NOV 25 2018 | John 3 in 3D S1E2 | Belief & Redemption

Sea Change Church · John 3 in 3D · "Belief & Redemption" Pastor Harry Wilson · November 25, 2018
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

The reading for today is John 3, 16-19. 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. 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.

And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and the people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. The word of the Lord. Thank you. That's Caitlin. Caitlin's been in our youth ministry for about a year. Her and her family have been here, and it's just been really, really cool to have them, and her playing guitar and reading scripture. I have to admit a quick blunder. I think on your notes it says 16 through 21, and then I told somebody that was correct.

And it's just 3, 16 through 19, so Caitlin got it right. Good job. So, as was said before, my name's Harry. I'm the student ministries pastor on staff. Thankful to be with you here today. And we're in the midst of a series called John 3 in 3D, looking on John chapter 3, especially John 3, 16, from three different perspectives. Last week, you had Elliot teaching, who just did a phenomenal job going into the details of that scripture with Nicodemus and Jesus.

And then this week, you get the millennial pastor perspective. I thought about pretending my feelings were kind of hurt about that's, you know, there's the scholar, and there's the other, you know, but I'm the millennial, and that's what I bring to the table. I thought about pretending, oh, my feelings are hurt about that. But I realized that publicly pretending that my feelings were hurt is like the most millennial thing I could do.

So that would just moot the point. So I'm not going to do that. My feelings aren't hurt. I'm actually, Pastor Jim is speaking next week. And so I'm actually, I'm sandwiched in with a lot of wisdom in this series. And so truly not hurt, and actually really, really thankful. Thankful that I get to even have my voice heard in this, in the midst of this series, because just really excellent teachers. So that being said, one thing I'm going to do a little differently this week as we look at this message.

Normally, I like to stay pretty close to the text. But this week, what we're going to do is we're going to kind of use the text as a lifting off point to talk about a lot of these ideas that Jesus is bringing up. Ideas that are fundamental, I think, for our faith and our walk and our discipleship journey with Christ. But I'm not going to go as deep in depth into the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night. And I actually think I would not be able to do any near of a great of a job that Elliot did last week, giving us so much information about that.

So this time, we're going to use this text as kind of a lifting off point to talk about some really essential ideas. Because with that, go ahead and we're going to look at verse 16 first here. And it's, This is probably one of the most famous scriptures in our modern era. We love this scripture. It's famous. It's something that you can see, you know, put on people's homes, on the walls, something that we often refer to.

And first off, I think that's because it's a beautiful teaching by Jesus. It's a truthful, powerful statement by Jesus. And I think there's other reasons we like it so much. It's somewhat formulaic, right? Because you have God's love as the beginning, and God's love is the catalyst for all things in the scripture. So you have God's love plus where we come in is our faith in that love. Our faith in that sacrifice equals eternal life.

And as human beings, we love formulas because we can kind of wrap our brain around it. And so we kind of like, we like that formulaic pattern. And we can get kind of in trouble when we put God in formulas, try to put God in a box. And so we do need to look at all of Jesus' teaching on eternity. The entire gospel on the teachings on eternity. And not just one scripture. But the scripture gives us a powerful insight into our role as we step into eternal life.

And that first thing is belief. Faith. This thing of faith has the quality of eternity. There's something about stepping in with faith that we start to move into eternal life. And I think the question becomes, why faith? Like, why is that the tool, Jesus? Why use faith? Because faith is somewhat of a controversial idea. I've talked about, I have a really good friend. He's getting his PhD right now in artificial intelligence.

We grew up together. We were on the same wrestling team as boys. And he's an atheist. And he would argue with me that faith is just flawed thinking. Because faith doesn't fit into our scientific method. We can't analyze faith. Like, the whole scientific method is scrutinizing every little thing we can so that we come out with the truth. And faith is flawed. And I think there's a major point we're missing there. And so for us, we have to ask the question, why faith?

Why is that the tool to help us step into the eternal realm? How do we step into eternity? Eternity that's available to us, by the way, right now, today. Not this thing we wait for when we die. But something we can step into right now. Why faith? And I think to first begin to answer that question, we have to remember that faith is inevitable. You are going to place your faith, your belief, your trust in something. Whether that's the Lord Almighty.

Whether that's your spouse. Whether that's the politics you've ascribed to. Whether it doesn't matter. You will put your faith in something. It's what we do. It's how we get through this world. We put our faith and our belief and our trust in something. And that faith that you put into something, that will become the lens in which you see the world. The faith that you put in whatever it is, that will become the lens in which you see the world.

So what are you putting your faith into? We find that what you put your faith into matters. Because not only does it affect the lens in which you see the world. But it actually affects your actions, your habits, the rituals, the worship, the things that make up your life. You start with belief. The things I believe. And then you move into action. And you create habits. And we are creatures that operate largely off these automatic processes.

Where we have built in habits from our everyday life. And they're almost unconscious. But they come from things of belief. The things we believe in shape the habits that form our life. So it deeply matters what you put your faith into. And we have to consider that. And sometimes we might have a belief. And it's not matching up with our habits. It's not matching up with our actions. And that is, unfortunately, we've all been there probably too many times.

Where we have a faith, we have a belief. And it's not matching up with our actions. And that creates this cognitive dissonance. This thing in us where we are uncomfortable. Uncomfortable. So really, truly, what we believe matters. And so what I want us to do. And I left a place open here in your notes. Is to identify a habit. I think it's sometimes easier to identify your habits. Than it is to right away identify your beliefs.

And so first, let's identify a habit that you have. Something in your life. Something that you do on a regular basis. Identify your habit. And then think about what is the underlying belief for that habit. What is that thing that makes me go to that? What do I believe about that? And so I'll give you an example. And I'll give you probably the most millennial example I could do. Which is to pull out my phone. Right? This is something that I've built in.

Just a habit. Not me. The hypothetical other millennials. I don't do it. But to reach into my phone. And be looking at my phone. Checking my text. My social media. My email. And that becomes a habit to the point where I'm pulling out my phone. More than there are messages. Right? Where I'm always checking my phone. And that's a habit. So what's the underlying belief behind that habit? Well it seems. Even though I might not think it.

It seems that I believe. That I can get some sort of happiness. By pulling out my phone. By checking my phone. I'm either going to be entertained. I'm going to get some sort of stimulation. Some sort of happiness from pulling out my phone. And so then what we can do. And this is what you guys have. You can then start to scrutinize the belief. Well is that true? And for this example. No it's not. Right? Because studies have shown that.

The more you're on your phone. Social media. All those things. The actually you have a rise in depression and anxiety. And you tend to lose sleep. And so what you guys can do. If you have time throughout your week. Identify a habit. Identify a belief. And then scrutinize that belief. Is that true? Is that positive and beneficial from my life? And so do that sometime this week. Or if you get really bored during this sermon.

That's a great place to go. Right here. It's easy. You don't even have to doodle. I gave you a spot for it. And then the next thing we can do. Is identify what eternal habits do you need in your life. Maybe I might identify a couple ones that aren't so good. But what eternal habits can I add into my life? This is something my beautiful wife and I were talking about this week. She's front row always. I love it. And this is something we were talking about this week.

Is we just felt off balanced. We felt like man there's just. There's too much work. There's too much else going on in our life. And we just feel off. And we were saying we need more prayer in our life. I think that's the eternal habit we're missing. We've built in some prayer into our life. Where we pray before meals. We pray before we go to bed together. But it's not enough. We still feel off. And so why don't we build more of prayer into our life.

And we started to try to build a habit. Of praying every day. For 10 minutes a day. To just stop and pray together. We did that once this week. So we're on our way. Right? It's hard to build a habit. But we did it once. Baby steps. Yeah. And so for us. What eternal habits can you start to build into your life? And so now. Just a quick summary. What we've established. Right? Is faith and belief are important. Right? They're important because not only are they inevitable.

But they're going to shape your life. They're going to shape the actions that make up your life. So now. We're going to go ahead and look at the next verse. Verse 17 through 18. 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. 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.

So the question now. As we've identified the importance of belief. And believing in something positive. Because that thing will shape the way you view the world. And it's going to shape the actions that form your life. Now we've got to ask the question. Why Jesus? Why put my faith in Jesus specifically? Why him? And I think this verse gives us a really important teaching on it. And it first gives us the teaching that God's intention with us.

Is not condemnation. But liberation. God's intention is not condemnation. But liberation. He wants to redeem you. He wants to lift you up. He wants to heal your wounds. He wants to make you in a right place with him. God has good intention. That's something. That's a God worth believing in. And then through that. The way that he does that. Is the sacrifice of his son. Jesus Christ. Who comes here because of the love of God.

That is the catalyst for all things. And I put in your notes that the blood of Jesus. Is the ink. In which the redemption story of the world is written. Thus. By placing your faith in Jesus. You begin to see life. Through a redemptive lens. And this is. This is absolutely crucial for us as human beings. To start to see life. The world as it truly is. As redeemed. If we can see. If we start to believe in Jesus. Believe in the story.

Because the Bible is ultimately. God's redeeming love story. For the people and the children that he loves. That's what that's. That's what the whole Bible is. And so if we begin to believe in that. We start to step in. And actually view the world. As redeemed. View ourselves as redeemed. We see everything in a redemptive lens. And that is not only profoundly true. But beneficial for us as human beings. It's absolutely crucial for us as human beings.

In fact it's something. Psychologists often do with their patients. They find that. People tell two types of stories. They tell degenerative stories. And they tell redemptive stories. And a degenerative story. Is something that. Goes on the lines of. Ever since this thing happened. Ever since. That one hurtful thing happened in my life. I was beat up as a kid. Or my parents got divorced in high school. Or whatever that thing is.

Ever since then. That hurt and pain in my life. It's been downhill from there. I've just been struggling. And I've been hurt. And I haven't been able to get up. It's a degenerative story. And we tell those. The other option. Is a redemptive story. And they start similarly. That ever since then. Ever since that time. In high school. When my parents got divorced. And all that hurt. I struggled. But I fought to overcome that pain.

And the fighting. To overcome that pain. That made me the person who I am. And in fact. It made me closer with my siblings. And I can begin to see the way. In which my world is redeemed. When I see the world. Through a redemptive lens. And that's the benefit. Of believing in Jesus. Not only is it profoundly true. Not only do we step into eternal life. But it benefits you. Today. To believe in the only. Son of God. C.S. Lewis says it this way.

I believe in Christianity. As I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it. But because by it. I see everything else. Christianity. Believing in God. Being a disciple of the living God. God. It's like seeing the sunrise. And can light up your world. As you see the world. Through a redemptive lens. Let's read verse 19. 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. So the question now. We've established. Right. Another quick summary. We've established. Faith is important. It's inevitable. And it's going to affect your life. And then faith in Jesus. Is the pinnacle of that. Because as we believe in Jesus. We start to. Transform our lives. To step into eternity. And see the world. As it truly is. And that's redemptive. And now.

We have to. Ask the question. Practically. How can we do that? Practically. How do we put Jesus. At the center of our heart. At the center of our loves. As this scripture calls it. Light. How do I put the light. As the center of my being. How do I do that? As we step into. And we. We say amen. We agree with this walk in faith. How do we put light. First. And what we see in the scripture. Is an example of people. Who love the darkness.

But they only love the darkness. Because it protected. What? It protected their work. Their works. Their works. Were evil. And so they loved the darkness. And so I put. In your notes. That your love. Is shaped. By your works. And your worship. The things that you do. The works. The worship. The rituals. That make up your life. Those will shape the things you love. These people. The things they did. Were evil. And that made them love the darkness.

Because it protected their works. Our worship. Shapes. Our love. And when we worship. The true God. We begin to step in. And love the light. Our worships. Shape our loves. And our heart. There's a story. It's a. I think it's by a Russian filmmaker. From the 1980s. Really random. I know. But there's a. There's a point. A premise. And he. There's a. It's a movie. And I'm blanking on his name. But. It's a really interesting story.

So that. I'll give you the premise. The premise is this. There's three individuals. One individual is leading the other two. And he tells them there's a place. There's a place called the zone. And if you go into the zone. There's a room within the zone. And in that room. You can get the deepest desire of your heart. Not just what you think you want comes true. But what you really truly want. The truest desire. The truest love of your heart.

That thing comes true. And so the people. Eagerly follow him to the zone. And then they get to the. In the zone. And they're in the room. They're right outside the room. To go into. And he says. Who wants to go first? And all of a sudden. The two individuals are struck with fear. Because they begin to ask the question. What do I love? Like really. What do I love? And is what I love. What I really want? Do I know what I love?

Is what I love. What I really need? And for us. If our worship. Is shaped by the things we love. That makes our worship. And our actions. And our habits. So important. Because we may not love what we think. And for many of us. We need to analyze. What do I love? And is it good for me? And some of us in here. Might know exactly what it is. And might be like. Yeah. That's not so good. Some of us in here. Might not be sure.

And need to examine that question. What is it. That I love? As Christians. We have got. To get. Our loves. Right. We've got to get our loves right. And getting our loves right. Means. Getting our worship right. Getting our habits right. Getting our actions right. And where did we say that starts? Belief. That's what we do. That's why we show up here on Sundays. That's why this isn't just a. A ritualistic gathering that we do.

Just for community. Right. But it's essential. In our walk with Jesus. As we shape and form our loves. James K.A. Smith. He's an author of a book called. You Are What You Love. And he says this. The practice. The practices of Christian worship. Train our love. They are practice for the coming kingdom. Habituating us. As the citizens. Of the kingdom of God. I'm going to read that one more time. The practices of Christian worship.

Train our love. They are practice for the coming kingdom. Habituating us. As citizens. Of the kingdom of God. God. Faith in Jesus. Helps us. Recalibrate our eyes. To the light. Right. Helps us adjust our heart. Adjust our mind. Adjust our being. So that when we step into eternity. That we can step into eternity. Through belief. And that's stepping into the light. And sometimes we're so used to the darkness. That the light just hurts our eyes.

And so through faith in Jesus. Through practice worship. We can begin to recalibrate our hearts. And our minds. To the light. This is the summary point. I put in your notes. And it says this. Eternal life. Is presently acquired. Through faith. Which is best strengthened. By habitual. Loving worship. This worship will shape your loves. As you take residence. In the eternal light. To which. Is the joy. Of living. If that's you today.

If you're like man. I need. I want to step into the light. If I need to get rid of some of the darkness. If I need to recalibrate my eyes. If I need to change the loves in my heart. If that's you today. We're going to. We're going to have. We're going to invite the prayer team up. We're going to invite the worship team up. Worship team. That's your official invitation. And. And I want you to be. You can come forward for prayer.

Come seek out leaders for prayer. We want to pray with you. We want to give you opportunities. Please. So if that's you today. If that's on your heart today. Come forward to receive prayer. Let's pray. God. Thank you. That you are a loving God. That you sent your only son. Through your love. As the catalyst for all things. And now we get the joy. Of believing in you. Even though it's hard. What we've learned. Is that it benefits us today.

It benefits us right now. To step into eternity. Through faith. That that doesn't have to be. A bad thing. A flawed way of thinking. But that it actually. Is the truest way to live. And so God. We give our faith to you. We give our doubts to you. As we doubt. And we hurt. And we struggle. We give it all to you. Because you are the God. Who redeems. And we lift up your name. Help us to get our loves right. Help us to get our worship right.

As we follow you. Into the light. Amen.