An encounter with God - a Meditation on John 3: 1-8

Hi all, I thought of making three parts of this meditation on John 3:1-8, due to the volume of the study. Kindly follow up.

1. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He was a man of a very high order and a teacher of the scriptures.  (V1)
2. One night Nicodemus comes to meet Jesus with his own enquiries.  He had inferred Jesus to be a Teacher came from God and he was moved by the miracles Christ performed. (V2)
3. Jesus replied to him that if a man is not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ( v3)
4. Nicodemus asked Christ how it is possible for a man when he is old to go back into his mother's womb to be born again. (V4)
5. Then Jesus goes a step further and explains that if a person is not born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ( v5)
6. He said what is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is of the spirit. ( v6)
7. He told him not to marvel on what he told about being born again. ( v7)
8. Jesus also said, those who are born of the spirit are like wind that blows, of which we can hear it's sound but do not know where it came from and where it goes. ( v8)

Life Application:
Who was Nicodemus?
1. Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jews. (V1)
2. He was also a ruler of the Jews and was a man of a very honourable position (v1)
3. This is his first encounter with the Lord the night when he met him.
4. He has seen Christ from far... and created his own impressions of him as a great teacher who came from God and as a  Miracle worker( v2)

Few thoughts to ponder... what do you think who Christ is?
It depends on how personal you get to know him. God calls us for a closer walk with him. The more closer we get....  The more we come to know about him.

This is what David says,
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalm:34:8

What are your personal impressions about Christ?
 Do you create impressions of what other people tell about Christ or have you ever had a personal encounter with him?

We will see below some live examples of people who had a personal encounter with God from the scriptures.

1. Moses' encounter with Christ:
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exodus:3:3
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exodus:3:4

2. Encounter of Gideon with God:
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Judges:6:11
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
Judges:6:12

3. Encounter of Nathaniel with Christ:
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
John:1:48

4. Encounter of zaccheus with Christ:
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
Luke:19:5

Encounter of Saul with Christ:
And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts:22:7

This bible is full of people who had encounters with God. I am sure of one thing, if you are person who had an encounter with the most high God, you can never be the same again.

1. Are you like Moses coming closer to God out of curiosity to know what is there the other side?
2. Are you like Gideon waiting for God to interfere in your hopelessness?
3. Are you like Nathanael waiting for a God to look right through into your heart?
4. Are you like zacchaeus  lost in sin, but trying to see if Christ can help You?
5. Are you like saul, who have persecuted the church?

Whoever you may be,
Christ calls you to have a personal encounter with him. After that, I can assure from personal experience and from the Holy Scriptures that you will never be the same.

Now, let me also explain to you how the life of Nicodemus changed after his encounter with Christ.
Nicodemus speaks in public defending Christ after his personal encounter with Christ.

Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
John:7:50
Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
John:7:51

He doesn't stop there. He had a very important role in the burial of CHRIST.

And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.
John:19:39

Questions to ponder for the day:
Have you ever had a personal encounter with Christ?
How much your life has changed after that incident?

Please feel free to share with me that we can glorify God together.

A NEW REVELATION OF CHRIST : Meditation John 1:43-51

1. Jesus the next day goes forth into Galilee and meets Philip and calls him to FOLLOW him. (V43)
2. Philip was of the same place as that of Andrew and Peter. (V44)
3. Philip meets Nathanael and says that they have met the person  whom Moses and Prophets have spoken spoken about and that, it is none but JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth. (V45)
4. The first impression of Nathaniel about Christ is that NO GOOD can come from Nazareth as it is a humble place. But Philip encourages him to come and see. (V46)
5. When Christ sees Nathanael, he look straight into his heart and tells that he is a person without guile. (V47)
6. Still Nathanael was not convinced and asked Christ when he knew him. Then, Christ said, his eyes saw Nathanael even when he was under the fig tree talking to Philip. (V48)
7. Then Nathanael believes and glorifies Christ as the SON of God and the King of Israel.
(V49)
8. Jesus said... that they will see greater things from then on, than the prophesy they heard. (V50)
9. He also said that from then on, their eyes will be opened to see angels ascending and descending from the son of Man, thus inviting him into the deeper waters. (V51)

Life Application:
1. Jesus called Philip to follow him.
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
Following Jesus is hearing to the shepherd's  voice and following him.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
John:10:4

What do we get following Jesus?
A. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew:4:19
If we follow Christ he will make us fishers of men.

B.  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John:12:26
We will be in the place where Christ will be.
As it is given in the verse below,
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians:2:6
We are seated in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus.

C. What does it take to follow Christ?
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Matthew:16:24

Life Application 2:
1. Every person who met Jesus had a new revelation about Christ.  It was revealed to Philip that CHRIST was the one that Moses and the Prophets spoke about and he is the fulfilment of the Law. We can also comprehend  that any person who had an encounter with Christ could not stop but talk about him to others.
2. The initial  perception  about Christ for each individual varies greatly till we come and see Christ personally, to have an encounter with him.

Life Application 3:
1. When we come to CHRIST everything hidden has to open up to the light of Christ. ( 47-49)
2. He knows who we are inside out (v47). He knows our physical presence. (V48). He knows our notions and motives as it is written in

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psalm:139:2

What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Job:7:17
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
Job:7:18

God sets his heart upon us. He visits us every morning.  He looks deep into our hearts if we really love him. He tries us every moment. Truely, he knows us and he cares for us.

3. He knows us more intimately than anyone else.

But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isaiah:49:14
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah:49:15
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isaiah:49:16
I believe this is the intimacy that Nathanael felt with Christ.

4. Again, another revelation to the person with a personal relationship with God. God revealed himself to Nathanael as the King of Israel. (V49)

5. Jesus calls them to much deeper waters. He speaks about their spiritual eyes being opened to see things of heaven.

What is angels ascending and descending from the SON of man?
Let us turn our bibles to Genesis 28:12,17;

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Genesis:28:12.
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Genesis:28:17
(If you are interested you can read the whole chapter to know more)

God reveals to me here as CHRIST being the GATE OF HEAVEN and the HOUSE OF GOD.

Hallelujah! Let the name of the LORD be glorified.

I pray that the spirit of God will minister unto you in a new way and Christ will reveal himself to you in a way that you have never seen before.

To GOD BE THE GLORY. Amen.