Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Well, hey, friends, welcome to Friday's edition of the weekday podcast. You made it. The weekend is almost here. We spent this week with a man named Nicodemus, who was a leader who came to Jesus at night with a question. Underneath this question, the question is, is real change actually possible for someone like me? Or am I just stuck being who I've always been? Now, we said starting over isn't earned, it isn't engineered, it isn't a trap. And today we land on the verse that ties all three of these together, one you've probably heard so many times it stopped landing. But read it or listen to it very, very slowly. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
[00:00:46] For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
[00:00:54] Now, this isn't a standalone verse on a poster. It's the punchline to a private nighttime conversation with a nervous, accomplished religious leader who was still trying to figure out if he'd done enough. And the punchline is, I'm not here to catch you, I'm here to save you. And here's what's worth knowing about this. This conversation seems to have actually taken root in Nicodemus. Later in John's gospel, he speaks up in Jesus defense in a room full of people who wanted him condemned. And after the crucifixion, he's one of the people who shows up publicly in the daylight this time to help bury Jesus's body. Whatever happened after that nighttime conversation is stuck.
[00:01:35] If you've been quietly running your own experiment on self improvement and getting nowhere, I don't think that means you're stuck. I think it might mean you've been trying to answer the wrong question. It was never, can I be good enough? It's will I let this happen to me instead of trying to do it myself?
[00:01:54] I hope this comes together because I want you to know that Jesus has a plan mission, and he wants to welcome you in. And so I want to invite you this Sunday, join us in person if you're here in the Sugar Hill area. And if not, you can always join us at Live Sugar Hill Church. But starting over is never self improvement, is letting God do something to you that you can't do to yourself. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Have a great day. We'll see you soon.
