Classic Christianity – Book of John Part 9 (04-17-19)
Bob George shares about the peace of God that surpasses understanding. There is no peace for the wicked. If you are enslaved in sin you do not have peace. Come to Christ to get his peace. Let His peace reign in your heart by faith. As a child of God, if you are choosing to live in sin, then you are not experiencing His peace. Put your faith in the one who died for you to take all your sins away, never to be seen again in the eyes of God. Put your faith in Christ to receive his resurrected life. When you do, you can walk in the life of the Holy Spirit living in you, who is your counselor and comforter. Therefore, keep your eyes on Him. Do not let yourself be anxious but talk to him along life’s way for you will certainly experience tribulation. As you trust Him, your life will be changed as your mind is renewed. Get to know Him by reading His word. In an attitude of thanksgiving and prayer, making your requests known to Him, He will guide your heart and your mind. You have lasting peace, the peace of God. You can experience that peace in Him in the midst of any trial.
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.
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.
Bob continues to share the importance of being disciplined, knowing the word of God, meditating on it, and bringing it into memory. Do we not have things memorized for a position in a top company? God wants us to be disciplined. Be disciplined in being a child of God, giving to the work of the ministry, studying the word of God to know Him. Commit to sharing your cares with one another, fellowship with one another, and not just now and then. Can you say in your heart, “I am going to grow in the Lord.”
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.
A life of discipline produces results. An athlete reaps the benefit of being disciplined as a trained athlete. The doctor, disciplined to be trained in medical school and internship, is able to perform medical procedures to help people. There are eternal benefits in the discipline of faith in Christ. As you are disciplined to study His word to know Him, God speaks truth into your heart, renewing your mind so that you will and act according to his good purposes. God initiates and you respond. Let Him live in you and through you. Do you want the peace that surpasses understanding? What else is the result of the Spirit of God at work in your life?
Galatians 5:22-25
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Then Bob refocuses on John 3 on taking up the offer of Christ to be born again of the Spirit of God. There is an offer of eternal life, the very life of Christ through the Holy Spirit given to you by a spiritual birth. Come to Christ to enter a new life of peace and joy. Let us go back to the starting point, how a relationship with the living God starts. Turn to John 3 where Jesus speaks with Nicodemus and explains to him what it means to be born again, born from above, born a second time by the Spirit 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, to play games to impress men? 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 the miracles but because of who He is. 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 Nicodemus 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 by ‘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.
John 3:12-15
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.”
Jesus further explains what Nicodemus needs to understand to have eternal life. Jesus explained that he came from heaven with a certain purpose. The sacrifice to take away sin is going to be accomplished. Not only that I will be raised to new life so I can offer my life to men. In our day, that has already happened when Jesus went to the cross and voluntarily laid down his life for us, taking away the sins of the world, never to be seen again in the eyes of God. When that work was done, Jesus was also raised from the dead, never to die again and lives forever. He now offers eternal life to anyone who but puts their trust in him. Come to Christ to receive new life, his resurrected life.
Jesus made reference to what Nicodemus would be familiar with in the life of Moses when the Jews sinned greatly against the Lord. You can read about it in Numbers 21.
Numbers 21:4-9
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
God, in Moses day, provided a means for sin committed to be taken away so that anyone who was bitten by a poisonous snake would not die. God not only took away the sin but also provided a way for those who sinned to have new life. Jesus explained spiritual truth from this historical event in the life of Moses and the Jews. He identified that just like a bronze serpent was raised on a pole, he is going to be raised on a pole, a cross, so that whoever just looks upon him [ believes, or puts their faith alone in him ] will live.
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already. Why? People are condemned because they have not believed in God’s one and only son.
Man is already spiritually dead and by nature objects of wrath.
Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
All people were born in the sin nature of Adam, who sinned by disobeying a command of God. God had formerly told him that the day he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he will certainly die.
Genesis 2:17
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
John 3:19-21
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Are you born from above? Have you believed in God’s testimony concerning his Son?
1 John 5:12
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Do you know, not hope so, that you are a child of God. You have already been born naturally by mom and dad. Now you must be born spiritually. Did you know that not everyone is a child of God? Who does God say has the right to become children of God?
John 1:2-13
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
We are not going to go into the presence of God unless we go with Christ.
John 3:19
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Man went into a pizza parlor and so dark could not find his way in. He noticed the menu was checkered. Somebody brought him a menu so he could read it. Nobody turned on the light but he was kept in the dark because he was used to it. Men see the light as a threat.
When someone stands up and says abortion is wrong, homosexuality is a sin, what does the world think? Do they say, “Oh, his thinking is a little off. He is just a little strange.” No, they spew out hate. They hate him because he stands up for truth. When you stand up for the truth you will be hated. When you stand up for what you know to be true, you will be hated by all men.
1 John 3:13-14
13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
John 15:18
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me [Jesus] first.
John 3:20
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
Everyone who does evil hates the light. Why? Because it is convicting to him. He does not come into the light for fear his deeds will be exposed.
John 3:21
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Whoever believes the truth comes into the light.
1 John 1:7
If you are in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, has cleansed you of all sin.
So he says we do not come into the light because deeds will be exposed. Whoever lives by turning to the light comes into the light. When he walks in the light, then what he does has been done by God. What Jesus has done has been done through God.
Let us now realize this is an introduction into the lifestyle of discipline, into a lifestyle of being taught by God. Bob could have chosen to go into the Navy and be taught by the Navy. But Bob chose to go into the Army. So Bob was going to be taught by the Army. Bob could have chosen a different corporation but he chose Armstrong. They chose Bob and Bob chose them. Bob agreed to their offer, and when he did, he agreed to be taught, disciplined and trained by them. Bob entered their plan for men.
When we go out of darkness into light we agree to God’s plan. People talk about rights. We do not have rights. We have been bought with a price, the price of Jesus shed blood. We belong to Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:20
You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Are you a Christian? Are you in Christ Jesus? If yes, then you have been bought with a price. It is like God saying to you, “I want you to start learning to be disciplined by me, to learn from me. I do not want surface Christians. I want your roots to go deeply into the word of God. I want you to know this word.”
Colossians 2:6-7
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Bob shares this word of encouragement. If I can do it, then anybody can do it. I am not a reader and have never been a reader. I just read to get grades to get through school. I studied to grow and get rich and did not do much of that either. When I came to know the Lord I could not get out of reading the bible. I wore out the pages. I constantly started reading the bible. Did anyone tell me to read the bible? No, I wanted to find out about Jesus. I wanted to find out about this life God had for me. I share this to encourage people to make a decision. If you are playing games, quick playing it. If you have been a so-so Christian, change your mind. If you have been one who is here today and gone tomorrow, change your mind. Commit to be involved in a fellowship to serve, what you can give not what you can get. Get involved with people to share the message. Use worldly wealth to spread the word of God. For if this message is worthy of support then give, and not just giving leftovers. Your giving will be an expression of how much you value the message, the life God has given. Give in accordance with what you have. First, give yourself to Jesus. Make up your mind that if you are not born again then make that decision today. If you think you did but you are not sure, then do not let a day go by. Today you can be sure. Today, ask God to come live in your heart to be your Lord and Savior. If you recall being dunked in water but saw no change, then come to Christ and let him live in you and through. Make a change. You have everything to lose and nothing to gamble. Start by the grace of God, getting into the word and growing in grace. Become a part of the body of Christ and go out into the world to make a difference, that is, let Christ direct you to live in you and through you.
The world, and what God is looking for, is people who will join the army of God, to be soldiers of God, determined to go into the market place to do battle and give an account for the hope that is in you. Be equipped in the ministry God has called you, and we have all been given the ministry of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ, competent as ministers of the new covenant. Commit to meditate on God’s word and let the Holy Spirit train your mind. Be in God’s training camp with Him. Meet with God’s people to encourage one another daily so no one is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Love one another just as in Christ God has loved you.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 3:6
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 5:18
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
1 Peter 3:14-16
14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
John 8:31-32
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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.
Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
John 13:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
