"Snakes in the Lazy River" (Nicodemus - John 3:1-16)
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If you have a Bible with you this morning, I invite you to turn with me to John chapter 3.
For those of you who might not know who I am, my name is Evan Wilson, and I have enjoyed the last three years serving as Worship Pastor here.
Being the worship pastor, I haven’t preached on any regular basis. And I’m not half as talented as our lead pastor.
So I’ll warn you, I don’t have any sermon notes for you this morning. I don’t even have three points.
But I do want to share a little bit of my background and my story and show you how meeting Jesus made the difference for me.
Most of you probably know that I grew up in Winona, MS, which if you’re not sure where that is, you have probably stopped there at some point to fill up on gas or grab a McDonald’s burger.
It’s smack dab in the middle of Mississippi, and for me as a young boy, it felt like the bejeweled belt buckle of the Bible Belt.
I am so grateful that my parents pointed me to Jesus from birth.
I attended preschool at Moore Memorial Methodist Church in Winona. I grew up attending First Baptist, Winona every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.
I wore itchy, pastel clothes on Easter and sang in the children’s choir at Christmas.
I was a part of the Royal Ambassadors and Bible Drill, though not always the most eager participant.
My parents were Sunday School teachers. They taught me to pray every night and before every meal.
Everything I did and everywhere I turned, my life was completely drenched with Bible and Jesus.
So it should come as no surprise that I decided to follow Jesus at a very young age. I was baptized on my 7th Birthday, knowing that who I was and who God wanted me to be were not the same person, and that I needed his forgiveness.
From there, my walk with Christ has been precisely that — like a walk that I began with a stranger, but along the way, we’ve talked and I’ve listened more and more, and the more I learn about him, the more I love him.
I’m sure I wouldn’t be wrong to assume that many of you can relate to this sort of upbringing. I’ve heard and read numerous stories almost identical to mine.
Stories of people who — while dutifully and with the best of intentions busying themselves with religion — met Jesus, and everything changed.
In fact, I want us to read about a man who had this exact experience, and see what we might take away from his encounter with Jesus.
Read with me John chapter 3, beginning in verse 1:
Pharisees (1-4)
Pharisees (1-4)
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
Right off the bat, let’s remember what it means to be a Pharisee.
Pharisees were not, as we would say, church leaders. Nicodemus was unique in that he was a “ruler of the Jews,” which likely meant he was a part of the Sanhedrin.
(If you think of the senate and the supreme court combined, you’ll have something like the Sanhedrin.)
However, just being a Pharisee did not mean you had any official office or any inherent religious authority.
(You remember, Paul was a Pharisee, yet he still had to request permission from the chief priests to carry out his attacks on the early Church.)
Pharisees were normal, everyday Jews who wanted to do everything they could to ensure Israel’s holy, set-apart status. They pledged to abide by every command in Scripture, which they counted to be 613 commands — 248 dos, and 365 don’ts.
They were so serious about keeping these commands that they developed additional laws and traditions that would be a safe-guard for them so as never to even come close to breaking God’s law.
Many refer to this as a hedge around the law.
For instance, in order to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy, they painstakingly defined what it meant to work. It was considered work for a man to tie a knot, but not for a woman to tie her clothing.
So on the Sabbath, a man could not tie a rope around a jar, but a woman was allowed to tie her clothing around a jar to fetch water.
They felt that since it was her clothing she was tying, she was still honoring the Sabbath.
Why did they do this?
Pharisees believed that Israel’s purity was what God demanded before he would send a liberator, or messiah, to restore Israel’s independence and superiority over surrounding nations.
For the Pharisees, the establishment of the Kingdom of God meant Israel had a King, like that of King David, who would lead the nation into peace and prosperity.
Pharisees were not terrorists. They were not gangsters. They were the most upstanding citizens, patriots even. If your child became a Pharisee, you would have been so proud!
Out of all the Jews, they were the most zealous for God’s Word and Law.
The Pharisees had plenty of flaws, but above all, they just wanted to do the right thing.
When I think of the Pharisees, I think about my own life.
You want to know the biggest threat for a person like me? The delicious poison for a child who grew up praying, and church-going, and singing about Noah and the Ark?
It’s not atheism — I can’t imagine a world without God.
It’s not agnosticism — I had heard about God spitting out lukewarm Christians, so I definitely didn’t want to do that.
It’s not other religions, or even false doctrines — remember I had been steeped in Christian tradition since birth.
So for me, the biggest threat to my faith wasn’t the temptation to leave my faith.
The biggest threat for those like me is cultural Christianity.
What is cultural Christianity?
Cultural Christianity is wanting to be a part of Christianity more than you want to be a part of Christ.
Cultural Christianity is allowing your life to be shaped by the words and actions of Christians and not the words of Christ.
Cultural Christianity is the lazy river of the Bible Belt. It’s where the tide takes you if you simply want to fit in.
When people hear the term “cultural Christian,” here is often what they think.
Someone who thinks God’s main concern is the United States of America, and can’t separate Christianity from politics or patriotism.
Someone who walks out of Sunday morning worship and all but cusses out their waitress at Sunday lunch.
Someone who knows the lines not to cross, but skirts right up next to them.
Listen church, this is Pharisaical behavior that should be called out for what it is and avoided.
But for me, this wasn’t the cultural Christianity that crept into my life.
I’m a musician, and as a teenager, I always had a little bit of that emo, punk rock spirit that wanted to rebel and be different.
I also began to notice the cultural Christianity around me, and that made me desire something real and powerful.
This led me to fall in love with contemporary Christian music and eventually something that I call “worship culture.”
This type of culture isn’t necessarily bad, but can easily become an idol, as it did for me.
This is nothing new. Since the birth of the Church, there’s always been some form of evolving Christian culture.
And for me, I saw popular worship leaders having the best time leading worship and having the most thoughtful and powerful things to say, and I thought to myself, “That’s real Christianity.”
So of course, I began to dress like my heroes and act and talk like them, which again isn’t inherently bad!
The problem was this: Without fully realizing it, I was okay with not actually following Jesus so long as I was perceived to be a part of the Christian culture.
I was okay if i wasn’t:
Spending meaningful time with God in worship and the Word
Accountable to other believers
Loving others through serving
Telling others about Jesus
I was okay with not being a disciple of Jesus
As long as I could be associated with popular Christian culture.
I looked the part. I acted the part.
But there was a disconnect between the way I looked and behaved, and the true condition of my heart.
I was a Pharisee in that way.
Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you’re there today. Maybe your desire to be a part of a certain culture or group has diminished your desire to know Jesus and walk with him, wherever that leads.
This is the fork in the road at which we find Nicodemus here in John chapter 3.
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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?”
Nicodemus is trying to wrap his mind around this.
He knew there had to be something to Jesus’s words, but they weren’t exactly lining up with what he had always been taught and what he had always believed.
He and the rest of the Pharisees were looking for a political liberator.
Jesus wasn’t that. He was something more, which is why he answers the way he does in verse 5.
Water/Spirit, Wind (5-8)
Water/Spirit, Wind (5-8)
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
It’s easy for us to miss out on what Jesus is getting at here because we don’t dwell on the OT prophets like ancient Jews.
But when Jesus associates “water” and “spirit” here, Nicodemus would have instantly recognized the association.
Sort of like if I say the words “water” and “wine,” most of us will immediately think of the scene in John chapter 2 when Jesus turns water to wine.
Or if I said “five loaves of bread and two fish,” we remember the story of Jesus feeding a multitude of people.
When Jesus says one must be born of “water and spirit,” Nicodemus would have immediately thought of the words of the prophet Ezekiel.
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.
Jesus is saying, “I’m not talking about physical birth here. I’m talking about spiritual birth — an awakening to the truth of God’s Word and the purpose for which the law and the prophets were written.”
Jesus continues,
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”
What is Jesus talking about here?
I live in the Joyner Neighborhood in Tupelo. I wasn’t around when it happened, but many of you will remember the devastating tornado that came through Joyner in 2014.
Our neighborhood is a popular running route. There always seems to be someone running in our neighborhood. And I consider myself a runner, so I’m one of those people who runs in Joyner.
When I walk out my front door to go running, I am surrounded by huge, tall trees that have been there for who knows how long. You just about can’t see the sky for all the trees.
But as you make your way down Clayton Avenue toward where the tornado passed through, you will notice a stark boundary, and there is not one tree in sight.
This obviously because of the tornado that passed through in 2014.
And the contrast between my end of the neighborhood and the opposite end of the neighborhood is, without a doubt, unmistakable evidence that a tornado passed through that area.
I didn’t see it when it happened. But I know without a doubt that it did.
Jesus says that those born of the Spirit are like the wind. You don’t know where it comes from or where it goes, but there is unmistakable evidence that it is there.
So what is that unmistakable evidence?
This may not be a complete list, but I think a born-again believer will display at least these 5 characteristics:
A Life of Repentance - John Calvin wrote that “repentance is not merely the start of the Christian life; it is the Christian life.”
When the Holy Spirit shows us the repulsiveness of our sin, and the kindness God shows in removing it, we want no part of that sin.
That doesn’t mean we’re never tempted, but it does mean that we are never again okay with living in sin.
Eternal Mindset - T. D. Alexander wrote, “Faith in the resurrected Son of God gives us the confidence to trust that this life is but the prelude to something more wonderful.”
The stresses and worries of this life lose their effect on us when we have an eternal mindset.
I love what Dean Inserra says too: “Christians don’t believe the lie that there is more to be gained by disobeying God than there is to be gained by obeying him.”
Without Christ, we’re trying to squeeze everything we can out of this brief, temporary state, only to realize we can never be satisfied.
With Christ, we know that every bit of joy and purpose we experience now is just a taste of the life to come, and no amount of sorrow or pain can take that away from us.
Desire to know and apply God’s Word - If we have the very written Word of God at our disposal, how can we be so casual about it? God is the most interesting and exciting thing in existence and he revealed himself to us and his desire for us in his Word.
A cultural Christian takes God’s Word for granted, but a born-again believer reads God’s Word, reveres God’s Word, and returns to God’s Word.
Generosity - Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
My heart is far from Christ when I am not living generously — with my money, with my time, with my attention, with my care and concern, and with every other thing that I might hoard to myself because that’s what pleases me most.
Heart for the lost - One who is in Christ has personally experienced the grace of God. And when we look out and see those wrapped up in all kinds of evil and falsehood, it should evoke compassion.
I’m reminded of the famous words of Penn Jillete who, even though he is an atheist, was moved by a Christian telling him about Christ. Penn said, “If you believe there is a heaven and hell, and you think it’s not worth telling someone about it, how much do you have to hate him to not proselytize? To believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell people? This man cared enough about me to proselytize.” That person had a heart for the lost.
There may be more, but I firmly believe that these are counter-cultural, unmistakable evidence of a born-again believer.
You won’t find these in the lazy river.
This unmistakable evidence of the person born of the Spirit is amazing, not only because it gives us true joy and peace and purpose, but also because it is contagious.
Which is exactly what Jesus says next.
Raised Serpent (9-16)
Raised Serpent (9-16)
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 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. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
There’s a somewhat odd story in the book of Numbers that Jesus is using here to show exactly how re-birth or regeneration takes place.
Let me read it to you:
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.
Here Israel has come out of Egypt, witnessing the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, pillars of cloud and fire.
Yet they would rather go back to their former, familiar way of life.
As a result, God disciplines his people by sending these serpents who bite everyone. Then he gives the instructions to fashion a bronze snake, which represented their sin and disobedience as well as their fate, with the promise that whoever looked at it would live.
This, Jesus says, is how we receive salvation.
Again Jesus said in verse 14:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
We cannot save ourselves.
Salvation is not some kind of promotion that we earn.
Salvation is not something we convince God to do.
We rebelled against God’s design, and when we look at Jesus crucified on the cross, we see what we deserve for our rebellion.
We also see how God has provided a way for us to be redeemed.
When we look at Jesus — recognizing our sin and rebellion, recognizing how unworthy of eternal life we really are, and believing that Jesus is God’s Son sent to die in our place and resurrected proving his power over death — miraculously and graciously, God gives us new life.
When we put our faith in Jesus, God does exactly what he promised when he said:
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.
Listen friends, don’t keep living the counterfeit life of cultural Christianity.
Christ offers so much more. There are heights up on heights to be reached, depths of love and beauty that only come through following Jesus.
I don’t want a life of pretending.
I want a rich, full life walking with Jesus and living how he designed us to live.
So I’ll ask you today, does your life display unmistakable evidence of your faith?
Maybe you’ve known Jesus for a long time, but you find yourself relaxing in the lazy river
Maybe all you’ve ever known is the lazy river, and you’re realizing for the first time that you’ve settled for counterfeit Christianity and you want the real thing
Listen friend, you can have it. It is freely offered to you. God will give you a new heart and a new spirit. He can cause you to be truly born again.
Look to Jesus this morning.
In just a moment, I will be standing in the lobby, along with our other pastors.
If you want to talk about how to put your faith in Jesus, we are eager to talk to you.
This altar is open for you. You respond today however you need to.
Let’s pray together.