Participants: Nathan Renner
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000349
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00:31 Welcome to Faith Chapel, I'm Pastor
00:33 Nathan Renner from the Detroit Michigan 00:35 Seventh-Day Adventist Church and we're 00:38 so pleased to have you listening today. 00:42 We're going to be talking about how to have 00:44 a new life right now, and we're gonna be 00:47 studying that from John chapter 3, 00:49 which is a famous text of scripture, 00:51 where Jesus speaks about being born again. 00:55 And this chapter is particularly interesting 00:57 to be because for years and years, 01:00 I used the term born again as a negative 01:04 way of referring to Christians that is 01:06 before I became a Christian I referred to 01:08 people as all those or those born again. 01:11 I used it in a negative way and through the 01:15 providence of God he led me to become 01:18 a Christian and understand what it means 01:21 to be born again in a very real way. 01:25 So, I'd like begin here with prayer and then 01:28 we're going to read portions of John chapter 3 01:31 and get into how to have a new 01:34 life right now. Let's pray. Our Father, 01:38 thank you for the promise of new life and 01:41 we ask God that your Spirit would be 01:44 present with us, that you would teach us 01:47 and give us understanding. And we thank 01:49 you in Jesus name, Amen. In John chapter 3, 01:55 we'll begin in verse 1, in John chapter 3 01:58 we're going to read verse 1, the Bible says: 02:03 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named 02:06 Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. We'll read 02:10 also verse 2, it says in verse 2: This man came 02:16 to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, 02:22 we know that you are a teacher come from 02:25 God, for no one can do these signs that you 02:28 do unless God is with him." Here in John 02:32 chapter 3 verses 1 & 2 we have a very simple 02:35 picture, there's a gentlemen that named 02:37 Nicodemus, he is a Pharisees that means that 02:41 his job in life is to teach God's word. 02:45 He's a ruler of the Jews, that means that 02:48 he has a position of prominence in his 02:53 community and the Bible says in verse 2, 02:57 that he comes to see Jesus at night. 03:01 And then he speaks to Jesus and compliments 03:05 him and I wonder why it is that Nicodemus comes 03:10 to see Jesus at night. I think the answer's 03:13 actually quite simple and that is simply this. 03:17 That in our modern day doing something 03:19 at night really isn't that big of a deal, 03:21 but in the Bible days when you did something 03:24 at night, there were no street lights, 03:26 there were no lamps burning really like we 03:30 have today. And so, when you're doing 03:33 something at night, you're doing something 03:35 somewhat out of the ordinary. So, in John 03:38 chapter 3, when the Bible emphasizes that 03:40 Nicodemus came to see Jesus at night, 03:43 it was emphasizing that Nicodemus is 03:45 doing something odd. And the reason he 03:49 would do it is because he was looking for 03:51 secrecy. He was wanting to see Jesus at 03:54 night, more then likely because he was 03:58 concerned about what his friends would 04:00 think I know the feeling. I was 20-years-old 04:04 and I was not a Christian, I was a punk 04:06 rock kid and I had no real interest in these 04:11 things of the Spirit of God for many years 04:13 and then the Spirit of God began to work 04:16 in my life and began to speak to my heart 04:18 and I began interest, becoming interested 04:20 in the things of God and the things of 04:22 Christ. When I would go to Church on 04:25 Saturday mornings, I would leave the 04:27 house, dress like a punk rocker. And I would 04:30 have in my backpack clothes that would 04:34 be more appropriate for Church. And after 04:39 Church was done, then I would change 04:41 back into my punk rock clothes and go home 04:44 where I lived with my friends. I did this 04:47 because I was concerned about what 04:49 my friends would think if they were knowing 04:52 that I was interested in Jesus Christ. 04:56 Now, as I continued doing the study of the 05:00 Bible and became more interest of course 05:03 then my friends found out and I was 05:06 seeing Jesus in the day. So, in John chapter 05:09 3, we have Nicodemus coming to see Jesus 05:14 at night and why does he come to see 05:16 Jesus at night, it's very simple. 'Cause he 05:19 was afraid of what others would think, 05:23 now in John chapter 3 when he comes to 05:26 see Jesus at night, he comes to him and 05:28 he says, Rabbi no one can do these things 05:33 that you do unless God is with him. 05:36 He comes to Jesus in almost a flattering way, 05:38 a very complimentary way. Rabbi, we know 05:42 that no one can do these signs that 05:44 you do unless God is with him. And Jesus, 05:48 you know you might expect somebody to 05:50 say when they call you good master or 05:52 Rabbi and they compliment you like that. 05:55 You might expect someone to say well 05:56 thank you for those kind words. And then 06:01 move into conversation, when Nicodemus 06:03 comes to Jesus and says Rabbi we know that 06:07 no one can do these sings that you do 06:09 unless God is with him. Jesus doesn't say 06:11 thank you for those kind words, Jesus says 06:14 in John chapter 3 verse 3, we're gonna 06:16 read it now, John chapter 3 verse 3: 06:18 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, 06:22 I say to you, unless one is born again 06:26 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 06:30 I want you to imagine what it would be 06:32 like if you had approached someone with 06:35 some very complimentary words, that was 06:38 a find sermon you preached Nathan 06:41 and I said you must be born again and 06:44 if you're not born again you cannot see 06:47 the kingdom of God. You might be taken 06:49 back; you may say well that was rather 06:52 abrupt Pastor. And I imagine that when 06:56 Nicodemus said good master. Nicodemus was 07:01 used to being able to speak to people and 07:04 lead them and guide the conversation, 07:06 and when he tries to do that with Jesus. 07:08 Jesus just simply looks him dead in the eye 07:11 and says, you must be born again. 07:16 Now, obviously this statement confused 07:19 Nicodemus, Nicodemus taken back, 07:22 it says in verse 4, Nicodemus said to him, 07:26 I'm reading now: "How can a man be 07:29 born when he is old? Can he enter a 07:32 second time into his mother's womb and 07:36 be born?" Nicodemus is asking this 07:39 question like what are you talking about 07:42 Jesus? You tell me, I mean I come to you 07:46 just being a nice guy saying that you must 07:48 be come from God and then the first words 07:50 out of your mouth are you must be born 07:52 again, what do you mean? You want me 07:56 to go back into the womb and come out 07:58 again and the Bible says in verse 5, 08:02 John chapter 3 verse 5, Jesus in John 08:06 chapter 3 verse 5 tells Nicodemus what he 08:09 means. Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, 08:13 I say to you, unless one is born of water 08:18 and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom 08:23 of God. Jesus here in John chapter 3 verse 5, 08:28 defines what it means to be born again; 08:31 to be born again according to Jesus is to 08:33 be born of the water and the Spirit. 08:37 Follow, Jesus tells Nicodemus you must be 08:39 born again, Nicodemus says what does that 08:41 mean and how does that happen, what does 08:43 that mean? And Jesus says you must be 08:45 born of the water and the Spirit. Now what 08:49 does it mean to be born of the water and 08:52 the Spirit, to be born of the Spirit means 08:54 that the Spirit of God comes into the life 08:57 and transforms the person that you are 09:01 and to be born of the water of course 09:03 it's the reference to Baptism, it's a 09:06 reference to being Baptized in the name 09:08 of the Father, the Son and the Holy 09:09 Spirit. And so, Jesus is saying that you 09:12 must be born again, you must have that 09:14 transformation in your life by the power 09:17 of the Spirit of God. Now, notice John 09:20 chapter 3 verse 6, Jesus now tells us 09:24 why it is that we must be born again. 09:27 John chapter 3 verse 6, why must I be 09:30 born again: That which is born of the flesh 09:33 is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit 09:38 is Spirit. What is Jesus saying here, 09:41 Jesus is saying that the flesh produces more 09:45 and more of the flesh. The flesh is flesh, 09:50 Jesus says, that which is born of the flesh 09:53 is flesh, so what Jesus is saying is that 09:56 without being born again, without the Spirit 09:59 of God transforming who you are. 10:01 Your flesh will always only produce more 10:06 of itself; the flesh will produce more of 10:11 the flesh. I remember, 5th grade my best 10:14 friend and I, we were pushing our bicycles 10:16 up the hill, we lived in Deadwood, 10:18 South Dakota and there was, there were 10:20 hills and mountains everywhere and 10:23 after school one day my friend and I, 10:25 we were pushing our bikes up the hill and 10:27 as we were pushing our bikes up the hill, 10:29 he looked at me and he said you know 10:31 Nathan if we don't stop swearing we're 10:33 both gonna wind up in hell. Here I'm a 10:36 little 5th grade, he's a little 5th grade 10:38 boy and both of us knew wow we need 10:42 to make a change and I can tell you 10:46 that change didn't happen in my life 10:49 until I was born again. Because my flesh, 10:52 it would always only produce more and more 10:56 and more and more of itself. The flesh is 10:59 that fallen sinful nature that we have 11:03 and it produces more and more of itself, 11:06 there's no changing it, it only has one 11:09 mode and that is sin. And so Jesus says 11:13 you have to be born again, you have to be 11:14 born of the Spirit of God. So, that the 11:17 Spirit can come into your life and instead 11:19 of the flesh producing more of itself now 11:22 you have the Spirit of God producing more 11:26 of itself. Jesus said that which is born of 11:29 the flesh is flesh, it's gonna produce more 11:32 and more and more of itself. But that which 11:34 is born of the Spirit is Spirit and the Spirit 11:37 will produce more of itself. Now, after 11:41 Jesus makes that important point in verse 11:44 7, Jesus then says: Do not marvel that 11:50 I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 11:54 He's saying Nicodemus, don't you know 11:57 that your sinful fallen nature just produces 12:00 more of itself and don't you know that 12:02 if you had the Spirit of God it would 12:04 produce more of itself. So, why are you so 12:08 amazed that I'm telling you to be born 12:10 again, every single human being on the 12:14 face of this planet needs to be born again, 12:17 there's not a young man, not an old man, 12:19 not a young woman, not an old woman. 12:21 No human being that is accepted, 12:24 because every human being has the 12:26 problem with the flesh that wants only 12:29 always to sin. And the Spirit of God wants 12:32 to come in and rewrite who you are and 12:36 change who you are. He wants to birth 12:39 you anew and instead of the flesh producing 12:41 more of the flesh, he wants the Spirit to 12:44 produce more of the Spirit of God. 12:48 Now, we're gonna read in John chapter 8 12:51 verse 8 and Jesus here describes one 12:54 of the most beautiful experiences that 12:57 happens when the Spirit of God begins to 12:59 work in the life. John chapter 3 verse 8, 13:03 lets read it now: "The wind blows where 13:07 it wishes, you hear the sound, and you do 13:11 not know where it comes from or where 13:13 it goes. So it is with everyone who is 13:18 born of the Spirit." Jesus here is making 13:22 the remarkable point that the Spirit of 13:24 God is like wind and we have no idea where 13:28 the wind comes from, we don't know 13:30 where it goes, but we do know that it's real. 13:33 And so what Jesus is saying is that being 13:36 born again, having that experience it's like 13:39 the, it's like the wind blowing in your life. 13:43 I remember my own life, I was living life, 13:45 I was happy, I was content as punk rocker. 13:49 I was doing exactly what I enjoyed to do 13:53 and then the Spirit of God came out of 13:56 nowhere, it began to blow in my life, 14:00 I didn't ask God to do it. I didn't even 14:03 know that God existed really. The Spirit of 14:06 God began to blow, the Spirit of God 14:10 began to speak. The Spirit of God began 14:13 to work, I didn't know where it was coming 14:16 from, didn't know where it was gonna 14:18 take me and that's what Jesus is saying 14:21 with being born again. It doesn't, 14:25 it comes from nowhere really, it's like the 14:27 wind. You don't know where it comes, 14:30 you don't know where it goes, 14:31 but you do know it's real and that was 14:33 my experience. Now, in verse 9, Nicodemus 14:37 asks the most important question, 14:41 now what Jesus has said is, we read his 14:44 point there. Nicodemus said to him, 14:46 "How can these things be?" Nicodemus asks 14:52 how can this happen. Now, I want you 14:55 to follow really what's happened here, 14:57 Jesus has simply said to Nicodemus, 15:00 Nicodemus, you need to be born again. 15:02 Nicodemus, you need to be born again. 15:05 You need to be transformed by the Spirit 15:07 of God, and you need to give evidence 15:09 of that transformation by being baptized. 15:12 Nicodemus, you've got to be born again 15:15 and then the question comes, how can 15:19 I have this experience. People everywhere 15:23 asking how can my life be changed, 15:27 how can my life be transformed? 15:29 How can this happen to me? Very good 15:35 question and Jesus wants to answer it. 15:40 You see Jesus is not interested in just 15:42 telling you what needs to happen. 15:46 He's also interest in telling you how it 15:49 needs to happen, so Nicodemus asked 15:52 how can these things be, Jesus you've 15:55 told me that I need to be born again. 15:57 Yes, I know that my flesh is producing 15:59 more of itself. I know that I need the 16:02 Spirit of God to transform my life, 16:04 but how can it happen and this cry has 16:08 come from many hearts and minds. 16:11 Many people who asked how can I have 16:15 the change in my life that I know I need 16:18 to have, how can I have it? Well, Jesus 16:21 answers the question, but before he 16:23 answers the question, he gives Nicodemus 16:25 a little bit of a hard time. Remember 16:28 Nicodemus' job was to teach people how 16:32 to know God. He was basically, you could 16:36 almost call him like a pastor he was a 16:38 teacher of the word of God. 16:39 He was a zealous follower of God and 16:43 so Nicodemus, Jesus gives him a hard time 16:46 in verse 10, we'll read it. Jesus answered 16:49 him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, 16:54 yet you do not understand these things?" 16:58 We'll read verse 11 as well. "Truly, 17:02 truly I say to you, we speak of what we 17:05 know, and bear witness of what we have 17:08 seen, but you do not receive our testimony." 17:12 Follow what Jesus is saying here, 17:15 Jesus is saying essentially hey Nicodemus, 17:19 aren't you supposed to be a Bible teacher, 17:22 aren't you supposed to know the spiritual 17:25 message of God? How is it that you don't 17:29 know the answer to this question? 17:34 Jesus says, we speak what we know 17:38 and obviously since you're not talking 17:39 about this Nicodemus you don't know about 17:41 it. Verse 12, let's read verse 12: 17:46 "If I have told you earthly things and you 17:49 do not believe, how can you believe if 17:51 I tell you heavenly things?" Verse 13: 17:54 "No one has ascended into heaven except 17:57 him who descended from heaven, 17:59 the Son of Man." Now, when we get to 18:02 verse 14, Jesus is actually answering the 18:06 question how can these things be? 18:10 Jesus' said you must be born again, 18:12 you must be transformed by the Spirit 18:13 of God. Your flesh is only producing the 18:16 flesh, now you need the Spirit of God 18:18 to produce more of the Spirit, then the 18:20 question comes, how can this happen? 18:22 How can these things be? And now Jesus 18:25 is going to give the answer to the most 18:28 important question in life. Remember Jesus 18:31 said you are not going to heaven unless 18:34 you're born again and Nicodemus says, 18:36 alright, if I'm not going to heaven, 18:38 if I'm not gonna get to the kingdom of God 18:40 without being born again, how does it 18:42 happen? How can I be born again? 18:45 And the answer comes in verse 14, 18:49 Jesus lays it out, Jesus says, this is how 18:52 you can be born again. As Moses lifted 18:56 the serpent in the wilderness, so the 19:00 Son of Man must be lifted up. What is 19:08 Jesus saying here? What is Jesus saying 19:13 here? It's a fascinating story in the 19:18 book of Numbers, God's people had been 19:21 in rebellion against God. They had 19:25 wandered from God and God allowed fiery 19:29 serpents, the Bible says to bite them and 19:32 many of the people were dying. That's 19:36 what Jesus is talking about, Moses lifted 19:38 the serpent and what happen there is 19:42 Moses prayed to God, God what can we 19:44 do? What's the solution to the problem 19:47 of these people dying, and God's answer 19:51 was built a bronze serpent and lift that 19:56 serpent on a pole and whoever looks at 19:59 that serpent will be healed and live. 20:06 Now, Moses built the serpent and people 20:10 looked at the serpent when they were 20:11 bite by snake and they lived, which is 20:16 really a fascinating picture here. 20:18 And Jesus is gonna use this to describer 20:20 his own mission but that really leads 20:22 us to an interesting question, why a 20:25 snake? Why a bronze snake? And here 20:28 in John chapter 3 verse 14, let's read 20:31 John chapter 3 verse 14 again. Now, that 20:34 we know the story that Jesus is talking 20:36 about, let's read it just now. John 3 20:37 verse 14: And as Moses lifted up the 20:42 serpent in the wilderness, so the Son 20:45 of Man must be lifted up, Jesus is saying 20:49 just like Moses lifted that snake in the 20:51 wilderness, so Jesus must be lifted up. 20:55 Now, the question for us today is how 20:58 come the snake is now a symbol of Jesus, 21:02 I mean wasn't it the snake in Genesis 21:05 chapter 3 that was a symbol of the devil, 21:08 wasn't it a snake in Revelation 12 21:10 that's a symbol of Satan. Isn't the 21:12 snake all throughout the Bible a symbol 21:16 of sin and Satan, and how can a symbol 21:20 of sin and Satan, all of a sudden become 21:23 a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ, 21:27 how can that serpent lifted in the wilderness 21:30 be a representation of Christ being lifted 21:33 up and dying on the Cross, how can that 21:36 be? And the answer to that question is 21:40 remarkably profound, it is seen in the 21:43 simple fact that on the cross. The Bible says 21:48 that the Father made Christ to be sin for 21:54 us, so that we could become righteous. 21:58 Now, follow this simple point then, 22:01 on the Cross when Jesus was lifted up. 22:04 The Bible is telling us that God made Christ 22:07 to be sin for us, he became everything, 22:12 evil and vile, not that he actually became 22:16 it, he became it for us. And he died the 22:22 death that sin required, remember Jesus 22:28 says you must be born again, you must be 22:30 transformed by the Spirit of God, 22:32 you must be renewed. You must have 22:34 the Spirit of God make you what you 22:38 need to be and Nicodemus says how? 22:41 Oh! How can I have the transformation? 22:45 How can I have new life right now? 22:47 And the answer is Jesus has to be lifted 22:52 up from the earth. There is only one way 22:55 and that is the death, burial and resurrection 22:59 Look now in John chapter 3 verses 14 23:02 & 15, John chapter 3 verses 14 & 15: 23:06 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in 23:08 the wilderness, so must the Son of Man 23:11 be lifted up, verse 15, that whosoever 23:15 believes in him may have eternal life. 23:17 Now, follow the main point again, 23:20 how can these things be? How can 23:22 I be born again? How can it happen? 23:25 And the answer comes just like Moses 23:28 lifted the serpent and the people looked 23:31 and lived, so Christ must be lifted up that 23:35 whoever believes on him should not 23:39 perish but have everlasting life. 23:44 My friends, the key to a new life right now, 23:49 the key to a new life right now is a faith 23:54 and trust in the death of Jesus Christ 23:58 as your salvation. And you believe that, 24:03 you have God's promise that he will give 24:06 you the Spirit and birth you a new. 24:10 John chapter 3 verse 16 follows that up 24:14 with these beautiful promise, 24:16 this beautiful promise. John chapter 3 24:20 verse 16, let's read it now: "For God so 24:23 loved the world, that he gave his only Son, 24:28 that whoever believes in him should not 24:31 perish but have eternal life." My friends 24:35 Nicodemus asked the question, how can 24:38 these things be? How can I have a new 24:40 life? How can I be born again? How can I 24:43 be transformed by the Spirit? And Jesus' 24:46 answer is so simple, it is so simple, 24:52 yet so profound. He says the only way 24:56 for you to have a new life, is for me to 25:00 be lifted up, that is for me to die for your 25:05 old life. The only way for you to be born 25:09 again and be transformed by the Spirit 25:12 is for me to die for your old life. 25:18 So, that you can be filled with the Spirit 25:20 and have a new one. And why would 25:23 God do that? Why would God do that? 25:27 Because he loved the world, he loved 25:32 every last human being and he wants 25:36 to take care of every human being's past. 25:41 And give them a new future, that's why 25:44 he says: "For God so loved the world, 25:51 that He gave His only begotten Son, 25:53 that whosoever believeth in Him should 25:55 not perish, but have everlasting life" 26:01 Friend of mine, God wants you to live 26:04 forever, God wants you to have a new life, 26:08 God wants you to be transformed. 26:11 You must be born again, you say how 26:14 can that be, I'm so enslaved to this habits. 26:21 I'm so weak in this area of my life, 26:24 I've so many problems in this part of 26:27 my life, there's no way for me to change, 26:30 I've tried and tried and tried and tried 26:33 and had absolutely no success. 26:35 My friend, God wants you to have a new 26:37 life, he wants you to have a new life 26:41 right now and you can have it right 26:43 now. It's not for pulling yourself up by 26:47 your bootstraps; you'll never have the 26:49 strength. It is through the transformative 26:52 power of the Spirit of God that is yours 26:56 when you trust Jesus Christ, when you 27:00 believe that Jesus died for you, 27:05 you'll receive the Spirit of God, 27:08 the forgiveness of sins and the promise 27:11 of a new life. You want that new life? 27:15 Put your faith in Jesus right now, 27:19 let's pray. Father please, bless all of 27:22 those people out there, blessed every 27:24 individual who's trusting you right now. 27:29 Fill them with your Spirit, Father, 27:30 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 27:35 My friend, if you have trusted Christ today, 27:39 believe with all of your heart that he has 27:44 forgiven you in giving you the gift of 27:46 eternal life. And then enjoy the new 27:50 life that he's giving you forever. 27:53 al who's trusting you right now. 27:54 Fill them with your Spirit, Father, 27:55 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 27:56 My friend, if you have trusted Christ today, 27:57 believe with all of your heart that he has |
Revised 2014-12-17