Changing Light Bulbs
John 3: 1-17 February 24, 2002
Several weeks ago there was an email going around entitled “How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb,” I thought about that this week as I was preparing the message…
You may have read the email or heard about it, but I want to share some of it with you this morning… So,
How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?
· Pentecostal: Ten – One to change the bulb & nine to pray against the spirit of darkness
· Presbyterians: None – The lights will go off & on at predestined times
· Roman Catholics: None – Candles only
· Baptists: At least 15 – One to change the bulb and three committees to approve the change & decide who brings the potato salad & fried chicken (I thought that should be the Methodists.)
· Episcopalians: Three – One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was
· Methodists: Undetermined – Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish
· Lutherans: None – Lutherans don’t believe in change
· Amish: What’s a light bulb
I’m not sure who wrote that and what denomination they might be, if any, but this analogy pretty much sums up the different beliefs of various denominations, doesn’t it?
When I first read this, I enjoyed it until I came to the Methodist part – and at that point, I became a little offended… I asked several of you what you thought about it & you liked how it depicted the Methodist – so I went back & read it again, and after second thought, I have to agree with you – I also like how it depicts the Methodist…
It said, “Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved – you can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb – Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday, bring the bulb of your choice.” – I interpose that to mean, “No matter who you are or what condition you’re in, you’re welcome to worship with the Methodist – come as you are, we accept you in the love of Christ… That’s not a bad message to preach, is it?
Come as you are! After all, isn’t that the gospel – Isn’t that the message that Jesus Christ preached? Come as you are! I think it is…
The only problem is that so many people don’t understand the message… they don’t understand what it means to “Come as you are…” And because they don’t understand the message, many will miss the message…
In our gospel lesson this morning, we have the story of Nicodemus who comes to Jesus in the dark of night to discuss a few things… (Children, this is the Biblical “Nick at night…”)
We’re not sure why he chose to come at night, we can only speculate – perhaps the night symbolizes the darkness that surrounded Nicodemus’ heart & soul…
The Bible says that Nicodemus was no ordinary citizen… He was a religious Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, a Sanhedrin – A man who committed his life to studying & obeying the law… but somehow in all of his teachings & religion, he had missed the message…
Nicodemus had head knowledge, but he was lacking heart knowledge… He had a lot of religion – but no relationship…
Does that sound familiar? There are millions of religious people sitting in churches this morning who are as lost as Nicodemus because they have head knowledge, but no heart knowledge…
Many people get involved with church, but not with Christ… People need to understand that the church can’t save you – only a relationship with Christ can save you…
There is no doubt that religion (the church) will clean you up… it’ll make you look real good – but that’s only head knowledge…
If a person is to be saved, his heart has to be changed – and that comes only from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ…
That’s the message Jesus was preaching to Nicodemus… Nicodemus, the seeker, came seeking answers about religion & Jesus told him, “It’s not about religion – it’s all about a relationship…” Being born again is a God thing – It’s all about the grace of God, not the grace of man…
We’ve all heard jokes about people showing up at the pearly gates seeking entrance into heaven… Some of them bring a smile to your face but they’re all based on the assumption that we must do something to get into heaven… People are shocked to hear that entrance into heaven is not based on what they do… It’s based on the “Grace of God…”
Grace goes beyond our comprehension… By our human nature, we want to merit God’s favor… We want to be the ones that get us into heaven…
Many people envision God holding a balance weight in His hand & think that the scales tell the tale… Or they envision God having a big book with our names on a page… & every time we do a good deed, God puts a check mark by our name & every time we do a bad deed, God puts a check mark by our name… And whether we get into heaven or not depends on the number of good marks verses the bad marks…
That’s not how God’s plan works… If you think like this, it’s time to change your light bulb…
Jesus said, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born again…” That’s God’s plan – you must be born again…
Jesus tells Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit… What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit…”
Nicodemus didn’t understand this – He was struggling with the idea of a man being born again – he couldn’t understand how a grown man could be born again…
President Jimmy Carter made the statement during his election that he was a “born again Christian…” It sounds kind of radical doesn’t it… I usually think of a Baptist when I hear the words “born again Christian…” But it’s not a Baptist thing, it’s not a radical thing, IT’S A CHRISTIAN THING… for you can’t be a Christian without being born again…
2 Corinthians 5: 17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (or creation); old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new…”
What does it mean to be born again? Well, it doesn’t mean turning over a new leaf – it’s not like going back on a diet for the umpteenth time – it’s not about a set of new resolutions – it’s not saying to yourself, “well, I’ve got to work on my morals…”
You couldn’t have got more moral than Nicodemus… If anyone “deserved” eternal life, it would appear that Nicodemus had all the right qualifications… He seems worthy of eternal life… But the scripture reminds us that salvation is not about human effort or merit…
Position does not save you… Nicodemus held a distinguished religious position… Being a pastor doesn’t save you… Being a Sunday school teacher doesn’t save you… Being a choir director doesn’t save you… Being a member of a church doesn’t save you… Being a good mom or dad doesn’t save you… Being born again is not about positions…
Popularity does not save you… The name Nicodemus means well liked or popular… He was respected in his community… He was recognized as a spiritual leader… He was popular… But popularity does not save you… Being born again is not about popularity…
Prestige & Piety does not save you… Nicodemus possessed both… He was a man of dignity & a man of righteousness… He lived his life studying scripture & doing the right things… He spent his life fasting & praying, studying the law & studying the scripture… He was religious – but he was lost… Being born again is not about prestige & piety…
Being born again is not about human efforts – it’s about a personal relationship which is being born from above… New birth is not something we do, it’s something God does through the power of the Holy Spirit… and it’s a miraculous thing…
Being born again is an intervention from God… God brings us back to life as new people in the spirit… He changes us… This supernatural act of God takes the Holy Spirit & implants the Spirit into our hearts – He gives us a heart transplant… It causes us to be a changed creature…
Friends, many of us, like Nicodemus, don’t understand it… I had a conversation with one of you & you were telling me that you didn’t think you were good enough to get into heaven… I agree… You aren’t good enough to get to heaven… But neither am I… In fact, none of us are good enough to get into heaven, but “thanks be to God,” being good enough doesn’t have anything to do with it… It’s all about changing the light bulb… It’s about being born again…
I read a story about an instant cake mix that was a big flop… The instructions said all you had to do was add water & bake… The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell – until their research discovered that the public felt uneasy about a cake mix that required only water… Apparently, people thought it was too easy…
So the company altered the formula & changed the directions to add an egg in addition to the water… The idea worked & sells increased…
That story reminds me of how people react to the plan of salvation… To them, it sounds too easy & simple to be true, even though the Bible says (Eph 2: 8), “For by grace you have been saved through faith, this is not your own doing; it is the gift from God – not the results from works…”
Unlike the cake mix manufacturer, God has not changed His “formula” to make salvation more marketable… The gospel we proclaim has nothing to do with being good enough…
That’s the message that Jesus had for Nicodemus… That’s the plan that God has for us… For Jesus told Nicodemus the words that have become known as the “Gospel in a nutshell…” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life…” (John 3:16)
What caused Jesus to speak these famous words? It was His concern for a very religious man whose soul was lost to fires of hell…
We have the opportunity this morning to change the light bulb… How many Christians does it really take to change a light bulb? Just one – His name is Jesus Christ…
You & I have been born into a world of bondage – a bondage of sin & death… But we have been given the opportunity to leave behind this world & be born into a new world… To be born from above – to change our citizenship – and to claim our new home for all eternity…
Have you been born again? Don’t tell me how good you are… don’t tell me about your religion… Our founder, John Wesley would always ask the question, “How is it with your soul?” That’s the real question we need to answer this morning! How is it with your soul?
What we have this morning is a hard lesson to learn… The lesson is that salvation is easy – but we make it hard… Salvation is not about us – it’s about God…
We’re worried about being good enough to get into heaven… we worry about our religion – do I read my Bible enough – do I spend enough time in prayer – do I do enough good deeds – do I go to church enough – do I tithe enough? Please, please, please, don’t misunderstand me, all of these things are important & none of us do enough of it…
But many of us are so worried about what we’re doing, that we forget what God has done… We make it hard, God makes it easy… All we really need is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ & these others things will come…
I’ve seen 70 year old men & women walk down the isle & accept Christ for the first time… They’ve been pillars in the church, taught Sunday school for 20 years – they were known as prayer warriors – they read their Bible, they had memorized scripture, they had lived a good moral life… They were religious – but they were lost…
And then one night at a Methodist revival, a light bulb lit up in their heads & they realized in their hearts – they didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ… Wow!
Friends, don’t make it hard – Salvation is easy! Christ didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, yet we spend our lives worrying about whether we’re good enough to get into heaven… No! God sent His Son Jesus into the world so that the world may be saved through Him… Through a personal relationship with Him – that means you have to know Him, personally!
Being born again is not about religion – it’s about a relationship with Jesus Christ… And that’s the best part of being a Christian – having that personal relationship with Christ…
If you don’t have that personal relationship with Christ, maybe it’s time to change your light bulb… Christ would love to be the light of your life…
This is the Word of the Lord for this day!
Amen & amen.
Rev. Mike DuBose
Newhebron United Methodist Church
Newhebron, MS
