Jesus and the Moral Man | Sunday Message

A New Beginning presents a great book from Pastor Greg Laurie called Hope for America. Yes, we're in a political season right now. We need to vote. We should be informed on the issues as Americans and as Christians, but we should also recognize the ultimate hope for our nation is turning back to God. So I talk about this and a lot more in a book I've written called Hope for America.

And I want to send it to you for your gift of any size. Get your copy at harvest.org. Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie encouraging you.

If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Amen. Good afternoon, everybody. Let's pray. Now, Lord, we, as we just sang, we believe in the name of Jesus. And we know that You're here with us now, Lord.

You've told us in Scripture when two or more are gathered together in Your name, You're there in the midst of them. So it's really just us and You, Lord, and we want to hear from You. So speak to us from Your Word, we pray. In Jesus' name, we ask this. Amen. All right.

You can all be seated. Why don't you grab your Bible and turn to John chapter 3. And the title of my message is Jesus and the Moral Man. We're in a brand new series called Jesus and You. So it's about the encounters that Christ had with different individuals. So just imagine for a moment, if you will, if you could have a personal appointment with Jesus, just you and the Lord hanging out, maybe over a cup of coffee. You could ask Him any question.

No topic was off-limits, just you and Jesus. A younger person might have some different questions than an older person might. A younger person might ask about their identity or their purpose in life or what course their life would take. An older person might ask questions about the afterlife or their mortality. Studies have shown that's what people think about as they get older.

In fact, it's what they ought to be thinking about as they get older. I don't know if you've seen that film Saving Private Ryan, but it's a powerful film. And in this movie, Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks, is sent on a mission. And it is to save Private Ryan because Private Ryan's three brothers had been killed in combat.

And it was felt that the mother could not stand the heartbreak of losing all four of her sons. So some soldiers are sent on a mission to save Private Ryan. And they finally located them. Tragically, almost everyone in the squad that was sent to save this young man died in combat. And at the very end of the film, they finally find Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon. And then Captain Miller is shot. And he's dying. And he says to Private Ryan, James, earn this.

Earn it. So now you go to the end of the film. And Private Ryan's an older man. And he goes to a cemetery to visit the grave of Captain Miller, who had died saving his life. And he's there with this family. And he says to them, he tried to live the best life that he could live. And he hoped he earned what they all did for him. And then he turns to his wife and says, tell me that I lived a good life.

Tell me I'm a good man. And that's a valid statement to make. And we have a similar situation in the story before us. We have an elderly gentleman thinking about his mortality, realizing he may not have that much longer to live. And he comes to Jesus. And the name of this man is known to most of us. His name was Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was effectively a household name. He was known to be a great spiritual leader. He was an intellectual. He was a deeply moral man. Obviously a very religious man and a leader of the highest order. And now he encounters a humble, a completely uneducated or comparatively uneducated, poor carpenter from Nazareth. So here we have the intellectual elite with a man that was controversial.

But it really wasn't a rabbi and a carpenter. This is effectively a conversation between God and man. And we could nominate, we could not nominate a better representative than Nicodemus.

He was sort of the finest of humanity, sort of speaking on our behalf. And so Jesus unfolds the mysteries of life to Nicodemus. And Christ also utters probably the best known Bible verse of all time, John 3.16. But before this conversation begins to unfold in John 3 we have what happened before it in John chapter 2 verse 23. Look at that with me. Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration many began to trust Him.

Okay that sounds good. Maybe your translation says many believed in Him. But then this. But Jesus didn't trust them because He knew all people. No one needed to tell Him about human nature for He knew what was in each human heart.

Wow powerful statement. Many trusted in Him but effectively He didn't trust in them. Many believed in Him but He didn't believe in them.

Why? Because their faith was superficial. It was based on the spectacular. On miracles that they had seen. It wasn't a genuine in real faith. When someone is really seeking God the Lord will reveal Himself to them. But if you are not a true seeker God won't reveal Himself to you. Now in contrast this we come to chapter 3. But there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. Now when the Bible was originally written there were not chapters and verses. Jesus did not begin a statement with chapter 1 verse 1. We added that later so we could find our way around in our Bible.

So this is a flow of thought. So these people believed in Him but He didn't believe in them. But there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. So in contrast here is a true seeker.

Let's look at it. John 3 we read that there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night.

You might underline that. We will come back to it. He came to Jesus by night and said to Him rabbi we know that you are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them. Jesus answered and said to him most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him but how can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Don't marvel that I have said to you you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to him how can these things be?

Jesus answered and said are you the teacher of Israel and you don't know these things? We will stop there. So here is Nicodemus a man who was hungry for real truth.

He had everything one would want in life but something was missing. You know as long as we think our dream is going to be realized we may press on in life. We set certain goals. I am going to go to school. I am going to go to college. I am going to get that degree. I am going to get that good job. I am hopefully going to get you know promoted in my job and then I am going to get married and then we will have kids. These are all goals that we set and maybe we meet those goals and after we have been married for you know 15 years he would say I don't know maybe I will marry somebody else and so we trade our spouses in and then with the kids he would say I enjoy having kids but are they ever going to leave the house? They are all in their 50s now. So you know we just keep thinking when I get to this certain place then I am going to be happy.

And then you get to that place and you are still not happy. You may have read the tragic story of this member of the band One Direction, Liam Payne. Very successful. His group sold over 70 million records.

They had global fame and he died recently falling off a balcony in a hotel in Argentina. And so this young man did an interview before this event happened and in the interview he said quote he had hit rock bottom during this time in One Direction it was due to his use of drugs and alcohol. He said I was worried.

Where is rock bottom for me? And you would have never seen it. I am very good at hiding it. And now he is gone. I wish I could have said to young Liam Payne Liam for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Why is it that someone who is so successful turns to drugs and alcohol?

Here is the simple answer. You think it is going to get better if I hit this goal. Then one day you hit the goal and a very rare group of people hit the goals they set in life and surpass them. In other words they get to the top and they find out there is nothing there. And that is why so many of our popular iconic rock figures and movie stars and others end up addicted to drugs. End up sometimes taking their own lives.

This is not new to our generation. King Solomon experienced it in his day. He had unlimited wealth and power and everything you could want in life.

And he said one day I looked at everything that I had and it was all emptiness. Tom Brady who is the GOAT. The greatest of all time. The greatest quarterback has won seven Super Bowls. After he won three Super Bowl rings he made this statement and I quote, why do I have three Super Bowl rings and think there is something greater out there for me? I mean a lot of people would say hey man this is what it is.

I reached my goal, my dream, my life, but I think God it has got to be more than this. And then Brad Pitt who people mistake me for often. That was not a joke. That is the most insulting laughter I have ever heard.

Three times. You laugh in my face. No it is meant to be a joke of course. Brad Pitt who I am never mistaken for has been very successful in his career said quote, I know all these things are supposed to seem important to us. The car, the condo, our versions of success. But if that is the case why is the general feeling out there reflecting more impotence and isolation and desperation and loneliness end quote. Lady Gaga said quote, I won an Oscar. I sang at the Super Bowl. But in some ways I still feel empty inside.

I think it is because I am still searching for who I am and where I fit in end quote. You know we look up to these people. Oh I wish I was like this movie star. I wish I was like that singer. I wish I was like this athlete. Then I would be happy.

No you probably wouldn't be at all. Here is something that is true of every person. I don't care if they are young or old, famous, infamous, or completely unknown.

It doesn't matter if they are a man or a woman. Everyone deep down inside is empty. And why are they empty? Because effectively God created us with a void in our life that can only be filled with Him. The Bible says He made the creation subject to emptiness. So you will try to fill that void with so many things, relationships, sexual experiences, drugs, alcohol, accomplishments, possessions.

The list goes on. But you will only find the satisfaction you seek in a relationship with God. Number one, everyone is empty. Number two, everyone is lonely. You may have a lot of friends. You may be at a party with people all around you and a deep sense of loneliness just sweeps over you.

That is a loneliness for God. Thirdly, everyone is guilty. We feel guilt. We try to mask it. We try to pretend it is not there.

But it is there. And you know why you feel guilty? Because you are guilty. Because you are a sinner. I am a sinner. We have all broken God's commandments. And lastly, everyone is afraid to die.

Well, I know we will show great bravado and laugh at it. No, deep down inside when you are laying your head on the pillow, you think of your mortality and people are afraid to die. Well, the gospel answers all of those issues. So coming back to Nicodemus, here he is, powerful, rich, famous. People went to him for answers, but he had questions.

So he comes to Jesus. And verse 1 says, he was a Pharisee. Now the Pharisees and the Sadducees were the two main religious groups of the day. They didn't agree on much. The only thing the Pharisees and Sadducees seemed to agree on was their hatred of Jesus. Because he was bad for business.

And he blew their cover and exposed their hypocrisy. But the Pharisees believed in an afterlife and an eternal reward. And the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees believed that when you died you simply ceased to exist. Which is a pretty bleak outlook on life. Maybe that is why they got their name. Sadducee.

They were sad. You see. Right. And we usually think of the Pharisees in a negative light.

And understandably so. Because Christ saved his most scathing words for these religious leaders. But they weren't all bad. In fact Nicodemus was a good Pharisee. He was looking for truth.

But they were a select group never numbering more than 6,000. And each had taken a solemn vow before three witnesses that they would dedicate their entire life to the keeping of the commandments of God. But they weren't satisfied with the scripture alone. So there was another group called the Scribes that came up with a whole other book very thick called the Mishnah. It had 24 chapters alone dedicated to how to keep the Sabbath.

And in addition to the Mishnah the Scribes wrote a commentary on the Mishnah called the Talmud. So they have all of these books and all of these rules and all of these regulations and they felt if we do all of these things we will be pleasing to God. They also would put on displays of piety and religiousness. When they would pray they would pray loudly on a street corner. You remember the story that Jesus told of a Pharisee and a publican that went into the temple to pray and the Pharisee said, God I thank you I'm not like other men. I fast, I tithe and I'm not like this publican over here.

And the publican who is a tax collector just said God be merciful to me etcetera. But that's typical Pharisaical behavior. I'm so awesome.

I'm better than everybody else. But you know we can be like Pharisees too. We can do things for theater. We can do things to make people think we are more spiritual than we really are. I mean they had all of their extra volumes to the Bible. We can have all of our commentaries that we carry with us to church commentaries. Really big Bible. Our Bible is bigger than anyone's Bible. And we take pictures of ourselves doing devotions with our Bible and all of our commentaries in front of us. And wow look at me you know. And we are learning a few Greek words now. We use them all the time even when we don't need to.

You don't need to use Greek when you are ordering it in an alburger but you do it anyway. You just do things to cause people to think you are more spiritual than you really are. Here is the bottom line. If you are a really spiritual person you won't be a show off. You will be more humble. You won't search yourself and say look how great and awesome I am.

You will do the very opposite. After years of walking with God the apostle Paul himself said hey it is not that I have already attained but I press on toward the mark for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ. Let's paraphrase.

Hey I have got a long ways to go. But that is the way the Pharisees rolled. And they thought that they were better than anyone else. So along comes Nicodemus. Now he is one of the primary leaders. He is identified as a ruler. There was a ruler among the Pharisees. So now we have the Pharisees that are an elite group.

Now we have the Sanhedrin that rules over the Pharisees. And Nicodemus was on the top of the heat. He was the goat.

Right? Someone called me the goat the other day. I was really complimented. Hey you goat. They said old goat get out of the way. Wait how did you mean that exactly? I was offended.

I just moved in very quickly. As quickly as an old goat can move actually. I was talking to some Gen Z kids and they told me about the term Riz. He had Riz right? It means he had charisma.

Well he did. He was the man that others went to for advice. And so he comes to Jesus and we look at this now. In three ways this conversation goes. Number one they had a conversation face to face. Face to face versus two to three. Mind to mind versus four to eight. And finally heart to heart versus nine to 21.

So here is point number one. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night but at least he came. He came to Jesus by night but at least he came. So it was Nick at night. I want to get that joke out of the way. It is a dated joke because there is no Nick at night anymore is there?

So people who are old ago I remember that. Okay so he comes at night. Now why? Why did Nicodemus come at night? Well the obvious reason would have been he is Nicodemus. Everyone knows him. He is the guy that is supposed to have the answers. He didn't want to be seen talking to Jesus.

That could be the reason. Another reason could be that well Jesus was a busy guy and to the point so was Nicodemus. Excuse me Jesus every day was filled with activities. He was raising the dead. He was healing the sick. He was giving the greatest teachings ever given. Teaching him parables so much and at the end of the day he would be exhausted. But Nicodemus did not want a moment with the Lord. He wanted a conversation with Christ. He effectively wanted an interview and so he came at night.

Point number two better to have a weak beginning and a strong finish than the opposite. So Nicodemus didn't have the strongest beginning. He kind of comes under the cover of night, has this conversation with Christ, but in the end he came through for Jesus. In the end Nicodemus along with a man named Joseph, excuse me, of Arimathea came and claimed the body of Christ publicly.

That was a very unpopular and even dangerous thing for the two of them to do. But it's even said Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night came with Joseph of Arimathea to take the dead body of Christ and bury it. So there are some people that have a strong beginning but they have a bad ending. And the Christian life is compared to a race on more than one occasion. And the key of this race that we're running is not only to win to the best of our ability but it's to finish it well. The apostle Paul said I want to finish my race with joy. Then he wrote to Timothy I fought the good fight. I kept the faith.

I finished the course. Henceforth there is later for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me in that day and not to me only but to all who love is appearing. So finishing well. Maybe Nicodemus had a strong, I mean a weak beginning but he had a strong finish.

Consider this. Judas Iscariot was an apostle in good standing while old Nicodemus was groping his way in. But in the end of our Lord's ministry Judas betrayed Christ and Nicodemus came through with flying colors. Now Nicodemus has a lot of respect for Jesus. This is shown by what he says in verse 2.

Rabbi we know that you're a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. That's amazing because Nicodemus was the rabbi's rabbi and he comes to Jesus and calls him rabbi rabbi. We know that you're come from God and Nicodemus being a student of the Bible probably read what Daniel said in chapter 9. Daniel spoke of the Messiah arriving and actually gave a very exact timetable. And if Nicodemus took the time to look at that timetable he would have discovered Messiah should be alive at that very moment but then Daniel goes on to say but the Messiah would then be cut off. In other words the Messiah was going to die. So Nicodemus is thinking I'm getting old Messiah is here. He could die at any time.

I've got to find him. Could Jesus be this Messiah? And I think Nicodemus thought Jesus was the Messiah but he just wanted more information.

He wanted more evidence if you will. He was a man that was searching for God. And I think all around us there are people that are searching for God today.

They're just waiting for someone like you to tell them how to find Him. God in His wisdom has chosen to reach people that do not believe through people who do believe. Through the proclamation of the gospel the Bible says how will they hear without a preacher and how will they preach unless they be sent how beautiful are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things. Look at your feet for a moment. Go ahead look at them. You have beautiful feet.

Sir not you. Wear shoes. Don't wear sandals. Those are very unattractive feet but most of us have fairly beautiful feet but really when we're talking about this the idea is when we bring the gospel to people you have beautiful feet.

That's what they were designed for. There's a story in the book of Acts about a man from Ethiopia that went to Jerusalem searching for God. He did not find the living God.

He just found dead religion and ritual. But he did obtain something of great value. A scroll from Isaiah. And so he climbed into his chariot. He would be surrounded by an entourage because he was an official in the cabinet of the queen of Ethiopia. That's why he obtained something as valuable as a personal manuscript. They didn't print bibles in those days needless to say. So he's cruising along in his chariot reading out loud from Isaiah and God had directed Philip the evangelist to just be waiting in the desert.

He sees this entourage coming. He sees this man this dignitary reading from Isaiah and he happens to be reading from Isaiah 53. It happens to speak of the suffering of the Messiah. And Philip says hey how's it going?

Do you understand what you're reading? And the man from Ethiopia said how can I unless someone shows me the way. Philip climbed into his chariot explained what Isaiah 53 meant that this is about the suffering of Jesus who came and died on the cross and rose from the dead. And the man believed and he was baptized immediately and the Bible says he went on his way rejoicing. But I love what that man from Ethiopia said to Philip how can I understand this unless someone shows me the way. You say but Greg I'm not a Bible scholar. You don't need to be a Bible scholar. We're going to read a verse in a moment together John 3 16. And if you know John 3 16 if you've committed it to memory listen you're armed and dangerous. You know more than you think you know. And I think in the right set of circumstances you might be surprised at how much you do know as the Lord leads you and directs your words. I think of a time we were in a restaurant having lunch me and a few of our pastors and the server came up and said hey aren't you guys from Harvest Church? Yes we are. Yeah I need to go there someday. I you know I need to get right with God.

And when are your service times? So we told her. And then I looked at this girl I thought I think this girl wants to get right with God right now.

I don't normally do this. But I said would you like to pray right now and commit your life to Christ? She said right here.

She's holding her tray right here. I said sure. She said okay. And so I led her in a prayer and she committed her life to the Lord right there.

Isn't that great? Now you think Greg you could have got this girl fired. Well the owner of the restaurant goes to our church so I knew everything was good. And I told him the story immediately and he was thrilled that this young lady had made this commitment to Christ.

Now I don't suggest you do that to everyone. Just go up to random people. Would you like to accept Christ right now? But believe it or not there are literally people walking around that you probably encounter every day that are waiting for someone like you to say would you like Jesus to come into your life? They want to know Him. They're waiting for someone to show them the way. That was Nicodemus. He wants to know how. How do you do this?

What do I do? And so here he comes to Jesus and this conversation begins and Jesus tells him you must be born again. You must be born again.

Now being born again is not just getting a new paint job. I had a car years ago that my mom gave to me. It was called a Ford Starliner. You ever heard of that car?

Here's a picture of it. This isn't my actual car. Though I would drive that car happily. I think that car is cool.

But it was the same model and it was light blue. And so my mom decided to get the Ford Starliner painted. Now some of you will remember this. There was a paint shop run by a guy named Earl Shibe. You remember him? And he had a commercial on television and they'd say I'm Earl Shibe and I'll paint any car any color for $29.95.

You heard me right. $30 to get a paint shop. And it was a $30 paint job too. I remember they sprayed this kind of metallic blue and they did paint the whole car and some of the window and part of the tires.

A lot of over spray. Then it started chipping up you know. That's not what being born again means. It's a new paint job. New wardrobe. New vocabulary.

No no it's much more than that. It's a radical change. It's a supernatural act of God making a person spiritually alive when they were dead in sin. It's not the improvement of the old nature but the creation of a new nature.

It's not evolution. It's a revolution. It's being adopted into the family of God. 2 Corinthians 5 sums it up perfectly.

If any man be in Christ he is an altogether different kind of person. Old things have passed away behold everything becomes fresh and new. Jesus says you must be born again.

It means born from above. You must experience a spiritual rebirth Nicodemus. All of your rules and your regulations and reading the Mishnah and the Talmud and all the rest of it hasn't got you any closer to God. You need to be born all over again.

Nicodemus is like you mean go back to my mother soon. No I don't mean that. It's a metaphor buddy.

It's a picture of what will happen to you spiritually. You must be born again. You know it's interesting Jesus never said this to any other person. Nicodemus is the only person he said this to specifically.

To Mary Magdalene he cast seven demons out of her. He didn't say she needed to be born again. To Zacchaeus living in Jericho the tax collector he didn't say this phrase to him.

He said it only to Nicodemus. And this shows us that Jesus never dealt with any two people in exactly the same way. There's not a one-size-fits-all approach that works in evangelism.

We need to adapt to this situation and avoid being robotic. And I've seen people share their faith. They say the same thing to every single person in the same way.

I like to adapt. And one of the best ways to share your faith is learn to be a good listener. Talk to people. Ask them questions about themselves because everyone's favorite subject is themselves.

It's true. Everyone loves to talk about themselves. So you ask them things. You learn about them. Then you appropriately apply the message of the gospel to them. That's what Jesus did.

And that's what we'll see in this series. Jesus in you. How he dealt with each people in a special and unique way. So some people let's say well I'm a Christian. I'm just not one of those born agains.

News flash. You cannot be a Christian without being born again. You must be born again according to Jesus. Jesus. So I ask you are you born again?

You'll know it if you are. Now Jesus gives one of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible. A verse that every Christian should commit to memory. In fact I would like us all to repeat it out loud together. So I'm going to put it up on the screen. John 3 16 along with verse 17.

Let's say it together. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. I love that verse don't you. That's the gospel in a nutshell.

As I said earlier if you know and understand what that verse means you my friend are armed and dangerous. You can do some good for the kingdom of God. For God so loved the world.

Bringing me to point number three. God loves you. Oh I know it seems like a cliche but it's absolutely true. Some people picture God as a cosmic killjoy out to ruin their lives. But the reality is God loves you and has a plan for your life and he longs for a relationship with you. Now the pagan gods of this time were so different. They would show favor to certain individuals or groups but their favor was based on sacrifices or offerings or somehow being appeased.

There was no concept of a loving deity wanting a relationship with mankind. So Jesus comes along speaking of the true and living God. For God so loved the world and God proved his love by sending his son. God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son. You know we can talk about love all day long but God demonstrated his love for us in a tangible way. Jesus said greater love has no man than this and he laid down his life for his friends. And Christ laid his life down for each of us. God demonstrated his love toward us. The Bible says that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And God's love is unconditional.

There's nothing you can do to earn it. I think somehow we think well I have to earn God's love. No God loves you already. He loves you as you are. Now that doesn't mean he approves of all the things you say and do. But you need to know that he loves you unconditionally.

He loves you all the time. Now some extreme Calvinists would say God's love is only for the elect. God only loves the elect. They believe in something called limited atonement which means Jesus died only for the elect.

And who are the elect? These are the people that were chosen before they were even born. And some even believe in what you would call double predestination. Which means God not only chooses some people to go to heaven he also chooses others to go to hell. I reject this view completely.

I reject it completely. There's no limited atonement. The blood of Jesus was shed for all people and anyone can believe. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son. I love the words of the great evangelist D.L. Moody who once said, Lord save the elect.

And then elect some more right. Now that's God's love is for everybody and it's universal. He loves all people. The Bible says whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus said he that would come to me I would in no way cast out. And God's gift of salvation is available for everyone who believes.

Everyone who believes. And what does it mean to believe? It does not mean giving mere intellectual assent to God acknowledging God's there or or even saying I believe a man named Jesus walked this earth and was a great moral teacher and all that.

No to believe means to put your full trust in Christ. It means to put your full weight on Christ as your Savior. As an example I'm putting my full weight of 150 pounds.

That's my left leg. Okay but I'm putting my full weight on this stage right now right. And so it means to put your full weight on Christ and Christ alone. The story is told of a man known as the Great Blondin and he would put a tightrope across the Niagara Falls and he would walk across it so the crowds would gather. There's a picture of him. And he would walk across this tightrope and so he gathered gathered the crowds one day and says how many of you believe that I the Great Blondin can walk from this side to the other side. They said we believe we believe.

Then he did it. Then he came back and said how many of you believe that I the Great Blondin could push a wheelbarrow across this tightrope over the Niagara Falls. They said we believe we believe. And he said how many of you believe I could push a wheelbarrow with a man inside of it. Again they said we believe. And one guy was louder than the rest and Blondin turned to him and said then get in the wheelbarrow.

That guy disappeared quickly. Okay so to believe means to get in the wheelbarrow to trust Christ and Christ alone to save you. Whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

What a beautiful message. God loves me. God will forgive me.

God will change me from the inside out. Why would anyone reject this message? Some would say well you know they reject it because there's too many hypocrites in the church.

Give me a break. Can you imagine the apostles saying hey Judas was a hypocrite. I'm walking away from Jesus. Be like hey Jesus didn't let us down. Judas did. Just because people fall short is not a reflection on Christ himself.

Though I'm sorry it happens. But here's the thing. People don't say no to Jesus because because there's too many hypocrites in the church. Nor do people say no to Jesus because of the problem of human suffering. Well the reason I'm not a Christian is I just deal with human suffering and I can't wrap my mind around the idea that a loving God would allow so much tragedy in the world. That's a real issue.

That's a real issue and something to think about. But that's not why you are not a Christian. You want to know why a person is not a Christian. Jesus gives us the answer right here in John 3 verse 19. This is a condemnation that the light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

Listen. Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds be exposed. But he that does the truth comes to the light and his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God. So why do people really not believe? Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light.

So really it's not an intellectual issue. It's a spiritual and moral issue. We don't want to change because the powerful light of Jesus Christ shines into our life and it exposes things that we don't want exposed. And so that's why we don't come to the light. That's why we say no to Jesus. This is an either or proposition.

You accept it and you reject it. And it's for every person. In fact your name is here in the text.

Really? Oh yeah. Your name is right there. Whosoever believes in him should not perish but ever have everlasting life.

That's you. Whosoever. If you will believe you will be forgiven. There are other whosoevers in the Bible. Revelation 2015 says whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Listen. If you're included in the whosoever of John 3 16 you won't be included in the whosoever of Revelation 2015. And listen to this promise. If you will believe you will have everlasting life. It doesn't say you'll hope to have it. It says you'll have it. First John 5 13 says these things we write to you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have everlasting life.

You know it. Let me ask you this in closing. Do you know you have everlasting life?

Do you know it with certainty? Some people go through life saying well I believe you know if I live a good life I've done enough good things the good Lord will accept me into heaven because I've been a good Christian. I never call myself a good Christian. You know I think I'm often a bad Christian. I know I'm a sinful one.

But the good Lord the man upstairs are you really going to go through life living like that? Listen I can tell you right now I know I will go to heaven when I die. Not because of what I've done for God but because of what God has done for me. Because I know he loves me.

I know he's forgiven me. And so I know the Bible says his spirit pairs witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if you don't have that inner assurance that you will go to heaven when you die don't you want it? You say how do I get it?

Simple answer. You must be born again. You must be born from above. Have you been born again?

Are you sure? If not would you like to be? So we're going to close in prayer and I'm going to extend an invitation for anybody here anybody watching to be born again. It's so simple. Asking Christ to come into your life. You say well come on this is church. I mean everyone here is born again.

Not necessarily. There could be someone here for the first time that is not born again yet. There could be someone here that's been coming for a while even. But maybe it's trusting more in their religiosity and more in their good works like the Gedimas was instead of trusting in Christ for their salvation. So this is your opportunity to be born again. To be forgiven of your sin.

To begin a new relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father I pray now for everyone here that you will speak to their hearts. Help them to see their need for Jesus. Help them to come to you and believe we pray.

Now our heads are bowed our eyes are closed and we're all praying. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like to be born again. If you would like to know a certainty that you will go to heaven when you die. If you want your sin forgiven.

If you're ready to say yes to Jesus Christ wherever you are. Would you just lift your hand up right now and I'd like to pray for you. Lift up your hand saying I want Christ in my life today. I want to be born again.

I want to know I have everlasting life. Raise your hand up. I'll pray for you. God bless you. God bless you.

Raise your hand up however I can see it. God bless you. Raise it up wherever you are. God bless. You might be in an overflow area.

You might be watching this screen on one of our other campuses. You can raise your hand as well. Raise your hand saying I need Jesus today. Pray for me. God bless each one of you.

Anybody else? You want to be born again today. You want to know that you know that you'll go to heaven.

You want this relationship with God. If you haven't raised your hand yet lift it now. Let me pray for you.

God bless you. Now all of you that have raised your hand if you would please I want you to stand to your feet. Stand to your feet and I'm going to lead you in a prayer.

You heard me right. Stand up. Others are standing. You won't be alone. Just stand up.

There might be a few more. Just stand up and let me lead you in this prayer. You will not regret praying this prayer that I'm about to lead you in. Just stand up. I'm going to have you pray it right where you are. I'll wait one more moment.

Anybody else? God bless you. Stand up.

You guys in the other campuses watching screens wherever you are just stand up. This is between you and God. All right. All of you standing I'm going to pray a prayer out loud. I'd like you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray pray this after me out loud.

Pray these words now. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior of the world who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin. I repent of my sin. I want to be born again right now. I choose to believe in you Jesus and follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and my Lord as my God and my friend. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless all of you that prayed that prayer. God bless you guys. Hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries follow this show and consider supporting it just go to harvest.org and to find out how to know God personally go to harvest.org and click on know God.