Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Breaking Barriers Sharing the Gospel of John
Unlock the transformative power of faith as we explore key moments from the Gospel of John that illuminate the path from doubt to belief.
But the journey doesn't stop there. Tune into the story of Jesus' encounter with a marginalised woman, where societal barriers crumble under the weight of spiritual truth. Reflect on how we can emulate Jesus' example by reaching out to those on society's fringes, sharing the gospel in unexpected places. We'll also explore the essence of genuine worship and the pivotal role of the Holy Spirit in guiding our faith journey. As we approach the Christmas season, join us in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, encouraging a shift from commercialism to spiritual reflection. Through Grapevine Ministries, we aim to inspire spiritual growth and connection, offering wisdom and insights for your own faith journey.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Today we continue in the Gospel of John and just starting off, I'm going to read this. I mean, for those that are taking notes, I've called this message God's Son Given to Us. This is primarily all about Jesus and you'll see that the Gospel of John and he actually was one of the disciples and he actually speaks very, very prolifically about just Jesus' ministry. He didn't worry about the chronological order of things his birth, him growing up, things that took place in his life. He focused just on his ministry. But I want to start, and this is where we talk about the new birth. But I'm just going to read John 3 from verse 1, and we're going to go through to 16. But we're going to focus on that later, but I just want to make sure that you follow the scriptures Now. John 3, 1.
Speaker 1: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. We know that you are a teacher, come from God, for no one can do the signs that you do unless God is with them. Jesus answered and said to him Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one 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. Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and a 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 the spirit. Do not marvel that. I said to you you must be born again. You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to him how can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him how can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him Are you the teacher of Israel and do you not know these things? Most assuredly I say to you we speak what we know and testify what we have seen. And you do not receive our witness. And you do not receive our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things. No one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is the Son of man, who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up and whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to leave it there, because that's what I want to focus on today. But for now we will start from the chapter and verse 1, because I want to illustrate a couple of different aspects about John's writing in the Gospels here. So I know that many Christians, and even non-Christians, they actually know John 3.16. And for those that don't, you know, that's what I just read. God loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believed in him will not perish but have everlasting life. Another significant aspect of this is you'll notice that that particular scripture, although it is so well known by so many people, it is only in the Gospel of John that we actually hear it. It is not mentioned in the other three Gospels.
Speaker 1:But before we get round to that, I want you to turn your eyes to the start of the chapter which tells the story of a conversation between Jesus and one of the religious elite of the day, and that's a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Though the Pharisees are largely portrayed negatively in the gospel because of their legalism and judgmentalism and their opposition to Jesus, nicodemus is somebody who is generally interested to learn more. My personal opinion is that perhaps Nicodemus was the very first Messianic Jew, the very first Messianic Jew, and that's once again. Many would not understand this either. The Jews or the Hebrews are God's chosen and even to this day still, they do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. So, although very dedicated to their faith, they remain under the old covenant. Those that get that revelation, knowledge of Jesus convert to become a Messianic Jew, and that's basically. It's a Jew that believes that Jesus is the Messiah.
Speaker 1:So after that, let's get back to Nicodemus. Alright, because he does not have the courage to ask the question in public view. Perhaps he was worried about what the other Pharisees might have done to him, so he approached Jesus at night. Never allow others to determine how you express your faith. Have them come to your place of understanding, and you'll see that in Romans 12 too. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then we will be able to test and approve that God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Speaker 1:There is a comparison between how this was done, because I'm going to look at two stories. The first one is Nicodemus, who came to Jesus in the dark. Now Jesus is the light of the world, right, and so people like to remain in the dark because they don't want their beliefs or their views or anything to be openly stated. But Jesus being the light of the world, we've got to come to him in the light and we've got to repel the darkness. The darkness of night plays a symbolic role in John's gospel that contrasts with Jesus as the one who brings the light, and the setting is described to emphasize the idea that Nicodemus doesn't get it at this particular point because he wishes to remain in the dark.
Speaker 1:The other thing to look at here is Nicodemus starts by communicating with Jesus, a basic level of understanding, because he's seen some signs that Jesus was doing and recognised that God was with him. This understanding is from far off and was not enough to convince him of who Jesus really was. Many people admire Jesus, but to truly see, or get to truly see or to get it is so different. There is something deeper that must happen that Jesus describes as being born again, and Nicodemus gets a bit stuck on this. The reason I'm saying he gets stuck on this is because Jesus is speaking spiritually right. Jesus is speaking spiritually right and Nicodemus is actually speaking from a worldly perspective.
Speaker 1:Irrespective of Nicodemus' knowledge of the Old Testament and the scriptures, that was under the law, he can't comprehend or understand what Jesus is really saying because he had not got that revelation knowledge. This is where we need to start thinking like Jesus spiritually, not naturally, and not like the world does. When Nicodemus still doesn't get it. And if you look at it in verse 9, jesus is shocked. Well, maybe not shocked, but he finds it hard to believe that Nicodemus was supposed to be a teacher of the Old Testament, that he could not understand what Jesus was talking about.
Speaker 1:And this is where a lot of people that you come across are very, very well educated, very knowledgeable, but they don't get with the program, so to speak. And I've actually seen a lot of people, I've actually come across a lot of people that can quote scripture so much better than me. They know the word of God inside and out, but they know it academically. When you're reading the word of God, you need to make sure you get it down into your heart, and the only way to do that is that you've got to actually focus on what he's actually saying and be open to receive that revelation knowledge. How can I explain this? The thing is okay.
Speaker 1:There used to be a terminology that we used to use both in the military and when I was teaching. The thing is that those that can't teach so, in other words, it doesn't matter what you're doing, whether you're a mechanic, an electrician, a builder, a tradesman of some kind, or whether you're a biblical academic. There are many, many people out there that can actually teach and give people an understanding of the area of their expertise, but they can't actually themselves put it into practice. And I've seen it. I've seen many, many people that are very, very knowledgeable of the Word of God, but when it comes to preaching, they just can't get that message across. Because you and me and anybody else that's listening to the Word of God and anybody else that's listening to my message right now. You need to get some revelation knowledge out of what I'm saying. Right now. You need to get some revelation knowledge out of what I'm saying. If you don't, then I'm not doing my job properly, I'm not being able to get the message across to you. So you've got to make sure that you get that knowledge. If you don't get the knowledge, then you're missing the point, and that's why I'm sort of like emphasizing on this so much. So we know that Nicodemus didn't get it right.
Speaker 1:Jesus compares himself to the serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness in Numbers 21, 3-7. At that time the people had sinned against God and they found themselves under judgment. They were being attacked by poisonous serpents. And as the people turned back to God, moses was instructed to make a serpent on a pole and hold it up so that anybody who would look at it would live and not die. The link here is a straightforward one, to the cross, as in verse 16, makes it very, very clear. Jesus expected the teacher of the day to pick up on these foreshadowings and to see the spiritual truth as well as the earthly truth in the Old Testament. So we now see in the Old Testament.
Speaker 1:So we now see John 3.16, which may be, without a doubt, the best known verse in the whole Bible, and strangely enough, it is only in one of the Gospels. It's not mentioned in the other three. It puts the gospel across in the very simplest terms Because of God's great love for the world, he did not want his people to perish, so their sins were to be covered by Jesus, and so God gave Jesus, his son, to give his life and to be placed on the cross. Because of this, whenever anyone puts their trust in him, jesus takes their sins and their punishment that was due for it and was given them in the righteousness and the reward of eternal life that goes with it. This offer is open to anyone who chooses to believe in him. It is worth lingering on this particular verse and the incredible truth that it teaches.
Speaker 1:If you haven't heard that scripture before, if you've never actually heard that, you need to highlight it in your Bibles or write it down somewhere and memorize it and then get to that place where you truly understand it John 3.16,. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes, whoever believes in him, would not perish but have everlasting life. Without a doubt, probably, it is the most memorized scripture ever, with the exception of, maybe, hebrews 11.1. But I mean, let's not get bogged down in that. So I'm going to bring in line another aspect of Jesus' encounter with someone, and this one is done differently and the outcome is different as well.
Speaker 1:See, one of the reasons this chapter is a favourite of so many people is that it shows Jesus interacting in a dignified and respectful manner with somebody who was on the wrong end of many of the power structures in society of that day. It was taboo in the culture for a man to speak to women, to the Pharisees, the Genesis unless they were totally under the law. So this is the comparison I make, and some of you may be aware of this one as well. When Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well. Now, first things first, right, jesus is the one that instigates the conversation. Jews are not supposed to converse with Samaritans. This woman in particular was even more ostracised, so to speak, because of her relationships, and she had a fairly checkered relationship. She'd been involved in five previous marriages and was living with another man. She was shunned by the other women of the town, and this led her to going to collect the water in the heat of the midday sun on her own rather than in the early morning with the other ladies because she was being ostracised.
Speaker 1:Jesus here cuts straight through the barrier of sexism, racism and shame and talks with the woman in a way that showed her honour. This revealed the heart of Jesus for those on the margins, and in something that the followers of Jesus should seek to emulate. See, the thing is that it's easy for us to actually speak to people in the church, speak to other Christians, speak to maybe even friends and family, but when the subject is brought up with a perfect stranger or someone you don't know, should we pull away from that or should this be an opportunity for us to actually share the gospel? Now? The conversation between Jesus and this woman was primarily about water. It started off on a purely materialistic level when Jesus asked her for a drink, but quickly became more spiritual as Jesus explained that he could give her living water. Jesus is much more than just a teacher. Him himself can satisfy the deepest needs of our soul and as we come to him in faith, we are drinking living water that wells up in the eternal life.
Speaker 1:When the woman asked for the water, jesus gently turned the subject to her husband. This was not a random diversion from the topic, but it was showing her that she was currently looking for meaning and satisfaction in her relationships, and it wasn't quenching her thirst or satisfying her. She knew something was missing. That happens with a lot of us. We go about our daily life, living our lives, doing things, but we know that there's something missing and you've got to understand that. You know. If you let me look at this way, okay, the easiest way to explain this is the. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So there is a lot of opportunity for us to speak to other people about our Lord and Savior, but 90% of us choose not to. There are people out there that are earnestly seeking that relationship. They may not even know what it is, because we are a spirit, soul and body. The thing is, it's our spirit man that is looking for a connection on a spiritual level, on a spiritual level, and that is why so many people find themselves in the wrong crowd or in the wrong congregation or associated with the wrong people, because they're looking for that spiritual connection. If they can get that spiritual connection, then they believe that they've made that connection correctly. They believe that they've made that connection correctly. This is why we need to be in a position where we can show them the pathway to Jesus.
Speaker 1:Because of the conversation started to hit a nerve with this woman. What many of us do in the natural we try to steer to a safer ground by asking an abstract theology question. She brings up a debate about where the right place to worship is, but Jesus explains that I didn't get that. Could you try again? Let me put it this way Jesus gives her some spiritual truth and by giving her spiritual truth, it lets us know that real worship can happen anytime, anywhere, and it is the spirit of truth. It is something where the human spirit connects with the truth of God's. Self-revelation was so affected by the conversation that she raced back to town, leaving her water jug behind, and risked shame and humiliation to share with everyone about the man she had met. As a result of her testimony, many of the others in her town believed in Jesus for themselves.
Speaker 1:Are you searching for something to fulfil what is missing in your life? If so, jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Or maybe you're a Christian and you know something is missing and you need to know the truth. Or perhaps it's an opportunity to have a conversation with somebody or share this podcast with somebody. The point that I'm trying to make out of this is that you've got two different encounters with Jesus. One was instigated by a leader of the religious groups of the day and the other one was instigated by Jesus to someone who he shouldn't have been speaking to because of the society and the stigma around her and her relationships. One encounter took place in the dark and the other one took place in the light. One encounter took place in the dark and the other one took place in the light. So, in other words, where are you going to be as a Christian? Are you going to remain in the shadows? Are you going to say well, you know, I'm saved and it's okay, you'll leave everybody else up to somebody else?
Speaker 1:We are all called to reconciliation, we are all called to be followers of Jesus, and if we are a follower of Jesus, we can't be ashamed of the gospel and we need to understand and have that spiritual connection with the Holy Spirit. And so when we get that little tug on our spirit, it's obviously that the Lord has given you a little nudge. Hey, this person here needs to hear a word from you. This person here needs for you to pay for their dinner, or to give them a free cup of coffee, or to just go over to your next door neighbour and I said hey, I just feel that you're going through some challenging times at the moment and I'm just wondering. I just feel that you're going through some challenging times at the moment and I'm just wondering whether you'd like to talk about it.
Speaker 1:There are many, many paths that lead to Christ. You've got to find the right one, and the only way to do that is to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And the only way to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the only way to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit is to spend time in his word, get that revelation knowledge. Sometimes you can read a scripture over and over and over again and it's just the scripture. And then one day you go wow, I never saw that. Let me put it this way Charles Mingus said this once making the simple complicated is commonplace. No-transcript, just something as plain and as simple as that. You never know when and where the Lord is going to give you a little tap on the shoulder to speak to someone, or it's going to come up in a conversation and you're going to say, oh, I've got this podcast that you really need to listen to. This guy is brilliant. He's absolutely sorry. No, no, I shouldn't say that Pride cometh before a fall is. It doesn't matter whether it is a religious leader or a member of the church or a Samaritan woman that just meets you a born-again Christian. So I recommend that you read through the whole of John 3 and also John 4. So that's about where Nicodemus comes to meet Jesus and then it follows up by the Samaritan woman who meets the Messiah at the well, follows up by the Samaritan woman who meets the Messiah at the well.
Speaker 1:I hope and I pray that these sermons that I post have some sort of input into your life. Most of my sermons go for about 30-35 minutes, but the thing is out of all of that, if you only get one small revelation knowledge out of it, then I believe that you're heading on the right path and I'm doing the right thing. Why is this scripture, john 3.16, so prevalent and so important in our ministry and in our Christian faith? Yet it's only mentioned in the Gospel of John. I'll leave that one for you and for the theologians to you know. Go over and debate.
Speaker 1:All I want to do is make sure that you understand that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 1:So let us pray. God, grant me the sincerity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can, and to have the wisdom to know the difference between these. Father God, I hope and I pray that the people that listen to this podcast get the revelation knowledge out of it so they can truly have an understanding of who Jesus is, the same way I have an understanding of who Jesus is. God bless you for now and we'll talk to you soon, and we may not get through the whole book of John because, leading up to Christmas, obviously I'm going to change the theme a little bit and we're going to focus on that, because too many people are making Christmas to just be a holiday and they are making it all about presents and gift giving and gift receiving, whereas it needs to focus around the birth of our Lord and Saviour, jesus Christ. God bless, and we'll talk to you next week on Grapevine Ministries. Bye for now.
