WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.359 Welcome once again to our service, a chance for us to sing together, a chance for us to hear God's words, to pray together that we might be encouraged to be reminded of our God. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:33.739 I want to begin with words that we'll come back to later on from Ezekiel chapter 36, one of those passages in the Old Testament that point us to the hope of the new covenant in Ezekiel 36 and verse 24. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.760 Here is the promise of God through the prophet Ezekiel. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:45.780 For I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 00:00:46.239 --> 00:00:54.959 I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:00.319 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:06.280 I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:14.500 And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:17.879 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers. 00:01:18.740 --> 00:01:24.819 You will be my people and I will be your God. 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:32.599 There are some wonderful promises from God for us that come true for us in the gospel, in the coming of Jesus. 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:41.719 And now we're going to continue our study in the Holy Spirit and his work in the lives of his people. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:48.359 And we're going to look at Jesus and his encounter with Nicodemus in John chapter 3. 00:01:48.359 --> 00:02:00.159 We'll read from verse 1 to verse 15 and concentrate on the first 10 verses to see what we learn about the Holy Spirit and the new birth. 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:03.359 So let's again hear God's word together. 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:10.500 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:13.360 He came to Jesus at night and said, 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:24.240 In reply, Jesus declared, 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:34.760 How can a man be born when he is old? Nicodemus asked. 00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:39.600 Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born. 00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:41.720 Jesus answered, 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:43.099 I tell you the truth. 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:48.979 No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:55.099 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.979 You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:03.020 The wind blows wherever it pleases. 00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:08.340 You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:11.300 So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:13.840 How can this be? Nicodemus asked. 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:18.340 You are Israel's teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things? 00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:19.879 I tell you the truth. 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:23.479 We speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen. 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.360 But still you people do not accept our testimony. 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:29.960 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe. 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:33.360 How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:39.340 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. 00:03:39.340 --> 00:03:51.500 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:57.979 So today we are going to think about the Holy Spirit and the new birth. 00:03:58.020 --> 00:04:00.060 And we are going to begin with a comparison. 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:07.479 So Jesus is talking with Nicodemus and he leads the conversation around to the kingdom of God. 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:12.340 And particularly how does a person become a citizen of God's kingdom? 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:20.300 So it might be helpful for us to compare to how a person can become a citizen of the United Kingdom. 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:24.839 So there are two main ways, basically. 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:28.459 One, you can be born here to UK parents. 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:36.939 Or you can apply for citizenship, in which case you have to meet a number of criteria. 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:43.019 You have to be able to pass certain tests and you have to pay some money. 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:56.259 Now, the whole Bible and the words of Jesus show that neither of these are how it works when it comes to God's kingdom. 00:04:56.259 --> 00:05:02.360 We are not citizens of God's kingdom because of where we are born. 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:08.599 Coming from a so-called Christian country does not make us part of God's kingdom. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:16.719 Being born into a religious, to a church family is an advantage, certainly, because we get to hear the truth. 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:22.039 But it does not make us automatically citizens of God's kingdom. 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:29.100 Nor is the way in through having a set of religious rules to meet. 00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:36.160 There are not certain moral tests to pass or some sacrifice that we have to pay for entry. 00:05:36.260 --> 00:05:38.879 That's not how it works in God's kingdom. 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:44.600 So then, how can you and I enter and enjoy life in God's kingdom? 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.580 And that's where we need to think about the Holy Spirit and the new birth and Jesus' words here. 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:58.859 And again, what we've seen in the last few weeks is that there is no spiritual life outside of union with Jesus Christ. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.039 He is the way, the truth and the life. 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:12.000 And it's new birth then, as we'll see, that creates spiritual life that makes faith in Jesus possible. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:24.759 And to receive this new birth requires the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, transforming us, uniting us by faith to Jesus who is our life. 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:35.860 So to be a citizen of God's kingdom, you and I need the work of the Holy Spirit to apply salvation to our hearts, to unite us to Jesus by faith. 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:38.420 We need the new birth. 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:44.300 So as we look at this conversation briefly, I want us to notice three things. 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:45.920 First of all, they're all about the new birth. 00:06:46.020 --> 00:06:51.560 First, it's about new sight, not adjusted lenses. 00:06:53.080 --> 00:06:57.080 There is a sense in which the new birth teaching can be unsettling for us. 00:06:57.420 --> 00:07:03.379 And one of the ways it can be unsettling is that it exposes our hopeless condition. 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:08.879 Left to ourselves, we are in a hopeless condition. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:12.300 And a prime example of that is somebody like Nicodemus. 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:14.839 Now, who is Nicodemus? 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:21.360 Well, according to our reading in verse 1 and 2, we see some important things about Nicodemus. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:22.899 First of all, he's a Pharisee. 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:27.019 And that means we know that he is someone who is highly religious. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.100 He is a model of morality. 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:32.900 You would want him to be your neighbour. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.080 We're also told he is a member of the Jewish ruling council. 00:07:37.280 --> 00:07:39.900 So he is highly respected. 00:07:40.700 --> 00:07:43.439 He is part of the religious elite. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.920 And we see, too, that he has a positive view of Jesus. 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:49.260 He calls him a teacher. 00:07:49.259 --> 00:08:01.120 And he appreciates that the teaching of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus are evidence that he has been sent from God. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:04.259 Not saying he's the son of God, but saying he's been sent from God. 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.019 So he has a high view of Jesus. 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:11.519 And yet, how does Jesus speak to him in verse 3? 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:13.300 Jesus says, 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:23.420 In other words, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, spiritually Nicodemus, you are blind. 00:08:24.460 --> 00:08:26.420 You are in the dark. 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:31.500 It's interesting, John records that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:38.720 which is symbolic of his spiritual darkness and lack of understanding at this point. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:46.759 So when it comes to the new birth, we need to appreciate this is not like making a trip to the opticians. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:54.180 Where we're talking, we're saying, well, you know, I get a bit fuzzy vision around the edges 00:08:54.180 --> 00:08:56.740 or I've been looking at a screen or doing work for a while. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:03.279 I get tired eyes and the optician gives you a new prescription and your lenses get adjusted slightly. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:07.379 That's not the message for Nicodemus. 00:09:08.579 --> 00:09:11.159 You know, be a little bit more religious, be a little bit more good. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:18.379 No, despite all his religious effort, despite his goodness, Nicodemus, Jesus says, is blind. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:26.079 And so you and I, whoever we are, we need the work of the Holy Spirit to give to us this new birth, 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:29.079 that we might be born again, that we might be born from above. 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:36.920 So that we could sing with John Newton, I once was blind, but now I see. 00:09:37.520 --> 00:09:42.040 How does that happen? It's the gift of God's amazing grace. 00:09:42.680 --> 00:09:48.620 We need the work of the Holy Spirit to see Jesus as more than. 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:54.240 More than just a good teacher and more than a healer and a doer of good works. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:02.120 We need the new birth to hear and believe the whole testimony of John in the gospel that he has written, 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:08.580 that we would believe in Jesus and that by believing we would have life in him, in his name. 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:14.440 So even at this stage, and we're early on in John's gospel, you read the first three chapters, 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:22.799 you discover Jesus is the word who is God, who is the supreme revelation of God. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:28.919 And we're told that the only way you can be a child of God is by faith in Jesus. 00:10:29.859 --> 00:10:37.219 John records for us, John the Baptist words, that Jesus is the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world. 00:10:38.439 --> 00:10:43.139 And Jesus has just declared in chapter two that he is the true temple. 00:10:43.819 --> 00:10:49.439 That if you want access to God, if you want to be in God's presence, then you need to come through him. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:54.320 So we need the new birth to give us new sight so we see Jesus as more than. 00:10:55.040 --> 00:11:00.420 But then on the flip side, we need the new birth to see ourselves as less than. 00:11:03.280 --> 00:11:10.760 Because spiritually we tend to be proud and self-reliant. 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:17.100 And so there is the lie of legalism that we can buy into. 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.679 Where we think, well, I can be good enough for God. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:24.299 I can work hard enough to earn God's approval. 00:11:24.939 --> 00:11:28.600 So we try and get to God without coming through Christ, which is a dead end. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:33.720 Or there is the corruption of comparison that comes. 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:37.460 Where we're looking around and saying, well, I'm better than most. 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:39.639 So I must be okay. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:45.360 And we fail to compare with the sinless perfection of our God. 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:52.740 So we need the work of the Spirit to open our eyes to spiritual reality. 00:11:52.740 --> 00:12:06.379 Following on from that, the new birth and the teaching on the new birth shows that we need new life, not new religion. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:10.799 So Nicodemus, we've been introduced to Nicodemus. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.960 He's a man with lots of spiritual knowledge. 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:29.460 But as this conversation with Jesus develops, we are led to understand that he cannot see and he cannot understand the truth that Jesus is sharing. 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:39.840 And one of the things that Jesus does is he says that the Old Testament points to the same truth that Jesus points to, that people must be born again. 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:43.780 To enter the kingdom of God requires a work of God. 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:47.079 Now, what is the kingdom of God? 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:50.799 Again, remember, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus as an Old Testament teacher. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.159 So let's think about the Old Testament and what it says about the kingdom of God. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:13:06.259 The prophets, they spoke from God of a future day coming when a son of King David would come and he would set up his kingdom. 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:08.620 He would come as the servant of the Lord. 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:15.240 Indeed, he would come as the Lord himself and he would establish an everlasting kingdom. 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:22.220 And that kingdom would promise eternal life with God to those who would receive it. 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:26.120 So then the question is, well, how do I get that? 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:33.540 How do I become a citizen of that kingdom to enjoy life with God forever so that I'm gladly following God's king? 00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:43.579 And the message from the Old Testament, the message of Jesus is that we need new spiritual life, not some more religion. 00:13:44.839 --> 00:13:50.879 To be born again requires a new creation to take place. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:59.620 The same power that created the world, God needs that same power to make us new. 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.360 So this is not speaking about some moral adjustment to our religion. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:10.419 This is speaking about a radical new power, the power of God entering into our hearts and lives. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:12.139 This is not about trying harder. 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.539 It speaks to us of complete corruption. 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:19.539 Therefore, we need complete renewal. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:26.919 We need an overhaul, not some minor tweaks and little adjustments. 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:31.059 And it's important for us to recognise. 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.019 Jesus says to Nicodemus, you should know this. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.479 You're a teacher of the Old Testament, so you should know this. 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:40.279 This isn't some new thing that Jesus is bringing. 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:42.939 This is Old Testament truth. 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:48.199 In verse 7, he says, you shouldn't be surprised at my saying you must be born again. 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:51.719 And when Nicodemus says in verse 9, how can this be? 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.620 Jesus says, you're Israel's teacher and do you not understand these things? 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:03.719 So let's think about the new birth speaks about new life and not new religion. 00:15:03.719 --> 00:15:11.419 Verse 5, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:17.719 Now, where in the Old Testament do water and spirit come together? 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:23.799 Well, we read at the beginning key verses, central verses that bring these two concepts together. 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:27.959 New covenant hope, Ezekiel 36, 24 and 28. 00:15:29.319 --> 00:15:35.500 Answering the question, how can God's people be in God's place and join his rule and blessing? 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:37.699 That's what's set up in verse 24. 00:15:37.859 --> 00:15:43.459 In verse 25 that we read, there needs to be a sprinkling, a washing with water. 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:52.600 The stain of sin, our moral and spiritual impurity must be dealt with. 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:57.280 We must be washed clean of our idols and our idolatry. 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:03.340 Those people and things that we look to for value and meaning and significance and security. 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:06.580 So we need to be washed. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:09.620 The stain of our sin must be removed. 00:16:10.040 --> 00:16:14.840 And then in verse 26, we discover we need a new heart and a new spirit. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.879 We need a new life. 00:16:17.040 --> 00:16:18.340 We need new desires. 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.040 We need new power. 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:22.200 Indeed, we need a new heart. 00:16:22.300 --> 00:16:25.060 We need a spiritual heart transplant. 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:36.339 That God must take our stone heart, which is beating and pumping physically, but which is dead and cold to the beauty of Jesus and the truth of God. 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:40.259 That needs to be replaced with a heart of flesh. 00:16:41.959 --> 00:16:46.039 One that allows us to hear the gospel as good news. 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:55.860 One that allows us to believe, to see and to be changed by the beauty of God in the face of Jesus. 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.000 To see the holiness and the goodness of God. 00:16:59.079 --> 00:17:01.639 To see ourselves as sinners in need of salvation. 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:04.619 We need that change of heart. 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:11.399 Because it's only when we have a new heart that we will ever put our faith in Jesus. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:14.559 How does that happen? 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:18.740 How does this new life, how does this new desire come to us? 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:32.679 Verse 26 tells us God puts his spirit in us with the result that, verse 28, you will be my people and I will be your God. 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:35.799 It needs a whole new life. 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:37.419 Spiritual life. 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:41.320 So in verse 6 in John chapter 3, Jesus says, 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:45.240 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. 00:17:45.340 --> 00:17:49.300 We are born physically and we must be born spiritually. 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.340 And we need the spirit to give us that new life. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:18:02.720 To give us new birth so that we are united by faith to Jesus who is the resurrection and the life. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:14.920 One of the things this reminds us, if we're Christians, is that every testimony is amazing. 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:29.240 Every person who is a Christian has a wonderful story of the miracle of grace and new birth at work in our hearts. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:37.000 Even if you feel your story is ordinary, boring and routine perhaps. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:47.859 You know, born into a Christian family, trusted in Jesus at a young age, never went off the rails, lived a wild, rebellious life and had to be sort of come back like the prodigal. 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:56.759 The truth is, we were all spiritually dead. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:02.539 We were all following, not Jesus, but the devil. 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:06.379 We were all God's enemies. 00:19:07.459 --> 00:19:10.599 But now we are made alive. 00:19:11.679 --> 00:19:13.839 Now we are reconciled to God. 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:16.240 Now we are children of God. 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:18.139 And that's all by grace. 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:21.659 And that all gives glory to God. 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:26.099 So every testimony is wonderful. 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:30.199 And we should be thankful, whatever our story is. 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:36.959 And then before we move on, if you're not a Christian and you're tuning in this evening, 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:42.159 we're really glad to be able to share the teaching of Jesus with you. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:52.120 It's really important to understand that to enjoy life with God, to enjoy God's love, God's presence with you now, 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:58.320 and with the hope of eternal life, perfect life forever in the future that lasts for all eternity. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:06.460 It's so important that you understand that you can't do that by yourself. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:10.419 You cannot earn the favour of God. 00:20:10.420 --> 00:20:18.080 Faith in Jesus is a gift that comes from God. 00:20:18.320 --> 00:20:21.720 New life is a gift that comes from God. 00:20:22.100 --> 00:20:26.740 Therefore, what all of us need to do, what you need to do if you're not Christians, 00:20:26.860 --> 00:20:29.860 you need to ask God for that gift. 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:37.539 You need to trust that Jesus died on the cross for your sin to give you salvation. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:46.019 You need to believe that Jesus is the way back to God and the life that you were made for. 00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:53.740 You need to pray and ask that he would be Lord and Saviour. 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:58.140 One last thing to say about the new birth. 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:07.579 And it's this, that God's power is experienced, not simply observed in our lives. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:17.420 Now, I think we know that there is a world of difference between being a spectator and being a participant. 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:28.680 Think about dinner time. You may or may not have had your dinner yet, but you go to the dinner table if you're fortunate enough that someone else prepares a meal for you. 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:33.360 So there's a plate of food there on the table, but at that point you're simply a spectator. 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:37.580 You're savouring the smell, you're enjoying the sight. 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:40.740 But it doesn't become good to you. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:45.060 It doesn't make a difference until you become a participant, until you eat and enjoy. 00:21:45.059 --> 00:21:52.019 Just like there's a huge difference between watching a game being played and actually playing the game yourself. 00:21:52.399 --> 00:21:58.299 Now, Nicodemus, up until this point in his story, he is a spectator. 00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:01.539 He is observing Jesus on the sidelines. 00:22:01.659 --> 00:22:02.799 He's seen Jesus' miracles. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:04.619 He hears Jesus' teaching. 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:09.279 He is seeing, but not fully seeing. 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:14.200 And he is not participating, enjoying the life in the kingdom of God. 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:17.440 That will change for him, we discover. 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:20.039 But not yet. 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:23.759 But here's what Jesus says. 00:22:23.840 --> 00:22:26.980 The new birth, as it were, changes our point of view. 00:22:27.600 --> 00:22:30.140 So that we move from the outside to being on the inside. 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:34.759 We move from being spectators to being participants in the kingdom of God. 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:39.879 So that now we are able to believe and receive Jesus and his good news. 00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:41.519 And again, how does that change happen? 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:44.299 It comes through the Holy Spirit. 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:48.579 The power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us. 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:52.400 So in verse 8, Jesus draws a comparison. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:55.660 The wind blows wherever it pleases. 00:22:56.120 --> 00:22:59.280 You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going. 00:22:59.780 --> 00:23:03.140 So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.700 So we can see, can't we, the power of the wind. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.080 So when I look out the window, I can see the tree. 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:10.940 The leaves on the trees are blowing. 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:13.800 The washing line is billowing. 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:16.640 Our little tennis net is falling over. 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:18.320 Because it's fairly windy at the moment. 00:23:19.280 --> 00:23:24.220 But we cannot control or direct the wind. 00:23:25.560 --> 00:23:27.200 And then we apply that to the new birth. 00:23:28.280 --> 00:23:35.120 And it helps us to understand that the new birth, this gift of new light, is totally a gift of God. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:41.140 God is absolutely free in how he works and how he gives that gift. 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:43.520 We cannot control or manipulate God. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:48.559 The power of the Holy Spirit is essential to this process. 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:50.680 Now how does the Holy Spirit work? 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:57.059 The Holy Spirit, through his word, through the Bible, that the Holy Spirit inspired. 00:23:57.220 --> 00:24:01.559 He then opens our eyes so that we see the truth. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:04.700 The Holy Spirit invades our hearts. 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:08.039 So he gives new sight and he gives new life to us. 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.920 So that we can see and understand. 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:14.200 I am a great sinner. 00:24:15.340 --> 00:24:19.840 That by myself, I only deserve God's judgment. 00:24:20.580 --> 00:24:25.200 But I can see Jesus is a great saviour. 00:24:26.560 --> 00:24:34.640 And God, in his love, has sent Jesus to rescue me and restore me to life with God. 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.900 The life I was made to enjoy. 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:42.060 And it's the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us. 00:24:42.100 --> 00:24:56.000 So that from beginning to end of the Christian life, we are depending on God's powerful Holy Spirit, uniting us to Jesus, who is for us true life. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.400 So this is good news. 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:04.299 And Jesus is reminding us again that on the one hand, salvation is narrow. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.079 Salvation is only by faith in Jesus. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:10.680 And it's only by grace. 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:12.319 It's not something we work for. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:16.319 But salvation is also broad. 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:24.759 You see, if Jesus told Nicodemus, well, all you need to do is complete these two other tests and you'll be accepted. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:33.159 Then we would have a message that faith in God, knowing God, was just for the super moral or super religious. 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:35.539 But that's not what Jesus says. 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:43.279 The gift of grace is open to anyone. 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:59.579 Because salvation is based entirely on the work of Christ, his completed work in his perfectly obedient life, his perfect sacrifice on the cross and his perfect resurrection victory. 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:10.259 We can have security and peace when we are in Jesus, whoever we are, whatever our paths. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:12.099 That's good news. 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:19.099 It's good news to recognise God, by his Spirit, can do what you and I can't. 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:23.240 Left to ourselves, we would always be in a hopeless condition. 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:32.899 But God, in his love and his power, secures our place in God's kingdom. 00:26:32.900 --> 00:26:35.980 Secures our place in God's heart. 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:42.600 As the Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus, the Son that God the Father loves. 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:47.320 And that just as Jesus died to sin, so we are dead to sin. 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:53.900 Just as Jesus was raised to new life, so we too are raised to new life. 00:26:53.900 --> 00:27:03.900 And then just as every birth in the world is entry into a family. 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:14.460 So the gift of new birth brings us, by faith, into God's family. 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:16.580 A place of belonging. 00:27:16.580 --> 00:27:20.560 A place of love and acceptance and welcome. 00:27:21.040 --> 00:27:25.740 Where God, Father, Son and Spirit are now yours. 00:27:25.740 --> 00:27:30.220 They are now for you and for you forever. 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:33.099 So how do we respond to this? 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:40.799 Maybe today is the day you need to ask God that you would be born again. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.939 That you would get this new sight. 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:47.899 That you would get this new life by faith in Jesus. 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:53.759 And if you're already a Christian, that you and I, that we would thank God. 00:27:54.419 --> 00:27:56.939 And we would enjoy life today and this week. 00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:00.140 Knowing that we are children of God. 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:04.480 Knowing that the Spirit continues to be at work in us. 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:06.700 Uniting us to Jesus, our life.