John 3:21 - Prayer Tents



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John 3
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Born from Above

3There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews.G1161G2258G444G1537G5330G3686G846G3530G758G2453 2Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."G3778G2064G4314G2424G3571G2532G2036G846G4461G1492G3754G2064G1320G2064G575G2316G1063G3762G1410G4160G5023G4592G3739G4771G4160G3362G2316G5600G3326G846 3Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."G2424G611G2532G2036G846G281G281G3004G4671G3362G5100G1080G509G1410G3756G1492G932G2316 4"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"G3530G3004G4314G846G4459G1410G444G1080G5607G1088G3361G1410G1525G1208G1519G846G3384G2836G2532G1080 5Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom.G2424G611G281G281G3004G4671G3362G5100G1080G1537G5204G2532G4151G3756G1410G1525G1519G932G2316 6When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.G1080G1537G4561G2076G4561G2532G1080G1537G4151G2076G4151 7"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'—out of this world, so to speak.G2296G3361G3754G2036G4671G5209G1163G1080G509 8You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."G4151G4154G3699G2309G2532G191G5456G846G235G1492G3756G1492G4159G2064G2532G4226G5217G3779G2076G3956G1080G1537G4151 9Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?"G3530G611G2532G2036G846G4459G1410G5023G1096 10Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basics?G2424G611G2532G2036G846G1488G4771G1320G2474G2532G1097G3756G5023 11Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions.G281G281G3004G4671G2980G3754G3739G1492G2532G3140G3739G3708G2532G2983G3756G2257G3141 12If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God?G1487G2036G5213G1919G2532G4100G3756G4459G4100G1437G2036G5213G2032 13"No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man.G2532G3762G305G1519G3772G1508G2597G1537G3772G5207G444G3588G5607G1722G3772 14In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—G2532G2531G3475G5312G3789G1722G2048G3779G1163G5207G444G5312 15and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.G3363G3956G4100G1519G846G622G3363G622G235G2192G166G2222 16"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.G1063G2316G3779G25G2889G5620G1325G846G3439G5207G2443G3956G4100G1519G846G622G3361G622G235G2192G166G2222 17God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.G1063G2316G649G3756G846G5207G1519G2889G2443G2919G2889G235G2443G2889G1223G846G4982 18Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.G4100G1519G846G2919G3756G2919G1161G4100G3361G2919G2235G3754G4100G3361G4100G1519G3686G3439G5207G2316 19"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God.G1161G3778G2076G2920G3754G5457G2064G1519G2889G2532G444G25G4655G3123G2228G5457G1063G846G2041G2258G4190 20Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure.G1063G3956G4238G5337G3404G5457G2532G3756G2064G4314G5457G3363G846G2041G1651 21But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."G1161G4160G225G2064G4314G5457G2443G846G2041G5319G3754G2076G2038G1722G2316

The Bridegroom’s Friend

22After this conversation, Jesus went on with his disciples into the Judean countryside and relaxed with them there. He was also baptizing.G3326G5023G2064G2424G2532G846G3101G1519G1093G2449G2532G1563G1304G3326G846G2532G907 23At the same time, John was baptizing over at Aenon near Salim, where water was abundant.G1161G2491G2532G2258G907G1722G137G1451G4530G3754G2258G4183G5204G1563G2532G3854G2532G907 24This was before John was thrown into jail.G1063G2491G2258G3768G906G1519G5438 25John's disciples got into an argument with the establishment Jews over the nature of baptism.G3767G1096G2214G3326G1537G2491G3101G2453G4012G2512 26They came to John and said, "Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well, he's now competing with us. He's baptizing, too, and everyone's going to him instead of us."G2532G2064G4314G2491G2532G2036G846G4461G3739G2258G3326G4675G4008G2446G3739G4771G3140G2396G3778G907G2532G3956G2064G4314G846 27John answered, "It's not possible for a person to succeed—I'm talking about eternal success—without heaven's help.G2491G611G2532G2036G444G1410G3756G2983G3762G3362G5600G1325G846G1537G3772 28You yourselves were there when I made it public that I was not the Messiah but simply the one sent ahead of him to get things ready.G5210G846G3140G3427G3140G3754G2036G1473G1510G3756G5547G235G3754G1510G649G1715G1565 29The one who gets the bride is, by definition, the bridegroom. And the bridegroom's friend, his 'best man'—that's me—in place at his side where he can hear every word, is genuinely happy. How could he be jealous when he knows that the wedding is finished and the marriage is off to a good start? "That's why my cup is running over.G2192G3565G2076G3566G1161G5384G3566G3588G2476G2532G191G846G5463G5479G1223G3566G5456G3778G1699G5479G3767G4137 30This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.G1565G1163G837G1161G1691G1642 31"The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own.G2064G509G2076G1883G3956G5607G1537G1093G2076G1537G1093G2532G2980G1537G1093G2064G1537G3772G2076G1883G3956 32He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven. No one wants to deal with these facts.G2532G3739G3708G2532G191G5124G3140G2532G3762G2983G846G3141 33But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth.G2983G846G3141G4972G3754G2316G2076G227 34"The One that God sent speaks God's words. And don't think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces.G1063G3739G2316G649G2980G4487G2316G1063G2316G1325G3756G4151G1537G3358 35The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts.G3962G25G5207G2532G1325G3956G1722G846G5495 36That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that."G4100G1519G5207G2192G166G2222G1161G544G5207G3700G3756G3700G2222G235G3709G2316G3306G1909G846


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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