October 20 2012 The words in red…the Spirit makes the difference

Lesson 5.

One Wednesday of this past month, I joined an old working buddy to attend the funeral of our former boss. After arriving at the church house we were joined by several others. It was nice to see these guys again it had been several years sinceI we saw one another. We swapped stories about working for “old Tibs”, our nick name for him, All this was after the funeral mass was over , We met at the nearest Tim Horton donut shop. THERE IS ALWAYS ONE NEARBY. As I reflect upon our get together, I’ve taken a hankerin’ for a donut.

I’m back from my local Tim’s shop.

Getting back to the funeral, that ritual they go through is dead formality. Oh the right words fro m the scriptures was spoken, even some of the doctrine was o.k.

But it was just a dead ritual and ceremony. The fact that the recently departed had been sprinkled with some cold water as an infant guaranteed him a place in heaven. The Bible tells us, in fact Jesus Himself said it…unless the Spirit draw him, no man may come. It was the Spirit that drew those two disciples away in John 1:36 from John the Baptist that day and Jesus lays it out for Nicodemus The plan of God began to unfold that night as Nicoddemas stood befop the Lord of glory and heard these words, “ye must be born again. Nicodemas did not understand what the Lord was talking about ,that is shown by his statement found in verse 4 of ch. 3,,,can (a man) enter his mother’s womb the second time and be born? What a stupid question one might say but are we not guilty of the same things many times?

Paul writes to the church at Corinth in his first letter to them and says in verses 18-21of chapter 1 ,’ “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.. The preached word doesn’t make sense to the natural man. I thought I was alright. I was brought up in a Christian home, my parents and my older brother were saved and I was o.k. Until one night in an old Orange hall that served as a Baptist church where an evangelist by the name of Howard H. Chipchase was preaching on the book of Revelation

In a little town just northwest of Toronto, Ontario , I felt the convicting power of the Holy Sprit and after much struggling with my constitutional timidity I accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I know what Jesus meant when He said “unless the Spirit draw him, no man can come” and also,” no man cometh to the Father except by Me. “That was 60 years ago and He is still my Savior today.

Once saved always saved? Probably not….but He is a savior who can keep me

From falling, He has kept me for over sixty years. If you fall, He will pick you up again. The eternal God is our refuge…

This man Nicodemas was like many people are today. He didn’t understand spiritual things, he had never been born again. His statement, in the form of a question said it all…how can a man be born when he is old? That part of the statement was not unreasonable, but when he asked “can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? It was a serious threat to his credibility. So you see what Jesus meant when He said “If I tell you earthly things and you believe not, how care ye going to believe if I tell you of

Heavenly things? How are you going to believe. Aren’t we all a little like Nicodemas, some times. For instance we ask Gto heal us….then we try to te[[ Him how to do it.. Don’t tell God how to do His business He does not need your advice. God has a great shop manual that He has created for His children. ,When Nicodemas met with Jesus, the firs thing he did was make confession, He said, “Rabbi..teaher. Jesus was also a man of authority. Rabbi or teacher. And he recognized where His authority came from….verse 2 you are sent from God.

Nicodemas was a teacher too,but he knew he was not sent from God and he knew all of his Pharisaical friends were not sent from God either. They couldn’t perform miracles. They did not speak with authority like Jesus did, Nicodemas knew enough to realize that much. If you have a hunger for God, He will find a way to satisfy that hunger,

Jesus went right to the heart of the matter and He said to Nicudemas, “Truly, truly you must be born again. Except a man be born again he cannot (even hope) to see the kingdom of God That is when Nicodemas asked the questions. Concerning the Born agai8n experience. Jesus revealed to Nicodemas that night the plan of salvation. Jesus said to Nicodemas “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you , Ye must be born again… in other words Nicodemas to be born again is to receive Jesus into your heart and your spirit. You must be born again by the Spirit of God! THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE Spirit is spirit

. Nicodemas had said in verse 2 chap. 2 ,”We know You are a teacher sent from God for no man can do the miracles except God be with him.”Well spoken, Nicodemas, very well said! Is the day of miracles past? Jesus said in Luke 18::8, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith in the earth? No miracles? No faith maybe? So Jesus laid it out to Nicodemas here in verses 5-8 of chapter 3 just what He meant by “born again” and verse 9 he asks “how can these things be?”And Jesus in verses 10-21 reveals to this Jewish ruler the plan of God for the ages for the salvation of mankind and it has not changed, it is still the same today.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is the word of the Lord! The words are in red.