All right, well, we're there in John, chapter number three.
And we are starting a brand new series this morning
called Encounters with Christ.
I've been excited about this series all year.
Actually, the end of last year, as I
was working on my preaching calendar,
I made the decision that we were going
to have a summer series on the Encounters of Christ.
And I've really been encouraged about it and thinking about it
and just excited about us spending the summer getting
to know Christ maybe a little better, watching him interact
with people, watching him deal with people.
And as we begin a series, of course,
and in this series what we're doing
is we're not focusing on the parables of Christ.
We're not focusing on the miracles of Christ.
Those are famous series that people do about Christ.
And we will do those at some point.
But in this series, we're just focusing
on the encounters with Christ, those intimate conversations
he had with individuals.
And of course, you cannot begin a series about the Encounters
with Christ without beginning with the most famous encounter
that the Lord Jesus Christ had with an individual,
and that is with Nicodemus and his meeting with Nicodemus.
And if you notice, we're going to go through and learn
several things from this passage this morning.
But I want you to notice just who Nicodemus was
and how he was.
This was a man that was impressed
by the ministry of Christ.
There in John 3, verse 1, the Bible
says there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews.
The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him,
notice how Nicodemus speaks to Jesus.
He says, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God,
for no man can do these miracles.
So notice he's witnessed or heard
of the miracles of Christ.
He says, no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him.
So I want you to notice that Nicodemus was impressed
and interested in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But I also want you to notice that he was embarrassed
to associate himself with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you say, well, how do you know that?
Or where do we get that from?
And notice there in verse 2 again,
it says the same, talking about Nicodemus,
came to Jesus by night.
Now, Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews.
We're going to focus on that later on in the sermon.
But I want you to notice that as a Pharisee and as a ruler,
he chose to want to come to Jesus,
want to have a conversation with Jesus.
But notice he comes under the cover of darkness.
He comes to him at night, and it seems
like just kind of embarrassed to maybe have people know
that he was interested, that he was intrigued with,
that he was impressed with, and that he
was wanting to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Nicodemus comes and gives this flattery.
We know that thou art the teacher come from God,
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him.
I want you to notice that Jesus just
gets right to the heart of the matter in verse number 3.
Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily,
I say unto thee.
These are some of the most famous verses in the Bible.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Often that phrase, born again, and I
don't know that it's used too much anymore,
but for years and years, you would hear of the people who
were born again and people who were saved
referred to people that had been born again.
And that comes from this conversation
that Jesus had with Nicodemus, where he says to him,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Now, there are three lessons, or there are several lessons,
but three areas I'd like us to focus on this morning as we
look at this conversation and kind of dissect
this conversation between Christ and Nicodemus.
And the first is this.
For those of you taking notes, and I'd
encourage you to take notes.
On the back of your course of the week,
there is a place for you to write some sermon notes.
The first thing we can learn from the story of Nicodemus
is that we learn these lessons, and Christ gives us
lessons on salvation.
Now, salvation is something that is basic, something
that I hope everyone here understands.
And if you don't understand it, if you're not saved,
then please don't leave here this morning
without getting saved.
We would love to get you saved and explain that to you.
But here, Jesus gives some just fundamental, basic truths
in regards to salvation.
You know, it's good for all of us, from time to time,
to be refreshed and reminded about just
the basic fundamental truths of Christianity.
And notice, Jesus explains to Nicodemus
that the second birth, he says, someone needs to be born again.
The second birth is required for salvation.
In fact, the second birth is salvation.
Notice again, verse 3.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
notice, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto 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?
We'll come back to that in a second.
Verse 5, Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
And the kingdom of God is referring to heaven.
That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.
The second birth is required for salvation.
And it's interesting, and I'm thankful,
that Jesus used this terminology and explained
that salvation was a new birth.
It was a second birth.
You had to be born again into the family of God.
You say, why?
Because there's many truths that we can pull out
from that concept.
Now, you're there in John 3.
Keep your place there.
That's obviously our text for this morning.
But go back with me to John chapter 1.
John chapter 1, and let me just make a couple of statements
in regards to this idea of the second birth.
Number one, salvation, like birth,
is not by personal effort.
Salvation, like birth, is not brought forth
by personal effort.
When a woman, a lady, gives birth to a child,
that child does not do anything in regards to that labor.
That child is literally there along for the ride.
Now, there is a lot of labor that goes into birth.
In fact, it's called labor for a reason.
There's a lot of pain that goes into it.
There's a lot of energy that goes into it.
There's a lot of effort that goes into it.
But none of it is done by the child.
In fact, all of it is done by the mother who
is birthing the child.
And salvation is the same way.
John chapter 1 and verse 12, notice what the Bible says.
But as many as received him, the context is Jesus,
those who have received him, to them
gave you power to become the sons of God.
How do you become a son of God?
You are born into the family of God.
You're born again, even to them that believe on his name.
What does it mean to receive Jesus?
It means you believe on him.
You accept him as your savior.
Verse 13, notice, which were born.
He says, as many as received him, to them gave you power
to become the sons of God, even to them
which believe on his name.
Notice what he says, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
He says, look, if you got born again,
you did not get born again by your personal effort.
You did not get born again because you worked hard for it,
because you lived a good enough life,
because you repented of your sins,
because you turned over a new leaf,
because you started over, because you started
coming to church, because you started praying,
because you started reading your Bible,
because you started trying to get your life right.
None of those things will bring salvation,
because salvation, the Bible says, is not of works.
You say, why is it not of works?
Because it's a birth, and in a birth,
it is the parents that do all the work.
It is the mother that does all the work.
It's not the baby that does the work.
The baby's just along for the ride,
and you know what, in salvation, your role is to believe.
Your role is to receive.
Your role is to call upon faith
and believe on Christ to save you.
But once you believe, he does all the work.
You say, oh, salvation requires no work.
It requires none of your work,
but Jesus did a lot of work on the cross to save you.
So we see that salvation like birth
is not a personal effort.
But secondly, notice that salvation like birth
happens in a moment.
Birth takes place in a moment.
Now, the process of birth may take a long time.
The process of laboring may take a long time.
The process, there are ladies
who will have short labor sometimes
and maybe just be in labor for a couple of hours
and a baby is born, and sometimes ladies
will be in labor for a couple of days
and several days before the baby is born,
and that process may take time,
but birth itself takes a moment.
It happens in a moment.
My wife and I got a really tough lesson on this
back when our daughter Ruth was born.
Our fifth daughter, Ruth, has a birthday
that we were doing our best to avoid.
She was born on October 31st,
and for whatever it's worth,
we just didn't want a child born on Halloween, October 31st,
and she was born on October 31st at 1210 a.m.,
10 minutes into October 31st,
our daughter, in her first act of rebellion,
decided to be born, and when I say we, she,
I was just kinda, yeah.
My wife was doing everything in her power
to get that baby out.
We wanted her to be born on the 30th.
We wanted her to be born on November 1st.
We did not want her to be born on October 31st,
and here's the thing.
My wife had been in labor all day.
You know, she'd been in labor since the 30th,
but you know what?
She was born on the 31st, 10 minutes into her first,
and you know when the baby was born?
We talked to the midwife.
We pled with the midwife.
We said, I've got a George Washington here.
You know, the one, not the 100.
I've got, and he says she was born 10 minutes earlier,
you know, and it's like, no, you know what?
She was born, that's what she was born.
She was born on the 31st.
That's why she's so scary, you know?
And here's the thing.
It just happens in a moment.
That's when she was born, October 31st,
10 minutes into it, 12, 10 a.m.,
and salvation's the same way.
And look, and here's the one I'm trying to make.
Salvation's not a process.
You're not being saved.
You're either saved or you're not.
You're like, oh, well, when were you born?
Well, I'm being born.
No, you're born in a moment.
There was a moment when you came into this world as a baby.
Now, the labor may have taken time.
The process may have taken time.
Nine months went into preparing for that moment,
but the birth happened in a moment,
and salvation's the same way.
And listen to me.
I'm not saying you need to know the date or the time,
but there should be a clear moment in your life
that you can look back to and say,
that is the moment when I believed.
That is the moment when I called.
That is the moment when I got saved.
You say, why?
Because salvation, like birth, happens in a moment.
And again, don't, you know,
you don't need to have a time and a date and those things.
I don't remember the day or the time I got saved.
I remember when I got saved.
I remember being a kid and having my dad
explain the gospel to me,
and I prayed and called Jesus to save me.
I don't remember the time of day.
And look, physical birth, same way.
Many people don't know the exact day or time
that they were born, but we know this, they were born.
And it happens in a moment.
Salvation, like birth, is not by personal effort.
Salvation, like birth, happens in a moment.
Number three, salvation, like birth.
Keep your place there in John.
Go to Romans, Romans chapter eight.
You've got John, Acts, Romans, Romans chapter eight.
Romans chapter eight.
Salvation, like birth, gives you a new family.
Look, when you got born again, you didn't just get born again.
You got born again into the family of God.
Romans chapter eight and verse 14, notice,
and we could go to a lot of passages for this.
We'll look at this one.
Romans chapter eight and verse 14 says this,
for as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear,
but ye have received the spirit of adoption.
Notice, whereby we cry Abba, Father.
The Bible says that you and I have the ability and the right
to call upon God the Father, not just as God and not just
as creator, but as this intimate term.
We can call him Abba, Father.
We can call him Father.
The reason that you can approach God and say our Father
is because of the fact, and it's only if you've been born again,
if you've been given the spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God.
See, salvation, like birth, gives you a new family.
Salvation, like birth, gives you a new father.
You were born into the family of God.
I go to the book of Hebrews just real quickly,
and I want to share something with you.
Hebrews chapter number 12.
And if you begin there at the end of the Bible,
and you start at the book of Revelation.
If you go backwards, you have Jude,
third, second, and first John, second, and first Peter,
and then you've got the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews chapter number 12.
And let me just say this.
We're looking at this term, being born again,
and we're talking about what it means and how it's like
and done to salvation.
Salvation, like birth, is not by personal effort.
And salvation, like birth, happens in a moment.
Salvation, like birth, gives you a new family.
And let me just say this.
You know what?
Your physical family may have failed you.
Your father may have failed you.
Your family may have forsaken you.
Your husband, your wife, they may have failed you.
Your children, they may have failed you.
But you know what?
When you got saved, you got born again into a new family,
and you've got a father that will not fail.
He is faithful.
He is there.
He will love you.
When you got saved, you got born into a new family.
But let me say this.
Salvation, like the new birth, cannot be lost.
Here's the thing.
You say, well, I was born into a really terrible family.
You know, I had a deadbeat dad or whatever.
And if that's the case for you, I'm sorry about that.
Embrace your Heavenly Father.
But here's the thing about birth.
You can't undo it.
It can't be taken away.
Once you're born, you're born into that family.
And nothing will ever change that.
Now, you could have a good relationship with your parents.
You could have a bad relationship with your parents.
You could never know your parents.
But nothing will change the fact that you were physically
born to that woman by that man.
Physical birth cannot be changed.
And let me say this.
Spiritual birth can't be changed.
See, the concept of being born again
teaches us eternal security.
Why?
Because your salvation cannot be given away.
Why?
Because when you got saved, you got born into a family.
And that can't be reversed.
Today, people will teach, well, if you don't live a good life,
well, if you don't follow the commandments, well,
if you walk away from God, then you'll lose your salvation.
Look, I can walk away from my father,
but he'll never stop being my father.
I walk away from God the Father, he'll take away my salvation.
No, he won't.
You got born into the family of God.
Now, people don't understand this.
And let me just explain this.
Along with that concept of eternal security,
God became my father.
He will never stop being my father.
You say, well, now you're teaching people
they could never lose their salvation.
So now you're giving people a license to sin.
Now, wait a minute.
I'm telling people they have a father, a Heavenly Father.
And here's what you need to understand about your Heavenly
Father, that he will correct you and chastise you
when you do wrong.
Are there in Hebrews chapter 12?
Look at verse number seven.
Actually, look at verse number five,
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse five.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children.
Look, if you're a child of God, this is for you.
Oh, well, you guys are teaching people
that once they get saved, they can do whatever they want.
And they'll never lose their salvation.
Yeah, you know what?
That's exactly what we're teaching people,
is that once you're saved, you can do whatever you want.
And God will never stop being your father.
But you're just telling people that they
can do whatever they want.
Well, and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children.
My son, despite not thou the chastened Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.
For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
See, we believe that once you're saved, you're born again,
God is your father, that nothing will ever change that.
But you know what?
If you live in a way displeasing to your father,
whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Look at verse seven.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.
For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Look, God is a good Heavenly Father.
And like any good father, he disciplines his children.
He says, look, if you endure chastening, if you say,
ma'am, before I was saved, I used to be able to do this,
and get into this, and get into that,
and I just went along the way, and nothing ever
happened to me, that's because you were an orphan spiritually.
See, now that I got saved, man, I can't get away with anything.
That's because you have a Heavenly Father.
But if ye be without chastisement.
Notice what he says, look at verse seven.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.
For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement.
Say, look, if you can just live your life any way you want,
and there's never any consequences,
God never comes down and gives you a spanking.
But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, notice what he says,
then are ye bastards and not sons.
People get offended at that word, bastard.
That's a biblical word, we just read it.
You know, every word of God is pure.
But here, he says, then are ye bastards and not sons.
Here's what he's saying, look, I can do whatever I want,
nothing ever happens to me, then you might not be saved.
Because if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.
But the Bible says, if ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons.
Why?
Because whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourges every son whom he receiveth.
So please understand this, the concept of being born again
teaches us that salvation is eternal.
It can never be lost.
It can never be redone, undone.
You can never give it back.
It's a done deal.
But it also teaches us this, that you can't just
live life however you want without having
your Heavenly Father lovingly chasten and correct you.
He's never going to throw you out of the family.
He's never, look, I don't, I tell my kids to clean their room
and they don't, I don't just throw them,
you're out of the family, get out of here.
I spank them, I discipline them, I correct them,
and we love them, and that's why we do it.
So salvation like birth is not my personal effort.
Salvation like birth happens in a moment.
Salvation like birth gives you a new family.
Now keep your finger there in Hebrews.
We're going to come right back to that part of the Bible.
Actually, you know what, go to 1 Peter.
You're there in Hebrews.
Go to 1 Peter, just right next to that you've
got 1 Peter chapter 2.
Let me say this.
Salvation like birth is just the beginning.
Today you have people who have this idea like, oh, I'm saved.
I'm good to go now.
I'm done.
And you know what, if all you ever do is get saved,
then praise the Lord for it.
But salvation like birth is just the beginning.
Look, when you have a child, when you have a child,
it's funny watching new parents, you know,
and they get this idea.
God bless them, you know, they don't know any better.
But they get this idea like, it's all about the birth,
it's all about the birth, it's all about the birth.
Those of us on the other side, we're
like, man, enjoy the pregnancy.
The work starts after the birth.
Birth is just the beginning.
That's just, you know, now you give birth to this child,
now you've got to feed the child.
Now you've got to care for the child.
Now you have to nurture the child.
Now you have to make sure the child grows.
Are you there in 1 Peter 2?
Look at verse 2.
As newborn babes, why does he say that?
Because every Christian begins as a newborn babe
because salvation is a birth.
As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word
that ye may grow thereby.
God wants you to grow spiritually.
Why?
Because salvation is just the beginning.
Birth is just the beginning.
When a child is born, they've literally just begun life.
It's just the beginning.
There is a whole other process of growing and learning
and understanding.
And you know the Christian life is the same way.
As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word
that ye may grow thereby.
You're there in 1 Peter 2.
Go to 2 Peter chapter 3.
2 Peter chapter 3.
Look at verse number 18.
2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18, notice what the Bible says.
But grow in grace.
God desires for you to grow.
But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
Him be glory both now and forever.
Amen.
Please understand this.
Salvation like birth is just the beginning.
God wants you to grow.
You're a newborn babe.
Great.
Desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby.
Keep your finger there in 1 Peter.
We're going to come right back to it.
Go back to John.
Go to John chapter 3.
We've been talking about these lessons of salvation
from the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
And the first thing we see is that Jesus tells Nicodemus,
hey, ye must be born again.
And he used that term born again.
And he used that term.
You say, why?
Because salvation like birth is not by personal effort.
You don't get yourself saved.
You didn't give birth to yourself.
It was not by your effort.
Salvation like birth happens in a moment.
Salvation like birth gives you a new life.
Salvation like birth cannot be lost or returned.
Salvation like birth is just the beginning.
But notice there's something else that Jesus explains
about this new birth.
He says that the second birth is required for salvation.
But let me just say this also.
The second birth is done through the Spirit.
It is a spiritual birth.
Notice, are you there in verse 5?
John chapter 3, verse 5.
Jesus answered, verily I say unto thee, except the man be.
I want you to notice he gives two examples.
He says, or two phases, I should say.
There's two examples in the next verse.
But he says, except the man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
He says, look, a man has to be born of water and of the Spirit
in order to enter the kingdom of God.
And you say, well, what does that mean?
And today, there are many that will take John chapter 3
and verse 5, and they'll try to teach baptismal regeneration.
They'll try to teach that someone has to be baptized
in order to be saved.
Now listen, as soon as you teach anybody
that they have to do anything, that they
have to perform some task or action in order to be saved,
you are preaching a false gospel.
You are preaching a work of salvation.
The Bible says, not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but by his mercy he saved us.
So they'll say, well, here it says,
except the man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Now, there's a lot of ways to kill this.
The easiest way is to just study the Bible in its context.
Never arrest the verse from its context.
If there's ever a question as to what the Bible means,
just look at the context.
He gives you two phases.
He says, except the man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
You say, well, what does that mean?
What does that being born of the water mean?
Well, look at verse 6.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
So notice, he explains to us what he means.
The water birth is a physical birth,
and the spirit birth is a spiritual birth.
He says, look, someone has to be born physically, yes,
and then they have to be born spiritually in order
to enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born, he says, except the man
be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
And then he explains that that which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Now, people say, well, what does being born of the water
have to do with a physical birth?
Anybody who has that question has either never had a child
or ever been in a birth.
Let me just explain this to you.
During pregnancy, the baby is surrounded
and cushioned by a fluid-filled, membranous sac
called the amniotic sac.
Typically, at the beginning of or during labor,
your membrane or a lady's membrane
will rupture, also known as your water breaking.
Oftentimes, a lady will say, my water broke.
What does that mean?
The baby's coming, right?
So Jesus said, look, you have to be born
of the water and of the Spirit.
You'll say, oh, that's baptism.
OK, well, wait a minute.
If that's baptism, then how did Jesus
tell the thief on the cross, today
thou shalt be with me in paradise?
If that guy never got off the cross to get baptized,
if that's baptism, then what do you do with all the verses
that say, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved?
If that's baptism, what do you do with this verse
when he says you've got to be born of the water, born
of the Spirit?
And in the next verse, he says, that which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Here's what he's saying.
The second birth is done through the Spirit.
It is a spiritual birth.
It is a quickening of the Spirit.
But let me say this also, the second birth
is not only required for salvation,
and the second birth is not only done spiritually,
but the second birth is heard, not seen.
It's interesting that Jesus says this.
Look at what he says, verse 7.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be born again.
And he just got done telling him,
you've got to be born of the Spirit.
You've got to be born of the Spirit.
It's through the Spirit.
Then he goes and he explains the spiritual birth.
Notice what he says about it, verse 8, the wind.
Now, all throughout the Bible, there
are many different emblems or symbols for the Holy Spirit.
One is oil, one is fire, but one is wind.
You'll often find that the wind is associated
with the Holy Spirit.
We just saw this in our Ezekiel series.
And when we were in chapter 37, when, remember,
he prophesied to the wind, and the wind
resurrected the different bones and brought them back
from the dead.
If you remember Acts chapter 2, the famous Day of Pentecost,
when the Holy Spirit came upon them,
they heard a great and mighty rushing wind.
The word wind is always associated
with the Holy Spirit.
And here, Jesus does the same thing.
Notice what he says, verse 8.
The wind, which is a picture of the Holy Spirit,
bloweth where it listeth.
The word listed there means where it wants to.
He says, the wind bloweth where it wants to.
He says, notice what he says.
He says, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence, the word whence means from where,
it cometh, or whither, the word whither means to where,
it goeth.
He says, look, the wind blows where it listeth.
The wind bloweth wherever it wants.
And you can hear it.
You can hear the rushing of the wind.
You can hear the wind blowing through the leaves.
But you can't see it.
You can't tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth.
Notice what he says.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit.
He said, if you're going to be born of the Spirit,
it's something you're going to hear but not see.
It's something you're going to hear but not perceive
with your eyes.
You say, what are you talking about?
Go to John chapter 5.
Look at verse 24.
Remember, the wind is the Spirit, right?
John 5, 24.
John 5, 24, verily, verily, I say unto you.
Notice what he says.
He that heareth my word.
And believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life.
What does that mean?
They've been born again.
They've been given a new life.
But notice, how does it begin?
It begins by hearing the word.
He that heareth my word.
You say, what does that have to do with the Spirit?
Doesn't Ephesians 6 tell us that the word of God,
he says the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
you have to hear the Spirit through the word.
And then Jesus said, he that heareth my word
and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life.
Did you keep your place in 1 Peter?
Go back to 1 Peter chapter 1.
Look at verse 23.
1 Peter 1, 23.
This term, born again, is only used two times in the Bible.
One time by Jesus, another time in 1 Peter chapter 1.
Look at verse 23.
Notice what the Bible says.
1 Peter 1, 23, being born again.
Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.
You have to be born by the incorruptible seed.
You say, what does that mean?
By the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
See, salvation happens this way.
You hear the word of God, and then you
are born again by the word of God,
being born again not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever.
Go to Romans chapter number 10.
Romans chapter 10.
You're there in John, you've got Acts, Romans.
Romans chapter 10.
Look at verse number 17.
Romans chapter 10 and verse 17.
Romans 10, 17 says this, so then faith cometh.
Notice how consistent the Bible is.
So then faith cometh by what?
By hearing.
By hearing what?
And hearing by the word of God.
Look, you need the word of God to get saved, period.
Say, Pastor, I was thinking of bringing the wordless book
to give the gospel out, soul winning.
Well, here's the problem with the wordless book.
You need the word.
You need the word of God.
And by the way, you need the uncorrupted,
the incorruptible word.
You need the King James Bible.
I think I can get somebody saved with the NIV.
Well, look, you know what?
If I have to choose between believing you and believing
the Bible, I'm going to say it with the Bible.
Bible says being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible.
Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.
By the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
If that doesn't make sense to you,
I can explain it to you later.
I've got sermons I've preached on that.
But let me just say this.
The second birth is heard, not seen.
You know what people want?
They want to see salvation.
How do I know somebody got saved?
Well, look, this is what the Bible says.
Let the redeemer of the Lord say so.
The Bible says that the word of faith is in your mouth.
If you've got faith, the Bible says
that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth's speaking.
Pastor Mendez, how do you know if somebody's saved?
Here's how I know if somebody's saved.
I don't know.
I let their testimony tell me because salvation is heard.
That's why we go out so early and ask people,
do you know for sure if you died today
and you're on your way to heaven?
You say, why do you ask that question?
Here's why we ask that question.
Because the answer to that question
will tell us what's in their heart.
No, I don't know.
Well, then you're not saved.
Well, OK, does somebody have to know?
Well, look, you kind of have to be.
You know you got born physically.
Have you ever been born?
I'm not sure.
You're a 33-year-old man.
Yeah, I'm working on it.
No, look, it happens in a moment.
And look, you're either born or you weren't.
And people say, well, what are you
trusting to get you to heaven?
Baptism.
You're not saved.
I repent in my sins.
You're not saved.
I was in Vietnam.
Look, thank you, but that doesn't save you.
I had this experience, and I saw that.
That's not salvation.
You ask somebody, hey, what gives you confidence
you're on your way to heaven?
Jesus died on the cross for my sins.
I called upon him for salvation.
You know what that person's saying.
You say, how do you know that?
Because I heard it.
But they're still living a wicked life.
I mean, they're still smoking, and they're drinking.
Yeah, but salvation is heard, not seen.
I need evidence.
Faith is the evidence.
The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
So he says, the wind bloweth.
Go back to John chapter 3.
The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and now here is the sound thereof.
But canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Look, salvation is not an experience.
And I'm not minimizing or downplaying your experience.
I'm just telling you, salvation is
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
The second birth is heard, not seen.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So when we dissect this conversation,
when we dissect this conversation,
we learn that there's a lot of lessons about salvation here
in this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
But let me say this, number two.
Not only do we learn lessons on salvation,
but we learn lessons on the spiritually discerned.
Are you there in John 3?
Look at verse 9.
Notice the theme of Nicodemus through this conversation
is that of confusion.
Nicodemus 3, Nicodemus, good night.
John chapter 3, verse 9.
Notice what the Bible says.
Nicodemus answered and said unto him,
because Jesus got done telling him,
marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.
He said, you've got to be born of the Spirit.
He explained all these things to him.
You've got to be, except you be born again,
you cannot see the kingdom of God.
So Nicodemus answered and said unto him,
how can these things be?
He says, how can this be?
How can this happen?
Look at what he says in verse 4.
Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man
be born when he is old?
Because Jesus just told him, you've got to be born again.
And he says, how can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb
and be born?
He's thinking like, I've got to get born again physically?
And that's, by the way, that's why Jesus said,
that which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit.
I'm not talking about a physical birth.
This is a spiritual birth.
But see, what Nicodemus shows us here
is this idea that unsaved people do not
understand spiritual things.
The unsaved who do not have the Spirit of God
cannot understand spiritual things.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
You're there in John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians,
1 Corinthians chapter 2.
And by the way, Nicodemus was a very religious man.
He was a Pharisee.
And yet he had no clue in regards to what the Bible
taught or spiritual things.
If you don't believe this, go soul-winding with us.
You got soul-winding, and we meet very religious people
who have no idea what the Bible says.
And they can't understand it.
They're Nicodemuses.
You say, why?
Because look, 1 Corinthians 2.14, but the natural man.
What does that mean?
That means the unregenerate man, the man
that is only physical birth, not spiritual birth.
But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them because they
are spiritually discerned.
The unsaved, unregenerate man cannot, cannot understand
the things of God.
Go back to John chapter 3.
And notice, Jesus kind of rebukes Nicodemus in verse 10.
He says, Jesus answered and sent it to him.
Because remember, Nicodemus is a Pharisee
and a ruler of the people.
He says, art thou a master of Israel,
and knowest not these things?
Jesus said, how do you not know this?
And people often will say, well, in the Old Testament,
it never talked about a second birth or a new birth
or being born again.
But that's not true.
I mean, we just learned about this in the book of Ezekiel.
It comes up several times in Ezekiel.
It comes up in Jeremiah.
It comes up in different places throughout the Old Testament.
You don't have to turn there.
I'll just read this for you.
Ezekiel 36 and verse 26 says this.
A new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you.
And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,
and I will give you a heart of flesh,
and I will put my spirit within you
and cause you to walk in my statutes.
And you shall keep my judgments and do them,
and you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.
And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
So this concept of a new birth is found in the Old Testament.
And Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand that.
And he says, art thou a master of Israel,
and knowest not these things?
He said, how do you not know this?
But Jesus is kind of highlighting the fact
that this guy was spiritually discerned.
He did not understand.
So you say, well, what can we take away?
Here's what we need to take away.
Unsaved people need someone to explain
to them spiritual things.
John 3, verse 11, verily, verily, I say unto thee,
we speak.
And there's a lot of different thoughts
as to who Jesus is referring to there when
he speaks in the plural we.
I tend to think he's speaking about himself
and God the Father, since that's a common theme we
find in the book of John.
He says, we speak that we do know and testify
that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not,
how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
Here's what he's saying.
Jesus said, I'm trying to help you understand this,
and I'm using earthly themes to help you get this.
Go to Acts chapter 8.
You're there in John, just one book over Acts chapter 8.
Here's what we learned from Jesus,
is that it's OK for us to use illustrations and even
earthly concepts to try to help people
understand spiritual things.
Jesus would do this often.
That's what all the parables are.
The parables are Jesus using earthly just things,
normal things of the earth, to help people
understand spiritual concepts.
We see him doing it with Nicodemus.
He's using birth, which is something
that we all understand, and he's using
that to illustrate salvation.
And he makes it clear to him, I'm
not talking about a physical birth,
I'm talking about a spiritual birth,
but we see that there are things there that we can learn.
But here's what I want you to get.
Here's what we learned from Nicodemus,
is that unsaved people, you cannot hand John 3.16
to an unsaved person and expect for them to get saved.
I don't care how many football games you go to.
I don't care how big you write John 3.16 on your belly
and take your shirt off and show it to all.
People think, I'm going to show my naked torso to the world
at this football game, saying John 3.16.
And what's going to happen?
Revival's going to break out?
If I can just get people, these people,
they'll stand up there on the corners just
with a sign that says John 3.16.
Unsaved people cannot understand the Bible.
Acts chapter 8, verse 30, and Philip ran hither to him
and heard him read the prophet Isaias and said,
understand is thou what thou readest.
Here we have an unsaved man reading the Bible.
Philip, who's saved, walks up to him and says,
do you understand what you're reading?
Understand is thou what thou readest.
And he said, how can I?
Except some man should guide me.
It's not Philip that he would come up and sit with him
and listen to me.
He'd say, why do you guys go out so early?
Why do you go knock on doors?
Why do you go out with the King James Bible
and try to reach people with the gospel?
Because unsaved people need someone
to explain the gospel to them.
They can't understand the Bible.
Look, they can't understand anything spiritual.
You know how many people, and this
has happened so many times in my life,
it's happened so many times in my wife's life,
will be around a brand new believer or someone
who's kind of new to the faith.
The first time they listen to the song Amazing Grace,
they're like, whoa, that song's about salvation.
And we're like, yeah, we know.
And you know, it's funny, because you just go out there.
Go out there and just find some just unsaved person
and say, hey, what is the song Amazing Grace?
You ever heard the song Amazing Grace?
Most people say, yeah, I'm familiar with it.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind,
but now I see.
What's that song about?
I don't know, is it like a patriotic song?
Literally, that's what people think.
Then they get saved.
They come to church.
They sing, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that is.
Oh, it's about salvation.
That's happened to some of you.
Some of you just realize that right now.
You say, what?
Because unsaved people can't understand spiritual things.
How can I accept some man should guide me?
And Jesus here was spending time with this unsaved man,
trying to help him understand, trying to help him comprehend.
Here's a third lesson.
We learned a lesson on salvation.
What was it?
That salvation is like birth.
It happens in a moment.
It can't be undone.
It gives you a new father and a new identity.
We learned that lesson on the spiritually discerned,
that unsaved people cannot understand.
They can't understand.
They just don't get it.
They need someone to explain to them.
But let me just give you thirdly this morning.
The story of Nicodemus gives us a lesson on soul winning,
a couple lessons on soul winning.
Here's the first lesson.
Everyone needs the gospel.
Go back to John chapter 3.
Look at verse 1.
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews.
I want you to notice that Nicodemus was a man of position
and influence.
He was a Pharisee, a religious position,
and a ruler of the Jews, a political position.
This was a very important man.
This was a man with influence.
This was a man with status.
But I want you to notice that Jesus
understood that this man's overwhelming need was
that of salvation.
Look at verse 2 again.
The same came to Jesus by night and said,
Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God,
for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.
I want you to notice that Jesus was not impressed
with his status.
He was not impressed with his position.
He was not impressed with his clothes.
Look, Jesus understood that the overwhelming need of every man
is salvation.
Matthew chapter 22, if you go there.
Matthew 22.
Let me say something to you soul-winners.
People often complain, oh, I have
to go to this nice neighborhood.
You know, our soul-winning is in our rotation.
We go to nice neighborhoods, not nice neighborhoods,
nice neighborhoods, not nice neighborhoods.
Literally, that's what we do.
Every time I come soul-winning, we're in a nice neighborhood.
That's because you only show up once every six weeks.
You always show up on the wrong week.
We literally go from nice neighborhood
to not nice neighborhood.
Nice neighborhood, not nice neighborhood.
But why do we have to go preach the gospel
to these rich people?
You know what?
Because the overwhelming need of all mankind is salvation.
And people get this idea.
They get this, I don't want to walk up.
That's a nice house.
They got a Mercedes in the driveway.
What do I do?
You walk up to them, and you preach the gospel to them
like anybody else.
Matthew 22 and verse 16, the Bible says this.
And they sent out unto him their disciples.
Matthew 22, 16, with the Herodians, saying,
master, we know, notice what they said about Jesus.
Master, we know that thou art true,
and teach us the way of God and truth.
Neither carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not
the person of men.
You know, Jesus was not impressed
with people's position, with their status,
with their ability, with their house, with their clothing.
He didn't care.
Nicodemus comes out, and he thinks, I'm a Pharisee.
I'm a ruler.
I can go meet with Jesus at night.
I can get my own private meeting with Jesus.
He sits down.
He gives Jesus a compliment.
He says, we know you're a teacher for a man.
You know, he gives him the, you know, here's the thing.
This is what Nicodemus was probably thinking.
This is my opinion.
But he's giving Jesus a compliment.
He's probably expecting a compliment back.
Well, we know that you're a Pharisee,
and I appreciate you taking time, and all that.
And you know what Jesus says?
Forget all that.
You need to get born again.
Because the overwhelming need of man, the overwhelming need
of man is salvation, no matter how rich they are,
no matter how well, you know, positioned they are,
and how many connections they have.
Several years ago, we were out soloing, and my wife,
we were out in one of these nice neighborhoods in North Natomas.
Actually, I think it was South Natomas,
but it was one of the nice neighborhoods in South Natomas.
And she walks up, and she's going soloing with somebody.
And she walks up to this guy.
This guy's sitting in his front yard, and he's just on a chair,
and he's listening to Spanish rap.
Now, rap in general is annoying and stupid,
but when you do it in Spanish, it's really annoying and stupid.
And I speak Spanish.
And this guy's listening to Spanish rap.
She walks up to him, and she says, hey,
I'm coming from a ready Baptist church,
wanted to give you your family invitation, blah, blah, blah.
Do you know if it should be that teary-hearted way to heaven?
No, I'm not sure.
And anyway, through the course of the conversation,
they're talking.
She's giving the guy the gospel.
I should have asked her the details.
I'm probably going to tell the story wrong.
But at some point in the conversation,
they start talking about, oh, do you work somewhere?
And he's like, oh, I play ball.
You play ball?
What does that mean?
I play for the Sacramento Kings.
And she's like, oh, OK, well, you got to be born again.
And she gave the gospel to him, and the guy got saved.
And here's the thing.
My wife doesn't know anything about sports.
He's like, my name is Cisco whatever.
And she's like, I don't know what that means.
Here's what I know.
You're a sinner, and you need Jesus to save you.
But here's what I wonder.
I wonder if some of you guys would
have knocked on that door, if that guy would have got saved.
Because you know what might have happened?
You're Francisco Garcia, whoever that is.
I don't even know who that is.
I know he made or whatever.
I don't think he plays for the Kings anymore,
but he used to make $6 million a year.
I just wonder if there was another soul winner there
who was more of a sportsman respecter of persons,
if they would have ended up just talking about basketball
and not getting this guy saved.
I'm glad that there was a lady who was clueless and careless,
or could care less, or couldn't care less about sports that
gave the gospel to this professional athlete.
You say, why?
Because the overwhelming need of man is salvation.
You say, Pastor Jimenez, what did you
do when you found out that your wife got a Sacramento Kings
save?
We followed up on him, like we do for everyone else.
You say, why?
Because the overwhelming need of man is salvation.
It's interesting to me.
It's interesting to me, if you go back to John, chapter 3,
that Nicodemus says.
He says, you know, you're a man from God.
We know you're a man from God.
We know you've got this.
We know you've got that.
And Jesus just cuts through all that.
And he says, you know what?
You need to get born again.
You know what's interesting is that Jesus was highlighting
this man's sin.
Think about it.
Have you ever thought about why Jesus?
Because I've thought about this often.
Why did Jesus?
There's no like, hey, how you doing?
Thanks for meeting with me.
He's just like, hey, you got to get born again.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, you must be born.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Have you ever thought why Jesus just kind of cut in with that?
Here's what I think.
I believe that Jesus just kind of went with that concept
because he's dealing with this man's sin.
Think about this.
He's telling a pharisee, he's telling a Jewish pharisee,
a ruler of the Jews, that your physical birth has
no bearing on your salvation and you're in need of a new birth.
He's telling people whose religion tells them,
because I'm physically a descendant of Abraham,
that makes me better than everyone else.
Because I'm physically a descendant of Abraham,
that means that I get a free pass into heaven.
And Jesus says, no, actually, your physical birth
has no bearing on you going to the kingdom of heaven.
You actually needed a new birth.
You say, why would Jesus do that?
Because he's no respecter of persons.
Because what we learn is that everyone
is in need of salvation.
And what we learn is that not everyone will get saved.
Here's the thing about the story of Nicodemus.
And this is really my opinion because there's no way
to prove it one way or another.
But I believe, and a lot of people agree,
a lot of Christians who study this out
agree with this, that Nicodemus never got saved.
Nicodemus did not get saved at the end of this conversation.
And we see him appear other times in the gospel,
and he just doesn't seem like he ever got saved.
Let me just kind of share a couple of those things with you.
Go to John chapter 7.
You're there in John 3.
Just turn over a few pages to John chapter 7.
And look at verse number 47.
We won't take the time to read everything into these stories,
but let me just show you enough.
John chapter 7 and verse 47 says this,
then answered them, the Pharisees,
are you also deceived?
There's a big controversy going on here.
The Pharisees are attacking people saying,
are you also deceived?
This is what the Pharisees are saying.
Notice what they said, verse 48.
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
Now, that's exactly what Nicodemus was.
That's what the Bible tells us in John 3.
He was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews.
And they're saying, have any of the rulers or the Pharisees
believed on him?
But this people, who knoweth not the law, are cursed.
So here's what they're saying.
They're saying, all of you dumb people believe on him,
but have any of us who are the rulers or the Pharisees,
have any of us believed on him?
Verse 50, Nicodemus saith, now here, Nicodemus
has a great opportunity to stand up for the cause of Christ
and to testify, yes, I am a Pharisee
and a ruler of the people, and I believe on Christ.
But notice that is not what he does.
Nicodemus saith unto them.
And notice what the Bible, what the narrator of scripture
highlights for us.
He highlights the fact that he that came to Jesus by night
being one of them.
So in a parenthetical statement, John tells us,
Nicodemus, remember that guy?
Nicodemus, the guy who came to Jesus by night.
But notice what he says.
He's still one of them.
He's still one of who?
The Pharisees, the rulers.
Notice what Nicodemus said.
Does our law judge any man before it hear him
and know what he doeth?
They answered and said unto him, art thou also of Galilee?
Search and look for of Galilee.
Arise with no profit.
They basically shut him down.
And here's the thing.
Nicodemus kind of stands up for Jesus a little bit.
I think that Nicodemus was a nice guy.
I think that he was sympathetic towards Christ
and towards the cause of Christ.
But I think this passage highlights for us
that this guy did not get saved.
He was not saved.
He had a great opportunity here to stand up and give testimony,
and he didn't.
Go to John chapter 19.
You say, well, there was other people
who believed that secretly, and they were secret service
disciples, like some of you.
But I don't think Nicodemus was one of them.
Let me show you that.
John chapter 19, verse 38.
John 19, 38.
Some of you are secret service disciples at your job,
you know?
You just don't tell.
You don't really tell people.
You don't want people to know.
John 19, 38.
And after this, Joseph of Arimathea.
Notice what the Bible says.
Look, this is John telling a story
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
He's the narrator.
He says about Joseph of Arimathea
being a disciple of Jesus.
So look, Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus,
no question about it, but secretly for fear of the Jews.
So notice, he was a secret service disciple.
But John tells us, hey, he was a disciple.
He was one secretly for fear of the Jews,
but sought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus.
And Pilate gave him leave.
He came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus, verse 39.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first,
notice what's highlighted, came to Jesus by night
and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about 100 pound pens.
Again, it's highlighted that he came to Jesus by night,
but it's not highlighted for us that he ever got saved
or did anything with it.
In fact, in the previous verse, he
tells about Joseph, who was a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly, John could have easily said,
and Nicodemus also, but he doesn't say that.
You say, why?
I think because when the Gospels were still being written,
it was clear that Nicodemus was not saved, had not got saved.
Go back to John chapter 3.
And I tend to think that Nicodemus never got saved.
I just think, and again, I could be wrong about this,
just my opinion, but I think that if Nicodemus
was going to get saved at any point in his life,
that the gospel writers would not gone,
the Holy Spirit would not have gone out of his way
to just kind of highlight for us and highlight for us
that this guy did not get saved, that this guy did not
get saved, that this guy did not get saved.
And here's what's interesting.
And I want you to notice what was very likely the last words
that Jesus said to Nicodemus.
Because when we get to John chapter 3, what we are reading
is John giving us a narrative.
He's telling us a story of Jesus meeting with Nicodemus.
Now, let me say this.
Let me just kind of explain this to you.
There is a lot of debate that goes back and forth
as to where exactly the conversation between Jesus
and Nicodemus ended and where the commentary of John
about the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus began.
Now, let me just say this.
It doesn't matter, and here's what I'm talking about.
If you have a red letter edition Bible,
the verses go in red.
They go down to, I think it's verse 21.
I don't have a red letter edition Bible,
so it's hard for me to tell.
But I think it goes down in red to verse 21,
and then in verse 22 begins a new story.
And there's some debate as to whether Jesus actually
spoke all those verses all the way down.
Now, let me just say a couple of things.
Number one, it doesn't matter.
It's all God's word.
It doesn't matter if he did or didn't actually
speak those words.
It's not like the words that physically came out
of Jesus' mouth are more God's word than the ones
that John wrote.
They're all God's word.
But with that, let me say this.
You can't just trust all the red letters in your Bible
and say that they were all just spoken by Jesus.
And here's why.
Because man just decided that.
And most Bibles will just take you down to verse 21,
and that's fine.
But just keep in mind that the same people that are deciding
to go down to verse 21 with red letters
are the same people that put a map in your Bible that
show the children of Israel going around the Red Sea,
not crossing the Red Sea.
So it's just some of these people,
they put Bibles together, but they just don't either believe
the Bible or trust the Bible or whatever.
Now, I don't have a problem with Jesus speaking down
through verse 21, but there's some argument
as to whether he actually spoke some of these words
or whether his conversation with Nicodemus
ended and John takes on the commentary.
Now here's one argument, and I'm going to give this to you
just because this is kind of the one I lean towards.
And I'm saying all this just to make a point.
But let me show you this.
One of the arguments is that the conversation between Jesus
and Nicodemus actually ends in verse 12.
And in verse 13, John begins his commentary
on the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Another argument is that the conversation
between Jesus and Nicodemus ends at verse 15.
And in verse 16, John begins his commentary
between the conversation of Nicodemus and Jesus.
So Jesus would say, and no man hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man
which is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up his serpent in the wilderness,
even so the son of man must be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life.
And then from that point, John took over
and began to give his commentary on Jesus' word,
saying, here's why Jesus said that for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son.
That's one argument.
The other argument is that between verses 12 and 13
is where the conversation ends.
And John actually begins his commentary
at no man hath ascended up to heaven,
but he that came down from heaven.
Now, here are some reasons why people believe that.
First reason is that when you look
at the conversation between John 3, verses 1 through 12,
you see Nicodemus and Jesus speaking.
And as they are speaking, they are
speaking in the first person.
So when you're speaking in first person,
you're speaking I, me, we.
Notice verse 2.
The same came to Jesus by night and said,
this is Nicodemus speaking, unto him, rabbi,
we know that thou art a teacher come from God.
Look at verse 3.
Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born again.
Look at verse 5.
Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Verse 7, marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again.
Look at verse 11.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee.
Notice what he says.
This is Jesus speaking.
We speak that we do know and testify that we have seen,
and ye receive not our witness.
Verse 12, if I have told you earthly things
and ye believe not, how shall ye believe
if I tell you heavenly things?
So I want you to notice that he speaks through those verses
in the first person, I, we, I, we, I, we.
Between verses 12 and 13, or at 13,
there's now a shift in the wording.
And we go from first person to third person.
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he.
Talking about Jesus.
So it's not Jesus saying, but me or I.
He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man,
which is in heaven.
And we shift the wording there.
So because of that reason, some people
believe that the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus
actually ended at verse 12, and in verse 13
begins the commentary of John.
Here's another reason why people believe that.
And I tend to lean towards that.
Verse 16, most famous verse of the Bible,
for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life, is towards the end
of this passage where possibly Jesus is speaking,
possibly John is speaking.
Here's what's interesting.
In verse 22 begins a new story.
After these things came Jesus and his disciples
into the land of Judea.
We get this story about John the Baptist being questioned.
And then John is speaking towards the end, verse 31.
John the Baptist, he that cometh from above is above all.
Excuse me, verse 28, verse 27.
John answered and said, a man can receive nothing
except to be given him from above,
ye yourselves bear me witness that I said,
I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom,
but he that is the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly
because the bridegroom's voice, my joy therefore, is fulfilled.
He must increase, I must decrease.
And here's the thing.
Up to verse 30, we know John the Baptist is speaking.
Then it's kind of like the first story in John 3
where we're not sure.
Now is John speaking?
Is John the Baptist speaking?
Or is John the apostle speaking?
He that cometh from above is above all.
He that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth.
He that cometh from heaven is above all.
And here's what I'm saying.
There's a lot of similarities between the last few verses
of both of these stories because where Jesus is saying that no
man has ascended up to heaven.
And then here we read that he that cometh from above
is above in verse 32.
And what he hath seen and heard that he testified
that no man receiveth his testimony.
And then of course, this sounds a lot like John 3.16, verse 36.
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life.
He that believeth not the sun shall not see life,
but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Because of those similarities, people
think, no, this is now John commenting upon these stories.
And here's the thing, it doesn't matter.
It's all God's word.
It's not something to argue about or care about.
Here's the only reason I'm bringing it up.
If that argument is true, that the conversation between Jesus
and Nicodemus actually ends in verse 12,
and in verse 13 begins John's commentary
upon their conversation.
Which I lean towards that, unless there's
something I'm just totally missing or not seeing.
That's what I tend to think.
Then it's really interesting.
Because if that's true, then I want
you to notice the last thing that Jesus said to Nicodemus.
He says, if I have told you earthly things
and ye believe not, how shall ye believe
if I tell you of heavenly things?
And if we go with the argument that at verse 12,
the first-person dialogue ends, and in verse 13
begins the third-person dialogue, which
is maybe the narrative that John is giving,
here's what's interesting.
If that's true, which I tend to think that's true,
the last thing that Jesus said to Nicodemus
is, you don't believe.
And that kind of goes with everything else
we know about Nicodemus, that he just never got it.
He never got saved.
And here's a lesson.
Here's a lesson.
Here, what we can learn is that many people will not get saved.
In fact, most people will not get saved.
The Bible says that broad is the way
that leaded to destruction.
A lot of soul-runners, they get discouraged.
Because they'll say, oh, I go on soul-running.
Nobody gets saved.
And let me say this.
That is the norm.
Broad is the way that leaded to destruction.
And many there be which go in there act.
The Bible says straight is the gate
and narrow is the way which leaded unto life.
And few there be that finder.
Let me tell you something.
If you go on soul-running and you're getting most people
saved, there's something drastically wrong
with your gospel presentation.
Because broad is the way that leaded to destruction.
And here's what's interesting to me.
The most famous conversation in the Bible,
the most famous gospel presentation in the Bible,
the most famous soul-winning event in the Bible,
and the guy did not get saved.
What does that tell you?
You know what God's highlighting?
Most people aren't going to get saved.
And listen to me, if you go, I talk to 10 people and 8 out
of 10 get saved, you're not preaching the gospel right.
You're not doing it right.
Because broad is the way that leaded to destruction.
And many there be which go in there act.
So you know what?
Don't get discouraged.
You say, most people don't believe when I go soul-winning.
You know what?
Most people didn't believe when Jesus went soul-winning.
In fact, they killed him.
That's how much they didn't believe in him.
So we learned this lesson on soul-winning.
We learned this lesson on soul-winning.
That it is very possible, it is very possible
that the last thing recorded in scripture
that Jesus said to Nicodemus was,
if I have told you earthly things and you believe not,
how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
And here's what we learned.
We learned that everyone needs the gospel,
but not everybody will get saved.
In fact, everybody needs the gospel,
but most people won't get saved.
And there's nothing wrong with Jesus's presentation.
There's nothing wrong with the soul-winner.
He was perfect, but Nicodemus did not believe.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word.
Thanks for the Bible.
And Lord, I thank you for allowing us to.