Meeting with God in Baptism 3; An End and a Beginning - John 3:1-8, NV 5/23/99 AM

OS: Graduation = Both an end and a beginning. Milestones of life. A time of big decisions. Some already have a plan, and others are trying to make up their minds on which way to go. You usually have one of these in every class, you ask them  “What are you going to do?” and they reply with something like, “Sleep late I guess.”

I.                  What does Graduation have to do with baptism?

A.   Series

1.     What does God say? (He matters!)

2.     What is the real issue?

3.     What is it?

B.    Baptism, like graduation, is both an end and a beginning.

1.     Baptism is a milestone immensely packed with meaning and significance.

2.     It is death to one period of life, and birth to something quite new.

TS] There are several profound differences between baptism and graduation. There is not even a hint of sadness or apprehension, in baptism.

II.               It is interesting to me that the Bible uses terms of new birth.

A.   John 3

B.     2 Corinthians 5 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

C.      1 Peter 13 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,     23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

D.     James 1 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

E.    Titus 3 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

TS] The idea of a new birth is really wonderful when you get to thinking about it.

III.           How many times have you wished you could just start all over?

A.   Life is like a painting and we are the artist.

B.    Maybe just scratch the first part and begin again the painting of your life with a brand new piece of paper.

C.   God works with the painting of our life and turns it into a beautiful masterpiece.

TS] In the gospel of John chapter 3 Jesus teaches a man named Nicodemus about this new birth. (Tell it)

Three observations about what Jesus said about this new birth.

I.                  Observation #1 – It is not an option!

A.   Dei'= “MUST”

1.     It’s the same little word that Jesus uses when He speaks of the death He must die. The same word used when He speaks of the fact that He must do the will of the Father.

2.     “If you are going to see the world first hand you must travel.”

B.    This is one of those life and death statements!

1.     We are talking about eternal salvation, Heaven!

2.     I don’t know about you, but I want to understand as much as possible about this new birth!

C.   Remember our little statement last week?

1.     God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.

2.     God said it, that settles it, and I believe it.

3.     To go to heaven we must become a Christian like the Bible says, live like the Bible says, and Worship like the Bible says. Because the Bible is the Word of God.

TS] So Jesus says that this new birth is a must for entering the kingdom of heaven. Now, I want to know what is involved.

II.               Observation #2 – New Birth requires Death!

A.   This is one of the core teachings of Jesus.

1.     John 12:24-26

2.     We cannot be born again if the old continues to live.

3.     Dying to self is the price of eternal life.

B.    Summer of the Monkeys

1.     Father, “You just grew ten feet in my eyes”

2.     In the final scene. Something happened that summer. I realized that things in this world didn’t exist for me. There was much more to life.

TS] Combining our first two observations: We must die to live in heaven for eternity. But, there’s more. We saved the good news for last.

III.           Observation #3 – New Birth requires New Life!

A.   Being born of water is not enough! We must also be born of the Spirit.

1.     Now, don’t let that scare you. Well, what does it mean?

2.     Nicodemus was a Pharisee. One who separated the law from the Law-Giver. 

a.      Matthew 23:23-26

b.     Matthew 23:27-28

3.     Matthew 7:21-23 (Doing – water; knew – spirit or relationship)

4.     We must be obedient to God to the best of our ability, but perfection is in vain without a relationship with the Father! (John 173 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.)

B.    A Description of the new life:

1.     Past is gone.

2.     Purpose, meaning, significance, the privilege of making difference.

3.     Security, Joy, and Peace that is true and lasting.

C.   These can come only through being born of water and spirit into a relationship with God the provider of such blessings.

1.     That is why we are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit = Into a relationship with the God of Heaven.

2.     That is, at least the beginning, of what it means to be born of the spirit.

TS] We have observed from John 3:1-8 that New Birth is necessary, and this new birth involves dying to self, and living in an ongoing relationship with the Father.

I.                  How do you know if you are born again?

A.   1 John

1.     229 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

2.     39 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.  10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

3.     47 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

4.     5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

II.               Are you living a born again life?

A.   Graduates – Don’t try to go out into this world without God!

B.    When we are born again we are not instantly changed, but we open the door of our life to God and He comes in and begins to work with us to make us into who He designed us to be.

1.     Jeremiah 18 (If Time Permits)

Closing Slide: John 17:3 – This is the essence of the entire message.

Jesus’ answer is meant to show Nicodemus that Jesus has not come from God in the sense that Nicodemus thought (a man approved by God), but in the unique sense of having descended from God’s presence to raise men to God.

In interpreting what Jesus says to Nicodemus, we shall be mistaken if we fail to recognize the basic simplicity of the ideas involved. A man takes on flesh and enters the kingdom of the world because his father begets him; a man can enter the kingdom of God only when he is begotten by a heavenly Father.

Jesus is not merely speaking of the outward act of being immersed in water, He is speaking of the inward transformation that is the result of being begotten by the Heavenly Father. Like the Spirit, the wind cannot be seen, only its effects.

In order to be born again we must first die.

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