Nicodemus: From Seeking to Serving

♪ Your death is coming in peace ♪ Hey, good morning, Altar Fellowship. It's good to see you guys. Hey, let's all stand up together this morning. I wanted to read something over us before we jump into worship. And it's found in Psalms 46. It says, When kingdoms fall, he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought to the earth. He makes war cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the shields with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in all the earth. Verse 11 says, the Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come on, who needs that this morning? If that's you, just lift your hand. Lift both hands, actually. Father, we just recognize that we need you. The God of Jacob, you are our fortress. Though the nations rage, seems like every day, Lord, we hear something else happening, but we know that you are secure.

You are seated on the throne. Come on, if you know God's seated on the throne, lift your voice this morning. Come on, magnify the Lord. He never changes throughout every age. Father, you have stayed the same. Jesus, you are victorious in all the earth. It says in Ephesians that we've been raised with Christ and are seated with him in heavenly places. So we have a new perspective as sons and daughters this morning. We do not see as the earth sees. We do not see as the nations see. What we see is the King of kings sees. We see the end of the story. We know that you are victorious. As you are, we are. Come on, just lift your voice. All across this place, lift up a song and a shout of victory for the Lord Almighty reigns. Come on, keep going. You reign, you reign over all the earth. Who is like the Lord? Who is like the Lord? Jesus, no one. You are strong in battle. Hey. Come on, let's sing the reign of darkness. Forever.

You're the King. You're the King of my life. You're the King of my life. Let's sing it again. The reign of darkness now is ended in the kingdom of life. The kingdom of life. Forever I'll be your dominion. You're the King of my life. You're the King of my life. Come on, somebody, every voice, you reign. Cause you reign above it all. You reign above it all. Over the universe and over every heart. There is no higher name. Jesus, you reign above it all. On the cross, the work was finished. God, you poured out your life just to give us new life. ♪ Now from the lips, now from the lips of the forbidden ♪ ♪ Here an anthem arise, Jesus you're alive and you reign ♪ ♪ You reign above it all, you reign above it all ♪ ♪ Over the universe and over every heart ♪ ♪ There is no higher name, Jesus you reign above it all ♪ ♪ Let all of heaven and the earth erupt in song ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the everlasting one ♪ ♪ There is no higher name, Jesus you reign above it all ♪ ♪ No one even knows your name, avere fia aeaeaeaeaeaeaeae eaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeae ♪♪ ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪

♪ Now seated alone in glory, thrown on the highest praise ♪ ♪ And you sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ Now seated alone in glory, being thrown ♪ Come on, let's sing it again. ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ Now seated alone in glory, being thrown, being thrown ♪ ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ Now seated alone in glory. Come on, let's sing it again. Prophesy, just the drums and the voices. ♪ You sent the darkness running ♪ Hey! ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ Now seated alone in glory ♪ Come on, let's sing it together one more time. You sent. ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ Now seated alone in glory, being thrown on the highest praise ♪ ♪ You sent the darkness running out of an empty grave ♪ ♪ Now seated alone in glory ♪ ♪ You reign above it all, You reign above it all ♪ ♪ Over the universe and over every heart ♪ ♪ There is no higher name than Jesus, You reign above it all ♪ ♪ Let all of heaven and the earth erupt in song ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah to the everlasting One ♪ ♪ There is no higher name than Jesus, You reign above it all ♪ ♪ Above it all ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ We bless Your name, we bless Your name, we bless Your name ♪

♪ We bless Your name, cause You're mighty to save ♪ ♪ Mmmmmm ♪ So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Let's sing it again. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. Let's sing it again, every voice. Come on my soul, come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on my soul, don't you get shy of me, lift up your song, cause you got a lion inside of those lungs. Get up and praise the Lord. We love you, we love you, we love you Lord.

Oh we bless your name. Amen. Come on, isn't the Lord good this morning? Oh he's so good. It's good to see you guys. Man, I just love this church. It's awesome. Hey, this morning, well we've got two things. Addie Hensche is down here, guys. Come on, welcome her this morning. Back in February, we had a Next Gen takeover, so all the teenagers, and they did everything. They preached and sang, and so they did such a great job. We were like, we gotta just have those kids be a part of this every single week. So Addie's the first one of that whole crew, gonna be singing with us. So we'll have different future. They're already current worship leaders, but different, or future worship leaders, leaders here, next couple weeks. And also, Mariah Coyne is about to have another baby, y'all. And today's her last Sunday for a while. We were joking earlier, you know, some people in ministry, her and her husband lead a ministry, some people take sabbaticals, Mariah just goes on maternity leave every year. She's like, I come back more tired than before. But can we just extend our hands and just, I don't know if Jacob's here this morning, but just bless them. Oh, they're about to walk in the back door. He's about to walk in the back door, this is perfect. We'll wait for him to walk in. Jacob, the entire church is waiting for you. Jacob Coyne, everybody. Come on, right now, Jacob's in the back, Mariah's in the front.

Just surround them. We wanna bless them as they step into having their fifth daughter. Guys, come on. Father, we just thank you for the Coyne family. We thank you for the future powerful women that are gonna be leading in this house, Father, that you are blessing them with. God, we thank you for just their friendship, the gift they are to this house. Lord, we thank you for what they carry, for Gen Z. Father, we pray just a protection and a peace over their home as they welcome this new baby. and as they get to participate in heaven coming to earth with new life and your plan for dominion and the kingdom to come on the earth through this new baby. Father, we bless them. It's such an honor to know them and to just send them into motherhood and parenting again. In your name, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Pastor Zach. Thanks, everybody. Oh, it's so good to love the Lord with you all. I just love to love him with my people. Let's just unify our love with him, for him right now, with each other. We just give a joint, I love you, Jesus. We love you.

We love you. We love your presence. We love your heart. The sacred heart of Jesus, forever burning for us. We love your heart. We love your heart, Jesus. Jesus. ♪ This is the air I breathe ♪ ♪ This is the air I breathe ♪ ♪ Your holy presence living in me ♪ ♪ Your holy presence living in me ♪ ♪ This is my daily bread ♪ ♪ This is my daily bread ♪ ♪ Your merry word spoken to me ♪ ♪ And I, I'm desperate for you ♪ ♪ And I, I'm lost without you ♪ ♪ This is the air I breathe ♪ ♪ This is the air I breathe ♪ ♪ Your holy presence living in me ♪ ♪ Oh, it's everywhere ♪ ♪ This is my daily bread, oh bread of life ♪ ♪ This is my daily bread ♪ ♪ Your merry word spoken to me ♪ ♪ Your merry word spoken to me ♪ ♪ And I, I'm desperate for you, oh ♪ ♪ And I, I'm desperate for you, oh ♪ ♪ And I, I'm lost without you, oh ♪ ♪ And every day and every minute we need you ♪ ♪ And I, I'm desperate for you, oh ♪ ♪ I'm lost without you ♪

♪ Oh let us never forget our need of you ♪ ♪ For you ♪ ♪ How we need the Christ every day ♪ ♪ I'm lost without you ♪ ♪ I'm lost without you ♪ ♪ Lost without you Lord ♪ I'll just freely receive this morning all the grace that's been given in this free race moment right now. Freely receive of what he's giving today. Guidance, comfort, wisdom. All of you seek wisdom from the Lord. Reach out and ask him. He is gracious, he is kind, he is loving. Oh, reach out and touch him. Just the hem of his robe is enough. Just one drop of the blood is enough. Just one drop of the blood is enough. Just one drop of the blood is enough. Just one drop of the blood is enough, it will be worth it to anyone. In Jesus' name we thank you Lord. We thank you Lord that you've blessed us so day and night. Heaven and earth become one. Here in your presence, all things are new. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, we are undone.

Here in your presence, heaven and earth become one. Here in your presence, all things are new. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Let's sing it again, come on church. Here in your presence, we are undone. Here in your presence, heaven and earth become one. Here in your presence, all things are new. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, we are undone. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, all things are new. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. Here in your presence, everything bows before you. ♪ Glorious, matchless in every way, wonderful ♪

♪ Beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way, wonderful ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, He's glorious, and He's matchless ♪ ♪ In every way, wonderful, He's still beautiful ♪ ♪ He's still glorious, and He's still matchless ♪ ♪ In every way, wonderful, come on church ♪ ♪ Give Him the praise He's due, matchless in every way ♪ ♪ Beautiful, glorious, matchless, wonderful, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Matchless in every way, wonderful, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Here in Your presence, we are undone ♪ ♪ Here in Your presence, heaven and earth become one ♪ ♪ Heaven and earth become one, here in Your presence ♪ ♪ Oh, we are made now, here in Your presence, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Every voice, tell Him, wonderful, beautiful, glorious ♪ ♪ Matchless, beautiful, glorious, matchless, wonderful ♪ ♪ Beautiful, glorious, matchless, wonderful, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Matchless, wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless ♪ ♪ In every way, wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless ♪ Come on, don't let the rocks take your place. Don't let a stone take your place. When the earth rises up to praise Him, don't let a stone take your place. Matchless. Oh, we join with the angels, with the history of the church, the billions of souls singing to You, wonderful. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ♪ Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless ♪ ♪ In every way, wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless ♪ ♪ Glorious, matchless, in every way, wonderful, beautiful ♪ ♪ Glorious, matchless, in every way, wonderful, beautiful ♪

♪ Glorious, matchless, in every way ♪ Yes, yes, yes. It's amazing that we can actually have a draw on the presence of God. We can actually have a pull on Him. The Word tells us that if you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. How it's even possible that a perfect, perfect spotless King of glory would draw near to me. I'll never understand and I'll never take it for granted. We draw near to you, we draw near to you. Come on, just draw, draw, draw near to Him, church. Draw near to Him. ♪ Is David's root near to you on the hillsides? When is she? Lord, we draw near to you in our hiddenness, in our obscurity, Lord. We draw near to you in whatever circumstance life finds us in. We draw near to you. We draw near to you. We thank you that you're faithful to draw near to us. Holy Spirit, you're drawing near. You're softening the hardest hearts in the room. You're cleansing us of all unrighteousness. You're faithful and just to do so every time. Every time. Wonderful, beautiful, glorious.

Matchless in every way, wonderful. Beautiful, glorious. Matchless in every way. ♪ ♪ Hungry I come to you for I know you satisfy. I am empty but I know your love does not run dry. So I wait for you. So I wait for you. I'm falling on my knees offering all of you. Jesus, your love is hard as living coal. ♪ I see broken, broken. I run to you for your arms holding wide. I am weary but I know your touch restores my life. So I wait for you. So I wait for you. I'm falling on my knees offering all of you. Jesus, your love is hard as living coal. I'm falling on my knees offering all of you. ♪ Jesus, Your love is hard as living water ♪ ♪ Living water, living water, living water ♪ ♪ Hard as, hard as living water ♪

♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your love is hard as living water ♪ ♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your love is hard as living water ♪ ♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your love is hard as living water ♪ ♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Your love is hard as living water ♪ ♪ Living, living, living water ♪ ♪ I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me ♪ ♪ I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe ♪ ♪ Of the one who gave it all ♪ ♪ I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to You surrendered all I have ♪ Come on, let's sing it a little bit louder this morning. I'll stand. ♪ I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe ♪ ♪ Of the one who gave it all ♪ ♪ I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to You surrendered all I have is Yours ♪ ♪ All I have is Yours ♪ ♪ I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe ♪ ♪ Of the one who gave it all ♪ ♪ I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to You surrendered all I have is Yours ♪ ♪ All I have is Yours ♪ ♪ I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe ♪ ♪ Of the one who gave it all ♪

♪ I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to You surrendered all I have is Yours ♪ Come on, just throw out a new song too. ocationc ♪ Oh, oh, oh. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh. ♪ ♪ And I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. ♪ ♪ And all alone. ♪ ♪ And I'll stand. ♪ ♪ Some more. ♪ ♪ Please surrender. ♪ ♪ All I have is yours. ♪ Yeah, thank you. Yeah, Austin, just play for a few more minutes. You know, at the end of last year, Pastor Matt and I were just talking about what this next year kind of looks like for the worship department. He said, you know, I really want us to sort of revisit our history, our foundation of our faith. He's like, I want us to sing hymns, I want us to sing the songs where we go back to our earliest memories of when we first, you know, encountered the Lord's presence, maybe the day we gave our hearts to the Lord and stepped into salvation, or maybe when we saw healing or breakthrough happen. So, if you've noticed, this year, we've sort of been doing all the songs

of Mr. Rich's youth, you know? And I was thinking this morning about that song, Hungry, that Mariah sang. I can remember, I was in sixth grade, I was 12 years old, and I went to a winter camp in Alaska, and it was like 45 below zero, and we're crammed in this tiny little church. And I remember, I was a young musician, and I was like so just hungry, I guess, to be used by the Lord, and to just grow in creativity. I remember, I could take you to that church in Delta Junction, Alaska, where I first heard that song, Hungry, and I was like, you know, this is it. Like this, Lord, if this is what it means to be used by you, to just look at you and sing to you forever, I'm in. Then I remember going to college and hearing the song I Stand, and at Southeastern University. And just all these songs we've been singing, we have like a playlist where we'll dump songs on, the worship leaders will just throw these songs on, and we're like, hey, I remember this, I remember, man, I first heard the Lord's voice during this song. And I was thinking about collectively, I think we could all spend probably years

talking about the first time and the last time and this other time and this song that we heard or this message that just marked our life. And I was thinking about, you know, when we reach into the past with honor, we get to move into the future with promise. And what is that promise? That he is faithful from beginning to end, past, present, future, he never changes. He's never changed his mind. He's never fallen off the throne. He's never forgotten about you. And I'm here to say, he's not gonna start now. And so I hope you guys are encouraged as we are being so blessed and just revisiting our history with the Lord as millennial worship leaders. I hope collectively as a church that we are also blessed to be like, man, Lord, you have been so faithful to me. And we honor the faithfulness of the past and we carry that faithfulness as a promise into the future that what Yahweh has done, he is going to continue to do because in the kingdom, we are just getting started. So come on, just lift your hands across this place. Holy Spirit, we say, come and do what you love to do best. And that's to reveal the beauty and the glory of King Jesus. Father, I thank you for your faithfulness that has carried us to this moment. And I know that you have not forsaken us and you're not gonna start now. And the same faithfulness that's brought us here

is the same faithfulness to lead us on. Whatever mountain we face, whatever valley we find ourselves in, whatever storm rages around us, we know that our eyes are fixed on you and that you never, ever change. You're not going to start now. We bless you. We honor you. We thank you, Lord, for your love, your faithfulness throughout all our days. We honor you this morning in your name, amen. Thank you, guys, for worshiping with us this morning. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. So good. Today is kind of a truly

morning again. It's also, what is it? Daylight Savings Spring Forward Day. So it genuinely is a miraculous demonstration of devotion for you to be here today. And I'm just so thankful that anybody showed up. I thought it was just going to be me and Pastor Zapp preaching back and forth to each other today. But I'm so glad that you guys are here. I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do in this place this morning. We talked today in men's prayer. And if you don't know, fellas in the room, we have men's prayer here, in case you haven't heard. Every Sunday morning at 7 a.m., all of the men of the house gathered together to pray for the services that are going to happen after our prayer meeting. We pray for our families, we pray for our marriages, we pray for our city, we pray for our community. And I have said through the years, and I'll die on this hill, that if you are not coming consistently or as often as you're able to to men's prayer then there's one of two things either you're not a member of the church or you're not a man because all the men who are members of this church come to men's prayer as often as they're able so I want to encourage you if you're newer to the church if you are prone to excuses I want to encourage you to come to men's prayer it will be good for your soul it'll be good for this house and what I was sharing with the men today is is that part of what it means to be a man is that we don't shy

away from responsibility the children run away from responsibility children live for comfort for personal comfort and personal satisfaction but what it means to be a man and I would even broaden this to say what it means to be a burden bearer a pillar in the family of God is that instead of saying what's the least I can do what's the what's the the greatest amount of compromise I can engage in while still being viewed as a member of the church or still being able to sneak into the back door of heaven somehow when the day comes like I want to know how little can I do how little can I contribute what a leader does what a pillar does what a mature believer does is to say God what more can I do what needs to be done that I have the capacity to accomplish if there's if there's a need that can be met Lord here I am send me if there's a bill that can be paid Lord here I am send me if there's a you know a miracle that can be accomplished Lord here I am send me if somebody needs a word of encouragement or or guidance or affirmation or inspiration Lord here I am send me I don't want to be a person that comes into a community that blesses my life and then asks what's the least I can give back I want to say God I want to be the reason that this community blesses other people and so that's the reason that we call the men together to intercede for our families and for our community every single Sunday morning and it's also why every single Sunday morning we give you the invitation to give because I had a friend of mine who's a businessman he and I were chatting I don't know six months ago or so and he said it is astonishing to me he said the church is the only institution where people will come and receive goods and services and give nothing in return and and I said yeah you're right he said I just can't I don't understand it I don't understand why anyone would would do that and I said well you can take it up with the Lord you know but he said I know guys Pastor Matty that do what you do as you know coaches or event directors and they're making millions of dollars a year because people are required to give to receive in their services and I said but we can't put a price tag on the gospel the the doors of the church are are open and and we're grateful for the

opportunity to give away the beautiful thing that God is is doing here but we are only able to give away the beautiful thing God is doing here because of the conviction and the commitment that you have to give and so this morning as we do every week we're going to give you the opportunity to give to what is happening here and understand you're not just giving to an institution you're not just giving to a you know a nonprofit organization you're giving to people you're giving to certainly to me as the pastor of the church but you're giving I think most importantly you're giving to each other you're giving to the future needs of this house spiritual financial emotional you're giving to the future needs of this house and so as you give this morning I'd ask you to give in faith that God knows what will be needed six months from now and that as you give you are helping to preemptively meet that need amen come on so Lord we thank you for your kindness to us God to include us and to involve us in your work God we thank you for the privilege that it is to partner with you and we just ask God that this offering would be pleasing and honoring to you Lord we pray that not just through our singing not just through our preaching and praying but but through our giving Lord that your kingdom would be expanded and advanced and that your name would be exalted God we bless you today in our giving and we ask that uh that our hearts would be right as we do so and we pray in Jesus name amen all right when whenever you are ready we'll be receiving it here up at the front there's a few ways that you can give there you go if you need to use your phone you can scan the QR code there as well thank you so much it's uh it's great to see you guys I I may be a little biased but we definitely are the best-looking church in town there's no question no question pastor David's doing most of the heavy lifting there mr. Nicole agrees It's, it's, my family sends their greetings to you. They are at some sporting event. I can't remember which one, but playing sports somewhere, doing something.

I am really excited. I have this, have had for the last couple weeks, this sense that, that God wants to take us from seeking to serving Jesus. And I'll tell you last week, you guys got to receive from my good friend, my brother in the Lord, Pastor Parker Thomason. Was that a blessing to you or you encouraged? Man, we love him. He really is a gift to my family and a gift to this house. He's been coming up here pretty, pretty regularly since we were, since the church was in my living room. And so we love him very dearly. But, but I think if I'm honest guys, that I've been feeling, and it's interesting, you know, as I talk with the elders of the church, some of the staff and leaders, there's, there's this sense, and I don't wanna, I don't wanna alarm anybody, but I, I, I, for the sake of, of maybe clarity or candor, I wanna sort of say what's coming across to me is that there's almost a sense of like frustration, like a holy frustration among some of the leaders in the church at how casually we approach the presence of God and how casually we treat the assembling of the brethren and how casually we treat the scriptures in the way that we live our lives,

that we treat God like we're doing him a favor if we choose to obey him every now and then. And we treat the word of God like it's suggestions to consider instead of a standard to submit to. And so my hope is to maybe provoke you today to say, I don't just wanna be a spectator anymore. You know, I, I, I hang out at the church and, you know, maybe I even volunteer. Maybe I gave in an offering once or twice too, you know. I have the Bible app and it, every morning it sends me a Bible verse and that's pretty nice. And, and yet I live my life overwhelmingly illiterate to the scriptures. And I live my life overwhelmingly indifferent to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to the convicting of the Holy Spirit and to the presence of God to which I've been invited. And I don't want that for any of us. In fact, the reality is that, I think a reality we all must wrestle with, the reality is that on that day, many church goers will be stunned to find out that going to church on Sundays was never the thing that qualified you for the kingdom. On that day, many church goers will find that they knew all about Jesus, but they never knew Jesus. And so I, I wanna draw a line in the sand today to say, to say this,

there's a difference between seeking Christ and serving Christ. I think many in the American church seek Christ. And I think we seek him not because we are desperate to know him, but I think we seek him maybe because we're curious. You know, over the last few months, yeah, really for years now, this has been happening, but I've noticed, you know, in particular, there's a few politicians who are postulating ideas about Jesus and what he believes and what he taught and what he valued. And so, you know, and it just so happens to be that Jesus agrees with everything they agree. What a coincidence, you know? And so sometimes we seek Jesus, not because we wanna know what Jesus says, but because we wanna find a way to make Jesus agree with our position. Sometimes we seek Jesus because we're curious and that's what all the fuss is about. Sometimes we seek Jesus because our friends are seeking Jesus and we want to be included, but the truth is there's a difference between seeking him and serving him. And if we can't cross the line from seekers to servants, we will. We'll find ourselves standing before him one day and hearing, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you. A. W. Tozer once said,

what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. It's true. It defines, it shapes, it undergirds every other aspect of our lives. In our modern culture, whether we realize it or not, all of us determine the way we interact with the world by the way we relate to Jesus Christ. Even, even unbelievers, they interact with the world the way they interact with the world because they reject the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Like all of us define and determine the way we interact with the world by the way we relate to Jesus Christ, who we believe him to be will always shape how we live in relation to ourselves, our world, and of course to the God that made us and put us into the world. But I'm concerned that there are many in the American church, even this American church who do not view or value Christ in a way that can actually bring salvation. We see him as a character or a concept. Maybe we even view him as a king, but we do not serve him as our king. And that must change today. I care about your soul. I care about your relationship with God and I care about it. Not just because I think you are worth caring for, but I care about it because all of us will live in the warmth of the fire of your devotion to Christ. Like every one of us will feel either the blessing or the burden of the fire of your devotion to Christ. If your devotion to Christ is shallow and passive and indifferent and compromised, we will have to pick up the slack. It makes everyone else's job harder in the church.

But if your devotion to Christ is white hot, if your devotion to Christ is passionate and focused and determined and mature, you will bless everyone around you. We will all be able to feel the warmth of your passion for Christ. But I want you to see that there is a process to this, that not everybody comes to Christ convinced of his worth and beauty. And if you came to this place because you, your friends go to this church, like that's okay. You know, if you came to the church because you were driving by one day and you shrugged your shoulders and said, well, I don't have anything better to do. You know, you come to the church because, uh, uh, you know, whatever. It's like free childcare for a couple hours. Um, I'm glad that you're here and I want you to hear this. It's okay. It's like, it's okay that you've come into the presence of God today. You're sitting now under the teaching of the word of God today for a reason other than your passionate pursuit of Christ. It it's okay. I want you to know that not everybody comes to Christ because they, uh, they, they, uh, are convinced of his worth or his beauty. But if you came to Christ for any other reason, today is the day that your motivations, your reasons, your convictions must change. And I want to show you in the story, in a story found in the scriptures of a man called Nicodemus, how our posture with regard to Christ or our posture in relation to Christ can change over time as we begin to see him more clearly. Is that all right? Okay. So let's, uh, let's pray Lord. We need you and we love your word. God. It's by your word that we, that we have life. We live by every word that proceeds out of your mouth. And so God, we submit today to your word. And we say, let it come and refine us that it cut away anything in us that is not worthy of

your kingdom. God, let your word examine us and illuminate. the parts of our hearts that maybe have been shrouded in darkness for too long. God, we give you our attention and our time and our honor in Jesus' name. Okay, in John chapter three, Jesus meets this character. John three, we'll just read verses one through seven, and then we'll go back through. And pull some things out. It says in verse one, John three, it says, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. Okay, I want us to get a little familiar with this figure, Nicodemus. The Bible tells us a bit about him, and we can draw from what John writes here in John chapter three. We can draw a little bit out about who Nicodemus would have been. It says that he was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. Now, we know the Pharisees as the bad guys in the gospel narratives, right? And yet here's Nicodemus, right? One of the bad guys. And he's a part of this group who were sort of famously critical and oppositional to the ministry of Jesus. And as a part of this group, he was, John further elaborates, a ruler of the Jews. There's a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. So here's what we know about Nicodemus. It's that he was extremely intelligent. Nicodemus would have had memorized the entire first five books of the Bible, the Torah. He would have been able to recite

the entire first five books of the Bible. Not only was he extremely intelligent, he also would have been extremely wealthy. He was among the most financially prosperous class in all of Israel at the time. So he would have been a man that was financially very well taken care of. But in addition to being intelligent and wealthy, Nicodemus also would have been extremely influential. He's a man whose voice shaped culture. And so the opinions Nicodemus held, the ideas Nicodemus offered, his suggestions, they carried weight with people that was uncommon for his time. And so Jesus would later say in his ministry that it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. And I think it's men like Nicodemus Jesus was probably talking about. Guys who have a lot to lose. This has been my experience as well. It's that when people are desperate and they're at rock bottom and their whole world has fallen apart, they're very open to the gospel. But when they're prospering, when things are going well for them, when their relationship is great and their bank account looks better than ever

and they just got a new car and a new house, then suddenly God's showing up and saying, I would like you to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. That's a much more costly invitation for a wealthy man. That's a much higher expectation, a much higher standard for someone who has a lot to lose. And there were very few people in the world that had as much to lose as Nicodemus. And so Nicodemus does what I think is probably entirely to be expected for a man in his position. And it says Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews in verse two, it says, this man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. I've got that phrase by night circled in my Bible because it communicates something to us. It communicates to us that Nicodemus wanted to visit Jesus, but he wanted to make sure no one knew he was visiting Jesus. And this is. Stuck out to me for years and it stuck out to me because I think, how often is that the way that I approach Christ too? How often do I, I want to be close to him, but I just don't want anybody to know. Like I want to have a relationship with Jesus where we talk and we exchange ideas, but I don't know that I want to do it in public. I don't know I want all my coworkers to see. I don't know that. I want everybody on my Facebook page to know that I'm like one of those crazy

Jesus people, you know, like I want to be close to Jesus. I want to be close enough to talk with him. I want to have a private relationship with him, but I don't know that I want to like force my beliefs down other people's throats. Maybe you can relate to this. I don't know that I want to insist that everybody look at my walk with God or my pursuit of Jesus. So Nicodemus, he's seeking Christ. I mean, he, he goes out of his way. He inconveniences himself to come and find Jesus to have this conversation, but he's, he's really intentional. It's really strategic about the way that he does it. And he's strategic in this way because he's trying to hide his pursuit of Christ. And I, I need you to hear this. Jesus says to his followers that if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my father in heaven. Okay. We don't get the luxury of hiding our pursuit of Christ. It's either we belong to him or we don't. We don't, we do not get to demand that Jesus relate to us on our terms. We come to him as King or we do not come to him at all. We come to him as King or we rebel against his Lordship. Those are our only two options. And so Nicodemus in this moment is saying, well, listen, Jesus, I'm only really comfortable coming to you like this. And if I'm honest, most of the church goers I know are just like Nicodemus. They're comfortable being with Jesus as long as it doesn't cost them anything. As long as it doesn't demand anything, as long as it doesn't humiliate or, or, or inconvenience or burden them, then they're okay with Jesus. As long as, uh, nobody sees me as a crazy person,

as long as he doesn't call me to change something dramatic about my life, as long as he doesn't expose my sin or my compromise, well, then I'm happy with him, but I'll only take Jesus as long as he allows me to come to him on my own terms. So Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night and he says to him, Rabbi, that means teacher. He's acknowledging Jesus as a teacher and genuinely from Nicodemus, that's a high compliment. Nicodemus easily could have taken the position that other Pharisees took. And that is that Jesus is just a ridiculous demonized deceiver, that he's lying, that he's manipulating people, that he's not worthy to be spoken to or about with any respect, but he, he doesn't do that. He comes to Jesus and calls him teacher. Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. I love that Nicodemus uses the word we, because you don't hear Pharisees admitting openly in the rest of the book of John that Jesus was sent by God. But Nicodemus comes and confesses on behalf of all of them. We all know they won't tell you, they won't admit it. But Jesus, I came to tell you tonight, we all know that God is with you. There's something different about you. We've all heard teaching. We've all seen leadership, but Jesus, there's something different about you and we all know it. That's, that's the thing. You know, one of the things I've been studying in school recently has, has been what we call presuppositional apologetics or, or covenantal apologetics. And, and, um, it's this, it's this idea. I think I shared it a couple of weeks ago. It's this idea that when you're doing, when you're offering an apologetic, when you're trying to vindicate or defend the Christian worldview, uh, one of the,

one of the best approaches to that is to help somebody see that their framework for the world is actually built on a foundation of scripture. Whether they recognize it or not, even their ability to reason is a gift that was given to them by God. Their mind that works, their heart that cares and has values. You know, we, we sort of all agree that what has happened through the Epstein situation is evil and vile. Like as a, as a culture, we all agree that it's evil and vile. However, what Epstein and his friends were doing, that's exactly what the road to salvation is. were doing in Jesus' day. The only reason the world sees that as despicable is because of the Christian worldview that was propagated by the first century church. So what an amazing gift that we have given to the world, a sense of moral outrage and disgust at, you know, pedophilia and cannibalism. Like, you're welcome, right? And so I think this is the thing that we sort of see here with Nicodemus is that he's saying like, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher who's come from God. We may not admit it. Like, this is the reality. I don't know that I've ever met someone that can't believe there is a God. I've met many people who refuse to acknowledge that they know there's a God because it would be an inconvenient acknowledgement. It's a fake position of, you know, it's a fake moral position to say, well, I just can't believe in God.

There's not enough evidence. It's like existence is evidence. Creation is evidence. It is a really insane position to take to look at the order of creation and to think that it happened on accident. The most logical conclusion is that there is a creator and yet millions of people deny that there is a creator and they'll tell you that it's because they can't believe. And I would say, no, I don't think that's the case. I think it's because you just don't want to. And why is this important? Because all of us are able to choose what we believe. That means we can choose deception. Like, it means that we can choose the bad theologies that best fit our own predispositions. Like, if I wanted to find, you know, some theology that would allow people to engage in sexual sin outside of God's design, that would be easy to find. If I wanted to find some theology that would allow me to avoid ever talking about wrath or judgment, I could find that. It's not hard to find half-truths that fit our desires or our dispositions. But what we see in Nicodemus is the character needed to at least admit what he knows to be true. Maybe, Jesus, I don't really understand you. Maybe I don't even like what you're doing. It kind of freaks me out.

I'm pretty scared of you, so I'm coming at night because I don't want to be known as one of those crazy Christ followers, but I can't deny what I can plainly see in front of me, and that is that you are a teacher come from God. For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them. But notice, and we'll come back to this, Nicodemus calls him rabbi and teacher, not master or savior. You hear Bartimaeus crying out, son of David, have mercy on me. That's a different sort of thing. You hear Peter in Matthew chapter 16 saying, you are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. And Nicodemus doesn't acknowledge any of that. He doesn't understand or have a grid for any of that. He's just not ready for that in John chapter three. He calls him rabbi and teacher, but he does not call him master and savior. But he says, we know that you're a teacher come from God. But Jesus answered in verse three and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And it's interesting for me because we've made this idea of being born again so doctrinal that it's almost inaccessible. We talk about regeneration. That's the systematic theology word. We talk about regeneration and people argue

and they have for a long time now about whether you're regenerated prior to your justification or whether you're justified first and then you're regenerated. Are you regenerated and therefore you pray to receive Christ or do you pray to receive Christ and then you're regenerated because you prayed that prayer. Frankly, I don't really wanna get in any of those fights. I'm not really so concerned with the mechanics of my salvation as much as I am with working it out with fear and trembling. I'm grateful that I've been given the gift of salvation and I wanna continue to use that gift for the glory of God. And so this, but this idea, I wanna make this really simple for us. Consider who Jesus is speaking to here. He's talking to one of the most wealthy, intelligent, influential men in his society and he says to Nicodemus, you must be born again if you're ever gonna see the kingdom. Now, Nicodemus would have known the promises that God made to Abraham through Daniel, the promises that he made to David about there being. an eternal kingdom. Nicodemus, as much as anyone else, maybe more than most other people would have been eagerly awaiting the establishment of a kingdom. And Jesus comes and he doesn't say we're going to have to like get some guys together and attack the Romans if you want to see the kingdom. He says, Nicodemus, you need to be born again. And here I think are maybe two things that it means to be born again. That sometimes in,

uh, in our, our Christian ease, we can fail to consider. The first is that to be born again means to leave behind the thing you once were to be born again, means to leave behind the thing you once were. For Nicodemus, this would have been especially difficult for Nicodemus. It would have mean to be born again, means all the things you have built to this point have to count for nothing. All of your accomplishments, forget them, all of your achievements, all the things you've earned, all the things you've built, the reputation you have, the influence you hold, all of those things have to end. Imagine, I mean, spending your whole life learning languages, learning, uh, you know, books, memorizing entire books of the Bible. And imagine spending the, you know, all of your life building for yourself, uh, you know, financially building for your family, some, uh, you know, a good, comfortable, safe, prosperous life only to have somebody say, you're going to have to start all over be born again, take this life that you've built for yourself and delete that to be born again means first to leave behind the thing you once were. And I would say in addition to that, that it, that it means to, to allow yourself to become teachable, malleable and needy. You know, I have said this before and everybody always laughs, but it's, this is the truth. I, one of the things that shocked me when we started having kids is that babies don't know anything. It like, I understand. We know, yeah, babies don't know anything, but I mean, they know even less than I thought they would know. Like I, you know, our kids were like months old before they realized that their hands were attached to their body. You know,

like they don't know where their own mouth is. It's like they can't find, you know, you try to give them a bottle and they're like, where is it? You know, they don't know how to fall asleep. Imagine not knowing how to fall asleep. It's like, you just go to sleep. I don't know. Like babies don't know anything at all. And so for Jesus to say to Nicodemus, you're going to have to be born again. It's for him to say, Nicodemus, I want you to take your sense of personal competence and self-sufficiency. And I want you to lay that down on the altar. You're going to have to become needy again. You're going to have to become teachable again. You are going to have to acknowledge Nicodemus that you know nothing. Maybe you're impressive to the world, but in the kingdom, Nicodemus, you have nothing to offer and you are going to have to become needy and teachable again. And so the first thing that it means to be born again is, is to leave behind the thing you once were. And then the second thing that it means to be born again is that you would become a different type of thing. You're not just leaving behind the thing you once were. You're becoming a different type of thing. You're being born again. That is to say, you're being born into a nature that is different than the nature you were born into before that you were born in the flesh. Your parents who were flesh and blood people, they gave birth to you. You are made of flesh and blood. You have carried around your flesh with its impulses, with its weaknesses, with its dispositions since the moment of your conception. And Jesus is saying that is not adequate. If you're going to be born again,

you're going to have to be born not of the flesh, but of the spirit. So not only are you going to have to leave behind the thing you once were, but you're going to have to become a different type of thing. And this different type of thing, that is a person born of the spirit. You are going to become the type of thing that loves God's word and that esteems God's will above your own desires. This is good news to those who want to be free from sin and it's bad news to those who don't. Here's what I mean. If Christ has invited us to be born again, that means among Other things that God can not only forgive me for the sin I've committed, God can actually reform me into the type of creature that can resist sin in the future. That I can be faced with temptation and I can turn away from it. I can be faced with the opportunity to resist or rebel against God's standard, and yet I can yield to God, and I can say along with my king, Father, not my will, but yours be done. Like this is what it means to be born again. It's not just that I would put off my old self, my old competencies and accomplishments. It's that I would put on this new nature that loves and honors and cherishes God's holy word. And that because of this, I should be able to expect that my appetites would change. This is the thing that is, I think, unique about the Christian worldview, is that every other religion says to you,

here's a list of things God wants you to do, do those things. And then you just, you try hard. You know, you lay out your mat and you pray five times a day, and you fast for these parts of the year, and you, you know, and you let your hair grow out on the sides and you wear a funny hat, like, you know, and you don't eat pork. You just like the list of things that God tells you you need to do. You do those things so God will be happy with you. But here's the thing that's different, is that in Christianity, there is certainly a moral code, but the God who made you and gave you that moral code actually comes himself. And with his own presence, he empowers you to rise to that standard. And so you're not just being sanctified by, you know, determination or self-will, you're being sanctified by the work of God within you. God has reached himself into your life and he's transforming you from the inside out. That's the beauty of this, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's that it invites us to walk in holiness, not as a result of personal conviction of determination, but as a result of the presence and power of God at work within us. So Jesus tells Nicodemus, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God. And so, there's more to this. And maybe, I don't know, maybe next week or something, we'll unpack the rest of this section because Jesus then unleashes one of the most beautiful explanations. He begins to teach on the kingdom and the relationship between the spirit and the flesh and the relationship between Christ as our savior, the son of man, given as a propitiation for our sin and the mercy of God available to those who believe in Christ and the wrath of God given to those who reject Christ. And I would love to get into that. I don't know that I have time or instruction today to unpack all of it. I would love to do that maybe next week, Lord willing. But today, I wanna focus on the story of Nicodemus. So Jesus, he begins to teach Nicodemus in John chapter three and he teaches him about being born of the spirit. And he teaches him about what that looks like. He teaches him, this is where we get John 3, 16 from, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. We have these amazing life verses in John chapter three. These are all from the message that Jesus preaches to Nicodemus. But here's what happens at the end of that exchange

is that Jesus finishes talking and that's the end of it. You don't hear how Nicodemus responded. It doesn't tell you and then Nicodemus fell to the ground weeping and confessed Christ as his Lord. It just, Jesus finishes his teaching and then it just moves on to the story about John the Baptist in John 3, 22. And so, it feels like it leaves Nicodemus' story unfinished but I wanna show you actually that he pops up two more times in the book of John. John wants to make sure that you're able to follow the story of Nicodemus. Now, I wanna go a little bit quick here. In John chapter seven, some of the religious leaders of the time, they are debating who Jesus is. They're wondering who this man is. Remember, Nicodemus showed up and called him what? Rabbi, teacher, right? Not master or savior, not king or Lord but he saw him as a teacher, an instructor. And so, in John chapter seven, starting in verse 40, it says, therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, truly, this is the plan. prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there, there was a division among the people because of him.

Now some of them wanted to take him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees. You remember, this is Nicodemus' boys. The officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, why have you not brought him? And the officers answered, no man ever spoke like this man. Then the Pharisees answered them, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd does not know the, uh, this, this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. Uh, it's interesting to me, and this is maybe just a side note for your, uh, uh, personal study. The, the Pharisees hold themselves up as the standard. We don't believe in him. So you shouldn't either. Uh, they, they say, no man has ever spoken like this man. These guys are saying, Hey, there's a, there's a witness in our spirit that we're seeing something from Jesus we've never seen before. Something inside of me is leaping when I hear him speak. And then the Pharisees say, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? Meaning if none of the most popular among you believe in him, then you shouldn't either. That is bad advice. We should believe the truth when we hear it, no matter what powerful or influential people say, have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him, but the crowd that does not know the law is a curse. Nicodemus, this is verse 50, who he, who came to Jesus by night, being one of them, said to them, does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he's doing? So Nicodemus says, guys, I understand that you have your opinions or your thoughts,

maybe your fears or your, your frustrations or concerns or offenses with Jesus. But the law that we claim to uphold and adhere to demands that we consider someone to be innocent unless there are multiple witnesses that can testify to their breaking of the law. Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he's doing? In verse 52, they answered and said to him, are you also from Galilee? Search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. They're they're hostile toward Nicodemus. Now he, he begins sort of to sheepishly advocate for Jesus. He's maybe not saying, Hey guys, I'm convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the son of the living God. He's just saying, Hey, let's just, let's just walk through due process instead of condemning him because we're scared of him. Let's, let's maybe take the time to consider what he's actually saying instead of what we're hearing through the grapevine from other people that he's saying they're doing. Let's, let's judge with righteous judgment as we look at Jesus. Nicodemus here, he advocates for Christ against the destructive efforts of his contemporaries. He begins to stand. Can I tell you, not everybody is going to become a roaring lion the first time they stand up for Christ. I have got to tell you, even still, I've shared the gospel with tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people in my life. And still when I'm in a, an airplane or a gas station or someplace and I realized somebody needs to hear the gospel, I still get nervous. My palms still sweat and my voice is a little bit shaky and it's still a scary

step to take. It's worth, it's worth it. It really is. It always is. But I've got to tell you, you know, not everybody is going to be as bold as a lion the first time they stand for Christ. But Nicodemus, he does something, you know, he says, well, let's just wait to condemn him. And, and let's, uh, let's judge with righteous judgment here. And, uh, and then I want to go to, uh, to John chapter 19. And this is the last passage in the scriptures that teaches us about Nicodemus. This is after Christ was arrested, flogged, crucified. This is after Jesus died on the cross. After he hung there and declared it is finished as the sun went black and the earth shook. And it says, uh, after this, we'll start in verse 38 of John chapter 19. It says, after this, Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And then I love this, verse 39, here's our old buddy, Nicodemus again. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, I love that phrase. I love that John says the first time Nicodemus came, he came at night. But this time, he came right in front of everybody. Right in the evening, before the Passover, Nicodemus, who once came to Jesus hiding, was done hiding. Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds.

In verse 40, it says, then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. I want you to go back to verse 39, because I need to point this out to you. I did a little research on this, that Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, he also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds. It's interesting to me that John goes out of his way to make sure that he writes that phrase, about 100 pounds. That he explains how much, that seems like a lot, doesn't it, 100 pounds of oil and perfume. It turns out that is a lot, that's, if we were to convert that into today's finances, or today's money, that would cost more than $150,000. Nicodemus brought more than $150,000 of oil and spices to come and embalm, and clean and prepare the body of Jesus for burial. This is the same Nicodemus that was too scared to even be seen talking to Jesus in public. And I think John included this, because it would communicate to those who read it that Jesus wasn't prepared for burial like a carpenter. Jesus was prepared for burial like a king. This is how they would, this is how they would manage or maintain a royal burial, was with an extravagant demonstration of care for the body. And so Nicodemus, who once saw Jesus as just a teacher, now began to honor Jesus as a king.

And I guess I want you to consider this morning the radical transformation Nicodemus had undergone over the course of Christ's three-year ministry. He who once approached Jesus in secret, calling him only rabbi and teacher, now served him openly and honored him as a king. Think about this, Nicodemus with his own hands, soft from being a king, from being an academic, an institutional leader, not a man that did his own hard work, Nicodemus with his own soft hands, pulled the nails out of the hands and feet of our Savior. He himself lifted the crown of thorns off his head. He wiped the dry blood from the lifeless body of the spotless lamb of God. Nicodemus, with hundreds of thousands of dollars, with a wealth of oils, got down on his knees and he cleaned the wounds, he wiped the blood. Nicodemus would have known where every scar was, where every cut was located. He would have run his fingers over every wound and every gash. Nicodemus saw and knew the suffering of Christ more intimately than anyone else in history. And I can't help but imagine that as he cared for the broken, mangled body of Christ, that he thought back to that first night they met. Maybe Nicodemus thought, I was embarrassed to be seen with him. And now this is what he's done for me.

I didn't want anybody to know that we had a conversation. I could see that there's something different about him. I wish I would have stood up for him more. I wish that I wouldn't have been so afraid. I wish that I could have been as courageous. As he was, I can't help but imagine that as he cared for the broken body of the Messiah, maybe he thought back to that first night they met when Jesus had shared with him the dream of the kingdom to come. And now I can't say whether Nicodemus, while he prepared the body for burial, knew the significance of what had happened. But we know that something had shifted in Nicodemus' heart. He was no longer a spectator on the sidelines of Christ's ministry. He was no longer seeking Jesus. In this moment in John 19, Nicodemus was serving Jesus. And if we could take a page out of Nicodemus' book, I think it might just change everything if we could take the same step. How many of us, you know, we approach Jesus at night? It costs us nothing. It requires nothing. And maybe if everybody around us is bashing and accusing him, maybe we won't stand up and fiercely join ourselves to him. Maybe we'll just say, I don't know, you know, just take it easy on the guy. But guys, I think if we could learn something from Nicodemus, it's that if we look at Jesus, if we see him with a humble and honest heart, if we can see him with eyes that are clear, then we'll see that there has never been anyone more worth serving,

that there has never been anyone more worth loving. There has never been anyone more worth sacrificing for. And so if it costs me everything, I can only imagine what it was like for Nicodemus walking back into the city after preparing the body of Jesus for burial and seeing the guys that condemned him to death as he's covered in his blood. And now I've got to believe that as Nicodemus laid him in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, that he was changed forever, that there's no way you come back from that and go back to your normal life. And I can't help but look at the story of Nicodemus as a condemnation of the unbelief of the rest of the Pharisees. Nicodemus had a lot to lose, too. But he looked into the eyes of Jesus and realized that if I lose everything I've built, but I get to be with him, that is infinitely worth it and a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make. And so this morning, family, I want to challenge you to ask yourself, am I seeking Jesus or am I serving Jesus? Could you tell my devotion to Jesus by the things I sacrifice? Is my service of Christ, is it costly to me or does it stop at the boundaries of my comfort zone? Because it is costly service that joins us with Christ. And there are no shortcuts into the kingdom. So, Lord, God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the story of Nicodemus. Thank you, God, that we can see ourselves so clearly in his story, and we ask God that ours would would end like his did with our faithful, costly, public service to you being the final word of our time on earth. God, we confess to you that we have so often approached you with conditions and caveats.

And Lord, we bow before you this morning as our King. We say, God, we don't just want to seek you, we want to serve you. We invite the convicting voice of your Holy Spirit to come and show us the areas of our life that are holding us at a distance from you. And we ask you, God, to move every barrier, to break down every wall, and to carry us closer to you than we've ever thought possible. Be with us this week. Bless the work of our hands and use our lives to glorify your name. And we ask this in the holy name of your son, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Hey, family, God bless you. Thank you so much. We'll see you Thursday night at the next class, and then, of course, next Sunday back here. Thanks, y'all. So thank you. God bless y'all. Thank you so much. God bless. God bless you. Love you. Love you. Woo!

Woo! I love you. Love you, Jesus. God bless you. God bless you, Jesus. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you! Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance.

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!