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#286 two eight.
7.
You're not far off the hour when Price proclaimed his own.
287.
It's not for all beyond.
Where he's craving.
Sunshine here, that's always on the power flow.
200.
Umm, when we go out together in the Lord.
Why we can't find till we roll?
Fall down again by the side, Gray. Thank you. So I'm on the twerk Lord's dream, life and soul.
So yes, in the Lord's health.
God our Father, we thank you for this opportunity to open up side. That's a word that's just word of God that would bring light into our souls. We thank you for this and that tells us the clearness of the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Think of thy purpose, to assault our God and Father, to assault by wealth and love his Son and a heavenly spirit and in earth, that he should have a bride to share his joys and his glories for all eternity. So we pray.
Uh, for the portion to bring before each heart and conscience. Now we, we know that the Lord always says a word for us. So we pray for that preparation of heart to take it in and make it good to us. We could be the application, uh, the truth. We thank you for all that thoughts brought before us this weekend. I pray that we might not let one word fall to the ground.
But that it might bear fruit in our lives and we look to be for those that are traveling for journey mercy. So we pray now that they'll, uh, refresh us again, umm, uh, through the, uh, meditations of the Lord Jesus and by the guidance of the Spirit of God, we ask these things and give thanks, uh, with dependence and, and confidence in the worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen, Amen, Amen.
00:05:09
Would it be the mind of the Brethren? Umm.
Uh, someone else has something.
You will look again at John 17 I.
What the?
You just touch the parts of the gut through there. Uh, and then you think that we really covered the latter part of the chapter at all.
But it's whatever the brethren feel would be the Lord's mind.
I'm uh.
I think something along John's line of industry might be nice.
I had wondered about uh, John chapter 3 through the 1St 16 verses where we get new birth and eternal life, but uh.
I'm I'm certainly open. I'm happy about that.
Either passage.
Like to choose one of them?
Well, let's go to John Free then, please.
Kind of hopscotch through John. 17 minutes.
Trying to leave you a little.
What I mean what you take up that wouldn't be repetitive even though.
Start over from the beginning with it. But it would be nice but I guess I I like to be a stay in John's ministry. Seems like that's what the Lord has had before us again.
That's fine with me.
Maybe, uh, starting with chapter 2 and verse 23, then down to.
Verse 15 of chapter 3. Two verse 16, Yeah. Chapter 223 down to verse 16. John chapter 2, verse 23.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed in His name when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God.
For no man can do these miracles, that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and I'll hear us the sound thereof, but can't not tell whence it cometh.
And whether it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. Ikodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel? And Noah, snap these things. Verily, verily, I say to thee, we speak, that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things, and no man hath ascended up to heaven?
But he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
00:10:01
John is such a such a unique.
Uh, Gospel, the presentation of the Lord Jesus.
He really starts, uh, by divine inspiration, where all the other gospels end up.
They the other gospel synoptically take you slowly up through the testimony of the Lord Jesus and man's increasing rejection and culminating at the cross. But God starts with.
Umm, that he came onto his own, and his own received him not Period. He's rejected right from the outset. And what man is is fully, uh, told outright from the outset in John, instead of finding it out by the end of the gospel, you find it out.
Right. And so that's how this little portion starts. Verse 23 really starts a new little section in John. And, uh, so if we get the Lord, uh, not committing himself to these ones who believed on the miracles, what believed on him when they saw the miracles, and we might look at that as a positive thing, but the Lord, as it says, didn't need any to testify what was in man. He knew what was in man. So here they were looking at the miracles.
Well, if you see a miracle and it's a miracle, yeah. I just thought, I believe that it was just an outward assent to tracks that we're seeing. And, you know, well, yeah, I recognize that it's a miracle. It gives me some credit. You know, it was really just man in the flesh, uh, without any, uh, any real response towards God, just an outward assent to facts that we're seeing. And the Lord does not commit himself.
To that at all he needed, not that I should testify what was in man and so miracles and all the displays of power. That was what Elijah had learned. We're going to convert any soul. He had to hear about the still small voice there on the mouth is gone. That's what was going to really work and that's what we get then in chapter three, I think is that work of the Spirit of God.
And parting life because outside of that, there's going to never, ever.
Be any real response towards God, man has no capacity for it outside of that.
People struggle with.
With, uh, the truth of God's sovereignty.
And they struggle at times with the truth of the election, which is one of the actions of God's sovereignty. But it's helpful to see that God falls back. In one sense, God falls back on his own Father.
Presenting to man that which is.
For his accountability and responsibility.
And so as you say in John, he's rejected from the from the start, almost as if the Spirit of God says, well, I'm going to get that out very early here and haven't gotten made the presentation made the rejection confirmed. God says, you know, I'm gone and I can show mercy to whom I will show mercy and whom I will pardon after they have part of their hearts. And so God.
Begins to act sovereignly, and so in the beginning of John chapter 3.
It's not a, it's not about so much, uh, the presentation to man and his responsibility, uh, uh, looking for faith in the word believe is not so the latter part of the chapter is God's working the soul, uh, to communicate that which is necessary to bring that into fellowship in yourself.
But it's so interesting how verse one starts out chapter 3, you get the end of chapter 2. You didn't need any to testify what was in man. He knew what was in man and then there was a man. So here we get a man coming that's going to be a sample to us of exactly what the Lord was saying. Here comes this man named Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews and the.
He comes to the Lord, and He.
Uh, he sees that this is a, this is a capable man. He's a, he's a capable teacher. Umm.
00:15:02
Seeing numerical must be came from God because there's a display of power there and you know things aren't in the best shape here.
And, uh, and Israel and we could use a fellow like this.
You know, he's kind of a little radical out here on the edges. And, you know, if we could just sort of bring him into the fold, he would be a real help. And you know, that's how the world and much of the Christian world looks at the Lord Jesus Christ. They look at him as the crown jewel of humanity.
That this is what we can all attain to be.
We've just got to work at it. He's, he's the crown jewel. We just got to scribe for that. And that's what humanity really, uh, can be. Just get some of the hindrances out of the way. And that's what they would, how they would like to and do view the Lord Jesus often. And so later in chapter 6, they would come and make him king. They want to put him as the crown jewels, so to speak, at the top of humanity, fall in humanity.
Fall in humanity.
MMM, he certainly has credentials here. The ruler of the news, Thyrocy.
Uh, very religious character, Uh.
Of some romance.
And, umm, naturally we have something that he could point to that would give him, uh, recognition.
Uh, note We note that the Lord did eat with viruses on different occasions.
Uh, and here he's speaking to a pharmacy he never did eat with a sad disease.
They were the modernists who denied the resurrection and judgment. The Lord never.
Condoms are ate with osaction.
All right.
So as you say, Nicodemus had credentials, So what is how is he coming to the Lord?
He's really coming as one teacher to another. So he's giving him honors and he's, you know, recognizes Americans and, and he would see it, this man's abilities, but it's one teacher to another.
That's really how he's coming. He's coming on that level and, uh, the Lord just stops him in his tracks. It's not good teaching that you need Nicodemus.
It's not another teacher like yourself, but maybe just a little better.
You need a whole new life. And so he just stops him in his tracks. So see, he doesn't let him really get any further. And that's what he says in verse 3. Verily, verily, I say to thee, except the man be born again or anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. You know, the Lord said to the Pharisees in John 17.
The Kingdom of God, it says in King James within you. That's not the right translation. He's talking to the Pharisees. The Kingdom of God was not within them.
Great translation is the Kingdom of God is among you. The king was right there in front of him and they couldn't see it.
Except the man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. There he was right in Harlem, Nicodemus and all he saw was a teacher and all he could see. He needed a new life so you would have eyes that could see what he has never been able to see before.
And here the Lord revealed in academia a truth that there was nothing he could do to improve.
His own situation and but in his religious mind, how does Nicodemus respond to hearing about being born again? He says, can a man enter again into his mother's womb? As if to say the Lord had told him was was revealing the truth here, that it's God's word to save a soul, but his immediate responses. So what can I do to make that happen?
00:20:32
The Spirit of God had begun to work in the soul of God.
Make a difference, no doubt.
Here he is coming to the Lord at night.
Uh, an honest Inquirer, I believe.
And, uh, really confused, bewildered, go to John Seven, you see Nicodemus, uh.
Speaking up for the Lord.
Umm, I say that's the twilight, but then come to the end of the gospel and we, uh, identifies publicly with the the body of the Lord and in those of our mediation, he's in the daylight back.
He has the assurance of salvation.
So this statement of the Lord is uh.
It's a statement of a necessity. It's not a exhortation to Nicodemus to do something.
That's so important to see because most often this is taken as the Lord is exhorting Nicodemus. Nicodemus, you got to go be born again.
And that's almost kind of how nicotine is quicker. But he's stating a fact that you're not going to be able to see or answer the Kingdom of God without new birth.
That's something that he had to do.
But something that was an absolute necessity.
That he was going to see or enter the Kingdom of God. And so the common use of born again as something that is an exhortation to sinners that they need to go do.
Isn't really in accordance with scripture. So new birth is an action of the Spirit of God as we get here. Umm, born of water and of the Spirit. The water is a figure of the word. Why didn't he just say of the word?
Because when you use water as a figure of the word, it, it opens up in that figure to our understanding to what action the word of God is going to be used in and imparting new life. It's going to act like water. And what does water do? Water does all kinds of things, but water clean.
When the waters of the flood do.
They brought that old world under death and they cleaned it that way.
And so the word with God comes in, applied by the power of the Spirit of God, and it pronounces death.
On everything that man is. You know that's what Nikki Beam us didn't know he didn't know God. He didn't see the Lord for who he was and he didn't know what he was either but the word of God comes in and it not only Queens, but it pronounces that and so that's why it doesn't say just the word it says water really backing you this up. Obviously we love Nicodemus wanted him to come in to bless her but.
He was going in, uh, it's like driving the wrong way up a one way St. and he has to back him up.
And so that's why it was appropriate to tell a religious man who felt like I'm already inside, as you said, I'm already inside and I'm recruiting another teacher to add to our UH.
Religious institution here and the Lord is right. We have to back up here. And that's why it's appropriate for him to tell Nicodemus, uh, to remind him or to teach him about how life can really begin to reaction that life giving or quickening action is gone.
So again, young brothers, umm, you know, you stand up to preach, to work the gospel and I've seen this kind of where someone you know who's going away on you must be born again and.
00:25:11
And and somebody walks up and says OK, I want to be born again, how do I do it? Umm.
Umm, let me think here. You know what you gotta tell them. And so that, that, that really is God's work, as, as I'm sure we'll develop in this chapter, that's God's work. Umm, the, the, the, the gospel is preached and presented to man and his responsibility and.
Just because God has reserved to himself the right to act in his own sovereignty doesn't take away the responsibility of math. The law is still out there. Man's accountability and responsibility is still out there. And the gospel comes in and addresses man in that, reveals to him his condition, also reveals to him God's love and God's remedy, and presents that to.
God now commanded all men everywhere to repent.
And to believe that Austria and the gospel was presented to man, to his responsibility. And that's the way we preach when we, uh, it would be I, I think rather unwise to, to stand up in the gospel being able to take up.
Sovereignty aspect of God, though we know that except a man be given water and dispute, he cannot see or enter in the beginning of God. We do not know anything about the internal decrease of thought. Uh.
As as an evangelist.
We present the word to man as a responsible creature. Umm on the outside of the door is whosoever will may come.
That's the way we present the message, right?
Inside, we look at the other side.
We like before the foundation of the world.
And not to digress what people say, well, if you if you believe that it's all God's working, it's God's sovereign work, then why should I preach the gospel? The apostle Paul who communicated these things with great liberty and power and we have it in the Scriptures. I just read a verse for you in Second Timothy 2 without taking time. He spoke in verse nine of I suffered trouble as an evil doer even after bombs, but the word of God is not found.
Therefore, I endure all things for the elect stakes that they they also obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. So the fact that Paul learned from God that there were souls out there that were elected that were going to receive the word, it motivated him to get out with the word because there's the elect out there and when they hear the word, they're going to be saved and inherited eternal glory. So it's just the opposite of the way men's and men and women sometimes think. They think election deadlines desire.
To bring the gospel and but a true understanding of election makes makes you more zealous To bring that word out because the word has to be presented makes me fake.
So in adverse circumstances, the Lord appeared to Paul. He says I have much people in this city.
They haven't heard the gospel yet.
But they were the elect of God, and it encouraged him then to go out and preach it out.
To work to think of hearing how much people in the city, you know when you go out, preach the gospel the next day. People are going to get saved that way. Perfectly encouraged you to go out. The elect of God are out there and they will respond. We don't know who they are. They're there, they're there and it should be an encouragement to us. But this new birth is the first work of the Spirit of God in those souls.
Because unless he imparts life where there was no life, there's no ear to hear the gospel, there's no ability to respond to the appeal of the gospel. There's no ability to see it or take it in whatsoever. So God has to give a life where there was no life before. And it's like they say with some Internet services today, it's a bundled package. I don't mean to make light of it.
But you know when the when the Lord stood at Lazarus grave and said Lazarus come forth, it says there that he which was dead came forth, he was dead.
00:30:02
He couldn't hear. He couldn't respond.
Who is there?
But at the voice of the Son of God, all of a sudden he could hear, and all of a sudden he could respond, and all of a sudden he could have life that came all at once. And we get that in the 5th chapter of this gospel at the hour is coming, when they hear the voice of the Son of God, who live, The dead would live, the dead would hear. And so it comes all at once, the ear to hear, the faith to believe, the capacity, the life.
To respond all comes at once and new birth. Also called quickening in other places in scripture.
Impartation of life where there was no life before. That's why the Lord is saying this is a necessity. This has to take place. Outside of that, there's never going to be anything for God.
So the work of the Spirit of God and the soul, wouldn't you say, has been going on down through the ages to give.
Men and women wife slash faith that they might believe that the testimony from God in their day.
Very interesting. It doesn't stay here that necessarily that form of water. Water is a figure of the word of God. It's not necessarily the gospel of the grace of God. It's the word of God. The word of God is thin.
Has been coming from God a long time before the Lord Jesus came into this world. We had a little bit yesterday.
Under the forbearance of God there was.
Promises made of an accomplished work that would happen in the future.
Long Standard Time and limit of faith. It has always been true that they just shovel into my faith. Faith is all.
So the Spirit of God works to give life as, as Stephen said, it quickens or literally hits life.
And if we turn into Paul Stockton, you'd see all unfold this in detail peculiar to him, to see that with that life and that faith is imparted to me. I lay hold on the testimony that God is giving now. Now at the end of the age of the finished work of Christ. When I lay hold of that, I believe the gospel, not of what salvation is academically, but I believe the gospel of my salvation.
You'll see a little bit easier to promise in the spirit of growing dwelling, but these are two different things. The Spirit of God working in me unbeknownst to myself in life. And the fruit of that life may be the next day or the next hour or ten years later.
When I was old, in the face of the gospel of my salvation in our present age, I received the Holy Spirit promises seals me, and I worked in the work for him. For that unique to that extent is finished, God sealed.
The feeling is by the Spirit of God, isn't it the mark?
That, uh, that person belongs to Christ.
And and the seal doesn't make the person uh.
I believe us. Uh, but it's, uh, it's, it's the, the payment. Umm, it's the work of, of, of Christ on the cross.
That is the ransom price that is paid.
Like the uh, the Spirit of God is the seal.
In the soul that there is now salvation to that person. He is uh.
And is brought into the assurance of salvation.
Uh, through the work of Christ.
So new birth is not salvation, but it is prerequisite to it, right? It's a necessity, and that's what the Lord is saying. This is a necessity, Nicodemus. You can't come on the ground, you're coming off. You have to be.
One who has new life where you're never going to see or enter the Kingdom of God. And so Nicodemus response and question how can a man be born when he is old and he answers second time into his mother's womb. Even if that was possible, what kind of a life would he have same life he already had. Mm-hmm just be another fallen life again. And so he he's missed the Lord's point that it's not.
00:35:22
Is to be born and new has a sense from a whole new point or origin of departure. He comes back with a question, how can I redo it from the same point of departure, so to speak? No, no, that's not the point. It's born anew from a whole new point of departure. Above business isn't correct, as you might find in your margin it's really.
A new and from a whole.
A whole new uh.
Beginning from a whole new place, so to speak. The old life was just the flesh. That which is flesh, the Lord says, which is born of the flesh, is flesh. It's never going to change. It's just the flesh.
Even if it were possible to enter into your mother's womb and be born again, that which is born in the Spirit is Spirit. And so what's so interesting about new birth is is when God acts sovereignly and imparts a life where there is none. Suddenly that person sees things they never saw before. They may look around at believers and they say, wow, you know, they've got something I don't have.
And the other thing is they say, oh, I've got something. I didn't realize I had that.
Mm-hmm. So it's been often illustrated if you take a bed man on the floor and pile, uh, rocks on his, on his body, he's not gonna do anything. But if he gave him life, he's immediately gonna struggle to get rid of that, uh, weight of rocks on him. Well, that's the immediate response when life's imparted is seeing things they never saw before. And what's this weight of sin and how can I get rid of it? That's not salvation.
But you know, it's the first thing that takes place. Oh, I'm under this load of sand and it's pictured in the part of the sun is what it says. He came to himself and he says, what did he say? I perish with hunger. If you look at that verse as an exclamation mark, after that he was really afraid. He said, I'm dying. I'll put a disc simply, I'm dying. And he knew it and he was afraid and he was in this condition.
And so one that is born of God, they now have a capacity to see things, and they have a desire after God that they never had before, a desire for right things.
It's the gospel that comes in and brings the relief and proclaims forgiveness of sins. New birth is not salvation. Salvation comes as already been brought out when we receive the gospel. Believe the gospel of our salvation when you become aware if this is new to your hearing this evening.
But if you become aware of this line of things as you read through the New Testament, you're going to see it in so many places. It's remarkable. Just to give you one in the beginning of first Peter, the first Peter, one and two, elect according to the foreknowledge of God's Father. We've spoken of God's sovereignty and election through sanctification of the Spirit. There's the Spirit of work.
Unto obedience and sprinkling as well as he described.
Here's Here's another one. Second Thessalonians 2.
Like Jesus, but you see whether it's in James or Peter or false industry or Job, you see this line of things, 2nd 72, verse 13, God has from the beginning chosen you. There's a sovereignty again to salvation now through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. And so you see this, this process is sold, initiated by God.
Umm, including the sovereign work to impart life in the spirit of the Word and culminating, at least in the present time, with, uh, belief of the truth and the peace and assurance that comes with salvation of our souls.
Right now we're only in the first eight or nine and the wind is blowing where it lives.
00:40:03
You can see in souls sometimes if you know somebody or you grew up with somebody and you start to bring the word before you start to see little flickerings and change of thought or attitude and you have a sense that when you're flowing where it listed and so.
Cornelius would be another example of a quick insult. Yes, uh, because Peter speaks of the.
And being saved in this chapter.
It was a God fearing man and I say he had life but he didn't have the assurance of salvation.
Until the gospel was presented in his fullness to Him in my feeder. So.
The verse refers to an Ephesians, uh, after, uh, one.
Brings that before and.
331.
Verse 14.
13 and we also trusted.
After that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and you also after that you believe you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. That's hearing about the finished work of Christ and putting one's trust in that work. That brings the assurance. Is that right?
Yeah.
From there it says though it's such a good example for us. So it's often been referred to because it says in Acts 10 that he was a devout man that feared God and and the Angel that appeared to him said his arms and prayers had come up before God. So his evidences of a life there. So the wind blows. You can't actually see the wind, but you can see the leaves or the trees or the grass as it moves.
Under the influence of the wind, so you can see evidences of the wind, you can't see the win.
You just see the evidences and it's the same with the newborn soul, soul that's been born again. You can see the evidences in the life and those are there with Cornelius. There's were the evidence. It was a devout man feared God in his arms and prayers had come up before God, but he hadn't and and there was much he had heard. Peter tells him goes through the history of the Lord. There's much that he had heard. He said you know these things, but when he comes in chapter 10.
To.
Verse 43 to him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sin. While Peter yet spaced these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. It was at that point, and you know they didn't get down on their knees and and say a sinner's prayer, or ask the Lord to save them. As soon as they heard it, they had life from God. As soon as that life heard that, they had a hearing here.
They believed.
The moment they believe they didn't have to say a thing with their lips or anything. The moment they believed in the heart.
The Spirit of God sealed that.
It was interesting thus far in Jon Three. Is is.
Like you hear the comments of others on this, but in verse 12, the Lord says to Nicodemus, if I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? He hadn't gotten to the heavenly states yet. He's going to get to them later on in this journey. The heavenly things about the love of God for the world, that's not an earthy thing that's in heaven, but it seems like the Lord puts his his.
This processor phenomenon of Duberts and the soul as a birth was saying, and he held Nicodemus responsible as a teacher in Israel. You have known.
The nation itself would have to nationally experience new birth.
That which is true of every individual that is ever going to be brought to God, they had to experience nationally and they had Old Testament scriptures that would, uh, point that out. You get the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel where all the bones come to life and it's finally a great army. There's quickening it's life from the dead. He says, I will sprinkle clean water upon you and put my spirit within you, take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Those are all scriptures. Nicodemus knew, Speaking of Israel nationally, he should have known the thing.
00:45:21
So as this event was going to have to take place for Israel to be brought into blessing because this would make Adenosine looking for.
When he came to the Lord, the redemption of Israel, yes, but he found out that this was a necessity not just for the nation, but for every person. But he ought to have known the thing, He ought to have known the principle from the Scriptures, and that's what the Lord is saying. So it's earthly in the sense that Israel is God's earthly people, and they're going to have to nationally experience new birth also in this way every.
Person.
If we include Adams, I'm down of faith. Was born of God all through the Old Testament, but they weren't safe. They were born of God, but they were not saved. They were like Noah in the ark. While Noah was in the ark and on the waters of the flood, was he saved? No, but he was saved. As soon as the ark landed on Ararat and the Lord opened that door and they stepped out, they could say we're saved.
We're saved.
They were safe while they were in New York, but they were saved when they stepped out onto the dry land. And that's an illustration. All of those Old Testament papers saved were safe and the scriptures were read by Brother Bruce God for bore with those sins. The Lord came in time and manifested that they were all going to be taken care of. They were all along their spirit controls in heaven, but they were born again. They were saved.
Beyond being born again, they really didn't know anything. If they were an Israelite, they knew they were part of God's birthday chosen nation. Those who were not part of that nation or predated that would say they were servants of God or they were of God's people. They called themselves by the name of the Lord after the name of the Lord we read in Genesis. Beyond that, they didn't know anything else. And so it wasn't really until the Lord came.
That there is an opening up now of further, umm, blessing and enjoyment of relationship that he is going to introduce. And, uh, they didn't know themselves as God's children. So we get that in John chapter one, because then he gave the right to become part of themselves as the children of God either to them which believe on his name. And a little further down here we get the heavenly things.
Or the further blessings?
That are going to come as a result of the cross and what is mentioned first, the cross and Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. Even so this kind of man must be lifted up. What we get is incarnation. This kind of man coming down we get the cross, his death and verse 14 and then believing in that there is the possession of eternal life. Eternal life was something that the Old Testament Saints do not know.
Or have it only came after the cross?
You can see how in the power building loop three times.
The proclamation is made. Rejoice with me.
Uh, sheet which was lost the last 20.
And there is that final ability to find that which was lost to reestablish the lost fund. Rejoice with regards joy, because when you think of how long you know, we, we are so very patient. We know something, whether it's bad news or good news. We just we just find it hard to hold it inside.
And we keep that and just to think of of not just the mystery of God, but this time when God would show finally that he was righteous all along in the forbearance with the sins of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah. Out of that you said, it's as if you know that into heaven and say, Lord, what about my sins? Are you sure I should be in heaven? Just stand over here for a minute. Just stand over here. And then finally the cross.
00:50:00
You know he he declares his own righteousness, that he was righteous all along.
Because of the work of Calvary's cross by his beloved son, it's a little wonder that the preaching should go out. Uh, uh, you know, to, to far and wide of the patient. How God delighted finally to be able to exercise, uh, his love to math the way he wanted to all along. And so in the truth of, I guess really we get propitiation here, which I don't have time to go into here.
But in verse 14, the Son of Man must be lifted up.
Must be there.
God acting in sovereignty still acts in accordance with his own nature, and God is holy.
And yes, ye, we must be born again. That's an imperative. The Son of Man must be lifted up.
I think, I don't know if it's really interesting coughing or one of the early writers who who who put it this way that through the work of Christ, God forged a righteous child through which his love can finally flow out to man.
And so God side of the cross.
Is proficient in first John two. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for our souls, but whole works.
And Scripture carefully distinguishes between propitiation, which is God's side.
In the transfer of guilt, which is what the believer has his guilt transferred to the stimulus sacrifice, of course.
Distinguish all those two things. But propitiation has has God's is is is God's way of satisfying his holy nature in order to free up the action of his life. Propitiation didn't change God's heart.
And and and if you look up officiation in in an English Dictionary, it's like, well, it'll say something like, well, it's a gift that kind of redisposes or recalibrates the heart. I'm using my word of someone towards someone else based on the gift for appreciation in Scripture is not right now. God loved men all along. He loved you and he loved me and propitiation allowed him to come out and express and act on his love to us and do it righteously. It doesn't change it.
Satisfies it.
So their life was the Old Testament plain had life.
No doubt he was a quicker than soul.
They didn't have intelligence.
Of salvation as we now enjoy. But it was. It wasn't not the same life.
I don't think we can say there's two different types of divine life. Is that right? But it was. Now we have eternal life, which is.
A life that has intelligence.
Of the of the work of Christ.
Uh, it's a very life of Christ.
And I've heard the illustration Prince Charles.
When he was born, when he was five years of age 4, he had the same life as he has now.
But at the age of four, he had no comprehension of what his position would be.
In the royal lineage, in the royal family, you know no one I know appreciation of that, even apprehension. But when it became a young man who will say 20 years of age, he knew what his destiny was. He was in line for the throne of the British throne.
Life from God is is life from God.
But it's enjoyed in a whole new character and way after the cross. And that's what's called life eternal or eternal life. And that. Chief Patterson had one of the most helpful illustrations. He said take gold in the ingot form. It's pure gold and.
Yet it can only be enjoyed in a limited sense. If you take it and go back to the days when they make gold coins and you take that and you mint that into a coin. Well, what can you do now with a gold coin? You can go spend it. You can buy things, you can exchange. You know you can. It's the same goal.
00:55:02
That was on the ingot, but now it can be enjoyed and used in a whole new way that it couldn't be before. And the other illustration is I don't know how many of you. I hope this doesn't sound silly. How many of you have ever read that little story of a country mouse and the city mouse?
You know, there's a city mouse and twice his cousin from the country come on in and, and, uh, see some city life, you know, and he comes in and sees the city life of good food and the nice, you know, place where, where the mouse has this hole so much better than the country. And then I think he's caught in the trap in the city country must go back to his Country Life. But if the character of life, it's not that the two mice had a different.
Life. But one was in enjoying a whole different character of life that we would call city life and the other one Country Life. It's a character of life.
It's a it's a it's a life that the Old Testament thinks didn't have and no one enjoying that character. In essence, it's life from God still, but it's known and enjoyed in the character that could what is that character that is known and enjoyed it? What is that character? I think we touched on this is life eternal. We had in our reading that they might know the the only true God and Jesus Christ who now has sent it's to know the father and the Son and to know the father as the son has revealed him and he's revealed him perfectly.
It's the fullest revelation of God that man will ever have.
For now and for all eternity and the Son God has purposed to bring us into fellowship with Himself and to know Him as God and Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And not just collectively, but you and you and you and me individually into fellowship with Himself. And that's what He wants us to walk in and enjoy day by day.
Himself and what caused to him to do that?
London and John develops this to a large extent in the first of fiscal and speaks about his life not as a as a piece of something, a piece of life that he gives to you and he gives to you and he gives to you. We have this no, we possess it together. We are brought into this life that we share with him. And so John says.
This light is in his thumb and this is the true God in eternal life. And so this would have been hard to management of faith in Old Testament times. You know, they would not have heard. It was not revealed to them that there would be such a thing as life in the saga. That's what you were not anticipating. And I enjoyed Wally's comment in the reading and I couldn't hear it that well, but he basically said, you know, eternal life. Sometimes it's translated in our English Bible, everlasting life as if it's.
The life is distinguished by its duration.
Well, it is everlasting, but eternal life is the quality of the life as well. So it does a very good comment. And so the quality of the life, it's the life of Christ. It's the life of God's Son that we share and participate in now and wherever we go. It's called eternal life because that life that the apostles saw no one enjoying and enjoyed in the Godhead between the Father and the Son.
Never had a beginning and it's never going to happen ending and we now have that life to.
That's why it's eternal. Not because from the start we got saved. It's not going to end. It's because it's the life we got. Never had a beginning either.
It's eternal. One other thing. I just, I know our time has gone.
As Moses looked it up, the serpent in the wilderness, Even so much the Son of Man.
He lifted up.
One of the beautiful things, I think, uh, that, umm.
This little account was Nicodemus.
Is to think back of the occasion of that serpent being lifted up. What happened? God sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit them, really chose the result of sin. And so Moses was told to make a serpent and put it up upon a pole, and all who looked at that would be delivered if they'd been bitten by that any serpent. And so the Lord Jesus was made sin for us.
01:00:13
It's so strange that it was not a lamb up on that hole.
It was a certain he was made fit for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And then he bitten Israelites to look up and see that serpent, and they'd be healed. And who do we have in this chapter? We have a bitten Israelite.
Nicodemus. And where do we find him? At the end of the gospel? He's looking up at that lifted up Son of Man.
That's where the gospel closes. As far as Nicodemus goes, we don't hear them again.
That's the last place we see him, and so he found the remedy.
In time, I'm sure he was born again.
And this encounter with the Lord, the evidence comes out later in that in the in the council, he stands up for the Lord. He says, does our law judge a man you know before uncondemned? That's that's the evidence of your life. But finally he looks up and sees the only remedy. They're lifted up above this earth. And I'm sure we're going to enjoy hearing Nicodemus full story when we're all together with the Lord.
Responsible with these words came back to me.
The horror vaccine.
Without his love too, wasn't he also with those of them and and the alumni?
Since the precious spices and to get it properly good.
What the heating hardly does just that. So it's wonderful subject, but.
And we think 27 in the opponent.
Mm-hmm. And umm.
Oh my God.
Every piece of God.
Oh.
My God.
I'm standing around the world side of the road.
35 from God.
Yeah, but my friend brought my children.
I'm afraid ranging out from.
Oh, I so every day you might still come.
I can't come in there right here.
And what person?
Of its time.
I am happy.
Oh well, where will?
Be.
01:05:01
The Sun.
Sunshine.
Love will be.
Why should I?
Wear hair falling.
Hidden sunglasses on.
He wanted.
To go in my hand.
And.
Close the long Robert's mind.
And so if I come for you at the end of another enjoyable day, thank you so much for the opportunity to come together to play and.
Spend some time away from, uh, the dizziness of life and, uh, focus and learn together and have fellowship together with those life pressure space. Uh, thank you so much for providing, umm, this opportunity again this year. And uh, for those that can make it straight for the safe journey for everyone. And umm, thank you again and hope you and me into another week having your birthday.