“Taken by the Wind of the Spirit” - John 3:1-8
Sermon series: Unstoppable Work of the Holy Spirit
Sermon Title: Taken by the Wind of the Spirit
Scripture: John 3:1-8
Introduction:
It's easy to appear like a Christian on the outside, but until you get taken up by the wind of the Spirit, you're not really living the life that God has called you to live. Just like a kite needs to be flown in the wind to do what a kite is meant to do, we Christians need to be caught by the wind of the Spirit to do what we are meant to do as Christians.
To be caught by the wind of the Spirit means that our lives are regularly being converted to God.
Conversion is not limited to a one-time experience when you first accept Jesus into your life.
Multiple conversions need to happen throughout our entire Christian lives for the purpose of sanctification.
The Holy Spirit wants to lead us into multiple conversions, constantly blowing us into new ways of living and sanctifying us.
Overview:
Nicodemus was a religious man who was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, seen as one of the most godly and religious people in his days.
But Jesus says to him - vv.3 - “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
To be “born again” literally means to be born from above; to be born anew.
Jesus was pointing out that: the way of Nicodemus is the way of control (way of being fixed, closed, staying with the familiar).
Like Nicodemus, many of us are set in our ways.
We make excuses and use our age, life stage, the past, innate temperament, or fear, to justify our unwillingness to change.
In our text, Jesus makes an important statement about the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit wants to lead us to change.
The spirit is seen as the wind in today’s text.
Implications:
“The wind blows” - speaks to the ceaseless action of the Spirit.
“The wind blows wherever it pleases” - speaks to the sovereign freedom of the Spirit.
"and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes." – speaks to the notion that you cannot know where the Holy Spirit will take you.
Applications:
What does it mean to be converted? What does it mean to be carried by the spirit?
To be carried by the Spirit means:
You acknowledge that newness is possible at any moment.
To say yes to the unfamiliar.
To see our setbacks as Spirit moments
Key Bible passages:
John 3:1-8
Titus 3:5
Isaiah 41:10
Job 23:10
Post-sermon questions:
Meditate: Do you hold onto your old life before receiving Christ, or do you acknowledge and grasp that you have been born again?
Reflect: What are the areas of control you hold onto in your life?
Application: What kind of conversion (change) is the Holy Spirit leading you towards? How is the Spirit moving in your life today? What is the Spirit saying?
