Is it possible to believe in God,
but live as if he doesn’t exist? The Biblical answer is, yes. Consider Titus
1:16. “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are
detestable, disobedient and unfit for anything.” Here is another way of looking
at it, if you believe that Jesus is risen from the dead, that means he is alive
today, right now, and because he is God he is nearby each one of us all the
time. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him,
and he with me.”
But do we live as if we really believe that? Do we acknowledge his presence by consciously seeking to spend time with him? Or do we live as if the life of Christ is a fond memory, a person who lived long ago, and who we hold in our hearts and speak with imaginatively on our way to the grocery store without ever really expecting him to talk back?
Well, Jesus is real. He is really here with us by his Spirit. And since as your pastor I am supposed to conduct worship so as to shepherd us into the very presence of God, with Kathy’s help I have come up with a sermon series based on meaningful encounters with Jesus. In it I seek to answer a different key question each week. These are questions that some Christians struggle with. They could be considered hard to answer. They could be questions that unbelievers or seekers might ask of Christians, so I want you to be prepared and equipped with the answers or at least some idea that there are answers to even the hardest questions.
But the answers to these questions are not simply about giving you information. Faith is not merely about what you believe. It is about transformation. It is about how you live out what you say you believe. That’s why in the beginning verses of Romans 12 Paul says that it is when we offer our bodies as living sacrifices that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds to know what God’s will really is. So each week we are going to go and be with Jesus.
Today we visit with Jesus through Nicodemus when he went to Jesus at night, as recorded in John 3. First, picture the scene and place yourself in this story. Let’s get inside Nicodemus’ head and imagine what it must have been like for him to be seeking out Jesus at night. It was dark. The only light came from a half moon which was still low in the sky. The dew had begun to settle and I shivered with cold as it settled on my skin. There was the sweet smell of new flowers wafting from the trees just coming into bloom that lined the path on which I walked.
"What am I doing? What am I doing?" I muttered this question over and over to myself, yet, I pressed on. I just had to know! I just had to understand! This Jesus, who is he? His teachings were so different! That much was clear, especially to me. I was a Pharisee! I taught the people what they needed to know about God. But the things that Jesus was saying, and doing, he didn't learn from me, or any other Pharisee. All my colleagues were talking about him. They criticized in public, yet I sensed that many of them had been shaken as I had by what He said.
He seemed to have such understanding. When He spoke, it wasn't just a bunch of memorized rules and sayings. His teachings were thoughtful, thought provoking. He had such a different perspective. He made me see the shallowness of my own beliefs. He made me long to go deeper in my walk with God. When He spoke, I longed to have His understanding.
I hadn't realized that a walk with God could be more than what my religion taught, but from Him, I gained a sense that going deeper in a relationship with God was possible. Jesus' words were not empty, but full with richness and meaning. I knew I had to hear more.
Funny that I would have such a passion to know and at the same time be so afraid to find out. But I was afraid of more than that. What would the others say if they knew that I was talking to Him; if they knew that I was considering His teachings? That's why I came at night. I knew that I had to do this, but it would be disastrous to my career if anyone else found out right now. I wanted to be more sure before I did anything publicly.
Finally, the path made one final bend and there before me stretched a clearing. The sounds of soft snoring greeted my ears and mingled with the other noises of the night. One small camp fire glowed in the center of the clearing. Its embers gave a soft light to the solitary figure sitting beside it. At first, I thought that it was one of His followers sitting watch, but as I approached, I could soon see that it was none other than Jesus Himself. Sitting, praying?, thinking?, I couldn't tell for sure. I hesitated for just a moment. Did I really dare to disturb Him?
"What am I doing?" Again the nagging question. Then He looked up and smiled at me, as if this was an appointment he had made and he had only been waiting for me, expecting me. There was no turning back now. I moved forward into the light.
His gaze remained steady on my face. Why did I feel like a school boy who had just been caught in a prank? This man was, maybe, half my age, yet He seemed so sure of Himself. What was I doing? And who was examining who? I stepped into the light, of his campfire, took a deep breath and began.
Well, I wonder what it was really like for Nicodemus. I like to believe I’ll be able to ask him one day. The question before us is, “Who are you Lord?” Nicodemus wouldn’t have called him Lord until after the resurrection. But he went to Jesus to find out more about who he was. Did Jesus answer that question in this conversation?
Well, Nic did visit with Jesus in a sincere effort to find out who Jesus is, or at least learn more about him. He said what he did know: You must be from God, the miracles prove it. And he must have wanted to know more, but he didn’t actually get to ask a question because Jesus responded to Nicodemus’ opening statement by saying, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Jesus had picked up on Nicodemus’ statement of faith about Jesus coming from God, but then pointed out that the only way anyone will see the kingdom of God is by being born again. This implies that Nicodemus’ idea that Jesus comes from God is only verifiable if Nicodemus is born again. And since Nic didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about it looks like the conversation takes a turn in a new direction.
Jesus next explains what he means, and implies that it is simple enough that Nicodemus should have already been teaching people about that himself. Nicodemus should not have been puzzled by Jesus’ words. To show you what I mean, let’s suppose the conversation might have gone like this:
Nicodemus might have said, “Yes, I know. I am born again. I have studied the Scripture enough and learned how to pray so that after I was born of the flesh as a child I grew in understanding and I now have the Spirit of God in me to agree with the idea that you come from God.”
But if Nicodemus had said that, then Jesus would have said something like, “Why then are you not already my disciple? Why do you come to me at night? What are you afraid of? Is it that the other Pharisees do not believe what you believe? Or is it actually that you do not really know for sure what you believe about me so you would not take a stand in public until after this private meeting that might help you decide? Because if you really know that I am from God, as you said at the beginning, then you would have had confidence to stand up against those who deny it.”
After Jesus said that, he could have gone right on with what he did say, “You people do not accept our testimony.” He told Nicodemus, “You do not believe.” So we learn from this that in spite of Nicodemus’ respectful opening to the conversation, he didn’t fully believe what he was saying and he was there to see if he could find out who Jesus really is. And therefore Jesus could see that Nicodemus was not born again, not able to comprehend the true nature of Jesus’ identity and mission. That’s why Jesus said you must be born again. Because he already knew the predicament Nicodemus was in and he pointed it out. No one can really know who Jesus is without the help of the Holy Spirit.
But then Jesus did explain who he is. He used a picture that Nicodemus could understand. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” The snake Jesus is talking about comes out of the Israelites own history and would have been familiar to Nicodemus. The story is in Numbers 21. The people were complaining again about the food God was providing while they were wandering in the wilderness. In response, God sent fatally poisonous snakes among them.
When the people cried out for help, God told Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up high on a pole so it could be seen from anywhere in the camp. Then anyone who was bitten, could look to the pole to be healed. This required faith and obedience to God’s way of providing salvation from the fatal snake bite. And Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
And Jesus was lifted up, on a cross, very much like a pole, and to find forgiveness of sins in that requires faith and obedience to God’s way of providing salvation from the fatal bite of the snake called satan. All who believe God message and obediently turn to him in faith are saved from death and given eternal life.
That’s a picture of who God is, the loving God, the merciful savior of the whole world. That’s a picture of who Jesus is, same thing, the loving God, the merciful savior of the whole world. Also, as the Son of God sent into the world, Jesus is God the Son, the radiance of God’s glory and in human form he is the exact representation of God’s being. As he said to Phillip, “Don’t you know me Phillip? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
From this we know that Nicodemus saw God when he spoke with him that night, as he sat with Jesus. And what did he experience? Did God condemn Nicodemus for leading the people astray with his apparent lack of understanding about life in the Spirit? Did Jesus scold Nic for coming to him at night because he was afraid of what other people would say? Did Jesus push Nicodemus away without forgiving him for his many faults, for his hypocrisy and for his unbelief and failure to really understand about heavenly things?
Let’s go back to that campfire and relive the experience. Jesus’ face was soft and gentle. An expression of warmth seemed to spread over His entire being. "For God," His voice was soft, but the passion could not be missed. "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. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned." Now he leaned forward and pointed at me directly, "but, whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only son."
Nicodemus thought, “He’s talking about me! But how could I believe what I could not understand? He was speaking of spirit and flesh; spiritual and physical. Oh my head began to pound with all that was buzzing within my brain. I am a learned man, yet I do not understand! I must think, I must think!! What am I doing here? I'm growing deeper with God. But I do not understand!!”
Now He stood to face me. "This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." Now my conscience was pricked. It was night and here I was. I was here now because I was afraid of being exposed as someone who might take Jesus seriously. But I had to decide, was it evil to speak to Him? Or was it evil to be ashamed of speaking with him?
Now Jesus extended a hand to me. As I took it he drew me closer, and closer to the fire light. I looked into His eyes as He said, "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
He released my hand and I knew that I was dismissed, but that was okay because I now understood with that last statement that he was still extending hope to me. I had much to consider and work through, but I started home with a desire to rise to the challenge. Think a new way!! Consider new possibilities. Messiah like a spiritual snake. Who'd of thought it, but maybe? I felt that with Jesus I had dined at a full table whereas before I had been content to feast on bread and water. So much to think about, if I would just be willing to consider.”
The first thing that Nicodemus got right in this encounter with Jesus is that he didn’t just sit at home and think things over. He got up and offered his body as a living sacrifice to go and speak with Jesus personally. And in acting on the faith he had, however small, Nicodemus was transformed by the renewing of his mind. We know that because later he showed compassion and participated in the burial of Jesus.
Who is Jesus? He is your God, your Savior, your loving Lord who is alive today and longs for you to want to spend time with him so that your faith will grow, your mind will be transformed and your life will be lived out in faithful response to all that God offers you through Christ. He stands at the door, and knocks, will you open up to him? There is nothing mysterious about how to do that. You must take the time and find a place to go and be with him, just as Nicodemus did. All you need is a quiet room, an actual physical place, a quiet time, real minutes that are devoted to time with God, an open Bible, for God’s words are there for you, and an open heart, to let the Spirit give you understanding.
If you meet with Jesus, you will meet with God. And if you are so blessed to experience his real presence, then please, be ready to encourage others with your testimony. I’d sure like to hear from you. But for right now, we meet with God in this place, in this time as we together turn to him in prayer. Amen.
But do we live as if we really believe that? Do we acknowledge his presence by consciously seeking to spend time with him? Or do we live as if the life of Christ is a fond memory, a person who lived long ago, and who we hold in our hearts and speak with imaginatively on our way to the grocery store without ever really expecting him to talk back?
Well, Jesus is real. He is really here with us by his Spirit. And since as your pastor I am supposed to conduct worship so as to shepherd us into the very presence of God, with Kathy’s help I have come up with a sermon series based on meaningful encounters with Jesus. In it I seek to answer a different key question each week. These are questions that some Christians struggle with. They could be considered hard to answer. They could be questions that unbelievers or seekers might ask of Christians, so I want you to be prepared and equipped with the answers or at least some idea that there are answers to even the hardest questions.
But the answers to these questions are not simply about giving you information. Faith is not merely about what you believe. It is about transformation. It is about how you live out what you say you believe. That’s why in the beginning verses of Romans 12 Paul says that it is when we offer our bodies as living sacrifices that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds to know what God’s will really is. So each week we are going to go and be with Jesus.
Today we visit with Jesus through Nicodemus when he went to Jesus at night, as recorded in John 3. First, picture the scene and place yourself in this story. Let’s get inside Nicodemus’ head and imagine what it must have been like for him to be seeking out Jesus at night. It was dark. The only light came from a half moon which was still low in the sky. The dew had begun to settle and I shivered with cold as it settled on my skin. There was the sweet smell of new flowers wafting from the trees just coming into bloom that lined the path on which I walked.
"What am I doing? What am I doing?" I muttered this question over and over to myself, yet, I pressed on. I just had to know! I just had to understand! This Jesus, who is he? His teachings were so different! That much was clear, especially to me. I was a Pharisee! I taught the people what they needed to know about God. But the things that Jesus was saying, and doing, he didn't learn from me, or any other Pharisee. All my colleagues were talking about him. They criticized in public, yet I sensed that many of them had been shaken as I had by what He said.
He seemed to have such understanding. When He spoke, it wasn't just a bunch of memorized rules and sayings. His teachings were thoughtful, thought provoking. He had such a different perspective. He made me see the shallowness of my own beliefs. He made me long to go deeper in my walk with God. When He spoke, I longed to have His understanding.
I hadn't realized that a walk with God could be more than what my religion taught, but from Him, I gained a sense that going deeper in a relationship with God was possible. Jesus' words were not empty, but full with richness and meaning. I knew I had to hear more.
Funny that I would have such a passion to know and at the same time be so afraid to find out. But I was afraid of more than that. What would the others say if they knew that I was talking to Him; if they knew that I was considering His teachings? That's why I came at night. I knew that I had to do this, but it would be disastrous to my career if anyone else found out right now. I wanted to be more sure before I did anything publicly.
Finally, the path made one final bend and there before me stretched a clearing. The sounds of soft snoring greeted my ears and mingled with the other noises of the night. One small camp fire glowed in the center of the clearing. Its embers gave a soft light to the solitary figure sitting beside it. At first, I thought that it was one of His followers sitting watch, but as I approached, I could soon see that it was none other than Jesus Himself. Sitting, praying?, thinking?, I couldn't tell for sure. I hesitated for just a moment. Did I really dare to disturb Him?
"What am I doing?" Again the nagging question. Then He looked up and smiled at me, as if this was an appointment he had made and he had only been waiting for me, expecting me. There was no turning back now. I moved forward into the light.
His gaze remained steady on my face. Why did I feel like a school boy who had just been caught in a prank? This man was, maybe, half my age, yet He seemed so sure of Himself. What was I doing? And who was examining who? I stepped into the light, of his campfire, took a deep breath and began.
Well, I wonder what it was really like for Nicodemus. I like to believe I’ll be able to ask him one day. The question before us is, “Who are you Lord?” Nicodemus wouldn’t have called him Lord until after the resurrection. But he went to Jesus to find out more about who he was. Did Jesus answer that question in this conversation?
Well, Nic did visit with Jesus in a sincere effort to find out who Jesus is, or at least learn more about him. He said what he did know: You must be from God, the miracles prove it. And he must have wanted to know more, but he didn’t actually get to ask a question because Jesus responded to Nicodemus’ opening statement by saying, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Jesus had picked up on Nicodemus’ statement of faith about Jesus coming from God, but then pointed out that the only way anyone will see the kingdom of God is by being born again. This implies that Nicodemus’ idea that Jesus comes from God is only verifiable if Nicodemus is born again. And since Nic didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about it looks like the conversation takes a turn in a new direction.
Jesus next explains what he means, and implies that it is simple enough that Nicodemus should have already been teaching people about that himself. Nicodemus should not have been puzzled by Jesus’ words. To show you what I mean, let’s suppose the conversation might have gone like this:
Nicodemus might have said, “Yes, I know. I am born again. I have studied the Scripture enough and learned how to pray so that after I was born of the flesh as a child I grew in understanding and I now have the Spirit of God in me to agree with the idea that you come from God.”
But if Nicodemus had said that, then Jesus would have said something like, “Why then are you not already my disciple? Why do you come to me at night? What are you afraid of? Is it that the other Pharisees do not believe what you believe? Or is it actually that you do not really know for sure what you believe about me so you would not take a stand in public until after this private meeting that might help you decide? Because if you really know that I am from God, as you said at the beginning, then you would have had confidence to stand up against those who deny it.”
After Jesus said that, he could have gone right on with what he did say, “You people do not accept our testimony.” He told Nicodemus, “You do not believe.” So we learn from this that in spite of Nicodemus’ respectful opening to the conversation, he didn’t fully believe what he was saying and he was there to see if he could find out who Jesus really is. And therefore Jesus could see that Nicodemus was not born again, not able to comprehend the true nature of Jesus’ identity and mission. That’s why Jesus said you must be born again. Because he already knew the predicament Nicodemus was in and he pointed it out. No one can really know who Jesus is without the help of the Holy Spirit.
But then Jesus did explain who he is. He used a picture that Nicodemus could understand. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” The snake Jesus is talking about comes out of the Israelites own history and would have been familiar to Nicodemus. The story is in Numbers 21. The people were complaining again about the food God was providing while they were wandering in the wilderness. In response, God sent fatally poisonous snakes among them.
When the people cried out for help, God told Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up high on a pole so it could be seen from anywhere in the camp. Then anyone who was bitten, could look to the pole to be healed. This required faith and obedience to God’s way of providing salvation from the fatal snake bite. And Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
And Jesus was lifted up, on a cross, very much like a pole, and to find forgiveness of sins in that requires faith and obedience to God’s way of providing salvation from the fatal bite of the snake called satan. All who believe God message and obediently turn to him in faith are saved from death and given eternal life.
That’s a picture of who God is, the loving God, the merciful savior of the whole world. That’s a picture of who Jesus is, same thing, the loving God, the merciful savior of the whole world. Also, as the Son of God sent into the world, Jesus is God the Son, the radiance of God’s glory and in human form he is the exact representation of God’s being. As he said to Phillip, “Don’t you know me Phillip? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
From this we know that Nicodemus saw God when he spoke with him that night, as he sat with Jesus. And what did he experience? Did God condemn Nicodemus for leading the people astray with his apparent lack of understanding about life in the Spirit? Did Jesus scold Nic for coming to him at night because he was afraid of what other people would say? Did Jesus push Nicodemus away without forgiving him for his many faults, for his hypocrisy and for his unbelief and failure to really understand about heavenly things?
Let’s go back to that campfire and relive the experience. Jesus’ face was soft and gentle. An expression of warmth seemed to spread over His entire being. "For God," His voice was soft, but the passion could not be missed. "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. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned." Now he leaned forward and pointed at me directly, "but, whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only son."
Nicodemus thought, “He’s talking about me! But how could I believe what I could not understand? He was speaking of spirit and flesh; spiritual and physical. Oh my head began to pound with all that was buzzing within my brain. I am a learned man, yet I do not understand! I must think, I must think!! What am I doing here? I'm growing deeper with God. But I do not understand!!”
Now He stood to face me. "This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." Now my conscience was pricked. It was night and here I was. I was here now because I was afraid of being exposed as someone who might take Jesus seriously. But I had to decide, was it evil to speak to Him? Or was it evil to be ashamed of speaking with him?
Now Jesus extended a hand to me. As I took it he drew me closer, and closer to the fire light. I looked into His eyes as He said, "Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
He released my hand and I knew that I was dismissed, but that was okay because I now understood with that last statement that he was still extending hope to me. I had much to consider and work through, but I started home with a desire to rise to the challenge. Think a new way!! Consider new possibilities. Messiah like a spiritual snake. Who'd of thought it, but maybe? I felt that with Jesus I had dined at a full table whereas before I had been content to feast on bread and water. So much to think about, if I would just be willing to consider.”
The first thing that Nicodemus got right in this encounter with Jesus is that he didn’t just sit at home and think things over. He got up and offered his body as a living sacrifice to go and speak with Jesus personally. And in acting on the faith he had, however small, Nicodemus was transformed by the renewing of his mind. We know that because later he showed compassion and participated in the burial of Jesus.
Who is Jesus? He is your God, your Savior, your loving Lord who is alive today and longs for you to want to spend time with him so that your faith will grow, your mind will be transformed and your life will be lived out in faithful response to all that God offers you through Christ. He stands at the door, and knocks, will you open up to him? There is nothing mysterious about how to do that. You must take the time and find a place to go and be with him, just as Nicodemus did. All you need is a quiet room, an actual physical place, a quiet time, real minutes that are devoted to time with God, an open Bible, for God’s words are there for you, and an open heart, to let the Spirit give you understanding.
If you meet with Jesus, you will meet with God. And if you are so blessed to experience his real presence, then please, be ready to encourage others with your testimony. I’d sure like to hear from you. But for right now, we meet with God in this place, in this time as we together turn to him in prayer. Amen.
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