Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

God is familiar with sin and rebellion.  He made a way to escape its' consequences.  It involved looking to a substitutionary-being on a part of a tree.  This is all in NUMBERS chapter 21.  This is probably one of the things the Lord was rebuking poor Nicodemus for not getting his arms around.  Why? Because Jesus is going to turbo that exact concept with HIMSELF.  

Yes, Jesus relates Himself to a serpent on a pole in Moses' day.  I suppose both are equally crazy and equally true.
1.God is familiar with sin and rebellion and its consequences
2. Salvation  is external to oneself.  We can't fix this ourselves.  We need God.
3. God has made a way.
4. The snake in the OT, and Jesus in the NT are the way of escape
5. We can access what He has done for us by "looking to" Him; entrusting; having faith

Whoever believes in (the condition) Him (the direction) may have life eternal (the promise).
Share this with whoever you sense is being drawn to Him. Don't be surprised if He DRAWS YOU.  That is His business.  Be ready for it.

Jesus rebukes Nicodemus in a good way.  He says, your PREPARATION has not been up to the OPPORTUNITIES that I have given you.  You could have been doing better.  You can do better now.  You potentially can do better in the future.  (spoiler alert:  HE DOES!)

Rebukes are always hard and people often don't do very well with them.  Usually, they just double down on their original position and don't leave any room for God.  Here, Nicodemus takes a rebuke right down his Main Street.  Jesus challenges him at his job:  "You should have known this stuff already.  It's in the Bible.  It's in creation and in your body and soul.  I 've already shown you a whole bunch of stuff.  You haven't done your job, so when I get to the more amazing stuff, how are you going to be ready?"

God is knowable...for the prepared.(with the help of the Lord)
God is reachable...for those who reach.(with the help of the Lord)
God is within arms reach...for those who extend their elbow.(with the help of the Lord)
God can be seen...for those who open their eyes (with the help of the Lord)
God can be grasped...for those who receive what's already been given (with the help of the Lord)
God can be heard...for those who listen for what has been testified to. (with the help of the Lord)

So then, how are you doing with the opportunities God has already given? Has your preparation met the OPPORTUNITIES He has given? For Nic, the answer was NO.  What is your answer?  Listen and find out in 7 minutes.

Is it not appropriate to MARVEL at something MARVELOUS?  Let me make an argument for something Jesus says Nicodemus shouldn't marvel at.  (I think it's because Nicodemus should have ALREADY marveled at this previously.  Come explore this with me tomorrow.)

God is at work.
God is at work with ME right now.
The Spirit is volitional, and directional and sourced in the heavens.
I and all people hear and see His effects, more or less
God has a big purpose
There is this force of spiritual contact, spiritual conviction, repentance and transformation at work in our prominently physical world
The storehouse of God's pleasure includes working with me and my fellow knuckleheads
That God gives this epic message to the WORLD to scared-cat, night visiting Nic.

Sorry Lord, I am concluding with MARVELING.  You said not to to Nicodemus, but I just could not help it.  Please forward this to a fellow potential marveler. bewithme.us.

The poor guy's mind is blown when Jesus tells him he must be born again. He was confused and asks questions appropriate with his understanding.  

Birth is the most OTHER-WORLDLY thing that happens on this planet.  If you've ever witnessed one as a mother or a father or a spectator, then you know what I mean.  If you don't have ultimate AWE at this event, then you need to pay better attention.  Jesus starts with this event that is as close to heaven and the divine as there is.

But Jesus specifies a new process of the Spirit.  The even more miraculous, divine, and God-attended transformation of the heart.  This cannot happen without God showing up and helping.  I suppose our job is to admire, worship and cooperate as much as possible.  Agree and ask, "what should I do?" like Luke 3 inquires. Anyway, God does the heavy-lifting.  There is no plan b for this.  Nicodemus, and Be With Me listener, you MUST be born again.  No wonder Nic was rattled.  How could we not be in considering this other worldly intrusion into our souls?  Listen and share after 7 minutes.  

We will meet the patron saint of Scardy-cats today.  He is a man who comes to Jesus AT NIGHT.  In fact, YEARS LATER he is referred to as "the one who came to Jesus at night" to clarify that it is this guy we are referring to.  

Jesus knows a real inquiry when He sees one.  Jesus is so very generous with this man.  He will give him His attention, and His gospel.  No one else ever ever ever ever had it before.  He is the first.  It is given "to the world" first through him!  He is the first to hear it, though we don't know how it turns out for a little while. 

This mans' story just starts here.  We eventually get lots of facts about him.  In fact, we know more about him than many or perhaps even most of the disciples.  That is, if you count the area of scriptural real estate.  Specifically, our scared guy becomes very brave.  He acts at great personal, specific peril a little later.  Mr. Scardy-cat is Nicodemus.  One of my favorites.  He'll be one of yours too.  Share him after you listen for 7 minutes.

1. Man is basically_____________
2. I got the first question right.   T.      or      F.

We get the concept wrong...CONFIDENTLY.

Do you think that Jesus doesn't know the correct answers to the heart of man?  the Bible has the answer right dozens of times.  The heart of man is ...Go ahead, say it: evil, desperately wicked.  The problem isn't that God doesn't know it.  He does.  The bulk of the problem is that we don't know it and can barely eek it out because it is so unpalatable to us.  We, like the knuckleheads of Monty Python, keep saying, "It's only a flesh wound" when really we have a FATAL heart wound.

He says that He doesn't entrust Himself to man.  EXACTLY.  Why?  Because we are sinful!  Duh! Jesus didn't come to TRUST us, He came to SAVE us.  We are to do the entrusting...in HIM, not in ourselves.  If we could "believe in ourselves", we wouldn't need a savior.

So this is the coolest thing.  Even though God KNOWS the heart of mankind, (we often don't), HE CHOOSES TO ENGAGE with us, save us, and even indwell us.  That blows my mind.  I am so glad your evil, deceitful, lustful, selfish heart came to listen today.  Jesus is glad to see you too.  Share this podcast with the most evil person you know. ;-)

Jesus goes postal at the temple.  They ask a fantastic question:  What gives you the authority to do so?  Who authorizes you to decide to paint the place yellow, or whatever you want?

The answer is in the future.  Of note, Jesus' ministry is just starting, and He points to its' endpoint:  THE RESURRECTION.  It is the ultimate sign. 

All roads to the real Jesus will go through the resurrection.  This of course means the suffering and the crucifixion too.  If a theology or religion skips this part, then you should skip that religion.  Jesus tells us right from the get-go, that this is CENTRAL to what gives Him all authority--to paint the place yellow, or make a whip, or to tell us not to steal.

After this bombshell, the scriptures get up close and personal.  The disciples, later, remember and believe.  We can too.  Thank you for being here today to even have this put in front of you. See you tomorrow.  Believe and remember today. 

The nice word for it is ZEAL.  But frankly, Jesus goes POSTAL for His Father's House.  What is the big deal?  He lets so much evil slide during His 3 year ministry.  Why get Your divine undies in a crumple over this particular thing? Why pull out the WHIP for this?

Remember He is in the most important country in the world; in the midst of the most important people in the world; in the most important city in the world; and just outside the most important building in the world.  For 1000 years, it has been the exact "location of God".  God had CHOSEN to be found right here in a unique, intimate way.  So that is why Jesus had such passion for the disrespecting of the place and thwarting of the purpose of the place.  Dis respecting the PLACE was disrespecting the PERSON of God.

But let's use our full knowledge of scripture.  In about 3 years, Jesus CHANGES the LOCATION of the presence of God.  He puts it into the souls of His BELIEVERS.  In a sense, He DECENTRALIZES the presence of God from just one place to the hearts of many.  But what DOES NOT change?  His ZEAL.  His passion.  He is still ready to GO POSTAL for the LOCATION of the dwelling place for God.  But now, it is in BELIEVERS.  Ergo: Jesus will go POSTAL for YOU now, and does just that on the cross.  Please listen as Jesus shows us His PASSION for the place of God.  Please comment. 

Jesus starts 'His public ministry', that is the progressive revelation of Himself with WINE at a WEDDING.  Of note, Jesus has showed up at every legitimate wedding in the history of humanity.  It is His invention.  He is the ultimate marry-er throughout history.  It is a gift he gives Christians and non-christians.  God does the joining.  Only He can. 

Jesus makes 800 bottles of wine at this wedding.  If marketed today, they'd be divine.  A taste of Jesus, if you will.  Terroir?  How about the Godhead or heaven itself.  How much would you pay for such a provenance?  A bottle simply owned, not made, by Thomas Jefferson was valued at $500,000. A clumsy waiter knocked it over and smashed it.  Insurance paid $225,000.

One cannot deny Jesus' joy-quotient.  He gets invited to the reception with a +12 invitation that includes all the disciples.  Is the God of our imagination too dour for a party with a box of wine?  I mean 6 big barrels of it?  Perhaps we should take another pass at the real Jesus.  The joy-filled Jesus.  The wine-making Jesus.  The generous Jesus. The non-fuddy-duddy Jesus.  Please share this podcast with your most dour friend.  

Exposure to the Lord is not a pretty thing.  Oh, I know that He is all shiny and bright and perfect and wonderful.  But I am not.  I am a killer, coveter, luster, stealer, irritated and gossip.

When I realize all of that, I want to PULL BACK.  It is not so much as I don't WANT to be in relationship with God, it is that I CANNOT be in relationship with God with this great chasm.  

 I say, "DEPART from me.  I am a sinful man and I live with a bunch of sinful men and women. Get out of here God.  With this difference between us, this is just NOT going to work out.  You are holy and I am not.  We must just end this right now.   We are too separate. It's not You, it's ME.  I loathe myself"

So what is God's response?  The ball in in His court. Does He agree and withdraw? Or, does He agree and push in? His answer means EVERYTHING to us.  It all depends on what God does next.  Listen with Peter and find out what happens.  What a story!