WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.300 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:18.239 Lifehouse Church. Well, it's good to have you. 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:22.640 How many know it is almost Thanksgiving? Almost 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.760 is close, right? We're just about there. It's 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.839 almost Thanksgiving. And it's time to get yourself 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.719 prepared for turkey. It's time to get yourself 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.579 prepared for dessert, right? And it's just, I'm 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:38.689 getting geared up. I don't know about you. But 00:00:38.689 --> 00:00:41.310 I just told somebody this morning, I think eating 00:00:41.310 --> 00:00:44.090 is one of my spiritual gifts. I'm not quite sure. 00:00:45.630 --> 00:00:48.170 Come on, anybody with me in the house? I can't 00:00:48.170 --> 00:00:50.429 find it in the Bible, but I think it's something 00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:52.969 that's a spiritual gift for me. But I just wanted 00:00:52.969 --> 00:00:55.090 to take a moment because this is a week of Thanksgiving, 00:00:55.250 --> 00:00:58.070 and this is a time where we take and give thanks 00:00:58.070 --> 00:00:59.850 to the Lord in particular for all the things 00:00:59.850 --> 00:01:02.789 that he's given us. But I don't think I get to 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:05.189 do this often enough. I don't get to thank God 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:08.579 for you. We come in here week after week and 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:10.980 we get the opportunity to minister. And sometimes 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.159 I just want to stop and give God thanks for you. 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:16.579 You could go anywhere else and serve in the body 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:19.140 of Christ in any other church. And so many of 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:21.680 you come and we serve together. We serve arm 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.680 in arm and we lift up the name of Christ and 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:26.040 we worship together. And I'm just so grateful 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:28.280 this morning as I was thinking. I'm so grateful 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:30.700 for the people that God's brought together in 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:32.739 this particular group and slice of the ministry 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:35.420 and slice of heaven. Amen. And it's true. So 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:38.400 thank you. If you're listening online, you are 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.980 part of this gathering. You're part of this body. 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:43.480 We've got people who listen online all the time. 00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:47.000 We've got people who listen to the podcast somewhere 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.299 up in Canada, man. All kind of places all across 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:52.739 the globe that listen. And you're part of our 00:01:52.739 --> 00:01:55.219 family. And we love that you're here. And we 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:57.040 love that we come together and we get the opportunity 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:00.719 to do this. We're family. Amen? Amen. So I just 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:02.480 wanted to give thanks, take a moment to recognize 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:04.760 you. But most of all, I want to give thanks to 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.340 the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Can 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:09.419 you stand and give them an applause? Come on, 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.919 just stand up. This is for Jesus, not for me, 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:14.180 not for anybody else. Just give it for Jesus. 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.659 Come on. You might not do that around a Thanksgiving 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:20.020 table, but you can do it here, right? Give them 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:23.509 glory. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. I 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:25.969 love Thanksgiving. I love Christmas. I love this 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:29.229 time of year and what God's doing in the hearts 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:31.490 and lives all across the globe, truly. Well, 00:02:31.509 --> 00:02:33.689 this morning, I thought I'd let you in on just 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:36.210 a little secret. It's not really a big secret, 00:02:36.289 --> 00:02:38.789 but it's a little secret. I kind of want to let 00:02:38.789 --> 00:02:41.490 you in on one of the habits that the LifeHouse 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:44.289 staff, those of us who work in ministry and LifeHouse 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:47.430 on staff and ministry, one of our habits that 00:02:47.430 --> 00:02:51.069 we've tried to instill over the last couple years. 00:02:51.629 --> 00:02:55.729 is reading books. And all of our staff get together. 00:02:55.729 --> 00:02:59.389 We read the same book at the same time. We get 00:02:59.389 --> 00:03:01.689 together each week for staff meeting, and we 00:03:01.689 --> 00:03:03.490 talk about what we pulled out of the book. It 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:08.009 keeps us accountable, helps us really grow together 00:03:08.009 --> 00:03:10.490 and learn together. And there's two books that 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:13.069 we always want to be reading, right? First is 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:16.460 the Bible, always. A, number one, we want to 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:18.400 be in Scripture. We want to be in God's Word. 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:22.039 And then two, we read books about ministry. We 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:25.000 read books about leadership. We study what we 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.199 can to get ourselves a little wiser, right, to 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.199 grow the gray matter. Anybody need to grow gray 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.599 matter up there? Yeah, I do. You know, we learn 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:34.780 to get knowledge. We learn to get educated. We 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:37.599 learn to hear the stories. We read to broaden 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.879 and narrow our perspective both at different 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:44.120 times, sharpen our skills from time to time, 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.680 right? Change our focus, maybe learn about a 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.099 particularly interesting area. We read to grow. 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:53.419 We read to expand everything that's in our hearts 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:57.699 and our heads. But before we read those books, 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:02.300 we make sure we read the Word of God. Because 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:06.099 the Word of God isn't just a book. It isn't just 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.580 a little bit of knowledge. It's a revelation 00:04:08.580 --> 00:04:12.900 of God's redemptive plan for mankind. It is the 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:16.300 book. It is the path from death to life. Everything 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:18.779 else in life is life to death, right, that we 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:20.939 see around us. But in the Bible, it goes from 00:04:20.939 --> 00:04:24.420 death to life. It contains the road to God. It 00:04:24.420 --> 00:04:27.199 is the mysteries of life. It exposes the darkness 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.160 and brings us into his glorious light. It is 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:32.680 a book unlike any other book that you will ever, 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.810 ever read. It explains what's happening in your 00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:38.250 head and in your mind and even in the world that's 00:04:38.250 --> 00:04:41.310 around us, right? It contains God's plan to get 00:04:41.310 --> 00:04:44.850 us back together and fix this broken world that's 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:48.889 around us because it contains the words of God, 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:52.889 words of salvation. There is a reason that the 00:04:52.889 --> 00:04:56.329 Bible is the best -selling book of all time because 00:04:56.329 --> 00:05:01.170 it is the greatest book of all time because everything 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:04.019 changes. When the word of God begins to come 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:06.439 in. And the word of God is not just descriptive 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:08.680 in nature. I learned this just about a month 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.680 ago from someone else. It's not just descriptive 00:05:10.680 --> 00:05:14.199 in nature, but it is prescriptive. It is the 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.959 prescription. Say it's the prescription. Come 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:18.740 on, it's the prescription that changes everything, 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:22.019 right? It isn't just a description of what God 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.839 is doing, but it is the prescription. How does 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:26.740 a prescription work? Anybody know? Anybody ever 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:28.279 get a prescription in -house? Come on, raise 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.100 your hand. Yeah, come on. All of you have. You're 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:32.279 all sitting there like, oh, you get a prescription. 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:34.779 Yes, you have. All right. Yeah, you've got a 00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:36.579 prescription, right? And you know how it works. 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:38.959 You get ill. You get sick. You call the doctor. 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:41.779 And you make an appointment. And you show up. 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:44.439 Your appointment's for 3 p .m. You come in. You 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.139 check in at 5 to 3. You sit down in the waiting 00:05:47.139 --> 00:05:49.519 room. Check in. Sit down in the waiting room. 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:52.930 At 10 to 4, they come and get you. Right. They 00:05:52.930 --> 00:05:55.449 take you back to a little room and you sit on 00:05:55.449 --> 00:05:57.810 a metal table that's cold and has crunchy paper 00:05:57.810 --> 00:06:00.589 on top. And you sit there and a nurse comes in 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:02.170 and takes your vital signs and writes it all 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:04.069 down. And they lean in and say, well, what are 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:06.230 you here for today? Right. That's how they do 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:08.389 it. They lean in. I don't know if they think 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:09.689 I'm deaf or what, but they lean in a little. 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:12.250 You know, what are you here for today? And you 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:14.550 explain. They close the door and 30 minutes later, 00:06:14.649 --> 00:06:17.259 the doctor shows up. You sit in the crunchy room, 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:19.160 read all the things that are on the wall, right? 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:20.699 Play with all the little gidgee gadgets that 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:23.600 look like organs in the body. And you wait for 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.800 the doctor to come in. And the doc comes in, 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:28.180 and he asks you the same questions, maybe asks 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:30.860 some more, listens to some things. And at the 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:32.740 end of all this, he says, I'm going to prescribe 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:35.560 you something. And he asks where your pharmacy 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:37.959 is that you normally go to, and they send the 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:40.399 prescription to that pharmacy. And you go and 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:42.649 get it. And you pick up that prescription, and 00:06:42.649 --> 00:06:46.110 the idea is that you take that home, right, and 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.769 you internalize what the doctor's giving you. 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:51.529 Whatever medication, you take it, you eat it, 00:06:51.589 --> 00:06:53.750 you drink it, whatever it is, you swallow it, 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:56.149 and you internalize it so it goes through your 00:06:56.149 --> 00:06:58.629 being and changes you. Wouldn't it be a waste 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:00.870 of time, money, and effort if you went to the 00:07:00.870 --> 00:07:03.430 doctor, went through all that rigmarole, right, 00:07:03.550 --> 00:07:05.490 to get to the prescription? God picked up the 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:06.930 prescription, took it home, and sent it on the 00:07:06.930 --> 00:07:10.120 shelf, and never took any of it, right? Never 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:12.000 opened it, never internalized it, never changed 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.319 anything in your physical body. God's word is 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.899 the prescription for the illness for my ailment. 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:20.279 Do you know that? It is. It fixes me. It brings 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:22.540 me from death to life. It is the prescription 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:25.259 that fixes the sin that if left untreated will 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:27.819 take me out. It is the prescription for the huge 00:07:27.819 --> 00:07:30.699 void between God and myself. God's word is a 00:07:30.699 --> 00:07:33.920 prescription that keeps me from imminent death 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.819 and eternity in hell. And just take a moment 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:40.600 right now and thank God for the prescription 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:42.920 that leads me to the medication named Jesus. 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:47.120 Amen? Come on. Give the Lord another applause 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.120 for the Word of God. This is week of Thanksgiving. 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:52.620 You need to thank Him for everything this week, 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:55.980 right? Because without it, I'm doomed. Without 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:59.720 it, I'm weak and I'm sick and I'm weary. Without 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:02.360 it, death is imminent in my life. It truly is. 00:08:03.230 --> 00:08:05.810 God's word taken eternally brings me to life. 00:08:05.870 --> 00:08:08.829 It saves me. It heals me. It sets me free in 00:08:08.829 --> 00:08:12.209 every area of my life. And in John chapter 3, 00:08:12.290 --> 00:08:13.490 and that's where we're going this morning, so 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:15.209 some of you should be geared up. You got your 00:08:15.209 --> 00:08:17.750 Bible ready to go, right? In John chapter 3, 00:08:17.889 --> 00:08:21.110 there's this man named Nicodemus. Say Nicodemus. 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:23.310 Yeah, and you know who we're talking about, right? 00:08:23.550 --> 00:08:28.009 A Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and he finds 00:08:28.009 --> 00:08:32.139 the prescription. He finds Jesus himself. But 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:35.740 he debates on taking what is prescribed. He really 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:38.700 does. He seeks out the remedy for what ails him 00:08:38.700 --> 00:08:41.120 and ails society and the world around him. He 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.440 even comes to the great physician Jesus. But 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.259 then he finds out that he's having a hard time 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:49.919 swallowing what Jesus is prescribing. And you 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:51.580 might ask, well, why does he struggle? Why is 00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:53.779 the difficulty there? And I believe it's this. 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:56.159 See, you have to understand something about Nicodemus 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.460 before we read about him. He's a Pharisee. He's 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:02.440 a Pharisee. And as you're turning into John chapter 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.019 3, I'm going to pray, and then I'm going to tell 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:06.259 you a little bit about Pharisee, and then we're 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:08.220 going to jump into God's Word, all right? Father, 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:09.519 I thank you for this day. I thank you for the 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.860 Word of God. Lord, God, I don't need to pray 00:09:11.860 --> 00:09:13.360 for blessing on your Word. Your Word is already 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:15.580 blessed. God, I pray for blessing upon our ears, 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:17.620 upon our hearts, upon our minds. God, that we 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.100 might receive, we might internalize, and God, 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:22.340 that it might change us. God, that it might shift 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:24.360 us. And Lord, that we might do all things for 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:26.100 your glory and purpose. And we thank you. And 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:28.669 everybody say it together. Amen, amen. Listen, 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:31.809 as you're turning, I want to tell you a little 00:09:31.809 --> 00:09:33.649 bit about a Pharisee. I want to tell you a little 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:36.029 bit about this Pharisee named Nicodemus, where 00:09:36.029 --> 00:09:38.950 he's coming from. Because sometimes if you know 00:09:38.950 --> 00:09:40.950 somebody's background, sometimes if you know 00:09:40.950 --> 00:09:43.230 where somebody's coming from, it helps you understand 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:44.889 why they can't get where they're going exactly, 00:09:45.110 --> 00:09:49.549 right? Sometimes if you know where they're, you 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.529 know, the view that they're seeing, the lens 00:09:51.529 --> 00:09:53.350 that they're looking through, it might help you 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:55.090 understand their struggle just a little bit. 00:09:55.190 --> 00:09:57.549 And that will help you out with Nicodemus. Because 00:09:57.549 --> 00:09:59.830 the Pharisees struggled. Now, you've got to understand 00:09:59.830 --> 00:10:01.809 this about Pharisees. Their struggle was self 00:10:01.809 --> 00:10:04.230 -inflicted pretty much, all right? They kind 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:06.629 of brought it upon themselves. But the Pharisees 00:10:06.629 --> 00:10:08.750 in Jesus' day were middle -class businessmen. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:12.679 or leaders in the synagogue. And they were the 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:15.659 minority in the Sanhedrin court. The Sanhedrin 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:17.600 court was the highest court. There was a great 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.240 Sanhedrin, which was the greatest court. And 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.200 all the Jews in that locally, they were Sanhedrin. 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:24.779 And these individuals were made up. They were 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:27.240 part of the Sanhedrin. And a lot of times they 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.159 held a minority, but they were very powerful 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:31.779 because they were very popular among the people. 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:34.879 And they were known for emphasizing personal 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.340 piety and acceptance of the oral tradition, as 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:40.539 well as the written law of Moses, the Mosaic 00:10:40.539 --> 00:10:44.700 law. And they taught the 613 plus, it's actually 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:49.440 right around 13, 613 Jewish Mosaic laws. But 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.779 they added a whole bunch to it. I guess they 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:56.669 figured 613 wasn't enough. They added a whole 00:10:56.669 --> 00:10:59.889 bunch of things into it, ordinances and laws 00:10:59.889 --> 00:11:01.909 that they said they were law. They just made 00:11:01.909 --> 00:11:05.250 them up, right? And in the Gospels, the Pharisees 00:11:05.250 --> 00:11:07.929 were often presented as hypocritical. They were 00:11:07.929 --> 00:11:10.370 proud opponents of Jesus. And the Lord stated 00:11:10.370 --> 00:11:13.549 it bluntly in actually Matthew chapter 23. They 00:11:13.549 --> 00:11:16.549 do not practice what they preach as a general 00:11:16.549 --> 00:11:19.549 rule. Pharisees were self -righteous. They were 00:11:19.549 --> 00:11:21.629 kind of smug in their delusion that they were 00:11:21.629 --> 00:11:23.669 pleasing God by following all their laws and 00:11:23.669 --> 00:11:25.789 particularly their man -made ordinances. It was 00:11:25.789 --> 00:11:27.649 good they were following the law of God, but 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:30.669 the man made stuff, right? Their tradition. And 00:11:30.669 --> 00:11:33.669 as Jesus pointed out to them, as meticulous as 00:11:33.669 --> 00:11:36.490 they were in following the finer points of ritualism, 00:11:36.629 --> 00:11:39.129 they failed to measure up to God's holy standard. 00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:42.870 Because in the word of God, Jesus said this, 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:44.950 you've neglected the more important matters of 00:11:44.950 --> 00:11:47.230 law. He said this to the Pharisees, justice, 00:11:47.490 --> 00:11:51.750 mercy, and faithfulness. And while most of the 00:11:51.750 --> 00:11:54.149 Pharisees were in direct opposition to Jesus, 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:58.450 Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees who was not 00:11:58.450 --> 00:12:01.149 completely opposed to Jesus. As a matter of fact, 00:12:01.309 --> 00:12:04.009 he said things like, I know that you're a teacher 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:07.009 who has come from God. He has respect for Jesus. 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:11.570 But Nicodemus wrestles with Jesus' teaching because 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:14.370 of the group that he identified himself with, 00:12:14.549 --> 00:12:19.409 the Pharisees, because of his tribe, right? Because 00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:22.590 of their focus on the ordinances that were really 00:12:22.590 --> 00:12:25.690 not even in part of God's word. But in their 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:28.850 minds was a performance -based thing. If I'm 00:12:28.850 --> 00:12:31.049 good enough, right? If I follow enough of the 00:12:31.049 --> 00:12:34.269 traditions of what we've made up, if I'm good 00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:37.230 enough, I can get to God. So this struggle comes 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:40.409 for Nicodemus, right? At this point in time, 00:12:40.470 --> 00:12:43.409 this struggle comes because he's observing the 00:12:43.409 --> 00:12:46.710 ordinances and Jesus tells him something very 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:49.450 direct. He says, you must be born again. Let's 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:51.519 go to God's word. John chapter 3, I know that 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.340 was a long introduction, right? John chapter 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.039 3 verse 1 says this. There was a man of the Pharisees 00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:59.379 named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:01.539 came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.080 we know that you are a teacher come from God, 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.200 for no one can do these signs that you do unless 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:10.220 God is with him. So we see the struggle. First 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:12.580 two verses, right? First two things we read about 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:14.240 Nicodemus. We start to see the struggle that 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.580 Nicodemus is having. Because when does Nicodemus 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:20.279 come to Jesus? What time of day is it? Yeah, 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.899 nighttime, right? He did not call Jesus' office 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:26.120 and set up an appointment for during the day. 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.519 He didn't get a hold of the disciples and set 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:32.120 something up. He's sneaking around at nighttime. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.899 He's coming to Jesus under the cover of darkness. 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.019 This expert in the law, right, is sneaking around 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:39.659 in the darkness because he doesn't want his people 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.740 to find out. He doesn't want his fellow Pharisees, 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:45.879 right, his group, his tribe, these people that 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:47.679 he identifies with. He doesn't want them to know. 00:13:48.429 --> 00:13:51.649 So he knows there's something powerful about 00:13:51.649 --> 00:13:53.929 Jesus. He knows that there's something different. 00:13:53.970 --> 00:13:57.250 He knows that God's with him. He even speaks 00:13:57.250 --> 00:14:00.490 it, right? He respectfully says, we know that 00:14:00.490 --> 00:14:03.370 you're a teacher coming from God. No one can 00:14:03.370 --> 00:14:06.370 do these signs except God's with them. But he 00:14:06.370 --> 00:14:10.549 sneaks in, in the cover of darkness. He's just 00:14:10.549 --> 00:14:12.190 like some covert Christians I've been around, 00:14:12.330 --> 00:14:14.960 right? They're at church on Sunday, and then 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.899 when they get to the workplace on Monday, nobody 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:19.820 knows they're a Christian. Nobody could figure 00:14:19.820 --> 00:14:22.500 it out, even if they had to. I remember hearing 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:26.960 something one time. If you were convicted on 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:28.419 the evidence that you're a Christian, would they 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:30.519 have enough to convict you? It's a very telling 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.019 thing. And, you know, Nicodemus, you know, some 00:14:33.019 --> 00:14:34.879 people, they're at church Sunday, they're raising 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:36.679 their hands Sunday, they're worshiping God. And 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:38.019 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:40.919 nobody even knows who they are. And this is Nicodemus. 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:43.460 He's kind of hiding out. He's coming in the dark. 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:46.539 But Jesus doesn't waste any time. Nicodemus comes. 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:49.100 He wants to talk with Jesus. He wants to find 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:52.720 out what Jesus is all about. And Jesus jumps 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.070 right to the heart of the matter. Nicodemus comes 00:14:56.070 --> 00:14:58.250 in, he says some nice things, and in verse 3, 00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:00.750 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, 00:15:00.750 --> 00:15:05.009 I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot 00:15:05.009 --> 00:15:09.809 see the kingdom of God. Interesting. He doesn't 00:15:09.809 --> 00:15:12.590 have any chit -chat with Nicodemus about ministry. 00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:15.549 He doesn't get into any Old Testament debates. 00:15:15.850 --> 00:15:18.970 He doesn't even challenge him on the ordinances 00:15:18.970 --> 00:15:21.740 and the traditions that... that Nicodemus is 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:24.159 all about. He doesn't get into any church talk, 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.320 ministry talk, sharing about ministry experience. 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:30.240 He doesn't do any of that. He gets right to it. 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:32.840 He moves right to the gospel. He says, Nicodemus, 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:37.580 if you want to see the kingdom of God, you must 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:40.940 be born again. Nicodemus, if you want to see 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:43.200 the kingdom, you're going to have to find that 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.340 there's new birth in me. Nicodemus, I, Jesus, 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.120 am the way, the truth, and the love. I'm the 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.360 only way into the kingdom. And it's rose Nicodemus, 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.899 right? I can see him stand there. And I know 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:56.240 this because as you read in the scriptures, you 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.679 can tell he's a little stunned. There's a little 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:00.980 bit of spiritual shock, right? He came in with 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:02.879 some niceties. He's just ready to have a conversation. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:05.179 And Jesus is like, boom, Nicodemus, if you want 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.039 to see the kingdom of God, you've got to be born 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:09.289 again. He didn't even know where to go with the 00:16:09.289 --> 00:16:11.129 conversation. He didn't even know what to say. 00:16:11.149 --> 00:16:12.649 He's probably thinking, Jesus, can't we move 00:16:12.649 --> 00:16:14.629 back to some tradition? Can't we talk about the 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:17.350 Mosaic law? Because Nicodemus said to him, how 00:16:17.350 --> 00:16:20.549 can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter 00:16:20.549 --> 00:16:22.389 a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:25.529 And Jesus is probably thinking, Nicodemus, seriously, 00:16:25.809 --> 00:16:27.669 we're talking about spiritual things, and you're 00:16:27.669 --> 00:16:29.409 over here thinking about physical things, right? 00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:32.090 Aren't you an expert in Scripture? Aren't you 00:16:32.090 --> 00:16:34.789 an expert? Nicodemus, we're talking about the 00:16:34.789 --> 00:16:38.070 physical realm. Right? Or the spiritual realm, 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:41.149 not the physical. Because Jesus answers him, 00:16:41.169 --> 00:16:44.450 he says, Moses, surely I say to you, unless one 00:16:44.450 --> 00:16:47.590 is born of water, which is flesh, okay, that's 00:16:47.590 --> 00:16:51.629 the physical, and the spirit, we cannot enter 00:16:51.629 --> 00:16:54.009 the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh 00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:55.730 is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is 00:16:55.730 --> 00:16:57.850 spirit. Do you not marvel that I said to you, 00:16:57.929 --> 00:17:00.090 you must be born again? The wind blows where 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:01.929 it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot 00:17:01.929 --> 00:17:04.230 tell where it comes from and where it goes. So 00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:08.730 is everyone who is born in the spirit. Nicodemus 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:10.750 answered and said to him, how can these things 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:15.289 be? Mr. Pharisee has been thinking of him like 00:17:15.289 --> 00:17:18.150 a Pharisee for so long, living in the present 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:20.289 identity that he's been a part of, the group 00:17:20.289 --> 00:17:21.990 that he's been a part of, that he's struggling 00:17:21.990 --> 00:17:25.089 to hear what Jesus is saying. He's an expert 00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:27.450 in the law. He's an expert in the Old Testament. 00:17:27.890 --> 00:17:31.250 He's always believed that practicing the law 00:17:31.250 --> 00:17:33.509 is going to get him into the kingdom of heaven. 00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:36.329 He's trained in this. He's dressed for the part. 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:39.230 He follows the rules along, right, or as many 00:17:39.230 --> 00:17:41.990 as he can. He's kind of almost as he'll say, 00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:45.369 if I'm just good enough, right, if I just get 00:17:45.369 --> 00:17:50.009 it right, I'm in. And Jesus flips his whole theology. 00:17:51.109 --> 00:17:53.750 He says, Nick, it's not just about following 00:17:53.750 --> 00:17:57.589 God's law, right? You have to be born again. 00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:01.529 Being good enough isn't good enough. You have 00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:04.849 to be born again. It's not being good enough 00:18:04.849 --> 00:18:06.950 that gets us into the kingdom of heaven. It's 00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:09.269 the sacrifice that Jesus made and the cleansing 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:12.130 that he brings to us that he paid for on the 00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:15.130 cross. I can't be good enough. I'm not good enough. 00:18:15.349 --> 00:18:18.230 Only he was good enough. He's the only way. That's 00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:20.009 just what he was bringing to Nicodemus. He's 00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:21.630 like, Nicodemus, you're never going to be good 00:18:21.630 --> 00:18:23.490 enough. I'm the one that's good enough. That's 00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.190 why I came. That's why I left heaven. That's 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:31.269 why I'm here. This is why I sacrificed myself 00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:35.839 for your sin. And I say all that to say our present 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:40.339 identity can keep us blind to eternity, right? 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:44.480 Our present identity can keep us blind to eternal 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:48.000 reality. If my present identity is anything other 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.519 than in Jesus, it can skew my view of spiritual 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:53.700 reality. I can start to think that there's some 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:59.279 other path to God. You know, that somehow it's 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:03.079 flexible and it's up to interpretation. Right? 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:05.240 You know, and I hear this all the time. I hear 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.420 it on the TV. I hear people talking about this. 00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:09.680 Well, you know, everything leads to God, right? 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.420 You know, it's kind of up to your interpretation. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:14.640 You can just kind of go anywhere and experience 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.180 God. Here's what I'm telling you this morning. 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:20.440 Hear what Jesus told Nicodemus. The only way 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:24.039 to the kingdom of God is to be born again. Salvation 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:27.980 through Jesus. All paths do not lead to God. 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:33.359 That's like saying that all driveways lead to 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:37.039 my house. Okay? I only have one driveway at my 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:38.579 house. I don't know if you have two or not, but 00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:41.480 I only have one. All driveways that you go up 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:44.140 do not lead to my house. There's one and only 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:47.000 one driveway to get to my house. Unless you're 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:48.259 going to drive through my yard, which then we'll 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:50.180 have to have a talk. Okay? Because I'm serious 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:55.730 about my yard. But there's only one. Way to the 00:19:55.730 --> 00:19:58.049 kingdom of God. He was letting Nicodemus know. 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:02.470 He was telling us, I am the door. I am the gate. 00:20:02.690 --> 00:20:08.150 I am the way. So sometimes, sometimes, say sometimes. 00:20:08.650 --> 00:20:11.289 We said that a lot last week, right? Sometimes 00:20:11.289 --> 00:20:13.910 when we're talking to someone who is far from 00:20:13.910 --> 00:20:17.750 God and they're kind of blind by their present 00:20:17.750 --> 00:20:20.069 identity or maybe the group that they're associated 00:20:20.069 --> 00:20:22.450 with, right? Sometimes you're going to have to 00:20:22.450 --> 00:20:25.130 get right to it. You're going to have to ask 00:20:25.130 --> 00:20:27.529 them the question, right? Do you want to see 00:20:27.529 --> 00:20:30.890 the kingdom of God? Because if you do, you have 00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:34.250 to be born again. There's one path. There's one 00:20:34.250 --> 00:20:37.069 direction. There's one way to there, and it's 00:20:37.069 --> 00:20:39.910 Jesus. And you've got to do just like Jesus did 00:20:39.910 --> 00:20:41.289 with Nicodemus. You've got to let them wrestle 00:20:41.289 --> 00:20:43.549 with it. You've got to let them wrestle in their 00:20:43.549 --> 00:20:45.789 own spirit. You've got to let them ask the questions. 00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:48.210 Jesus was right there with them. You've got to 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:50.700 let them, you know, let them. converse with you. 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.000 Let them struggle with it. Let them fight with 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.240 it. Every one of us who know Jesus as Lord and 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.599 Savior had to. Each one of us had to come to 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.079 God and we had to come before the cross and say, 00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:02.359 you know what? I realize that I'm a sinner. I 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:04.559 realize that I'm far from God. Each one of us 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.140 had to do that. And we had to realize that the 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:09.880 only way to get there is Jesus. That the plan 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:12.660 of God started with the fall of man in Genesis 00:21:12.660 --> 00:21:15.180 when we walked away from God, rebelled against 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.900 God, sin separated us from God. And it began 00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:20.779 to change. and God made provision with Jesus 00:21:20.779 --> 00:21:23.099 Christ that we could come back into relationship 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:27.019 with him. That's why he sent his only son. I 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:29.680 can't even imagine, I have one son, can't imagine 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:32.640 sacrificing my son for everybody else, but he 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:35.559 did. That's how much he loves us. In verse 10, 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:38.099 Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:40.660 of Israel and you do not know these things? Most 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:42.579 assuredly I say to you, we speak what we know 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:44.900 and testify what we have seen and you do not 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:47.599 receive our witness. If I told you earthly things 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:49.579 and you did not believe, How will you believe 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:52.619 if I tell you heavenly things? No one is ascended 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:54.299 to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, 00:21:54.420 --> 00:21:57.079 that is the son of man who is in heaven. And 00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:59.079 as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:01.420 even so must the son of man be lifted up, and 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:03.519 whoever believes in him should not perish, but 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:06.880 have eternal life. Here it is. Come on, say it 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.200 with me so many of you know this. For God so 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:12.180 loved the world that he gave his only begotten 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:15.079 son, that whoever believes in him should not 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.930 perish, but have everlasting life. For God did 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:20.809 not send his son into the world to condemn the 00:22:20.809 --> 00:22:23.490 world, but that the world through him might be 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:28.430 saved. Born again. Born again. Worship team, 00:22:28.509 --> 00:22:32.569 if you'd make your way to the platform. I haven't 00:22:32.569 --> 00:22:35.730 heard that term used a whole lot these days. 00:22:35.869 --> 00:22:38.549 Maybe we need to bring it back, right? We talk 00:22:38.549 --> 00:22:41.710 about being saved, but it really is about being 00:22:41.710 --> 00:22:44.690 born again. It really is about becoming brand 00:22:44.690 --> 00:22:49.200 new in Jesus Christ. It is really realizing that 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.420 without Jesus, this spirit man, not the physical, 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:56.359 right? This spirit man is dead. I said it at 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:58.259 the beginning. Everything in God's word goes 00:22:58.259 --> 00:23:00.980 from death to life. Everything in this life physically 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:04.339 goes from life to death. And I start out without 00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:10.059 Jesus dead. And I need birth. I need life. I 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:14.299 need to be born again spiritually. The thing 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:16.559 that Nicodemus had such, can we just call him 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:18.420 Nick for a while? All right, the thing that Nick 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:21.059 struggled with, right? So much in his head and 00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:24.220 his heart. We've got to get our head around. 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:29.559 Jesus tells Nicodemus, if you want to see the 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:33.420 kingdom of God, you have to believe this. You 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:37.000 have to believe it. Can I tell you, you will 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:40.319 act. on what you believe and not on what you 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:44.319 know. Can I say that again? You will act on what 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.460 you believe. You will not act on what you know. 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:49.019 I know chocolate chip cookies are not good for 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:53.019 me, but I don't believe that in my heart. And 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:56.279 I eat them on a regular basis. Amen, thank you. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:02.200 You don't act on what you know. You act on what 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:06.079 you believe. And this morning as you stand, I'm 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:07.359 going to ask everybody in the house to stand 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:12.200 that can stand. I'm going to ask you this question. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:17.440 What do you believe? I want you to know. I could 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.900 probably go around this room. You tell me what 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:20.720 you know because there's so many that will be 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:22.839 able to explain the gospel. Do you ever meet 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:25.900 somebody that rambles on and on about a particular 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:28.539 subject? And they go on and on and on. They've 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:30.140 got knowledge, statistics. They've got all the 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:31.789 different things. And then you look at their 00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:34.230 lives and they've never done any of what they're 00:24:34.230 --> 00:24:35.470 talking about. Do you ever know what I'm talking 00:24:35.470 --> 00:24:37.509 about? They know a whole bunch of things, but 00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:38.390 they don't really believe in it because they 00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:41.190 don't really do it, right? You've got to believe. 00:24:42.430 --> 00:24:45.750 You've got to believe. That's what Jesus was 00:24:45.750 --> 00:24:47.690 telling Nicodemus. You've got to believe. I am 00:24:47.690 --> 00:24:51.109 the only way. You've got to be born again. If 00:24:51.109 --> 00:24:53.369 you want to see the kingdom of God, if you want 00:24:53.369 --> 00:24:55.269 to see the kingdom of God, when we meet people. 00:24:56.089 --> 00:24:57.869 If you're a Christian in the house and you're 00:24:57.869 --> 00:24:59.769 talking with somebody, sooner or later you've 00:24:59.769 --> 00:25:01.549 got to get there in the conversation. Sooner 00:25:01.549 --> 00:25:03.349 or later, right, you might come in soft. You 00:25:03.349 --> 00:25:05.269 might not come in as hard as Jesus did with Nicodemus. 00:25:05.529 --> 00:25:07.309 Right off the bat, I think Jesus did that because 00:25:07.309 --> 00:25:08.829 he was a Pharisee and he was an expert in the 00:25:08.829 --> 00:25:10.690 law. It might take a while for you to build a 00:25:10.690 --> 00:25:12.150 relationship. But sooner or later you've got 00:25:12.150 --> 00:25:13.210 to ask him, listen, if you want to be in the 00:25:13.210 --> 00:25:14.910 kingdom of God, you know what it takes? You've 00:25:14.910 --> 00:25:17.190 got to be born again. You've got to be born again. 00:25:17.690 --> 00:25:19.890 And that can be quick and it can be harder. It 00:25:19.890 --> 00:25:21.990 can be soft and, you know, it takes some time. 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:24.529 But that's the question. Do you believe this? 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:28.980 Do you believe this? Do you believe it? John 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:31.720 3 .15, right? That whoever believes in him should 00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:35.839 not perish but have eternal life. For the gospel 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:37.279 of the world that he gave was only begotten. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.180 John 3 .16, whoever believes in him should not 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:44.039 perish but have. It's about the belief. Don't 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:56.210 you believe? to this message from Lifehouse Church. 00:25:56.730 --> 00:25:59.549 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by 00:25:59.549 --> 00:26:02.390 this message. If you have been personally affected 00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:04.930 by our ministry and you would like to partner 00:26:04.930 --> 00:26:08.190 with us as we love God, love people every day, 00:26:08.349 --> 00:26:09.849 visit our website at