{"id":9591,"date":"2024-09-29T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/?post_type=ctc_sermon&p=9591"},"modified":"2024-10-05T16:53:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T21:53:58","slug":"the-questions-jesus-asked-a-question-about-understanding","status":"publish","type":"ctc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/sermons\/the-questions-jesus-asked-a-question-about-understanding\/","title":{"rendered":"The Questions Jesus Asked – A Question About Understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, \u201cRabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus replied, \u201cVery truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.\u201d \u201cHow can someone be born when they are old?\u201d Nicodemus asked. \u201cSurely they cannot enter a second time into their mother\u2019s womb to be born!\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cVery truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, \u2018You must be born again.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow can this be?\u201d Nicodemus asked. \u201cYou are Israel\u2019s teacher,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cand do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven\u2014the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.  \u201d <\/em>John 3:1-15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It Means We Get New Eyes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ears that hear and eyes that see\u2014     the Lord has made them both.   <\/em>Proverbs 20:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. <\/em>Matthew 13:16-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Means We Get A New Identity<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people\u2019s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ\u2019s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ\u2019s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   <\/em>2 Corinthians 5:16-21<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Means We Have New Motivations<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation\u2014but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.    Romans 8:12-14<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, \u201cRabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.\u201d Jesus replied, \u201cVery truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.\u201d \u201cHow can someone be born when they are old?\u201d Nicodemus asked. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"ctc_sermon_topic":[],"ctc_sermon_book":[],"ctc_sermon_series":[],"ctc_sermon_speaker":[110],"ctc_sermon_tag":[],"class_list":["post-9591","ctc_sermon","type-ctc_sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ctc_sermon_speaker-jesse-loew","ctfw-has-image"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/9591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ctc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/9591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9592,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/9591\/revisions\/9592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_topic?post=9591"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_book?post=9591"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_series?post=9591"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_speaker?post=9591"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_tag?post=9591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}