The Need for Real Revival

Introduction:

Good afternoon, my name is Pastor Thomas Kusner I pastor Calvary Harvest over in Cottonwood. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, bailey and three beautiful children: Eliza, Olive, and Milo.

There are times in life when you sense something is missing. Cant put your finger on it. CHISTIAN You may attend church, know the songs, serve on a committee or in different ministries, and even have many verses memorized—however deep down, the fire has gone out. The motions are there, but the movement is gone. You cannot quite explain it, but you know in your heart something is off.

This afternoon, I want to speak to the truth: that each and every one of us must be born again and then belong to a local church of Bible believing Christians. For those of you who do not yet know Christ, who haven’t made that personal commitment, you know—in your heart of hearts—you need something. The world around you is fundamentally broken; you’ve tried to change, you’ve tried to do better, but something inside still feels incomplete.

Before we look into what Scripture says about being born again, I want to remind you of something (one of my favorite authors) C.S. Lewis once wrote. He essentially said, when you come face to face with Jesus, you cannot merely believe he was a good teacher. Because of the radical things Jesus of Nazareth said. When you are faced with Jesus Christ you only have three options (and I would like you to ponder these questions as I am preaching today): You can call Him a liar, you can call Him a lunatic, or you can bow your knee to Him as Lord.

He wrote:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.

And that is the same choice every person must make today. Either Jesus is who He says He is—the Son of God who came to save sinners—or He is not. If He is a liar or a lunatic, then we can ignore Him. However, if He is Lord, then we must surrender to His lordship!

Nicodemus met Jesus one night, thinking he would have a conversation with a great teacher. But he soon discovered he was standing face to face with the Lord of glory. And Jesus told him something which echoes throughout the ages: “You must be born again.”

Nicodemus found himself exactly in that situation. He respected Jesus, calling Him “Rabbi (teacher),” and even acknowledged He must have come from God—however he hadn’t yet bowed to Him as God. Nicodemus saw Jesus a teacher of truth, but not yet as the source of life.

And there are some of you here today who have found yourself in the same place. You don’t hate Jesus—you admire Him. You like His teachings about love and forgiveness, you even quote Him at times—but you haven’t surrendered to Him as Lord. You believe in Him intellectually, but you’ve never experienced Him personally.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, but left that encounter with a truth which still shines brighter than the darkness: “You must be born again.”

This is where revival beings—not with a song, not with a service, but with a Savior who can make dead hearts come alive.

1. The Need for New Birth:

John 3:1–7 NKJV

1 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.” 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?” 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. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Nicodemus was a man who had everything religion could offer—status, knowledge, and respect. He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, a man who devoted his life to studying the Law of God. If anyone could have earned their way to heaven, Nicodemus would be among the number.

But when he came to Jesus that night, Jesus didn’t pat him on the back or commend his devotion. Instead, He looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Can you imagine how shocking that must have been?

Nicodemus had kept the law, followed the rules, and attended synagogue. But Jesus told him it wasn’t enough. Religion without regeneration is like washing a tomb—it may look good on the outside, but it’s still full of death on the inside.

You don’t need improvement—you need new life. You don’t need to turn over a new leaf—you need a new heart. That is what Jesus was saying: being “born again” isn’t about reforming your habits; it is about receiving His life.

Nicodemus tried to understand it with human reasoning. He asked “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb?” But Jesus explained that He was speaking of a spiritual birth—a work of the Holy Spirit. “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

To be born again means the Spirit of God breathes new life into your soul. It means that the old you—bound by sin, guilt, and shame—dies, and a new creation comes to life.

It is what the prophet Ezekiel foretold when God said:

Ezekiel 36:26–27 NKJV

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

There are many Nicodemuses today—men and women who know all the right answers but have never experienced the new birth. They’ve been in church for years, they know all of the popular Christians songs, they can quote John 3:16, but they’ve never been changed by it.

Friend, if that is you, I want you to hear this clearly: You cannot see the kingdom of God and you will not be a part of God’s family, unless you are born again. This is why revival must begin in the heart. It doesn’t start with louder singing or listening to longer sermons; it starts when you realize, “I need Jesus to make me alive!”

A famous evangelist once said, “You can be baptized so many times the frogs know your name, but if you’ve never been born again, all you’ve done is get wet.” What matters is not the ritual, but the true transformation which can only happen to a person who believes and confesses Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

So let me ask you—has that change ever happened in your life? Have you been born again by the power of the Spirit of God? That is the question Nicodemus faced—and that is the question every one of you must answer as well.

2. The means of New Birth:

After explaining the need to be born again, Jesus points Nicodemus to the way it happens. In verses 14 and 15 He says:

John 3:14–15 NKJV

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Nicodemus would’ve understood exactly what Jesus was talking about here. In Numbers 21, God’s people had rebelled against Him. They spoke against the Lord, and as judgement, fiery serpents filled the camp. As the venom spread through the people, they began to die. However, God, in His mercy, provided a remedy. He told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lifted it up on a pole. And anyone who would simply look at that serpent—no matter how sick, no matter how far gone—would be healed and live.

It wasn’t about what they did; it was about where they looked. The healing didn’t come from effort but from faith.

Now Jesus says, “in the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up.”

He is speaking about His crucifixion. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, Christ would be lifted up on the cross. He would take the poise of sin upon Himself—the guilt, the shame, the wrath of God which we all deserve—and He would bear it all.

As the Prophet Isaiah penned: “He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and by His wounds we are healed.” The cross is not just a symbol—it’s a substitute. Jesus took your place and mine. He was lifted up so any who would call upon the name of the Lord could look up and live.

For the children of Israel in the wilderness, if someone was bit by one of the serpents, they didn’t need to crawl across the camp or perform a ritual—they just needed to look. If they looked, they lived. The same is true today. You do not have to earn your way for salvation, be fixed up, or even get all your ducks in a row before coming to Christ. All you have to do is look in faith to the One, Jesus Christ, who was lifted up for you.

And that is when Jesus spoke some of the greatest words every spoken:

John 3:16 NKJV

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.

that is the Gospel (which means good news) wrapped up in one verse:

God loved—that’s the motive

God gave—that’s the means

We believe—that’s the response

We live—that’s the result

It’s simple enough for a child to understand and profound enough for eternity to celebrate.

The heart of revival is not emotionalism—it’s this: God so loved.

Friend, that is the love which brought Jesus to the cross. That is the love that is reaching for you right now. And verse 17 reminds us:

John 3:17 NKJV

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Jesus didn’t come to rub in your sin—He came to remove it.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn you—He came to save you.

Jesus didn’t come to push you away—He came to have a genuine relationship with you!

No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter how far you’ve run—there is mercy for you today at the foot of the cross.

You all have been bitten by the serpent of sin—and you all have only one hope for salvation…that is to look upon Jesus Christ. To believe and confess Christ is Lord. The same Spirit which convicted Nicodemus is speaking to you now: “You must be born again!” Look to Jesus and live!

Gospel Presentation:

Before we move to my last two points, I want to pause here and make something absolutely clear. Everything we’ve talked about —the new birth, the life of the Spirit, the family of faith—begins with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And if you’ve never truly received the gospel—if you’ve never come to Christ for yourself, the Bible tells us today is the day of salvation.

We are Accountable to God

Genesis 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

It all beings here. God made you. You are not an accident or a product of chance. You were created by a holy, righteous, and loving God who made you for relationship with Him.

Because He created you, He is your rightful Lord. And because of that simple truth, you and I are accountable to Him.

One day every person will stand before God and give account of their life:

Romans 14:12 NKJV

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

This is where the story of salvation beings—God is the Creator, and we are His creation.

The Bad News: We have all sinned

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death.

Here is the truth: sin separates. Our problem isn’t that we’ve made mistakes; it’s that we’ve rebelled against the true and living God.

We have all chosen our own way instead of His way. We have all lied, lusted, envied, and disobeyed.

Because of that, the Bible says the wages of sin is death—eternal separation from the God who made us.

You cannot fix that with religion. You cannot erase it with good deeds. The gap between you and God is too wide.

That’s the bad news. But the gospel means “good news.” And here it is:

The Good News: Jesus came to redeem and restore

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the only innocent person to have every lived came to restore any who would believe and confess him as Lord eternal life.

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God didn’t wait for you to clean up your life—He sent His Son when you were his enemy. Desiring you to be His son and daughter.

1 Timothy 1:15 NKJV

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Jesus didn’t come to condemn the broken; He came to rescue them.

What Christ accomplished through his death on the cross would have taken you an eternity to repay in hell. Jesus lived the life you couldn’t live, died the death you deserved, and rose again to give you the life you could never earn.

He took your place so you could take His.

The Response: don’t sit on the fence.

Romans 10:9 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The gospel demands a response. You cannot stay neutral about Jesus Christ. You can call Him a liar, you can call Him lunatic, or you can bow your knee before Him as Lord—but you cannot sit on the fence.

Being indecisive about Christ is the same as rejecting Him.

Matthew 12:30 NKJV

30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

[Prayer teams to come forward]

We have a wonder team of people up here ready to pray with you. I want to give you some thoughts:

The prayer isn’t what saves you. Only belief and confession that Christ is Lord will save you.

Repentance is super important. You need to recognize the severity of your sin, and repent. Repent means more than being sorry, but turning away from from them. Not being perfect, but no longer allowing your sin to govern your life.

Matthew 10:33 “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

I am going to ask you to make a public declaration of your belief in Christ. This is not something to be ashamed of. The church wants to celebrate a new member being adopted into the family of God.

If you are already a Christian and you have backslidden. It is time for you to get right with God and stop being self-centered. The world doesn’t revolve around you, but the Person who paid the ultimate sacrifice to save you. So come forward, repent, confess Christ once again and do not forsake Him again.

Prayer of Confession:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I have broken Your law and gone my own way. But tonight, I turn away from my sin and turn to You. I believe that You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross for my sins, and that You rose again on the third day.

I confess You now as my Lord and my Savior. Wash me clean by Your blood. Forgive me, change me, and make me new. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so I can follow You all the days of my life.

Thank You for saving me. Thank You for loving me. From this moment forward, I belong to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Those returning to Christ:

Lord, I have wandered from you, I want come home. I lay down my pride, my sin, and my excuses. Renew my hearts. Rekindle the fire of our first love. Help me to walk with You faithfully, and to live for Your glory once again. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Closing Exhortation: The Next Steps of Faith

If you just prayed that prayer and meant it in your heart, then today is the day your life has changed forever. The Bible says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices. You are now a new creation in Christ — forgiven, redeemed, and adopted into the family of God.

But now that you’ve been born again, you need to belong. Salvation is the beginning of a new journey, not the end of one.

So let me give you three next steps to help you grow in your new life with Christ.

1. Find a Local Church

You need a spiritual home. The Christian life was never meant to be lived in isolation.

Find a Bible-teaching church that loves Jesus, preaches His Word, and lives out His truth in love.

Get plugged in, get to know the people (after all they are now your family), and start growing in your faith (discipleship).

And with your spiritual family — walk with them, serve with them, and let them walk with you.

2. Be Obedient and Be Baptized

Jesus commanded it, and the early church practiced it. Baptism is your public declaration that you belong to Christ — that you’ve died to sin and been raised to walk in newness of life.

It doesn’t save you, but it shows the world that you are saved.

Don’t delay your obedience. Be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

3. Once You Are Plugged Into a Local Church, Partake of Holy Communion

Communion is how we remember the price Jesus paid for us and renew our fellowship with Him and His body, the church.

When you partake of the bread and the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again.

It’s a sacred reminder that the same grace that saved you will sustain you.

Final Charge

So today, if you’ve been born again — don’t go back to the old life.

Get rooted, get baptized, and grow strong in the family of God. And for every believer here, let this revival not end when the music fades.

Let it continue as we live out the gospel together — walking in truth, serving in love, and shining the light of Christ in our homes, our workplaces, and our city.

Numbers 6:24–26 KJV 1900

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Amen.