April 4 at sundown - Day 5
Today is day 5 of counting the Omer
Today is day 5 out of Egypt
Today is day 5 of Messiah Resurrected
The Master’s Plan (John 3:1-21)
A Pharisee Comes Seeking Truth
1 Now there was a man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish people.
2 He came to Yeshua at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You, a teacher, have come from God. For no one can perform these signs which You do unless God is with Him!”
Yeshua answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus said to Him. “He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”
5 Yeshua answered, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You all must be born from above.’
8 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 it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The Father’s Love Revealed
9 “How can these things happen?” Nicodemus said.
10 Yeshua answered him, “You’re a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things?
11 Amen, amen I tell you, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen. Yet you all do not receive Our testimony!
12 If you do not believe the earthly things I told you, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life!
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben- Elohim.
19 “Now this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness instead of the light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.
21 But whoever practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be made known that his deeds have been accomplished in God.”
Reflect:
Nicodemus was a man searching for answers. As a Pharisee, he had devoted his whole life to studying the Torah. When he heard of the things that Yeshua was doing, Nicodemus personally came to Yeshua at night and let it be known that he believed that Yeshua was from God. Yeshua, as he often did, turned the conversation on its head by being direct: you must be born again to see God. You must be born again so that you can live eternally in the presence of God instead of spending eternity outside of God’s presence. Yeshua went even further; not only did one have to be born again; this was part of God’s master plan from the beginning. Friends, this is a deep truth... The Father sent Yeshua not only so we could be born again, but also so we could have eternal and abundant life right now if we believe in Him! This is Good News that everyone needs to hear... Let’s pray for opportunities to live this truth out and share it with others!
A Pharisee Comes Seeking Truth
1 Now there was a man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish people.
2 He came to Yeshua at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You, a teacher, have come from God. For no one can perform these signs which You do unless God is with Him!”
Yeshua answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus said to Him. “He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”
5 Yeshua answered, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You all must be born from above.’
8 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 it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The Father’s Love Revealed
9 “How can these things happen?” Nicodemus said.
10 Yeshua answered him, “You’re a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things?
11 Amen, amen I tell you, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen. Yet you all do not receive Our testimony!
12 If you do not believe the earthly things I told you, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life!
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben- Elohim.
19 “Now this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness instead of the light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.
21 But whoever practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be made known that his deeds have been accomplished in God.”
Reflect:
Nicodemus was a man searching for answers. As a Pharisee, he had devoted his whole life to studying the Torah. When he heard of the things that Yeshua was doing, Nicodemus personally came to Yeshua at night and let it be known that he believed that Yeshua was from God. Yeshua, as he often did, turned the conversation on its head by being direct: you must be born again to see God. You must be born again so that you can live eternally in the presence of God instead of spending eternity outside of God’s presence. Yeshua went even further; not only did one have to be born again; this was part of God’s master plan from the beginning. Friends, this is a deep truth... The Father sent Yeshua not only so we could be born again, but also so we could have eternal and abundant life right now if we believe in Him! This is Good News that everyone needs to hear... Let’s pray for opportunities to live this truth out and share it with others!
Prayer: Lord, I want to hear from You like Nicodemus did. I want to know and live out Your master plan for my life. Help me to hear from You, to know You, to walk in Your footsteps, and to share Your Good News with the people I meet. In Yeshua’s name, amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Restoration, we have made it a priority to seek God first in prayer. During this season of counting of the Omer, we have decided to do this collectively as a congregation in the days leading up to Shavuot. Together, we want to trust in His power to impact our lives, our congregation, our city, and our world. The last 10 days we will encourage a corporate time of fasting and prayer, which starts the evening of May 9 and ends the evening of May 19. The conclusion of this season of prayer will culminate in a congregational picnic on the 50th day, the day of Shavuot - Sunday, May 20 at noon.
No comments:
Post a Comment