That Whoever Believes In Him

Thesis: All people have a deep and instinctive longing for a life which is better and more substantial than anything they can realize on their own, and Jesus is the only way to achieve it.

Objective: Challenge non-believers to realize that their deepest and greatest longing is for eternal life, which is made possible only through a personal, life-driving faith in Jesus Christ.

• We are looking for something (1-8).
  • We may not know what it is (1-2; Just as Nicodemus came to Jesus not quite knowing what he wanted to talk about, we know only that we have a vague need that is not satisfied. We need something, but we can't quite put our finger on it.).
  • Jesus knows exactly what it is (3; If we're going to see the kingdom of God and satisfy our ultimate need, we must be born again.).
  • We need a spiritual rebirth (4-8; At the very root of it, being born again is being recreated with a penchant for the things of God.).
• We don't quite understand our need (9-15).
  • We don't get spiritual things (9; As people who live in a flesh-and-blood, concrete sort of world, we have a hard time wrapping our heads around abstract spiritual concepts such as being born again with a penchant for the things of God.).
  • We need a Savior (13; Since we don't know God – and indeed can't know God because of our sin – we need a Savior that can heal us from the venom of the imperfect which will ultimately rot us away until we die physically and eternally.).
  • We're after eternal life (15; The one thing that we're missing is eternal life, a state of living which is so far beyond what we can know on our own that there's really no point trying to explain it except to say that it is dominated by hope in hopeless situations, joy in even the most difficult of times, love for even the unlovable, and faith which compels to do great and obedient things.).
• Jesus satisfies our need (16-21).
  • He came out of love (16; Jesus came not because God was mad, but because He wants desperately to have fellowship with us; He loves us, even before we love Him.).
  • He came to save (17-18; Jesus did not come to accuse us and make us feel bad about our shortcomings, but to wrap His arms around us and deliver us from them (not just their consequences).).
  • He came to illuminate truth (19-21; Jesus came so that we could have a relationship with God which would allow us to know what was really true and right and, even more than that, do it. We must choose to believe in Him. And as part of that choice, we must choose to come into the light and live by what is absolutely right.).