In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of being born again and finding refuge in Jesus Christ. He urges the audience to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. The preacher highlights John 3:16 as a powerful verse that answers the question of how a person can be born again and become a new creature in Christ. He emphasizes that God's love for the world led Him to give His only Son, and those who believe in Him will have everlasting life. The preacher concludes with a prayer for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the listeners and for the Word of God to have a powerful impact on their lives.

If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. John chapter 3, a man named Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and his desires is to discuss some matters with Jesus concerning Jesus. He says, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles thou doest except God be with him. Nicodemus wants to talk about Jesus being a rabbi, being a teacher, sin of God. He wants to discuss the mighty miracles that Jesus has been performing. And as Christ often did, he has a way of cutting right to the heart issue. Notice that the Lord does not talk about being a rabbi. He doesn't talk about all of the teachings that he's done. He doesn't address the miracles that he's performed. He cuts to the heart of the issue when twice Jesus told this educated scholar, you must be born again. And, you know, people still come to Jesus with many questions today, and the message is still the same. You must be born again. In verse number four, Nicodemus asked the question of the ages. How can a man be born again? And let me just say that's the most important question you'll ever ask, and it's the most important question Jesus Christ ever answered. And he answered it with probably the single greatest verse in all of the Bible. Look at verse 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. 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. Would you pray with me? Father, I thank you for the crowd that you've assembled here tonight. No one is here by accident. Everyone is here by divine allotment and appointment of our providential God. And I pray tonight, Lord, that you would do what you promised you would do and that you would use the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation, and that your Holy Spirit would come and tonight do what you promised he would do. Convince men of sin, righteousness and judgment. Lord, I pray tonight that your Holy Spirit would quicken dead men so that they might repent and believe the gospel. Lord, we know that no one tonight in their natural state can understand the things of God because their absolute foolishness to that man. Lord, these truths are spiritually discerned, so we need the help of the Holy Spirit tonight. Lord, it'll not be by might nor by power, but it'll be by your spirit tonight if anyone is enabled to see the truth of the gospel. So I pray, Heavenly Father, that your Holy Spirit would open hearts and open minds just like you did, Lydia. Lord, you opened up her heart to receive the truth. Lord, I thank you for these students. They are precious to us, and I pray that they do know that God so loved them and that they remember that this church so loved them enough to invite them to come tonight to hear the gospel. And I pray that this very evening God would be that eternal turning point in the life of one of these precious young people, God, that would change forever the course, the direction of their very existence. And Lord, I pray tonight that your word would go forth in power and accomplish the task that you've ordained it to accomplish in Jesus name. Let the church say amen. John 316, one of the greatest verses of scripture in all of the Bible, because it answers this question, how can a man be born again? How can a man become a new creature in Christ Jesus, this text, John 316, is just a simple text. Anybody can read it and understand it. I mean, with God's help, we can all read this verse and we can understand it. It points out five simple truths about salvation. It points out five simple truths about what it means to be born again. Down here in the South, we say being saved. This text reveals five truths about the new birth, and that's what salvation is. First of all, this text addresses the origin of salvation, that is how it came about. Where in the first two words, notice what it says in John 316 for God, you know what that reminds me of? It reminds me of Genesis one, one in the beginning, God. Here he says in John 316 for God, you see, the Bible begins with God. The Bible does not argue God's existence. The Bible does not try to establish his being. The Bible begins with this fact that God is he which is and which was and which is to become the almighty. God doesn't waste his time trying to prove his existence or to prove his work in creation. He just simply says in the beginning, God, and you can believe it or you can perish in the beginning. God and John 316. Jesus spoke and he revealed that the new creation is the same way the creation begins with in the beginning, God and salvation is about a new creation. That's why I began with that verse. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. And let me tell you this, as radical as it was for God to create this world into existence out of nothing. That's how miraculous it is when somebody gets saved, man, it's a creation in Genesis one. It says in the beginning, God created the world. And that word created is the Hebrew word Barra. And it means that God made something out of nothing. And that's exactly what he did when he saved me. He made something out of nothing creation in the beginning. God, it's a miracle. And salvation is the same way. Salvation is as much a miracle as God fashioning the universe. Salvation is not man's idea. Any more than creation was man's idea. Salvation is God's idea. And that's why Jonah, when he's in that well at the bottom of the ocean, there's no little gimmick going to get him out of the whale's belly. There's no little prayer going to get him out of the whale's belly. There's no committee that can get him out of the belly of the whale. And finally, that dawns on Jonah. And in Jonah chapter two, verse nine, he comes to this radical conclusion. Salvation is of the Lord. And it do you well to come to that conclusion tonight. Salvation is of the Lord. You see, just as creation came into existence by God's word, so did salvation. Salvation begins with God. Salvation continues with God. Salvation ends with God because he's the author and the finisher of our faith. He's the alpha and the omega. He's the beginning and the end. He's the first and he is the last. God is the initiator of salvation. And that's the old doctrine of divine initiation. And what theologians mean when they say divine initiation is this. You can't save yourself. God's the initiator. You are the responder. If God did not first move, you never would. You see, you're you're born with a problem. The Bible says you are born, Ephesians 2, 1, dead in trespasses and in sin. And let me just tell you, dead men cannot repent. Dead men cannot exercise saving faith. Dead men cannot convert themselves unless God moves on that mass, on that void, like he did over the face of the water and speak light into existence and separate the water from the land. Unless God moves in your existence and speaks you into a new creation, you will stay right where you are. Salvation is a creative work of God. It is a absolute and total miracle. That old hymn we sung that Tom has so beautifully redone, it's in the Baptist hymnal. A lot of people don't know that. And if the Lord did not first move in seeking us, because there's none that seeketh after God, there's none that understands. They've all gone out of the way. They've all become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. And if God did not first move on your behalf, if God did not infuse that quickening ray, you would never see. And that's why Jesus told Nicodemus, unless you're born again, not only will you not enter, you won't even see, you won't even see the kingdom of God. Before we were ever created, God was the creator. Before we were saved, God was the savior. What a thought that long before I was thinking of him, he was thinking of me. Hallelujah. What a savior. You know, when Job was tempted to complain a little bit and he was a very godly man. But when Job was tempted to complain a little bit, God responded to Joe. And in Job chapter 38, this is what the Lord asked Joe, where were you when I laid the foundation of the world? Can you answer that question? If you have understanding, you know, God did a pretty good job creating this world without your help. God did a pretty good job of framing the universe without your input. And let me tell you this. He did a pretty good job of designing the salvation plan without your input, too. God is the initiator in salvation and you are the responder. Don't overlook those first two little words there. They're pretty huge for God. Salvation begins with salvation, continues on with and salvation concludes in God as manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. That's the origin of how we are born again. It begins just like creation with God. Number two, not only the origin of this new birth, but notice the object of salvation for God. What? So loved the world. There's the object of God's salvation work. There is the object of God's new creation for God, the divine initiator. So love the world. I'll tell you, it makes me shudder. Those two words ought not even be in the same verse loved and world. This old wicked, fallen world, we so hated him, but he so loved us. We so despised him, but he so loved us. We so rejected him. We so abused him. We so mistreated him. We so blasphemed him. But he so loved us so undeserving. And when I think about the angels who left their first estate, he reserved them in everlasting change under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. And Peter says God didn't spare the angels that sin, but cast them down to hell and delivered them in the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. I mean, the angels sin and God sent them to hell, but we crucified his son and he gives us grace and mercy and forgiveness. It kind of makes us appreciate a little bit more so loved, doesn't it? For God so loved us. Beloved, this is undeserved love. This is unmerited love. This is a got a love, the love of dedication, the love of sacrifice, the love of commitment. God has committed himself to wicked, fallen, vile, depraved sinners like you and me. Hallelujah. There's hope. Jesus is a savior of sinners. We are the object of his great love. Jesus didn't die for chairs. Contrary to what the tree huggers teaches, he didn't die for trees. He didn't die for cats and dogs. Jesus Christ died for you. You are the object of his great love. Not only the origin of salvation and the object of salvation, none of it would be possible without the offering of salvation for God. God started it so loved the world where the object of God's salvation and notice his offering. He so loved us. What did he do? What did his love motivate him to do? God so loved you that he gave his only begotten son. These words modify the words so loved. God says, I so loved you. And I say, God, how did you so love me? And God says, I so loved you that I gave my only begotten son. That's the extent of his love that for wicked, fallen, hateful, hurtful men that would mock and scourge and blaspheme and finally crucify his son. God so loved us. And that love motivated him to do something. The Bible says he so loved us that he gave God is a giving God. God so loved us that he gave. It's an interesting word in the Greek, did my Jill, this word gave can literally mean to strike or to smite with the palm of the hand. God so loved you that he struck his son. God so loved you that he smoked his only son. Back when Gibson did his movie, The Passion of Christ. This debate raged, who killed Jesus, did the Romans kill Jesus, did the Jews kill Jesus? Well, we all kill Jesus, they said. Are you listening to me? All wrong. God killed Jesus. God, the father slew, killed his own son so that he wouldn't have to kill you. Listen to this. Isaiah said it pleased the Lord. Here's this idea of gave. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He, God, the father, had put him, God, the son to grief. God made his soul an offering for sin. He saw his seed prolonged his days, the pleasure of the Lord prospers in his hand. He, the father, shall see the travail of his soul, the son, and shall be satisfied. When Jesus died on the cross, he satisfied the wrath of God, the wrath that should fall upon you, the judgment that should fall upon you, the hell that should be your lot for all eternity. Jesus Christ absorbed the full wrath of God. And on the cross cried, it is finished, which means there's nothing left to be done. Jesus paid it all, all to him. Oh, sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. That's the whole point. God so loved the world that he gave. Never forget this fact. Fact. Never forget this, God chose to sacrifice his son, man could have never taken the son unless the father allowed it. When Pontius Pilate was trying Jesus and Jesus would not answer him, Pilate said, don't you know that I have the power to release you or to destroy you? And Jesus answered and said, you could have no power over me unless my father gave it to you. Jesus said in the Gospel of John, my father loves me because I lay down my life and I can take it up again. No man takes life for me. I lay it down and I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again. This is the commandment that I receive of my father. The word gave means to be a sacrifice. The word gave means to be an atonement. The word gave means to be a substitute. Jesus Christ came in between you and God. He became your substitute and he took upon himself your sin and he took upon himself your fall and he took upon himself your depravity. Now, my soul is troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause, I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame and a sit down at the right hand of God's throne. God so loved the world that he gave and he gave and he gave and he gave and he's still given today. What did he give? He gave his only begotten. Peter says he's elect and precious eight times in the New Testament. God calls Jesus my beloved son, a treasured son, the glory of heaven. He says he's my only begotten, that word begotten means there's not another one like he is the unique son of God almighty. And that's why Jesus would say in John chapter 10, I and my father are one. And this emphasizes so loved the sinless, spotless, perfect, harmless son of God was given over to wicked hands that they might slay him. Acts 2, 23, God's special treasure, his only son, Emmanuel, the Christ, the day star, the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon. Was sent as a lamb to the slaughter, why? Listen to me, because God loves you, this speaks of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul says, I delivered unto you that which also received how that Christ Jesus died for our sins, according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, the gospel of Jesus Christ. He died for you, he was buried for you, he rose again for you. This this magnifies the words God so loved. You not only the origin of salvation, God started it and God will finish it, the object of salvation, so love the world, the offering of salvation that he gave his only begotten son. Notice the operation of salvation that whosoever believeth in him. Matthew, Henry calls this the great gospel duty. Our obligation under God's word is to believe, pursue, oh, commit yourself to Jesus, rely upon Jesus, trust Jesus as your Lord and as your savior. Boy, I love this. Matthew, Henry says that God, the father has given Jesus the son to us to be our prophet, priest and king so that we might give ourselves to him to be ruled, taught and saved. Believe that's the call of God, believe that's your duty before the Lord, you are commanded by God, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Romans 322 says the righteousness of God is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all that believe that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. But to miss many has received him to them, gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name. But this is the one that today just absolutely blew me away. The Apostle John, toward the end of his life, said this and this, if you're listening to me, would you wave at me? Listen to this. This is so important. John says, and this is his commandment. Now, listen to me. Commandment means not if you want to. Commandment does not mean this is elective. Commandment means this is absolutely and totally binding. He says this is his commandment that you believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment. First, John three, twenty three, I want to say this based upon the authority of the word of God and the authority that Jesus Christ has given to me as a preacher of the gospel. Listen, every person in this room under the sound of my voice, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to believe the gospel and repent and trust Christ as your Lord and Savior. You are under divine admonition. You are under divine command from holy God to repent and listen. If you perish and find yourself in hell, it will be all of you because you did not repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. The origin of salvation, God started it, the object of salvation, so loved the world, the offering of salvation he gave his only begotten son, the operation of salvation that whosoever believeth in him, there's our gospel duty. And notice, lastly, the outcome of this new birth for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in him, listen to me, should not perish, but have what from death. Under life, that's what he's saying, God so loved you. That he gave Jesus Christ death, burial and resurrection so that if you would believe in him. You would not perish, Apollo, my it literally means, listen to me, for God to destroy your soul forever in the lake of fire hell. So, man, a loving God would never do that. A loving God did that to his son, Jesus, and if you die without Jesus Christ, there is no covering for your sin. You will stand alone before God and find no place, he says, if you will believe you will not perish. And there's a warning here, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned. He that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. You are already condemned. You stand condemned this very evening. You are under the wrath of God. And that's why John the Baptist and Jesus, the two greatest preachers who ever lived, both said, flee the wrath of God that is to come. Flee the wrath of God. Flee the wrath of God, if you won't believe in Jesus, you are already condemned. All you're waiting is sentencing. Already condemned. But if you trust him. If tonight you sense the spirit of God wooing you and calling you, I've had people ask me before and I know they don't understand what they're asking, and that's OK. But they'll say something like this when I brother John, oh, I know you teach that God's sovereign and I know you teach that the Holy Spirit has to convict somebody or they'll never be saved. But they'll say something like, but but now what if I want to be saved, but God don't take me? That's just crazy. Wicked, vile, dead people don't want to do anything God wants them to do. The mere fact that you want to is evidence to me. God may be calling you. Do you see? That you might not perish, but. Have ever lasting life now, you don't even have to know the Greek to know that mean that that right there means forever that you might not perish, but that you might have ever lasting life. Jesus has done it all. He's the author. And he's the finisher. There is but one hope. Flee, lay hold on Jesus and find refuge in the cross. Tonight, I not only command you. As the authority God's given me as a gospel preacher, but I'll tell you this, are you listening to me? I beg you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins. Trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Give him your very existence. Father, in Jesus name. I pray, God, that your Holy Spirit would honor the preaching of the gospel. And Lord, I pray that tonight your spirit would quicken dead men, give them faith as a gift. I pray the goodness of God would lead them to repentance. I pray, dear God, that they would trust in you with all their heart. Lord, I pray as the text says, that they would believe, Lord, if your spirit doesn't move tonight, no one will. Doesn't matter how much we sing or preach, God, unless the spirit of the Lord moves, this will just be as one who beats the air. I beg you, Holy Spirit, we confess to you, Holy Spirit, we are totally shipwrecked. We have no other option. It won't be clever tactics or gimmicks or manipulation or psychology or psychiatry. It'll only be. As you infuse that quickening ray, please, Holy Spirit, we've had enough false professions, we've jumped through all the hoops. God, what we're asking you for is a new creation. A new creation as radical as when you spoke this world into existence out of nothing, God, that you tonight would speak someone from death. To life in Jesus precious name, I pray. I'm going to ask the senior pastor to come and he's going to give us some further direction and some further instruction.