WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.080 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.240 Good morning, I'm Denise Yon, and I'm part of the San Francisco Community Group. 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:42.079 Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 1 to 21, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:49.519 Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:52.260 He came to Jesus at night and said, 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:56.320 Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.399 for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:02.039 Jesus replied, 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:08.000 Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.680 How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.260 Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:16.920 Jesus answered, 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.219 Very truly I tell you, 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:25.879 no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:30.719 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit. 00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:34.599 You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again. 00:01:35.179 --> 00:01:36.739 The wind blows wherever it pleases. 00:01:37.259 --> 00:01:41.199 You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. 00:01:41.839 --> 00:01:44.199 So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. 00:01:44.979 --> 00:01:46.780 How can this be? Nicodemus asked. 00:01:47.299 --> 00:01:51.500 You are Israel's teacher, Jesus said, and do you not understand these things? 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:57.260 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.299 but still you people do not accept our testimony. 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:04.439 I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.579 How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:12.680 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:18.960 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:22.000 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:27.599 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:32.460 that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:37.879 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 00:02:38.420 --> 00:02:40.280 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:45.979 because whoever does not believe stands condemned already, 00:02:46.420 --> 00:02:49.960 because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:51.760 This is the verdict. 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:56.800 Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light, 00:02:57.200 --> 00:02:58.560 because their deeds were evil. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.400 Everyone who does evil hates the light, 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.659 and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.520 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:15.300 so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:17.680 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:19.819 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:37.840 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:03:38.980 --> 00:03:43.159 Did anyone else wake up yesterday morning to a tsunami warning? 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:44.860 Or was that just me? 00:03:44.980 --> 00:03:45.620 That's the first time. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:46.680 I've lived here 16 years. 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:48.219 First time I've ever received one of those. 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:53.900 And what I found so disconcerting was that it wasn't like an amber alert. 00:03:54.280 --> 00:04:01.219 You know, it's this extremely loud, jarring sound that tells you something terrible is happening right now. 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:05.620 It was more like this quiet, subtle text that came on my phone that was like, 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:07.500 hey, you're about to die in a tsunami. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:12.500 And I was like, man, can we put an alarm on that? 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:15.340 What if I hadn't woken up, you know? 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.300 And did anybody else have a panic when you saw that? 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:23.540 Well, what I love are our tsunami evacuation route signs. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:24.560 Have you seen those? 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:28.319 They're really interesting. 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:31.339 They tell people which way to run. 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:36.879 They're these blue signs, and they have a giant scary wave and a little arrow pointing inland. 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:42.079 And that's our tax dollars at work helping us out. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:48.479 Now, if you see a big, wet, mean, scary wall of water coming this way, 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:53.759 and you don't know that you should turn around and start running that way, 00:04:54.419 --> 00:04:56.699 that sign's probably not going to help you very much. 00:04:56.979 --> 00:04:58.879 You're like, you need more help than that. 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:02.360 Is this like a stand-in-the-doorway situation? 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:04.199 Stop, drop, and roll? 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:05.139 What do I do right now? 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:08.919 Okay, we are in the Gospel of John. 00:05:09.259 --> 00:05:12.379 And we're looking at this Gospel from Christmas to Easter. 00:05:12.659 --> 00:05:17.899 And it's organized around a series of 11 conversations with Jesus. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:22.759 And today we're looking at the first and most important of these face-to-face encounters. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.639 And it's Nicodemus, this guy Nicodemus, 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:31.019 who's engaging in this back-and-forth Q&A session with Jesus. 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:36.199 And through this Gospel, we too are invited to enter into regular, 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:39.979 ongoing encounters and conversations with Jesus. 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:43.279 And notice who's part of this late-night dialogue. 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:47.379 It's a conversation between two great teachers. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:52.859 The older teacher, we're told in verse 10, is the teacher of Israel. 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:54.439 There's a definite article there in the Greek. 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:56.519 He's the teacher of Israel. 00:05:56.899 --> 00:06:00.019 This is Professor Nicodemus, Dr. Nicodemus. 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:03.180 He's an expert on the Bible, theology, and divinity. 00:06:03.859 --> 00:06:07.519 And the younger teacher has no formal theological training, 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:10.740 has no institutional right to be called a rabbi, 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:12.359 but he is making his mark. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:17.819 And this famous teacher has taken notice, caught his attention, 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:21.539 and he's come seeking Jesus as an honest inquirer, 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:24.279 as a curious explorer. 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:28.599 Probably Nicodemus has heard Jesus teaching the crowds in public. 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:33.400 He probably knows about Jesus' special training for his inner circle of disciples. 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:39.220 And so he comes for this private, personal, one-on-one talk with Jesus. 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:40.300 And he says in verse 2, 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:43.040 Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher who has come from God, 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:48.240 for no one could perform the signs you were doing if God were not with him. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:54.780 It's clear through the supernatural signs of power, 00:06:55.319 --> 00:07:00.300 changing water to wine, healing people, feeding people, forgiving people, 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:04.180 it's clear that you are from God and that God is with you. 00:07:04.340 --> 00:07:07.920 The teacher of Israel sees in Jesus a unique teacher, 00:07:07.960 --> 00:07:09.740 and he says, I want to learn from you. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:11.759 I want to learn from you. 00:07:11.840 --> 00:07:14.240 He has an open and independent mind. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.720 He's not, you know, a conformist to the crowd and the opinions of the crowd. 00:07:19.620 --> 00:07:23.879 Nicodemus is determined to get his questions answered from the source. 00:07:23.939 --> 00:07:28.860 And I pray that Christchurch would be a place for open-minded seekers of the truth, 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.120 perhaps friends that God has placed in your life, 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:40.100 that we would bring open-hearted people who are honest inquirers and curious explorers. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:47.680 And like Nicodemus, they could come here and seek out not a caricatured version of Jesus, 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.700 which we get often in public opinion, 00:07:51.460 --> 00:07:54.520 not a piecemeal co-opted version of Jesus, 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:57.600 which we get in the news and various books and documentaries, 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:04.680 but to seek out and to encounter the real, original, historical Jesus of the Gospels. 00:08:05.400 --> 00:08:07.020 Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, he says, 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:08.539 ask and it will be given to you. 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:10.039 Seek and you'll find. 00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:12.399 Knock and the door will be opened to you. 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:14.139 And elsewhere in the New Testament, 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:18.399 it says that God rewards people who diligently seek him. 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:25.419 And so I hope this is a place for all of us to come and to seek out conversations with Jesus. 00:08:26.539 --> 00:08:32.319 Now, what's the substance of this conversation between Jesus and the teacher of Israel? 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:38.660 It's simply this, that God's new life comes into you by the Spirit, 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:41.860 through the Son, and from the Father. 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:45.740 That God's new life comes into you by the Spirit, 00:08:46.020 --> 00:08:48.379 through the Son, and from the Father. 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:53.480 And I want to just look for a minute of how God's new life comes into you by the Spirit. 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:56.340 Listen to Jesus when he says in verse 3, 00:08:56.340 --> 00:09:00.340 No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again. 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:02.580 Verse 5, 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:06.240 No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:07.800 Verse 6, 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:10.139 The Spirit gives birth to Spirit. 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:14.160 And he talks about everyone who is born of the Spirit in verse 8. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:19.060 Now, that term, born again, makes some of us nervous. 00:09:19.180 --> 00:09:19.860 Is that just me? 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:21.280 Or does that make you nervous too? 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:28.240 It makes us nervous because that term has been hijacked and abused by people who have no clue what the term means. 00:09:29.419 --> 00:09:32.139 You know, I love the bumper stickers of Berkeley. 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.639 And maybe you've seen the one around town, Born Okay the First Time. 00:09:36.459 --> 00:09:37.339 That's a good one. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:39.000 Have you seen the one that says, 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:41.480 Instead of being born again, why not just grow up? 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:43.259 I like that one. 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:44.279 Or there's another one that says, 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.559 Born Again and Again and Again and Again. 00:09:46.839 --> 00:09:47.179 Buddhist. 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:53.559 One of you sent me a Christmas letter with a bumper sticker for Christmas. 00:09:53.779 --> 00:09:54.079 It says, 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:55.739 Adam and Eve standing next to a tree. 00:09:55.839 --> 00:09:56.319 And it says, 00:09:56.739 --> 00:09:59.639 God's original plan was to hang out with naked vegetarians. 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:01.659 And I like that one. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:03.419 So thank you, Keith and Lindsay, for that. 00:10:05.439 --> 00:10:07.899 Understandably, we're nervous about this term, Born Again, 00:10:08.079 --> 00:10:11.219 because people claim it who aren't living the reality. 00:10:11.319 --> 00:10:14.379 And we're not sure we want to associate ourselves with such people. 00:10:14.379 --> 00:10:18.960 But like Nicodemus, let's keep an open mind about Jesus' teaching for a minute. 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:20.960 Because eight times in this conversation, 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:24.379 he talks about being born and being birthed. 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:28.899 And Jesus is distinguishing between two different kinds of births, 00:10:28.939 --> 00:10:30.460 two different kinds of life. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.679 There's the life of the flesh, and there's the life of the spirit. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:36.580 The Greek word bios, 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:44.820 That's a term that describes your biological, physical life that's given to you from below 00:10:44.820 --> 00:10:48.440 when you're conceived by human parents and born from your mother's womb. 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:49.940 Flesh gives birth to flesh. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.780 And that's a common event here at Christ Church. 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:54.840 We're blessed with lots of babies. 00:10:55.040 --> 00:10:59.820 Each new baby is the cutest baby ever here at Christ Church. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:05.340 But Jesus says we must move from being born of the flesh to being born of the spirit. 00:11:05.340 --> 00:11:09.460 From biological life to zoe life. 00:11:10.280 --> 00:11:14.940 And that Greek word zoe is about the life of God that's given to us from above 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:21.580 by the Holy Spirit, this new God-centered, God-energized, God-directed life. 00:11:22.540 --> 00:11:23.640 And we hear about that. 00:11:23.780 --> 00:11:24.620 Oh, thank you, God. 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:25.640 Did that just turn off? 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:26.660 Thank you, Lord. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:29.639 There it is. 00:11:29.959 --> 00:11:30.399 Amazing. 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:33.079 Okay. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:34.199 Well, we have to focus. 00:11:35.719 --> 00:11:36.860 John 3, 16. 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:41.399 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:47.279 that whoever believes in him should not perish but should have eternal life. 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:51.059 That's the most quoted but least understood verse in the Bible. 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:56.339 Zoene aeonion is this Greek term that's talking about the uncreated, 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:02.399 energies of God's life, the divine life, the life that's full and abundant, 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:06.539 the life that's deep and lasting, the life that's real and genuine, 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.959 the life of God that is without beginning and without end, that is unceasing. 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:14.220 Jesus says that life can come into you. 00:12:15.420 --> 00:12:20.580 Naturally, from birth, you only have earthly, bios life. 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:27.280 And Jesus says supernaturally, from above, this heavenly, zoe life of God can come into you. 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:30.159 But he says in verse 3, 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:34.339 no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again. 00:12:35.199 --> 00:12:40.299 And in verse 5, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 00:12:41.699 --> 00:12:44.399 Jesus says before you're born again, you're blind. 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:46.959 You don't see the kingdom of God. 00:12:47.079 --> 00:12:52.379 Before you're born again, you're an excluded outsider who has not entered into the kingdom of God. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:58.080 And you're like, ouch, Jesus, why are you being so offensive, so off-putting in your language? 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:02.639 What does Nicodemus understand about the kingdom of God? 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:04.600 The kingdom of God, all Jewish people know, 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.659 this is the future resurrection at the end of history 00:13:07.659 --> 00:13:13.740 where God is going to powerfully heal and recreate and give life to the world. 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:17.159 And where the people that want God are going to welcome him 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:19.919 and surrender to his sovereignty and his rule 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.259 and joyfully embrace his gracious and liberating reign. 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:26.480 And Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:30.879 if you want to see and enter into that future reality, 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.779 even now, you can, Nicodemus. 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:35.940 But I have to tell you the truth, you're not ready. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:38.500 It hasn't happened yet. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:42.539 Something radical needs to change inside of you. 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:47.259 Now, most of us are probably thinking, yeah, we all need to change, right? 00:13:47.439 --> 00:13:48.519 None of us are perfect. 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:54.980 We could all use an extra infusion of divine help to, you know, sort of be topped off, tuned up, 00:13:55.639 --> 00:14:00.539 turn over a new leaf, adjust this, tweak that, stop this, start that. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:09.579 But Jesus would say to us, no, I'm not talking about a reformed, improved, retrofitted, upgraded self 00:14:09.580 --> 00:14:13.680 where you're born again from below by human effort. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.480 What I'm talking about is a transformed self 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:22.940 where you have the life of God implanted in you from above by the Holy Spirit. 00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:31.580 Now, it's not surprising to us that a woman like the woman we meet in John 4, the Samaritan woman, 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:36.020 that she or anyone like her would need to be born from above 00:14:36.020 --> 00:14:38.180 because her life is so broken. 00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:39.860 It's such a complete mess. 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:45.020 But what's shocking is that Nicodemus needs to be born from above 00:14:45.020 --> 00:14:46.820 because have you seen his CV? 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:50.360 His resume is kind of like some of your resumes. 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.620 Nicodemus is born Jewish. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.600 He's born into the family of Abraham. 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.259 He's a member of the elect covenant people of God. 00:14:59.060 --> 00:15:02.019 He belongs to the serious Pharisee party, 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:05.700 the most earnest Bible-believing branch of the Jewish faith in Jesus' time, 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:09.139 committed to righteous living with God and with their neighbors. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:14.860 He's the teacher of Israel, a great minister of the word of God, 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:17.460 learned, cultured. 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:21.180 He's a leader of the Sanhedrin, of the ruling council. 00:15:21.280 --> 00:15:24.100 He's a man of great responsibility and respect. 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:27.800 He even has a high view and a deep appreciation for Jesus, 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:30.360 his divine origin and divine power. 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:36.600 Is there anyone more qualified to be a good human being 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:40.440 or to enjoy a good relationship with God than Nicodemus? 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.060 Does he really need to be born a second time? 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:49.819 He has intellectual power, religious fidelity, moral rectitude. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:50.979 He's civically minded. 00:15:51.099 --> 00:15:52.979 He's a pillar of his community. 00:15:53.119 --> 00:15:55.599 He's a highly successful person. 00:15:55.599 --> 00:16:00.179 It's hard to imagine a finer, more noble, more admirable person. 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.319 And frankly, any pastor would be doing cartwheels 00:16:03.319 --> 00:16:05.959 to have Nicodemus become a member of their church. 00:16:06.599 --> 00:16:07.759 And what does Jesus say? 00:16:07.839 --> 00:16:08.979 He says, none of this counts. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:13.200 You have to start all over. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:20.139 Even you, Nicodemus, even you need to be reborn from above 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:22.600 to be part of the kingdom of God. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.800 Whether you're Dr. Nicodemus in John 4, 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:30.639 or you're the Samaritan woman of John 4, John 3, 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:32.960 whether you're accomplished on the one hand 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.340 or a failure on the other, 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:35.700 whether you're put together 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:39.519 or you're deeply broken and jacked up, 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:42.519 Jesus says no one can see, 00:16:42.820 --> 00:16:44.580 no one can enter the kingdom of God 00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:47.080 unless they're born from above. 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:49.320 And you might be thinking, 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:54.200 okay, but even Presbyterians need to be born from above? 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.460 And Jesus says, you must. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.879 Without it, you have no knowledge of the eternal, 00:17:00.560 --> 00:17:03.720 no life of God in you, no hope for heaven. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:05.580 And maybe you say, okay, well, how does it happen? 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:07.779 Jesus tells us in verse eight, he says, 00:17:07.860 --> 00:17:09.500 the wind blows wherever it pleases. 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:13.059 You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:13.819 or where it is going. 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:16.940 So it is with everyone born of the spirit. 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:20.720 It's difficult to locate the source of the wind 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:22.019 or to control its movement. 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:26.000 But the power of the wind creates results 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.559 that everyone can see, right? 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:29.640 Clouds scurrying across the sky, 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:32.839 ships sailing across the water, 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:35.600 turbines creating energy, 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:40.259 trees that are bent and even broken in a storm. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:42.819 And Jesus here is making a pun 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:45.839 because the word for wind and spirit 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.440 is the same word for breath, wind, spirit. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.059 It's all the same. 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:52.940 Perhaps there's a wind blowing outside the window 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:54.879 as Jesus is speaking, the spring breeze. 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:57.119 And what he's saying is that God, 00:17:57.220 --> 00:18:00.859 when God puts this invisible, mysterious, 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:07.179 but very real power, the wind, the breath, 00:18:08.139 --> 00:18:10.179 the spirit of God in you, 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:14.119 it powerfully brings about a new life, 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:19.419 a new DNA, a new heart and mind and will, 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:22.039 a new identity and purpose and priorities, 00:18:22.800 --> 00:18:24.560 new motivations, new ambitions, 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:27.620 new awareness of spiritual reality. 00:18:28.840 --> 00:18:30.300 And you see, after the new birth, 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.779 I have the same body, I have the same face, 00:18:32.840 --> 00:18:35.240 I have the same passport, the same temperament. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:40.160 But if you're an introvert before the new birth, 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:42.900 you're gonna be an introvert after the new birth. 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:47.420 It's just that you are gonna find it much easier 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:48.880 to live with yourself, right? 00:18:49.580 --> 00:18:51.640 And if you're an extrovert before the new birth, 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:52.900 you're gonna be an extrovert after, 00:18:53.040 --> 00:18:55.740 you're just gonna be much easier to live with, right? 00:18:55.780 --> 00:18:56.660 For the rest of us. 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:00.980 The new birth turned the first Christians 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:04.860 into history-changing, world-changing figures. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:05.300 Why? 00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:05.379 Why? 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.099 Not because they were made of more promising materials 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:08.859 than you and me, 00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:12.519 but because that invisible, mysterious, 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.720 yet very real power of the Holy Spirit came 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:19.059 and it put the new life of God in them. 00:19:20.119 --> 00:19:21.799 And nothing's been the same since. 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:27.839 So God's new life comes into you by the Spirit. 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:29.659 You guys with me so far? 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:33.680 Okay, God's new life comes into you by the Spirit, 00:19:33.779 --> 00:19:35.620 but also through the Son, we're told. 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:36.420 Through the Son. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:38.500 Let me get a show of hands. 00:19:39.100 --> 00:19:40.740 How many of you decided to be born? 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:43.420 How many of you birthed yourselves? 00:19:44.180 --> 00:19:46.740 We know that that's not something that you do. 00:19:46.820 --> 00:19:48.680 It happens by the prior initiative 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:50.120 and decision of your parents. 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:52.500 And when you're born, who does all the work? 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.420 Ask all the mamas in here. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:57.560 They did everything. 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:01.079 The labor pains, the blood, the sweat, the tears. 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:03.639 No one is born without a mom 00:20:03.639 --> 00:20:06.480 who risks her life to give you life. 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:09.399 And Jesus drawing on that, he says, 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:11.619 when the life of God is birthed in you, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:12.859 you are passive. 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:16.740 And God does all the action on your behalf. 00:20:17.659 --> 00:20:19.659 And this is what he's getting at in verse 13 00:20:19.659 --> 00:20:20.679 when he says, 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:22.119 no one has ever gone into heaven 00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:23.639 except the one who came from heaven, 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:24.399 the Son of Man. 00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:27.220 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.180 so the Son of Man must be lifted up 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:32.579 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. 00:20:32.620 --> 00:20:33.920 Okay, Jesus is Jewish. 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:35.839 He's steeped in Israel's Bible. 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:37.279 He knows it like the back of his hand. 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:39.759 And so he drops these two Bible clues 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:41.799 that any Jewish kid ought to know, 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.319 much less the serious teacher and leader of Israel, 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:46.039 Nicodemus. 00:20:46.100 --> 00:20:48.819 And so he wants to show Nicodemus 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:51.480 that God does all the action 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:53.880 to bring about the new birth. 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.240 And the first clue he gives in verse 13 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:58.580 when he talks about the heavenly Son of Man, 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.860 he's talking about his own identity and person. 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:06.920 Jesus is given many titles in this gospel so far 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:07.940 and many more to come. 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:10.720 But you know his favorite self-designated title? 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:12.880 The Son of Man. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.020 And it comes from the prophet Daniel chapter seven 00:21:16.020 --> 00:21:16.960 where it says, 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:45.640 That's Jesus' favorite self-designation, 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:47.720 that he is the Son of Man 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:51.500 who has VIP special access 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:53.700 to the presence of God, 00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:57.460 who has God-given authority and glory 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:58.560 and kingly power, 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.820 who's worshiped in every language by every culture, 00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:05.500 and whose dominion is everlasting 00:22:05.500 --> 00:22:07.960 and whose kingdom is indestructible. 00:22:08.020 --> 00:22:10.400 And he's basically slapping a name tag on himself 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:11.920 in front of Nicodemus and saying, 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:15.759 Hello, my name is Daniel seven, son of man. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:18.720 He takes Nicodemus' Bible, 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.160 opens to Daniel seven and says, 00:22:20.300 --> 00:22:21.620 in the margin, that's me. 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:24.640 Nicodemus, you know me, 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:26.200 but I don't think you know me. 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:28.820 You respect me, 00:22:28.900 --> 00:22:30.560 but if you realized who I am, 00:22:30.580 --> 00:22:32.640 you would fall on the ground before me. 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:36.779 You're right to say that I'm a teacher of God's word, 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.100 but more than that and better than that, 00:22:39.100 --> 00:22:41.120 I am God's word in the flesh. 00:22:41.959 --> 00:22:44.519 You are right to say that God is with me, 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:46.239 but more than that and better than that, 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:47.519 God is me. 00:22:48.419 --> 00:22:50.759 You are right to say that I am from God, 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:52.119 but get this, Nicodemus, 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.039 I descended from heaven 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:57.379 and I'm going to ascend to heaven as the bridge, 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.839 as the ladder between heaven and earth, 00:23:00.939 --> 00:23:03.219 between the divine and the human realm, 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:06.079 because I am the way and the truth and the life 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:07.799 and nobody comes to the Father 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.139 except through me. 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:11.240 That's clue number one. 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:13.960 Verse 13, the heavenly son of man, 00:23:14.020 --> 00:23:15.860 that's Jesus' identity and his person, 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:17.720 but clue number two is in verse 14 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:20.740 when he's talking about Moses lifting up the snake. 00:23:20.820 --> 00:23:23.680 He's talking about his mission and his work. 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:26.820 And again, this is a classic story from the Torah 00:23:26.820 --> 00:23:29.259 that every Jewish boy or girl would know. 00:23:29.340 --> 00:23:30.180 Numbers 21, 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:33.740 and there the people of God are in the wilderness 00:23:33.740 --> 00:23:35.640 between Egypt and the promised land 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:38.019 and they're doing what the people of God do, 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:39.400 rebelling. 00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:43.299 And God's judgment comes on them 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:46.180 in a plague of these poisonous snakes. 00:23:46.180 --> 00:23:48.320 And as they get bitten, 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:52.299 this toxic venom creates fever and convulsions 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:53.860 and thirst and ultimately death. 00:23:54.100 --> 00:23:57.799 And really it's an outward physical sign 00:23:57.799 --> 00:23:59.860 of their inward spiritual reality. 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:01.900 God is helping them to see 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:04.360 the poisonous pride in their heart, 00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:05.320 right? 00:24:05.340 --> 00:24:07.519 The venomous vanity in their spirits. 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:11.320 That death-dealing toxin of self-centeredness 00:24:11.320 --> 00:24:13.860 that has a grip on all of our wills. 00:24:13.859 --> 00:24:16.740 And as they begin to realize this in their misery, 00:24:16.879 --> 00:24:19.000 they cry out to God for mercy. 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:22.039 And their judge once again becomes their savior. 00:24:22.939 --> 00:24:25.119 And God in his compassion provides a remedy. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.719 He provides a means of healing. 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:30.419 He says, okay, make a poison snake substitute 00:24:30.419 --> 00:24:31.519 out of bronze. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.699 I know this is really strange, 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:35.959 but make a poison snake substitute out of bronze, 00:24:36.199 --> 00:24:38.339 put it on a pole, lift it up. 00:24:38.479 --> 00:24:40.559 And when every snake-bitten person 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:42.259 looks at that substitute, 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:44.279 they will be cured. 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:46.240 And they will be saved. 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:49.400 And that's what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:51.000 I, when the son of man 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.720 is lifted up on the tree of the cross, 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:59.140 I will become the remedy of God 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:02.019 for all the sin and guilt of the world. 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:04.799 I'm gonna take all of your poison 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:08.180 and venom and toxins into myself. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.079 And I'm gonna become sin on your behalf 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:15.519 and take the place of your God forsakenness. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:17.440 And why does he do this? 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:21.119 Why does he go through all this pain and darkness for us? 00:25:21.159 --> 00:25:22.539 He tells us in verse 15, 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:25.240 so that everyone who believes 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:30.279 may have eternal life in him, in me. 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:36.480 The Zoe, eternal, divine life of God in you. 00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:40.200 God does all the action 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:43.039 so that this can be birthed in you. 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:45.319 And the question for us is, 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:46.519 well, what do we need to do? 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:50.359 And Jesus says, simply believe. 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:53.539 Look at me. 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:55.619 Trust me. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:58.299 Commit yourself to me. 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:04.039 Rest the full weight of your life on me. 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:07.480 And that heavenly, divine life from above 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:09.639 will be birthed in you. 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:14.420 I love these words from this hymn from the 1830s. 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:14.859 It says, 00:26:14.859 --> 00:26:18.899 There is life for a look at the crucified one. 00:26:19.459 --> 00:26:21.439 There is life at this moment for thee. 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:24.859 Then look, sinner, look unto him and be saved, 00:26:24.919 --> 00:26:26.679 unto him who was nailed on the tree. 00:26:27.479 --> 00:26:31.059 It is not thy tears of repentance nor prayers, 00:26:31.819 --> 00:26:33.939 but the blood that atones for the soul. 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:37.279 On him then believe and a pardon receive, 00:26:37.419 --> 00:26:39.659 for his blood can now make you quite whole. 00:26:39.919 --> 00:26:42.699 Look, look, look and live. 00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:46.180 There is life for a look at the crucified one. 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:49.700 There is life at this moment for thee. 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:56.100 Does that new life come into you? 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:00.900 By the Spirit, through the Son? 00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:04.539 God's new life, Jesus teaches us, 00:27:04.600 --> 00:27:07.080 comes into us by the Spirit and through the Son, 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:08.880 but also from the Father. 00:27:09.740 --> 00:27:12.220 It comes to us from the Father. 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:14.100 I'll close with this. 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:16.519 All of us have these mental images 00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:18.819 and these deep-seated assumptions 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:20.379 when I just say the word God. 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:22.579 We all fill in the blank, right? 00:27:23.399 --> 00:27:24.839 And oftentimes I like to say, 00:27:25.139 --> 00:27:28.939 hey, tell me about the God that you don't believe in 00:27:28.939 --> 00:27:30.719 because I probably don't believe in him either. 00:27:31.779 --> 00:27:35.359 There's so many of those images that are just not true. 00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:37.819 And we need to come back, I think, 00:27:37.879 --> 00:27:40.459 to what the gospel says about God. 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:42.720 And this is a great statement, right? 00:27:42.840 --> 00:27:43.620 Verse 16. 00:27:44.100 --> 00:27:46.440 For God so loved the world 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.059 that he gave his one and only Son, 00:27:49.840 --> 00:27:52.960 that whoever believes in him should not perish 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:54.819 but should have eternal life. 00:27:54.860 --> 00:27:56.819 For God did not send his Son into the world 00:27:56.819 --> 00:27:57.819 to condemn the world, 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:00.799 but to save the world through him. 00:28:01.840 --> 00:28:05.539 Again, most famous but least understood passage of the Bible. 00:28:05.539 --> 00:28:10.079 It tells us that the Father is the giver 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:12.299 and the Son is the gift 00:28:12.299 --> 00:28:13.759 and the Spirit does the giving 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:17.859 precisely because God the Father's nature 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:22.859 is to love and to give and to save. 00:28:23.879 --> 00:28:26.159 God the Father loves this world 00:28:26.159 --> 00:28:29.000 that's constantly rebelling against him. 00:28:29.399 --> 00:28:30.599 He loves his enemies. 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:35.699 And he doesn't just love his enemies emotionally 00:28:35.699 --> 00:28:38.039 and do nothing about it. 00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:41.079 He does the greatest thing he could possibly do, 00:28:41.159 --> 00:28:43.659 which is to give his highest and his best. 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:47.899 He gave his Son in order to get you. 00:28:49.659 --> 00:28:51.279 Now, you know my three kids, 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:52.859 Constance, Scott, and Walter. 00:28:53.159 --> 00:28:55.500 They're the joy of my heart, the crown of my life. 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:58.819 Do you think I would give any of them to get you? 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:05.659 Would I allow them to suffer so that you could be saved? 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:07.939 No way. 00:29:08.919 --> 00:29:11.079 I mean, I love y'all, but not that much. 00:29:12.379 --> 00:29:14.679 But thank God that I'm not God. 00:29:15.919 --> 00:29:18.699 Because God the Father's heart breaks open 00:29:18.699 --> 00:29:21.419 with love for you. 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:25.639 He is so crazy in love with you 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:29.400 that he lays everything he has on the line 00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:32.560 to get you with reckless love. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:34.300 It's irresponsible love. 00:29:36.300 --> 00:29:38.100 But at the end of John's gospel, 00:29:39.320 --> 00:29:42.860 Nicodemus has clearly become captivated 00:29:42.860 --> 00:29:44.720 by the Father's love. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.500 He's clearly reborn from above. 00:29:48.620 --> 00:29:51.040 He's radically changed from the inside out 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:54.379 and holistically transformed by this love 00:29:54.379 --> 00:29:57.599 that's captivated him and compels him. 00:29:57.659 --> 00:29:59.399 And you can listen in John 19. 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:03.220 It says that with Pilate's permission, 00:30:03.420 --> 00:30:06.539 Joseph of Arimathea came and took the body of Jesus away. 00:30:07.399 --> 00:30:09.299 And he was accompanied by Nicodemus, 00:30:09.379 --> 00:30:11.859 the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:15.399 Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:16.879 about 75 pounds. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:20.300 And taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it 00:30:20.300 --> 00:30:25.220 with the spices and strips of linen, 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:29.400 and they laid Jesus in a new garden tomb. 00:30:31.300 --> 00:30:32.900 That's a bold move. 00:30:33.840 --> 00:30:36.420 When the leader of the movement has just been killed 00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:40.340 and all of his other followers are hiding out, 00:30:41.540 --> 00:30:43.760 two guys, Nick and Joe, 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:46.160 stand up and they say, 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:48.040 we're his disciples. 00:30:50.840 --> 00:30:52.420 And they risked their lives 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:56.320 to identify themselves with Jesus. 00:30:57.900 --> 00:30:59.140 Now you gotta know that only, 00:30:59.580 --> 00:31:01.520 the only people who would wash and prepare 00:31:01.520 --> 00:31:04.940 a dead body for burial were lower class servants. 00:31:06.120 --> 00:31:07.820 Never would you find somebody 00:31:07.820 --> 00:31:11.500 of privileged upper class leader status 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:14.860 dealing with somebody's dead body. 00:31:14.859 --> 00:31:18.959 But here, Nicodemus' pride is clearly gone. 00:31:19.959 --> 00:31:22.639 And he generously gives money. 00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:26.019 75 pounds worth of spices is a lot of coin. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:29.679 But he is determined for Jesus 00:31:29.679 --> 00:31:32.719 to have a burial fit for a king. 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:36.059 And it's just a little picture for us 00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:37.279 of what it means, 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:39.479 what happens when the Father's love 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:42.519 gets into us and changes us. 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:46.940 Nicodemus is willing to give everything he has, 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:49.759 just like God gave everything he had. 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:51.700 He's willing to give his life, 00:31:52.120 --> 00:31:52.960 his privilege, 00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:54.140 his resources, 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:56.220 so that this crucified, 00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:58.460 yet soon-to-be resurrected Lord, 00:31:59.079 --> 00:32:01.220 who reveals the Father's love, 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:02.720 would be honored. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:04.720 Nicodemus, 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:06.740 through the Father's love, 00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:08.720 he becomes this courageous risk-taker, 00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:10.680 this humble, 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:12.819 lowly-minded servant, 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:15.860 this generous gift-giver, 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:18.480 somebody who's passionate 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:21.819 about honoring Jesus' bodily sacrifice 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.660 on the cross. 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:24.779 Those are the marks 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:28.079 that your heart has been turned inside out 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:29.019 and upside down 00:32:29.019 --> 00:32:30.759 by the love of the Father. 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:32.900 And Christchurch, 00:32:33.379 --> 00:32:35.359 I just want to invite us this morning, 00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:37.220 like Nicodemus, 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:40.400 to receive and to accept 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:42.779 the love that the Father 00:32:42.779 --> 00:32:45.220 has for you today. 00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:48.299 I want to invite you to rest 00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:50.559 and to delight yourself in 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.619 the belovedness that is yours 00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:56.720 as we come to the body and blood of Jesus 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.779 at this meal. 00:32:59.019 --> 00:33:00.180 Your job, 00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:02.779 God has done all the work, 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:04.819 your one job 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:07.539 is simply believing, 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:10.319 simply accepting 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:13.740 the Father's acceptance of you, 00:33:15.160 --> 00:33:17.440 simply opening yourself up 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:19.639 to receive the life, 00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:21.480 the light, 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:23.299 and the love 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:26.139 that comes by the Spirit 00:33:26.139 --> 00:33:28.819 through the Son, 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:31.160 from the Father. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:33.319 Amen? 00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:35.420 In the name of the Father, 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:36.359 Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.259 Amen. 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:37.359 Amen.