1 00:00:04,700 --> 00:00:09,300 I hope that you've had a good weekend, you've had some fun in 2 00:00:09,300 --> 00:00:12,600 the sun as they say, it's been a good bit of good, bright weekend 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,100 till this morning anyway, so attending church after Blossom 4 00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:20,800 Festival and on a rainy Sunday is certainly worth extra bonus 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,800 point. So kudos to you guys for that. 6 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:26,600 No seriously. I'm glad that you're here today. 7 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:28,200 Thanks for coming. My name is Kyle. 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,100 I serve as the lead Pastor here. If you're visiting special, 9 00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:34,400 thank you to you. We are in John chapter 3. 10 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:37,300 Once again today, but for the final time, as far as this 11 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:42,200 series goes, will be wrapping up our Series in John 3 today with 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,600 verses 18 through 21. And so, I'll read those to you 13 00:00:45,608 --> 00:00:47,800 in a moment. But what we've been doing is 14 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:52,700 walking through this examining the conversation between 15 00:00:52,700 --> 00:00:57,700 Nicodemus, who was a man a devout Jewish, man, a devout 16 00:00:57,700 --> 00:01:03,600 Pharisee who had devoted himself to the law and he was looking 17 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:09,100 for If according to Good Works, he was looking for eternal life, 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,300 according to all that he could muster up under his own 19 00:01:12,300 --> 00:01:16,300 strength, all that he could do to physically make that happen. 20 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:21,500 And what we find throughout this conversation with Christ, as if 21 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:26,000 he's looking for life and all the wrong places, right? 22 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,600 I know corny but he's looking I didn't mean to do that. 23 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:34,200 That's just what happens when your dad Yeah, that's so he's 24 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,500 looking for life in places where he's not going to find life and 25 00:01:37,500 --> 00:01:41,800 so he's left wanting often, he's left wanting and all that he 26 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:43,400 does in. So there's something about 27 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,100 Christ that appeals to him. He says we recognize that you 28 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:50,500 are a teacher come from God, because no one can do the work 29 00:01:50,500 --> 00:01:52,300 she do. Unless God is with him. 30 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,300 So he recognizes her something about Christ, but he comes to 31 00:01:55,300 --> 00:01:57,800 Christ under the darkness, right? 32 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,600 He comes to Christ in the middle of the night. 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,600 He comes to Christ in such a way that no one would see him. 34 00:02:02,700 --> 00:02:06,900 Him come to Christ and he begins to inquire, but his questions 35 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:10,600 are all wrong and Christ. Lets him know this. 36 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,200 And so what we're seeing is what Christ reveals is that life is 37 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,600 not found. According to the law, the law is 38 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,500 good. The law exposes sin, the law 39 00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:23,800 helps us see our need for a savior as Paul says, and and 40 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,400 Romans, especially chapters 2 and 3, but, but the law is not 41 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,300 able to save you. The laws, only able to save you 42 00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:34,100 the law, reveals your need For a savior. 43 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,300 And this is what Nicodemus was missing. 44 00:02:36,300 --> 00:02:40,000 Nicodemus did not understand that he needed to be born again. 45 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:45,500 He needed new life in Christ and that's what Christ reveals to 46 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:48,100 him. So I'm going to read all of the 47 00:02:48,100 --> 00:02:51,700 passage again today since it's our, especially since it's our 48 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:55,000 last time to be in it, so that we can capture the context of 49 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,700 this as we get ready to dive in. Again, if you're able today, 50 00:02:57,700 --> 00:03:01,900 would you please stand to your feet being unable? 51 00:03:01,900 --> 00:03:04,100 Does not. Mean that you walked a lot of 52 00:03:04,108 --> 00:03:07,200 the Blossom Festival yesterday. I'm sorry you can still stand. 53 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,600 So we're going to read God's word today and then when I 54 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:12,100 finish reading it, I'll say this is God's. 55 00:03:12,100 --> 00:03:14,100 Holy word of changed it a bit. This is God's. 56 00:03:14,100 --> 00:03:16,300 Holy word and you say, thanks be to God. 57 00:03:16,300 --> 00:03:18,000 Your part doesn't change my part changes. 58 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,100 This is God's holy word. Thanks be to God. 59 00:03:21,100 --> 00:03:23,500 All right, let's read now. There was a man of the Pharisees 60 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:26,800 named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 61 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,700 This man came to Jesus by night and he said to him Rabbi we know 62 00:03:31,700 --> 00:03:34,700 that you are a teacher From God for no one. 63 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:39,600 Can do these signs that you do unless God is with him and Jesus 64 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,500 answered him. Truly truly, I say to you, 65 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:46,500 unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 66 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:50,000 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? 67 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,300 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 68 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,000 Jesus answered truly, truly I say to you unless one is born of 69 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,000 water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 70 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,600 That, which is born of the flesh is flesh. 71 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,600 And that, which is born of the spirit is Spirit, do not Marvel. 72 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,900 That I said to you, you must be born again. 73 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,000 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, but you 74 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,399 do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 75 00:04:19,700 --> 00:04:23,200 So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. 76 00:04:23,700 --> 00:04:27,900 Now in verse 9, Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be 77 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,000 Jesus answered him? Are you the teacher of Israel? 78 00:04:31,300 --> 00:04:35,500 And yet you do not And these things truly, truly, I say to 79 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:38,700 you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have 80 00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:41,400 seen. But you do not receive our 81 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,400 testimony. If I have told you Earthly 82 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,800 things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell 83 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,600 you Heavenly things, no one has ascended into heaven, except he 84 00:04:52,700 --> 00:04:58,000 who has descended from Heaven, the son of man, and as Moses 85 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,300 lifted up, the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of 86 00:05:01,300 --> 00:05:05,200 man be lifted up that That whoever believes in him may have 87 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,900 eternal life for 16 for God. So loved the world that he gave 88 00:05:09,907 --> 00:05:13,400 his only son, that whoever believes in him, should not 89 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,500 perish, but have eternal life. For God, did not send his son 90 00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:20,400 into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the 91 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:25,800 world might be saved through him Verse 18, where we'll be for the 92 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,400 majority of our time today. Whoever believes in him is not 93 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,100 condemned, but whoever does not believe is Already because he 94 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:37,700 has not believed in the name of the only son of God. 95 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,100 And this is the Judgment, the light has come into the world 96 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,100 and people loved the darkness rather than the light because 97 00:05:45,100 --> 00:05:48,500 their Works were evil. For everyone. 98 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:52,200 Who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the 99 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,400 light, lest his work, should be exposed, but whoever does what 100 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,300 his true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen. 101 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:02,400 That his Works have been carried out. 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,800 It's in God. Amen. 103 00:06:04,900 --> 00:06:06,700 This is God's. Holy word. 104 00:06:07,300 --> 00:06:09,000 Thanks be to God. You may be seated. 105 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,400 Let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, we thank you 106 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,000 for your word. We thank you for the time we 107 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,700 have now to examine it to stare at it to behold. 108 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:21,900 Its father, we ask that you would do the work that only you 109 00:06:21,900 --> 00:06:26,400 can do and that is cause your words to grow and our hearts 110 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,200 that it might bear much fruit, would you, by the power of your 111 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:32,500 spirits open, our hearts and Minds. 112 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:37,400 To see and to understand and to believe the words of Christ 113 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:42,100 today that we would not be found as those loving Darkness but we 114 00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:46,600 would be found as those who are walking in the lights or we love 115 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,200 you. It's in Christ's name I pray. 116 00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:54,200 Amen. John 3:18, whoever believes in 117 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,800 him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is 118 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,200 condemned already. Because he has not believed in 119 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:05,000 the name of the only son of God. And this is the Judgment, the 120 00:07:05,008 --> 00:07:07,700 light has come into the world and people loved the darkness 121 00:07:07,700 --> 00:07:11,600 rather than the light because their Works were evil. 122 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,200 For everyone. Who does wicked things hates the 123 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,600 light and does not come to the light, lest his work, should be 124 00:07:17,900 --> 00:07:22,100 exposed, but whoever does what his true comes to the light so 125 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:24,900 that in so that it may be clearly seen. 126 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:30,900 That his Works have been carried out in God Christ. 127 00:07:31,300 --> 00:07:36,800 Makes it clear that as God sees the world as God sees Humanity, 128 00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:40,900 there are only two groups of people in it. 129 00:07:42,700 --> 00:07:46,800 There are only two groups and which you will find yourself in 130 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,500 this world. There are not three groups. 131 00:07:49,900 --> 00:07:52,400 There are not five groups. There are not 10 groups. 132 00:07:52,700 --> 00:07:54,900 There are not an unlimited number of groups. 133 00:07:54,900 --> 00:08:00,200 There are two categories of people and they are Polar 134 00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:02,500 Opposites as Christ reveals today. 135 00:08:02,900 --> 00:08:09,200 We are all sharply divided. Between those who believe in 136 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:14,000 Jesus Christ and those who disbelieve, we are, sharply 137 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,900 divided between those who are judged by God, and those who are 138 00:08:18,900 --> 00:08:24,400 not judged by God. Those who there are, those who 139 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,200 love the light, which is Jesus Christ to be. 140 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,700 Sure. And there are those who do not 141 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,600 love him. There are those who flee from 142 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,700 spiritual darkness and those who choose by their own desire to 143 00:08:36,700 --> 00:08:38,600 remain. Rain in spiritual Darkness. 144 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:43,200 There are those who practice evil and those who practice the 145 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,200 truth. And so you may classify these 146 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,300 two groups in a number of different ways by pointing out 147 00:08:52,300 --> 00:08:56,800 where they stand in regards to belief in Christ, but make no 148 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,200 mistake. There are only two groups of 149 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,600 people. This is what Jesus is declaring 150 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,200 to Nicodemus in our text today is making it clear that you 151 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,700 either love the lights or you love the dark. 152 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:15,700 There is no third way is if you were going to be In the kingdom 153 00:09:15,700 --> 00:09:20,800 of God, you must love the light which is the Son of God. 154 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,700 Jesus Christ. And so if you're taking notes 155 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:27,300 today, there's my the thrust of the sermon. 156 00:09:27,300 --> 00:09:31,000 That was the main point. If you will, if you will love 157 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:36,500 the lights, Jesus Christ, you will find life in him. 158 00:09:37,300 --> 00:09:41,200 If you will love the light, Jesus Christ, you will find life 159 00:09:41,700 --> 00:09:46,700 in him. Now, either Nicodemus would love 160 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:50,800 the light or he would lock go on loving his Darkness. 161 00:09:51,300 --> 00:09:55,500 He could only find himself in one of those two categories and 162 00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:58,100 is seen throughout this dialogue, Jesus makes it clear 163 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:01,100 to Nicodemus that he is currently outside the kingdom. 164 00:10:01,100 --> 00:10:08,000 Unless you, unless you believe you cannot see the kingdom of 165 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:13,000 God, unless you believe you cannot even enter the kingdom of 166 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,800 God. Jesus is making it clear to him 167 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,000 that he is outside of the kingdom of God, which is news, 168 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,000 to Nicodemus, to be sure. Nicodemus had no idea that he 169 00:10:24,008 --> 00:10:25,600 was outside of the kingdom of God. 170 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,200 He thinks he's at the Pinnacle of those who were inside the 171 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,700 kingdom of God. He's not previously aware of his 172 00:10:32,700 --> 00:10:35,200 need to be born again. He doesn't see that. 173 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:39,400 He needs to be given New Life given New Birth. 174 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,300 He didn't know that he was in need of spiritual life. 175 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:49,000 Until now, he's clear. Now, Christ has brought it to a 176 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,700 head here in this dialog. As their dialogue is coming to a 177 00:10:52,700 --> 00:10:57,300 close Jesus, draws a sharp line of distinction between these two 178 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:01,700 groups of people Stephen Lawson points out in his book, New Life 179 00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:04,600 In Christ. He says, Jesus draws. 180 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,900 This sharp distinction by making three clarifying distinctions 181 00:11:09,300 --> 00:11:13,300 which serve to bring Nicodemus to the place of a deep Awareness 182 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:18,100 of his need for regeneration. That the purpose was that he 183 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:22,800 would put his trust in Jesus. The only savior of Sinners. 184 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:28,700 And so Christ is making In this passage three distinctions that 185 00:11:28,700 --> 00:11:31,900 Nicodemus that are meant to draw Nicodemus to this understanding 186 00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:36,700 that he's a need of the new birth that he cannot walk away. 187 00:11:36,700 --> 00:11:41,100 Thinking anything different about himself, except that he is 188 00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:46,500 lost. And so the first contrast Jesus 189 00:11:46,500 --> 00:11:49,500 makes is between those who are already judged. 190 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,300 Who are already judged by God to be sure and those who are not. 191 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,000 So the first contrast he makes John 3:18. 192 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,700 Again, whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever 193 00:11:59,700 --> 00:12:02,100 does not believe is condemned already. 194 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,900 So there's a group of those who are not condemned, who are not 195 00:12:05,900 --> 00:12:08,900 judged, and then there's those who are condemned already, 196 00:12:08,900 --> 00:12:12,700 because they're not believing Nicodemus, must decide whether 197 00:12:12,700 --> 00:12:18,800 he is judged or Not. By God, does he believe in Jesus 198 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:20,500 Christ? The son of God does he believe? 199 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,300 The message that Christ is proclaiming to him in this 200 00:12:23,300 --> 00:12:27,000 moment, or is he going to go on in disbelief? 201 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:32,100 And if he does believe, then he is not judge, but if he does not 202 00:12:32,100 --> 00:12:36,300 believe then he will remain in judgment. 203 00:12:36,500 --> 00:12:40,900 He will remain in his condemning State Nicodemus, learn that he 204 00:12:40,900 --> 00:12:45,000 was already condemned by God. Again, this is probably news for 205 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,300 Nicodemus. He's learning that he already 206 00:12:47,300 --> 00:12:52,300 stands guilty before God in the high court of Heaven. 207 00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:55,200 Again, lost some points out. He says, all that mattered. 208 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,300 Now was not how Nicodemus appeared before people, but how 209 00:12:59,300 --> 00:13:04,000 he stood before, God, the highly respected ruler has been weighed 210 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,500 in God's balances and he's been found wanting and Nicodemus 211 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:10,400 built his life on his reputation. 212 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,500 He built his life on his good works. 213 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:16,900 He built his life on being perceived by others as a holy 214 00:13:17,100 --> 00:13:21,800 man and now he's finding out that that's not good enough. 215 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:28,100 The final verdict would wait until the last day when Christ 216 00:13:28,300 --> 00:13:33,600 returns, but the outcome of this final verdict is certain as far 217 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,300 as Nicodemus, presently stands, he is condemned. 218 00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:43,900 He's condemned because of Adam's sin. 219 00:13:44,900 --> 00:13:48,300 Adamson is credited to all Humanity in Romans chapter 5 220 00:13:48,300 --> 00:13:51,400 verses 12 through 21. So one reason that Nicodemus 221 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:56,500 like you and I stands condemned in our disbelief is because we 222 00:13:56,500 --> 00:14:00,700 have inherited Adam sinned, we are born, sinners. 223 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,900 But it's not only that it's by his own sins that he has 224 00:14:05,900 --> 00:14:08,200 condemned again. Romans 3:23 confirms us that 225 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,800 we've all fallen short of the glory of God. 226 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,700 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 227 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:16,100 Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin, the wages of all of 228 00:14:16,100 --> 00:14:18,600 those who have fallen short is death. 229 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:24,800 So he stands condemned before God, ultimately, he's condemned 230 00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:30,100 because he's not believing here yet in Jesus Christ. 231 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,100 And so if you find yourself standing condemned and high 232 00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:42,400 court of Heaven, cry out to God. God is the one who is merciful 233 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,500 to all, who believe in his son, and if you will humble yourself, 234 00:14:46,500 --> 00:14:52,100 you will receive Grace from him. This is what James says, in his 235 00:14:52,100 --> 00:14:57,800 letter, that if you will humble yourself, God gives grace to the 236 00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,800 humble. So she'll humble yourself before 237 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,100 the Lord. You will receive Grace, but you 238 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:04,800 must be honest in your self-assessment. 239 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,100 You must be honest and where your heart is before the Lord, 240 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:12,500 if you have not believed in Jesus Christ for your salvation, 241 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:15,800 if you have not trusted in his name, if you were not looking to 242 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,500 him, then I beg of you today flee to Christ run. 243 00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:23,400 Do not walk to find Mercy from God. 244 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,200 Today he alone is the savior of sinners. 245 00:15:28,500 --> 00:15:30,600 And so Jesus. Again, makes it abundantly clear 246 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:38,500 that the one that that someone a person must believe in Christ to 247 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:41,500 be the Son of God in order to be saved. 248 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,900 And must believe Christ to be who he says he is they must 249 00:15:44,900 --> 00:15:47,500 believe in his name. To the one who believes in the 250 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:50,900 name of the son of God. And when we say the name of 251 00:15:50,900 --> 00:15:57,100 someone typically, what this means is, it's referring to all 252 00:15:57,100 --> 00:15:59,800 that that person. In is and whatever their mission 253 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,500 is. And so when Jesus says that you 254 00:16:01,508 --> 00:16:05,600 must believe in the Name of Christ to be saved, the object 255 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,500 of saving, faith is the name of Jesus Christ. 256 00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:12,000 It's the believe upon him and when you say you believe upon 257 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,000 him what you're saying is, I believe that he is who he says 258 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,300 he is, and that he did all that. He said he was that he was going 259 00:16:18,300 --> 00:16:23,200 to do and that he will do the things that he is doing even now 260 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,700 as he sits in heaven and intercedes for believers. 261 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,700 You must believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be as the Son 262 00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:35,200 of God, believe that he was the one that God sent from heaven in 263 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,000 order that he might be lifted up on a cross to die for your sins. 264 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,100 This is where you find Salvation. 265 00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:44,800 This is where life is found. You must believe that Jesus 266 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,600 alone can rescue you from your sins. 267 00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:57,500 And herein lies the seriousness of unbelieving of disbelief. 268 00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:06,400 To disbelieve that Christ is who he says he is, is to reject God. 269 00:17:08,099 --> 00:17:12,400 And not only to reject God. But to reject the Son of God, 270 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:18,300 you're refusing to Believe In Christ and so you were rejecting 271 00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:23,000 God's Plan of Salvation. You're rejecting his plan for 272 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,800 your Redemption. You're rejecting it and you're 273 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:32,400 saying, I know a better way. And essentially what you're 274 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,200 saying is, I'll get there by my own strength and at the bottom 275 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:41,000 of what you're saying is I'm going to stay in my condemned 276 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,600 States. Lawson has this great little 277 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:49,100 quote about this in his book. He says unbelief toward Jesus 278 00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:52,500 defiantly repudiates, God's Plan of Salvation. 279 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,600 It dishonors God by disregarding his holy son, it brazenly calls. 280 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:02,000 Jesus Christ a liar. It utterly rejects that Jesus is 281 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,300 the only begotten Son of God unbelief denounces, Jesus, as 282 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:11,500 merely one more human teacher. Who is unfit to be trusted, is 283 00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:15,100 it any wonder that an unbeliever like Nicodemus was Judged 284 00:18:15,100 --> 00:18:21,400 already, he participated as all believers do and high treason 285 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,800 against God. He's rebelling against the 286 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,200 Living God. And so again, I say to you, if 287 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:34,800 you will love the light She is Jesus Christ, you will find life 288 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,400 in him, you'll find life in him. The second contrast that Jesus 289 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,000 makes regarding these, two groups is between the light and 290 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,300 the Darkness. John 3:19, he says in, this is 291 00:18:46,300 --> 00:18:49,200 the Judgment, the light has come into the world and people loved 292 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,700 the darkness rather than the light because their Works were 293 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:56,100 evil. And this statement, Jesus is 294 00:18:56,100 --> 00:19:00,600 speaking of himself as the light, he is the light that has 295 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,600 come into this world of spiritual Darkness. 296 00:19:03,700 --> 00:19:07,700 A later on in John's gospel, he's going to flat out. 297 00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:10,500 Say, I am the light of the world. 298 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:18,400 This isn't new even so this passage though, because John 299 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:23,600 describes Jesus as the light in chapter 1, as he's laying out 300 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,400 for us, who has come into the world at the very word, was made 301 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,400 flesh, and dwelt Among Us. And he says this, it says, in 302 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:35,200 him was life and the life was the light of men. 303 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,300 And then in verse 5, he says the light shines in the darkness and 304 00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:44,100 the Darkness has not over comments and in John 19, he says 305 00:19:44,100 --> 00:19:48,300 the True Light which gives light to everyone was coming into the 306 00:19:48,300 --> 00:19:49,800 world. So John is already set up 307 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,100 Christ. As the light, he's the one who's 308 00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:56,100 giving us the picture of the father. 309 00:19:56,100 --> 00:20:00,000 He's the one who is exposing sins by his great holiness. 310 00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:04,800 He's the one sent to reveal the father, he's the Blazing light 311 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,600 of holiness. Yet rather than coming to Jesus, 312 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,600 who is the light to have their sins revealed? 313 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,300 Humanity has a naturally vert aversion to light, just like 314 00:20:16,300 --> 00:20:19,600 Nicodemus, Nicodemus comes in the dead of night. 315 00:20:20,100 --> 00:20:23,900 He comes in the darkness, he's coming and make no mistake. 316 00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:27,700 John is drawing this up this way so you can see the clear picture 317 00:20:27,700 --> 00:20:32,700 here of a man who is in darkness versus what lights looks like. 318 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,800 He came in the dark of night because he loved the darkness of 319 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,500 his sins. And he didn't know any better. 320 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:43,700 He may want to keep from exposing him, exposing those 321 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:47,500 sins, but those spent those sins were going to be exposed anyway. 322 00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:51,400 And so the coming of a lot of light, the coming of Christ, the 323 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:56,000 coming of the Son of God has brought judgment to this world. 324 00:20:56,900 --> 00:21:01,300 A Divine verdict has been rendered in regard to your sin 325 00:21:01,300 --> 00:21:05,900 and to my sin to the sins of all Humanity Jesus was sent for the 326 00:21:05,900 --> 00:21:12,000 primary purpose of Salvation. And the fact that we need 327 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:17,200 salvation that we cannot attain salvation on our own exposes our 328 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:22,700 sins. It exposes the fact that you are 329 00:21:22,700 --> 00:21:25,000 not able to get to God on your own. 330 00:21:27,500 --> 00:21:31,700 And if somebody will not receive Jesus Christ by faith and that 331 00:21:31,700 --> 00:21:35,200 person will incur God's coming judgment. 332 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,800 Either Nicodemus believes in the laden is not judged or he 333 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,700 remains in the darkness and is judged by God. 334 00:21:42,700 --> 00:21:45,100 But I tell you again, if you will love the light, if you will 335 00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:49,000 love Jesus Christ, you will find life in him. 336 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,700 He's offering you life today. And the third contrast that we 337 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:56,800 have, Jesus makes a clear distinction, between truth and 338 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,700 evil. Look at verses 20 and 21 again 339 00:21:59,700 --> 00:22:03,300 for everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does 340 00:22:03,300 --> 00:22:06,400 not over sorry? Does not come to the light. 341 00:22:06,500 --> 00:22:12,200 Lest his work should be exposed. But whoever does what his true 342 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,200 comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen. 343 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,200 That his Works have been carried out in God. 344 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:22,400 Jesus is saying here that the rejection of Truth and edited 345 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:28,500 lie leads to committing evil Deeds again. 324 everyone who 346 00:22:28,500 --> 00:22:30,500 does wicked things hates the light. 347 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:34,100 When you hate the light it leads to Wicked Deeds. 348 00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:38,400 Inevitably so unbelievers. Hate the light. 349 00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:41,500 Unbelievers, hate the light. There's not a there's not a 350 00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:43,900 small love for the light in them. 351 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,900 There's no neutrality to the light in them. 352 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:51,700 They are averted to the light. They hate the light and Jesus is 353 00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:56,400 saying here, they love their sins, but they hate me. 354 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:00,600 They love their sins but they hate Christ. 355 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,500 The one who is the light of the world and to hate the light is 356 00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:09,100 to reject Jesus Christ. The one who hates the light and 357 00:23:09,100 --> 00:23:11,500 does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be 358 00:23:11,508 --> 00:23:14,100 exposed. Now, the idea of exposure here 359 00:23:14,100 --> 00:23:18,600 means a manifestation of evil in a person's life, that comes with 360 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:24,000 conviction and shame. when you have your Deeds exposed, if 361 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:29,600 you've ever had this happen in your life, you've done something 362 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:36,800 wrong, you've committed sin, maybe against someone Maybe 363 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,100 you're doing something that you thought would be privates be 364 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,900 your own sin, right? And that thing gets exposed. 365 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,500 If you've gone through that, then you know, the shame that 366 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:50,900 comes with it, you know, the guilt that comes with it, you 367 00:23:50,900 --> 00:23:56,500 know, the terror that comes with that, It's God's grace on your 368 00:23:56,500 --> 00:24:00,900 life when your sins are exposed. Do you understand this to have 369 00:24:00,900 --> 00:24:05,400 your sins exposed in to fill your shame to feel the guilt of 370 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:10,900 sin is what leads you to Christ and so it's Grace on your life. 371 00:24:10,900 --> 00:24:15,400 When your sins are exposed, it's God's desire to save you from 372 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,500 your sins when your sins get exposed in that way. 373 00:24:18,700 --> 00:24:21,700 And so we shouldn't run as Adam and Eve do in the garden to hide 374 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:24,800 ourselves with fig leaves to make excuses to blame. 375 00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:27,700 Others. For our sin, we should fess up, 376 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:30,900 we should own those things before the Lord, humble 377 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:34,600 ourselves and cry out to him for mercy in those moments. 378 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,600 It's a painful painful moment in your life, but it is an act of 379 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,600 divine grace. When you're exposed in that way 380 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,100 and praise God, that he loves us enough to chastise Us in such a 381 00:24:48,100 --> 00:24:53,200 way that we might return to him. But the unbeliever who refuses 382 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:58,000 to come to Jesus Christ. He does so because he doesn't 383 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,100 want to deal with his own sins. He does so because he wants to 384 00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:07,700 hide those sins. And so there are many people who 385 00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:11,800 will linger in the shadows. So to speak to avoid dealing 386 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,600 with their own sins. There are many people who want 387 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,200 to live in their sins, yet have Heaven at the same time. 388 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,100 There are people who want what Christ offers without having to 389 00:25:24,100 --> 00:25:28,900 deal with Christ demands for repentance and faith and so they 390 00:25:28,900 --> 00:25:32,400 will look like the light as much as they're able. 391 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,600 But on the inside their hearts are far from him. 392 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:43,700 And their deeds are, what exposes them their deeds are 393 00:25:43,700 --> 00:25:45,800 what show the truth of their hearts. 394 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:49,500 Jesus taught, that a True Believer lives in a completely 395 00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:51,900 different round than the unbeliever. 396 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,900 He's teaching that, you know, a completely different reality. 397 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,700 But the one who is Born Again? Comes to the light, he doesn't 398 00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:02,000 run from the light. He's not, he doesn't have the 399 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,000 problem of light of version. He he wants the lies. 400 00:26:06,900 --> 00:26:09,400 He's Drawing Near to the light in the morning. 401 00:26:09,700 --> 00:26:12,800 When he opens the scriptures, he's Drawing Near to the light 402 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,900 throughout his day, as he seeks the Lord in prayer. 403 00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:19,200 As he confesses his sin as he begs, the Lord for help and 404 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,200 overcoming Temptation. He's Drawing Near to the light. 405 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,900 This is the heart of a Believer. It's not running from God, he's 406 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:28,000 running to God. Every chance he gets. 407 00:26:28,900 --> 00:26:35,100 John 320 321 321 sorry but whoever does what his true comes 408 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:42,100 to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his Works have 409 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:47,300 been carried out in God's, those who come to the light will find 410 00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:53,300 life in the light, the light exposes the sin in your life, it 411 00:26:53,300 --> 00:26:57,600 leads you to repentance. It leads you to turn away from 412 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,000 your sins. It leads you to faith in Christ. 413 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,100 This is where you find eternal life, in the light of God. 414 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:08,800 And so the light points Believers toward the way of 415 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:13,000 holiness. The light is what guides you. 416 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:18,100 This is why the psalmist. In Psalm 119 says that the word 417 00:27:18,300 --> 00:27:22,900 is a lamp unto my feet. It is a light unto my path. 418 00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:27,600 What's he saying? He's saying without the word of 419 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,100 God. I have no light for the way. 420 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,000 Without the word of God, I don't know the path to take. 421 00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:41,200 I can't see the road. You've ever been wandering 422 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,100 around in the darkness and your power goes out, even in your 423 00:27:44,100 --> 00:27:45,700 own. Where do you feel fairly 424 00:27:45,700 --> 00:27:47,400 familiar with things? You're still kind of prone to 425 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:48,800 stub. Your toe on the coffee table, 426 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,200 right? You're floundering around for a 427 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:57,000 flashlight or something. Walking around and pitch-black 428 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,900 darkness, where you can't see your hand. 429 00:27:58,900 --> 00:28:01,500 In front of your face, is a terrible feeling. 430 00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:06,100 This is the experience of unbelievers. 431 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:11,000 The experience of a believer. Is like having a q beam in your 432 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,700 hand at times. And then there's times where 433 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:19,100 it's like having a match. And you just see the flicker of 434 00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:22,500 light, but, you know, this is the direction you're trusting. 435 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:29,300 The light to guide you. And so Believers are drawn to 436 00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:32,900 the light because the light leads them towards Holiness in a 437 00:28:32,908 --> 00:28:36,200 dark world. It leads them towards a right 438 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:40,300 relationship with the father in a world that hates the father. 439 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,700 Hates him. Again, they're not neutral to 440 00:28:44,700 --> 00:28:47,400 God, they hate the God of the Bible. 441 00:28:48,700 --> 00:28:51,700 Each person who comes to the light practices. 442 00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:54,100 What is true? John says, sorry. 443 00:28:54,100 --> 00:28:59,100 Jesus says John just writes it for us and so this has in mind 444 00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:01,800 and ongoing lifestyle practicing. 445 00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:04,100 What is true doing? What is true is out of 446 00:29:04,100 --> 00:29:08,800 practicing that which is true, this is a lifestyle, it's a long 447 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,500 Pursuits, a lifelong Pursuit, if you will of following the Ruth 448 00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:19,000 your Deeds. Now show that you are in God in 449 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:25,400 Christ, When you have found live in the light, your Works Jesus 450 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:29,500 says, will be seen as being carried out, in God. 451 00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:33,900 Again, this is what he's saying in Matthew 5:16, where he says 452 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:38,300 let your light shine before men that they might see your what 453 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:42,600 good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. 454 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:48,600 Your light shines in your good deeds in your good deed you were 455 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,900 showing that you have received the LIE of Christ that you have 456 00:29:51,900 --> 00:29:55,900 hidden yourself in him. That he is making known to you 457 00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:59,200 the path of life and you were following him. 458 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:05,300 And when that happens, people see Christ in you because 459 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,700 verbally, you're talking about it, and then action, you're 460 00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:12,100 doing what he says to do and in so doing those things and in. 461 00:30:12,108 --> 00:30:15,300 So for claiming the Savior who's come from another world that we 462 00:30:15,300 --> 00:30:18,200 might be born with a life from another world. 463 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,700 They see the good works and the glorify God in heaven. 464 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,800 Not everyone. Of course there are people who 465 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,300 hate the light remember but there are those who will be 466 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:34,900 saved By the word of your testimony. 467 00:30:36,700 --> 00:30:39,800 As you proclaim the truths of the gospel of Christ and how he 468 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,500 has changed your life. There are people who will be 469 00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:48,500 saved because of that, you are the one who carries the gospel. 470 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,700 You are the one providing the torch in the dark world that 471 00:30:53,700 --> 00:30:58,800 other people can come and see, oh wait, there is light here and 472 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,700 their sins will be exposed and will turn to the Lord and they 473 00:31:01,700 --> 00:31:08,300 will be saved. And so trust Christ, you have, 474 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,800 if you have been, if you have found life in the light, you 475 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:16,400 have a regenerated heart, a regenerated heart is a new 476 00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:19,900 heart, it is a new life received by the new birth. 477 00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:28,500 You have been born again from above Heaven is your home. 478 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:34,800 Your reality is that of light in the midst of darkness and as the 479 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:39,900 world seems to lose its head you don't have to, you have truth, 480 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:45,600 you're grounded in Christ. Your your foundation is as solid 481 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,200 as a rock. And when everything else appears 482 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,800 is sinking sand, God's word never fails. 483 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,100 And you'll stand on it. You'll walk with the Lord and 484 00:31:58,100 --> 00:32:02,900 other people buy that in their sinking as they see you on the 485 00:32:02,900 --> 00:32:07,600 rock of Christ, they will find life in your testimony. 486 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,800 Proclaim the gospel live, the gospel. 487 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:18,000 Let the light over take, you commit yourself to him in that 488 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,200 way. Lawson talks about this as a 489 00:32:21,208 --> 00:32:25,500 spirit works and each new life, he says, giving us new power to 490 00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:29,700 conduct ourselves in a manner pleasing to God by being born 491 00:32:29,700 --> 00:32:33,900 again, Believers will live holy lives by the governing principle 492 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,700 of our new nature. You give it a new heart, which 493 00:32:37,700 --> 00:32:41,200 creates a new a new life, and by this new life, you were 494 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:45,600 committing yourself to Christ and whatever he commands. 495 00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:49,500 Because you love him, your devoted to him, you recognize 496 00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:51,400 that he has saved you from your sins. 497 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:55,100 You're no longer a slave to sin, you're a slave to Christ but 498 00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:59,200 you're a slave in the way that you have life, you have found 499 00:32:59,300 --> 00:33:08,000 the lights and now you have life in his name, it's conversation 500 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:13,000 between Nicodemus And Jesus comes to a close. 501 00:33:16,900 --> 00:33:21,400 What will Nicodemus do with what he has heard from the Son of 502 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:28,700 God, how will he respond to the light that has exposed his sins? 503 00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:37,000 Will he remain in the Darkness? One thing is true Nicodemus must 504 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:44,500 respond. But if you look at verse 22, it 505 00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:47,300 just says after this Jesus and his disciples went into the 506 00:33:47,300 --> 00:33:50,600 Judean Countryside and he remained there with them and was 507 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:53,300 baptizing. Wait a minute. 508 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:02,700 There's, there's no response. At least not that we see. 509 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,800 What a conversation? What a conversation is just 510 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,699 taking place a believer in the law. 511 00:34:11,699 --> 00:34:15,600 One trusting in the law for his salvation has had his life 512 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,500 exposed and he's been told, you must begin again. 513 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:28,400 You must be reborn. He's told that if you will not 514 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,300 believe in the Name of Christ, there is no life in you. 515 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,500 If you will not come to the light, then you remain in 516 00:34:35,699 --> 00:34:39,199 darkness and you are condemned already. 517 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:46,600 All those good works are nothing but the works of a sinful heart. 518 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:56,900 Working for its own salvation. It's possible that Nicodemus, 519 00:34:56,900 --> 00:35:01,000 walked away needing more time to assess what he's heard. 520 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:07,300 We don't know what if anything he said to Christ in these 521 00:35:07,300 --> 00:35:13,500 moments. This happens often when you 522 00:35:13,500 --> 00:35:18,700 share the gospel with others, in many ways, this is the typical 523 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,800 response. Sometimes it might be true that 524 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:29,300 they are not convinced yet of the truth that you shared and 525 00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:35,000 need to some time to ponder. other times, it's just simply 526 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,500 and And they're usually pretty bold with it, but it's just 527 00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:41,100 simply that they're not ready to surrender their lifestyle of 528 00:35:41,100 --> 00:35:46,900 sin. they're enjoying the darkness, so they think 529 00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:53,900 Sometimes it's that they're concerned about others, what 530 00:35:53,900 --> 00:35:58,300 others will think of them. You know, if I do, this is going 531 00:35:58,300 --> 00:36:03,300 to alter the way, my family sees me, or my spouse, or my 532 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:09,800 children, or my co-workers. Like And so, it's a hard process 533 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:16,900 for them to think about this. One thing is true for all of us 534 00:36:16,900 --> 00:36:20,400 as we're sharing, the gospel is that you do not get to make the 535 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:24,500 decision for them. It's not up to you. 536 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,800 Praise God. It's not up to you. 537 00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:32,700 We talked about this once during the series, at least maybe 538 00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:34,300 multiple times, but at least once. 539 00:36:36,700 --> 00:36:39,400 But that you don't get to make the decision and how that's good 540 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:43,000 news to share more freely. It's not up to you to be 541 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,100 convincing, you don't have to know all the right things to 542 00:36:45,100 --> 00:36:47,700 say. You don't have to be Adept at 543 00:36:47,700 --> 00:36:50,600 apologetics. I joked with you one day that 544 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,400 you don't have to know if dinosaurs were on the ark or 545 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:55,700 knots, as we've looked at in Sunday school, you don't have to 546 00:36:55,700 --> 00:36:58,100 know if there was an ice age or not. 547 00:36:58,100 --> 00:37:01,900 You don't have to know these things to tell the good works of 548 00:37:01,900 --> 00:37:06,300 God, who saved you from your sins and to point people to the 549 00:37:06,700 --> 00:37:12,700 Archers. You simply must be faithful and 550 00:37:12,700 --> 00:37:17,200 you had better not manipulate them into an emotional decision. 551 00:37:18,300 --> 00:37:24,800 Because that's fruitless also. And so you must be faithful to 552 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:29,300 proclaim the gospel, and you must be faithful to trust, God 553 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,200 to move on their soul, and to give them new life because you 554 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:34,500 can't you're not the holy spirit of God. 555 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:43,400 Jesus here, so's the seed and now he waits for the Harvest of 556 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,900 Nicodemus is soul That would come later. 557 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:51,900 The next time that we hear from Nicodemus is about 2 years 558 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,300 later. Jesus is in his third year of 559 00:37:55,300 --> 00:38:00,000 ministry, there is increasing controversy surrounding him, 560 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:05,000 which is ultimately what leads to his own crucifixion and 561 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:10,200 there's this heated moment in John Chapter 7, There's this 562 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,500 heated moment there among the religious leaders of Israel, 563 00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:16,000 particularly among the Pharisees, and they're trying to 564 00:38:16,008 --> 00:38:20,700 have Jesus arrested, and they send officers to arrest him, but 565 00:38:20,700 --> 00:38:23,800 the officers come back empty-handed. 566 00:38:25,100 --> 00:38:28,800 And there empty-handed because they were awestruck by what they 567 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,900 heard in Jesus's teaching. They report to the Pharisees and 568 00:38:32,900 --> 00:38:39,100 John 7 verse 46. No one ever spoke like this, 569 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:45,900 man. That's the beginning of light, 570 00:38:45,900 --> 00:38:49,900 isn't it? No one ever spoke like this, 571 00:38:49,900 --> 00:38:54,000 man. And the Pharisees putting 572 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,800 themselves up on the pedestal that they loved so dearly, they 573 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:03,700 look at them and they ask have any of your authorities, have 574 00:39:03,700 --> 00:39:06,900 any of the Pharisees believed in him. 575 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:13,000 What are they saying? Who are you to say he's spoken? 576 00:39:13,100 --> 00:39:14,900 Like no one you've ever heard before. 577 00:39:15,100 --> 00:39:17,700 Who are you? We gave you a command. 578 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:19,500 We're the ones you're to believe. 579 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:25,600 We're the ones. But in their midst. 580 00:39:26,900 --> 00:39:31,400 In their gathering, in their heated argument there was one 581 00:39:31,700 --> 00:39:36,200 who was giving strong consideration to The Words of 582 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,600 Christ. Nicodemus steps forward and he 583 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:45,000 says in John 7, verse 51 does our law judge a man without 584 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,900 first giving him a hearing and learning what he does. 585 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:55,300 Now, I'll give you this. It's not an open confession. 586 00:39:56,100 --> 00:40:00,100 He's not identifying himself in the moment with Christ. 587 00:40:00,100 --> 00:40:03,200 He's not saying if you're going to crucify him, take me with 588 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:07,800 him. But it's an attempt to slow down 589 00:40:07,900 --> 00:40:11,500 the opposition of Christ. Or to Christ. 590 00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:19,400 Sorry and so Nicodemus, clearly two years later is still 591 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:23,900 rattling around in his head. This thought that Christ has 592 00:40:23,900 --> 00:40:26,100 shared about the necessity of New Birth. 593 00:40:26,100 --> 00:40:28,100 If he's to see the kingdom of heaven. 594 00:40:28,500 --> 00:40:32,700 Two years earlier. This conversation takes place 595 00:40:32,700 --> 00:40:37,300 and the Lord's teaching is still lodged in his mind and it 596 00:40:37,300 --> 00:40:41,500 appears that those initial gospel seeds are starting to 597 00:40:41,500 --> 00:40:45,700 sprout again. You must remember that the 598 00:40:45,700 --> 00:40:47,600 growth of the seed is not up to us. 599 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:51,700 It's up to God Alone. Paul addresses. 600 00:40:51,700 --> 00:40:54,300 This very issue in First Corinthians chapter, 3 verses 6 601 00:40:54,300 --> 00:40:56,500 and 7. There's this argument at one of 602 00:40:56,500 --> 00:41:00,700 many of course among the Ian church about who's better, who's 603 00:41:00,700 --> 00:41:03,100 disciple, or you and who's disciple, or you? 604 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:04,500 And there's a man named Apollo's. 605 00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:07,900 And then, there's the Apostle, Paul and people are identifying 606 00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:10,500 themselves in one of two camps. Like, well, I'm of Apollo's and 607 00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:13,400 I'm of the Apostle Paul and Paul says, I thank God that I didn't 608 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:16,100 baptize any of you. Well maybe I baptized none of 609 00:41:16,100 --> 00:41:18,300 you but I can't remember. Baptizing, any more of you. 610 00:41:18,300 --> 00:41:20,000 That's pretty much exactly what he says. 611 00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:23,400 I like it because you know there's no eraser back then so 612 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:24,900 it's gotten baptized any of them away? 613 00:41:24,900 --> 00:41:29,900 There wasn't one and but I don't think there's any more But the 614 00:41:29,900 --> 00:41:36,300 point he's making. Is that I'm not God. 615 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:42,500 Apollo's is not God. You were not our disciples, you 616 00:41:42,500 --> 00:41:45,300 were Disciples of Christ, and this is what he says. 617 00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:49,700 I planted Apollo's watered, but God gave the growth. 618 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:59,300 So neither he, who plants, nor he who Waters is anything, But 619 00:41:59,300 --> 00:42:02,300 he but only God who gives the growth. 620 00:42:02,700 --> 00:42:06,700 So none of us can beat our chest and say, woo, look at me. 621 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:14,700 You are either planting or watering but you are not giving 622 00:42:14,700 --> 00:42:19,800 the growth. And this is what's happening in 623 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,900 Nicodemus. God Christ planted the seed 624 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:26,400 there two years earlier. And now what we're seeing is 625 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:29,900 that the father is causing its growth and his perfect timing. 626 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,200 And his perfect timing. Now if you fast forward to the 627 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:38,100 end of Jesus, life Christ has been crucified. 628 00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:41,300 So Nicodemus tried to slow it down but he was, he was a bit. 629 00:42:41,300 --> 00:42:44,400 He was laughed at and want to hear what he had to say. 630 00:42:45,700 --> 00:42:51,800 And so Christ is crucified as the most controversial and 631 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:56,900 despised figure of his day. A man with no sin was sent to a 632 00:42:56,900 --> 00:43:01,000 cross and an unfair trial multiple unfilled. 633 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:07,200 Unfair trials. And in that moment of his 634 00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:12,400 crucifixion, even his disciples hid themselves in fear of their 635 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:18,700 lives, only the Apostle John, who's writing, this gospel, that 636 00:43:18,700 --> 00:43:22,100 we've been reading and some faithful women including the 637 00:43:22,100 --> 00:43:25,900 mother of Christ remained with Jesus during his crucifixion. 638 00:43:26,300 --> 00:43:28,900 They were the ones there at the foot of the cross. 639 00:43:30,500 --> 00:43:33,900 The point I'm trying to make is that this was a dangerous time 640 00:43:33,900 --> 00:43:38,500 to be identified with Jesus. The Jews smelled blood and they 641 00:43:38,500 --> 00:43:43,500 were wishing to Snuff out, any one who appeared to have the 642 00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:47,600 Light of Christ in him or her but when it came time for his 643 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:52,000 body to be buried to secret, Believers step forward to claim 644 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:55,400 his body. They desired to give Jesus a 645 00:43:55,400 --> 00:44:02,800 proper burial and in these men are identified One is Joseph of 646 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,300 Arimathea. He's the one who initially goes 647 00:44:06,300 --> 00:44:10,200 to pilate and asked for the body of Christ and pilate agrees. 648 00:44:12,100 --> 00:44:14,100 Would you like to take a guess at who the second one is 649 00:44:15,100 --> 00:44:19,600 Nicodemus? Nicodemus goes with Joseph 650 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:25,200 Nicodemus, a Pharisee Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews. 651 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:33,600 Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel goes with Joseph of Arimathea. 652 00:44:35,100 --> 00:44:37,900 To retrieve the body of Christ and give him a proper burial. 653 00:44:38,500 --> 00:44:41,800 There is no doubt that Nicodemus. 654 00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:47,300 Joining Joseph is out of sincere Devotion to Christ Jesus. 655 00:44:47,300 --> 00:44:51,900 There's no doubt. The act alone would expose him 656 00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:58,700 both of them, but expose him to Great danger for Nicodemus to 657 00:44:58,700 --> 00:45:02,400 show loyalty to Christ in this moment and the Pharisees and the 658 00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:07,200 Jews had just put the death was Terribly damaging to that 659 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,000 teacher of Israel reputation that he held. 660 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,500 And nevertheless, these men courageously step forward. 661 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:21,000 It's not stated explicitly but Nicodemus has no doubt come to a 662 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:23,500 firm commitment. That Jesus Christ. 663 00:45:23,500 --> 00:45:27,400 Is the Son of God, he believes he has stepped out of the 664 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,700 Shadows of the night that night time meeting. 665 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:32,900 And into the light, now is a follower of Jesus Christ. 666 00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:38,300 We see this as he demonstrates his willingness to suffer for 667 00:45:38,300 --> 00:45:41,700 Christ in the face of great danger, he's willing to be 668 00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:44,400 marked as a traitor, among the Jews. 669 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:49,600 To be identified with Christ, he has gone from hating the lights 670 00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,800 to loving the lights. He is willing to risk his own 671 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:57,800 life for the one who willingly died to save him from his sins. 672 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,800 Lawson ads. This is what saving Faith does. 673 00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:06,200 It owns Jesus as Lord. And Savior before the eyes of a 674 00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:10,300 watching world, saving Faith Embraces Jesus, whatever the 675 00:46:10,300 --> 00:46:12,700 outcome. It turns its back to the world 676 00:46:12,700 --> 00:46:15,700 and it follows Christ. Even in the face of mounting 677 00:46:15,700 --> 00:46:20,000 difficulty, saving Faith steps out of the darkness and steps 678 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:29,400 into the light. And so friends, if you are And 679 00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:39,200 unbelief today. if you don't know Christ as your savior, It 680 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:43,500 is my prayer that this would be this saving Faith. 681 00:46:43,500 --> 00:46:46,100 We've just described that this would be the reality of your 682 00:46:46,100 --> 00:46:52,500 life. Also, May you also like 683 00:46:52,500 --> 00:46:57,200 Nicodemus find eternal life by faith in the light of the world 684 00:46:57,600 --> 00:47:05,000 in the name of Jesus Christ. May you know New Life In Christ 685 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:08,600 by being born again. May, you believe in Jesus Christ 686 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:15,800 as your savior and Lord today. And brothers and sisters, my 687 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:20,500 fellow Believers in here. If you have found life in the 688 00:47:20,500 --> 00:47:26,400 Light of Christ, then I urge you to continue to walk in Holiness. 689 00:47:26,900 --> 00:47:31,700 Continue to walk in the light, continue to walk side by side 690 00:47:31,700 --> 00:47:35,000 with the one who has made known to you the path of life. 691 00:47:35,700 --> 00:47:40,200 As David writes, in psalm 16 verse 11, It's made known to you 692 00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:42,100 the path of life. And at his right hand are 693 00:47:42,100 --> 00:47:48,300 Pleasures forevermore. Continue brothers and sisters to 694 00:47:48,300 --> 00:47:53,700 put off the darkness of your own sin by returning to the light. 695 00:47:53,700 --> 00:47:59,200 Each day, continue to trust the spirit of God for your own 696 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:03,400 Holiness, and your own maturity, that you two would be made more 697 00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:04,900 and more into the image of Christ. 698 00:48:04,900 --> 00:48:11,800 As you behold, the glory of Christ seek Christ, above all 699 00:48:11,900 --> 00:48:15,500 else for that is all that matters in your life. 700 00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:19,100 And that's it. And so whether you're young or 701 00:48:19,100 --> 00:48:25,400 your old, whether you're a child and here today, are you years 702 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:30,700 into your life? Seek Christ and you will find 703 00:48:30,700 --> 00:48:33,100 life in him. Let me pray for you. 704 00:48:33,700 --> 00:48:38,400 Heavenly Father, we love you. We thank you, Lord, for the life 705 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:40,400 that we have and the Light of Christ. 706 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:46,400 We pray now father that you would help us whether we be men 707 00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:51,000 or women, boys or girls today that you would help us find life 708 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:56,300 in the lives of Christ. Help us to love the light to do 709 00:48:56,700 --> 00:49:00,400 that, which is to be found in the light only and help us to 710 00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:07,200 hate the darkness. Help us Lord to spread the 711 00:49:07,207 --> 00:49:12,100 lights. Cross. 712 00:49:13,500 --> 00:49:18,800 The Earth, Lord, as you, send us into homes and workplaces. 713 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:25,100 And new cities potentially and new States, and new countries 714 00:49:25,100 --> 00:49:29,000 and wherever it is. You place us into break rooms 715 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:36,400 and to Sunday school rooms. And two living rooms wherever we 716 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:38,300 are. Father, help us to shine 717 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:42,600 brightly for the Light of Christ today. 718 00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:49,200 Lord, again, I beg of you to save Sinners today, to save 719 00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:52,900 those who were lost today, help them to find life in or name 720 00:49:53,100 --> 00:49:57,000 only, When we pray, these things, according to the name of 721 00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:02,800 Christ, Jesus, your son, the one sent from heaven to be like us 722 00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:08,200 to die for us and to rise for us that he might stand at your 723 00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:11,800 right hand. Interceding, for us even now. 724 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:16,400 And we might have the power of Christ alive in us by your 725 00:50:16,400 --> 00:50:21,500 spirits. Pray these things in his name. 726 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,000 His name only, amen. His name only, amen.