Savior

Can you hear me? Okay. Are you guys ready for some fresh bread? Amen.

I wanted to share — His word is bread. It’s food to us. For those of you that did not know, I wanted to share out of Job. I don’t think David mentioned this, but at the beginning of every year we like to start our daily reading plan, because we like to read our Bibles every day. It’s God’s word to us, and His word is food. It’s life. Amen.

And so you can go through life and say, “I’m a Christian. I’m a Christian.” But if you’re not allowing the Lord to feed you, you are starving spiritually. And when you’re starved spiritually, just like you physically, you’re weak. And it’s very difficult to endure life, you know what I mean? And to continue to walk with Him. And so we like to read our Bibles every day, and so we started our daily reading plan.

And just yesterday we were in Job chapter 9, and I wanted to share this because I believe this is so in line with the heart of the Lord this morning. I wanted to read this to you, and we’ll have this up on screen. Job chapter 9 says this: “Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God?”

How can a man be righteous before God?

Job is going through trials and tribulations at this point. If you don’t know the story of Job, Job was a righteous and blameless man. In fact, the Lord Himself refers to him, saying, “There’s no one like Job on the earth. He’s righteous. He’s blameless.” He would offer sacrifices to the Lord daily. If there was an award for the best Christian in the world, this was Job. Okay? Job loved the Lord. He walked with the Lord.

But the Lord was allowing these tests and these trials in his life. And sometimes we think, well, did the Lord cause that? The Lord doesn’t cause it, but He will use difficult times to test you, with the goal in His heart of, “I want to release My blessing and show you more of Myself.” Do you guys understand? Do you understand?

And so Job is at this point, and he’s lost everything. He’s lost his family. He’s lost his children. He’s lost his health. He has these boils all over his body. And he begins to cry out to God. Now, he never sins with his mouth, with his words, but he begins to cry out to God. And he goes into this diatribe, this poetic story of just how great God is.

And he says, “How can a man be righteous before God?” He’s saying, “I’ve done everything. I’ve followed Him. I’ve given Him my all. I’ve honored Him with my possessions. And yet this is where I am.” But equally, Job is saying, “But who am I?” And he goes on this poetic sequence of saying how great and how powerful God is, and how He’s the Creator of all things, and He controls the earth, and He spoke it all into existence.

And he says, “How can a man be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with Him, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?”

And so Job is recognizing, as holy and as righteous and as blameless as I try to live this life, it is galaxies and galaxies apart from how holy and how righteous He is. You see, Job was recognizing his own frailty, in this humble approach, saying, “How can I contend with God? How can I have an audience with Him? He’s so holy. He’s so much higher. He’s so much greater. How can I even converse with Him? As good as I am, there’s still sin in me. There’s still this darkness in me. And so how can I make my case? How can I go about this?”

No mediator between us

And so Job comes down and he gets to this place, and we come to verse 32, and Job says, “He is not a man as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together.” Job is saying, “Listen, I can’t plead my case. I’m a guilty man. As good as I am — the Lord Himself called me blameless — I’m still a guilty man. And He is so pure. He is so holy. He is so righteous. How can I make my case to Him?”

Verse 33 says, “Nor is there any mediator between us.” Everybody say, “Mediator.” Everybody say, “Jesus.” You see, Job had recognized something. He was saying, “There’s something missing. There’s this infinite gap between myself, as good as I try to be, and this almighty God who is so pure and who is so great and who is so holy. How can I approach Him?”

He says there’s no mediator between us “who may lay his hand on us both.” Job is saying, “I need someone to stand in the gap and fill this void, to fill this empty space between God, who is so high and so great, and me. As great as I think I am, as great as my accomplishments might be, it’s not enough.” If you were to put it on a scale — this gap, this chasm, this void, this hole — if you had God, and you had the most righteous man and the worst sinner, they would almost be equal. That’s just on the scale of things. If you were to measure oneself, it’s not even close.

He says, “Who may lay his hand on us both.” As I was reading that just yesterday, I had this picture of Jesus on the cross putting His hand and separating that gap. It says, “Let Him take His rod away from me, and do not let dread of Him terrify me.” You see, Job is reiterating his weakness. And he’s saying, “I can’t.”

The rod — what is a rod? It is a measuring stick. God’s measuring stick is too great for me. “I can’t even look at it. I can’t even bear it, because I can never get there.” He says, “Let Him take His rod away from me. Do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him. But it is not so with me.”

How many of you know what a gift we have in Jesus? Listen, what a gift we have in Jesus. Do you know that without Him there was an impossible void between you and God? What is death? Death is separation from God. That is true death. Death is separation from God. And there was this infinite chasm. No matter how great the rod, this measuring rod of what it took to be in His presence, it was not doable.

And so there needed to be this mediator. There needed to be this Savior. Everybody say, “A Savior.” Jesus, who came to fill the gap, to put His hand on you and say there is now no distance. And thankfully, because of Jesus, now we don’t need to walk in fear. Say amen.

We can actually come to the Lord and speak with Him. We can come into the presence of the Lord. Scripture says, “Come boldly to the throne of grace.” How do we do that? By the blood of Jesus. The blood washes you. It cleanses you. It prepares you. It gives you access to His very presence.

And so Jesus is the mediator of a new and a better covenant. Hebrews 9:15 says, “And for this reason He is the mediator of the new covenant.” New covenant. That word covenant means promises. There’s this new promise, and it’s a better promise, because God gave the law and He said, “Look, this is what it’s going to take. If you want to be with Me — because I want to be with you — this is what it’s going to take, because God cannot know sin. I can’t be around it.”

And we say, “Then why did God give us this weakness?” We chose it. He did not choose it for us. He did not create us with sin. We fell into it, and we chose sin. Somebody say amen. We chose the darkness. We chose. And time and time again, we do it again and again and again. But God is saying, “I want to know you. I want to be found by you,” says the Lord.

And so now we need this mediator. And we come to Hebrews 9:15. It says He is the mediator of this new promise, “by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Eternal life. Listen. What is life? To be with Him. What is eternal life? To know Him.

And so I feel like the Lord is bringing us something. We’re no longer measured by the rod of rules. We’re no longer measured by the rod of the law. You can’t fulfill it. There was only One who could, and His name is Jesus. And He became sin for us, dying on a cross, taking our guilt and our shame, that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life. What does that mean? You have eternal access to the presence of God. Somebody say amen. Is this good news?

We were just talking a couple weeks ago about transformational reading encounters. How many of you know every time you open God’s word, He’s speaking? Amen. And so here’s what I’d like to do. Can we just give our attention to Jesus? Just close your eyes.

Lord Jesus, we give You this time. Lord, we don’t need man’s words. We need Your word, because Your word is food for us, Lord. It’s everything. And so, Lord, we ask, give us hearts to hear You. Give us hearts to see You, that we would know You, that we would know what is eternal life. How can we walk with You, Lord? How can we navigate life and be with You? We don’t need to do it alone, because You sent a Savior. And so we receive You today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The name Savior

Today — we started a series called the Names of God just last week, and we just had this sense that the Lord is inviting us into this declaration of Him, of His name, in our lives. And Pastor Suzie shared about how His name is Yahweh, and it was an awesome introduction. And so we felt led that we’re going to kind of go through the Foursquare Gospel. He is the Savior. Everybody say, “Savior.”

I want to talk about the name of God: Savior. Everybody say it one more time: “Savior.” That name is used as a title of God about 40 times throughout Scripture. And today I want to look at how the Lord functions and brings salvation to our lives. But I specifically want to show you just how much He loves every single person.

If you’re here today, I need you to know there’s nothing that you could do, there’s nothing that you could say, that could prevent His love from coming for you. However, you do have a choice, and you do have a decision to make. At some point — in eternity, it says, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess Him as Lord. But there is a call to do that right now, and to do that today.

You know, the Lord showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, He died for us. And so when we say Jesus loves you — and maybe you’ve heard that before, I would hope — we kind of just say, “Oh, Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you,” and we just kind of leave it there. But my prayer is that we would know just how great His love for you really is.

And so, if you have your Bibles, I’m going to invite you to turn with me. We’re going to spend most of our time in John chapter 3. Everybody turn to John chapter 3. Does anybody like the book of John? I know we got some fans of the book of John here. I like all the books, let’s be honest. Every week I feel like I’m saying, “Oh, this is my favorite verse, guys.” For real.

John chapter 3, and we’re going to start at verse 1. I feel like the Lord gives such a clear picture of His love for us and how He functions as a Savior. John chapter 3, starting at verse 1, it says, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.”

Now, I’m going to pause right there for those of you that don’t know what a Pharisee is. A Pharisee in biblical times was a religious leader. They were the leaders within the traditional Jewish church. And there are characteristics given throughout Scripture about who the Pharisees were. How did they operate? What was their heart? And I want to share some of those with you.

The Pharisees valued doctrine and traditions of men more than what God actually said in the Bible. Pharisees were more concerned with outward appearance — how things looked — rather than purity of heart. They loved the best seats. They loved the highest places of honor. They loved to be considered before other people and to be seen in public places.

Pharisees were referred to as hidden graves, or traps that people would fall into and be trapped without a way out. Pharisees did not want people to be healed on the Sabbath, because the rule of the Sabbath was more important than people being healed. They burdened people with unnecessary traditions, and they wouldn’t help them carry them out.

They took away the key of knowledge from people, so that they wouldn’t be any more important or greater than others. In other words, they would withhold knowledge for fear of losing their position or their status as righteous people. They would devour widows’ houses by taking from those who were in need and who were struggling. They would say long prayers to look righteous. They wouldn’t practice what they preached. And they wouldn’t humble themselves and confess their sins to the Lord.

And so when we come here to verse 1, it says, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.” It gives you an understanding of the type of person that Jesus was talking to in that moment. This was someone who really was almost the complete opposite of Jesus. He was the complete opposite of everything that He stood for. It was the opposite of what He taught. It was the opposite of what He preached.

And so you would think that Jesus would treat him as an enemy. You would think that Jesus would treat him harshly, saying, “Who are you? Why are you even talking to Me, bro? Do you not know who I am?” And Jesus would have had every right to do so.

But here is Nicodemus. He’s a ruler, a Pharisee of the Jews. According to most theologians, he was actually one of the highest official Pharisees, or religious rulers, at the time. One of the greatest teachers of the law at the time. How many of you know it’s not enough just to have head knowledge of Scripture? It needs to do something in your heart. Amen.

That’s what the Lord is always after. He’s always after your heart. If He has your heart, you will live righteously before the Lord. Okay? And so we have this picture of who Nicodemus was. It says, “There was this man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.”

This man came to Jesus

But notice these next words: “This man came to Jesus.” How many of you know that we often disqualify ourselves from coming to Jesus in the first place? And there’s no greater tragedy in the heart of the Lord than not coming to Him.

You see, as despicable as the church would say this man may have been — as harsh, as unloving, as hypocritical as this man was — this man named Nicodemus came to Jesus despite his baggage, despite his mistakes, despite his burdens. He had one thing going for him in this specific moment, and that thing was he came to Jesus.

How many of you know there is no greater decision that you can make than to come to Jesus? There’s no greater decision. It’s the most important decision of your life. If you’ve not made that decision, nothing else matters. Everything else pales in comparison to eternity.

This man came to Jesus. You know, the other Pharisees weren’t there. It doesn’t say the Pharisees came to Jesus. Often when the Pharisees came, they came to challenge Him, to test Him, to try to prove that He was not who He said He was. But here’s Nicodemus, the ruler of this religious group, and he comes to Jesus.

And it says he came to Jesus by night. You see, Nicodemus knew that there was something about this man named Jesus. But his peers, the other Pharisees, they hated Jesus, because Jesus was a threat. He was a threat to them because if people started listening to Jesus’s teaching and started following Him, they would lose their status. They would lose their power. They would lose that grip, that control on people. And so they thought Jesus was a threat to their traditions, to everything that they had.

Verse 2 says, “Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi’” — which means teacher. He says, “Teacher, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus was doing signs and wonders, healings and miracles at this point.

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly’” — everybody say, “Most assuredly” — “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

You must be born again

You see, here’s Nicodemus, and he’s coming to the Lord, and he’s coming with this question. How many of you know oftentimes we’ll come to the Lord with questions, but then when we feel like we receive this answer in prayer, or the Lord speaks to us in our spirit, it’s like, well, that wasn’t really what I asked? But how many of you know it’s the answer you need?

And here he comes, and he says, “Teacher, we know there’s something different about You.” And Jesus cuts to the chase, and He says, “Most assuredly.” That word in the original is “verily, verily,” meaning, “Listen, what I’m about to tell you is as true as this gets.” And Jesus says, “Verily, verily, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Now, as far as we know, there was nobody else around besides Nicodemus and Jesus. It was just the two of them talking. And Nicodemus is coming, saying, “Listen, we know there’s something different about You. We know that You must come from God.” And Jesus looks at this man, knowing exactly who he is — that he is a Pharisee, that he is a hypocrite, that he holds things over people.

And Jesus says to him, “Listen, I need to tell you something, and it is as true as true can get. This is so true, it is so sure, it is so certain, that unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” That word again is actually the Greek anōthen, which means from above. Unless a person is born from above, or born anew, okay, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

How many of you know it’s not enough just to go through the religious process of attending church? It’s not enough just to try to be a good person and say, “Well, I’m a good person, so that means I’m going to heaven.” It is not enough. Jesus said it: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, from above.” How many of you know there’s a transformation that’s supposed to happen?

This isn’t just about our progress or just about being better. Does the Lord work in you and make you better? Does He make you more like Him? Yes, He does. But it’s not by your own effort. It’s by the Holy Spirit whom He’s given to you. That’s a whole other thing.

Listen, He didn’t just come to save you so that you could go to heaven one day. He came to save you, and He said, “I don’t want to wait to be with you. I’m going to send My Spirit to live inside of you, so you can be like Me right now, and you can do the things that I did.” He said that. He goes to His disciples, and He says, “Listen, the works that I do you will do also, and greater works you will do.” Why? “Because I go to the Father. And when I go to the Father, I’m going to send My Spirit, and He will live inside of you.”

And when He lives inside of you, you will be able to do the right things. You’ll be able to say the right things. You’ll begin to talk like Him and walk like Him. Why? Not just on your effort. Is there effort? Of course. But what is the effort? The effort is this, and it is the hardest: humble yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. Will you choose to do it His way? That’s it. If you can commit that in your heart, His promise is, “My Spirit inside of you will make you more like Me.”

And so here’s Nicodemus. He’s thinking it’s about all the rules. It was about position. It was about what you had to do to know God, to be with God. It was about what you had to earn. But notice all the things that Jesus didn’t say. Jesus didn’t call Nicodemus a snake. He didn’t call him a hypocrite. He didn’t call him a parasite. Jesus didn’t call out his sin in this moment. Why? Because he had come to Him.

How many of you know Jesus’s starting point isn’t your sin? He already dealt with that. His starting point is, “This is what you need. You need Me.” Amen.

And so Jesus doesn’t start there, because this man had come to Jesus. And instead of condemning him for everything he’d done wrong, Jesus goes straight to the heart of it. And the heart of the problem was this: “Nicodemus, you know Scripture inside and out. You know what it says, but it hasn’t actually penetrated your heart. And what you really need, Nicodemus, is a heart that’s transformed by Me. You must be born again.”

If you are struggling — you’re going through life and you’re like, “Man, it is hard to follow Jesus” — it is hard only because we try to hold on to the world. Listen, it is only hard to follow Jesus when you won’t let go of everything else. You want it both: “Well, I want to follow Jesus, but I also want to do what I want to do.” You cannot have it both ways. It will be hard.

Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters, because you will love one and you’ll reject the other.” Jesus said, “I would rather you be hot or cold, because if you are lukewarm” — meaning what? You’re just in the middle — “I will spit you out of My mouth.” He’s saying, “Listen, not because I’m mean. It’s because it’s what it takes. It takes your whole heart.”

And I believe the Lord is calling us, and He’s saying, “Listen, I’m inviting you into something today.” That you don’t just come to Him and treat Him like He’s just someone that’s trying to measure you and say, “Well, you’re not good enough this week. You got stuff that you got to take care of.” No. When you come to Jesus, all He’s saying is, “Come. Come be with Me. Come to Me and let Me love you. Come to Me and let Me wash you. Let Me make you new.” Is this okay? Is this okay, you guys?

Jesus is saying you need to be born anew. You need to be born afresh. You need a Savior. How many of you know that is His name? I said, that is His name.

Verse 4 says, “Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’” Okay, listen. Where’s Nicodemus’s head? It’s right here. “You’re saying I have to be born again? People can’t be born again.” How many people approach Scripture like that? Hearing, they do not hear. Seeing, they do not see. Lord, give us ears to hear and eyes to see. He says, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Oh, you’re so smart.

Verse 5: “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you’” — everybody say, “Most assuredly.” What is that? That’s “verily.” He’s saying, “Listen, this is as true as it gets.” “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Now, water — some people interpret this as water baptism. And we do believe in water baptism; that is a gift from the Lord, and it’s something we celebrate. But this is actually most likely referring to natural birth. That is what the Hebrews would refer to: to be born of water was a natural birth. You must be born of water and the Spirit. He must be born anew, born from on high, or he cannot enter the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

Notice Jesus is staying focused. How many of you love Jesus? Amen. Jesus is sharp. He’s staying focused. He’s staying on the course. He’s not getting distracted and getting into some theological argument. He is calling Nicodemus to Himself. He’s saying, “Don’t get distracted by all that. Okay? Your mind is already going places that it does not need to go.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You’re your own worst enemy”? Right? You get in your own head, and you start talking yourself out of things. He’s saying, “Stop that. Stop that. Stop that. That is not Me. That’s not My voice. Fix your eyes on Me. Do not marvel when I say.” He’s calling him back to what He said.

Sometimes we get our eyes off of what the Lord has said to us. And the Lord is saying, “No, fix your eyes on Me. What have I said to you?” Do not marvel when I say you must be born again. Jesus is calling Nicodemus to something. How many of you know Jesus is calling you to something today? Amen.

He’s calling you to something. And as I’m speaking, you’re hearing my words, but you’re also hearing the Lord speak, because this is the word of the Lord. This is Scripture. This is holy Scripture. And when the Lord speaks, the Holy Spirit begins to speak it to your heart. The Lord is calling you to something.

And I believe He is inviting us all — whether you don’t know the Lord, or maybe you’ve been walking with Him for a few days or weeks or months or years. The Lord is calling us to a heart transformation, because why? We need a Savior. And I don’t just need a Savior once. I need a Savior every day, because I mess it up. Because I don’t measure up. Because I say something I shouldn’t have said. I have an attitude I shouldn’t have had. I do something I should not have done. I need a Savior. Say amen.

Because we can never be good enough. We can never be good enough to earn God’s acceptance. We can’t earn our salvation. We can’t measure up to that rod. We need a Savior. We need someone to stand in the gap.

Seated, and praying for you

Do you know where Jesus went when He ascended from this earth? For those of you that don’t know, Jesus died on the cross. He was buried, and He was there for three days. And just as Scripture said, on the third day He was raised to life. So not only did He die for our sins, He was raised to life and defeated death so that you could have life with Him.

And when He was raised to life, He walked on this earth for 40 days with His disciples. He continued to teach them. There were many witnesses to this. In fact, there’s more evidence that Jesus walked this earth resurrected than that George Washington was the first president of the United States. Everybody saw, everybody witnessed Jesus walking around for 40 days.

After 40 days, He says, “I have to go, and I have to be with the Father.” Why? “Because it’s to your advantage.” We would think, “No, Jesus, we want You here. Trust me, we need You here.” He says, “It’s to your advantage that I go, because I’m going to go to the Father, and I’m going to send My Spirit, and He will be inside of you.” And you — everybody say, “Me.” Amen. “And you will not only be saved, but you will expand My kingdom. You will preach the good news. You will serve the broken and the lost. You will be witnesses of Me in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

And so Jesus ascends into heaven in body form. He’s in body form right now in heaven, folks. When Jesus took on flesh, it wasn’t just for 30 years. He took on flesh forever. God became man forever. How humble is that? And He ascended into heaven in the flesh. Mary grabs at Him and says, “Lord, Lord, Lord.” And He waits. That’s how humble He is. I’d be like, “Man, I got things to do.”

He ascends into heaven, all the way into the presence of the Father. And Scripture says He is seated in heaven, and He’s making intercession for you. What does that mean? He’s praying. He’s interceding. He’s praying for your family that does not know Him. He’s praying for your friends that don’t know Him. And He’s drawing them to Him with His love, and it is unrelenting, and it is faithful. It is forever. And He is praying, and He is filling in the gap.

And now when God the Father looks from heaven and He looks at you, He only sees you through the lens of Jesus. He doesn’t see your sin anymore if you’ve made Him the Lord of your life. He doesn’t see your shame. He doesn’t see your failures. He doesn’t see the past. All He says is, “I see you through My Son, the perfect One, the Savior, in whom I’m well pleased.” You don’t have to do the work, because Jesus already did it.

So how do you receive Him? You receive Him by confessing Him and saying, “Jesus, You are my Savior. You’re the one that I need. Apart from You, I have nothing. You died for my sin. I’m confessing. I’m acknowledging what You’ve done. You died for my sin so that I could be cleansed and so that I could walk with You.”

Scripture says whoever confesses Him as Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, they will be saved. But to follow Him and to not be taken out means you humble yourself and you walk with Him. You need a heart transformation.

A new covenant written on the heart

I’m going to move along. “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’” Jesus is saying, “You know the Scriptures back and forth, but you don’t even know this.” And I feel like, “Lord, that’s a little unfair.” Nicodemus didn’t have John chapter 3, right? But Jesus is saying, “No, you should know this.” Why?

Because in Jeremiah 31:31 — let me give you an example. This is why Nicodemus should have known this. It says, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord” — okay, this is before Jesus was on the earth, before He took on flesh — “when I will make a new covenant” — a new promise — “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke.”

And you could put in parentheses: again and again and again. They broke it. They didn’t fulfill their end of the agreement. They broke their promise to love Me, to have no other gods, to serve Me, to be with Me. “They broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them.” The Lord’s saying, “I’m so committed to you. I’m coming back to you again and again, just as a husband is committed to his wife.” But they kept cheating on Him with other gods.

And He says, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.” God’s saying, “I’m going to do something that’s going to change everything. You tried to do it your way. You tried to have the world and Me. You tried to love Me but love everything else in this world more than Me. You tried it. But I’m going to do something greater. I’m going to make a new covenant with you. And I’m going to send a Savior.”

And He says, “And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord.” Can you see the heart of the Father here? Can you see how He wants this for everybody? Amen.

But notice, God is saying it starts with the heart. God says in Ezekiel 34, verse 23 — and I’m going to invite our worship team up here. They’re going to sing a song for us while we receive Communion. We’re going to wrap it up. But I feel like the Lord’s speaking. Amen. This is important.

Ezekiel 34 says, “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them.” Who feeds us? Everybody say, “The Lord.” If you are reading your Bible and it is not bringing life to you, ask the Lord to teach you. Amen. Because He’s the one who feeds us.

He says, “My servant David.” This is talking about David, but it’s talking about the Messiah to come, Jesus, through the lineage of David. It says, “He shall feed them and be their shepherd.” Now, let me ask you this. When a shepherd shepherds the flock, what does he have in his hand? Everybody say, “A rod.”

What did Job feel like he couldn’t measure up to? The rod. God is saying, “Listen, this is your leader. He will not just be a ruler, but He will be a shepherd. And it won’t be according to the measure of your worth. It will be the measure of His rod. And He will lead you into the paths of life.” Amen. He will lead you into green pastures. He knows the plans He has for you. He formed you. He created you. And He’s saying, “Follow Me, and I will lead you.” Amen. What a wonderful Lord we serve.

“And I, the Lord,” verse 24, “will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.” We jump a couple chapters later. It says in chapter 36, verse 25, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean.” Notice what God is saying. He’s saying, “I will sprinkle clean water on you. You don’t need to clean yourself.” How many of you know the Lord washes us?

He’s saying, “I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” All I can picture is Jesus at the feet of His disciples, washing their feet. And it echoes to this day, the Lord saying, “Will you let Me wash you? Will you let Me love you? Will you let Me save you? Because I have loved you with an everlasting love. My heart has never stopped burning for you, calling you and drawing you to Myself. Will you respond to Me? Will you say yes to this invitation of love?”

The Lord says in verse 26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” In other words, the Lord is saying, “Listen, I will give you a heart that will love Me, that will choose Me, that will know how to walk with Me.” And He says, “I will put My Spirit within you.”

God is saying, “Listen, not only will I give you a new spirit — not only is your spirit, that was once dead because of sin, reborn and alive — I’m going to put My Holy Spirit in you.” Why? “Because then you will have the strength to follow Me.” And this is exactly the conversation that the Lord was having with Nicodemus.

And I believe this is the conversation that the Lord is inviting each one of us into today: that you must be born from above. You must be born again. You must acknowledge your need for a new heart, for a new spirit. You have to be transformed from the inside. But when you are born from on high, it changes everything.

Look to the One who was lifted up

And I’m sure Nicodemus was hearing this, and he was thinking, “But what about my sin? What about sin?” Because sin must be punished. It has to be dealt with. And Jesus, without waiting for him to ask, says in verse 14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved” — everybody say, “He loved” — “He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” — His only Son — “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus is saying, “I understand that the sin issue must be dealt with. The price must be paid.” But just as the people of Israel were perishing in the wilderness as they were wandering toward the promised land — they were being bitten by snakes and poison, and they were dying — many people today are dying spiritually. They are dying, and they are being nipped at by the poison of sin. And sin is taking their life. It is taking them from Him. It is robbing them of everything that they have, everything that He’s offered. And what is the solution? When you lift your eyes to Me.

Can we do this this morning? Can we stand? And can we fix our eyes on Jesus today, the One who was lifted up? Come on, let’s lift our hands to the Lord.

We lift our hands to You, Jesus, the One who was lifted up on our behalf. Lord, You did not forget that there was sin, but there was Someone who willingly took it upon Himself as a blameless and perfect sacrifice. And Lord, all that we have to do is to die to our old self, to die to our old life, to die to our sin, and admit that we can’t measure up. But we can look to Jesus, and we can receive what You’ve done for us.

Can we respond to the Lord with our hands lifted and looking to heaven? And what do I mean by that? In our hearts, we’re looking to the Lord. We see the Lord seated on the throne. He’s seated because He does not need to work anymore. He doesn’t need to run around saying, “What am I going to do with this one? What am I going to do with that one? What am I going to do with these people?” No, He’s seated because the work is finished. Look to the Lord Jesus and let Him give you a new heart today.

And if you’ve not made Jesus the Lord of your life, this is the time. This is the hour. This is the day to choose Him. Don’t let another day go, because Scripture says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found.” There is no guarantee of tomorrow. And if you’re playing the odds, you’re playing a fool’s game, because you don’t know if your heart will ever be in a position to receive Him again. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

If you’re here today and you are no longer in love with Him the way that you should be — you might be here today and say, “Well, I believe in the Lord, but I don’t really love Him the way that everybody else is loving Him. I mean, that’s a little extreme” — you need to know that you can love Him like that. Look to Jesus. Look to the One who was lifted up. Let Him bring healing to your life. Let Him bring healing to your spirit. Let Him bring healing to your soul. Let Him restore you. Let Him raise you up. Let Him lift you up into His presence. Somebody say amen.

And so with our hands lifted, just say, “Lord Jesus, forgive me for trying to measure up and be good enough, for expecting that from other people. Forgive me of my sins. Forgive me for not being obedient. Forgive me for not prioritizing You. I accept what You’re saying to me. I accept a new heart. I accept a new spirit. And I ask for a fresh filling of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, give me the new birth.”

Come on, let’s say it like we mean it: “Lord, give me the new birth.” Say it so the person next to you can hear it. Come on. “Lord, give me a new birth. Transform my heart. Help me to love You. Teach me to walk with You. Teach me to love. Teach me to worship You. Teach me, because there is no one else. You are my Savior. You are my Lord. You’re the one that I follow. You’re the one that I seek. You’re the one that I choose from this day forward. In Jesus’ name.”

And if you prayed that in faith, believing according to Scripture, you are saved. You are born again. Say amen. Say, “Thank You, Jesus.” Come on, thank Him. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace. Lord, we thank You for Your mercies, that they are new every morning, Lord, that You pour Yourself out again and again and again, that You draw us to You. And You are drawing us to You today.

We’re going to sing this song — in fact, let’s be seated real quick. I’m sorry, guys. This is so important. This is Communion. We’re going to receive the bread, which is the body of Jesus that was broken for us, and the juice, which is the blood that was shed for us. And this is a holy meal.

And Jesus said, “This is the blood of the new covenant. This is the promise.” And if you partake of Him, you are partaking of the promise that He has made to you. You are partaking of that born-again nature, that new life that He prepared for you. And Jesus said, “When you do this, do it in remembrance of Me.” Don’t just take this willy-nilly. This is more than just going through a process. This is receiving the Lord Jesus Himself. Say amen.

And so we’re going to have the song sung over us. And what I mean by that is, you don’t know the words? It’s okay. They’re not going to be on screen. So I’m going to ask that we close our eyes, and I want you to hear the heart of the Lord on this. And when you are ready — this can be at any point during the song or after the song — I want you to come up.

We celebrate an open Communion, which means this: if you are here today and you want more of the Lord in your life, and you’re saying, “Lord, I want to be one with You. I want to know You. I don’t know everything. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t get it all, but I trust You enough,” and you’re saying, “I want more,” you are a candidate. You are welcome to receive this today. Okay?

We good? We’re going to come up during the song or after the song. I want you to receive the cup, receive the bread. I want you to go to your seats. And I want you just to receive this with somebody. It can be who you came with. It can be somebody you don’t know. And I want you together just to begin to thank the Lord for His love. That’s all you got to do: “Lord, I thank You for Your body that was broken. I thank You for the blood that was shed, that I can have life with You forever.”

Do we got our instructions? Are we good? Go ahead. Close your eyes. Hear the heart of the Lord.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.