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Introduction
Today we’re going to kickoff this new year by starting a series titled ‘New Beginnings’.
One of the great things about a New Year, is that it offers an opportunity (an excuse / or starting point) to make some changes in your life.
Many of these are in the form of what are called ‘New Years Resolutions’.
People resolve to do something.
Some include:
Lose weight
Exercise more
Read my Bible through entirely
Become more faithful to God
Attend church more frequently
Learn a new hobby
I remember reading / hearing that gym membership sales increased dramatically at the start of a new year.
I used to be pretty cynical about New Years Resolutions, but TBH, they’re fine - if they are taken seriously, but all too often they are made, then a few weeks later they are forgotten.
If you’re here today and have made New Years Resolutions that are Spiritual, I want to encourage you to take them seriously.
If you made one concerning reading your Bible - take it seriously, because it’s a serious thing that can seriously affect you and your family
“ “ attending church… “ “
“ “ being more faithful to God… “ “
For this series on New Beginnings - I wanted to start at the Beginning.
Now throughout this upcoming month as we probe this subject, we must understand that everything that we’re going to cover rests upon the foundation that we will examine here today.
Without this foundation, the rest will crumble & fall.
The Foundation that I want to speak about today is the Foundational Relationship between man and God - and how it’s established.
Today we’re speaking on the topic of Salvation.
Now a few weeks ago in Sunday School, I spoke about Salvation, and in doing so I defined it, just to make clear of what we were speaking about.
Salvation (def) The act of saving; preservation or deliverance from destruction, danger, or great calamity.
So if Salvation is a saving, then it implies that there is a saving from something.
And make no mistake - there is something that every soul needs to be saved from, and that is from a place the Bible calls Hell.
Now I’ve heard how people who go through hard times say ‘I’m living though Hell on this earth’, but let me say that those people have NO IDEA what they are talking about.
There is no Hell on this earth that is fit to compare to the Hell that awaits man.
The Bible goes through and describes this place:
A place where the “fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
(Mar.
9:43-44)
Luke 16:19-31
It’s a place of torment (v23)
A place of cognitive function
You will see, hear, know & understand
A place of remembrance (v25)
You will remember opportunity, family, regret
A place where mercy is cried for, but not recieved
A place of unanswered prayers (v27;30)
A place of no escape (v26)
And let me remind you - this is Jesus’ description, not mine.
Not some fundamentalist wacko as we’re often referred to.
This is the way Jesus described that place, and He should know, as He created it!
Mankind needs saved from THAT!
Today in speaking on the topic of Salvation, we will look at Jesus’ conversation with this man Nicodemus in the message titled ‘Ye MUST be born again’
The first thing that we should look at is An Examination
I.
An Examination
We’re speaking about Nicodemus.
I think that it’s important that we take a moment and look at this man, especially in relation to what Jesus said to him.
He was a Religious Leader (v1)
As we note in v1, there are a few things that describe this man Nicodemus.
He was a Pharisee
A Pharisee would be likened unto a preacher or priest today.
They were inherently religious.
This is an important fact to understand, especially when we move forward with what Jesus is expressing to him.
He was a ‘ruler of the Jews’
In other words, he was someone who had authority.
This wasn’t some know-nothing scrub who had some wacky religious thoughts (there’s a bunch of those - think Matrixism).
This man was a leader of the most dominant religion in one of the largest cities in the world at that time.
So this was a religious, learned man with authority.
This is an accurate description of the man that Jesus is speaking to.
He Recognized Jesus’ Authority (v2b)
In this verse we can learn a few things as well.
He recognized Jesus as ‘teacher’
He addressed Jesus as ‘Rabbi’.
This was not because Jesus held an office down at the temple.
(Ill.)
Many of you address me as pastor, because that is a recognition of the position that God has given me here at this church.
You are recognizing that God has placed me in that position as undershepherd of this flock.
But that’s not why Nicodemus called Jesus Rabbi.
He called him Rabbi because he recognized Jesus as a master and teacher.
It was a title of honor, and this demonstrates the respect that he had for Jesus
He had reliable knowledge of Jesus’ miracle working power
Whether it was first hand accounts (which probably was - as Jesus performed many, and many very publically), or whether they were creditable accounts it matters not.
What matters is that Nicodemus was fully persuaded by the information in which he had - and he believed them.
(Ill.)
Think about how much it would take for another to tell you of a miracle for you to believe it.
If I told you that I saw a man born blind healed by spittle clay, you’d probably not believe me.
Deana says she saw a kangaroo hopping down the back ally in Statesville and we’re still questioning her about it - and I’d believe that woman over any of you.
He recognized Jesus’ Authority
He Reached Out to Jesus (v2a)
This fact alone tells us something about Nicodemus.
He had integrity - which is a lot more than most of the Pharisees
He sought the truth - “ “
There are a lot of people who literally don’t want to know the truth.
That’s because the old adage ‘ignorance is bliss’ is very true!
(Ill.)
Jefferson Davis - president of the Confederate States of America said: “Truth crushed to earth is truth still and like a seed will rise again.”
The truth of a God that YOU’RE accountable to is still true whether you want to admit it now or not.
But make no mistake, the truth will rise again when you stand before Him to give account of what you DID with the TRUTH!
It showed great wisdom on his part
Nicodemus was wise enough to understand the gravity of Jesus meant, and how it would effect his life.
The Bible tells us: Pro.
18:2 “A fool hath no delight in understanding, But that his heart may discover itself.”
As opposed to a fool, Nicodemus’ wisdom caused him to reach out unto Jesus.
He Needed Redemption (v3)
After it’s all said & done.
Nicodemus needed Redemption.
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