Birth, Wind, Spirit, Gift

 

 

Pastor Jerry began his sermon by stating that after 40 years in the ministry he knows less about preaching than he does today. 

There is a divine calling to preach and teach.  God chooses to speak to the people through the minister and often God uses the people to speak to the minister.

 

As a Bible Student he was taught to formulate a sermon with a Title, topic, illustration, 3 points and an end.  Yet during a sermon, often a new thought will come and the direction is changed. 

He does not understand how the Spirit of God can bring across a message to each member that is different than the one he is preaching about. 

 

He admits that after all his study and searching he still does not fully understand Jesus and then he asked if any of the congregation fully understood Jesus?

 

Today Pastor was reading from John 3:1-17   I quote a portion.

⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

¹² If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?  ¹⁵ That whosoever believeth in him (Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal life.

 

The Bible setting was the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus under the cover of darkness.  He was full of questions ‘how to reach the kingdom of heaven,’ and the answers he received were perplexing.  Jesus gave him the WORDS of life “Ye must be born again.”

 

These words were a puzzle because Nicodemus could only hear the word “AGAIN.”  He was not able to grasp the spiritual significance and could only understand birth in the natural, which would make the statement from Jesus impossible.  He was hearing sideways and not directly.

 

Jesus explained that He must be born of the Spirit;  A spiritual Birth from above

 

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews and he needed something tangible, and absolute.  He had seen and heard of Jesus doing some impressive things, and he tried to pin Jesus down for a straight answer that he could be satisfied with.

 

Jesus used the wind as an illustration.  We can feel the wind and its effects but we cannot understand or control it.

 

There are times when we are guilty of not hearing the message and missing the point. 

 

Perhaps our antenna is not set to pick up the truth.  Jesus gave the message of Life;  A New Birth, the Wind, by the Spirit and receive the Gift from God.

 

Pastor stated that often during the service something drifts, and we catch insight.  It may be the sermon, or a song, or the responsive reading, but it is God speaking. 

 

What an amazing God we serve.