A New Revelation

[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help and the Lord's guidance, if we could turn back to that portion that we read. John chapter 3.

[0:13] John chapter 3, and if we read again at verse 19, we're going to be looking at the whole passage, but just look at verse 19. John 3 at verse 19.

[0:24] And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

[0:42] But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. I don't know if you read in the news a couple of weeks ago about the baby girl who was born twice.

[1:10] Well, there was this story of a woman from Texas who was 16 weeks pregnant with her third daughter. And after a scan, they discovered that the baby girl had a tumour growing on her spine, which would eventually, they said, stop her heart.

[1:29] And initially, the doctors advised the mother to terminate the pregnancy after 16 weeks. But some doctors at a children's clinic, they suggested that the woman have risky surgery.

[1:41] And to understand how risky the surgery was, the unborn baby weighed one pound, three ounces, when the surgeons opened the womb for the first time.

[1:52] In fact, the tumour was said to be almost the same size as the baby. And the baby, later named Lynn Lee, was given a 50% chance of survival.

[2:05] And the news reported that the mother said, at 23 weeks, the tumour was shutting her heart down and causing her to go into cardiac failure. So it was a choice of allowing the tumour to take over her body or giving her a chance at life.

[2:22] It was an easy decision for us. We wanted to give her life. And so during the risky operation, baby Lynn Lee had to be taken out of her mother's womb for 20 minutes while the surgeons removed the tumour on her spine.

[2:39] And then after the successful removal of the tumour, Lynn Lee was then placed back into her mother's womb. And she remained there and continued to grow and develop until her mother was full term and she gave birth to her on the 6th of June this year.

[3:00] She was born again. And as far as I'm aware, the child is still doing well. But you know, when I read that story in the news, I was immediately reminded of the question which Nicodemus asked Jesus.

[3:14] Because when Nicodemus came to Jesus, he came asking about the deeper questions of life. Nicodemus had questions about life and salvation which his religion couldn't answer.

[3:29] And all Jesus said to Nicodemus was, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And not understanding what Jesus meant by being born again, Nicodemus asked Jesus, how can a man be born when he is old?

[3:49] Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? And you know, when we consider the story of baby Lynn Lee, the question which Nicodemus asked Jesus, it doesn't seem so impossible now.

[4:02] Of course, being born twice is an extremely rare occurrence. And it's not what Jesus meant by being born again. Because Jesus went on to say in verse 5, he said down in verse 5, Jesus answered, truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

[4:24] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus was, Nicodemus, you must be born again.

[4:37] You have questions that your religion cannot answer. You have desires that the world cannot fulfill. And you have issues that you will never find a resolution to in the things of the world.

[4:50] And Jesus is saying, Nicodemus, the central and vital point of genuine biblical Christianity, is that you must be born again. You need to have a new birth.

[5:02] You need to have a new beginning. You need to be given a new heart. You need to become a new creation. Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, you need a new revelation.

[5:17] Nicodemus, you need a new revelation. And in this passage, I want us to see that that's exactly what Jesus gives to Nicodemus.

[5:28] He gives to him a new revelation. And as we consider what this revelation given to Nicodemus is, it will hopefully bring us up to date as to where we are in our study of the catechism.

[5:40] Because we're resuming our study of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. And we're going to do it over the winter months. And the next section we come to is the Ten Commandments.

[5:53] But before we come to study the Ten Commandments in all their detail, we have all these little preliminaries that we must first of all consider. And the question which we're looking at this evening is question 39 of the catechism.

[6:08] And it raises the most important point. Because it asks, what is the duty which God requires of man? And the answer is, the duty which God requires of man is obedience to his revealed will.

[6:24] God requires that we are obedient to his revelation, which is the Bible. We are to be obedient to the Bible. And that's what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus.

[6:37] You need to be obedient to the revelation of God's word. And in this passage, Jesus describes the revelation of God in three ways.

[6:47] He describes the Bible in three ways. And he describes it as a spiritual revelation. He describes it as a special revelation. And he describes it as a submissive revelation.

[7:00] A spiritual revelation, a special revelation, and a submissive revelation. So we look firstly at a spiritual revelation. A spiritual revelation.

[7:13] Look with me at the beginning of the chapter. Verse 1. He says, Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God.

[7:28] For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

[7:40] So Nicodemus was, as you know, a Jew. But not only a Jew, we read here that he was a ruler of the Jews. And therefore he was in a position of authority within his own community and within his own religion.

[7:56] Nicodemus was a Pharisee. And he lived by the strictest possible rules of his religion. But not all of the Pharisees were hypocrites like the man who stood on the street corner to pray.

[8:10] Most of the Pharisees were sincere and genuine in their religion and their quest for truth. But when Nicodemus came to Jesus, he came because he knew his religion didn't have all the answers.

[8:26] There was this void in his heart and this lack of peace and assurance that caused him to come to Jesus. This truth that he held to so dearly, it wasn't giving him the peace that he required.

[8:42] And Nicodemus, he was seeking all these answers to his questions about life and salvation and eternity. And he couldn't find it in his religion. So he comes to Jesus.

[8:54] He comes to Jesus seeking the truth. Nicodemus was wanting answers to all his questions. And this nighttime meeting with Jesus was going to have a radical impact upon the ruler of the Jews.

[9:10] Because as Nicodemus sits and as he asks Jesus all the questions, Jesus is talking with him, conversing with him. But Nicodemus can't get his head around the teaching of Jesus.

[9:25] And he begins to question everything Jesus is saying. And you know, Nicodemus wasn't a man who was ignorant of his Bible. He was a teacher in Israel.

[9:38] He was a professor of theology. He knew what the scriptures said and what the scriptures taught. But what Jesus began to teach Nicodemus was that there is a radical difference between knowledge in the head and knowledge in the heart.

[9:58] There is a radical difference, he says, between knowledge in the head and knowledge in the heart. And you know, my friend, sometimes that six inches or so between our head and our heart, it's a massive gulf.

[10:15] A massive gulf. And I have no doubt that many of us in here, if not all of us, we understand the work of Christ in our head.

[10:27] We understand God's special revelation, which we will be considering in a moment. We understand that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.

[10:44] But my friend, there's a radical difference between knowing all that in your head and knowing it all in your heart. And that's why Jesus says in verse 5, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

[11:03] Which means that we can't fully understand anything to do with the work of Jesus Christ on the cross without the Holy Spirit applying it to us. We can't see the beauty of Jesus and the wonder of salvation without the Holy Spirit working in our heart.

[11:22] But the reason Nicodemus came to Jesus at all was because the Holy Spirit was working in his heart. The reason Nicodemus was asking all these questions and sitting and conversing with Jesus was because the Holy Spirit was working in his heart.

[11:41] The reason Nicodemus wasn't content with his outward form of religion and his depth of knowledge and his moral uprightness was because the Holy Spirit was working in his heart.

[11:55] God was revealing to Nicodemus a spiritual revelation. He was giving to Nicodemus a spiritual revelation. God was revealing to him by his Spirit that there was a problem in his heart.

[12:12] The Spirit was making known to Nicodemus that there was a void in his heart that an outward religion couldn't solve. There was this lack of understanding which head knowledge couldn't achieve.

[12:28] There was a lack of awareness of sin. There was an awareness of sin which a moral uprightness couldn't reach. And there was this emptiness this emptiness in his heart which the world and all its pleasure couldn't fulfill.

[12:46] And you know my friend I look at some of you and all I see is Nicodemus. All I see is this man in John 3.

[12:58] Nicodemus. You're just like Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night. Hiding under the shadows and the shades of darkness.

[13:11] Hiding behind your outward religion. Hiding behind your head knowledge. Hiding behind your moral uprightness. Hiding behind your worldly pursuits.

[13:22] And yet despite all the shadows and all the covers and all the fronts that you put on every time you come face to face with the word of God the Holy Spirit is reminding you that none of these things none of these things that you cling to in your life are able to fill the void in your heart and satisfy your soul.

[13:45] None of them. And Jesus is asking you Nicodemus Nicodemus are you born again? Nicodemus are you born again?

[13:59] Because except a man or a woman be born again they cannot see the kingdom of God. But Jesus goes on to say Nicodemus the only way to be born again is to be born of water and of the Spirit.

[14:20] Now when Jesus says that we need to be born of water he's not talking about baptism he's not saying that we have to be baptized in order to be saved because baptism never saved anyone and it's never going to save anyone.

[14:34] My friend the only way to be saved is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ which means that when Jesus refers to being born of water he's talking about the need for cleansing from sin because you can't be fit for heaven by your religion and your religious duties.

[14:56] Knowledge or theology doesn't make you fit for heaven. Keeping God's law and being a good person doesn't make you fit for heaven. No says Jesus the only way to be fit for heaven is if you are cleansed from your sin and born of the Spirit of God.

[15:13] Unless you are born again you cannot you will not it is impossible for you to enter the kingdom of God.

[15:25] And Jesus was saying to Nicodemus that the Holy Spirit must work in his heart in order to make him see his ruin and also to make him see the remedy to his ruin which is the cross of Calvary.

[15:40] And this phrase being born again is often what we call regeneration. regeneration because regeneration means to be brought back to life.

[15:53] Something that is regenerated indicates that it was once living then died but is brought back to life again. And that's what the Holy Spirit does when he works in our heart.

[16:05] He brings us back to life because according to the Bible we were in a state of righteousness before the fall. Before the fall of mankind we had life.

[16:17] But the moment Adam sinned we sinned in him we fell with him in his first transgression. As in Adam all died. We became lost in the darkness of our own sin and blinded by our own self-righteousness and our spiritual condition without the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart is that we are dead.

[16:39] We are dead. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. But when the Holy Spirit regenerates us by working faith in us he makes us alive.

[16:51] We are spiritually resurrected from the dead and that life which we are given is new life. And because we are born again we are given a spiritual revelation where God reveals himself to us.

[17:07] And where we were once blind to the things of God we now see clearer than ever. Where we were once deaf to the sound of the gospel we now hear about the wonder of salvation.

[17:21] Where we were once mute and not singing or praising God we now want to sing to the Lord and make melody in our heart. And that's because God has revealed to us that there is a void in our heart that can only be filled by seeking him.

[17:40] And when we seek the Lord when we commit our life to Jesus Christ Jesus says we are not only born again we are made brand new. We are in that moment of regeneration we are given a new birth we're given a new beginning we become a new creation the old passes away and all becomes new just like the newborn baby.

[18:06] And Jesus says it's all a work of the spirit. It's a spiritual revelation. It's a spiritual revelation. But then Jesus goes on to describe the revelation of God as a special revelation.

[18:25] Because when the Holy Spirit works in our heart and when he presses upon us when he's speaking to us through the gospel when the spirit works in our heart and gives to us that spiritual revelation he makes God's special revelation very special.

[18:46] He makes God's special revelation very special. So let's look at what Jesus means by a special revelation. A special revelation.

[18:58] You look at verse 14. He says And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

[19:10] For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.

[19:24] Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God.

[19:36] And in these words Jesus went on to remind Nicodemus that the special revelation of God was his beloved son. The special revelation of God is his son.

[19:51] And that when someone experiences that spiritual revelation when God works in our heart and makes us aware of our need we are made aware that what we need is God's special revelation in our life.

[20:06] What we need in our life is Jesus Christ. And that's what Jesus tells Nicodemus. Because Jesus reminds Nicodemus of that momentous occasion in Israel's history when the children of Israel were in the wilderness.

[20:24] That's how he reminds Nicodemus of his need of salvation. And Nicodemus he would have been familiar with the history of the children of Israel and what happened during that 40 years in the wilderness.

[20:39] And so Jesus reminds Nicodemus of that occasion in Numbers 21 when the children of Israel had sinned and rebelled against God and God sent poisonous serpents among them and as a result when they were bitten by the poisonous serpents many of them died.

[20:57] but when the children of Israel saw their wrongdoing when they confessed their sin when they pleaded for cleansing the Lord commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent which was set upon a pole in full view of everyone and anyone who had been bitten by this by one of the serpents on the ground they were to look to the bronze serpent which had been elevated above the people they were to look and they would live and so Moses commanded the people look to the serpent and you will live and it was through that historic illustration that Jesus affirmed to Nicodemus that when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent it was a picture of salvation through the Messiah and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life and so the special revelation which Jesus was giving to

[22:03] Nicodemus was that the Messiah will be lifted up he will be elevated so that all who believe in him will have eternal life and of course Jesus was alluding to his death on the cross that he will be lifted up he'll be elevated on a Roman cross in full view of all people and because of this he is the remedy to our ruin he is the saviour who gives new life to those who trust in him and Jesus was saying to Nicodemus who was searching for the truth searching for all these answers in his life Jesus says to him all you need to do is look and live all you need to do is look and live Nicodemus if you want to know how to deal with your sin and fill the void in your heart then look and live if you want to be cleansed from your sin look and live you don't need to do anything else but look and live you don't need to pay anything you don't need to come to

[23:12] God with some fancy liturgy you don't need to wear anything special you don't need to adopt a certain posture you don't need to know all the books of the Bible and what they're all about all you have to do he says is look and live all you have to do is look and live but Jesus didn't stop there because he went on to explain to Nicodemus that the special revelation of God is even more special because it was done out of love it was done out of love he says for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him now when Nicodemus heard these words they were earth shattering because all the theology of the ruler of the Jews and his concept of who God is and his understanding of the

[24:20] God of the Bible it all falls down when Jesus says God so loved the world and the reason for this is because Nicodemus believed that God only loved the Jews and that salvation was only for the Jews because the Jews were known as God's elect people but the teacher who had come from God Jesus he emphasized to the ruler of the Jews Nicodemus he said that God's love it's universal God's love is universal it's a love which has been shown to both Jew and Gentile which means that God loves everyone and the reason God loves everyone the reason God loves you and me is because we are his creation we have been made in his image and in his likeness we have been intricately formed and fashioned by him we have been made to reflect his glory and because we are his creation

[25:27] God loves what he has made God loves this world even though it's a world that is at enmity against God and a world which often wants nothing to do with God and a world which often has no interest in the God of the Bible or the Christ of God or the people of God and it's a world that wants everything and will do anything to stand in the face of God and prove that God does not exist and yet and yet Jesus is telling us that God still loves that kind of world still loves that kind of world and in his love he allows the world to continue despite its sinfulness and in his grace and mercy he allows this world to go on despite its corruption its wars and the sin of mankind yes God would have every right to condemn us all to hell in a moment without a word against his judgment because we've broken his law we have committed sin we are transgressors but in his love in his love in his love says Paul wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins by grace have we been saved through faith in his love he spares us he keeps us on mercy's ground in order that we will seek him in his love he has made known to us the special revelation of his son and that by believing in his son anyone in the world can be saved anyone can be saved and that's what the emphasis which Jesus gives the offer of salvation is to whosoever whosoever and Jesus he's repeatedly said this to Nicodemus that whosoever believes may have eternal life he said that in verse 15 whoever believes in him may have eternal life

[27:39] God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life and then in verse 18 whoever believes in him is not condemned but whosoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God and you know I love that word whosoever whosoever it includes everyone and excludes no one it means that there is no type of person in this world who is exempt from the message of Jesus doesn't matter who they are doesn't matter how old they are or what they've done or what their past is no one is excluded everyone is included no one is exempt there isn't a certain criteria of person which makes them acceptable to God no the offer is to whosoever whosoever my friend you don't need to attain a certain level of holiness before you accept the gospel and become a

[28:47] Christian you don't need to be coming to church both ends on the Lord's day to become a Christian you don't need to be in the prayer meeting to become a Christian if you're a Christian these things are expected of you but doing them doesn't make you a Christian my friend it's a universal offer it's for whosoever it's for you it's for you that includes everyone excludes no one the offer is as wide as possible everyone who is here and everyone who is not here they are invited whosoever whether Jew or Gentile religious or not good or bad male or female rich or poor young or old whatever situation they are in life Jesus is for everyone he is for whosoever the offer is as wide as possible but then Jesus says it becomes as narrow as possible whosoever believes whosoever believes there is one condition on accepting and embracing this universal offer the condition is that you believe all you have to do is believe in the finished work of

[30:08] Jesus Christ all you have to do is believe that God loves you and that God sent his only son to bear your sin upon the cross and he died on your behalf all you have to do is believe that there is nothing you can do to save yourself and that God has done it all for you through Jesus Christ that's it that's it in order to become a Christian you must believe in order to become a Christian you must believe you see it's not enough just to know the gospel it's not enough to be told about the gospel it's not enough simply to hear the gospel and know that you need the gospel you must believe in the gospel and you might be thinking and saying to yourself I do believe I believe everything the Bible says I believe what it says about sin what it says about salvation

[31:09] I believe what it says about the saviour I believe that Jesus is the special revelation of God I believe that Jesus is the saviour of sinners but my friend believing is not just intellectual assent believing is not just intellectual assent it's not just the head thoughts of the heart believing is submission believing is submission salvation and in this conversation with Nicodemus that's what Jesus says because he has described the revelation of God as this spiritual revelation which the Holy Spirit presses upon us the need to be saved the void in our heart he's described the revelation of God as a special revelation where God has provided the saviour he has provided the remedy to our ruin but as

[32:09] Jesus concludes his conversation with Nicodemus he tells him that the revelation of God is a submissive revelation a submissive revelation we have to submit to it and that's what Jesus says in verse 19 this is the judgment the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil for everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his work should be exposed but whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God in these concluding words Jesus affirms that believing in the special revelation of God is not just intellectual assent because it requires submission it requires commitment it requires change and Jesus says that that change is stark because it's from darkness to light and for John as the writer of this gospel the themes of light and darkness they're very very important and they're repeated all throughout his gospel because right at the beginning of his gospel in chapter 1

[33:35] John he introduces us to Jesus and he says about him in him was life and the life was the light of men and that light it shined in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it John confirms to us that Jesus is the true light who is to give light to everyone and during his ministry during the feast of tabernacles in chapter 8 the feast of tabernacles it was a festival of lights it was then that Jesus stood up and said I am the light of the world he who believes in me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life and later in his ministry Jesus says walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you because whoever walks in darkness they don't know where they're going therefore while you have the light believe in the light that you may become the sons and daughters of the light because

[34:37] I have come says Jesus as a light into the world that whoever believes in him should not abide in darkness and when John finally brings us to the cross of Calvary just like we saw this morning in Mark's gospel when they bring us to the cross they remind us that the cross was shrouded in darkness shrouded in darkness and for John the themes of light and darkness are important and my friend that's what's at the heart of the gospel that there can be no light in our soul apart from a meeting with Jesus and Nicodemus he's testimony to that fact because Nicodemus he's coming to Jesus he's searching he's asking questions he wants to know the truth he's searching for the truth and when John tells us at the beginning of the chapter that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and under the cover of darkness he's more than telling us the hour of the day or of the night and at what time this meeting took place he's telling us that there is this other kind of darkness which is covering the soul of

[35:52] Nicodemus John is telling us about the spiritual condition of Nicodemus but what's remarkable about this meeting with Jesus is that even though Nicodemus came to Jesus in the darkness of the night and in the darkness of his own soul he came because he was being drawn to the light he was being drawn to the light he came to ask Jesus questions because there was a spiritual revelation going on in his heart which told him that despite his knowledge of the Bible despite his outward religion despite his moral uprightness he was still in darkness and while Nicodemus sat with Jesus and asked his questions Jesus explained to him about the special revelation of God that God has demonstrated his love towards sinners that while we were yet sinners

[36:56] Christ died for us and that in order to have peace with God and to inherit eternal life in order for that void to be filled and to experience salvation all he had to do he says is believe whosoever believes will not perish but have eternal life but as we said Jesus concludes his conversation with Nicodemus by emphasizing that believing is not just intellectual ascent believing is not just saying I believe because even the devils believe and they tremble believing is not just saying I believe believing requires submission believing requires commitment believing requires change and the change is from darkness to light but as

[38:00] Jesus concludes his conversation with Nicodemus he explains to him why many people don't submit to God's revelation Jesus explains why so many people refuse to be obedient to God's revealed will and he says in verse 19 this is the judgment the light has come into the world but people love the darkness rather than the light because their works are evil light has come into the world the special revelation of God's love has been displayed to us at the cross of Calvary God's light has been revealed but despite all that God has done despite all that God has revealed to us in his word Jesus says that the reason many people will not submit to

[39:04] God's revelation the reason they will not make a commitment the reason they will not change the reason they will not become a Christian is because they love darkness rather than light they love the darkness rather than the light does that describe you my friend does that describe you I think it does that like Nicodemus it's not that you're ignorant of God's special revelation it's not that you don't know about the Bible it's not that you don't know about your sin it's not that you don't know about the cross it's not that you don't know about salvation or heaven or hell it's not that you have no interest in becoming a Christian but the reason you are not a Christian and the reason you will not commit your life to following

[40:07] Jesus Christ the reason you will not submit to God's revelation is simply because you love the darkness rather than the light my friend you can call it whatever you like you can dress it up in whatever way you want you can say it's not my time it's not for me just now God isn't speaking to me just now I beg to differ you can say that you want more evidence before you will make a commitment you want to see miracles you want to see signs you can claim that you're too busy just now you can put it off to a more convenient season you can say that you don't want to give up these certain things in your life but whatever you want to say it's all a smokescreen it's all excuses it's all an attempt to hide the truth because as Jesus says the truth is light has come into the world but people love the darkness rather than the light and you know what that means it means that you love your sin more than

[41:33] Jesus it means you love your current life more than salvation it means you love your lifestyle more than what's on offer in the gospel you love the world more than the truth of God's word but do you know what's sad and so heartbreaking about all this you already know this you already know this this is news to you you already know this you've been confronted with the light of the gospel in Jesus Christ all your life and yet you still love the darkness rather than the light do you know when you're working outside you lift a stone and you see a beetle what's the first thing the beetle does when you expose it to the sunlight it scuttles away back into the darkness it scuttles away as fast as it can and you know sometimes

[42:54] I think that that's the way it is with many of you many of you who are unwilling to make a commitment to Jesus Christ that when the light of the gospel shines and it reveals to you who you really are and what you really need you still return to the darkness you scuttle off like the beetle back into the darkness because you love the darkness rather than the light and it was Jesus who said in the sermon on the mount if the light that is in you be darkness how great is that darkness how great is it and this is what Jesus confirms to us everyone who does wicked hates the light does not come to the light lest his work should be exposed but whoever does what is through comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in

[43:57] God that God has worked in their heart and you know it was after this night time meeting with Jesus where Nicodemus heard about God's revelation a spiritual revelation a special revelation a call to be submissive to that revelation it was then that Nicodemus ever so slowly began to walk in the light by committing his life to following Jesus Christ but what about the other Nicodemus what about the other Nicodemus in here this evening what about you you are once again confronted with the light of God's revelation and Jesus wants to know what are you going to do now what are you going to do with the light of the world

[44:59] Jesus Christ are you going to come into the light because it's a marvellous light are you going to come into the light and walk in the light or are you going to scuttle off back into the darkness are you going to choose the path which leads to eternal life or are you going to continue on the path you are on a path you know leads to eternal death what I'm telling you this evening is nothing new but my longing is that you walk in the light that you come from darkness into his marvellous light Nicodemus are you born again are you born again may the

[46:09] Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray O Lord our gracious God we give thanks to thee that we are able to confess as the psalmist did that the Lord is my light and my salvation and we pray that that would be the confession of everyone here that none of us would love the darkness rather than the light but that we might see the wonder of the light of the gospel in Jesus Christ for thy word reminds us that the light has been revealed to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ help us to look to him help us to follow him help us to commit our lives to him because there is no better place to come than to this Jesus who is able to cleanse us from all our sin go before us then we pray bless us in our being together and do us good for Jesus sake amen we shall conclude by singing in psalm 34 page 246 psalm 34 we're singing from the beginning down to the verse mark 6

[47:34] God will I bless all times his praise my mouth shall still express my soul shall boast in God the meek shall hear with joyfulness extol the Lord with me let us exalt his name together I sought the Lord he heard and did me from all fears deliver they looked to him and light and well not shamed were their faces this poor man cried God heard and saved him from all his distresses these verses of psalm 34 to God's praise God will I bless all times his praise my mouth shall still express my soul shall boast and all the meek shall hear with joyfulness and all the Lord with being let us exalt his name together

[49:00] I sought the Lord he dared and did me from all fears deliver they looked to him and light he who he did his oh this poor man tried to whom they Guys are not them they will in his distresses the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore Amen