John 3:1-9 “Speaking and Knowing Truth in The End Times!”

Good Evening

We know the time is near! We may have loved ones that don’t know Jesus,

Or maybe your sitting here tonight not having a relationship with Jesus!

Paul tells us about these Perilous Times and Perilous Men, over in

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2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

And in our verses today, we’re going to see Jesus TELL A MAN, HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN!

This man represented a lot of these characteristics that Paul described in 2 Timothy

In Ephesians 5:14-16 it says this

14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Well that reminds me of the story of… Pastor Solis…that was preaching a sermon about HEAVEN, while a man named Gregg…. was sleeping!

Pastor Solis told his congregation, “I want all of you that want to go to heaven, to stand up right now!”

Everyone STOOD UP in the church, except Gregg who was STILL SLEEPING!

Then after everyone sat down, Pastor Solis said… “Now, I want all of you that want to GO TO HELL… to STAND UP!

And when he yelled out those final words STAND UP, Gregg woke up, and then in a daze, he stood up!

But then Gregg looked around the church, and he realized that he was THE ONLY ONE standing up!

Finally Gregg looked up at Pastor Solis

And he said… “PREACHER, I don’t know what we’re voting for, but it LOOKS LIKE YOU AND ME are the ONLY ONES FOR IT!”

TODAY, we’re going to open up our bibles to JOHN 3:1-9!

And the title of our sermon is…

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“Speaking and Knowing Truth in The End Times!”

Today we’re going to find Jesus tell a man named Nicodemus, you must be…“BORN AGAIN!

For Jesus, BEING BORN AGAIN, was the most important decision that a person must make in their lives!

And as we read through these verses, we’re going to learn about…

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“3 points about …Speaking and Knowing Truth The in End Times!

We’ll begin by reading verses 1 to 3!

1-3- There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

So as our story begins, we see a man named NICODEMUS come’s secretly at night, to visit Jesus!

So who was this man named NICODEMUS???

Let me tell you 4 important things you need to know about this man named NICODEMUS!!

4 things to know about Nicodemus…

#1- He was a Pharisee!

Nicodemus was a Jewish religious leader, and a member of a powerful group of Jewish men called the “Sanhedrin”!

The SANHEDRIN was a council of seventy men who ran the religious affairs of Israel.

#2- A “good” and “religious” man!

#3- Searching for the truth!

#4- Appears here in Ch. 3,

CH. 7, He was defending Jesus from the Jewish leaders

and

Ch.19 Were we seen Nicademous at the seen when Jesus was on the cross. He helped with getting Jesus body down from the cross.

All this means that Nicodemus was a religious guy, that had power, a great education… and lot’s of money!

Nicodemus had everything that this world had to offer!

If anyone could have earned their way to heaven, Nicodemus would have MADE IT IN for sure!

But there was a problem… Nicodemus wasn’t going to heaven!

And deep down Nicodemus realized that all of his good works and religious rituals weren’t getting him any closer to God.

And because of that, one night Nicodemus decided to risk everything… and visit Jesus under the cover of darkness.

This morning you will either find yourself as just like Nicodemus or you may know a Nicodemus in your life!

If we find ourselves identifying with Nicodemus, then pay attention as Jesus describes the imortancy of being Born again.

If we are Born Again and we know of a Nicodemus in our life then we must share God’s Truth with them, because the TIME IS NEAR!

Either way the time is near and we don’t know when Jesus is coming back.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Do we know when a thief comes in to rob us?

NO

The same way we will not know when the Lord will return for His people.

Let’s see what Nicodemus said to Jesus when he came to visit here in verse 2?

verse 2… “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

This non-Christian man named Nicodemus came to Jesus the right way!

And if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, YOU can learn some key points from the way that Nicodemus came to Jesus here.

#1- Nicodemus came to Jesus knowing that he didn’t have all the answers!

#2- Nicodemus came to Jesus ready to listen and receive.

And #3- Nicodemus came to Jesus wanting to examine the evidence about Jesus personally!

Now if you are a BELIEVER, and a person like Nicodemus CAME TO YOU searching for spiritual answers… What would you tell them?

Well here in these verses, we find out what Jesus told Nicodemus to do.

And here in verse 3… Jesus put his SPIRITUAL FINGER, directly on Nicodemus’ biggest problem… his need to be saved!

Check out what Jesus told Nicodemus here in verse 3!

(verse 3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

This brings up our

FIRST POINT about Speaking and Knowing Truth in The End Times!

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#1- Jesus said you must be born again to get to heaven!

(REPEAT)

By saying YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN, Jesus answered the questions that had been burning in Nicodemus’ heart!

Jesus answered the big questions of…

“How can I really know God?” and… “How can I get to heaven?”

Jesus’ simple answer was Nicodemus… you must be born again!

Have you as a believer ever thought you were over your head in not having enough knowledge when sharing with a high status individual?

No matter there status if they don’t know Jesus, you have what they are looking for, so share the TRUTH!

Let’s say you were walking down a street and heard someone screaming. You ran to them to see that they were standing in front of a house that was on fire. You were told there were people in that home. So, you just turned around and walked away. Would that be wrong?

There are different kinds of sins:

the sins of commission and the sins of omission.

The sin of commission is knowing what is wrong and doing it anyway. It’s crossing a line that God has drawn. It’s disobeying His commandments.

In contrast,the sin of omission is knowing what is right and not doing it.

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Let’s continue, by reading verses 4 to 6 together!

4-6- Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

So here in these verses, Jesus begins to explain to Nicodemus, what it means to be born again!

Now at first, Nicodemus didn’t have a clue what Jesus was talking about!

So here in verse 4, Nicodemus asked Jesus a question!

In the middle of verse 4, Nicodemus asked Jesus… “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Now Jesus didn’t get mad at this question… This was an honest question!

Really what Nicodemus is asking Jesus is…

How can I be born again? And that’s a great question!

lets

see how Jesus begins His answer here in verse 5!

(verse 5) Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus says that in order to be saved, a person must be born twice…

A Christian must be…

#1- Born of water

AND

#2- born of the Spirit.

What does that means?

Well first off, to be born of water speaks of our physical birth.

Everyone is born after their mommy’s water breaks… and then surprise… here comes the baby!

We must also be born #2- of the Spirit, and in a minute we’ll see Jesus explain what that means!

But I want you to listen to what Jesus tells Nicodemus next here in verse 6.

(verse 6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

What Jesus was saying here is… you aren’t ok Nicodemus…

Nicodemus, you were born into a religious home with Jewish parents… but that’s simply a physical or fleshly birth…

Nicodemus, The family you were born into physically, doesn’t affect you spiritually or eternally.

You see, Nicodemus thought that because he was born Jewish and religious he was going to heaven… but Jesus said no, that’s not how things work.

Jesus is using wisdom and patience, to share the truth with a non-believer!

And this is important, because God wants ALL OF US, to be SHARING OUR FAITH, especially as the

End Draws Near

And this brings up our SECOND POINT about “Speaking and Knowing Truth in The End Times!”

#2- Sharing your faith? Ask this question: “How does a person get to heaven?”

(REPEAT)

A lot of times when we’re talking with and counseling non-believers, we bring up everything EXCEPT what Jesus said here is the most important thing!

The first thing that they need to understand is that Jesus said… they must be born again!

One of the easiest ways to find out if a person is really a Christian, is to ask them this important question…

How does someone get to heaven?

You see, everyone has an opinion about that topic, and everyone thinks that THEY ARE RIGHT!

But if a person answers… you get to heaven by being good, or by being spiritual, that’s a pretty good sign that they aren’t a Christian.

I think that all of us know people today that are a lot like Nicodemus.

OR

Is this you?

This was me before knowing Jesus, I thought just doing good religious activities would get me into Heaven!

Religious people, good people… but because they aren’t born again yet, they don’t have a relationship with God…

Understand this, God has placed YOU IN THEIR LIVES, to be a WITNESS of the truth, as the END DRAWS NEAR

You see, God wants us to talk with the people around us, the same way that Jesus talked to Nicodemus here in our story today!

We can tell people that if they want to be saved and get to heaven, THEY MUST BE BORN AGAIN! just like Jesus told Nicodemus here.

And the truth is, EVERYONE WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN!

Everyone wants the peace that Jesus gives to those that believe!

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

But according to the words of Jesus, if anyone wants to get to heaven… they must be born twice!

All people are born first through water, but then a person must also be born a 2nd time through the Holy Spirit by being BORN AGAIN!

Let’s continue on with our study by reading verses 7 to 9 together!

7-10- Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

So here Jesus continues to TELL NICODEMUS how a person is saved!

Now unfortunately, this religious man Nicodemus, really had a hard time understanding this!

Nicodemus was a GOOD, RELIGIOUS man, and yet NONE OF THAT, was enough to get him into heaven!

And this brings up our THIRD TRUTH about “Speaking and Knowing Truth in The End Times!”

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#3- Many “GOOD”, “RELIGIOUS”, and “SPIRITUAL” people are not going to heaven!

(REPEAT)

Here in verse 8, Jesus compares the work of the Holy Spirit to THE WIND!

In verse 8 Jesus says…The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus’ point is that the work of the Holy Spirit in Salvation, is A SPIRITUAL WORK, not a physical one.

And just as we can’t see the wind… we can’t see the work of the Holy Spirit in and around us either!

GOD SAVES PEOPLE in mysterious ways!

The SPIRIT MOVES in MYSTERIOUS WAYS!!!

Do you believe God works in mysterious ways?

The Holy Spirit shows people their need for help… for a savior!

And when a person finally repents of their sins and places their faith in Jesus… they become born again…

And it’s at that moment that the Holy Spirit comes inside of their hearts to live in them, and seal them for heaven.

In The End Times

Non-believers are not going to understand the Christian life!

Non-believers are not going to understand why you love Jesus and the church…

Non-believers won’t understand why you want to obey God, and you don’t want to go out and sin and party with them.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE for non-believers to understand spiritual things, because their still SPIRITUALLY BLIND to God’s truth.

But the key to non-believers understanding spiritual things, is they must respond to the work of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus.

God has appointed you in these last days’s to share this Truth!

The Jews thought that God only loved them, not the whole world.

Gods love was wide enough to love all mankind

Believing in Him - means much more than intellectual awareness or agreement.

It means TRUST IN…TO RELY ON…and to CLING TO

The love that we receive from people will fade away…BUT God will never stop loving His people!

Gospel Presentation

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I want to give you that same opportunity to say I BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD and

I WANT TO BE BORN AGAIN

I want to give you the Oportunity to say I believe Jesus died for my sins, so that I would have eternal life.

This is not just believing.

It is confessing that you are a sinner.

Then TURNING from that SIN

We all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God

There are 3 most important dates in your life

When You are born

When you die

When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart

The first two you can’t control, but the 3rd one you can!

The 3rd one is the most important.

Think of you on one side of a cliff and God is on the other side

There is this Big separation

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;

And your sins have hidden His face from you,

So that He will not hear.

For me or you to get to the other side we need a bridge.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is a wage?

Something you earned for something that you worked for

What if you worked very hard but you didnt get paid for it?

What is Sin?

Anything we say, think or do that is not pleasing to God

How about Death?

We all have lost someone that we really loved

This is not just physical death this is also spiritual death

Hebrew 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

We are all going to die and have to face a Holy and Just God for our sin.

Do you think you will be guilty or innocent?

Unfortunately we are all guilty

BUT

You heard the bad news but I want to share the Good News.

But The GIFT

This is a free gift given to you.

You just have to unwrap it

It is not like the wage, you dont have to work for it.

It is not something you earn It is given to you for FREE

This is of God

He has given us this gift

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Eternal Life goes on forever it is opposite of death

See Jesus is the bridge to the other side.

It is because Jesus went to the Cross for our sin that we may have everlasting life

Jesus says this John 14:6 I am the way the truth and the Life nobody comes to the Father accept through me.

This is what Jesus also says in :

John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Now because of Jesus you can cross over that bridge.

LET US BOW OUR HEADS IN AN ATTITUDE OF PRAYER

One Question that I have For you?

Would you like to receive God’s Free gift of eternal life,

Do you want to put your trust in Jesus Christ right now!

If that is you just slip up your hand.

1Cor.1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

AMEN< I SEE YOU HAND UP, I ALSO SEE YOUR HAND UP

IF THAT WAS YOU YOU CAN ASK JESUS INTO YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW> I CANT DO IT FOR YOU< BUT I CAN GIVE YOU THE WORDS>

SO IF YOU SLIPPED UP YOUR HAND REPEAT THIS AFTER ME.

IF YOU SLIPPED UP YOUR HAND> AFTER SERVICE COME ON UP TO GET SOME MATERIALS FROM OUR USHER’S