Jesus words in Red "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

Jesus words in Red

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

When we pray we end with “Amen”

Jesus before He spoke to Nicodemus said

“Amen, Amen”

The NIV interprets the Greek words as

"I tell you the truth”

Jesus’ Words were not a myth

Not stories that make us feel good

Jesus spoke the truth

The only thing that sets us free

There are many myths of heaven or the Kingdom of God

Jesus spoke to reveal the truth

The truth is you must be born again to see the Kingdom of God

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

I am sure you have heard the

word at the end of a prayer…

 “Amen”

When Jesus spoke in John 3:3

to a man named Nicodemus…

A Pharisees, a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He started with this word, Amen.

 In fact, Jesus said it twice.

“Amen, Amen” 

The NIV translated it…

“I tell you the truth”

The Greek word “amen (am-ane')” means…

firm, i.e. (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially,

surely (often as interj. so be it)

Amen, Amen; Firm, Firm or Trustworthy,

Trustworthy, or So be it, So be it

Jesus was concerned with “Truth”…

The absolute.

Although Jesus seems to speak in

abstract, He speaks absolute truth.

In Jesus’ time, there were a

lot of “Myths” as in our day.

A myth is…

“a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history

of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon,

and typically involving supernatural beings or events.”

a widely held but false belief or idea.

Not only was there Greek Mythology…

Paul told Titus that there were “many

rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers

spreading Jewish myths and they must be stopped.

  

Myths continued in the church.

 

Paul address Timothy in both first

and second Timothy concerning myths.

Paul also says as time goes on and we get

closer to the end (I think that includes us)…

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them

a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

2 Timothy 4:2-5 NIV

We love supernatural heroes…

 The big screen has made our comic books come to life.

 The message of good versus evil is told

by the Marvel and DC empires,

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

These all fit the definition of a myth.

We know these are myths.

But one of the problems with myths is we

tend to put Jesus in the same category.

Jesus wanted to make it clear what

He spoke was not a myth, but the truth…

“Amen, Amen”

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the

kingdom of God unless he is born again."

To see the Kingdom of God you must be born again.

Only with the eyes of the second birth

can you truly see the Kingdom of God.

The eyes of the first birth love

to look at supernatural things.

That is why Hollywood makes millions

of dollars on myths of super heroes.

I don’t want to come across as

being critical of super heroes.

What I want to point out is Jesus is determination to

convince us He is telling us the truth not some story.

Being born again will open your eyes

to the truth, the “Amen, Amen”.

Are you ready to see and accept the truth?

In another place Jesus says…

 “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

This message of Jesus is “Firm, Trustworthy, So be it”.

In a world of make believe…

 Jesus is the Real Deal!

Scripture Reading NIV

John 3:1-2

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

John 3:3

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the

kingdom of God unless he is born again."

Titus 1:10-16

10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach — and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.