Live Free with Josh Howerton - Risking It All For Jesus | Ep. 179 | Thursday October 12, 2023

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

What are you willing to risk to be associated with Jesus? Nicodemus, the rule-keeping super-religious leader, laid it all on the line by publicly partaking in the burial of Jesus. When the other disciples fled, Nicodemus carefully tended to the body of our Savior who paid the ultimate price for our sins on the cross. Tune in today as Pastor Mike unpacks this story. 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, thanks for tuning in today, and thanks to the team who makes it possible for all of us just to click on a link so we can hang together for a few minutes every day. My name is Mike, and I don't have a clue how the technology works to make this happen. That's why I'm so grateful for these amazing people.

But I do have the privilege of unpacking a little bit of God's word with the hopes that we'd all get to know him a little bit more. And I'm just telling you, Jesus, he is the coolest, wisest, kindness, most humble, most loving, most courageous, most awesome person you will ever. encounter. And we've been looking at a one-on-one encounter that Jesus had with a religious leader, this intellectual scholar named Nicodemus. When he first meets Jesus, he comes under the cloak of night to ask him some questions. Now, I'm assuming, because of the disdain that most of the religious leaders had for Jesus, he thought it better not to be seen in broad daylight with him. But Jesus on that night just blows him away, speaking to his head and to his heart, he meets him in his doubts, even gives him those famous words recorded in John 316. He says, Nicodemus for God

so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Those words came out of Jesus' mouth directly in conversation with a man who was seeking truth. And I have to believe those words in that one-on-one encounter with Jesus began to change Nicodemus' heart and his perspective on God. We saw yesterday in John 7 when an argument breaks out in the council that Nicodemus was a part of, and most of the members want Jesus dead, it's Nicodemus who stands up and defends Jesus by telling them that they need to examine the evidence before they condemn someone. He has moved from private conversation at night to public defense in the day. But there's a third time that John mentions him as well.

It's in chapter 19, right after the crucifixion of Jesus. And gang, this is so moving to me. it says this. Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus because he feared the Jewish leaders, ask Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away, and with him came... Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought 75 pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with spices and long sheets of linen cloth. Two powerful guys, once in hiding. Hiding from God, hiding from each other, now together at the cross. The cross does that to people, because the ground is leveled there. Just think for a moment what was at stake for rule-keeping Nicodemus in this moment. Both men by

handling a dead body of now defiled themselves for the Passover. And no true Pharisee would ever do that for any reason whatsoever. And to top it off, the body was Jesus, the one his fraternity had just crucified. He would have been kicked out and lost everything. And not only that, Nicodemus has made a huge financial investment as well. You might remember the story of a woman who annoys Jesus with a bottle of perfume and the contents of the vase were worth a year's wages? Well, Nicodemus brings 75 pounds of super expensive spices with him, primarily mer because that's how they embalmed the body from the exterior to overpower the decaying stench of death. But this was more than that, though. This was an expression of gratitude and love and deep respect. Nicodemus, this intellectual who had arranged a secret

meeting at night had moved from doubt to defense to devotion. And I just wonder, as he stood at the foot of the cross looking at the lifeless body of Jesus, if he heard those words from his late night encounter, the son of man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. As Nicodemus helped pry the nails from between Jesus' wristbones and ankles, was his mind swirling of thoughts for God's soul loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. As Nicodemus began to wash Jesus' blood-drenched body with water,

could he hear those first words Jesus ever said to him, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water in the spirit. As he wrapped the body in spices and linen, I wonder if he thought back to when Jesus went way below his surface questions and seemed to speak right to his heart, Nicodemus, the issue isn't where I came from, the issue is where you're going. And it seems that Nicodemus settled that issue in his life.

The question is of you. So where are you in all this? Maybe you find yourself in the same place. What next step that you need to take? What questions do you have? Or maybe you've settled most of the questions, but you've never really invited Jesus to come into your life or forgive your sin, give you a new birth, give you eternal life. You can do that right now. I mean, wherever you're at in all this,

I want to encourage you to make this a front burner issue in your life. I want to challenge everyone listening to do what Nicodemus did. Step away from the crowd and come face to face with the real Jesus. I'm telling you, your life will never be the same. See you tomorrow. 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 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.com. Daily Drive.