07/14/26

John 3:1-11

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

We finished John chapter 2 last week, and we're going to start on chapter 3 tonight talking about Nicodemus. It's more about Jesus than it is Nicodemus, but we're going to we're going to see what what what the Lord's trying to teach tonight. But um but before we get started, let's let's uh let's go to the Lord in prayer right quick. Dear God, we love you and we thank you, God, for the day you've given us. We thank you for your love. God, we thank you for your grace, your mercy. We thank you for all you've given us, Lord. I just pray, dear God, right now that you'll open up your word. But Lord, I pray you open up our hearts so your word can get in and fill us up. So we can go out, Lord God. And God, we can do what you've called us to do, and that's be an example, be a light to this dark world. Lord, as I always pray, I pray I decrease and you increase, dear God, and the words out of my mouth will be of you. There's nothing in me that's good except you, Jesus. And I ask you to work right now. I ask you to draw us, Lord. And we'll be careful to give you the honor, praise, and glory you deserve in Christ's name. Amen. So when we got done with chapter two last week, um if I'd have been writing the Bible, I wouldn't have stopped right there. But I ain't writing the Bible, am I? Um it's like a carry on from chapter verse 23, 24, and 25 into chapter 3, verse number 1, when it says there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. So we got to understand what a what that Pharisee was today. The first time we see a uh hear that word Pharisee today, most of us think just a legalistic Pharisee, somebody that just they think they're better than everybody else. That's what we look like. And I mean that's what it is. But that Pharisee was strict. He was devoted to the to the to the Mosaic law, he was devoted to the Torah, the five books of the Bible. They were devoted to be the best of the best biblically. They were voted, devoted to be the best um readers of God's word. They were devoted to be the best of what they were. And the reason we get that name, the legalistic Pharisee, because what happened was they thought that what they had learned, they thought that their knowledge was greater than their Jesus. And you see that. You and I see that in churches today. We'll see somebody that they think they've got power, or they think that because they put on a suit, or because they get behind a desk, or because they sit at a table and they teach that that they've got it all figured out. See, none of us have got it all figured out. And the very moment that you think, well, I'm just a better Christian than that person, the very moment that you think you've got it figured out, that's the very moment that God's going to humble you. And sometimes you and I just need to be humbled. Sometimes we need to be humbled so we can see how great he is. But it says, not only was he a legalistic, was he a Pharisee, and his name was Nicodemus, he was a ruler of the Jews. So he was a member of the 70 of the Sanhedrin. They thought that they made all the righteous decisions, so to speak. It's kind of like if you go to a Baptist church, it's called the Southern Baptist Convention. That's who they were, okay? I'm not trying to beat them down, I'm just being honest. They thought that they could make all the decisions of what a Christian should be and how they should act. Can I tell you, this word of God makes the decision of who you should be and what you should act? And it's not a denomination or a religion. It's the holy word of God that decides for us and teaches us who we ought to be. And we need not let a man tell us, yes, we go get preached to. But the Bible says study to show thyself approved. Don't always just trust. We shouldn't just always trust in what a man says. We need to go back and dig. That's why it's so encouraging for us. Just because, just because that man preaches hard on Sunday, don't mean you don't need to pick that Bible up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and see what does saith the Lord. Because you need more than what he can give you, I promise you. But he was that's who he was. That's who he was. And then look in verse number two. It says, the same came to Jesus by night. Well, why did he come by night? He came by night because, see, he had power and prestige. He was a ruler of the Jews. There was many people who look up to this man. He's a man that he had plenty of money, he had a big house, he had listen, he couldn't humbly come to this dude named Jesus that thinks he's he's the Messiah. He couldn't come to him in the daytime. People would look down on him. They might not start honoring him, they might not do business with him anymore. See, he came by night because he was embarrassed, because he didn't really know what he needed to know. See, we're fixing to see this. There, there's I'll be the first to tell you. I sit in church my whole life for about the first, for probably about the first 30 years of my life, I sit in a church and I knew nothing about much about this word. I'm just being honest. I was in church every Sunday. I knew nothing about the word. You may tell you why? Because until Jesus Christ gets within you, you don't really care. You just go. And there's a lot of people that's still going. There's a lot of people that's not digging. And listen, you might be here tonight and listen, if the Lord's pressing upon you, listen. It ain't something to get upset with. Get upset with me. Hey, I'm just the one delivering the mail. Talk to the messenger. But what he's saying is, man, get out your shovel. I said so many times, I remember back when I was preaching a lot at Riverside. One thing I'd always tell him is, man, how shiny is your shovel? I want you to ask yourself that question tonight. How shiny is your shovel? That shovel that digs into this word and digs in trying to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Can you pull your can you pull your spiritual shovel out tonight and say, there ain't no rust on it? It's amen or obey. It's it's do I need to clean it off? But many people, let's just be honest, I've did it before. I took that Bible on Sunday when I got home from church and I set it down right around the corner. And then the next Sunday morning I had to come to it. What did I have to do? I had to wipe it off. Listen, who are you trying to please, God or man? What he's saying right there is, man, open up God's word and dig into those things that God has called you to do. Man, want to get close to him. That's what I love about you, men. I see it so many times, and I talk to y'all, and it's so exciting to know that, man, people are trying to dig into God's word. Because he is worthy to be praised, he's worthy to be lifted up, and the only way you can praise him and lift him up is to study about him and see who he is. But he'd come into him in the night. He was kind of embarrassed. Brother Larry, I was studying this message today, and I could not think back of a better example of somebody that was embarrassed when Will would go down to the power lines with that truck and he'd bog that four-wheel drive truck down, and he'd call everybody in the world except you, because he knew it wasn't gonna be just embarrassed. He didn't, he didn't. That's kind of the way it reminds me of Nicodemus right here. He didn't want nobody to know what he was going to ask. And I I'm gonna be honest, there's people I would be willing to say there's people sitting in this room, you don't ask because you're embarrassed. Because you're 30, 40, 50, 60 years old, and you never knew. Can I tell you? I was in that spot for a long time. If you don't understand some of God's word, go to one of these men and say, hey, can you can you explain it to me? Will you teach me? Listen, that's just what we're here for to be our brothers' keepers. And the only dumb question is the one you never ask. It just is. And man, we got to know more about God's word and who he is and how great he is. That's just what we're called to do. And he said unto him in verse number two, Rabbi, which is the mean teacher. He says, We know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. It's like he's trying to butter God up right here. It's like he's trying to butter Jesus up and saying, You know, you're such a good dude. I I believe that you would be good if you could just hook on to that chain dragon behind me. And man, you could hook into our ministry with the San Jugin, and man, you could probably be good for us. You could probably help us along the way. Why don't you just hook up to us and you can be part of us? See, the Lord sees waves. Anybody ever been like that? You're like, Lord, if you'll just get, if you'll hook up to my trailer, I'll show you a few or th a thing or two. I mean, the one that created us. We we tell him that. We don't tell him that out loud, but you do. How many times has Jesus been behind you instead in front of you? How many times has how many times have have you said, Lord, I love you, but I think I got it figured out? You said, I ain't never said that, Brother Mac. No, you ain't never said it, but you did it. You did it. And you know you have. And I ain't here to beat nobody down. We need to be reminded. Sometimes we need to be reminded so we can draw closer. But he says, he says that except God be with him. See, he's just buttering, he's trying to butter him up, is my thoughts right there. And then Jesus answered. See, Jesus seen right through Nicodemus. He's an all-knowing God. Even though he was Jesus, he was God. He he knew what he was gonna say before he said it. That's kind of like some of your prayers. You you ever prayed a prayer and you're you get done and you're like, how dumb am I, man? He already knew what I was gonna say. He knew I was gonna give him a grocery list before I praised him. Anybody? But but he said right here in verse number three. He said, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. See, what he was telling him is said, Listen, Nicodemus, I don't care how much Bible you got, I don't care how much money you got, and I don't care how many, how, how big your popularity status or your stature is. What Jesus Christ said to him right there, he said, if you can't get out of your own way, you'll never see the kingdom of God. And I want to show you something that's very important to me. This is deep right here. This is to me, this is deep. I want you to look in verse number three what he says. Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I want you to focus on that word see. I'm gonna take you to a spot. You say so so see heaven? We can't see heaven. All right, look, look right here, I think it's 1624, 1623. When when when when when the uh rich man Elizabeth, and in verse number 23, it says, and in hell, the the uh the rich man's in hell right now. It says right here, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off. So so to be able to see, there's another place. There's a place called the paradise. See, the it said, it said, and see and and and Lazarus in his bosom, in Abraham's bosom. What he's saying is, man, there's a there's a place to see into that, to see into that paradise. He couldn't see, you'll never get to see heaven, is what he's saying right there. I might have confused some people, and if I did, I'll talk to you afterwards if you want to talk about it. But it it's awesome to know right there that listen, he said, if you want to see heaven, listen, they couldn't see heaven. That man in hell couldn't see heaven. You understand what I'm saying? He could see the paradise, he could see the Abraham's bosom, that that place of, I guess some people say it called the place of holding. But but one day, one day you're gonna get to see heaven, you're gonna get to see see the king of glory, you're gonna get to stand before him one day and bow with his feet, and you'll get to see the kingdom then. Man, that's gonna be a good day. That's gonna be a good day. But look what Nicodemus said. He said, Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter into the into the second time, into his mother's womb and be born. I'm like, Nicodemus, was you so smart that you didn't have no common sense? I I think that's where he was at. I I I think there's times that we can't see the obvious in our lives. Has any any how many men got saved after you were let's say you got saved after you were uh 30 years old? Anybody in here? There's a few of us. So it said, Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter into the to the enter into the second time into his mother's womb and be born? He he just he just missed the focus. He missed he missed what Jesus was trying to teach him. Because the reason that he missed everything, because he was still caught up on his own stature, his own way, caught up on who he ought to be in life. He was still worried more about who he was. But let me go back. If you go back to John 2 and 23, if y'all remember last week, it said, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles, he has been Jesus, when they saw the miracles that he did, but Jesus did not commit himself unto them, but he knew all men. What it's saying right there, and what what Nicodemus is not understanding, Jesus tried to teach him, Nicodemus, it doesn't matter how much how much you know, it doesn't matter how great you are, Nicodemus. If you haven't, if you haven't been born again, if you haven't been born of the spirit and the flesh and the spirit, dude, you're gonna die and go to the devil's hell. You'll never see heaven. That's what he's teaching us and telling us right there. And Jesus answered in verse number 5, said, Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We all know what that is. This ain't talking about a baptism. This ain't talking about getting dunked and that'd be your your no, that's when you've been baptized, that that's that's demonstrating death. But but the water, but the water when when when you got when you got uh when you were born, that that womb, that sack was was a bunch of water. And that's what he's saying. You were born into that water. And I want you to think about something, I want you to think about something of your Christian life right now. You were born in the flesh, and what did that flesh do? Let's just take Derek's son that he brought here when he was two weeks old. That boy's grown. He's grown a lot. He's starting to do new things, he's always being able to walk a little more or crawl a little more or eat a little bit better. He's able to see with his side a little bit more, he's able to hold up a little bit more. What God showed me today as I was digging into this thing. If we'll be as a babe and just grow, he's steady growing, he's steady desiring to be bigger and bigger. And one day Derek's gonna look up to him and he's saying, What'd you say, daddy? But but he's always growing. And that should be our desire as a Christian, that we're always growing every single day, and we never become that complacent Christian but say, you know what? Let me just kick my feet up in that in that in that recliner and let me just be okay with where I'm at. Or maybe you're sitting in a spot. I know we got some young people here, young men here, but we got some older men. Listen, the Lord said it ain't time for you to kick your feet up and quit teaching or quit quit telling somebody about Jesus. It ain't time to quit quit going to church and and and leading those younger ones along the way. Listen, the reason that we're in the mess we're in today is because daddies are failing and mamas are failing and not teaching our kids the way we ought to teach them, man. It's time for us to stand up and teach them and be what God's called us to be and act the way God's called us to act. It ain't time to kick your feet up, man. It ain't time, it ain't time to take retirement, man. It's time to tell people about Jesus Christ and see the Spirit of the Lord work in this place again. Work in our community, work in our in our homes, work in our workplace. That's what it's time for. We can't lay down. We can't be what we call a welfare Christian. Suck up the suck up the good air, take up the padded chair, and whine, everything's something no other way. That's a welfare Christian. You can't do that. But it says right here, he says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. See, is it is there anybody in here that that's been saved? I I pray that every man in this room is saved. Is there any man any man in this room that doesn't ever deal with temptation? Amen. That that that doesn't deal with and and you you know you know the two. That that'll get you more than anything. It's monies and honeys. I'm just being honest with you. And we gotta be careful of it. Because those two things will they'll mess us up, they'll destroy us. They'll tear us up. And we've got to be careful of those things because you're always fighting against the flesh. I don't care how long you're a Christian, I don't care how long you've been married, I don't care how you you gotta put your guard on. You got Ephesians 6 11, you've got to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand the wiles of the devil, because the Bible says again in verse number 13 or 14, it says, and doing all to stand in that day, because he said there's gonna be a day. There's gonna be a day, and that's what he's saying to you and out and I he says in the book of Romans, in Romans 8, I think, yeah, I gotta read that. Romans 8, 7. He says, Because the the carnal mind is in enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. If if Jesus spirit might move in different ways to different people. But if I get if I get if I get carnal, if I if I get I was I was I was preaching Sunday and I told them people, I said, if I listen, if I listen, I said I love country music. I said, but if I listen to country music, I feel the world drawing me. If I listen to Christian music, I feel Jesus drawing me. But I've got that choice to make. I don't always make the right choice. Is that okay with y'all? I'm a human man and I mess up just like you do. But we still got a choice to make. Are we gonna live according to the flesh or the spirit? Are we gonna let God look move us or are we gonna move us? Because you're gonna move. Or you're gonna sit out on that scene, also. So something's gonna move you. Don't let the flesh move you. But understand, and let's just let's just put this out for a moment. There's people in here that's gonna mess up. Is anybody in here that's ever messed up? Yeah, don't let the devil beat you down for your failures when you still live for the fire. Don't let him sit there and beat you down and tell you you'll never be anything for Christ because you screwed up. Because you messed up. Did you mess up? Yes. But the Bible says, the Bible says in 1 John 1 9. If you'll confess your sins, he's faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But just because just because you messed up, understand that he will cleanse you from all your righteousness. But the problem is you're not forgiving yourself. And he's keeping throwing that in your face. And what you've got to do is dig that hole, bury that thing, and bury the hatchet too. Listen, don't leave the handle sticking out, man. Bury the whole thing. Put it away and tell the devil to go back to hell where he belongs and leave you alone. And get victory in Jesus and quit letting the devil have victory over you. He's stealing your joy. He's stealing your life. And it's time to put him away. That's just what we got to do. See what he had to do right here, what Nicodemus had to do right here is he had to put Nicodemus out. What Jesus Christ is teaching teaching Nicodemus right here said, You'll never, you'll never be a child of the king until you get out of the way. He was telling Nicodemus right here, the old powerful Nicodemus, you've got to understand that your knowledge is not going to get you to see heaven one day. Your knowledge or who you are or your last name or who your status is ain't going to get you. The only thing that's going to get you is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and serving him and having a relationship with him. That's what he's telling Nicodemus. He said, You've got to live according to the spirit. And then he tells him right there, he said, Marvel not that you must be born again. He said, Don't get caught up on all that. He said, get caught up on this. He said, verse number eight, the wind bloweth where it listeth. And thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst tell whence it cometh and where if it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the spirit. What he's saying right there, man, you don't know where you're going, you're just letting the Lord lead. That's tough. That takes a spiritual. How many in here give Lord almost everything? I'm just being honest. Lord, you can have 75, 80%, but man, that's 20%. I got I got to be able to control this, Lord. It don't work. But we're still doing it if we're honest. If we're honest, we're still doing it. So when he says the wind bloweth where it wants, you you can't see the wind. I mean, it's coming right now. I can see that I can see the there's a storm coming. I can go ahead and tell you, somebody's gonna get wet. But I can see it coming. There's a big storm coming. I can see where the wind's blowing those trees, but I can't see the wind. I can see it's moving things, but I can't see it. Can I tell you? You can't see the spirit, but you can't deny. You can't deny how great he is. You can't deny when he takes a lame person and makes them healed, man. You can't deny when God takes somebody that was a drunk and makes them makes them somebody that serves Christ. You can't deny somebody that used to chase everything in the world, now they all they want to chase is Jesus. You can't deny that. That's the spirit moving within somebody. You can't deny. You can't explain him. Man, but man, you can't deny. I'm okay with, I'm okay and with, I just can't explain him. I I all I know is I once was lost and now I'm found. All I know is I once couldn't see, but now I see clearly. Because he's given me what I need. So I'm gonna try to finish these a couple verses. I'll be done. He says, and Nicodemus answered him and said, How can these things be? And Jesus answered him and said, Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things? He said, Do you not sit down and teach people and you can don't even know what you teach them? Man, I don't encourage you. Hey, sometimes that we're we're we're we're we're I wouldn't say we're tested, but there's sometimes that you and I, somebody comes in and they they ask you a question. And just because you like to talk, you'll just give them an answer. You ain't you're just blowing smoke, man. Man, you're hurting the kingdom. Can I tell you, you're better off to be dumb and not speak than to speak and be dumb. You get what I'm saying? You're better off to be dumb and say, you know what? I ain't dug into God's word enough. And it's okay. I hope that's what it makes you. I hope it feels makes you feel about this high when they leave you. You say, brother, my guess ugly. No, it's real. That that should challenge you. That should challenge you and I to want to dig and get closer to God. That's what it should do. It should challenge you. Not that I wish anything bad on anybody, but listen. Sometimes, sometimes he's gotta step on your toes so you can understand how to walk straight. That's just what needs to happen. And I'm gonna leave you with this, verse number 11. He said, Verily, barely. I say unto thee. He said barely, barely three times. The first time he said, I'll tell you how to see the kingdom of God. The second time, he said, I'll tell you how to enter. He said, The second time, he said, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. He's teaching him how to see it, how to experience it. And then he says in verse number 11, he tells him three times, verily, verily, and it's not by coincidence. Terry, I know you like four, but we go with three. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness. The first time, he said, You couldn't see God, you couldn't see the kingdom. Second time, let me tell you how you can enter the kingdom. The third time, he said you won't accept the kingdom. He said, You have a choice. He said, I've I've testified of my greatness. He said, I've told you of my greatness, I've showed you of my greatness, but you've got to accept my greatness. Listen, you might be sitting here tonight and you you you you've heard of Jesus, you know of Jesus, you know all the stuff of Jesus, and you've seen Jesus work in people's lives, but you've never experienced Jesus because you won't listen to the witness. What he's saying is accept Jesus. Because he is who he says he is. He said, You have a choice, Nicodemus. Are you gonna accept me? He said, I've given it, I've laid it all out there. He said, You got hung up on all the all the all this the stuff about yourself. You know why more people's gonna burn and die than go to devil's hell? Cry ourselves because we're worried what somebody else will think. Listen, there's only one somebody that you should worry about, his name's Jesus. Not the man sitting beside you or not the woman that lives with you. You need to worry about the one that said, I'm the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Hey, and he is who he says he is. Anybody else got anything tonight? We all got remembered we probably did my life.