Live Free with Josh Howerton - From Doubt to Defense | Ep. 178 | Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Episode Date: October 11, 2023

Jesus wants to connect with people and help them understand His truth. With Nicodemus, Jesus points to well-known stories from the Old Testament and explains how He is the fulfillment of them all. As the truth took hold in his heart, Nicodemus transitioned from questioning Jesus at night to defending Him in broad daylight. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, good morning to all of you who are just getting up and maybe you're headed to work or head at the school or starting your day with some quiet time or maybe you're in the middle of your day or maybe you're getting ready to turn in.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, man, I'm so grateful that you tuned in today. My name is Mike and we've been looking this week at an encounter that Jesus had with this brilliant intellectual named Nicodemus. He was a religious scholar, a student of scripture, a leader in this sect known as the Pharisees and a highly respected member of their ruling body known as. is a Sanhedron. He is an important guy with important questions, and he is very intrigued with Jesus, this amazing teacher, this healer, this miracle worker, this person who overflow with compassion and inclusive love, this person who taught with authority, so he arranges to

meet with Jesus at night. And you can read this whole encounter in John chapter 3, and yesterday we left off with Jesus telling him that unless a person is born again, they cannot see the kingdom of God. And since Nicodemus is a student of Scripture, Jesus takes him to some familiar references about how God has always desired to give men and women a brand new heart. We talked yesterday how Jesus was always looking to uniquely connect with his audience, whether it was like a fisherman, a farm, or a mom, or a soldier. Jesus wanted to connect, wanted to help them get it in a way that they could understand. So Jesus stays with this, you're a respected Old Testament professor approach, by going back to a story that Nicodemus was familiar with.

He's genuinely trying to reach this guy in a way that he can understand. This is what he says. John 3, verse 13 and following, Jesus says no one has ever gone to heaven in return, but the Son of Man, a term that Jesus used about himself often, has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have He changed.

life. So here's Jesus saying, listen, Nick, can I call you Nick? Okay, Nicodemus, if you recall, this reference is from the Old Testament book of Numbers. When the people of God had left Egypt and they were in the desert and they'd turned their back on God for like the millionth time, they had flaunted their rebellion in his face, they'd taken his goodness for granted for like the millionth time. And as a real attention getter, God sends all these snakes. You remember the story, right? I mean, you probably read it in the synagogue or maybe even taught it in one of your classes. Do you remember remember how God instructed Moses to lift up a bronze snake on a pole and told him anyone who is bitten can look at it and live you remember that story right nicodemus and even though nicodemus couldn't see it yet

jesus was saying there's a day coming very soon when i will be lifted up on a pole on a cross and anyone who everyone who looks to me will not only be saved from the snake bite of sin but they will live forever. And just to make sure, Nicodemus really understands this, Jesus puts his hands on his shoulders, leans in, and says probably the most famous words of the entire Bible, John 316 and 17. For God loved the world so much that he gave as one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. God sent his son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

You know, we've all seen somebody holding up a John 316 sign the end zone seats of a football game. People wear pendant necklaces with John 316 inscribed. People even get it tattooed on their body somewhere. They put it on the bottom of every In-N-Out Burger Cup. You've maybe even seen that reference to John 316, right? Well, now you know what John 316 says. It's incredible good news for anyone who believes. People quote that good news.

Preachers preach that good news. But gang Nicodemus was the only one who actually heard those words. Come out of Jesus' mouth. Before there was ever a John 316, on that dark night hanging secretly in the shadows, Jesus gave to him personally these famous words of light and life. And I believe Nicodemus would never forget them. There are four different books all about Jesus' life in the New Testament.

They're called the Gospels, which simply mean the good news, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And it's interesting that only John's gospel mentions Nicodemus, and he does it three different times. John writes, in the last chapter of his gospel, I'm just scratching the surface here. Jesus did so many other things as well. I mean, if every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not have enough room for all the books that could be written. So out of all the things that John could have included, the story of this intellectuals, seeker's journey of faith is recorded for us. I wouldn't look for a minute at John 7, about a year has passed since Nicodemus left this late night conversation with Jesus.

And by this time, the debates concerning the identity of Jesus are really heating up. And most of the members of the Sanhedron, they want Jesus dead. They'd had enough of his teachings, his miracles, his popularity, his pointed comments toward them. So they send these guards to arrest Jesus. Well, the guards come back empty-handed. And the members of the Sanhedron are ticked, and they ask, why didn't you arrest him? And I love the way the soldiers respond. They say, because we never heard anybody speak the way this guy does. In other words, if you want him, go get him yourself.

We think this guy, Jesus is the real deal. Well, the Pharisees climb all over these guys, saying that they had been deceived like every other dim-witted loser in Judea, and an argument breaks out. And then one of their own stands up. Guess who? Yeah. It says Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, and it was one of their own number, asked,

Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he's doing? You see, Nicodemus had been with Jesus. He had heard those words. He had sensed something different. He had been one-on-one with goodness. He had looked into the understanding eyes of truth. He had experienced hope in his presence, and he says, Hang on a minute, guys.

Are you going to jump to conclusions and condemn someone without really taking the time to examine the evidence? I mean, this is so cool to me that his doubt has now turned to defense, going secretly at night has turned into public association by day. Private conversation has turned into public debate. Now, I'm still amazed at our friend Lee Strobel, how he moved from doubt to defense. Lee was a self-proclaimed atheist when he worked for the Chicago Tribune,

reporting on criminal cases. He even won some awards for his investigative journalism. He was an evidence guy, a cold case kind of guy. But his marriage wasn't going so great, and his wife started going to church, seeking after something more. He began to notice changes in her, and it started him on a quest to find out whether or not all this Jesus stuff was true. He reasoned,

I guess I can't condemn the man without examining the evidence. And this is what he writes. He says, All I had given the evidence was a cursory look. I had read just enough philosophy and history to support. support to find support for my skepticism. A fact here, a scientific theory there, a pithy quote, a clever argument. Sure, I could see some gaps in inconsistencies, but I had a strong motivation to ignore them, a self-serving and immoral lifestyle that I had to be compelled to abandon

if I ever to change my views, I become a follower of Jesus. So as far as I was concerned, the case was closed. There was enough proof for me to rest easy with the conclusion that the divinity of Jesus was nothing more than the fanciful invention of superstitious people. or so I thought. Lee writes those words in his amazing bestseller, The Case for Christ, where he offers up compelling defense for the person of Jesus, a man, I would encourage you to read it,

and see how Lee has moved from doubter to defender to fully devoted follower. And that was Nicodemus path. That could be your path too. Get honest with your questions. Don't jump to conclusions. examine the evidence, seek him with all your heart. And then I hope you'll come back tomorrow because there's a third time that Nicodemus is mentioned, and I think it'll blow you away.

Have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was how to do that, helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out. For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.

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