From Dream to Deliverance
Saturday, October 9, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as I come to the close of a week of studying Your amazing word in John 3:1-21, I thank You again that You are a God of love and salvation, who want to save every person! I pray that You will work in me through Your Holy Spirit today that my life may be a testimony to Your great salvation. I pray that You will draw people to Yourself here, in western Pennsylvania, and around the world. I pray that You will draw people out of the darkness into Your marvelous light. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
John 3:1-21
1After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, 2came to speak with Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.”
3Jesus replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.”
4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. 7So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. 8Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9“What do you mean?” Nicodemus asked.
10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us. 12But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? 13For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, 15so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18“There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
What keeps you walking in the light?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What contrast does Jesus paint between those who walk in the “light” and those who walk in “darkness”? (3:20-21)
Why does Jesus say that those who do what is right come into the light? (3:20)
Understanding God’s Word
Why do you suppose that this is the final point Jesus makes to Nicodemus?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
Taking John 3:1-21 as a whole, what is the one thing you need to do most after reading the passage all week?
Thoughts...Nicodemus - Darkness and Light...
Nicodemus came to Jesus in the dark. Why? Was he afraid to be seen with Jesus? Was he just so busy that he couldn’t get there until after dark? We don’t know for sure, but Jesus concludes His time with Nicodemus by contrasting those who trust Him with those who don’t by using the image of light and darkness. We don’t know whether Jesus was pointing out to Nicodemus that he would have to make a choice about Jesus—to come out in the open with his acceptance or rejection of Him. What we do know is that Jesus is clear—if we trust Him we will be open about it. We won’t be ashamed of walking in the light. Our lives shed a lot of light on whether He is our Savior, of whether we HAVE been born again!