Way Maker
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
There are so many people looking for the way to happiness, eternal life, riches, and other things they believe will make their lives better. Look around there are commercials all over the radio and tv telling you about products that will make your life better, ensure your happiness, or even promise to secure your eternity. Why is it that mankind is looking for all of these things? Is it because we know that we are not how we were designed to be? Is it because there is something in man that causes us to desire something more than ourselves? Whatever the answer is all of mankind is looking for a way to get to where they want to go.
A man on a flight across America in 1976 rose from his seat, drew a gun and took the stewardess hostage. "Take me to Detroit," he said. "We're already going to Detroit," she replied. "Oh...good," he said and sat down again.
This morning I pray that you will see that there is only one Way Maker and that all other paths will lead to destruction and are simply distracting you from the only Way that is made by our Father. This morning in John 3 we will be in verses 5-16. Three things are pointed out by Jesus in this scripture and His interactions with Nicodemus. First we will see the Way of Man, second we will see the Way of the serpent, and lastly we will see the Way Maker our Father. Lets read the scripture together then we will pray that God’s spirit will lead us in worship through His word this morning.
The Way of Man
The Way of Man
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, 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. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
The way of man is futile and often misguided. In this scripture we see the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus and in this passage Nicodemus is asking for answers on how to have eternal life. He is looking for a way to what he believes will bring happiness. Just like many of us though he does not really like the answers. Jesus tells Nicodemus that as they were bearing witness of the things that were happening that they were not believing Him and now Nicodemus wants Jesus to tell him of heavenly things? Just like many today Nicodemus struggled to believe in the things that Jesus was bearing witness too and telling them had happened and yet just like Nicodemus many are seeking eternal life. The way of man causes all of mankind you and me alike to seek aspects of Christ without wanting to accept Him fully. See what Nicodemus said? John 3:2
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.”
Nicodemus like the rest of those in the group of Pharisees knew that Jesus was more than just another man. They understood that He was not just a good teacher or a Rabbi. What they did not want to do is to fully accept who Jesus said He was because it would change their lives and would force them to be disciplined in their faith. Nicodemus said to Jesus that he believed that He was a teacher sent by God but did not acknowledge who Jesus had declared that He was. Jesus then begins to tell Nicodemus the answer to the question he asked and immediately Nicodemus begins to show his doubt and questioning. Watch this interaction again
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 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?”
Jesus gives the answer and Nicodemus begins to question what Jesus said and to challenge it. This is what we all do. We say we believe in God and in what Jesus said but then we begin to question the goodness of God and the way of Faith that the Bible calls us too because in all honesty most people want to have the concept of heaven and want to avoid the real responsibilities of faith. Most people want to believe in Jesus but don’t want a personal relationship with him. This is prevalent in the church. How many people in here read their Bible daily or devote time to prayer? How many people in here are seeking the will of God daily instead of when things start to go bad for you? The way of man is hypocritical, futile, misguided, and despicable. Jesus gives Nicodemus a spiritual answer and he turns it into a flesh conversation. Please do not be so quick to judge Nicodemus though because how many of you in here do that? How many times have I done this myself? God tells us to be led by the Spirit, to live in the Spirit, to trust in the Spirit, yet we turn everything into a flesh and blood argument or conversation. We cannot get away from wanting things in the flesh. The scripture though explains the way of man.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”
19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them.
18 And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The ways of Man are unclean. Jesus said He knew the ways and thoughts of man
11 the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.
In many translations the word breath is translated as futile. The thoughts and ways of man are futile. We believe we are doing good and we believe that we have understanding but we do not. We think that we are going the right way when in fact we are going the complete opposite way.
In November, 1975, 75 convicts started digging a secret tunnel designed to bring them up at the other side of the wall of Saltillo Prison in northern Mexico. On April 18, 1976, guided by pure genius, they tunneled up into the nearby courtroom in which many of them had been sentenced. The surprised judges returned all 75 to jail.
Not convinced with that one? How about this?
My family and I were going to visit Rhaynees family in Brooksville after having been there once for a family get together. We were also on vacation and planning on going to Orlando later in the week. As we drove down I-75 Brooksville was an easy drive as I worked that area and had pretty good understanding of the surrounding area. I however got it in my mind that I knew perfectly the way to get to her families house. After about an hour and a half in Brooksville making it look like I knew where were were going I pulled into a gas station to “use the restroom” and when I went inside I quickly asked for directions and told the attendant to point towards to bathrooms so Rhaynee would not think I was aksing for directions. I could not put them on the phone because then she would know we were lost and I would be in trouble and I had to make it look like I could not see the ginormous sign in the hallway that said bathrooms. The attendant pointed to the back hallway of the store and quickly gave us directions. After using the bathroom which was really me standing in there long enough to sell the story we left the gas station and with the directions made it there in 15 minutes.
Our ways as man are futile and we cannot get our grasp on spiritual things. Thinking like men will prevent us from understanding the ways of God and following His will in our lives. The ways of man though are not the only problem that we are faced with. As if our own failures were not enough we must also contend with a serpent who knows our weaknesses.
The Way of the Serpent
The Way of the Serpent
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The way of the Serpent is truly the way of the Devil. The serpent started in the Garden, made appearances in the desert and stuck with mankind and is still doing his best to inject his poison into man daily. The devil desires to destroy the relationship between man and God. What was Jesus talking about when He said as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness?
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against 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 worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
The actual serpents were sent to punish the people for following the leadership of the spiritual serpent. This has been the fall of man from the beginning. The spiritual serpent understands man and understands our ways and he exploits that so he can get us to chase our desires over Gods. This is exactly what happened in the desert with the Israelites. It also happened in the garden
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
The serpent was in the beginning, he was in the desert, he was in the new testament
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
the serpent is also there int he same manner trying to get you to chase the desires of your flesh. The serpent has watched man and been in the world with us for a very long time and he has so much experience with us. The serpent has learned to exploit our desire for our flesh and our desire to please our flesh. What does the Bible say about the serpent and his ways?
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
The way of the serpent is to get us to chase the desires of the flesh. He was successful with Eve, he was successful with the Israelites in the desert, he was successful over and over again with the children of Israel, and many times he is successful with us and those around us. The way of the serpent is to get us to chase our desires and to get us to choose to go against the will of the Father.
That there is a devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influence of the Devil.- Cotton Mather
The way of Man and the way of the Serpent lead us to an endless cycle of destruction. The serpent simply has to convince man to follow his own desires and to forego the desires of the Father. This is all too easy for all of us to do and so creates a deep and dark place of death and despair. This however is not the final answer and is not the only way for man to go. Thank the Lord we have a Way Maker. If it were left to us, with the influence of the serpent there is no way for us to get to the Father. The Father though is a way maker.
The Way Maker our Father
The Way Maker our Father
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Our Father has been a way maker from the very beginning. Every time man has made a mess of the beautiful things God has had planned for us He comes in and provides a way for us to be restored. In the Garden God restored Adam and Eve through sacrifices. God then provided a way for Him to live with mankind through the temple and the Israelites. Every time the Israelites walked away God provided restoration for them in Him. All of these failures led us to the Cross in the ultimate and once and for all resolution to our inability to find our way. God has made a way when there is no other way. Not when there seems to be no way but where there truly is no way.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Our God is for us and because of this no one can be against us. We must learn to trust in Him as the way maker. God has provided a way for escape for all the world throught he blood of Jesus and the giving of His spirit. God desires that we take hold of the things He has given us in His spirit.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
God has made a way for us and is the Way Maker. The way of man and the way of the serpent leads to destruction but the Way Maker has provided a path for escape. Folks this is a message not only for those who do not know God but it is also a message for those who say they believe in God but do not truly seek God and desire His will in their lives. The way of God is something that Nicodemus had a hard time understanding because he continued to not see things from the spiritual aspect and continued to try and make sense of the ways of God through the flesh. This is impossible to do and will never make sense if you are trying to do so in your life. For the unbeliever in here this morning, aren't you tired of trying and failing? Aren’t you ready to rest in something more than yourself? For the believer who has not fully allowed themselves to live in the spirit isn't it time to do that? Isn't it time for you to fully experience the Way Maker? Billy Mase couldn't sell it to you and no other TV product will do it for you only accepting the Way Maker will deliver you the freedom and life you are seeking.
God's wonderful works which happen daily are lightly esteemed, not because they are of no import but because they happen so constantly and without interruption. Man is used to the miracle that God rules the world and upholds all creation, and because things daily run their appointed course, it seems insignificant, and no man thinks it worth his while to meditate upon it and to regard it as God's wonderful work, and yet it is a greater wonder than that Christ fed five thousand men with five loaves and made wine from water.
Martin Luther, Day by Day We Magnify Thee.