A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: Jesus says, "You must be born again." It's a supernatural act of God, making a person spiritually alive when they were dead in sin. It's not the improvement of the old nature, but the creation of a new nature.

Guest (Male): When we accept Christ, everything changes. Pastor Greg Laurie explains the transformation that takes place to those who were born again.

Greg Laurie: Old things have passed away. Behold, everything becomes fresh and new.

Guest (Male): Some people just want to try a little bit of Jesus, as though Christianity was one of the dishes at a religious buffet. Give me just a small scoop of that. I just want to bring a smile to my face, not a change to my heart.

But when we truly invite Jesus in, he'll make us new people head to toe, free from the chains of our past. And today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us watch that moment of transformation in a man whose best efforts have come up short.

Greg Laurie: Why don't you grab your Bible and turn to John chapter 3. The title of my message is "Jesus and the Moral Man."

We read that there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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 him."

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 is 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. Do not 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 to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and you don't know these things?"

We'll stop there. Now, Nicodemus has a lot of respect for Jesus. This is shown by what he says in verse two. "Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

That's amazing because Nicodemus was the rabbi's rabbi. And he comes to Jesus and calls him Rabbi. "Rabbi, we know that you're come from God." And Nicodemus, being a student of the Bible, probably read what Daniel said in chapter nine.

Daniel spoke of the Messiah arriving and actually gave a very exact timetable. And if Nicodemus took the time to look at that timetable, he would have discovered Messiah should be alive at that very moment. But then Daniel goes on to say, "But the Messiah will then be cut off." In other words, the Messiah is going to die.

So Nicodemus is thinking, "I'm getting old. Messiah is here. He could die at any time. I've got to find him. Could Jesus be this Messiah?" And I think Nicodemus thought Jesus was the Messiah, but he just wanted more information. He wanted more evidence, if you will.

He was a man that was searching for God. And I think all around us, there are people that are searching for God today. They're just waiting for someone like you to tell them how to find him. God, in his wisdom, has chosen to reach people that do not believe through people who do believe through the proclamation of the gospel.

The Bible says, "How will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they be sent? How beautiful are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things." Look at your feet for a moment. Go ahead, look at them. You have beautiful feet. Sir, not you. Wear shoes. Don't wear sandals. Those are very unattractive feet.

But most of us have fairly beautiful feet. But really, when we're talking about this, the idea is when we bring the gospel to people, you have beautiful feet. That's what they were designed for. You say, "But Greg, I'm not a Bible scholar." You don't need to be a Bible scholar.

We're going to read a verse in a moment together, John 3:16. And if you know John 3:16, if you've committed it to memory, listen, you're armed and dangerous. You know more than you think you know. And I think in the right set of circumstances, you might be surprised at how much you do know as the Lord leads you and directs your words.

I think of a time we were in a restaurant having lunch, me and a few of our pastors, and the server came up and said, "Hey, aren't you guys from Harvest Church?" "Yes, we are." "Yeah, I need to go there someday. I need to get right with God. When are your service times?"

So we told her. And then I looked at this girl and I thought, "I think this girl wants to get right with God right now." Now, I don't normally do this, but I said, "Would you like to pray right now and commit your life to Christ?" She said, "Right here?" She was holding her tray. "Right here?" I said, "Sure."

She said, "Okay." And so I led her in a prayer and she committed her life to the Lord right there. Isn't that great? Now you think, "Greg, you could have got this girl fired." Well, the owner of the restaurant goes to our church, so I knew everything was good. And I told him the story immediately and he was thrilled that this young lady had made this commitment to Christ.

Now, I don't suggest you do that to everyone. Just go up to random people and ask, "Would you like to accept Christ right now?" But believe it or not, there are literally people walking around that you probably encounter every day that are waiting for someone like you to say, "Would you like Jesus to come into your life?" They want to know him. They're waiting for someone to show them the way.

That was Nicodemus. He wants to know how. How do you do this? What do I do? And so here he comes to Jesus and this conversation begins. And Jesus tells him, "You must be born again. You must be born again."

Now, being born again is not just getting a new paint job. I had a car years ago that my mom gave to me. It was called a Ford Starliner and it was light blue. And so my mom decided to get the Ford Starliner painted.

Now, some of you will remember this. There was a paint shop run by a guy named Earl Scheib. Do you remember him? And he had a commercial on television and he'd say, "I'm Earl Scheib and I'll paint any car any color for $29.95." You heard me right. $30 to get a paint job. And it was a $30 paint job, too.

I remember they sprayed it this kind of metallic blue and they did paint the whole car and some of the window and part of the tires. A lot of overspray. Then it started chipping up. That's not what being born again means. You think, "Oh, it's a new paint job, new wardrobe, new vocabulary." No, no, it's much more than that.

It's a radical change. It's a supernatural act of God, making a person spiritually alive when they were dead in sin. It's not the improvement of the old nature, but the creation of a new nature. It's not evolution; it's a revolution. It's being adopted into the family of God.

Second Corinthians 5 sums it up perfectly. "If any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. Old things have passed away. Behold, everything becomes fresh and new." Jesus says, "You must be born again."

It means born from above. You must experience a spiritual rebirth, Nicodemus. All of your rules and your regulations and reading the Mishnah and the Talmud and all the rest of it hasn't got you any closer to God. You need to be born all over again.

Nicodemus is like, "You mean go back into my mother's womb?" No, I don't mean that. It's a metaphor, buddy. It's a picture of what will happen to you spiritually. You must be born again.

So some people will say, "Well, I'm a Christian. I'm just not one of those born-agains." News flash: you cannot be a Christian without being born again. You must be born again, according to Jesus. So I ask you, are you born again? You'll know it if you are.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Guest (Female): Pastor Greg, I've been a born-again Christian for over 30 years. Every time I listen to you, I learn new verses and you teach me new things about the Lord and my own faith. I'm encouraged now to go spread the gospel with others. God bless you and keep up the good work.

Guest (Male): When we hear from you, it's not only a blessing, it also confirms that the program is touching lives. Would you consider sharing your story? If so, call Pastor Greg at 866-871-1144. That's 866-871-1144.

Well, we're talking about the pathway that leads to salvation today, as we consider the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Pastor Greg continues.

Greg Laurie: God loves you. Oh, I know it seems like a cliché, but it's absolutely true. Some people picture God as a cosmic killjoy out to ruin their lives. But the reality is God loves you and has a plan for your life, and he longs for a relationship with you.

Now, the pagan gods of this time were so different. They would show favor to certain individuals or groups, but their favor was based on sacrifices or offerings or somehow being appeased. There was no concept of a loving deity wanting a relationship with mankind.

So Jesus comes along, speaking of the true and living God. "For God so loved the world." And God proved his love by sending his son. "For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son."

You know, we can talk about love all day long, but God demonstrated his love for us in a tangible way. Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." And Christ laid his life down for each of us.

God demonstrated his love toward us, the Bible says, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And God's love is unconditional. There's nothing you can do to earn it. I think somehow we think, "Well, I have to earn God's love." No, God loves you already.

He loves you as you are. Now, that doesn't mean he approves of all the things you say and do, but you need to know that he loves you unconditionally. He loves you all the time. Now, some extreme Calvinists would say God's love is only for the elect. God only loves the elect.

They believe in something called limited atonement, which means Jesus died only for the elect. And who are the elect? These are the people that were chosen before they were even born. And some even believe in what you would call double predestination, which means God not only chooses some people to go to heaven, he also chooses others to go to hell. I reject this view completely. I reject it completely.

There's no limited atonement. The blood of Jesus was shed for all people. And anyone can believe. "For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son." I love the words of the great evangelist D.L. Moody, who once said, "Lord, save the elect, and then elect some more."

God's love is for everybody and it's universal. He loves all people. The Bible says whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus said, "He that would come to me, I would in no way cast out." And God's gift of salvation is available for everyone who believes.

Everyone who believes. And what does it mean to believe? It does not mean giving mere intellectual assent to God, acknowledging God's there, or even saying, "I believe a man named Jesus walked this earth and was a great moral teacher and all that."

No, to believe means to put your full trust in Christ. It means to put your full weight on Christ as your savior. As an example, I'm putting my full weight of 150 pounds on—that's my left leg. Okay, but I'm putting my full weight on this stage right now.

And so it means to put your full weight on Christ and Christ alone. The story is told of a man known as The Great Blondin, and he would put a tightrope across the Niagara Falls and he would walk across this tightrope.

And so he gathered the crowds one day and says, "How many of you believe that I, the Great Blondin, can walk from this side to the other side?" They said, "We believe, we believe!" Then he did it. And he came back and said, "How many of you believe that I, the Great Blondin, could push a wheelbarrow across this tightrope over the Niagara Falls?"

They said, "We believe, we believe!" And he said, "How many of you believe I could push a wheelbarrow with a man inside of it?" Again they said, "We believe!" And one guy was louder than the rest. And Blondin turned to him and said, "Then get in the wheelbarrow." That guy disappeared quickly.

To believe means to get in the wheelbarrow, to trust Christ and Christ alone to save you. Whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. What a beautiful message. God loves me. God will forgive me. God will change me from the inside out. Why would anyone reject this message?

Some would say, "Well, you know, they reject it because there's too many hypocrites in the church." Give me a break. Can you imagine the apostles saying, "Hey, Judas was a hypocrite, I'm walking away from Jesus." It would be like, "Hey, Jesus didn't let us down, Judas did."

Just because people fall short is not a reflection on Christ himself, though I'm sorry it happens. But here's the thing: people don't say no to Jesus because there's too many hypocrites in the church. Nor do people say no to Jesus because of the problem of human suffering.

"The reason I'm not a Christian is I just deal with human suffering and I can't wrap my mind around the idea that a loving God would allow so much tragedy in the world." That's a real issue and something to think about, but that's not why you are not a Christian.

You want to know why a person is not a Christian? Jesus gives us the answer right here in John 3, verse 19. "This is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

Listen, everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds be exposed. But he that does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they've been done in God." So why do people really not believe? Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light.

So really, it's not an intellectual issue. It's a spiritual and moral issue. We don't want to change because the powerful light of Jesus Christ shines into our life and it exposes things that we don't want exposed.

And so that's why we don't come to the light. That's why we say no to Jesus. This is an either-or proposition. You accept it and you reject it. And it's for every person. In fact, your name is here in the text.

"Really?" Oh yeah, your name's right there. "Whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." That's you, whosoever. If you will believe, you will be forgiven. There are other whosoevers in the Bible.

Revelation 20:15 says, "Whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Listen, if you're included in the whosoever of John 3:16, you won't be included in the whosoever of Revelation 20:15.

And listen to this promise. If you will believe, you will have everlasting life. It doesn't say you'll hope to have it. It says you'll have it. First John 5:13 says, "These things we write to you that believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have everlasting life." You know it.

And let me ask you this in closing. Do you know you have everlasting life? Do you know it with certainty? Some people go through life saying, "Well, I believe if I live a good life and I've done enough good things, the good Lord will accept me into heaven because I've been a good Christian."

I never call myself a good Christian. I think I'm often a bad Christian. I know I'm a sinful one. "Well, the good Lord, the man upstairs..." Are you really going to go through life living like that? Listen, I can tell you right now, I know I will go to heaven when I die.

Not because of what I've done for God, but because of what God has done for me. Because I know he loves me, I know he's forgiven me. And so I know. The Bible says his spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

And if you don't have that inner assurance that you will go to heaven when you die, don't you want it? You say, "How do I get it?" Simple answer: you must be born again. You must be born from above. Have you been born again? Are you sure?

If not, would you like to be? So we're going to close in prayer and I'm going to extend an invitation for anybody here, anybody watching, to be born again. It's so simple. Asking Christ to come into your life. You say, "Well Greg, come on, this is church. Everyone here is born again." Not necessarily.

There could be someone here for the first time that is not born again yet. There could be someone here that's been coming for a while even, but maybe is trusting more in their religiosity and more in their good works like Nicodemus was, instead of trusting in Christ for their salvation.

So this is your opportunity to be born again, to be forgiven of your sin, to begin a new relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, I pray now for everyone here, that you will speak to their hearts. Help them to see their need for Jesus. Help them to come to you and believe, we pray.

Now while our heads are bowed and we're praying, maybe you're here today and you want this relationship with God. You want to know that your sin is forgiven. You want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die. You want to be born again.

If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you would like to be born again, if you would like to know with certainty that you will go to heaven when you die, if you want your sin forgiven, if you're ready to say yes to Jesus Christ wherever you are, I'd like you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray, pray this after me out loud.

Pray these words now. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the savior of the world, who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin. I repent of my sin. I want to be born again right now. I choose to believe in you, Jesus, and follow you from this moment forward as my savior and my Lord, as my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Guest (Male): Such an important prayer. Pastor Greg Laurie praying with those listening to A New Beginning who've come to the Lord for the forgiveness of their sins. And if you just prayed that prayer and you truly meant it, then we want to be the first to welcome you into the family of God.

Now you may have some questions and we'd like to offer some help. Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible free of any charge. This will answer your questions and help you take your first steps as a new Christian. Again, we'll send it to you free. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible as you call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click "Know God."

And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry and for supporting it through your generous donation. It's an investment in kingdom business. Isn't that right, Pastor Greg?

Greg Laurie: It's really true, Dave. And I believe it's so important because you know, the gospel saves lives. It saves eternal lives. Because when a person believes in Jesus according to scripture, they pass from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God.

And then of course, that changes the course of their future. That impacts their children and their children's children. The gospel changes everything. And thousands and thousands of people respond every single year thanks to the Lord, also thanks to you for your investment in this ministry enabling us to reach people wherever they are. So if this is something you care about, I encourage you to make a financial investment in A New Beginning and Harvest Ministries.

Guest (Male): That's right, and we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today. It can make a real difference not just for today or this week, but for eternity. So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org.

Well next time, Pastor Greg brings another lesson from his series called "Jesus and You." We'll see what happens when Jesus encounters a lonely man. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.