The Gospel of John - Born Again

Who is Jesus?

The Gospel of John

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Jesus and Nicodemous

John 3:1-21

ÿ Is in an intentional accountability relationship with other godly men.

Who is Jesus? and knowing that answer is not suffecient for salvation.

OPENING Prayer–

Father we come to you this morning alive in Jesus. We desire to be your people who are passionate about knowing the person of Jesus to the point that Jesus is more real to us than any other person or thing in what we can see or experience. Father, through knowing Jesus we will know you and we ask that your miraculous power work in our lives through the power of your holy spirit, your saving power. Father Thank you for writing down your story of redeeming grace of reconciling a people back to your self so that we may know it; but more importantly through this story you are calling us to be your children, redeemed and reconciled by your Son and recipient of the miracle of faith.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight today Father. I pray all of this In the mighty and holy and abundant Name of Jesus.  - and all God’s children said?

ÿ Has developed a plan for maintaining integrity, godliness, and moral purity and consistently follows that plan.Who is Jesus?

If I have not had a chance to meet you;

 My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship. 

If you have a copy of the Bible in either electronic version or the actual book kind -

Open it to John chapter 3 as we will be looking at VS’s 1-21 today as we continue walking through the Gospel of John! 

NOW If you don’t have a bible or simply would like a new one!

under the 1st chair of every row should be a new Bible. Please take it as our gift to you the only desire that we would have for you is that you would read through it, gather in community around it and learn of Jesus in it. Maybe you don’t need a bible, maybe you know someone who does. Please feel free to take as many as you need and give them out a gift. 

SPEAK and WELCOME UNBELIEVERS – NON FOLLOWERS And THOSE who struggle in their faith –

You may have never been to a worship gathering or you haven’t been in a really long time either because your not really sure about this person called Jesus. You not really sure why the calendar is 2020 AD or as some would say CE. Let me say that we are really glad you are here and you could not have picked a better time to ask these kind of questions.

Engagement –

So I think at some point all of us, every human on the planet asks questions

Most of us in the room are parents. And I don't know if you guys remember that there are stages of life that occur when God brings a new life into this world. You know there is the new-born stage and then the terrible two’s and then there is what I call the age of wonder and questions. Questions like “What this? and you give and answer and then that is followed up by another questions “WHY?” Then when they are a little older they will say things like “Why is the sky Blue?”

Some times we answer in scientific terms about the diffusion of light and some times we will answer “because this is how God made it that way” and usually, and I think we all wold be familure with the age we would hear in return “ But Why?”

Then there is the age of “ How much longer?” or “ Are we there yet” and then the age of “how does this work? or “how do I do that? and then there is the age of “Goes she like me? or “Does He like me? which leads to “When will he ask me to merry Him? or “will she actually merry me?

TENSION

The reality is that we live in a world that is asking the deepest of questions now days: “What is my particular meaning for me being here? “What value do I have or add or can I have? “How can anything be truly known? “ Are we determined for a particular and unique outcome in life or are we truly free agents? and Ultimately : “What is true and Is there really a God or is the concept of God just a construct of our consciousness and we really have evolved out of the necessity of God? “IF there is why would he want to forgive me? or “Why would he want to forgive those most depraved of our culture who perpetuate on the innocent horrific crimes from which there seems to be no Justice no matter what the punishment? What is it to be saved and from what and why is that necessary? How can God be real when the Church cant even agree and the religions of the world seem to have similarities but are resolved to be in conflict and so Ill the real Jesus please Stand Up?

This ultimately leaves us with the question: Who is this that changed the calendar from BCE to CE and more traditionally BC to AD?

TRUTH

TRUTH

TRUTH

John 3:1–21 NASB95

1 Now 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 have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to 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? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 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. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed 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 do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “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. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 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. 19 “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. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

John 3:1-21

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

So Here is what Has just happened - Jesus has Just told a man who believes that Jesus is form God and who Knows His Bible that that is not enough for salvation - That something Miraculous has to happen for anyone to be saved.

This then bears then Bears the question - Who is Jesus to say such things?

Let go Back to the Beginning of the Gospel and lets see what the Holy Spirit of God had John, Jesus very best friend write down for us to read 2000 years later That would give us an understanding of the character and nature of God.

It bears repeating and is critically important - Unlike Mathew, Mark and Luke Johns Gospel is the Spiritual Gospel, It is the Power Gospel for Salvation 1st for the Jew and then for the Gentile and John Tells us that He wrote this for the singular purpose of making disciples of Jesus out of lost people. “I have written these things that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the son of God, and that believing that you may have life in His name!

Jesus IS GOD -

John 1:1–18 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

So John The Apostle, the closest person to Jesus, Goes all the way back to the Beginning of Time “Since the beginning the word was there and the word was -

Now WHY did John use the description of Jesus as “The Word”

Reality is that we know things through WORDS - This is how God has wired us to have the ability to form complex languages. We have the ability to be self away and communicate concepts and ideas using language in a way that is separate form all of the rest of creation. and as such we have relationship. We have families and neighbors and friends and we communicate who we are and our felling towards them or situations around us.

The thing that we need to realize about the charter and nature of God is He reveals Himself to Us HIS creation - He desires for us to know Him and He desires to have relationship ith us.

The way He accomplished this is through the word - We know God through His spoken word, his written word and His living word - Jesus. His spoken words happen in a a variance of Forms - Through creation - This is God revealing Himself to Everyone - says that God is revealed through creation and Night after night its pours for speech and knowledge. Through the written word as the Scriptures are self evident to be alive and active and sharp. This is considered to be the specific revelation of God and Lastly through His son Jesus who is John is claiming here to be eternally existing and who the witter in Hebrews would say Is the exact representation of the father - John Takes this BOLD and Brash position all the way back from creation and says :The word was with God and the Word was God and the WORD created everything - John Says the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us - This is the incarnation of GOD - God in the flesh, walking among us - Jesus fully man and Fully God.

1st thing that we need to accept about the charter and nature of God is He reveals Himself to Us HIS creation - He desires for us to know Him and He does this through

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LEts look at this in a VERY Practical terms and why its is SO important to understand Jesus as the WORD mad flesh and Dwelling among us as the Focal and Singularity of God’s ultimate revealing work as to who God is and what is His will and Desire for all mankind -

{Passage}

Remember that God has given Human Beings to ability of Complex language for the single purpose of relationship with Each other in either family relationship, church relationships, marital relationships, workplace relationships or friend relationship.

{Title}

I want you to Imagine what those relationships would look like in silence!!

If you and I went to dinner, or you and I went to my house and we spent and hour or an hour and a half together and we were completely silent!! What would our relationship look like? What would we know about each other?

The answer is nothing - This is why the use of our God given complex language in relationships is what makes relationships work: It is what allows communication, It Ushers in forgiveness at offence, it is what allows reconciliation of relationship between friends , family and spouces possible.

IT is the mechanism by which We do those things and the Mechanism by which God does as well and Jesus is that Word that allows communication from God, Ushers in forgiveness from God and reconciliation of our relationship with God possible. Jesus is God

In Chapter 2 - Leading up to this convo between Nicodemus and Jesus we see a couple of things about who this JESUS is -

We see Jesus at a wedding as His 1st recorded quote un-quote miracle of changing water into wine -

God in the flesh dwelling among us going to great lengths to hang out with us in everyday stuff and supplying practical needs and solving everyday problems.

In this we also see this miracle addressing the Backwards thinking of our own hearts - The host of the wedding says “usually the best is served first and when everyone has had some then the worst come -But you have saved the est for last!!

In the brokenness of our humanity we want the best NOW - We want the best of the best up front - We don't want to deal with anything that is lest than best and it usually is bitter in the end as this bitter wine that is served after.

Jesus turns this upside down and Always Give the best last -

Psalm 19:1–6 NASB95

1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

OPENING Prayer–

Jesus says to his mother “my time has not come”

and At the end of chapter 2 we see Jesus cleaning out the temple of God from the commerce of the day and making an unbelievable prediction -

Father we come to you this morning alive in Jesus.

Jesus is cleaning out the temple from people who are conducting business in the temple but it is not the business that is a problem - The Problem is that these business operations have made hard for people to get to God - These religious practices have gotten in the way of people knowing God and JESUS HATES IT - Jesus HATES - and yes JESUS can HATE - Church I want you to hear me - Jesus HATES ANYTHING - Any Thought, ANY Belief, ANY Practice - ANY DOGMA - or any CONDITION that makes is HARD for people to get to Him and to GOD!

The Jewish people asked Jesus by what authority do you have to correct our religious and dogmatic practices - Jesus SAYS:

“Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it n three days” - The Historical Fact that Jesus was raised from the Dead and defeated death is the sign that He has the authority to correct our religious practices and Dogma and anything that keeps people form Him!

Chapter ONE establishes jesus as God and Chapter Two That Jesus as God was sent to DIE and be Raised from the Dead with all authority.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight today Father. I pray all of this In the mighty and holy and abundant Name of Jesus.  - and all God’s children said?

If I have not had a chance to meet you;

 My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship. 

If you have a copy of the Bible in either electronic version or the actual book kind -

Open it to  {Passage}           today as we continue in our series -( name of series)!  Our prayer over this series had been ( fill in prayers over the series)

NOW If you don’t have a bible or simply would like a new one!

under the 1st chair of every row should be a new Bible. Please take it as our gift to you the only desire that we would have for you is that you would read through it, gather in community around it and learn of Jesus in it, the Jesus who loves you, gave his life for you concoured death by being raised from the dead! Maybe you don’t need a bible, maybe you know someone who does. Please feel free to take as many as you need and give them out a gift. 

SPEAK and WELCOME UNBELIEVERS – NON FOLLOWERS And THOSE who struggle in their faith –

UNPACKING

You may have never been to a worship gathering or you haven’t been in a really long time either because you...

Engagement –

TENSION

TRUTH

BACKGROUND

UNPACKING

APPLICATION

IMAGINE and INSPIRATION

UNPACKING

So Here we are in Chapter Three and This guy Nicodemus come in the middle if the night to visit with Jesus. WHAT do we know about our Boy Nico -

Well NICO was a Pharisee. A member of the RULING Class of the JEWS - As a Pharisee ol’ Nico would have had the whole old testament memorized - So Much so that NiCo could write the whole thing from memory perfectly - He knew Ever JOT and Tittle of tho Old Testament Ol’Nico knew his bible.

Nico was “THE” Teacher of of ISRAEL - as Jesus calls him - THE teacher - not a teacher but THE teacher - This guys was training the top of the top of Jewish scholars - This guys was the Billy Graham of the scholarship of Isreal - You wanted to know something about the Bible in those days you went to see Nico!

Nico believes that Jesus is from God - In fact Nico uses the word WE indicating that there were some of His fellow Pharisees that also believed that HE was from God -

VS2 “WE know that you have come from God” we know that God sent you and that He is with you because of these crazy thing that you do!”

VS 3 - Jesus Turns EVERYTHING upside down - He says “Truly Truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is going to amplify this in VS 5 - UNLESS one is born of water and of spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God -

Here is why Jesus turns it all upside Down - Jesus is talking to a man that Knows His bible and confesses to Jesus himself that He KNOWS Jesus is from God and Jesus is saying “THAT IS NOT ENOUGH to Get you into the Kingdom of GOD” Knowing your Bible and believing that I am from God isn’t what does it.

Jesus is Saying that “in order for anyone and that includes any one of us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and to see God, be reconciled to Him and have a relationship with Him a MIRACLE Must happen - We MUST be BORN AGAIN -

Knowing the Bible is not going to do it - That is works - IT would take a lot of work to memorize this book. Jesus ALSO say that simply agreeing with the facts that God sent Him is also not enough - As that is a logical choice that we can make or not make - and therefor is up to our effort - Jesus says that wont do either - Jesus says - A man must be “Born again”

NOW this throws NICO for a loop - Nico says “ now how is that Even Possible that a Man be born again - You see what jesus has said defy s Earthly Logic - It make NO sense - Our man Nico even finds Himself in an argument with Jesus? Now Listen to what Is just Said “Nicodemus is Arguing with Jesus - We just established that Jesus was God! and NIco is arguing with God the creator of all things is standing in front of him and has given the eternal condition by which someone can enter the kingdom and Nico doesn't like those rules because they make no sense to Him and he argues with God!

Nico says How can this BE? This makes no sense - Jesus answers - You know of the eartly things and there are some of those things you do not believe. How you gonna understand this?

Jesus then Lays it out in terms that Nicodemus can understand -

VS 14 and 15 Jesus says: AS Moses lifted up the serpent n the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that Whoever belies will in HIM have eternal life.

Remember that Nicodemus is a BEAST of an old testament Scholar - Jesus goes to great lengths to make this things of God plane and simple for Him to understand - He does this for us as well.

Jesus uses TWO references here - ONE is the Son of Man reference here - This is referring to what we know as Daniel Chapter 7 vs 13-14 which for Old testament Scholars would be the reference to messiah, the promised one of Isreal, he one whose kingdom will have no end!

He also Uses the reference of the serpent being raised up - Now some of us are going Jesus serpent? what/ how does that all work? I though serpents were all bad?

Here is what Jesus is talking about - In numbers chapter 21 - There is this great story that moses captured for us. As the people were traveling and capturing the promised land - It was a difficult journey - The people bean grumbling against Gods provision for their life - They hated the food and they let bitterness and resentment build up instead of thankful ness and they began to moan and complain. God sends serpents into the area where the Israelite were staying and they began biting the people and many died - Moses recognizes that the people have sinned and are in danger of being wiped out because of it - Confesses the Sin to God - and God provides a way out -

God says - Put a serpent on a stick and raise it in the air and those who have been bitten by the snakes and have the venous poison in their bodies, When they look at the snake on the stick the venom will be removed and they will not die - They will be saved from death caused by the venom if they look to this snake - Moses makes a snake out of bronze and lifts it up on a stick and the people who are bit and have this deadly venom in them the venom is removed and they live.

Jesus says - Just like that Serpent that Moses raised on a stick that when people looked at it the deadly poison of their sin was removed from their bodies and they lived - The Son of man mist be lifted up and whoever look to Jesus lifted on the cross of Calvary will have the poisonous venom of sin removed from their soul and they will have eternal life -

This is the miracle that Jesus is referring to as being Born again. Being born of the flesh we are all dead in our trespasses and our Sin. But when we look to Jesus high and lifted up on the cross of Calvary and trust only an fully that His death on that cross is the only way that the venom of sin is removed from our life and we surrender to that truth even though it makes no sense and is most scandal riddled events on all of human history - We are saved from the wrath of God and the poison of Sin is removed, our death sentence we are born with is remove we are reconciled to God, called to live for Him an have peace with Him in fully turning to Him.

We must have this miracle of faith that leads to Life - We must look to Jesus on the cross, believe in Him. Believing in Him means being born again, Being born again means we are not the same we are different from that moment forward because we recognise the Kindness of God -

I want to invite you to continue in the story with me every day - Read one chapter a day and sped time in our Sermon Guides and walk through the discovery questions and discover Jesus in a deeper and more intimate way -

In chapter 4 we will see Jesus with the woman at the well - The Samaritan woman - a woman that no right minded Jewish man would have even the slightest conversation with -and yet Jesus knows her, he knows the depth of her sin and her depravity and He offers the water that completely satisfies - Jesus the one who satisfies our deepest thirst forever!

In Chapter 5 we see Jesus encountering a man who had been Lame for nearly 4 decades and Jesus ask him a seemly rhetorical question: DO you want to be healed - The man does not answer but instead gives excuses as to why he has never been able to get to the water when the angel of the Lord stirs it - This man thinks its the water that Heals Him and the healer of His soul is standing in front of Him. Jesus asks “Do you want to be healed? then Jesus says pick up your mat and walk - and after the man is Healed Jesus says He and the heavenly father are one and that Another will come and testify about Jesus.

APPLICATION

This is where this text must COLLIDE with our lives -

The first and most important area that text must collide with us is in the area of our own Salvation - and I am talking to all of us who believe that we are saved - This is a time of self reflection as Paul tells the Corinthian church to “Test themselves to see IF you are in the faith; Examine yourselves!

Do we recognize that Jesus is God?

Go we acknowledge that He is the creator of all things and in Him is Life and HIS Life is the Light of all men? the Giver of Life?

Do we know that Jesus came to Die and not Just to suffer another Roman execution but to Die for us and be raised form the Dead?

Are we like Nicodemus? - We know that Jesus is from God, we believe He is divine; We know the bible, we know that is says and we have studied it from front to back - DO we accept that Jesus says that is not it - That is not what Saves you! - and so we have not truly been born again? The miracle of new life is not on us? We don't look up to Jesus raised on the cross of Calvary as the only means of our salvation but rather we look to our own will and way, our own moment when we said a mystical prayer that is not in the text and the words of a pastor or minister that declared “you are saved” instead you known that God has saved you because you looked to Jesus and Believed and the burden of your sin was taken off your shoulders and the power of the Holy Spirit overwhelmed you and God made you knew?

You might be here this morning and you know that God has not made you new yet - Or you have realized, because you have examined yourself that as of yet you really were not in the family, the miracle of new birth had not come to your life -

Jesus come to Give you living water - water that will satisfy every aspect of Life. He has come to heal you and give you new life - Move you from the life you lead, a life of you own doing, but a life that will ultimately lead to death and separation from God and Jesus asks “Do you want to be healed?

Pray with me -

IMAGINE and INSPIRATION

The Gospel Presentation -

Who is Jesus?