As we come to the Gospel of John chapter three today, how wonderful is what we were reading there in Psalm 31. My strength faileth because of mine iniquity. That reality can only come by the mighty effectual working of the Holy Spirit in the sense of his effectual call to make us so utterly under the burden of our sin that we don't just flippantly acknowledge, yeah, I think I might've messed up a time or two. But we realize it's like a mountain pressing us down that will sink us forever unless we have some relief. That's what this third chapter is about. So absolutely needful. John chapter three. We begin reading there with verse one, and we trust that the Spirit of God will open his word to us and open us to his word today. Let us hear God's word here in the opening verses of John chapter three. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. What's he talking about? The very next verse explains it. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. A fleshly birth, a natural birth is according to the water. The water breaks. Thank God for the water that kept us safe. all the time we were in our mother's womb, keeping us from harm, from bumps and damages. But the water breaks, and there's a fleshly birth. He said, no, I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about your natural birth. That which is born of the Spirit, the Spirit, it's got to be a spiritual birth. Marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be born again. You think about nature. The wind blows where it listeth or where it wants to blow. And thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. You hear the wind, you feel the wind, you see the effects of the wind blowing the leaves. You don't know where the wind came from, where it originated, or where it's gonna end up. So is the mystery of everyone that is born of the Spirit. It's mysterious, it's marvelous, it's miraculous. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that which we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven. So I'm there right now. I'm communing with my Father. I am God. I'm not just a man here. I am in union and communion with my Father right now. I'm not separated from Him, as I will be on the cross in some dark hours. In my divine nature, I'm omnipresent. I'm right there with him, in heaven right now, but I'm right here too. The Son of Man, which is in heaven, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. May the Lord bless his word to us today. For Jesus' sake, for our sake, for our good, for his glory. The Holy Spirit moved John to record many things that none of the other gospel historians were moved nor inspired to write. John told of the water made into wine. He told of the first cleansing of the temple. And he also told of many miracles at the end of chapter two. Many miracles that Jesus did while he was in Jerusalem. And Christ did those miracles at the first Passover. That's mentioned in his ministry. Chapter two concludes with Jesus not committing nor trusting himself to those who believed on him because they saw him do many miracles. He knew. that they were not real, that they were just following Him for the show. He knew that they had not been changed and made new within. He knows us, where we are right now. He knows all about us. He knows if you're genuine. He knows if you are fraudulent. Now in chapter 3, here comes a man that says he knows, we know, We know Jesus came from God because of all the miracles he was doing even at that early point in his ministry. We know, speaking as a ruler of the Jews, there were thinking men sitting in that council of 70. There were thinking men who realized this is no ordinary preacher. So let us look at this man, Nicodemus, briefly this morning. Three things, his inadequate confession, Christ's immediate comment, and then finally, Nicodemus' entire conversion. His inadequate confession, first of all. Being a Pharisee and a respected member of the Jewish ruling class, Nicodemus was afraid to visit Jesus in the daytime. in the daylight. He did not want to be seen. He did not want to lose his place at that exalted position in Jewish society. So he came under the cover of darkness. Nicodemus was a man who thought, in that he and others had been carefully watching Jesus, so that he could say, we know! We know! He used the term rabbi. Rabbi, we know that our teacher come from God. Rabbi, what is he saying? It means you are my teacher. You are the great instructor. Come from God. You're on divine mission. Okay. He said, we know Rabbi, that you are a teacher come from God. You are on a divine mission. So Nicodemus was willing to come and in a way to humble himself to Jesus to be further instructed. So the fact that he pointed to Christ's miracles should be carefully considered. He said, no man can do the miracles you do except God be with him. Miracles are evidences of supernatural power, but we need to note in God's word There are two different kinds of miracles. There are miracles that verify truth. Jesus said in John 14, 11, believe me for the very works sake. The apostles used Christ's miracles as proofs of his messiahship. Acts chapter two, verse 22 is an example. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles. and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. There are miracles that verify truth, but there are also supernatural works called lying wonders. 2 Thessalonians 2, 9, done by the son of perdition. like the magicians in Egypt that produced serpents, similar to the serpent Moses' rod turned into. But Moses showed them God's superiority over them by his serpent swallowing up theirs. In the New Testament, in Acts chapter 8 and verse 9, Simon the sorcerer used magic tricks. The hand is quicker than the eye and such stuff to bewitch the Samaritans as a servant of Satan. When he saw the superior power of God, he wanted that power. Why? To use for the glory of God? No. To use for his own selfish, sinful enrichment for himself. He wanted to offer money to get the power of God so we could make some more money. What Nicodemus confessed was good, but it was totally inadequate. We know this because of Christ's immediate comment. You notice Jesus cut him off? Say, okay, Nicodemus, I'm so glad you feel that way. No, he didn't go there. He hit him right smack in the face with the truth that he needed to hear above all other things in his existence. Although Christ was glad that His Messiahship was being considered by those in the Jewish ruling class, He immediately cut through all the flattery to the very matter, to the very most important thing in the whole world, and that is knowing God indeed. The real issue of sinners before the living God. And He swore Jesus was in the habit of swearing. Understand that. He's God. He could do that. It's time to do that. He said, verily, verily. Anytime you see that, understand. It is the ancient word, whether in Hebrew or in Greek, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Christ swearing by divine title, for He is the amen. Revelation 3 and verse 14. He speaks the truth that is eternally fixed, unmovable, and unchangeable. So when you say amen, It's not just so be it. But when God says, Amen, so it shall certainly be. It's fixed. There's no moving away from this. This is fixed reality when God says, Amen. He speaks the truth. Ye must be born again. He says it right there. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, verse 3, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Don't let that be an ordinary thing in your mind. Because that word for see is not the common, general, usual word for seeing. The sight that God has given us as one of our five senses. It is not that at all. The word means you will never know to understand the kingdom of God. Oh yeah. Rich man in hell lift up his eyes and he could see Lazarus and Abraham's bosom across that great gulf, yes. But he could not see the kingdom of God for his own personal fulfillment and enjoyment for eternity. Jesus is saying, you will never understand things spiritual unless you are radically changed. There's got to be a miracle that takes place in your life. Your nature has got to be changed or you will never see the kingdom of God to understand. And then it goes on down to verse 5, you won't enter it. Yes, you won't see it to understand it, to know anything of the reality of it. Neither will you enter it unless you were born of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he's old? He's thinking physical. He's not thinking of spiritual reality. Okay. So, in order to really see the kingdom of God, to savingly understand, there must be a birth, a second birth. We are born into this world, obviously. but we must be born as truly as we're born into this world. We must be born into another realm, a spiritual realm. We have the five senses, sight, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. But only by the miraculous second birth are we born altogether into a new realm of spiritual understanding so that as Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, think about him at the very outset in Pilgrim's Progress. What does he do? He cries out in lamentation, Oh God! I am undone. I'm a wretched sinner. I'm hopeless. My whole life has been without God, against God, an abysmal failure to obey God. And I have only been treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath by my evil heart of unbelief. When we get to that point, like the Christian was in Pilgrim's Progress, we're coming to the beginning. Oh God, unless you will move by your Spirit to give me a new heart, new desires, a new life, I must certainly forever perish. I must have this radical all-out change of my nature, or I will be ruined and undone in hell, in separation from God, from all that is good, forever and ever and ever. Christ presented Nicodemus with two unavoidable musts. Musts. You must be born again. This must is intimately connected with the must of verse 14. Notice in verse 14, we read, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. You must. to be born again. And so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. As Moses lifted up that brass serpent on that pole, the symbol of the curse, the serpent, cursed. By looking upon that brass serpent, Those that had been bitten by those poisonous snakes lived. Even so must Christ be lifted up upon a Roman cross, bearing the punishment and guilt of our sin, that whosoever looks on Him by faith will be forever saved from the curse of sin and made to inherit everlasting life. So we've looked briefly at Nicodemus' inadequate confession and Christ's immediate comment. Now finally, Nicodemus' entire conversion. He had come by night to meet with Jesus. Therefore, each time he's mentioned in scripture, he's only mentioned by John. Each time he's mentioned, it's with this little parenthetical portion, the one that came to Jesus by night. He's remembered for his timidity and his fear that characterized his coming. But thank God, he finally got a little courage to stand up for Jesus in the council one day. The leaders were saying that anybody following Jesus was deceived because Jesus was a deceiver. Well, thankfully, Nicodemus simply asked, Does our law condemn or judge any man before it hears him? The council quickly shut Nicodemus up. You one of them? So he didn't say any more. But think about the key. Where was the key? Where did the conversion take place? Where did the entire conversion of that man take place. When Jesus was crucified and hanging on that cross, Nicodemus plucked up all his courage, he went and he saw. And he boldly went to help in the burial of Jesus' body. But really the power to stand came when Jesus was hanging on that cross. And Nicodemus stood looking at Jesus hanging there. As he watched the sufferings of the Lamb of God, he remembered that night in Jerusalem what Jesus had said. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. When that memory came flashing back to Nicodemus, then he believed. And nothing could then stop him. Nothing could stop him from following Jesus now. Even martyrdom, nothing else in the world could stop him. He brought a hundred pounds of spices. How long has it been since you lifted up a hundred pounds and threw it over your shoulder? This man was changed. He was willing to stand up for Jesus and bring a hundred pounds of spices to anoint Christ's body. Dear souls listening this morning, look on Christ. See him on that cross doing that saving work for you. Jesus has taught us, yes, but he has done much more than teach us. He has not only spoken, he has died for us. He has not only shown us where we need to be walking, but he has made that walk possible as the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. He has given his life a ransom for many. So I urge you to take Him by faith. His Word is true. Look at verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. I urge you to take him by faith. Tell him that you take him. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Let us pray together. We praise Thee, Lord Jesus, that when Nicodemus came, Thou didst put away all the things that could be said, and didst speak the one thing needful, the new birth. Please, Lord, Do not let us escape that reality today. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.