May 21, 2013

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You  must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?  Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.  I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

 

Nic came to Jesus as a seeker. We know that for sure.

 

How did he leave? Was he still a seeker or did he find what he came for?

 

The Apostle John provides some hopeful and helpful insights.

 

“The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" The Pharisees answered them, "Are you led astray, you also?  Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?  But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them" Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee."   John 7:45-52            

 

“After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was 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 leave. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42

By these accounts we must assume that Nicodemus was "born again" as Jesus had prescribed.

 

We also know according to Jewish tradition, that Nicodemus died as a martyr for Christ. Non believers don't die for their cause. Therefore, we must conclude that Nicodemus believed in Jesus. He had found the joy of salvation that is better than life.

 

Have you found a faith worth dying for?

 

Have you been born again?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

May 20, 2013

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit  gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?  No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:1-16

 

For many Summer officially begins with the Memorial Day week-end that is fast approaching. It is good and entirely proper we should set aside a holiday to honor our war dead. Freedom is still worth dying for and we must continue to remember that!

 

At FredWes we have been remembering what is great about salvation. Two weeks ago we talked about the mission of sharing our salvation. Yesterday we learned a method for sharing our salvation and this Sunday we plan to focus on the message of salvation. The message of salvation is the central theme of the entire Word of God and could easily consume an entire career of preaching. But since our focus has been directed toward John 3 this month, we will draw from there.

In His encounter with Nic, Jesus gives us insights into the Good News of salvation by emphasizing the bad news. Let's examine that this morning!

Look at the three hard truths Jesus either states or implies:

1) You are spiritually dead

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again"


2) You are self-righteous

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?

  
3) You are snake-bitten

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. ”

These three statements have one big problem in common - SIN! Nic, as good and respectable as he was, had a sin problem.

He had a sin problem because he was spiritually dead. He needed to be born again. LIke you and me, Nic was born spiritually dead because of simfulness.

He had a sin problem because he was trusting in Jewish religious laws for his righteousness. While he had done a very good job of observing these laws, there is no law that can cause a spiritually dead person to come to life.

And, he had a sin problem because he had inherited the sinful nature of Adam and Eve, who were deceived by the Serpent. Like each of us, Nic was snake-bitten and filled with the fatal venom called "sin".

Nic came to Jesus looking for answers and he got them. Maybe he didn't get the answers he was looking for but he got the bad news that he needed. He was dead in his sins, separated from a life-giving God, and headed to an eternal torment in hell.

Why should this matter to you?

Salvation is Good News!

What is true of Nic is true of you! You need to face the bad news about your sinfulness and understand the dreadful consequences of that sinfulness. Only when confronted with the bad news did Nic take an interest in the Good News! Neither will you.

















 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 17, 2013

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they re born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:1-16

One fourth and final point on soul-winning from this encounter - "GO FOR THE CLOSE".

To review, point one is "GET TO THE POINT", two is "ASK QUESTIONS" and three is "KEEP IT SIMPLE".

I think this may be the part many dread because if you go for the close there is a 50% chance you could face rejection. But if you don't ask for a commitment, what is the point of sharing in the first place? Christ wasn't in the information busines He was in the transformation business. He still is!

Let me illustrate how Jesus did the close and then make some observations from my experiences.

I notice that Jesus tailored His close to the person with whom He was dealing. A once-size fits all approach rarely works. If you would study His encounter with the woman at the well and Zaccheus and with Mary Magdalene you will readily notice how differently He handled each close.

With Nic, Jesus pushed hard for a commitment because Nic was a religious man with a higher level of understanding. That's because with God, accountability is measured in proportion to knowledge. Let me illustrate from Jesus' words:

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.¹⁴

In other words, Jesus is saying, "You are having trouble believing what I say because you have not believed Who I Am. Believe in me!"

That is the essence of closing the deal! No one is saved by accepting a plan, they are saved by accepting a person. So, like Jesus, you must ask for that commitment after sharing the plan.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

With this statement, Jesus is turning up the pressure on Nic by reminding him of an Old Testament story he knew well. Due to their rebellion and blatant disobedience, God sent a plague of poisonous vipers to punish the Israelites in the wilderness at the foot of Sinai. Then in a prophetic symbolism, God instructed Moses to hold up a brass serpent on a pole and all who looked upon that serpent would be delivered from certain death.

What Jesus is saying to Nic is, "You are snake bitten by your sin. God has lifted me up. Believe in me or die!"

Sharing the Gospel of salvation IS a life and death proposition! So why would you not push for a life-saving decision?

Once you have presented the plan and asked for the commitment, smile kindly and the person and say NOTHING until they respond.

Let me close with a few observations about asking for the close:

1) It is easier to close when then seeker comes to you.

2) It is easier to close when you do the first three things well.

3) It is easier to close when you understand the life and death urgency of it.

4) It is the Holy Spirit's job to win the person it is your job to witness.

Imagine that you go shopping for a new car. You find the exact car you want and you take it for a test drive. By the time you get back to the dealership you are totally in love with this car and can't wait to make it yours. You walk back into the office with the salesperson and tell him you want to buy the car, but he tucks the paperwork into his desk, reaches out his hand and say, "Well, it was good to meet you! Thanks for coming in! Have a great day!" Then he walks out of the office leaving you sitting there.

Awkward!

How would you feel if he didn't close the deal?

May 19, 2013

^"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:42-47

 

Probably like you, I have been following the various hearings on the variety of scandals plaguing our administration. It has been discouraging and disillusioning.

 

What I have found even more demoralizing are the responses of the man on the street Americans. Many of them are totally unaware of any of the scandals. Of the ones who are aware there is such moral ambivalence it is disheartening. Only a very few have knowledge of the scandals and register outrage.

 

Confronted with such ignorance and indifference I wonder, as a Pastor and as a church how do we reach a culture like this?

 

My answer came from the last several verses of Acts 2. The Church of Jesus Christ was launched into a culture very much like ours - perhaps even worse. As witnessed by this account and much of the entire Book of Acts, the Early Church not only reached their culture, they revolutionized it!

 

So, it begs the question, "How did they do it?"

 

Without going into an extended or exhaustive study, let me make a cursory observation of what helped them grab the attention of their culture and what I believe will help us do the same!

 

They had great community!

 

^"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles"

 

They had great generosity!

 

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."

 

They had great joy!
 

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Community, generosity and joy was the perfect tri-fecta for the Church in Jerusalem. They combined  to make the faith of these early believers nearly irresistible to a pagan culture! So, much so that people were converted and baptized on DAILY basis!

Don't you long for a church like that?

Want to let it begin with you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 18, 2013

^"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
 

An experienced New York fire fighter was charged this week with grave neglect of duty. Prosecutors maintained that he abandoned his responsibility and betrayed the people of New York when he failed to release rescue equipment. This resulted in the needless and tragic deaths of a family of five.

 

Eye-witnesses were sickened when they discovered that the reason the fire fighter remained in the locked emergency vehicle was simply to test a new high tech CD player, which he maintained that he had purchased as a gift for the Fire Chief.

 

The Fire Chief immediately distanced himself from the defendant, and dishonourably discharged him from the Department. In a prepared statement he said that there were no words to describe such a betrayal of those he was sworn to protect.

 

The lead prosecuting attorney argued that for more than three minutes after arriving at the scene, the fire fighter wore earphones and listened to a CD while a family of five screamed to be rescued from the sixth floor of a building. Horrified bystanders related that, as flames licked her clothing, a mother cried out in terror and fell to her death while still clutching an infant child in her arms. The distraught onlookers also said that the father held onto two terrified children as he was engulfed by the massive flames. This terrifying drama took place in full view of the fire fighter as he remained seated in the vehicle listening to the CD.

 

The defence pleaded No Contest, but added that the defendant had gone to great personal sacrifice to purchase the expensive gift for the Chief, and that he hoped that the judge would take that into account when passing sentence.

 

What a tragic and disgusting story! Can anyone be worse than a fireman who sits idly by while a family perishes in a home fire?

 

There is one I can think of. How about a Christian who never shares his faith and sits passively while people head for a firey hell.
 

If you do not share you faith with others there are three possibilities:

1) YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE A TRUE FAITH
 

2) YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SHARE YOUR FAITH (I just spent the last four days helping you)

 

3) YOU’RE THE FIREMAN – YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO, YOU KNOW HOW, YOU JUST DON’T WANT TO DO IT. You are living a selfish and disobedient life.

 

Is that who you want to be? Is that how you want to live?

 

 

 

May 16, 2013

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they re born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:1-16

We are learning from Jesus on how to share our faith.

The first lesson is to get to the point as soon as possible.

The second lesson is, engage the person through questions.

Today's tip is, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Keep things simple is a good idea in general but even more important to something as important as showing someone how they can inherit eternal life!

It should be simple to keep things simple BUT - it isn't! So, let's look to Jesus to learn from Him in this encounter with our friend, Nic!

Take a look at these verses:

^"Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." John 3:3

^"Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they re born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’" John 3:5-8

The doctrine of salvation and theology of salvation are rich, deep, inspiring and significant. Both are certainly worthy of much thought, study and discussion. And since Jesus was speaking to Nic, a religious professional well versed in his Jewish studies Nic would have enjoyed discussing religion with the Great Rabbi. But Jesus wasn't interested in winning a debate He was interested in winning a soul. So, He kept it simple! He presented salvation in the metaphor of a birth. Brilliantly simple!

Using that metaphor captured his curiosity while clarifying the nature of his problem. The evidence is seen in the questions Nic asked after that. His questions had to do with understanding what it meant to be spiritually reborn. Jesus was then able to give a clear answer because Nic clearly understood his need.

Being "born again" is a concept so easy that a young child can understand it and receive salvation but yet so complex that theologians discuss it and write volumes about it. People like Nic don't need an education about salvation, they need to experience it!

Jesus, the Master Teacher, understood that and kept it simple for Nic.

When it comes to sharing Christ with an unsaved friend - KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!

















 

 

May 15, 2013

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” ³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they re born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:1-16

 

We should learn from Jesus on how to share our faith.

 

The first lesson we should learn is to get to the point as soon as possible.

 

Second, engage the person through questions.

 

As you look at this encounter you can recognize that though brief, Jesus either asked questions or made statements that invited questions.

Questions do a couple of important things.

First, they can quickly show how if the person is really serious and sincere about hearing about the Gospel.

Secondly, questions pull the other person into our conversation engaging them mentally, emotionally and intellectually so you can reach them spiritually.

Nic, like most people I have shared Christ with, came looking for answers but didn't know which questions to ask. So Jesus offered statements that guided Nic's questions and then asked questions to raise more questions.

For example:

Jesus steered Nic in the right direction when He made this statement, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

Jesus knew that Nic would ask Him to explain what HE meant by "being born again" and Jesus would be ready with the answer.

Questions are one of the most effective ways to teach and to learn. Any teacher can tell you that. So, if you are preparing to share your faith with your friend, consider questions you can ask in order to draw your person closer to the Kingdom.

To help you get started, here are a few questions I like to ask.

"If I could show you in 10-15 minutes something that changed my life forever and could also change yours, would you be interested in hearing it?"

"Have you come to the place in your spiritual journey where you know for sure that if you were to die tonight you would go to Heaven?"

"Do you ever feel like there is something missing in your life but you can't figure out what it is?"

Study Jesus' interaction with Nic here is these verses. Learn how to get the right answers by asking the right questions.