Vital Truth — Jim Cymbala

So there's lots of truth in the Bible 66 books full of truth, but not all truth is equal. There are some doctrines and teachings that are more secondary than they are primary. Doesn't mean they're not in the scripture and we shouldn't talk about them and study them.

But for example certain truths about prophecy and what will happen when Christ returns. Before he returns. A secret rapture no secret rapture. What will heaven be like are we gonna live in condos. Is gonna be houses apartments.

How did Lucifer fall when there was no one to tempt him? There's lots of things in the Bible that are there, but they're secondary. But I want to give you today briefly because so much has already happened the most vital truth.

The Most Vital Truth: The New Birth

In fact if you know this and don't know the rest of the Bible, which you should obviously begin to learn. But if you know this. You know it and if you don't know this You could do with some people in the Iron Curtain countries have done.

They were sent to Siberia and did you know there's certain Christians who are persecuted. They memorized the entire Old Testament. Did you hear what I said the entire Old Testament and New Testament books of the Bible all those genealogies?

They had nothing to do but spend 20 25 years away from everyone, but this is the most important of all. So let's read it from John 3. Now there was a Pharisee. That's a religious sect very legalistic a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He came to Jesus at night and said rabbi that means teacher. We know that you are a teacher who has come from God for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not With him. Jesus replied very truly.

I tell you No one can see or experience or be part or enjoy the kingdom of God unless they are born again. How can someone be born when they're old. Nicodemus asked surely? They cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born.

Jesus answered very truly. I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.

The wind blows wherever it pleases the word there for wind is the gentle breeze that you can hear not a prolonged steady Hurricane kind of wind but the wind blows wherever it pleases you hear it sound in the trees.

But you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit and then the most famous verse probably in the New Testament. Let's say it together for God. So love the world.

That he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish But have eternal life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world. But to save the world through him so Nicodemus Was along with Joseph of Arimathea?

Two of the Sanhedrin the ruling council that seemed to be open to Jesus or Find him mysterious enough to investigate with an objective mind. He comes to him by night probably because he was afraid to get caught.

Jesus was not a very popular person among the religious elite. And he comes and he says listen. I don't know what anyone else thinks about you, but I know and we know who the we is. It's unsaid, but we know that you are a teacher.

You're excellent teacher. In fact, you're sent from God. You're a teacher that's been sent from God because nobody could do the miracles that you've been doing Unless God were with him. And then Jesus abruptly it seems there Jumps way ahead of Nicodemus just bypasses any kind of preliminary talk about teaching and the Word of God and Understanding and the sacrificial system and he just jumps ahead and says listen.

Listen, here's the truth nobody Can see the kingdom of God unless they're born again. You can never experience eternal life. You can never live with God forever in heaven Unless you're born again. You can never understand the peace that God has for you.

You can never have the joy and experience joy. It's called unspeakable unless you're born again. I mean, this is just like a howitzer shell coming at him. Now the word born again there the Greek experts tell us it can mean born from above or born from heaven or Born again from heaven or born from heaven again.

Nicodemus took it in the natural sense and he said well, wait a minute. That makes no sense. I'm already a grown man. You had to be a grown man to be on the Sanhedrin. You couldn't be a youngster. How could a grown man go back in his mother's body and Jesus said no unless a Pernasen is born of the water and of the Spirit capital s the Holy Spirit they can never Enter and enjoy and even understand the kingdom of heaven.

The commentators disagree about what the water and the Spirit the Spirit is definitely the Holy Spirit capital s which the King James does not have but definitely, that's what he was speaking of the water is.

This mean the water of baptism. Probably not could be. Does it mean a combination? The water which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit or could it mean as I tend to believe could it mean natural birth? Because the next thing Jesus says is flesh gives birth to flesh.

But the Spirit capital s gives birth to spirit. So unless you're born twice, you can't enter the kingdom of heaven. We're all born biologically once. But that won't make it you have to be born from above.

You have to have a miracle happen in your life. So what does this all mean to us? This is the most important thing. It reminds us of the futility of religion. 82 of Americans supposedly the last polling I saw believe they're going to go to heaven because they try to live a good life.

That is totally a contradiction of what Jesus said. Most people feel that if you join a church and go there on Sundays, you're in good standing with God totally contradicted by Jesus. Some feel that if you have a Bible and you read it occasionally even memorize some verses.

Be faithful in church or do service or give money to poor people that that will give you enough merit points with God where he will then embrace you and Welcome you into his kingdom. Jesus said no none of that's true.

You can be Religious to the nth degree and be totally not ready for the kingdom of God. These are solemn words, but hopeful words. You need a miracle to happen to you. You need something from heaven to come into your life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation Through Faith, Not Religious Merit

Then you'll be able to experience what God wants us all to experience his life. Eternal life is not just long in terms of ages with no end. You know everybody here look at me 1 billion years from now.

1 billion years from now we're all going to be somewhere. Dying won't end a thing when it comes to your soul. 1 billion years from now. We're either going to be with Jesus or we're going to be away from Jesus.

That's a given if Jesus is the true Son of God and honest teacher and preacher that we find in the Word of God. But it's not just a length of time. It's a quality of life. Let's talk about that for a second there's plant life.

You know, there's a fern a tree grass weed that has life in it. It grows it dies has a seed that started it. But way above plant life if this was real, it's not that's plant life. Then there's animal life.

Animal life is way above plant life. They both have life in them, but of a different kind. Animals whether they be a one-cell amoeba or A lion or a deer or a bear or a cat or a dog or a gorilla? They have a life that far transcends plant life.

They have an intelligence of a kind they make plans to kill to lay in wait for prey. But way above animal life is human life. There's plant then there's animal but then there's another thing living called human beings.

And they're the ones who really plan. Animals can't plan much. Although they know the seasons and they store food and the bears get ready for a long winter and all of that. But now there's human life intelligence will.

Desire of a humankind to be able to write symphonies to invent computers. To devise something that took people to the moon to invent bombs to Discover cures for disease. I just just think how different human life is from animal life.

You know, you don't see any animal say to another animal stop. I don't like the way you look. Let's go to the hospital and check check things out animals. Don't do that. No, but humans do that. But way above human life.

Far transcending it is something called eternal life. God's life the very life of God that he imparts through the Holy Spirit. That gives you a new heart. It gives you a new mind. It gives you new desire.

See life has desires. Plants look up hoping rain will come. Animals go hunting so they can get food. Humans go to McDonald's or someplace and Say I want food, but no this eternal life this spiritual life.

It has its own set of desires. It desires to be right you see if you're here and you're not born again. And you don't want to go that way because your conscience tells you don't go that way. Don't ruin your marriage.

Don't ruin yourself. Don't don't do that. The only divine God's life can give you the power to say no. I'm not doing that it gives you new desires. You wake up in the middle of the night not wanting something from the refrigerator.

You'll be hungry for the Word of God. You want to read it because it's like food for you. See now without being born again. You have no concept. What Christianity is about. You might sit here and critique me or look at the people or critique other preachers?

And unless you've been born again, you don't even know what we're talking about Jesus said unless a person's born again. They can't even experience the kingdom of God the peace the joy. What do you think sometimes you see the choir singing or Karen singing and you see them get?

Emotionally you see people lift their hands, and you're probably wondering what are they getting excited about. What's. I don't even get it. We know you don't get it, but we get it. Because we have eternal life come on can we say amen to that?

Eternal Life as God's Own Life

Why would this girl that I met in Pasadena, California. Why would she leave the American dream and now right now? She's embedded in some dangerous area in the Middle East. Sharing the gospel with Muslim women.

Why would you do that? No human life would tell you to do that plant life wouldn't tell you animal life. No. But God's life in you that changes everything. So this is the most important thing if you don't know this.

Then you and I are really at a loss, and if you know this you got to hang on to it. Don't let the devil rob it from you. You must be born again. One of the few times Jesus said you must few times he used that tense.

You must be boring and not an option. I don't know I'm gonna check it out. I'm not sure. No. No, you must. No, but my mom and dad were Christians back in Trinidad. No, that won't cut it. My parents were Christians, but I had to be born again.

I Had to come to a place where I accepted God's love and his sending Jesus for me from my sins. I had to let him in my life. I had to put my trust in him. I cannot save myself. I'm a sinner. I've messed up.

I'm messed up royal. God forgive me of my sins, and you know the song that God used for me. You know it talks about here as I closed the wind blows where it wants. You know nobody can predict the wind.

Now we have instruments that can tell us when it's going to be windy. What direction the wind will come from but you know you ever been somewhere? We're just a puff of wind will come then it disappears.

Where did it start? Where did it end? Where did that wind come from. Jesus said there's a mystery about the whole thing and as a young man God woke me up with this song. What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be.

The Necessity of Deciding for Jesus

See I want it in a way. I knew it's right. Jesus is the real deal. He's the Son of God He's the Savior, but then to work that out in life. With friends who would mock you and I wanted to play basketball and shake and bake people and that was my life.

And then my dad was a drunkard, and I was bitter a little bit about that. So I was very confused. What will you do with Jesus neutral? You cannot be you can't be on the fence. There is no fence. You're either with Jesus, or you're not.

You're either born again, or you just have one birth. Biological what will you do with Jesus neutral you cannot be. One day your heart will be asking. What will he do with me that got my attention? Now it's not hard to be born again.

You know why because God wants everyone in this building to be saved. For God so loved the world that he gave us only begotten Son. They massacred Jesus so you and I could be forgiven. They punished him so that we would be set free.

He died so we could live not just live biologically. That's what the Bible means when it says whoever has the Son has life not biological life. Everyone here today has biological life. But there's another kind of life and some of us who are religious and have gone to church.

We still have had that elude us we think because we grew up in America and in a church system. Just try hard to be good and God will look down and say well done. It's not like that you must be born again, and he'll do it in a second.

He'll give you a new heart a new mind. He'll give you peace. Like you never even imagined listen. There's a piece of God. Peace in the human sense means tranquility an absence of turmoil. But the peace of God has nothing to do with what's going around you.

Chaos can be all around you, but when you have God's peace. You're just like yes. Thank you, Lord. Let me say amen to that we can have the peace of God you can have joy. Listen. You can be crying over the loss of a loved one, but deeper underneath the tears you can have joy.

A New Beginning Through Christ

You have a new beginning. Isn't that what somebody wants here today. A new beginning a new beginning, but with different equipment. I Tried to turn over new leafs because I knew my life was messed up.

I Turned over more new leafs that you've heard me say then. Central Park. But it didn't change anything. Because Jim is Jim and he's a mess. You got to get to the end of yourself and say I Can't make it unless Jesus comes in.

My heart in my life change my mind give me new desires. He'll give you new friends. You'll have new instincts. And you'll have his peace and his joy, and you'll know that your sins are forgiven. And a million years from now.

You'll be gathered in heaven with the rest of us, and we'll be singing real praise and worship. We're just fumbling at it now, but when we see him face to face what a day that will be. Could you bow your heads with me?

Responding to the Call for Prayer

Anybody here. The wind is blowing in your life. Maybe some sentence I said maybe something that just happened recently or a song you thought of or a verse or a friend said something or. The circumstances of life are showing you like you can't you're not gonna make it.

Oh you can make it, but I mean it's not living. That's the wind. That's the Lord drawing you saying. I love you. I Didn't come to condemn you. I want you to know today. Jesus is not here in this room to condemn anyone.

He came to save people not criticize and condemn them. Is there anybody here who needs a new beginning or has anybody got off the tracks? You were once serving the Lord trusting him at but now somehow you you lost.

He's not the center anymore. All this stuff has come in distractions discouragements. The cares of life all kinds of stuff. Or maybe you're running with a posse of people who pull you down every day. Jesus not only gives you a new heart a new mind.

He'll give you new friends. But remember unless you change there'll be never be a different result. Unless you change your approach and the approach he says to us is believe confess your need and believe.

Just believe. Anybody here today that I could pray with Before you leave just stand up right where you're sitting just stand up and say pastor pray for me. That message was for me. I want a new beginning or I left the track I went off the tracks, but I want to be born again.

And I want to get back where God wants me to be just stand up right where you are. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to stand up wherever you are in the balcony downstairs. Just arise just stand.

Don't be embarrassed. Don't let pride get the best of you. Just stand up. He died publicly. Was smitten spit upon publicly for us. It's no big thing for us to stand and say I need Jesus. I Said just stand where you are.

I know this is a Sunday service is mostly Christians, but I have found You can be here and have lost your way or you could be here and be religious or you've never heard about this Jesus. I'm just saying just just trust him open your heart to him and see what he will do in your life everybody's standing.

Come up out of your seat and Stand here in the front. Everybody else be praying. Come on. Let's pray. Come on. If God's talking to you, don't make any excuse come. Come come down from the balcony. Come on.

I'm gonna wait for you from the balcony. I Got something for all of you that come forward. It'll help you Grow in Jesus be in Jesus. Just stand right there in the front come right up to the edge of that first step.

I'm gonna wait for you from the balcony. This is a gospel meeting don't miss it don't miss it. Come on, don't miss it. You must be born again. Anyone who believes in the Son will never die. You'll have eternal life.

Your sins will be gone. You'll lay in bed at night without guilt without fear of dying. That's natural life fear of death and afraid of the judgment to come. But when you have God's life in you you have joy and peace.

Come on he'll give you joy and peace. Please if you're here today and have left the path or if you've never really received Christ as your Savior I Charge you in the name of God in the love of Jesus Christ.

Just come out of your seat and come up here. Even if you didn't lift your hand you come. I'm gonna pray and now and the folks are gonna pray with you. Okay, we're gonna pray out loud. You're all serious, right?

Look at me and just nod so I can know you're all serious, right? And I don't care if you join the church. I don't want your money. I don't want a thing from you. I just want you to know the Jesus that we know here.

He did life changer life changer. Are you ready to pray? Congregation, would you help me? Let's close our eyes and repeat after me. You've here in the front and everyone in the building dear God. Thank you for your love.

Forgive me of my sin. I make no excuse. I Need you as my Savior. I believe in my heart. That you died on a cross 2 ,000 years ago. You shed your blood. So that I could be forgiven. You love me that much.

And They buried you in a tomb. But on the third day You rose again. With resurrection life. Let the life of God Come into my life today. Jesus come in. I Trust you. I believe in you. I surrender to you.

Give me a new heart. Give me a new mind. Give me a new way of living. Change me from the inside out. To the person you want me to be. I Thank you for your love. I praise you for your mercy and I receive your word today.

I receive Jesus the Savior of the world as my Lord and Savior in Jesus name. And Everyone said not only amen, but let us clap our hands together as we say. Amen. Greet one another in the name of the Lord.