Understanding the Wind of God

This morning I want to talk a little bit about God, but specifically I want to talk about God in the person of the Holy Spirit, so this morning the title of our sermon is Understanding the Wind of God.

Now when we talk about the Holy Spirit there are many names or descriptions given for Him. Helper, Comforter, sometimes Hes is likened to Fire, and sometimes He is likened to wind.

John 3:1–8 ESV

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

THE WIND OF GOD

In these verses Jesus refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in the “Born Again” experience

The word Spirit means breath or wind, so that the Holy Spirit could literally be called the Wind or Breath of God.

John 20:22 ESV

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

In our key text this morning verse 8 Jesus compares the working of the Spirit to the moving of the wind.

One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit in scripture is the wind

Gen 1:2 ...the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:2 ESV

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

-Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 33:6 ESV

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

-2 Sam 5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

2 Samuel 5:24 ESV

And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”

-Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Acts 2:2 ESV

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

The new birth is not the end of what God has for us but the very beginning

-many people have a one time experience with God but nothing more

-the wind of God’s Spirit is constantly blowing and we need the continual infilling, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit

The wind is one of the most powerful forces on the face of the earth and this comparison with the Holy Spirit working in the believer is not by accident

-we can take a look at the wind in nature and see what God can do in us and through us by His Spirit (8)

-this is referring to God doing in us what seems to be impossible, when our life is moved upon by the wind of God

WIND IS A TRANSFORMING FORCE

The wind plays a big role in the transformation of the landscape. The constant blowing of the wind - picking up dirt, sand, rock and even trash over time will transform the appearance of the land - This is called “Wind Erosion”

Even in our best of efforts we are still a long way from where God wants us to be spiritually

-He is constantly working on us, changing us, transforming us to become what He wants us to be

--Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

Ephesians 4:13 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

We need the "Wind of God" blowing in our lives to pick up the dirt, debris and trash and carry it out. We need to let the wind blow in our lives and re arrange things to suite Him - The wind bloweth where it wills

-Illustration - I like to ride in the car with the window down. Most of the rtime my wife says, “Can we use the air”? She has got every hair in place and doesn’t want the wind to re arrange it, every once in a while she’ll say put the windows down and let the wind blow”

Some people don’t want God to work and move in their life, they don’t want God to re arrange things, shape them, form them and mold them. They want to be saved and then leave things to suit themselves

If we truly want to become all that God desires us to be we’ve got to let “The wind blow where it wills”

and blow out of our life what He wills.

THE WIND IS A POWER GENERATING FORCE

Wind mills have been used for thousands of years to grind grain and pump water for irrigation

More recently wind mill farms have been built to generate electricity. Modern wind farms can generate the same amount of electrical power as a nuclear power plant

For centuries the wind has been used in sailing to carry ships and boats across the seas

The "Wind of God" blowing in our life will empower us in our Christian walk and service

Zech 4:6 ...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6 ESV

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

Col 1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily

Colossians 1:29 ESV

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Jesus commanded His disciples to “Go into all the world, preach the gospel, make disciples, etc but first they were to “Be filled with the Holy Ghost”, “Wait till you be endued with power from on high”, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower them for service

-the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a Pentecostal thing or Charismatic thing, it’s a church thing