John 3:1-15 - Entering into God's Presence

Intro:

// reading the rules - games - game night …

// misreading the rules - college paper … I got a D-

// Pharisees … Nicodemus … misreading the rules … D-

// Are you misreading the rules? … What is your score in spiritual understanding … and are you living out what you understand? …

I. John 3:1-3 - Entrance into God’s Presence is by New Birth

// Introduction to Nicodemus … Pharisee … a ruler of the Jews … high position in the religious leadership

// Came to Jesus by night … why the secret meeting? … was he scared? … was he trying to find out secret information from Jesus? … or was he simply waiting until the after the crowds had all gone home so he could have an uninterrupted conversation with Jesus?

// Were Nicodemus’ words some sort of trick? an attempt to butter Jesus up and then trap him? … don’t think so … too early in the story … later Nicodemus becomes a secret disciple … most likely, there was a small group of the religious leaders who recognized that Jesus had come from God

// Jesus answers without Nicodemus asking a question … but Jesus knew what the real question was in Nicodemus’ heart … “how can I become closer to God?” … the traditions were made for that very purpose - that by living in the right way, they would be pleasing to God and therefore they would be closer to God …

// Jesus answers “...” (vs. 3) … Nicodemus represented those who were supposedly the closest to God … yet Jesus is telling him that he is not as close as he thinks … that he will not be able to enter into God’s kingdom - God’s presence - unless he is born again

// Can you imagine telling a seasoned mechanic that their method of fixing cars was wrong? … or telling a seasoned builder that their method of construction was wrong? … or telling a seasoned teacher that their method of teaching was wrong? … of telling a college student that they spent the last 4 years studying the wrong thing?

// Jesus is telling a seasoned religious professional … a professional teacher … a professional student … a leader … that he was doing things wrong … and that he had been doing them wrong the whole time

II. John 3:4-8 - New Birth is Spiritual, Not Natural

// Vs. 4 - Nicodemus is confused … “How can a man be born when he is old?” … and he tries to make sense of Jesus’ statement in natural terms, using the natural world

// But new birth is not a natural thing … it is spiritual … in fact, the phrase, “born again” in the Greek is literally, “born from above” … that gives us a very important hint … that the new birth Jesus is talking about is not a natural birth, but a spiritual birth

// Our society has a fascination with “self-help” … and it is easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking that we have the power and ability to “change ourselves” … and, yes, people have the ability to change their way of thinking and habits … but we don’t have the ability to change the core of who we are … we can’t “self-help” ourselves out of our sin nature … there is no way for us to make ourselves “better people” … not without changing the definition of the word “good” … when the Bible speaks of people being “good” - it’s talking about doing the right thing all the time - perfection … and in Romans, it tells us that “no one is good, no not one” … but people are convinced that being “good” simply means being better than someone else or being better than I was yesterday … the idea of making ourselves “better people” is an illusion the enemy uses to distract us from the truth

// The truth is that real changes doesn’t happen apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives … vs 5-8 … there are two requirements if you want to enter the kingdom of God … you must be born of water and you must be born of the Spirit …

// Now, the phrase “born of water” has caused some confusion in the church … some say it means you can’t be saved unless you are physically baptized … but I have a problem with that because the thief on the cross never had the chance to be baptized … but when he put his trust in Jesus, Jesus assured him that he would be with him in paradise

// Others say being born of water points to physical birth … a baby is surrounded by water in the womb … and in the birthing process, that sack of water has to break in order for the baby to be born …

// so with that interpretation … one must be born physically (not human, not an angel) and born spiritually in order to enter the kingdom of God

// One more interpretation is that the water represents baptism … but not the act of being baptized … instead, the heart behind being baptized … this interpretation says that being born of water is symbolic of being repentant of your sins … and that new birth happens when someone is “born of water” (repents of sin before God) and “born of the Spirit” (puts their faith in Jesus)

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (新改訳2017)

もし私たちが自分の罪を告白するなら、神は真実で正しい方ですから、その罪を赦し、私たちをすべての不義からきよめてくださいます。

Ezekiel 36:25–27 (ESV)

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel 36:25–27 (新改訳2017)

わたしがきよい水をあなたがたの上に振りかけるそのとき、あなたがたはすべての汚れからきよくなる。わたしはすべての偶像の汚れからあなたがたをきよめ、 あなたがたに新しい心を与え、あなたがたのうちに新しい霊を与える。わたしはあなたがたのからだから石の心を取り除き、あなたがたに肉の心を与える。 わたしの霊をあなたがたのうちに授けて、わたしの掟に従って歩み、わたしの定めを守り行うようにする。

// Personally, I lean toward the last interpretation … but being “born of water” doesn’t seem to have as much importance as being “born of the Spirit” in this passage … most likely because being “born of water” is a necessary step that must be taken before we can be “born of the Spirit” … just as repenting from sin is a necessary step to take if you want to be saved from your sin

// So the key lesson Jesus is teaching Nicodemus (and us) is that we cannot draw near to God without first being born of the Spirit … remember that the Pharisees used works as their means to draw near to God … they were professional in religious activity … but here Jesus makes it clear that physical works can do nothing to bring us closer to God … a spiritual work has to be done first … there must be a new birth brought about by the Holy Spirit

// But how does this new birth take place?

III. John 3:9-15 - New Birth is Received by Faith in Jesus

// Nicodemus is still confused … notice his keyword - “how?” … but this time, Jesus points out something to Nicodemus … “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” … Nicodemus just received a D- in his understanding about the things of the Spirit … all the studying he did … all the teaching he did … all those years learning rule after rule … following rule after rule … after all that work, he had completely missed the point

// Jesus tells Nicodemus (in vs. 12) “...” … being born again … it’s an “earthly thing” … why? because it takes place during our lives on earth … and Jesus tells Nicodemus that he can’t even move to the heavenly things because Nicodemus had not yet believed the earthly things … Nicodemus’ understanding was limited … and it would stay limited until he took his focus off religious rules and turned his attention to the things of the Spirit

// Spiritual understanding can’t be learned through study … it can’t be learned by taking a class … it can only be learned by the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit … and it must be received with faith - if we doubt what the Holy Spirit teaches us, we essentially tell him we are dropping his class

// but the Lord rewards your faith be revealing his truth to you … by increasing your understanding … and as you receive from him in faith, he continues to increase you understanding in the things of the Spirit … but it comes through personal conversation with the Lord

// Now, Jesus gives Nicodemus a lesson on the Old Testament in vs. 13-15 … “…”

// Vs. 13 points us to Proverbs 30:4 … Jesus says, “that’s about me”

Proverbs 30:4 (ESV)

Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!

Proverbs 30:4 (新改訳2017)

だれが天に上り、また降りて来たのか。 だれが風を両手のひらに集めたのか。 だれが水を衣のうちに包んだのか。 だれが地のすべての限界を堅く定めたのか。 その名は何か、その子の名は何か。 あなたは確かに知っている。

// And then Jesus points Nicodemus to Numbers 21 … this takes place after the Lord has led the Israelites out of Egypt … after the parting of the Red Sea

Numbers 21:4–9 (ESV)

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. 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.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 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. 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.” 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.

Numbers 21:4–9 (新改訳2017)

彼らはホル山から、エドムの地を迂回しようとして、葦の海の道に旅立った。しかし民は、途中で我慢ができなくなり、 神とモーセに逆らって言った。「なぜ、あなたがたはわれわれをエジプトから連れ上って、この荒野で死なせようとするのか。パンもなく、水もない。われわれはこのみじめな食べ物に飽き飽きしている。」 そこで主は民の中に燃える蛇を送られた。蛇は民にかみついたので、イスラエルのうちの多くの者が死んだ。 民はモーセのところに来て言った。「私たちは主とあなたを非難したりして、罪を犯しました。どうか、蛇を私たちから取り去ってくださるよう主に祈ってください。」モーセは民のために祈った。 すると主はモーセに言われた。「あなたは燃える蛇を作り、それを旗ざおの上に付けよ。かまれた者はみな、それを仰ぎ見れば生きる。」 モーセは一つの青銅の蛇を作り、それを旗ざおの上に付けた。蛇が人をかんでも、その人が青銅の蛇を仰ぎ見ると生きた。

// In vs. 14, Jesus points out that the bronze serpent points to the Son of Man (to him) … and says that just as the people, after being bit by a poisonous snake, would look up to the bronze serpent and be healed … you and I, who have been poisoned by sin … can look up to Jesus who was lifted up on the cross and receive healing (forgiveness) and be saved (receive eternal life)

// and how do we look up to Jesus? by believing in him … faith always looks up … faith always looks to where Jesus is … and where Jesus is is forgiveness and life

Conclusion:

// How can I enter into God’s presence? How can I draw near to the Lord?

// Please don’t let religious seep into your Christian walk … too often believers start their walk in faith, but loose their footing and slip into religious works

// God does not bring us closer to him or push us away from him by looking at how “Christian” we act … he looks at our faith … the Bible constantly reminds us to keep believing, not keep doing … because believing Jesus is the most important thing we can do

// To draw near to God, we must be born again - we must be born of the Spirit … and that new birth only takes place by the power of the Spirit … and we enter into that new birth by looking to Jesus in faith, believing on him

// it’s hard to believe, but we are now in 2022 … what kind of year will this be for you? … will your faith flourish? or will you wilt in empty religious works?

// I am praying that each one of us will flourish in our faith this year … I am certain that it’s the Lord desire for you and me … so let’s take the focus of our lives off ourselves and look up and put our eyes on Jesus