WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.980 I'd like to invite everyone back to your seats. 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:24.980 As we're making your way back to your seats, I'd like to share with you a few announcements. 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:31.420 First thing, if you need a Bible during today's service, you can pick up one at the back of the room. 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:35.179 So now's a good time to go back and pick up one of those. 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:37.200 So you'll have one of those during the sermon. 00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:45.760 I'd also like to share with you about our 21 days of prayer and fasting, which is currently taking place right now. 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:51.260 And as part of that, we will have a prayer service this Friday right here. 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:53.980 So starting at 7, there will be a prayer service here. 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:56.000 So please consider attending that. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:01:04.920 It's a great time of praying together, of being prayed for, of hearing God's word, including ourselves in the presence of the Spirit. 00:01:05.659 --> 00:01:10.939 And also, Steve wanted to share with us a little bit about an upcoming conference. 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:13.319 Yeah, so, hi guys. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:21.359 So there's an upcoming conference for, targeted towards, like, millennial age, like, older teenagers and young adults. 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:23.060 And it's in a few weeks. 00:01:23.179 --> 00:01:26.060 It's the first weekend of November, so November 4 through 6. 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:29.280 And we have, it's down in Philadelphia. 00:01:29.500 --> 00:01:31.960 So at first I was like, oh, it's going to cost a lot of money to stay in a hotel. 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:39.159 And then I realized we have connections through the Hopkins, who have lots of friends there that will let us stay at their places for a very cheap price and free. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:43.060 So that significantly decreases the cost. 00:01:43.240 --> 00:01:44.700 So I know it's kind of last minute. 00:01:44.800 --> 00:01:46.240 It's kind of, you know, you've got three weeks or so. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:51.079 I still got to work out whether, you know, I can be able to get off work part of that day or all that day, whatever we need for that Friday. 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:53.799 But if you're interested in it, definitely let me know. 00:01:53.919 --> 00:01:55.699 I know a few people are already going from our church. 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:57.039 A few people are interested in going. 00:01:57.579 --> 00:02:00.959 So just talk to me after the service, and we'll just start coordinating this and figuring out what it is. 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:02.759 But it's November 4 through 6. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:03.959 It's called the Thrive Conference. 00:02:04.199 --> 00:02:05.199 It's at another church. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:06.239 It's part of our denomination. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:10.599 And it's just a chance to, we'll take a road trip and hang out together and hear God's word. 00:02:11.019 --> 00:02:12.579 So I'm going to have to be interested. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:13.120 Thanks. 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:15.919 So, Steve, you said that was for millennials. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:17.500 Does that mean I'm not invited? 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.019 You said that was for people who know I love you. 00:02:23.739 --> 00:02:31.039 You can also check your worship guide. 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:33.659 There's some other announcements listed in there. 00:02:34.119 --> 00:02:38.659 Now I'd like for you to turn your Bibles to John chapter 2. 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:42.060 And our reading will be coming from there. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.899 All right. 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:54.679 If you guys are using the blue ESV Bibles from the back, we're on page 887. 00:02:55.500 --> 00:03:01.060 We're going to be starting in chapter 2 of John, verse 23. 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:12.420 John 2, verse 23. 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:19.520 Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover of these, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:31.340 But Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:37.200 Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:44.319 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:48.920 For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:56.659 Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 00:03:57.459 --> 00:04:00.979 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he's old? 00:04:01.359 --> 00:04:05.519 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:14.359 Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:20.340 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. 00:04:20.840 --> 00:04:24.660 Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:32.420 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.020 So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.420 Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:45.160 Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:53.520 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 00:04:54.180 --> 00:05:00.860 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:07.819 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:17.219 And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 00:05:17.719 --> 00:05:18.879 The word of the Lord. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:35.680 All of you guys have been to birthday celebrations, I'm sure. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:40.120 We just had one for our little teddy that Tuckets were part of. 00:05:40.699 --> 00:05:47.199 And we celebrate birthdays because it's a momentous occasion for someone to be born into this world, right? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:52.620 Because it happens once in a lifetime, and when they're born, they radically change your life, right? 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:57.819 And the people around you, your family, your friends, it's never the same again, right? 00:05:57.860 --> 00:06:01.279 That's a momentous occasion, so that's why we celebrate birthdays. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:09.419 But even though an amazed parent can exclaim, you know, when their child is born, oh man, this is a miracle. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:12.379 This beautiful child of mine is a miracle. 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:15.459 That's technically not true, right? 00:06:15.619 --> 00:06:16.899 Because it's not a miracle. 00:06:17.359 --> 00:06:22.659 It's a biological process that happens within the God-ordained confines of nature, right? 00:06:22.679 --> 00:06:23.899 It's actually very ordinary. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:25.179 It's not extraordinary. 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:28.180 It's a physical birth. 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:29.220 It's not spiritual. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.040 And it's natural. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:34.740 I mean, very natural, right? 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:36.120 It's not supernatural. 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:45.500 But the birth that this passage talks about in Jesus, he tells us that all of us, every single person, must be born again. 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:51.079 And that this spiritual, this second birth, is not natural, but supernatural. 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:53.819 It occurs due to the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:57.819 That it's not physical, and it's extraordinary, not just ordinary. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:06:59.980 It's something that you experience on a day-to-day basis. 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:02.379 Even now, probably a baby's being born somewhere. 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:05.759 But this birth is something that cannot happen by natural processes. 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:13.560 And what this passage teaches us specifically is that all must be born again of the Spirit by believing in the crucified Son of Man. 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:15.439 That's the main point of this passage. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:23.819 And he tells us about the need for the new birth, and the nature of the new birth, and then the means of the new birth, how we become born again. 00:07:24.139 --> 00:07:29.139 So the need for the new birth, the nature of the new birth, and the means of the new birth. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:37.840 So if you look with me, verse 23, it says that though John doesn't record many signs that Jesus does except for several that he picks out, 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:44.500 it does say that he did many signs, because in verse 23, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 00:07:46.159 --> 00:07:53.899 But this is kind of dangerous, because John elsewhere talks about it, and Jesus admonishes people later in chapter 4, 48, 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.439 who would not believe unless they saw some kind of sign. 00:07:57.799 --> 00:08:01.899 Because often a faith that's dependent on a sign can be a spurious faith. 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:08.819 It could be a faith that's plagued by doubts, because if you come to Jesus because of some spectacular miracle you see, 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:15.279 you can go from one place to another, one miracle to another, one conference to another, one retreat to another, 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:22.939 seeking one experience after another, seeking another high, something that's able to bring you into more ecstatic experience of God. 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:30.540 And if that's the case, then your faith rests not on who Jesus claims to be, but on your own feeling and your own experience. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.100 And that could become dangerous, and Jesus knows this. 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:36.919 So that's what he says in chapter 2, verses 24 to 25, 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.940 But Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them, 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:45.059 because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:48.139 for he himself knew what was in man. 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:56.019 There's a word play here, because the word entrust in verse 24 is the same word used in verse 23, 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.220 where it says many believe in his name. 00:08:58.580 --> 00:09:01.439 So if you are to bring that out a little more, obviously you could say, 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:04.419 the people trusted in his name, in Jesus' name, 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.159 but Jesus did not entrust himself to them. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.720 The word highlights the fickleness of people, 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:15.899 and the reliability and the constancy of the Son of Man, of Jesus Christ. 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:19.199 People will frequently jump from one champion to another, 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:23.980 one, you know, let's say a political candidate to another, 00:09:24.319 --> 00:09:27.439 because they might flatter you one day, they might slander you the next day. 00:09:27.819 --> 00:09:27.899 Right? 00:09:28.019 --> 00:09:30.500 And that's people, but Jesus knows this, 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:34.879 and he's not enticed or duped or caught off guard by any human being. 00:09:34.959 --> 00:09:39.120 He's not swayed by human opinions or desires of human approval. 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:41.840 Jesus knows everyone, 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:46.720 and that's why he says Jesus doesn't need anyone's witness about man. 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:50.259 For us, finite, you know, fallible human beings, 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:52.500 we rely on other people's references 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:54.720 to get an idea of what kind of people, 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:56.899 what kind of people we're dealing with. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.240 So when we apply for a job, 00:09:58.320 --> 00:09:59.320 we have to submit references, 00:09:59.680 --> 00:10:03.240 and they ask those people to figure out what kind of this person, 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:05.379 this person that's applying for a job is. 00:10:05.680 --> 00:10:06.540 That's a reference. 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:09.159 But Jesus doesn't need any such reference. 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:11.019 He says he knows all men, 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.839 and therefore he doesn't need anyone to bear witness about man. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.459 And there's a repetition of the word here, 00:10:18.719 --> 00:10:19.740 of to know. 00:10:20.019 --> 00:10:22.919 It says he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man. 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:25.899 Verse 24, it says Jesus knew all people. 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:28.939 25 says Jesus knew what was in man. 00:10:29.319 --> 00:10:31.120 And then later in chapter 3, verse 10, 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.000 Jesus tells Nicodemus, 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:36.120 asking you the teacher of Israel, 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:38.560 and yet you do not understand these things. 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:40.060 That's actually the exact same word, 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:41.279 though translated differently. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.139 Understand, know, do you not know these things? 00:10:44.560 --> 00:10:47.320 And then finally Jesus says in verse 11 of chapter 3, 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:49.019 truly, truly I say to you, 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:51.159 we speak of what we know, 00:10:51.560 --> 00:10:53.379 and bear witness to what we have seen, 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:55.639 but you do not receive our testimony. 00:10:56.560 --> 00:10:57.720 This is remarkable, 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:02.519 because people back during this time in the ancient world, 00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:06.180 they believed that miracle workers can see, 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:08.399 kind of understand the hearts of some people. 00:11:08.680 --> 00:11:10.540 They believed that they can just kind of know 00:11:10.540 --> 00:11:12.160 what they were feeling or thinking. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.240 But they still insisted, by and large, 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:19.879 that only God knows the hearts of all people, right? 00:11:19.920 --> 00:11:22.300 Based on what was taught in Jeremiah 17, 10, 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.920 the Lord searches the heart and tests the mind, 00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:27.440 like to give every man according to his ways. 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:32.379 But by displaying his supernatural knowledge about all people, 00:11:32.660 --> 00:11:34.580 and you'll see this over and over again 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:35.820 over the next couple chapters, 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:38.480 Jesus is demonstrating his deed, 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:39.560 that he is God, 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:41.980 that he knows the hearts of all men, right? 00:11:42.019 --> 00:11:43.680 And that's what John is trying to tell us here. 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:46.379 And so the people are fickle and changing. 00:11:46.560 --> 00:11:47.639 Jesus is unchanging. 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:49.600 People have incomplete knowledge, 00:11:49.660 --> 00:11:51.019 so they're not entirely trustworthy, 00:11:51.160 --> 00:11:54.960 yet Jesus has infallible, complete knowledge of God. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:58.080 And that's why he's the one that reveals God to us, 00:11:58.120 --> 00:11:59.120 and not vice versa. 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:01.860 He's the one that speaks to us about the Father, 00:12:01.980 --> 00:12:03.120 not vice versa. 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:04.800 So we might come to Jesus, 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:07.200 maybe like these people who sought the signs did, 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.100 with our own set of rules, 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:10.940 and say, you must meet these criteria, 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:12.340 you must meet these standards, 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:14.019 then I will accept you as my Lord. 00:12:14.400 --> 00:12:16.980 But instead, Jesus wants us to come to him, 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:19.740 and to interact with him, 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:21.779 and respond to him on his terms. 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:23.080 Because he is the Lord, 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:24.159 he is the Son of Man, 00:12:24.420 --> 00:12:27.340 and we must come to him for revelation of God. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:30.720 And this Jesus, 00:12:30.899 --> 00:12:32.399 who knows the hearts of all men, 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:35.560 now reveals God to us in this passage. 00:12:35.920 --> 00:12:40.320 And he tells us that all of us need to be born again. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:42.259 So he talks about the need for the new birth. 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:45.060 Look at verse 1 with me, chapter 3. 00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:48.719 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:50.859 a ruler of the Jews. 00:12:51.199 --> 00:12:54.879 So Nicodemus is kind of a foil for Jesus here, 00:12:54.959 --> 00:12:57.539 that's going to show us what Jesus knows. 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:01.179 And this Nicodemus is a pretty outstanding individual 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:02.199 in this culture, 00:13:02.359 --> 00:13:04.119 because he's a Pharisee, right? 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:07.419 He belongs to the strictest sect, Jewish sect. 00:13:07.859 --> 00:13:12.479 They understand the law and follow it exactly. 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:14.419 That's what they're known for, the Pharisees. 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:15.459 But not only that, 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:17.259 he says he's a ruler of the Jews. 00:13:17.599 --> 00:13:21.479 That means he belongs to the exclusive group of the Sanhedrin. 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:23.500 He is the group of judges 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:25.679 that ruled on the religious matters of the Jews. 00:13:26.079 --> 00:13:28.039 So he's a very prestigious teacher. 00:13:28.079 --> 00:13:30.259 He's about as prestigious as he can get, right? 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:33.059 In terms of the religious credentials. 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:35.759 And this Nicodemus comes. 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:38.639 And that's why Jesus calls him the teacher of Israel, 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:39.799 in chapter 3, verse 10. 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:42.519 That's a phrase that refers to a master, 00:13:42.699 --> 00:13:44.559 a recognized master of something. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:46.579 So it'd be kind of like in our days, 00:13:46.719 --> 00:13:48.620 calling somebody reverend doctor or something. 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:50.519 This reverend doctor of religion, 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:51.819 reverend doctor of Christianity. 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:54.419 He comes and Jesus calls him the teacher of Israel. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:00.479 Yet, this reverend doctor comes to Jesus in ignorance. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:05.060 And we know that because it says that he came by night, 00:14:05.300 --> 00:14:06.800 verse 2, chapter 3. 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:10.980 And night is used metaphorically throughout the Gospel of John, 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:12.360 four times to be exact, 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:14.320 to refer to spiritual darkness, 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:15.539 moral darkness, 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:17.379 someone who doesn't know what's going on. 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:19.820 And Nicodemus says to Jesus, 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:23.399 Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God. 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:26.279 For no one can do these signs that you do 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:28.340 unless God is with him. 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:31.399 And at this point, 00:14:31.560 --> 00:14:33.060 he hasn't asked any questions, right? 00:14:33.280 --> 00:14:35.800 But Jesus answers as if answering a question. 00:14:36.060 --> 00:14:37.379 He kind of sees into him. 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:38.840 He already knows what he's thinking. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.980 And he goes into his answer in verse 3. 00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:43.259 Truly, truly, I say to you, 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:45.100 unless one is born again, 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:48.240 he cannot see the kingdom of God. 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:51.460 And the word again, born again, 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:53.600 could also mean born from above. 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:55.080 It's the same word means both things. 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:57.820 And John, as he frequently does throughout his Gospel, 00:14:57.960 --> 00:14:59.420 probably is employing double meaning. 00:14:59.900 --> 00:15:01.300 So we must be born again, 00:15:01.560 --> 00:15:02.580 born a new a second time, 00:15:02.660 --> 00:15:04.440 but also born from above. 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:08.100 And then Nicodemus is completely caught off guard, 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:10.060 so he asks a further question, verse 4. 00:15:10.400 --> 00:15:12.340 Well, how can a man be born when he's old? 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.680 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:17.900 I mean, at this point, 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:21.180 you're probably a little impatient, right? 00:15:21.640 --> 00:15:22.500 Nicodemus, come on. 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:23.620 You're the teacher of Israel. 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:24.879 Do you not understand that? 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:26.539 I read that once and understood that, right? 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:27.360 I mean, what's going on? 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.100 And you have to get into his mindset, right? 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:33.179 Because he really should have known what Jesus was talking about 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:35.779 because the Jews already were in, 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:39.100 they talked about Gentile converts to Judaism 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:40.700 as newborn children 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.600 because they believed they had to take on a new identity, right? 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:44.679 Become part of a new, 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:46.600 have a new legal identity, 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:47.860 a new part of the family. 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:51.100 Yet, because Nicodemus is Jewish 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:53.860 and he's so steeped in his learning, 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:55.500 he can't, 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:58.139 the possibility of him needing to convert 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:00.200 doesn't even occur to him, right? 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:01.200 So that's why he's like, 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:02.300 what do you mean born again? 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:03.440 Like, I'm a Jew. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.620 Like, how am I supposed to be, 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:06.800 am I supposed to go back into my mother's womb and be born again? 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:07.980 And so even, 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:09.899 and so Jesus is making a radical statement. 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:11.100 Even Nicodemus, 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:13.340 the strict adherent of God's law, 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:14.759 a ruler of the Jews, 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:16.120 the reverend doctor, 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:17.460 the teacher of Israel, 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.100 cannot see the kingdom of God 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.200 unless he is born again. 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:26.120 That means no matter how morally upright you are, 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:27.879 no matter how hard you have lived 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:29.700 to do good in this world, 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.860 you must be born again. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.279 You cannot see the kingdom of God 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:34.159 unless you're born again. 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.279 And no matter how educated you are, 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:37.500 maybe in matters of religion, 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:39.659 no matter how many theology books you've read, 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:42.000 even how many times you've read the Bible, 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.860 you have to be born again 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:46.299 to enter into the kingdom of God. 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:50.059 No matter that you come from a Christian family 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.860 of maybe a hundred generations of Christians in your life, 00:16:54.059 --> 00:16:56.480 still you must be born again. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.000 There's no exception here. 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:00.480 Unless you are born again, 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:03.080 you cannot see the kingdom of God. 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.519 The need for the new birth is universal. 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:09.700 And now that he has called attention 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:10.880 to the need for the new birth, 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.960 Jesus tells us about the nature of the new birth 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:14.460 in verse five to eight. 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:16.580 So Jesus explains verse five, 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:18.200 truly, truly, I say to you, 00:17:18.520 --> 00:17:20.780 unless one is born of water and the spirit, 00:17:21.040 --> 00:17:23.280 he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:26.360 So the phrase here, 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:28.100 unless one is born of water and spirit 00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:31.600 in verse five is parallel to the clause in verse three, 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:33.120 unless one is born again. 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:34.420 So from that structure, 00:17:34.540 --> 00:17:36.380 you know that to be born again 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:38.080 is to be born of water and spirit. 00:17:38.080 --> 00:17:39.400 To be born of water and spirit 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:40.480 is to be born again. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:42.400 So they're conceptually tied. 00:17:42.520 --> 00:17:43.500 So the water and spirit 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:45.100 have to refer to being born again. 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:46.240 So the two are related. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:48.360 That's why you can't separate those two things 00:17:48.360 --> 00:17:49.020 and say like, 00:17:49.080 --> 00:17:50.440 oh, being born of water means, 00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:50.800 you know, 00:17:50.860 --> 00:17:52.860 when the water breaks in the biological birth 00:17:52.860 --> 00:17:54.780 and the spirit is when you're born spiritually. 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:56.740 That's the two are referring to the same thing, 00:17:56.820 --> 00:17:57.460 water and spirit. 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:01.980 And what's behind that is Ezekiel 36, 25 to 27. 00:18:02.560 --> 00:18:02.880 It says, 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.700 I will sprinkle clean water on you. 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:06.860 This is from the Old Testament. 00:18:07.040 --> 00:18:09.780 And you shall be clean from all your uncleanness. 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:11.420 And from all your idols, 00:18:11.540 --> 00:18:12.460 I will cleanse you. 00:18:12.560 --> 00:18:13.820 And I will give you a new heart 00:18:13.820 --> 00:18:16.340 and a new spirit I will put within you. 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:19.480 And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.400 and give you a heart of flesh. 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.320 And I will put my spirit within you 00:18:24.320 --> 00:18:24.880 because, 00:18:25.260 --> 00:18:26.960 and cause you to walk in my statutes 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.740 and be careful to obey my rules. 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:31.799 So here you see the concept of a cleansing water 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:33.799 and a refreshing spirit, 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:35.059 an enlivening spirit. 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:36.099 They come together. 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:38.920 And spirit is frequently described throughout the Bible 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:40.279 in terms of being poured out. 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:41.039 And again, 00:18:41.120 --> 00:18:42.039 that's water language, 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:42.259 right? 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:42.460 You, 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:43.900 you pour liquid out. 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:45.420 Spirit is poured out on us. 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:46.099 And, 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:49.380 and this is what theologians call regeneration. 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:51.039 Taylor already mentioned it, 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:51.240 right? 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:52.660 That we are born again, 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:53.059 that we are, 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:54.380 we are regenerated. 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:56.500 That means by the water and the spirit, 00:18:56.660 --> 00:18:57.759 by the water of the spirit, 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:58.879 really we are rinsed, 00:18:59.119 --> 00:18:59.799 refined, 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:00.859 we're revived. 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:03.180 It's a spiritual renaissance. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:04.319 It's a rebirth. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.019 You have new light because of, 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:06.200 and, 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:07.279 and when this happens, 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:08.759 everyone knows that it's happened, 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:09.220 right? 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:10.720 And if you have experienced the new birth, 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.200 you know what the new birth is like 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:14.940 because people who were unable prior, 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.220 prior to this point to, 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:17.680 to love God and obey him, 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.279 now love him and want to do his will. 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:23.960 That the people who previously were unable to, 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:25.420 really believe in God, 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:26.359 to have faith, 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:28.419 and to entrust their life to him, 00:19:28.459 --> 00:19:29.619 now after their regeneration, 00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:30.240 new birth, 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:32.519 are able to place their faith in Christ completely. 00:19:33.899 --> 00:19:34.779 This is, 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:36.259 is a radical change, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:37.139 in soul radical, 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:37.479 in fact, 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.279 the only proper way to describe it, 00:19:39.439 --> 00:19:41.279 is as a new birth. 00:19:41.659 --> 00:19:43.699 It's like being born a second time. 00:19:45.399 --> 00:19:46.539 And verse six, 00:19:46.639 --> 00:19:47.879 confirms his conclusion, 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.399 by contrasting flesh with the spirit, 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:50.639 right? 00:19:50.679 --> 00:19:50.919 He says, 00:19:50.979 --> 00:19:51.439 read with me, 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.840 that which is born of the flesh is flesh, 00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:55.640 that which is born of the spirit, 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:56.500 is spirit. 00:19:56.980 --> 00:19:59.660 So the intended contrast is between being born of the flesh, 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:00.700 and being born of the spirit. 00:20:00.820 --> 00:20:03.759 So water and spirit both refer to being born in the spirit. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:07.940 So then John's primarily talking here about the work of the spirit, 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:10.840 but especially as we think about baptism today, 00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:15.259 I do think that John has a water baptism of Christians in mind, 00:20:15.320 --> 00:20:16.580 in a secondary sense. 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:21.199 And the reason why is because even though John's writing about things that 00:20:21.199 --> 00:20:22.159 happened in 30 AD, 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:23.579 around Jesus' lifetime, 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:28.799 he's writing around 80 AD to a church that's for half a century been baptizing 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:29.179 people, 00:20:29.439 --> 00:20:29.599 right? 00:20:29.899 --> 00:20:31.960 So if you recognize that, 00:20:32.059 --> 00:20:32.919 and when you read this, 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:34.759 it'd be almost unmistakable, 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:36.319 the reference to water, 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:40.039 that it would evoke images of water baptism for believers. 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:44.259 And the context also suggests this in chapter 1, 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:44.659 32, 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:45.139 33, 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:47.820 where John the Baptist testifies, 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.880 I saw the spirit descend from heaven like a dove, 00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:52.460 and it remained on Jesus. 00:20:52.820 --> 00:20:54.100 I myself did not know him, 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:56.580 but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.420 he on whom you see the spirit descend and remain, 00:20:59.540 --> 00:21:01.800 this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. 00:21:01.860 --> 00:21:03.480 So already in the Gospel of John, 00:21:03.620 --> 00:21:03.900 water, 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:04.820 the baptism, 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.460 and the spirit of God, 00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:08.100 his descending have been connected, 00:21:08.840 --> 00:21:09.000 right? 00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:12.500 And so let me digress just a little bit to teach on baptism, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:14.880 just because we're having baptisms today. 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:18.520 And even though the degeneration, 00:21:18.860 --> 00:21:22.580 the feeling of the Holy Spirit is a sovereign work of God that we cannot control, 00:21:23.060 --> 00:21:25.759 that doesn't mean that we don't have responsibilities, 00:21:26.120 --> 00:21:28.100 that we have nothing to do. 00:21:28.560 --> 00:21:28.880 In fact, 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:31.460 God calls us to respond in very specific ways, 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:33.240 and you see this in Acts 2, 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:33.720 38, 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:35.380 where Peter calls believers, 00:21:35.860 --> 00:21:36.100 people, 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:37.340 tells people to repent, 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:39.500 and then to be baptized. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:41.200 And then he promises, 00:21:41.340 --> 00:21:41.860 then you will, 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:42.480 you know, 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:43.759 that you receive the Holy Spirit, 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:44.079 right? 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:47.340 So we see three things that form a complex of conversion, 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:47.900 we might say, 00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:48.440 right? 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:48.860 So that we, 00:21:49.019 --> 00:21:49.319 you must, 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:52.059 the individual must repent and believe, 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:52.420 right? 00:21:52.820 --> 00:21:53.720 And those are two, 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:55.000 two sides of the same coin, 00:21:55.080 --> 00:21:56.779 because repentance means a change of mind. 00:21:57.080 --> 00:21:58.420 You're turning away from something, 00:21:58.539 --> 00:21:59.340 and if you're changing your mind, 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:00.640 you need to change your mind to something. 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:02.420 You turn away from sin, 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.160 and your old life, 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:03.620 or past, 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:04.940 you could turn toward faith, 00:22:05.100 --> 00:22:05.940 to believe in God, 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:06.539 and living for him. 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:08.340 That's repentance and faith by the individual. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:11.160 And then there's baptism by the church, 00:22:11.860 --> 00:22:12.120 right? 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:15.359 And Jesus charged his disciples in Matthew 28, 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:16.099 18 to 20, 00:22:16.219 --> 00:22:16.799 to disciple, 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:18.599 to make disciples of all nations, 00:22:18.699 --> 00:22:20.539 and to baptize them in the name of the Father, 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:20.819 the Son, 00:22:20.879 --> 00:22:21.439 and the Holy Spirit. 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:24.579 And the apostles are the representatives of the church. 00:22:24.779 --> 00:22:25.059 And so, 00:22:25.159 --> 00:22:26.399 so when you're baptized, 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:27.039 right, 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:30.500 you're identifying with the buried and risen, 00:22:30.919 --> 00:22:31.759 and ascended Savior, 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:32.199 right? 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:34.339 So you're saying that Jesus died and rose again, 00:22:34.379 --> 00:22:34.739 the same way, 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:35.919 I'm going into the water, 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.719 that is my death, 00:22:36.719 --> 00:22:39.519 now rise again in spiritual new life, 00:22:39.619 --> 00:22:39.779 right? 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:41.799 And as you identify with him, 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:43.720 in that way, 00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:47.159 you get the assurance from the corporate life of the church, 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:48.940 as you continue in the corporate life of the church. 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:50.480 Because being, 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:53.700 identifying with Christ also means identifying with the body of Christ, 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:54.399 which is the church. 00:22:54.659 --> 00:22:55.440 So when you're baptized, 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:57.119 you're baptized into the church. 00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:59.039 That's why it's always a church that baptizes, 00:22:59.099 --> 00:22:59.799 as opposed to, 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:00.200 you know, 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:01.319 going to a river on your own, 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.019 it's letting your Christian friend baptize you. 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:05.200 That's not the way that's supposed to happen, 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:05.599 right? 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:08.119 And so those, 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:09.180 and then the third, 00:23:09.299 --> 00:23:09.639 and final, 00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:10.579 the most important thing, 00:23:10.659 --> 00:23:10.919 of course, 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:12.140 is actual feeling, 00:23:12.259 --> 00:23:13.840 the regeneration by the Holy Spirit. 00:23:14.060 --> 00:23:16.980 And those three things always happen together, 00:23:17.100 --> 00:23:17.860 in close conjunction, 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:19.060 if you look at the Bible. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:22.560 And because those things happen together, 00:23:22.860 --> 00:23:23.860 sometimes in the Bible, 00:23:24.140 --> 00:23:25.880 they will take one of those things, 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:27.180 and assume the other. 00:23:27.560 --> 00:23:30.200 And that's why you find passages like this passage, 00:23:30.300 --> 00:23:32.279 where it says salvation comes through regeneration. 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:35.420 And then passages like 2 Peter 3.9, 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:36.599 2 Corinthians 7.10, 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:40.059 where it says that salvation comes through repentance and faith. 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:43.039 And then there's passages like 1 Peter 3.21, 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:44.720 and 1 Corinthians 6.11, 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.779 that says that salvation comes through baptism, 00:23:47.139 --> 00:23:47.359 right? 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:51.700 The reason why you get all three of these is because whenever they mention one thing, 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:53.839 they have the whole complex of conversion in view, 00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:54.259 right? 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.359 They're referring to one to refer to the whole, 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:56.680 right? 00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.180 So it's kind of like a wedding ceremony, 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:00.240 you can think of it this way, 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:00.460 right? 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:01.039 Because wedding, 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:01.940 when you get married, 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:02.379 it's, 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.180 you get married before God, 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:06.519 and God's the one that ultimately makes the marriage, 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:06.819 right? 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:09.900 So that's apart from God forming that union, 00:24:10.099 --> 00:24:11.400 like the marriage doesn't happen. 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:13.740 So at some point during that ceremony, 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:17.880 God unites a man and a woman and makes them a couple, 00:24:18.080 --> 00:24:18.980 one in God's eyes, 00:24:19.140 --> 00:24:19.300 right? 00:24:19.860 --> 00:24:22.120 But exactly what point that happens, 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:22.820 no one knows, 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:23.140 right? 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:24.460 When does that happen? 00:24:24.600 --> 00:24:24.860 Is it, 00:24:24.860 --> 00:24:26.360 is it when they're taking the vows, 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:27.519 when they exchange the rings, 00:24:27.600 --> 00:24:29.519 or maybe when they sign the papers, 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:31.560 or maybe when they go home, 00:24:31.620 --> 00:24:31.740 right? 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:32.759 And consummate their marriage, 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:33.000 right? 00:24:33.040 --> 00:24:33.300 It's, 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:34.440 what does that look like? 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:35.600 When does that happen exactly? 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.320 So we don't know that, 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:39.000 but we know that at some point in time, 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:40.600 something spiritual took place, 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:42.539 and God made that man and woman one, 00:24:42.879 --> 00:24:43.639 that they married. 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:44.919 In a similar way, 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:45.699 when we're converted, 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:46.879 at some point in time, 00:24:46.959 --> 00:24:48.379 the spirit regenerates us, 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:51.059 and he's given us a complex of things for us to do, 00:24:51.139 --> 00:24:53.099 for to respond to repentance and faith, 00:24:53.179 --> 00:24:54.279 and the confession of Jesus, 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:55.279 and being baptized, 00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:57.299 so that we can have that assurance, 00:24:57.399 --> 00:24:59.519 in a both corporate and individual sense, 00:24:59.879 --> 00:25:00.039 right? 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:01.219 And this is, 00:25:01.659 --> 00:25:03.179 if you look at examples of this, 00:25:03.299 --> 00:25:05.519 it's the importance of this becomes much more clear. 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:07.719 I was just talking to a pastor friend, 00:25:07.719 --> 00:25:09.559 who used to pastor in the South, 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:11.119 and in the South, 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.639 they really emphasize walking down the aisle, 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:14.179 right? 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:14.879 They talk about, 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:15.359 you know, 00:25:15.379 --> 00:25:16.399 if you want to come to faith, 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:17.619 you've got to walk down the aisle, 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:18.799 respond to the altar call, 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:20.659 and receive Jesus into your heart, 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:20.879 right? 00:25:20.899 --> 00:25:21.319 That's what, 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:23.639 that's what matters for those people. 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:24.799 And, 00:25:24.879 --> 00:25:25.039 and, 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:25.740 and he said, 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:26.379 it's funny, 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:27.159 he met someone, 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:29.919 he was serving as an interim pastor of a church for a year, 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:31.240 and he meets, 00:25:31.379 --> 00:25:32.099 meets a woman and says, 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:32.259 oh, 00:25:32.299 --> 00:25:32.899 so you're a Christian, 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:33.599 so what, 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:33.919 which, 00:25:33.919 --> 00:25:34.139 which, 00:25:34.139 --> 00:25:35.440 what church are you part of? 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:36.319 And then she says, 00:25:36.379 --> 00:25:36.460 oh, 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.539 I'm part of this church, 00:25:37.539 --> 00:25:39.500 and she names the church where he's pastoring, 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.700 and, 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:42.359 and he's never seen her before, 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:42.659 right? 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:42.940 And, 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:43.119 and, 00:25:43.159 --> 00:25:43.759 and then she goes, 00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:43.920 oh, 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:44.940 I love this church. 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:45.879 It's like, 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:46.079 oh, 00:25:46.139 --> 00:25:47.319 and I love that pastor, 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:48.180 Pastor Ronnie. 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:49.159 He's not Ronnie. 00:25:49.440 --> 00:25:52.259 The pastor Ronnie had retired a year before, 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:54.639 so she hasn't been to church in a year, 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:56.399 and she says she loves this church, 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:58.759 and she's so convinced that she's saved, 00:25:59.159 --> 00:26:01.700 because she walked down the aisle that one time, 00:26:01.980 --> 00:26:02.159 right? 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.960 Even though she has no spiritual life to speak of, 00:26:05.060 --> 00:26:05.840 no interaction, 00:26:06.080 --> 00:26:06.340 and no, 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:06.680 no, 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:07.160 I mean, 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.800 no connection to the body of Christ. 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:10.400 That's really dangerous, 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:14.180 because now you're isolating your personal individual faith apart from church, 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:16.940 and there's no assurance that comes from the corporate life, 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:17.700 no accountability, 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:19.220 no church discipline, 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:21.540 no way of participating in the Lord's Supper, 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:21.840 right? 00:26:22.040 --> 00:26:22.840 That's dangerous. 00:26:23.560 --> 00:26:24.640 And the flip side of that, 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:24.960 of course, 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:26.600 is some of the more high church traditions, 00:26:27.040 --> 00:26:30.200 where they baptize babies soon after they're born. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.860 And when you baptize babies soon after they're born, 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:33.460 and they, 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:34.080 they, 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:36.380 they could also have a false sense of assurance, 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:37.259 and then they grow up, 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:38.559 because they're part of the church, 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:39.240 they've been baptized, 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:40.480 they can partake in communion. 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:41.180 Now, 00:26:41.259 --> 00:26:42.620 they think that they have, 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:43.200 they're saved, 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:44.559 that they have the Spirit of God in them, 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:48.059 even though they have personally never repented and believed. 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:49.019 That, 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:49.360 again, 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:51.360 can also provide a false sense of assurance. 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:52.180 But Jesus, 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:53.240 and intends, 00:26:53.360 --> 00:26:56.140 God intends for us to have both the corporate, 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.120 and individual assurance, 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:02.639 the individual personal assurance of salvation from repentance and faith, 00:27:02.939 --> 00:27:06.099 and the sacramental corporate assurance of salvation from our baptism, 00:27:06.479 --> 00:27:09.139 and then ongoing involvement in the life of the church, 00:27:09.439 --> 00:27:09.599 right? 00:27:10.239 --> 00:27:14.039 So that's a digression just from the passage to teach you about baptism. 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:14.679 But, 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:15.779 so when we're baptized, 00:27:15.919 --> 00:27:17.679 we're born again into God's family. 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:18.119 That's what, 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.559 that's why we're born again. 00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:20.059 When you're born, 00:27:20.139 --> 00:27:21.139 you're born into a family. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:22.939 And in verse 7, 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:23.279 it says, 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:25.180 do not marvel that I said to you, 00:27:25.379 --> 00:27:27.379 you must be born again, 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:28.299 right? 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.740 And you've been with us for the series, 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:32.460 you've already saw in chapter 1, 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:37.099 where John talks about how being born into God's family is not in blood, 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.139 or of the will of man, 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:39.240 or of the flesh, 00:27:39.579 --> 00:27:40.399 but of God, 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:40.660 right? 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:42.359 Being born in the flesh, 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:42.940 biologically, 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:44.859 that depends on the will of man and woman, 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:45.180 right? 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:46.539 It depends on, 00:27:46.580 --> 00:27:47.980 on the will of the flesh, 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:50.019 but not being born of, 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:50.519 of the spirit, 00:27:50.580 --> 00:27:51.279 not being born again. 00:27:51.360 --> 00:27:53.900 Being born again depends on God. 00:27:54.600 --> 00:27:58.680 And it is incomparably more monumental than at first birth, 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:00.380 because it has eternal significance. 00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:01.360 It's, 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:01.840 it's, 00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:05.080 it refers to our spiritual birth into the family of God. 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:06.980 And, 00:28:07.060 --> 00:28:09.680 if you follow along with me in verse 8, 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:13.200 this confirms the sovereign activity of the Holy Spirit when we're born again. 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:14.180 It's the God, 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:16.060 it's God who makes us born again. 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:17.000 Look at verse 8. 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:17.580 It says, 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:19.420 the wind blows where it wishes, 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:21.039 and you hear its sound, 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:24.220 but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:28.500 So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:32.200 So the word wind can also be translated as breath. 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:35.240 So in the same way that breath imparts life to us, 00:28:35.340 --> 00:28:38.660 the spirit imparts spiritual life to us. 00:28:39.620 --> 00:28:39.640 And, 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:42.060 and just like the earlier phrase, 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.160 water in the spirit was an illusion to Ezekiel 36, 00:28:44.180 --> 00:28:47.660 the wind and the spirit is an illusion to Ezekiel 37, 00:28:47.860 --> 00:28:52.539 where the dry bones in the valley come to life when the spirit of God blows on them. 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:52.840 Right? 00:28:53.340 --> 00:28:53.840 And so this, 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:54.900 and it's much, 00:28:55.100 --> 00:28:56.660 the Christian birth is much like the wind, 00:28:56.779 --> 00:28:57.019 right? 00:28:57.080 --> 00:28:58.320 Because you can't see the wind, 00:28:58.539 --> 00:28:58.759 right? 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.039 No matter how hard you try, 00:29:00.099 --> 00:29:00.980 you cannot see the wind, 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:01.859 but you know, 00:29:01.859 --> 00:29:04.039 it's there because you see its effects. 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:05.539 The wind moves. 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:06.559 The wind is powerful, 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:06.960 right? 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:09.299 You see what happens as a result of it. 00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:09.859 Same way, 00:29:09.900 --> 00:29:13.160 we cannot see the spirit regenerating someone, 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:14.500 but we see, 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:17.480 we surely see the effects of it because their lives are changed. 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:19.460 They live transformed lives. 00:29:20.360 --> 00:29:20.460 And, 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:21.720 and in the much the same way, 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:23.160 you can't control the wind, 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:25.460 no matter how hard you try to control the wind, 00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:26.860 directly to go somewhere else, 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:28.180 to figure out where it comes from. 00:29:28.360 --> 00:29:29.299 We can't do that. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:30.380 In the same way, 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:31.019 this passage says, 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:33.259 the spirit of God blows where he wills. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:34.819 He will come upon someone, 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:36.500 and that person can be regenerating. 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:37.339 Person who thought, 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:37.740 oh man, 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:39.359 that person will never come to Christ. 00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:41.919 But the spirit of God regenerates that person 00:29:41.919 --> 00:29:43.039 because he can do that. 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:44.740 It's his sovereign activity 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:46.879 and he blows where he wills 00:29:46.879 --> 00:29:48.200 and we don't know where he comes from. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:52.460 And that actually shouldn't lead us to despair in our evangelism. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.799 That actually gives us a lot of hope 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:55.779 because we recognize that no matter how, 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:57.099 what kind of person you meet, 00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:58.919 no matter how much of a settled, 00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:01.679 maybe antagonistic atheist that person might be, 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:02.859 no matter what kind of person, 00:30:02.939 --> 00:30:04.639 how degenerate that person might be, 00:30:04.819 --> 00:30:06.939 when the spirit of God blows, 00:30:07.159 --> 00:30:08.679 that person will be regenerated. 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:11.599 He will be brought from death to life. 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:14.379 And that's the nature of the new birth 00:30:14.379 --> 00:30:16.179 is that it comes of the spirit. 00:30:16.399 --> 00:30:19.179 All must be born again of the spirit. 00:30:20.679 --> 00:30:24.319 Now, but if that's the sovereign activity of the Holy Spirit, 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:27.879 then what if we want to become new? 00:30:28.159 --> 00:30:29.759 What if we want to be born again? 00:30:29.879 --> 00:30:31.000 Is there anything we can do 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:32.319 or do we just watch helplessly 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:33.740 and wait for the spirit to do something? 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:34.420 Right? 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:35.940 As I said before, 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:37.819 whenever there's God's sovereignty, 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:41.000 the Bible always teaches human responsibility on the side, 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:41.839 right next to it. 00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:44.039 And we have something we ought to do. 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:46.660 Verses 11 to 15, follow along with me. 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:46.940 It says, 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:49.200 Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:50.880 we speak of what we know 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:52.820 and bear witness to what we have seen, 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:55.080 but you do not receive our testimony. 00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:57.620 If I have told you earthly things 00:30:57.620 --> 00:30:58.420 and you do not believe, 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:00.480 how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:03.059 No one has ascended into heaven 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:05.480 except he who descended from heaven, 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.200 the Son of Man. 00:31:07.620 --> 00:31:10.420 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 00:31:10.860 --> 00:31:13.320 so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:17.259 and whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.319 He's going back to the idea of the Son of Man, 00:31:20.839 --> 00:31:23.339 that he is the ultimate Son of Man, 00:31:23.419 --> 00:31:25.039 that he comes to represent us, 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:26.220 he comes to save us. 00:31:26.919 --> 00:31:29.879 And he's the only person that can tell us about God 00:31:29.879 --> 00:31:31.799 because he's the only person that's been with God. 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:32.359 He's saying, 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:32.960 you know, 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:34.480 only person that can tell you about heaven 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:35.619 is someone that's been there 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:37.000 and Jesus came from there 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.099 so he can tell us about who God is 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:41.119 and what it means to be born again. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.599 And this allusion to the serpent 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:46.439 seems a little confusing at first. 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:46.699 He's like, 00:31:46.779 --> 00:31:47.059 okay, man, 00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:48.579 that seems to be a random citation. 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:49.719 Why is this in there? 00:31:49.919 --> 00:31:51.779 But the connection is actually really strong 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.459 because that story of the serpent 00:31:53.459 --> 00:31:55.199 comes from Numbers 21 00:31:55.199 --> 00:31:57.319 where Israelites are on their way 00:31:57.319 --> 00:31:58.240 to the promised land 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:00.799 and on their way they grumble again. 00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:02.139 They're impatient with God. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:04.659 They start to speak against him and his servants. 00:32:05.219 --> 00:32:07.879 And as a result of his holy wrath, 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:09.460 judgment comes on them. 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:11.160 He sends a fiery serpent among them 00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:12.780 who bites and kills many of them. 00:32:13.760 --> 00:32:15.120 But at the same time, 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:17.040 while his justice still is ongoing, 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:19.200 God has mercy on the same people 00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:20.360 that rebelled against him. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.800 And he provides a way for them to be healed. 00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:24.400 And he sends, 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:27.000 he tells Moses to make a bronze serpent, 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:28.040 set it on a pole, 00:32:28.320 --> 00:32:29.200 and then lift it up. 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:31.020 And people who have been bitten by the snake 00:32:31.020 --> 00:32:32.920 will look at it and live, it says. 00:32:33.300 --> 00:32:34.240 They will be healed. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:35.300 They will live. 00:32:35.299 --> 00:32:39.319 And that's exactly what Jesus does. 00:32:40.639 --> 00:32:42.799 Because the word lifted up, 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:44.139 they lift up the serpent, 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:46.059 that word is used four times 00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:47.099 throughout the Gospel of John. 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:48.339 And every time, 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:51.579 it refers to Jesus being lifted up on the cross 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:53.460 and being glorified on the cross. 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:55.519 That cross where Jesus dies 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:57.099 is the point of his exaltation. 00:32:57.399 --> 00:32:58.559 And when he is lifted up, 00:32:58.639 --> 00:33:00.639 that's when he gathers his people to himself. 00:33:00.899 --> 00:33:01.680 Just in the same way, 00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:02.799 when the serpent was lifted up, 00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:05.000 it provided way for the people 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:06.680 who were ailing to be healed. 00:33:07.619 --> 00:33:09.839 Just as that serpent restored physical life, 00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:11.919 now Jesus, the Son of Man, 00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:13.399 gives spiritual life, 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:14.980 new spiritual life. 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:17.440 And think about this. 00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:18.200 Because we're, 00:33:18.819 --> 00:33:21.639 we were the subjects of God's kingdom, 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:22.680 his creation. 00:33:22.879 --> 00:33:23.819 He created all of us. 00:33:23.859 --> 00:33:25.259 He rules over all of us. 00:33:25.399 --> 00:33:25.480 Right? 00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:27.159 And he gave it to his son 00:33:27.159 --> 00:33:28.419 to reign alongside him, 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:29.119 on his throne. 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:31.919 Yet we rebelled against him. 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:33.940 We were the rebellious subjects. 00:33:34.340 --> 00:33:35.960 We were guilty of treason. 00:33:36.420 --> 00:33:36.500 Right? 00:33:36.580 --> 00:33:38.720 We wanted to take his throne for ourselves. 00:33:38.840 --> 00:33:40.519 That's what it means to live in sin 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.259 and to want to live apart from God. 00:33:43.620 --> 00:33:44.320 And yet, 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:45.580 the Prince, 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:46.420 the Son of God, 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:47.080 the King, 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:48.480 comes to die 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:49.920 to bear the punishment 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:50.980 for our treason 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:52.740 so that we can be received again 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:54.060 into the kingdom of God. 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:54.460 Right? 00:33:55.580 --> 00:33:57.759 And we were part of his family. 00:33:57.980 --> 00:33:58.120 Right? 00:33:58.220 --> 00:34:00.279 God was the Father of all creation. 00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:00.799 Yet, 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:02.180 we betrayed him 00:34:02.180 --> 00:34:03.740 and severed our ties 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:03.980 and said, 00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:05.359 we don't want anything to do with him. 00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:06.180 Yet, 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:07.599 he sends his own son 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:08.559 to die for us. 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:08.980 Right? 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:10.099 So that we, 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:11.219 he can bear the punishment 00:34:11.219 --> 00:34:11.739 and the wrath 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:12.739 for our betrayal 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:15.059 and we can be received back 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:16.699 into the family of God. 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:18.400 That's what Jesus does. 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:19.599 And that's the means 00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:20.320 of the new birth. 00:34:20.659 --> 00:34:20.840 He said, 00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:22.719 by believing in the crucifixion 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:23.099 of man, 00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:24.119 by looking to him, 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.519 we are born again 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:26.779 of the Spirit. 00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:28.300 And if you have not believed 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:29.440 in the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:29.660 --> 00:34:30.300 I pray, 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:31.720 today you will be the day 00:34:31.720 --> 00:34:32.720 when you believe in him 00:34:32.720 --> 00:34:33.640 and you are baptized 00:34:33.640 --> 00:34:34.480 like some of us 00:34:34.480 --> 00:34:35.560 are being baptized today. 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:38.400 And if you have already 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:39.720 believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:40.900 then I want to exhort you 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:42.519 to continue to look to him. 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:43.700 Continue to look 00:34:43.700 --> 00:34:44.519 at the Son of Man 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.720 lifted up on the cross. 00:34:46.220 --> 00:34:48.120 As 2 Corinthians 3.18 says this, 00:34:48.140 --> 00:34:48.380 he says, 00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:50.680 Beholding the glory of the Lord, 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:52.260 we are being transformed 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:53.560 into the same image 00:34:53.560 --> 00:34:54.600 from one degree 00:34:54.600 --> 00:34:56.260 of glory to another. 00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:58.160 For this comes from the Lord 00:34:58.160 --> 00:34:59.160 who is the Spirit. 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:01.240 The Spirit of God 00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:02.040 works in us 00:35:02.040 --> 00:35:03.020 to make us 00:35:03.020 --> 00:35:04.420 like his Son, 00:35:04.680 --> 00:35:05.520 more like him, 00:35:06.080 --> 00:35:07.480 more like God's Son. 00:35:07.740 --> 00:35:08.640 And that happens 00:35:08.640 --> 00:35:10.180 as we behold his glory. 00:35:10.540 --> 00:35:11.720 And as John teaches us, 00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:12.940 his glory is most 00:35:12.940 --> 00:35:14.300 spectacularly displayed 00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:15.220 on the cross 00:35:15.220 --> 00:35:15.880 where he dies 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:16.580 for our sins 00:35:16.580 --> 00:35:17.520 and atones for us. 00:35:17.560 --> 00:35:18.200 And that's 00:35:18.200 --> 00:35:20.220 where the powerful growth 00:35:20.220 --> 00:35:20.740 comes from. 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:21.980 As we behold him 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:22.640 on that cross, 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:24.100 as we behold his love 00:35:24.100 --> 00:35:24.440 for us 00:35:24.440 --> 00:35:25.620 revealed on that cross, 00:35:25.619 --> 00:35:26.739 we are transformed, 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:27.420 we are filled 00:35:27.420 --> 00:35:27.920 with the Spirit, 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:29.199 we are regenerated 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:30.380 and we are able to, 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:31.799 we have the regenerative power 00:35:31.799 --> 00:35:32.659 to be able to obey 00:35:32.659 --> 00:35:33.900 and to follow him. 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.239 And if, 00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:37.900 as is the case, 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:38.980 for centuries, 00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:40.199 people can, 00:35:40.299 --> 00:35:40.539 you know, 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:41.460 travel thousands 00:35:41.460 --> 00:35:42.719 or hundreds of miles 00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:44.599 to travel 00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:45.619 to some part 00:35:45.619 --> 00:35:46.799 of the world 00:35:46.799 --> 00:35:47.719 to pay homage 00:35:47.719 --> 00:35:48.839 to a great work of art. 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:49.079 I mean, 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:50.079 people do that all the time. 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:51.279 People have been doing 00:35:51.279 --> 00:35:51.920 that for centuries. 00:35:52.139 --> 00:35:52.639 They will travel 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:53.179 hundreds of miles 00:35:53.179 --> 00:35:54.159 and look at this great 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:54.799 piece of art 00:35:54.799 --> 00:35:55.799 and marvel at it. 00:35:56.539 --> 00:35:56.719 I mean, 00:35:56.799 --> 00:35:57.679 if they can do that 00:35:57.679 --> 00:35:59.000 with people's creation, 00:35:59.219 --> 00:36:01.440 surely we can behold 00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:03.059 and always look to 00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:04.840 this glorious Christ 00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:06.079 of surpassing beauty 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:07.119 and glory 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:08.779 and never tire 00:36:08.779 --> 00:36:10.239 of this wondrous thing 00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:12.079 and never be wary 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:12.779 of believing 00:36:12.779 --> 00:36:13.719 and beholding 00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:14.659 in Christ. 00:36:15.299 --> 00:36:16.019 So let's pray 00:36:16.019 --> 00:36:16.719 to that end. 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:21.079 God, 00:36:21.139 --> 00:36:22.919 we never want 00:36:22.919 --> 00:36:24.219 to lose the wonder, 00:36:25.279 --> 00:36:26.119 the wonder 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:27.939 of your grace 00:36:27.939 --> 00:36:28.799 and mercy, 00:36:28.959 --> 00:36:29.159 God. 00:36:31.659 --> 00:36:32.639 Oh God, 00:36:32.879 --> 00:36:33.759 help us, 00:36:33.919 --> 00:36:34.319 Lord of faith. 00:36:34.439 --> 00:36:34.739 There's, 00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:35.659 our people here 00:36:35.659 --> 00:36:36.919 who do not know 00:36:36.919 --> 00:36:37.859 the new life 00:36:37.859 --> 00:36:38.480 in Christ. 00:36:39.279 --> 00:36:40.119 Bring them 00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:40.859 to new life 00:36:40.859 --> 00:36:42.079 by your sovereign spirit 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:45.799 and help us all 00:36:45.799 --> 00:36:46.439 as your church 00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:47.539 to behold you 00:36:47.539 --> 00:36:48.260 always, 00:36:48.780 --> 00:36:49.659 look to you, 00:36:50.659 --> 00:36:51.340 the crucified 00:36:51.340 --> 00:36:52.119 son of man. 00:36:55.700 --> 00:36:56.519 So that we may 00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:57.300 be changed 00:36:57.300 --> 00:37:00.000 into his glorious image 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:01.500 day by day. 00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:04.400 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:05.139 Amen.