Sermon Central
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The Wind Of The Spirit
Contributed by Ian Johnson on Jun 12, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: ANy one brought up in the Jewish tradition knows its natural to compare the Spirt with the wind. Jesus used a ready illistration the night he spoke to Nicodemus.
John 3:8 Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
For anyone brought up in the Jeswish tradition it is natural to compare the Spirit with the wind. Ruach can mean
1) Wind: The desert wind common in Judea as a violet and strong shaking wind.
2) Breath: The existence of life
3) Spirit of God – The power of God that sweeps across generations and bursts into history In Hebrew “Rauch Ha Kodesh!”
Consider the wind Jesus said.
As a farmer I used to experience all sorts of wind conditions.
A) A swirling wind when stoking a fire you never knew which way the wind would go and usually end up with smoke in your face.
B) Storm blasts powering in from the sea bending branches this way and that
c) Light Zephyers gentle yet unpredictable
d) Gusting winds
e) Warm breeze on a summer night
Jesus picked a great illustration that night when talking to Nicodemus. “Where is it coming from –where does it go?
“The wind blows”—this affirms the ceaseless action of the Holy Spirit.
There has never been a time when the Holy Spirit has not been active in history ie The first page of the bible Gen 1. “The Spirit moved over the face of the deep”
Last page: “The Spirit and the bride say come”
7 I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are both alike to you.
Many are in the place of trying to hide from the Spirit of God in our land but as the Psalm says there is nowhere to hide He is always at work. God the Holy Spirit never stops. If He did all would fall apart. For it is He who holds all things together.
The book of Acts tells us that He ( The Holy Spirit) burst into history like the sound of mighty rushing wing (Acts 2)
He has never stopped blowing!
H.G.Wells in his book “mind at the end of its tether” said “Man is played out! The world is jaded and devoid of recuperative power” Some may feel like this about ourselves or indeed about the church
But Listen to the wind! The Holy spirit is still moving in creativity and will until the end of time. HG Wells may not have seen any hope but we can be full of hope because of the ceaseless wind!
2)”The wind blows where it wills”
Key: The Holy Spirit is sovereign He will not be controlled, we cannot dictate to the wind – nor can we to the Holy Spirit.
The Religious spirit wants order
Nice safe services –God only works this way they say—He will not be controlled Therefore the religious spirit hates anything to do with Holy Spirit.
It has always been that way!
Rahab---Nazareth—John Wesley in the Streets The wind blows where it wills!
In 1979 I was living in a town called Te Aroha We had a wind storm which destroyed homes- one gust was so strong that it wound the wind meter off the scale (over 180MPH) no one believed their home would be damaged when they built them but that night over 50 homes were destroyed who could predict such a wind?
The Holy Spirit comes in much more power than this!
Breaks down barriers
Destroy strongholds
Blast away sin
Come Holy Spirit come.
4) “The wind blows and you hear the sound:”
When the wind blows you don’t need a university degree to discover it. You feel its action. It makes its presence felt.
So it is with the Holy Spirit. When He stirs the church or an individual or a community there is always evidence of his working you feel his action! This is what brough Nicodemus to Jesus in the first place “Something was up!”
5) “You hear the sound but you don’t know where it comes from!”
all great moves of the Spirit, where did they come from?
Wesley
Moody
Wales
Azuza street
They just hit human history and changed nations!
The wind is blowing people; which way tomorrow! The key is to walk with Him
