On a practical level I really do like to garden, those of you who have listened to me preach for a while have probably heard me blather on about my vege garden, it’s looking great at present, I’ve got courgettes growing, tomatoes vines just starting to bear fruit, I’ve already harvested raspberries, lettuce, my peas are about a week away, leeks are running to seed, and I’ve given horse radish a go for the first time and in among it all Rochelle has planted some swan plants because we both enjoy seeing them demolished by caterpillars that become monarch butterfly’s.
Yesterday I harvested my garlic, I love the way this herb grows, you plant it on the shortest day and harvest it on the longest. In on the 20th of June or there about and I was a little late getting it out, but only by about a week. A tip to the harvesting of garlic and any true bulb is to harvest the whole plant and allow the goodness all that energy that is stored in the stork and leaves to be drawn back into the bulb. Allow the tops to dry of before separating the stork from the useful bit. The new life in the bulb actually comes from the leafy bit from the bit above it.
My sermon today is also about new life from above, but not as something that is attached to us but something of God that comes from God to us.
‘New’ is the thing I’ll be looking at in this sermon and the next . Though I will not be talking about new years resolutions and new adventures that 2012 may bring but new life in Christ. I’m going to start with this passage from John’s gospel, read John 3:1-10.
This bloke Nicodemus had come to see Jesus at night time, the reason for his visit at this time of day was unclear, was he afraid of what others in his sect might say, was this the normal time to drop in and see someone? All this is a bit uncertain, was Jesus place on his way home to his place, we don’t know why he came at night. Now Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and a member of the Sanhedrin which was the Jewish ruling council, meaning he was one of a group of seventy men who had jurisdiction given to them by the Romans over Jewish civil and religious matters.
Nicodemus is portrayed in the gospel as being a straight up kind of bloke who was genuinely interested along with other members of this ruling council in Jesus and his teaching. It appears that at this visit he wanted to talk with Jesus, Rabbi to Rabbi, teacher to teacher.
His introduction to Jesus is interesting in that he made a kind of confession as to who he believed Jesus to be, as he 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.” The ‘we’ Nicodemus was referring to was probably the rest of the Sanhedrin who were in favour of Jesus teaching and miracles, those who were not challenged by his authority but wanted to better understand who Jesus was as a teacher.
Then Jesus drops a bit of a dazzling statement: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Nicodemus obviously got taken a bit aback by this as his reply was a little like we would say “ya what?” Nicodemus asks “How can a man be born again when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born?”
That last little sentence was a bit of a no brainer really, no a man can’t enter into his mothers womb to be born again, yuck.
So being born again is something that Jesus is addressing as being completely different, this is not about a physical thing, about worldly stuff this is about the kingdom of God, not the backyard of man, this is about the spiritual not physical.
In Jesus words “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 where 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.”
Just as a follow on, I want to make something about this passage clear before we spend a bit more time looking at it. When scripture reads Spirit with a capital letter ‘S’ it is referring to The Holy Spirit, The Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit is a person of God, part of the trinity of our understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Whereas in the lower case ‘s’ spirit is referring tin this instance to the spirit of man though it may also refer to a spirit that is neither of God or man.
We humans are spiritual creatures, as well as physical creatures, we are created in the image of God and are spiritual beings, this is not something we become it is something that we are, but when the Spirit of God enters our lives we are born again as His Spirit interacts with our being.
Spiritual rebirth involves our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and saviour and our willingness to confess our sins and have them forgiven by him.
This is as good as it gets, We get to start over. We are born again. For those of you who were wondering what a born again Christian is that is born again in a nutshell. What was it Jesus said, “Born of water and The Spirit.”
1) This leaves us with a few questions; the word again, throws up a couple points because in the Greek language this word “anôthen” for again also reads ‘from above’. So lets have a wee look at that; ‘you must be born from above’. This sits with the Holy Spirit descending onto Jesus in the form of a dove at his baptism by John the Baptist.
It also sits well with Jesus words before he ascended into heaven as told in Luke’s gospel, “You are witnesses of these things, I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:48). We know that this power from on high came to the disciples as they waited on the day of Pentecost. Jesus himself said this to his disciples also, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1: 4b-5).
2) The term born of water also raises a few questions, well there are quite a few answers to these question. Let’s have a look at them all and then I’ll tell you what I favour as an explanation. (Use fingers to count off the five points)
a) That being born of “water” refers to natural birth, the waters break and the baby is born, and the “Spirit” to the birth from above.
b) The “water refers to the Word of God, if we look at Ephesians 5:25-26 we read; “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…”
c) The “water” refers to baptism; however this contradicts other passages of scripture that tell us that salvation is by faith alone.
d) That the “water’ is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
e) That “water refers to the repentance ministry of John the Baptist.
There are two of these points that have no real counter to them; they are the water referring to natural birth and The Word of God, being water that cleanses us. We are all born by natural means, if we want true life in Christ we hold fast to the teaching that is found in scripture, to the teaching of Jesus, to sound doctrine, to venture outside that is foolhardy.
How would that look in a persons life, well there is quite a number of ways in which people venture outside the soundness of scripture, sound doctrine and away from Jesus teaching. Even well qualified scholars sometimes get it wrong by holding onto the teaching of man above the word of God. Instances being, picking and choosing passages of scripture that may or may not back some personal opinion, choosing to ignore large parts of the gospels (for instance not believing the miracles of Jesus happened); believing that God is like a large loving Father Christmas rather than a Holy Loving God who we should live in reverent awe of, That it is okay to remain living as they did before they came to Christ ignoring His leading rather than being lead by His Spirit so that life change occurs so that they become like Christ. Our desire to follow Christ, live within His teaching is like water that refreshes us, bringing us life.
These things, the desire to be taught and live within the boundaries of the Word of God, living in reverent awe of God, seeking and being lead by the Holy Spirit all occur when we are born again. As the Holy Spirit interacts and gives new birth to our individual spirits, we become alive in Christ, born again.
3) Various things may happen to a person who is born again, born from on high: All involve life change, and while the event that triggers life change may be experienced differently by different Christians, life change occurs. It may be for some that that experience is like a bolt from heaven, the spirit of God envelopes them in a sense of His power, it could be a feeling of The Spirit coming to rest upon them, it could be a change of mind and life direction, it may be a conviction that they are heading down a path that God wants them to leave. However a person is born again it involves God’s Spirit and it will involve life change.
The fruits of the Spirit are evidenced in a person’s life; the gifts of the Spirit may be evidenced in a person’s life, and the person who is born again will seek after the leading of God.
Passages like the ones that follow show what occurs in the person who is born from above’s life.
“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8). The person who is born again allows God to lead them where he would take them; their life comes under his control.
4) The Spirit of God is described as blowing like the wind, incidentally the Greek word for wind ‘pneuma’ is the same as the Greek word for Spirit. The wind is not something we can control and neither is God’s Holy Spirit. But when the Spirit of God is allowed control of our lives he will take us to where he wants us to be. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. As we allow the Spirit from on high to direct us (repeat and highlight that word allow) he will take our lives from the place they were, lost in the world and lead us further into His kingdom.
You have all been born of the water of birth.
Many of you live in the water that is the word of God, quenching your thirst for his direction in your lives, seeking after his path for you.
Many of you have been born of the Spirit from on high, the Holy Spirit of God. At some stage you were made new, born again.
In a moment I am going to pray, by way of response pray the part of the prayer that hits home for you that you want to respond to it, it may be that you don’t wish to respond at all, that’s your choice. If you wish we have a place here where you can come and pray, someone will come and ask if you would like them to pray with you, if you wish to pray alone just let them know.
Lets pray,
Father God, thank you for the life you have given me,
Lord I really want to respond to your love and the grace that I have found in you through Jesus your son. At the start of this year 2012 please accept me as I am.
Thank you for taking me as I am Lord, I pray Lord that you might cloth me with your power from on high, that I might filled one again, that I might be filled for the first time by your Holy Spirit and that he leads me in your ways for your name and kingdoms sake I pray.
In Jesus who taught us about your power from on highs name.
Amen!
