Introduction

Welcome, dear friends. If you walked in today weary, welcome. If you came hungry for hope, welcome. If you arrived with questions trailing you like a shadow, welcome. The Lord delights to meet us where we are, not where we wish we were. He comes near with kindness, with clarity, and with a promise so breathtaking it leaves the heart standing on tiptoe.

Tonight we will listen in on a quiet conversation under a canopy of stars. A ruler named Nicodemus, accomplished and admired, slipped in to see Jesus. He had knowledge, pedigree, and position. He also had a holy ache: Is there more? So he came to the Nighttime Rabbi, the Carpenter-King, the One whose words wrapped wounds with mercy and awakened dead places to life.

You know that ache, don’t you? The ache for fresh mercy. The ache to start over, to see Holy Spirit wind sweep the dust off your soul. The ache to know that the door into God’s kingdom doesn’t swing on the hinges of our performance, but on the power of a new birth only God can give. That’s what Jesus spoke about—life from above, a heart made new, eyes finally able to see what was always true and beautiful in the kingdom of God.

J. I. Packer once wrote, “Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification.” (J. I. Packer, Knowing God) What a sentence. Forgiveness wipes the slate clean; adoption pulls up a chair at the Father’s table. New birth brings us into a new family, with a new power and a new way to walk. That is not wishful thinking. That is the promise of Jesus, sealed by the Spirit.

Maybe your week sounded like discord—rushing, restless, rattled. Maybe your conscience is loud and your strength is low. Hear this: Jesus does not come to scold your soul; he comes to save it. He does not come to add a heavier backpack; he comes to give a new heart. And that new heart sees what it could not see, loves what it could not love, and lives as it could not live.

We will read his words and take them seriously, personally, gratefully. We will look at what it means to be born again to enter the kingdom. We will see how God washes and fills us with the Spirit. And we will step forward to walk in the everyday wonder of new creation life—Monday-through-Saturday faith that sings even in the rain.

Let’s hear the Scriptures.

John 3:3-5 (ESV) “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”

Opening Prayer Father, thank you for your nearness and your tenderness. Open our hearts to your Word and open your Word to our hearts. Lord Jesus, speak life where there’s been lifelessness, clarity where there’s been confusion, and courage where there’s been fear. Holy Spirit, breathe on us—wash, renew, and empower. Let us see the kingdom. Let us enter in. Let us walk with you in the freshness of new creation life. We ask this in the strong and saving name of Jesus. Amen.

Born Again to Enter the Kingdom

Jesus tells a good man that a new birth is needed. He speaks with calm strength. He uses plain words. A person must be born again to see God’s reign. That saying is simple and strong. It sounds like family language, because it is.

This new birth means a new beginning that comes from above. It is a birth that God gives. It is not a tweak or a tune-up. It is life where there was no life. New origin. New source. New start.

“See” the kingdom means more than having eyes that work. It means real sight. It means the heart wakes up to God’s rule and glory. What was blurry comes into focus. What felt far now feels near.

“Enter” the kingdom means more than liking the idea of God. It means stepping into His reign with trust and obedience. It means coming under His care. It means joining His way. It is personal. It is practical. It is present.

This is why Jesus uses birth language. Birth is how life begins. No one gives birth to themselves. Life is received. So it is with the life of God in us. He gives it. We receive it.

When Jesus speaks of being born of water and the Spirit, He ties together cleansing and power. Water speaks of washing. Spirit speaks of breathing life. Both are needed. Both are a gift.

God promised this long before. “I will sprinkle clean water on you… I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” That promise sits in the book of Ezekiel. Jesus stands in that promise and brings it to pass. Clean hands. New heart. Holy power.

Think of water on dusty hands after hard work. The grit lifts. The skin is fresh. God’s cleansing is like that, but deeper. Shame loses its hold. Stains that felt set start to fade. Conscience grows quiet and clear.

Think of breath filling tired lungs. The Spirit does that within. He does not just help from the outside. He comes in and makes a home. He changes what we want. He changes what we choose. He makes Jesus real.

Baptism points to this washing and this gift. The water in the font is a sign that God does the cleaning and the raising. Hearts rise to new life because of His mercy. Titus says it like this: “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Cleaned. Renewed. Alive.

The new birth has a source and a path. The source is God’s Spirit. The path is faith in Jesus. When the Spirit opens the heart, Jesus is no longer a topic. He is trusted. His name is called upon. His cross becomes dear. His words carry weight.

This birth shows up in simple signs. Sin starts to taste bitter. Grace starts to taste sweet. Old habits loosen. New obedience grows. The Bible reads us as much as we read it. Prayer turns from duty into breath.

Love starts to move into hard places. Enemies get faces and names. Neighbors get care. Anger learns to slow down. Forgiveness begins to land. We do not brag about change. We say, “God did this in me.”

The Spirit keeps working. He keeps pointing to Jesus. He keeps making us like Him. He helps us put off what harms. He helps us put on what heals. He gives power to keep going when strength runs thin.

The kingdom is God’s rule breaking in. It is present where Jesus is trusted. It is seen where His will is done. It is joy that rests in God. It is righteousness that walks in the light. It is peace that guards the heart.

To enter this kingdom means new allegiance. Jesus becomes King in real time. He gets the calendar. He gets the checkbook. He gets the words on our lips. He gets the way we treat bodies and screens and meals and beds and free hours. His rule is good, so His rule is welcome.

This life is not hidden in church walls. It spills into homes and offices and schools. It speaks kindly. It works with honesty. It refuses secret sins that rot the soul. It makes amends quickly. It says sorry without spin.

God’s rule lifts the lowly and steadies the strong. It breaks cycles of fear. It gives courage to tell the truth. It gives patience to wait. It gives hope that holds in the dark. It makes people new, then sends them out to make peace.

This is why Jesus ties seeing and entering to new birth. The heart needs light to see. The feet need life to walk. He gives both. He gives them freely. He gives them fully.

Cleansed and Empowered by the Spirit

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