Saint Nicholas And Jesus (Nicodemus)

It was developed as a separate 24-hour channel devoted to television of the last 40 years. He had such programs as:

• I love Lucy

• Bewitched

• I dreamed of Jeannie

• Beverly hillbillies

• Brady bunch

• Happy days

• Mary Tyler Moore

And etc.

One of the things I watched is the KEITH OBERMAN SHOW.

LET ME TELL YOU WHY I LIKED THAT PROGRAM?

Keith would talk about a person He considers to be THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!

Let me illustrate:

• If you were asked who is the WORST PERSON YOU HAVE EVER CAME INTO CONTACT with whom would you name? (Wives do not look at your husband…that is a dead giveaway!

• If you were asked who is the rudest person you ever met was, WHO WOULD YOU SAY? (Do not look at your children. That is also a dead giveaway!

• If you were asked who is the most fascinating person you ever met was, WHO WOULD YOU SAY? (Fellows this is a good time to look at your wife and smile!

• If you were asked who the best preacher you ever heard preach God’s Word was, WHO WOULD YOU SAY? (Do not start scratching your head and looking like you do not know. That is also a dead giveaway!

Jesus met some fascinating people. If you were to ask the Lord who was the MOST FASCINATING PERSON HE EVER MET WAS, He might say that it was a man by the name of Nicodemus who came to him by night. Let me explain…

• Nicodemus was one of the most powerful and influential men in all of Israel during this time period in which Christ was here on earth.

• Nicodemus was a wealthy, powerful, religious man

• Jesus refers to Nicodemus as a “Master of Israel” which means he was a MASTER TEACHER

• Nicodemus was an educated man, but despite his learning, there were some things this man did not know

One night this rich, powerful, educated man found himself alone in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ asking some very important questions.

One of the reasons that educated people are intelligent is because they ask questions.

Asking questions…

• It shows you want to learn

• It also may give you the answer to something you do not know.

Let me illustrate.

Illus: The Chevy Nova was a relatively successful American car for many years. Encouraged by U.S. sales, Chevrolet began to market the Nova throughout the world. Unfortunately, the Nova did not sell well in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Additional ads were ordered and marketing efforts were stepped up. The sales remained stagnant. Sales directors were baffled. The car had sold well in the American market; why wasn’t it selling now Mexico and Latin American countries? Humm!

They discovered the answer, it was rather embarrassing. They did not ask what Nova meant in Spanish. In Spanish Nova means “Don’t go”!!! So the Latin people were not going to buy a car that would NOT GO! If the Chevrolet people just had stopped and asked what NOVA meant, it would have saved them a lot of money.

It pays to ask questions! You can learn a lot by asking questions!

Nicodemus had some problem with this phrase of being, “Born Again!”

Births have always fascinated us.

One of the difficult problems we parents have is explaining to our children how they are born.

Illus: A mother who dreaded the day she would have to explain about child birth decided she would let her children watch a special program on PBS showing the birth of a baby.

• The mom thought it would be a good starting point for answering questions about the facts of life.

• As her five-year-old boy studied the baby coming out of the birth canal, he asked, "Mom, does that hurt?"

• "Oh, yes, it does," she said, remembering her difficult deliveries.

• "Wow," he continued in awe, "Does it hurt the mother also?"

Nicodemus wanted to learn something about the SPIRITUAL BIRTH that we must all have to enter heaven.

The first thing the Lord teaches Nicodemus…

I. HE MUST BE BORN AGAIN

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE, “BORN AGAIN”?

Nicodemus was confused about being BORN AGAIN!!!

We men have a different perspective on child birth.

For example…

• You will never hear a man say to his wife, "Boy, you're lucky. I sure wish men could experience the miracle of childbirth."

• However you might hear him say to his wife, “You think the baby will come before Monday Night Football starts?”

• You might hear a man say, “If you think this hurts, I should tell you about the time I twisted my ankle playing basketball.”