John 3:1-8
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, 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.”3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 
It all started at night, when Nicodemus, “the teacher of Israel”, came to the Light. Nicodemus made three appearances in the Bible (John 3:1-21, 7:50-52, 19:39-42) and on the third time, we see that the seed Jesus planted by night blossoms in the light of a gloomy day.
 
Nicodemus assisted Joseph of Arimathea with the burial of Jesus’ body. According to his old ways of life, Nicodemus became unclean, but in his new eternal life, he was unblemished, washed clean.
 
In vs. 1-2, God's Word says:
 
John 3:1-2
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, 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.”
 
By God's grace, Nicodemus had heard about Jesus. He had heard about the amazing miracles Jesus worked. He might have even seen Jesus work miracles. Nicodemus knew that there was something extra special about Jesus. But he still had questions and concerns, so he took them to Jesus. And that's what we should do!
 
In vs. 2, Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, 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." Nicodemus took a giant step there, because He was willing to listen to Jesus. And everybody desperately needs to listen to Jesus Christ. I say that because people are hopelessly lost without Jesus.
 
 
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
 
All of us are sinners, and without Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will face God's eternal punishment for our sins. Think about it this way… If there was ever a person who didn't need Jesus, it would be Nicodemus, or someone like him. This man was on top of his world, but he still needed Jesus. And Nicodemus reminds us everybody needs Jesus!
 
Let’s dig into the life of Nicodemus, so that you will what type of a man he is and even for someone like Nicodemus, the need for a Savior.
 
Nicodemus was a rich man. As you all know, in our society, we would think that rich people didn’t need anything. They’re rich!!! Nicodemus must have been a wealthy man…
 
John 19:39
39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
 
After Jesus died, Nicodemus provided a hundred-pound mixture of myrrh and aloes for the Lord's burial. That much myrrh and aloe was exceedingly expensive. Just to compare. A hundred pounds of expensive perfume at the mall would cost you about $200,000!
 
Only a rich man could have bought those spices for the Lord's burial. And money can buy a lot of wonderful things, but money can't buy the most important things like love, friendship and peace. Most of all, money certainly cannot buy salvation.
 
Nicodemus was no common man. He was a high ruler in his land. He was one of the seventy members of the Sanhedrin or Supreme Court of the Jews. Nicodemus was part of the religious elite, but your position can't save you. Being the President, or a famous actor or a top athlete cannot save you.
 
The name Nicodemus means "victory of the people," so it's easy to see that he could have been well-liked and popular in the city. Nicodemus was well known and respected. He was recognized as a leader. But he still needed Jesus Christ! And when He met Jesus that night...he knew that!!!
 
Nicodemus was a most religious person. He possessed great religious knowledge. Nicodemus' first words to Jesus were, "We know," and he knew God's Law better than almost anyone else in the nation. He was a Pharisee, and there were never more than 6,000 of those religious devotees.
 
As a Pharisee, Nicodemus didn't just know the law, he tried his best to live up to it. He was religious to the core. The Pharisees took drastic measures to make sure that they obeyed the letter of the law. They fasted and prayed and studied the Scriptures. They lived spiritually disciplined lives. But they were just as lost as they could be without Jesus Christ, and they were lost because no one can fully live up to God's law.
 
EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE WE ARE LOST WITHOUT HIM, AND BECAUSE JESUS LOVES US! Let’s continue with our text…
 
John 3:2-6
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, 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.”3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
 
In vs. 2, Nicodemus did the most important thing that anyone can ever do in life: He went to Jesus! And Jesus began to lead Nicodemus into eternal life. Why did the Lord do that? Because He loved Nicodemus! And here are some ways we can see the Lord's love.
 
The Lord wasn't impressed by Nicodemus' power and prestige. Today, Jesus cares just as much about us as He does the President, the Governor, the richest man in the world, the smartest man in the world, or the best athlete in the world. Jesus treats everybody the same, because He loves everyone that is drawn to Him. Praise the Lord for that love!
 
In vs. 3, Jesus got right to the point: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'' In other words: "Nicodemus, you must be born again!"
 
We must be born again. As Scripture speaks, the reason why we must be born again spiritually is because physical birth can only give us physical life. Horses produce horses. Dogs produce dogs. Cats produce cats. And mortal people produce mortal people. This is why in vs. 6, Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," but "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
 
In other words: The people who have been given the second birth by God's Holy Spirit have eternal, spiritual life. The Holy Spirit of God produces a new kind of person by a new kind of birth. And it is this spiritual birth that gives us God's eternal life. When we are born again, we get a brand new nature, a new spiritual heart. As Paul said in…
 
 
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
 
We also become children of God, part of the family of God, and there will be a family resemblance. Nothing is more important in life than being born again! There are a thousand other things the Lord could have discussed with Nicodemus, but Jesus moved the conversation straight to our greatest need. Why did Jesus do that? -- Because He loved Nicodemus. And the Lord loves us just as much!
 
JESUS GOT RIGHT TO THE POINT, AND HE STAYED THERE UNTIL NICODEMUS SAW THE TRUTH.
 
Jesus doesn't quit on people who are seeking the truth! He kept explaining the truth to Nicodemus, until that very religious man got saved! Jesus Christ wants everybody to know the truth about Him. He wants everybody to receive the salvation that only He can give. The Lord didn't hold back on Nicodemus, and He didn't hold back on the cross!
 
SHORT STORY:
 
Ravi Zacharias told the story of a missionary named Joseph Damien. Back in the 1800s, Joseph ministered to people with leprosy on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. Those suffering people grew to love Joseph and respected the sacrificial life he lived before them.
 
One morning before Joseph was to lead the daily worship service, he poured some hot water into a cup. Some of the hot water spilled out and fell on Joseph's bare foot. It took him a moment to realize that he hadn't felt any pain. Gripped by fear of what it could mean, Joseph poured a little more hot water on the same spot, and he felt no pain at all. Joseph immediately knew what had happened. He had been infected with the dreaded disease of leprosy.
 
Later, when Joseph began to preach, at first no one noticed the difference in the opening words of his sermon. Joseph normally started every sermon by saying, "My fellow believers." But that morning he began by saying: "My fellow lepers."
 
Joseph Damien knew the risk before he went to minister at the leper colony on Molokai, but he took the risk, because he loved those people. And Joseph's sacrifice points us to the Lord's sacrifice, because when Jesus came into our world, He knew what it would cost Him. But Jesus came anyway.
 
He was willing to pay the highest price, because of His great love for us. Jesus didn't hold back from all of the shame and suffering of the cross. And He will never hold back on the things we need, because He loves us!
Only Jesus Christ can give us eternal life He began to talk about in vs. 4-8. Please look starting in vs. 4:
 
John 3:4-8
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 
FIRST HERE, NOTICE THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIRIT.
 
Nicodemus was mystified in vs. 4: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'' Nicodemus was confused about how anyone could be born again. And Jesus explained part of the mystery in vs. 8, when He said, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'
 
Nicodemus was mystified, but there is also some mystery for us in vs. 5. Here Jesus told Nicodemus, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
 
We know that "born of the Spirit" means that we must be born again by the Holy Spirit of God. But "born of water," what does that mean? Some denominations teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation. Many Bible-believing, Jesus-loving people believe you must be baptized in order to be saved. They get this incorrect doctrine mostly from a possible interpretation of Acts 2:38…
 
Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 
Now that word translated "for" in this verse can mean "in order to." So, they think it means "be baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins." But that little word "for" can also mean "on account of." And that's how we take it. People are baptized on account of the fact that they have already received the forgiveness of sins. Remember the thief on the cross? He was not baptized and Jesus promised to be with Him in paradise.
 
Many Scriptures show that Christians are saved by grace through faith in the Lord, and what He did on the cross for us. Please listen to these examples:
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
 
And also…
 
John 3:36
36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
 
Baptisms were acts of obedience from people who were already saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That is why, it is very important for one who has believed in the Savior to be baptized. Christians…We are baptized because of what has already taken place. Baptism is a public witness of the salvation we have already received by grace through faith in Christ. We are also baptized because Jesus told us to be baptized, and we want to be obedient.
 
If you want some Bible study on the importance of baptism as sign of your obedience. Start reading the book of Acts. Start with chapter 8 & 16. Chapter 8, was Eunuch…after believing In Jesus said these precious words, “See, here is water, what is topping me from being baptized?” Chapter 16, There was a woman named Lydia, whom the Lord has opened her heart to receive the message. Her and her household. A Philippian jailer saved, he and his household. All three stories that I had mentioned, they were saved and after…as a sign of obedience, they were baptized!
 
IN CONCLUSION:
 
To sum it up, the water could be talking about God's Spirit, the water could be talking about God's Word, and the water could be talking about the first birth. All three of those interpretations have some validity. And just like Nicodemus, we will face some mysteries when it comes to God. But this much is absolutely sure: "You must be born again!"
 
THANK GOD WE DON'T JUST HAVE MYSTERIES OF THE SPIRIT. WE ALSO HAVE THE MOVING OF THE SPIRIT!
 
Jesus talked about this moving in vs. 8, where He said…
 
 
 
John 3:8
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 
God's Holy Spirit blows like the wind in our hearts. He wants to move us to new places in life. And the Lord showed us how over in John 16:7-14…
 
John 16:7-14
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
 
The Holy Spirit is still moving in the world today, seeking to convict people of their sins and of God's coming judgment on sin. But the most important work of God's Spirit is to point people to God's Son, Jesus Christ.
 
Jesus came into the world to die on the cross for all our sins, and three days later He rose again from the dead. Now our Risen Savior is able and willing to save anyone who will put their trust in Him. So, call on the Lord to save you. Then do everything you can to help more people believe, because everybody needs Jesus Christ!
 
“YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN” There is no other way. These are the word of Jesus, not mine.

John 20:24-29
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So, he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing.”28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
 
When we walk into a church building and sing the hymns and worship songs, pray, and have conversations concerning our walk with Jesus we try our very best to give the impression that we believe and never doubt God as our Lord whom always does good to those who love Him.
 
And yet in the valleys and on the mountaintops, we have moments when the Devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds and as a result we sometimes question not only the path God wants us to take in life but also our salvation and His very existence! In the face of such doubts we should cry out like the father in Mark chapter nine, “I do believe, help me God with my unbelief,” but refuse to do so for what would the other members whom are “strong in the faith” think about our apparent weakness?
 
After all, if we told them that there are times when we doubt God would ever forgive our heinous sins, that we sometimes wonder if there are other gods or paths to heaven, whether we are important to God, or even our occasional doubt that we are saved, would they not frown and see us as mere babes or worse yet not part of God’s family?
 
When it comes to overcoming doubt, I think there is much that we can learn from Apostle Thomas. In the message today, we are going examine four stores in the life of Thomas that clearly demonstrates that those whom obtain a strong faith are precisely the one’s that cry out to God daily help me with my unbelief!
 
Background on Apostle Thomas:
 
Today we are going to look into the life of Thomas “the doubter.” What little that can be known about Thomas comes mostly from four biblical accounts of his life as found in the book of John (11:1-16, 14:1-7, 20:24-29, 21:1-25).
Thomas appears in the middle of the lists of apostles either being paired with Matthew or Phillip (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). While we know almost nothing of Thomas’ ministry role amongst the twelve disciples, there is considerable ancient testimony that Thomas carried the Gospel message as far as India. While some scholars claim that Thomas wrote several gnostic texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Hymn of Jude Thomas the Apostle in the Country of the Indians, due to a lack of proof of authorship and due to these texts containing theology contrary to Scripture makes this claim to be untrue.
 
When it comes to how Thomas was martyred, ironically as one “whose faith came of age when seeing the spear mark in his Master’s side,” he died for his faith by being run through by a spear!
 
Except for Judas Iscariot, no apostolic legacy has been defined as negatively as Thomas’s based mostly on a singular event. To start off this event we are told that when Jesus first appeared to the twelve disciples Thomas was not present (verse 20). While the reason for Thomas being absent is not given, one can’t help but wonder if Jesus’ crucifixion left him feeling alone, rejected and forsaken and was therefore in no mood to socialize.
 
When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, one would have expected him to be excited but instead with great pessimism he refused to accept the claim until he had “visual proof” of both seeing and touching the nail marks in Jesus’ wrists and the spear mark in His side (verse 25).
 
A week later Jesus again appeared to the disciples and this time Thomas was present (verse 26). Upon appearance Jesus told Thomas to see and touch His wounds and in doing so to “stop doubting and believe” (verse 27). There is no indication that Thomas needed to touch but mere sight to speak one of the strongest speech given of Jesus’ deity, “my Lord and my God” (verse 28). Jesus then stated that it is good that Thomas’ sight led to belief, but it is even better when people believe despite… never having seen Him (verse 29)!
 
We whom believe without having physically seen Jesus should not wave our condescending finger at Thomas but learn from him and the other disciples on how to handle doubt. Thomas was not the only disciple with doubt for none of the other 10 believed until they saw their risen Savior in the flesh…
 
Mark 16:9-11
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
So…it is safe to say that, Thomas was not the only one who doubted. If the Devil planted seeds of doubt in the disciple’s minds, he will in ours as well. Just because we have doubts does not mean that we are mere babes in Christ or that we have lost our salvation!
 
Remember, even though the disciples doubted the resurrection, their status as being a disciple that would one day sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:30) was never revoked.
 
Our high priest Jesus does not treat our doubts with fierce anger and condensation but understands and is sympathetic towards our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).
 
Like Thomas… we must never forget that despite what we do Jesus’ love for us is unconditional! When we cry out to Him “I do believe, help me God with my unbelief” it is not a sign of immaturity but of great faith as one who knows they are utterly dependent on Jesus, our bread of life (John 6:35) and only means of attaining spiritual maturity and holiness!
 
From Thomas we learn that the only way to overcome doubt is to humbly come before our sympathetic high priest Jesus and acknowledge that we don’t know the way we are to live our lives and therefore desperately need Him to reveal it to us! Human confidence in one’s path does not make one spiritually mature but naïve to think one’s thoughts could ever be equivalent to God’s thoughts (Isaiah 55:8)!
 
Isaiah 55:8
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
 
The response to experiencing doubts upon the mountaintops and in the valleys should never be to pretend to have holy living figured out so that one might impress other members of the church but to cry out to God for wisdom and discernment as to what steps Jesus wants one to take!
 
In response to our humility and faith James 1:5 promises that the light of the world (John 8:12) will not only generously light the lamp before our feet (Psalms 119:105) but will also enable us to accomplish more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21)! Doubt is overcome not by human effort alone and certainly not by human pride but is granted to those whom put their trust in Jesus (Proverbs 3:5-6)!
 
IN CONCLUSION:
 
Every believer should acknowledge that Jesus is Lord…Here is a familiar story of when Jesus found out the His dear friend Lazarus has died…
John 11:4-16
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
 
The final passage that I want to review speaks volumes about Thomas’ character. Jesus had just left Jerusalem where the Jewish leaders had tried to seize and stone Him for claiming to be the Son of God and was now ministering beyond the Jordan (10:22-42). Jesus was sent word that the one He loved… His friend Lazarus was sick (verse 3). Despite His love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus Jesus decided to wait another two days before He announced to the disciples that they were going back to Judea (verses 6-7).
 
Jesus’ failure to respond immediately to the news that Lazarus was deathly ill was not due to a lack of love but due Lazarus already being dead and due to His desire to have the Son of God gloried (verse 4) by raising one whom had been dead for four days. Upon hearing that Jesus wanted to go to Bethany which was near Jerusalem the disciples questioned the wisdom of such a decision. While the other disciples appeared to be afraid to return to such a hostile territory, Thomas boldly told them “let us go, that we might die with Him (Christ – verse 16)!
 
From Thomas we learn that when Jesus is not the Lord of our life in all that we think or do, spiritual maturity becomes unattainable. “Thomas looked death in the face and choose death with Jesus rather than life without Him.” While there is no place where we can go where God’s love (Romans 8:37-39) and presence are not accessible (Psalms 139), there are many times in our lives that we refuse to acknowledge His nearness and right to rule over our lives!
 
It is precisely in these times that doubt rules our hearts and paralyzes our walk with Christ! The key to spiritual maturity then is to continually deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).
I think it is better to die with Christ than to be left behind to walk on our own self-designed path (Proverbs 14:12) that merely appears to be holy but totally misses the mark of what God has equipped us to do in His kingdom (Ephesians 2:10)!
 
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
 
Those whom obtain a strong faith are precisely the one’s that cry out to God daily help me with my unbelief! Only faith…not works, can bring acceptance with God. But good works are the vital and indispensable consequence and evidence of life with God.
 
God chose His elect to make them holy sons and daughters and He has now fashioned them to be new bearers of His image, designed for the kind of life that conforms to Gods character. Our good works are the fruit of salvation, and not its cause! And those who do not have good works show that they do not have saving faith!
 
If uncertainties have smothered your confidence in the Lord, remember His power so evident in the empty tomb. The crucifixion was not the end of the story…and neither is doubt that we sometimes face. Chose the path of faith and declare that triumph lies ahead. Allow His resurrection to strengthen your hope, renew your certainty and your greatest victory!