If you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 3, we're going to be looking at John 3, 1-15. I'll read it in just a second.
It's on page 1055 of your pew Bible.
Hear the word of the Lord.
Now 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 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?
Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water in the spirit, isn't that interesting?
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.
Do not marvel that I say 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.
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, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen,
but you, you all do not receive our testimony.
If I told you all earthly things and you all did not believe me,
how can you all 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.
May God bless the hearing of his word.
Amen.
Do you see this thing behind me on the screen?
Everyone in the room who sees a number, raise your hand.
Yeah, I figured.
What number is it?
Now, everyone who cannot see the number seven, raise your hand.
We are the few.
The anomalies.
We are the colorblind.
We have this thing in our eyes.
It's an anatomical defect of cones.
We can't discern green from reds or have a hard time doing that at least.
But there's another kind of blindness.
You can take that down.
It's called spiritual blindness.
By the way, I didn't even know what the number was until our dear sister Robin Town told me,
hey, when do you want me to put up the number seven?
I'm like, number seven?
You mean the colorblind test?
Yeah.
There's another kind of blindness.
It's spiritual blindness.
And it's not the result of some anatomical defect in us.
It's a result of spiritual deadness.
We are born spiritually blind because we're born spiritually dead.
And the spiritually dead are unable to see the salvation that God has provided in Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.
So this morning, God has a lesson for us.
And it comes from a conversation between this man named Nicodemus, who was a religious leader in Jesus.
The thing is, this highly respected and influential religious leader who knew his Old Testament inside and out.
The thing is, he's in the dark.
He is spiritually blind.
And Jesus tells him the only cure for that spiritual blindness, you must be born again.
This dialogue that we're going to see between Nicodemus and Jesus, it unfolds in three exchanges.
And it's kind of like watching a tennis match.
Any tennis fans?
Didn't think so?
Each exchange begins with Nicodemus serving up a statement or a question.
And then Jesus returns volley with a truly, truly.
I'm going to walk us through the conversation, then summarize the lesson that God has for us.
And then I'm going to apply it to the non-Christians in the room and to the Christians in the room.
Because to be born again is to make a huge difference in our lives.
So now let's look at the first exchange in this dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus.
And it's in verses 1 through 3.
So John chapter 3, verses 1 through 3.
And in verses 1 and 2, John introduces us to this man named Nicodemus.
And we learn he's a Pharisee.
Now a Pharisee was a certain kind of theological school of thought within Judaism at that time.
The apostle Paul was a Pharisee.
And Nicodemus was a Pharisee.
And he was also a ruler of the Jews.
Did you see that in verse 1?
Which means he was a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin,
which was a highly esteemed position with a lot of responsibility and influence.
So this was a well-educated, accomplished, respected, influential guy.
This guy named Nicodemus.
And in verse 2, he comes to Jesus at night, which is interesting.
So John includes that detail for a reason.
Likely two reasons.
Nicodemus didn't want to be seen meeting with Jesus.
He doesn't want to give people the wrong impressions because Jesus is already making some waves.
But Nicodemus wants to know what's going on with this guy.
Secondly, and more symbolically, John includes this detail because Nicodemus is in the dark.
He's living in spiritual night.
And we're going to see that unfold as this dialogue continues.
So in verse 2, Nicodemus serves up the start of the conversation.
Nicodemus is aware of the signs that Jesus has performed.
Rabbi, which is a way to respect Jesus.
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.
So Nicodemus was aware of signs that Jesus was doing.
And we know from the end of the Gospel of John that John doesn't include all the signs that Jesus does.
He says, if I were to conclude that there's not enough books to contain what Jesus has done.
So Nicodemus is aware of signs that Jesus has done that John doesn't record.
But all of these signs were intended to reveal who Jesus was.
So we can conclude this, that Nicodemus sees something unique about Jesus.
I mean, look what he says.
He says, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God.
That's unique.
And then he goes on to say, and then you do these signs that no one can do unless God is with him.
From God, God is with him.
God is with you, Nicodemus starts.
Now, this is a great way to start a conversation.
Oh, Jesus, I see God's hand on you.
But it's interesting what Nicodemus isn't saying.
He's not saying, Jesus, you are the Christ, the Messiah.
He doesn't see that Jesus is God in the flesh.
He sees Jesus as God with him, not God is him.
And so what we're already getting to see is that Nicodemus has some sense that Jesus is unique,
but he doesn't see Jesus for who he truly is.
He's in the dark.
So in verse 3, we see Jesus return volley to Nicodemus' greeting.
And in verse 3, it's almost like, did Jesus just hear what he said?
Look what he says.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
That just doesn't seem to match.
I see God's hand on you.
And Jesus is like, truly, truly, unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God.
What is going on there?
Well, that little phrase, truly, truly, that shows up 25 times in the Gospel of John.
And here's what that does.
It's Jesus exercising his authority and bringing clarity to something.
It's how Jesus introduces a definitive statement.
It's like Jesus saying, okay, let the Son of Man just be clear on this.
Truly, truly, I say to you.
That's what's going on.
And in this passage, what makes this passage interesting is that there are three truly,
trulies in it.
He is repeatedly clarifying things for this highly esteemed teacher of Israel who's in the dark.
Unless one is born again.
Let me just be clear.
Unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
When he says, unless one is born again, Jesus is referring to some kind of second birth,
some kind of spiritual event that he does not elaborate on here, but it qualifies something.
You've got to be spiritually born again in order to see the kingdom of God.
What is this kingdom of God?
And why do you need to be born again to see it?
Well, the kingdom of God is not this kind of geographic kingdom with boundaries.
The kingdom of God is a reign of God that transcends all geographies, borders, and governments.
In fact, if you want to, I want to give you a taste of the kingdom of God, what it is,
by pointing you back to the book of Daniel chapter 7.
Would you go back in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 7, verse 14?
It's on page 884 of your pew Bible.
Now, this was a vision given to Daniel, who was a prophet.
And as you're turning there, what we're going to see is that there is a particular kind of kingdom
that the ancient of days, God the Father, is going to give the Son of Man.
I'll start in verse 13.
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man.
Mark that.
And he came to the ancient of days, God the Father, and was presented before him.
And to him, the Son of Man was given dominion, rule, authority, and glory, and a kingdom
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him, the Son of Man.
His dominion, the Son of Man's dominion, is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away.
And his kingdom, the Son of Man's kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.
And so what we're told here is that this kingdom of God is a God kingdom that is everlasting and is indestructible.
And the Son of Man has something to do with it.
And what we're being told Jesus is saying here is you can't see that kingdom without being born again.
Before you enter this kingdom, you're a rebel against God and you're dead in your sins.
But when you enter this kingdom, you are made spiritually alive and you are a child of God forevermore.
So how does Jesus' response to Nicodemus make sense?
The only way that it makes sense is when you realize that Nicodemus is in the dark.
Jesus is explaining something to him that he doesn't get.
So here is the spiritually blind Nicodemus looking at Jesus, thinking that he's from God, that God is with him, when it's actually God is him.
So Jesus' response is more like,
Hey, Nicodemus, you do not know who you are talking to.
Because if you were born again, you would see the king of the kingdom standing in front of you.
God with us.
This is the first volley.
Nicodemus serves.
Jesus returns.
Point Jesus.
Second volley.
Verses 4 through 8.
It's pretty safe to say that Nicodemus was not expecting Jesus to return volley that way.
He wasn't expecting Jesus to respond to his greeting and his kind, generous greeting like that.
Because here is this accomplished, seasoned, influential, Bible teacher who sought after in Israel.
And Jesus is implying that Nicodemus can't see the kingdom of God.
That he's got to be born again.
It's like Jesus is saying,
You can't see the kingdom of God when he's staring at you in the face.
Yes.
So in verse 4, Nicodemus serves up his next serve with a question.
Verse 4.
How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?
Now, if you were inside Nicodemus' head,
and you were able to like see what he was thinking on a screen inside of his head,
do you know what it would say?
It would be this alarm.
Err.
Does not compute.
Err.
He hears what Jesus says about being born again,
and it does not compute.
So he is like all people living in darkness,
tries to make sense of it in a humanistic way.
So he goes to biology.
Literally anatomical.
He's like, wait, I'm like, you know, 54.
How can I be born again?
What are you talking about?
How can I get back into my mother's womb?
He's not getting it.
He thinks born again means something anatomical,
something literal.
He doesn't get what Jesus is saying.
He's spiritually blind.
He's in the dark.
Maybe you are in the dark.
You hear people talk about Jesus,
and you're like, I don't know what the big deal is.
What's the big deal?
Or this Jesus guy is a major crutch for these weakling Christians.
In verse 5 through 8, Jesus responds,
returns volley with a second truly, truly.
Let me just read you what he says in its entirety through verse 8.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water in 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.
Do not marvel that I say 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's going.
So it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit.
So Jesus returns volley with an explanation
of what it means to be born again.
It's going to be very helpful for us
to understand what Jesus is saying.
So let's unpack this a little bit.
First thing I want you to note
is that Jesus is kind of raising the bar a little bit.
He's talking about moving from seeing the kingdom of God
to now entering the kingdom of God,
which has to do with your will.
To enter the kingdom of God
means you must decide to enter the kingdom of God.
And he says you must be born of water in the Spirit.
In other words,
if you're not born of water in the Spirit,
whatever that means,
you cannot enter the kingdom of God.
You cannot come under God's saving reign.
You cannot experience the eternal life
that is in Christ alone.
You've got to be born again.
If you want to experience God's salvation
that is in Christ Jesus,
you must be born again.
Otherwise, you remain in a state of spiritual death,
spiritual blindness,
and under God's wrath for all of your sin.
So what does it mean to be born of water
in the Spirit?
Well, there's been a number of explanations,
and I'm guessing many of you in the room
have heard some of these.
Some people think,
some Christians think that water
is a reference to baptism,
and the Spirit is Spirit rebirth, regeneration.
Other people interpret this,
this water in Spirit,
as your physical birth.
You must be born of water,
the water that you,
your mom's womb,
the water broke,
that water,
and the Spirit.
But I've been convinced
by what Dr. D.A. Carson
makes a very convincing case.
Have you ever experienced in your Bible
where you're reading something,
and you're like,
I do not know what he's saying here?
One of the best things that you can do
at that point is ask,
hey, is this making a reference
to something back in the Old Testament?
Because that's what's going on here.
Jesus is very intentionally
using water in Spirit
for a reason,
a reason that Nicodemus
should get.
what Jesus is doing
is referring back
to a passage in Ezekiel,
chapter 36,
verses 24 through 27.
I want you to turn there with me.
That's on page 860
of your pew Bible,
Ezekiel 36, 24 through 27.
And as you're turning there,
I just want to let you know,
this is Ezekiel's version
of a new covenant prophecy.
It's like Jeremiah 31
where Jeremiah spells out
the new covenant.
that's coming.
Here,
we see Ezekiel
kind of alluding,
prophesying to what will come
with the new covenant.
In other words,
this water in Spirit
is rich
with theological freight.
So let me just read for you
chapter 36,
verses 24 through 27.
Remember,
we're talking about water
and Spirit.
Let's see if you can see it
in the passage.
I will take you,
this is God speaking,
I will take you from the nations
and gather you from all the countries
and bring you into your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water on you
and you shall be clean
from all your uncleanlinesses.
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 your heart
of stone from you,
remove your 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.
Did you see it in verse 25?
There's a reference to water
that cleanses from our sin.
Did you see in verse 26
this reference to a new heart,
a new spirit
where God takes the old heart
that is hard towards Him
and He does this spiritual cardiac surgery
and replaces it with a new heart,
a new spirit
that now has new affections.
What God is showing us here
is that this is a prophecy fulfilled
that Jesus is talking about.
That this being born again
by the Spirit, verse 8,
is the coming of the new covenant.
And we see in verse 27
that the Spirit comes to indwell us,
to cause us to obey.
We want to obey now.
And there's no coincidence
that the Valley of Dry Bones,
chapter 37,
follows this.
Resurrection.
This is what it means
to be born again.
To be made a new creation.
The old has gone.
If anyone is in Christ,
he's a new creation.
The old is gone.
The new is come.
It's a distinct and unique work
of the Holy Spirit.
Only the Holy Spirit
can take someone
who's spiritually dead
and make them spiritually alive,
applying the finished work
of Christ to them.
In verse 6,
we see this distinction
of those who are born
of the flesh are flesh.
That which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.
There are two types
of people on the planet.
Those who are born
of the flesh
and are spiritually dead.
And those who are born
of the flesh
and also born
of the Spirit,
second birth,
who have been cleansed
from their sin
and made alive to God
and are children of His
through Christ's finished work.
What we're seeing here
is Jesus saying,
with me comes the age
of the Spirit.
The age of the Spirit
that comes with the new covenant.
And it's set into motion
by the death
and resurrection of Jesus.
In verses 7 and 8,
we read,
He says to Nicodemus,
Nicodemus,
do not marvel
what I said to you.
You must be born again.
Nicodemus,
you've got Ezekiel 36 memorized.
You shouldn't marvel
what I'm telling you here.
And then he compares
this activity
of the Holy Spirit
to the wind blowing.
The wind blows
where it wishes
and you hear it sound.
You can't see the wind,
but you see the effects
of the wind.
But you do not
where it comes from
or where it goes.
You hear its sound.
You see it blowing the leaves.
The leaves rustling,
but you actually
don't see the wind.
You see clouds moving.
And Jesus says,
so it is with everyone
who's born of the Spirit.
You can't see the Holy Spirit,
but you see the effects
of the Holy Spirit
in the life of those
who are spiritually dead.
Let me tell you some of them.
When someone starts
to become aware
that,
that they are doing wrong,
this is John 16, 8.
Jesus said,
the Spirit will come
and when He comes,
He will convict the world
of sin, righteousness,
and judgment.
And so,
when someone is not,
is recognizing
that they're doing wrong,
but they recognize
that they're wrong
is against God.
Not just against
other human beings,
but against God.
That when I sin,
when I do something
that's wrong,
it's grievous
in God's sight.
When you start,
when that starts registering,
I think there's a work
of the Spirit going on.
Or,
when someone recognizes
how sinful they are,
and they're like,
I cannot do anything
about this wicked heart.
I am so sinful.
I,
in God's eyes,
I must be condemned.
There's nothing
that I can do
to dig myself out of this.
Nothing I can do.
I need some kind
of forgiveness.
I need some kind
of new work in me.
That inclination
is something
that you don't
generate yourself.
God's Spirit
grants repentance.
When you start recognizing
your sinfulness
against God,
and you're like,
oh,
that must grieve you.
I want to turn
from that,
and God,
through His Spirit,
gives you eyes
to see Jesus.
Remember,
John 16,
14,
Jesus speaks about
the primary ministry
of the Spirit
in terms of this.
He will glorify me.
And so,
one of the things
that the Holy Spirit
will do is,
He will convict
of sin against God,
and then He will set
your gaze
upon Jesus
in His finished work
on the cross
so that you can be saved,
so you can believe
in Him.
All of these things
are from the Spirit.
So,
we have the second
serve and return
where Jesus unpacks
what it means
to be born again,
point Jesus.
He's saying,
hey,
this is Ezekiel 36
being carried out
in front of you.
The new covenant,
this great salvation.
The Spirit does
what He wills.
During the summertime,
oftentimes,
we see news clips
of tornadoes
that are ripping
through towns
in Nebraska,
in Oklahoma,
and even Wisconsin,
and they leave
this trail
of destruction
and death.
It is a windstorm
out of control.
Destruction,
death.
The Holy Spirit
leaves His own path,
not of destruction
and death.
new life,
recreation,
children of God.
The Holy Spirit
is a person,
He's at work,
He's moving,
and He brings
new life.
Exchange number three.
verses nine through 15.
In verse nine,
Nicodemus serves up
his last question.
How can these things be?
How is this possible?
It appears as though
Nicodemus is having
his world rocked.
Are his lights going on?
In verse 10,
Jesus starts
His return
with a bit of a rebuke.
Are you the teacher
of Israel
and yet
you do not understand
these things?
Do you not know
your Bible?
Nicodemus,
this is clear.
This has been made aware.
This has been
in your hands.
You have read this
over and over again.
you've just not
had eyes to see.
In a very subtle way,
Jesus is actually
claiming to be
the true teacher
of Israel.
And then we see
in verse 11,
the last of these three
truly, truly,
I say to you's,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
we speak of what we,
this is Jesus speaking,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
we speak of what we know
and bear witness
to what we have seen,
but you,
which is literally
you all,
do not receive
our testimony.
This is really interesting.
Who,
who's the we?
Who's the our?
I mean,
could Jesus be talking
about His disciples?
No,
because a lot of them
really don't get it
at this point either.
Is Jesus somehow
talking about Nicodemus
just kind of being friendly
like Nicodemus was him
when He greeted him?
No,
because when you see
at the end,
but you all do not receive
our testimony,
it kind of defeats
that line of thinking.
So who could this we be?
And grammatically speaking,
from the text,
you know what you do?
You go back
to the last reference
of a person.
And do you know who it is?
The Holy Spirit.
Could this we be
Jesus referring to
the Holy Spirit
in His ministry
under the new covenant
to bring about salvation?
What a we.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit
speaking of what we know
and bear witness
to what we've seen?
They know because they're God.
They've seen heaven.
But you do not receive
our testimony.
This harkens back to John 1.
Where Jesus came to His own
and His own did not receive Him.
They don't have eyes to see,
hearts to believe.
It's further evidence
of the spiritual blindness
that we see in Nicodemus.
But I just want to let you know,
there's a rest of the story
with Nicodemus.
In chapter 7,
verse 15 and 51,
the other Jews of the Sanhedrin,
they're starting to attack Jesus.
In that sequence,
Nicodemus seeks to defend Him.
And then at the very end
of the Gospel of John
in chapter 19,
we see Nicodemus present
at the death of Jesus
and at His burial.
Helping His body
to be received and buried.
That kind of willingness
to be identified with Jesus
at great cost
at that point,
I think it's likely
that Nicodemus,
at this point,
at the end of John,
the lights have gone on.
He had moved from death to life
and he had seen
and entered the kingdom
of God,
the saving reign of God.
In verse 12,
we read,
Jesus says,
I have told you earthly things
and you did not believe.
How can you believe
if I tell you
heavenly things?
It's like,
I've been telling you
what it means
for Ezekiel 36
to be fulfilled here
on earth right now
and how you can enter
the kingdom of God right now.
How,
if you don't believe that,
you're not going to believe
what I've got to tell you
about heavenly things
which I have seen firsthand.
Again,
Jesus is speaking
of spiritual blindness.
You must be born again,
Nicodemus.
In verse 13,
Jesus further elaborates
on what he's seen.
No one has ascended
into heaven
except he who descended
from heaven,
the Son of Man.
what Jesus is saying here
is
no one has had
an eyewitness view
of heaven
except me
because
I am from heaven.
He has eternally existed
as a second person
of the Trinity
and he has eternally existed
with God the Father
and God the Spirit
in heaven together
and he left heaven
and took on flesh
and walked this planet.
He has seen heaven
firsthand
is what he's saying
and then he drops
the title,
the Son of Man.
No one has ascended
into heaven
except he descended
from heaven,
the Son of Man.
This is a title
that Jesus uses
exclusively
for himself
and it is
a big claim
and that title
is used
in a few different places
in your Bibles
but if you flip back
to Daniel chapter 7
I just want to help you
see what's going on
here in this passage.
Again,
page 884
of your Pew Bible.
Jesus says
or God says
through Daniel,
Daniel says
with these night visions
and behold
I saw in the night visions
and behold
with clouds of heaven
there came one
like a Son of Man
and he came
to the ancient of days
and was presented
before him
and to him
was given dominion
and glory
and a kingdom
that all people's nations
and languages
serve him,
the Son of Man.
His,
the Son of Man's dominion
is an everlasting dominion
which shall not pass away
and the Son of Man's kingdom
one that shall
not be destroyed
everlasting,
indestructible.
This is the kingdom
of God
that the Son of Man
brings with him
when he descends
from heaven.
The Son of Man
is given full authority
over this eternal,
indestructible,
saving reign of God
and the Son of Man
has descended
of heaven
from heaven.
He is the word
became flesh
that has dwelt among us.
We beheld his glory.
Glory is of the one
and only of the Father.
How can these things
be,
says Nicodemus,
the Son of Man
is standing
in front of him.
Ezekiel 36
is fulfilled
in front of him.
That's how
these things can be.
God is being faithful
to his word.
Nicodemus
was looking
at the Son of Man.
In verse 14
we read,
and as Moses
lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man
be lifted up.
That serpent
in the wilderness
is a reference
to Numbers 21.
It's an account
where Israel
grumbles and complains
against God
and God
disciplines them
by sending fiery serpents
who bite them.
Many of the Israelites
die.
They realize
they've been naughty
so they cry out
to God
and God provides
a mercy
to them.
He tells Moses
to construct
a brazen serpent,
a bronze servant,
and to lift it up
on a pole
and when Israel
is bitten
they are to
look upon
this bronze serpent
and be healed
to live.
And Jesus is saying,
you remember that?
That was actually
in an incredible way
pointing to me.
so must the Son of Man
be lifted up.
We've all been
bitten by sin.
We're all deserved
death because of sin
and God has sent
Jesus as the Son of Man
who brings this kingdom
of eternal life
and the way
to be healed,
the way to receive
eternal life,
to be cleansed
from your sin,
to be given
a new spirit
is to look upon
the Son of Man
hanging on the cross
to be lifted up,
to believe.
And whoever believes
who looks upon him
with eyes of faith
may have eternal life.
You're born again.
That life starts
immediately.
You enter into
a relationship
with God
through Christ
and it's the best.
it's quite a response.
Point Jesus.
Match.
Set.
Game.
Three exchanges.
All responded
by truly, truly
by the Son of Man.
We learn about
the kingdom of God,
what it means
to be born of the Spirit,
that Jesus is
the Son of Man
who's been lifted up
on the cross.
This is the way
to be born again.
You know what the lesson is?
You must be born again.
And this passage
points to three realities.
The depth
of our sinfulness.
Our sinfulness
is so deep
that we are
flat liners
spiritually
from the get-go.
Our sinfulness
is so deep
that we have no
God-honoring
brain activity.
We're brain dead
when we come out.
So in an
extraordinary display
of God's grace
so that we could see
and enter
the kingdom of God,
He gives us
spiritual life
by the Holy Spirit.
We can't
self-start
our
spiritual life.
life.
So what we see here
is apart from Christ
we are all
in the valley
of dry bones,
dead in our sins,
with only one hope
to be made alive
by God.
And so
the first thing
reality that comes
to the fore
is our utter
spiritual sinfulness.
Have you come to terms
with that?
Can you see that?
The second reality
is
the glory of Christ.
The love of God
in Christ Jesus.
Behold the glory
of Jesus
who lovingly,
willingly
left heaven
to take on flesh,
to live a sinless life
and was
willingly
lifted up
on the cross
to die
for our sins.
He's the Lamb of God.
His death
ushered in
a new era
of salvation.
He ushered in
the kingdom
of God,
the saving reign
of God,
the age
of the Spirit.
Glory be to Him.
Your sin is worse
than you can possibly imagine,
but God's grace
and His love
is beyond that still.
The third reality
is the Spirit alone
is able to give us life.
The only way
to enter God's kingdom
of eternal life,
the only way
to see
and enter salvation
is you must
be born of the Spirit.
You must be born again.
You must be able
to see
you're so dead
that there needs
to be a work
of the Spirit
to incline
your hearts
to Christ.
So it is
with everyone
born of the Spirit.
The Spirit alone
give spiritual eyes
to the spiritually blind.
You must be born again.
Are you born again?
If you're a non-Christian,
you cannot save yourself.
There's not enough
communions to take
that will give you life,
the life you need.
You can't attend church
enough times
to be born again.
It doesn't come that way.
You can't be good enough.
You're doing good deeds
does not give you
new life.
Only God's Spirit
gives you new life.
There's a device
called F4 Opter.
And if you've been
to your optometrist,
you've sat in front of it.
You sit in a chair
and this big metal thing
comes in front of your eyes
and it's got
like thousands
of different lens options.
and your optometrist
will say,
hey, will you look
at the letters
in front of you
on the eye chart?
Big E
and then there's
smaller and smaller
lines of letters
and she will say
something like,
hey, can you see that now?
And you're like,
yeah, I can see that.
And then she'll do
some click, click, click, clicks
and she'll be like,
is that clear
or is that clear?
And you're like,
the second one
and then click, click, click, click, click.
And then she'll go
down to the third line
and is that clear
or is this clear?
And so what she's doing
is she's testing the clarity
by what you see.
Let me run through a test,
non-believer.
Do you see your own sin
is against God?
Yes.
Click, click, click, click.
Let's move on.
Do you see that
you cannot save yourself?
Yes.
Good.
Click, click, click, click, click.
Do you see the Son of Man
lifted up on the cross
died for you?
Yes.
Click, click, click, click, click.
That is the work
of God's Spirit.
Do you have new desires
for God in your heart?
A desire to please Him
and honor Him?
Do you want that yes?
The way to be born again
is to put your trust
in Jesus Christ.
To believe on Him.
And today, you can do that.
You simply say,
Jesus, I need you.
Would you give me the life
that's only found in you?
Amen.
Christians,
do you have
spiritual glaucoma?
It's not spiritual blindness.
It's something that's in the way
of you seeing clearly.
Maybe it's materialism.
Maybe it's your pride.
Maybe it's your lust.
But what you do is ask
the Holy Spirit,
ask your Father
to pour out the Holy Spirit
upon you
and to revitalize your soul
that you can see clearly.
There's more I can say.
Those who've been born again,
they see clearly,
they are grateful,
and in evangelism,
they are dependent
on the Holy Spirit
because it's the Holy Spirit
who convicts people
of their sin.
Do you remember
that little color blindness test
that we started
this sermon off with?
There's no cure
for color blindness,
but there is a cure
for spiritual blindness.
You must be born again.
The Holy Spirit
gives eyes to see
and a heart to believe
the Son of Man
lifted up for you.
It changes what you see
in the Bible.
It changes from you
looking at the Bible
as page after page
of blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah,
to seeing page after page
of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ,
the Son of Man
lifted up for you.
You must be born again.
Let's pray.
Father, you alone
give new life
to the Spirit
based upon the finished work
of Jesus,
and would you
give new life
to those who are dead
in the room?
Would you, God,
use our witness of Christ
for people to hear
what Christ has done
and believe?
God, we trust you
would you, God,
add to our number
through conversions
more and more
who move from being dead
to being alive,
from being rebels
to being children,
and for those of us
who have already been
born again, God,
would you just continue
to reveal the glory
of God
in the face
of Jesus Christ?
It's your name we pray.
Amen.