I cannot preach as my Lord preached,
but I can study His Word and try to imitate Him. And what I'm showing you today, this morning on how He dealt
with a proud preacher, and tonight how He dealt with a humble sinner. And the way he dealt with them
in wisdom was different. He didn't deal with everyone
the same way. Just as a physician, all of his patients are sick. And his goal and end is to make
them well. But he doesn't give them all
the same medicine because they all aren't inflicted with the same particular
problem. They all have disease, but it
manifests itself in a different way. For example, our Lord said to Nicodemus, you
must be born again. He said to the woman, I'll preach
on tonight, if you had asked me, I'd give you living water,
if you knew who's speaking to you. He said to the rich young
ruler, because he knew this man's possession meant more to him
than God, he said, you go sell what you have and take up your
cross and follow me. He didn't say that to the woman.
He didn't say it to Nicodemus. He said to the Canaanite woman,
the Gentile woman that came to him seeking mercy, he said, it's
not right to give children to bread to dogs. He can call Nicodemus
a dog. And he didn't call the woman
at the well a dog, but he did this woman. He said to the father of the
sick child, the Lord Jesus said to him as if rebuking him. He said, I brought my sick boy
to your disciples and they couldn't do anything. And our Lord looked
to him and said, if you can believe, all things are possible to them
that believe. That's when he said, Lord, I believe. Help my
unbelief. So every man's need is the same. Everybody here today
is a sinner. I know that. Everyone here has
come short of the glory of God. But every person here Every person's
point of rebellion is not the same. Our idols are not the same. Our
knowledge and interest is not the same. You take Nicodemus
here in chapter 3. He was a Pharisee. He was a preacher.
He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest religious court in
the world. A man of great, great, great
fame and power in religion. This woman we're talking about
tonight, not only unknown, she's unnamed. God doesn't even name
her. Nobody knows her name. Nicodemus
was the highest rank. This woman was poor and unknown.
He was wealthy, powerful. She was unknown, poor. You can't
find Nicodemus drawing his own water, but this woman had to. He was a favored Jew. She was
a despised Samaritan. He was a man of the strictest
morals. She was a woman with no reputation. He came to Christ. I know he
came by night, under the cover of darkness, but he did come.
She didn't come to Christ, he came to her. Nicodemus was looking
for Jesus, she wasn't. She was looking for water. He said to Nicodemus, he shut
Nicodemus up to something he couldn't do. He shut Nicodemus
up to something that he couldn't do. Didn't understand, and no
power on earth could do it for him. born again. He gave the woman a simple direction. Ask me, ask me, and I'll give
you living water. That's a lot different, isn't
it? And that's what I'm talking about, wisdom. If there's any place in the universe
where men need wisdom, it's up here. If there's any place in the universe
where there's a lack of it today, that's right. That's exactly right. So this morning, let's look at
chapter 3 at the proud preacher, how Christ deals with him and
tonight at the humble center. Does this story of Nicodemus
have a special application for this day? Very, very much. Especially in
Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia and Southern Ohio. This is a
religious, religious town. This is a super-religious area. Nicodemus was a super-religious
person. Oh, he was very religious. He
was so religious. There was a man of the Pharisees,
and the Pharisees looked down on everybody. They were holier
than thou. Don't come near me." That Pharisee,
when that woman washed our Lord's feet, he said it, she'd never
touch me. And if he's a prophet, he wouldn't
let her touch him. That's how holy he was. He was
just so, I tithe, I fast, I give alms, I'm not like that publican,
the Pharisee said. Religious. And today, I do not
know of any generation as religious as this one. We've got religion
24 hours a day on radios and television and just any brand
and kind you can imagine. But most of it is self-glorifying
flesh. Second thing about Nicodemus,
he was a man of knowledge and material and religious matters.
He was a ruler of the Jews. It says that he was a Pharisee
and ruler of the Jews, a man who searched the scriptures.
The man who read the Bible and the books. You say, but we read
the Bible. He did too. He was a teacher of the Old Testament
Scripture. And today, Bibles and books are
plentiful. Men are reading the Bible, men
and women, young people. Like the Pharisees of old, they're
praying on the street corners. They're praying in public places.
They're doing all these things. Works, religion abounds. And Nicodemus felt like he knew
God. Listen to verse 2. The same came
to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know. We know. It's hard to find somebody today
who doesn't know. But I know my Bible. I know what
I believe. Every mother's son is an expert
on the Bible. In this generation, we know,
that's what Nicodemus said, we know. He came to the Lord and
said, I know. I know God, and I know who comes
from God, and I know who speaks for God. I know you're from God,
as if Christ needed His confirmation. I know. Isn't that sad? I wish I could find somebody
that didn't already know. An empty vessel is hard to find. One old Puritan said, a sinner
is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
They're hard to find. Nicodemus came the wrong way,
didn't he? I know. Master, I know. I know you came from God. And
here's another thing. Nicodemus was a man who was impressed
by what he saw. He never said a word about what
Christ said and taught. He was taken up with the miracles. We know you came from God. No
man could do these marvelous, wonderful works except God be
with him. God has to be in this because
it's so wonderful outwardly. Wasn't that what we're saying
today? Look at the crowds. Look at the people. Look at the
miracles. Look at all these things. God's
in that. Is he? Is he? He was impressed. Nicodemus
was impressed by what he saw. Simon Magus was too, by what
he saw. The people looked just above
here in John chapter 2 verse 23. Now when he was at Jerusalem
at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name
when they saw the miracles which he did. They saw. A man's never
been saved by seeing, he's saved by hearing. I hear this little poem, I'd
rather see a sermon than hear one any day. Not me. Not me. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God. He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me, you can see things and be deceived. Hear
God's Word. and be enlightened. The eyes are not where the soul is fed,
the ears. The ears, that's where the soul
is fed, through the ears, through the hearing of the Word of God.
Desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.
Nicodemus with these people, listen, they saw the miracles,
verse 24, but Christ didn't commit himself to them. He knew them. He knew all men. He needed not
that any man should testify of man. He knew what was in man.
Nicodemus was religious, a man of knowledge in religious matters, a man who thought he knew, and
a man who was impressed by what he saw. And in verse 3, our Lord
revealed to him the whole problem. He answered and said to Nicodemus,
truly, truly, I say to you, except the man is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God." What's the word see there mean? What
is the word see? You can write this in the margin
of the Bible. The word see there is perceive, perceive, understand. No. It's like a father teaching
a boy how to how to use a tool. And he'll show them, he'll say,
now you see? You see what we're doing? Do you perceive? Do you
understand? Do you know now? I've shown you. So a man cannot, he can't know. You see, the kingdom of God is
not meat and drink. The kingdom of God is not what
you see with the eye. It's what you know in the heart.
The kingdom of God is the covenant mercies of God. The kingdom of
God is the will and purpose of God, the new creation. The new creation that shall abide
when everything else passes away. Turn to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, verse 11 through 14. Listen to this. He answered and said unto them,
because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, God's will, God's purpose, God's everlasting covenant. There's going to be a new heaven
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. God has purposed
to have a people like Christ. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him. In love, having predestinated
us to the adoption of sons according to the good pleasure of His own
will. Having predestinated us to sons according to the good
pleasure of His own will. Wherein He made us accepted in
Christ. There will be a people. There
will be a new heaven, new earth. People like Christ, redeemed.
Kingdom of God. And Christ said, it's given to
you to know those things. He's talking to His disciples. But to them
it's not given. Verse 12, For whosoever hath
to Him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But
whosoever hath not from Him shall be taken away that which he hath.
His false ideas and conceptions will fade away. Therefore I speak
to them in parables because they don't see And hearing they don't
hear, neither do they understand. A man's got to be born again
to perceive, to understand, to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of God. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15. Listen to this. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 24. Then cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God." The kingdom of God. That's what we're talking about,
the kingdom. Even the Father. "...when he shall have put down
all rule, all authority, and all power." This is Christ. "...for
he must wane till he hath put all enemies under his feet."
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath
put all things under his feet." But when he says all things are
under him, it's manifest that he is accepted, which did put
all things under him. The Father is not under the Son.
And when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall
the Son himself also be subject to him that put all things under
him, that God may be all in all. That's the kingdom of God. Now
turn to 1 John 5. 1 John 5 verse 20, And we know
that the Son of God is come, and hath given us understanding,
that we may know Him that is true, we are in Him that is true,
even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God. This is
eternal life. This is the kingdom of God. This is what our Lord is saying
in the Nicodemus. One more verse, Luke 17, verse
20. Luke 17, verse 20. Now listen
carefully here. And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come. When shall the kingdom of God
come? He answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not
with observation, not with outward show. The kingdom of God is not
of this world. It's not meat and drink. It's
not outward show, not outward profession. Neither shall they
say, lo here or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is
within you. That's where the Kingdom of God
is. The Kingdom of God is not in outward show. It's within you. We're impressed with outward
show. We're impressed with all these things that impress
me, but God's not impressed. The Kingdom of God is a is a
heart relationship with God. And a man can't see that till
he's born again, till God gives him grace, till God gives him
life, till God comes in and dwells, opens his eyes, spiritual eyes,
opens his ears, spiritual ears, gives understanding to his heart.
That's what he's saying to Nicodemus. It's a new birth. Now listen,
so Nicodemus answers, the reaction of Nicodemus, I want you to get
his reaction. He was this religious man. I'm
sure his garb, he wore something that revealed his accomplishments. Like men wear robes today with
certain colors and markings to distinguish a doctor of letters
or a doctor of law or a doctor of religion. Nicodemus had all
this impressive show The synagogues and the temples and all these
things, and Christ said, that's not the kingdom of God. The kingdom
of God is in here, in the heart. And you'll never know that until
you're born again. And listen how he replies. And he says,
how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb and be born? Now, that's ridiculous. And it shows
that this man, with all of his so-called knowledge and wisdom,
is mocking. He's mocking. He's making mocking statements.
What he doesn't understand, he makes fun of it. I know he didn't
understand, and I know too often that natural men do not understand
this message of grace and of God's glory in Christ. But I'll
tell you, truth can't be disposed of by mocking it and ridiculing it. You don't
dispose of truth by making fun of it. They're making fun of
the new birth today. But I will say this to every
person who will hear my voice, except the man be born again,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. You're making fun of being converted.
You've been converted, you're still converting people, preacher?
That's all right, except you be converted and becomes a little
child and you won't enter the kingdom of God. That's where
my Lord is. Mock it if you want to. Except a man be born of the water
and the Spirit, he'll not enter the kingdom of heaven. I don't know when we'll all die,
but I know we will. I don't know how we'll fare in
the judgment, but we'll all be there. I know these things. You don't destroy truth by mocking
it. I don't know what most people think of the Lord Jesus Christ,
but I do know this, one day every knee is going to bow. And every
tongue is going to confess that he is Lord. I do know that. That's the truth. But Nicodemus, he wasn't being very wise. He
mocked him. Well, our Lord's not like us.
I probably would have turned and walked away. I probably would
have said goodbye to Nicodemus. I probably would have shown him
the door when he made that foolish statement. Can I go back in my
mother's womb and be born? Is that what you're talking about?
Is that how we're going to be born again? Hit the road, Jack. But thank God our Lord's more
passionate than we are. Compassionate. Tender. He was tender. Listen to what
He's saying. Verily I say unto you, except
a man be born of the water. That's the Word of God. The Word
of God. No substitute. of his own will
beget he us through the word of truth. Wherewithal shall a
young man cleanse his way by taking heed to the word of God.
We are born again out of corruptible seed, but incorruptible seed,
the word of God. The water here is the word of
God. Except the man be born of the word and of the Spirit, the
Spirit of God. I've often said this, when a
child is conceived in a mother's womb, there are two things present,
always infallible, except when Christ was born of the virgin.
There's a man, and there's a seed. There's an agent, and there's
a seed. There's not going to be any birth
until there's an agent and a seed. And this new birth, There's not
going to be any new birth, except two things are present, the Spirit
and the Word. The Spirit of God is the agent,
born of the Spirit of God, born from above, born from heaven,
born from above, born of the Spirit of God, and born of the
Word of God. The Word of God. We're born again,
not of corruptible seed, semen from a man. We're born of incorruptible
seed, the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. And
those two things will be present. And he says this in the next
verse, that which is born of the flesh, that's flesh. That which is born of man is
man. That which is born of the earth is earth. And that which
is born of the Spirit of God is spirit. Nicodemus. Nicodemus was smart. Nicodemus
had been to preacher school. Nicodemus had graduated from
the best school. There were two schools in that
day, Gamaliel and Athalan. I forget, it starts with an S. Paul went to the school of Gamaliel.
He was a Pharisee. And Nicodemus went to one of
them, and he was a brilliant man. He knew the scriptures. He knew the tabernacle, he knew
the holy of holies, he knew how wide the phylacteries were on
the robes, and he knew about the ordinances and the ceremonies
and the feast days and the holy days and the Passover days and
the Pentecost. He knew all these things. He
was a student of these things. But he didn't know why. He didn't
know what these things meant and taught. He didn't know Christ.
He didn't know substitution. He didn't know God's, the mysteries
of regeneration, the mysteries of justification, the mysteries
of sanctification, the mysteries of redemption. He didn't know
the kingdom of God within. He knew the outward. And that
which is born of the flesh can understand the natural. He knew
how many bricks were in the tabernacle, in the temple. He knew how much
gold was in the vessels. He knew the mercy seat was a
certain width and length, but he didn't know what the mercy
seat represented. And our Lord said, that which
is born of the earth is earth, that which is born of the Spirit
is born of God, and knows the way of God, and the will of God,
and the purpose of God, the mysteries of God. And all this is going to be destroyed.
Heaven and earth will pass away, there's not a tabernacle nor
its memories are going to remain. The sacrifices nor their memories,
the laws, the Ten Commandments, that's all gone. And what we
need to know is that which will remain. Christ and his kingdom,
when he delivers up the kingdom to the Father, the redeemed,
the renewed, the recreated, Now, don't be amazed, Nicodemus,
when I say to you, you must be born again. Don't be amazed. Don't be amazed. And I'll tell
you how it takes place, verse 8. The wind bloweth where it
listeth. Preacher, what's the wind? That's
the Holy Spirit. I told you, when a man's born
again, The Spirit of God is there, the invincible, conquering, quickening,
awakening Spirit of God. The power of the Spirit of God
is there, and the Word. And he awakens whom he will. The Son turned to John 5 a minute. John 5, verse 21. For the Father raiseth up the
dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He
will." Quickeneth whom He will. And the wind blows where it will.
You say the wind is the Spirit of God? Oh yes, turn to Ezekiel.
Would you do this? Would you look at Ezekiel chapter
37? You remember these are the things Nicodemus knew, but he
didn't know what they meant. Nicodemus had read this more
times than you and I, but he didn't understand it. Ezekiel
37, you remember God took Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 37, took him out there and let him look over that valley
where that great battle had been fought many, many years before. A lot of men had been dead, killed,
and they left them there, and their bones were laying out there
in the desert. Bones! Bones of warriors who
died, and the eagles and vultures that plucked the skin and the
sinews off their bones, and there were bleached bones, and burned
by the sun, and barren bones, and covered with sand, just bones. Verse 2, "...he caused me to
pass by round about, and behold, there were many, very many in
the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said, Son
of man, can these bones live?" I said, Lord, you know, I can't
make them live, they can't make themselves live, but you can,
and therefore you know. Well, he said, preach to them,
prophesy unto these bones, and say to them, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you
will live. I will lay sinners upon you, and bring flesh upon
you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you
shall live. You shall know that I am the Lord God. So I preached
as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was
a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together,
bone to bone. And I beheld, lo, the sinners
and flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them, but there
was no breath in them. no wind, no life, no breath. So he said to me, prophesy to
the wind, son of man, prophesy to the wind, to the breath, to
the spirit, life, and say to the wind, thus saith the Lord
God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these
slain, that they may live So I prophesied as he commanded
them, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and they
stood on their feet, a great army." Nicodemus had read that. Nicodemus
didn't know what it meant. I know what it means. Men are
dead in Adam. Dead in Adam. Oh, they've got
flesh. They walk around, they've got
all these things, but no spiritual life, no understanding of God,
no relationship. And we preach the Word of God
to them. And the Spirit of God comes and takes that Word and
gives them life. That's right. And they live. And verse 8, watch this now,
back in my text, John 3.8, the wind blows where it pleases.
Now listen, all the bones in the world didn't live that day. Just these bones in that valley,
in that particular valley. See, the wind's sovereign. It's beyond
man's control. He said, the wind bloweth where
it listeth. You hear the sound, you can't tell whence it cometh
or whither it goeth. So is everyone that's born of
the Spirit. The Spirit's invincible, He's sovereign, beyond man's
control, and He's irresistible. That's right. Our Lord said that. And so is everyone that's born
of the Spirit. Well, Nicodemus answered. Do
I detect a willingness now on his part to listen? There's no
mocking now, listen. He said, how can these things
be? How can these things be? Do I
detect an open ear? Do I detect a willing heart?
Maybe. I think he was with Joseph of Arimathea when they cut the
body of Christ out of the grave. But he says to him, Are you a
master of Israel? Are you a preacher? Are you a
teacher? And you don't know these things? I've just read from Ezekiel
37. I'd say they're preachers. And
what we're reading here in John 3, do you not understand what
he's saying? Most of them don't. Most of them will tell a sinner,
go down to the church and get yourself born again. We're born
of the Spirit. You go and hear the Word, but
it's the Spirit that makes the Word of things. Are you a master of Israel? Now
listen, verily I say to you, what I'm telling you is the truth.
I speak what I know and testify what I've seen, and you're not
receiving it. Christ said in John 5, He said,
I come in my Father's name and you receive me not. Let another
come in his own name, and you will receive. Isn't that sad?
In our day, people come, they don't teach the Word, they teach
what they think. ways and plans and folks follow
them just like a pied piper. He said, Nicodemus, I've told
you what I know and I've told you what's true, but you won't
receive my witness. And then he brought out something
here. He said, if I've told you earthly things, what earthly
things? Well, he's not talking about the speed of light or speed
of sound or Newton's law or the law of gravity He's talking about,
I told you the Passover, I showed you the Passover in the Old Testament.
I showed you the temple, and the priest, and the mercy seat,
and the sacrifice, the cities of refuge, all these things. You've got these earthly things.
These earthly types and shadows, and you know what he's saying,
Cecil? He's got these earthly types and shadows, and you don't
believe them. You don't understand them. Lay
hold of them. What if I told you about the
secret counsels of God? Would you understand that? What
if I told you about God's sovereign covenant and election and will
and purpose, whereby He established the covenant, everlasting covenant,
and designed and decreed a heaven a new heaven and a new earth,
a new nation, a new people, a new Israel, redeemed by the blood
of His Son, and how that Christ took upon Himself the responsibility
of their redemption and came to save them by obeying the law
and died on the cross. Would you understand that? You know, they were offended
in John 6 by what he said, and he said to them, does this offend
you? When do you see the Son of Man ascend up where He was?
You talk about being offended. If you don't understand these
things, the types and shadows and pictures, how can you understand
the fulfillment? Isn't that right, Ronnie? You see, these old Jews tried
to make salvation in keeping that Sabbath day. That Sabbath
day is Christ. They tried to make a prerequisite
for salvation circumcision. That's of the heart. They took all these laws and
tried to make them the way to please God. Christ is our law
keeper. And then he goes all right. Nobody
has ascended to heaven. But the Son of Man, nobody's
going to penetrate the secret counsels of God and eavesdrop
at the door and find out anything but He that came down from heaven.
But here's the way, listen, here's the fulfillment. Earthly things,
Moses lifted up the serpent and the wilderness. Here's the remedy. Moses lifted
up the serpent and the wilderness, the cause of death, the fiery
serpent. Christ became a man in our nature,
He was lifted up. Even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. That's the gospel. That's the
remedy. And here's the result. That whosoever
looks to Him, believes on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting
life. And here's the reason. God loves. God loved the world, nations,
tribes, kindreds, tongues, people, over all the world, and gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world. He's already condemned. But he
sent his Son that this world might be saved. That's the mysteries. The mysteries of Christ and his
Church, Christ and his people. Christ, the fulfillment of all
these things. A man doesn't see that until
he's born again. Doesn't see it, doesn't perceive
it or understand it. You do. You've been born again. Born from above, of the world.
And a man won't be a partaker of that or enter into it unless
he's born again.