Three Reasons to Thank God
Give Thanks Part 2
John 3:1-15
Today, we are continuing our message series, Give Thanks.
As we approach Thanksgiving, we want to prepare our hearts for gratitude toward God.
God does not change.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God is always holy, just, loving, merciful, and forgiving.
And that is a good reason to give thanks to God.
God who is perfect, cannot change and become imperfect.
And that is good news.
However, we are imperfect.
That is why change is good for us.
Change gives us the chance to become more like God.
The passage that we read today tells us about three changes that God brings into our lives.
It says that we should thank God for these changes that He brings to our lives.
Therefore, let us stop and ponder about these changes that God brings into our lives.
And let us take time to give thanks to God for them.
I. We must thank God for giving us life (vv. 1-4).
Verses 1-2 say this.
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Nicodemus was a man of the upper class, conservative in his beliefs, and definitely interested in Jesus’ teaching.
As a Pharisee, he belonged to the strict religious sect of Judaism.
As a member of the ruling council, he was a powerful person.
He wanted to talk to Jesus because he heard about the miracles that Jesus performed.
Therefore, he came to Jesus to obtain more information.
He was cautious, but open-minded, and ready to learn.
Nicodemus came by night to aske Jesus some questions.
He showed great respect to Jesus.
Yet, his understanding of God was very limited.
Jesus started His conversation by talking about something that Nicodemus already knew: the first or the physical birth.
Verses 3-4 say this.
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could even see the kingdom of God without a rebirth.
Birth is our mode of entrance into the world.
But that is not enough.
We must be born again.
However, Nicodemus’ thinking was very materialistic.
He could only understand the first or the physical birth.
One thing is clear.
God brought us into existence from nonexistence.
He brought us into being from nonbeing.
Once we were not, and then we were.
This is what Jesus meant when He talked about the first birth or the physical birth.
Nicodemus believed that God created him.
He believed what King David wrote in Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:13-14 say this.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
We take our bodies for granted.
But think about it.
Our bodies are so complex.
From a single cell, over a nine months period, over a hundred trillion cells appear until a body is delivered.
From that tiny little spec of a cell, the whole body emerges.
Our bodies are wonderfully and fearfully made.
But that is not all.
Not only they are complex, but they are also made with purpose.
This is why we cannot stop only looking at our physical body.
We must look through it and beyond it.
This is what I mean.
Imagine that you have a telescope in your home.
And you admire how it is designed and how it is shaped.
You admire all these shiny things.
You say, “This is a beautiful piece of whatever it is!”
And then you bend down and look through the lens, and see all the stars in the sky.
And you see its purpose.
You are not just looking at it and admiring its design.
But you are looking through it and see its purpose.
Our bodies are wonderfully and fearfully made.
We are not just physical bodies that God brought into this world.
We are unique individuals with unique purpose.
This is why I believe that only Christians can truly have a healthy self-image.
It is because only Christians can see the true purpose for which God has made us.
There was a time when we did not exist.
God brought us into existence for a purpose.
He formed us with a purpose.
This is the first change that God did for us.
We must thank God for giving us life.
II. We must thank God for giving us new life (vv. 5-8).
Verses 5-8 say this.
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”
Jesus talked about the second birth or the spiritual birth.
Just as we were born physically, we must be born spiritually.
We must be born of water and of the Spirit.
When a baby is born, a mother’s water breaks and the baby will be born through water.
This is the first birth or the physical birth.
We must also have a second birth or the spiritual birth.
When we trust Jesus as our personal Savior and the Lord, we come alive spiritually.
This is the spiritual birth.
This is what Jesus meant when He talked about the second birth or the spiritual birth.
We first move from non-existence from existence.
Then we move from a physical existence to a spiritual existence.
Just like the first change, the second change is also done by God.
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
Just as our mothers gave us physical birth, the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual birth.
The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and convicts us of our sins and our need for the Savior.
And He help us to put our trust in Jesus, and we are born through the Spirit.
Unless we are born through the Spirit and become alive spiritually, we cannot have new life or the abundant life.
And this is the message that Jesus tried to convey to Nicodemus.
Even though people are physically alive, they are spiritually dead because of their sins.
This is why Jesus came to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, so that those of us who believe in Him will have a new birth, a second birth, or a spiritual birth.
A caterpillar will have a new life after its transformation into a butterfly.
Similarly, people who experience this second, spiritual birth will live a brand-new life.
Those of us who have received Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord have experienced this change.
We have experienced a spiritual birth and we are living a new life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus stated that the new life cannot be achieved by legalism or merely outward actions.
It requires an inner change.
New life is given only by a direct act of God.
Nicodemus had difficulty understanding this truth.
This is why Jesus used the image of wind to help him understand.
The origin and the destination of the wind are unknown.
But we cannot deny its reality.
The new birth through the Spirit is difficult to understand.
However, its reality is undeniable.
Sometimes this transformation takes a long time.
Even though transformation into a spiritual being is instantaneous, living a transformed life can take a long time to be realized.
In other words, becoming a Christian is an event, and it happens instantaneously.
The moment when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are transformed.
However, living a transformed life is a process.
Just as a baby will grow into maturity slowly, a Christian’s transformation also takes time.
But God changes us constantly to live out our new life.
Because of Him, we can live a life with a real purpose and meaning.
We can live an abundant life here in this world.
We must thank God for giving us new life.
III. We must thank God for giving us eternal life (vv. 9-15).
Verses 9-13 say this.
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Nicodemus asked Jesus to help him understand.
Jesus implies that Nicodemus should have known about the new birth.
People who read the Scriptures should understand what Jesus was saying.
Jesus talked about earthly things, such as the wind.
If Nicodemus could not understand this earthly truth, how would he understand spiritual truth?
Verses 14-15 say this.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus talked about the event in Numbers 21.
Jesus did not elaborate on the details of this event.
But this is what happened.
As the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, they became impatient and they spoke against God and against Moses.
God sent poisonous snakes among them.
They bit the people and many died.
The people came to Moses and asked him to do something.
Moses prayed to God and God told Moses to make a snake and put it up on a pole.
Anyone who was bitten can look at it and live.
So, Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.
All who were bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake lived.
Like the snake that was lifted up in the desert, Jesus would be “lifted up” on a cross.
Whoever looks at Jesus in faith will receive God’s forgiveness.
Their sins will be forgiven and they will receive eternal life.
Receiving eternal life is the third change that God brings to our lives.
Those who believe in Jesus will enter into eternal life in heaven when they die.
We will experience this glorious transformation one day when we leave this world.
We are imperfect right now.
We have illnesses and weaknesses.
But they will all go away one day.
Some of us have lost our loved ones.
But we cannot only look at that event.
We must look through it and beyond it.
We will experience this transformation when we die.
This is another reason why we should give thanks to God.
When we leave this world that is filled with sorrow and sufferings, we will enter into that perfect world where our perfect God dwells.
To make that possible, Jesus came into this world, took up all our sins, and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
If we believe in Him, we can enjoy new life with purpose while we live in this world.
And when we leave this world, we can have eternal life in heaven.
We must thank God for giving us eternal life.
Conclusion
On May 15, 1959, God brought me into this world.
God gave me a life.
I enjoyed my life as a youth, but then I realized that something was missing in my life.
When I turned 20, I realized that I was living without a real purpose.
I was surviving rather than really living with a purpose.
That is when I decided to commit my life to God.
I became a Jesus-follower.
God gave me reasons to live.
God gave me new life.
Now, I am 63 years old.
I know that my body is getting old.
I know that God will call me home one day.
And I will see Him face to face and I will live with Him eternally.
I cannot wait.
God formed us in the past.
God is transforming us right now.
And He will transform us in the future when we enter into eternal life.
We must thank God for these transformations.
