Steve Gentry
[0:00] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to John chapter 3. [0:03] That will be where our main text is found this morning as we get into God’s Word. [0:08] Before we do that, I want to reiterate what James has already announced, and that is [0:13] the Chili Cook Off on October 26th. [0:15] This is a great opportunity for all of us. [0:18] It was great last year.
[0:20] We had over 100 people from nearby neighborhoods come out, and we’re going to be inviting all [0:25] the people in the neighborhoods directly connecting on Genito Road again this year. [0:29] Just to serve them and show them that we’re a church that cares about the community around us. [0:35] So what I’m going to do is I’m going to invite you guys not only to come, not only to come [0:39] with presents, but also come to serve. [0:42] If you go on the website and if you go to the Connect Table and the Next Steps Table,
[0:46] you’re going to find ways in which you can help out in this. [0:49] But a huge way is it’s very hard to have a chili cook off with no chili. [0:54] So if you have chili that you make, a secret recipe or one that you stole, I don’t care [0:59] where it came from, go ahead and come out for that. [1:02] We’re going to have a little contest on that day for who has the best chili. [1:05] We have many different types of awards that we will be handing out that day.
[1:10] If I remember correctly, one of them is the Gas X Award. [1:15] So if you want to earn such a prestigious honor, come out, hook up with your community [1:20] group, figure out a good recipe, do something, but bring some chili. [1:24] And also we’re going to have Trunk or Treat that day for the kids in the neighborhood [1:27] who are going to come dressed up and get candy. [1:29] I may do that as well.
[1:31] But if you’ll come and bring your car, bring some candy, decorate your trunk or the back [1:36] of your minivan, whatever it is, that will be a great opportunity for you to serve. [1:40] I’m just going to invite you to do that. [1:42] And then secondly, if you currently don’t have a place in Village Church where you serve [1:47] personally, I want to invite you to consider doing that, to find a place where you can [1:53] your gifts, make some sacrifices on Sunday.
[1:56] And other days, as you can see, we like to start people young because we believe God [2:00] is worshiped through us following the example of Jesus as a servant. [2:06] And I don’t want you to miss out on that opportunity. [2:09] So if you’re new here and haven’t found a place to plug in, I’m inviting you to do [2:13] that. [2:14] If you’ve been here for a while and you haven’t found a place to serve, please do.
[2:17] It’s going to be a great blessing on your life and it’s going to help us tremendously. [2:21] We cannot do this until we come together as a family and serve one another as well as [2:27] those in the community. [2:28] So please do that. [2:30] If you have Bibles, once again, open them up to John chapter 3. [2:34] I’m going to start reading in verse 16 through 18.
[2:38] For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should [2:44] not perish but have eternal life. [2:48] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the [2:53] world might be saved through Him. [2:56] Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned [3:01] already because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
[3:08] Pray with me. [3:09] Our Father, we come before You this morning. [3:12] We ask that You would open our hearts and You would open our minds. [3:17] That we would receive Your Word. [3:20] That we would understand Your redemption and see how You desire to work in each and every [3:26] one of our lives to exhibit Your wonderful grace.
[3:31] Lord, may we be equipped, may we be empowered, and may we trust You and You alone to change [3:39] our lives for the good. [3:40] In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. [3:43] Amen. [3:44] As we start this series, this series called Core, the reason that I want to let you know [3:49] that we’re calling it that is because what we’re doing is we’re kind of laying a foundation
[3:53] over the next five weeks for why we exist as a church. [3:58] These are our core values. [3:59] This is what makes us the church that we believe God wants us to be. [4:03] This is what defines us. [4:05] And if you want to understand or if you want to communicate to people what it is that Village [4:10] Church is all about, over the next five weeks we’re just going to spell it out piece by
[4:15] piece. [4:16] Some time ago when we were thinking of planting the church, when we were laying down the [4:21] plans to move here to start a church, to grow God’s kingdom, it was really asked of us, [4:27] what does it mean to grow in the gospel? [4:30] What does it mean to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ? [4:35] Because that is what the church is all about.
[4:38] And so we search the scriptures and we really put pen to paper to say, well what is this? [4:45] This is something that we need to be able to describe to people. [4:47] We need to be able to define to people. [4:50] And this is what our core values really are. [4:54] It expresses and explains what the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like. [5:00] Because if you look in the scripture you understand that there is a point in time in which you
[5:05] begin to follow Jesus or you become a follower of Jesus or you’re saved or you start the [5:11] Christian life. [5:12] We all have that point. [5:15] None of us are born a Christian. [5:17] We become a follower of Jesus. [5:20] And so if I begin here, where am I going?
[5:24] That’s where point B takes us. [5:26] So it’s the question of is there an objective way to describe and define what it looks like [5:32] to grow? [5:34] And so we developed our core values in that light and found that it’s not really a straight line. [5:40] It’s not really this path that’s just a straight line, but it’s more like a cycle that takes place [5:45] in our lives to where we can begin to say I’m becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus.
[5:51] And that’s what redemption, mission, community, and culture are all about. [5:56] Formed around and connected to a life of worship. [6:01] And so that’s over the next few weeks we’re going to be taking a look at each and every one of those [6:05] words to explain how they fit into your life and that as you follow Jesus you are going to find [6:12] that you’re always somewhere in this cycle. [6:15] And the reason it’s such a cycle that always goes back to redemption is that when you become a
[6:20] follower of Jesus, when you’re redeemed by Him, He transforms you to live His mission in this world. [6:26] And as you seek to live His mission you find that you need to grow as a disciple. [6:30] And God has designed us in order that we would learn and we would grow in relationship with other people. [6:38] So the mission forces us into lives of community with other people relating, growing, helping one another [6:46] grow as disciples of Jesus. [6:48] But that’s not the end.
[6:49] It forces us to engage the culture around us and realizing that we are forming a culture within the [6:56] church and we take our culture and we go and we live among the culture in order to engage them with the [7:02] hope. [7:03] That’s the gospel of Jesus. [7:05] But inevitably if we’re following Jesus and we’re engaging the culture, we’re engaging those around us [7:11] with His word, ultimately that cycle is going to begin again in someone else’s life because we’re
[7:17] going to see redemption take root in others through what God is doing in our very own lives. [7:24] And so we want to begin today and talk about that first core value and it’s there for a purpose. [7:30] Redemption is that point A. Redemption is where it all begins. [7:37] Redemption is the foundation. [7:39] It is the cornerstone upon which the church of Jesus is to be built and it is the hope upon which we are [7:46] seeking to build.
[7:47] You cannot be a disciple until you are redeemed by Jesus. [7:52] It’s completely hopeless. [7:54] And as I was thinking and praying about this for the past months and weeks about what I’m going to share [8:00] throughout this series and as I was praying, God help me explain what redemption is. [8:05] I began to understand who better than to explain it to us than Jesus Christ Himself. [8:10] The Redeemer is the one who defines redemption to us.
[8:15] And so I was drawn to John chapter 3 and this is that great text that is probably the most popular [8:22] or famous verse in all of the Bible. [8:25] It begins with John 3.16 and all of us are steeped in it. [8:29] Maybe if you grew up in church you memorized it in Awanas. [8:32] That’s really verse number one in Sparky’s. [8:35] If you don’t know what Awanas is, imagine Boy Scouts with no knives but Bibles.
[8:40] That’s pretty much what Awanas is. [8:42] Go Google it. [8:43] You’ll learn a lot. [8:44] But as we learn this verse, all of us kind of go there and we can, some of us probably can verbatim just quote it. [8:52] But if we slow down and really begin to take apart what Jesus is saying here, [8:58] we just simply see the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[9:02] And really this text is inside of a story that Jesus is giving us and it’s describing a conversation [9:09] that He has with a man named Nicodemus. [9:13] Nicodemus is a ruler in Jerusalem. [9:16] He’s a Pharisee and if you know anything about the Pharisees in the first century, [9:20] they were the religious law keepers in all of Jerusalem. [9:24] They were the ones that enforced the law.
[9:26] They were the ones that taught everybody how to follow the law. [9:29] But Nicodemus wasn’t simply a Pharisee. [9:31] Nicodemus was a chief Pharisee, a member of the Jewish Supreme Court. [9:36] When you were seen as someone who wasn’t following the law of God, [9:41] you would actually come before Nicodemus and he would pronounce a sentence on you. [9:46] And Nicodemus finds himself at a place in life where Jesus has been born and He’s grown and He’s entered into His ministry.
[9:53] And the Apostle John tells us this story very early on to really describe who Jesus is and what He’s going to do in the rest of the book. [10:02] It says that Nicodemus heard of the many miracles that Jesus was doing [10:06] and he heard the gospel that Jesus had been preaching about the kingdom of God. [10:12] And so as to not cause a controversy or kind of put himself in danger, the scriptures describe, [10:18] we don’t know how he set the meeting up, but we know that under the cover of night, [10:22] Nicodemus comes in secret to meet with Jesus, to question Him, to ask Him,
[10:28] how can I come into this kingdom that you’re preaching about? [10:34] And in John chapter 3 verse 3, Jesus begins His answer.
[10:40] Jesus answered him, truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [10:49] So Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born again when he’s old? [10:54] Can he enter into his mother’s womb and be born? [10:57] Jesus answered, truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, [11:03] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [11:06] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[11:12] So Jesus poses Nicodemus probably the most perplexing answer that Nicodemus has ever heard. [11:18] And Nicodemus’ response is, Jesus has kind of already been born, and I may be a little too big to fit again. [11:24] So I don’t really see I’m not connecting the dots, and the reality is that you would say the exact same thing. [11:31] How can I enter the kingdom and be born again? [11:34] I don’t think that’s going to happen, Jesus. [11:38] And so Jesus responds to Nicodemus really with a lack of understanding.
[11:43] Because Nicodemus can’t wrap his mind around the fact that he doesn’t already have what it takes to be in the kingdom of God. [11:52] See, Nicodemus isn’t really unlike me or you. [11:56] Nicodemus is really not understanding what it is to be a Christian, what it is to follow God, what it is to know Him. [12:03] And at this point in history, Jesus is bringing this revolutionary message. [12:08] And what that message is? Israel, you are not holy. [12:14] You can’t know God.
[12:16] See, Nicodemus understood it, that he was born into the kingdom of God. [12:22] He was born good enough. [12:25] If he lived in our era and been this type of religious ruler, he would have said, [12:28] Nicodemus, are you a Christian? Of course. Have you seen my parents? [12:33] It’s in my lineage.
[12:35] Don’t you know what church I go to? [12:38] Don’t you know that I hold membership over there? [12:41] Well, I’ve given all of the money. I’ve given to the church. I’ve given to charities. [12:46] I’ve done all of these great things. [12:48] I know what the kingdom of God is about. [12:51] I know what it means to follow God.
[12:53] I’ve been doing it my entire life. [12:56] Nicodemus didn’t understand, and none of the religious rulers of that day in all of Israel, [13:01] and really the entire world, couldn’t grasp what Jesus was talking about. [13:06] Because they could not come to the conclusion that they were sinners. [13:10] They could not understand what it is that they are born of the flesh. [13:14] And Jesus says, I need to be born of the spirit.
[13:16] Well, what’s so wrong with being born in the flesh? [13:20] In Romans chapter 1, verses 22 and 23, the scriptures describe that everyone that’s born in the flesh [13:27] ultimately is born with this natural tendency to exchange the glory of God [13:32] by attempting to find satisfaction, attempting to find wholeness, [13:36] attempting to find identity in the created things of this world. [13:41] Whether it be success, whether it be family, whether it be money, whether it be immorality,
[13:46] it’s all the same, the scriptures tell us. [13:50] Sin is the great equalizer that each and every one of us have or are attempting [13:57] to find what we were meant to live for in this life. [14:03] We’re trying to find who we are in this world. [14:08] And Nicodemus was no different. [14:11] Because Nicodemus is seeking through his obedience.
[14:14] Nicodemus is seeking through his title, through his authority, through his power, [14:19] through who he was as a Jewish man to find his significance. [14:26] It really had nothing to do with God at that point. [14:29] And everything to do with who Nicodemus was and you and I are no different than Nicodemus.
[14:38] And Jesus were to answer to us what it took to be in the kingdom of God. [14:44] He would say the exact same thing. [14:47] Everyone born of flesh is flesh. [14:50] Everyone born of the spirit is spirit. [14:52] And we would look back at him and say, come again? [14:56] What do you mean?
[14:58] See, what’s so amazing about this story is Nicodemus is this man who knows the Old Testament. [15:05] He’s a biblical scholar, no doubt. [15:09] And hundreds of years before this, God prophesied through the prophet Isaiah, [15:14] excuse me, through the prophet Ezekiel rather. [15:17] Get them mixed up sometimes. [15:18] The prophet Ezekiel, what he was going to do.
[15:22] And Nicodemus still can’t put it together. [15:25] I’m going to read it here in Ezekiel chapter 36 and I’ll only read one of the verses of this great promise. [15:31] The prophet Ezekiel speaking on behalf of God says, [15:34] And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. [15:37] There it is. [15:38] And I will put it within you.
[15:40] And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [15:45] God tells Israel, I’m going to do a new work in you. [15:50] It is going to change your life. [15:52] It is going to revolutionize everything. [15:54] I’m going to send my spirit in a way that it has never come upon you. [15:59] And you will be of my spirit.
[16:03] And when Jesus begins to use very similar language to Nicodemus, [16:08] the one who knows this, he looks to Jesus and he says, I don’t understand. [16:15] But you can’t fathom that he is not the answer to this prophecy. [16:20] That he is not already living this spiritual life. [16:24] Because Nicodemus didn’t understand that he needed to be born again.
[16:31] If you’ve lived in our culture any amount of time and looked at religion at all, [16:34] maybe you’ve heard the term born again. [16:37] And for better or worse, no matter how you’ve heard it, no matter how you’ve seen it, [16:41] it is the best description to understand what Jesus is talking about. [16:46] Because he’s talking about revolutionizing our very lives. [16:51] And he’s telling Nicodemus, Nicodemus, you need a complete and whole change.
[16:58] You need to be born again. [17:02] In Romans chapter 8 verse 9, the apostle Paul puts it this way, [17:06] you however are not in the flesh but in the spirit. [17:10] If in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, [17:12] anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [17:18] And Nicodemus is trying under his own power, under his own strength,
[17:22] under his own human nature to be what only God himself is. [17:27] And he can’t fathom that he doesn’t measure up. [17:30] He can’t fathom that he’s good enough.
[17:34] And Jesus says, that’s what it takes. [17:38] You see up until this point Jesus has given him absolutely no good news. [17:42] Maybe you see the term born again and you’re like, oh the gospel, born again. [17:47] That’s not good news to Nicodemus. [17:50] Not right there. That’s bad news. [17:53] Because Jesus has just asked Nicodemus to do the impossible.
[17:58] And Nicodemus knows it and we know by his response. [18:01] Nicodemus says, I can’t do that. [18:03] And Jesus is basically asking him the question to get him to a place [18:06] where he understands that he cannot do that. [18:08] Jesus has said, you must do the impossible to enter into the kingdom of God. [18:12] And Nicodemus says, I can’t.
[18:15] I can only think that in Jesus’ conversation at this point [18:18] he’s probably like, and now we’re getting somewhere.
[18:22] Because you are hopeless. [18:26] See redemption is very good news. [18:29] But if you don’t have the bad news you can’t understand how good the good news is.
[18:37] And Jesus is waiting for Nicodemus and he’s waiting for you and me [18:41] and he’s waiting for us to understand this one key component. [18:45] And that is that we are a people who do not have hope on our own. [18:50] We are a people who cannot make ourselves better.
[18:56] We are not as holy as God is. [18:59] And that is how good and holy we must be [19:02] if we’d have any hope of entering into the kingdom of God. [19:05] And if you take a look in the mirror you’ll find that you are completely bankrupt. [19:11] So at this point where is the hope?
[19:15] Well, a few verses later what we read earlier this morning [19:19] Jesus looks to him ten verses later and he begins [19:22] this great, amazing, good news to Nicodemus. [19:27] And look again in verse 16 where he says, [19:30] For God so loved the world that he gave his only son [19:33] that whoever believes in him should not perish
[19:35] but have eternal life.
[19:40] You see in these verses what we are going to see is this very important understanding to us. [19:46] And that is that number two this morning, [19:47] redemption is turning from sin and unbelief [19:51] to trusting Jesus and His righteousness. [19:56] See ultimately that’s what we see in this text. [19:59] We see that redemption is very good news.
[20:02] The fact that we cannot do the impossible that God is asking us [20:08] in being born again is actually very good news [20:11] because Jesus comes to do it for us. [20:16] Jesus comes for ultimate redemption. [20:19] Jesus comes for absolute reconciliation with God. [20:24] John 3.16 starts with amazing news that God is doing
[20:27] what may seem impossible to us [20:30] but through Jesus it becomes completely possible. [20:35] And I want to explain in three different ways of understanding [20:39] verses 16 through 18 how this is such good news to us. [20:45] First one is that redemption is good news because God shows His love for us [20:49] in and through Jesus.
[20:53] The God that we have rebelled from and sinned against [20:56] by throwing our lives at things less glorious than Him. [20:59] Even religion, even our own morality, [21:04] even our own goodness is completely worthless [21:07] and it is an exchange of God’s glory for our own pride.
[21:13] And God pursues us to make Himself known [21:16] by lowering Himself to become a man in Jesus Christ.
[21:22] See that’s why it’s good news. [21:24] This text literally reads in the Greek [21:26] that this is how God has shown His love to the world.
[21:32] That we are a people who have not loved God, [21:35] who do not deserve for Him to pursue us, [21:38] who cannot measure up and He redeems us. [21:42] He pursues us. He comes after us. [21:45] He becomes a man and dwells among us [21:49] to give us the hope that we need.
[21:52] But think about it in this way. [21:54] The fact that Jesus came does not necessarily have to be to show love.
[22:03] See if we are a people who have rebelled against God, [22:06] if we are a people who are sinful, [22:10] think about what Jesus is. [22:13] Jesus is the creator of everything.
[22:17] Jesus, the book of Colossians says that nothing, [22:20] He’s the preeminent of all creation, [22:21] that nothing exists that He did not create. [22:25] So He’s the creator. He made us for a purpose [22:28] and we’ve run from that purpose. [22:30] But then secondly, Scripture throughout the whole of it
[22:34] describes Jesus as the judge and says that there’s coming a day [22:37] when we will all stand before Him to be judged for the deeds [22:41] while done in the body. [22:42] So Jesus is the judge, so He’s the creator, He’s the judge. [22:46] We’ve sinned against Him, we’ve rebelled against Him, [22:48] we were meant to worship, we did not worship.
[22:53] And so we could very well be seeing a judge come [22:58] to exact His red-hot wrath for all of us. [23:03] But look at verse 17. [23:06] He says, [23:06] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, [23:10] but in order that the world through Him might be saved.
[23:16] Note that it says, [23:17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world. [23:21] Understand that if He came to relieve condemnation, [23:26] then that means that we were condemned. [23:30] That means He came to relieve a weight that was already on our shoulders. [23:36] So Jesus doesn’t have to come for us to be condemned.
[23:40] We just are condemned because of our sin.
[23:46] And Jesus comes and instead of condemning, [23:49] the scripture says right there, [23:50] He comes to relieve that condemnation. [23:53] And that’s why when John 3.16 says that this is how God loves us, [23:57] this is how much, this is the depth, this is the vastness of His love, [24:01] that He would send His only Son to redeem us and give us eternal life,
[24:07] it means that there was at one time without Jesus [24:09] when we did not have eternal life, [24:12] our life was headed towards an end, [24:14] and that end was the wrath of God. [24:16] It was condemnation. [24:17] But God doesn’t send His Son in order to exact that deserved condemnation.
[24:22] God sends His Son in order to relieve that condemnation. [24:28] There is no greater love.
[24:33] Because we did not love Him. [24:36] But He loved us.
[24:42] And secondly, it’s good news because following Jesus, [24:46] according to verse 17, destroys the condemnation of our lives.
[24:53] In 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18, [24:56] the scripture puts it this way for us to understand. [24:59] For Christ also suffered once for sins, [25:02] the righteous for the unrighteous, [25:04] that He might bring us to God, [25:09] being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.
[25:14] There it is again. [25:16] Life in the Spirit. [25:19] Born again.
[25:22] But this time the text is a little different. [25:24] It’s not just speaking of the fact that Jesus came. [25:28] Because Jesus did more than that. [25:30] The scripture says that Jesus suffered for what? [25:34] For sins. [25:36] Understand that Jesus does not just come showing us an example
[25:40] of what life is to be lived. [25:43] And He could have done that. [25:44] That’s what Jesus is. [25:47] But if you just look at the life of Jesus, [25:50] and then look at your own life, [25:51] it is remarkable how unlike Jesus we are.
[25:57] When you look at the life of Jesus, [26:00] and if you just have the audacity to say, [26:02] what a great example to follow.
[26:06] I hope not. [26:07] Because when I look to His example, [26:09] and then I look to me, [26:10] I see someone that’s nothing like Him. [26:13] He’s obedient. [26:14] He’s loving.
[26:15] He’s forgiving. [26:16] He submits wholly to the will of God.
[26:21] Yet Jesus dies on the cross.
[26:26] What a strange difference. [26:29] What a strange paradox we have in this very thought. [26:32] That Jesus is completely perfect. [26:34] Jesus is completely loving. [26:36] Jesus never once goes outside of the will of God, [26:38] but instead submits wholly,
[26:41] even when it means He’s going to come under great suffering.
[26:46] And yet He dies.
[26:52] Why? [26:53] Scripture says that for the wages of sin is death. [26:57] And we understand that Jesus is completely sinless, [27:00] so why would Jesus have to die? [27:03] See, each and every one of us, [27:05] we’re completely sinful.
[27:06] Therefore, we would understand if and when we die, [27:09] yeah, much deserved if that’s the wage that sin causes. [27:13] I know that I’ve sinned. [27:14] I’m worse than most. [27:15] I’m probably worse than you. [27:16] So I know what’s coming for me.
[27:19] But you look to Jesus and you say, why would Jesus have to die? [27:23] Given the opportunity to die for my son’s sins, I love him. [27:27] I never knew I was capable of such love. [27:30] Go with me on this example.
[27:34] If I was given the opportunity, Steve, would you die for the sins of your son? [27:37] Not even a moment’s thought, absolutely. [27:40] That fast. [27:41] I’d take his place in a minute. [27:44] I’d be worthless for him. [27:46] Because I’ve sinned.
[27:48] I can’t pay for his sins. I’ve sinned. [27:51] Mom, you can’t pay for your husband’s sins. [27:53] Husband, you can’t pay for your wife’s sins. [27:55] You can’t pay for your kid’s sins. [27:56] Because you’ve got to pay for your own. [27:58] You sent your kids.
[27:59] They can’t pay for your sins. [28:01] Want to know why? [28:01] Got to pay for their own.
[28:04] This is what’s so remarkable.
[28:07] All inspiring, life changing about the gospel of Jesus Christ. [28:12] Jesus Christ had no sins. [28:14] So if I’m seeking a substitute for my sins, I can only find it in the sinless one. [28:22] And it is the very judge himself, the creator of all that exists, the most holy one, [28:27] that’s ever been and ever will be. [28:29] And he says, I will substitute for you.
[28:37] Remarkable.
[28:39] Love unknown. [28:41] And he said, I will not sin anywhere else. [28:42] That he who knew no sin would exchange his life for my life, paying my penalty that I deserve to pay. [28:52] And he did that for you as well. [28:54] That, friends, is the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [28:58] Because he had no sins to pay for.
[29:00] Therefore, and only because of that, he could pay the price for ours. [29:06] And John 3, 16 starts. [29:10] God so loved the world. [29:13] That is the level at which God loves you.
[29:21] Number three, this morning.
[29:24] I wonder why it’s such good news. [29:26] It’s good news because to be born again is to gladly give my life over to Jesus.
[29:35] In 1 Corinthians 15, verses 3 and 4, the apostle Paul, writing about the gospel to the church at Corinth, [29:43] says, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, [29:48] that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, [29:52] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. [29:58] So the good news goes even a step further. [30:02] Because think about it in a few ways.
[30:04] If all Jesus did was to die for our sins, and that’s the end of the story, [30:09] then my slate’s made clean. [30:11] Guess what? [30:11] I’m going to dirty that slate again, am I not?
[30:15] I have no righteousness, so I’m going to sin again.
[30:20] But Jesus rose. [30:23] So I could have new life. [30:24] But here’s a second way to think about it. [30:26] What if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead? [30:29] What do we need power over? [30:31] We need power over sin and death.
[30:35] If Jesus had remained dead, it would have meant that sin was more powerful than Jesus. [30:42] That God does not have power over death. [30:47] We would have been left, once again, hopeless. [30:51] That’s why Paul says this is the matter of first importance. [30:55] This is the primary concern. [30:57] This is the core of the gospel.
[30:59] That Jesus died on the cross to forgive you of your sins. [31:03] But then three days later, I love Jesus because he waited just long enough [31:07] to where everybody would say, yeah, he’s dead. [31:09] He rose from the dead. [31:11] Power over sin and death proven. [31:14] Victory over sin shown.
[31:16] He is God because no one else in all of history has ever had the power [31:21] to give themselves life after death.
[31:25] But Jesus has that power.
[31:30] That’s why in verse 17 we look to it and we say there’s no condemnation in him [31:37] because he’s got power over it.
[31:41] He can’t be condemned. [31:44] He took all sins of the whole world. [31:48] Mine, yours, theirs, everything on himself. [31:51] And it couldn’t hold him down.
[31:54] Paid the penalty, got back up.
[31:58] That is good news.
[32:04] And he doesn’t just say, I’ll die for you. [32:07] He also says, I’ll live again for you.
[32:13] Because we are a people who need that kind of hope. [32:17] And God gives it over and over again. [32:24] You cannot move forward without this redemption being real in your life. [32:30] That’s why it’s of first importance, Paul writes. [32:34] Because without redemption, there’s no mission. [32:38] There’s no community.
[32:41] There’s no culture. [32:43] It’s all worthless if we don’t have redemption. [32:45] Friend, you cannot jump over point A to get to point B. [32:49] You can’t do it. [32:51] Point A is where it starts. [32:52] Point A is the cornerstone.
[32:55] You need Jesus desperately, more desperately than you could ever imagine. [33:01] You’re in need of him. [33:04] Because he’s the God that pursues with love, with power, with life. [33:12] Finally, this morning, we must understand that redemption is a new life of following Jesus. [33:22] 318 reads this way. [33:24] Whoever believes in him is not condemned.
[33:27] But whoever does not believe is condemned already. [33:29] Because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.
[33:34] So we know that it’s through Jesus. [33:36] We know we need Jesus. [33:37] But we also must understand that we don’t just need a little bit of relief. [33:43] We don’t just need a second chance. [33:46] Jesus does not come so that we can have a new hobby on the side to keep ourselves active in religion. [33:54] No, we need a brand new life.
[33:56] So one way in misunderstanding the gospel is that Jesus came and God is the God of second chances. [34:01] You know, God’s not the God of second chances. [34:04] Maybe you’ve heard that and that’s okay. [34:05] Maybe you’ve said that, that’s okay. [34:09] But I think we need to correct that. [34:11] Because he’s not.
[34:11] He’s not the God of second chances. [34:12] He’s not the God of third chances. [34:13] He’s not the God of fourth chances. [34:14] He’s not the God of fifth chances. [34:15] You want to know why? [34:16] Because we’ll keep screwing it up.
[34:19] This is what Nicodemus couldn’t get. [34:22] We’re sinners. [34:23] What does a sinner do? [34:24] A sinner sins. [34:26] So if God says, okay, I’ll forgive you, here’s another chance. [34:30] I’ll blow it in like three minutes or less.
[34:33] Guaranteed.
[34:37] Because Nicodemus is not standing before one of his friends. [34:40] Nicodemus is standing in front of the God of the universe. [34:44] This is a different type of conversation than with your teachers in school that catch you doing something bad [34:49] and you think you can talk your way out of it. [34:52] Okay? [34:53] Because Jesus not only knows what you did, he knows why you did it.
[34:56] He knows what you were thinking while you did it. [34:59] He knows what was motivating you while you did it. [35:01] And when you do that religious stuff and you gave like 10% of your income to the church, [35:05] he knows it was a tax write-off.
[35:09] Alright? [35:11] He knows our motivations. [35:12] He knows everything. [35:13] He knew what Nicodemus was thinking in that moment.
[35:17] And so to stand before Jesus is to stand fully exposed.
[35:24] Nowhere to hide. [35:26] Nothing to cover us.
[35:29] So it’s not a second chance that I need. [35:33] And that’s why Jesus doesn’t bring that.
[35:37] Jesus brings a brand new life.
[35:42] Complete change forever. [35:45] Jesus himself explains it this way in Matthew chapter 9.
[35:52] He says, No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. [35:56] For the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. [36:02] Neither is new wine put into old wine skins. [36:04] If it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed. [36:10] But new wine is put into fresh wine skins. [36:14] And so both are preserved.
[36:17] It’s one of those parables of Jesus where you’re like, what? [36:21] Alright? [36:22] Same thing with being born again. [36:23] Huh? [36:23] Jesus, we’re speaking different languages here. [36:26] But in light of the gospel, we can grasp what this means.
[36:31] He’s saying if you take, and this is obvious if you’ve ever sewn, I have not, [36:34] so I’m making this up from Wikipedia. [36:36] If you take an old piece of cloth, and it’s got holes in it, it’s tattered, [36:41] you know, it’s been worn, and you take a brand new piece of cloth, [36:45] and you just sew it around there, and then you begin to weather it, [36:48] and you measure it perfectly, and it’s just in there like it should be,
[36:52] and that new cloth begins to get wet, and begins to get dirt on it, [36:56] and it begins to shrink.
[37:00] It begins to take the form of the weathered cloth, [37:02] but when that happens, it’s going to pull against that thread. [37:07] And it’s going to begin to tear, and it’s going to become another hole, [37:11] and then you’re going to have more holes to patch up, [37:14] and you just have to keep doing the exact same thing.
[37:19] What you need isn’t patches. [37:24] You don’t just need a little bit of religious activity over here, [37:27] a little bit of morality over there, covering up those different things, [37:30] paying penance for what you’ve done here or there. [37:34] No, Jesus says you just need to throw that old cloth away. [37:37] You need a new cloth.
[37:38] That’s the answer.
[37:41] Then he says, wine skins. [37:43] He says if you take brand new wine, and then you take the wine that you just drank, [37:47] out of the old wine skin, and you take that wine skin, [37:50] and you put the new wine in, guess what? [37:52] As that wine ages, it’s going to expand,
[37:57] and the old wine skin, it can’t move anymore, [38:00] so eventually, man, it’s just going to burst, and you’re going to lose all of your wine. [38:04] What Jesus is saying is you cannot hold the wine of the kingdom of God in your life. [38:13] Sin has stretched you. [38:16] Sin has tattered you. [38:18] Sin has broken its way into your life,
[38:21] and you’ve just got holes, and you’re stretched out, and you’re stretched thin, [38:25] and if he were to try to pour his kingdom into what you are, [38:29] you’d burst. You couldn’t handle it. [38:31] The holiness would kill you.
[38:34] And in the resurrection, what Jesus offers us is a brand new wine skin, [38:41] a wine skin defined by him that can hold the wine of the kingdom of God.
[38:50] Why is grace so amazing? [38:54] Grace is so amazing because Jesus doesn’t save us by what we are, [39:01] what we’ve done, what we could do, what we have to offer. [39:06] We have to trust in his work for us. [39:10] We have to trust in his wine skin. [39:13] We have to trust in what he said he will make new.
[39:16] He does the work, we get the joy. [39:19] He does the work, we get the benefit. [39:21] He does the work, we get the life. [39:25] That is amazing grace. [39:29] You have to understand that Jesus comes to revolutionize your very soul. [39:34] He comes to give everything brand new into your life.
[39:41] When it says that he relieves condemnation, [39:44] but without him there’s just condemnation. [39:46] It’s because he has to come in and do the work for us. [39:50] Then he looks to the Father and he says, [39:52] You know that work I did? No, Steve did it.
[39:57] So you kind of perplexed. You’re like, No, I’m pretty sure you did it, Jesus. [40:00] He’s like, No, you did it. That’s on your account now. [40:03] All of my work is as if you did it. [40:05] And what a fool would I be to say, No, I won’t accept it, Jesus.
[40:11] What an offer we have as people who stand condemned [40:16] before a holy and righteous God that he says, [40:20] My son came and he was righteous for you. [40:23] His righteousness takes the place of your unrighteousness. [40:26] His sinlessness takes the place of your sinfulness. [40:31] What other response could I possibly have than yes?
[40:36] I want that. I’ll take that. [40:39] I’ve got to stand before God and I’ve got a substitute who’s going to be there for me. [40:43] He’s going to plead my case. He didn’t sin. I did. [40:46] He’ll give me life. I don’t have life. Absolutely.
[40:53] To deny that is insanity.
[40:56] If I came to you this morning and I offered you a million dollars, [41:01] if you’ll, and I’ve had that conversation with some people, [41:06] and it’s interesting what your responses are. [41:08] You’re sick people. You’ll do just about anything for a million dollars.
[41:20] This is so phenomenally greater than that.
[41:26] This is out of the atmosphere of that. [41:30] That does not even compare to the greatness of what God says [41:35] when the Judge of the Universe says, [41:37] I’ll not only wipe your slate clean, I’ll not only forgive you, [41:40] I’m going to do all that, but on top of it, [41:44] I’ll give you a brand new life to obey me under my power,
[41:49] to strengthen you, to go through anything in life, [41:53] to cover any hurt that you’ve ever had, [41:56] to cover any suffering that you’ve ever had. [41:59] My love in your life is my presence. [42:02] You can know the God of the Universe and not live in terror of His condemnation, [42:07] but instead live in absolute joy of His full redemption.
[42:14] He will take you out of whatever sin you’re in and place you in His presence. [42:19] And make you as holy as Jesus is in His sight.
[42:27] And we oftentimes question the goodness of the Gospel.
[42:33] Friends, there’s nothing better.
[42:38] See, the key in understanding all of this is that [42:42] redemption is not belief with no change.
[42:47] Look in John chapter 6 verse 63, this is the way Jesus puts it again. [42:53] He says, it is the Spirit who gives life. [42:56] The flesh is no help at all. [43:00] The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
[43:06] So when we get into those moments of despair and those moments of not understanding, [43:11] we’ll begin to depend under our own flesh, under our own strength, [43:15] and we’ll say, okay, well there’s got to be change, so I’ll just change myself. [43:19] I’ll get more holy. I’ll join this Bible study. [43:21] I’ll read my Bible over here. I’ll give more money to the church. [43:24] And Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no, no, you don’t understand.
[43:27] Spirit and life, that’s in me.
[43:31] I’ve got that.
[43:33] I’ll do that.
[43:37] You need me, is what Jesus is saying.
[43:42] Could it be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion and redemption [43:47] is not simply me saying believe in the Lord? [43:52] Because I think a lot of us will nod our head. [43:54] We’ll say, okay, Jesus said that, sure, all right. [43:58] But it doesn’t change your life. It doesn’t bring you any joy.
[44:03] But rather than believe in the Lord, maybe we should say delight yourself in the Lord.
[44:09] You may feel condemned, yet you thought you believed in Jesus. [44:15] You’ve never had joy in him, but you agree. [44:19] Jesus came for us to realize that this is not an academic exercise. [44:24] This is not a system of beliefs for us to agree with and go on with our lives as usual. [44:30] This is a revolution of the soul that covers us fully. [44:35] He wants our delight to be in him.
[44:38] He wants us to know him. [44:40] He wants to give us joy, and it’s the joy of following him and being in his presence.
[44:49] So when I’ve described the good news, it’s good because it gives me everything that I need, [44:54] and I’m completely full.
[44:59] Jesus says you don’t even know what happiness is. [45:07] Because when the condemnation is gone, when the righteousness is given, [45:10] when the eternal life is ours, then we know what joy is.
[45:20] The reality this morning is that each and every one of us need to be redeemed [45:25] and to know Jesus is to find the joy of redemption.
[45:33] As the band comes up, I want us to understand this morning, [45:36] and I want us to just take a moment and slow down and step back
[45:43] and just reflect on this redemption. [45:48] Just reflect for a moment on what it is to be a follower of Jesus.
[45:55] What I’ve talked about today, what we’ve been through this morning, that’s the gospel.
[46:00] The gospel is that I am a sinner, and Jesus came and died and was rose again [46:05] to redeem me for himself for eternity.
[46:10] And Jesus simply looks to us and says, trust me. [46:14] Trust me. [46:16] Give me your life. [46:18] Trust me with it. [46:20] Give it over. [46:21] Because you’ve had it, and what it’s gotten you is condemnation.
[46:27] What it’s gotten you is sinfulness.
[46:31] What it’s gotten you, maybe you don’t even realize it, is joylessness. [46:36] It’s the thought that you’re going to find satisfaction in this other thing, [46:39] and you get it, and you’re still not satisfied, so you move to the next thing.
[46:44] And what Jesus says is, come to me. [46:46] I’ve got it. I’ve got eternal life. I’ve got abundant joy. [46:49] I’ve got everything you could ever need. I’ve got the righteousness. I’ve got the holiness. [46:52] He’s got heaven.
[46:56] He says, I’ll pay your fees. [47:01] I’ll pay your prices. [47:03] I’ll pay everything.
[47:06] Trust me. [47:08] So the question that I have for you this morning is that [47:11] understand that this is a church that’s founded on redemption.
[47:16] There’s not a single person in this church, not a single pastor in this church, [47:21] and a single member of this church that didn’t need to be redeemed.
[47:28] We all did. I did.
[47:31] But what I want you to understand this morning is that where you are in your life, [47:36] do you need to be redeemed by Jesus today?
[47:40] Today is the day that He’ll save you. [47:42] Today is the day that He’ll give you that new life. [47:45] Today is the day where He will intercede on your behalf to say, [47:50] sins forgiven. [47:52] New life given.
[47:55] If you don’t know Jesus, trust Him today. [48:00] Because He’s good.
[48:04] If you’re in here and you are a follower of Jesus, now is the time every week where [48:08] we reflect on what’s called the Lord’s Supper. [48:12] If you’re a follower of Jesus, what this stands for, it’s a meal that’s been [48:17] reflected on for so long, for thousands of years. [48:22] But ultimately it found its fulfillment in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. [48:27] Because what it stands for is the promises of God and God’s guarantee
[48:33] that He will fulfill them all under His own power. [48:38] And He invites you to take of the cup and drink it, take of the bread and eat it. [48:43] Because the cup represents the shed blood of Jesus and the bread represents the broken body of Jesus. [48:49] Broken and bled for you.
[48:53] And what’s amazing is that this metaphor is a metaphor for when you take it and when you drink it, [48:58] when you take it and you eat it, it represents Jesus losing His life, [49:04] sacrificing His life and entering into your very own.
[49:10] And when you come, we’ve got six stations throughout the room, [49:14] when you come, what you’re doing is you’re proclaiming to everybody in here, [49:19] I trust that Jesus. [49:22] I need Him every day. I need His forgiveness. I need His righteousness. [49:27] I need His holiness. I’m bankrupt without it. I’m dependent on Jesus. [49:33] Trust me, you are.
[49:36] So in just a moment we’re going to sing some songs and we’re going to celebrate the cross. [49:42] But if you’re a follower, I invite you, when you’re ready to come,
[49:48] proclaim John 3, 16 through 18 through the Lord’s Supper. [49:54] If you’re not a follower, I’ll be right over here. [49:58] I’d love to talk to you. There will be some in the foyer. [50:02] But understand, you don’t need me. You need to trust Jesus.
[50:08] And He’ll take you today. [50:10] When you’re ready, come.