I Put Him There

Introduction

Mention mom is here and tell a story about the first time we were here.

SERMON SERIES REVIEW

Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus

John 3:1–21 (NASB95)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; He was a religious scholar and a member of the sanhedrin. It was within the Pharisee’s doctrine that God worked in the supernatural through signs and wonders.

this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Seeing Nicodemus’ heart, Jesus didn’t argue religion or the law with him. He recognized Nicodemus’ readiness to listen to his purpose in coming to the earth and introduces a concept that will shape him.

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Recognize the oddity of what Nicodemus was hearing, and how strange it would sound at first introduction.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What did he mean by water and spirit? Some think this is about baptism, but i believe Jesus is talking about physical birth (Birthed in water, water breaking at labor) and ADDING the concept of spiritual birth.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Jesus Is emphasizing his previous point

“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus is saying that the spirit works, including in rebirth, in a manner that is invisible to us.

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

......

V14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

V15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

V16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

/cross reference/

Number 21:4-9

Numbers 21:4–9 NASB95

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

Considerations:

1. The Israelites were complaining about the things they once saw as good, gracious gifts from God. God had Given them Manna for food. they’d wake up in the morning and it was out on the ground. they didn’t even work for it.

2. They were so close to the finish line of a terribly difficult season. It had been 39 years. this was year 40, the last year.

3. When the serpents came, The people begged Moses to ask the lord to remove the serpents, but notice in the story, God didn’t remove what they perceived to be the problem. He made a source of healing in the middle of the serpents. They just had to turn to it, and in looking at it in humility, recognize their need. In the same way, God doesn’t take us away from a world of sin, but gives us a means to redemption in the Son of Man, Jesus, being lifted up and crucified. This is because the problem we have isn’t the world we live in, though we often perceive it that way. The problem is the world in us.

Why did they need the bronze serpent? Their sin and complaining created the need. Likewise, it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. Our actions created the need for the poured out blood of Jesus. Their redemption came by an act of faith in looking to the one that was lifted up. Then it was a serpent, now it’s the crucified Jesus.

Redemption is the story of the cross. It’s the story of Jesus coming. AND it’s our story.

Hosea’s story of redemption

Imagine Hosea’s story

a young jewish boy

has a calling from God

Living righteously

The day comes when God finally speaks to Him

Hosea 1:2-3 “When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry (sexual immorality) and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.”

They have a few children

Then something goes wrong. Gomer starts straying. thinking to herself...

Hosea 2:5b For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

Who give me my bread and my water,

My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

She starts to think “maybe life was better before Hosea. I’m getting everything I need from them anyways”

So Gomer leaves Hosea and runs to other lovers

It gets so bad that she finds herself in some kind of indentured servitude. Things got bad for her.

God gave Hosea in un imaginable command. Go after her. Rescue her. Buy her back. Love her

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 3)

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.

It’s a remarkable story. I think to myself “how could God command Hosea to do that? to go back to a wife who commited adultrey, played the harlot, and abandoned me and my children? I can’t imagine being hosea. I hope God doesnt give me a call let that.”

Then I realize I got it all wrong. I’m not Hosea in the story. God is Hosea. I’m Gomer. Think about it. I ran to the world and other lovers. I was running from him, thinking the things I had and gained were from the world and my efforts, when in reality, All good things i had were from him. Yet in the moment that I was far from him, Jesus came after me. He sacrificed himself and redeemed me at the cross. he bought me back, and he loved me.

what an incredible story of redemption.

Transition back to Nicodemus.....

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought (worked out, accomplished) in God.”

Ask Olivia to come up to play

Jesus gave Nicodemus the 3 foundations of spiritual rebirth:

Look to the Cross (Nicodemus didn’t understand this yet)

Looking to the cross is an act of humility. We recognize that we put him there. It was the punishment of our sins that were on him.

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

Looking to the cross is where we recognize out role as Gomer in the redemption story. We need someone to buy us back. Jesus purchased our freedom on the cross.

c. There is an egocentricity in each of us that constantly insists I can work out my own salvation. It is the cross, the lifting up of the Son of Man, that finally unmasks this ego and thus becomes the agent of discrimination and judgment (1 Cor. 1:18).

Roger L. Fredrikson and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, John, vol. 27, The Preacher’s Commentary

2. Believe in Him

V. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3. Walk into the Light

a. He didn’t come to judge the world, but to save it. The judgement happens in the state of our walking in darkness. The cross gives us the opportunity to walk out of darkness and into the light.

b. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

c. James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

d. Confession of sins may be the most lacking spiritual discipline of the 21st century church. We’ve written off the Catholic methods of confession (in many ways rightfully so), yet in doing so, most of us have abandoned it altogether. The lack of this painful, but liberating discipline has locked so many in a place of darkness. We desperately need to reestablish our rhythm of confession of sin, that we may be be liberated from the weight of sin and walk in the darkness.

confession of envy

As we enter the week of Easter, I want to invite you to consider these 3 principles that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus. (repeat the principles) Jesus was inviting Nicodemus unto himself in this way, and today he’s inviting us.

let’s worship

return to stage and pray