Classic Christianity – Book of John Part 8 (04-16-19)
Bob George shared a message titled, “Are you prepared or are you scared?” Christianity is not a crisis relationship, but is a relationship based on preparation. Then Bob explains the armor of God, from Ephesians 6, the training equipment of a believer to stand in faith in the power of God and the strength of his might against the evil schemes of the god of this world, who is Satan. A believer is someone born again of the Spirit of God. From John 3, Bob shares what it means to be born again from above, as he continues sharing from the gospel of John. He will be sharing from John 3, where Nicodemus comes to meet Jesus at night.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but fear not [or be of good cheer] ; I have overcome the world.
We know death is ahead of us. If not prepared to die then you are not prepared to live. We spend a lot of time preparing for things of this world, such as careers and retirement. How do you face a crisis where you are diagnosed with cancer, with a report you only have a few months to live? Are you prepared if your son is hooked on drugs? Are you prepared if your wife says she does not love you anymore? Are you prepared if your husband tells you he found someone else and is out of here?
1 Timothy 4:8
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Ephesians 6:12
2 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our real battle is in the mind, against Satan and his demons.
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Did you know there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms?
Jude 9
9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Yield to Jesus to battle Satan. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). We look at struggle as against one another. We offend one another and hurt one another. We think our struggle is one another. Your struggle is not flesh and blood. All Satan does is use you, a body and a mind, to carry out his plan. Satan is behind every evil thing that happened between you and me. Yet, Satan never gets blamed. We get blamed. It was Satan who got this person messed up. We just blame one another. Jesus did not come to condemn but to save you.
John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
How many of you really believe it is more important to get someone saved than to get someone elected. Millions of dollars are raised to get someone elected for 4 years. How many of you think it is more important to get someone saved? Where is your attention? I will survive regardless of who is elected. We will make it one way or another, even the rapture, as that time approaches. I am not going to spend a dime to get someone elected but I will spend whatever I can to get someone saved. Priorities are often so focused on elections and people. This shows where your heart is. Is your heart on this earth? Is your heart in the plans of God? Do you want to fulfill God’s plans or man’s plans.
Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Companies spend thousands of dollars and much training for young men graduating from college to be ready to serve the company. Doctors go through 8 years of training and residency to be prepared to perform the work of a doctor to treat a body. Men are prepared to go to fight wars to protect a country. How much attention do we put on things that last forever, both for this life and the life to come? How are Christians to be prepared to fight battles in the spiritual realm?
We are to be disciplined in the things of God, to have our minds fortified with truth, which comes from God’s word. We must start with a vital relationship with the living Savior. You must be born again from above. For those who are born again, we are to stand in the Lord and in his mighty power. We are to put on equipment to remain standing against the schemes of the god of this world, who is the devil, or Satan.
Let us look at Ephesians 6 for the equipment of a believer to fight the eternal battles. For the fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so you can take a stand against the devil’s schemes. We are in spiritual warfare. These wars we are fighting is spiritual warfare. Evil fighting good is spiritual warfare. The devil has schemes for you and me. He has one desire, to steal, kill and destroy.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
That is his goal for you, to steal your marriage and destroy you. He has clever schemes to do so. I also have news for you and me. We are no match for Satan. We are to stand in God’s mighty power for life and godliness. We may think we are brilliant. There is only one person who can fight Satan and that is Jesus.
If you are not in relationship with God or your mind is on this world, what kind of heartache occurs?
Matthew 16:23
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
This is who we are fighting against. We are fighting against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Did you know there are spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms?
Revelation 12:7
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
Guess who Satan and the demons play with? Us. Where is their playground? On this earth. Therefore put on the full armor of God. It does not say just put on one thing. Put on the full armor. If you do not put on the full armor, Satan knows where to kill you.
Ephesians 6:13
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
What kinds of equipment do you see listed in Ephesians 6 so that we can stand our ground? We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and prayer. Do not forget about prayer. You are calling on additional troops, angels even, to be ministers to those who will inherit salvation.
The belt was what held the weapon. Put on the belt of truth. Truth is the only thing going to save you against error. Error is what takes you down and kills you. Error is always dressed with nice things. Is is always dressed up in a suit, but is only good on the outside. It is always dressed up with godly words and might even mention the name of Jesus. Put truth on.
Put on the breastplate of righteousness. It protects the whole area. Whose righteousness do we put on? His. We do not have any righteousness of our own. If you stand in your own righteousness, Satan will topple you in a minute. He cannot crack Jesus righteousness. If you stand in righteousness of Jesus, just let him try to crack that.
Be fitted with the gospel of peace. There are all kinds of temporary peace in this world. Peace in this world, is what you feel strolling by a mountain stream or resting on the seashore on a sandy beach, but as soon as you drive away in a car that peace is gone. The peace that the Lord gives is not of this world. You can get peace by taking drugs that gets your mind all fogged up. That is not the peace that the Lord gives.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The peace the Lord gives is a peace that surpasses understanding. It is like a river of flowing water, the river of life, that keeps on flowing.
Philippians 4:6-8
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Ponder also the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman about living water. There is no peace when you are enslaved to sin or living in sin. Jesus came to set the captive free.
John 4:10
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
Recall also what Jesus spoke to the Jews.
John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Take up the shield of faith, that stops the flaming arrows of the evil one. The evil one is shooting arrows at you. Not literal arrows, but the arrows that attack the mind. What stops the arrows? Your faith. Faith in you? No, faith in Christ. We are constantly bombarded by things that are not true.
Put on the helmet of salvation. Put it on and keep it on. Do not let anyone cast a doubt in your mind as to your salvation in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ Jesus you are with Christ forever. Satan lies to you and says you can lose it.
John 10:29
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
Take up your sword, the word of God, as an offensive weapon. Use the word. But you cannot use the word if you do not know the word. Therefore, you need to be a workman who rightly divides the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Discipline your mind to put truth of the word in your heart. Remember such truths so that you can recall and use to defeat the attacks of the enemy. Ho much do we remember things of this world to be successful in business or to be hired by a top reputable company in the country? How much of greater value is the word of God?
God wants us to be disciplined. There is discipline in being a child of God, to be in the ministry, to be in fellowship with one another, not just now and then. Be disciplined to share truth with one another. Be disciplined to grow in the Lord. What does it take to get hired with Armstrong? An offer and an acceptance. What does it take to get hired as a professional athlete? An offer and an acceptance. What does it take to become a child of God? An offer and an acceptance. What does it take to grow in the Lord? An offer and an acceptance. You commit to the Lord, “I am willing to do that.”
I am not saying when you should have your time with the Lord, or quiet time. Did you have your quiet time? That is the improper question. We are not talking about a religion. You need food to live to nourish your body. So too with your spiritual being. How long does it take to read through the book of Ephesians? 10 minutes. Read it over and over again. Be disciplined. Where does all this start? It starts in a relationship. It starts in John 3, with an offer and an acceptance.
So then, are you born again? What does it mean to be born again from above? Let the Holy Spirit teach you this foundational truth! Ask Him to give you understanding of the things of God.
John 3:1-15
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus at night. That is telling. He did not come to be spotted and seen. What killed Jesus?
John 11:48
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Job security plagued Nicodemus. He did not want to be called a renegade for following Jesus. But he was drawn to Jesus because of the miracles.
Nicodemus said, “For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2)
What did Jesus think when people followed him because of miracles. Jesus said, “He knows all men and knows what is in a man.”
John 2:23-25
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Jesus knows why people are following him. There are people who go to church to develop their business, and not there for the Lord at all. You may fool others but you are not fooling Jesus. Jesus knows why everyone is here. He knows whether you are coming to seek God and whether you are longing to know the truth.
Are you at church because of a beautiful building, for a social club, and fun activities? Do you come with honorable motives to get to know Jesus?
Is it not interesting that Jesus did not even acknowledge the question Nicodemus asked. Jesus did not even address anything in regards to miracles. Jesus ignored the flattery. You should not know Jesus because of miracles. Jesus declared something new to him. As if God was saying, “You, as Israel’s teacher, ought to know I am from God because I am God.” Nicodemus was taken back unbelievably by that statement. He wanted Jesus to respond to his statement. Jesus did not respond to him in the manner he expected. He declared something new to him.
John 3:3
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Nicodemus responded, with kind of a wise deal, “How can this be?”
John 3:4
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus replied,
John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
Jesus then tells exactly what that means. Born of water does not mean baptized or sprinkling. It means physical birth. Jesus explains it.
John 3:6
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
There are two births, a natural birth, from mom and dad, and a spiritual birth. There is a physical birth first. Then there must be a spiritual birth.
Jesus explains further.
John 3:7
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
How can this be? What do you mean, “born from above”? Nicodemus is puzzled, and his thoughts sound like this, “I am a Jew. Does that not do it!” Jesus responds, “No, you must be born from above.”
John 3:10-12
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
That would be insulting to Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee, a religious leader among the Jews, who is being told he does not understand things.
