John 3:1-8 (The Ministry of
the Spirit is Like the Wind)
Intro:
Here in John Ch.3 The apostle John records the first of several encounters that
Jesus would have with different individuals
A)This
first encounter is with a religious leader by the name of Nicodemus
B) We will look at this
encounter fully in our study on Wed evening.
1)
During the encounter the conversation turns to the subject of a mans need to
be born again
C) The need for man
to be born of the Spirit. The need to experience a Spiritual birth.
D) Noted in our introduction
that Johns gospel gives us the most comprehensive
look at the Holy Spirits work and role in the heart of men
1) Here we are given our
first insight as Jesus gives us an illustration to explain the work of the
Spirit.
8 The wind
blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it
comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the
Spirit."
This
morning I want us to consider this analogy of the Ministry of the Spirit being
like the wind.
{ Note 4 ways
A)#1 In
Name: It is
interesting to note that the Hebrew word for wind is ruach
-the same word that is used for spirit.
B) Also the word breath in
the Greek pneuma is also the same word for
spirit.
C) So first of all in Name
there is a similarity.
#2
In Freedom: The Wind blows
where it wishes.
A)The wind is the very image
of freedom. - No one can chain up the wind.
B) Presidents can make laws
stating that it is against the law for the wind to blow but it is still going to blow.
C) It cannot be chained down
it cannot be put into a box.
1) It cannot be captured and
marketed.
D)The same thing is true of
the Ministry of the Spirit
The
Spirit of God is Sovereign He is free to move and work where He wants
/ when He wants and How He wants
A)One time in History
working here in this way: Suddenly He moves outpouring over here. Revival
breaks out.
1)
One life Refreshing water / Another life or situation- Holy Fire.
B)One man preaches and Salvation is happening all over all
over the place.
1)
Another like Isaiah has to ask - Who has believed our report. Is there anyone?
C) Was the spirit of God
less Isaiah or with Jeremiah than He was with Elijah
1)
Reading their accounts you might almost
think that Yet all three men spoke under the inspiration of the Spirit with
entirely different results
He
who knows the MINISTRY of the Spirit must learn to expect the unexpected.
A)Who in the early Church would have ever
expected Saul of
B)Now there are certain
constants involved with the Ministry of the Spirit
1)
He always works thru or in conjunction with the Word of God
C) And His purpose is also
to point people to Christ
1) To Draw them nearer to
God.
But This
is the beauty of the Ministry of the Spirit - there is not a formula!
A)There
is not a package. Often cannot be explained
B) Two
people can listen to the same message: One is entirely changed
1)
The other leaves the same as when he
first came in.
C)For some this is exciting
You are done with program & routines
rituals
1)
There is a refreshing excitement involved in living life open to the HS leading
D) For others it is nerve
racking You like all your ducks in a row { U Like
Procedures { Manuals
1)
You like to being able to plan You want to be able to explain.
2)And
when you cant It bothers you.
The
freedom of the HS should create within us a desire to be ready / a longing and a dependency
like
A)Sailor waiting for the
wind Sleep on the sea He sets a watch He prays for wind.
B) Pray be the wind in my
sails Lord Cant make it without you
C) Or Farmer
waiting for the wind to blow the windmill to grind
1)
Dependency He doesnt want to begin to try and crank the windmill in order to
grind the corn
D) IN order for the work to
get done he realizes he is dependant upon a force outside of himself.
Now
modern technology has created a way Ships have engines
A)Windmills have motors
Make up for a loss of wind.
B) We need to be oh so
careful in the Christian life and Christian ministry that our practice is
not to look to or depend upon technology
1)
Latest trends or programs of the day to empower our lives.
'Not by might
nor by power, but by My Spirit,'
Says the LORD
C) So the Ministry of the
Spirit is like the wind #1 in its name
1) #2 In its freedom
#3
In its Sound. You cant see the wind but Jesus said You hear the sound there of.
A)Consider for a few minutes
some different sounds of the wind and how it compares to the sound of the
Spirit.
B) Sometimes the WIND WAILS!
It sounds like it is crying./ Yearning!
C)
Likewise the Spirit of God sometimes wails He cries over the sins of men
D)
Eph. 4:30 Speaks of grieving the spirit. Grieved over our sinful rebellion
1)Grieved over mens continued rejection of the gospel of Gods love!
E)But Sometimes his cry is more of a yearning for
intimacy.
1)
Sometimes
the sound of the wind is a wail a cry and likewise the Ministry of the Spirit
is like wail.
A)Sometimes the sound of the
wind is more like a Wrestle. Contending
B) Feels like there is a
battle that is going on. The wind is struggling with the forces of nature and
is wanting to gain ground.
C) So too the Ministry of
the Spirit there is a wrestling.
D)The Spirit of God comes
into the soul sometimes, and makes great contention with the flesh.
1)
There is a stern striving there is against unbelief, against lust, against
pride, against every evil thing.
E)
Like a mighty rushing wind He shakes things up in a life, in a home, in a
Church.
The
Holy Spirit comes contending w/ the heart
A)The Spirit is battling the
fleshly nature and all of its lust.
B)
C) So that everything that
doesnt belong in a life is challenged by the Wind of Gods spirit.
D)
He desires to move us to the place where we are no longer giving into the lust
of the flesh No longer carnally minded = death
1) But He desires to move us
to the place where we are going with the flow of the Spirit = to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
E) No greater need
especially for DADS Men led by the Spirit
empowered by the Spirit.
1) He
WRESTLES WITH US. contends with our flesh Makes us uncomfortable in
compromise.
So like the
wind the spirit wails it wrestles - #3
Sometimes it whistles.
A)Ever hear the wind making
music there is a whistle that is associated with its sound. Melodic.
B)It is a triumphant
sound, it swells, sweeps, descends, different tones like Jubilant music
C)Sometimes
the ministry of the Spirit is that way
1)He
sings like a mighty melody within the soul of man, filling him with peace and
joy, and rest, and love.
D)
1)
E) The Ministry of the Holy
Spirit at times is that which fills the heart with laughter with Joy
1)
You HAVE to worship -spirit of rejoicing comes over you - He has put a NEW SONG in my mouth!
2) Just Overwhelmed by the
goodness of God -
Wail/ Wrestle / Whistle /
Sometimes
the sound of the wind is like a Whisper: Quiet refreshing
A)Gentle cool breeze on a
hot summer day at the beach. It doesnt blow sand in your face but it is just enough to refresh you cool you
B) So too sometimes the
ministry of the Spirit is like that Still small voice
Elijah
C)Whisper
speaking to our hearts Refresh calm quiets tells us in the mist
of the heat I am here !
1) You are not abandoned
it is going to be ok!
D) Like / Name / Freedom /
Sound -
Another
way that the Spirit is like the Wind is that although you cannot see the Wind
You
see the effects of it.
A)Blows huge clouds thru the
air like ships moving thru the water
B) Waves in the ocean
tossed to and fro by the wind.
C) Giant trees bending by
the force of the wind.
D) Huge metal airplane soaring
at 30,000 ft going 400 mph affected by the wind
1) Head
wind slow it down. / Tail wind speeds
it up.
E) Men working alongside a
dirt road on a windy day. You see the affects
1) By the end of the day-
covered in Dust.
This is the point that I
think the Lord is really wanting to make.
When a person is born again{ Born of the Spirit You see
the affects
A) Ezk
37
1) Work
of REGENERATION
B)Those who are born of the
Spirit are like the Spirit
1)
The birth partakes of the nature of the parent
C)What does that nature Look like? - John expounds us this in his 1 Epistle Turn
there 1 John
29 If you know that
He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of
Him.
A)The word practice speaks
of lifestyle
B) A Desire to live in a way
that is right before God.
1)
Before Regeneration that wasnt the case
C) Quite
Frankly our direction came from ourselves
1)
Everyone did what was right in their own eyes
D) Standards of rightness
varied by opinion.
E) After coming to Christ
discover there are moral absolutes Standards in the word
1)
Born of God We want to walk in that
The
next thing John tells us about being born of God sheds light on why we have
that desire for righteousness
A) He cant practice sin!
9 Whoever has been
born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin,
because he has been born of God.
B) Key Phrase: His seed
remains in Him Seed = the nature of the Spirit ALARM { Get out
C)
This is why people who backslide our miserable
1) Too much of the world to
enjoy the Lord
Too much of Jesus to enjoy
the world.
D) HS is convicting
constantly
Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who
does not love does not know God, for God is love.
A)Love for God / For others
/ the Lost is one of the Chief Characteristics of those who are born again
B) 1 Corinthians 14
Prophesy, tongues, miracles
1) NO LOVE MEANS NOTHING
C)
1) Chief Characteristic is
love.
D) Lays out the
Characteristics of Love.
1) Joy
= rejoicing , Peace-stability not hot and
cold 2) Patience
suffers long forgiving , Kindness -
gracious,
3) Goodness
or virtue integrity to that love not phony or plastic.
4) Faithful
dependable / Gentle Meek power under
control.
5) Self-control
Disciplined love
That
is what the H.S. is seeking to do in our lives Make us
into people
A)that love unconditional / people who give Sacrificially
B)Those whos Lives are marked by Joy / Stability / Patience &
Grace/ Virtue & Dependability / Meekness &
Self-Control
C) So those who are born of
the Spirit They Love
1) Growing in Love
D) Put away petty hang ups
4 For whatever
is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our
faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is
the Son of God?
A)Those who are Born of God
are overcomers
B) New Perspectives Heaven
C) Not about here Eternity
in view
D) Knows His target Apollo
13 { earth
1) US it is heaven.