Sermons Preached In Moody Texas

Moody First United Methodist Church

John 3:1-8 (NIV)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

My grandmother on my mother’s side was a member of First Methodist - Bowie most of her nearly 90 years. It nearly broke her heart when they tore down the old church building. It was located in the heart of downtown. There was no room for expansion. The grand ole bldg. was beautiful. BUT it had to come down. It was like many churches of its day, not very elderly friendly. Steep, high steps leading to the front doors. As beautiful as it was. With all the memories it held for so many. It still had to come down. It couldn’t be remodeled to meet the needs. So my grandmother’s church was knocked down. A new structure was built.

That’s God’s message to us! Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a church slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God’s, the old life is over. God makes all things new. All God wants is the site and the permission to build.

It’s night time, it’s a time of darkness. Some would take coming at night literally. In the darkness of night Nicodemus sneeks a visit with Jesus. After all he would not want his fellow Jewish leaders to know he believed Jesus was from God. He came in darkness to hide his actions. Others might view the coming at night in a poetic sense. The darkness represents the darkness in his life. It may be a time of darkness in the life of Nicodemus. How many people come to Jesus in the darkest days of their lives?

Nicodemus comes to Jesus. He tells Jesus that there can be no doubt who Jesus is. Have you ever doubted who Jesus is? Nicodemus calls Jesus, Rabbi — calls him teacher. But not just any teacher. Nicodemus declares that Jesus must be from God. And why would this Pharisee of Pharisees say such a thing? Because no one could perform these signs that you have apart from the presence of God.

Nicodemus declares that Jesus has come from God. And how does Jesus respond? In a very strange way. He starts speaking of entering the Kingdom of God. He gives the prerequisite for life in the kingdom. Jesus says, “You must be born from above.” or as other translations put it “You must be born again.”

Have you ever had anyone knock on your door and when you answer the door, they ask, “Friend have you been born again.”

Why would they ask such a question? Because Jesus is quoted by John as saying we must be born again. Is this question confusing to you? Jesus statement was sure confusing to Nicodemus! He asks, “How can I again enter my mother’s womb?

What does it mean to be “born again?” First of all we must recognize that the Greek word we have most often heard interpreted “again” can also be interpreted “from above.” We must be “born from above.”

We must be born from above — a birth that comes from God. We must be born from above — from top to bottom, from head to toe. We can’t be rebuilt, but like my grandmother’s church, we must be torn down and built over from scratch.

The old nature will disappear and there will be a new nature. The flesh will be gone and there will be spirit. We must be born of the spirit.

So what does it mean to be “Born from above.” We become new creations — new creatures. We think differently. We act differently. We see differently. We hope differently.

We think differently. We give people the benefit of the doubt. When people tell us of their hard luck story, we believe what they say if it sounds reasonable. We think differently. We turn the other cheek — now that’s different.

We act differently. Operation Blessing, the charitable organization in Cleburne, was given property for a “Homeless Shelter.” The City Council had to rezone the property for that use. They chose to table the issue. Neighbors complained, “We don’t want them in our neighborhood.” To be born from above means having compassion — not condemnation.

Some time ago, I heard on the radio about a mother who had been killed by a mountain loin. She had two small children and a trust fund was established to help her children. The authorities found the killer mountain loin and killed her. As it turned out the mountain lion had a cub and a local zoo set up a trust fund for the cub. At one point the trust fund for the mountain lion cub contained $21,000, while the trust fund for the two children had reached $6,000.

To be born from above means we SEE differently. We see through a different set of lenses. It’s like getting corrective lenses. It’s like have cataracts removed. We see with X-RAY vision We see the inside of people, rather than their exterior appearance. We see the possibilities of their future rather than the disappointments of their past. When we look at others, we see someone created in God’s image. We see someone for whom Christ died.

To be born from above means we HOPE differently. To be born from above is to KNOW that God is in control. To be born from above is to KNOW that Jesus can transform. To be born from above is to KNOW that the Holy Spirit has been given to us.

When we are born from above we have a hope that transcends this world. We have a hope for our daily living, and we have a hope of life eternal.

We also have the hope that everyone might experience birth from above And as a result, the world might be transformed and the kingdom indeed come on earth as it is in heaven

And HOW are we born from above.

“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We control our birth from above just as much as we controlled our natural birth. We control our birth from above, just as much as we can control the wind.

This birth is a gift from God. Life in the kingdom is a gift from God. Eternal salvation is a gift from God. We do not deserve it. We cannot earn it. We cannot work until we achieve it. WE CANNOT ACHIEVE IT — WE CAN ONLY RECEIVE IT!

God does not remodel us. God gets out the wrecking ball and builds from the ground up. We cannot be like the rest of the world. To be born again, to be born from above is to be born of the spirit. And when we are born of the spirit, we are new creations. We think differently — act differently — see differently — hope differently.

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