Q & A with the Messiah Part Two

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John 3:1–21 Pastor Rob Kimsey May 5, 2024

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Please open your Bibles to the gospel of John chapter 3 Today we'll be continuing in our really survey of this great conversation between a
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Pharisee and the Messiah This is the Q &A with the Messiah part 2.
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We'll be looking at chapter 3 of John verses 1 through 21 Please stand with me for the reading of God's Word John chapter 3
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Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the
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Jews This man came to Jesus by night and said to him
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Rabbi we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him
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Jesus answered and said to him Truly truly I say to you unless one is born again.
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He cannot see the kingdom of God Nicodemus said to him
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How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?
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Jesus answered Truly truly I say to you unless one is born of water and the
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Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God That which has been born of the flesh is flesh and that which has been born of the
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Spirit is spirit Do not marvel that I said to you. You must be born again The wind blows where it wishes you hear its sound
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But do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who has been born of the
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Spirit Nicodemus answered and said to him. How can these things be?
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Jesus answered and said to him Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
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Truly truly I say to you we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and you do not accept our witness if I had told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things and No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven the
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Son of Man and As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the
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Son of Man be lifted up So that whoever believes will in him have eternal life
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You may be seated Q &a with the Messiah The Holy Spirit comes and goes as he pleases
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The Holy Spirit comes upon a person at the exact moment God wills
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We can't predict or know when that will happen Often salvation happens when we wouldn't expect it.
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I once read a conversion story, this is a true story an Evangelist tells of a woman in Peru whose life was radically transformed by the power of Christ She was actually a terrorist a
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Really brute of a woman who was an expert in several martial arts in her terrorist activities
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She had killed 12 policemen When the evangelist conducted a crusade in Lima She heard about it and being incensed that the message of the gospel was going to be
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Preached she made her way to the stadium to kill the evangelist
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Inside the stadium as she contemplated how to get to him She began to hear the message.
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He was preaching about hell The woman fell under conviction for her sins and embraced
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Jesus Christ as her Savior Ten years later the evangelist met this convert for the first time
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She had by then assisted in the planting of churches She was a vibrant active witness a worker in the church and had founded an orphanage that housed over a thousand children
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The Holy Spirit comes and goes as he pleases the
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Apostle John records Jesus's explanation of salvation and the Regeneration by the
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Spirit in verses 1 through 21. We see three truly truly I say to you statements that explain true conversion and salvation as a work of the
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Holy Spirit and we can break this passage down like this the Introduction verses 1 through 3.
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This is the start of the Q &A exchange and it's introducing the matter of discussion
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This is the first truly truly statement. We looked at last Sunday verses 1 through 3 The inquiry verses 4 through 15 the follow -up questions and answers the
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Q &A is underway The next two truly truly statements. That's what we'll look at this morning and for next week
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Lord willing the Explanation verses 16 through 21 the wrapping up of the Q &A on the topic of true conversion and salvation
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Thoroughly explaining the three truly truly statements in this section
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The Apostle John records the Q &A between Nicodemus and Jesus on the topic of true conversion
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So that you can understand salvation and true conversion According to God's understanding not an incorrect personal or worldly understanding
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Three truly truly I say to you statements The first was in the introduction in the first three verses the man
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Nicodemus despite a heavy religious background Demonstrated a genuine and humble desire to seek the answers from the questions he had from Jesus the meeting demonstrates the correct posture toward Jesus in genuinely seeking answers from him and Humbly approaching him as the source of those answers the true understanding and then the matter of true conversion is explained by Jesus as the
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Loving Savior who desires for none to perish but for all to repent and believe in the gospel the first truly truly answer and that first truly truly answer demonstrated that a spiritual rebirth it from the fallen sinful nature is required to enter the kingdom of God and Then now the inquiry the inquiry verses 4 through verses 4 through 15
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The next two questions from Nicodemus and they revolve around having the spiritual rebirth
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Explained today's sermon is very simple two questions and two answers the inquiry
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Verses 4 through 8 the first question and answer look with me again at chapter 3 starting in verse 4
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Nicodemus said to him how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?
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Jesus answered Truly truly I say to you Unless one is born of water in the spirit.
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He cannot enter into the kingdom of God That which has been born of the flesh is flesh and that which has been born of the spirit is spirit
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Do not marvel that I said to you. You must be born again The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound
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But do not know where it comes from and where it is going so is everyone who has been born of the spirit
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I Think a good way to look at verse 4 is not that Nicodemus is being sarcastic or cynical
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We can think about that question. And so what's going on with this guy? No, I think he's just lost. He's just lost
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He's just not tracking with Jesus. He's not understanding what Jesus is saying It might be easy for us to read this verse and look at these questions or really this question and That he's asking and think he might be intentionally obtuse here
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Maybe there's even some intellectual dishonesty going on John doesn't point that out and I think the better way to think about this verse is just taking it on face value and More importantly how
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Jesus responds to the question in verse 5 I think based on what we've seen in the historical account at this point
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We can probably rightly deduce that Nicodemus is similar to Nathanael So remember from chapter 1
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Nathanael asked Philip after Philip had told him Philip says we found him of whom
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Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, it's Joseph's son the son of Joseph.
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And what did Nathanael say? can anything good come out of Nazareth and Philip said come and see and Jesus's next statement upon seeing
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Nathanael coming to him was behold truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit
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So we have so many examples of Jesus calling out people who have false motives I think we just don't see that here in this exchange.
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I don't think that's how we can consider Nicodemus here You know like what what is going on what are you talking about?
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How can a man be born if he's already old is he gonna go a second time into his mother's womb and be reborn?
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Notice the similarity in his answer in verse 5 to his original You know response that started the matter of the discussion the topic at hand true conversion starting with verse 5 we have the second truly truly statement of the greater passage of verses 1 through 21 and Really 5 through 8 are one long answer in verse 5
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There are a couple of options for us to consider regarding this statement about being born of water and of the
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Spirit it could refer to the idea of the difference between physical birth and spiritual birth
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The physical birth being represented by water and the spiritual birth being represented of course by the
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Spirit. That's one option the other would be that being regenerated by the
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Holy Spirit in conjunction with the significance of that rebirth or the demonstration of that rebirth being witnessed in Christian baptism
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If we just take it in the plain reading of Scripture in the figurative language that Jesus is using here
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I think it's clear to see he's not talking about literal water, but a need for cleansing
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This is a need for cleansing. The water would represent the cleansing action of the
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Holy Spirit. We have some supporting scripture here Titus chapter 3 He saved us not by works, which we did in righteousness
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But according to his mercy through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
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Holy Spirit and Also, it's helpful to remind ourselves that Jesus is talking to a
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Pharisee Who was an expert in the law or an expert in the Old Testament and he should have been he was a teacher
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Understanding that this figurative language that's being used here. We can think about Jesus pointing
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Nicodemus back to the Old Testament Where water is frequently used signifying or referring to a renewal or spiritual cleansing?
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Especially anytime it's added with a conjunction the word add and then followed by the word spirit
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One example is from Ezekiel 36. Listen to this Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean
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I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from your all your idols
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Moreover, I will give you a new heart and Here it is put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh
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So if we make those Old Testament connections, which Jesus is clearly doing for Nicodemus We can see that he's talking about the importance of a spiritual rebirth in the cleansing of sin to make something that's not clean clean
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Essentially Jesus is making a reference to washing or purification of the soul and he's making it clear that it is accomplished by the
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Holy Spirit and That happens for us through the Word of God at the very moment of salvation
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You were not saved Boom, you're saved in an instant the whole the power of the
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Holy Spirit often referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit Jesus is greater point going back to verse 3.
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Is that this is required? It's not optional. This is required for entering the kingdom of God or for belonging to the kingdom of God an important takeaway for us practically as we can apply this to our own hearts and thinking of our own conversion is
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That we don't enter the kingdom of God because we're good people No You don't enter the kingdom of God by living a better life or by being a moral person
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You enter the kingdom of God because you were spiritually reborn by God's Spirit Ultimately, here's the point salvation is a work of God and Just so Nicodemus isn't confused
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Jesus is now going to give him a little insert here explaining the Holy Spirit specifically what the
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Holy Spirit is doing for us in our salvation and before listening to Jesus's explanation,
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I Think it would be good for us as Christians in our own Understanding of the Trinity if we are to rightly understand the
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Holy Spirit it is worth pointing out a few things the Trinity First of all, we have to admit that it is
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Mysterious to us because it is a truth that was hidden until revealed and It is only partly intelligible to mankind
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Because God has revealed it in Scripture and in Jesus Christ The doctrine is not derived from human reason but from Scripture, especially the
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New Testament, but not exclusively human reason and wisdom are incapable of discovering this doctrine
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This is a really historical doctrine that goes back to the Apostles and the early church father at the
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Council of Nicaea an ecumenical council of the early church this goes back to 325 ad a man named
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Athanasius developed a creed on the doctrine of the Trinity the creed stated that God is
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Absolutely and eternally one essence in three distinct and ordered personal substances
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Without division and without replication of the essence a central
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New Testament text Intimating a threefold plurality of God is of course from Matthew 28 in which
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Jesus states go therefore and teach all the nations baptizing them in the name of the
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Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and The aspect of the relationships within the triune
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God are helpful Think about it like this the Father loves the
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Son and others through the Son and God is referred to as the
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Holy Spirit who is in New Covenant believers God is especially the father of our
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Lord Jesus Christ The Holy Spirit declares and glorifies the
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Son and the Holy Spirit grants blessings merited by Christ Another New Testament proof passage for the
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Trinity is during Jesus's baptism From Matthew chapter 3 God the Father speaks from heaven and the
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Holy Spirit appears as Jesus is baptized Now a lot there in the
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New Testament, but not exclusively one key Old Testament text and just one there's many for the argument of the
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Trinity that elaborates the the three distinct divine entities is Isaiah chapter 48 really verses 12 and 16, which states
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I am he I am the first I am also the last and now the
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Lord God and his Spirit have Sent me so you can see the Trinity right there in the text
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There are also other plural titles for God your creators in the inspired
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Hebrew text is plural in form Ecclesiastes 12 plural pronouns and adjectives by which
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God also refers to himself Genesis 1 and so a Trinitarian understanding and God the
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Holy Spirit is helpful and then we can think about this statement that he makes So what does it mean that what's born of flesh is flesh and what's born of spirit is spirit?
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Listen to this note from the Puritan commentators This is on verses 6 and 7. I thought this was really helpful
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They said a great universal proposition That which is begotten carries within itself the nature of that which begat it
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Flesh being not the mere material body But all that comes into the world by birth the entire man yet not humanity simply
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But in its corruptive corrupted depraved condition in complete subjection to the law of the fall
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So that though a man could enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born
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He here's a great point. He would be no nearer near this new new birth than before Spirit partakes of and possesses his spiritual nature if a spiritual nature
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Only can see and enter the kingdom of God if all we bring into the world with us be the reverse of spiritual
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And if this spirituality be solely of the Holy Ghost, no wonder a new birth is
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Indispensable we have to be born again If all we're bringing into the world is a corrupted sin sinful body a sinful nature sinful flesh
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While Jesus had directly told Nicodemus not to be confused or misunderstood about what he was saying
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He gave a quick insert in verse 6 to help Nicodemus understand entrance into the kingdom of heaven is not determined on the physical but the spiritual and the idea of marveling
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Introduces wonder it's to be astonished but the context determines whether in a good or bad sense
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You know the term that Jesus used conveys to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something
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Nicodemus is response to Jesus's statement about not entering the kingdom of heaven in verse 3 is not sarcasm or intellectual dishonesty he's extraordinarily disturbed and Jesus is taking him by the hand and Genuinely explaining how a person is saved and will inherit the kingdom of heaven
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No one can physically enter the kingdom of heaven with a mortal body
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That's filled with sin as a result of the fall We must be born again with an immortal body free from sin
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We have something to look forward to in the resurrection. That's the hope of the gospel The physical body is flesh while the resurrected body is spiritual
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What he's saying doesn't negate the physical bodily resurrection No, he says flesh is flesh meaning the physical as functioning entity
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This is body physical body in the Apostle Paul's thought especially all the parts of the body constitute a totality known as flesh
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Which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is all
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Forms of sin are likewise present and no good thing can live in the flesh
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Paul says it like this in Romans 7 For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not and the
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Old Testament Lays no stress on a necessary relationship between flesh as a substance and sin
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Think of it like this the flesh is the bearer of sinful feelings and desires as well as the means of sensual enjoyment however in the future glorification will have a physical body flesh and a spiritual free from sin both
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To be born again in the spirit is to be connected to Christ The sinful has died the spiritual now lives as Possessor of the
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Divine Spirit and at the same time Controlling its distribution among humans Christ is called the
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Lord of the Spirit 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
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Lord are being Transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the
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Lord the Spirit God is referred to as the
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Holy Spirit who is in New Covenant believers John chapter 14 the spirit of truth the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive
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Because it does not see him or know him You know him because he abides with you and will be
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In you and the question is who gives the spirit there who gives the spirit?
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Well, John 14 just the the first verse there. This is verse 16 and 17.
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I Will ask the father who's doing the asking it's Jesus. I Will ask the father and he will give you another advocate that he may be with you forever
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It's Jesus The Holy Spirit declares and glorifies the
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Son John 15 when the advocate comes listen carefully whom
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I will send to you from the father The spirit of truth who proceeds from the father.
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He will bear witness about me and Then ultimately the Holy Spirit grants blessings merited by Christ Think of even the context of what we're talking about here
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John chapter 3 verse 3 Jesus answered and said to him truly truly
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I say to you unless one is born again or born from above He cannot see the kingdom of God the
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Holy Spirit grants blessings That's the first truly truly statement now in verses 4 through 8
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Jesus explains with the second truly truly statement that God is the author of salvation
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God is the author of salvation. It's the triune God You can say well what member of the
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Trinity is that author author? It's the triune God. It's Jesus The spirit proceeds from the father who is sent by Jesus the
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Trinity in perfect Harmony is working salvation. I Will send to you from the father in Verse 8
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Jesus wanted to make it crystal clear that no human being can control the work of the
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Holy Spirit God the Holy Spirit works in ways that are beyond human
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Comprehension outside of what he has revealed to us in his word and that's the point
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Don't worry about it. Nicodemus the Holy Spirit comes and goes as he pleases you cannot predict or know
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Just like Nicodemus didn't control his own physical birth So he cannot control his spiritual birth
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This comes from God alone through Jesus Christ our Lord who is the causer in actor the author of our salvation
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Salvation is a gift from God through regeneration by the Holy Spirit at the perfect time
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God wills it not sooner not later The Apostle Paul put it like this
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This is from Galatians chapter 1 Paul says I was advancing in Judaism Beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen being far more zealous for the traditions of my father's but when
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God who had set me apart from my mother's womb and Called me through his grace
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Listen carefully When God was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might proclaim him as good news among the
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Gentiles I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood So when does
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God save a person? When it pleases him to reveal the son to the sinner
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That's when when the lost sheep hear the voice of the shepherd when the
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Lord Jesus Causes the sheep to hear his voice by the
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Spirit of God The second truly truly statement the second truly truly answer explains that the spiritual purification of the soul is required for belonging to God's kingdom which is accomplished by the
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Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation And I've experienced this even doing local outreach and You know in First part of my conversion story.
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I was Privileged I was blessed to be part of some urban outreach in East LA in a city called
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Boyle Heights a really rough area where there's a lot of drugs and prostitution and Murders and we would go to this local park and the kind of park where you might see a drug addict walking around with a gun in broad daylight
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The kind of park that you were there last week and when you come back the next week
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They had found a dead body in the lake area. This is a rough area dark area
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And when we were doing this ministry, we would go around and pray with people hand out gospel tracts free
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Bibles We would give food and clothing to people. We met a young couple a Young homeless couple
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They were boyfriend and girlfriend and we shared the gospel with them so many times
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So many times and the the the boyfriend would always sort of say I'm I've just done too much
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He was living a life really as a criminal and doing petty crime. Whatever he could do to get the drug money
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He's some if God can't I can't be forgiven. I've just I've done too many bad things
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We would share the gospel with him and he'd actually have tears in his eyes tears coming down the cheeks You know, they would sit with us and just listen to us clearly engaging and just hearing every word and then we would go back and he was locked up and She was engaged in prostitution to make money for their drug habit just rough years and years and You just preach the gospel so many times and it's kind of Lord.
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What are you doing? I guess this is a lost cause That's the human reaction. That's the heart reaction
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That's not God's will and then finding out years later Years later over five years later following up on that couple.
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Hey, are you still going out there? I'm here now I still talk to the folks in California and Finding out that uh
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The brother got saved He got saved Yeah, we went out there.
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We couldn't find him. He's in rehab. He got saved Guess what? She got saved
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They're off the drugs. They're off the alcohol. They're engaged to be married. They're not I mean, it's
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They got saved when it pleased God to save them That's that's what we have to understand here.
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This work is by the Holy Spirit. He does the work so that's the second truly truly answer and That leads us into the second question and answer in verses 9 through 15 verses 9 through 15
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Nicodemus answered and said to him. How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him.
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Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly truly
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I say to you we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and You do not accept our witness if I told you earthly things and you do not believe how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things and No one has ascended in the heaven
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But he who descended from heaven the Son of Man and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness
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Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life the second question and answer
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Really the next question in this final Exchange recorded by the Apostle John starts simply with bewilderment
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Nicodemus is just asking how can these things be and in verse 10?
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We see the first and only rebuke from our Lord in the Q &A as Jesus Challenges Nicodemus by answering his question with a question.
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How can these things be? are you the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things and Then like the example of our gracious Lord again and again throughout the
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Gospels he gently explains the truth to those who are genuinely seeking the truth and We have to add that important observation that Nicodemus was a
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Jewish teacher of the Old Testament He would have known the Old Testament very well
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But here's the problem like the rest of the Sanhedrin the Sadducees and the Pharisees Nicodemus didn't understand what the
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Old Testament said about the Messiah and This is a very important principle that we have to reckon in our minds
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Intellectual knowledge does not equal salvation It's true. We should know the
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Bible It's an even more important thing for us to wrap our heads around that. We should know the true
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God whom the Bible reveals the only way of salvation that God offers
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It's important to note really in verses 11 and 12 that Jesus was pointing out that unbelief was the cause of the ignorance and We understand the biblical principle that the unbeliever is not capable not able to understand spiritual matters 1st
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Corinthians chapter 2 Paul says this now we have received not the spirit of the world But the spirit who is from God So that we may know the depths
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Graciously given to us by God of which depths we also speak
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Not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit combining spiritual depths with spiritual words
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But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God For they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined
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But he who is spiritual examines all things yet He himself is examined by no one for who has known the mind of the
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Lord that he will direct him But we have the mind of Christ We have the mind of Christ Are you frustrated because You have a friend or family member, maybe a co -worker someone close to you who you've been sharing the
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Word of God with And they seem to just reject it on every occasion
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Sometimes it's just like talking to a wall Well, the biblical principle here is so important for us to understand
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The reality is that the unbelieving person is not going to respond if you're arguing
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With them from the authority of the Bible if they have not accepted the gospel, then they will reject the
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Word of God When they stop rejecting the gospel and believe then they will accept the
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Word of God Now we are called as Christians to defend the hope that is in us and that's what the term apologetics really means and while it's true apologetics and evangelisms are maybe two sides of the same coin
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Apologetics is not evangelism You don't have to win over your friend with slick arguments from the scripture
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No matter how reasonable rational Logical objectively true or well communicated arguments are from the
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Bible Devoid of a regenerated heart and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It's not going to matter
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What you need to share with them is the gospel and you trust the
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Lord for the results a Person who looks at the scripture that is not saved will not understand the scripture and will not discern the truth
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From it they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined
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The problem that Nicodemus had was not a lack of head knowledge or intellectual assent
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It was a failure to believe Jesus is witness about himself in his inner being in the heart
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There was a failure to understand Jesus's words because of a lack of belief
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Remember how the conversation started Nicodemus had believed in the miracles He had not yet believed in the man
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And that's Jesus's point if I try to tell you about earthly things and you don't believe
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How are you going to believe about heavenly things that I'm going to tell you about? And we can ask what are the earthly things
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Jesus is referring to well in the immediate context Jesus is simply referring to the birth
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The idea of someone being born birth physical birth being born again, of course
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He's talking about the spiritual aspect, but that's the earthly part of it one commentator said it like this the earthly things in verse 12 must refer to what had already been said and Therefore must include the new birth this takes place on earth
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Whereas the heavenly things relate to revelations of the future where the kingdom would reach its fulfillment
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Hence the language of entering the kingdom of God, which is the central matter in the topic of the
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Q &A with the Messiah in verse 13 Jesus makes an incredible claim
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Basically, no one else is qualified to explain this truth
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No one else is it is qualified to explain true conversion Nicodemus isn't going to hear this in the
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Sanhedrin take the most expert person in the world in all of Judea They aren't going to get it compared to this one who's going to explain true conversion think about what he's saying to this
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Pharisee who is a ruling member of the Sanhedrin the claim of deity here by Jesus must
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Have been like us a face slap in Nicodemus Jesus is saying no one has ever ascended into heaven and then come back from heaven in such a way that he can
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Communicate what he learned in heaven No one has ascended and then come back to talk about heavenly things except one person and you're talking to him
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It's Jesus He's the one that's telling us about salvation Because Jesus is permanent dwelling place and previous habitation was in heaven prior to the physical incarnation of the
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Son Jesus is the only one Capital O who has true knowledge regarding heavenly wisdom
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He is the only one qualified to explain to fallen man true conversion and This would have been a stunning
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Contradiction for the religious systems that the Pharisees and Nicodemus was a part of who had created in there over 600 laws and what they thought it meant to attain righteousness before God divine revelation the second person of the
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Trinity the Messiah himself Explaining salvation and then further helping
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Nicodemus knowing his familiarity with the Old Testament our Lord Graciously pointed him back to the scripture.
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He pointed him back to what he would have been familiar with During the wilderness wanderings of the nation of Israel When the people were wandering in the desert
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God had to address the people's rebellion against him Yahweh is recorded as sending a plague of serpents as a punishment to the people because of their heart
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Rebellion that they displayed toward him Those that Yahweh would punish would die from a snake bite
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Could actually be healed by obeying God's command to look at an elevated bronze serpent and The point isn't that they're just looking at a random statue
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It's a heart test to see if they believe Those that had been bitten could be healed if they obeyed
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God's command To look at the statue which ultimately demonstrated their belief in God Primarily that the
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Israelites in the wilderness who had been bitten Would believe that they could be healed or more specifically that God would heal them if they did
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Obey him. This is in numbers 21 You can find the whole account there numbers 21
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Look at verses 8 and 9. I'll just read this then Yahweh said to Moses Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard
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Listen to what he says. This is Yahweh and it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it will live and Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard and it happened that if a serpent bit
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Any man when he looked to the bronze serpent? He lived
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He lived of course what God said would happen through Moses is exactly what happened
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When God makes a declaration or a promise, it's the truth You can take it to the bank if God says it it's a done deal and in a similar fashion our
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Salvation happens to us when we look up to Jesus if we believe that Jesus will save us
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Guess what? He will save us because God is good and he has promised he has declared and think of the illustration
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You know think of it like being healed by sins deadly bite Maybe a little cliche
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But sin bites all of us We are sick We're dying from the poison of sin and this is the illustration that Jesus chose to use with Nicodemus That those who had been bitten by the serpents could be healed if they believed
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God for the sinner we can be healed by God when we believe in Jesus and In the same way that the statue was lifted up for the people to see to look at to believe in So the
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Son of Man must be lifted up for sinners to see and believe in Here we see the theme of believing in the passage this key word believe
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Is really the whole thing behind the conversation. The word alone is used seven times in verses 11 through 21 and in this
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Last section here verses 9 through 15. We see the third truly truly the third truly truly answer
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Shows that despite clearly telling sinners the truth about himself
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There is an unwillingness to believe and that Unbelief is the cause of their ignorance regarding spiritual matters
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You know God was gracious to me this week and I got to have really three great gospel conversations on Two occasions it was sharing the gospel one face to face one over the phone and on the third occasion
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It was a brother who is Training to be an elder who is doing the same thing back in, California sharing the gospel with somebody
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And there was sort of a commonality between these folks as I was talking to them and then hearing the story of my friend
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One person was having a struggle trusting Jesus Because they had gone through some really severe trials in their life
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Just some really ghastly difficult difficult life adversity serious adversity and Betrayal and just a rough time.
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And so just citing I just have a hard time letting go and trusting and so because of Those trials and heartaches that that person had went through in life.
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They were having a hard time letting go and trusting Jesus The second was similar to the homeless now
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I can say brother that we had met back in that park Somebody that's lived a reprobate life and they're telling me if if I've just sinned too much
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If if God knew what I had really done if he knew my heart I had to explain to him
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God does know what you've done God does know your heart Trying to reason with him say brother the in this case.
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It was my brother. I just said
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God's power Is so much greater than all the sin you've ever committed It's time for you to let go and and give the sin over to him come to him
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Stop living your way and live his way acknowledge him as your Lord. Just Just having a resistance in that not just not understanding.
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I don't know how to do that. What will happen? I just I've sinned too much and just a roadblock there a stumbling block and the last person is somebody that wants to believe in The gospel, but has an intellectual block.
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I want to believe I want to be saved But I don't understand how it happens So, how does the gospel work?
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How does it happen? And as this pastor is trying to explain this to this To this person.
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It's like he wants to believe but he's not ready to believe unless he understands perfectly intellectually how it all works.
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I Was telling him well, I mean how sad to think about that while you're working out how the gospel works
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You could die and perish in your sins Why don't you just let go of the intellectual understanding and belief and be saved?
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Three really awesome opportunities to talk about the gospel to share the gospel but there's a similarity in those that there's just a
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There's a stumbling block in the heart a lack of believing and letting go and believing in Christ Not understanding salvation and how it works in Verses 1 through 21 the the
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Apostle John records the Q &A Between Nicodemus and Jesus on the topic of true conversion so that you can understand
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So that you can understand salvation true conversion according to God's understanding not personal incorrect personal misunderstanding or the world's understanding three truly truly statements the introduction verses 1 through 3 the start of the
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Q &A exchange and Introducing the matter of discussion the first truly truly statement the first truly truly answer demonstrated that a spiritual rebirth from the fallen sinful nature is required to enter the kingdom of God and Then the inquiry in verses 4 through 15 the follow -up questions and answers the
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Q &A is underway the next two truly truly truly statements the second truly truly answer explains that the spiritual purification of the soul is
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Required for belonging to God's kingdom, which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation
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The third truly truly answer shows that despite clearly telling sinners the truth about himself
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There is an unwillingness to believe and that unbelief is the cause of their ignorance regarding spiritual matters
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Lord willing next week. We'll look at the Explanation the wrapping up of the Q &A on the topic of true conversion and salvation thoroughly explaining the three truly truly statements in those three accounts that I just gave there's one problem an
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Unwillingness to believe that's why they have us in ignorance of the spiritual matters because of unbelief.
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I Once heard a conversion Described like this Quote the decisive act in which a sinner turns away from sin and genuine repentance and accepts the salvation that Christ offers the imagery in conversion is that of turning a
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Person is going along a road and realizes that he or she is on the wrong track
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They will never reach the destination if they continue in that direction
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So the person turns or is converted he or she
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Ceases to go in the wrong direction and begins going in the right one conversion changes the direction of one's course of life from the wrong way to the
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Right way and the only right way is going Jesus's direction If we are like Nicodemus in this account, we can ask those questions.
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How can I trust? My sin is too great. How can my sin be forgiven?
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I Think I agree with the Bible, but how does believing save me? Giving up your trust issues and believing
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Jesus is telling you the truth Believing Jesus is more powerful than your sin that he can take away your sin believing in Jesus Without having your intellect fully understand the solution is simple stop holding on to your trust
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Stop holding on to your sin. Stop holding on to your unbelief
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Unless one is born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God Unless one is born of water and the
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Spirit. He cannot enter into the kingdom of God We speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and you do not accept our witness