Participants: Floyd Bresee
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000370
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00:31 Hi, I'm Pastor Floyd Bresee and
00:35 I've been thinking it seems to me 00:38 there would be a lot more Christians 00:40 if Christians were a lot more Christ like. 00:44 Let's pray about it, Heavenly Father 00:47 please teach us something today 00:52 that will help us become more Christ like 00:56 Christians, we prayer in Jesus name, amen. 01:01 We're going to talk today about something 01:05 that seems rather unlikely and that is 01:08 being lost in church. 01:11 Is it possible to be in church and lost, 01:14 is it possible to be active in church 01:17 and still be lost, lost in church. 01:19 Let's leave our open please to the 01:22 gospel of John and the 3rd chapter, 01:25 I'll be using the New International version. 01:28 The streets of Jerusalem are nearly clear, 01:33 darkness has come and its dangerous 01:37 to be out especially for a meticulously 01:41 groomed distinguished older man 01:44 who turns to hurry down a narrow street alone. 01:48 Nicodemus is on his way to meet Jesus. 01:53 Now Nicodemus seem to be an exemplary 01:59 church member. It was not just that 02:02 he had money though he did not 02:04 just position and power, 02:07 prestige he had all of these but he was 02:09 a highly moral man. He was a Pharisee, 02:13 he was the kind of church member 02:16 who would never missed church service, 02:19 maybe no one watching today is trying as hard 02:23 to be as good as was Nicodemus. 02:26 But Nicodemus was lost in church, 02:32 and he didn't know it. 02:33 Jesus said so in John the 3rd chapter 02:37 and the 7th verse. 02:39 You should not be surprised at my saying, 02:44 You must be born again. 02:49 Nicodemus was shocked, 02:53 it was absurd you must be born again. 02:57 Now sometimes we think that this was because 02:59 of the idea of born again was new idea to 03:03 Nicodemus that's not so. 03:05 He was very familiar with the term, 03:07 when a gentile wanted to follow the Jewish God 03:12 the person was spoken of us being born again, 03:16 had to adopted into the Jewish family. 03:20 Born again but he Nicodemus he was already 03:26 in the true church, he was born a Jew 03:29 he had no need to be born again. 03:32 It's possible to feel like Nicodemus, 03:35 surely I've been following God, 03:38 I'm in God's true church perhaps, 03:40 do I need to be born again today. 03:44 You and I too could be lost in church 03:48 and not knowing. If like Nicodemus 03:52 we feel that being a good person 03:55 or keeping the Commandments or 03:57 going to church are going to get 03:59 us to heaven. That's we really 04:02 don't have any need to be born again today, 04:07 if that's your feeling you are 04:09 disagreeing with Jesus, 04:11 because he is speaking to us today 04:14 not only to Nicodemus when he says 04:17 you must be born again, 04:20 you respectable church member 04:24 must be born again and again and again. 04:30 You may have heard the parable 04:33 of the little wolf. According to the 04:36 parable the little wolf lived up on a promontory 04:41 just above the meadow where the sheep 04:44 graced and much of the time the little 04:48 wolf didn't have enough to eat, 04:51 and he would get hungry and he would see 04:54 the little lambs down there where all of the 04:57 grass they could possibly devour, 05:00 and sometimes he got lonely because 05:03 his parents would be off hunting. 05:05 But he saw that the little lambs 05:08 always had each other, 05:09 they always had a lot of company 05:11 and they enjoyed playing together 05:15 and he decided what he really wanted 05:17 to be was a little lamb. 05:20 So one day he screwed up his courage 05:23 and he went down into the meadow 05:26 and he walked up behind the shepherd 05:31 and in a platy voice he said sir sir 05:35 and the shepherd looked around 05:38 and he saw a little wolf and he was about 05:40 to club him, the little wolf said no, no, no, 05:45 no I mean you no harm, 05:47 I want to be a lamb could I be a lamb. 05:52 The shepherd said oh no, never would, 05:57 they would never accept you and beside you 05:59 would be eating the sheep. 06:01 No said the little wolf I'll not hurt anyone, 06:05 I just get so hungry and I get so lonely 06:07 could I be a lamb, and so the shepherd 06:12 feeling sorry for the little wolf as the 06:14 parable goes he scratched his head 06:16 and he went over and he took the skin 06:17 from a lamb that had recently died 06:20 and he put it around the wolf 06:22 and showing off the other lambs accepted 06:26 him and he ran with them 06:27 and he played king of the hill with them 06:29 and he ate grass with them but he never 06:33 did learn to enjoy grass. 06:36 One day he came back to the shepherd 06:42 and he said sir I smell an odor in the air, 06:52 his parents had killed an old cow 06:55 and he had a tremendous taste for old cow, 07:00 he was sick of grass. 07:03 Would it be alright if I could just be 07:06 excused for just one evening, 07:08 the kind shepherd lifted the little wolf up 07:14 and tenderly he said I know you've not really 07:18 enjoyed eating grass, and I know that you're 07:21 nipping at the other lambs 07:22 heels a little bit. I guess the only way 07:26 to enjoy being a lamb is to be born a lamb. 07:32 You may be a Christian but if you are not 07:34 enjoying your Christian experience may be 07:38 it's because you are not a born again Christian. 07:40 The only way to enjoy being a Christian 07:43 is to be born again Christian. 07:46 You may have tried Christian growth 07:49 through self improvement or 07:52 through self discipline. 07:54 You may have tried changing yourself; 07:57 Jesus said the way to enjoy being a Christian 08:01 is to be a born again Christian. 08:05 Whether for the first or the thousandths time 08:09 it's my privilege to invite you today 08:12 to be born again, to enjoy the born 08:17 again experience today. 08:19 I'm not belittling your Christian experience, 08:22 but please don't make Nicodemus mistake. 08:27 He came just to hear something interesting, 08:31 Jesus wanted him to experience 08:35 something saving, and that could happen to us. 08:40 I pray that you'll not be here today just to hear 08:45 something interesting, but to experience 08:49 something saving. New birth kind of an 08:53 odd expression may hear lot of a time 08:55 what is it. Jesus gives us here 08:58 in John the 3rd chapter, 09:00 and he is talking to Nicodemus 09:03 five intriguing illustrations from John 09:06 the 3rd chapter to help us understand 09:08 what the new birth is, 09:11 and how to experience it. 09:14 The five illustrations, birth, wind, light, 09:20 water, and of all things snake. 09:25 Now let's start with a birth, 09:28 birth emphasis the importance 09:34 of being born again, only a new birth can 09:39 remove your death sentence. 09:41 Nicodemus came flattering Jesus 09:45 but Jesus cut right to the quick, 09:47 in verses 2 and 3, 09:49 He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, 09:53 we know you are a teacher 09:54 who has come from God. 09:55 For no one could perform the miraculous signs 09:58 you are doing if God were not with him. 10:00 "In reply Jesus declared, 10:03 "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom 10:08 of God unless he is born again." 10:13 No one can see the kingdom of God except 10:17 he is born again, you and I were born 10:21 under a death sentence. 10:23 Assistant Pastor at my church back home 10:28 he and his wife just young folks 10:32 had waited and planned until finally 10:35 it was time to start their family. 10:38 And Greg was so proud of it, 10:42 first thing he knew when he had to announce 10:44 it in church much to sand is to grain 10:46 and as the pregnancy developed, 10:50 they took a picture and they found it 10:53 was a boy and they named their coming son Aden. 10:57 And then another picture showed a terrible, 11:03 a serious problem, 11:05 the baby's heart was deformed. 11:09 He would not be able to live if carried 11:14 all the way through the pregnancy death 11:17 would come and there was nothing 11:19 science could do. 11:20 I held little Aden in my arms 11:28 and I expected him to be perhaps pale 11:33 and sickly but he was a beautiful baby, 11:37 beautiful on the outside but death 11:42 was waiting on the inside. 11:44 We may make our self look good 11:47 on the outside, but what about 11:50 what's on the inside. What is a new birth, 11:54 its an analogy for what we call conversion 11:57 and Jesus said that no one can see the 12:00 kingdom of God unless he is born from above, 12:04 born again. Now the second of Jesus 12:09 illustrations wind, we have learned 12:15 that its tremendously important 12:18 to be born again. Now how do you 12:21 know when you been born again, 12:23 can I've real proof in my life that 12:27 I've been born again. Notice if you'll verse 8, 12:32 Jesus said: The wind blows 12:37 wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, 12:41 but you cannot tell where it comes from 12:44 or where it is going. So it is with everyone 12:49 born of the Spirit." The wind provides the power, 12:58 the branch provides the moment. 13:02 You can't tell where the wind comes or where 13:05 its going to Jesus said but you can tell when 13:08 the branch moves. And the wind represents 13:12 the Holy Spirit according to Jesus, 13:14 and when the Holy Spirit is working, 13:18 there is going to be movement on the part 13:22 of our lives and if you are not moving 13:27 more Christ like day by day, 13:30 then it means that the Holy Spirit 13:32 is not working, the new birth experience 13:34 is not working in you because 13:36 just as the wind moves the branch, 13:40 so the Holy Spirit moves the life. 13:43 Are you moving, 13:46 God loves you just the way you are, 13:51 but he loves you much, 13:53 too much to leave you that way. 13:55 God accepts His grace which gives you, 13:58 but grace not only accepts grace changes. 14:04 And so, how do you know whether or not 14:07 you have received the new birth, 14:09 there will be changes going on in your life. 14:13 Now, three of these metaphors from 14:16 John the third chapter, 14:18 if we arrange them in a logical order 14:22 will show us the three steps to experiencing 14:28 the new birth. How can I have 14:31 the new birth experience? Step one, 14:35 Jesus uses light. 14:38 Light helps us see things. 14:42 Light represents being able to see our sins. 14:46 The new birth happens when we stop 14:48 hiding from our sins. 14:50 Verses 19 and 20: This is the verdict: 14:55 Light has come into the world, 14:58 but man loved darkness instead of light 15:01 because their deeds were evil. 15:03 Everyone who does evil hates the light, 15:06 and will not come into the light for fear 15:09 that his deeds will be exposed. 15:13 Christ is hated because sin is love. 15:18 You know, how she come home in the dark 15:23 at night and, and it looks clean. 15:26 Next morning you get up and sun is shining 15:29 through the window and lighting on the table, 15:32 and all of a sudden you will see dust, 15:35 it's dirty. Now, the housekeeper has a 15:39 choice, you can either go over 15:41 and pull the chain, 15:42 so you can't see the dust 15:44 or you can get the dust rag. 15:45 Don't you see light is the means 15:52 by which we see? The first step in the 15:58 new birth experience is to see your sins, 16:02 not hide them see them. How often we say, 16:07 I can't see what's wrong with that. 16:10 I, I can't see where I need to change; 16:13 I can't see that I'm any worst than he is. 16:17 Christ you see is the light that 16:21 shows me I'm a sinner, not that I once was, 16:25 this is a danger of active church people, 16:28 not that I once was, 16:29 not that I have been, but that I am now. 16:31 And the first step to the new birth experience 16:36 I'm a sinner. Guilt, the new birth is 16:43 preceded by guilt. Well, that's a terrible 16:47 thing to say, we don't like that word. 16:49 Guilt is an awful place to end 16:52 that Christian should not ever live 16:55 with perpetual guilt, but the new 16:58 birth experience is preceded by guilt. 17:01 It's not the place to end your Christian 17:08 experience, don't live with perpetual guilt, 17:12 but guilt is the only place to begin. 17:16 So, first step new birth experience I'm a sinner, 17:22 second step, I'm sorry. 17:25 And now, Jesus uses the analogy of water 17:29 that is a cleansing. The new birth happens 17:34 when we repent of our sins 17:36 and He washes us clean, 17:38 He forgives us of our sins. 17:41 Notice verse 5: Jesus answered, 17:44 "I tell you the truth, 17:45 no one can enter the kingdom of God 17:49 unless he is born of water and the Spirit." 17:52 Unless He is born of water 17:56 as well as the Spirit. 17:59 Jesus is teaching Nicodemus, 18:01 no one can be saved without a new birth 18:04 and there is no new birth without 18:07 our repentance and Jesus forgiveness 18:11 and cleansing. What is repentance? 18:16 Repentance is simply turning 18:19 around on the road of life 18:21 from being self-centered to Christ centered. 18:26 And the old preacher was exceptionally 18:34 successful in leading his congregation 18:35 to repentance. And someone ask him 18:37 how he did it? Oh! He said, 18:40 it's simple, he said, 18:41 I just marched across the platform, 18:45 I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell, 18:47 I'm going to hell, I'm going to hell, 18:49 I'm going to heaven, I'm going to heaven, 18:51 I'm going to heaven that is repentance. 18:54 It's turning around on the road of life. 18:58 You miss you will fall, 18:59 but you will fall with your face 19:02 toward heaven. So, step one, 19:05 the light says, I'm a sinner. 19:07 Step two, the water says, I'm sorry, 19:11 please cleanse me from my sins. 19:14 Now, step three, and this, 19:18 this is the one that we find 19:21 a little difficult to understand because 19:24 illustration number three is the snake. 19:27 And what the snake is teaching 19:30 according to Jesus illustration 19:32 is that we could should look up 19:34 and focus our eyes on Jesus. 19:38 So, step three, the snake says, 19:43 focus on Jesus. The new birth 19:46 happens when we focus on Jesus, 19:50 verses 14 to 16 of John 3: Just as Moses 20:00 lifted up the snake in the desert, 20:03 so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 20:05 that everyone who believes in him may 20:09 have eternal life. For God so loved 20:12 the world that he gave his one and only Son, 20:15 that whoever believes in him shall not 20:19 perish but have eternal life. 20:23 God's love is a whosoever love, 20:28 whosoever love believeth in him the King James 20:31 Version says. There is nothing 20:34 you can do to make God love you more. 20:37 There is nothing you can do to may 20:41 God love you less. God loves you because 20:46 of what He is, and not because of 20:49 what you are. And it boggles 20:52 our minds to say it, 20:53 but God if His love is a limitless love, 20:57 loved Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein 21:00 just as much as he loved Mother Teresa. 21:03 You see, ours is a reciprocal love, 21:07 love me and I'll love you, be good to me, 21:10 I'll be good to you. And you've seen it 21:14 happened probably experienced it 21:16 whether you can admit it or not, 21:17 a boys wants a girl for his study, 21:20 but instead of going directly to her, 21:23 he goes to her friend and asks the friend, 21:29 does she like me? 21:31 And he is not going to give his love 21:36 until he is assured of getting love back, 21:39 that's human love, reciprocal love. 21:42 God's whosoever love is not dependent 21:46 upon us being lovely it's depending upon 21:49 His being love. The wonderful book 21:54 on the life of Christ called Desire of Ages 21:58 it says it this way: 21:59 His love is drawing us to Himself, 22:04 if we do not resist His drawing, 22:08 we shall be led to the foot of the Cross 22:11 in repentance, isn't that beautiful, 22:14 if we do not resist we will be led to the 22:18 foot of the Cross. 22:20 I have here a piece of wood, 22:23 and I have on the wood two nails 22:27 and I bring the magnet in and as 22:30 I bring it closer to those nails 22:33 one of the nails jumps over and is taken up 22:37 by the magnet, the other doesn't move. 22:41 How come one comes, the other doesn't, 22:46 because the other is fasten to the board. 22:50 And you see, if you're not moving 22:56 toward your Lord today, 22:58 you are fastened to something, 23:00 what is it? It maybe, maybe a habit, 23:02 it may, maybe some anger, 23:06 some awful disappointment 23:07 in your past. If you just stop 23:11 resisting His love is strong and it so 23:14 overwhelming, it's going to draw 23:16 you to Himself. God is loving, 23:20 not condemning. Notice verse 17: 23:25 For God did not send his Son into the world 23:28 to condemn the world, 23:30 but to save the world through him. 23:34 Our wrong attitude toward God 23:38 comes from a wrong picture of God. 23:42 And if you picture a condemning God, 23:46 get rid of Him, it's the devil 23:49 masquerading as God. 23:51 The real God is not condemning, 23:54 He is loving. Jesus' illustration 23:59 here about the snake, 24:01 it comes from numbers 21, 24:04 why a snake? Well, the snakes 24:10 had bitten the people and their bite 24:13 was deadly, it was the snake 24:15 that was killing them, 24:17 and the cure had to be related 24:19 to the cause. Now the pole on 24:22 which the snake was mounted 24:25 represented Calvary, this was Christ, 24:29 a snake Christ had to be related 24:34 to the cause of sin. 24:38 He had to become man, 24:39 this is the incarnation. 24:42 Christ had to be related to human kind 24:45 in order to save us. 24:47 Now, the snake didn't heal anybody, 24:50 it was looking up that heal, 24:54 look and live. Paul said; 24:57 let us fix our eyes on Jesus, 25:00 the author and perfecter of our faith. 25:05 And so focus in your life on Jesus daily, 25:12 don't focus on mistakes that you have made, 25:15 don't focus on wounds you receive, 25:18 the things that you want, 25:20 keep looking up, stay focused on Jesus, 25:23 the more we focus, the more we'll see. 25:26 Bev Doolittle made quite a name for herself by, 25:31 by painting things that people couldn't see 25:34 and one of her most famous paintings is, 25:37 winter scene with white snow 25:40 in a white burst forest. 25:42 And, and it doesn't seem there is anything 25:45 there really worth looking that, 25:46 but if you stay focus, 25:47 if you keep looking pretty soon, 25:49 you see some Indians in their, 25:51 in that forest, writing the black 25:54 and white pinto ponies 25:56 by focusing you begin to see more. 25:59 The secret to Christian growth is 26:02 to be born again and again and again 26:05 by focusing on Jesus again and again 26:09 and again. As we come 26:12 to the close of our time together, 26:14 I hope you're not watching just to hear, 26:16 there's something interesting, 26:18 but to experience something saving. 26:22 A boy with his father at the toy store 26:27 and he's been lost before, 26:32 he doesn't wanted to happen again and so, 26:36 he focuses on the father, 26:39 but the toys are so attracted, 26:41 they're so beautiful pretty soon his, 26:43 his attention wonders. 26:45 And his eyes go on these things 26:48 that surround him, he turns a corner 26:51 first thing you know his father has disappeared, 26:54 frightened, he turns around 26:57 and runs back only to find that the father 26:59 has been waiting all the time. 27:03 Turn to the Father, he is waiting; 27:06 he has been waiting all the time. 27:09 Loving Father, thank you for waiting for us, 27:13 when sometimes we've gotten our eyes off you 27:16 and focused on the things of this world. 27:20 I pray that we will live today, 27:23 knowing that by the grace of Christ 27:26 we have focused our minds, 27:28 our lives on Jesus and born again. 27:31 Thank you, Jesus we pray in your name, amen. 27:36 Thank so much for tuning into 27:40 Faith Chapel. It was good 27:43 having a chance to chat with you. 27:45 And as you go on back to life 27:48 I pray the riches blessing 27:50 on you and on yours. |
Revised 2014-12-17