253 - God In the Wind

49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

I’ve had a lesson on my heart for this evening for a while now:

Recognizing the wind as a picture of the Lord -

The wind being a metaphor, of sorts, of who He is and how He works.

And the wind is that. And more so - it is an INDICATOR of His very presence.

We’ll look at a few examples of this representation to begin with.

Wind Intro

A. The wind is a force of nature.

As mentioned recently, the recent hurricanes and typhoons have been devastating across the globe.

Relatively small wind can cause damage. -Sustained winds? Focused, inline, powerful winds? Devastating.

I went to Joplin in May of 2011 after the F5 that struck there.

The scope of impact was immense.

A line of demarcation down the middle of the road.

Leveled on one side

Seemingly unscathed on the other.

Precise and surgical.

As though intentional and played out.

Mark 4:41 NKJV

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

There’s a force of eternity that rules over that force of nature.

He is that Almighty God.

B. He has wielded the wind as His tool on multiple occasions, and He is always the ruler of it, even if others are allowed to wield it.

We’ll be looking at a couple different purposes of the wind

Its representation in Scripture

And what it means to us in light of our Lord, all right?

Uses and Properties

A. What does it look like?

You can’t see it.

I’ve made the statement of how you could open the eyes of a blind man for the first time.

What would he or she make of what they saw outside?

These monstrous things called trees (having never seen one before) - they move on their own!

Limbs and leaves quaking and waving back and forth.

They might know better, based on what they could deduce, but the potential was there for them to be mystified.

You can’t see it.

You can’t grab it.

You can’t bottle it up.

It’s fluid, constantly moving into and out of things.

Seemingly everywhere.

Even when we’re inside, or things are still. (Wave your hand briskly back and forth.)

A pretty obvious similarity to the Lord.

Invisible, powerful, intangible (except when you can feel Him), always there.

A powerful, ever-present phenomenon.

You get the picture.

Again, as Amos said in our text...

Amos 4:13 NKJV

13 For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The Lord God of hosts is His name.

And the Lord God, who creates this wind, utilizes this natural representation of Himself in many ways.

In Judgment

A. In Egypt

Exodus 10:12-14

Exodus 10:12–14 NKJV

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.

The “east wind” was one that would have passed over the Sinai Peninsula.

Arid, desert-like in much of the area.

The wind tended to be hot and oppressive...

And (in this case)…packed with grasshoppers.

This judgment came with power.

Egypt experienced other winds of judgment

As Moses sang in Exodus 15...

Exodus 15:8 NKJV

8 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

And when Egypt pursued...

Exodus 15:10 NKJV

10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

B. The POWER of the Wind of God will be difficult for the rebellious heart.

Psalm 1:3-5

Psalm 1:3–5 NKJV

3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

The wicked and rebellious will ultimately have no power to resist the Wind that is the Almighty God.

That power of the wind - as portrayed here - is almost ALWAYS the focus of the term in Scripture.

Except one...

C. The power of the wind is the focus...

In my research and studies, I find ONLY 1 NOTABLE “GENTLE” WIND reference.

Others might not be as strong in their presentation, and I might have simply missed one or two.

But this is the one I could find where it was specifically referring to the wind’s gentleness.

2. Paul was the prisoner of Rome, at the working of the rebellious Jews, and was en route to Italy to have his appeal to Caesar satisfied.

He’d been traveling by ship and they’d run into no shortage of issues and problems.

Paul ultimately warned them that they were in mortal danger in sailing - and it was not heeded.

They wanted to leave a port to make the dangerous trip north to another one to winter there and found the wind favorable.

SLIDE OF MAP

Acts 27:13-15

Acts 27:13–15 NKJV

13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.

It didn’t end well for the ship.

Not where they’d intended to land on western Crete.

Some 900 miles past in Malta.

The wind was strong, and did not do as the men had planned.

So like the Lord, yes?

It surprised those men who thought they had it figured out.

But it came upon them with a vengeance.

Again, No Real “Refreshment” in Gentleness - Intentionally.

A. If you know the story, good came from it.

They were wrecked and miracles ensued with Paul as the vessel.

Natives of Malta witnessed the viper.

Publius the nobleman witnessed a healing of his father.

The crew received goods to enable them to complete their trip.

The strength of the wind and its damage was not detrimental to Paul.

It gave him the opportunity to witness.

It was a testimony to those witnessed to.

The fact that the wind of God is a wind of power does not diminish the fact that it is also a wind of refreshing, of restoration, and of simple goodness.

Keep in mind that the blast of the nostril that destroyed Egypt was the salvation of Israel.

The stormy wind that threatened the boat of Jonah was the salvation of Nineveh.

It was the testimony to those sailors who witnessed the storm’s ending when Jonah went in.

There’s refreshing in that wind, whether they knew it fully or not.

It requires the heart to be in line with God’s.

When you see it, you see it.

And it’s powerful.

A Final Representation of Refreshment in Power

Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1–4 NKJV

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

A. As vivid and literal a representation of the Wind of God as there is.

“Spirit” - in the Greek is “p’nevma” - PNEUMA

You medical types - pneuma- means pertaining to breath.

The Holy Spirit presented Himself here as the breath of God.

The sound of a rushing, mighty wind.

Was it intended to destroy? Or refresh?

TO THOSE WILLING TO BE REFRESHED IT WAS REFRESHING.

TO THOSE WILLING TO BE EMPOWERED IT WAS EMPOWERING.

1 Corinthians 1:18 KJV 1900

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

The Breath of God, the Holy Spirit Himself, is not a power that we should dismiss.

It is not a blessing that we should forego.

It is not a power that we should run from.

B. One final picture - Jesus on the water.

We come back to our original text

Following five loaves and 2 fishes...

Mark 6:45-51

Mark 6:45–51 NKJV

45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

He saw them struggling into the head wind.

Been there - naturally and spiritually.

Certainly before we know the Lord.

He walked out to them and would have passed them by.

BUT THEY INVITED HIM IN.

AND THE WIND CEASED.

C. We could spend all night on this, but simply a few considerations.

You could’ve let Jesus pass you by. But you didn’t. Don’t settle for “that’s enough.”

You invited Him in. You have the Dayspring as your Captain.

Will you not allow Him to fill your sails?

Ever run into a headwind?

Everything is exponentially more difficult.

Your form is off, you’re irritated, you’re weakened. YOU’RE HINDERED. UNTIL...

Until you simply turn and have the wind at your back.

What does it feel like then?

Like there is no wind!

It feels still, it feels encouraging, you’re running faster with less effort.

When you invite the Lord to come into your life, INVITE ALL OF HIM.

THE FATHER AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

THE SON OF GOD AND HIS MERCY AND SALVATION

THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS POWER AND PEACE IN DIRECTION AND STRENGTH.

The WIND AND BREATH OF GOD IS MOST POWERFUL.

IT WILL BE DESTRUCTIVE TO THE UNBELIEVING AND UNREPENTANT HEART.

IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO BEAR AND RESIST TO THE REBELLIOUS AND RESISTING HEART .

“Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

The Wind of God isn’t intended to be gentle. It is the Holy Spirit - the life and breath of God. It is, by nature, powerful.

We are not blown over by it because: We are children of God. Planted by the waters. Established on the Rock Christ Jesus.

But even more We can open our sails and find ourselves completely in line, complete directed, and completely empowered by the Breath of God in His fullness.