Pastor Dave Martin ~ Cross Creek Community Church ~ August 22, 2010

“Little Stories: Big Lessons”

“Born Again” – John 3:1-17

Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33. He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit. 

He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live." 

Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."

Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour. He’s done pretty well. But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole."

Today’s sermon comes down to a basic question:
If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven?
Multitudes attend religious church services each week… yet they do not know how to answer that question.

• There are those who would answer “Yes” with their head but cannot answer with their heart…
• We have a little story found in John 3 with the most profound Lesson we could ever learn…
• This lesson reaches into the very core of our being… will I be ready to meet God when this life is over…
• Death is real and we must be prepared when it comes knocking on our door…there is no second chance…

• Throughout the world, death occurs at the rate of… 110/minute, 6400/hour, 155,000/day…
• Death is Somber, Sure and Soon compared with eternity…
• Have your sins been forgiven, are you bound for heaven when you die?
• Do you presently possess “Eternal Life”? Have you been “Born Again”?
• Lets’ read the entire story then cover some main points… John 3:1-17… Page 751 (follow along)

I. Being Born Again… IS NOT about Human Effort

John 3:1-2 ¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.

• Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of 70 on the Jewish Sanhedrin counsel… ran affairs of the Jewish nation
• He came to Jesus at night… Nick at Night is sometimes called… he called Jesus: Rabbi Master, title of honor
• “We know” – the council… you came from God… you perform the messianic miracles… you are real…
• Deep inside Nicodemus knew he needed more than what his Jewish religion offered him… religious / lost…
• Nicodemus had a lot going for him… Yet Jesus told him in v7 “You must be born again”… Not human effort
• Religion says perform… get baptized, work for your salvation, do good deeds, follow 10 commandments
• We can do it all yet still be empty inside… on an endless cycle like on a hamster wheel… fear, exhaustion…
• So many people today try to earn salvation… if you could heaven would be a cruddy place… braggers…

Nicodemus learned that…

• Position Does Not Save You…

1. Jesus identified Nicodemus in v10 as “Israel’s teacher” a ruler of the Jews… outwardly polished
2. Steeped in tradition, man-made rules… high rank as a ruler… yet still empty spiritually inside…
3. Nicodemus was a part of the religious elite. He had a distinguished religious position…
4. He was the one people turned to for answers… yet his prestige and position couldn’t save him
   
   

• Popularity Does Not Save You…

1. The name “Nicodemus” itself means well liked or popular… he was well known and respected…
2. He was recognized as a spiritual leader… “There’s a good man. He’s a good role model.” He was extremely popular… a nice guy… but popularity doesn’t save you
3. Being recognized as a spiritual leader does not save you. Being born again is not about popularity.
   
   

• Piety Does Not Save You…

1. Nicodemus possessed great religious knowledge. Member of the Pharisees, he knew and lived what was considered right and wrong… kept the outside looking good… inwardly hungry for God
2. His first words to Jesus, “we know” express a certain level of spiritual knowledge. Yet the reality is that Nicodemus did not know. He was ignorant of spiritual truth. 
3. He was religious to the core, he obeyed the letter of the law… he fasted, he prayed, he tithed…
4. He studied the scriptures… he lived a disciplined life… He was religious and but he was lost…
5. Nicodemus had a “god-sized” hole in his heart… he was empty spiritually… he was a lost man
6. Piety does not save… I have heard so many people say, “I live a good life. I try to do what is right. I go to church. Etc.” but pious living does not save.
   
   

I. Being Born Again… IS NOT about Human Effort (Titus 3:4-7 saved not by works of righteousness we done)

II. Being Born Again… IS About a Personal Relationship with a Personal Savior

1. Being born again is not about religion but a relationship. It’s about being born from above…
2. It is about a new birth, a spiritual transformation… a spiritual change from the inside out…

What exactly does it mean to be born again? What is the new birth? What is it all about?

• It’s a Spiritual Birth

John 3:3-6 ³ In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." ⁴ "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" ⁵ Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

• Being born again is not a physical act. It is not a mental or emotional decision…not a moral life style.
• Being born again is to be born from above. It is a spiritual transformation that comes only through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit… The new birth is a spiritual birth. v6 “Spirit gives birth to spirit”
• It is a spiritual transformation that takes place when one surrenders their life to Jesus Christ in faith.
• Too many attempt to make salvation physical (doing this or not doing that), but in reality, it is spiritual.
  
  

• It’s a Sovereign Birth

John 3:7-8 ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 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."

• The new birth is God-initiated and God-controlled. Emphasized through Jesus’ illustration of the wind…
• Just as the human mind cannot understand the depth and details of how the wind blows, neither can sinful humanity understand how the new birth transpires.
• It is a matter of faith. Salvation is a sovereign act of Almighty God within the heart of an individual…
• Unbelievers may know little of how Christianity “works”, they can observe how the children of God function in society. They can see the effects of the wind. “Spiritual Fruit”… The Christian’s life is a testimony of the unseen reality of God’s sovereign grace. The new birth is a sovereign act of God. 

• It’s a Supernatural Birth

John 3:9-15 ⁹ "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ I tell you the truth, 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. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

1. Once again, as Jesus explains to Nicodemus, the new birth is a heavenly matter...
2. Explaining salvation in natural/human terms is impossible. The new birth is a supernatural experience that cannot be tested or diagnosed. It cannot be placed in a test tube and examined.
3. New birth is not a scientific formula. There is no secret combination or recipe.
4. The new birth comes only through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
5. It is a supernatural process that produces supernatural results. You cannot explain the reality of genuine salvation. It cannot be explained. It can only be experienced thru God’s grace.
6. Transformation cannot be explained… And that is the testimony of everyone who is born again.
7. I cannot explain how God transforms a sinner into a saint. I just know that I was lost and now I am found. I was blind and now I see…
8. I was on my way to Hell and now I am on my way to heaven. The new birth is supernatural. It is beyond human explanation… Jesus is the only one qualified to speak, for He came from heaven…
9. Such language and teaching confuses Nicodemus… Predominant religious thought in that day affirmed that all Jews would be admitted to God’s kingdom apart from those guilty of deliberate apostasy or gross wickedness. But here Jesus is telling Nicodemus, a respected scholar, that he cannot enter God’s kingdom unless he is born again. 

III. Being Born Again… Requires a Personal Decision

John 3:16-17 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.

1. It is all about a relationship between a holy God and a sinful people. How can this be?
2. How can a holy God have a relationship with a sinful people? Because He came down (v.13).
3. Why did He come down? So that He might be lifted up on the cross (v.14), and those who look up, those who believe in Him, should not perish but have eternal life (v.15).
4. As the Israelites in the desert, we have all been struck down by sin. Sin has sunk its fangs in our spiritual souls and we are dying… Venom has made its way to our hearts, we are dying in our sins…
5. But God saw us in our sinful hopelessness, and He made a way. He sent a Savior, who was lifted up on Calvary’s cross. And now the message rings, “Believe in Him. Believe in Him. Believe in Him, for those who believe will not perish but have eternal life.
6. Look to the cross… healing in the cross. There is a Savior. The new birth comes through a Savior.
7. Being born again is about a personal relationship, with a personal Savior… by a personal decision
8. It is not about human effort. It is about new birth… born from above… born spiritually…
9. A spiritual birth initiated by God, brought about through the death of a Savior, and transforming in its power, that whoever believes (forgiven) in Him should not perish (hell) but have eternal life (heaven)… You must (necessity) be born again.

We see four hindrances that almost prevented Nicodemus from coming to Christ…

1) Pride… a religious man was told you must be born again… vs3,7
2) Tradition… he was steeped in tradition, a ruler of the Jews, a teacher, a religious leader… vs1-2
3) Ignorance… how can a man be born when he is old… go back into the womb, how?… v4
4) Misunderstanding… don’t be surprised… how can this be… he did not understand these things… vs7,9-10

Do not allow these 4 hindrances to prevent you from turning from religion (4200+) into a relationship.

You must be born again… evidenced by a changed life… fruit produced by the Holy Spirit

• There is no possibility of entering heaven without this spiritual transformation of being born again…
• You must be willing to put your confidence and trust in Christ, who is able to seek & save the lost…
• Nicodemus turned from being religious w/God size hole to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
  
  

A few questions for you…

Have you been born again? If not, why not? What is hindering you from being saved?

Would you come to Jesus… be cleansed and forgiven, made brand new… you must be born again!

1.      To the Lost – “Come to Christ”

2.      To the Fallen Away – “Return to Christ”

3.      To the Christian – “Be like Christ”

John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

•  
  • Admit my Sin (Rom 3:23, 5:12, 6:23, etc)
  • Believe in Christ (John 3:16, 5:24, Acts 16:31, etc)
  • Confess Him as Lord (Mt 10:32-33, Jer 17:7, 2Co 5:17, etc)

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Let’s Pray…

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I now invite you into my life as my Lord and Savior. Take control of my life, forgive my sins and make me your child. Amen

Closer:

Hungry I come to you… I am empty, weary, broken, falling on my knees … your love does not run dry… I wait for you… Jesus you’re all my heart needs… Come to Christ!