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(5/7) As we continue in part three of our series, struggling with faith and fear can often seem like a mystery. Not like something that doesn’t exist, but a mystery in the sense of something that hasn’t yet been revealed. Like buying a gift for someone, it’s a surprise, they don’t know anything about it, but when it is presented to them, when they receive it, they know about it. They don’t know when you got it, how long you’ve had it, where it has been hidden, but it was a mystery, even though it was theirs all along.

In the same way, as we talk about Faith in Uncertain Times, we’re talking about a mystery revealed, because when we’re talking about faith there are different levels of revelation. In fact, the Scriptures, from the book of Genesis all the way to the book of Revelation is God giving us different levels of revelation that have been hidden from the foundation of the world. And so, not every person has the same level of revelation, but it’s coming to us in stages and phases, through teaching and through experiences until Christ is formed in you.

In other words, just because you gave your life to Jesus, that doesn’t mean that the life of Jesus is fully formed in you. It’s a process, which is why Paul said,

"I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19).

And so, like a pregnancy, there are different levels of revelation; knowing that you’re pregnant, knowing what gender the baby is, and then after months and months of formation there is the childbirth. Once again there are different levels of revelation as the mother goes into labor, she dilates, and she pushes forth the baby. Now, there’s another level of revelation, as she is introduced to her new baby, because even though she’s been carrying the baby for nine months, she still doesn’t know the baby.

In the same way, it takes a lifetime for Christ to be formed in you. The sanctification of a believer is a process where you begin to love the Word of God, love the presence of God, loving his holiness, being set apart and not dwelling on evil. But the whole process is a mystery as the Holy Spirit works within the believer which can’t be proven, can’t be explained, and is only known through revelation.

And so, you’re not here because somebody explained God to you, you are here because God revealed himself to you. The Bible says,

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men" (Romans 1:18).

And so, God revealed himself to you, he showed himself to you, he chose to let you see him; maybe through creation, maybe through your children, maybe through preaching, but he gave you a sneak peek and revealed himself to you.

All of a sudden you find yourself being convicted about things that you weren’t convicted about before and you decided to make some changes. Christ is being formed in you and the more you walk with him, the more things are changing, habits are changing, behaviors are changing, because there are levels of revelation. And that’s the way it’s been from the beginning of time, God has revealed himself to us in shadows and types and in all kinds of various ways.

He is the voice of the Lord walking through the garden in the cool of the day. He is the animal that was slain covering Adam’s nakedness. He is the tabernacle with the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. He is the veil into the most holy place, the altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant. He is the fourth man in the fiery furnace, the kinsman redeemer, and the lover of my soul. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27).

Jesus himself spoke of the secrets of the kingdom of God, things that were not revealed to everybody, but to those who would believe. That’s why he didn’t take time to argue with everybody, because some people can’t see what you see, they don’t believe what you believe, but the Bible says,

"The Lord confides in those who fear him" (Psalms 25:14).

And so, you’re here because God revealed himself to you, not because you’re such a good person, not because you don’t have weaknesses, but you are here because God revealed himself to you. He made his covenant known to you, and so you got a level of revelation that other people didn’t get. That’s why you’ve got to be okay with being weird, because you understand what they don’t understand.

In other words, you can’t be Jesus’ disciple if you have a deep inner need to fit in with everybody. If you’re going to be a chameleon, changing all the time, trying to be all things to all people, trying to keep up with the latest trends, you can’t be Jesus’ disciple. You’ve got to be good with who Jesus calls you to be, you’ve got to be good with being different, with being peculiar, not trying to look like, dress like, or talk like the latest hip-hop artist.

You see, as a follower of Christ you can’t be intimidated into being something that you are not, because you were created in his image, and so the more you reflect him, and represent him, the closer you will get to him, the better you will see yourself, and the stronger your faith will be. David said it this way,

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken" (Psalms 16:8).

I wonder if there’s anybody else here who could say with such confidence, "I have set the Lord always before me… I will not be shaken?" Anybody else who would be bold enough to say, "I won’t be shaken if I have to pray all night, if I don’t get the job, if I have to live by myself, because I’ve set the Lord always before me."

Let me show you what I mean in John chapter 3. It’s a familiar passage, but I want you to read it like you’ve never read it before. John chapter 3, verse one says,

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council" (John 3:1).

Now, at that time there were about 6,000 Pharisees living in and around Jerusalem. But beyond their numbers they were intimidating, because they had both religious power and political influence. They were used to being honored and respected, priding themselves in how devout and holy they were, but when Jesus came along, he threatened their religiosity and their tradition. Jesus promoted new ways of looking at what they were familiar with, and they resisted it because they were comfortable with what they had always done.

And that’s the danger of traditions, because you’re doing it just because you’re doing it, but you don’t really know why you’re doing it or what it means and there’s a great emphasis on fitting in. You see, traditions can become an idol, orthodoxy can become an idol, because when the opinions of other people become more important to you than the Word of God itself you are in a dangerous place. The Bible says,

"Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council… came to Jesus at night" (John 3:1-2).

In other words, he was acting secretly, deceitfully, because he wanted to be accepted by his friend. He came to Jesus at night because he wasn’t willing to take a stand for what he believed.

Nicodemus wanted to be accepted by his peers, to get along with his culture, and he wasn’t willing to be scandalized in any way. And so, he would stand boldly before the brethren and declare, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). But would he really represent truth? Would he really trust God when people are talking about him?

You see, the truth is Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he was dealing with uncertainty, it caused him to be fearful and he wasn’t willing to be vulnerable. He wanted to put his hope in Jesus, but when he was with his friends, when he went up to the temple, he struggled between faith and fear. He knew there shouldn’t be any difference between who he was there and who he was here, but he wrestled with the fear of being rejected, because he was a member of the Pharisees.

And so, he’s coming to see Jesus by night and hanging out with the Pharisees by day. He was known as a man of God, a scholar, a theologian, and yet secretly he comes to One who is the Word of God. Jesus who is God in human form, God made flesh, and he says to him,

"Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him" (John 3:2).

In other words, there had been some revelation, some development, but there was still room for growth. Nicodemus had quick glimpses, glances of glory, just shadows of who Christ is in his fullness, and he didn’t know yet that Jesus was the one who would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; and the punishment that brought us peace would be upon him, for by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-6).

We don’t know, but he may have been down at the Jordan River with the Pharisees when John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

Because that was the revealing of Jesus, his baptism was his coronation, the revelation of King Jesus. Not just that God had called us to come up and dwell with him, but the mystery of the kingdom of God was that God came down and dwelt among us. That’s what the angel declared, they will call him Immanuel, which means,

"God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

In other words, the invisible God was made visible, the intangible was made tangible, the Spirit of God walked among us in the flesh.

Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him" (John 3:2).

And the moment that he told Jesus that he had revelation, that he had insight into the divine, that he understood that God was doing a new thing, Jesus declared,

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3).

In other words, you’re almost there Nicodemus, but you’ve got to be all in, you’ve got to be completely surrendered, you’ve got to be born again, brand-new, a new creation. He says, you just can’t have this kind of revelation and go back to the Pharisees. You can’t go back to your old ways, because once you…

"Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalms 34:8),

receiving revelation from God, it forces a change, a tearing away, a disruption in your way of thinking.

Like, when I was a child, my parents took me to the Catholic Church, but when I grew up and was baptized by the Holy Spirit there wasn’t any going back. Once I was filled with the Holy Spirit Jesus described it this way, he said,

"No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins" (Luke 5:37-38).

And so, I didn’t want to ruin the new wine, trying to put it into old skins, trying to confine it to old traditions, because I had tasted the new wine. But now it had to mature, it had to age, it had to ferment, and that’s where Jesus was, he was standing on the threshold between the old covenant and the new covenant. He had come to fulfill the law, the old skins, but when he started teaching the new covenant, the old has lost its flexibility.

And so, when he said over and over and over,

"You have heard that it was said… but I tell you…" (Matthew 5:21-22).

Those old skins weren’t moving, they weren’t stretching, and they were about to burst. That’s why the new wine has to go into new wineskins, because Jesus was teaching new things, he was teaching new covenant things to old covenant people.

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (John 1:11).

And so, the old skins were about to burst, they screamed under the tension, "Crucify him, crucify him," because there are always going to be some people, who when faced with truth would rather kill the truth for the sake of their traditions.

Knowing this, Jesus didn’t hold back, he said, "Nicodemus, if you’re not born again, if you don’t embrace the new, you can’t see the kingdom of God." In other words, you’re going to have to give up being a secret agent, coming to me under the cover of darkness, because what you’re coming from is just old skins. Nicodemus responded, "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely, he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4).

"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again" (John 3:5-7).

Now, Nicodemus hadn’t asked Jesus about being born again, but Jesus knew that you couldn’t put new wine into old skins, and so now Nicodemus is in a dilemma because he’s acquired a taste for the new wine. But he was a ruler of the Pharisees, holding onto the traditions, keeping the old skins, and Jesus is the new wine. Jesus tells him,

"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" (John 3:8).

In other words, "Nicodemus, you are looking for physical stuff, but I’m talking about spiritual stuff." And Nicodemus likely remembered Ezekiel’s vision of a valley full of dead bones, but when he prophesied to the wind saying,

"Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" …and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet" (Ezekiel 37:9-10).

And so, it was the combination of the Spirit of God and the Word of God that gave life, and Jesus is trying to take him deeper. Not going back to what he said but moving him forward to what he is saying. Shifting him from his traditions, out of his old way of thinking, out of those old skins and into the new. But Nicodemus didn’t get it and asked, "How can this be?"

Jesus replied, "You are Israel's teacher, and you don’t understand these things?" (John 3:9-10).

Because he was pouring out new wine. And so, he’s like, "Come on Nicodemus, you study the word, don’t you know the Word when you hear it? "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58). And so, I want you to be flexible, I want you to grow with me, I want you to move with me, I want you to flow with me, I want you to open your heart, open your mouth and receive the Holy Spirit."

"I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still, you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?" (John 3:11-12).

And he gave Nicodemus a strong but delicate rebuke, you’ve seen too much, you’ve witnessed the miracles, you know too much to go back to the Pharisees and hang out with the Sanhedrin.

There are some of you here like Nicodemus, and the Holy Spirit wants you to make a decision. Jesus said,

"You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other" (Revelation 3:15-16).

In other words, when you are around me, you talk Jesus’ talk, but when you are around them you talk like a Pharisee. And I know they make you feel important, but there’s something drawing you toward Jesus. So, while the rest of the Pharisees are in bed, you’re slipping over to see Jesus at night, because deep down in your heart you know that he is the,

"Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

And my prayer today is that your eyes will be opened, that his word would burn in your heart, and at this moment you would understand the Scriptures in a deeper and more profound way than you ever have before. That maybe for the first time ever you would recognize Jesus and say like Thomas did,

"My Lord and my God" (John 20:28).

Or like those two disciples asked each other on the road to Emmaus,

"They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).

It wasn’t because they had witnessed the miracles, or partook of the Passover meal, or even that they heard that the stone had been rolled away. They recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread and realizing what had just happened, they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. They went back to Jerusalem, back to where the revelation was, back to the new things that were happening, back where the Eleven and those with them assembled together" (Luke 24:33).

Today, there are some of you that need to make a decision, not to stay where everything is familiar, but to go back to what God is saying because he’s not done with you either. We need to be doers of the word and not hearers only, living out our faith, doing what Jesus said,

"Repent and do the things you did at first" (Revelation 2:5).

I want to encourage you not to go away today and forget what God has revealed to you, because what you received today from the Word of God was actually divine revelation.

As we close, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. And so, I want to encourage you to examine yourself, to look within yourself, and to allow God to change your mind. In other words, to look at yourself through the eyes of God and not the eyes of our culture. I want to encourage you to change your way of thinking, change your worldview, making a change of direction, and changing your behavior. You see, God wants you to see things differently, not conforming any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

In other words, it’s the renewed mind that will lead to a change in your life trajectory. Because the renewed mind will not yield to culture, conforming to the pattern of this world, but it will stop, and turn 180 degrees. It will march away from the old skins and toward the new skins of the mystery revealed. It’s a renewed mind that we need, because it’s the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, and it’s his mercy and grace that makes the work of repentance perfect in our lives.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott