Why at Night?: A Different Advent Message (Edited 11/1/2015)

Central Text: John 3:1-21

Intro:

This chapter easily contains one of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16. I submit to you that that verses 16-18 formulate the thesis statement of the Gospel. (I have been sitting on this since Advent last year, I believe that the message that follows is appointed for this Advent season. Often we disconnect Christmas from the Gospel, but the Gospel must remain at the heart of it all.) The gift of God as Jesus gives us access to eternal life. Too often we stop at the end of verse 16, but the argument laid out by the Gospel is completed by by clearly stating its case for believers and unbelievers. Verse 17 clearly describes the role of Jesus in the process of salvation (We explore the context later). Verse 18 is clear and direct about the clear delineation between believers and unbelievers. Jesus clearly declares that those that do not believe will not receive eternal life.

Background:

The context of this exchange, is not Jesus standing before a crowd laying out his case for the Gospel. This is a personal conversation at midnight between two men who normally would be philosophical rivals. (Such a beautiful display of the availability of the Gospel, even to Christ's enemies.) Thus, the question remains: "Why at Night?" I grew up hearing judgment and condemnation towards Nicodemus because he came to Jesus at night. I was in a church cantata, called Nic at Nite, I remember all of the cheesy songs imploring us as followers of Christ to be unafraid of living out our faith in front of friends, family and the world. A wonderfully valuable lesson to be gathered from (or inferred) from the scenario in John 3. BUT, I think over-emphasizing this aspect misses an opportunity to deal with humility and showing us how the message of Christ is both global and and intimate. 

Yes, this analysis is a logical, historically and traditionally accurate assumption that Nicodemus was trying to avoid religious and political reprisal as a master teacher and leader in the Sanhedrin (the political and religious body allowed by the Roman government to manage the Jewish people...contained Pharisees, Sadducees, as well as priests and scribes.). For obvious reasons, Jesus was on the most wanted list. He caused an uproar in the temple courts (see John 2). The religious elite postured a position of subversion and fear. Jesus spoke a Gospel that was earth-shattering. A Gospel that incorporated humble religious authority with a hope that rang true in a hopeless world. This Gospel changed and renewed the lives of those that believed.

Analysis and Application:

Nicodemus approached Jesus first with an unusual respect, calling him a God-sent, master-teacher. His questions to Jesus came out of genuine searching for an answer an explanation for the world in which Nicodemus lived. His position and knowledge as a Pharisee seemed to hinder his ability to understand Jesus' message, so Nicodemus shed them and humbled himself before Jesus Christ. This is counter to the response of his co-patriots and political rivals. Nicodemus decided to find the man that was in the middle of the uproar in the temple. John says at the end of his gospel, "that all the books in the world couldn't fully explain all that Jesus did on earth." (see John 21:25). "Nic" had to have heard about the miracles and heard about the messages and exchanges and was drawn to learn more about this man. This meeting at night ultimately allowed Christ to privately present the Gospel and reach a man that needed to be reached.

The conversation sails over the head of the master-teacher. But look at the patience of Christ demonstrated by his willingness to continue to work the lesson with his willing pupil. Worth Noting that this is a practical demonstration of the transaction between God and man. We are given the Gospel to believe long before we possessed the ability to understand it. Faith is not born from understanding it is born from God (See John 3:5-8). The conversation goes from birth through water vs. birth in the Spirit, to the wind, to Jesus prophetic analogizing to Moses in the wilderness. (cf. Num. 21:4-9). Jesus starts the clock on His crucifixion with this conversation. When Christ is lifted up the gift of God will be on display. Christ exposes the heart of the Gospel with these words, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17). Literally, God painted His love upon human history before the world began. The heavens declare the glorious works of God. This unprecedented display of God's love keeps us talking about Jesus, celebrating Christmas and Easter.

But, God's unprecedented display of love carries with it a weight for those that reject it. This is why the conversation does not end at verse 17. This gift radiates through history and those that repeatedly reject the encounter, the invitation of Christ are condemned already. The very same love that is shared to the whole world when rejected places a seal on the condemnation. It is the extension of clemency to those on death row, the rejection of clemency is not the fault of the one who offered, but the fault of the one who rejects it. Thus, the sentence is both lifted and sealed in the blood of Christ, but is not truly lifted until we accept the sacrifice.

So What Now?

Paul said, "We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, 'be reconciled to God.' For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:20-21). The exchange between Nicodemus and Jesus was deeper than a colloquy about salvation. It was an invitation, a call to become a Kingdom ambassador. Salvation is the exchange of sin-riddled garments of spiritual poverty and death for kingly robes. Ultimately, this meeting at night is available for all of us. Jesus is ready to meet with each of us where we are. Advent came when the world appeared least ready, but in reality it was the most ready. Salvation and reconciliation is available to all who will respond to the invitation. The time of day, the environment, the location does not matter. Christ is standing ready and available at all times to receive us.

Be blessed,

Happy Advent!!

Ernest

Remaining in Awe of God (edited 10/29/2015)

Central Text: Acts 19:1-20; cf. John 4:23-25

Dear Young Worshipers:

The title is slightly misleading, this blog is less about awe and more about authenticity.  I submit to that genuine authentic worship is rooted in an authentic relationship with the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  Don't miss that, there are a lot of people that love the mysterious "God" or are inspired by Jesus (a good loving man that could have been a prophet) or really want to be "spiritual" without any of the discipline and growth required by the other persons of the Godhead.  Awe is necessary to have a relationship with God.  One of the major problems that I have run into as a maturing Christian is believing my own hype: losing touch with the divine and overwhelming holiness of God.  Do we remain truly humble and available when God uses us?  Do we respond looking for the instantaneous reward at the end of doing His will?  Are we truthful and connected to the Spirit as much as possible in our daily lives?

I raise these questions in the light of Acts 19:1-20.  This scripture has been on my heart to teach/preach on for a long time.  I have heard maybe 2 quality sermons on this text and I have wondered about why not more about a real lesson in authenticity and the power of an awe-filled relationship with the Godhead.  Part of it is the issue of the scriptural controversy of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (that is a different discussion for a different day) that is at the beginning of the chapter.  For our purposes, the practical lesson from the first 6 verses is that we should always be aware of the needs of brothers and sisters and unafraid to ask the hard questions to serve our brothers and sisters.  So, Paul has separated from Apollos in Corinth and travels into Ephesus and begins an incredible ministry of discipleship (1-7), public preaching in the synagogue, then lecture hall (8-10), and extraordinary miracles (point-of-contact miracles) (11-12).

While this is going on we have some itinerant Jewish exorcists that have decided to use the name of Jesus without authentic relationship.  I want to stick a pin here to highlight a brief phrase in verse 9, "But when some (Jews in the synagogue that heard Paul preach) became hardened and would not believe slandering the Way (earliest name of Christian Movement) in front of the crowd..." (Acts 19:9a, context added).  This is the climate in which we have the Jewish exorcists that see a monetary means to capitalize on the power of the name of Jesus.  Paul had signs of the power of Christ and these men see dollar signs.  Read between the lines, these men experience some success using this method.  Why do you say this? I am glad you asked, taking in the context, how the method is introduced.  There must have been some success for this story to be included.  Hearkens to the celeb-obsessed culture of today. These guys were the Miss Cleo's of their day. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on the success of anointed men of God. (Let me stick a pin here and say that this obsessed chase of fame and capitalization is still plaguing the modern Church. The need to be like the successful megachurches at all costs. I am going to stop my editorializing and move on.)

The sons of Sceva were religionists as well as capitalists. This means that they grew up around the language of religion because their father was a Jewish priest, but there is little evidence that they were devout. They had prestige and religion without relationship. This is shown by their response in verse 13. They do not take ownership of Jesus and the power available in the Holy Spirit because they are not redeemed. They possessed enough jargon to be dangerous saying, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!" (Acts 19:13b, NLT). This was successful until they encountered a demonic spirit that saw through their lack of authenticity, "Jesus I know, Paul I recognize (Jesus's Authority and personage I know, Paul's authenticity I know and recognize), but who are you?" (Acts 19:15). Their lack of a confident answer gave the go-ahead for the demon-possessed man to beat them up and cast them out of the house. These men were ran out naked in the street. Nakedness indicating great shame and failure. Their failures led people to fear God and become greatly open to the message of the Gospel. Paul and the missionaries in Ephesus were given a greater platform not because of anything they did, but because of the failure of inauthentic people.

I will close with the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The dialogue could be a series of blog posts and not be anywhere near be exhausted. But there is an interesting shift in the timbre, from lifestyle to worship. Seemingly stark but really actually directed and flowingly poetic. Jesus addresses worship in way that is both very clear, yet very profound. Worship up to the earthly ministry of Christ was very much location-centric (see the woman's response in verse 22). Jesus says something spectacular, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit in truth." (John 4:23-24). Jesus flips the script, providing access to God that is not limited to a location. God the Father is looking for men and women, then and now, who will be authentic and drenched in the Holy Spirit to worship Him. Inauthenticity breeds death...when we are inauthentic in our worship, in our lives we deny the power of Godhead. We must be intentional to check our authenticity, our availability and our humility. Don't drink your own Kool-Aid!!!

Be blessed family! It's been too long,

Ernest