A Better Story | Part Three | Dave Crosby

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

Well. Hey, everybody. How are we doing? All right. It’s so good to see you here today. And they sound great. Just listening to you sing and to– Oh, excuse me– worship the Lord together. And if you are new around here, I just want you to know, every single Sunday, we throw our doors wide open to you and to your family and friends, regardless of where you might be on your spiritual journey. We’re just really glad you’re here, and we just hope that you’ll keep coming back. 

Well, we’re in the series around here, this collection of talks that we’re calling “A Better Story.” And here’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been looking at the Gospel of John. He was a follower of Jesus, Met Jesus when he was about 17-years old. And he had an eyewitness account of the life in the Ministry of Jesus, spent three years with him. And he wrote a bunch of these stories down that he experienced as others would encounter Jesus. And and we’ve been looking at some of these encounters that Jesus had with people and how he helped write a better story in their life. 

And today, I want to talk to you about how Jesus can write a better story, especially for those who have trouble sleeping at night. By show of hands, anybody have trouble sleeping at night? Wow. I got to preach on that. Just a whole series on that, apparently. But hey, me too. Right? So here’s my question for you. What keeps you up at night? I mean, think about — What is it? Maybe you’re worried about something, maybe some gun on your life or maybe it’s your neighbor’s dog? I don’t know. Maybe it’s heartburn. Maybe it’s hot flashes. I don’t know. Maybe it’s your bladder. I don’t know. You don’t have growing pains, but you have going pain. So what’s going on in your world? But maybe by show of hands, how many of you sleep next to someone who snores, right? Oh, yes, yes. So does my wife, Becca. Not that she snores. She sleeps next to somebody that’s snores. 

But honestly, does your mind ever get just swirling and it’s just hard to turn it off at night? Yeah, me too. You know, sometimes it’s just really difficult to shut the engines down and get some rest. There’s things that oftentimes in life will just keep us up at night. And today’s better story is about a guy named Nicodemus, who couldn’t sleep. He had a restless mind. There’s something that was keeping him up at night. He was tossing and he was turning. He’s counting sheep, you know. He’s drinking warm milk. He’s pounding the NyQuil pretty hard, and he just couldn’t sleep. There was nothing that would calm his anxious thoughts. And I don’t know why Nicodemus goes to meet Jesus in the middle of the night. I don’t know, maybe it was because he couldn’t get any one on one time with Jesus in his Google calendar during the day. Probably not. Or maybe it was the fact that he didn’t want to be seen with Jesus in broad daylight because of Jesus’s reputation. Probably so. 

But here’s what I do know about Nicodemus. He was literally the first Nick@Nite. He was, if we’re going to look at it, John Chapter 3… I thought about titling the message Nick@Nite. Here’s the other thing I know about Nicodemus. He wasn’t a kind of, you know, shorts and flip flop kind of guy. It wasn’t like hang loose kind of, you know, kind of guy. He was more of a buttoned up wingtip shoes wearing, three piece suit, afluent academic that thought, “Hey, I’m probably smarter than you.” And he probably was. You know, Nicodemus, he had a very impressive pedigree. His great grandfather was a Jewish ambassador to the Roman Emperor Pompii, and his dad was a decorated and celebrated war hero and general. Even his name, “Nicodemus,” literally means greatness for the people. So from, you know, the very early on in his life, he had some really big shoes to fill. There was a lot of expectations placed upon Nicodemus from the start. And, you know, I would thought about referring to him as Nick in my in my talk today. But, you know, he wasn’t a “Nick” kind of a guy. You know, he wasn’t like a Hey, Danny, you know what’s up? He was more of a. Good morning, Daniel. How are you? You know, kind of a guy. He wasn’t a “hey, you know, Billy, you catch the game last night?” he’s more of a “Hey, William. Did you enjoy reading that book last night?” Kind of a guy. 

So we’re just going to refer to him as Nicodemus today. And I guess it was his his title, his affluence, his intellectual prowess, his, you know, just his pedigree, his heritage that made him easily acceptable in the social country club of the spiritual insiders of his day that were known as the Pharisees. He wasn’t just any Pharisee, though. He was part of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the was the top 70 elite, most highly educated, intelligent and affluent and influential of all Pharisees. So he was part of that Sanhedrin, that insider of all insiders. And in many ways you would think that Nicodemus would be like the last person on earth to go and meet with Jesus in the middle of the night. I mean, this guy, he’s got it all. I mean, he’s got money, he’s got power, he’s got influence. He’s got, you know, a great reputation, prestige, intelligence. 

But he goes to meet Jesus in the middle of the night under the cover of darkness because he couldn’t sleep. Something was missing in this guy’s life. And if I’m. You know, taking a guess here. I think many of you might be able to identify more than you think with this guy, Nicodemus. I mean, there might be some of you here that, you know, when others look at you from the outside looking in. Oh, they’ve got it all together. Oh, man. They have everything. They got the the job. They got the career. They got the girl. They got the guy, they got the family. They got the house. They got the car. They got the retirement plan. Man they’ve got it all going on. But inside you and you alone know there’s still something missing in your life. 

So we pick up the story and John, chapter three goes like this, “There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus, “Rabbi.” He said, ‘We all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.’”

Now, a couple of things just really pop off the page here to me. First of all, when he goes to speak with Jesus, how does he address them as rabbi? Now, this is interesting, especially the credentials that this guy Nicodemus holds. Jesus held none of them. Jesus, you know, had no real formal ministry training. Jesus didn’t go to seminary. Jesus didn’t follow a rabbi for years until he would then go through the process to become a rabbi. Jesus, he didn’t have a master’s of divinity or a doctorate of ministry. He didn’t have a Ph.D.. He was just a simple carpenter from a no name city called Nazareth. But yet, when he talked. When he taught. He spoke and he talked like no one had ever heard before. 

So in this incredibly powerful, smart academic, you know, degrees hanging all over his walls, behind his desk, in his office, he shows up and he addresses Jesus as an equal rabbi, as a term of respect. Here’s the other thing that really just kind of jumps off the page. It says, “Rabbi.” he said, “we all know who-” Who knows? We know this. In other words, “I’m not the only guy that can’t sleep at night. I’ve got some questions. And matter of fact, me and the fellows on the Sanhedrin, we’ve all got some questions. We’re all curious. We’re all wondering who you really are? Like, are you really who you claim to be? Are you really the Messiah? Are you really the one who is sent from God to save the people from their sins? Because, you know, curious minds want to know. Like we all know, like and if you’re not the Messiah, then who are you and where did you come from? We want to know.”

There was a bunch of them talking, but only one had the courage to come and meet face to face with Jesus, with all his doubts, with all of his questions, with all of his skepticism, with all of the cynicism. He was the only one that had the guts, the courage, to come and talk to Jesus face to face. You know what? I think Jesus really likes that. I really think that Jesus like enjoys when people who are full of doubts, who don’t have all the answers, who have lots of questions, hard questions, questions like we heard Cliff talk about today in his story. Like, why God? Why is this going on? Why is this hap–? Why me? Why him? Why her? I mean, don’t you really love. I thought you were the God of love? Why all this pain? Why all this hurt? Why all this chaos? Why all this confusion? Why all this heartbreak that’s going on? I think God loves it when we come to him with honest, sincere questions. With all of our doubts. With all of our skepticism. With all of our struggles and faith. I think Jesus really likes that. 

You know, Jesus said this, “If you seek me. You will find me when you seek me. With all of your…” If you really tease that out, what he’s saying it’s both a head and a heart thing. And so if you’re a doubter today, if you’re a cynic, if you’re skeptical, if you struggle in your faith, if you have more questions than you have answers. Here’s what I want you to know. God loves you. He loves you. He’s so glad you’re on this spiritual journey to kind of figure it out. And not only does God love you, but I love you and we love you. And we’re so glad that you’re here because this is a safe place to discover faith and to ask questions. That’s what you say around here all the time. “Hey, it’s okay not to be okay. But we listen with God’s love, with his grace. You don’t have to stay that way.” Amen? Come on somebody give God some praise today. 

But you know, people like Nicodemus, you know, I met a lot of them. I spent 14 years in higher education to earn a terminal degree in my field. And I’ve met a lot of people like you. A lot of really smart people, so much smarter than me. A lot of intellectuals that could run circles around most of us in this room, in the areas of philosophy and faith, theology. But here’s what I’ve learned. It’s been my experience that people oftentimes will construct intellectual arguments to build the case of why they don’t believe in God or that God exists or that God is good. And those people, they build this wall of intellectualism around a heart that, if you really get to know their story, it’s a heart that’s been wounded. It’s a heart that’s been hurt. It’s a heart that’s been broken. But for those that are just willing to go to God, even with all those questions and doubts and fears and hurt and pain and anger, even cynicism, and go to God honestly with vulnerability, with sincerity. I believe that’s when God deposits seeds of faith in our hearts that when watered with this Holy Spirit, begin to grow and to blossom. And maybe God’s been longing to have some open dialog with some of you in this room on the other side of the camera. And here’s why. Because he wants to heal. What’s hurting and broken. In your life. 

So it’s late and it’s dark. He can’t sleep and he comes to to Jesus with all his questions. But before he could even get the first question out of his mouth, Jesus starts answering him. It’s crazy. And here’s why. Because Jesus knew his questions before he even asked them. You know, the Bible says that God, he knows your thoughts before you think them. God, He knows your words before you speak them. And so when He comes to Jesus with all this stuff going on and why he can’t sleep at night and he continues to toss and turn. And he. Jesus already knew he had doubts. Jesus already knew he had questions. He already knew he had a bunch of spiritual hang ups and church hurt and all this kind of stuff going on. He already knew what he wanted to ask. You know. Who are you? Are you really the Messiah? And if not, where are you from? He knows. That is what Nicodemus wants to ask. But he also knows what he’s about to say isn’t what Nicodemus wanted to hear. 

So Jesus just rocks this guy’s world. And here’s the first thing he says, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth.’” Before he even ask the question. All he said, “Teacher?” Right? All he said, “Rabbi?” 

“I tell you the truth. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Like there’s no like, little warm up to the conversation. I mean, there’s no, like, petty banter. There’s no, like, hey, you see the Mets game last night? Hey, what do you think about the coverage of the Queens funeral? How’s the weather is in? It’s so nice. Can’t wait for the leaves to change. I mean, Jesus, just like –boom– dives into the deep end with this conversation, and he goes really to the matter. Which was a matter of the heart. Jesus wanted to take this conversation right into the deep end, right off the start, which is when you think about it, there’s just no small talk here. He just goes right to the heart of the matter, which was the matter of Nicodemus’ heart. And Jesus says, “Unless you are born again. You cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 

And I love Nicodemus’ response. You can’t miss the context here because I love what he what he says because he’s an older, much older man, much older than Jesus. And I believe he says, kind of with a smile and a little bit of a chuckle and a little bit of a wink. He says this. “What do you mean?” Exclaimed Nicodemus, “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? Smile and wink. It’s like, Jesus. What are you talking about? Kind of sounds a little creepy. What in the world is going on?”

And I love Jesus’s response. That also comes with a smile and a wink. Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can only reproduce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say you must be born again.” Wink and a smile. 

But this shouldn’t shock you, Teacher. You must be born again. Born of both water and the spirit. You see what’s going on? See, water in Scripture is always a symbol of cleansing and the spirit is always a symbol of power. And what Jesus is saying is that if you want to experience the goodness of heaven and the life here after, you must be both born of water and spirit in order to see the kingdom of heaven. And he’s like, you know, “Come on. You’re like the law professor. Like, you teach this stuff entire classes on this stuff. But come on, you should know this, Nicodemus.” I love it. Jesus is kind of just a little bit of a dig right back at him. You’ve got to be born both of water and the spirit in order. To enter the kingdom of heaven and. 

I think Nicodemus… he’s saying to him, “Come on. You know. God desires. To have an intimate relationship with his people. You know, that’s really God’s original design to restore what was lost in the garden when God walked in the coolness of the morning with Adam. There was deep friendship between Adam and God, deep relationship between the creator and his creation. And, you know, you know this, Nicodemus, God will send a Messiah to restore that relationship between him and his creation. You know that religion in and of itself is a dead end street, Nicodemus. Come on you know this better than anybody else on the face of the planet, because you’ve run you up and down that street your whole entire life. You’ve been running hard trying to earn God’s favor, haven’t you, Nicodemus?” 

You see, all Nicodemus knew up until this point was that it was just empty religion and empty ritual and empty routine. You know, some of you might have grown up in a very similar religious system. Can I get an amen from anybody? I think Cliff alluded to that even in his own story. It was just empty. Empty. Did you know that during the intertestamental a period that the time between God last spoke to the last prophet in the Old Testament there was 400 years where God went dark, 400 years when God was silent until that first Christmas when the angel showed up to a 14 year-old girl named Mary. 

And between those intertestamental periods, that 400 year-span, here’s what guys like Nicodemus did and those that were before him. They added rules on top of rules, on top of rules, on top of rules in order to help people not break like the top ten rules. And so by the time Nicodemus gets on the scene, they’ve got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these little man-made rules that they all had to keep. These little spiritual hoops that everybody had to jump through that would just weigh people down. For instance, one of these rules was a woman on the Sabbath was not allowed to look into a mirror. Do you know that? I swear, I’m not making this up, ladies. It was. It was against the law. It was a spiritual violation. It was a sin for a woman to look in the mirror on the Sabbath. You know why? Because if she looked into the mirror and she might see a gray hair, she might be tempted to pluck that gray hair out, which would be considered work and a violation of Sabbath law. So these guys came up with a rule, “Okay, women can’t look in the mirror anymore. Not on the Sabbath.” It’s crazy. Did you know they had another law about chickens? If a chicken laid an egg, let’s not making this up. If a chicken laid an egg on the Sabbath, you could only eat that egg on the Sabbath if you killed the chicken the next day. Because for the chicken to lay the egg before you’d eat the egg, it would be a violation of the Sabbath. I am not making this up. Can you imagine how many chickens were walking around holding it in like, “I got a hold of the egg and then my life depends on it.” So, (raspberries), I don’t know if chickens make that sound or not, but this is crazy. 

And gang, for centuries, this is what religion has turned into. It has become so externalized with a bunch of just man-made rules on top of rules, on top of rules that weigh you down. And Nicodemus knew this better than all of us because he spent his entire life keeping all, you know, a million of these little man-made rules, but he comes to Jesus with a heart that is unsettled. And he knew there had to be something more than “try a little harder, run a little faster, give a little more, and then maybe you earn God’s approval or his attention or his favor.”

See, that’s what religion does to you. It weighs you down. It’s like running a race you can never win. It’s like running a race with no finish line and you just keep running faster or you just keep running longer. But you can never run fast enough and you can never run long enough to win the race of religion, because it has no finish line. So you either run hard, so hard that it kills you, or you finally just throw your hands up in the air and say, “I’m out. I’m done with this religion.” And I think Nicodemus was so tired of running and he was so tired of pretending that he really knew God when he didn’t. I think he…was just exhausted. I’m trying to somehow earn God’s love, to earn God’s favor, to earn God’s grace. And, you know, maybe there’s some of you here. That feel just like him. Maybe that’s how you feel today. Tired of running a race with no finish line. Tired. Exhausted of running a race that you can never win. So you know what you should do? Just get off the treadmill and you know what you’ll find there? Jesus. He’ll say to you, “Are you tired? Are you exhausted? Are you weary? Heavy burden. Come to me. I will give you rest.” You’ll find in Jesus a nice, tall, cold glass of living water that never runs dry. 

You see, Jesus has come to me, like to me not to a religious system, not to a set of rules that you keep, but a relationship, someone that you know and that you follow and that you walk with. I mean, some of you– I mean, if truth be told, you’re wildly successful. You’ve done more than you ever maybe thought you would ever do in life. You’ve accomplished more. You got the job. You got the girl. You got the guy. You got the house. You got the, you know, the great car. You got the club membership, you got the 401k retirement plan. I mean, you not only have this house, but then you’ve got the beach house or maybe you have the lake house, maybe you’ve got the condo. But yet still something deep down inside of you, just like Nicodemus says, “there’s got to be something more to life than this.” And that’s why Nicodemus went under the cover of darkness and met with Jesus on that rooftop that one night, because he knew Jesus would have the answer. And that’s why he was really there that night. 

Jesus as the master communicator, he just knows how to connect with everyone. That’s why if you’ve ever been to a service and you’re like, “Man, that guy up there, read my email because it’s like he’s talking right to me.” Now that’s the Holy Spirit. That’s that’s the Spirit of Jesus. Because Jesus knows how to connect with every single person. That’s what He does. So here he’s talking to this really intelligent law professor of the Old Testament. So he stays with the whole Old Testament theme. 

And he tells Jesus– and Jesus tells Nicodemus this story to really drive his point home. “No one has ever gone to heaven and returned, but the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” To which you’re like, “Bro, Jesus, you just lost me. What in the world? A snake. A pole. What was– I thought we were talking about water and the spirit. The born again. What in the world is this all about?” 

Well, if you were a law professor of the Old Testament like Nicodemus was, you’d know exactly what Jesus was saying. He’s reminding this guy of the story that this guy is probably a million times. He memorized the story he quoted from memory. He doesn’t have to look it up. There’s a story about the Israelites after 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God raises up the Prophet Moses and he delivers the people. Now they’re wandering in the wilderness. And after, like copping an attitude with God for like the hundredth time. After just flaunting their rebellion in God’s face, God finally has enough. And so you know what he does? He sends these venomous serpents, snakes among the people. People are dropping dead left and right. And then God gives Moses the instructions to get a pole and fashion a bronze servant on top of the pole and lift it up. And anyone who looks to the snake that is on. The poor. Will be saved from the venomous snakes on the ground. “Come on. You teach the stuff. You’ve written books on this, Nicodemus. You should know this.” He says, “in the same way, the Son of Man must come and be lifted up that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” That they would be saved. Like “You remember this story, Nicodemus.” And Jesus was saying to him, “There’s coming a day in the not so distant future when I, the Son of Man, will be lifted up. And Nicodemus, everyone who looks to me and believes in me will not parrish.” And then I think just to drive it home, he leans in and kind of puts his hand on his shoulder and whispers in his ears the most profound words ever spoken in human history, “For God so loved the world. That he gave his one and only son. And Nicodemus, anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

You know, it’s football season. Maybe you watched some college games yesterday, you’re gonna to watch some NFL games today. Just like every football season, there’s always that one guy sits in the back of the end zone, those seats, and every time they kick a field goal or point after attempt or there’s a play in the end zone, he stands up and he’s holding a big old poster sign. And what does it say on it? John 3:16. Some people get this tattooed on their body. Some people, they wear it on a chain around their neck. Some people like you, when you write your Christmas cards, you sign them, “Merry Christmas, John. 316” In reference to what Jesus said to Nicodemus that one night, on the rooftop. And on that dark night, Jesus gave Nicodemus words of light and life. 

I just want you to know today. I encourage you. You may not be loved by your family right now, but you loved by my God. I mean, your kids might not love you right now. But your love by your Heavenly Father. Your spouse might not love you right now. But your love by God, your coworkers, and that toxic environment that you work in… They might not love you right now, but you are loved by God. 

You know, value is determined by how much somebody is willing to pay for something. You say, “How much does God love me?” And he loves you this much. That he would send his one and only son who would stretch his arms out on a Roman cross and purchase you your soul with his body and with his blood that was spilled out on that cross. That’s how much God loves you! That’s how valuable you are to God! If you don’t hear me say anything else, hear this. God loves you. God is for you. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. Not your screw ups, not your sins, not your talents, not your past mistakes. Neither height or depth, nor angels nor demons can separate you from the love of God. Oh, I just wish you understood truly how much God really loves you. You’ve been running that religious scheme for too long. Trying to earn his love, trying to earn his attention, trying to earn his approval and favor. But I’m here to tell you, there’s nothing you can do to make God love you. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you less. Because God’s love for you is not based on you or your performance, but it’s based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on a cross 2000 years ago and an empty tomb that he left. Be kind. God loves you. 

You know, it’s interesting to me that of all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, only John references Nicodemus. It’s only John that includes it in his eyewitness account. And not just once… I mean, if you’re kind of like a church person or Bible person, you might be familiar probably familiar with this. But there’s two other occasions that John writes the rest of Nicodemus’ story. The next one was about a year later, after this rooftop Nick@Nite conversation. And after a year, the Sanhedrin, of which Nicodemus was a part, they were just growing tired of Jesus. Sick and tired of him. Sick and tired of his talks. Sick and tired of his miracles. Sick and tired of his popularity. I mean, his Instagram was blowing up. His Twitter was blown up. I mean, this guy had so– Snapchat. I mean, he had it all these followers showing up. He’s doing all these signs and these wonders. And then, by the way, he’s saying some pretty nasty stuff to the Pharisees. In fact, the only nasty thing he ever had to say was to these religious, powerful men who were using it to control people. And so they’re sick and tired of Jesus. They’re like, “Somebody’s got to do something. We’re going to do something.” 

So a year after this conversation, they sent out a group of soldiers to have Jesus arrested. Well, they come back empty handed and they’re like, “What’s going on? Where’s Jesus? Why did you arrest him?” And then John, chapter 7. This is what the soldiers said, “Listen to this. We’ve never heard anyone speak like this,” the guards responded like, “This Jesus is amazing. And you want to kill him like we think he’s the real deal. So if you want him, go get him yourself.”

Well, they’re so ticked off at these guards. They give them a tongue lashing. You’ve been deceived, blah, blah, blah. You’ve been brainwashed. All this stuff. And then in the middle of this whole scene this happens, “Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.” I love this. He said, “Is it legal to convict a man before he’s given a hearing?” He asked. It’s like, “Come on, guys, you know the law. Are you really going to convict Jesus? Are you really going to condemn Jesus? Before you’ve even examined the evidence. I mean, is that what we’re doing here?” It’s so crazy. He goes from a doubter and under the cover of darkness at night in John Chapter 3 to a defender in broad daylight in John Chapter 7. And then we find him in John Chapter 17. Washing the blood stained body of Jesus and preparing his dead body for burial, after the crucifixion. What an act of love. What an act of worship. That this man goes from a doubter in private, to a defender in public, to now a fully devoted and surrendered follower of Jesus. And I just wonder, If when Jesus was there dying on the cross and he gave up his spirit to his father in heaven and they lowered him to the ground. I just wonder if Nicodemus, as he gently and tenderly pried Jesus’s hands and his feet from those Roman spikes… I wonder if he remembered the words of Jesus that night. Who said, “Son of man must be lifted up. And all who believe in him shall not die but have eternal life.” 

I wonder as he dipped the cloth and the rags into the water and began to wash the bloody, beaten, almost unrecognizable body of Jesus, preparing it for burial, I wonder if he remembered the words of Jesus that night. “No one can enter into the Kingdom of God. Unless they’ve been born again, born of water, born of the spirit.” 

See something happened in Nicodemus, his life after he met Jesus. He went from a doubter, to a defender, to a devoted follower of Jesus. And that, my friend, is a better story. It seems that Nicodemus, somehow, was able to unwind and untangle his mind and all the intellectual arguments that he had constructed through the years. Simply just give Jesus the pen of his life and allow him to write a better story. So the question is, have you? 

Where are you in your journey of faith? What next step do you need to take? What questions do you need to be honest with God about today? Are you ready to surrender your life to Jesus Christ so that He can write a better story for you? All you have to do, gang, is just give him the pen. So where are you at? 

I want to challenge you today, regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey, I want to challenge you to deal with this. My prayer is that these… these words will keep you up at night. Go to the last slide. “Jesus replied. I tell you the truth. Unless you’re born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” We’ll just let that sink into your soul today, because Jesus offered those words out of love and concern. And the truth is, unless you look to Jesus on the cross… The truth is, unless you put your faith in Jesus Christ… unless you surrender the pain of your life to Him, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. I don’t care how smart you are. I don’t care how fluent you are. I don’t care how many followers you have on Social media. I don’t care how much money in the bank. I don’t care where you went to college. I don’t care what your retirement looks like. Unless you are born again of water and the spirit, yaou cannot see the Kingdom of God. But everyone who believes in Jesus, everyone who looks to Him on the cross, everyone who believes in him they will not perish but have everlasting life. And to me, friend, that’s a better story. That’s the best story. Would you buy your head with me as we close in prayer? 

You know, to believe is more than just an intellectual exercise. It’s more than just an intellectual assent to a set of propositional truths about God. To believe is to put your faith and your trust in God that only he can save. To believe is to put your faith in God. To put God in charge of your life and your eternal destiny. To believe, is to rely on Jesus in His power to change your life. With every head bowed and every eye closed I want to give you the opportunity to believe in Jesus today as your Lord and savior. And if that’s a decision that you want to make. Would you just slip up your hand wherever you are, with every head bowed, every eye close? You want to know Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior today. Put your faith in him to look to him. You can put your hands down and pray this with me. If that’s what you want to do. You could say something like this in the quietness of your heart. 

Jesus, today, I believe. I put my complete trust in you, now and forever. Thank you for being lifted up on the cross. And by your power, I want to be born again. Thank you for the promise that if I believe in you I will not perish, but have eternal life.