January 31, 2016
Scripture:
Scripture:
Read Isaiah 40:16. We just sang “were the vast world our own, With all is varied store.” Here Isaiah is saying that Lebanon with all its trees couldn’t save us. Imagine what kind of sacrifice that would be! The world itself wouldn’t be enough. Think of the worth of that sacrifice on Calvary. Well might we worship the One who hung on it. He paid all the cost.
Hymn 142 - A ruler once came to Jesus by night
Prayer
Last time I spoke, we were on number five of our series, “When Jesus was here…” It was, “When Jesus was here He went fishing.” This week we will look at, “When Jesus was here, He had a visitor by night.”
John 2: 23-25, John 3: 1-7
I think John 3 is a continuation from John 2. Now that may seem rather obvious but what I mean by that is that instead of a period at the end of verse twenty-five, and beginning of verse one there could be, “man, but…” Jesus was in Jerusalem for the passover feast. Many people believed in Him name because of the miracles He did. They believed Him but they didn’t put their trust in Him. Jesus knew what was going on in each heart. So, He knew all men, but there was a man…
This man was of the Pharisees; his name was Nicodemus. He was a Ruler of the Jews. That was a very important position. You would expect him to know everything taught in the Old Testament.
I wonder where Jesus was when this took place. Was he in a house? Maybe He was with one the disciples. Well, wherever He was, in the darkness comes a man who is a Ruler of the Jews.
Why did he come at night? Maybe he didn’t want the others to know. Maybe he was shy. Today there are still some who are shy of coming to Jesus.
Nicodemus had a real purpose for approaching Jesus. He had probably watched Jesus performing all the miracles. A miracle is something Jesus can do through supernatural power. Maybe Nicodemus had been there thinking, “this is amazing, and different. I wonder how he does it. This Man in not just a Rabbi; He something more.”
Nicodemus drew a conclusion from this. He said to Jesus, “Who ever does these works must come from God.” It’s not really a question, but I think he was expecting an answer. He doesn’t get the answer he was looking for though. He might have expected, “Well, I actually do come from God. Haven’t you heard of Mary and Joseph and everything else?” But Jesus doesn’t zero in on his quandary, but rather his greatest need.
What is your greatest need? Some might say, “Well, I need to breath”, and others might say, “I need food and water”. But Jesus tells Nicodemus that he has a greater need then any of those things.
Man is made up of the body, soul, and spirit. We are a tripartite being. We spend a lot of time taking care of our body. We wash it, and feed it, and so on. But when we have our Bible reading, that is when we are feeding the soul and spirit, and they are more important then our body.
Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was probably wondering how on earth they got here. Everyone has been born a least once. Nicodemus knew this, but now Jesus is saying you have to be born again or you won’t see the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was something important to Rulers of the Jews.
Nicodemus was now wanting to know how someone could be born again. What Jesus meant it that we need to born of water and spirit. Being born again is spiritual. The water speaks of the Water of the Word which is the Word of God. The Word of God cleanses us, and tells us what bad things in our lives need to be replaced with good. The Spirit applies the Word of God to us. It is through the work of the Spirit and of the Word that makes a new person, and the result is salvation.
Our body is made of flesh, but our spirit is not. We can be born of the Spirit, which is part of the soul. We can have new life, like a baby, that is eternal.
This is what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus. He told him not to marvel over what He had told him. “Ye must be born again.” There needs to be birth of the Spirit in order to be saved.
Philippians 1:21-30
Paul’s life manifested Christ; how about ours? Do others see Christ’s character in us? As Christians, that behaviour should characterize us. While he had life, that’s how Paul wanted to live; if he died, however, he would be even better off.
God hasn’t told us much about what happens after death, but this tells us that it is better than living. Paul might have known this from experience. In Acts 14, he was stoned at a uproar in Lystra and left for dead. He got up, though and was able to leave town the next day. Was he really dead? We often tie this passage together with II Corinthians 12:1-4, where Paul talks about a person being caught up to paradise and the third heaven. Paul might have been referring to himself, and it might have happened at this stoning. He wasn’t sure if he was dead or alive, but either way he was caught up into God’s presence. That is a realm beyond creation. There is no time there, no start or finish, no limits of space. It’s something that boggles the mind, it’s a foreign concept; something we can’t grasp. Even the most brilliant thinker can’t imagine it. While there, Paul—or whoever was caught up—heard unspeakable words; things that men aren’t even allowed to say. These are the things we will gain when we die. God wants us there in His presence, for the alternative is strict justice for sins.
II Corinthians 5:1-3 also mentions the afterlife, and tells us we will be clothed in a new, glorified body. All saved will receive these at the same time, when the Lord comes. Those who die before His coming are “unclothed” in the meantime. Paul was looking to be clothed in his glorified body. In contrast, the unsaved won’t get a redeemed body; they’ll be “naked”, or without a body. They will lose this earthly body, and won’t get a redeemed one.
So we look forward for our new bodies, or clothing; not to be unclothed. If to die is gain, though, being unclothed is better than this life. To live is good, to die is better, and to be clothed with a new body is even better!
Hymn 267 – There is a better world above
Prayer