The Pharisee Named Nicodemus

[Choir singing in Latin] [Speaker 1] Church and fellowship cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God always desires a godly heritage. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness on Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] I will make known thy faithfulness, thy faithfulness. With my mouth will I make known, I make known thy faithfulness. 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 are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "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, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is it with everyone who is born of the Spirit." That is the Gospel according to John 3:1-8. It is from this extract of the Bible, this passage of the Bible, that we want to look at the lessons we can learn from Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus. Now, we go back to verse 1 to take it gradually. The Bible made us to understand in this story that Nicodemus is not a mean person. Nicodemus is a reputed person. Nicodemus is somebody who is well known among the Pharisees. In fact, the Bible also makes us to know that Nicodemus was a Jew because we are told he was a ruler among the Jews. That Nicodemus was not only a Pharisee but also he was a ruler among the Jews. We are made to understand that this reputable individual who is not just a ruler, who is not just a Pharisee, but also a ruler among the Jews, maybe to avoid criticism, maybe to avoid being seen, maybe for discretionary purposes. We will not know why, but it could be any of these and it could be none of them. He will have his own reasons. The Bible did not record it. It was not recorded. Maybe he wanted to be a secret disciple of Jesus. These are possibilities. Wanting to avoid the reproach, the persecution from fellow Pharisees. What we know was that he did not come to Jesus during the day. The Bible says he came to Jesus by night. And when he came to Jesus by night, the Bible shows how condescending this man was, how he held Jesus in high regard, how he is somebody who have come to believe in the person of Jesus and in the ministry of Jesus. He is somebody who was indeed showing significant interest in the matters of the kingdom. And so he came by night. He came by night to meet Jesus. And when he came by night to meet Jesus, he started with what will look like trying to extol the virtues that is in Jesus, trying to speak well of Jesus. He was trying to speak very well of Jesus, and he was saying something to Jesus that looks oh, wow. What is this that you have to say? He said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who came from God. Nobody can do what you are doing except God is with the person." And eulogizing Jesus. If you look at what he said, he said, "We know that you came from God." He said, "We know." So he's not just speaking for himself. I want you to note that. He wasn't speaking for himself. He was speaking both for himself and maybe for the Jews or for the Pharisees. We would not know. But he's saying that him, together with a group of people, have come to realize, have come to a conviction, have come to a realization that Jesus is a teacher that is from God. He is not somebody that is from man. What he's doing came from God. And because they have also come to a conclusion that the sign that is coming from the life of this man is not something that is possible without God. So God must be with the man. This is a man that God chose. This is a man that God has set apart for His own purpose. There was no argument about that. Now, when he said this, Jesus responded with what will look you may describe as unconnected, unrelated, not linked together. What does not add up to what the man was saying. The man was saying we know that you came from God, nobody can do what you do except God is with him. Ordinarily, what will you expect is that oh, we thank God, our God be praised, God be God. We just thank God for everything. We thank God for everything. But if you look at the answer of Jesus, the answer Jesus gave did not immediately add up to what the man was saying. Jesus just shot off from one angle by 360 degrees to another angle. Jesus just answered and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." So you see something. What is it that I'm trying to call your attention to in this encounter? The first thing I want to call your attention to is for us to realize that from the answer Jesus gave Nicodemus, it becomes obvious that the Lord Jesus is not interested in praise-singers. The Lord Jesus is not interested in talking around the kingdom, or talking about the kingdom, or showing keen interest, mere keen interest in what is happening in the kingdom. The Lord Jesus was interested in entering into the kingdom. That is, the Lord Jesus in this encounter is making Nicodemus to see that look, our desire is not in talking about the kingdom. Our desire is not in merely eulogizing the kingdom. Our desire is not in just appreciating the kingdom. Our desire, what we are looking for is that we need men that will be partakers of the kingdom. We need people that have entered the kingdom. We need people that are entering. We need people that are inside. We don't need people that are spectators. We don't need people that are onlookers. We don't need people that are mere preachers. We don't need people that are mere listeners. We don't need people that are mere praise-singers. What the kingdom need are people that will enter into the kingdom. And I'm bringing this to you as a young man or woman. I want you to know that what interest God about your life is not how much you talk about the kingdom. It's not how much you are involved in activities around the kingdom. It's not how much you are busy eulogizing the kingdom. What the Lord is looking for in your life is look, we need you to enter. We need you to be a participator. We don't need you to be we need you to be a participant. We need you to be inside. We need you to enter to experience what is going on. We are looking for men that will be witnesses. Nobody can be a witness that does not have an encounter. Do you understand me? And so when they say come and be those of you who saw the thing happen are the ones that can be what? What can they be? People who saw something happen are the one that can be witnesses. Am I correct? Am I correct? Those are the people that can be witnesses. And if you look at what Jesus said, Jesus said in the book of Acts 1:8, He said, "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses." What I'm trying to make you understand is that the kingdom is not interested in people who have not witnessed what they are talking about. The kingdom is looking for witnesses, people who have experienced it, people who have encountered it, people who when they talk about it, they are speaking from what their eyes have seen, what their hands have touched, have handled, what they have witnessed, the word of life. Jesus is telling Nicodemus, "Nicodemus, look, all of this that you are saying is irrelevant. What is relevant is can you be born again? Can you come into it? Can you enter into it? Can you be a partaker? We want to raise you to be a witness. We want to make you to talk about what your eyes have seen, what your hand have handled, what you have experienced in your own life. We need people who have experienced God. We need people who have encounter. We need people who have a form of entry into the thing that they are talking about." Young man, young woman, you know what I want you to understand? The things of the kingdom in these last days is not just that I'm a member of Baptist, I'm a member of Deeper Life, I attend Redemptive Church, I am a worker in Living Faith, I am a worker in you know all the churches that we have. Just mention anyone that you belong to. I'm a member of Gospel Faith, I'm a member of look, the things of the kingdom in this end time transcend all of these things. It transcend church membership. It transcend being active in one unit in the church. Does that mean that these things they are not good? No, I'm not saying that they are not good. But I'm saying that what the kingdom need today are not just people who can talk about God. It's that the kingdom need people who have experienced God, who have encountered God. People who have entered into what they are talking about. We need people of power. We need people who are speaking from the point of having encounter what they are talking about. We don't just need people who will just be eulogizers. We don't need praise-singers. We don't need mere church membership. We don't need just being in activity group. We need people who have entered. That thing you are preaching about, have you entered into it? That thing you declare about God, have you entered into the experience of it? This end time that we are in is looking for people who have a reality at their disposal. It's not people who have who merely heard about. No. People who can as John put it, I like the way the Bible put it in that book of 1 John 1:1. I honestly like the way it is so written in John. 1 John 1:1, "That, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, that is good, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life." Are you seeing something? Are you seeing something? Apostle John, when he wanted to talk about the word of life, he wasn't talking about a word of life that is at peripheral level. He was talking about a word of life. I want to try other translation of that 1 John. Now, okay, let me read New King James. It said, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life." NLT, "The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life." Are you seeing something? So that is what Jesus was trying to make Nicodemus to understand. That is what he was trying to make him to realize. It is not just a matter of talking about something. It is a matter of you have seen it. You saw it with your own eyes. You have touched it with your own hand. You have touched it. It is something that is your experience. And so Jesus began his response by simply telling Nicodemus, "Look, truly, truly I say to you, except a man is born again, he cannot enter. What we need is have you entered?" I want us to look at this and I want us to properly understand it. Young man, young woman, what is the level of your encounter with Jesus? What is the level of your encounter? To what extent have you entered into what you are preaching now with the head? To what extent have you entered into to what extent have encounter into this Christian life? To what extent have you touched? To what extent have you handled what you are talking about? Look, as a young man, as a young woman, this is the time to wake up. This is the time to get up. This is the time to tell yourself, this is the time to arise. When you look at Daniel 11:31-32, "Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate." Something that is despicable. He says, "He shall seduce with flatteries those who violate the covenant." So there's been a kind of seduction here and there. "But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." Do you see that you cannot stand firm for what you have not handled? You cannot stand firm for what your eyes have not seen, what your hand have not touched. You cannot stand firm for it. That is why you note that in this place, this deceiver was able to corrupt, was able to deceive. He says, "But the people who know their God," people who have entered, people who have ground into what they are talking about, they are not people you can easily turn around. They are not people you can easily deceive. They are not people you can easily manipulate. You cannot turn them round. They will stand firm. They will take action. They will do exploit. They will resist. They will withstand. Why? Because they know. What I'm trying to make you see, young man, young woman, is I don't know how you're taking your Christian life. But I'm only challenging you that there is a definite action to take about 2026. And that action is, "Lord, that my eyes may see. That my hands may handle. That I will have encounter. Lord, take me deeper. Lord, draw me closer. Lord, bring me in, further and further. I don't just I don't want to be at the like a tangent." You know what a tangent is? A tangent is a straight line that touches the circumference of a circle. It does not enter into the core, into the deep things of the circle. It just touches the circle at the circumference. It is a time to beg God that you don't want to be a Christian that is tangential. You don't want to be a tangential Christian. You want to be somebody who enter deeply. Somebody who have encounter. Somebody who know the Lord. It is this type of people that the kingdom is looking for. I pray for you, you will not be a spectator. You will not be a spectator. You will not be among those that will be easily corrupted in these last days. But you'll be among men who can take action in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's see that place. Let's go back to that John that we are reading. Let's go back to the Gospel according to John. Let's go and continue from where we stopped. Now, Jesus said, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom." Now, Nicodemus then said to Jesus, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" I'm trying to show you something. Something very important. Something very crucial. Who is Nicodemus? Who is Nicodemus? Nicodemus of course was a Pharisee and a ruler. Please mark it. He is a ruler of the Jews. Now, when Jesus talk about entering the kingdom, do you notice that Nicodemus was lost? He could not relate to what Jesus was saying. Because he was asking Jesus, "Master, master, how will a man be born again? Is he going to enter into the mother's womb? How is it going to be?" For you to know that the fact that Nicodemus is showing very keen and strong interest in the person of Jesus, very keen and strong interest in the things of the kingdom, Nicodemus was a vague man when it comes to kingdom matters. He was a man who is I don't know how to explain it. He is a man who is completely void of any kind of spiritual understanding. He is a man who carries nothing. I mean in relation to the kingdom. We are telling you that you needed to be born again. We are talking about the need to be born by the Spirit, the need to have encounter. And you are still talking around with the man have to enter the mother's womb? You still don't know how it will happen? You are talking about the kingdom and you see many of many people are like that today. They can talk so well about the kingdom. They can tell you so many things about the kingdom. They can describe. They can tell you the stories. They can do all kind of acting and dramatizing. They can do things to make you feel that wow, this one should be a ruler of the people. And what I'm trying to make you see is that it is very important for you to see that a man may have a level of interest in the things of God, and yet the man is completely void of understanding about the things of God. What do you think will have made Nicodemus to come by night? Why do you think he wanted to encounter Jesus one-on-one? Why was the quest to meet with him? Why was he why was he doing everything to stay awake so that he can have an encounter with this man that will be one-on-one, not when the crowds are there? This man was already showing significant interest in the kingdom. And yet, even with that status, he was still completely blind to the things of God. And that is what I am trying to warn you about. That is what I am calling your attention to. Don't just be satisfied. Desire to go deeper. Desire to travel further. Despite the CV that Nicodemus was carrying, Nicodemus did not know have a clear understanding of how spiritual things work. He was asking Jesus, "Am I going to enter my mother's womb so that I'm now born again? How will this born again?" He could not just let go of what he had. He was just there. There was interest. There was an understanding of being a Pharisee and all of that. He need to let go of that. There is something deeper and more real. There is something required for kingdom things that translate that transcend being a ruler, that transcend being a Pharisee, that transcend all of these things. That thing is an encounter. And Jesus was trying to explain something to Nicodemus, something he had never understood, something he had never entered into. I pray for you, every way you have not entered the spiritual life, I pray you will enter into depth in the name of Jesus. Come into this reality. Come into this mystery of God. Come into the truth of God. Into being led by the Spirit of God. Not all this I think, I feel, I want, I'm thinking. You can rise above this, young man, young woman listening to me wherever you are. You can rise above that line. You can rise above the bandwagon line. This is what everybody is doing, that is what I want to do. That's the life of some people. I remember that was how my parents in those days wanted me by all means to read Accountancy. "My child, that is what everybody is doing now. If you don't do it, you will not be relevant in society." And that is what guide the judgment of some people. That is what everybody is doing now. Who told you that because many are in something, who told you that that thing to be what will work for you? I pray for you, that which will work for you you will discover. That which will work for you you will realize. That which will lift you and promote you you will discover. You will not be a bandwagon person. Jesus was telling Nicodemus, "Nicodemus, you are marveling, but the born-again life is a mystical life. The born-again life is a life of the Spirit. It's a life of being led of the Holy Ghost. It's a life of being led by the Spirit of God." And the Bible say as many as are led by the spirit, they are the sons of God. That is what I'm discussing with you. That was what Jesus was trying to explain something to Nicodemus, something he had never understood, something he had never entered into. And if you look at the answer of Nicodemus, Nicodemus said to him in verse 9, "How can these things be?" May that not be your position in life. May you not be a man that is wondering how people are hearing God. You're wondering, so how does God normally lead people? So it is possible to hear what God is telling you. It is possible to know the specific things for our life? So when God speak, will you hear Him in your ear, or you will hear Him how does He you know some people are like that even they are born again Christians. May you come out of that category. Will you come out of that category? Nicodemus was wondering. What I'm trying to make you see, young man, young woman, anywhere you are listening to me. We are in the last days. I'm telling you the type of young people, the type of men and women we need today. We need men and women of the spirit. Men and women of the spirit. Technical, please is there any question for us? Okay, so let's go ahead to pray. Let's go ahead to pray this morning. Wherever you are, please as you are listening to me, talk to the Lord. The Pharisee Nicodemus. Don't be born again and be at the level of Nicodemus. Don't be born again and be at that level. If you are at that level, I want you to pray this morning. I am going beyond this level. I am going beyond my fears. I'm going higher. I am going higher. Almighty God, we thank You. Everlasting Father, we give You praise. King of Glory, we appreciate You. Lord, we are just praying this morning. We are asking this morning, Lord, particularly for our young men and our young women because the Bible says in the last days I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh. It says your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Lord, You have need of our sons and our daughters. It says the young men shall see vision. Lord, You have need of our young men. Lord, I am praying today for every person hearing me, let there be a lifting from the status of a Nicodemus to the status of a man of the spirit in the name of Jesus. Lord, let there be a lifting. Let there be a catapulting. Let there be a pulling up, a pulling out, a pulling up to higher places in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. God bless you. We see again in the month of March by the grace and mercies of God. In Jesus' name. [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission aid. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM. Adolescents and singles club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM. Marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM. Family life seminars, regular school outreaches and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Idanre road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 0803-386-1136, 0703-361-3848. God bless you.