Morning everyone. Hope all of you are doing well. Last night, we spent some time praying for our local and global outreach topics. Please continue to pray for our KM mission team as they finish up their last week in Cambodia.
This past Sunday, Pastor Tim spoke on John 3:1-15 speaking about the passage’s situation, solution, and salvation. We were introduced to Nicodemus who was a well-respected religious leader that approached Jesus by night so that he can “size” him up to his approval and standard. Seeing Nicodemus, we are asked to examine our own hearts. Are we all about knowledge and status in our Christian status? How do we view Christ today? Good teacher or religious leader, personal “genie in a bottle”, or even a Savior? What about him as our LORD though, who demands every aspect of our lives unto him? Your life, career, relationship, wealth, status, family …
Jesus immediately interrupts Nicodemus and throws this statement at him in verse 3. “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” With this one question, Nicodemus is destroyed. He becomes confused and thinks the impossibility of physically being born again. I can identify with Nicodemus in a way since this question destroyed me too when I was a Freshman in college. My small group leader asked me, “What comes first? Being born again or faith?” This question forced me to examine my salvation and who does what in my salvation. Not having the reformed background, I quickly said “faith” thinking you can’t be born into something you can’t see first right? Wrong. Just like how the LORD raised the dead in Ezekiel 37, it is only God who can give you new life and spirit. Can a blind man ever see beyond his ability? No. Similarly, can a person lost in sin (Eph 2:1) ever seek Christ on his own no matter what kind of faith he/she has? No. As Christ brought healing and new ability for the blind to see, he must also give us a new spirit (ability) to see him. In other words, the object of our faith must be revealed to us first (born again) for us to even have faith in it.
The impossibility of being born again became only possible b/c Christ took on the impossible task of taking our sins to the cross for us. He would die on the cross and, again, allow impossibility of being raised to life so that we can have new birth in Christ (Rom 6:4). Brothers and sisters, are we living a life that is bearing witness to this? When the world is saying impossible to what we believe, do we show them the possibility of having new life in Christ? Praying that we continue to be a church that glorifies God, enjoys his presence, and shares the good news to those around us so that his truth will be manifested in the hearts and minds of his people.
-Elder Tommy
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