Jesus: Our Eternal Life

(upbeat music) - What about our student ministry this morning, guys? (audience applauding) Super, super proud for our young people and what God is doing here and just incredible. The future of the church is in good hands with young men and women like this. And a lot of times we can be down about the future in the next generation, but I'm super encouraged. And I think for those people who get to spend time with them, they are as well. Got a little emotional a moment ago 'cause when we were singing breath in our lungs, Chris, who was leading us, was born and he weighed one pound. And doctors told his parents to start preparing for his funeral. And today as a senior in high school, he's graduating leading worship. Like, how cool is God for that? So grateful for that. (audience applauding) Such a blessing. If you have your Bible today, I would invite you to John chapter three. We're going to be in the most famous verse in the Bible today. So as we get to this important part of the scripture today, we'd love for you to join us if you have the app. You can also follow along with the message outline today. Well, how many of you have had termites in your house before?

Anybody? Okay, Amanda and I have had the honor of having termites four times in our house. Once in our previous house and three times in our current house, such a discouraging experience. Okay, like, because it is a significant problem that is often hidden and you don't realize how bad the problem is until the damage has already been done. And I remember in our first house, Amanda and I had no idea what a termite invasion looked like. Often it starts with something called a swarmer and they look like what I thought was winged ants. And we came home from church one day and there was a pile of these winged ants by a window. And we thought that's interesting, but they were all dead. So we weren't concerned, so we swept them up and the next day we came home. And there's another pile of ants. And I started like realizing this is before you could use Google photos to like figure out all of that and figure out, no, these are termites. And so the next thing, you know, we're having to go through that experience. And then same thing in our current house that we live in. You know, one day it's like, man, there's like indentions on our sheet rock wall. Like what's going on? And the termite guy comes out and shines a flashlight and all of a sudden with the flashlight,

you can see like the tunnels where the termites had been eating the paper off of the back of the sheet rock wall. They hadn't come through the sheet rock. So there wasn't an evidence there that we could see that something was happening, but sure enough, you open up the wall and man, there is a lot going on there, okay? And fortunately we got all that treated and we're able to move forward without too much. But let's say that you have termite damage in your home and you call somebody and they do an inspection and they say we're sad to inform you that the structure of your house has been compromised. And the floor joists are rotten, the beams holding your roof have been eaten away. And you decide, you look at this and you can't see the problem because it's all covered up with pretty paint and decor. And so you ask them like, can we just like paint the walls and put new carpet down instead of the expense and the mess of going through all that? And of course your house will continue to function for a time and it may even look great for a while, but while that happens, the inside gets weaker and weaker and weaker. And eventually paint won't be able to hide the decay that's happening on the inside. So you don't need paint, you need a rebuild in that moment.

And see, sin is like a termite infestation in our lives. It can live hidden on the inside for a long time before you ever really see a lot of the evidence on the outside. Sin often destroys our hearts, in ways that we're not even always cognizant of. And once you realize you have a problem, most of the damage has already been done. And so you call in Jesus to help you deal with 'cause your life, because you heard that he can make you feel better, and you wanna feel better, and you know that he can fix things, and you're hoping he can put a patch on the wall and put some paint on it and make you look better and feel better. But Jesus tells you you don't need a repair, you need a rebuild of your life. Because sin has eaten away and destroyed your heart and your mind, and it has compromised your integrity. Yeah, you still function, you still live, you still go to work, you still go to the grocery store, you still go to school, and so you resist, and you say, well, it can't be that bad. And you promise Jesus, like, well, I promise, I'm not gonna sin anymore. And Jesus tells you that's impossible. The damage has already been done, and you're going to need a new life. And here's the really important thing,

only Jesus can give you that new life. You will not find it anywhere else in the world. So the question this morning, we're going to be asking ourselves, is will you let Jesus renovate your life? Or do you wanna play pretend? There's a fascinating dynamic that's happening here in John chapter three that illustrates our need for Jesus to give us this new life, not just to repair something on the facade of our life. If you've got your Bible, we're in John chapter three, verse one, join me there. Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. Now, the Jewish ruling council, well, otherwise known as the Sanhedrin, would be the equivalent of combining the US Senate and the US Supreme Court into one body. There were 70 members of this ruling council, and it was headed by the high priest of the temple. And they took holiness and obedience to the law of Moses to the nth degree. I mean, it was very serious life or death kind of things, obedience to the law. And what they did was they took the first five books of the Bible, otherwise known as the Pentateuch, and they read it line by line and they counted up, how many laws are in the law of Moses. And they identified 613 laws, if you were to count them up. There were 248 do this, and there were 365 don't do these things.

Now, to keep from breaking those laws, they created other laws to stay away from the main laws. For example, the law said to rest on the Sabbath, to keep the Sabbath holy. So what logically constitutes the question, well, what does it mean to work? And so they devised whole other books to decide what is work and what isn't work in a way to keep the Sabbath holy. For example, if you were going to tie a rope to a bucket to lower it into a well to draw water, that was considered work. But if you were a woman that was tying a knot on your dress to put on your clothes, that was not considered work, all right? Well, who decides that? Well, that's all people, right? And you can imagine those laws get very onerous and murky and difficult to obey. And that's why Jesus gets so furious with the Pharisees because they condemn him for healing people on the Sabbath because they consider that to be work. But if their donkey fell into a ditch, you were allowed to go rescue it. You see the incongruency of their beliefs here? But suffice to say, these people were very serious about obedience to God. So Nicodemus comes to us and enters the story. John is assuming we might know a little bit of the background, that's why it took a moment to explain some of that.

To explain to us that Nicodemus number one is a very powerful person, the equivalent of a U.S. Senator, he's morally upstanding. He would have been a pillar in the community that people would have identified like you want to be like that guy. He's someone everybody would have admired and looked up to. And Jesus engages him in conversation, verse two. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi," which means teacher. We know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you were doing if God were not with them. And 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 can't enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born? And 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 it sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going, so it is with everyone born of the spirit. I imagine Jesus loves this conversational multiple levels that he's having with Nicodemus here. Now, first notice that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, so this is the original Nick at Night episode here that happens. It was Nicodemus's way of wanting a confidential conversation with Jesus. Not to be seen in public in the daytime, but to come in the midst of the darkness. Maybe likely he didn't want to be identified with Jesus publicly because he's in this ruling council. Here's this crazy rabbi guy that's come in who just in John chapter 2 was flipping over tables and driving out money changers in the temple, so maybe consider a little bit of a troublemaker. And so Nicodemus is watching from a distance, but he's curious, and he's heard some things, and he has some questions for Jesus, some admiration, but he has some questions, and so he didn't want to start rumors about being on Jesus' team,

and maybe even fear of losing his position in the Sanhedrin. And so John, of course, uses this because lots of the gospel of John as well as First and Second and Third John are all about these themes of light and darkness. So it's significant that Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the darkness, but Jesus is in the light to illuminate his darkness. And then Nicodemus calls him rabbi, of course, meaning teacher here, which is acknowledging that Jesus clearly has the favor and blessing of God. And Nicodemus is an admirer of this guy's ministry and what he's doing. He's probably heard some amazing things, but Jesus isn't looking for admirers. He's looking for disciples because you can think highly of Jesus and still not live for him. You can admit he's a great teacher and has some really important things to say, but not believe that he's actually the Lord of the universe. So Jesus has lots of admirers and lots of fans, but as we all know, fans can be fickle. They saw the miracles that Jesus was doing. They're delighted by the show and sometimes the free food that came along with following Jesus. But Jesus confronts this admirer, someone who looks like they have it all together. I mean, a member of the Sanhedrin and confronts him with his need. And Nicodemus has a need to be born again if he wants to see and live in and participate in the kingdom of God. In effect, Jesus is saying to him, "Your religious and moral credentials will not be enough to get you into heaven." He's telling a man that everybody else thought was one of the closest people to God, "You are not enough. You will need a rebirth." And then Jesus confronts the insufficiency of religion in general. And Nicodemus represents the best of human religion. I mean, wants to be faithful. I mean, I believe Nicodemus has an incredible intention to live for and do what God commands. And yet Jesus still says he must be born again. That means that nobody is saved by church attendance. Nobody is saved by biblical literacy as important as that is. Nobody is saved by your moral reputation. Nobody is saved because of your family background. Nobody is saved because of your ministry activity. Nobody is saved because of your external obedience.

Nicodemus doesn't need more external obedience and a fresh coat of paint to make his life look better. He needs a renovation of the heart that only God can provide. He's got to be born again. Now notice that Jesus uses the word must. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must be born again. That means it's a requirement. There is no other option, no other way. And Nicodemus has no idea what Jesus means. Zero. Because Nicodemus is thinking about some sort of physical rebirth while Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms. And we might also be confused by some of Jesus' words here. So let's explore with that critical phase born again even means. I mean first, let me say that in some ways born again as a phrase in America in 2026 has some political overtones to it. Because it gets thrown around a lot in campaign seasons, which is what we're in right now. And it also can have a lot of denominational baggage that has nothing to do with what Jesus is talking about here. So let's set that aside. So Nicodemus thinks that Jesus is talking about the physical realm, but here's Jesus in the spiritual realm. And Jesus says you must be born of water and the spirit. This is a debated phrase. And Bible scholars have wrestled with what does Jesus mean here. I'm going to give you a couple of three possibilities, the three most likely. One interpretation thinks when Jesus says be born of water and the spirit that the water here is the physical birth, which has a lot of fluid associated with it, all that amniotic fluid that comes when a baby is born, you must be born of water. In other words, you enter into the physical realm of the earth, but you also must be born of the spirit. A second way to think about this phrase is some people say, well, this water means baptism, that you must be born of water to be baptized and be born of the spirit. Now, Christian baptism didn't yet exist. Of course, it is the baptism of John. John the Baptist, we looked at in chapter one, which was a baptism of repentance.

And Nicodemus would have been very familiar with the preaching of John the Baptist. So some people say that in this view, submission to God, submitting my life to God, and participating in a repentance is being born of water and then being born of the spirit as a second new birth. A third possibility, though, plays off of one of the Old Testament scriptures that comes out of Ezekiel chapter 36, where Ezekiel writes, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. And 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, and I will put my spirit in you. So here water has to do with cleansing. God cleanses us. God gives us a new heart, and God removes a heart of stone, a heart-heartedness that we'll say at times. And gives us that heart of flesh, and God gives us his spirit. In other words, this is all God's work and not your work. You can't make that happen. If you read Ezekiel 36, who is the one doing the renovation? 100%. It's God. Birth is something that happens. It's not a new birth is not turning over a new leaf and some sort of self-improvement. It's the grace and mercy of God poured out on your life that you could never produce on your own. It's a gift of God. The Spirit of God alone does this work in you. The Spirit opens our eyes, awakens dead places in us and brings us into His kingdom. Now before we're tempted to think that we can make that happen, Jesus interjects and says to Nicodemus, you controlling the Spirit is like trying to control the wind. You won't be able to do that. I mean, you can see the effects of the wind. You can feel the wind on your face, but you can't schedule it and you can't command it. Even with all the amazing technology that we have in our world today with satellites and forecast and computer models, we still cannot predict with certainty the time and effect of the wind. We can't predict tornadoes. We can see a hurricane coming, but at the last minute things change. Likewise, we cannot engineer our conversion. Churches can't program the Spirit. And I want to do a lot of hard work and prepare a good message to bring to you out of the Word of God, but I can't do what the only the Spirit of God can do in your heart. That's 100% the Spirit. We're completely at the mercy of God to give us this new birth. So the logical response is, well, if it's all God and it has nothing to do with me, then is it just luck to be born again? Am I some sort of helpless pawn in God's scheme where it's

like, well, we'll just wait and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky and get born again. I mean, that would actually make me feel hopeless. You're telling me that I have a problem that's deadly serious, and there's nothing I can do about it. Actually, Jesus offers the hope and help we need by using an illustration from 1500 years before Jesus walked on the earth. Still in conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus says in verse 14, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." What in the world is Jesus talking about here? If you're not as familiar with the Old Testament, we'll give you some clues and some help today on that. Jesus is referencing a story from Numbers chapter 21. I realize Numbers is probably one of your favorite books of the Bible, okay? That you have lots of it memorized. And this story takes place when the Israelites have left Egypt. They've been freed and delivered. They crossed through the Red Sea, and they're in now the desert wandering, and they're fully dependent on God. Water comes from God. Food comes from God. Their protection comes from God. And their response, they start complaining, and they get bitter towards God. Now he's just rescued them and delivered them from slavery after 400 years, their ancestors, captivity, crying out to God, "Save us, save us, save us." God saves them, and what do they do? They complain, and they don't even have to work for food or water. It just comes to them. So God, I don't know why he chose this, all right? So I'm just the messenger of the sword here. God chooses to send venomous snakes among them. And the snakes do what snakes do, and they bite people, and many people died. And in the midst of being surrounded by death, the people realize we have sinned against God. And they beg Moses to ask God to save them from the venomous snakes. So what does God do? God tells Moses, You fashion, you make a bronze snake and you wrap it around a pole and you lift that pole up and anyone who's in the camp, no matter how far away they are, if they get bit by a venomous snake, they should look to the bronze serpent on that pole and they will live. Now that seems like a crazy plan of God, does he not? Like while all things did God choose it that way?

Now you see kind of even the precursor to that would come out of the Garden of Eden, right? Here's Adam and Eve, they have everything they need, they're provided by God, they turn their back on God, right? And sin enters the world, they have a conversation, all that comes because of a serpent. So you can see the imagery that's coming out here. And so, in fact, if you've ever seen the logo for the American Medical Association, you know what it has? It's a serpent wrapped around a pole. If you ever look at that and go, what in the world does a snake have to do with American Medical Association? Okay, well, we could come up with some other ideas here with the medical system in our country today, but that's where it comes from. And Jesus does something so egotistical here if he weren't God. He makes this story in Numbers 21, 1500 years earlier about himself. Just as Moses lifted up the instrument of death, a venomous serpent to bring salvation, soon the cross, an instrument of death will be lifted up, but this time it won't be carrying a snake, it'll be carrying the Son of God. And anyone who looks to the cross will live forever. What is Jesus saying to Nicodemus? The Israelites had on them a judgment

that they could not fix. They were under the sentence of death, but God made a way for them to be saved and to be free. The means of that salvation, how did it happen? 100% by God. It was just to look and believe, likewise God has made eternal, salvation possible so that you and I don't have to receive the judgment of God that sin deserves. Jesus is 100% a gift from God, you can't save yourself. However, your participation that God commands is to look to Jesus and believe. That's how you're saved. You don't save yourself, but you look to the one who can save you and you cry out for mercy and God wants and has created that pathway for mercy to happen. And then John summarizes this encounter, the end of conversation that's recorded between Jesus and Nicodemus, then John takes over and gives us the summary of verse you probably know, John 3 16. Why did God do this? 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. And then the part B of this that's also really important. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

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. Some of us have the wrong image of God. Is some mean old man somewhere high in the universe looking down us waiting to catch us doing bad things so he can cast people to him. That's a bad wrong image, John says. The image that John paints for us is a God who has made every way possible for you and I to experience new life. And here in John 3 16 one of the reasons it's one of the most famous verses in all of the Bible is because it is the summary of the gospel or the good news in one verse. Why would God do this? Well, John's pretty clear, his motivation is love. Not because God has to, or because God is reluctant in some way. I'm like, "Okay, you guys have screwed it up. I guess I'll do it this way." That's not it. Before you were born, God had already decided He loved you. It's not a love based on performance. It's not a love based on your beauty or lack of beauty. He doesn't love you to get something from you. In fact, this love cost him everything. Not just love in words,

but love that was demonstrated, love in action. He gave his son as a demonstration of that love. And this love is directed, not just one nation, one people group, one race, one ethnicity. There are people who have it all together. People who are trying to be good for rich people. God loves the whole of the world, all created by Him and for Him, and therefore He loves it. And so today, the question is not how good are you? Like, are you good enough to get into the Kingdom of Heaven? How well are you keeping the rules? Because Nicodemus was probably a pretty good rule keeper. The question is not, have you done enough good deeds in your life to outweigh your bad deeds? Sometimes that's the way that people think of how we're saved. The question is this, have you been born again? Has the Lord brought regeneration in your heart? Have you been made new on the inside, in the inner secret places that nobody else can see? They can see your behavior, but they can't see your heart. And if not, John says, look to the cross, look to Jesus, believe on Him that He is the way and the truth and the life. Believe on Him for salvation. Humble yourself before Him, so that His Spirit can come live inside you and do this work in you. Man, I think so many people, even Christians, live exhausted lives

because we're trying to become spiritually alive by our own power by trying to do spiritually impressive things. We're trying to be good enough to hope we earn God's love. But they're trying to earn what can only be received with open hands because you can't earn it. It's a gift of God. And we're trying to sometimes reform what can only be possible by rebirth. And here's the liberating news of the gospel today for some of us in the room. You are already loved. You're already loved. God has already decided that. And He has written it into His beautiful and amazing plan in the cross. Nicodemus appears two more times in John's gospel, by the way. John chapter seven, when the Pharisees are questioning Jesus' identity and behavior, Nicodemus comes to the defense of Jesus subtly, it's not overtly, but it's like, hey, we ought to give this guy a fair hearing. And while we're never told directly that Nicodemus becomes a follower of Jesus, John gives us a pretty big clue. At the end, when Jesus is crucified on the cross, He's hanging on the cross. The Sabbath day is approaching. And a guy named Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus, could He take the body down from the cross and bury it? And what's often forgotten is that Joseph of Arimathea was not alone. Here's John 19 verse 39. [MUSIC PLAYING] brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds worth, taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it with the spices and strips of linen. The same guy who comes to Jesus in the secrecy of night is now making a public act of devotion to his ultimate rabbi and

one that he most likely looked to as Lord and Savior. Nicodemus is a guy that all of us can probably relate to, a pretty hopeful person in Scripture. He's not instantly bold, he's not a Peter, he's kind of subtle, hanging out in the background. The identity for Jesus to him isn't immediately clear. Like, it's not like, "Oh, of course, I get this." Like, there's a process of ongoing discovery and lots of questions that Nicodemus has. Nicodemus is not one of these who is some sort of, on the road to Damascus, immediately transformed by the Spirit of God in one scene. I would guess that it's unfolding over a period of time as Nicodemus realizes who Jesus is. But he's certainly thoughtful and drawn over time, and then he ends up publicly honoring Jesus. Just a word to some of us in the room this morning. Let me speak to the church people first, because a lot of us could relate to Nicodemus, feel like we're living under law, trying to be good enough, trying to obey, trying to get everything right. And while holiness and obedience is critical in our journey of discipleship, that's not how you are saved. You're saved by grace, through faith, by belief in the One who is given for you on the cross. So this morning, if you have got questions that don't have answers, you can relate to Nicodemus. If things feel spiritually slow to you, you can relate to Nicodemus. If you feel like, "I should be further along in my journey than I am. I've been around church for decades." Nicodemus is your God. If there are places in your life that are hesitant, that's your God. But then a word this morning to some of you, maybe who have never experienced that salvation in Jesus, you've never looked to Him, never looked to the cross. Like, you can admire Jesus. You could think like, "He's a great guy. He's had some really good things. Love your neighbor. I'm behind that." Like, Jesus is not looking for a fan this morning. He's looking to be a Lord of our lives. And the question today is, will you look to the cross and live, be saved, be rescued, be redeemed? You won't get there based on trying to be good enough. You'll get there because of the One who was good enough for us. And may God work and continue to remind us what it means that God loves the world. And may we be the kind of people that want to see heaven full. Do you want to see heaven full this morning? I do. Let's all stay in this morning. Lord, thank you this morning that you have made a way for broken people who don't need just a new coat of paint on our exterior lives, but need a renovation of the heart that you made that possible, Lord. And we pray for a rebirth in the spirit, Lord,

to happen in lives of people around us this morning. God, we can't do that. We can't manufacture that today. We are 100% dependent on a work and a grace of the Holy Spirit in the room today. God, so we pray that you would move among us, move in us, Lord. For those of us who have already said yes to Christ Jesus, Lord, would you continue to fill us with that spirit, to bring ongoing transformation. And Father, for those who maybe have never said yes to Jesus, Lord, let today be the day, buy your Holy Spirit, draw them into the presence of Christ that they may be set free, may be made new, and may be filled with the love that only you can provide. We pray this today in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.