IF I ONLY HAD ONE SHOT
JOHN 3:1-19
INTRODUCTION:
A PASTOR ONCE RECEIVED A CALL TO VISIT A DYING WOMAN IN A HOSPITAL ICU ROOM. ON ARRIVING AT THE HOSPITAL HE WAS TOLD BY THE DOCTOR THAT HE ONLY HAD TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK WITH THE WOMAN. IT WAS SUCH A SHORT TIME, CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TIME TO HAVE MUCH OF A CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN. THE ONLY THING HE KNEW ABOUT HER FROM HER FAMILY WAS THAT SHE WAS LOST IN SIN.
HE KNEW HE WOULD ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT THIS VISIT SO AS THE PASTOR ASKED GOD WHAT TO SAY, THE LORD SPOKE TO HIS HEART AND SAID “GIVE HER JOHN 3:16, AND PRAY THE SINNERS PRAYER WITH HER.” THAT WAS WHAT SHE NEEDED. SHE DIED IN PEACE AND AT PEACE WITH HER SAVIOR.”
THAT PASTOR WAS PLACED IN A SITUATION THAT YOU AND I COULD SEE OURSELVES IN. IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT AT SOMETHING MEANS THERE’S NO TOMORROW, NO SECOND CHANCES, THIS IS IT, IT’S ALL OR NOTHING. WE CAN SEE THIS TYPE OF SITUATION IN MANY AREAS OF LIFE. PERHAPS THERE IS A GOOD DEAL ON A HOUSE, OR ON A CAR THAT YOU REALLY DESIRE. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GET OTHER HOUSES OR CARS, BUT FOR THIS ONE THAT YOU DESIRE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE SHOT.
SPIRITUALLY, YOU AND I MAY BE IN THE SAME POSITION AS THAT OF THE MINISTER. YOUNG OR OLD, RICH OR POOR, BLACK OR WHITE, ENGLISH OR FRENCH, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. SINCE WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN HALF AN HOUR FROM NOW, LET ALONE TOMORROW, ALLOW ME TO PRESENT THIS MESSAGE AS IF IT WERE MY ONLY SHOT TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL TO YOU.
PRESSURE LIKE THIS HAS A WAY OF TAKING ISSUES THAT WE FEEL ARE COMPLICATED, AND MAKING THEM QUITE SIMPLE. IN FACT THE ENTIRE GOSPEL IS SUMMED UP IN ONE VERSE.
JOHN 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
THERE ARE ONLY 25 WORDS IN THIS VERSE YET NO OTHER SINGLE VERSE IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES HAS BEEN SO BLESSED IN THE SALVATION OF SO MANY SOULS. MARTIN LUTHER CALLED JOHN 3:16 THE MINIATURE GOSPEL. IT HAS BEEN CALLED THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL. IT HAS BEEN CALLED A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD WRITTEN IN BLOOD AND ADDRESSED TO ALL. IF EVER THERE WAS A VERSE THAT HAS LIGHTENED THE PATH TO HEAVEN FOR MULTITUDES IT’S JOHN 3:16. IF THERE WAS EVER A VERSE THAT SATAN WOULD LIKE TO BLOT OUT OF THE BIBLE, IT WOULD BE JOHN 3:16. IT IS A VERSE THAN MAKES HELL TREMBLE.
IF I ONLY HAD ONE SHOT, ONE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH YOU, THEN, I TOO WOULD TAKE YOU TO THIS VERSE, AND I WANT TO TAKE MY REMAINING TIME TO TELL YOU WHY.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND:
THIS PASSAGE CENTERS AROUND A CONVERSATION THAT JESUS HAS WITH A MAN NAMED NICODEMUS. NICODEMUS WAS A LEADER OF THE PEOPLE. HE WAS A PHARISEE AND A MEMBER OF THE JEWISH RULING CLASS. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE AT THIS TIME, THIS GROUP THAT NICODEMUS BELONGED TO, WAS ONE OF THE VERY GROUPS THAT OPPOSED JESUS AND WOULD LATER LEAD TO HIS EXECUTION.
NICODEMUS WISHES TO HAVE AN AUTHENTIC CONVERSATION WITH JESUS, AND WE CAN RECOGNIZE THIS BECAUSE HE COMES TO JESUS BY NIGHT, PROBABLY ON A SECLUDED STREET IN TOWN BY HIMSELF FOR THIS CONVERSATION. IF HE WANTED TO TRY TO TRAP JESUS HE WOULD HAVE HAD THE CONVERSATION DURING THE DAY WITH PLENTY OF WITNESSES.
JESUS TAKES CONTROL OF THE CONVERSATION RIGHT FROM THE START. NICODEMUS TREATS JESUS WITH RESPECT AND IN RETURN JESUS RESPECTS NICODEMUS’ HONESTY BY IMMEDIATELY GETTING TO THE MEAT OF THE CONVERSATION IN VERSE 3.
JOHN 3:3: In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
NOW THAT TERM “BORN AGAIN” PRODUCED THE SAME QUESTION FOR NICODEMUS AS IT DOES FOR SOME OF YOU TODAY, “HOW CAN A PERSON BE BORN AGAIN?” “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN.” IN FACT JESUS USES THE REST OF THIS PASSAGE THROUGH TO VERSE 21 TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR NICODEMUS, AND US.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “BORN AGAIN”? IT HAS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC IN CHRISTIANITY FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THERE ARE THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF CHRISTIANITY THAT WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH “BORN AGAIN” THEOLOGY. SOME USE THE TERM “BORN AGAIN” AS A MEANS TO IDENTIFY MORE CONSERVATIVE FUNDAMENTAL DENOMINATIONS OR PARTS OF DENOMINATIONS, SOME IDENTIFY CHARISMATIC MOVEMENTS UNDER THE “BORN AGAIN” UMBRELLA.
ESSENTIALLY THOUGH I BELIEVE THAT TO BE “BORN AGAIN” IS RELATIONAL IN NATURE. THE CORE OF THIS RELATIONSHIP IS FOUND IN JOHN 3:16. NOW LET ME PRESENT TO YOU THE GODD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST, AND WHAT I BELIEVE THE BIBLE TEACHES WHEN JESUS SAYS, “YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.
POINT ONE: WE ARE LOST IN SIN
THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU IS WHAT OUR PRESENT RELATIONSHIP IS WITH GOD. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WE ARE “LOST” IN TRESPASSES AND SIN. TO BE LOST IS A SCARY THING. I REMEMBER FISHING WITH MARCEL LAST YEAR AND JUST BEING SLIGHTLY SEPARATED FROM HIM. I COULD STILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND WAS TRYING TO MAKE MY WAY TO HIM, BUT I JUST COULODN’T SEE HIM. I KNEW I WAS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BUT BECAUSE I COULDN’T SEE HIM OR THE ROAD I HAD A PANICY FEELING INSIDE. IT WAS ONLY WHEN I SAW THE MAN WHO KNEW WHERE WE WERE THAT I RELAXED IN HIS LEADERSHIP.
LUKE 19:10: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
BUT YOU MAY THINK, I’M NOT LOST. I KNOW WHERE I AM. I DON’T FEEL SCARED, NERVOUS OR PANICY. HOW CAN I BE LOST?
TO BE LOST SPIRITUALLY IS QUITE DIFFERENT THAN BEING LOST PHYSICALLY. MOST PEOPLE DON’T RECOGNIZE IT AT ALL.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
TO BE LOST SPIRITUALLY IS TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF A NEED OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, AND MORE IMPORTANT, TO HAVE NO DESIRE TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST. ALL COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS CUT OFF, AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE TIME OF THE FALL.
SO WHO IS SPIRITUALLY LOST? WHO DOESN’T HAVE THIS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? THE ANSWER IS, ALL OF US. PAUL TELLS US THIS IN ROMANS CHAPTER 3. HEAR HIS WORDS.
ROMANS 3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
NOW WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT ALL OF HUMANITY ARE IN THIS LOST CONDITION. IT’S THE NATURE INSIDE US THAT DRAWS US TO SIN. THE NATURE THAT MAKES US TRY TO DEMINISH EVIL BY CALLING IT A DIFFERENT NAME. SOME CHOOSE TO CALL IT “HUMAN NATURE”, THE BIBLE CALLS IT WHAT IT IS, “SINFUL NATURE.” IT DRAWS US TO KNOWINGLY AND UNKNOWINGLY, DO WHAT IS WRONG.
WE ARE ALL LOST, MEN & WOMEN, BOYS & GIRLS, YOUNG & OLD. EVEN CHILDREN ARE BORN WITH LOST NATURES. IF YOU LOOK IN THE SCRIPTURES THOUGH, THERE IS CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT JESUS HAS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILDREN, AND INDICATES THAT SHOULD CHILDREN DIE IN INFANCY, OR EARLY CHILDHOOD, AND I BELIEVE WITHOUT THE MENTAL CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE SIN NATURE, WILL GO TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD. NOW WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT AGE IS, AND IT COULD BE RELATIVE DEPENDING ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHILD, BUT I BELIEVE THAT CHILDREN MUST BE TAUGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A DECISION FOR CHRIST FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.
POINT TWO: IF WE ARE ALL LOST, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
IF WE ARE ALL LOST AND THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WE ARE, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? WELL THE ANSWER TO THAT IS SIMPLE. NOTHING. WE CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT OUR STATE OF SPIRITUAL LOSTNESS.
IF WE ARE PHYSICALLY LOST, IN MOST CASES, THERE IS LITTLE WE CAN DO TO BE FOUND. WE CAN MAKE SIGNS, POSSIBLY WALK IN SOME DIRECTION, FIND A ROAD OR SOMETHING, BUT IN ALL CASES WHERE SOMEONE IS LOST, THEY FORM SEARCH PARTIES AND HAVE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR THE LOST ONES AND IT IS THE SEARCH PARTIES THAT FIND THE PEOPLE.
IN OUR LOST SPIRITUAL CONDITION THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO BE FOUND. TO BE LOST IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY DEAD. PAUL SAYS THIS IN EPHESIANS.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
WHEN A PERSON IS DEAD THEY CAN DO NOTHING FOR THEMSELVES. ALL LIFE SIGNS ARE GONE. THEY ARE HELPLESS.
POINT THREE: WHAT IS THE OUTCOME OF BEING LOST?
THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF PHYSICALLY BEING LOST AND NOT FOUND IS DEATH. LESLIE HAS SERVED ON SEARCH PARTIES WHERE THIS WAS THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY. THE OUTCOME OF BEING SPIRITUALLY LOST IS DEATH AS WELL. SPIRITUAL DEATH.
ROMANS 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
EPHESIANS 2:12: 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
IN OUR LOST STATE THEN WE ARE SEPARATE FROM CHRIST, EXCLUDED FROM THE CITIZENSHIP OF THE KINGDOM, WHICH MEANS HEAVEN, WITHOUT HOPE, AND BOUND FOR ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD. YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH DOESN’T SAVE YOU, YOUR FAMILY HISTORY DOESN’T SAVE YOU, YOUR BAPTISM DOESN’T MAKE YOU PART OF THE KINGDOM. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY FOR A LOST PERSON TO BE FOUND.
POINT FOUR: IF I ONLY HAD TWO MINUTES THIS IS WHAT I WOULD SAY:
I WOULD WANT YOU TO KNOW FOUR THINGS THAT ARE ALL GIVEN IN JOHN 3:16. ANDY STANLEY BROUGHT THIS OUT SO WELL IN A VIDEO SERIES WE’RE STUDYING.
1. GOD LOVED: GOD LOVES US WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE.
JEREMIAH 31:3: The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
THERE IS NOTHING YOU COULD DO THAT WOULD MAKE GOD STOP LOVING YOU. HE LOVED US EVEN WHEN WE DIDN’T KNOW HE EXISTED
1 JOHN 4:10: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
2. GOD GAVE: GOD SENT HIS ONLY SON TO DIE FOR YOU AND ME. IT’S ONE THING FOR YOU TO GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR SOMEONE, BUT HOW MUCH MORESO THAT YOU WOULD GIVE YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER’S LIFE FOR SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T CARE ABOUT YOU AT ALL. THAT’S WHAT GOD DID WITH THE CROSS.
3. BELIEVE: WE MUST BELIEVE THAT HE LOVED US AND WANTS A RELATIONSHIP WITH US. THIS “BELIEVE” IS MORE THAN JUST HEAD KNOWLEDGE. IT’S GOING TO DRAW YOU TO AN ACTION.
4. RECEIVE: YOU MUST ACCEPT JESUS INOT YOUR HEART AS LORD AND SAVIOR. YOU MUST DETERMINE THAT YOU WANT THE LOVE GOD HAS TO OFFER. THE HOPE THE BIBLE SAYS THAT CAN BE YOURS. JESUS SAID THAT I’VE COME SO THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY. A SECURE HOME, AND A SECURE ETERNITY IN HEAVEN. RECEIVING CHRIST MEANS THAT YOU WANT TO WALK WITH HIM, AND ENJOY THE BLESSING OF HIS GRACE.
CONCLUSION:
A LITTLE GIRL, ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD, WITH A BIT OF A LISP, WAS GOING DOOR TO DOOR, SELLING TICKETS TO A DANCE. SHE WENT TO THE DOOR OF A MINISTER AND KNOCKED ON IT. “YOU WANNA BUY “THOME” TICKETS TO THE “FIREMANTH’S DANTH?” SHE ASKED? “WHEN IS IT?” THE MINISTER REPLIED. “I DUNNO” “WHERE IS IT?” “I DUNNO.” “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” “YETH” SHE REPLIED “YOU’RE THE CREATURE FROM THE CHURCH.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE SELLING” HE REPLIED. “LOOK MISTHTER. I’M THELLIN TICKETHS. I DON’T KNOW NOTHIN’ ABOUT THE DANTH. I’M NOT GOIN MYTHELF. BUT IF YOU WANT THOME TICKETHS, HERE THEY ARE!
