John 3

Title: Nic at Night

John 3:1-21

John 3 is like a re-aired episode of i love lucy (or friends or big bang theory) on nick at nite.

you’ve seen it before and you might think you remember it all and it become background noise why you doom scroll.

perhaps its so new to you, just discovering it.

my hope, is that you fall back in love with Jesus, as we revist this often used text.

Tension: Nic at Night wanted to reconcile, what he saw with his perspective. Assumptions that don’t align with Christ.

…i don’t think you are God, but you do things only God can do. You’re not the messiah i expected, yet you do all the messiah things.

…many of us are trying to reconcile what we have heard about Jesus with what we see in our life.

…many of us need to go on a search for Jesus for ourselves, not based on what we’ve seen from other christians, tik toks or anyone else.

*Jesus doesn’t always settle the tension we feel; nor does He treat your questions dismissively. He doesn’t answer our questions directly, but always leads us to revelation.

inquiring is not the same as interrogating. asking questions is different than questioning.

the more we interact with our curiosity, the deeper we learn. in fact, that’s why we use sermon discussion as a way to cultivate deeper understanding. You can listen to what is said, but never have ears to hear.

One of the reasons Jesus doesn’t remove the tension is that something breaks in us the longer we sit under the tension.

…like time under tension build muscles, but first, it tears it.

Jesus is wading into the tension with Nic at night, leading Nic to see a breakdown of system of religion that wasn’t producing life anymore.

Here are three revelations Jesus is illuminating:

(1) We cannot see the Kingdom on our own.

…this is why Jesus came, so we could see HIM (John 1)

…this is what the holy spirit does, he draws us and like the wind, we experience it leading us to see it. Experience helps you recognize the wind.

1 Cor 12:3 Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

JTB said, “i must decrease..”…the kingdom causes us to decrease

Eternal Life is John’s poetic, creative way of talking about Kingdom of Heaven.

*NT authors did this often - using words that reoriented their way of thinking and bypassing the auto pilot of over used words. Grace means gift. it was word used often, so Paul uses it because it’s word greeks new, but gave it fresh meaning when talking about the Gift from the Father - Holy Spirit.

…flag vs creed…hat hair vs hands in worship

…we CAN’T see kingdom in our own so we grasp for righteous loyalties we can see

This is why Jesus came, to help us see…

John 3:14-15

(2) Jesus stepped into an ongoing story.

he stepped into a story that was already in process….God’s story being told through a people - Israel.

seed of woman will crush the serpents head

through your seed, Abe, all the nations will be blessed…no longer cursed/condemned

Jesus said he will be a sign, like the snake on a pole, that he would heal us - from sin, satan, and presence of both in this world. Jesus did miraculous to show his authority and power over - sin, satan, and corrupt nature. Israel sinned and were dying because of it’s poison…an intercessor stood between them and God and lifted up a bronze snake on a pole…those who looked upon the snake on the pole were healed (lit Hebrew: revived to life)…no longer poisoned by sin. (Num 21:4-9)

Jesus was giving a glimpse into the purpose of His arrival…came down from heaven, became our intercessor on the cross, removed our condemnation, and give His spirit without measure reviving us to new life as children of God.

God loves the world…not just you. It’s a larger story. Saving King is personally felt but not personally owned.

When we look to Jesus, we find wholeness of eternal life through the Holy Spirit.

(3) When we seek Jesus, we find Jesus who gives us the Holy Spirit.

Jesus loves the world, but the world is condemned.

Love doesn’t mean not condemned

Snake was an act of love, but the receipt of love wasn’t automatic.

..we are made in his image.

loving the world was radical sounding to Jew…for YHWY only chose and loves Hebrews people.

…we are not all children of God…only those born again, by entrusting their life to King Jesus, are given privilege of being called God’s children.

…we can believe or reject (lit. disobey or unbelief)

To remain condemned is to become utterly destroyed (perish). To entrust your life to Jesus to deliver you from condemnation, brings eternal, perpetual life now.

John 3:16-18

John 3:34–36 “34 For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hands. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

In v 36 John sums up the teaching of the whole chapter. The crucial test is faith, which is here contrasted with rejection. God’s wrath is not to be regarded as impersonal but as an active principle of God’s holiness. The only means of avoiding that wrath is by the path of faith. The idea of ‘seeing life’ is an idiom for experiencing life. The result of God’s wrath is a lack of true life.

Belief or Unbelief?

Walk with Him or walk away from Him? The walking, the loyalty, the allegiance - that is what matters here.

Believe: live according to the truth about God.

Unbelief: live according to a lie about God.

Hebrews 3:16-18  For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all who came out of Egypt under Moses? 17 With whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Seeking Jesus as Saving King is our whole-hearted devotion…no other allegiances; we renounce those in baptism. Renouncing allegiances (repentance) opens us to be filled with God’s saving Spirit, being reborn with a new heart and new identity as children of God.

Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

Deut 4:29 But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.

Ezekiel 36:25–27 “25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”

The Holy Spirit delivers us from condemnation and delivers us to eternal life. The holy spirit saves us, trust he is saving us, choosing to obey instead of reject.

The Holy Spirit delivers us from condemnation and delivers us to eternal life. The holy spirit saves us, trust he is saving us, choosing to obey instead of reject.

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Talk it Over (being honest & open with friends, a spouse, or your Group)

The message was about the new birth of the Holy Spirit. What is one idea from Sunday’s message that impacted you?

Read John 3:1-21. What is the Holy Spirit saying through these verses?

What key points did Nicodemus struggle with during his encounter with Jesus at night?

How can we create an environment in our community where questions and doubts are welcome in the pursuit of faith?

What significance does the bronze snake in the desert have in relation to Jesus' purpose?

Read Jeremiah 29:13. What does seeking God with all our heart look like?

What does it mean to have faith in Jesus according to John 3:16-18 and how is it contrasted with unbelief? How can we renounce false allegiances in our lives to fully commit to our faith in Christ?