Celebration worship
Today, we are continuing our series exploring the metaphors of Jesus. Today’s metaphor is critical to understand for a believer in Christ. We hope that when you leave here today, you will see how the love of Jesus operates, not just for the world, but also for you.
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 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.”-John 3:5, 7-8. Jesus uses the wind as a metaphor to describe the work of the Holy Spirit helping believers become born again. As believers of the Trinity that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we believe that Jesus is a part of that work. Unlike last week’s text, when Jesus was very specific when he called Himself the Temple, the emphasis of the wind metaphor is not on the hidden meaning behind the metaphor of the Spirit as the wind. The emphasis of the metaphor is on the change the Holy Spirit makes. The founder of the Methodist movement John Wesley believed that the change from the Spirit, called “The New Birth” was vital to understand for people called Methodists. One commentary tells us “In his sermon “The New Birth,” Wesley describes the new birth as “that great change God works in the soul when he brings it into life; when he raises the soul from the death of sin to the life of righteousness”. If justification is the “great work which God does for us” the new birth is the “great work which God does in us .”— Wesley One Volume Commentary. The wind of the Holy Spirit working a New Birth in us reminds me of one year we went camping with my parents in Colorado. Back then, Dad would take us anywhere, and hike in the wilderness for 2 days, all to set up climbing mountains such as Pikes Peak and Huron Peak. I remember Dad would just be having the best time walking up the hill to these summits. It was the same way when we went to the Beach. The wind in Panama City smelled like the Gulf Coast and I loved it! I deeply cherish those times and felt at peace with God, wind and all, and continue to do so anytime I think of the mountains of Colorado and the beach. On the other hand, when I played sports In West Texas, you could forget about football and track season being wind-free. Running the mile into the wind at the corners of the track was a difficult task and playing against the wind in a football game was hard. It didn’t matter if we liked the strong wind or not, if the wind came, we had to adapt to the wind and play hard. In the same way, the Christian life has different kinds of wind from the Holy Spirit that does God’s work in us and for us. Sometimes, the New Birth is a nice, wonderful moment from the Holy Spirit. These moments can happen anywhere, including church camp, worship, prayer, reading the Bible, communion, etc. Other times, the Holy Spirit’s work for us and in us can be difficult. Changes come that we don’t like or the Lord tells us no through people we trust. Acts 16 tells us that Jesus Himself prevented Paul from entering Asia and Bithyna to preach the Gospel. Yet, those moments that Jesus said “no” led to an opportunity to go evangelize in Macedonia and meet Lydia outside Philippi in Acts 17. Such is the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t always like the change the Spirit brings, but the alternative of the Holy Spirit doing nothing at all isn’t good either. What if Paul didn’t convert Lydia in Acts 17 and instead went to Asia and Bithyna in Acts 16 like he wanted to do?! I don’t dare to consider the answer friends. What we can consider is Job’s answer that reminds us to Give glory to God when change comes in good moments and the bad. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”- Job 2:10.
What is the pathway to even consider change from the Holy Spirit? The Bible calls this pathway faith. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”-John 3:14-18. Jesus teaches if we want change from the Holy Spirit, we have to trust Him. The New Testament goes to great lengths to discuss the fruitful changes that occur when we trust Jesus. James 1:3 tells us that the testing of faith produces steadfastness, while the Book of Hebrews teaches that “ faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”- Hebrews 11:1 . The book of Proverbs counsels to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”- Proverbs 3:5-6. Who needs assurance, patience, and a clear path to living? The Bible tells us Jesus can be trusted to deliver those traits and more in your life.
The Holy Spirit, described as the wind in John’s Gospel, through Jesus, has the power to give you the life you were created for through faith in Him. Let’s visit a couple of points worth considering on faith in Christ that can change your life. Hear the Good News: Faith in Jesus is a process. Jesus didn’t start his Ministry until he was 30. Galatians 1 tells us after Paul had faith in and was chosen by Jesus to preach to Gentiles, he didn’t consistently preach until 3 years later (cf Galatians 1:18). The late Pastor Timothy Keller planted Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the middle of New York. The church today does great work for God in a highly secular culture. Pastor Keller didn’t publish his first book until he was 60 years old! His reason? He understood faith in Jesus is not always about results. Faith in Jesus takes a long time to translate into wisdom. Don’t be in such a hurry for results in your faith friends. Jesus counsels those reading Matthew in the first century who might have felt some anxiety and though they loved Jesus, were anxious about the future. They were in a hurry, and ready for God’s results today. Jesus tells them, and us, to slow down! “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”- Matthew 6:26, 31-33. Have faith over the long haul, and the changes you are seeking from Christ will be added to you. Hear the Good News: Faith in Jesus is submission to His will. We love to think that faith in Jesus will make things instantly ok. That miracles will abound, new cars will appear, and all things will go our way. Friends, that is not how faith in Christ works. Faith in Christ is not an ATM when we withdraw money from Him to live for the week. Faith in Christ is surrendering and admitting that no ATM can satisfy what you and I crave! Paul reminds us that surrender is not as hopeless as we would think. When asking the Lord if he would take away “a messenger of Satan” that was bothering Him, he writes that Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
Friends, how is your faith in Jesus today? Are you in a good position for Jesus this morning? If you are, praise God and give Him the glory! I am grateful for God’s abundant blessing in your life. However, maybe your soul isn’t well today. Maybe you are worried right now. you need the Holy Spirit, you need to work on your faith in Jesus. In other words, you need some assurance. Hear the good news friends, our assurance is eternal! Christ has taken the sin that is weighing you down and nailed it to the cross. You bear it no more! All He asks is that you trust Him, and look to Him, so you might know once again that He knows what you need, and that you have eternal life now AND in the future with Him. I want to invite you to a time of prayer asking for either the assurance and steadfastness that Jesus provides or a moment for you to praise God for all the good He has done. Whatever you need from Jesus, this is your time to trust Him once again. Father in heaven start with me, and change all who love you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.