TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15 SERMON: “Stand Firm”
In today's passage, Paul tells first century believers to stand firm in their faith because Christ's resurrection is founded on:
A. Overwhelming Evidence (for it) vv 1-11
B. God's Plan for Salvation (underlying it) vv 12-34
C. A Life-Giving Spirit (powering it) vv 35-58
This Easter morning we’ll be looking at what Paul says about the foundation of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The first reason Paul gives the 1st Century Believers for standing firm in their faith are vv 1-11 and is because Christ's Resurrection is founded on:
A. Overwhelming Evidence
Explanation:
v. 3 "what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that (1a) Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that (1b) he was buried, that (1c) he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that (2) he appeared to..."
"first importance" - stresses centrality of the 3 doctrines cited of the Gospel
1. Testimony of Old Testament: - NOT QUOTED, BUT PROBABLY...
Psalm 16:8-11
8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead (1b),
nor will you let your faithful one see decay (1b).
11 You make known to me the path of life (1c);
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand (1c).
Isaiah 53:5-6, 11
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities (1a);
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all (1a).
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life (1c) and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities (1a).
2. Eye Witness Testimony:
- VALID EYE WITNESSES MUST BE CITED FOR RESURRECTION TO BE BELIEVED
Paul Lists Six Resurrection Appearances
1. Peter - Luke 24:36; John 20:19
2. Twelve - refers to the group of disciples - Luke 24:26; John 20:19
3. 500 Brothers - possibly referenced in Matthew 28:10, 16-20
4. James - half-brother of Jesus - Matthew 13:55; Act 1:14, 15:13
5. apostles - Ascension - Acts 1:13-15
6. Paul - Damascus Road
"one abnormally born"
- a few years after the Resurrection
- not part of original group of disciples
- abruptly removed from his former way of life
- persecuting "church of God" - persecuting Christ!
Gospels Lists Other Resurrection Appearances
Matthew (28:1-20): Mary Magdalene & the other Mary (wife of Clopas); Eleven
Mark (16:1-20): Mary Magdalene; Two walking in the country; Eleven
Luke (24:1-53): Cleopas & someone; Simon Peter; Eleven
John (20:1-29): Mary Magdalene; Ten; Thomas + 10; Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John & two other disciples
Illustration:
What historical events have you been witness to?
Did you witness Pearl Harbor? Hiroshima?
Did you witness the Vietnam War on your TV set during the evening news during the 60"s?
Did you witness Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech?"
Did you witness John F Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for your speech?"
Did you witness the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy?
Did you witness the first mood landing and Neil Armstrong's one giant leap for mankind?
Did you witness the start of AIDS?
Did you witness the fall of the Berlin Wall and Communism?
Did you witness the Gulf War?
Did you witness 911?
Did you witness Iraqi Freedom? The War in Afghanistan?
Surely everyone of us has witnessed at least one of these historical events in our lifetime.
Some of us have witnessed more than one and thanks to mass media some of us have witnessed several of these events.
What is the importance of your's and other's witness of these historical events?
Does your witness matter? Does it make any difference?
What part does the collective witness of you and others play in the historical record?
Does it validate what happened?
Or is it irrelevant?
There are conspiracy theorists for almost everything including those who say the moon landings were staged, fake?
Do you believe the conspiracy theorists or the collective historical record?
Moon Landing Hoax? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5MVVtFYTSo
Application:
So what is Paul saying to us this morning about faith and the evidence for Christ's Resurrection?
He is telling us we are to stand firm in our faith because of the overwhelming evidence for Christ's Resurrection.
How are we looking at that evidence this morning?
How are we looking at what Old Testament Prophecy says about the resurrection of the Christ?
How are we looking at what Paul and the Gospel's say about the eye witnesses accounts of Christ's Resurrection today?
Do we think eye witness accounts of the Resurrection are less validating than our eye witness accounts of historical events today?
Do we think the Resurrection is a hoax like some of the Corinthians did?
Do we look at the evidence and make a conclusion similar to that of moon landing conspirists?
Or are we able to stand firm in our faith because of the evidence Paul lays out for us today on Easter Sunday?
Transition:
Another reason Paul gives the 1st Century Believers for standing firm in their faith comes from vv 12-34 and is because Christ's Resurrection is founded on:
B. God's Plan for Salvation.
Explanation:
v 12 But if it is preached (as it is) that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
verb form Paul uses expresses the "certainty" of Christ's bodily resurrection
"if it is" - as it is
Paul uses this verb form 7 times to emphasize the certainty of the Resurrection
God's Plan for Salvation is the Answer for those who say there is no resurrection:
Paul presents the logical conclusions of those Corinthians who say the dead are not raised:
1. not even Christ has been raised v 13
2. our preaching is useless v 14
3. so is your faith v 14
4. we are "false witnesses" that God raised Christ from the dead v 15
5. your faith is futile v 17
6. you are still in your sins v 17 and still carry the guilt and condemnation of sin v 17
7. those who have fallen asleep (have died) in Christ are lost v 18
8. "we are to be pitied" who "only for this life... hope in Christ" v 19 and put up with persecution and hardship
Paul's categorical conclusion, his major proposition is given in:
v 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep...
Paul categorically states that God's Plan for Salvation underlies the Resurrection
- Necessary because "in Adam all die" v 22, i.e. his descendents
- God's Salvation Plan: "in Christ all will be made alive" - GOD'S GUARANTEE!
- related to him by faith
- made alive at the resurrection
v 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits. then, when he comes, those who belong to him...
"firstfruits" (OT Concept) - the first sheaf of the harvest offered to the Lord
- prior to main harvest
- assurance the rest of the harvest was coming
"each in his own turn" - Christ precedes people in his bodily resurrection and guarantees theirs at his second coming
"when he comes" - second coming
- John 5:25
25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
- 1 The 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
- Rev 20:6
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death (SPIRITUAL DEATH VS PHYSICAL DEATH [FIRST DEATH]) has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
In this section Paul talks about:
- the process of handing over the kingdom to God:
-Christ's second coming with the rapture
-millennial reign
-new heaven & new earth
v 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
- the destruction of death will occur at the end of the second coming events after Christ conquers his enemies (Rev 19:11-21)
- at the great white throne of judgment when death & Hades are thrown in the lake of fire (Rev 20:5-14
v. 29 Paul returns to the issue "if there is no resurrection"
- futility of Baptism
- futility of endangering themselves
- futility of life "eat, drink & be merry for tomorrow we die"
"Bad company corrupts good character " - quotation from Greek comedy Thais (Poet Menander)
TEACHERS OF NO RESURRECTION CORROPT HOLDERS OF CORRECT DOCTRINE
Illustration:
THAIS, a Greek courtesan, who lived during the time of Alexander the Great. She accompanied him on his Asiatic campaign, and is chiefly known from the story which represents her as having persuaded the conqueror to set fire to the city of Persepolis. This anecdote forms the subject of Dryden's Ode to Saint Cecilia's Day. But its authenticity is doubtful, since it is based upon the authority of Cleitarchus, one of the least trustworthy of the historians of Alexander. Thais subsequently became the wife of Ptolemy Lagus, king of Egypt. Numerous anecdotes and witticisms attributed to her will be found in Athenaeus.
Application:
What is Paul telling us this morning?
What is he telling us about standing firm in our faith?
And does standing form in our faith have anything to do with the company we keep?
Paul tells us one reason we are to stand firm in our faith is that Christ's Resurrection is God's Plan for our Salvation.
Are we keeping company with God's Plan for Salvation or are we keeping company with some other plan of salvation?
Do we believe in God's plan for Salvation, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and are we spending time with the Risen Christ in word and prayer or are we spending time with the TV, our computer, our cell phone, our DVD's - our technology instead?
John 3:!6 says the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us not the word became technology and made his dwelling among us.
Too much time with technology turns it into "bad company" and like Paul quote the Poet Menander as saying in the comedy Thais, "bad company corrupts good character."
And when our faith is corrupted it is more difficult to stand firm.
Thais corrupted Alexander the Great and he destroy a city.
Corrupting influences on our faith can destroy it too.
Transition:
Let's move on and look at the final reason Paul gives the 1st Century Believers for standing firm in their faith from vv 35-58.
In these vv Paul tells them Christ's Resurrection is founded on:
C. A Life-Giving Spirit
Explanation:
In v 35 Paul says, "But someone may ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?
He goes on to described the difference between our current bodies and our resurrection bodies using the analogies of
- sowing seeds v 37 with each type of seed growing into its own body v 38
- all flesh not being the same: human, animal, bird, fish v 39
- there being differences in the celestial bodies: earth & heavenly bodies v 40 differing splendor of the sun, moon, stars v 41
Our Bodies:
- sown perishable vs raised imperishable v 42
- dishonor vs glory v 43
- weakness vs power v 43
- natural body vs spiritual body v 44 -
- first man Adam became a living being vs the last Adam a life-giving spirit v 45
- first man was of the dust of the earth vs the second man from heaven v 47
God will take a perishable, dishonorable, weak body - a natural body characterize by sin and through the resurrection change it into an imperishable, glorious, powerful body
A different order of life!
Spiritual body
- doesn't mean "non-material" similar to the present one in organization but radically different and fit to live eternally with God (continuity with change!)
- an imperishable body that has received eternal life from Christ, the life-giving Spirit
- similar to Christ's resurrected. glorified physical body!
- Genesis 2:7 - SPIRIT BREATHING LIFE INTO OUR PHYSCIAL BODY
7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being
- John 5:21 - SPIRIT BREATHING LIFE INTO OUR SOUL
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
- John 6:57-58
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
- Romans 8:2
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
vv 48-40 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we are borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
v 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed.
"mystery"
1. not all Christians will fall asleep for some will be alive when Christ returns (1 Th4:15)
2. All Christians will receive changed bodies when Christ comes back and summons his people at the sound of the last trumpet - "rapture" (Rev 11:15)
3. The change will occur instantaneously and completely for all Christians whether living or dead
4. The change will occur from one kind of body to another, those in Christ whose bodies are decaying in the grave will be given imperishable bodies and those in Christ in mortal bodies will be changed into immortal bodies
v 54-57 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
the sting of death is sin
- Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men - because all sinned...
the power of sin is the law
-the Law of God gives sin its power (reveals our sin & condemns us because of our sin)
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ
-Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
- Isaiah 25:8
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
- Hos 13:14
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?
“I will have no compassion,
Illustration:
time lapse sprouting seeds
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/time-lapse-radish-seeds-sprouting-top-and-roots-growing/0f178f0f0087484b0d850f178f0f0087484b0d85-889304121797?q=youtube+time+lapse+sprouting+seeds&FROM=LKVR5>1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR3
Application:
What is Paul telling us this morning?
He seems to be mocking death when he says,
"where o death is your victory?"
"where o death is your sting?"
And he seems to be telling us that we are like these radish seeds we saw sprouting.
That it is not until our perishable bodies are planted in the ground like seeds, until we have physically died and have been buried,
Will the life giving Spirit change us, change our bodies to the imperishable, immortal, glorified resurrection body of eternity.
He is telling us this will not occur with time lapse photography but in an instance at the Lord's second coming when death is swallowed up, when death is put to death!
He is telling us that because of the life giving Spirit of Jesus Christ we can stand firm in our faith at all times and in all circumstances.
Transition:
In this passage, Paul tells first century believers to stand firm in their faith because Christ's resurrection is founded on:
A. Overwhelming Evidence (for it) vv 1-11
B. God's Plan for Salvation (underlying it) vv 12-34
C. A Life-Giving Spirit (powering it) vv 35-58
Conclusion:
In this passage, Paul tells believers today to stand firm in their faith because Christ's resurrection is founded on:
A. Overwhelming Evidence (for it) vv 1-11
B. God's Plan for Salvation (underlying it) vv 12-34
C. A Life-Giving Spirit (powering it) vv 35-58
THEREFORE,
May Our Faith Be Assured by the Overwhelming Evidence!
May Our Faith Be Assured by God's Salvation Plan!
May Our Faith Be Assured by the Life-Giving Spirit!
May We know that death has no victory.
May We know that death has no sting.
May We STAND FIRM!
May We let NOTHING move Us!
May We always give Ourselves FULLY to the work of the Lord, because we know that our labor in the Lord is NOT in vain!
May We know that our labor is not in vain because our victory is in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
WTTW HIS WORD "HOSANNA"
TEXT: JOHN 3:1-21 SERMON: “Hosanna”
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is also recorded in: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; & Luke 19:28-40
STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN BETHANY AND JERUSALEM
In today's passage, John tells his 1st Century Readers how Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey with the people praising God while the Pharisees’ second guessed themselves.
This morning we’ll be looking at what John says about Jesus fulfilling prophecy on what we call Palm Sunday by discussing how three groups of people responded to Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey:
1. Passover pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem
2. Eyewitnesses to the raising of Lazarus
2. Pharisees
The first thing John tells us in verses 12-15 is that
A. The Passover pilgrims recognized him as Messiah, who came in the name of the LORD. vv 12-15
Explanation:
John 12:12-15
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
- "Great Crowd" - Pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast (unique to John's version)
- Palm Branches - used in victory celebrations
- Lev 23:40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
- Rev 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
- John 12:13 3 COMPONENTS
(1)Jeremiah 31:7
7 This is what the LORD says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘LORD, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
(2) Psalm 118:25,26
- CUSTOMARILY SUNG BY THE PASSOVER PILGRIMS ON THEIR WAY TO JERUSALEM
25 LORD, save us!
LORD, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
A MESSIANIC TITLE IS BEING APPLIED TO JESUS BY THE PASSOVER PILGRIMS!
HOSANNA - "SAVE NOW" PLEA FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION BY THE KING
DAUGHTER OF ZION - CITY OF JERUSALEM (ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, MICAH, ZACHARIAH)
(3) Blessed is the King of Israel - reflects Jesus' royalty
John 1:49 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
- John 12:15
- HIS ENTRY ANNOUNCES HIS TIME HAS COME BUT NOT ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS
-NOT CONQUEROR
-MESSENGER OF PEACE
-ARRIVES ON DONKEY NOT STEED
(1) Zech. 9:9 The Coming of Zion’s King -
ANNOUNCES KING OF ISRAEL WILL APPEAR HUMBLY W/O POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- John 16
- STATEMENT INSERTED BY JOHN STATES DISCIPLES DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION ALTHOUGH LATER COMPREHENDED IT
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. v 16
(1) Glorified - after Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension & Pentecost the disciples appreciated the meaning of the prophecies and their fulfillment
- John 2:22 Destroy this Temple... disciples remembered what he said after his resurrection
Illustration:
Hail to the Chief
Ruffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for ceremonial music for distinguished people.
Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles.
For example, the President of the United States receives four ruffles and flourishes before "Hail to the Chief." Four ruffles and flourishes is the highest honor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpp_OkRU_M&feature=related
Application:
What is John telling us today, on Palm Sunday, 2011?
Is there anything we need to be saved from?
Anything we have urgent need of?
Any trouble we are facing?
Do we need to be saved from something NOW!
Any financial problems? relational or marital problems? health problems? loved ones suffering? loneliness? depression? alcohol or drug problems? deep pain from the past? deep pain from the present?
Anything we need saving from?
Then we need Jesus to ride into Wilmington today!
We not only need him in our heart, we need him in our lives.
And we need to shout Hosanna to him - Hosanna, Hosanna, Save Us Now, Save Us Now!
We need to shout loud, calling on the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.
Like the Israelites of 2000 years ago we have no shortage of things that oppress us that we need to be saved from and in the midst of our sufferings our Hosanna's take on a sense of urgency.
It is the point where we stop relying on ourselves and instead cry aloud to Christ the "beggars prayer" -
Lord Have Mercy
Christ Have Mercy
Lord Have Mercy.
Asking him to save us from whatever trouble we find our self in.
Transition: Another thing John also tells us in verses 17-18 was the people's response when Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey:
B. The eye witnesses were amazed by his ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. vv 17-18
Explanation:
John 12:17-18
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
- John 17-18
- SECOND GROUP OF PEOPLE FOLLOWING JESUS - WITNESSES TO LARAZARUS' RAISING
- AROUSED CURIOSITY OF THOSE IN JERUSALEM WHO WENT OUT TO MEET HIM
- John 17
(1) John 11:42 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
- John 18
(1) v 10-11 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him
(2) Luke 19:37 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[a]
Zech. 12:10 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Illustration:
Presidential Campaign of 2008
Obama: Change We Can Believe In / Change We Need
Inauguration of President Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1aK0d4vpvA&feature=related
Application:
Today, we come to meet Jesus because of more than his raising of Lazarus.
We come to meet Jesus because of the sign of the Cross - the sign of his death, but also the sign of his resurrection because unlike the Crucifix, the Cross is empty symbolizing not only his death but his victory over death, his resurrection.
Both the Crucifix and the Cross have their place with the Cross symbolizing victory over death!
And this is what draws us to Him.
Many were drawn to President Obama and went out to meet him in 2008 because of their desire for immediate change chanting "Yes we can, yes we can!"
We all want change for the good and it is precisely because we have heard that the Cross is empty and that Jesus is alive that we come to meet Him and experience immediate and everlasting change.
It is hard to ask Him to "save us now" without first meeting Him.
If is difficult to shout "Hosanna" without first coming to meet Him.
And, the place we meet Him is at the Cross - the place where he carries all of our troubles, all of our burdens.
Transition:
John goes on to tell us in verse 19 that when Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey there was a third group of people who were neither amazed nor praised him:
C. The Pharisees viewed him as a threat, not as the Son of God. v 19
Explanation:
John 19
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
- John 11:47-48 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
(1) The Pharisees were jealous because so many in Israel believed in Him. v 19b
EXASPERATED BY THEIR ATTEMPTS TO STOP HIM BEING TOO FEW TOO LATE!
Illustration:
As Media Matters for America has documented, numerous media figures have compared Obama to Hitler and the Nazis in recent days. Cunningham asserted on the October 30 broadcast of his show that "Obama wants to gas the Jews."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7790828
Cunningham on Obama
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200811040013
Application:
So what is John telling us today when Jesus is viewed as a threat rather than a savior?
When our President is viewed as a foe rather than a friend it compounds the gridlock of Washington and nothing changes-the ingrained political dysfunction continues to the detriment of our country.
So it is when Jesus is viewed as a threat instead of as Savior - our ingrained dysfunction, our Sin Nature, remains to the detriment of our souls.
While some shouted Save Us Now, others second guessed themselves for not doing something sooner to stop him, for not taking definitive action to keep the people from coming to him.
And today, second guessers exist as well.
Second Guessers today work to destroy their political opponents like second guessers 2000 years ago.
However, Jesus wasn't a political opponent - he was the Son of God.
Second guessers failed in their attempt to destroy the Son of God.
Through our Sin we were participants with the second guessers 2000 years ago.
Are we second guessers today?
Do we do things to try and stop Jesus? to stop the spread of the Gospel?
Do we actively do things? Do we passively do things?
By our inaction are we in effect opposing the spread of the Good News of our Lord and Savior?
By our inaction are we passively killing the message?
Are we passively trying to kill the messenger like the Pharisees actively were trying and did do 2000 years ago?
Transition:
John told his 1st Century Readers that Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey as the people praised God and Pharisees’ second guessed themselves.
A. The Passover pilgrims recognized him as Messiah, who came in the name of the LORD. vv 12-15
B. The eye witnesses were amazed by his ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. vv 17-18
C. The Pharisees viewed him as a threat, not as the Son of God. v 19
Conclusion:
In this passage, John tells us today that Jesus fulfills prophecy confirming he is the Messiah by entering our hearts and lives to the praise of some and second guessing of others.
A. The oppressed recognize He is the Messiah, shouting "Hosanna" to Him, begging Him to "SAVE US NOW" from their troubles.
B. The faithful are amazed by his resurrection!
C. The second guessers view Him, not as the Son of God, but as a threat to their way of life - their power, their control.
May we not be second guessers but instead Passover pilgrims, faithful believers, beggars, praying:
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have Mercy.
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is also recorded in: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; & Luke 19:28-40
STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN BETHANY AND JERUSALEM
In today's passage, John tells his 1st Century Readers how Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey with the people praising God while the Pharisees’ second guessed themselves.
This morning we’ll be looking at what John says about Jesus fulfilling prophecy on what we call Palm Sunday by discussing how three groups of people responded to Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey:
1. Passover pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem
2. Eyewitnesses to the raising of Lazarus
2. Pharisees
The first thing John tells us in verses 12-15 is that
A. The Passover pilgrims recognized him as Messiah, who came in the name of the LORD. vv 12-15
Explanation:
John 12:12-15
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
- "Great Crowd" - Pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast (unique to John's version)
- Palm Branches - used in victory celebrations
- Lev 23:40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
- Rev 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
- John 12:13 3 COMPONENTS
(1)Jeremiah 31:7
7 This is what the LORD says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘LORD, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
(2) Psalm 118:25,26
- CUSTOMARILY SUNG BY THE PASSOVER PILGRIMS ON THEIR WAY TO JERUSALEM
25 LORD, save us!
LORD, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
A MESSIANIC TITLE IS BEING APPLIED TO JESUS BY THE PASSOVER PILGRIMS!
HOSANNA - "SAVE NOW" PLEA FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION BY THE KING
DAUGHTER OF ZION - CITY OF JERUSALEM (ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, MICAH, ZACHARIAH)
(3) Blessed is the King of Israel - reflects Jesus' royalty
John 1:49 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
- John 12:15
- HIS ENTRY ANNOUNCES HIS TIME HAS COME BUT NOT ACCORDING TO PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS
-NOT CONQUEROR
-MESSENGER OF PEACE
-ARRIVES ON DONKEY NOT STEED
(1) Zech. 9:9 The Coming of Zion’s King -
ANNOUNCES KING OF ISRAEL WILL APPEAR HUMBLY W/O POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- John 16
- STATEMENT INSERTED BY JOHN STATES DISCIPLES DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION ALTHOUGH LATER COMPREHENDED IT
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. v 16
(1) Glorified - after Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension & Pentecost the disciples appreciated the meaning of the prophecies and their fulfillment
- John 2:22 Destroy this Temple... disciples remembered what he said after his resurrection
Illustration:
Hail to the Chief
Ruffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for ceremonial music for distinguished people.
Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles.
For example, the President of the United States receives four ruffles and flourishes before "Hail to the Chief." Four ruffles and flourishes is the highest honor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpp_OkRU_M&feature=related
Application:
What is John telling us today, on Palm Sunday, 2011?
Is there anything we need to be saved from?
Anything we have urgent need of?
Any trouble we are facing?
Do we need to be saved from something NOW!
Any financial problems? relational or marital problems? health problems? loved ones suffering? loneliness? depression? alcohol or drug problems? deep pain from the past? deep pain from the present?
Anything we need saving from?
Then we need Jesus to ride into Wilmington today!
We not only need him in our heart, we need him in our lives.
And we need to shout Hosanna to him - Hosanna, Hosanna, Save Us Now, Save Us Now!
We need to shout loud, calling on the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.
Like the Israelites of 2000 years ago we have no shortage of things that oppress us that we need to be saved from and in the midst of our sufferings our Hosanna's take on a sense of urgency.
It is the point where we stop relying on ourselves and instead cry aloud to Christ the "beggars prayer" -
Lord Have Mercy
Christ Have Mercy
Lord Have Mercy.
Asking him to save us from whatever trouble we find our self in.
Transition: Another thing John also tells us in verses 17-18 was the people's response when Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey:
B. The eye witnesses were amazed by his ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. vv 17-18
Explanation:
John 12:17-18
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.
- John 17-18
- SECOND GROUP OF PEOPLE FOLLOWING JESUS - WITNESSES TO LARAZARUS' RAISING
- AROUSED CURIOSITY OF THOSE IN JERUSALEM WHO WENT OUT TO MEET HIM
- John 17
(1) John 11:42 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
- John 18
(1) v 10-11 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him
(2) Luke 19:37 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[a]
Zech. 12:10 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Illustration:
Presidential Campaign of 2008
Obama: Change We Can Believe In / Change We Need
Inauguration of President Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1aK0d4vpvA&feature=related
Application:
Today, we come to meet Jesus because of more than his raising of Lazarus.
We come to meet Jesus because of the sign of the Cross - the sign of his death, but also the sign of his resurrection because unlike the Crucifix, the Cross is empty symbolizing not only his death but his victory over death, his resurrection.
Both the Crucifix and the Cross have their place with the Cross symbolizing victory over death!
And this is what draws us to Him.
Many were drawn to President Obama and went out to meet him in 2008 because of their desire for immediate change chanting "Yes we can, yes we can!"
We all want change for the good and it is precisely because we have heard that the Cross is empty and that Jesus is alive that we come to meet Him and experience immediate and everlasting change.
It is hard to ask Him to "save us now" without first meeting Him.
If is difficult to shout "Hosanna" without first coming to meet Him.
And, the place we meet Him is at the Cross - the place where he carries all of our troubles, all of our burdens.
Transition:
John goes on to tell us in verse 19 that when Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey there was a third group of people who were neither amazed nor praised him:
C. The Pharisees viewed him as a threat, not as the Son of God. v 19
Explanation:
John 19
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
- John 11:47-48 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
(1) The Pharisees were jealous because so many in Israel believed in Him. v 19b
EXASPERATED BY THEIR ATTEMPTS TO STOP HIM BEING TOO FEW TOO LATE!
Illustration:
As Media Matters for America has documented, numerous media figures have compared Obama to Hitler and the Nazis in recent days. Cunningham asserted on the October 30 broadcast of his show that "Obama wants to gas the Jews."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7790828
Cunningham on Obama
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200811040013
Application:
So what is John telling us today when Jesus is viewed as a threat rather than a savior?
When our President is viewed as a foe rather than a friend it compounds the gridlock of Washington and nothing changes-the ingrained political dysfunction continues to the detriment of our country.
So it is when Jesus is viewed as a threat instead of as Savior - our ingrained dysfunction, our Sin Nature, remains to the detriment of our souls.
While some shouted Save Us Now, others second guessed themselves for not doing something sooner to stop him, for not taking definitive action to keep the people from coming to him.
And today, second guessers exist as well.
Second Guessers today work to destroy their political opponents like second guessers 2000 years ago.
However, Jesus wasn't a political opponent - he was the Son of God.
Second guessers failed in their attempt to destroy the Son of God.
Through our Sin we were participants with the second guessers 2000 years ago.
Are we second guessers today?
Do we do things to try and stop Jesus? to stop the spread of the Gospel?
Do we actively do things? Do we passively do things?
By our inaction are we in effect opposing the spread of the Good News of our Lord and Savior?
By our inaction are we passively killing the message?
Are we passively trying to kill the messenger like the Pharisees actively were trying and did do 2000 years ago?
Transition:
John told his 1st Century Readers that Jesus fulfilled prophecy confirming he was the Messiah by entering Jerusalem on a donkey as the people praised God and Pharisees’ second guessed themselves.
A. The Passover pilgrims recognized him as Messiah, who came in the name of the LORD. vv 12-15
B. The eye witnesses were amazed by his ability to raise Lazarus from the dead. vv 17-18
C. The Pharisees viewed him as a threat, not as the Son of God. v 19
Conclusion:
In this passage, John tells us today that Jesus fulfills prophecy confirming he is the Messiah by entering our hearts and lives to the praise of some and second guessing of others.
A. The oppressed recognize He is the Messiah, shouting "Hosanna" to Him, begging Him to "SAVE US NOW" from their troubles.
B. The faithful are amazed by his resurrection!
C. The second guessers view Him, not as the Son of God, but as a threat to their way of life - their power, their control.
May we not be second guessers but instead Passover pilgrims, faithful believers, beggars, praying:
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have Mercy.
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
WTTW HIS WORD "MORE OR LESS"
TEXT: JOHN 3:1-21 SERMON: “More or Less”
In today's passage, John tells his first century readers that Jesus must become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
1. Who John the Baptist was
2. Who Jesus is
This morning we’ll be looking at what John says about Jesus becoming greater and John the Baptist becoming less by focusing on the differences between these two men, starting with looking at "Who John the Baptist was."
I. John the Baptist was a man who
A. Received only what he was given from heaven. 27
B. Testified he was not the Christ 28
C. Said he was like the bridegroom's friend 29
Explanation:
Argument develops about everyone going to Jesus..
John3:27-29
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
v 27 - true of everyone including John and Jesus
v 28 I said = John 1:20, 23
20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
v 29
the bridegroom - most important man at the wedding = Jesus
best friend helps the bridegroom = role of John the Baptist
joy is mine - bridegroom present, hearing of his success
Matthew 9:15
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Illustration:
Joseph Genesis 37:5-11
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Application:
How might the Apostle John be speaking to us this morning through his words?
What is he telling us today?
Most certainly in our ministry, like that of John the Baptist, Jesus is the One to be seen not us.
Jesus is the One to shine through us - the One people should be seeing in what we say and do.
If in our ministry we are the one who is shining, we are the one who stands out, we are making ourselves the greater and relegating Jesus to the lesser role.
In our ministry we can never allow our self or others to put us up on a pedestal because we don't belong there.
The only one who belongs in an exalted position is Jesus Christ and these verses show us how well John the Baptist knew this and left us his example for ministry.
Might the Apostle John also be telling us something else this morning through these words he wrote over 2000 years ago?
Maybe in our life, like in John the Baptist's, there is someone we are being asked to prepare the way for.
Maybe in our life there is someone like Joseph, a dreamer, and we need to choose between either being jealous of them or helping them achieve their dreams.
Maybe in our life we need to look at whether we have people around us who we have been given the role to help them shine even at our own expense or sacrifice.
As we know John the Baptist sacrificed his life at the hands of Herod.
Do we have any Herod's in our life?
How great a sacrifice are we willing to make for someone else?
Transition: Let’s move on in looking at the contrast John is making in this passage between who John the Baptist was and who Jesus is to look at what he has to say about,
II. Jesus (is) the One who
A. Was from heaven above 31
B. As Christ was above all 31
D. As the Bridegroom testified to what he had seen & heard 32
1. Speaks the Spirit empowered words of God 33
2. Given all authority by the Father who Loves him 35
3. Brings eternal life to all who believe in him 36
Explanation:
John 3:31-36
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[a] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
v 31
- the One who comes from above - Jesus heavenly origin
v 13
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
8:23
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
1 John 4:5
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
- vs the one who comes from earth - anyone, but here John the Baptist
v 32 "the divine experience"
32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
v 8:23
see above
v 15:15
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
v 11
11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
v 33
33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.
"certified" - accepting Christ's testimony = accepting truth that Jesus came from heaven and that God was acting in him for the world's salvation... this certifies that God is truthful!
v 34
34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[a] gives the Spirit without limit.
Jesus getting the Spirit without limit from God
vs
believers getting the Spirit without limit from Jesus
v 17
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
- Isa 42:1
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
- Mt 12:18
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
- Lk 4:18
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
- Ac 10:38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
v 35
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
Mt. 28:18
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
v 36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
"has" - eternal life is a present possession
"God's wrath" - God is opposed to everything evil
"remains" - God's wrath is total and permanent - it remains!
v 15
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
5:24
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
6:47
47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.
Illustration:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Paul’s Vision and His Thorn
1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul met the risen Christ on the Damascus Road and experienced the third heaven or paradise in his preparation to be an Apostle.
third heaven = paradise - designates a place beyond the immediate heaven of the earth's atmosphere and beyond the further heaven of outer space and its constellations into the presence of God himself
inexpressible things = unknown to use because Paul was not permitted to tell, an experience that gave incalculable strength to his apostleship which involved constant and extreme suffering
this experience was not self-induced and therefore left no room for self-glorification
What an impact it had on him!
Inexpressible things gave him incalculable strength
He was able to acknowledge when he was weak then he was strong
And his strength came from the RISEN LORD!
It was through his belief in the RISEN LORD beginning on the Damascus Road but solidified without doubt in the third heavens where he came face to face with God that he knew that in his weaknesses the power of the Cross rested on him - this is where he experienced it on earth!
This is where he experienced the present of God in his life outside the third heavens in the thorn in his flesh, in his sufferings, in the Cross of the Risen Christ, in his grace, in his forgiveness.
Having that was so powerful it overcame everything else, it allowed him to endure anything else that he faced in life-all sufferings even his terrible thorn in the flesh.
Application:
What is thorn do we have in our flesh?
What are we suffering from?
Is it medical illness, mental illness, substance abuse?
Is it deep emotional pain from the past?
Is it the deep scars of trauma in our life?
Or is it our suffering alongside someone else who is suffering this morning?
We need to remember that the One sent from Above is Above All, He is Christ the Messiah
and that He was given All Authority of Heaven and Earth by the Father
and was given the Spirit without limit
and that everything was placed into His Hands.
This "everything" that was placed into His Hands includes your suffering which like the Apostle Paul's thorn he has provided the ultimate answer for in His Death on the Cross and in His Resurrection from the Grave!
And, Your sufferings, your weaknesses, like those of the Apostle Paul are where the strength and power of the Risen Lord shows through in your life,
It is in your sufferings, your weaknesses that you experience the Risen Lord on earth and where others see him as well.
Without belief in the Rise Lord there is no hope only meaningless suffering.
With belief in the Risen Lord, with certifying that God is truthful in what He says about why he sent his son into the world (John 3:16), there is grace and forgiveness for all, there is libration, there is salvation, there is eternal life.
And with this assurance, like Paul we can live life with knowledge of the third heaven, with knowledge of paradise, and with its power to overcome any and all sufferings we face in this world.
With assurance of God's grace through his Son we too have entered Paul's third heaven with him and have access to inexpressible things that are the greatest source of encouragement there could ever be - the Risen Lord
Transition:
In this passage John paints a picture that distinguishes between two men John the Baptist and Jesus telling his first century readers that Jesus must become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
I. Who John the Baptist was
II. Who Jesus was
Conclusion:
In this passage John paints a picture for us today distinguishing between two men John the Baptist and Jesus telling us that Jesus had to become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
I. Who John the Baptist was
II. Who Jesus was
- John the Baptist was a man who
A. Received only what he was given from heaven.
B. Testified he was not the Christ
C. Said he was the bridegroom's friend
- Jesus (is) the One who
A. Was from heaven above 31
B. As Christ was above all 31
D. As the Bridegroom testified to what he had seen & heard 32
1. Speaks the Spirit empowered words of God 33
2. Given all authority by the Father who Loves him 35
3. Brings eternal life to all who believe in him
- Jesus is the One who is sufficient in all our sufferings and
- The One when we are weak who makes us strong!
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
In today's passage, John tells his first century readers that Jesus must become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
1. Who John the Baptist was
2. Who Jesus is
This morning we’ll be looking at what John says about Jesus becoming greater and John the Baptist becoming less by focusing on the differences between these two men, starting with looking at "Who John the Baptist was."
I. John the Baptist was a man who
A. Received only what he was given from heaven. 27
B. Testified he was not the Christ 28
C. Said he was like the bridegroom's friend 29
Explanation:
Argument develops about everyone going to Jesus..
John3:27-29
27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
v 27 - true of everyone including John and Jesus
v 28 I said = John 1:20, 23
20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
v 29
the bridegroom - most important man at the wedding = Jesus
best friend helps the bridegroom = role of John the Baptist
joy is mine - bridegroom present, hearing of his success
Matthew 9:15
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Illustration:
Joseph Genesis 37:5-11
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Application:
How might the Apostle John be speaking to us this morning through his words?
What is he telling us today?
Most certainly in our ministry, like that of John the Baptist, Jesus is the One to be seen not us.
Jesus is the One to shine through us - the One people should be seeing in what we say and do.
If in our ministry we are the one who is shining, we are the one who stands out, we are making ourselves the greater and relegating Jesus to the lesser role.
In our ministry we can never allow our self or others to put us up on a pedestal because we don't belong there.
The only one who belongs in an exalted position is Jesus Christ and these verses show us how well John the Baptist knew this and left us his example for ministry.
Might the Apostle John also be telling us something else this morning through these words he wrote over 2000 years ago?
Maybe in our life, like in John the Baptist's, there is someone we are being asked to prepare the way for.
Maybe in our life there is someone like Joseph, a dreamer, and we need to choose between either being jealous of them or helping them achieve their dreams.
Maybe in our life we need to look at whether we have people around us who we have been given the role to help them shine even at our own expense or sacrifice.
As we know John the Baptist sacrificed his life at the hands of Herod.
Do we have any Herod's in our life?
How great a sacrifice are we willing to make for someone else?
Transition: Let’s move on in looking at the contrast John is making in this passage between who John the Baptist was and who Jesus is to look at what he has to say about,
II. Jesus (is) the One who
A. Was from heaven above 31
B. As Christ was above all 31
D. As the Bridegroom testified to what he had seen & heard 32
1. Speaks the Spirit empowered words of God 33
2. Given all authority by the Father who Loves him 35
3. Brings eternal life to all who believe in him 36
Explanation:
John 3:31-36
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[a] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
v 31
- the One who comes from above - Jesus heavenly origin
v 13
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
8:23
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
1 John 4:5
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
- vs the one who comes from earth - anyone, but here John the Baptist
v 32 "the divine experience"
32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
v 8:23
see above
v 15:15
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
v 11
11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
v 33
33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.
"certified" - accepting Christ's testimony = accepting truth that Jesus came from heaven and that God was acting in him for the world's salvation... this certifies that God is truthful!
v 34
34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[a] gives the Spirit without limit.
Jesus getting the Spirit without limit from God
vs
believers getting the Spirit without limit from Jesus
v 17
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
- Isa 42:1
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
- Mt 12:18
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
- Lk 4:18
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
- Ac 10:38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
v 35
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.
Mt. 28:18
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
v 36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
"has" - eternal life is a present possession
"God's wrath" - God is opposed to everything evil
"remains" - God's wrath is total and permanent - it remains!
v 15
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
5:24
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
6:47
47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.
Illustration:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Paul’s Vision and His Thorn
1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul met the risen Christ on the Damascus Road and experienced the third heaven or paradise in his preparation to be an Apostle.
third heaven = paradise - designates a place beyond the immediate heaven of the earth's atmosphere and beyond the further heaven of outer space and its constellations into the presence of God himself
inexpressible things = unknown to use because Paul was not permitted to tell, an experience that gave incalculable strength to his apostleship which involved constant and extreme suffering
this experience was not self-induced and therefore left no room for self-glorification
What an impact it had on him!
Inexpressible things gave him incalculable strength
He was able to acknowledge when he was weak then he was strong
And his strength came from the RISEN LORD!
It was through his belief in the RISEN LORD beginning on the Damascus Road but solidified without doubt in the third heavens where he came face to face with God that he knew that in his weaknesses the power of the Cross rested on him - this is where he experienced it on earth!
This is where he experienced the present of God in his life outside the third heavens in the thorn in his flesh, in his sufferings, in the Cross of the Risen Christ, in his grace, in his forgiveness.
Having that was so powerful it overcame everything else, it allowed him to endure anything else that he faced in life-all sufferings even his terrible thorn in the flesh.
Application:
What is thorn do we have in our flesh?
What are we suffering from?
Is it medical illness, mental illness, substance abuse?
Is it deep emotional pain from the past?
Is it the deep scars of trauma in our life?
Or is it our suffering alongside someone else who is suffering this morning?
We need to remember that the One sent from Above is Above All, He is Christ the Messiah
and that He was given All Authority of Heaven and Earth by the Father
and was given the Spirit without limit
and that everything was placed into His Hands.
This "everything" that was placed into His Hands includes your suffering which like the Apostle Paul's thorn he has provided the ultimate answer for in His Death on the Cross and in His Resurrection from the Grave!
And, Your sufferings, your weaknesses, like those of the Apostle Paul are where the strength and power of the Risen Lord shows through in your life,
It is in your sufferings, your weaknesses that you experience the Risen Lord on earth and where others see him as well.
Without belief in the Rise Lord there is no hope only meaningless suffering.
With belief in the Risen Lord, with certifying that God is truthful in what He says about why he sent his son into the world (John 3:16), there is grace and forgiveness for all, there is libration, there is salvation, there is eternal life.
And with this assurance, like Paul we can live life with knowledge of the third heaven, with knowledge of paradise, and with its power to overcome any and all sufferings we face in this world.
With assurance of God's grace through his Son we too have entered Paul's third heaven with him and have access to inexpressible things that are the greatest source of encouragement there could ever be - the Risen Lord
Transition:
In this passage John paints a picture that distinguishes between two men John the Baptist and Jesus telling his first century readers that Jesus must become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
I. Who John the Baptist was
II. Who Jesus was
Conclusion:
In this passage John paints a picture for us today distinguishing between two men John the Baptist and Jesus telling us that Jesus had to become "greater" and John the Baptist "less" because of:
I. Who John the Baptist was
II. Who Jesus was
- John the Baptist was a man who
A. Received only what he was given from heaven.
B. Testified he was not the Christ
C. Said he was the bridegroom's friend
- Jesus (is) the One who
A. Was from heaven above 31
B. As Christ was above all 31
D. As the Bridegroom testified to what he had seen & heard 32
1. Speaks the Spirit empowered words of God 33
2. Given all authority by the Father who Loves him 35
3. Brings eternal life to all who believe in him
- Jesus is the One who is sufficient in all our sufferings and
- The One when we are weak who makes us strong!
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
WTTW HIS WORD
TEXT: JOHN 3:1-21 SERMON: “Your Spiritual Birth”
Introduction: In this passage John tells his first century readers that God is going to save “the world” – all people - through His Son by their:
I. Being born again. v 3,7
II. Being born of water & the Spirit. v 5,6,8
III. Believing in the Cross. v 14,15
IV. Believing in His Son. v 10-13,16-18
V. Coming into His Light. v 19-21
This morning we’ll begin by looking at how God is going to save people through His Son by talking about
A. BEING BORN AGAIN
Explanation:
- John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they
are born again.”
Birth = our entrance into the world
Born Again = Born From Above (Greek) – spiritual rebirth
Born Again = transformation for entering another world – Kingdom of God
- Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Repent = make a radical change in one’s life
- John 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
You = plural – for everyone, no exceptions!
Born of Spirit = New Life – unexplainable by ordinary reasoning
Inner change = Direct Act of God
Illustration: To illustrated this,
Birth of a Butterfly: Hatching after Transforming from a Caterpillar
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=44640880585792574#
Application:
Have we hatched like this butterfly on the inside?
If the caterpillar is our physical being, has our spiritual being been transformed from above by God into a butterfly?
Has our spiritual being undergone a fundamental change like this?
An inner change that brings us into a new world – God’s World, His Kingdom?
Living for Him instead of for ourselves or for this world?
Transition: Let’s move on to understand this further by looking at another aspect of how God is going to save all people through His Son, John says it occurs by their
B. BEING BORN OF WATER & SPIRIT
Explanation:
- John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
Born of Water and the Spirit =
1. John’s Teaching Repentance & Baptism = in response to God’s appeal
2. Coming Messenger of God (Jesus) – Holy Spirit = transformation of life by Holy Spirit
- Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away,
calling on his name.
- Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done but because of his mercy.
He saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Not legalism or outward conformity!
- John 3:6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
- John 1:13 (Yet to all who received him..) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50 I declare to you brothers that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does perishable inherit the imperishable.
- John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Spirit = Wind = origin and destiny are unknown to those who feel it
Spirit gives birth to spirit…born of God…born of the Spirit…
- 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”[a] (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.
Spirit transformed mind is discerning and Christ-like!
Illustration:
Conversation with a patient in the hospital who initially fought being there.
Looking back on her hospitalization saw God at work… We discussed this text.
The wind blowing in the trees… seeing the effect of the wind even though you can’t see the wind…
Was like the Spirit of God moving throughout the hospital in all those who she came in contact with, with all of those who helped her…
She was able to see the Spirit of God at work in her life rustling the leaves of the trees so to speak in rustling the people around her and in her to be helped and to receive and accept help.
Application: So what can John be telling us today.
Are we able to discern things through the Spirit?
Do we have the mind of Christ Paul talks about?
Are we able to see the wind blowing around us, the Spirit moving?
Have we been born of the Spirit so that we are able to make judgments about all things?
Are we able to understand what is happening around us from a spiritual perspective, using our spiritual eyes?
Transition: Let’s move on in quest for being born again to look at another aspect John gives for how God is going to save all people through His Son, he says it is by their
C. BELIEVING IN THE CROSS – START LIGHTHOUSE BEAM ILLUSTRATION
Explanation:
- John 3:14-15 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
- Numbers 21:8 8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
Ancient Israelites Sin
1. disobedience & grumbling, unthankful spirit
2. under condemnation by God & being punished for their sin
3. emblem of their judgment elevated before them
4. unable to rescue themselves
5. no antidote for serpents’ poison
6. urged “to look” at the serpent in order to live
Lifted Up = Exalted
- John 8:28 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
- John 12:32 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
A call to receive Him as God’s provision for cure of sin and complete confidence for the future (eternal life)!
- Matthew 27:42 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
Illustration:
Lighthouse Beam – look to it – guide, safety, protection, life!
http://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/321433/night-lighthouse-beam-medium-looping.html
Application:
Review our sin and salvation using 5 points of ancient Israelite’s sin and salvation
Our Sin
7. disobedience & grumbling, unthankful spirit – OUR SINFUL NATURE
8. under condemnation by God & being punished for our sin – WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH
9. emblem of our judgment elevated before us – JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS
10. unable to rescue ourselves – NOT BY WORKS
11. no antidote for serpents’ poison – OUR SINFUL NATURE IS LETHAL
12. urged “to look” at the serpent in order to live – LOOK TO THE CROSS FOR LIFE!
What are we looking at in order to live?
Transition: Let’s move on to consider one more aspect of how God is going to save people through His Son, John says it is by their
D. BELIEVING IN HIS SON – START METEORITE SHOWER ILLUSTRATION
Explanation:
- John 3:10-13 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Israel’s Teacher? = should know these things Proverbs 30:4
- Proverbs 30:4 4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
“we” = Jesus and disciples or Jesus and Godhead
“earthly things” = concrete analogy of the wind
“heavenly things” = Revelation, not discovery, is the basis for faith!
- John 1:18 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
- John 6:38 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
- John 3:16-18 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
world = all people on earth
believes, does not believe = continuing settled attitudes
- John 11:25,26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- Romans 10:9-10 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Most important message of the Gospel =
1. salvation is a gift of God
2. received only by believing in God for it
3. consists of accepting something, not doing something
4. result of belief is (a) freedom from condemnation, (b) eternal life and (c) living in a relationship of total honesty with God
- John 5:24 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
- 1 John 4:9 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
Two Options (to Good News) :
1. Eternal Life
a. duration of existence
b. quality of existence (vs futility)
2. Perish = opposite of salvation – not cease to exist
a. to fail completely of fulfilling God’s purpose and consequently to be excluded forever from his fellowship
b. to experience utter failure, futility, and loss of all that makes existence worthwhile
God’s purpose towards humankind is positive = Love, 1) not to condemn, 2) but to save
God’s purpose in sending Jesus = 1) to show His Love and 2) draw people to Him
- Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Isaiah 53:11 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
The crux of belief and unbelief and the effects of each!
Illustration:
Meteorite Shower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mhvkoxg1W4&feature=player_embedded#at=39
Application:
Do we believe He came from His father?
Do we believe He reveals His father?
Do we believe He loves us?
Do we believe?
Do we believe he died and rose again?
This is the most important thing of all!
This determines our eternity…
Are we saved?
Are we perishing?
Transition: Let’s look at the final aspect John gives for how God is going to save people through His Son, he says it is by their
E. COMING INTO HIS LIGHT
Explanation:
- John 3:19-21 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Difference between believers and unbelievers:
1. not in their guilt or innocence
2. but in their different attitudes towards the “light”
- John 1:4 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
- Psalm 52:3 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
- Ephesians 5:11, 13 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them… 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
- John 7:7 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
Unbelievers shrink from light – exposes their deeds
Believers come into the light so their real motives can be revealed
- 1 John 1:8-9 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Darkness keeps people from responding to the light!
All of us are held accountable for our actions: choice is ours!
Illustration:
Photography – flash photography, light exposes film = we see!
If it remains dark we don’t see!
Application:
Do we allow God to use flash photography on our lives?
Do we come into his light, do we come to His Son so that our darkness can be exposed?
Or do we remain in the darkness, not allowing his light to shine on us, instead continuing to fool ourselves that somehow there is life in the dark?
Transition to Conclusion:
In this passage John tells his first century readers that God is going to save “the world” – all people - through His Son by their:
I. Being born again.
II. Being born of water & the Spirit.
III. Believing in the Cross.
IV. Believing in His Son.
V. Coming into His Light.
Conclusion:
In this passage John tells us that God saves us today through His Son by our:
I. Being born again. – spiritually transformed like the a caterpillar to a butterfly
II. Being born of water & the Spirit. – washing of rebirth/renewal by the Holy Spirit - wind
III. Believing in the Cross. – the antidote for our lethal sinful nature
IV. Believing in His Son. – who demonstration of God’s love for us
V. Coming into His Light. – not hiding our deeds which lead to death
Be Born Again!
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction: In this passage John tells his first century readers that God is going to save “the world” – all people - through His Son by their:
I. Being born again. v 3,7
II. Being born of water & the Spirit. v 5,6,8
III. Believing in the Cross. v 14,15
IV. Believing in His Son. v 10-13,16-18
V. Coming into His Light. v 19-21
This morning we’ll begin by looking at how God is going to save people through His Son by talking about
A. BEING BORN AGAIN
Explanation:
- John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they
are born again.”
Birth = our entrance into the world
Born Again = Born From Above (Greek) – spiritual rebirth
Born Again = transformation for entering another world – Kingdom of God
- Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Repent = make a radical change in one’s life
- John 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
You = plural – for everyone, no exceptions!
Born of Spirit = New Life – unexplainable by ordinary reasoning
Inner change = Direct Act of God
Illustration: To illustrated this,
Birth of a Butterfly: Hatching after Transforming from a Caterpillar
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=44640880585792574#
Application:
Have we hatched like this butterfly on the inside?
If the caterpillar is our physical being, has our spiritual being been transformed from above by God into a butterfly?
Has our spiritual being undergone a fundamental change like this?
An inner change that brings us into a new world – God’s World, His Kingdom?
Living for Him instead of for ourselves or for this world?
Transition: Let’s move on to understand this further by looking at another aspect of how God is going to save all people through His Son, John says it occurs by their
B. BEING BORN OF WATER & SPIRIT
Explanation:
- John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
Born of Water and the Spirit =
1. John’s Teaching Repentance & Baptism = in response to God’s appeal
2. Coming Messenger of God (Jesus) – Holy Spirit = transformation of life by Holy Spirit
- Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away,
calling on his name.
- Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done but because of his mercy.
He saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Not legalism or outward conformity!
- John 3:6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
- John 1:13 (Yet to all who received him..) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50 I declare to you brothers that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does perishable inherit the imperishable.
- John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Spirit = Wind = origin and destiny are unknown to those who feel it
Spirit gives birth to spirit…born of God…born of the Spirit…
- 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”[a] (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.
Spirit transformed mind is discerning and Christ-like!
Illustration:
Conversation with a patient in the hospital who initially fought being there.
Looking back on her hospitalization saw God at work… We discussed this text.
The wind blowing in the trees… seeing the effect of the wind even though you can’t see the wind…
Was like the Spirit of God moving throughout the hospital in all those who she came in contact with, with all of those who helped her…
She was able to see the Spirit of God at work in her life rustling the leaves of the trees so to speak in rustling the people around her and in her to be helped and to receive and accept help.
Application: So what can John be telling us today.
Are we able to discern things through the Spirit?
Do we have the mind of Christ Paul talks about?
Are we able to see the wind blowing around us, the Spirit moving?
Have we been born of the Spirit so that we are able to make judgments about all things?
Are we able to understand what is happening around us from a spiritual perspective, using our spiritual eyes?
Transition: Let’s move on in quest for being born again to look at another aspect John gives for how God is going to save all people through His Son, he says it is by their
C. BELIEVING IN THE CROSS – START LIGHTHOUSE BEAM ILLUSTRATION
Explanation:
- John 3:14-15 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
- Numbers 21:8 8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
Ancient Israelites Sin
1. disobedience & grumbling, unthankful spirit
2. under condemnation by God & being punished for their sin
3. emblem of their judgment elevated before them
4. unable to rescue themselves
5. no antidote for serpents’ poison
6. urged “to look” at the serpent in order to live
Lifted Up = Exalted
- John 8:28 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
- John 12:32 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
A call to receive Him as God’s provision for cure of sin and complete confidence for the future (eternal life)!
- Matthew 27:42 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
Illustration:
Lighthouse Beam – look to it – guide, safety, protection, life!
http://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/321433/night-lighthouse-beam-medium-looping.html
Application:
Review our sin and salvation using 5 points of ancient Israelite’s sin and salvation
Our Sin
7. disobedience & grumbling, unthankful spirit – OUR SINFUL NATURE
8. under condemnation by God & being punished for our sin – WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH
9. emblem of our judgment elevated before us – JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS
10. unable to rescue ourselves – NOT BY WORKS
11. no antidote for serpents’ poison – OUR SINFUL NATURE IS LETHAL
12. urged “to look” at the serpent in order to live – LOOK TO THE CROSS FOR LIFE!
What are we looking at in order to live?
Transition: Let’s move on to consider one more aspect of how God is going to save people through His Son, John says it is by their
D. BELIEVING IN HIS SON – START METEORITE SHOWER ILLUSTRATION
Explanation:
- John 3:10-13 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Israel’s Teacher? = should know these things Proverbs 30:4
- Proverbs 30:4 4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
“we” = Jesus and disciples or Jesus and Godhead
“earthly things” = concrete analogy of the wind
“heavenly things” = Revelation, not discovery, is the basis for faith!
- John 1:18 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
- John 6:38 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
- John 3:16-18 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
world = all people on earth
believes, does not believe = continuing settled attitudes
- John 11:25,26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- Romans 10:9-10 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Most important message of the Gospel =
1. salvation is a gift of God
2. received only by believing in God for it
3. consists of accepting something, not doing something
4. result of belief is (a) freedom from condemnation, (b) eternal life and (c) living in a relationship of total honesty with God
- John 5:24 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
- 1 John 4:9 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
Two Options (to Good News) :
1. Eternal Life
a. duration of existence
b. quality of existence (vs futility)
2. Perish = opposite of salvation – not cease to exist
a. to fail completely of fulfilling God’s purpose and consequently to be excluded forever from his fellowship
b. to experience utter failure, futility, and loss of all that makes existence worthwhile
God’s purpose towards humankind is positive = Love, 1) not to condemn, 2) but to save
God’s purpose in sending Jesus = 1) to show His Love and 2) draw people to Him
- Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Isaiah 53:11 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
The crux of belief and unbelief and the effects of each!
Illustration:
Meteorite Shower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mhvkoxg1W4&feature=player_embedded#at=39
Application:
Do we believe He came from His father?
Do we believe He reveals His father?
Do we believe He loves us?
Do we believe?
Do we believe he died and rose again?
This is the most important thing of all!
This determines our eternity…
Are we saved?
Are we perishing?
Transition: Let’s look at the final aspect John gives for how God is going to save people through His Son, he says it is by their
E. COMING INTO HIS LIGHT
Explanation:
- John 3:19-21 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Difference between believers and unbelievers:
1. not in their guilt or innocence
2. but in their different attitudes towards the “light”
- John 1:4 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
- Psalm 52:3 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
- Ephesians 5:11, 13 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them… 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
- John 7:7 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
Unbelievers shrink from light – exposes their deeds
Believers come into the light so their real motives can be revealed
- 1 John 1:8-9 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Darkness keeps people from responding to the light!
All of us are held accountable for our actions: choice is ours!
Illustration:
Photography – flash photography, light exposes film = we see!
If it remains dark we don’t see!
Application:
Do we allow God to use flash photography on our lives?
Do we come into his light, do we come to His Son so that our darkness can be exposed?
Or do we remain in the darkness, not allowing his light to shine on us, instead continuing to fool ourselves that somehow there is life in the dark?
Transition to Conclusion:
In this passage John tells his first century readers that God is going to save “the world” – all people - through His Son by their:
I. Being born again.
II. Being born of water & the Spirit.
III. Believing in the Cross.
IV. Believing in His Son.
V. Coming into His Light.
Conclusion:
In this passage John tells us that God saves us today through His Son by our:
I. Being born again. – spiritually transformed like the a caterpillar to a butterfly
II. Being born of water & the Spirit. – washing of rebirth/renewal by the Holy Spirit - wind
III. Believing in the Cross. – the antidote for our lethal sinful nature
IV. Believing in His Son. – who demonstration of God’s love for us
V. Coming into His Light. – not hiding our deeds which lead to death
Be Born Again!
In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
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