You Must Be Born Again

If you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 3, we're going to be looking at John 3, 1-15. I'll read it in just a second.

John 3 · chapter mention

It's on page 1055 of your pew Bible.

Hear the word of the Lord.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water in the spirit, isn't that interesting?

He cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit.

Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be?

Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen,

but you, you all do not receive our testimony.

If I told you all earthly things and you all did not believe me,

how can you all believe if I tell you heavenly things?

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

Amen.

Do you see this thing behind me on the screen?

Everyone in the room who sees a number, raise your hand.

Yeah, I figured.

What number is it?

Now, everyone who cannot see the number seven, raise your hand.

We are the few.

The anomalies.

We are the colorblind.

We have this thing in our eyes.

It's an anatomical defect of cones.

We can't discern green from reds or have a hard time doing that at least.

But there's another kind of blindness.

You can take that down.

It's called spiritual blindness.

By the way, I didn't even know what the number was until our dear sister Robin Town told me,

hey, when do you want me to put up the number seven?

I'm like, number seven?

You mean the colorblind test?

Yeah.

There's another kind of blindness.

There's another kind of blindness.

It's spiritual blindness.

And it's not the result of some anatomical defect in us.

It's a result of spiritual deadness.

We are born spiritually blind because we're born spiritually dead.

And the spiritually dead are unable to see the salvation that God has provided in Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.

So this morning, God has a lesson for us.

And it comes from a conversation between this man named Nicodemus, who was a religious leader in Jesus.

The thing is, this highly respected and influential religious leader who knew his Old Testament inside and out.

The thing is, he's in the dark.

He is spiritually blind.

And Jesus tells him the only cure for that spiritual blindness, you must be born again.

This dialogue that we're going to see between Nicodemus and Jesus, it unfolds in three exchanges.

And it's kind of like watching a tennis match.

Any tennis fans?

Didn't think so?

Each exchange begins with Nicodemus serving up a statement or a question.

And then Jesus returns volley with a truly, truly.

I'm going to walk us through the conversation, then summarize the lesson that God has for us.

And then I'm going to apply it to the non-Christians in the room and to the Christians in the room.

Because to be born again is to make a huge difference in our lives.

So now let's look at the first exchange in this dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus.

And it's in verses 1 through 3.

So John chapter 3, verses 1 through 3.

John 3:1–3

And in verses 1 and 2, John introduces us to this man named Nicodemus.

And we learn he's a Pharisee.

Now a Pharisee was a certain kind of theological school of thought within Judaism at that time.

The apostle Paul was a Pharisee.

And Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

And he was also a ruler of the Jews.

Did you see that in verse 1?

Which means he was a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin,

which was a highly esteemed position with a lot of responsibility and influence.

So this was a well-educated, accomplished, respected, influential guy.

This guy named Nicodemus.

And in verse 2, he comes to Jesus at night, which is interesting.

So John includes that detail for a reason.

Likely two reasons.

Nicodemus didn't want to be seen meeting with Jesus.

He doesn't want to give people the wrong impressions because Jesus is already making some waves.

But Nicodemus wants to know what's going on with this guy.

Secondly, and more symbolically, John includes this detail because Nicodemus is in the dark.

He's living in spiritual night.

And we're going to see that unfold as this dialogue continues.

So in verse 2, Nicodemus serves up the start of the conversation.

Nicodemus is aware of the signs that Jesus has performed.

Rabbi, which is a way to respect Jesus.

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God.

For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

So Nicodemus was aware of signs that Jesus was doing.

And we know from the end of the Gospel of John that John doesn't include all the signs that Jesus does.

He says, if I were to conclude that there's not enough books to contain what Jesus has done.

So Nicodemus is aware of signs that Jesus has done that John doesn't record.

But all of these signs were intended to reveal who Jesus was.

So we can conclude this, that Nicodemus sees something unique about Jesus.

I mean, look what he says.

He says, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God.

That's unique.

And then he goes on to say, and then you do these signs that no one can do unless God is with him.

From God, God is with him.

God is with you, Nicodemus starts.

Now, this is a great way to start a conversation.

Oh, Jesus, I see God's hand on you.

But it's interesting what Nicodemus isn't saying.

He's not saying, Jesus, you are the Christ, the Messiah.

He doesn't see that Jesus is God in the flesh.

He sees Jesus as God with him, not God is him.

And so what we're already getting to see is that Nicodemus has some sense that Jesus is unique,

but he doesn't see Jesus for who he truly is.

He's in the dark.

So in verse 3, we see Jesus return volley to Nicodemus' greeting.

And in verse 3, it's almost like, did Jesus just hear what he said?

Look what he says.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

That just doesn't seem to match.

I see God's hand on you.

And Jesus is like, truly, truly, unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God.

What is going on there?

Well, that little phrase, truly, truly, that shows up 25 times in the Gospel of John.

And here's what that does.

It's Jesus exercising his authority and bringing clarity to something.

It's how Jesus introduces a definitive statement.

It's like Jesus saying, okay, let the Son of Man just be clear on this.

Truly, truly, I say to you.

That's what's going on.

And in this passage, what makes this passage interesting is that there are three truly,

trulies in it.

He is repeatedly clarifying things for this highly esteemed teacher of Israel who's in the dark.

Unless one is born again.

Let me just be clear.

Unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.

When he says, unless one is born again, Jesus is referring to some kind of second birth,

some kind of spiritual event that he does not elaborate on here, but it qualifies something.

You've got to be spiritually born again in order to see the kingdom of God.

What is this kingdom of God?

And why do you need to be born again to see it?

Well, the kingdom of God is not this kind of geographic kingdom with boundaries.

The kingdom of God is a reign of God that transcends all geographies, borders, and governments.

In fact, if you want to, I want to give you a taste of the kingdom of God, what it is,

by pointing you back to the book of Daniel chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Would you go back in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 7, verse 14?

Daniel 7:14

It's on page 884 of your pew Bible.

Now, this was a vision given to Daniel, who was a prophet.

And as you're turning there, what we're going to see is that there is a particular kind of kingdom

that the ancient of days, God the Father, is going to give the Son of Man.

I'll start in verse 13.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of Man.

Mark that.

And he came to the ancient of days, God the Father, and was presented before him.

And to him, the Son of Man was given dominion, rule, authority, and glory, and a kingdom

that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him, the Son of Man.

His dominion, the Son of Man's dominion, is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away.

And his kingdom, the Son of Man's kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed.

And so what we're told here is that this kingdom of God is a God kingdom that is everlasting and is indestructible.

And the Son of Man has something to do with it.

And what we're being told Jesus is saying here is you can't see that kingdom without being born again.

Before you enter this kingdom, you're a rebel against God and you're dead in your sins.

But when you enter this kingdom, you are made spiritually alive and you are a child of God forevermore.

So how does Jesus' response to Nicodemus make sense?

The only way that it makes sense is when you realize that Nicodemus is in the dark.

Jesus is explaining something to him that he doesn't get.

So here is the spiritually blind Nicodemus looking at Jesus, thinking that he's from God, that God is with him, when it's actually God is him.

So Jesus' response is more like,

Hey, Nicodemus, you do not know who you are talking to.

Because if you were born again, you would see the king of the kingdom standing in front of you.

God with us.

This is the first volley.

Nicodemus serves.

Jesus returns.

Point Jesus.

Second volley.

Verses 4 through 8.

It's pretty safe to say that Nicodemus was not expecting Jesus to return volley that way.

He wasn't expecting Jesus to respond to his greeting and his kind, generous greeting like that.

Because here is this accomplished, seasoned, influential, Bible teacher who sought after in Israel.

And Jesus is implying that Nicodemus can't see the kingdom of God.

That he's got to be born again.

It's like Jesus is saying,

You can't see the kingdom of God when he's staring at you in the face.

Yes.

So in verse 4, Nicodemus serves up his next serve with a question.

Verse 4.

How can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?

Now, if you were inside Nicodemus' head,

and you were able to like see what he was thinking on a screen inside of his head,

do you know what it would say?

It would be this alarm.

Err.

Err.

Err.

Does not compute.

Err.

Err.

Err.

He hears what Jesus says about being born again,

and it does not compute.

So he is like all people living in darkness,

tries to make sense of it in a humanistic way.

So he goes to biology.

Literally anatomical.

He's like, wait, I'm like, you know, 54.

How can I be born again?

What are you talking about?

How can I get back into my mother's womb?

He's not getting it.

He thinks born again means something anatomical,

something literal.

He doesn't get what Jesus is saying.

He's spiritually blind.

He's in the dark.

Maybe you are in the dark.

You hear people talk about Jesus,

and you're like, I don't know what the big deal is.

What's the big deal?

Or this Jesus guy is a major crutch for these weakling Christians.

In verse 5 through 8, Jesus responds,

returns volley with a second truly, truly.

Let me just read you what he says in its entirety through verse 8.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless one is born of water in the Spirit,

he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh,

and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

Do not marvel that I say to you,

you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes,

and you hear its sound,

but you do not know where it comes from

or where it's going.

So it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit.

So Jesus returns volley with an explanation

of what it means to be born again.

It's going to be very helpful for us

to understand what Jesus is saying.

So let's unpack this a little bit.

First thing I want you to note

is that Jesus is kind of raising the bar a little bit.

He's talking about moving from seeing the kingdom of God

to now entering the kingdom of God,

which has to do with your will.

To enter the kingdom of God

means you must decide to enter the kingdom of God.

And he says you must be born of water in the Spirit.

In other words,

if you're not born of water in the Spirit,

whatever that means,

you cannot enter the kingdom of God.

You cannot come under God's saving reign.

You cannot experience the eternal life

that is in Christ alone.

You've got to be born again.

If you want to experience God's salvation

that is in Christ Jesus,

you must be born again.

Otherwise, you remain in a state of spiritual death,

spiritual blindness,

and under God's wrath for all of your sin.

So what does it mean to be born of water

in the Spirit?

Well, there's been a number of explanations,

and I'm guessing many of you in the room

have heard some of these.

Some people think,

some Christians think that water

is a reference to baptism,

and the Spirit is Spirit rebirth, regeneration.

Other people interpret this,

this water in Spirit,

as your physical birth.

You must be born of water,

the water that you,

your mom's womb,

the water broke,

that water,

and the Spirit.

But I've been convinced

by what Dr. D.A. Carson

makes a very convincing case.

Have you ever experienced in your Bible

where you're reading something,

and you're like,

I do not know what he's saying here?

One of the best things that you can do

at that point is ask,

hey, is this making a reference

to something back in the Old Testament?

Because that's what's going on here.

Jesus is very intentionally

using water in Spirit

for a reason,

a reason that Nicodemus

should get.

what Jesus is doing

is referring back

to a passage in Ezekiel,

Ezekiel 36:24–27

chapter 36,

verses 24 through 27.

I want you to turn there with me.

That's on page 860

of your pew Bible,

Ezekiel 36, 24 through 27.

And as you're turning there,

I just want to let you know,

this is Ezekiel's version

of a new covenant prophecy.

It's like Jeremiah 31

where Jeremiah spells out

the new covenant.

that's coming.

Here,

we see Ezekiel

kind of alluding,

prophesying to what will come

with the new covenant.

In other words,

this water in Spirit

is rich

with theological freight.

So let me just read for you

chapter 36,

verses 24 through 27.

Remember,

we're talking about water

and Spirit.

Let's see if you can see it

in the passage.

I will take you,

this is God speaking,

I will take you from the nations

and gather you from all the countries

and bring you into your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water on you

and you shall be clean

from all your uncleanlinesses.

And from all your idols,

I will cleanse you

and I will give you a new heart

and a new spirit

I will put within you

and I will remove your heart

of stone from you,

remove your heart of stone

from your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh

and I will put my Spirit within you

and cause you to walk in my statutes

and be careful to obey my rules.

Did you see it in verse 25?

There's a reference to water

that cleanses from our sin.

Did you see in verse 26

this reference to a new heart,

a new spirit

where God takes the old heart

that is hard towards Him

and He does this spiritual cardiac surgery

and replaces it with a new heart,

a new spirit

that now has new affections.

What God is showing us here

is that this is a prophecy fulfilled

that Jesus is talking about.

That this being born again

by the Spirit, verse 8,

is the coming of the new covenant.

And we see in verse 27

that the Spirit comes to indwell us,

to cause us to obey.

We want to obey now.

And there's no coincidence

that the Valley of Dry Bones,

chapter 37,

follows this.

Resurrection.

This is what it means

to be born again.

To be made a new creation.

The old has gone.

If anyone is in Christ,

he's a new creation.

The old is gone.

The new is come.

It's a distinct and unique work

of the Holy Spirit.

Only the Holy Spirit

can take someone

who's spiritually dead

and make them spiritually alive,

applying the finished work

of Christ to them.

In verse 6,

we see this distinction

of those who are born

of the flesh are flesh.

That which is born

of the Spirit is spirit.

There are two types

of people on the planet.

Those who are born

of the flesh

and are spiritually dead.

And those who are born

of the flesh

and also born

of the Spirit,

second birth,

who have been cleansed

from their sin

and made alive to God

and are children of His

through Christ's finished work.

What we're seeing here

is Jesus saying,

with me comes the age

of the Spirit.

The age of the Spirit

that comes with the new covenant.

And it's set into motion

by the death

and resurrection of Jesus.

In verses 7 and 8,

we read,

He says to Nicodemus,

Nicodemus,

do not marvel

what I said to you.

You must be born again.

Nicodemus,

you've got Ezekiel 36 memorized.

You shouldn't marvel

what I'm telling you here.

And then he compares

this activity

of the Holy Spirit

to the wind blowing.

The wind blows

where it wishes

and you hear it sound.

You can't see the wind,

but you see the effects

of the wind.

But you do not

where it comes from

or where it goes.

You hear its sound.

You see it blowing the leaves.

The leaves rustling,

but you actually

don't see the wind.

You see clouds moving.

And Jesus says,

so it is with everyone

who's born of the Spirit.

You can't see the Holy Spirit,

but you see the effects

of the Holy Spirit

in the life of those

who are spiritually dead.

Let me tell you some of them.

When someone starts

to become aware

that,

that they are doing wrong,

this is John 16, 8.

Jesus said,

the Spirit will come

and when He comes,

He will convict the world

of sin, righteousness,

and judgment.

And so,

when someone is not,

is recognizing

that they're doing wrong,

but they recognize

that they're wrong

is against God.

Not just against

other human beings,

but against God.

That when I sin,

when I do something

that's wrong,

it's grievous

in God's sight.

When you start,

when that starts registering,

I think there's a work

of the Spirit going on.

Or,

when someone recognizes

how sinful they are,

and they're like,

I cannot do anything

about this wicked heart.

I am so sinful.

I,

in God's eyes,

I must be condemned.

There's nothing

that I can do

to dig myself out of this.

Nothing I can do.

I need some kind

of forgiveness.

I need some kind

of new work in me.

That inclination

is something

that you don't

generate yourself.

God's Spirit

grants repentance.

When you start recognizing

your sinfulness

against God,

and you're like,

oh,

that must grieve you.

I want to turn

from that,

and God,

through His Spirit,

gives you eyes

to see Jesus.

Remember,

John 16,

14,

Jesus speaks about

the primary ministry

of the Spirit

in terms of this.

He will glorify me.

And so,

one of the things

that the Holy Spirit

will do is,

He will convict

of sin against God,

and then He will set

your gaze

upon Jesus

in His finished work

on the cross

so that you can be saved,

so you can believe

in Him.

All of these things

are from the Spirit.

So,

we have the second

serve and return

where Jesus unpacks

what it means

to be born again,

point Jesus.

He's saying,

hey,

this is Ezekiel 36

being carried out

in front of you.

The new covenant,

this great salvation.

The Spirit does

what He wills.

During the summertime,

oftentimes,

we see news clips

of tornadoes

that are ripping

through towns

in Nebraska,

in Oklahoma,

and even Wisconsin,

and they leave

this trail

of destruction

and death.

It is a windstorm

out of control.

Destruction,

death.

The Holy Spirit

leaves His own path,

not of destruction

and death.

new life,

recreation,

children of God.

The Holy Spirit

is a person,

He's at work,

He's moving,

and He brings

new life.

Exchange number three.

verses nine through 15.

In verse nine,

Nicodemus serves up

his last question.

How can these things be?

How is this possible?

It appears as though

Nicodemus is having

his world rocked.

Are his lights going on?

In verse 10,

Jesus starts

His return

with a bit of a rebuke.

Are you the teacher

of Israel

and yet

you do not understand

these things?

Do you not know

your Bible?

Nicodemus,

this is clear.

This has been made aware.

This has been

in your hands.

You have read this

over and over again.

you've just not

had eyes to see.

In a very subtle way,

Jesus is actually

claiming to be

the true teacher

of Israel.

And then we see

in verse 11,

the last of these three

truly, truly,

I say to you's,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

we speak of what we,

this is Jesus speaking,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

we speak of what we know

and bear witness

to what we have seen,

but you,

which is literally

you all,

do not receive

our testimony.

This is really interesting.

Who,

who's the we?

Who's the our?

I mean,

could Jesus be talking

about His disciples?

No,

because a lot of them

really don't get it

at this point either.

Is Jesus somehow

talking about Nicodemus

just kind of being friendly

like Nicodemus was him

when He greeted him?

No,

because when you see

at the end,

but you all do not receive

our testimony,

it kind of defeats

that line of thinking.

So who could this we be?

And grammatically speaking,

from the text,

you know what you do?

You go back

to the last reference

of a person.

And do you know who it is?

The Holy Spirit.

Could this we be

Jesus referring to

the Holy Spirit

in His ministry

under the new covenant

to bring about salvation?

What a we.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit

speaking of what we know

and bear witness

to what we've seen?

They know because they're God.

They've seen heaven.

But you do not receive

our testimony.

This harkens back to John 1.

Where Jesus came to His own

and His own did not receive Him.

They don't have eyes to see,

hearts to believe.

It's further evidence

of the spiritual blindness

that we see in Nicodemus.

But I just want to let you know,

there's a rest of the story

with Nicodemus.

In chapter 7,

verse 15 and 51,

the other Jews of the Sanhedrin,

they're starting to attack Jesus.

In that sequence,

Nicodemus seeks to defend Him.

And then at the very end

of the Gospel of John

in chapter 19,

we see Nicodemus present

at the death of Jesus

and at His burial.

Helping His body

to be received and buried.

That kind of willingness

to be identified with Jesus

at great cost

at that point,

I think it's likely

that Nicodemus,

at this point,

at the end of John,

the lights have gone on.

He had moved from death to life

and he had seen

and entered the kingdom

of God,

the saving reign of God.

In verse 12,

we read,

Jesus says,

I have told you earthly things

and you did not believe.

How can you believe

if I tell you

heavenly things?

It's like,

I've been telling you

what it means

for Ezekiel 36

to be fulfilled here

on earth right now

and how you can enter

the kingdom of God right now.

How,

if you don't believe that,

you're not going to believe

what I've got to tell you

about heavenly things

which I have seen firsthand.

Again,

Jesus is speaking

of spiritual blindness.

You must be born again,

Nicodemus.

In verse 13,

Jesus further elaborates

on what he's seen.

No one has ascended

into heaven

except he who descended

from heaven,

the Son of Man.

what Jesus is saying here

is

no one has had

an eyewitness view

of heaven

except me

because

I am from heaven.

He has eternally existed

as a second person

of the Trinity

and he has eternally existed

with God the Father

and God the Spirit

in heaven together

and he left heaven

and took on flesh

and walked this planet.

He has seen heaven

firsthand

is what he's saying

and then he drops

the title,

the Son of Man.

No one has ascended

into heaven

except he descended

from heaven,

the Son of Man.

This is a title

that Jesus uses

exclusively

for himself

and it is

a big claim

and that title

is used

in a few different places

in your Bibles

but if you flip back

to Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

I just want to help you

see what's going on

here in this passage.

Again,

page 884

of your Pew Bible.

Jesus says

or God says

through Daniel,

Daniel says

with these night visions

and behold

I saw in the night visions

and behold

with clouds of heaven

there came one

like a Son of Man

and he came

to the ancient of days

and was presented

before him

and to him

was given dominion

and glory

and a kingdom

that all people's nations

and languages

serve him,

the Son of Man.

His,

the Son of Man's dominion

is an everlasting dominion

which shall not pass away

and the Son of Man's kingdom

one that shall

not be destroyed

everlasting,

indestructible.

This is the kingdom

of God

that the Son of Man

brings with him

when he descends

from heaven.

The Son of Man

is given full authority

over this eternal,

indestructible,

saving reign of God

and the Son of Man

has descended

of heaven

from heaven.

He is the word

became flesh

that has dwelt among us.

We beheld his glory.

Glory is of the one

and only of the Father.

How can these things

be,

says Nicodemus,

the Son of Man

is standing

in front of him.

Ezekiel 36

is fulfilled

in front of him.

That's how

these things can be.

God is being faithful

to his word.

Nicodemus

was looking

at the Son of Man.

In verse 14

we read,

and as Moses

lifted up the serpent

in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man

be lifted up.

That serpent

in the wilderness

is a reference

to Numbers 21.

It's an account

where Israel

grumbles and complains

against God

and God

disciplines them

by sending fiery serpents

who bite them.

Many of the Israelites

die.

They realize

they've been naughty

so they cry out

to God

and God provides

a mercy

to them.

He tells Moses

to construct

a brazen serpent,

a bronze servant,

and to lift it up

on a pole

and when Israel

is bitten

they are to

look upon

this bronze serpent

and be healed

to live.

And Jesus is saying,

you remember that?

That was actually

in an incredible way

pointing to me.

so must the Son of Man

be lifted up.

We've all been

bitten by sin.

We're all deserved

death because of sin

and God has sent

Jesus as the Son of Man

who brings this kingdom

of eternal life

and the way

to be healed,

the way to receive

eternal life,

to be cleansed

from your sin,

to be given

a new spirit

is to look upon

the Son of Man

hanging on the cross

to be lifted up,

to believe.

And whoever believes

who looks upon him

with eyes of faith

may have eternal life.

You're born again.

That life starts

immediately.

You enter into

a relationship

with God

through Christ

and it's the best.

it's quite a response.

Point Jesus.

Match.

Set.

Game.

Three exchanges.

All responded

by truly, truly

by the Son of Man.

We learn about

the kingdom of God,

what it means

to be born of the Spirit,

that Jesus is

the Son of Man

who's been lifted up

on the cross.

This is the way

to be born again.

You know what the lesson is?

You must be born again.

You must be born again.

And this passage

points to three realities.

The depth

of our sinfulness.

Our sinfulness

is so deep

that we are

flat liners

spiritually

from the get-go.

Our sinfulness

is so deep

that we have no

God-honoring

brain activity.

We're brain dead

when we come out.

So in an

extraordinary display

of God's grace

so that we could see

and enter

the kingdom of God,

He gives us

spiritual life

by the Holy Spirit.

We can't

self-start

our

spiritual life.

life.

So what we see here

is apart from Christ

we are all

in the valley

of dry bones,

dead in our sins,

with only one hope

to be made alive

by God.

And so

the first thing

reality that comes

to the fore

is our utter

spiritual sinfulness.

Have you come to terms

with that?

Can you see that?

The second reality

is

the glory of Christ.

The love of God

in Christ Jesus.

Behold the glory

of Jesus

who lovingly,

willingly

left heaven

to take on flesh,

to live a sinless life

and was

willingly

lifted up

on the cross

to die

for our sins.

He's the Lamb of God.

His death

ushered in

a new era

of salvation.

He ushered in

the kingdom

of God,

the saving reign

of God,

the age

of the Spirit.

Glory be to Him.

Your sin is worse

than you can possibly imagine,

but God's grace

and His love

is beyond that still.

The third reality

is the Spirit alone

is able to give us life.

The only way

to enter God's kingdom

of eternal life,

the only way

to see

and enter salvation

is you must

be born of the Spirit.

You must be born again.

You must be able

to see

you're so dead

that there needs

to be a work

of the Spirit

to incline

your hearts

to Christ.

So it is

with everyone

born of the Spirit.

The Spirit alone

give spiritual eyes

to the spiritually blind.

You must be born again.

Are you born again?

If you're a non-Christian,

you cannot save yourself.

There's not enough

communions to take

that will give you life,

the life you need.

You can't attend church

enough times

to be born again.

It doesn't come that way.

You can't be good enough.

You're doing good deeds

does not give you

new life.

Only God's Spirit

gives you new life.

There's a device

called F4 Opter.

And if you've been

to your optometrist,

you've sat in front of it.

You sit in a chair

and this big metal thing

comes in front of your eyes

and it's got

like thousands

of different lens options.

and your optometrist

will say,

hey, will you look

at the letters

in front of you

on the eye chart?

Big E

and then there's

smaller and smaller

lines of letters

and she will say

something like,

hey, can you see that now?

And you're like,

yeah, I can see that.

And then she'll do

some click, click, click, clicks

and she'll be like,

is that clear

or is that clear?

And you're like,

the second one

and then click, click, click, click, click.

And then she'll go

down to the third line

and is that clear

or is this clear?

And so what she's doing

is she's testing the clarity

by what you see.

Let me run through a test,

non-believer.

Do you see your own sin

is against God?

Yes.

Click, click, click, click.

Let's move on.

Do you see that

you cannot save yourself?

Yes.

Good.

Click, click, click, click, click.

Do you see the Son of Man

lifted up on the cross

died for you?

Yes.

Click, click, click, click, click.

That is the work

of God's Spirit.

Do you have new desires

for God in your heart?

A desire to please Him

and honor Him?

Do you want that yes?

The way to be born again

is to put your trust

in Jesus Christ.

To believe on Him.

And today, you can do that.

You simply say,

Jesus, I need you.

Would you give me the life

that's only found in you?

Amen.

Christians,

do you have

spiritual glaucoma?

It's not spiritual blindness.

It's something that's in the way

of you seeing clearly.

Maybe it's materialism.

Maybe it's your pride.

Maybe it's your lust.

But what you do is ask

the Holy Spirit,

ask your Father

to pour out the Holy Spirit

upon you

and to revitalize your soul

that you can see clearly.

There's more I can say.

Those who've been born again,

they see clearly,

they are grateful,

and in evangelism,

they are dependent

on the Holy Spirit

because it's the Holy Spirit

who convicts people

of their sin.

Do you remember

that little color blindness test

that we started

this sermon off with?

There's no cure

for color blindness,

but there is a cure

for spiritual blindness.

You must be born again.

The Holy Spirit

gives eyes to see

and a heart to believe

the Son of Man

lifted up for you.

It changes what you see

in the Bible.

It changes from you

looking at the Bible

as page after page

of blah, blah, blah,

blah, blah, blah,

to seeing page after page

of the glory of God

in the face of Jesus Christ,

the Son of Man

lifted up for you.

You must be born again.

Let's pray.

Father, you alone

give new life

to the Spirit

based upon the finished work

of Jesus,

and would you

give new life

to those who are dead

in the room?

Would you, God,

use our witness of Christ

for people to hear

what Christ has done

and believe?

God, we trust you

would you, God,

add to our number

through conversions

more and more

who move from being dead

to being alive,

from being rebels

to being children,

and for those of us

who have already been

born again, God,

would you just continue

to reveal the glory

of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ?

It's your name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.