Light True Light

Light

True Light

True Light can only be seen when a person turns their life

Over to God to be born again

This birth is not by our will but by the Spirit who we yield to

This transformation can only come to those who are willing

To let the True Light expose their evil darkness

Are you ready to let the True Light expose you?

Are you willing to be born by the Spirit’s will

And yield up your own will? 

Is there any area of your life you are not willing to let the True Light shine into?

True Light

John Chapter 3 not only has the most

famous verse in the Bible…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

But an amazing story of a man…

“Now there was a man”

Greek “a human being” (verse 1)

This man is described to us,

 but don’t forget he is a man…

Someone just like you and me.

The man has a name, Nicodemus, meaning…

 “Victorious among his people”

We read he is a Pharisee…

“A member of an ancient Jewish sect,

distinguished by strict observance

of the traditional and written law,

and commonly held to have

pretensions to superior sanctity.”

A man not much different than

most practicing religious people.

Nicodemus’ faith, education and

wisdom gained him a place of leadership…

 “A member of the Jewish ruling council.”

Nicodemus came to Jesus at “night”.

There could be a lot of reasons for the night visit,

but maybe there is something significant

in the sense all of us are in the night,

in darkness when we come to Jesus.

Nicodemus does not seem to be like

other Pharisees that Jesus confronts

because of their “superior sanctity”.  

Nicodemus addresses Jesus

as “Rabbi”, meaning a teacher.

Nicodemus recognizes Jesus as a

teacher who has come from God.

The reason is, he saw Him do miraculous

signs that only could be done with God’s help.

There are three things we should note in Jesus’ reply…

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

kingdom of God unless he is born again."

 

Number one telling the truth…

 Truth is #1.

The second thing is sight…

Sight to see the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is the place where

God dwells in the earth and in heaven.

It is the place where God rules not

in a “superior sanctity” attitude

but full of grace and truth.

The third thing is very unique…

Being “born again”.

Jesus describes being born again in

verses 5-8 and he reminds Nicodemus…

 “I tell you the truth.”

   

There is a natural birth of every human being.

None of us chose to be born,

we did not bring our self into existence.

We had to accept the body, gender, color of skin,

none of these things were choices we could make.

The same is with being born again.

 It is not our choice or understanding

in what born again person is.

The Spirit of God forms us.

 And the Spirit goes and comes into our

lives in ways we do not understand.

We cannot be born again by our own will

any more than we can be born

into this world by our own will…

“So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." 

Our only choice is to accept the process.

We have to accept the developing work

of the Spirit of God to be born again.

Jesus tells the truth again in verses 10 – 15.

It is the power of the Son of Man being

lifted up that causes a person to

believe in Him and have eternal life.

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it.

 Jesus was not condemning Nicodemus,

 but revealed the truth which was

 hard for Nicodemus to understand.

In verses 19 to 21 Jesus speaks of light.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night

and now Jesus is about to show the

contrast between light and darkness.

Nicodemus knew the wrongs of people.

 He stood as a judge to decide how to handle wrongs,

 so it is no wonder Jesus uses the words…

 “This is the verdict”

Light has come into the world.

 No question, Jesus is describing Himself,

 a bold and difficult thing to accept for some-

one who looks like a fellow human being.

But it does not change the fact that human

beings love darkness because their deeds are evil.

All have sin and fall short of the glory of God…

 So the most perfect person has to look at

their life and question the darkness they love.

Nicodemus might have been

one of those most perfect humans.

There are two things the Light of God reveals.

The first…

 Our darkness and sin.

 This will not make us happy.

 Most of us would like our mistakes

and sin to remain in the dark so no

one, not even ourselves, can see it.

The second thing the Light of God reveals is…

 What God has done.

What God has done only becomes plain

to see when we have the Light of God.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,

so that it may be seen plainly that what

he has done has been done through God.   

We only get two other glimpses

of Nicodemus in the scriptures.

 

In John 7, the Pharisees were very upset with

Jesus and the way He was converting the people.

Nicodemus tells them…

"Does our law condemn anyone without first

hearing him to find out what he is doing?"

John 7:51

But the Pharisees did not listen to him.

After Jesus was crucified…

…the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.

Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.  

 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. 

This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

John 19:40-41

It would seem the man, Nicodemus,

was born again and lived by the

truth and came to the light

John 3:21

That he could now see plainly.

“That it may be seen plainly that what he

has done has been done through God."   

True Light can only be seen when a person

turns their life over to God to be born again.

This birth is not by our will

but by the Spirit who we yield to.

This transformation can only come

to those who are willing to let the

True Light expose their evil darkness.

Are you ready to let the True Light expose you?

Are you willing to be born by the

Spirit’s will and yield up your own will?

  

Is there any area of your life you are not

willing to let the True Light shine into?

Scripture Reading

John 3:1-21 NIV

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."

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

                                                                          

4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." 

9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man.   14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.   19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."