 All right, chapter 3, John's Gospel, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 8, hopefully going to verse 21, hopefully, chapter 3, beginning at verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly 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's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, oh, you shut up, you bug me. Jesus answered, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from, where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. So we're looking at this evening one of the most important passages that you'll find in the Gospel of John. It contains the story of a man's quest for spiritual fulfillment. And the man has been mentioned to us by name in verse one. This man's name is Nicodemus. Now Nicodemus is coming to speak to the Lord concerning regeneration. That's really what's going to take place here. Jesus is going to speak to him concerning that. So you see in the Christian faith there are various terms to describe personal salvation. We speak of regeneration. We speak of conversion. We speak of being saved. We speak of being born again. And that's what we're... Those are terms that we're using to describe the single word really that was, I think, well-applies. And that's regeneration. Well, there are those who when they hear the term born again, Well, they think that evangelical Christians, Christians like us, evangelical, those who believe that you need a personal saving relationship with Christ to go to heaven, call us evangelicals because we preach the evangel or the gospel which speaks concerning conversion. So some of you may not even realize that if you believe that someone has to be born again and people need to proclaim that message that you fall into that category of evangelical, well, that's what you are if that's what you believe. And they believe that some say that we evangelicals actually basically invented the term born again. There are some I've heard over the years who have spoken of me and this church and others that have a like mind and they call us born-againers. Maybe you've heard that term. I bet you there's some in here who for all the born-againers, they're born-againers. Well, they think we invented that term. We didn't invent that term. We're seeing it here in this passage before us. You see, born-again, that term born-again is used in verse 3. It's also used in verse 5. When you read the apostle Peter's writings in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23, Peter uses that term. He says having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the Word of God which lives and abides forever. So the term born-again is a term that means to be regenerated, to be saved, to have a new relationship with Christ and all of that. So Jesus is speaking about being born again. When he speaks of being born again, and I'm laying a foundation for this conversation, when he speaks of being born again, he's speaking of a change of nature. Being born again is rooted in a commitment of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. And what we have here is a conversation with a man by the name of Nicodemus. And what Nicodemus is doing here in chapter 3 is he's coming to speak to Jesus about spiritual matters. And Jesus is about to speak to him concerning how you can have a transformed life. And that's how John begins this passage by introducing us to a man, as he says in verse 1, a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. A Pharisee is being a religious denomination, if you will. You read your New Testament and you'll see the Pharisees mentioned often. You'll see another group called the Sadducees. Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees. He was a very rigid, conservative, legalistic man. And he's a ruler of the Jews. We'll look at it in just a moment. This man is a wealthy Jewish aristocrat, a member of what is called the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin is also referred to as the Great Council. It consists of 71 members, scribes, elders, prominent members of the high priestly families, and the high priest, the president of the assembly. The most important causes or cases were brought before this tribunal, as the Romans had left it to the power of the Sanhedrin to try such cases. And also, they had the right to pronounce the sentence of death with the limitation that a capital sentence pronounced by the Sanhedrin was not valid unless the Roman procurator confirmed it. In other words, they had tremendous religious and political power. A group of 71 elders. They were regarded as the rulers of the Jews. And that's why we know that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Notice again in verse 1 how he's referred to as a ruler of the Jews. So, this is a man here that is a member of the Sanhedrin. He's a wealthy aristocrat, and right away we have a contrast. We have a wealthy religious man by the name of Nicodemus. And when you look at this man's life from all outside appearances, Nicodemus appears to have everything under control. When you look at him and you know something of his background because he was again a ruler of the Jews, and the moment Jesus is going to refer to him as the teacher, a great teacher. We have this man here from all outside appearances who seems to have everything under control. He's educated, he's religious, he's seasoned with age, he's respected, he's influential, and he's wealthy. But on the other hand, here's your contrast. We have him speaking to a man named Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, by their standards, is uneducated. He's younger, he's unknown, he has a questionable pedigree, and he's poor. And so what you have is a contrast that's being established here in chapter 3, verse 1, by simply mentioning who Nicodemus is. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus, a wealthy, educated aristocrat. Speaking to this man, Jesus, who was reputed to have been born out of wedlock, who was not a man who went to rabbinic schools. Later we'll see in the Gospel of John, they're going to say, how did this man know letters having never learned? It's not that he was illiterate, that's a way of saying he never went to a rabbinic school. How does he know theology without being trained in it? And so you'll see these things as we go through John, but I'm just reminding you of that. So by their standards, they would consider Christ as uneducated. He was young in a society that valued age. You know that to be true. I mean, you weren't even regarded as having any kind of maturity at all until you're 40 years old. So a man under 40 was regarded as being a youth, a young man. That's why when you read concerning Timothy, that's why Paul says, let no one despise your youth. But be thou an example. And word, conduct, spirit, and faith, and love with all purity. Why did he say that? Because he was a young man. And in the standards of that age, a man under 40 was regarded as just a youth. Jesus was 30 years, around 30 years of age here. So you have the contrast, uneducated, questionable pedigree. A man who is young. He's really unknown. He's just beginning his ministry. And he's also poor. So under ordinary circumstances, we would expect Jesus to be the one approaching Nicodemus. And yet that's not true, is it? It's Nicodemus coming to Jesus. And so there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, verse 2. This man came to Jesus by night. So this is Nic at night. That's where you got that from. That's so old, I shouldn't say it, and yet you still left. Thank you for humoring me. 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 things that you do unless God is with him. So he comes by night and speaks to him as a rabbi. I have spiritual questions I'm taking to you, Jesus. Notice he comes by night. There are a lot of questions as to why he would come at night. And so there are those who say, well, perhaps he simply did not want anyone to know. He was a member of the council. It may be that he wanted to come by night because he didn't want other members of the council to know that he was approaching Jesus. Others say that he might have come at night out of courtesy because during the day there are multitudes who are with Jesus and he's giving Jesus the courtesy of not coming to him or approaching him when there are a lot of people around. Some say it may have been simply the best time for him to come. And others say he might have wanted more time to speak and felt that he could get more time with Christ at night. What drove him to come is something different. I believe there was an internal spiritual emptiness that was unrelenting. There was something in him that drove him to speak to this one who may be able to answer the spiritual questions that he had in his rabbinic heart because he himself had rabbinic training, no doubt. And notice how he speaks in verse 2. He says to Jesus, Rabbi. The word rabbi is a title of respect. And during that day it would be regarded as something similar to a doctor of divinity. It could be used as a matter of courtesy but it also was used to speak concerning somebody's training or knowledge of scripture. So he speaks to him in this way and he says to him, Rabbi. And in verse 2 he continues by saying, we know that you are a teacher, come from God because, and he makes it clear, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Notice that. Notice how he's speaking. We know that you are a teacher, come from God. So that gives us insight that Nicodemus is representing a group of people who have been drawn to Jesus especially by his works. The things that Jesus is doing. And he's saying, your signs have led us to this conclusion. So I want to speak to you personally about this. And so you see the opening conversation. He begins by saying, you're a teacher, come from God. The way I know that is the works that you're doing. No one can do unless God's with him. Now that's a very interesting opening. But notice what Jesus does in verse 3. Jesus answers and says to him, most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He cuts through everything. Nicodemus, you know, it's a nice courtesy for you and I'm great. It's a great thing to know that my signs have drawn your attention and that you've even been collaborated with others and spoken about that. And amongst yourselves have come to the conclusion that I must be from God because of the works that are being performed are drawing your attention in the way they should to the God who sent me and that's all good. But let's cut to the chase. What's the real question that you have, Nicodemus? Do you want to speak about signs and wonders? Is that what you want to talk about? Or are the signs that I'm performing and the works that I'm doing are they doing the things that they're supposed to do? Are they drawing your attention to me as a person? And that's why he goes to that in verse 3 when he says most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So he goes to the heart of the matter. You see, if you're saying you know something well, knowledge requires action. Faith requires obedience. We'll see later on in chapter 13 how that Jesus will perform and act. He's going to wash the feet of his disciples and we'll get there and we'll see that in some detail. But as he's doing that he says something that I want to draw your attention to for just a moment because he says to them he goes, you know, you call me master and lord and you say well, because that's what I am. If I then being your master, your lord have washed your feet then you ought to wash the feet of one another. You all know that portion of Scripture, John 13. But he says something that I've memorized. It's something that is important in John 13 in verse 17 where he said if you know these things blessed are you if you do them. Because it's not enough, Nicodemus, that you and your friends have spoken about the works that I'm doing and have come to a conclusion that I come from God. That's all good. But knowledge has to be accompanied by faith for it to actually do anything in your life. Having a lot of information doesn't save you. Information that is simply information is nothing. But the information of God, and this is an important thing, I say this often but it's very important. The information that is necessary is the information that comes with a simulation that produces transformation. That's knowledge. It's not just having the capacity to speak of things. And I always appreciate those who do, by the way, those who are well trained and well very knowledgeable in Scripture. I appreciate their knowledge, I really do. But knowledge without activity, knowledge without works, knowledge without transformed life is simply knowledge. It's like googling something. And for me, I receive knowledge from those who experience and teach it with that experience. You can say, this is what it says. Blessed are you if you do these things. I've had conversations, especially when the church was young, where people said we want the meat of the word and you're not giving us meat. Well, this is meat to know the will of the Father and to do what he says. That's where meat is. It's not simply knowing. It's knowing and doing. And it's the doing that helps you to understand what it means to be knowing. And so Jesus is speaking to him. And bottom line, Nicodemus, it's great that you guys are speaking to one another about these things and all of that. And you've come to a proper conclusion, but you need to understand you need to be born again. Because as he says, if you are not born again, you will never be able to see the kingdom of God. Now, when he says in verse 3, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom. The word see in the original language speaks of knowing, to get knowledge of, to understand or to perceive. If you're not born from above because the term born again is literally translated being born from above. If you're not born from above, you cannot understand the ways of God. So Jesus goes to the heart of the matter. You have to be born again. Well, when he says that, notice Nicodemus. Nicodemus, verse 4 says to him, well, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Now, it's difficult to believe that that's a sincere question, but perhaps it is. I don't want to call into question Nicodemus. It may be that he's saying certain things that are really compatible with his era, with his time. But it's an old question. It's been referred to as an age-old question. And this is what he'd be actually saying. How can a person change their ways and have a new life? How is that possible? Because a man is the sum total of all of his yesterdays. So how can I have a new life? You see, time, heredity, culture, personal dreams, experiences have all combined to make me what I am. So how can I change and become totally new? How can I be different? Have you ever had that question in your heart? Have you ever? If you have and you got saved, you have the answer. How can I have a new nature? I'm the sum total of all of my yesterdays. Everything I did in the past have accumulated to make me who I am right now. But how can I change from what I am right now? Have you ever wanted to change from what you are right now? If so, that's how you got saved. Did you ever get tired of what you were like? Some people don't. Some people don't. Especially a man like Nicodemus. Well, now wait a minute. You're a carpenter's son. You're an itinerant rabbi. I called you rabbi out of respect. Perhaps I regard you in that way. But again, it could be simply a term of courtesy. You've never gone to a rabbinic school. You have done things that have caused me to notice. But to say to me, I need to be born again. Look at the difference of age between you and me. Again, Nicodemus, one commentator said, Nicodemus is no less than 40 years of age and perhaps older than that, more than likely was. There's a difference of age. A difference of life experience. A difference of everything that you could have that relates to us as two men in the same room. And you're telling me that I have to be born again? What exactly is that? And how can I change? How can I become new? How can I be different? When I got out of the military, I saw a friend of mine, his name was Eddie. And Eddie and I used to party in high school. I'd known him since I was 14. I'm now 23, 24 years of age. I've known him for a long time at that time in my life. And I share with him about Jesus. And I tell him, Eddie, you and I, man, we went to high school together. You remember how we partied together and all of that, which we did often? I said, and I gave my heart to Jesus and my life is different. And I was witnessing to my friend. And I'll never forget him looking at me saying, you know, David, I outgrew that too. And I said, Eddie, it's not a matter of outgrowing something. I didn't outgrow. Listen, you'll never outgrow sin. You don't outgrow it. You refine it. But you don't outgrow it. You don't become so mature that you never do that again. You simply learn how to do it better. The first time you stole something, you might have gotten caught. But if you work at it, you can learn to steal. You may have lied and you got caught. You work at it. You can become pretty proficient at not telling the truth. You can refine sin. And you can become very good at it, to the point where people like you, even though they know that you're a thief and a liar. They like you because you've got other traits and they make excuses. But your nature remains the same. I have been sharing recently and it's so true. Christianity is not something that is just our teachings. Our teachings explain who we are. And the reason that we don't lie and the reason that we don't steal, and I'll be sharing this on Sunday, is because of our relationship with Jesus Christ who gives us this new nature. And that's the whole thing. That's the whole thing that Nicodemus is asking Christ about. And so Jesus goes to the heart of it and says, you have to be born again. And Nicodemus says, how? How can this be so? Well, in verse 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who was born of the Spirit. And so right now, he's confusing this man a lot. But here it is, Nicodemus, here's the answer. This is how you can be completely changed. You must be born of water and the Spirit. Now, that's a big question people have. They say, what does that mean? Well, water could speak of natural birth. Some people say, well, that means you need to be water baptized. That's what Jesus is referring to and the answer to that statement is known. That's not what Jesus is saying. Why? Because water baptism doesn't save you. Just because you're water baptized doesn't save you. I was baptized as an infant. Anybody in here baptized as a young person infant? Yeah, a number of you. I was baptized as an infant. Was I a Christian when the water hit me? No, I was a cleaner infant. That's pretty much it. Because the water didn't change my nature. Water cannot change your nature. And so Jesus is not giving the requirement of baptism. He wouldn't be speaking of baptism as a sacrament of salvation when he's speaking of regeneration. He's not doing that. Because nowhere in the Bible does it teach that water baptism saves you. It's not the washing of the flesh with water, but it's a clean conscience by the blood of Christ. That's what saves you. He's not speaking of water baptism. What would he be speaking of? Well, there are those commentators who say, this would refer to natural birth. Any woman in this room who's given birth knows of the breaking of the water. I still remember the first time my wife told me that when she said, my water has broken. Water being broken is speaking of, I'm about to give birth. Water is associated with natural birth. And so when Jesus is speaking here concerning water and all of that, he would be pointing out the fact that you need to have a new nature because a natural birth speaks of a sinful nature. And in Scripture, this sinful nature is referred to as the flesh. So there's a natural birth. You are born in flesh, but you need a spiritual. You need to be born again. It may be also a reference what somebody referred to as a backward glance at the baptism of John. And when you look at the baptism of John, the key element of John's baptism was repentance. In Mark 1.4, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. So to be born again by the Spirit of God, you need to be born and repent. And so how do I enter in? Well, I'm alive. That's one thing. I'm physically alive. And two, as a man who's been born with a natural sin nature, I need to repent. And so unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God, period. Again, I remember someone saying, those born againers think that they're the only ones going to heaven. We didn't make that up. This isn't a phrase that we coined. This is something Jesus himself said. And Jesus taught us that this is how we enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus said, you must be born again. You need a new heart which produces a new way of life. If you are not born from above, you cannot see nor enter the kingdom of God. Why? Because before we come to faith in Christ, the Bible makes it clear that we in reality are spiritually dead. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul makes it clear, verse 1, he says to the church, you, he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Later on in the same chapter, verse 5, Ephesians 2, verse 5, he says, even when we were dead in trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ by grace you've been saved. And so you cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you repent of your sin and are born again. Have that new nature that is imparted to you. And he goes on in verse 6 and says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. If our lives are centered on pleasing our fleshly desires, we will never enter heaven. In Romans 8, verse 5, it says it, those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. And he went on into verse 8 in Romans 8, and he said it like this, he said, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. I'll be mentioning this again on Sunday. I'll say it probably like I'm saying it right now. I was reading one of those Facebook feeds those news feeds. And someone was inviting people there to go to this particular quote unquote church in another city. And it says that that, and I want to paraphrase it, and I responded to it, but I want to paraphrase it where they said, we are a spirit filled church that affirms the LGBT lifestyle. Yeah, and so I wrote them and I said, that's blasphemous. That's blasphemous. Because God never affirms sin. He sent his son Jesus to die on the cross to set us free from it. And when we as a church, when a church says, you know this term come as you are, sometimes we miss the point of what that means. But that song, come just as you are, is intended to communicate. Isn't come as a murderer and stay one. Come as a thief and stay one. Come as a whatever you want. Name the sin and stay one. It says come repentant and God will receive and transform you. That's the whole point of being born again. Jesus never welcomed us into heaven to stay the same way we are on earth. Jesus intends to transform us. He intends to cleanse us. Give us a new life, a new nature. One that is pleasing to him because those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And that's why he says this. And as he's speaking there, he says in verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from, where it goes. So is everyone who's born of the spirit. So Nicodemus, even the natural creation has mysteries that you can't understand. You do not actually physically see wind. You only see its manifestations. Well those born of the spirit have obvious evidence of an unseen power that moves them. You don't need external legalism. You need new power from above that moves you to heaven. You see, Nicodemus was from a religious background that put its emphasis on all your activities, all the works that you did. You needed to fast. You needed to pray. You needed to give your gifts. And there were a variety of other things you needed to do that demonstrated that you were a person of faith. And what had happened is they had reversed what that actually means. See, the reason you perform good works is because God has done a good work in you. And he changed you from the inside. In the Old Testament, the law was written on tablets of stone. So it was external. Thou shalt not, or thou shalt. It was all external. But what God intends to do, and he does it with rebirth, is he takes those commandments that were on stone, and he writes them on the tablets of your heart. And so the things you do are not simply because you have external commands, but you have internal desires. And the internal desires come because the Spirit of God dwells within you and provokes you to do those things that are pleasing to him because you read the Bible. And the Bible says, God likes this and he doesn't like that. And what happens is your mind is changed and it becomes more consistent with what he says, even though people will say you're brainwashed, as I've said recently. That's what's wrong with you Christians. You're all brainwashed. And I still like that answer. Yeah, my brains are dirty. They needed to be washed by the blood of Christ. Yeah, I'm brainwashed. Yeah, thank you Jesus. There's nothing wrong with that. Again, an overwhelming response. But that's true. Nicodemus, it's not rules and regulations that will make you righteous. Rules and regulations change behavior, but not the nature. And that's why he says in verse 9, how can these things be? This concept of the work of the Holy Spirit is absolutely a new thing. As a teacher, he had taught his disciples conditions required for entrance into the kingdom. He would teach his disciples, his students, keep God's commands, love God, follow God daily, do his will, pray, abstain from evil. He would teach them there, those kinds of things. But Jesus is now speaking about being born again, being born of the Spirit. How can these things be? What is this? Well, verse 10, Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher of Israel and you don't know these things? I want you to let that set for a minute because that's a pretty strong statement that you might not even realize. That's a strong statement. It'd be like you being a freshman in college and you're sitting in class and your teacher who's got two or three earned PhDs and you were having a conversation and you look at them or her and you say, you've got all these doctorates and you don't know these things? That's kind of like, who are you? Who are you to talk? You snotty nose little brat. Who are you? And that's kind of what it could be taken as this itinerant rabbi. You're the teacher. Actually the translation is you are the teacher of Israel and you don't know these things. And that is an interesting dialogue between this regal rabbi and this unknown carpenter's son. It's an amazing conversation. How can this be? You're a teacher and you don't know this? You're a man of great standing but being born of the Spirit is new to you? Listen, seeing that you're a teacher of Israel perhaps you're familiar with the various passages of the Old Testament that give insight into this. For example, how about Ezekiel chapter 11 verses 19 and 20 where God says, I will give them one heart I will put a new spirit within them take the stony heart out of their flesh give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes keep my judgments and do them they shall be my people I will be their God you are the master of Israel and you don't remember Ezekiel's words about a new heart and a spirit within them? How much Joel chapter 2 verse 28 it will come about after this I will pour out my spirit on all mankind your sons and daughters will prophesy your old men will dream dreams your young men will see visions as a great teacher you know these promises Nicodemus but you have yet to grasp those promises you're aware of these scriptures but you don't understand what they speak of and so Jesus in verse 11 most assuredly I say to you we speak what we know testify what we've seen and you do not receive our witness Nicodemus I'm giving you personal testimony of how you can enter into the kingdom of God like Jesus says later in chapter 12 of John verse 49 I have not spoken on my own authority but the Father who sent me gave me a command what I should say what I should speak and so he's saying to him very clearly that these are things that he's testifying with certain knowledge and this knowledge can be relied on because the statements I'm making are absolute fact and yet verse 11 you don't receive our witness even though you know that I am a teacher come from God you are rejecting the message you don't receive our witness that speaks of a regular habit you are refusing to receive and there are many people by the way who go to church weekend and week out who don't receive the message and you might find that interesting but it's true that can come weekend and week out and not receive the message I remember somebody in our church who came and spoke to me after a service on one Sunday morning and said to me that they had recently gotten saved and I looked at them and I said listen if you've been here for a while and I'll recognize your face and some of you sit by the way in the same place every time and I can start pointing you out I mean it's true it's like this is my chair and I go and I look at it and you've got your little pen and you said my chair right there I've seen it but this fella you know I'd seen him and after a while you recognize and you see him and he's been here for years and he says I recently got saved and I looked at him and I said I've seen you here for years he goes yeah I've been here for years but only recently did I give my heart to Jesus Christ there are people who hear and hear and hear and in his case I praise God in a wonderful way because a lot of time the message eventually hardens rather than breaking they hear it so often they say I've heard this I don't need to hear it anymore and it took all that time I'm talking years I'm not talking one year or two it was three or four or more that he came every week I have more than one person I could mention like that who came and listened came and listened came and listened and then finally one day the Spirit of God says it's time and they gave their heart to Christ well Nicodemus these are things that I'm telling you that you are aware of you undoubtedly have read the scriptures that I just quoted and yet you've never embraced them and you don't know what it really means so in verse 12 he says if I have told you earthly things and you don't believe how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things if you don't understand the basics how will you understand the advanced you see being born again is a foundation for understanding spiritual things in 1st Corinthians 2 verse 12 we have received not the Spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God so the Spirit is that foundation for you to know the things of the Lord and he goes on in verse 13 no one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven that is the son of man who is in heaven man cannot raise himself to heaven to be able to understand its mysteries in Proverbs 30 verse 4 who has ascended into heaven or descended who has gathered the wind in his fists who has bound the waters in a garment who has established all the ends of the earth what is this name and what is this son's name if you know you can't raise yourself there it's too high someone has to take you there you see the mysteries of heaven are revealed to us and who is in heaven and who is from heaven Jesus Christ in verse 14 and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness remember the story when the children of Israel were in the wilderness and they were wandering they began to become discouraged when they began to be discouraged they began to murmur and they began to complain and in the book of Numbers in chapter 21 verses 5 and 6 it says that people spoke against God and against Moses why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness there is no food no water our soul loathes this worthless bread which was manna so the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people and many of the people of Israel died can you imagine that for a minute what if we started complaining and all of a sudden you see something slithering down you know Lord I take it back I'm good well when this happened the people woke up if you will they changed their minds they confessed Numbers 21 7 through 9 says therefore the people came to Moses and said we've sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and against you prayed to the Lord that he may take away the serpents from us so Moses prayed for the people and the Lord said to Moses make a fiery serpent set it on a pole and it shall be that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it shall live so Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole and so it was if a serpent had bitten anyone and looked at the bronze serpent he lived and so when Moses had that symbol it was not just the serpent on the pole just looking at the serpent placed on the pole was not going to save them they were looking past the serpent to the one who is their salvation it was in other words it was an act of faith a rabbi said he who turned toward it was saved by what he saw but by thee the savior of all and so he's speaking of faith and he's speaking of that look of faith and one day Jesus will be lifted up on a cross and those who look to him as the one who died will live spiritually that's he's already prophesying that because in verse 16 he says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish that he might have everlasting life the purpose of Jesus's death is that he might give life to us that he might give life he gave up his life that we might have life and the life that we have by the way it doesn't cease it is called age abiding life and that comes through faith in Christ and he tells us in verse 16 why he says for God so loved the world and this is the cornerstone of christianity God so loved the world that he gave there's a lot to be said I'm going to look at this briefly and show you a few things here for God salvation is not by our works it's a gift from God and it originates with him the death of Jesus is not an afterthought it's actually part of God's plan to save us in Revelation 13 verse 8 that verse speaks of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and God is the one moving on our behalf seeking out and finding the lost for God salvation is not by works it's a gift and originates with God for God so loved no sacrifice was too great to make God gave him for us because of love one of the things somebody was sharing in this verse one day and he said you know what we need to remember to emphasize and I'll do it right now it's God so loved in the unity of his love the incredible amount of it the depth of it that provoked him to do what he did and there was no sacrifice too great God gave Jesus to us and it was not the nails that kept him on the cross it was the love of God that did and God so loved the world God's love is for all and his desire is for all to be saved and we use in Romans chapter 2 verse 4 do you despise the riches of his goodness for barrens and longsuffering not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance how many times could you have died but you didn't how many accidents did you find yourself in where you should have lost your life but you didn't I have a friend I meet with every month or so I've known him for a long time we actually have a picture of us he was in he and I were in kindergarten together I've known this this man for over 60 plus years now 63 years kindergarten and he and I learned to ride bikes together hang around together I won't tell a whole lot of stories about him but other than this he shared this with me a while back he thought it was funny he still remembers it he and I his name is Bill and Bill had a a paper route and so he was riding his bike and I was riding with him while he was on his paper route and as we're coming in it was kind of like a curved area and there was a house that was on the corner and I was about 11 and there was a girl on the front porch as I recall she was pretty and so I started showing off because boys do that and so I was riding my bike with no hands kind of like this and I came around the corner and the bike went out of control and I hit the curb when I hit the curb in front of her she's sitting on she's sitting 20 feet away I hit I flew off the bike the bike kept on sliding on down the curb and I hit I rolled jumped up grabbed on the bike and took off down the street he fell off his bike laughing and he still teases me about it 57 years later he's and he was doing it to me the other day he said you remember and he said and that's why he says I didn't like it when you bought a motorcycle because if you couldn't ride a bike you were going to die on a motorcycle because when we got out of the army he bought a bike I bought a bike and we've been friends for a long time and we were just talking just the other day about that and he says do you remember that time you were riding your bike and the car was coming at us and you fell in front of the car and yeah I fell I cut in front of the car and a woman was driving I hit the ground and I still remember her face because she was only the length of a hood away from me that's how close she was and I still remember the car going back and forth and she had a 10 o'clock 2 o'clock grip on the steering wheel kind of thing and he says you remember what you yelled when you hit the ground I said what he goes you said time out which I did I yelled out time out you know and I said well it stopped magic words but he how many times could you have died not sometimes not even by your own fault you may have been driving someone blew through a light I have had near-death experiences many times many times where I should have died many times before I got saved many times where I almost got hit by a car here or something there things that could have ended my life God so loved the world he he allowed me to continue to live given me time so that I could have a relationship with him why 1 Timothy 2 verse 4 God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth God so loved the world that he gave his love isn't sentimental it's not emotional it's a love that exacted great cost because he gave that which was most dear to him he gave his son the son whom he loves and the depth of love the father has for the son amplifies the costliness of his gift because he gave his only begotten son though he has children who become children by faith there is only one that have been begotten by him and we are born again we become his children when we believe in Jesus but Jesus the only begotten and whoever believes in him should not perish whoever is just that whoever believes in him salvation is offered to all and is received it's obtained by those who believe he gave his son he loved you so much that he gave his son and we trust him and we believe as a result we have age abiding life for 17 for God didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved he who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God God didn't send Jesus to condemn but to save those who would trust him and the way to be saved is to believe what he has told you is true and to act on those things this he says in verse 19 is the condemnation that the light has come into the world men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light less his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen by God Jesus came to illuminate the darkness and to save those who live in it but men he says in verse 19 love darkness even though the Lord loves them and wants to deliver them they choose darkness and the reason they perish is because they refuse to receive salvation they reject God's love and forgiveness somebody said this I decided for the countless other men and women whose noble lives have gone unremembered than to dine at the table of the tyrant who torments them I decided to go to hell is what he is saying rather than to dine at the table of an almighty God I would rather rule in hell than to serve in heaven yeah there are people to this day you know them and I know them they'll hear the good news it's so beautiful this news hey what have you done you don't want to know what I've done do you think that nobody knows what you've done there's a God who knows every single thing you've ever done really yeah yeah he does guess what he can forgive you for every single thing you've ever done I don't believe that God loves you I mean the problem with you is that you don't see the awesome greatness and majesty of a royal judge who has made a choice that instead of condemning you has given you an opportunity to be completely forgiven completely debt free to have the handwriting that was written against you completely expunged by the blood of Christ you don't understand that every single thing you've ever done that is an offense to God he is willing to forgive but because of your pride and your self-righteousness you reject what he offers you so that you can try on your own to achieve that which you never will you need to remember Nicodemus a man who was a rabbi a man who was a scholar a man who was an aristocrat a man who was knowledgeable of all these things and yet he came to a humble carpenter and said listen how can I enter into the kingdom I see you do works give me an explanation you need to be born again how's that going to happen God so loved the world that he gave but men love darkness rather than life that's true that is so true and I have to close but that is so true you know this you go to a house party it's got a few bedrooms walk into that room turn on the light when you have couples in there and see if they say oh thanks we needed light in here think about it if you never experienced that you're a saint I have I have walked into the room I have turned on the light I've seen the couples scrambling around because what they're doing in there is done in darkness it's not done in the light it's done in darkness because they don't want anybody to see what they're doing and you can see that all the time a lot of crime is done at night why so they won't be seen that's just the fact and that's what Christ is saying they love the darkness because if it was in the light their deeds would be exposed so they do their things in the dark but you can live in the light one of the testimonies and I'll close with this that I love very much is when a dear friend of mine Frank Pastore went to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and when Frank went to be with the Lord my wife and I were close he loved him very much and Gina his wife and some of you may remember his name maybe you remember Frank he was on KKLA he was at a very popular radio show and he was part of our church for over 20 years he was very dear to me and and Marie and I had a we had taken him out to breakfast on a Friday it was Friday and it took him and Gina we went out together and spent some time at the Nordstrom Cafe over here in Montclair and Marie looks at Frank and says to Frank you know Frank I worry about you on your motorcycle I worry about you because Frank had this bike and he says oh Marie he goes no problem he says if I go home to be with the Lord while riding my bike I go home to be with the Lord while riding my bike and he even said it on his program he even said it and then he was driving home from work on his bike and he got hit and he went home to be with the Lord and I actually was in the room when he went to be with Jesus I was in the room with him and I was praying for him as he was in a coma and he had been in a coma for many days and I had my hand on him and I was praying for him when he flat lined and the nurses came running in and said you need to get out and I went out into the hall I think Dave Bustamante was with me and went to the hall and stood there and he went to be with Jesus and when his funeral was held here so many people showed up on a rainy, rainy day one of the things I'll never forget that was said about Frank was you could get into his computer and you could look from A to Z and you would never find a single thing that was dirty or wrong on that man's computer his private life was pure what a testimony, right? he didn't have a computer for his pleasure and for his business he's hidden little things that he looks at when nobody's around he had a spotless life because he lived in the light and that's what God has called us to do guys if you want to live in darkness you have your little you want to live in darkness we need to live in the light we need to live in the light why? because if we walk in the light as he is in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ's son cleanses us from all sin that's the desire we have is to have that blood cleansed life as we walk in his light