We Can See the Kingdom of God If We Are Born Again (John 3:1-15)

Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We pray that the work of the Holy Spirit will be upon all the people who are worshipping God in the sanctuary as well as those who are worshipping at home with their family. Last week, we received the Word to “Restore the Temple (Church).” God gives us His Word, and according to the working of the Holy Spirit, He restores, and I believe that by the working of the Holy Spirit, God will restore, fix, and allow us to devote all the aspects of our lives in which we could not stand upright before God. The gospel is perfect and complete, yet we are lacking, and that is why we must continuously stand before God. Only when we do that can we stand and live a life that God desires as the correct form of human beings. Everyone is lacking, but anyone can stand before God to receive restoration.

The title of today’s sermon is, “We Can See the Kingdom of God If We Are Born Again.” The main core of today’s message is about being born again and about the Kingdom of God.

Main

1. Nicodemus
   In today’s Bible passage, there is a Jewish person named Nicodemus who comes and finds Jesus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee. The Pharisees are set apart from other Jews because they are the ones who will follow, upkeep, and teach the Word of God more than the typical Israelite. In the time period of Nicodemus, there were about 7,000 Pharisees, and they are the main core of the Israelite community. They said, “We will follow God’s Word and not do anything that is not according to God’s Word,” so even among the Israelite Jews, there is a group of Pharisees who do this even more.

1) Jewish
In verse 1, it says that he is a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council, which is the governing body in the Israelite community that set all the laws, administration, and the social rules. The only thing that the Sanhedrin council cannot do is execute people. Other than that, they are the ones to give the law and enforce the law, and there were only about 70 people in the Sanhedrin council. How amazing of a person was Nicodemus?

In John 3:10, Jesus even refers to Nicodemus as a teacher of Israel, so Nicodemus is someone who is at the level of a Rabbi who is able to teach the Word of God. Nicodemus was someone who was socially outstanding in his power and authority, and he is someone who lived a faultless, blameless life in terms of the Bible.

This Nicodemus saw all the signs and miracles that Jesus was performing, and he came and found Jesus in the middle of the night. Why did Nicodemus find Jesus at night? Nicodemus heard of this young adult, this Nazarene, the son of a carpenter, who was from the countryside, who was healing people, casting out demons, performing miracles, and cleaning out the temple, so Nicodemus saw these signs of Jesus and saw that there must be something to this, and found Jesus.

2) State
This means that Nicodemus who was the elite of all elites, both in social and theological standing, comes to find Jesus Christ in the most humble way. I think Jesus Christ was in his early thirties at this time, and in order to be a Jewish official, one had to be at least 30 years old, so either Nicodemus is the same age as Jesus, or he is much older, but the fact that he was able to speak to Jesus Christ with such courtesy and modesty means that he was such a mature person.

He had a great personality. Someone who doesn’t have such a great personality will look at someone younger and speak rashly to them. Especially because Nicodemus had such power and authority, he could treat Jesus Christ however he wanted to. However, Nicodemus goes to Jesus with such reverence and refers to him as, “Rabbi, the works you have been doing are impossible unless God were with you.”

3) Religious, Successful Nonbeliever
Nicodemus, in simple terms, is a religious person who went to church for such a long time, but still could not understand the main, important content of what God wanted to say. He held tightly to the Bible; he went to worship, he was centered on worship and the Word of God, and yet he was in a spiritual state where he was not able to understand the true, important meaning of the Word.

What are the people who are like this? They have their own diligence, so the top 1% of the people of the world are the ones who have existed by their own diligence and hard work. When people like that come into the church, they do the same thing. They do their best and work very hard to do whatever role they have been given. They’ll pray with diligence, too, and they will follow all the words of the law and give offering just according to the Bible. They’ll follow everything. However, they are not able to understand the words that Jesus Christ is actually trying to say.

Because people do not have that assurance, however, that’s why even pastors are swept into the Shin Chun Jee cult. Those people are the same as Nicodemus: they studied theology, they know the Bible, and they have more theological information than anyone else, but they cannot believe. They’re supposed to be able to rely their entire heart on their faith, but because they don’t believe it, they have to rely on their own diligence.

Look at the diligent people who work so hard, even in the church. They go to every Early Morning Prayer, they go up to the mountains to pray, and they do this every day. They have their own goal, “Let me have a kid,” they always have this diligence. Lazy people wouldn’t be able to do this, however, these are people who will get caught up by their own limitation. They have everything in the world, and they know that everyone in the world is envious of them; however, they know internally that they are lacking something, and so, they are worried.

1) Nicodemus’ Question
In today’s Bible passage, Nicodemus didn’t even ask Jesus Christ a question. He just said, “I know that God is with you,” and Jesus Christ responds this way. I think that perhaps Nicodemus was simply beating around the bush because he had his own pride to protect. People who are at such an elite level have their own pride, but you have to let your pride down. If you have pride or a sense of ego, it means you are filled with yourself. You have to let that down completely in order to be filled with the Word of God.

Just like in the Old Testament, General Namaan had to strip off all his clothes and go into the river according to Elijah’s words in order for him to be healed. Jesus knew Nicodemus’ heart and answers him immediately, “Truly, truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus didn’t even ask him a question, but Jesus knew Nicodemus’ state.

“Unless you are born again,” He says. When we are born, we are born and given biological life from our parents, right? So we need to be born again. What does that mean? It means that every single person is born to their mom and dad, but that’s not enough. No matter how much power, intelligence, or authority you have, no matter how good or lacking you are, it’s not enough.

“By the standards of people, Nicodemus, you will never be able to solve the problems inside your heart. You have to be born again.” “How could I be born again?” Nicodemus could not understand Jesus’ words to the point where he asks, “Do I have to go back into my mother’s womb?” Even though he knew the Word of the Bible so accurately and well, he didn’t understand the spiritually important message. Even though he knew the Bible so well, he learned it ever since he was a child and he studied it like a textbook. However, when he receives the most important message, he cannot understand. Why is that?

It is because he was not born again. If you are born again, you would be able to understand the words that are telling you about the things that are invisible to the eye. Because he has not been born again, he’s receiving the Word, but all he understands is, “Do I have to go back into my mother’s womb?”

In order for you to be born again, you have to acknowledge the fact that you have no hope in yourself. It is the term, “Total Depravity” that Calvin coined. You have to acknowledge that even if you had everything in the world, humans can never make it in this world. What won’t work out?

The internal problem that humans have will not be restored, and that’s why we need to be born again. We’re not talking about the idea of reincarnation; we’re talking about being born again spiritually. You need to be born again by God, the you’ll be able to see the Kingdom of God. It’s impossible to understand, so Jesus explains again.

2) Jesus’ Response (verse 5)
In verse 5, He says, “You must be born again in water and spirit.” In John 7, the “water” refers to the water of life. Water is also talking about our baptism when we are dunked underwater. Baptism refers to submerging in the water, dying to your sins, and being reborn. Some theologians also say that the water is the Word of God. Regardless, we can say that the water is the Spirit.

Spirits can be spirits, but it is not about the evil spirits. You have to be born again by the Spirit of God in heaven. You must be born again by the Holy Spirit. Only then can you enter into the Kingdom of God. Nothing that humans beings can do, none of our hard work, diligence, or greatest efforts will ever be able to make this happen.

When you eat, you study, you work, you have to do those things because you have a physical body, but before God, none of that counts at all because all of those things were done for physical things. The Spirit is what gives life. On the other hand, if your studies, job, and eating all have to do with the spirit of giving life, then it will count before God. That’s why the crown in heaven and all the heavenly rewards aren’t obtained for nothing.

It’s important to live diligently, but what are you going to live for? Are you going to live diligently for food? What are you going to live for? If you live for the physical things, it means nothing in front of God. You will never be able to save yourself or other people.

3) Jesus’ Response (verse 6)
That’s why in John 3:6, “flesh gives birth to flesh.” Of course, the flesh is flesh. If you gain biological life by being born by your mom, it means you have physical life, but that’s not enough. You need to be born of the Spirit in order for your soul to live. You must be born by the Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in order for your soul to be alive.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it says we are a new creation. What does it mean to be a new creation? Even though we are the same person in the flesh, we are different inside. If we are reborn, it doesn’t mean that your face will change. If you are reborn, it doesn’t mean you’ll get another job. If you are reborn, it doesn’t mean you will get taller. If any of you are looking forward to that, I hope you will lay those expectations down. It means that your internal human is changing.

I received Jesus Christ when I was 29 or 30; I was reborn. I was the first believer in my whole family, and I don’t think anyone even prayed for me, but I was able to believe because the Holy Spirit worked. I didn’t believe because I was taught by someone, but that doesn’t mean that all the habits from my past are changed. Because you believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean your education and degrees are changed. Your circumstances might not even change.

You may misunderstand, “If I believe in Jesus Christ, my life will get better,” but that’s not the point. Being reborn means your internal state will change. Now, by the work of the Holy Spirit, I’m living my life for God. That is the internal “me” that has changed. Even though my past has not changed, the past I saw when I was a nonbeliever and the past that I see now are completely different. My circumstances are exactly the same, but my perspective when I look at my circumstances are completely different.

Instead of praying that your circumstances will change, pray that you yourself will change. Don’t pray for God to take away your problems, but pray to God that He will change the way you see your problems. It might be good if your cancer is healed, but instead, through your cancer, pray that God will allow you to see God. Then, even the fact that you have cancer will be something for you to be thankful for. You’re not thankful because you have cancer, but you’re thankful because you can know and see something that is greater than greater than your cancer.

Even if He calls you up to heaven now, you’re thankful, but even if He heals you and uses you, you’re thankful. These are the confessions you make when you are reborn. This is not something that can be accomplished with good discipline or education; a person will change like this only when they are filled with the Holy Sprit.

3. Whoever Believes
   Nicodemus still did not understand, so Jesus Christ explains further, “Look at the wind. You don’t see where it comes from or where it goes, but you know that it is there because the leaves are rustling. So it will be with the people who are born of the spirit. You are not able to see the spirit, but you are able to see the signs and work of the Holy Spirit.”

Then Nicodemus asks again in confusion, “How can this be?” And Jesus Christ gives him a message. Nicodemus knew everything in the Old Testament scriptures, so Jesus Christ speaks about a time when the Israelites came out of Egypt into the wilderness and they were bitten by poisonous snakes. God gave the Word to the Israelites at that time to create a snake made of bronze and to raise it into the air. Anyone who looked upon that snake would be healed.

1) Son of Man
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” Jesus Christ gave the final message to Nicodemus saying, “I too as the Son of Man must be lifted up to be crucified on the cross, and I will solve all the problems of mankind if only they believe. In verse 15, Jesus Christ says, “Anyone who believes in me will have eternal life.” How can you believe? You can only believe when God graces you with the filling of the Holy Spirit.

2) Holy Spirit – Kingdom of God
Ephesians 2 says that we are saved by grace, through faith. The grace of God must come upon us. We can only receive faith if the Holy Spirit works upon us. Later on, Nicodemus does end up believing in Jesus. In John 19 as Jesus Christ is being crucified, Nicodemus comes and finds Jesus Christ with proper burial materials including the linens to wrap the body, and he bought the tomb where Jesus Christ would be buried. This is the role Nicodemus played.

At the time, the Early Church was filled with very poor people, people who used to be fisherman, so Nicodemus played that role. If you look at the book of Acts, Nicodemus’ name is not mentioned, so I believe that Nicodemus, as a very strong political leader in this situation, was doing Jesus Christ’s ministry in his position. So just like Nicodemus, there is someone like that.

There was a young adult named Saul who was just like Nicodemus. He was an elite who was acknowledged by all of society. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, he had no flaws according to the law, and he was someone who guarded and fulfilled all the laws of the Bible according to his own diligence, why? Because Saul believed that he would receive salvation by following the law.

But even if you follow all 10 commandments, you cannot receive salvation; you can only receive salvation by believing in Jesus Christ, and this Saul met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. And he didn’t just break, but he was completely broken down immediately. That’s what it means to be reborn.

Everything that he used to rely on and boast about in the past, all his biblical knowledge, all his social power and actions were all rubbish. If anything, Paul realized that these things kept him from realizing the gospel, and he persecuted Christians because of them. It’s the same from a nonbeliever’s perspective, as someone who has wasted his entire life on something useless. At that time, Paul completely laid down.

People may be able to study and work well, but they will never be at the level of God to be able to save and heal others. Only when you believe can you gain eternal life, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit comes into me. “I will give you a Counselor Spirit to be with you forever.” This is hallelujah! The spirit of the Father God who created all of heaven and earth, and the spirit of Jesus Christ who finished all problems of mankind, is living within me.

This finishes all the problems of mankind, but because you are not acknowledging that, you are looking for other methods to solve your problems. You’re wandering around thinking there’s hope in something else. This means that you are neglecting the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God is living within you and everything is contained within Him, and yet you are wandering around looking for things elsewhere.

John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and remind you of all things, so all you have to do is ask the Holy Spirit of God living within you. Only there is the hope in your life. If other people are giving you words, simply keep them in mind, but that person won’t be able to take care of their own life. There’s no reason for you to be disappointed or expectant of anyone else.

You will never be able to change someone else by nagging them; you will never be able to change your kids by nagging at them. If you always nag at your kids to throw their trash away, maybe they will start throwing their trash away, but they as people will never change. If you’re always yelling at them to study when they’re playing, maybe they’ll enter into a studying mode, but if it’s all for physical things, it’s unnecessary. Your prayers by the working of the Holy Spirit can change people.

In 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.” Because He takes care of everything, you give it all to him, then what will happen? Because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour, so how can you break down the devil? If you have any anxieties, if you cast it out in the name of Jesus Christ, will they go away? The darkness may flee for a moment because of the light of Jesus Christ, but because I am always worried, the darkness will find me again.

3) Prayer – Kingdom of God
Philippians 4 tells us to be in constant prayer, to take everything to God in prayer and petition because within Jesus Christ is all of my hope and potential and life. Only He is the One who can truly help me. If you rely on people, quickly let go of that. If you are relying on and expecting something from your kids, quickly let that down. Young adults, if you’re looking for some mentor, quickly break that dream, don’t do that. If you’re trying to rely on the nation of America, quickly lay that down. You might be able to get some money from the government, but your life will never be revived in front of God; it counts for nothing.

You need to have faith in order to pray, and you need to know who it is that you’re praying to within you in order to pray. People who have salvation but don’t believe this, or people who have salvation but have not been reborn, are still living for the physical things and will not understand this kind of prayer.

The Holy Church held onto the promise from Jesus Christ that, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be My witnesses until the ends of the earth. When they held onto this covenant and prayed, the Holy Spirit did come upon them. The work of the Holy Spirit was like wind and fire. It wasn’t fire itself; but it was a work like fire and wind.

This means that no amount of human sin nor ideologies, nothing could block it. This means that for every single human being, if the Holy Spirit works upon them, will kneel. That is why we pray.

Matthew 12:28 says, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” People who know this fact will always be praying for the Spirit of God to be working in all their fields, businesses, and schools. That’s why they pray.

The Antioch Church in the Bible was preparing to go to missions, and in Acts 3:26, it says that the Holy Spirit called them. Why do you think the Holy Spirit would ask you to do anything? Do you think He would ask you to study and succeed for your personal benefit? The Holy Spirit works so that, through the Holy Spirit, you can save other people’s lives, and that’s why we need to live for the work that the Holy Spirit calls us to work for.

Conclusion

1. Those Who Believe in Jesus Christ
   If you’re living your life for the physical things that count for nothing in front of God, you’re living an incorrect life. Later on, everything will be burned away and we’ll be in a very ashamed state of salvation. God said to raise up the people for His work. God raises people with roles in the church, and there are roles we have in the world as well.
   
2. Kingdom of God with the Indwelling, Guidance, and Working of the Holy Spirit
   Acts 13:3 says, “Go to the land where the Holy Spirit sent them,” but because they don’t know where the Holy Spirit is sending them, they don’t know what to do, and they’re worried. “Go to the place the Holy Spirit is working.” “Oh, what should I do?” “Go to the place the Holy Spirit has prepared for you.”
   
3. When Satan Is Broken Down, the Works of Saving Lives Arises
   This world is so centered on humans such that if a person has a lot of abilities, they will raise him upon a pedestal, but if a person does not have power, they will look down on him, because in the world, humans are gods. Just like in Genesis 3, when Satan worked by saying, “You will be like God,” the Bible has never once recorded what kind of job is a good job, or what kind of job you should or shouldn’t have. There is never a standard given by God in the Bible that says a certain job is good or bad, high or low.

“Whatever role I have given you, think of that as your heavenly role, and use your job and life to do the work that the Holy Spirit has called you to do, which is to save lives.” The ones who have been given five talents and the ones who have been given one talent are both devoting themselves to saving lives.

If someone is saying, “My job is so bad; I feel embarrassed to preach the gospel,” that’s someone who belongs to the physical world. Whatever job God has given to you is a heavenly job. When Moses was a shepherd, that was the heavenly job God had given to Moses, and the staff he had as a shepherd was the staff He used to save people.

If God has given you five talents but you are doing the role of someone who has four talents, that counts for nothing. No matter how bad my job may be from a worldly perspective, if I’m using that to do God’s work of saving souls and saving lives, that is the greatest job in the whole world.

I hope that every single member of the congregation will be able to hold onto the role that the Holy Spirit has called them to do in this time, right now, and to pray for that. We must be in despair, disappointed. There is only hope in God. If you have any other expectations, you have to let them down immediately because as much as you expect something, the more you will feel betrayed, and you will start hating yourself and commit suicide or get depression, or you’ll keep getting images that give you panic attacks. It is because you have staked your life on the incorrect things.

May you and I only stake our lives upon the Triune God and the work that He does. Even our temple construction, if it is the work that God has called us to do, then He will work. I believe that we devote and pray for the work of God of saving people. I pray that you and I will be victorious this week. Let us pray out loud together holding onto the Word we have received.