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Proverbs 11:11-20
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is
exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his
neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace.
13 A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is
of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.
14 Where there
is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates being surety is secure.
16 A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches.
17 The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles
his own flesh.
18 The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19 As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
20 Those who
are of a perverse heart are an
abomination to the LORD, But the
blameless in their ways are His
delight.
Father God, I pray and ask that hearts
of stone be changed to hearts of flesh. In
Jesus
name we pray, Amen!
Gospel of John 3:8-17 NKJV
This lesson still involves the discussion between Jesus and
Nicodemus pertaining to eternal life. Jesus uses an example of how the wind blows
and the mystery of the wind to illustrate the mystery of a Spiritual Birth. Jesus
also uses the serpent on a brass pole to illustrate a physical healing to a spiritual
healing through believing.
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it,
but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is
born of the Spirit."
The wind blows where it
wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and
where it goes; Here Jesus is using the wind to compare the
phenomenon of being Born Again. The wind comes and goes, but is impossible to
tell exactly how this happens. Whether the wind is a slight breeze or a
hurricane, the direction it is going, how it originates, etc. we don’t fully
understand. If one watches the Weather Channel when they feature strange
weather both wind and cloud formations, some things are baffling and
non-comprehensible but true.
We
can feel the wind whether a gentle breeze or a stout wind, but we can’t see,
taste, or smell it, but we can witness what it can and does do. We don’t know
where it came from or where it is going. There are things about the wind that
we don’t understand, but accept the mystery of wind and not deny its presence, and
the same holds true for being Born Again.
So is everyone who is born
of the Spirit; Being born of the Spirit is beyond our
comprehension because it is a spiritual happening that we as humans struggle
with in accepting. God is the author of salvation and a Spiritual Birth is
carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit. We know salvation is a gift of
God, but the manner in which this changing of a human heart happens when a
person accepts Jesus is like the wind and unclear to us how this happens.
Therefore
what we must do is accept this miracle in a person’s life and observe and
validate the authenticity of the change. Is this just a fad and falls by the
wayside or is it a change in the person’s life that bears fruit from that day
forward? In other words which seed is it in the parable of the sower? Mark
4:3-20
Everyone
that is born of the Spirit is, in some respects, like the effects of the wind.
You see it not, you cannot discern its laws, but you see its effects,” and you
know therefore that it does exist and operate. The point being is not to
believe, just because we don’t understand, but believe! Remove the tunnel
vision; believe and start living the truth of the Bible; seek what a Born Again
person has for yourself.
9 Nicodemus
answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
Nicodemus,
not being Born Again at this particular time is struggling with what Jesus is
saying, even though he has vast intelligence in the religion of his people. We
must wonder how much of the OT Scripture he really knew. He was lost not only
eternally, but also in his religious teachings. He was practicing and teaching
faith in the doctrine of mans religion and not in the truth of Scripture.
10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these
things?
Jesus
answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of
Israel; Here
Jesus uses the word teacher just as Nicodemus did in verse 2. Being a teacher
of the Jewish people and very knowledgeable of the OT, he should have understood
what salvation was, but he didn’t.
Just because a person goes
to college to become a pastor or priest doesn’t mean that they have all the
answers or the correct interpretation of scripture. Take the Apostles for
example, they were just ordinary individuals without an education but knew true
scripture interpretation, but only after they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Many times Jesus had to explain the parables to them before they were filled.
Paul is another fine
example of being very knowledgeable of OT Scripture, but had the wrong
interpretation until Jesus got a hold of him and then he became wise. So just
because a person has a higher education or wears a collar doesn’t mean they are
correct. So many times humans put people on a pedestal because of their
education or rank in society and believe everything they say, but in God’s view
are wrong.
And do not know these things; When
worldly-minded men are placed in offices of religion because they seek those
offices for the sake of status, it is no wonder that they are strangers to the
plain truths of the Bible. There has been many and still are in the ministry that
pride themselves on status and not the truth of the plainest doctrines of the
gospel. It is most probable that Nicodemus fell into this category. No man can
understand the Bible fully unless he is a humble Christian, and the easiest way
to comprehend the truths of scripture is to give the heart to God and live to
his glory. A child of God may have more real knowledge of the way of salvation
than many who are pretended masters and teachers of Israel. Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a
heart of flesh.
11 Most assuredly, I say to
you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not
receive Our witness.
Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what
We have seen; Jesus
uses the word “we” meaning the Trinity, Apostles that were with Him, along with
the Prophets of past. What was preached was the truth and the miracles were signs
of the power of God within the person performing the miracles. With Jesus omniscient
eyes He sees everything and the apostles witnessed firsthand the change that
took place in the people that believed.
And you do not receive Our witness; The word
“you” in this phrase pertains to the Jewish Sanhedrin. They would not believe
in what Jesus was teaching because they were stuck in the quicksand of their
tradition and religion of their past.
They were “of their father the
Devil, and the lust of their father they would do” (John 8:44).
The
same holds true today and always has. The majority of those who call themselves
“Believers,” and the majority of those who are referred to as spiritual leaders,
“receive not His witness and Word”, but cling to man’s ways. John 8:44 would also apply
to them.
12 If I have told you
earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you
heavenly things?
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe; This phrase is referring to the things
that have taken place here on earth, like miracles, OT scripture, the
Incarnation, etc. Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus heart and could see that he
didn’t believe in all of the OT teachings, and this is why Nicodemus came to
question Jesus. He picked, chose, and twisted the scripture he wanted to
believe in, which is still happening today.
How will you believe if I tell you heavenly things; In effect,
this tells us that if we are to know Jesus as God (Heavenly things), we must
first know Jesus and the Incarnation (earthly things). Nicodemus had addressed
Jesus as merely a “Teacher.” So until he or we understand God becoming flesh
and dwelling among men, he and we will not understand Heavenly things.
13 No one has ascended to
heaven but He who came down from heaven, that
is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
If
we rephrase this verse it would read like this; No one has ever gone to heaven
and returned. But the Son of Man who
lives in heaven has come down from heaven. What Jesus is saying is that
He came from Heaven, His home, in human flesh and will return to Heaven at the
resurrection from the grave. In essence Jesus is telling us that He was in
Heaven the same time He was here on earth in the flesh. How can this be you
ask; Jesus is the second person in the Trinity; He is God and God is Jesus. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
14 And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; Jesus
proceeds in this verse and the following verses to state the reason why He came
to earth and to do this He illustrates His plan of salvation, by using the
raising of the brass serpent, recorded in Numbers
21:8-9.
The people were bitten by a plague of flying fiery serpents because of their
rebelliousness toward God. There was no cure for the bite and God told Moses to
make an image of the serpent, and place it in sight of the people and if they
looked at it and believed, they would live physically. There is no evidence
that this was intended to be a type of the Messiah, but it is used by Jesus as
a striking illustration of His work. Men are sinners, there is no cure by human
means for the corruptness of the soul; and as the people who were bitten might
look at the image of the serpent and live physically, so sinners may look to Jesus
and believe and be cured of the moral corruptness of their nature and live spiritually
forever.
Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; With this
phrase Jesus refers to his own death and being raised on a cross. Compare John 12:32; John
8:28.
The points of resemblance between his being lifted up and that of the brass
serpent are these:
1.
In each case those who are to be benefited can he aided in no other way than by
God. The bite of the serpent was physically deadly, and could be healed only by
looking at the raised brass serpent; the bite of sin is spiritually deadly and
can only be removed by looking to the Cross of Christ.
2.
The mode of their being lifted up. The brass serpent was on a pole; Jesus was
exalted from the earth raised on a cross.
3.
The design was similar. The one was to save the life, the other the soul; the
one to save from temporal, the other from eternal death.
4.
The manner of the cure was similar. The people of Israel were to look on the
serpent and be healed, and so sinners are to look on the Lord Jesus that they
may be saved.
John 12:32 And I, if I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all peoples
to Myself." John 8:28 Then Jesus
said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He,
and that I do nothing of
Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
15 that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life.
This
verse tells us that anyone that repents and places their faith in Jesus Christ
will be saved, which destroys the belief of some, that God picks and chooses
who will be saved, referring to predestination. Jesus will save anyone that
repents of their sinful lifestyle no matter how bad they are. If Jesus forgave
the Apostle Paul for killing His saints He can forgive you.
There
is salvation no other way, it is free for all who will come, and it is easy.
What was easy for a poor, wounded, dying Israelite, bitten by a poisonous
serpent to look up to a brass serpent on a pole to be healed, is just as easy
for a poor, lost, dying sinner to look
up to Jesus. What foolishness it is for a wounded, serpent bitten dying man to
refuse to look on a remedy so easy and effective for life. The same foolishness
holds true for the lost and dying sinner to “refuse” to look to God’s only Son for
eternal life. Jesus died for all mankind so whosoever could turn to Him for salvation.
16 For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
This
verse restates what the previous verse states. God loves His human creations
and does not want to see them perish in the fires of Hell. There is no other
definition of love that can express the love of God. God loves us so much He
was willing to send His only begotten Son to earth in human flesh to be the
ultimate sacrifice on the Cross for redemption of our sins. Jesus loves us so
much He was willing to come to earth in human flesh to die on the Cross in our
place to redeem us. All we have to do is come to the altar of the Cross,
repent, ask forgiveness, and accept Jesus into our life for eternal life. What
could be easier, yet people refuse?
17 For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might
be saved.
Jesus didn’t come to
condemn people or to judge and pronounce sentence on mankind, even though man
deserved condemnation. God’s love for us was so great that He was willing to
pardon our sins through Jesus, and the sentence of condemnation was delayed. There
is a time coming when Jesus will return and judge the living and the dead.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from my
sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right
now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son
of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.” I believe this and have faith you will make a
new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead
me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
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