Simple | Change the World, Together

well hello I'm Misha I'm one of our
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teaching pastors and real quick I want
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to plug a series coming your way in
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October called winning at home this is
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going to be more than just a preaching
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series we're going to have resources
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we're going to have some opportunities
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outside this building some challenges
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for you each week and I'm confident that
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if you will engage with this series
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throughout October and November it it
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has the chance to really transform your
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family so if you want to scan that QR
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code or if you see a card like this if
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you grab this scan the QR code you'll
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find out more information about that
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series and this is a handy way you can
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invite someone who needs to win at home
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to join us in October and November all
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right for today
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I want to start by asking you have you
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ever seen like a little kid take their
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very first steps
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I got a video of my son from a few years
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ago doing that I want you to see this
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this is awesome
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look at him
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he's like what is this a tree what is a
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tree in my way for she is so wobbly
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curious
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slow really slow kids walk slow
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look
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our mission as a church is to help
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people take next steps with God and
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sometimes when we start a journey of
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following Jesus we walk kind of like
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that don't we a little wobbly cautious
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unsure but also curious
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and that's okay look wherever you're at
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in your relationship with God the
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question to ask is what is the next step
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and as a church we're devoted to helping
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you take that step in fact we aren't
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primarily concerned with where you're
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where you are right now in your
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relationship with God that matters we
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care about it but our primary concern is
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where you're going which is why this
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preaching series is all about helping
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you take your next step with God or as
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we've been saying it's about becoming a
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disciple or a follower of Jesus and
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we've called this series simple because
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we're following Jesus is simple it's not
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easy but it's it's simple consider for
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instance Jesus's invitation to his first
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ever followers he found some young men
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who were cleaning their dad's fishing
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boat and he said to them this come
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follow me and I'll send you out to fish
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for people
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his invitation was that simple follow me
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so our mission as a church is to help
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people follow Jesus one step at a time
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now the past two weeks we've talked
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about how we do this you take next steps
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with God through through knowing god and
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growing with others but today our
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objective is to discover how followers
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of Jesus Take next steps in changing the
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world now that can seem like a daunting
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task change the world but it's actually
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simple and followers of Jesus have been
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changing the world ever since he rose
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from the dead
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the way the followers of Jesus changed
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the world is one step at a time so today
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I'm gonna show us what this looks like
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by walking us through a story in
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scripture about a man named Nicodemus
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and then at the very end I'm going to
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share with you some ways we try to make
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it simple for you to take a next step in
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changing the world so if you want to
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follow along I'll be in John chapter 3.
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one thing that's interesting for me is
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that John who wrote what we're going to
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read today was one of those young men
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that was on that boat when Jesus called
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those young men to follow him and he
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dropped his Nets and he spent the rest
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of his life following Jesus so John
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chapter 3 where we pick up the story
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Jesus has begun his ministry and it's
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obvious to everyone that he has the it
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factor I mean people are flocking to him
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people are following him people are
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excited about what he's teaching and
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even the Jewish religious leaders are
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taking note of what he's doing but I
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wouldn't call their interest in him
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excitement they were concerned
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maybe a little jealous I mean they had
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worked hard to earn their influence and
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their position and now Jesus comes along
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with some new teachings and
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turns water into wine people seem to
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like that and now all of a sudden
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everyone wants to follow him
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but these Jewish religious leaders were
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not so sure
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John chapter 3 verse 1. now there was a
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Pharisee a man named Nicodemus who was a
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member of the Jewish ruling Council he
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came to Jesus at night and said Rabbi we
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know that you are a teacher who has come
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from God for no one could perform the
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signs that you are doing if God were not
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with him
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I want you to notice a few things here
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first Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night
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now this would be significant because as
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a member of the of the Jewish ruling
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Council coming to Jesus at night would
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mean that this would happen in darkness
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and so this conversation would be a
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secret
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it's also important to notice that he
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calls Jesus Rabbi which means teacher
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and he also mentions hey it's obvious
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that God is with you
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now
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Nicodemus also was a teacher and he also
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believed God to be with him what he's
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doing here is he's playing a bit of a
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power game because he knows the crowds
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have been calling Jesus the son of God
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and he's not about to acknowledge that
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or admit that
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instead he's putting Jesus on the same
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plane with himself and the other
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religious leaders like we're kind of the
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same
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well Jesus responds like this he says
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very truly I tell you no one can see the
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kingdom of God unless they are born
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again now I read this and I'm like why
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you got to go use that weird language
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Jesus like I mean born again no one's
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going to understand what you're talking
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about and maybe you've heard that phrase
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before and maybe you have some
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understanding about what Born Again
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means but Nicodemus this is the first
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time he's heard it and he thinks it's
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weird and he's like it's confusing and
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we know that or I at least assume that
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because of the way he responds he goes
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how can someone be born when they are
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old surely they cannot enter a second
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time into their mother's womb to be born
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and maybe he's joking around a little
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bit but he obviously doesn't understand
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the spiritual implications of what Jesus
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is trying to say
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and so Jesus goes on and he says well
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very truly I tell you no one can enter
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the kingdom of God unless they are born
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of water and the spirit flesh gives
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birth to flesh but the spirit gives
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birth to Spirit you should not be
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surprised am I saying You must be born
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again the wind blows wherever it pleases
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you hear it sound but you cannot tell
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where it comes from or where it's going
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so it is with everyone born of the
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spirit
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Jesus is saying look this isn't a
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physical rebirth
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it's a spiritual thing
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and everyone who's a part of the kingdom
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of God they go through a sort of
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spiritual transformation and and like
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the wind you can't really pinpoint where
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it starts or kind of even how it moves
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but but when someone when someone
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experiences God's spirit inwardly it
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it's such a radical transformation that
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on the other side of it it's as if
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they're a whole new person
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to which Nicodemus says well how can
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this be
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and I'm sympathetic with Nicodemus here
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I think he's trying to understand
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it's just
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him and Jesus are not on the same page
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right and I don't know what you do when
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you're not on the same page with someone
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you probably get a little frustrated I
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and we all have that tell when we're
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frustrated I do this thing with my jaw
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where I'm like
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I'll like crack my jaw I picture Jesus
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as more of like a rubbing the temples
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kind of guy and I imagine that they're
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just at night in this conversation like
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what how do I get my point across like
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Nicodemus is like what's the question
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that I can ask
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yeah
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see
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nicodemus's understanding of the kingdom
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of God was just so vastly different than
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what Jesus was presenting
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he grew up learning what it meant to be
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a part of the the Jewish ruling Council
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and see they believed that membership in
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the kingdom of God belonged to those who
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had some sort of academic understanding
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and knowledge of the scriptures
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it belonged to people who had a strict
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observance of the Old Testament law and
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who were devoted to certain rituals and
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and and religious traditions
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they believe that membership in the
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kingdom of God was earned through what
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you do and what you know and what Jesus
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is presenting is just
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when he talks about this radical
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transformation that's sort of like a
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rebirth
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Nicodemus is just struggling to
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understand
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and so Jesus goes on and he says this
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he says very truly I tell you we speak
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of what we know and we testify to what
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we have seen but still you people do not
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accept our testimony I've spoken to you
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of Earthly things and you do not believe
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how then will you believe if I speak of
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heavenly things no one has ever gone
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into heaven except the one who came from
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Heaven the son of man and just as Moses
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lifted up the snake in the wilderness so
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the son of man must be lifted up that
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everyone who believes may have eternal
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life in him and what he's saying is like
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look you religious leaders
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you want to think that everything about
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God has some sort of Earthly explanation
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that all of the lessons that God wants
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to teach have some sort of tangible
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application but some spiritual things
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you have to experience them to learn
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them
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but it's as if he says at the end well
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you want something tangible though
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here's something tangible the son of man
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must be lifted up that everyone who
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believes may have eternal life in him
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and the conversation ends
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and we come to verse 16.
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and in verse 16 John presents for his
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readers
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a really clear picture of what Jesus is
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trying to get across to Nicodemus in
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this conversation maybe you've heard
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this before
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John 3 16 for God so loved the world
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that he gave his one and only son that
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whoever believes in him shall not perish
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but have
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eternal life
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for God did not send his son into the
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world to condemn the world but to save
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the world through him whoever believes
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in him is not condemned but whoever does
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not believe stands condemned already
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because they have not believed in the
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name of God's one and only son and what
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John is saying here is he's he's he's
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painting the clearest picture we can
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have that salvation is found in one
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place and one place alone
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and it's Jesus
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and what Jesus is doing in this
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conversation with Nicodemus is he's
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trying to get Nicodemus to come to terms
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with what he believes about that
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does Nicodemus believe that Jesus is
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just a good teacher or does he believe
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that Jesus is
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the son of God
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and this is the question for us today
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do we believe salvation is found in
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Christ alone
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it's that simple
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and there is depth to this
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there are topics and themes throughout
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what we just read that we could spend
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our entire life studying and not be able
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to wrap our minds around but to begin
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the Journey of Faith
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to receive salvation Jesus's command is
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simple he says believe in me
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so
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do you believe
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that Jesus is the son of God
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who was sent by God
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to save the world
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for Nicodemus this just would have been
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so different than anything he's ever
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heard before and he was an expert in the
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Hebrew scriptures
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but what Jesus was presenting about
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salvation it would have just been
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earth-shattering to the foundation of
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everything he had known and everything
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he had lived for and if you grew up like
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Nicodemus
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believing that salvation was somehow
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earned through human efforts or good
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behavior
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perhaps this would shake the foundation
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of your life as well and you may find
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yourself asking okay if I do believe the
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Jesus is the son of God
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what does that mean for us what does it
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mean for our lives
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this is what it means
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it means that when God does a
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transformational work in US
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eventually that influences our Behavior
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God's spirit is the one that does the
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work that causes the change not the
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other way around which means
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that we are not saved because we serve
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we are not saved because we pray we are
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not saved because we give to the church
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we're not saved because we know God grow
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with others and change the world we are
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saved by the love of God demonstrated
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through the sacrifice of Jesus
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and when we believe in him when we put
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our trust in Jesus then we we serve
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and we give and we worship and it's all
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out of the Overflow of what God is doing
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in US
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so what does that mean
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for you
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what does believing in Jesus mean for
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your life or if you're not there yet
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what might believing in Jesus mean
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for you
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my dad worked for the Salvation Army his
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entire life
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he he coordinated Community programs so
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he ran like soup kitchens and he did
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some kid stuff he he coordinated the
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Bell ringers if you ever seen them at
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Christmas time
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because of the nature of my dad's career
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almost every day he was coming into
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contact with people who were in
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Desperate desperate need people who had
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no food
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or clothing or shelter sometimes for
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days and weeks
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and I always saw my dad treat people in
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need with just tremendous dignity and
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respect he always took care of them not
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just their physical needs but took care
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of them as people he devoted his entire
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career to changing the world for people
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it was the way that he responded to what
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God had done in his life and in this
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room connected to our church family
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are people who have overcome addictions
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restored marriages given sacrificially
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fostered and adopted children because
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they've asked themselves the question
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what does following Jesus
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mean
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for me see when God does the work in US
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it eventually becomes evident in how we
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live
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the order is important
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so we get this conversation between
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Jesus and Nicodemus and you know what
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annoys me about this conversation that's
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all we get
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like I want to know how Nicodemus
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responded did he believe did he have
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more questions
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I don't know
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but the next time Nicodemus shows up in
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scripture is in John chapter 7. and
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something seems different
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in John chapter 7 Nicodemus is in a room
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with the other Jewish religious leaders
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and they're talking about Jesus because
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Jesus's Fame is spreading like wildfire
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and they're like we've got to put an end
15:59
to this so they sent guards out to
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arrest Jesus but when the guards got to
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where Jesus was the crowds around him
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were so favorable and when they started
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to hear Jesus teach they were smitten
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and they didn't have the guts to arrest
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him we read this John chapter 7. finally
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the temple guards went back to the chief
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priests and the Pharisees who asked them
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why didn't you bring him in oh no one
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ever spoke the way this man does the
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guards replied you mean he has deceived
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you also the Pharisees retorted have any
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of the rulers or of the Pharisees
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believed in him no and I imagine
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Nicodemus is standing there like
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none of us like no one else is going to
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raise their hand okay me neither all
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right
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but this mob that knows nothing of the
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law there's a curse on them now
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Nicodemus who had gone to Jesus earlier
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and who was one of their own number
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asked does our law condemn a man without
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first hearing him to find out what he
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has been doing all right no profession
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of Faith here but he does seem to be
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maybe sort of trying to stick up for
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Jesus
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and the other rulers pick up on this and
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they say this
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are you from Galilee too look into it
17:08
you'll find that a prophet does not come
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out Galilee okay not the strongest
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showing of Faith you could imagine but
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something seems to be maybe turning he's
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not willing to give up his role or his
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reputation but he does subtly defend
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Jesus and it just makes me wonder did
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something happen back in in the night in
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that conversation he had with Jesus it
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started something stirring in him
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I don't know
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because that's all we get
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and the next time and the only other
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time Nicodemus shows up in scripture is
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in John chapter 19. at this point Jesus
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has been crucified his body is taken
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down from the cross and we read this
17:52
later Joseph of Arimathea asked pilate
17:55
for the body of Jesus now Joseph was a
17:57
disciple of Jesus but secretly because
17:59
he feared the Jewish Leaders with
18:01
pilate's permission he came and took the
18:02
body away he was accompanied by
18:05
Nicodemus the man who earlier had
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visited Jesus that night hmm it's
18:10
interesting
18:11
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and
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aloes about 75 pounds taking Jesus's
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body the two of them wrapped it with the
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spices and strips of linen this was in
18:21
accordance with Jewish burial Customs at
18:24
the place where Jesus was crucified
18:25
there was a garden and in the garden a
18:27
new Tomb in which no one had ever been
18:29
laid because it was the Jewish Day of
18:31
preparation and since the tomb was
18:33
nearby they laid Jesus there
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now what in the world is Nicodemus doing
18:40
here
18:42
why is he burying a man that the council
18:45
he belongs to us has accused of
18:47
blasphemy and has sentenced to death
18:50
like what is going on
18:53
and once again the truth is we can't
18:55
know for certain because that's all we
18:56
get but there's just something about him
18:58
being there and I don't think John
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accidentally mentioned him by name
19:04
I think something
19:06
started stirring in him and perhaps at
19:09
some point he started to think
19:12
maybe Jesus is more than just a teacher
19:16
maybe his connection with God is a
19:19
little bit
19:20
deeper
19:21
and then I just wondered if when he saw
19:24
Jesus lifted up on the cross
19:28
he remembered back to that night when
19:29
Jesus said this to him
19:31
the son of man must be lifted up
19:34
that everyone who believes may have
19:36
eternal life in him
19:39
and I wonder if something clicked and he
19:43
began to take steps to follow Jesus and
19:46
at first they were sort of wobbly
19:48
toddler-like
19:50
not so sure steps maybe he was wondering
19:52
how much of my life is going to be
19:54
impacted by this if I do believe
19:58
we can't know what was happening inside
20:01
of Nicodemus but something shows up in
20:03
his behavior there seems to be a bit of
20:06
a change and maybe that's where you are
20:07
today
20:10
you want to believe you're ready to
20:12
believe you do believe but the question
20:14
you're asking is but what does this mean
20:16
about my life then
20:20
if that's you know this as all of us
20:24
are wrestling with what we believe
20:28
as all of us are are trying to figure
20:30
out what's what's my next step with God
20:34
our actions our worship our contribution
20:37
the things we do the things we give they
20:39
all come out of an overflow of what God
20:42
is doing in US following Jesus begins
20:46
with this transformational work that God
20:48
does in us that eventually shows up in
20:51
the way we
20:52
live
20:54
I said at the beginning
20:56
followers of Jesus change the world what
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I mean by that is this followers of
21:01
Jesus live in response to what God has
21:04
done in them and it's actually God
21:06
working through us
21:08
that changes
21:09
the world around us
21:11
see like Nicodemus we all come to Jesus
21:15
in darkness
21:18
we all sin
21:19
and our sin separates us from God who is
21:23
the light
21:24
Jesus's entire life was about bringing
21:27
us back into relationship with God his
21:29
death and Resurrection paid the price
21:30
for our sin it reconciled this to God it
21:33
it it unseparated us from the light
21:38
for God so loved the world
21:41
that he gave his one and only son
21:45
that whoever believes in him
21:47
shall not perish but have eternal life
21:53
do you believe that
21:59
because it's simple
22:01
followers of Jesus live in response to
22:05
what God has done
22:06
for them
22:09
11 years ago my wife and I started
22:13
attending this church we were newly
22:14
married we were new to Livingston County
22:16
we were looking for a church so we came
22:18
here and we're like okay this this works
22:22
a few months later we were like okay we
22:24
need to take a next step we need to get
22:25
more involved around here and we were at
22:28
Brighton High School at the time the
22:29
church met at Brighton High School and I
22:30
was getting coffee in the lobby
22:33
and I heard about this team that met at
22:35
7am and they would go to VG's in
22:38
Brighton it's bushes now but it used to
22:39
be VG's they'd go at 7am and they'd pick
22:41
up all these like day old danishes and
22:43
donuts to to give out in the mornings
22:46
and I was like I'm such a morning person
22:49
I'm like there's a way I can serve at 7
22:51
A.M I'm in
22:54
I had no idea what God had in store
22:58
from my willingness to to join that team
23:00
I thought I was just taking the next
23:01
step with God and if my next step man I
23:03
got first dibs on the snacks I'm like
23:04
okay
23:07
but that step began a journey
23:12
a journey that I'm still on
23:15
and I don't know if I'll ever change the
23:17
entire world
23:18
but I hope that as I continue to take
23:20
next steps with God I hope that I change
23:22
someone's world
23:25
and as I've gotten to know many of you
23:27
and your kids and your families
23:31
my prayer is that is that my next steps
23:34
in some way will impact your life
23:38
I want my decision to follow Jesus to to
23:42
change the world around me because what
23:45
I've seen over the years of my journey
23:47
of following Jesus is that the world has
23:49
changed when when followers of Jesus
23:51
just take that next step
23:54
in his Direction
23:57
so what about you
24:00
what does it mean for you
24:03
to believe in Jesus what does it mean
24:05
for you to live in response
24:08
so what God has done for you
24:10
what's your next step
24:13
I'm going to give you some time in just
24:15
a minute here to talk to God about that
24:17
but real quick I want I want to
24:19
highlight some of the ways that we as a
24:21
church try to make it simple for you to
24:23
take a Next Step
24:24
in changing the world and the simplest
24:27
way is through joining a team that was
24:30
my first step around here
24:31
get on the team I joined the pick up the
24:33
donuts team and I don't think it still
24:35
exists but maybe we need to bring that
24:37
back
24:38
look if you're not on a team maybe your
24:41
next step is is to join one our weekend
24:44
volunteer teams they change the world by
24:47
creating environments for kids and
24:49
students and adults I mean some people
24:51
the way they the way they serve is
24:53
through playing guitar they change the
24:56
world by creating environments where we
24:58
can hear
25:00
the saving knowledge of Jesus
25:03
if you're not on team maybe that's your
25:05
next step and if it is just fill the
25:07
ticket you got on your way in
25:09
that's all you got to do
25:11
maybe you're already on a team and maybe
25:14
your next step is to move in the
25:15
direction of leading a team and if
25:18
that's you that's what I want you to do
25:19
today even if right now if you want to I
25:21
want you to send a message send a text
25:22
message to the person who leads your
25:24
team
25:25
and just say hey don't get too excited
25:28
yet
25:29
but maybe sort of kind of potentially
25:31
God might be asking me that maybe I
25:33
should step in the direction of
25:34
apprenticing to lead this team add all
25:36
the caveats you want just send the
25:38
message and ask them to pray for you and
25:40
ask them to maybe have a conversation
25:42
with you
25:43
if you lead a team maybe your next step
25:45
is to ask someone on your team to
25:47
Apprentice as a leader with you
25:49
maybe you've been on a team a while and
25:50
you've built some friendships and maybe
25:52
your next step is to is to ask someone
25:54
on your team if they'll go on an
25:55
intentional discipleship Journey with
25:57
you
25:59
look when we say the followers of Jesus
26:01
change the world that doesn't mean you
26:03
got to wake up tomorrow morning with
26:05
some revolutionary idea maybe you will
26:08
but it's much more likely
26:10
that you'll change the world by
26:12
responding to Jesus
26:14
with those day-to-day sort of
26:17
actions that influence the people around
26:20
you let's pray
26:25
God you are
26:27
you're awesome
26:29
and I thank you
26:31
for choosing us
26:34
to participate in
26:36
this story you've been writing since
26:40
creation
26:42
thank you for giving us talents and
26:44
gifts and interests and then thank you
26:46
for putting those to use in growing your
26:49
kingdom
26:50
God thank you for making membership in
26:53
your kingdom not about what we do
26:55
but about what Jesus did
26:57
thank you for giving us a role in the
27:00
body of Christ but
27:02
but that he is the head
27:05
so God I just pray for all of us
27:07
because we wrestle with what we believe
27:09
God give us clarity
27:11
show us
27:13
show us our next step and God build a
27:16
family a church family around us that
27:19
helps us take that we love you
27:21
in Jesus name amen
27:25
we're going to take a moment now we do
27:27
this at the end of all