What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, 'You Must Be Born Again'?

Part 5 (Just
Jesus Evangelistic Campaign Day 26)
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.
----Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon
series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with
unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the
main thing the main thing -- and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America
is not only disobedient presidents and politicians but disobedient pastors,
preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey God's Great Commission
and who have refused to obey God's repeated commands to "pray without
ceasing" for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for
the right candidate too win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord
gives you peace about voting for. But, don't get caught up in it like the world
does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their
hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which
says, "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified." Acts 5:42 which says, "And daily in the temple, and in every
house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And 2 Timothy 2:4
which says, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life;
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of
those saints who still loves to hear the "Old, old story of Jesus and His love" -- As
the hymn says, "For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to

hear it like the rest." This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and
understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is
hell. This is message number 26.
F.F. Bruce said, "If there is one sentence more than another which sums up the
message of the Fourth Gospel, it is this. The love of God is limitless; it embraces
all mankind. No sacrifice was too great to bring its unmeasured intensity home to
men and women: the best that God had to give, he gave -- his only Son, his wellbeloved."
C.H. Spurgeon said, This text has saved thousands of souls. The constellation in
the heavens, called the Great Bear, has in it the two pointers which direct the eye
of the observer to the pole star; and this verse points to Christ so clearly, so
distinctly, that many have found him by it, and have lived. Let me read it again:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A.W. Tozer said, Jesus Christ came not to condemn you but to save you,
knowing your name, knowing all about you, knowing your weight right now,
knowing your age, knowing what you do, knowing where you live, knowing what
you ate for supper and what you will eat for breakfast, where you will sleep
tonight, how much your clothing cost, who your parents were. He knows you
individually as though there were not another person in the entire world. He died
for you as certainly as if you had been the only lost one. He knows the worst
about you and is the One who loves you the most. If you are out of the fold and
away from God, put your name in the words of John 3:16...Have that kind of
personalized belief in a personal Lord and Savior.
Billy Graham said, God, looking down from heaven one day, saw this earth in its
turmoil and strife and sinfulness, saw us in our lost condition, saw us in our sins.
And the Bible says that God said, I love you. I love you. I love you. I want to save
you.
Tony Evans said, True love is always willing to pay a price for the benefit of
another. John 3:16 reminds us how deeply sacrificial Gods love isTrue love is
sacrificial.
Max Lucado said, Timeless and powerful, these words in John 3:16 proclaim a
message of love, a source of hope, and a promise of life. One sentence, softly
spoken nearly two thousand years ago, is just as relevant today as when Jesus
first uttered it.

Jim Daly said, Quite simply, the message of John 3:16 is the most important one
you'll ever hear. It's a message of God's love for all people. It's the message of
hope found in Jesus Christ, God's only Son who was sent into the world to save
us from our sins.
John 3:16 is a familiar verse to many. But as we have seen over the previous four
messages, it is a verse that is part of a larger conversation between Jesus and
Nicodemus. Some think that the faith of those who believe in Jesus Christ is
some kind of trick that was pulled on the first believers; that they believed a false
narrative about the events which surrounded the birth, life, and death of Jesus
Christ; that Christian doctrine is something that has been unchallenged and has
no real foundation down through the years.
But, as we read the account of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, we find that
that is not the case. Nicodemus, a scholar and religious leader, came to Jesus
asking questions and expressing doubt. All throughout Jesus' ministry, those
who were most educated about religious matters questioned, and sometimes
ridiculed, Jesus' teachings. Yet, Jesus answered all of His critics to the point
where they had nothing else to say to Him. The only way they could shut Him up
was to kill Him, and that's what they did. Incidentally, it was by means of this
death and the subsequent resurrection that the teachings of Jesus spread farther
and wider than any would have thought possible.
If you are an unbeliever, you can know that the teachings of Jesus Christ have
been challenged and vetted down through the centuries, and they have stood the
test of time. So when we come to a familiar verse such as John 3:16, we must try
to look at it with fresh eyes. In this single verse, we see three important actions
taking place.
First, we see God loving the world. "For God so loved the world..." God loves
each and every person who has ever lived on this planet. He loves us like a father
loves his children. Even when a child is disobedient, or goes out and does
something that brings shame on the family, the father, deep down, still loves his
child. When God looks down on the world, and sees this planet roiling in a violent
river of sin, crime, bloodshed, decadence, and immorality, He still loves us. The
Bible says that God is love. He cannot help but love every single one of us.
Once when I preached in Montego Bay Jamaica, a beautiful young lady got up
and sung the most beautiful song I had ever heard in my life, The Love of God. It
goes like this:

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
Gods love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adams race
The saints and angels song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song.
Then, we see God acting on His love. "For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son..." Love compels people to do things. Have you ever
wanted to buy a gift for somebody you loved? Have you ever felt the urge to tell
someone that they are doing wrong and will only bring harm to themselves, not
because you hate them, but because you love them? Have you ever felt the urge
to step in and bear the brunt of a painful situation because you wanted to protect
somebody you loved? Gods love for us is even greater than that.

God looked down and saw the sinful condition of the world. He knew that if we
continued on our path, we would all end up dead and in Hell, for the Bible says,
"the soul that sinneth it shall die." So, God, seeing that we could not save
ourselves, decided to step in and create a means to save us. He does this by
sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to live among us, experience life with
us, and show us a better way to live. However, that is not the whole purpose for
which Jesus came; we must not reduce Him to just that as some try to do. Jesus
came to take our sins on himself, to suffer, and to die in our place. Jesus Christ
suffered rejection by God and punishment for our sins so that we would not have
to.
Finally today, we see the third action that must take place. The verse reads, "That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God
took the first two actions -- He loved and He gave. The word "whosoever" refers
to you and me. This is something that we must do. We must "believe.". All you
and I have to do is believe.
The word "believe" means to have faith in, to trust, or to have confidence in.
That's it. When you trust someone completely, you will put your life in their
hands. That is all God is asking you to do. Put your life in the hands of Jesus
Christ.
Do you believe that God loves the world? That God loves you? Do you believe
that God sent His only Son Jesus Christ into the world? Have you realized that
you are a sinner who cannot save yourself? Do you believe that Jesus Christ died
and suffered punishment on your behalf in order to save you? Do you believe that
the only way you can be saved from sin and the punishment of sin in Hell is by
placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ?
If your answer to these questions is "yes", then I invite you to pray with me right
now and declare that you are placing 100% of your faith, trust, and confidence in
Jesus Christ and Him alone so that you will not perish and so that you will have
eternal life.
Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things
in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and I want to turn from my sins. For Jesus
Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that
Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Him as my Savior
and follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my
heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and
meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you
are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the
family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life
and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information
to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com
and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in
John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall
go in and out, and find pasture."
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at
gls@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we
want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well,
and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.