This Changes Everything [PART 11] | Mike de Vetter | Sunday 21st June

[00:00:03] Speaker A: I'm going to read a scripture. We are continuing our series in the Book of John, and we're talking about one of the most famous verses that you might see in scripture. We're going to get to that right at the very end. And it's one you've probably seen in football stadiums and on the corner of a street in the Book of John chapter three. Now, we dived into John chapter four, and we didn't get to everything in John three, so we're dipping back in, if that's okay. We're going to look at an amazing story where Jesus encounters a man named Nicodemus. And so let me read from this passage of scripture. From John chapter three. You can read along in your own Bibles or follow along with the text on the screen. John chapter three, verses one to eight. Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish council. He came to Jesus at night and said, rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs that you were doing if God were not with him. Jesus replied, very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. Jesus answered, very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. 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. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the reading of your word. We thank you that your word changes us. It transforms us. Lord, when we live according to your word, our lives can truly become transformed. Lord. It goes beyond just knowledge and understanding to true transformation. Lord, show us this morning what it means to truly be born again. Amen. Have you ever been close to something without actually experiencing it? We did a trip to Anfield, the greatest football stadium in the world. Boo. Yay. And we had this tour of the stadium and we came through the players tunnel and we kind of tapped the sign, we are Anfield and walked through up the tunnel. And I was about to walk right out onto the grass and stand in that center circle. And the guards say, no, no walking on the grass. I don't know what they thought we'd do. I don't know how we would destroy it. But they said, no, you can't get on the grass. So close. But I wasn't able to get there. I wonder if you've ever seen a supercar, a Porsche, a racing car. You got close to it, maybe you've touched it, maybe you've sat inside a bit, but maybe you haven't had a chance to drive it. Right? So, so close, but not able to fully experience it. I wonder if we can also sit in church, know about God, know the stories, but not actually know him, that we would be close enough. But we haven't been changed. We haven't been transformed. This is exactly where we find this man called Nicodemus. When most people think about those that should be saved, we might think of the lost, we might think of the broken. We might think of the person that's deep in addiction or troubles or challenges and they need saving. But Jesus asked the question of this man, Nicodemus. It says, have you been born again? You must be born again. So Jesus chooses someone different, not the one you would think would need to be saved. He chooses someone who was a respected leader, a Bible expert, he was a teacher. He was a man that everyone would assume was close to God. And yet Jesus tells him, you must be born again. So today we're going to look at what it means to be born again through the spirit of God. First thought this morning is knowing God or knowing about Jesus doesn't mean you know Jesus, Nicodemus. He was closer than most. Let's look at verse one. Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. Now this is what we know about those who were Pharisees and those that were in leadership. He was a Pharisee. He was a ruler of the Jews. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the legal council. He was a teacher of Israel and historically the Pharisees, they were so committed to the law. And I wonder if there's any children under the age of 12 that could tell me how many laws there were in the Israeli law, in the Jewish law. Anyone want to give a guess? Throw a number out there. Five, ten. Come on, children. Anyone? 314. Keep going, keep going. More than one. 613. That sounds about right. There were 600 plus laws, like so many laws that the people had to follow. And Nicodemus would have been so faithful, he would have done the best he can to follow Those laws. Now, kids, do you have any rules in your house? Yeah, come on, somebody tell me some of the rules. Let's see, how many rules do we have in the house? What have we got? [00:05:59] Speaker B: No food upstairs. [00:06:00] Speaker A: No food upstairs. Good one. Because that goes under the bed. Under the bed and disappears forever until that smell comes. What have we got? We've got one here. Have you got a rule? [00:06:11] Speaker B: No phone from Monday to Friday? [00:06:14] Speaker A: No phone from Monday to Friday. Whoa. I feel the anointing on that one. [00:06:20] Speaker B: No sitting upside down on the rocking chair. [00:06:27] Speaker A: I think that goes right in line with don't lick a moving blender. Right? Yeah. Good rules. Good rules. [00:06:35] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:35] Speaker A: I especially like that phone one. We might steal that one for our family. I like that. I like that. I think the government's getting on board with that, too. A wonderful thing. Come on. So good. So good. But they weren't the rules that the Israelite people had to follow, although they could have been very helpful, I think. But historically, the Pharisees, they were so deeply committed to fulfilling the law, doing what the law said. And the Jewish historian Josephus tells us they were the most respected religious group in Israel. And so if anyone looked successful, if you thought anyone would qualify to be that person that Jesus would say, you're the guy I was looking for. Nicodemus would have been that guy. If you were looking for candidates to say, this guy would make it through the gates of heaven, this guy has got it together, you would think Nicodemus was the man. But Jesus said, that isn't what qualifies. What qualifies you is that you are born again. And so it says in this text that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Now, we don't know exactly why. Different scholars would say different things. One view is that maybe Nicodemus was embarrassed, didn't want to be seen associating with Jesus because he wanted to uphold his role as a Pharisee. Maybe Nicodemus part of the Jewish culture was that they would often just debate and talk about the law right through the evening. Maybe he was just coming to spend some time with Jesus to unpack Scripture. Or maybe part of it was that John, who used pictures to describe what was going on, and later on in this passage, he talks about the light coming into a place of darkness. Maybe John was saying Nicodemus, even though he thought he was in the light, was actually in darkness. But whatever the motive of him coming, Nicodemus had questions. He says, I see what you've done. I see the miracles that you're performing, what do we need to do? And Jesus says, you must be born again. So the first thought is, knowing about Jesus doesn't mean you know Jesus. Nicodemus knew a lot of the law. He probably followed it and practiced it religiously. But he didn't know and understand what it meant to be saved and to be born again. The second thought this morning is, being born again is not about self improvement, but transformation from within. Notice what Jesus doesn't say to Nicodemus. Nicodemus, I want you to do more. Nicodemus, I want you to be even more perfect in your following of the law. Nicodemus, I want you to go on the self improvement plan. I want you to get better in all of these different areas. And loving me with your heart and your soul and your mind and your strength, I want you to do more and more of that. That's not what Jesus says. Jesus says very truly. I tell you, Nicodemus, teacher of the law, the Pharisee of Pharisees, you are an incredible man who has followed the ways of God. But no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Nicodemus asks a question many of us would have asked. How does a man have a second birth? How does a man go back into his mother's womb? Children, can you imagine trying to fit back into your mum's tummy? Mums? No, you don't even want to imagine that, do you? It's bad enough just getting them out. You don't want to put them back in again. So Nicodemus, he was wrestling with it. He was saying, how can there be a second birth? And even there, he still didn't understand what Jesus was saying. The being born again wasn't a physical birth, was a spiritual rebirth. The phrase born again in some translations also means born from above. So it's a heavenly rebirth. It's being born again by the Spirit of God. And Nicodemus hears it as a second physical birth. But Jesus says, no, this is something that is more than this. Nicodemus, maybe he expected some improvement. I'm a good Pharisee, but could I be a little bit better? But Jesus talks about transformation. I want you to be a different person, not just a different follower of the law. Nicodemus expects another step. You know, the steps that we have in our journey of faith. We give our life to Christ, we get baptized, we're filled with the Spirit, we take the journey of the steps of faith. And all of these are good. But Nicodemus was wondering whether he'd get another step. But Jesus says, no, it's not about another step. I want to take you right back to a very beginning. I want you to go back to something that is brand new. Because what matters is not behavior as a source of change. And you can be in church for a little while and think that if we behave better, God loves us more. No, his love for us is unfailing. Even when we fail. It's not about how much we do for God that determines how much he loves us back. His love for us is unconditional. But when we love God and we serve him and we want to be like him, our behavior begins to change through the work of His Spirit. Religion can modify behavior, but only God can give us new life from that new beginning. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 5, 17. He says, if anyone is in Christ, what does anyone mean? Anyone, Anyone. Does that mean that, like, could a young person be in Christ? What do we think, kids? How old do you have to be to be in Christ? You could be zero in Christ. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, if anyone is in Christ, they are what they are. A new creation. Brand new. Not talking about an upgrade. I'm not talking about an office built onto the side of a house. I'm talking about a brand new creation. And it says, the old is gone, the new has come. So Jesus was even saying to Nicodemus, this religious lifestyle that you've been living, I don't want that. That's not what I long for. I long for a transformation from within that you become brand new, a new creation. This wasn't the only time that Jesus spoke about going back to childhood. And I love the fact that we've got our kids in with us this morning. We love celebrating our children because there's something about a child that I love, that I get frustrated with myself as an adult because I've gone through a bunch of stuff. Any adults gone through a bunch of stuff, Felt the pain, felt the hurt, felt like God hasn't quite followed through with the promises that he said. What a word this morning. Thank you, Isaan, for bringing that word that, you know, I prayed once. It was like Naaman in the river too, wasn't it? I want you to go dip in the river. He dips once, it's like, second time. See, I believe that children have this heart that says, okay, God, if you've said it, I'm going to believe that. I love that Jesus said, let the children come to me. Don't hinder them, don't stop them from coming to me because they understand and they will inherit the kingdom. I love the fact that this is a church where we celebrate all of the ages. But Jesus says, come on, we're going to become like children. Let's go back to our childhood, that simplicity of faith and belief. And Jesus says, I want you to go back to being born again. Because there's something about when we are born again. How many people had a child and then within three days they were up and walking and they needed you no more? It's ridiculous, right? When we are born again by the spirit, we are in desperate need of parenting. We need a father, we need our mother to look after us and care for us. Are we still in that space as adults? Do we still rely on God, our Father, for our daily bread? Or have we got the cooking sorted? Have we worked it out? Have we got it all together? I think there's a coming back to that understanding that we are children of God and that he will provide everything that we need. So part of the being born again is that our dependence is on God and we're not going for independence, are we? We want that interdependence. I love that we sit all the different ages. I wonder if there's anyone under the age of 10 here this morning. Give me a wave if you're under 10. Yeah. I wonder if there's anyone between 11 and 20 years old. Give us a wave. Look at that few of them. What about 20 to 30? Any 20 to 30 year olds in the house? Come on, come on. What about those 40s? Anyone in their 40s? Come on, just for a year or two longer. Anyone in their 50s? Got some 50 year olds. No, it couldn't be true. Surely not. How about some 60s? 60s? Any 60s? Look at this, we've got the generations. How about any 70s? Here we go. All right, now we're going for the big prize. Anyone in their 80s? Oh, come on. Anyone touching their 90s? Young lady, would you mind standing, please? Can I honor an amazing woman of the house? We love you, Brenda. You are such an amazing woman. A woman of faith, of prayer. Thank you for your faithful prayer. Thank you for the words that you bring. Thank you for your desire to serve the Lord and seek Him. Thank you for being an example for us to follow. We love you so much. Thank you. You can have a seat. Your God is a God of the generations. And look at that, all the decades covered here. I don't think we've got anyone in Their hundreds, right? Not yet. I'll ask you in a few years time, Brenda. A few more than that. The third thought. And I'm coming to a close scene. New birth is a work of the spirit, not of human effort. Jesus continues in verse 6. He says, Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. 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 language, water and spirit. It points back to God's promise in Ezekiel, chapter 36, because it goes on. And Jesus says, how do you not understand this? You're a teacher of the law, but you don't understand this. And Jesus is referring back to Ezekiel 36, verse 26, back into the old Testament. The law, what the prophets had spoken, he should have understood this. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. It is possible to know about God, but not truly know him. That we could have a heart that is opposed to the work of the Spirit in our lives, where we would become so fixed, fixated on what we know and what's been and the practices that we've seen in the past. And God says, I want to shape you. I want to mold you. I want to take that and I want to change it and I want to transform it. My question is, are we ready to be completely transformed by God even today? Or have we become unyielding? Have we become this place where our hearts have even become stone? We know so much about God, but we're not open to the move of His Spirit in our lives. Then Jesus gives an illustration. He says, the wind blows wherever it pleases. All right, children. How many of you have ever seen the wind? You've seen the wind? I have never seen the wind, but I've seen the effects of the wind, so I don't know. I walk out and I see leaves blowing. I see trees moving because of the wind. I see the pollen from the flowers flying through the air into my eyes and my hay fever. Come on. We see the effects of the wind, but we don't see it directly. It's the same with the Spirit of God. God works in us through the power of His Spirit. And we see the working of His Spirit as He changes us and transformed us. Being born again doesn't come from behavior. It always results In a changed life. See, when we're born of the spirit, God's spirit comes in. Now I'm going to see how well some of our children have remembered about our fruits of the spirit. And now, here's your chance, kids. Do you want to sing your song? Come on, get up. Come on. If you know the Fruit of the Spirit song, this isn't even planned. I'm going to get up here. All right, Come on. Who wants to do it? Get up. Because when the spirit of God comes upon us, it produces fruit in us. All right, here we go. [00:20:14] Speaker B: Ready? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self control. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. [00:20:37] Speaker A: Do you want to do one of the other verses? You want to do one of the other verses? [00:20:41] Speaker B: The fruit of the spirit is now the coconut. Which one are we doing? [00:20:46] Speaker A: Great. Coconut. [00:20:48] Speaker B: Okay. Fruit of the spirit's not a grave. The fruit of the spirit's not a grave. You want to be a grave, you might as well hear it. You can't be a fruit of the spirit because this fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Going to stay full of gentleness and self control. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, wellness, gentleness, gentleness and self control. The fruit of the spirit's not a coconut. The fruit of the spirit's not a coconut. You want to be a coconut and as well, here. You can't be a fruit of the spirit. [00:21:20] Speaker A: One more time here, girl. [00:21:21] Speaker B: The fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and faithfulness. Gentleness is self control. Love, joy, peace. [00:21:33] Speaker A: Come on. I don't know how many adults would have got up unprepared like that and done it. [00:21:42] Speaker B: I love. [00:21:43] Speaker A: I love our kids. I love what they carry. When the spirit of God takes our lives and transforms us, we become a different person. There's a fruit that's produced that comes out of us. We don't even try. It's something that's produced within us and it flows out of us. It's love, it's joy, it's peace, it's patience, it's kindness, it's goodness, it's gentleness and it's self control. We talked about this a number of weeks ago. We said it's not selective. Right? You don't go, yeah, I'll have eight. But I won't have the self control. All of that rises in us when a work of the spirit has taken place place in our lives. And lastly, if the team can come and join us, we're going to finish with some songs of praise this morning. But this narrative, this conversation that Jesus was having with Nicodemus was leading towards what has become probably the most well known verse in all of Scripture. John 3. 16. When I say that reference, people understand it, they know it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. But then verse 17, it's really important we understand that as well. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. My last thought this morning, and I close with this, Jesus offers salvation, not condemnation. See, there's a difference between fulfilling the law and trying to get the law right, and then being saved through Christ in His righteousness. When we are in Christ, we are a new creation. That means that we have a righteousness not of our own making, but of what he has done for us. Grace. I've often heard it spoken as an acrostic. God's riches at Christ's expense. God offers us all of his blessing, his favour and the trials and the challenges, because that's all a part of the blessing and the favour. But it's not through our works. This is what Jesus was trying to help Nicodemus understand. It's not about following the law, because the law will only lead to condemnation. And here's why. Imagine that to be truly righteous, I had to juggle a football for the rest of my life. I only made two. I failed. That's what it's like to try and fulfill the law. I'm trying to be perfect. I'm trying to be perfect. Trying to be perfect. Trying to be perfect. Ah, I messed up. Does anyone ever feel that? Now there's two things that you might feel in a moment where you've sinned. The Bible is very clear about what is right and what is wrong. It's not that we don't obey the law, we don't fulfill the law, just like I'm a Christian, that means road rules don't apply to me. No, that's not true. But if I'm trying to fulfill righteousness by being a better person, by doing more, and I fail. And it's not a work of the Spirit that is changing me. I'm going to feel condemnation. What does condemnation mean? Condemnation is being condemned to die, to death, to failure. But I love the writer in Romans, after outlying the challenges of following the law and not being able to that. Romans 8:1 says, Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are what in Christ Jesus Born again of the Spirit in Christ Jesus. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, it's wonderful that you follow the law, but that's not it. You're close to him. We can be close to God, but not know him, not truly know him. Now, there's something else that takes place when we are seeing a work of the Spirit. It's not condemnation, it's conviction. God loves us so much that he sees us in our sin. He sees the desperate attempt to try and be good, and then we fail. But when the Spirit of God is moving in our lives, we don't feel condemnation. That's what the devil wants to bring. Instead, we experience conviction. The role of the Holy Spirit was to convict the world of sin and of righteousness. And so, as I'm speaking here today, I want to give everybody the opportunity, if you have not yet to be born again by the Spirit of God, to say, God, I've tried being a good person and I have failed. But today I want to be born again of the Spirit of God. Now, what I'm praying you are experiencing right now is not condemnation, but a conviction that says, I need help. I need God's help. I've tried and I've failed. And I would say you would join every other human being that has ever existed on this planet. And as you look around this place, Come on. How many followers of Jesus have tried and failed? Give us a wave if you've tried and failed. Every single one of us. But failure isn't final. But it is if we don't respond to this invitation that Jesus gives to be born again by his Spirit.