A New Beginning

Guest (Male): Here's Nicodemus, a man who was hungry for real truth. He had everything one would want in life, but something was missing. Coming up today on *A New Beginning*, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us chart the spiritual pathway of a man who was searching, but who found what his heart longed for.

Greg Laurie: Everyone deep down inside is empty. And why are they empty? Because effectively God created us with a void in our life that can only be filled with him.

Guest (Male): Some may think Jesus is only for the needy, the neglected, the down and out. But Pastor Greg Laurie has pointed out before, Jesus is for the up and outers as well. He's for those who've tried and failed. He's for those who've tried and succeeded. He's for everyone. For God so loved the world.

Today on *A New Beginning*, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us follow the trajectory of one man's walk of faith. He knew there was something more out there and he found it.

Greg Laurie: We're in a brand new series called "Jesus and You." It's about the encounters that Christ had with different individuals. Just imagine for a moment if you could have a personal appointment with Jesus, just you and the Lord hanging out, maybe over a cup of coffee. You could ask him any question. No topic was off-limits. Just you and Jesus.

A younger person might have some different questions than an older person might. A younger person might ask about their identity or their purpose in life or what course their life would take. An older person might ask questions about the afterlife or their mortality. Studies have shown that's what people think about as they get older. In fact, it's what they ought to be thinking about as they get older.

I don't know if you've seen the film *Saving Private Ryan*, but it's a powerful film. In this movie, Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks, is sent on a mission to save Private Ryan because Private Ryan's three brothers had been killed in combat. It was felt that the mother could not stand the heartbreak of losing all four of her sons. So, some soldiers are sent on a mission to save Private Ryan.

They finally locate him. Tragically, almost everyone in the squad that was sent to save this young man died in combat. At the very end of the film, they finally find Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon. Captain Miller is shot and he's dying. He says to Private Ryan, "James, earn this. Earn it."

Now you go to the end of the film, and Private Ryan's an older man. He goes to a cemetery to visit the grave of Captain Miller, who had died saving his life. He's there with his family and he says to them he tried to live the best life that he could live. He hoped he earned what they all did for him. Then he turns to his wife and says, "Tell me that I lived a good life. Tell me I'm a good man."

That's a valid statement to make. We have a similar situation in the story before us. We have an elderly gentleman thinking about his mortality, realizing he may not have that much longer to live. He comes to Jesus. The name of this man is known to most of us. His name was Nicodemus. Nicodemus was effectively a household name.

He was known to be a great spiritual leader. He was an intellectual. He was a deeply moral man. Obviously, he was a very religious man and a leader of the highest order. Now he encounters a humble, completely uneducated or comparatively uneducated poor carpenter from Nazareth. So here we have the intellectual elite with a man that was controversial.

But it really wasn't a rabbi and a carpenter. This is effectively a conversation between God and man. We could not nominate a better representative than Nicodemus. He was sort of the finest of humanity, sort of speaking on our behalf. Jesus unfolds the mysteries of life to Nicodemus. Christ also utters probably the best-known Bible verse of all time, John 3:16.

But before this conversation begins to unfold in John chapter three, we have what happened before it in John chapter two, verse 23. Look at that with me. Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust him. That sounds good. Maybe your translation says many believed in him.

But then this: but Jesus didn't trust them because he knew all people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each human heart. Powerful statement. Many trusted in him, but effectively he didn't trust in them. Many believed in him, but he didn't believe in them. Why? Because their faith was superficial.

It was based on the spectacular, on miracles that they had seen. It wasn't a genuine and real faith. When someone is really seeking God, the Lord will reveal himself to them. But if you're not a true seeker, God won't reveal himself to you. In contrast to this, we come to chapter three. "But there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus."

When the Bible was originally written, there were not chapters and verses. Jesus did not begin a statement with chapter one, verse one. We added that later so we could find our way around in our Bible. This is a flow of thought. These people believed in him, but he didn't believe in them. But there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. In contrast, here's a true seeker.

John 3 reads, "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night." You might underline that. We'll come back to it. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "But how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I have said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone born of the spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered and said, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and you don't know these things?" We'll stop there. Here's Nicodemus, a man who was hungry for real truth. He had everything one would want in life, but something was missing. As long as we think our dream is going to be realized, we may press on in life. We set certain goals.

"I'm going to go to school, I'm going to go to college, I'm going to get that degree, I'm going to get that good job. I'm hopefully going to get promoted in my job. Then I'm going to get married, and then we'll have kids." These are all goals that we set. Maybe we meet those goals. After we've been married for 15 years, you say, "Maybe I'll marry somebody else."

So we trade our spouses in. Then with the kids, you say, "I enjoy having kids, but are they ever going to leave the house? They're all in their 50s now." We just keep thinking when I get to this certain place, then I'm going to be happy. Then you get to that place and you're still not happy.

You may have read the tragic story of this member of the band One Direction, Liam Payne. Very successful. His group sold over 70 million records. They had global fame. He died recently, falling off a balcony in a hotel in Argentina. This young man did an interview before this event happened. In the interview, he said he had hit rock bottom during his time in One Direction.

It was due to his use of drugs and alcohol. He said, "I was worried. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would have never seen it. I'm very good at hiding it." Now he's gone. I wish I could have said to young Liam Payne, "Liam, for God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Why is it that someone who is so successful turns to drugs and alcohol? Here's the simple answer. You think it's going to get better if I hit this goal. Then one day you hit the goal. A very rare group of people hit the goals they set in life and surpass them. In other words, they get to the top and they find out there's nothing there.

That's why so many of our popular iconic rock figures and movie stars and others end up addicted to drugs, end up sometimes taking their own lives. This is not new to our generation. King Solomon experienced it in his day. He had unlimited wealth and power and everything you could want in life. He said, "One day I looked at everything that I had, and it was all emptiness."

Tom Brady, who is the GOAT, the greatest of all time, greatest quarterback, has won seven Super Bowls. After he won three Super Bowl rings, he made this statement, "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and think there's something greater out there for me? A lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.' But I think, God, it's got to be more than this."

Then Brad Pitt, who people mistake me for often. That was not a joke. That is the most insulting laughter I've ever heard. No, it was meant to be a joke, of course. Brad Pitt, who I'm never mistaken for, who's been very successful in his career, said, "I know all these things are supposed to seem important to us, the car, the condo, our versions of success."

"But if that's the case, why is a general feeling out there reflecting more impotence and isolation and desperation and loneliness?" Lady Gaga said, "I won an Oscar, I sing at the Super Bowl, but in some ways I still feel empty inside. I think it's because I'm still searching for who I am and where I fit in."

We look up to these people. "Oh, I wish I was like this movie star. I wish I was like that singer. I wish I was like this athlete. Then I would be happy." No, you probably wouldn't be at all.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a Harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like *Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon*, *Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon*, *A Rush of Hope*, and much more.

Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more. So go and download the Harvest Plus app. Well, we're talking about the search for happiness and fulfillment. Pastor Greg's message is titled "Jesus and the Moral Man."

Greg Laurie: Here's something that's true of every person. I don't care if they're young or old, famous, infamous, or completely unknown. Doesn't matter if they're a man or a woman. Everyone deep down inside is empty. And why are they empty? Because effectively God created us with a void in our life that can only be filled with him.

So you'll try to fill that void with so many things: relationships, sexual experiences, drugs, alcohol, accomplishments, possessions. The list goes on, but you'll only find the satisfaction you seek in a relationship with God. Number one, everyone's empty. Number two, everyone's lonely.

You may have a lot of friends. You may be at a party with people all around you and a deep sense of loneliness just sweeps over you. That's a loneliness for God. Thirdly, everyone is guilty. We feel guilt. We try to mask it, we try to pretend it's not there, but it is there. You know why you feel guilt? Because you're guilty. Because you're a sinner. I'm a sinner. We've all broken God's commandments.

Lastly, everyone is afraid to die. I know we'll show great bravado and laugh at it. No, deep down inside when you're laying your head on the pillow, you think of your mortality and people are afraid to die. Well, the gospel answers all of those issues. So coming back to Nicodemus, here he is, powerful, rich, famous. People went to him for answers, but he had questions.

Verse one says he was a Pharisee. We usually think of the Pharisees in a negative light, and understandably so, because Christ saved his most scathing words for these religious leaders. But they weren't all bad. In fact, Nicodemus was a good Pharisee. He was looking for truth. They were a select group, never numbering more than 6,000.

Each had taken a solemn vow before three witnesses that they would dedicate their entire life to the keeping of the commandments of God. But they weren't satisfied with the scripture alone. There was another group called the scribes. They came up with a whole another book, very thick, called the Mishnah.

It had 24 chapters alone dedicated to how to keep the Sabbath. In addition to the Mishnah, the scribes wrote a commentary on the Mishnah called the Talmud. So they have all of these books and all of these rules and all of these regulations. They felt if we do all of these things, we will be pleasing to God.

They also would put on displays of piety and religiousness. When they would pray, they would pray loudly on a street corner. You remember the story that Jesus told of a Pharisee and a publican that went into the temple to pray. The Pharisee said, "God, I thank you I'm not like other men. I fast, I tithe, and I'm not like this publican over here."

The publican, who was a tax collector, just said, "God be merciful to me a sinner." But that's typical Pharisaical behavior. "I'm so awesome, I'm better than everybody else." But we can be like Pharisees too. We can do things for theater. We can do things to make people think we're more spiritual than we really are.

They had all of their extra volumes to the Bible. We can have all of our commentaries that we carry with us to church. Really big Bible. Our Bible's bigger than anyone's Bible. We take pictures of ourselves doing devotions with our Bible and all of our commentaries in front of us. "Wow, look at me."

We're learning a few Greek words now and we use them all the time, even when we don't need to. You don't need to use Greek when you're ordering at In-N-Out Burger, but you do it anyway. You just do things to cause people to think you're more spiritual than you really are. Here's the bottom line. If you're a really spiritual person, you won't be a show-off. You'll be more humble.

You won't assert yourself and say, "Look how great and awesome I am." You'll do the very opposite. After years of walking with God, the Apostle Paul himself said, "Hey, it's not that I've already attained, but I press on toward the mark for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ." Loose paraphrase, "Hey, I've got a long ways to go."

But that's the way the Pharisees rolled and they thought that they were better than anyone else. So along comes Nicodemus. He's one of the primary leaders. He's identified as a ruler. There was a ruler among the Pharisees. So now we have the Pharisees that are an elite group. Now we have the Sanhedrin that rules over the Pharisees.

Nicodemus was on the top of the heap. He was the GOAT, right? Someone called me the GOAT the other day. I was really complimented. "Hey, GOAT," they said. "Old goat, get out of the way." How did you mean that exactly? I was offended. I just moved very quickly, as quickly as an old goat can move, actually.

I was talking to some Gen Z kids and they told me about the term "Rizz." He had rizz, right? It means he had charisma. Well, he did. He was a man that others went to for advice. So he comes to Jesus. We look at this now in three ways this conversation goes. Number one, they had a conversation face-to-face, verses two to three. Mind-to-mind, verses four to eight. And finally, heart-to-heart, verses nine to 21.

Point number one, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. But at least he came. He came to Jesus by night, but at least he came. So it was Nick at Night. I want to get that joke out of the way. It's a dated joke because there is no Nick at Night anymore, is there? So people who are older go, "I remember that."

So he comes at night. Why? Why did Nicodemus come at night? The obvious reason would have been he's Nicodemus. Everyone knows him. He's the guy that's supposed to have the answers. He didn't want to be seen talking to Jesus. That could be the reason.

Another reason could be that Jesus was a busy guy and every day was filled with activities. He was raising the dead, he was healing the sick, he was giving the greatest teachings ever given, teaching in parables, so much. At the end of the day, he would be exhausted. But Nicodemus did not want a moment with the Lord. He wanted a conversation with Christ.

He effectively wanted an interview. So he came at night. Point number two, better to have a weak beginning and a strong finish than the opposite. Nicodemus didn't have the strongest beginning. He kind of comes under the cover of night, has his conversation with Christ. But in the end, he came through for Jesus.

In the end, Nicodemus along with a man named Joseph of Arimathea came and claimed the body of Christ publicly. That was a very unpopular and even dangerous thing for the two of them to do. But it's even said Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, came with Joseph of Arimathea to take the dead body of Christ and bury it.

Some people have a strong beginning, but they have a bad ending. The Christian life is compared to a race on more than one occasion. The key of this race that we're running is not only to win to the best of our ability, but it's to finish it well.

The Apostle Paul said, "I want to finish my race with joy." Then he wrote to Timothy, "I've fought the good fight, I've kept the faith, I've finished the course. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day. And not to me only, but to all who love his appearing."

Finishing well. Maybe Nicodemus had a weak beginning, but he had a strong finish. Consider this: Judas Iscariot was an apostle in good standing while old Nicodemus was groping his way in. But in the end of our Lord's ministry, Judas betrayed Christ and Nicodemus came through with flying colors.

Guest (Male): Important insights today here on *A New Beginning*, as Pastor Greg Laurie is offering a look at Nicodemus in his message "Jesus and the Moral Man." It's important to think about our own spiritual journey. Are we searching? Have we found what we've been searching for? Are we going to finish well?

Pastor Greg, maybe somebody would like to make a change in their relationship with God today. They'd like to find what Nicodemus found. What would you say to them?

Greg Laurie: I would say that God is just a prayer away. It doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen so quickly. It just starts with you saying to God, "I know I'm a sinner. I know that you love me. I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead, and I want him to come into my life."

So here's my question to you. Have you done that yet? Because Jesus, who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now and he's knocking. He's saying, "If you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in." Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die, you will go to heaven?

Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so, why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me. You could pray it out loud, you could pray it in the quietness of your own heart, but pray this prayer to God.

Say, "Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it now. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. I ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen."

Listen, if you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So God bless you. You've made the right decision, the decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. As you begin to live this new life, we want to send you something to help you get started off right. It's Pastor Greg's *New Believer's Bible*. It's an easy-to-understand translation, plus hundreds and hundreds of study helps especially for those who are new to the faith. It'll answer the questions you may have.

Get in touch for your *New Believer's Bible*. We'll send it free of charge. Just call 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300. Or write *A New Beginning*, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click "Know God."

Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry. We're touching lives for eternity. We're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further. Isn't that right?

Greg Laurie: Absolutely. When you invest in Harvest Ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls. What is the value of a soul? Well, let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son, or your daughter, or your mom or your dad, or your best friend?

Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable. Well, listen, God says all souls are mine. God loves us and sent his Son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sin so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with him. I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money, than in the work of the kingdom of God. So we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries as we continue on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. You can make your donation right now at harvest.org or write us at *A New Beginning*, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time, more insight from this encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in the message "Jesus and the Moral Man." Join us here on *A New Beginning* with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.