5-26-24 “Born of the Spirit”
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“Born of the Spirit”
I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: A Jewish grandmother is at the beach with her 10-year-old Jewish grandson. She’s chilling while he’s playing in the water. Suddenly, a huge wave comes and takes the child away with it. The grandmother is obviously in tears and starts speaking to God. “It’s been more than 70 years since I started worshipping you, God. I’ve raised three generations − my siblings, children, and grandchildren, according to Jewish religion and tradition. I prayed daily, only ate kosher food, did the sabbath and everything else required by you for my whole life. How could you let this happen? How could you let my grandson die at such a young age?
A few seconds later, a huge godly wave, with the child on top, comes in and the grandson lands safely on the sand. The grandmother can’t believe her eyes: : “Thank you Lord, thank you, thank you, thank you.” As she looks towards the sky, and says, “I don’t want to push my luck, but he had a brand-new baseball cap.”
Have you ever experienced God’s answers to your prayers? When you received His answers, how did you feel? Did you feel it was like a miracle, or did it just seem like it was supposed to happen? We have learned that Jesus performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, raising the dead, and turning water into wine, among countless other things. However, why don’t we see any miracles nowadays? Is it because Jesus is gone? Is it due to our lack of faith? Or is it because God doesn’t love us? Why? Why can’t we see God’s miracles any longer? Have you ever thought about it?
One day while I was meditating, I suddenly realized that God might still work for us in miraculous ways, but we may not realize it because our hearts are hardened, or blocked by our many worries and anxieties about worldly things. The Letter of Romans says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” I think that we may not be seeking God’s miracles. If we do not seek them, we either do not believe in God, or do not believe in miracles.
When I was in the hospital, I didn’t believe in God. However, I sought miracles to heal my broken spine. Through my experiences, I believe that if you don’t believe in God, you can’t see God’s miracles. After I started believing in God, my eyes were opened to see His miracles. It was a miracle that I met a pastor who brought me the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was a miracle that I met the right doctor in the hospital who performed surgery on my spine. It was a miracle that I was born to my parents. It was a miracle that my mother’s wish and my wish came true: that I became a pastor in the USA. It is a miracle that I am here before you. There are countless miracles. Don’t you think so? Please count how many miracles of God appear around you. If you don’t intentionally count God’s grace, you might miss it. Every morning and evening, if you count God’s grace, you may notice more abundant grace pouring on you.
This morning, we turn our hearts and minds to the Gospel of John, 3:1-17. This passage includes one of the most profound and essential teaching of Jesus about new birth, the love of God, and the gift of eternal life. The passage begins with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, coming
to Jesus by night. Nicodemus is curious, respectful, and open-minded, seeking to understand more about Jesus and His teachings. Nicodemus feared that people might see him visiting Jesus. So, he visited Jesus at night. He believed that Jesus was from God because he performed many miracles.
Jesus responded to Nicodemus, saying, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus asks, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” (v.4). Jesus explains that this new birth is not a physical rebirth but a spiritual one, saying, “Very truly tell you, no one enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (v. 5). This signifies a transformation brought by the Holy Spirit, a renewal that comes from above. The water symbolizes cleansing and repentance, and the Spirit symbolizes the life-giving power of God.
We might observe that some people work hard at church full of passion and enthusiasm. However, we should discern the difference between people’s enthusiasm and the power of the Holy Spirit. After graduating from a seminary in Korea, I planted a new church with passion and enthusiasm. No one doubted my faith in God because I dedicated my heart, mind, and soul to the church ministry, investing my time, energy, material resources, and gifts. However, while I was ministering at the church, I lost my mother. At that time, I felt exhausted from the work, disappointed in God, and depressed. I couldn’t do anything, and my siblings took me to a place of prayer. I decided to seek God earnestly through fasting, feeling that I was going to die before God.
You may know, Elijah, who got a tremendous victory against Baal’s prophets, numbering four hundred fifty. After getting the victory on Mount Carmel, he ran away from Queen Jezebel, who supported the Baal prophets. Elijah went into wilderness, and sat under a broom tree, and prayed for death, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.” And he lay down under the tree. However, God never abandoned him. Instead, he sent an angel to feed him and encouraged him so that he could move forward (1 Kings 18-19).
I experienced something similar to Elijah. After I graduated, I planted a new church and ran a preschool. The church ministry was flourishing until just before my mother passed away. I believed it was my own ability and the result of my work that the ministry was doing so well. That’s why I felt disappointed, exhausted, and depressed. The purpose of my fasting was to surrender completely before God. However, it led me to open my eyes and heart to see God’s love. I realized that without God’s help, I could do nothing. At that time, I died spiritually before God and experienced being born again in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Although I fasted for forty days planning to die, instead I was reborn through the experience. God works in miraculous ways, sometimes beyond our immediate understanding, but later you may have an “Aha moment.”
Remember that when Moses lifted the bronze serpent in the wilderness, those who were sickened by poisonous serpents looked at the bronze serpent with faith and were healed. Similarly, when we believe in Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross, our closed eyes, hardened hearts, and souls may be opened to see God’s love, His vision for us, His gifts, and eternal life. Recall that Jesus came into the world to save us through His love, not to condemn it. John 3:16 encapsulates the core of the Gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). As we reflect on this passage, we must ask ourselves: Have we experienced this new birth? Have we embraced the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Let us open our hearts to the work of the Spirit, allowing Him to renew and transform us. Let us hold firmly to the truth of John 3:16, and let us go forth in the love and grace that Jesus came to bring. Thanks be to God. Amen!