Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition! - Part B

Unbelief is what causes ignorance. You say, well, I don't know if I think that. I think that ignorance causes unbelief.

Nope. It's unbelief that causes ignorance. You see, the Gospel is simple. The Gospel is so simple even I understand it. The Gospel is so simple a five-year-old can get it.

I've seen little kids here at church tell me what they learned at Sunday school and think they have a grasp of the Gospel. It's so easy to understand. But when a person says, oh, I just can't understand, often what you find is it's because they don't believe it.

Welcome to Connect with Skip Weekend Edition. In the classic movie Sabrina starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, the title character is a young girl who pretty much goes unnoticed until she travels to Paris and returns with a whole new look that suddenly makes her rather attractive and therefore troublesome for the rich family she and her father work for. You know, makeovers are generally thought of as something one does to become more attractive or to get some attention. However, when it comes to our relationship with Christ, we already have his attention and affection. And because of that, he wants to help us with an extreme makeover for our soul. Open your Bibles to John Chapter 3.

And as you do so, we'll catch up with Skip Heitzig as he continues with our study. Is anybody joy facing cruel, ignominious death? What possible joy could there be?

Here it is. It's the joy of Jesus being able to look through the lens of history and see you and you and you and you and you and you one day call on Christ and be saved forever. And he looked at that and said, it's worth it. That is worth it. And that will push me and drive me on to do the Father's will. Out of joy, out of love. So here's Nicodemus.

He's thinking the whole time, how can these things be? How does the new birth happen? Here it is. It comes by Jesus bringing it out of heaven to the earth and second by Jesus going to the cross to die, being lifted up. He'll say it again in Chapter 12 of John. If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself. He's speaking of the cross.

John even says so afterwards. I've heard that verse so misquoted over the years. Worship leaders stand up and say, Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I'll draw all men. So let's lift him higher. It's almost a blasphemous thought because the idea of the text is lifting him up on a cross to die. And that's what he is referring to here.

And that is the force of the new life. There's a book. It's a Christian classic. If you have never read it, read it at least once before you die. It's called Pilgrim's Progress. Charles Spurgeon read it twice a year. That's how important he thought it was. It's the story of a man called Christian. He's the pilgrim on the journey from his hometown, the city of destruction, on the way to the celestial city. And he's carrying a backpack.

It's called the law. He can't keep it. It's a burden to him wherever he goes.

It's just burdening him down like Nicodemus. Here's the part of the story I want to read to you. I saw in my dream that just as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from his shoulders, fell from off his back, and began to tumble until it came to the mouth of the tomb, where it fell in and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome and said with a merry heart, he has given me rest by his sorrow and he has given me life by his death.

That's the key thought here. Life by his death. Catch a glance at verse 17 before we move on. I tend to think that this is where Nicodemus' jaw again dropped. I'll tell you why in a minute. Jesus said, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. I just see Nicodemus going.

And here's why. Did you know that Jews at that time believed that one of the first things Messiah would do when he came would be to wipe out all the heathen, all the pagans, all the gentiles, and establish only Israel as the pinnacle, the peak. Jesus said, Nicodemus, I didn't come to do that. I didn't come to condemn. I came to save the world.

And my salvation is for the world, not just for Israel, but for the whole world. Now he should have known that. Nicodemus should have known that. All the Jews should have known that. That's part of the Abrahamic covenant.

You've studied that if you've been with us on Wednesday nights. God said to Abraham, in you all of the families of the earth will be blessed. That's a prediction of Christ who would come through the lineage of Abraham. That's not what Nicodemus thought. That's not what he believed. He thought he's going to wipe out the gentiles and it's just going to be us. In fact, the very opposite happened.

Because Israel rejected her Messiah, the door of salvation was open to the gentiles, and blindness happened to Israel. Before we move on though, I just want you to capture this thought. I want you to know how much Jesus loves you. I want you to know that Jesus Christ would do anything to get you to heaven.

In fact, he did everything he could. Stepping out of heaven, coming to the earth, robed in a man's body, suffered the rejection of people and death on a cross to get you to heaven. Which brings us to the third point. That is the course of new life and that is faith, belief. That's the road it travels on. It's the course of believing in him. Now, you'll notice the banner above me. See the word on top?

Even in the back, I think you can read it. Believe, 879. That's because there's 879 verses in the Gospel of John and the key theme is the word believe. That's why we're not surprised 98 times in this book the word believe, believe, believe, believe occurs. Because that's his theme. He wants people to believe.

Well, we're not then surprised to find it here on a few different occasions. Look at verse 12. If I've told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Verse 15, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Verse 16 is the same thought and verse 18, he who believes in him is not condemned. He who believes not is condemned already. Key thought is unbelief but there's another key thought right next to it in this paragraph.

What is it? Unbelief. Notice these two things side by side, believing and believing not. Belief and unbelief. Now verse 9 is essentially a statement of unbelief. Nicodemus says, how can these things be? It's a statement of incredulity. He doesn't believe it.

You say, Skip, how do you know that? Because Jesus said so. Verse 12, after Nicodemus asked the question, Jesus says, if I have told you earthly things, notice, and you do not believe. And you is plural in the Greek. You and the rest of you Israel leaders like yourselves by and large don't believe.

Now, something else I want you to follow. Look at verse 10 and 11 and 12. Notice in verse 10 the phrase, you do not know.

See that? And verse 11, you do not receive. And verse 12, you do not believe.

Nicodemus didn't know because Nicodemus didn't receive because Nicodemus didn't believe. Now listen carefully. There's an important truth.

This is pregnant with this truth. Unbelief is what causes ignorance. You say, well, I don't know if I think that. I think that ignorance causes unbelief.

Nope. It's unbelief that causes ignorance. You see, the gospel is simple. The gospel is so simple even I understand it. The gospel is so simple a five-year-old can get it.

I've seen little kids here at church tell me what they learned in Sunday school and I think they have a grasp of the gospel. It's so easy to understand. But when a person says, oh, I just can't understand, often what you find is it's because they don't believe it. And if you probe a little deeper, it's because they won't believe it.

They refuse to believe it. You'll see why in a couple of verses. So again, here's Nicodemus. He's thinking, man, this whole born-again thing starting all over again, that's just, I don't get it. That's just, forget that. It's too hard. Because he's on earth, he's been trying to get into the kingdom from down here. Never work.

It will never work. I heard an example and it was so good I wanted to use it. Let's say you had a pet fish and you would keep the fish in an aquarium where there's water. But one day you decided, you know, I'd like to take my pet fish for a walk. So you take the fish out of the aquarium, you strap it to a skateboard and you get a little leash and you walk the neighborhood and you want to walk your fish. Well, somebody should tell you eventually that that fish can't breathe air. That fish requires a different system to breathe.

That's water. Well, Nicodemus has the wrong system. He's been trying to breathe kingdom air from down on earth. When Jesus said, you've got to be born again, the kingdom from heaven comes to the earth and it's operational because Jesus himself will go to the cross and you must believe, engage by belief. Believe what? See, a lot of people say, well, I believe. I've always believed. Believe what? Believe that Jesus existed and hung out with 12 dudes?

Believe he was a good guy who's taught a few good things and gave a nice example? No, it says believe in him. That's very different from chapter 2, verse 23.

Remember that? Where many people in Jerusalem believed in his name when they saw his miracles and Jesus wouldn't commit himself to them. He knew what was in their hearts. They believed he was a healer. They didn't want him as a savior.

There's a big difference between acknowledging and receiving. As many as received him, he gave the power to become children of God. Charles or William Barkley put it this way, that faith is the clutching intensity of a drowning man.

Isn't that great? Picture the guy in the quicksand. He's drowning and when Jesus put his hand out, he grabbed it and Jesus pulled him up. Believe.

It takes us to the fourth and final, we'll be brief on this. I'm calling it the remorse of new life, which is judgment. Verse 18.

He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation. This is powerful.

Here it is. Here's the reason. This is the condemnation. That the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. Here's the great remorse of new life.

The great remorse of new life is that not everyone will enjoy it because not everyone will believe it. And thus will incur judgment. It's interesting that Jesus doesn't say one day they will be judged at the great white throne.

That will happen. But he says they're condemned already. That's interesting because the great white throne judgment for unbelievers won't happen for a long time.

End of the millennium. So what does he mean they're condemned already? Well, the sentence will happen at the great white throne. The trial is now. The trial is now.

The choice that we make now determines what will happen then. That's what this is about. It's like the guy who went to the Louvre. The Louvre, that little museum in Paris.

They have a couple of good pictures. Mona Lisa is one of them by da Vinci and a few other greats. He walked in. He didn't quite get art and he's looking around at it and he walks out of the museum and chewing his gum and he says to the curator, I didn't get much at it.

I'm not into all your pictures. The curator smiled and said, that's OK. The art isn't on trial. You are. It doesn't matter what you think of them.

The greats will still be the greats. But it tells a lot about who you are with that statement. So Jesus isn't on trial.

Well, you know, I've always thought Jesus. So? It won't diminish who he is.

He's not on trial. We are. We are. Verse 19 is powerful. And here's the condemnation. Light has come into the world. That's Christ and the truth that he brought. This this message, the gospel. And men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

Boy, boy. A lot of people will say, well, you know, people don't believe in Jesus Christ because they don't understand. Wrong. People won't believe in Jesus Christ because they love their sin.

I don't know how to say it any delicately or more so than that. That's just the truth. They won't come because they love their sin. And like bugs scurry under a rock when you turn on the light, any kind of light, they will flee from it. They'll walk away from it. Men loved. They love their darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. But verse 21 is the last verse.

We haven't addressed it yet. So we'll end here. I think it's the best part. It's an invitation, really, I think, to Nicodemus. But in contrast to that, but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God.

I think that this is an invitation directed toward Nicodemus, as if to say Nicodemus. Do the right thing. Step out of the shadows. Step out of your darkness. Step into the light. It's the truest thing you could ever do. I want to close with someone who wrote a great little story articulated a much better than I ever could.

So I'll use his words. Long ago, or maybe not so long ago, there was a tribe in a dark, cold cavern. The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the chill. Loud and long, they waited. It was all they did.

It was all they knew to do. The sounds in the caves were mournful, but the people didn't know it, for they had never known joy. The spirit in the cave was death, but the people didn't know it, for they had never known life. But then one day they heard a different voice. I have heard your cries, it announced. I have felt your chill and seen your darkness.

I have come to help. The cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange to their ears. How can we know you've come to help?

Trust me, he said, I have what you need. The cave people peered through the darkness at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something and then stooping and stacking more. What are you doing, one cried nervously. The stranger didn't answer. What are you making, one shouted even louder.

Still no response. Tell us, demanded a third. The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices.

I have what you need. With that, he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited, flames erupted, and light filled the cavern.

The cave people turned away in fear. Put it out, they cried. It hurts to see it. Well, light always hurts before it helps, he answered.

Step closer, the pain will soon pass. Not I, declared a voice, nor I, agreed to second. Only a fool would risk exposing his eyes to such a light. The stranger stood next to the fire. Would you prefer the darkness, he asked? Would you prefer the cold?

Don't consult your fears, take a step of faith. For a long time, no one spoke. The people hovered in groups, covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire. It's warm here, he invited. He's right, one from behind him announced.

It is warmer. The stranger turned and saw a figure slowly stepping toward the fire. I can open my eyes now, she proclaimed.

I can see. Come closer, invited the fire builder. She did. She stepped into the ring of light. Oh, it's so warm. She extended her hands and sighed as the chill began to pass. Come, everyone, feel the warmth, she invited.

Silence, woman, cried one of the cave dwellers. Dare you lead us into your folly? Leave us, leave us and take your light with you. She turned to the stranger.

Why won't they come? He said, they choose the chill for though it's cold, it's what they know. They'd rather be cold than change and live in the dark, she asked. Yes, he said, and live in the dark.

The now warmed woman stood silent. Looking first at the dark and then at the man, will you leave the fire, he asked. She paused and she answered, I cannot. I cannot bear the cold. But then she spoke again, but nor can I bear the thought of my people in darkness.

You don't have to, he responded. Reaching into the fire and removing a stick, carry this to your people. Tell them the light is here and tell them the light is warm. Tell them the light is for all who desire it. And she took the small flame and stepped into the shadows. It's what Jesus did, leaving the glory and the light of heaven to this dark earth to bring light.

But men love darkness rather than light. I just wonder this morning, if some of you have gotten close enough to the light to feel its warmth and its power, but not stepped in to get yourself really, really warmed by it. And I just wonder if some of you who have been very good and well-meaning and religious, sincere, whatever the case might fit, but you are not born again. Your life has not been entrusted to the Lord. You haven't personally invited him as Savior as Master.

It feels so good over here. Take that step. And if you'd like to talk with someone about how you can take that step, how you can step into the warmth and light of a relationship with Jesus Christ, we'd love to talk with you about what that means. Just give us a call at 1-800-922-1888. We'd be happy to explain to you what you need to do to take that first step. Well, it's with that thought we're going to have to wrap things up today.

But before we go, here's what we have for you this month at ConnectWithSkip.com. Forbes.com recently published an article with 22 tips for how to completely change your life in one year. Sounds complicated. The Bible tells a different story about how to change your life. The Bible says, repent and return to God, and it reminds us we need to always insert but God into every situation.

Here's Skip Heitzig. But God is a phrase that appears 45 times in Scripture. It's a game-changing phrase.

It means that no matter who you are, no matter what you have done, no matter how you may have failed, the truth is God can make things different for you from now on. But God. Discover the power of but God in Scripture and why it's a game changer for your own life with the But God teaching series from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Our thanks when you give $35 or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air.

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It's available for just $4 plus shipping when you call us at 1-800-922-1888. We'll continue through our series Believe 879 with more from the Gospel of John next time. So I hope you can join us right here in Connect with Skip Weekend Edition, a presentation of Connection Communications. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection, connection. Connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.