Jesus, The Savior of the World

John 3:16-21

When last we left the book of John,
Jesus was locked in a conversation with one of the religious elite.

Nicodemus came to Jesus desiring some instruction.
He came appealing to this teacher who worked the works of God

Jesus reminded Nicodemus he didn’t need a change of direction,
He needed a change of nature.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.”

Although Nicodemus should have understood this,
He did not, and he questioned how such a thing could occur.

Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus why he couldn’t understand.
“Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.”

Nicodemus’ inability to see
Stemmed from an unwillingness to see.
He could not see because he would not see.

And after Jesus exposed this sin of Nicodemus,
He then explained that salvation can only occur when there is a:
1) Sacrificial Animal
2) Sacrificial Act
3) Sacrificial Acceptance

(13-15) “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

We understand what Jesus was talking about.
We have been taught the need for another to pay the sin debt,
Nicodemus should have understood, but he didn’t.

Nicodemus was seeking a teacher, he needed a Savior.
Therefore Jesus must expound on this truth.

Here in our text this morning we see that:
Jesus is far more than just a teacher.
Jesus is far more than just a prophet.
Jesus is far more than just a wise man.

Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world,
He didn’t come just to teach.
THIS MORNING WE SEE WHY HE CAME

#1 JESUS CAME FOR THE DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE
John 3:16
We are reminded of a very foundational truth.
When you want to talk about the wonder of salvation,
There is only one place you can start,
The love of God.

The origin of salvation is God’s love.
He is the Originator of salvation…
He is the Author of salvation…
He is the Offerer of salvation…

Without the love of God, there would have never been salvation.

AND GOD’S LOVE IS NOT MYTHICAL, THANKS TO THE WORD OF GOD, WE KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD.

The Scripture provides us with the EXPLANATION OF GOD’S LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”

One of Jesus parables provides us with the ILLUSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE
Luke 10:27-37 “And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.” But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

We as Christians are the MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S LOVE
1 John 4:9 “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
But if you want to see the DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE,
You only look at the cross.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Which is exactly what Jesus is teaching us here.
He came to demonstrate the unconditional love of God.

We see that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,”

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Before Jesus came, God’s love was a mystery.
It was unknown, it was undefined, it was unrecognized.

The closest people in history to understanding God’s love
Were the children of Israel.

Ezekiel 16:4-14 “As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. “No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ “I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord GOD. “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. “I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. “I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. “I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. “Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. “Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord GOD.”

Israel had received the love of God,
But when you factor in all the punishment they received,
And all the sacrifices that reminded them that they were not acceptable,
God’s love was still a mystery even to the Jewish people.

Despite all He had done,
God was still distant, and His love was undefined.
If it was this tough for Israel, it was near impossible for Gentiles.
What claim would they have on the love of God?

Before Jesus came, you could not understand God’s love.
It was undefined.
But then one day a baby was born in Bethlehem,
And God’s love took form.

They called Him Jesus, and He demonstrated perfect love.

A love that freed people from their bondage of sickness and disease…
A love that touched the lepers, and associated with the outcast…
A love that saw the heartache of a downtrodden people…
A love that would speak the truth even if it hurt a little…

And ultimately a love that would that go the distance
By laying down His own life for those who did not deserve it.

Jesus came as a demonstration of the love of God.
He came to show us that God cares.
He came to show us that God desires a relationship with you.
He came to show us that God does not want you to go to hell.
He came to show us that God is a Father, not just a Judge.

Jesus came to demonstrate the love of God.
And He did it to perfection.

“See from His head, His hands, His feet; sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?”

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

Jesus came to demonstrate that
Which we would not know if it weren’t for Him.

#2 JESUS CAME FOR THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD
John 3:17

This is another area that Jews like Nicodemus had missed the point.
They were waiting for Messiah, but they had a warped idea of Him.

They were waiting for the One who would come and judge the world.
They were waiting for the One who would come and restore Israel.
They were waiting for the One who would come and kill their enemies.
The One who would give Rome what they deserved.

The problem of course was that
They did not understand who their truest enemy was.
Isaiah 53:1-6 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

They didn’t understand that they needed a savior from sin.

In fact after they crucified Jesus, Peter had this to say.
Acts 3:17-19 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

Paul would say this about his former life of sin.
1 Timothy 1:12-14 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.”

The Jews did not understand their need for salvation.
So here Jesus makes very clear to Nicodemus
That salvation is why He came.

He didn’t just come to instill a new moral code.
He didn’t just come to encourage religious faithfulness.
He came to save men from sin.

Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Before Jesus, salvation wasn’t possible.
You couldn’t know it.

Before Jesus, there was only the Law and condemnation.
But through His sacrificial death on the cross,
Not only did we understand the love of God,
But we understand the way of salvation.

His blood was the perfect sacrifice that a Holy God requires.
His death appeased the wrath of God.
He paid the debt we could not pay.

Salvation came through Jesus.
Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Galatians 1:4 “[Jesus] gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”

Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Romans 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
He came for the demonstration of love
He came for the salvation of the world

But then again, we know that. We have talked about it over and over.

#3 JESUS CAME FOR THE REVELATION OF JUDGMENT
John 3:18-21

These four verses succeed in making Jesus sermon to Nicodemus
Quite an interesting paradox.

Without even a warning we go from seeing Jesus as the One who provides salvation to the One who secures condemnation.

In verse 18 Jesus said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Now there is a verse to open your eyes.
The first line we fully accept.

If you believe in Jesus, there will be no condemnation.
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

THIS IS WHERE WE OFTEN STOP OUR CONVERSATION
But Jesus didn’t.
“he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN, “judged already”?

If you don’t have Jesus in your life…
If Jesus is not your Lord…
God does not have to condemn you,
You are already condemned.

John 5:45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.”

Consider what Paul says in Romans 9.
Romans 9:15-16 “For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

Without God’s mercy, we are already condemned.
All that must be done in order for you to go to hell, is nothing.

Mankind is already condemned.
That happened thanks to a man named Adam.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Man is already condemned,
Jesus came to save man from condemnation.
If you reject Jesus, you are already condemned.

If you reject the only way of salvation, condemnation is your only option.
Hebrews 10:26-27 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”

Jesus is showing this to Nicodemus,
But Jesus even goes further.

He shows Nicodemus why men choose judgment over Jesus.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY MEN DON’T SURRENDER TO JESUS?
Verses 19-21, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Because He exposes men and they don’t want to be exposed.

I’ve seen it hundreds of times.
People under conviction during an invitation,
But unwilling to admit what they are.

They don’t want to enter the Light.
They just want the Light to quit shining.
They are content in the darkness, in fact, they prefer it.

We see it throughout the Bible.
The Rich Young Ruler went away sad.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem for being unwilling
Pharisees refused to see what they were.

After the sermon of Stephen which rightly exposed their wickedness.
Acts 7:54-58 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

It is a hatred for the truth.

That is why Noah was ridiculed…
That is why Elisha was made fun of…
That is why Jeremiah was mistreated…
That is why Amos was rejected…
That is why Zecharaiah was killed by the altar…
That is why John the Baptist was beheaded…
That is why Jesus was crucified…
That is why Peter was crucified…
That is why John was exiled…
That is why James was stabbed…

Men either had to learn to love the light, or try to put it out.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

DO YOU SEE WHAT JESUS IS DOING?
He is revealing why judgment happens.
He is revealing why men are condemned.

Nicodemus (who came at night) needed to know this,
Just as we need to know it today.

There is a reason why a person fails to come to Jesus.
It is because they have a internal problem.
They have a love of sin in their heart, and are unwilling to give it up.

And this is what I want you to see today, above all else.

We have been searching for the Biblical Jesus.
We live in a world that analyzes Jesus frontward and backward.
We live in a world that misrepresents Him continually
We have been studying Him for several weeks now.

BUT LET ME REMIND YOU OF SOMETHING.
We are taking a close look at Jesus,
But Jesus is not the One on trial here.

His trial is over.
He has already proved who He is.
Romans 1:4 “[He] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

Jesus is not the One on trial, He has nothing left to prove.

JESUS IS NOT ON TRIAL, YOU ARE.

We are the ones who are presently being tried.

What we do with Jesus does not reveal
Whether or not Jesus is the truth,
What we do with Jesus reveals
Whether or not our heart loves the truth.

Jesus is the truth.
He is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world.

When men don’t come to Him, it does not disprove Jesus,
It only proves that they do not love the truth.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE TRUTH?

Jesus hometown rejected the truth…
The Pharisees hated the truth…
Judas betrayed the truth…
Pilate was afraid of the truth…
Herod laughed at the truth…
The Mob crucified the truth…
But those that practiced the truth came to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

Jesus is the Savior of the World
If you won’t come to Him, what are you planning on doing?

Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Jesus, The Evangelist

John 3:1-15

We have looked at Jesus from many angles thus far in the gospel of John.
Who He is…
What He does…
Who He accepts…
Thus far the truths have been given
Simply to explain Jesus better to us.

Tonight we also begin here to learn from Jesus as an example.

There is no doubt that we all agree about the purpose of the church.
John 20:19-21 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

We are to continue in the mission of Jesus.
He is the Living Word – We are to proclaim the living word
He is the true Light – We are to shine as lights
He left heaven to live amongst us – We take the gospel to others
He ministered to the people – We minister to the people
He had zeal for the truth – We have zeal for the truth
He carried the cross – We carry the cross

The church was left with the purpose
Of being the presence of Jesus in the world in which we live.

It is a mission that we cannot take lightly,
But that we must readily embrace with all urgency.

There are some tools to help us in our mission.
1) His Presence
Matthew 28:20b “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

2) His Spirit
John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

3) The Gospel
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

4) His example
John 13:15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

Tonight, it is the example of Jesus that we learn from.
HOW DID JESUS EVANGELIZE?

Tonight there are two truths that we will see.
1) The way Jesus evangelized
2) The truth about salvation

There are four truths we see about Jesus the evangelist.
#1 JESUS EVALUATED THE SITUATION
John 3:1-3
Let’s talk about the scenario here.

On one hand we have Nicodemus.
“man of the Pharisees” (group of 6,000)
Simply put their passion was legalism

“ruler of the Jews” (Sanhedrin – group of 70 – Supreme Court)
They judged and ruled Israel – exposed false prophets

On the other hand we have Jesus.
A man who has cleansed the Temple, and already been approached by the Jews (probably the Pharisees 2:18)

A man who was a lowly carpenter, and one who claimed to be a prophet.

The point is, these men on the surface are not allies.
Here Jesus is given the near impossible task
Of witnessing to a person who would have in most circumstances, Looked down upon Him, and desired to condemn Him.

This is an uphill battle in evangelism,
But it makes for a wonderful example for us to study.

Now, Nicodemus comes to Jesus “by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with Him.”

Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night, and is willing to consent
That he can learn from Jesus.

BUT LEARNING FROM JESUS IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.

And so Jesus seemingly skips his statement and says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

DID YOU CATCH WHAT JESUS DID?
He looked past the surface into the heart.
He evaluated the situation.
Jesus knew what the man claimed to want,
And He knew what the man really needed.

He always got real with the person.
Remember when the Sadducees came testing Jesus?
They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they asked an indirect statement to try and trick Him about marriage.

Matthew 22:29-32 “But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

The point about Jesus is He always looked deeper.
Nicodemus just wanted to learn from Jesus,
But Jesus knew Nicodemus needed more.

He didn’t need a change of direction, he needed a change of nature.

This is vital in evangelism.
We don’t just treat the symptoms, we seek to treat the source.

We aren’t just trying to get drunks to stop drinking…
We aren’t just trying to get thieves to stops stealing…
We aren’t just trying to get people to come to church…
THOSE ARE SURFACE ISSUES.

Men don’t need a change of direction, they need a change of nature

I would estimate that 95% of the time I witness to someone, they will say something like, “I know I need to…”
(go to church, stop drinking, read my bible more, etc.)

THAT’S NOT WHAT THEY NEED
They need Jesus to completely change their life.

If you think that you just need to learn a little from Jesus, That’s not it.

You can’t change enough to enter God’s kingdom.
In order to enter God’s kingdom, “you must be born again”

Jesus evaluated the situation
#2 JESUS EXPRESSED THE SERIOUSNESS
John 3:4-8
It is apparent by the response of Nicodemus that he did not understand
“How can a man be born when He is old? He cannot enter a second time in his mother’s womb and be born can he?”

NOW DO YOU SEE WHAT NICODEMUS’ PROBLEM IS?
He is not arguing the necessity of a complete change in nature,
He is arguing the possibility of a complete change in nature.

That is not an uncommon response.
Matthew 19:23-26 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus came advocating the need for a complete change in nature,
And Nicodemus doesn’t think it is possible.

HOW OFTEN THIS MISTAKE IS MADE TODAY.
People don’t see how they can ever change,
So they come to believe that a change is impossible.

Too often, we think that if we can’t comprehend it, then God can’t do it.

But look at what Jesus does here.
He gets serious about His point.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into 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 be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

You may think it is impossible, but I’m telling you it is necessary.

When evangelizing, do not be afraid to emphasize the truth just because you are afraid you will “lose” the person.

The truth is the truth, whether they come to it or not.

Jesus restated the truth that a change in nature is necessary.
“born of water” – repentance
“born of Spirit” – salvation

And then Jesus begins to explain how the Spirit works.
It is like the wind.

Jesus did not back off of the truth of salvation
Just because Nicodemus wasn’t buying it.
Instead Jesus emphasized it.

There is only one way to be saved
And to enter the kingdom of heaven.

That is if you are born again.
You cannot make enough changes in your life to enter heaven.
You cannot go to church enough…
You cannot read your Bible enough…
You cannot get baptized enough…
The only way, is if you are completely changed from the inside out.

And just because people have a problem with that,
Does not mean we are to back away from it.

Jesus evaluated the situation Jesus expressed the seriousness
#3 JESUS EXPOSED SIN
John 3:9-12
At this point you have to hold on to your seat,
Because Jesus quits teaching and starts meddling.

Nicodemus says, “How can these things be?”

He is still questioning this new birth,
Now on the basis of not understanding it.

But let me show you something here.
Nicodemus is a Pharisee remember?
Nicodemus is a member of the Sanhedrin remember?

THERE IS NO REASON WHY HE SHOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE NEED FOR A HEART CHANGE.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Ezekiel 36:24-32 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. “I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. “Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. “I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!”

Nicodemus should have understood what Jesus was talking about,
Which is why Jesus said this.

“Are you a teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I had told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

Jesus confronts His ignorance, and even rebukes him for it.

But then Jesus reveals Nicodemus’ problem.
“you do not accept our testimony.”

Will Barclay wrote,
“There are two kinds of misunderstanding. There is the misunderstanding of the man who misunderstands because he has not yet reached a stage of knowledge and of experience at which he is able to grasp the truth…There is also the misunderstanding of the man who is unwilling to understand; there is a failure to see which comes from the refusal to see. A man can deliberately shut his mind to truth which he does not wish to accept…If a man does not wish to be reborn, he will deliberately misunderstand what rebirth means. If a man does not which to be changed, he will deliberately shut his eyes and his mind and his heart to the power which can change him. In the last analysis what is the matter with so many of us is simply the fact that, when Jesus Christ comes with his offer to change us and re-create us, we more or less say, ‘No thank you: I am quite satisfied with myself as I am, and I don’t want to be changed.’”
(Barclay, William, The Gospel of John, Volume 1, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1975, pg. 131-132)

This causes us to fail to experience many of the truths of God
We heard Amy’s testimony this morning…

But the point here is Nicodemus problem is sin.
The reason he can’t understand is because he won’t.

And there is only two options in this situation.
You can either ignore the sin and allow him to stay condemned,
Or you can expose his sin and seek to help him.

You cannot be saved if you will not repent of your sin.

Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

It floors me today the push for evangelistic approaches that never deal with the sin of the person you are witnessing to.

Some tell you not to call that person a sinner.
I know, let’s not call them lost either…
In fact, let’s not call them male or female…
Let’s not call them alive…
Let’s not call them anything…

IT’S THE TRUTH!!!!
“AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE”

The truth is not the enemy, the truth leads to salvation.

Some tell you not to emphasize repentance.
They can’t be saved if they don’t.

WHEN JESUS CALLS YOU, HE CONFRONTS SIN

Remember this woman?
John 4:15-19 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”

“NOW JESUS DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT”
OH YES HE DID

He knew it is essential to expose sin as sin
He is our example for evangelism.

We read it this morning.
Luke 24:45-47 “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

We must expose sin.
Now don’t confuse what I say with being a judge.

Jesus evaluated the situation…Jesus expressed the seriousness…Jesus exposed sin…
#4 JESUS EXPLAINED SALVATION
John 3:13-15

What Jesus does here is makes sure that Nicodemus understands what true salvation is, and how it occurs.

There are three things required for salvation to happen, and we see all three rhere.
1) SACRIFICIAL ANIMAL (13)
“No one ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: The Son of Man”
Jesus is pointing out the fact that He came from heaven.

SOMEONE MUST PAY FOR SIN.
Hebrews 9:6-7 “Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.”

Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”

The simple truth is sin cannot go unpunished, someone must pay for it.
Jesus is making sure that Nicodemus understands this.

Of course we know that Jesus is the animal – The Lamb of God

2) SACRIFICIAL ACT (14)
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

Not only must the sacrificial animal be present, but it must be sacrificed.
If you don’t spill the blood, there is no forgiveness.

Jesus is of course prophesying of the crucifixion, but even more than that,
He is speaking of the necessity of the crucifixion.
“even so MUST the Son of man be lifted up.”

The death had to occur.
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
There was no other way, the sacrificial act had to occur
If Jesus doesn’t die on that cross, then salvation is not possible.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

3) SACRIFICAL ACCEPTANCE (15)
“so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life”

I want you to know something, Jesus is sufficient.
He is perfect, His death is enough.

John 12:32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

The cross of Jesus is sufficient for atonement,
However, the cross of Jesus is limited in application.
Not only did Jesus have to die, but you must accept it.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

A person must willingly surrender their entire life to Jesus.
This is exactly what Jesus explained to Nicodemus.

Jesus evaluated the situation
Nicodemus didn’t need a change in direction, he needed a change in nature.

Jesus expressed the seriousness
Nicodemus needed to know rebirth was the only way, whether he liked it or not.

Jesus exposed sin
Nicodemus had a sin problem, and it had to be dealt with.

Jesus explained salvation
Nicodemus needed to know that to be saved, you had to trust in the only sufficient sacrifice for sin.

That is our example for evangelism.
That is what we preach to a lost world.
That is what I am preaching to you tonight.

 
1) You need a complete change, not a makeover
2) This makeover is the only way, whether you like it or not.
3) You are a sinner, and your sin must be dealt with.
4) The only way of salvation is to believe in the only qualified Savior

LET TONIGHT BE THE NIGHT YOU ARE NEVER THE SAME AGAIN.
If you have never been changed, let tonight be your birthday

If you are not evangelizing, let tonight be the night you commit to follow the evangelistic example of Jesus

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Jesus, The Heart Reader
John 2:23-25

Thus far we have seen some truly amazing truths about Jesus.
He is enough God to create the world
He is enough Savior to light the world
He is enough Man to be God incarnate
He has enough humility to become flesh
He has enough wisdom to follow
He has enough compassion to save a wedding
He has enough zeal to cleanse a temple
Jesus is truly amazing, and Jesus is truly enough

This morning we are reminded yet again
Of another vitally important truth about Jesus,
It is how Jesus reads people.

I find this fascinating and vitally important for the world today.

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Jeremiah reminded us of this penetrating truth.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

And it was David who taught us how to accurately apply this truth.
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

The truth is that when God looks at a person
He does not look at the outward appearance.
God looks much deeper.

This is also the way that Jesus looks at man.

Perhaps no story illustrates this better than the healing of the paralytic.
Matthew 9:1-7 “Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home.”

Jesus didn’t evaluate anything by face value, Jesus looked deeper.
He always does.

In our world of hypocrisy and phony religious antics,
It does us good to remember that we can get caught up in outward religion all day long, but it will not impress Jesus in the least.

No amount of fancy singing, no amount of fancy preaching,
No amount of religious excellence will ever do a thing to impress Jesus.

There is only one thing Jesus looks at, and it is the heart.

Leo can sing like a canary…
I can preach like I really know something…
You can be involved continually…
But if our heart isn’t right, Jesus isn’t impressed.

Jesus doesn’t look at the outward appearance,
Jesus looks at the heart.

We have already seen this to some degree.

When Simon approached Jesus…
John 1:42 “He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

When Nathanael approached Jesus…
John 1:47 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

It was this that caused Jesus to continually reject
The Pharisees, the Scribes, the Priests, the Rich Young Ruler,
Yet continually accept the prostitutes and tax collectors.

Jesus looked deeper than the surface and saw the heart.
IF YOU DESIRE TO PLEASE JESUS,
YOU MUST SOLIDIFY THIS TRUTH IN YOUR MIND
Jesus isn’t looking for you to be religious, Jesus is looking for you to be righteous.

I want you to see this morning the reason many people fail to truly come to Jesus.

There are 3 truths I want you to see this morning.
#1 THE FASCINATION THAT SURROUNDS JESUS
John 1:23
“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.”

Here again, we find Jesus ministering in Jerusalem.
He is doing so during one of the most popular times in Jerusalem.
He was ministering during the Passover.

Again we see that Jesus was not dodging confrontation,
He had nothing to hide, He was in the thick of things.

And John reveals that He must have been performing more signs.
Not just miracles, but signs that proved He is the Messiah.

And as the people saw these signs,
They were believing in His name.

We see here a truth that follows Jesus throughout the Bible, Jesus was continually surrounded with fascination.
People were constantly amazed with Jesus.

Matthew 4:25 “Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”

Matthew 8:1 “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.”

Matthew 13:2 “And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.”

Matthew 15:30 “And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.”

Matthew 19:2 “and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.”

Many use this to prove how successful Jesus was in ministry,
But that doesn’t really prove that.
If the presence of the crowd proves that Jesus was successful in ministry then what does the anger of the crowd that crucified Him prove?

The mobs continually surrounding Jesus proves only one thing,
That people were fascinated with Jesus.

John says that “many believed in His name”

This means as Jesus was wowing the people,
They were signing up left and right as followers.

We will see this same type of thing happen again, later in John
After Jesus feeds 5 thousand men with only 2 fish and 5 loaves.
John 6:14-15 “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

Jesus walks on water and reaches the other side, and the mob finds Him again.

John 6:24-29 “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

You can hear it in the crowds voice.
They aren’t truly surrendering to Jesus,
They are just signing up to be fascinated by Him.

Even today, Jesus is fascinating to people.
People flocked in groves to watch “The Passion of the Christ”
People will flock in groves to watch, “The DaVinci Code”

One of the biggest marketing fads to hit stores in the last decade was:
WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?)

Face it, Jesus is still a hot marketing topic.
Jesus is fascinating.

But in that comes a tragedy.
MANY PEOPLE NEVER MAKE IT PAST FASCINATION

Their relationship with Jesus never becomes anything more than a fascination with the power that He has, or with the grace that He shows.

They get fascinated with Jesus, and it stops right there.

There is never obedience…
There is never submission…
There is never trust…

It is what Jesus spoke of with the Rocky Soil.

Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”

It is seen very clearly in John 6.
This same crowd that was ready to make Jesus King,
Would soon completely abandon Him.

John 6:60-66 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

For many, even though they claim to believe in Jesus,
They really never do.
They are fascinated with Jesus,
But it never goes any farther than this.

This is the case here, and we know that because of the next truth.

First, The Fascination that Surrounded Jesus
#2 THE HESITATION THAT DIRECTED JESUS
John 2:24
“But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,”

The crowd is fascinated with Jesus and Jesus is less than excited.

The word “believed” (23) and the word “entrusting” (24) is the same word.
PISTEOU – “to trust”
John said they were trusting Jesus, but Jesus wouldn’t trust them.

BUT I THOUGHT WE LEARNED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT JESUS ACCEPTS HIS FOLLOWERS?
He does – when they really follow Him.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

But when you come to God without a pure heart, don’t count on it.

When your fascination with Jesus is nothing more than a selfish desire to be amazed, don’t count on it.

It is worth reminding ourselves a very important truth.

YOU DON’T COME TO JESUS IN SELFISHNESS,
YOU COME TO JESUS IN SUBMISSION.

Matthew 16:21-24 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Jesus wasn’t just seeking people
That would buy tickets to His miracle show.
Jesus was seeking people
Who would lay their lives down for Him.

We as a church must remember this.
I firmly believe there is a right way and wrong way to evangelize.

The wrong way is to appeal to people’s selfishness.

The right way is to proclaim Jesus call for submission.

When you see Jesus sending His disciples into the world,
Look at what He told them to preach.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

Luke 24:45-47 “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ” Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Call them to repentance, call them to obedience, call them to faith

Jesus doesn’t just want people to flock to Him,
Jesus wants people who will sell out for Him.

And these people in Jerusalem wouldn’t,
So Jesus would not entrust Himself to them.
“for He knew all men,”

He knew their loyalty was like that of the people in Hosea’s day.
Hosea 6:1-4 “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.”

These people claimed loyalty, but Jesus knew better.

Jesus looked into a man’s heart
If they were not fully sold out to Him,
He was hesitant to entrust Himself to them.

Luke 9:57-60 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is looking for people who will sell out for Him.
He is looking for people who will count the cost and follow anyway.

Look at this familiar illustration.
Luke 14:25-33 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
In order to truly have salvation,
You must move from fascination to full surrender.
Jesus NEVER accepted anything less.

And there is a reason why.
#3 THE EDUCATION THAT ENLIGHTENED JESUS
John 1:25
“and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

We just learned that Jesus wouldn’t entrust Himself to these people in Jerusalem because He knew they weren’t real.

BUT HOW DID HE KNOW THAT?
DID SOMEONE RAT ON THEM?

Of course you know the answer. He is God.
“He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

Psalms 139:1-16 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Jesus knows men.
He saw every thought of the Pharisees…
He saw through every trick of the Scribes…
He forecasted Judas’ betrayal…
He predicted Peter’s denial…

Jesus knows men.
That is why when men come to Him and claim to want to follow Him, He looks deeper. He looks at the heart. Jesus is the Heart Reader.

HE HAS BEEN READING YOUR HEART AS WELL
He hasn’t been watching your attendance so closely…
He hasn’t been reading your appearance…
Jesus is watching your heart.

When we sing songs like “I Surrender All”, He listens to your heart.
When we pray over an offering, He listens to your heart.

Jesus is reading your heart.

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

You see Jesus knows you.

WHAT HAVE YOU REALLY DONE WITH JESUS?

Are you just caught up with fascination over this One who can meet all your needs?

Or do you genuinely want to surrender your whole life to Him?

Jesus is not looking for empty profession,
Jesus is reading your heart to see if you confess Him as Lord.

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

James 2:14 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”

1 John 2:4-5 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:”

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

All of those verses have one thing in common.
They don’t care what your lips say,
They are only concerned with what your heart is saying.

WHEN JESUS READS YOUR HEART, WHAT WILL IT SAY?

Do you, with all your heart, long to surrender all to follow Him?
Do you, with all your heart, long to leave sin and self behind?
Do you, with all your heart, long to obey Jesus every waking hour?
Do you, with all your heart, long to see Him glorified?
Or do you just say so?

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

Jesus, The Zealot

John 2:12-22

Zeal – “Eagerness; enthusiasm; ardor; fervor”
Zealot – “One who is zealous, esp. to a fanatic degree.”

As we study the Biblical Jesus,
I have been excited to get to this text,
Because I believe it to show a side of Jesus that is not often shown.

This is a Jesus that no one ever really talked about to me.
I was always shown a controlled, saddened, pacifying Jesus.

I LIKED PAUL

But for some reason I had trouble with Jesus.
All that I had been told about Jesus
Didn’t match these new passions in my heart.

I was more like the Jesus I had been told about before I got saved.

I had a problem.
Until I started preaching through Matthew.

I noticed a Jesus I had never heard of.
I NOTICED JESUS, THE ZEALOT.

Tonight in our text we are going to look at this Jesus
So that you may see
That those passions in you may just be from God,
And that you do not have to sit back in apathy
Just because people frown on you for being fanatical.

There are three truths I want you to see about Jesus here,
And they are three truths that we will see about Jesus all throughout the gospels.
#1 JESUS SOUGHT OUT CONFRONTATION
John 2:12-14

Now you know the culture we live in.
If you seek out confrontation you are a trouble maker,
And you are frowned upon.

We have heard the statement
“Tolerance is our greatest virtue”

That is not true,
“Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.”
But we are frowned upon for being confrontational.
People run their finger up our nose and say,
“You’re nothing like Jesus.”

Oh yeah, let’s see.
Verse 13 says, “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

1) JOHN SHOWS THE CENTER OF JESUS MINISTRY AS JERUSALEM NOT GALILEE
2) JOHN PLACES THIS EVENT OUT OF ORDER

In our text, John is making a point about Jesus
That he will stick with throughout the remainder of his gospel.

He wants you to be familiar with this Jesus who did not shy away from confrontation, but who sought it out.

We know this because of what He does while in Jerusalem.
Verse 14, “He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.”

Allow me to quickly fill you in.
You brought two things with you to the Passover
1) An Unblemished Lamb
2) The Temple Tax

They were using God’s feast to take advantage of people.

Something needed to be done.
And look what happens.
“He found” them.

It wasn’t as though He got cheated and then started making a fuss.
He went and found them.

You say, “That’s still a little coincidental to say Jesus actually sought out controversy.”

Ok, look with me for a second at Mark’s gospel.
Mark 11:11-16 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.”
This was a premeditated action by Jesus.
My point is Jesus sought out confrontation.

Preacher, “That’s just one story”

Luke 6:6-11 “On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.”

Luke 13:10-17 “And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, ” There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.”

Luke 14:1-6 “It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” And they could make no reply to this.”

John 5:8-10 “Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”

John 9:14 “Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.”

John 7:14 “But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.”
If He wasn’t confrontational, then why go to Jerusalem to teach?
If He wasn’t confrontational, then why not heal some other time than the Sabbath?
If He wasn’t confrontational, why did He go to His home town and confront them?

I’m telling you Jesus sought out confrontation.
HE COULDN’T LEAVE SIN UNCHALLENGED

He could not just allow hypocrisy to continue uncontested.
Jesus was a zealot.
He did not come to allow sin to remain.
He did not come to approve false religion.
He came to confront it and drive it out of the temple.

Don’t let someone tell you that you aren’t like Jesus
Simply because you confront sin.

Matthew 18:15-18 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Jesus was a zealot, He sought out confrontation.
#2 JESUS SIGNED UP FOR COMBAT
John 2:15-17

Once Jesus found these hypocrites in the temple, He did the unthinkable.
He didn’t just confront them, He went plum Holy on ‘em.

These three verses list 5 things Jesus did.
1) “He made a scourge of cords”
2) “drove them all out of the temple”
3) “He poured out the coins”
4) “and overturned their tables”
5) “He said, “Take these things away”

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
What if a person did that in church today?

IS IT EVER ACCEPTABLE TO USE SUCH AN AGGRESSIVE DISPLAY IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR POINT?
JESUS DID
He saw what was going on, and He knew talking wouldn’t work.
They needed to get whipped.
(Illus. My dad kicked in a door)
Jesus not only sought confrontation He signed up for combat.

And by the way, it was prophesied that He would.
Verse 17, “His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

He didn’t just confront falsity, He fought it.
It wasn’t as though He was just refusing to stay quiet,
Jesus went on the offensive.

Matthew 11:20-24 “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon inthe day of judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 15:1-9 “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

Luke 11:45-48 “One of the lawyers said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. “So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs.”
John 8:43-47 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

And let’s not forget Matthew 23 where Jesus continually said, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…”

The point is Jesus signed up for combat.
He continually fought against heresy.
He continually fought against hypocrisy.

We are called to do the same.
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

We live in a day that thinks it is wrong
To confront or fight against anything.
If you tell someone they are wrong, then you are wrong for doing it.

Don’t think for a second that Jesus was passive.
He was active against sin,

And don’t allow people to use Jesus against you
When you stand for what is right and drive out what is wrong.

People say, “You shouldn’t use blunt, offensive speech when confronting heresy in the church.” I agree, “Jesus used a whip”.

Jesus sought out confrontation Jesus signed up for combat
#3 JESUS STIRRED UP CONTROVERSY
John 2:18-22

WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE HAVEN’T WE?
They asked John the Baptist the same thing.

What authority do you have for doing such aggressive and offensive things?

It is the same thing the world says to us today when we show our zeal.
They throw the old, “You shouldn’t do such things” in our face.
They questioned Jesus’ authority.
Most importantly they wanted to see a sign.

Now, Jesus could have done nothing…
He could have apologized…
He could have explained the biblical truth to the Passover…
He could have done a lot of things.

In stead He chose to stir the pot a little more.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Now, the disciples learned that He meant His body,
But the Jews didn’t know that.
And Jesus offered no explanation.

CAN YOU IMAGINE THE BUZZ WHEN HE LEFT?

We know they didn’t get over it,
For that was one of the charges they used against Him.
That was one of the charges they used against Stephen.

That place was different when He left.
In fact, Jesus left every place different when He left.

He started out to the country of the Gaderenes,
But He ended up casting a legion of demons into a heard of swine
And the people asked Him to leave.

He started out preaching in His hometown,
But the people tried to throw Him off a cliff.

His disciples go to town to buy bread
Jesus ends up talking to a Samaritan woman

The religious leaders bring a guarantee guilty adulteress
Jesus ends up taking her side

Jesus comes to town
And chooses to stay at the house of short little tax collector

Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke 15:1-7 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Luke 20:45-47 “And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
(he spoke very controversial to all the people)

John 7:25-31 “So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? “Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.” So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, ” When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”

Jesus was controversial.
He didn’t do the things that were expected by the religious elite,
He did the things that were expected of Him by His Father.

That is our calling.
Where in the Bible do you find that we are to be politically correct?
Where in the Bible do you find that Christians should never be controversial?

Jesus is controversial.
If you try to cut out controversy,
You are going to have to cut out Jesus.

AND THERE WE HAVE IT

We are so afraid of confrontation
We painted a Jesus who would do no such thing.
We are so afraid of combat
We painted a Jesus who never offended anyone.
We are so afraid of controversy
We painted a Jesus who only does what is always expected.

I want you to know,
If you are ok to leave sin unchallenged…
If you have no problem allowing a falsity to remain…
If you just want to keep from stirring up controversy…

THEN DON’T CLAIM TO BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS
If He was like that, they would have had no desire to kill Him.

Jesus was a zealot.

C.H. Spurgeon, “If you never have sleepless hours, if you never have weeping eyes, if your hearts never swell as if they would burst, you need not anticipate that you will be called zealous. You do not know the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of Christian zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief and yet must beat high with holy ardor. The heart must be vehement in desire, panting continually for God’s glory, or else we shall never attain to anything like the zeal which God would have us know.”

JESUS WAS A ZEALOT, ARE YOU?

Are you ready to step up to sin, make a whip, a drive it out?

Are you ready to snatch from the flame your friends who are deceived in their sin and traveling the road t hell?

Are you ready to take up the cross of Jesus and command that men forsake themselves and join in the cause?

Are you ready to put on the zeal of the zealous One?

Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

Jesus, The Essential one

John 2:1-11

We are in the midst of studying the book of John
In order to see the Biblical Jesus.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

We are not interested in the Jesus of the culture,
We are interested in the Jesus of the Bible.

We have seen thus far some amazing truths about Jesus.
He is the Living Word of God (eternal, supernal, supernatural)
He is the Light of the World (though often rejected)
He is the Incarnate One (“Word became flesh”)
He is the Revealed One (“This is My Son”)
He is the One to Follow

We saw our text end last Sunday night
With a wonderful statement by Jesus to Nathanael.

John 1:50-51 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet”

That statement is the logical lead in to the story we read here.
IT IS THE FIRST SIGN OF JESUS.

Verse 11, “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”

This was more than Jesus just wowing the crowd,
This was about Jesus revealing who He is.

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

Last week we learned Jesus was revealed by the Father.
Here we see a second way Jesus is revealed.

John 7:31 “But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
Through this miracle Jesus is sending a statement
That He is the One the world had better not miss,
And as we see in verse 11, the disciples didn’t.

Verse 11, “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”

After seeing His power, they trusted in Him.

To put it plainly, the disciples realized that in Jesus
They had found something that they could get no where else.

In short, Jesus is Essential.
He is Irreplaceable (Light)
There is no “bargain brand” Savior
There is no “imitation” Salvation

And so this morning I want us to see why Jesus is so essential,
And see what He was revealing about Himself through this first sign.

#1 IT IS BENEFICIAL TO INVITE JESUS
John 2:1-2
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.”

Talk about an important invitation.

Of all the people that were invited to the wedding,
None proved to be more essential than Jesus.
He is the One who would save the day.

IT PAYS TO INVITE JESUS
“When Jesus is present, anything can happen!”

So you run out of wine, no big deal, Jesus is there.
So you don’t have enough fish or bread, no problem, Jesus is there.
So a demoniac runs through your wedding, no problem, Jesus is there.
So the groom is blind, no problem, Jesus is there.
So the bride is barren, no problem, Jesus is there.

It doesn’t matter the circumstance,
When Jesus is present, anything can happen.

BUT IMAGINE THE TRAGEDY OF NOT HAVING JESUS PRESENT
What would you do without Him?
You would drink dishwater, that’s what you would do.
(Those pots were to wash your feet and hands)
Without Jesus the power is gone.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Imagine Peter with and without Jesus.
Peter with Jesus:
John 18:10 “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.”

Peter without Jesus:
John 18:17 “Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

THE COMPANY OF JESUS IS ESSENTIAL

THINK ABOUT HIS PRESENCE IN REGARD TO MINISTRY
A sermon written without the presence of Jesus is just a speech.
A sermon delivered without the presence of Jesus is powerless.
A Bible read without the presence of Jesus is confusing
A witness shared without the presence of Jesus is unconvicting
A worship service without the presence of Jesus is a meeting

The presence of Jesus is essential.
Consider the lukewarm nauseating fake church of Laodicea.

Revelation 3:15-17 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,”

Of course the reason for their ineffectiveness…
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

THINK ABOUT HIS PRESENCE IN REGARD TO MARRIAGE
We have many in our day who invite Jesus to their wedding,
But leave Him out of their marriage.

It is no wonder 50% of all marriages end in divorce.

Psalms 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.”

All is vanity if Jesus isn’t there.
ONLYJESUS CAN HEAL A MARRIAGE

Jesus can fix your marriage.
(MARRIAGE WAS INTENDED TO MODEL HIM ANYWAY)
THNK ABOUT HIS PRESENCE IN REGARD TO LIFE IN GENERAL
Where do you go for joy?
Where do you go for peace?
Where do you go for comfort?
Where do you go for forgiveness?
What do you do with sickness?
What do you do with death?
What do you do with trials?
Who is your source of strength?
Who is your source of grace?
Who is your source of truth?
Who is your guide?

I’m here to tell you, the company of Jesus is essential in your life.
Imagine this wedding in Galilee if Jesus hadn’t been invited.

#2 IT IS BENEFICIAL TO APPEAL TO JESUS
John 2:3-5

This is a rather interesting couple of verses.
The wine runs out and Mary comes to Jesus.

She comes to Jesus and says, “They have no wine”.

But then notice Jesus’ response, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”

Now, you can read that passage just like I can.
At the very least, you can see that Jesus is hesitant to grant her request.

But then notice what Mary says to the servants.
“Whatever He says to you, do it.”

DID I MISS SOMETHING?
I never heard Jesus say that He would do anything.
It sounded to me like Jesus said no.

But Mary remembered a vitally important truth in regard to Jesus.
WHEN YOU NEED JESUS, JESUS COMES THROUGH.

It is beneficial to appeal to Jesus.
In fact, this is one of the downfalls in our life.

We often don’t call on Jesus.
James 4:2b “…You do not have because you do not ask.”

What a tragedy when we don’t seek God’s counsel.
Remember Joshua and the Gibeonites?
Joshua 9:14-15 “So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.”

HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO APPEAL TO JESUS.
VITALLY IMPORTANT IN MINISTRY
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”

Amos 5:4-7 “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live. “But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble. “Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel, For those who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth.”

VITALLY IMPORTANT IN MARRIAGE
Couples will seek all sorts of things to heal their marriage.
Marriage counselors, Seminars, but they never seek Jesus.

Your marriage can’t last if you don’t appeal to Jesus.

VITALLY IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE
Where do you find guidance apart from Jesus?

When Jesus died, His followers were like sheep without a shepherd
They were lost, and they didn’t know what to do.

Do you know where we find them?
John 20:19 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

VITALLY IMPORTANT IN REGARD TO SALVATION
How will you be saved if you don’t seek Jesus?

Romans 10:13 “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
You will notice that part of salvation
Is you humbling yourself before Him and crying out to Him.

Our world is filled with people who are content in their own goodness and because of that never cry out to Jesus.
Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
One was humble – One was arrogant
One cried out – One was content
One was justified – One was condemned

It is beneficial to appeal to Jesus,
Because Jesus is compassionate.

When you come to Him, when you call on Him, He answers.
Mary knew this, that’s why she went to him with Her problem.

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

It is beneficial to invite Jesus because the company of Jesus is essential.
It is beneficial to appeal to Jesus because the compassion of Jesus is essential.
#3 IT IS BENEFICIAL TO OBEY JESUS
John 1:6-10
I LOVE THESE VERSES
Verse 7, “Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.”

Verse 8, “And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.”

Very simply, they just did whatever Jesus said to do.

Of course this was Mary’s command.
Verse 5, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

But look at this from a logical standpoint.

Jesus says, “Go fill up the feet washing pots”
WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE WINE PROBLEM?

Some times we don’t obey
Because we think the command doesn’t make sense.

Remember Namaan?
He was captain of Aram’s army, and he was a leper.
He was sent to Elisha for healing.

2 Kings 5:10-14 “Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.”

Sometimes we don’t obey because
We don’t think the command makes sense.
“Husbands love your wives…”
“Wives submit to your husbands…”
“Turn the other cheek to him also…”
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…”

BUT OH HOW IT PAYS TO OBEY JESUS
ALL BECAUSE OF OBEDIENCE:
The Groom was honored
The Servants were relieved
The Water was Wine
Jesus was glorified

THIS WAS WHAT JESUS WAS REVEALING ABOUT HIMSELF
He can take what is dirty, foul, and useless,
And turn it into something wonderful.

You just have to INVITE Him
You have to APPEAL to Him
You have to OBEY Him

BUT THIS IS OFTEN WHERE WE BLOW IT
Not only do we fail to invite Jesus…Not only do we fail to appeal to Jesus…
We often fail to obey Jesus when He answers.

You don’t have to search hard in the Bible
To find the devastating effects of failing to obey.

See Jonah sinking to the bottom of the ocean…
See Samson getting his eyes gouged out…
See David holding the dead son that he conceived with Bathsheeba…
See Moses looking at the Promised Land from a distance…
See Adam and Eve leaving the garden…
See the children of Israel turning around and leaving the Promised Land…

And imagine this wedding if they had failed to obey.
They would have missed a blessing indeed.

I want you to know something, Jesus is essential.
You cannot handle life without Him.

It is essential that you INVITE Him
It is essential that you APPEAL to Him
It is essential that you OBEY Him.
IF YOU DON’T, YOU WILL NEVER SEE A MIRACLE

Remember Jairus’s daughter?
Matthew 9:23-26 “When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land.”

But I’m here to tell you,
If you don’t invite Jesus,
If you don’t appeal to Jesus,
If you don’t obey Jesus,
You will miss the greatest miracle of all.
Mark 6:1-6 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”

Mark goes out of his way to show that Jesus was working some miracles.
He had astonished the people, He had healed some of the sick.

But yet Mark said, “He could do no miracle”
We aren’t talking about temporal miracles, He did those.
We are talking about the eternal miracle of salvation.

I want you to hear me very closely.
You can have church without Jesus…
You can have preaching without Jesus…
You can have a marriage without Jesus…
You can live your life without Jesus…
BUT YOU CANNOT HAVE A MIRACLE WITHOUT JESUS

Jesus is essential if you want to see eternal results.
It is essential that you INVITE Him into your life…
It is essential that you APPEAL to Him for your salvation…
It is essential that you OBEY Him no matter what He says…
SO HOW ABOUT IT?
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

ARE YOU MISSING THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT TO LIFE?
He is the One who turns dirty feet water into flowing wine.
He will do it in your life as well.

You must come to Him in REPENTANCE, confessing your sin, turning from your sin, and yielding to Him.

You must come to Him in FAITH, trusting Him, and Him alone to save you and change you. Forsaking all others placing all on Him.

You must come to Him in OBEDIENCE, fully surrendering your life, your ministry, your marriage to His will so that He can work.

This morning
If you are ready to leave your sin and live for Jesus,
You come.