September 25, 2024 • 26 mins
Today's word is coming from John 3:1-21 looking at the topic of ye must be born again and the transformation of Nicodemus
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:29):
Welcome to the Sunday Word on a Wednesday again. Yes,
we're going to say Wednesday again, and today we have
a very profound word coming out of the look of
John j Versus one through twenty one. But we're not
(00:52):
going to read all those verses, but we will probably
talk about all those verses. It's a very familiar passage
as it deals with the pritch young ruler who came
to Christ by night, who was very inquisitive, very educated,
(01:20):
but there was some questions that he had. As we
would offer say we had some questions, we had to
get off our chests. Then I believe that this man
came wanting to know about this man. Jesus would found
out more about himself when it was all said and done.
(01:43):
But we're dealing with a man named nick Demons, and
we're simply going to talk about he must be born again.
Transformation of Niica Demons. I will be coming from the
amplified version. It says, now there was a certain man
(02:06):
the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler member of the Sanhedrin
among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night and
said to him, Rabbi, teacher, we know without any doubt
that you have come from God as a teacher. For
no one can do these signs, these wonders, these testing
(02:32):
miracles that you do unless God is with you. Jesus
answered him, I assure you, and most solemnly say to you,
unless a person is born again, reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, sainctified,
(02:54):
he cannot ever see and experience the Kingdom of God.
Nicko Dimus said to him, how can a man be
born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother's
room second time and be born, can he? Jesus answered,
I assure you, and most solemnly say to you. Unless
(03:15):
one is born of the water and the spirit, he
cannot ever enter the Kingdom of God. That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, the physical is merely physical,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Now,
let's try to unfold this with as much time as
(03:38):
we have allotted to us to do such. In John three,
verses one through twenty one, we encounter the essential truth
that Jesus imparts he must be born again. This declaration
(03:58):
serves not only as a cornerstone of our faith, but
also as an invitation to experience a radical transformation, as
the spirit God offers to each of us. First of all,
who was Nicodemus well? Nicodemus has introduced us as a pharisee,
(04:20):
a religious leader, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the
ruling council of the Jews. This position suggests that he
was well versed in the scriptures, respected in his community,
and knowledgeable about the law. Yet, despite his high social
standing and religious credentials, Nicodemus came to Jesus under the
(04:44):
cover of darkness, seeking answers about his spiritual condition. First
of all, a seeker of the truth, Nicodemus represents the
many who, despite their outwardly devout life, feeling inner boyd.
He acknowledges Jesus' teachings and miracles, leading him to seek
(05:08):
a deeper understanding. His nighttime visit symbolizes his struggle with
the truth amid societal and personal fears. Now, what I
want to do is I want to take a look
at that, because oftentimes we hear the elogians and scholars
say that maybe the reason he went by night it
(05:32):
is because he was being a coward, to which I
would disagree with. That, because I don't think there's no
cowardness in him going to see Jesus at night. You
have to understand the settings. Understand first of all, that
that he was a busy man, you know, dealing with
(05:55):
his teachings, and you know, Jesus had a daytime schedule.
Nicodemus had a daytime schedule. So I just tend to
believe that he went to Jesus that night because it
was convenient. Now, some of you may agree, some of
you may disagree, But at the end of the day,
(06:17):
it doesn't matter what time he went to Jesus, as
long as he went to Jesus. The struggle with the
spiritual perception. Throughout his encounter with Jesus, we witnessed Nicodemus
(06:38):
to struggle to comprehend the concept of being born again.
Its logical mind grapples with the spiritual revelations made by
the say the highlights of a dual truth. Knowledge of
the scripture does not equate to knowledge of the heart
or of God's deeper workings in our lives. The call
(07:05):
to be born again. When Jesus states he must be
born again, he introduces a radical paradigm shift. This wasn't
a mere suggestion, but a necessary command for spiritual renewal.
See Keep in mind that as Jesus was talking to Nicodemus,
(07:26):
he basically let them know there were two important births.
One is his spiritual, his physical birth. You're only born
one time, and the other one is this spiritual birth,
and that you're only born one time. Okay, now right
(07:50):
about that, you probably have a question. What does that mean?
Right there? I want you to think about it. Look
at it in terms of this man born of a
woman is of a few days, but full of trouble. Now,
when a man is born of a woman, that woman
(08:12):
suffers pain childbirth bearing. I hear, it's pain. It's a
pain that you cannot describe as a pain that you
cannot that you wouldn't want to wish upon it, wush
upon anybody. In other words, in order for him to
be born physically, a woman had to suffer. In order
(08:38):
for him to be born again spiritually. You get where
I'm going with this. A man had to suffer out
on the hill, out on an old rugged cross. So
(09:02):
as we move on, we look at the call to
be born again once again. When Jesus states she must
be born again. He introduces a radical paradigm shift. This
wasn't a mere suggestion, but a necessary command for spiritual renewal.
(09:23):
Understanding the regeneration, the concept of being born again signifies
the necessity of spiritual rebirth. It goes beyond physical birth
and includes an inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. For Nicodemus,
it was an invitation to step out of the confines
of legalism and into the liberating grace of God. Now
(09:50):
what I'm gonna do right here is I'm going to
take a pause, and when I come back, we will
look more into this topic of it. You must be
born again on the Sunday word once again on a
Wednesday evening. I hope that you are finding this ministry
(10:16):
of blessing to the point of where you're shared with
others that they may also be blessed as well. Don't
you go to work, be right back Sunday word for
mister Anthony Smith m hm. Coming back to these under
(11:30):
world on Wednesday evening. Girls, put eve in this ran
that's on this midday week. I do not call it
hump day. I don't know what people get excited about
what they call it hump day. I'm just excited because
this is the day that the art has made and
we should all druss and be glad. And that's the
only thing I'm glad about right there, not all into
this hump day midway. You know, if I go back
(11:53):
into my into my secular mode, there was a time,
you know, I worked at a place and everybody be
getting all happy about it. Well, you know, today's I'm day,
I'm day. I'm dead. And I'm like, what if day
ain't Friday? Friday? Friday? And then we'd come into work
that morning on Friday morning it's six fifty five. We
all at the clock clock and then any talking about day,
(12:13):
it's Friday, and I'm the odd ball, like, no, today
is not Friday. He said, yeah it is. I said,
no it's not. They said, what callner says Friday? I said,
what does your clock say? Well, it's six fifty five.
I said, well it ain't Friday until three thirty one o'clock.
Out of here? Can I get it with its? Somebody? Please?
Can I get a witness? So I just did that
(12:36):
to make you I'll kind of perk up and laugh
a little bit. The Bible said everything there is the
season and even in the midst of this being the
Bible Teaching podcast, we can also laugh a little bit.
So that was my rent. But like I said, today's Wednesday,
mid week, and if anything, I'm happy about I'm not
happy about the fact that this is a hump day
is man call it or whatever. I'm happy because the
(12:57):
fact that it's the day that the Lord has made,
we should redraw be glad in it. And that's how
I look at it. Every day, every day we wake up,
it's the day that the Lord has made. You know.
I usually bust people's bubbles with this one. And we're
gonna get back into our teaching here. But and I
even stopped myself from saying that. But it's a cliche saying,
(13:18):
you know, they just think my day. I'm like, you know,
you're right, today it's not your day, because last I checked,
the Bible said this is the day the Lord has made.
Once you look at it in that perspective, that this
is the day that the Lord has made. Regardless of
how you wake up, when you wake up with your
mind stayed on Jesus and on that this is the
day that the Lord has made, you will find a
reason to rejoice and be glad in its That's that's
(13:41):
how I feel about that. So I just want to
share that with you. And if you look at things
a little bit differently, and it's still okay to have
a little fun, a little bit of laughter. Amen. Amen, Amen,
I'm gonna get back. And we're talking about Nico demons.
This rich uh, it's a ruler of the Jews. And
remember Anhedrin council man who came to Christ by night
(14:06):
with questions. As we look back at the scripture again,
starting with verse six, again, that which is born flesh
is flesh. Physical is merely physical. That which is born
of the spirit spirit you and I'd be surprised that
I have told that. I have told you you must
be born again, be born from a burb above, spiritually, transformed, renewed, sanctified.
(14:31):
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear it sounds,
but you do not know where it is coming from,
where it is going. So it is with everyone who
is born of the spirit. I like that analogy because said,
the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound,
(14:53):
but you do not know where it is coming from
and where it is going. But The thing about the
wind is you feel it. Sam should be said, when
you're in the presence of Jesus, you should feel something.
When you're in the house of the Lord and you're
(15:14):
a Monk's believers in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
just like the wind, you should feel something. So understanding regeneration,
the concept of being born again signifies the necessity of
spiritual rebirth. It goes beyond the physical birth and includes
inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. For Nicodemus, it was
(15:36):
an invitations to step out of the refined legalism and
into the liberating grace of God. So the role of
the Holy Spirit is this. Jesus elaborates that this new
birth comes from above, that is, it is not accomplished
by human effort, but through the work of the Spirit.
(15:59):
As believe years today, we must embrace this reliance on
the Holy spiritual work within us, changing our hearts and minds,
leading us to an authentic faith the light of revelation.
In this encounter, Jesus reveals truth about the Kingdom of
God that challenges Nicodemus. He speaks with spiritual poverty and
(16:23):
the need of salvation, culminating in one of the most
famous verses in the scripture of John three sixteen. Heur
lies the crux of the Christian message, God's love and
the sacrificial offering of Jesus for the salvation of humanity,
which leads us to the cost of discipleship. For Nicodemus,
(16:48):
embracing this truth would require a bold choice, risking his
reputation and standing. In our Mardern context, We too are
faced with this choice when we are called to bear
witness to Christ in a world that often rejects him,
which leads to the journey of transformation. As the narrative
(17:11):
unfold throughout John Scots, we see Nicodemus gradually embracing his
role as a follower of Christ. He later defends Jesus
before the Sanhedrian in John chapter seven, Verse fifteen fifty one,
and aides in his burial John nineteen and thirty nine.
This evolution demonstrates the transformative power of accepting Christ's imitation
(17:34):
to be born again. As we conclude, as we reflect
on the story of Nicodemus, let us examine our own lives,
or we, like Nicodemus, seeking truth in the shadows of
our concerns. Jesus caused each of us to experience a
new birth to embrace the transformative love of God through
(17:56):
his son. Just as Nicodemus went from dark is delight,
so too can we embrace the life changing message of
the Gospel. I pray for the courage to be born
again and to walk in the light of God's truth
as we share this message of hope and renewal with
(18:20):
the world and desperate need. So I hope the story
of Nicodemus has inspired you to constantly seek after Christ.
If you are not born again, my prayer is that
you get to a Bible teaching, Bible believing church. I
(18:42):
encounter people who says that you know, we don't. I
don't need to go to church to you know, and
in your own mind you may be true. But I
am also reminded in the Book of Hebrew, and I'm
going to pull that up. Look if Hebrew chapter ten,
(19:10):
verse twenty five, I do believe. I'm gonna share this
with you. Hear Hebrew's chapter chapter ten revised. It says
not forsaking our meeting together. I know some people are
gonna take that and run with him, and like, WHOA,
(19:33):
I can meet anywhere. Yeah, but even Jesus himself went
into the temple at the hour of prayer, and we
called ourselves followers of Christ. But we don't follow the
examples that Jesus left for us. He says, not forsaking
our meeting together as believers for worship and instruction. Where
(19:56):
else are you going to get the instruction if you
don't meet together. I just believe as believers for wishing instruction.
That's Sunday morning service off Wednesday night Bible studies. I
look at it this way. Those of USU let's just
(20:17):
say those who didn't go to college. From kindergarten to
twelfth to twelfth grade, you sat inside a classroom, didn't
have a trust that you want to know your parents.
My parents made sure I went to school, but they
also make sure I went to Sunday school. They make
(20:38):
sure I went to choir practice. They made sure I
went to Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. Today
we still well some of us. May you know, I
can't speak for everybody. I can't because I don't have
no school aged kids. I have grandkids, and I can
encourage my daughter to keep my grandkids in school. But
(20:59):
nowadays we don't make our kids go to school, and
we don't make our kids go to Sunday school. But
is just twenty fifth verse keepers It says, it's not
forsaken our meeting together as believers or worshiping and instruction,
as is the habit of some. And if you look
around at your congregations right now to this day, I
(21:22):
can promise you, especially since COVID, you are struggling with
church attendance. I'm just being real. How do I know,
because I have visited other churches outside of my home,
and I've even heard the pastors say, man, ever since COVID,
we've had a hard time getting these people back. So
(21:46):
I'm not speaking on what you know, just assumption. I'm
speaking on what I know and what has been told
to me by pastors that various churches. So let me
go read this overse It says, not forsaking our meeting
together as believers, or worshiping and instruction as is the
(22:06):
habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the
more faithfully as you see the day of Christ's return approaching.
I don't know about you. What I want to be
found when his return. I want to be found doing
the will of Head, doing his will, doing what I've
(22:28):
been commissioned to do, preach to Gods, being a servant
to those in need. Well, I hope once again that
this has been a blessing to you today. I hope
that you would share this. If it blesses you, share
it with others. There's enough this word to go around.
(22:50):
There is no competition in this thing. God's word need
to be out to the masses. So, like I said,
share it because you can reach people that I can't reach.
And the only way they're going know what what's going
on is if you go ahead and share it this.
I also want to say that if you are in
(23:12):
the Wichita Vicinity area, which means if you're in Wichita,
if you're in Maize, if you're in Andover, if you're
in Guardage, if you're in Derby and you're looking for
a church to go to, I want to give you
the invitation to come to Shallow Missionary Baptist Church. We
are pastored by Milton T. Colbert. Sunday school starts at
(23:32):
nine twenty Sunday morning service store say eleven o'clock. We
would be glad to have you visit. And if you're
looking for a church on. As my pastor says, like this,
shallow everybody. Everybody is not for shallow. But that being said, though,
(23:54):
I pray that you would find a church on somewhere
get involved. Because us right now we have our religious freedoms,
but I feel that there's gonna be a day come
where we won't have these freedoms and you're gonna wish
that you could be in the service somewhere to go
to a Bible believe in Bible teaching church. I can
(24:17):
tell you right now, I know we got some teachers
at my church. She'll probably get me about this. O'ma say.
Her name is Sister Kamerla Anderson Jones. She's a great teacher.
She studies Thy's words. I believe she's one of the
few that actually lived the word that she teaches. Of course,
(24:38):
my pastor, some of y'all know him, Pastor Milton Tico.
Not only is he a teacher and a preacher and
a pastor boso believe that he is a prophet because
I've witnessed some of the things that he said come
to fruition. But he's also down earth man and loves
to have fun as well too. So like I said,
if you're looking for a church, shallow me in Neary
(25:00):
Baptist Church fifteen fifty five. With your talk Kansas, once again,
we would be more thrilled to have you as our Yes.
So until next time, be blessed, be blessed, be a blessed,
(25:28):
And if this is blessed you share. Don't be ashamed.
But the Bible declares that if you're ashamed to own
me in the presence of being, I'll be ashamed. That
I gonna be president of my father is never Until
the next time, be blessed, be're blessed. I'm album
Welcome to the Sunday Word on a Wednesday again. Yes,
we're going to say Wednesday again, and today we have
a very profound word coming out of the look of
John j Versus one through twenty one. But we're not
(00:52):
going to read all those verses, but we will probably
talk about all those verses. It's a very familiar passage
as it deals with the pritch young ruler who came
to Christ by night, who was very inquisitive, very educated,
(01:20):
but there was some questions that he had. As we
would offer say we had some questions, we had to
get off our chests. Then I believe that this man
came wanting to know about this man. Jesus would found
out more about himself when it was all said and done.
(01:43):
But we're dealing with a man named nick Demons, and
we're simply going to talk about he must be born again.
Transformation of Niica Demons. I will be coming from the
amplified version. It says, now there was a certain man
(02:06):
the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler member of the Sanhedrin
among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night and
said to him, Rabbi, teacher, we know without any doubt
that you have come from God as a teacher. For
no one can do these signs, these wonders, these testing
(02:32):
miracles that you do unless God is with you. Jesus
answered him, I assure you, and most solemnly say to you,
unless a person is born again, reborn from above, spiritually transformed, renewed, sainctified,
(02:54):
he cannot ever see and experience the Kingdom of God.
Nicko Dimus said to him, how can a man be
born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother's
room second time and be born, can he? Jesus answered,
I assure you, and most solemnly say to you. Unless
(03:15):
one is born of the water and the spirit, he
cannot ever enter the Kingdom of God. That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, the physical is merely physical,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Now,
let's try to unfold this with as much time as
(03:38):
we have allotted to us to do such. In John three,
verses one through twenty one, we encounter the essential truth
that Jesus imparts he must be born again. This declaration
(03:58):
serves not only as a cornerstone of our faith, but
also as an invitation to experience a radical transformation, as
the spirit God offers to each of us. First of all,
who was Nicodemus well? Nicodemus has introduced us as a pharisee,
(04:20):
a religious leader, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the
ruling council of the Jews. This position suggests that he
was well versed in the scriptures, respected in his community,
and knowledgeable about the law. Yet, despite his high social
standing and religious credentials, Nicodemus came to Jesus under the
(04:44):
cover of darkness, seeking answers about his spiritual condition. First
of all, a seeker of the truth, Nicodemus represents the
many who, despite their outwardly devout life, feeling inner boyd.
He acknowledges Jesus' teachings and miracles, leading him to seek
(05:08):
a deeper understanding. His nighttime visit symbolizes his struggle with
the truth amid societal and personal fears. Now, what I
want to do is I want to take a look
at that, because oftentimes we hear the elogians and scholars
say that maybe the reason he went by night it
(05:32):
is because he was being a coward, to which I
would disagree with. That, because I don't think there's no
cowardness in him going to see Jesus at night. You
have to understand the settings. Understand first of all, that
that he was a busy man, you know, dealing with
(05:55):
his teachings, and you know, Jesus had a daytime schedule.
Nicodemus had a daytime schedule. So I just tend to
believe that he went to Jesus that night because it
was convenient. Now, some of you may agree, some of
you may disagree, But at the end of the day,
(06:17):
it doesn't matter what time he went to Jesus, as
long as he went to Jesus. The struggle with the
spiritual perception. Throughout his encounter with Jesus, we witnessed Nicodemus
(06:38):
to struggle to comprehend the concept of being born again.
Its logical mind grapples with the spiritual revelations made by
the say the highlights of a dual truth. Knowledge of
the scripture does not equate to knowledge of the heart
or of God's deeper workings in our lives. The call
(07:05):
to be born again. When Jesus states he must be
born again, he introduces a radical paradigm shift. This wasn't
a mere suggestion, but a necessary command for spiritual renewal.
See Keep in mind that as Jesus was talking to Nicodemus,
(07:26):
he basically let them know there were two important births.
One is his spiritual, his physical birth. You're only born
one time, and the other one is this spiritual birth,
and that you're only born one time. Okay, now right
(07:50):
about that, you probably have a question. What does that mean?
Right there? I want you to think about it. Look
at it in terms of this man born of a
woman is of a few days, but full of trouble. Now,
when a man is born of a woman, that woman
(08:12):
suffers pain childbirth bearing. I hear, it's pain. It's a
pain that you cannot describe as a pain that you
cannot that you wouldn't want to wish upon it, wush
upon anybody. In other words, in order for him to
be born physically, a woman had to suffer. In order
(08:38):
for him to be born again spiritually. You get where
I'm going with this. A man had to suffer out
on the hill, out on an old rugged cross. So
(09:02):
as we move on, we look at the call to
be born again once again. When Jesus states she must
be born again. He introduces a radical paradigm shift. This
wasn't a mere suggestion, but a necessary command for spiritual renewal.
(09:23):
Understanding the regeneration, the concept of being born again signifies
the necessity of spiritual rebirth. It goes beyond physical birth
and includes an inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. For Nicodemus,
it was an invitation to step out of the confines
of legalism and into the liberating grace of God. Now
(09:50):
what I'm gonna do right here is I'm going to
take a pause, and when I come back, we will
look more into this topic of it. You must be
born again on the Sunday word once again on a
Wednesday evening. I hope that you are finding this ministry
(10:16):
of blessing to the point of where you're shared with
others that they may also be blessed as well. Don't
you go to work, be right back Sunday word for
mister Anthony Smith m hm. Coming back to these under
(11:30):
world on Wednesday evening. Girls, put eve in this ran
that's on this midday week. I do not call it
hump day. I don't know what people get excited about
what they call it hump day. I'm just excited because
this is the day that the art has made and
we should all druss and be glad. And that's the
only thing I'm glad about right there, not all into
this hump day midway. You know, if I go back
(11:53):
into my into my secular mode, there was a time,
you know, I worked at a place and everybody be
getting all happy about it. Well, you know, today's I'm day,
I'm day. I'm dead. And I'm like, what if day
ain't Friday? Friday? Friday? And then we'd come into work
that morning on Friday morning it's six fifty five. We
all at the clock clock and then any talking about day,
(12:13):
it's Friday, and I'm the odd ball, like, no, today
is not Friday. He said, yeah it is. I said,
no it's not. They said, what callner says Friday? I said,
what does your clock say? Well, it's six fifty five.
I said, well it ain't Friday until three thirty one o'clock.
Out of here? Can I get it with its? Somebody? Please?
Can I get a witness? So I just did that
(12:36):
to make you I'll kind of perk up and laugh
a little bit. The Bible said everything there is the
season and even in the midst of this being the
Bible Teaching podcast, we can also laugh a little bit.
So that was my rent. But like I said, today's Wednesday,
mid week, and if anything, I'm happy about I'm not
happy about the fact that this is a hump day
is man call it or whatever. I'm happy because the
(12:57):
fact that it's the day that the Lord has made,
we should redraw be glad in it. And that's how
I look at it. Every day, every day we wake up,
it's the day that the Lord has made. You know.
I usually bust people's bubbles with this one. And we're
gonna get back into our teaching here. But and I
even stopped myself from saying that. But it's a cliche saying,
(13:18):
you know, they just think my day. I'm like, you know,
you're right, today it's not your day, because last I checked,
the Bible said this is the day the Lord has made.
Once you look at it in that perspective, that this
is the day that the Lord has made. Regardless of
how you wake up, when you wake up with your
mind stayed on Jesus and on that this is the
day that the Lord has made, you will find a
reason to rejoice and be glad in its That's that's
(13:41):
how I feel about that. So I just want to
share that with you. And if you look at things
a little bit differently, and it's still okay to have
a little fun, a little bit of laughter. Amen. Amen, Amen,
I'm gonna get back. And we're talking about Nico demons.
This rich uh, it's a ruler of the Jews. And
remember Anhedrin council man who came to Christ by night
(14:06):
with questions. As we look back at the scripture again,
starting with verse six, again, that which is born flesh
is flesh. Physical is merely physical. That which is born
of the spirit spirit you and I'd be surprised that
I have told that. I have told you you must
be born again, be born from a burb above, spiritually, transformed, renewed, sanctified.
(14:31):
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear it sounds,
but you do not know where it is coming from,
where it is going. So it is with everyone who
is born of the spirit. I like that analogy because said,
the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound,
(14:53):
but you do not know where it is coming from
and where it is going. But The thing about the
wind is you feel it. Sam should be said, when
you're in the presence of Jesus, you should feel something.
When you're in the house of the Lord and you're
(15:14):
a Monk's believers in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
just like the wind, you should feel something. So understanding regeneration,
the concept of being born again signifies the necessity of
spiritual rebirth. It goes beyond the physical birth and includes
inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. For Nicodemus, it was
(15:36):
an invitations to step out of the refined legalism and
into the liberating grace of God. So the role of
the Holy Spirit is this. Jesus elaborates that this new
birth comes from above, that is, it is not accomplished
by human effort, but through the work of the Spirit.
(15:59):
As believe years today, we must embrace this reliance on
the Holy spiritual work within us, changing our hearts and minds,
leading us to an authentic faith the light of revelation.
In this encounter, Jesus reveals truth about the Kingdom of
God that challenges Nicodemus. He speaks with spiritual poverty and
(16:23):
the need of salvation, culminating in one of the most
famous verses in the scripture of John three sixteen. Heur
lies the crux of the Christian message, God's love and
the sacrificial offering of Jesus for the salvation of humanity,
which leads us to the cost of discipleship. For Nicodemus,
(16:48):
embracing this truth would require a bold choice, risking his
reputation and standing. In our Mardern context, We too are
faced with this choice when we are called to bear
witness to Christ in a world that often rejects him,
which leads to the journey of transformation. As the narrative
(17:11):
unfold throughout John Scots, we see Nicodemus gradually embracing his
role as a follower of Christ. He later defends Jesus
before the Sanhedrian in John chapter seven, Verse fifteen fifty one,
and aides in his burial John nineteen and thirty nine.
This evolution demonstrates the transformative power of accepting Christ's imitation
(17:34):
to be born again. As we conclude, as we reflect
on the story of Nicodemus, let us examine our own lives,
or we, like Nicodemus, seeking truth in the shadows of
our concerns. Jesus caused each of us to experience a
new birth to embrace the transformative love of God through
(17:56):
his son. Just as Nicodemus went from dark is delight,
so too can we embrace the life changing message of
the Gospel. I pray for the courage to be born
again and to walk in the light of God's truth
as we share this message of hope and renewal with
(18:20):
the world and desperate need. So I hope the story
of Nicodemus has inspired you to constantly seek after Christ.
If you are not born again, my prayer is that
you get to a Bible teaching, Bible believing church. I
(18:42):
encounter people who says that you know, we don't. I
don't need to go to church to you know, and
in your own mind you may be true. But I
am also reminded in the Book of Hebrew, and I'm
going to pull that up. Look if Hebrew chapter ten,
(19:10):
verse twenty five, I do believe. I'm gonna share this
with you. Hear Hebrew's chapter chapter ten revised. It says
not forsaking our meeting together. I know some people are
gonna take that and run with him, and like, WHOA,
(19:33):
I can meet anywhere. Yeah, but even Jesus himself went
into the temple at the hour of prayer, and we
called ourselves followers of Christ. But we don't follow the
examples that Jesus left for us. He says, not forsaking
our meeting together as believers for worship and instruction. Where
(19:56):
else are you going to get the instruction if you
don't meet together. I just believe as believers for wishing instruction.
That's Sunday morning service off Wednesday night Bible studies. I
look at it this way. Those of USU let's just
(20:17):
say those who didn't go to college. From kindergarten to
twelfth to twelfth grade, you sat inside a classroom, didn't
have a trust that you want to know your parents.
My parents made sure I went to school, but they
also make sure I went to Sunday school. They make
(20:38):
sure I went to choir practice. They made sure I
went to Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. Today
we still well some of us. May you know, I
can't speak for everybody. I can't because I don't have
no school aged kids. I have grandkids, and I can
encourage my daughter to keep my grandkids in school. But
(20:59):
nowadays we don't make our kids go to school, and
we don't make our kids go to Sunday school. But
is just twenty fifth verse keepers It says, it's not
forsaken our meeting together as believers or worshiping and instruction,
as is the habit of some. And if you look
around at your congregations right now to this day, I
(21:22):
can promise you, especially since COVID, you are struggling with
church attendance. I'm just being real. How do I know,
because I have visited other churches outside of my home,
and I've even heard the pastors say, man, ever since COVID,
we've had a hard time getting these people back. So
(21:46):
I'm not speaking on what you know, just assumption. I'm
speaking on what I know and what has been told
to me by pastors that various churches. So let me
go read this overse It says, not forsaking our meeting
together as believers, or worshiping and instruction as is the
(22:06):
habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the
more faithfully as you see the day of Christ's return approaching.
I don't know about you. What I want to be
found when his return. I want to be found doing
the will of Head, doing his will, doing what I've
(22:28):
been commissioned to do, preach to Gods, being a servant
to those in need. Well, I hope once again that
this has been a blessing to you today. I hope
that you would share this. If it blesses you, share
it with others. There's enough this word to go around.
(22:50):
There is no competition in this thing. God's word need
to be out to the masses. So, like I said,
share it because you can reach people that I can't reach.
And the only way they're going know what what's going
on is if you go ahead and share it this.
I also want to say that if you are in
(23:12):
the Wichita Vicinity area, which means if you're in Wichita,
if you're in Maize, if you're in Andover, if you're
in Guardage, if you're in Derby and you're looking for
a church to go to, I want to give you
the invitation to come to Shallow Missionary Baptist Church. We
are pastored by Milton T. Colbert. Sunday school starts at
(23:32):
nine twenty Sunday morning service store say eleven o'clock. We
would be glad to have you visit. And if you're
looking for a church on. As my pastor says, like this,
shallow everybody. Everybody is not for shallow. But that being said, though,
(23:54):
I pray that you would find a church on somewhere
get involved. Because us right now we have our religious freedoms,
but I feel that there's gonna be a day come
where we won't have these freedoms and you're gonna wish
that you could be in the service somewhere to go
to a Bible believe in Bible teaching church. I can
(24:17):
tell you right now, I know we got some teachers
at my church. She'll probably get me about this. O'ma say.
Her name is Sister Kamerla Anderson Jones. She's a great teacher.
She studies Thy's words. I believe she's one of the
few that actually lived the word that she teaches. Of course,
(24:38):
my pastor, some of y'all know him, Pastor Milton Tico.
Not only is he a teacher and a preacher and
a pastor boso believe that he is a prophet because
I've witnessed some of the things that he said come
to fruition. But he's also down earth man and loves
to have fun as well too. So like I said,
if you're looking for a church, shallow me in Neary
(25:00):
Baptist Church fifteen fifty five. With your talk Kansas, once again,
we would be more thrilled to have you as our Yes.
So until next time, be blessed, be blessed, be a blessed,
(25:28):
And if this is blessed you share. Don't be ashamed.
But the Bible declares that if you're ashamed to own
me in the presence of being, I'll be ashamed. That
I gonna be president of my father is never Until
the next time, be blessed, be're blessed. I'm album
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