TITLE: Being born into the Kingdom assures our citizenship. TEXT: John 3:1-24, I Cor. 15:50 THEME: Entering God’s Kingdom requires spiritual birth.

The Lesson: No one should begin the process without understanding what is involved and what the benefits are for becoming a citizen.

How does a person enter into God’s Kingdom?

I. To enter God’s Kingdom you must be born again. (1-8)

John 3:1-8 “Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

John 3:1-8 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

John 3:1-8 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

I. To enter God’s Kingdom you must be born again. (1-8) A. You must recognize Jesus is from God. (1- 2)

I. To enter God’s Kingdom you must be born again. (1-8) A. You must recognize Jesus is from God. (1- 2) B. You must be born of the flesh. (3-6)

Romans 8:9-13 “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live”

I. To enter God’s Kingdom you must be born again. (1-8) A. You must recognize Jesus is from God. (1- 2) B. You must be born of the flesh. (3-6) C. You must be born of the Spirit. (7-8)

Romans 8:5-11 “5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Romans 8:5-11 “7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:5-11 “9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

Romans 8:5-11 “11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

The Lesson: When we are simply born of the flesh we cannot fulfill the righteousness of God this is essential for entering the kingdom of God. We need to born of the Spirit.

How does a person enter into God’s Kingdom?

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15)

John 3: “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

John 3:9-15 “12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things.

I Corinthians 15: “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

I Corinthians 15: “52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

I Corinthians 15: “54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them.

Romans 1:19-20 “19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them. C. Heavenly things are harder to grasp and require us to trust Jesus.

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them. C. Heavenly things are harder to grasp and require us to trust Jesus. 1. Because he is the only one that has been to heaven.

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them. C. Heavenly things are harder to grasp and require us to trust Jesus. 1. Because he is the only one that has been to heaven. 2. Because he is the one everyone must look to and believe.

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them. C. Heavenly things are harder to grasp and require us to trust Jesus. 1. Because he is the only one that has been to heaven. 2. Because he is the one everyone must look to and believe. Like they did the serpent with Moses.

II. To enter God’s Kingdom you must accept the reality of heavenly things (9-15) A. Being born of the Spirit pertains to heavenly/spiritual things. B. Earthly things are easier to grasp because we can see and touch them. C. Heavenly things are harder to grasp and require us to trust Jesus. 1. Because he is the only one that has been to heaven. 2. Because he is the one everyone must look to and believe. Like they did the serpent with Moses. Because he must be lifted up.

R.C. Sproul “There is an uncompromised supernaturalism at the heart of the Christian worldview, and we must not let the world’s scepticism with regard to these things affect our belief systems. We must trust and affirm that there is much more to reality than meets the eye.”

How does a person enter into God’s Kingdom?

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22)

John 3:15-22 “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 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John 3:15-22 “19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22) A. Jesus was sent into the world by God because of His love for us.

John Stott “Maybe you are wondering why this is important to us. It is important for this reason. Not only can we read “For God so loved the world that he gave” we can also conclude “For Jesus so loved the world that he came”!”

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22) A. Jesus was sent into the world by God because of His love for us. B. Jesus was sent into the world to save us from condemnation.

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22) A. Jesus was sent into the world by God because of His love for us. B. Jesus was sent into the world to save us from condemnation. C. Jesus was sent into the world to offer eternal life to those who believe in Him.

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22) A. Jesus was sent into the world by God because of His love for us. B. Jesus was sent into the world to save us from condemnation. C. Jesus was sent into the world to offer eternal life to those who believe in Him. 1. Those who believe are not condemned- those who not believe are.

III.To enter the God’s Kingdom you must believe in Jesus Christ (16-22) A. Jesus was sent into the world by God because of His love for us. B. Jesus was sent into the world to save us from condemnation. C. Jesus was sent into the world to offer eternal life to those who believe in Him. 1. Those who believe are not condemned- those who not believe are. 2. Jesus is the light.

Jesus is the light. c. As the light He exposes sin and evil yet people love the darkness rather than the light.

Jesus is the light. a. As the light He exposes sin and evil yet people love the darkness rather than the light. b. As the light He is hated by those who love evil because He exposes it.

Jesus is the light. a. As the light He exposes sin and evil yet people love the darkness rather than the light. b. As the light He is hated by those who love evil because He exposes it. c. As the light He exposes the truth that reveals to us our need for Jesus and the promise of Jesus.

Firefighter When someone is rescued from the flames, they're not thinking about their weakness; they're overjoyed that someone would risk it all to save them. (Used by permission of author. Dave Dorr, Cincinnati, Ohio, on Resurgence.com)

APPLICATION There is another realm of existence that we cannot see or touch, yet it is just as real as this physical world that we live in. The realm is called the Kingdom of God.

APPLICATION The only way that we can enter into that realm is to be born into it. We are born into to it when trust that Jesus, who comes from that realm, has come to grant us access and citizenship into it.

APPLICATION We can into that realm even today and even while we live in these physical bodies.