Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002802
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00:09 It's been 2000 years since the glorious light of the cross
00:12 illuminated a world veiled in darkness and confusion about 00:15 the character of God. And still today the greatest need of 00:19 mankind is a revelation of God's love as revealed in the life of 00:22 Christ. Amazing Facts presents the Everlasting Gospel with 00:26 Pastor Doug Batchelor coming to you each week from Sacramento 00:30 Central Church in sunny California. Discover hidden 00:34 treasures in God's word today. 00:36 Last week we began a brief series covering the subject that 00:42 is, well everything we talk about when we preach the word of 00:48 God is sacred but in one sense this is especially holy ground 00:53 because in the story of Nicodemus, this will be part II 00:56 in the subject of Nicodemus, Jesus is really getting into the 01:02 essence of what does it mean to be saved, be born again. What is 01:07 the truth? How do we know the truth? How do we know if we're 01:11 converted? All of these issues are covered in this one very 01:16 brief discourse. Now I've mentioned this is the second 01:20 installment. We talked last week about verses 1-5 in Nicodemus 01:24 being born again. Now this week we're going to be talking about 01:29 Looking for Life. I want to back up just a little bit and again 01:33 the subject of our study is John chapter 3. Overall we're going 01:36 to be covering verses 1 to about 21. A little review in case you 01:44 were not here in our first presentation. Who was Nicodemus? 01:48 Well we read in verses 1-4. It said he was a Pharisee. 01:54 The Pharisees were a specially dedicated, separated group, a 01:58 caste within the Jews. It came from the pharesh. It means the 02:03 separated ones. He was part of the Sanhedrin. That was the 02:07 Jewish supreme court. They were the final voice of arbitration 02:11 other than the Romans who had occupied the kingdom. He was a 02:16 very wealthy man. It tells us, we read from history, he had 02:20 a great substance. When Jesus died he brought a whole camel 02:25 loaded with aloe and myrrh to bury Jesus. He was a wealthy man 02:30 He was a man of letters, an educated man and ultimately we 02:35 find out he was a man who was sincere in searching for truth. 02:39 Now in order to pick up speed again, we're going to back up 02:43 and just overlap a verse. I sort of had to stop abruptly because 02:46 we ran out of time last week. In John chapter 3, verse 5, 02:50 that's where we're going to take up our study. John chapter 3 02:54 verse 5, here Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus who's come 02:58 seeking some understanding. I think principally he wanted to 03:02 know are you the Messiah but he never got to that because while 03:05 he was asking if Jesus was the Messiah, Christ interrupted and 03:09 said you need to be born again. He thought that just by virtue 03:13 of being a Jew that he would automatically be saved. In verse 03:18 5 Jesus answers: Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born 03:23 of the water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of 03:28 heaven. Now we need to know what that means. That's why I didn't 03:30 want to rush past that. Why do we need to know what it means? 03:34 Those words: He cannot enter the kingdom of God, frighten me. If 03:38 there's something that's going to keep me from entering the 03:41 kingdom of God or if there's something I must do to be sure 03:43 I do enter the kingdom of God, that's something Jesus wants us 03:47 to understand. Amen? What is it? Unless you're born of the water 03:52 and the Spirit you cannot. You need both births. Well John the 03:58 Baptist was out baptizing. Every Pharisee understood the water 04:03 cleansing. Matter of fact, the group of Essenes dedicated 04:09 religious believers, the Jewish believers. They had a settlement 04:13 in Coumran where they 04:15 wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. I told you we were in San Diego a 04:18 few weeks ago. We saw some of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 04:21 exhibit down there. The Essenes had baptisteries. Every Jew 04:25 understood the ceremonial cleansing of water that 04:28 represented forgiveness for sin. But Jesus said there's more, 04:33 it's more than that. You need both. Now I don't want to 04:36 underemphasize the importance of baptism because you read 04:40 Mark 16:16. These are some other words that ought to make us 04:44 think: He who believes and is baptized will be saved. Well you 04:49 need both don't you. You need belief and baptism. Why does he 04:53 emphasize baptism? Are we saved by the H20. Baptism is just as 04:58 important to a Christian as a marriage ceremony is to a 05:02 wedding. Baptism is the public declaration that I have made a 05:07 choice. See God gives us all free will. He will not force 05:11 anybody. We must choose to come to him. Being born of the water 05:17 is something we do by choice. God will not force us. Shotgun 05:21 weddings often don't work out very well. You don't want 05:25 to be forced into a love relationship. It's hard to feel 05:28 love under those circumstances. And the Lord says come unto me. 05:32 It's an invitation. So we come to the Lord when we choose to 05:36 be baptized. It is something where we are reaching out for 05:39 God. But being born of the Spirit is something we can't 05:42 choose. It's something God does when he comes to us. So baptism 05:46 represents our coming to God, being born of the water. Born of 05:50 the Spirit God coming to us. The Bible says if we draw near to 05:55 God, first we make the choice. We draw near to God, James tells 05:58 us, and then God will draw near to us. The prodigal son came to 06:02 his senses. He began to come home to the father. When the 06:06 father saw him coming he ran to meet him. And so this love 06:11 relationship between you and God must be mutual. God will not 06:14 force you. The Calvinistic way of thinking is that we don't 06:18 have a choice. God does it without your choosing. But you 06:22 can't force love on somebody. It stops being love. You cannot 06:26 preprogram it. God gives us freedom. It must be our choice. 06:31 And they're both just as important. A baby before it is 06:35 born physically is in an envelope of water. If it's going 06:40 to be born it needs to come out of that water. It needs to be 06:44 born of the water. But if that baby comes out of the water and 06:48 it doesn't breathe that first breath... Up till then it's 06:52 getting it's oxygen through the placenta and the umbilical cord. 06:56 It now must breathe. In the Bible pneuma, wind, breath is 07:00 is the word that Jesus uses when he said born of the Spirit, born 07:03 of the wind, born of the Spirit, they were used interchangeably. 07:06 It's not enough to be born of the water. That baby is born and 07:10 it comes out of the water but it doesn't breathe, it's not going 07:13 to live. You need it to be both births. See what Jesus is 07:17 saying? We need to breathe that new life that God is offering us 07:23 And so I just wanted to tie off that thought of the importance 07:27 of born of the water, born of the spirit. Born of the water is 07:32 your choice. There are things that we can choose to do to 07:35 follow the Lord by obedience but we're not saved by law are 07:39 we? It's then ultimately grace, born of the Spirit. So you've 07:43 got these two very important aspects here that Jesus is 07:46 emphasizing. And then go to verse 6 with me now. John 07:49 chapter 3 verse 6: That which is born of flesh is flesh...talking 07:56 about the flesh and the Spirit now. That which is born of the 08:01 Spirit is spirit. You know, we may first come to God for 08:06 earthly reasons we don't want to be lost. We want to be saved and 08:11 you know that's normal. God understands that. That new birth 08:16 may begin with labor pains. It may begin with sorrow. Hopefully 08:21 it ends with joy. You first come for maybe selfish reasons. 08:27 Wanting to avoid hell and wanting to go to heaven is a 08:31 suitable starting point. When you first teach children and 08:34 they're very small, it's hard to teach them principles of why you 08:39 don't want them to stick the metal object in the electrical 08:42 outlet. They're too young to understand it. You've got to 08:46 work with them on self preservation and sometimes 08:49 you've got to swat their hand or something like that or 08:52 physically relocate them. You're trying to save them on a very 08:56 basic, a primal, level. But as they get older you can appeal to 09:01 their reason. It's something higher. We start coming to the 09:04 Lord as babies. I want to be saved, I don't want to be lost. 09:07 You're thinking about yourself and babies typically do to. 09:11 But as you mature as a Christian it's not about you anymore. 09:15 You know, the evidence that Paul was a mature Christian. He said 09:19 Lord I'm willing to be lost if all Israel could be saved. Moses 09:23 showed his maturity and his relationship with the Lord. 09:26 He said, Lord, take my name out of the Book of Life if your 09:30 people can be saved. What will happen to your name. And you're 09:33 really growing as a Christian when you realize it isn't about 09:37 what's in it for me. It's about worshipping God. You know, I can 09:41 always... and you know we all do it, I do it, but people come to 09:44 church. They go to a service. After the service they sort of 09:47 critique the service. What did I get out of the service. Did I 09:51 enjoy the service? How did I feel? It's immature Christianity 09:55 when you do that. A mature Christian, when you come to 09:59 worship service on Sabbath it has nothing to do with you at 10:03 all. You are coming to glorify, to worship, to thank, to praise 10:08 God. The focus of why you come is him. And one of the problems 10:12 with religion in general in North America and Christianity 10:17 in particular, so much of it is focused on what is the person 10:20 getting out of it? What are the felt needs of everybody there? 10:24 How are they going to get what they want? That's a starting 10:28 point and we all have to consider that but we're really 10:32 not growing as a church unless we come to the place where we 10:36 say it isn't really about us. It's about God. He's the focus. 10:40 He's the object. He's the reason that we come to church. Yet the 10:45 flesh and the spirit, this is a constant battle we all feel 10:48 between those two forces. I Peter chapter 2 verse 11: 10:54 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain 10:59 from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. There is this 11:05 tension between the flesh and the spirit that we all sense. 11:09 There are things you can do to feed the flesh and there are 11:13 things you can do to feed the spirit. Now we all need a 11:17 certain amount of physical nutrition to avoid low blood 11:20 sugar and to feed our bodies and that's important but I'm not 11:24 talking about that kind of feeding. I'm talking about this 11:28 kind of feeding. There are things you can do to feed the 11:32 fleshly thinking and there are things you can do to feed the 11:36 spiritual thinking. The Bible says to be carnally minded is 11:40 death. To be spiritually minded, Romans chapter 8, is life. 11:44 And so that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is 11:49 born of the Spirit is spirit. As Christians you want to starve 11:52 the flesh. I'm not talking about your bodies. I'm not talking 11:56 about eating disorders. I'm talking about those things that 12:00 feed our lower natures, our selfishness, the carnal thoughts 12:04 the passions. You want to avoid that and you want to feed the 12:08 spiritual nature. And I'll tell you that takes work. Everything 12:12 in the culture around us is calculated to appeal to the 12:17 selfish carnal side of our natures. In the marketing, the 12:22 advertising of products it's all accentuated. So in order for you 12:26 to offset that, to compensate we need to really feed the 12:31 spirit. You need to take time to commune with Jesus. Do like 12:37 Nicodemus did, come to Jesus to study the word with him. Again 12:44 Romans 8 verse 1: There is therefore now no condemnation 12:47 to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk after the flesh. 12:53 What do they do? They walk according to the Spirit. It's a 12:56 new life, a new walk, and feeding your mind on those 12:59 things that are just and holy and good. And then Jesus goes on 13:03 to say, John chapter 3 verses 7 and 8. We're still moving 13:08 through our verses here. The new birth is something like the 13:14 wind. Do not marvel, Jesus said, that I say to you, you must be 13:20 born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound 13:25 of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. 13:31 So is everybody who is born of the Spirit. Now sometimes I've 13:36 seen kids out in the front yard on a day where there are light 13:41 breezes and you've got what they call variable winds. When you're 13:46 a pilot and you're getting ready to land if you're at a new 13:49 airport and there's no radio information available you might 13:52 fly the pattern over the airport Any modern airport has something 13:56 called a wind sock. Even with all our modern technology the 14:01 airports have a wind sock so you can tell which way the wind 14:04 is blowing when you look at the sock. Sometimes I'll call ahead 14:08 as I'm coming in and I'll say, you know, what's the status of 14:11 the airport and they'll say variable winds. Well variable 14:14 means you always want to land into the wind. Variable means it 14:17 might be blowing up 3/3 or it might be blowing down 1/5 14:21 opposite directions. You don't know which way the wind's going. 14:24 Unless you see the sock, you can't tell. And you don't want 14:26 to land with a tail wind. It kind of pushes you down the 14:28 runway and you could run off the runway. You want to land with a 14:31 headwind. So it's something you've got to get right. And I 14:35 can't see the wind. But I can see the wind sock. I can see 14:40 what it does. Now about one week ago we had some wind. Can you 14:46 say amen? Can I get a hallelujah I'll tell you that was some wind 14:52 Man! When you see Wells Fargo blowing by you know it was a 14:57 windy day. I looked out the window and the 15:01 trees were not just coming down, they were going horizontal. 15:04 I mean the trees that had left the ground were going horizontal 15:07 It looked like a clip out of Wizard of Oz last week didn't 15:10 it? And we still see on the way to church, you can see the 15:13 aftermath of that wind. That's what you call a mighty wind. 15:17 The Lord sometimes compares wind to the Spirit in the Bible. 15:21 If you have your Bibles you probably remember this passage. 15:25 Acts chapter 2 in Pentecost when God prepares to pour out the 15:30 Holy Spirit what symbol is used to signify this mighty filling 15:35 of the Spirit. Acts 2:2: And suddenly there came from heaven 15:40 the sound of a rushing mighty wind. Did you hear a mighty wind 15:45 about a week ago. It wasn't just like the rustling in the leaves 15:52 that you hear. It was a roar like a train. 15:54 It was kind of exciting until 15:58 the power went out. Then it was a nuisance. One of my friends 16:02 called and said their power went out I thought it was funny, but 16:07 when my power went out then it wasn't funny anymore. We're all 16:11 a little sinister that way, aren't we. But this mighty 16:14 rushing wind of the Holy Spirit if the gentle breezes represent 16:19 a conversion. Jesus said the wind blows where it lists. 16:21 You can't tell where it comes from and where it goes. 16:23 It's like a variable wind. But before the Lord comes again I 16:26 think there's going to be a mighty rushing wind. There's 16:29 going to be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that will come in a 16:32 tremendous way. Now people's conversions are variable like 16:38 the wind. If I were to ask you, those of you who were born again 16:42 do you know what the date was when you were born again? If you 16:47 could pinpoint the birthday, most of us know our real 16:51 birthday, but the birthday of your born-again experience. 16:55 Don't shout it out but how many of you can think of a date when 16:58 everything changed? Let me see your hands. Was there a date? 17:02 Yah. Some of you, you believe you're born again but it was 17:06 more like a process. You can't really pin it down. That's kind 17:11 of where I am. You know the word of God does it and just because 17:15 you cannot pick the date when you were born again doesn't mean 17:20 you were not born again. Some have the new birth like Paul 17:25 on the road to Damascus. If you were to ask Paul when were you 17:30 born again can he pick a date? Yah, matter of fact all through 17:33 his life he shares his testimony There I was on the road to 17:37 Damascus. Struck down. The glory of Jesus spoke to me. That was 17:41 the day when everything changed. But for some others it's more 17:44 like a process where the heart changes and it's like the wind 17:48 and you can't tell. There's a quote from the book Steps to 17:51 Christ, page 59, that illustrates this. I just don't 17:54 want you to be discouraged if you can't pick out the date, 17:56 it doesn't mean you're not born again. A person may not be able 18:01 to tell the exact time or place or trace all the chains of 18:05 circumstances in the process of conversion, but this does not 18:09 prove him to be unconverted. Christ said to Nicodemus, the 18:13 wind blows where it listeth and you hear the sound thereof, but 18:17 you cannot tell where it came from and where it's going. So is 18:20 everyone who is born of the Spirit. Like the wind, which is 18:23 invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, 18:27 so is the Spirit of God upon the human heart. That regenerating 18:31 power which no human eye can see begets a new life in the soul. 18:35 It creates a new beginning in the image of God. While the work 18:39 of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible, its affects are 18:44 manifest. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God the 18:48 life will bear witness of the fact. Sometimes the changes are 18:52 gradual. I've seen people who have a dramatic conversion and 18:55 in one day... I mean it's phenomenal but it's evidence of 18:59 the power of God. People who I know they were drinking and 19:02 cursing and smoking and using drugs and foul language and 19:06 prodigal lives. The Lord got them and in 24 hours it's gone. 19:11 They throw away the alcohol, they throw away the cigarettes, 19:14 they stop cursing, they stop frequenting the old places. They 19:18 are converted. It's dramatic. I was on the phone with a friend 19:21 like that yesterday. I think he's going to be here in about 19:24 a week sharing a little testimony. Just dramatic, just 19:26 like that. For me it wasn't like that. For me it was... Some 19:30 babies, let's just face it, they sort of pop out and others it's 19:34 a long labor, right? And that's kind of how it was with me. 19:39 Little by little I became convicted on things and just one 19:42 day I could finally look back and say... Now I know the day I 19:46 was baptized, but I felt the new birth happening before that. 19:50 And as I said before sometimes a person might be born of the 19:55 Spirit before they're even baptized. Jesus was baptized in 19:59 water and the Holy Spirit came down the same day. And then 20:02 you've got those who are baptized in water like most of 20:05 the apostles but they don't get the Holy Spirit until later, but 20:09 you must have both births. Born of the water and born of the 20:13 Spirit. And so it's like the wind, you may not be able to peg 20:17 it down. We're moving on here. We read verses 7 and 8. We're 20:20 still in John chapter 3. Go with me to verses 9 and 10: Nicodemus 20:28 answered and said to him, How can these things be? He just 20:33 seemed so mystified by it all. And Jesus answered and said, 20:37 Are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things? 20:41 I want to talk a little bit about clueless teachers. 20:45 I heard one time Billy Graham tells the story about when he 20:48 came into a new town, he was preparing for a series of tent 20:51 meetings. He was a young evangelist and he wanted to send 20:54 a letter home to the family, he was away. He had written a 20:57 letter and as he was walking through this town he saw a 21:00 young boy and he wasn't familiar with the area and he said, young 21:02 man can you please tell me where is the post office? 21:05 And he gave him directions and Billy Graham said now you know 21:08 we're having a Baptist revival at that tent out of town. We're 21:12 going to tell you how to get to heaven. Do you think you'd like 21:14 to come? And he said, Mister, you don't know how to get to the 21:16 post office, how you going to tell me how to get to heaven? 21:22 And so Jesus says to Nicodemus you're one of the teachers, 21:28 you're a Ph. D. in Israel. I'm talking about Christianity 101 21:32 I'm talking about God 101, the new heart, the new covenant. 21:37 It's not just in the New Testament. That teaching is in 21:42 the Old Testament. I will put a new heart within you. Ezekiel. 21:45 Jeremiah says I'll make a new covenant with you to circumcise 21:49 not just your flesh but circumcise your hearts. It was 21:52 the heart change. Truth that goes back to Moses. He said this 21:56 is kindergarten and here you are and you say how can this be. 22:01 I don't understand it. Now Nicodemus was a good guy. 22:04 I don't want to be disrespectful amen? I think Jesus was frankly 22:09 disappointed because Jesus spent a lot of time talking to 22:14 the poor and the uneducated. He spent a lot of time talking to 22:18 shepherds and fishermen and the poor classes that flocked around 22:22 him. Pardon me, but he had to simplify things for them and 22:26 put it in parables so they could understand. Now he's 22:29 arranged a private audience with someone who ought to be 22:32 able to mentally challenge Jesus Like when he was 12 years old. 22:36 At least he had some interaction with the scholars back then. 22:39 And he's talking to Nicodemus and he said boy you're a 22:45 teacher. I'm just talking about the basics and you don't get it. 22:48 I don't want to be disrespectful but you know things haven't 22:55 changed much. You might have a proliferation of degrees and 23:00 letters behind your name. That doesn't necessarily mean you 23:06 could be a theologian officially a scholar and I'm amazed 23:10 sometimes how many people that would be defined as that, that 23:15 just don't understand the basics of Christianity. This week 23:19 watching a group of scholars, I like to watch some religious 23:24 programming, sitting around the table dissecting the Bible. 23:30 All of them doctors of theology and they're talking about a 23:34 very basic passage about getting into heaven and they're 23:37 saying, well it can't mean really mean that, I don't think 23:40 it means this, what do you think it means? I'm not sure what it 23:42 means. That would be discouraging. It couldn't mean 23:44 that. How clueless they were was mind boggling to me. Now I'm 23:49 not saying this because I are one. I'm a pastor. I'm not 23:53 saying this to like I said be disrespectful. I don't want to 23:57 say these things, I'm very cautious about saying this. 24:00 I want to qualify it because I'm not trying to diminish your 24:04 respect for pastors. Frankly you all need to raise your respect 24:07 for the office of pastor. I think people are very derogatory 24:11 about ministry and pastors. The reason I'm saying it is because 24:16 you cannot depend on the theologians to find heaven. 24:22 This is what it says in the Bible. You remember reading in 24:28 John chapter 7 verse 15; the Jews said speaking of Jesus, how 24:34 can this man have letters having never studied? How can he know 24:39 these things? Again they said have any of the scribes and the 24:43 leaders, have they believed on him. Let's find out what they 24:47 believe and let's follow them. Be very careful about saying 24:51 well someone gets up on TV and it says doctor so-and-so or some 24:54 pastor, it says doctor so-and-so and so I can trust him because 24:58 he's studied these things. I think study and education are 25:01 very important. But I'll tell you back in the days of Jesus 25:05 there were a lot of very educated people that rejected 25:08 him and even Nicodemus who accepted him Jesus said you 25:11 still don't get it. So do not trust your eternal destiny to 25:15 people that may have a degree. You need to have a personal 25:20 relationship with Jesus and understand the new birth. 25:23 And if you're not born again no amount of knowledge or 25:27 bickering about theology is going to save you. I have 25:31 sometimes noticed that... I've had people come to evangelistic 25:37 meetings, very bright, very educated, sophisticated, 25:40 intelligent. And I'll meet them at the door and I'll say well 25:43 did this make sense tonight? Well yah, but then they distract 25:47 me with some nuance of theology that isn't clear and they want 25:50 to engage me in some deep philosophical argument and I'm 25:53 saying something to them like did you understand the part 25:56 about Jesus coming again and that you're going to die if you 26:00 don't accept him? Well but you know there's this verse in the 26:04 book of Zephaniah and it's a diversionary tactic for the 26:08 basics. You know there's this verse in the Bible where the 26:12 Lord says if you can't keep up with the footmen then how are 26:15 you going to run with the horses? And if we don't 26:20 understand the basics of being born again then all the higher 26:25 theology is useless. I'd rather be uneducated and born again 26:31 then sophisticated and educated and lost. I'd rather be a dumb, 26:37 pardon me, Christian than a brilliant sinner. The Lord wants 26:44 us to at least have the basics of accepting him. And Jesus, He 26:49 marvels, are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these 26:52 things? How are you going to teach others. That was one of 26:55 the big problems in Christ's day It's a problem today. If the 26:58 blind lead the blind then you've got everybody falling in the 27:00 ditch. And you can ask Karen, every now and then I'll be 27:04 watching one of these religious programs and they're... I'll 27:07 confess friends, it breaks my heart. I'll see some preacher 27:12 dressed up like Elvis and he's in an audience with you know 27:17 50,000 people that have come to hear him and he'll say the 27:21 most absurd, bizarre things. I say, oh how can they believe 27:25 that? People are desperately looking for leadership. They're 27:29 looking for light and sometimes showmanship is a substitute 27:34 for basic theology. Make sure and have a personal relationship 27:40 You know I heard a story. There was a young man who dropped out 27:47 of USC. He was taking aerospace engineering and he wanted to get 27:52 involved in the space program. So he dropped out. He didn't get 27:57 his degree. Well they invited him back a few years later 28:00 when he was 39 to dedicate the science building to him. 28:03 His name was Neil Armstrong. He never did get his degree. 28:06 They finally gave him an honorary degree, but he did 28:09 walk up on the moon. That ought to make you worth something in 28:12 space, right? While everyone else is on earth studying space 28:17 he's up walking on the moon. So who deserves the degree? 28:22 That makes my point. I can move on. OK. We're moving back to the 28:26 verse. I like doing this. I just like going verse by verse 28:30 through what Jesus said. It's so important that I don't want to 28:34 rush through it. John 3 verse Jesus said, verily, verily I 28:38 say to you... Now we've learned when Christ says verily, verily 28:42 he's saying underscore this. This is a truth you can count on 28:48 We speak what we do know and testify what we have seen and 28:53 you received not our witness. I want to just pause right here. 28:58 Everybody really can only testify to and speak of what 29:03 they've experienced, what they know. In order for us to be 29:07 affective Christians and disciples, you have to have an 29:12 experience. If you are trying to convert somebody to Christ by 29:16 virtue of relaying someone else's experience that never 29:20 works very well. You have to have a personal experience. And 29:25 Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, look we have been giving you 29:29 evidence of what we know about God firsthand and you, meaning 29:34 the Pharisees, do not believe our testimony. He says, we've 29:38 given you plenty of evidence. Matter of fact, if you remember 29:41 last week Nicodemus begins the conversation by saying we know 29:44 you must be a teacher of God because no one else could do 29:47 these works that you're doing unless God is with him. 29:50 And Jesus is saying why are you doubting? Why are the religious 29:54 leaders doubting these things, we've given you evidence. 29:57 If I have told you of earthly things and you believe not, how 30:01 how should you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? Now this 30:05 is a very important truth. How many of you would like to grow 30:10 in your knowledge of God? I want you to participate. Simple 30:15 principle, a dynamic. You walk in the light he's given you, 30:20 he'll give you more light. If you want to get into second 30:25 grade, finish kindergarten. Some have not grown for years and you 30:28 think that God is just obscuring himself from you. You wonder why 30:32 you're not growing. It could be he showed you something years 30:36 ago and you never took the next step and you're stuck. If we do 30:40 not walk in the light, then the light doesn't get brighter. 30:43 Peter talks about the Christian experience as a light that grows 30:46 brighter and brighter until the day dawns and the Spirit of God 30:50 arises in our heart. That was a paraphrase. It's to be a growing 30:54 light, being a Christian. It's not to be stagnant. 30:56 The Christian experience should get better. And so many people 30:59 are stagnant because God reveals the next step to them and they 31:02 go no Lord let's skip that. I don't want to do that. I have to 31:06 accept this? I can't accept this Some people stop. It'll be 31:08 something like if you do not forgive men their trespasses 31:11 neither will your Father in heaven forgive you. And that's 31:14 as far as they get. They just can't forgive. And they have 31:18 been stymied on that for years. Or it may be some other point of 31:22 truth. They might have gotten stuck on some simple truth about 31:27 giving God their time every Sabbath, faithfulness in tithes 31:30 and offerings. Whatever the principle of truth is, I'm just 31:34 naming some obvious elementary things. But when God reveals 31:38 truth to you, if you'll say this is truth. If you know these 31:42 things happy are ye if ye do them. You take the next step. 31:46 God will unveil, he'll unfold more and more. And Jesus is 31:49 saying to Nicodemus, look I'm telling you about earthly 31:54 things. I'm talking to you about wind and birth. I'm trying to 31:58 relate to you on a human level and you're wanting me to tell 32:02 you about heavenly things. Can you imagine how frustrating it 32:06 was for Jesus. Leaving the throne of God. Remember what 32:11 Paul says about heaven? Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, 32:14 neither has entered into the mind of man the things that God 32:18 has prepared for them that love him. That means that when it 32:22 comes to heavenly things, you and I can't even fathom what's 32:26 going on up there. It is so much brighter and bigger and better 32:30 and different. So Christ leaves that kind of dimension, the 32:35 realm of heaven, and living with eternal beings. He comes to earth and he has to 32:40 basically simplify the truth for humans. And so Jesus tells 32:44 parables about sheep, about sowing seed, about fishing for 32:48 fish and he tries to talk to us like little children on our 32:52 earthly level so we'll understand spiritual things. 32:54 And he's saying look I'd like to open up, I'd like to part the 32:59 heavens for you and show... Paul says, I knew a man whether 33:02 in the spirit or out of the spirit, I don't know, that was 33:05 caught up to the third heaven and saw things that cannot be 33:08 uttered. Can you imagine being John, taken away, chapter 4 of 33:11 Revelation into vision, seeing heavenly things and then coming 33:15 down to earth and trying to put into human language the tongue 33:19 of angels. So Jesus says, I'm just talking to you about simple 33:23 things. If you want me to reveal spiritual things, these ethereal 33:27 things, then you need to embrace the simple things I'm telling 33:31 you. Some of just can't comprehend it. Most of us can't 33:35 comprehend most of it. But I'd like to have glimpses of the 33:38 divine revelations. Wouldn't you I want to get out of the earthly 33:42 things of the world. I'll tell you, you know, it's very 33:46 stimulating when you sit down with some bright Christians that 33:50 are consecrated and let them start grappling with the deep 33:54 things of God. Oh, I'll tell you nothing will invigorate you more 33:59 to hear a group of people who are not only intelligent but are 34:02 consecrated. And their minds are getting out of the earthly and 34:05 they just keep rising higher and higher in their discussion 34:08 and talking about the themes and the science of salvation and it 34:12 is inspiring. Now I think Jesus may have been frustrated so much 34:16 of his earthly ministry because he wanted to open to all of us 34:19 the great things of God but we can't get out of the play pen. 34:22 He's got these little bright Fisher-Price toys he has to 34:27 relate to us with. Simple things earthly things. If I have told 34:32 you earthly things and you believe not, how will you 34:35 believe if I tell you of heavenly things? 34:39 I Corinthians 2:14: The natural man does not receive the things 34:43 of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him, nor can 34:48 he know them because they are spiritually discerned. Sometimes 34:52 when you're relating your Christian faith with someone who 34:57 may be in the world they kind of laugh at you. Do intelligent 35:00 people really believe this? Because they have been educated 35:03 by the world, they're carnally minded. You begin to tell them 35:06 spiritual things; it's foolishness to them. 35:08 Sometimes I'm offended because I'll try to relate to somebody 35:13 something spiritual and those principles are so absurd to the 35:18 world. They wave it off. And then I remember that verse. 35:22 They can't see because they're blind. Spiritual things are 35:28 spiritually discerned. Don't be frustrated. Well I'll move on. 35:34 John 8:43: Jesus said, why do you not understand my speech? 35:40 Even because you cannot hear my word. But then Jesus tells us 35:46 in John chapter 10 verse 27: My sheep hear my voice. 35:51 That's just saying that some people are not his sheep, they 35:55 don't hear. I think it's interesting. I'm going to take a 35:59 little detour. We're talking about hearing Jesus. Do you 36:04 realize that Nicodemus appears three times in the Bible, all in 36:08 the gospel of John. Most of it in chapter 3; he has his Bible 36:12 study with Jesus. What a privilege. Wouldn't you want to 36:15 sit down with Jesus and have him have a Bible study. Wow, what a 36:20 privilege! Then he also appears later on when the enemies of 36:24 Christ are trying to get some decree to execute him. Nicodemus 36:29 sits with the Sanhedrin. Listen. John 7 verse 50, got your 36:33 Bibles? John 7 verse 50. They're getting ready to condemn Jesus. 36:40 They're talking about how all the people are following him, 36:43 and that he's deceiving the people. And Nicodemus speaks up 36:47 in Christ's defense. Nicodemus defended Jesus. He says to them, 36:51 Does our law judge any man before it hears him and knows 36:55 what he does? See Jesus had talked to Nicodemus about can 36:59 you hear my word? And Nicodemus takes that principle back to the 37:02 Sanhedrin. He said, let's not condemn him before we've even 37:05 heard him. I mean if we're going to condemn someone, bring them 37:08 here, let them testify, let's hear them first hand. That's 37:10 part of any court. Give them a chance to defend themselves. 37:13 We're condemning him and we haven't even invited his here to 37:17 explain himself. They didn't like that. They made a little 37:21 note there on their scrolls. They said Nicodemus is for Jesus 37:25 There were others in the Sanhedrin that were for Jesus, 37:28 remember. Nicodemus said, Master WE know you are from God. There 37:32 were others there. Why do you think Nicodemus was not invited 37:37 to the final trial of Christ, that evening trial, that 37:40 kangaroo court that was called. Because they had made a note 37:44 that he was in favor. Listen, I'm not even done yet. Moving on 37:48 there, Nicodemus says does our law judge any man before it 37:52 hear him and know what he does. They said to Nicodemus, Are you 37:55 also from Galilee? They're being sarcastic because Jesus was 37:59 believed to be from Galilee. Search and scriptures and look, 38:03 for out of Galilee arises no prophet. Now were they right? 38:07 They were wrong. They made a statement and here you've got 38:10 the scholars of the country. There are scriptures that talk 38:14 about the Prophet coming from Galilee. I'll read you one of 38:18 them. Isaiah 9 verses 1 and 2. By the way of the sea beyond the 38:23 Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles the people who walked 38:27 in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwelt in the 38:31 land of the shadow of death upon them a light has shown. It said 38:36 that the Messiah, this great prophet, would come and show 38:39 great light from Galilee. So if they had been searching the 38:42 scriptures, Nicodemus was right. The religious leaders didn't 38:46 know. So Nicodemus heard what Jesus said about hearing and he 38:50 took that same principle to the Sanhedrin in Jesus' defense. 38:55 Back to John 13, or John chapter 3 verse 13. Now Jesus makes a 39:00 statement that has been a challenge for many scholars 39:05 through history. No one has ascended up to heaven but he 39:10 who came down from heaven. That is the Son of Man who is 39:14 in heaven. Now wait a second. No one ascended up to heaven? 39:18 Well if you stop right there on an elementary level are there 39:23 any people in the Old Testament that ascended to heaven? Who? 39:27 Now where is the scripture in the Old Testament that says 39:31 Moses ascended to heaven. No you're thinking about Jude. 39:35 That's New Testament. It wasn't written yet. But I'm with you. 39:39 Moses was in heaven at this point. One reason we know that 39:42 does Moses appear to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration? 39:44 Yes. That probably happened after his interview with 39:48 Nicodemus, but Elijah went to heaven. Who else. Enoch. So 39:52 there are at least two, including Moses that would be 39:55 three. So how can Jesus say no man has ascended to heaven? 40:00 Well first of all I think he's speaking in bigger terms of 40:02 nobody has gone up to heaven. 40:05 Moses went up the mountain but he didn't go into 40:11 the presence of God back then. Elijah even went into heaven. 40:15 But you know the Bible says, even in the same gospel, no man 40:20 has seen the Father. So picture heaven as an ora of light that 40:26 gets brighter and brighter until you get to the middle. 40:29 The dwelling place of God, the presence of God where those 40:33 seraphim that flank the Lord with their six wings and cry 40:37 holy, holy, holy. Has any man been in that presence? Isaiah 40:41 saw it in vision but he was on earth when he saw it. It was a 40:46 vision. When Jesus said no man has seen the Father, no man, I 40:50 think, has at this point ever been into the presence of the 40:54 Father face to face. Men had been in the presence of God the 40:59 Son Jesus. No man had come from the Father with a knowledge of 41:04 the almighty, nobody was a better example of the knowledge 41:08 of God than Jesus. That's all he's saying. He said nobody can 41:12 tell you about what God is like like me because the mind of God 41:16 is in me. Think about this. Didn't Christ say all the 41:19 fullness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily. Did I make that up 41:24 or is that what the Bible says? All the fullness of God the 41:28 Father dwelt in Christ bodily. Jesus said if you've seen me 41:32 you've seen who? You've seen the Father. So here you've got a 41:35 perfect representation of the truth and the mind of God in 41:39 Christ. That's what he means. He's saying men on earth have 41:42 not ascended up to heaven and brought down this knowledge. 41:45 I am the one who is to bring this knowledge of God, the 41:49 perfect knowledge of God. Matthew 11:27: Jesus said, all 41:53 things were delivered unto me of my Father and no man knows the 41:59 Son but the Father, and catch this, no man knows the Father 42:04 except the Son. Only Jesus has that perfect knowledge of the 42:09 Father. That's what he's talking about when he says ascending to 42:13 heaven. Now the central focus of my message is this next 42:18 couple of verses. Title Looking for Life is based upon this. 42:23 John chapter 3 verses 14 and 15. These verses are especially 42:28 important. They are the preview for John 3:16. That will be our 42:33 next study. And he says as Moses lifted up the serpent in the 42:38 wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up that 42:43 whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting 42:49 life. There are only two choices that we all have. I think it's 42:54 very important to realize there are only two choices. Jesus said 42:59 perish, everlasting life. Do you know that you have 43:05 everlasting life. You know the apostle John, he said that we 43:09 might know that we have everlasting life. If you don't 43:11 know you have everlasting life, you only have one other option. 43:15 There are not five options, multiple choice. Perish is death 43:19 everlasting life is life and by the way, for me that has always 43:23 been the best evidence of the truth about the state of the 43:26 dead and the punishment of the wicked. You have two choices. 43:29 Everlasting life, everlasting destruction, everlasting living, 43:33 everlasting perishing. Isn't that right? It's just two 43:36 choices that we have. There's not Abraham's bosom and 43:40 purgatory and limbo and all these multiple choices. It's 43:44 life and death. You either get a glorified body or you get judged 43:47 in your old body. You're either in heaven or you go to the lake 43:50 of fire. You live forever or you burn up. Those are the verses of 43:54 the Bible that I'm quoting. And he says, as Moses lifted up the 43:59 serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted 44:03 up that whoever believes in him might not perish. Now to get the 44:09 whole story go back with me to Numbers 21 verse 5. The children 44:14 of Israel are going through the wilderness. They get tired of 44:18 eating manna, manna, manna every day. When they first got the 44:21 manna they were thrilled, but then after eating the manna 44:25 every day. You know, we're so spoiled here in America. When I 44:29 get together with my friends and even though I'm a vegetarian 44:33 there are lots of options. Periodically in the office we'll 44:37 get together and say well let's go to lunch together. What do 44:40 you want to do. Well I did Mexican yesterday so let's do 44:42 Italian today. Oh I did Italian. Let's do the Thai food or the 44:46 Vietnamese food. I mean, let's face it, Greek food we've got 44:49 all these options, Indian food. And we wouldn't want to do two 44:53 in the same day or two in a row. And I'll come home and I'll say 44:56 Karen, thanks for the stir fry tonight but I had Thai food for 44:59 lunch so I'm going to eat cereal Wouldn't want to eat the same 45:03 thing twice, right? You're laughing because you're the same 45:06 way. We're spoiled. You know, you go to a lot of the world and 45:09 what's for lunch? Beans. What's for dinner? Beans. What's for 45:12 breakfast? Beans. And if it isn't beans in the other parts 45:16 of the world what is it? Rice. Well the children of Israel they 45:19 couldn't even live with that for a few months, but after a few 45:23 years, manna, manna, manna. Some of them had lingering memories 45:27 of at least a little onions and fish. There are no fish in the 45:31 desert. Finally God gave them some quail. So they started to 45:36 complain about the manna. I'm in Numbers 21 verse 5: The people 45:41 spoke against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt 45:45 to die in the wilderness for there's no food or water and 45:50 our soul loathes this worthless bread. Oh be careful about 45:56 calling any bread that God gives you worthless. Because the 45:59 bread that God gave us is very expensive. Moses gave you not 46:03 that bread that comes down from heaven. Jesus is the bread that 46:06 came down from heaven. That was very expensive. And when they 46:09 ceased to appreciate the bread that God gave them... The Bible 46:13 says it was like angel wafers. It was good. It tasted good. 46:16 They just wanted variety. They started complaining. Some people 46:20 stop reading their Bibles because they say ah it's boring. 46:22 But I've got 105 channels on the Dish Network, variety. And they 46:28 get tired. They think the Bible is bland compared to the other. 46:33 Be careful about craving after the fleshpots of Egypt and 46:36 losing your appetite for the word of God because this is the 46:40 foundation for our diet here. And as they complained, you read 46:44 in verse 8, well it tells us that the Lord sent fiery 46:47 serpents among the people. What does a serpent represent? 46:51 The devil. Sure. The first medium through which the devil 46:55 spoke was a serpent. Whenever they wanted to excoriate the 47:01 hypocrites they said venomous pit of vipers and scorpions. 47:05 Serpents represented the devil. The dragon, that old serpent 47:09 called the devil and Satan. Revelation chapter 12. There's 47:15 no guessing about that. So when he sends the serpents 47:18 among them. You notice what? They reject the bread and what 47:24 comes in? What keeps the serpent away? The manna. What's the 47:28 first question in the Bible? It's asked by a serpent. What 47:31 does he question? The word of God. First thing out of the 47:35 devil's mouth, first question, to create doubt about the Word. 47:39 Dissatisfaction with the Word. Hath God said that you're not 47:43 supposed to eat... Hath God said? As soon as you question 47:46 the word of God the serpent took control of our planet, didn't 47:50 he? So the people started to get bit and obviously these serpents 47:54 had a venomous bite because they're dying. You can get bit 47:57 by garter snakes all day long. It's annoying but it won't kill 48:01 you. These are venomous serpents And God gave some interesting 48:05 instructions to Moses. I'm in verse 8 now of Numbers 21: The 48:09 Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, fiery meaning these 48:13 serpents either had a bright fiery looking color or the bite 48:17 felt a burning sensation. We're not sure why they're called 48:21 fiery serpents, and set it on a pole and it shall be that 48:26 everyone who is bitten, when he looks he shall live. Hence 48:31 looking for life. Look and live. So Moses made a bronze serpent 48:36 and he put it on a pole and he set it up and if the serpent had 48:41 bitten anyone, when they looked at the bronze serpent, he lived, 48:46 he was healed. The Bible tells us when God sent out the 48:49 disciples they'd have power over serpents. It doesn't mean we're 48:53 supposed to go take them up. It means if you're bit that he 48:56 would miraculously heal them. I think that's even more 48:59 spiritual in that when we've got the word of God, we've got 49:02 power to conquer the venom of the devil. Paul was bitten by a 49:06 serpent. You remember that story? He shook it off in the 49:08 fire. It was a deadly snake. They were waiting for him to 49:10 fall over and nothing happened. What is it that gave them faith 49:16 and forgiveness and power from the venom of the serpent. They 49:21 looked and they believed. What is it that gives us victory over 49:26 the serpent? Jesus said, if I am lifted up I will draw. What does 49:32 lifted up mean? It's put in a position of visibility. When 49:36 Christ is lifted up where we can look to him that's when people 49:39 are drawn, that's when people are saved. Another story 49:43 similar. Moses is up on the mountain. Joshua and the 49:46 Israelites are fighting against the Amalekites. When they look 49:49 and they see Moses on the mountain interceding for them 49:52 the battle goes in their favor. They win. When they can't see 49:56 Moses, when his arms got tired and he ceases to intercede, they 50:00 lost. As long as they could see him interceding they win. Is our 50:05 Savior, our Jesus, is he in heaven interceding, spreading 50:09 out his nail-scarred hands in our behalf. Can we look by 50:12 faith and see that and be healed Putting a serpent on the pole. 50:17 You know, people struggle with that because they say as Moses 50:21 lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 50:27 Is Jesus a snake? Is Jesus the devil? You've all seen this 50:31 symbol for the medical institution, a serpent on a pole 50:35 That borrows from this ancient story in the Bible. Did you know 50:40 that? Looking for healing because ultimately those who 50:44 did it realized that healing is ultimately a gift of God. You 50:50 know Jesus said if I am lifted up I will draw all men. The 50:55 power comes through looking in faith. How many in the Bible 51:01 were saved by a look of faith? Seeing God. Well let's think of 51:06 some examples. What brought about the conversion of Paul 51:09 we talked about? Paul saw the Lord. What about Isaiah chapter 51:16 6. What brought about his conversion? In the year that 51:20 King Uzziah died I saw the Lord, he said. Not only Paul and not 51:26 only Isaiah, the thief on the cross. What brought about his 51:32 conversion? Did he see Jesus lifted up? Was he converted? 51:37 He looked in faith and he was saved. You can go all through 51:41 the Bible. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and he was converted. 51:46 But how can looking at a serpent on a pole? You know the Bible 51:53 tells us Christ became sin for us. Jesus took the venom of the 51:59 devil in himself. And it's even more important than that. 52:03 This is happening to a nation. What was the principle 52:08 occupation of the Israelites? Shepherds. Shepherds carry 52:13 staffs. Matter of fact, one time Moses threw down his staff and 52:16 it became what? Matter of fact, he did that twice. He did it 52:20 once when he was at the burning bush, as an illustration God 52:23 showed him. He did it again before Pharaoh. Now he's being 52:26 told to take a serpent and put it on a pole. When I lived up in 52:32 the mountains and we had rattle snakes everywhere, I had a snake 52:37 stick because periodically I'd see a snake around the cave or 52:41 on the trail. I'd grab my snake stick and I'd thump the snake 52:47 and then after you try to dispatch him or kill him or hit 52:52 him with a rock. You don't grab a snake with your hands and walk 52:57 off with him. I've heard stories of one taxidermist who pulled a 53:01 snake out of the refrigerator, big rattle snake someone had 53:04 caught and he was going to make a belt out of it and he cut into 53:06 it and it wasn't quite dead. It had warmed up on the table and 53:09 turned around and bit him. Amphibians are famous for being 53:12 able to go into this almost frozen condition and revive. 53:15 So you don't go grab a snake. Sometimes there's just a reflex. 53:20 You pick it up with a stick. This nation of shepherds seeing 53:25 a snake on a stick, for them it was a very clear symbol of a 53:30 defeated serpent. What is the first prophecy in the Bible? 53:35 This is Genesis 3:15: The seed of the woman would crush the 53:40 serpents head but the serpent would attempt to bite the heel 53:45 to slow down the progress. But the crushed head and you pick it 53:50 up and you carry it off and you bury it. And so when he held up 53:54 that serpent on a pole, when Jesus hung on the cross it was a 53:59 symbol for you and me that the devil has been defeated. The 54:04 antivenin for the problem of sin is our faith in Jesus. We've all 54:10 been bitten. Amen? And we're all doomed unless we look and live. 54:17 It's through seeing Christ that he on the cross took our sin. 54:24 We get the transfusion of his blood and his blood is the 54:27 antivenin for the disease of sin We are forgiven and we live. 54:33 So much happens by looking and living, looking and believing. 54:37 And that's what he's calling us to do. We become like what we 54:42 look at. II Corinthians 3:18: But we all with unveiled faces 54:47 beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being 54:51 transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by 54:55 the Spirit of the Lord. That new birth is as you look the 54:59 character of Jesus is impressed like light on a photographic 55:03 plate on our souls and we are transformed into his image. But 55:07 we've got to be looking. Is it one look? Do you think those who 55:11 looked that were bit by the snake, do you think they 55:13 quickly looked up or do you think they gazed. They wanted to 55:18 make sure they saw it. And it's a constant gazing at Christ that 55:22 transforms us, that heals us, that gives us that new birth. 55:27 Would you like to have that experience? You've got two 55:31 choices: Everlasting life, that's my choice, or perish. 55:36 Let's pray. Loving Lord, thank you for the powerful truths that 55:41 you communicated to Nicodemus and we know you did not do it, 55:46 Lord, just for him, but it's also for us that we might have a 55:50 personal relationship with you, that we might know that we have 55:54 new hearts, that our names are written in the book of life. 55:57 It's my prayer, Lord, that every person here, those who are 56:00 watching and listening, that they will choose to come to 56:03 Jesus as they are and that they might have that new birth, born 56:08 of the water and that breath of life born of the Spirit. Be with 56:12 each person. Bless us in our hearts with the varied trials of 56:16 life that come. And help us remember you're with us always, 56:19 Lord. Sustain us. Thank you again for this Sabbath day and 56:23 your presence here. We ask all this in Jesus' name, Amen 56:28 Hello friends. The program you are watching is the culmination 56:32 of a dream and a mission. 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Our partners have decided to consistently 57:17 contribute to our efforts in sharing this message that has changed not only my 57:20 life but the lives of countless others. Prayerfully consider 57:23 joining our efforts. Until next time may God continue to hold 57:26 you in the palm of his hand. 57:29 Thank you for joining us for this broadcast. If you've missed 57:31 any of our Amazing Facts programs, visit our website at 57:34 AmazingFacts. org. There you'll find an archive of all our 57:37 television and radio programs including Amazing Facts Presents 57:41 Central Study Hour, Everlasting Gospel, Bible Answers live and 57:45 Wonders In the Word. You'll also find a storehouse of biblical 57:48 resources geared towards answering some of your most 57:51 difficult questions and our online Bible school is just a 57:54 click away... |
Revised 2014-12-17