Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition! - Part A

How is it possible to start again. How can there be a real change of new life that would happen inside. How could I ever see real change.

This makeover you talk about Jesus on so extreme these things do get a weaker division things families can do with the visit here little girls that have their fantasy of being a Disney princess come through as they have their hair done up in special princes to have their nails and makeup done in princes fashion for the parents who really want to go all out. They could even walk out of their favorite it's all sparkles and fashion fun with that special Disney touch such a marvelous makeovers that doesn't begin what God is so more about what exactly all that looks like the project but first let's find out more about this much connect with Skip resource offer length his heart and then we time the harsh but accurate philosophy. Listen to this general encouragement. But, that's right, in the most difficult circumstances God can intervene as he did for Joseph Joe and through the resurrection of Jesus here Skip I think the fact there may not be two more hopeful words then these two words but God because they point us to the great interrupter, the one who can powerfully and graciously interrupt our live with his plans and change our lives forever help you understand some of the Bible's most profound… You can have more hope for change in your life.*It's 10 message teaching series are thanks $35 and more to help connect more people to the only one can radically change a life that God CD collection to you. Get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or call 892 1888 John chapter 3 will join Skip Heitzigs.

She begins her study with them either one of her great confidence in life change is a part of life were always change we are aging right now as I speak. We don't notice it because it's incremental but I guarantee you with somebody who knows you sees you sporadically and they haven't seen you for a while and they catch up with you.

They notice it were always changing my change locations we might change jobs, you know, the average American worker. By age 40 will of had eight different jobs.

Change is a part of life and part of the change is brought to us by technology example that will help put it in perspective. Up until the 1800s. We human beings traveled no faster than about 2025 miles an hour on horse horse back in the 1800s, the locomotive the train was invented and so suddenly we were going 50 miles an hour.

I know that doesn't sound like much.

Some of you have a gun 50 miles an hour on the freeway for four years, but 50 miles an hour was wow and then 75 and then 100 and then the jet aircraft was developed and people could travel across the world of 500 miles an hour in just a few years after that, a 1979, the Concorde jet was invented that put us at 1200 mph now. Astronauts will orbit the earth at 16,000 miles an hour all of that change in a little period of time, but that's outward change that's technological change. What about personal change. Do people want change.

Personally what it depends. A lot of polls have been conducted about this and people have been asked if you could change one thing about your life what would it be almost invariably, the answer is been appearance, body type, age rarely will you ever hear somebody answer saying I want the inside of me changed.

I want my character different.

My disposition my personality. It's typically outward stuff. Knowing this, ABC capitalized on it pretty well in the so-called extreme makeover. They assembled what they called the extreme team cosmetic surgeons, cosmetic dentist, stylus, wardrobe specialists, the budget to go along with it. Making someone into the most beautiful them possible. But what about what about the soul.

What about that part of you that nobody sees the part of you that will live forever. The soul I want to talk to you today about the soul. I call this message extreme makeover soul edition because that's the most important part of us. It was Jesus who said what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul. And what will a man give in exchange for his soul. That's really the conversation were dealing with between Nicodemus and Jesus. Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night and John chapter 3, Jesus cuts right to the chase and talks about in word change the soul change Jesus's own words, you must be born again. Nicodemus, if ever.

I felt sorry for a phrase I feel sorry for the phrase born again everybody from Oprah to every social scientist, a politician, the last 20 years has I think ruined the phrase born again are Ken Hughes says it best. The term born again is been pirated emptied of meaning drag to the gutter and then given back to us.

Minus its power.

Let's find out exactly what it is we saw that last week, but let's let's read further. Nicodemus is a grown man.

He has lived his whole life with the outward stuff, religion, hard work, sincerity, and Jesus comes to him and says you needed to over. You gotta start from scratch and you have to be born again. The first part of John chapter 3 is a dialogue to have a conversation. The second part is the discourse in verse nine, the second question of Nicodemus is what launches Jesus into the discourse. Nicodemus says how can these things be.

I love the Phillips translation. How on earth can things like this happen.

How is it possible to start again. How can there be a real change of new life that would happen inside of how could I ever see real change. This makeover you talk about Jesus on so extreme. How is it possible how can these things be so verse 10 down to verse 21 is the answer to the question. It tells us how a man can be born again here is than the anatomy of the new birth if you will.

The mechanical view of what it is to be born again it comes to us in four stages. First of all, the source, the source of new life.

That's from heaven not from Earth, not from man-made systems of religion.

It comes from heaven, Nicodemus, verse nine, answered and said to him, how can these things be. Jesus answered and said are you the teacher not a teacher, as if to say, the illustrious teacher are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things can you hear the sarcasm in that most assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen you do not receive our witness.

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things no one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven.

That is the Son of Man who is in heaven. This is a pretty simple message is a simple straightforward message I want to complicate is simply this new life is possible because Jesus Christ who is life brought it down from heaven. That's the source of new life.

The source of the new birth comes from heaven. That's the message of Christianity. What's impossible for man to reach for God has brought down to us. See we have a problem. We are creatures of time and space were in a box and the box has walls call time and space were in the time space continuum being natural creatures. We can escape into the supernatural that people will try and every time somebody comes along and says I found a way to escape the natural and transcend into the supernatural. Every time somebody says that a new religion is born. That's what religion is its man's attempt for Merck to reach into heaven so the Buddhist will say that if you work and think yourself into Nirvana.

You'll find God in the New Age proponent will say if you gain a Christ consciousness in a higher self. You'll see God in the Hindu will say by the transmigration of the soul reincarnation and eventually the absorption into Brahm on you will see God. But it won't work. You can never for Merck reach out and find God that the natural Peak or pier or go into the supernatural.

So were in the box were stuck well.

If we can get out of the box. What has to happen.

God has to come in. Inside the box did that ever happen happen once only once skull the incarnation.

It's when God in the person of Christ stepped out of eternity onto earth in time and space and showed us exactly what God is life and brought new life and made it possible. So Nicodemus you been trying so hard to reach out to your religion and your works to find God. You can't reach far enough man, you can't do it. I've always loved the story of the cosmonaut who came back from outer space and he said I have traveled through space and I did not see God.

We didn't go far enough. Somebody heard him and said you do step that your spacesuit, you do seem godlike that certain so here's the deal. Either we take what Jesus said or were stuck because no man has ascended into heaven, we can't get up there to see what's up there and bring the plan back God through Christ had to step down from heaven to us, but you know what most people would rather spend their time reaching up from Earth.

Rather than accepting and taking what is been handed down from heaven and a sweater so frustrated so frustrated because it never works is an old legend about a man who was walking and he got lost and got off the path and got stranded fell into a blog of quicksand was drowning in the quicksand cried out for help.

And finally, Confucius walked by and noticed him and said Confucius say it is evident that men should stay out of such places and he walked off, leaving the man still struggling after a few more minutes. Buddha walked by and stroked his chin. Then he said let this man's suffering be an example for the rest of mankind, and he walked away. Later on, Mohammed walked by and saw the man struggling in said insula which is if God wills. Whatever is the will of Allah, and he walked by, but then finally Jesus walked by put out his hand and said grab a hold I'll save that is Christianity. It's God bursting into our world, reaching down from heaven to save mankind. So the sources from heaven as the source of let's look at the force of new life that is the atoning death of Christ. 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 the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, and I can dwell too much on that burst, even though that's the verse next week for communion will zero in on just that verse, but for the sake of context we read on verse 17 for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. So Jesus brings the new life down from heaven to the earth, but the question is, so how does it work. What is the power behind what is the force behind it is ready. Death, death, new life will operate on the basis of death. Somebody has to die enabling others to live first death must occur. That's a New Testament theme all the way throughout the New Testament we read that we live because Christ died they could could be summed up by a lot of different verses I chosen one tucked away in first Peter succinctly put this way, Christ died for sins once for all the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God. So here is Jesus predicting his death to Nicodemus, you might say it's a veiled prediction but it will be uncovered as time goes on is Moses lifted up the serpent the Son of Man must be lifted up, he's predicting his death and it's his death that will enable life so it's interesting the example Jesus uses with Nicodemus is Numbers 21 the whole wilderness serpent thing. No Nicodemus hearing this were perked up.

He's on familiar turf.

Now he knows his Old Testament is a teacher of Israel, so he was familiar with the story.

It's an interesting story but let me just tell you to familiarize you bring up to speed on it. The children of Israel are wandering through the wilderness and they do what they do best to gripe and complain and bellyache a murmur about everything for years, even when God miraculously gave them manna bread from heaven. Miraculously, wherever they were. They had bread they woke up one day and is what they said our soul hates this worthless Brad was manna or you know you can only do so much with manna you cook Manny about the mammoth banana banana bread and manicotti in a a few other dishes. But you kind of exhausted the cookbook. After a few days that it kept coming and they complain. So God in judgment sent a bunch of venomous snakes that fit people and caused a fever earning and caused the death of thousands of them.

Thousands of them were dying off God in his mercy said Moses may tell you what to do. That will save people from this death.

You take up a brass pole or brass serpent put together and lifted up lifted up in the wilderness and tell people to look at it if they look at it. The be cured.

Now just imagine you could see that thing. There's a 2 million people plus in the wilderness. I think for some people is way off there.

So for anybody to look in that direction. It would be a look of faith, they would have to believe two things inevitably number one that their center was there sin that caused this condition their experience. Number two, they had to believe that it was gonna work is work that I would be counterintuitive for me to imagine telling the logical mind you have a physical condition it's creating fever and death. But if you just look over there that thing you be cured, that makes sense is not logical is counterintuitive, but was a look of faith and the best part of it all worked. It work as God said it would work and that is the analogy it's very very similar to how people feel about the cross. You mean to tell me they would say that just a simple look of my faith in Christ is enough to save me from hell and from eternal distress just that they would say how can these things be just doesn't make sense. See, it's much easier for people to look to themselves. That's why they do it so much they won't trust Christ to look to themselves line religions will I do this will I work hard. How arrogant. It's much harder to admit I am a sinner and I need a Savior than it is to look to faith in Christ. Did you notice the word in verse 14. If you didn't you will in a moment, as the word must member. I pointed that out to you last week in the first part of John three. Here it is again. But notice it. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, must the cross was a divine imperative Jesus had to die. Why and how many times I've been asked why did Jesus Christ have to die two simple reasons to simple words. Number one justice must be served justice.

The Bible says in the Old Testament without the shedding of blood there is no what remission of sins. You know why that is because sin is so bad even though we might not think so, God thing. So, it's so bad that only the shedding of blood. Innocent blood could ever atone for it and so for God to be just TS to punish sin and is either going to require our blood or the blood of the substitute which he did to his son Jesus Christ is the second were not an reason that is justice, love, love.

It was love that drove Jesus to the cross. Verse 16 for God so loved the world get that he didn't just love you P so love you. In other words a lot. The Bible says something beautiful exist for the joy that was set before Jesus. He endured the cross, never thought about that what would give anybody joy facing cruel ignominious death. What possible joy could there be here is the joy of Jesus being able to look to the lens of history and see you and you and you you you you one day call on Christ and be saved forever, and he looked at that and said it's worth it.

That is what that will push me and drive me on to do the father's will and of joy out of love. So here's Nicodemus he's thinking the whole time. How can these things be. How how does the new birth happened. As it comes by Jesus bringing it out of heaven to the earth, and second by Jesus going to the cross to die being lifted up will say it again in chapter 12 of John, if I be lifted up from the earth.

I will draw all men to myself. He speaking of the cross. John even says so afterwards I've heard that verso misquoted over the years. Worship leaders stand up and say Jesus said if I be lifted up, will draw all men, so let's lift and hire it's almost a blasphemous spot because the idea of the taxes lifting him up on a cross to die.

That's what is referring to here and that is the force of the it's hard to understand sometimes why exactly Jesus was so willing to go through everything he did or why God is so willing to be so patient with humanity. All this time, considering all we've done is Skip pointed out, it's all summed up force in the world's most familiar verse for God so love. Perhaps all we need to do is look at it again with fresh eyes.

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