life-changing it's not just it's not just a new start but it's a new heart a new
internal something a new change from within of what is no long from what's
no longer productive what you can't do on your own so I'm gonna start something
new a new heart a new life and so he's saying this is what you need Nicodemus
quit asking me questions and and let me let me teach you if you say that I'm a
teacher and that's the second thing the point number two that we learn from
Nicodemus is we don't need a teacher Nicodemus didn't need a teacher we don't
need a teacher we need a savior you don't need a teacher you need a savior
this is that this is what the world is asking everyone has to deal once you
hear this truth as we said in that equation you hear a truth and then you
have to come to the point of what do I believe about this who is Jesus what am
I gonna do with Jesus we all have to make that decision one of the most
influential people ever to walk the face of the earth this truth that we're
proclaimed was the truth you're hearing here today even what are you gonna do
with Jesus a lot of people they discount the the scriptural accounts they say
maybe that's not true maybe it's been altered Jesus you know apparently he
maybe was a real person he was probably just a really good teacher he had some
stuff figured out and he said some really neat things I think there was some
stuff added to maybe the story I don't if I believe all that but I think he was
just a good teacher essentially that's what that's what Nicodemus comes to him
and he says teacher rabbi which means teacher tell us we've seen you done some
good stuff and what's interesting the way that the dialogue happens it's almost
as if Jesus interrupts him so he comes to him and it says rabbi we know that you
are a teacher who has come from God for no one could perform the signs that you
are doing if you were not with him and it's almost like Jesus did it did it I've
got some things to say to you Nicodemus I've been up late thanks for finally
getting here it's dark guys I've been up late waiting for you I've got some
stuff to tell you and so almost it's like he interrupts him and in this
dialogue Nicodemus starts off so Jesus we recognize that you have some you've
done some new stuff and he's just interrupts him and then from there on
it's like his phrases get shorter and shorter until eventually he's not
saying anything and Jesus is talking all the way into this this dialogue and I
and so Jesus is ready to teach him but what what he communicates is while
Nicodemus says I want to teach you I want to learn more he's saying Nick
wanted Nicodemus Nicky D he wanted new knowledge and Jesus is saying no no you
need a new birth you need a new life he's coming to him and he's essentially
saying if this was one way I viewed it if Nicodemus was coming to Jesus for
for like life advice he's saying okay Jesus I think I'm doing well I'm
figuring things out if Jesus was like an aerobics instructor I don't know that's
not the word if he's like a personal trainer guy kind of guy and Nicodemus
comes to him essentially he's asking hey I need a new diet plan and Jesus looks
at him says no no you don't need a new diet plan you need a body you need to
start all the way over he's trying to communicate to him look all that you've
accomplished on your own the the level that you've reached in society the way
people look at you and all that stuff that's not gonna get you in the kingdom
of God you need to see that it's something drastically different it's a
whole another road that you need to go on and so he says as he calls him
teacher a good teacher he's saying you need to start over and again he uses
this obscure text this this he references the Old Testament something again
meeting Nicodemus was where he was with the stuff that he knew he uses utilizes
that knowledge he already knew and says okay I'm gonna speak to you from that
and so there's this really it's almost it's his weird story this this obscure
story from the Old Testament that he references in verse 14 just as Moses
lifted up the snake in the wilderness so the Son of man must be lifted up that
everyone who believes may have eternal life in him there's a story in Numbers
chapter 21 where the nation of Israel is traveling through the wilderness been
brought out of Egypt they grumbled against God and said God said okay you're
gonna wander around the wilderness for a while and they did that and in that
sometimes they would be obedient they worship God and they get mad and they're
plight and they'd start grumbling and speaking out against God with their
words and and and God would correct them and in this one occasion these
serpents these snakes out in the desert began to attack them must have been like
a plague of snakes I'm not sure how what that looks like I heard of snakes I
don't know what you call a group of snakes but people were a lot of people
were dying and being poisoned by these snakes and so they recognized this is
because of our hearts have been grumbling against God and and they say God
Moses please pray to God as our leader Moses communicated God for them and he
said okay have mercy on us we repent we recognize we've we've not viewed you
correctly been speaking out against you and so God instructs Moses weird story
he says okay I want you to create this bronze serpent or copper serpent and I
want you to put on a pole and raise it up and when you get bitten by a snake you
have this moment of life and death when you say do I trust God and what he's
provided or am I gonna do it on my own do I trust God and what he's provided am I
gonna do it on my own and says if you look at this snake in belief the God can
save you he'll save you as brilliant Jesus speaks to Nicodemus in this weird
obscure story buried away in the book of numbers who's ever read that book
Nicodemus had and and he says remember that story it's like that unless the son
of man is lifted up and if you believe in him you'll not experience eternal life
and he's referencing what will happen one day the son of man will be lifted up
on a cross and all who look at him and believe on him and what he has done will
be saved not just from us a snake bite but from eternal death when we brought
into eternal life and he communicates that and he says that to Nicodemus and
I think Nicodemus his head is spinning and he says in verse 9 Raphael says that
how can that be what are you saying and he's spinning and he's thinking what's
going on and and Jesus continues to speak to him and I think an interesting
point here as we look at this is it seems like it seems like Nicodemus has
come to Jesus it seems like Jesus is there in the middle of the night somewhere
Nicodemus sneaks out and comes and finds Jesus to asking these questions but in
reality Jesus has come to Nicodemus he's come down from heaven as he says in his
passage the son of man who went into heaven and has come back he's come to be
with his people and Jesus has come to be with Nicodemus Jesus has come to be with
us and it seems like oh I've stumbled into this Christianity thing and I found
Jesus and you all along Jesus was searching for you Jesus has come to
meet you where you were or where you are and to speak truth into life and the
things that you know he wants to speak to you through those things just as he
did in Nicodemus's life the third thing that we learn from this is that we don't
get new life without new birth from Nicodemus we see this we don't get new
life without new birth so this dialogue goes on and Jesus began to just tell
him some stuff and we don't know exactly what happened if you know eventually
he just talked to him and Nicodemus was like whoa whoa whoa you were like ready
for this and he really like backs off into the night or if they you know he
gets on talking and they go play board games we don't know what happened with
Jesus Nicodemus at this point but we see that he shows up again in the book of
John two more times and we see if there's something happening in his life
this whole serpent analogy this whole serpent picture this Ezekiel passage
that Jesus mentioned in reference it's bouncing around and Nicodemus is
heading he's beginning to ask questions and think about things and and so in
John chapter 7 he shows up again and at this point the Jewish ruling council
they've had enough of Jesus and like all right that's enough of that guy he's
starting to they're starting to get real gathering around him and he's
starting to kind of stir some stuff up and if the Romans find out about this
they're gonna be mad at us we're gonna lose our jobs we're gonna lose our sweet
gig where they pay us to keep things under control and he's questioning us and
making us look stupid in front of all our people and he's our place the top is
beginning to be challenged and so they're saying the Jewish ruling
counselor they are we got it we got to put an end to this and began to plot and
make plans to to kill him and to do away with him and so they sent out these
guards and say okay go arrest him in the temple courts for you know being
blasphemous or something and these guys go to go to arrest him and they go and
listen to like they come back like well didn't you arrest him and like yeah I
don't know he says some really cool stuff guys I have you guys listen to him he
says something like oh what are you guys doing that these Jewish ruling leaders
like whoa come on just arrest him go get him for us and then and then Nicodemus
chimes in and he essentially says guys are you sure we're doing this right
aren't we supposed to like give him a hearing or something and and then all
the other all the other ruling council like Nicodemus shut up come on we're
trying to do something here trying to arrest this guy quit messing with this
stuff what do you want to decide to so something happened is happening in
Nicodemus he's began almost defend Jesus among his peers to go against the flow
so there's just a little excerpt there and then we go on and they eventually do
arrest Jesus the middle of the night again they sneak out there and capture
him you know the story he's has a brief trial that's not really a trial where
they accuse him they bring him before Pontius Pilate they bring before the
Roman government they get it the okay to have him crucified and he's risen up on
the cross and put up there and I don't know if it's in that moment when when it
all comes together when Jesus thinking back to that snake thing from numbers
or whatever it was and he sees Jesus up there he says that's it that's what he
was talking about unless I believe in him I'll never enter the kingdom of God so
I don't know if it happened that moment or later on or whatnot but when Jesus
when Jesus died he Nicodemus shows up again in chapter 19 it says that he was
accompanied there's a guy named Joseph of Arab Matthew a rich guy a disciple of
Jesus but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders and he went and got
permission to take Jesus body down to go and bury it chapter 19 verse 30 39 he
was accompanied by Nicodemus the man who earlier visited Jesus at night
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about 75 pounds something
happened in Nicodemus's life because now he went from being like let me come to
you at night all right let me speak on your behalf but not too much to now he's
like no I'm all in his actions here speak that something had happened in his
life he was never the same Nicodemus engages in a in a practice that was a
mostly only done by women to go and prepare a body for burial and brings
these spices and in doing so in handling a dead body he would essentially make
himself ceremonially unclean so he could not it was Passover weekend and he
couldn't participate the rest of the Passover festivities and feasts and
those things because he had been handling a dead body which is a member of the
rulers ruling Jewish Council as a Pharisee of Pharisees that would have
been like what are you doing you're doing it wrong don't do it wrong you can't do
it wrong he says I'm gonna do it wrong because I value this man I value who
he is and what he taught I believe he brings 75 pounds of perfume and spices
potpourri that they would wrap up in the in the in the burial clothes that keep
it from stinking so bad and preserve the body 75 pounds scholars say that that
amount of spices and things it was the amount that you'd use to bury a king so
Nicodemus went out invested his money and said I'm gonna buy a lot because this
guy was more than just a teacher he was my savior he's more than just a man he's
my king and so he says I'm no longer my following the leadership of the Roman
government am I trying to play this political game and say I'm all in and
his actions speak otherwise Nicodemus had a PDA issue he was afraid of these
public displays of affection he sneaks in the meet Jesus the first time at night
when nobody can see him he kind of stands on the he's waffling whatever with
his guys and saying that I believe this is this guy different and we treat him
differently but now finally says I'm all in and I don't care who knows I don't
care who sees he has a new life and his new life affects his life this new birth
as we said you don't get new life without a new birth Nicodemus was born
again he put his faith in Christ and it changed his actions it changed the way
he lived I did a wedding this past summer and through the process of talking
through the ceremony with the bride and the groom the groom told me he had he
had he didn't he wasn't a big fan of PDA public displays of affection but we all
know what happens at a wedding is you have to have a little PDA because you're
gonna kiss in front of all your family and friends and everything and it was a
sweet moment of of solidifying this this matrimony this this covenant
between the two and said I don't care who sees me at this point right now I'm
kissing my bride in the same way Nicodemus said I don't care who sees me at
this moment I'm bringing all the spices I'm giving a barrel for a king at this
moment you don't get a new life without this new birth and then once you have a
new birth it has to affect your life if you've truly been born again as Jesus
says it will affect your life the thing about belief is if you truly believe
something and it's gonna affect your actions gonna affect what you do if you
truly believe that seats gonna hold you up then you'll sit in it if you don't
believe it's gonna hold you up you won't sit in it but if you don't believe it's
gonna hold you up you're not gonna sit in it makes sense if you truly believe
that Jesus is the Savior it's going to affect the way you live and what he's
communicating in Nicodemus is Nicodemus you can't do this on your own you've
set up a great life for yourself but that's not enough and that's confusing
to Nicodemus is but come on I've got everything together everybody says I'm
doing fine Jesus says no no you need to you need to start over no one is good
enough everyone has issues everyone needs a Savior and to put our faith in
Christ to believe in him means that if that has happened again that equation if
there's if there's obedience and you're never the same and so to have a public
displays of affection again resonate we there's a part of this where I mean we
need to take the next steps and say okay I'm unashamed of my faith and I'm
an ashamed what I believe it's affecting my life I don't care who knows about it
fact is I want people to know about it this new life that I've discovered so
again born again it's not a weird thing that some people need that really needy
people need the people who did who messed it up the first time they need to
be born again I know those of us who have it together those of us who think we
have it figured it out we need Jesus I recognize within the room there's some
of you feel like yeah I've heard this this is one of those sermons that that
we preach it resonates sometimes where you want people to come to Christ for
the first time and some of you you don't know Christ and truly I want you to
hear that message that Jesus wants to meet you where you are and he wants to
speak to you and he wants he wants you to know that there's nothing you can do
to earn his love he'll give it to you freely there's also nothing you do that
can hinder him from giving you his love he wants to come and meet you where you
are and he loves you more than you know but in that for those of you feel like
I've heard this sermon before there's rally you need to continue to come back
to who Jesus is you need to come back continue to come back to your salvation
to revisit that truth to revisit what Christ has done in your life because if
you don't you end up like Nicodemus you have a religious experience at some
point and then you say yeah but I've got it all together from here and then it
becomes mundane it becomes normal what else can I add to my life what else can
I learn that makes me better it makes me stand out among others and if I compare
myself to other people they'll say oh he's he's doing well he's got it together
that's not what you're after your after new life in Christ I as pastor of
Resonate Church the guy with the microphone on his face I need to
regularly come back to the gospel I need to go back and remember who would I be
if I wasn't if it wasn't for Christ in my life sometimes I think about my
propensity towards sin and I say okay if it was up to me left to myself this is
who I would be on my own and it's not a pretty picture it's a good exercise for
you to go and sit down who would I be if it weren't for Christ in my life and allow
that propel you back to thinking about who you were in Christ or how Christ came
and met you where you were what did he say to you how did he meet you how did
he use what you already knew to speak truth to you and how did you draw you to
you say draw him draw you to himself and worship in that and say oh thank you my
Lord and my God I want to celebrate you I'm unashamed of what you've done in my
life I'm unashamed of who you are you are my God I don't just need a teacher I
don't just need to be better I need a savior I need a new beginning I needed a
new beginning and I need a new beginning daily and then he says this this
phrase this this verse and in John 3 16 may sound very familiar to you for God
so loved the world he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life it's a famous verse because it sums up
the gospel in one quick line and we put it on sports players put it on their
eye patches and we put it on signs all over stuff it's on the bottom of cups
at some fast food restaurants it's on shopping bags I don't know why it's on
shopping bags for certain stores but it shows up in random places it's so huge
though for God so loved the world sometimes you read through that you
think there what do you mean the world this big place with all these people in
it kind of when every time we see John mentioned the world it's as though he's
speaking I was like not just this big place but this broken place God so loved
this broken world that he sent part of himself his own son his only son he said
part of himself into the mess into our junk that we've created for ourselves
even though we think we're doing all right with him and he sent us to us
because we are broken and we need a savior and came into our lives and he
comes and meets us where we are so that we can never be the same and he speaks
to a truth that's eternal not just temporary not just making your life
better now not just hopefully making you know hey you have less worries and you
have to worry about finances nothing bad ever happens that's not true FYI it's
not true life still is hard here on earth there's an eternal life that we get
to enter into a kingdom that he rules over there he is our king and he leads
us into that and it's a life eternal lived with him as weird as his life as
we're intended to experience it when he created us we messed up we're broken we
didn't do it as things we didn't lose life as it was meant to do subsequent
there's punishment there's there's consequences of that and God looked down
and he said I'm not okay with this I have to do something about it he sent his
one and only son part of himself he gives up part of himself for us to come
into our mess to meet us where we are we have a moment here and just just a bit
to as the band comes back up to lead us and I want us to spend some time
processing on that I want you to ask yourself okay have I encountered Jesus
like that am I looking to him to improve my life am I looking for him to to make
things better am I looking for him to to change my circumstances or am I
looking for a savior because I realize I can't do it on my own this is one of the
hardest places to come from when you feel like I've got my life together I'm
doing okay it's one of the hardest places to come from to say no I'm not okay I
need something more I need a savior I understand that but know that Jesus is
waiting for you and he's saying I'm coming to you I don't want to give you new life I
want to give you a new heart to look to him so as we as we as we sing as we
process through this as we pray ask God to speak to you in that moment that you
would never be the same that you continue to never be the same as you walk
with him is his new life that is giving you affects your life pray with me gotta
I pray that over us now and I pray that you would that you would speak to us yeah
that you would truly meet us where we are yeah that we would hear your voice
God there's nothing nothing we can do to earn your favor we're not good enough
you don't look at us and say oh that's pretty good guy she's doing all right I'll
bring her in I want her part of my team God no I know that you look us help us
to understand that you look at us man he's broken he doesn't understand he
needs something more she needs something more I'd remind us of that truth when
you first brought it to our lives or God for those that are hearing this for the
first time God clarify that in their own heart pursue them God we thank you for
the chances you give us to be a part of of your pursuit of us God we're open to
you we're ready to hear from you God may we never be the same pray this when we
ask this the name Jesus Christ amen
