I realize every time I stand
here, it doesn't get any easier. It never gets easier. The way
it becomes more and more apparent. I ask your prayers for me that
you would pray that God would give me the liberty and words
that I need to present Christ the gospel again to you. If you'll
take your Bibles and turn back with me to John chapter 3. We'll
be looking at verses 5 through 13 this morning. And the title
of the message is The Wind of Our Salvation. The Wind of Our
Salvation. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Now last week we saw the necessity
of the new birth. Jesus said, except a man be born
again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. The new birth is completely
and absolutely the work of God alone. The new birth is a work
of God alone. God the Holy Spirit in particular. And yet without it, no man can
be saved. No man can enter into the kingdom
of God. No man will be able to merit
or to purchase salvation for his soul. None. Man does not need to do better.
Man does not need to become moral or to obey the law. This is because man, by nature,
cannot make himself acceptable with God. Cannot. There is nothing you
can do to make yourself acceptable before a thrice holy God. Nothing. There is no amount of
fees, no amount of payment, no amount of religion, no amount
of exercise of legalism that can obtain this new birth. God demands absolute, perfect
obedience. This is not an option. This is
a demand of God, who is your Maker, who is your Creator, who
is your Judge. He demands of each one of you
absolute, perfect obedience, without exception. God does not accept, I did the
best I can do. That's not what God accepts.
The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. Surely. God demands from us righteousness,
and yet we, by our own conscience, understand that we are so far
from righteousness. Man by nature is so far from
righteousness that he is by nature completely, absolutely wicked. This is us. This is who we are. Absolutely full of sin and wickedness. All of us by nature and practice. are sinners against God. You who rebel against your parents,
do you suppose your sin is against them? No! It is against the Almighty. It is against God Himself that
you defy Him. You say in your heart, I will
not have this man to rule over me. You say within your heart,
No God! The fool has said in his heart,
No God! We cannot by nature know God.
We cannot understand God. You who are listening to me this
morning have no interest in this because you can't understand
it. It's as though I'm speaking a foreign language to you. This
is something as though a man is standing up here speaking
gibberish because you have no interest in these things. You
have no understanding of these things and therefore you won't
be interested in these things. No man can know God by nature
or by learning. or by merit or religious exercise,
will not give us any hope or acceptance of God. Jesus said,
accept. Accept, unless, unless you are
born again. You cannot see the kingdom of
God. Jesus tells Nicodemus here, that
which is born of the flesh is flesh. Go over to Romans chapter 8 verse
6. Romans chapter 8 and verse 6,
the apostle gives us an account of our nature, of
our mind. He says in verse 6, For to be
carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God, here it is, neither indeed can be. The carnal mind is death. The
carnal mind, the natural mind, is hatred against God. You and I were born into this
world, haters of God. Somebody told me one time, I
was talking to him, and he said, well, how long have you been
a believer? And he said, well, I've been a believer all my life.
That's too long. That's too long. The Scriptures
are very clear concerning our nature. He said, David himself
said, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me. The Scriptures are clear that
we were born dead in trespasses and sins, and were by nature
the children of wrath. even as others." What does that
mean? Children of God's wrath? No, you were children of wrath
in that you hated God. By nature, you hate God. If you defy that, you defy God.
Now, you can kick against it all you want to, but the truth
is, you by nature, that which is born of flesh is flesh. It
hadn't changed. Your flesh has always hated God
and it will always hate God. This is why you must be born
again. If you're not born again, you shall not enter the kingdom
of heaven. If you only have what you've
got by nature, that's full of sin. That won't work. Now you
can fix it up, you can dress it up, you can be religious as
you want to, but that which is born of flesh is flesh. It's
full of sin. Just what God says. In case you
missed it, I'm going to go over here to Romans chapter 3, just to make sure that this is
clear in everyone's mind concerning your nature, concerning what
God says about you. Verse 10, There is none righteous, no,
not one. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher.
Their tongues, they have used deceit. Poison of asp is under
their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their way. The way of
peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. Now we know that whatsoever things
the law sayeth, it sayeth to them that are under the law.
What is the purpose of the law? To shut your mouth. That's what
the law does. It shuts you up because you are
guilty. Guilty! Thou shalt not lie. Well, I've never lied, you liar.
I've never committed adultery in my mind. You adulterer, you
have too. The law shuts you up is what
it says. For whatsoever things the law
saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and the whole world become guilty before
God. Therefore, listen to this, therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in His sight. Is that not clear?
I hope that's very clear. That's what the Word of God says.
God says it. You're not going to be justified
by your deeds. You're not going to be justified by your good
works. You're not going to be justified by anything you do
because you are sin by nature. That's all you are. Flesh is
flesh. Our Lord Jesus himself said it,
that which is born of flesh is flesh. Clean it up. Go ahead. Turn over a new leaf. Remember,
it's the same leaf. Just turning it over ain't gonna
make it any better. Man by nature is flesh. The apostle said, for I know
this, that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I confess. That's true of me. Is that true of you? It's true
of me. If this alone is your only principle
in nature within you, if you are offering to God your good
deeds, a religious decision, or some mental academic knowledge
that you think you have gained, you cannot please God. But that
which is born of the flesh is flesh, And praise God for this
next statement, that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. The new creation of God is a
product of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the Gospel.
Jesus said, truly, truly, except a man be born of water, even
of the Spirit. That's not talking about physical
water. It's not talking about being
baptized. What that is talking about is
the Word of God. By the Word of God, we are begotten
again unto a living hope. The Apostle Peter tells us that
we are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, of
the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever. You see, these
are the instruments of God to give life to the dead sinner,
to give a new heart, a new soul of life that wasn't there before. God creates in us a new nature
by the instrument of the Gospel that is preached by the power
of the Holy Spirit. And therefore, that which is
born of the Spirit lives after the Spirit. Our old nature is
now cast down and the new nature reigns within us. Our affections. that once were
sin, that once loved only our flesh, now are set on the things
of God. Now we love Christ. Now we believe
on Christ. That is a miracle. It's not a
decision. It's not something you do. It's
not something you marry. It's something the Spirit of
God has to give you. I can't give it to you. I can't
give it to my own children. The only one that can is God.
The only one who can is the Spirit. Our minds are renewed and refreshed
by the gospel that we once hated, that we once despised. And by
the same Holy Spirit, He gives us life and faith in Christ. New birth is absolutely the work
of God. Completely. I know this, I wasn't
looking for Christ when He found me. Says there's no man that seeketh
after God. There's no man that understandeth. I didn't understand.
I knew all theology by the time I was 16. That didn't make me
a Christian. That didn't make me born again.
It wasn't until God the Holy Spirit came and gave me life
that I was born again. This is completely the work of
God. Who then is given this new birth? If it's not something
you can earn, if it's not something that you can obtain by knowledge,
how is it that you get this? How is it that you are born again?
How is it you get the Spirit of God, the new creation? You have to reach a certain age?
No. No age requirement. Do you have to maintain certain
knowledge? Do you have to know certain doctrines? Do you have
to really be excelled in all of it? No. No. The Lord Jesus tells us that
the Pharisees were two-fold more a child of hell because they
were religious. Now, this new birth, this new
birth comes by the wind of the Holy Spirit. Spirit. By the wind of the Spirit. Jesus
said, Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth. You can hear the sound thereof,
but you can't tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. So
is everyone that is born of the Spirit. No man can tell where the wind
comes from, nor can they be certain where it's going. Who watches
the Weather Channel? I'll tell you what, those guys
are guessing. And 90% of the time, it's usually
wrong. They say, well, we think it might
be. And this is all an educated guess. They spend their whole time learning
certain patterns of wind. They learn certain things and
principles that are true in nature. So they try to give their best
guess. I don't doubt their guesses. We even take advantage of them
at times. But I'll tell you this, they
don't know where the wind comes from. They don't know where it goes.
They don't know where it goes. Now they study certain conditions
and they may warn us of a possible tornado, but they can't tell
us where it is until it comes. Isn't that right? They can only
report to you after it has already appeared. And when it appears,
they don't know how long that thing is going to last. It could
go for miles or it could just vanish. They don't know. Even so, even so, are men born
the same way by the Spirit of God. I can't tell you where the
Spirit's coming from. I can't tell you where it goes. Now, there's some things I can
tell you. I can tell you that God will
use His Word that is preached. by those whom he has sent. I
can tell you that God will use the preaching of the gospel.
You go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 21. It says, For after that, in the
wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, Here it is, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
belief. So I know this, that when God
saves somebody, it will be by the preaching or through the
means of preaching the gospel. In Romans chapter 10, the Apostle
says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. But how can you call on Him in whom you have not believed?
And how shall you believe on Him in whom you have not heard?
And how shall you hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach except they be sinned? You see, God uses the instruments
of the Word, the preaching of the Gospel. I know this, that
the Spirit of God will use the Gospel to save His people. I can tell you this, to you who
believe on Jesus Christ, I can tell you that He has accomplished
salvation. He has. I can tell you for certain
that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished all the righteousness of God
for His elect people. I can tell you that. The Scripture says, You shall
call His name Jesus, for He shall save," who? His people from their
sins. I know this! He shall save His
people from their sins. How did He do that? Because He
obtained righteousness by His own obedience. Obtained it. He didn't partially obtain it
and then let you do the rest. No. He did it. He finished it. I know this, that Jesus Christ
was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. I know that all the sins of all
God's people were put on His Son. And I know Jesus paid them
all. And He said, it is finished. Salvation accomplished. Two thousand
years ago, salvation was accomplished, finished, done. I can tell you this, that He
was successful in His mission to save His people from their
sins, because God raised Him from the dead. He who bore our
sins, suffered for our sins, died for our sins, and was risen
from the dead, having no sin. He was successful. And God set
him on the throne. But it is absolutely and completely
the work of God to give you a new heart. If you are lost, I tell you that God is pleased
to save His elect through the preaching of the gospel. I suggest
that you make yourself available every time the gospel is preached,
don't you? Don't you think that'd be wise? That if the wind of
the spirit always comes by the preaching of the gospel, that
you should be avail yourself to it? I tell you, confess your sin
before God. Don't confess your sin before
me. I can't do nothing for you. Confess your sin before God,
but I tell you this, guilt of sin is not salvation. A lot of
you feel guilty about your sin, but you have no idea what salvation
is. But I know this, Jesus Christ
came to save sinners. I know that, and I tell you that.
I declare that to you. He said, I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners. Sinners! The sovereign Spirit of God is
sent to save His people and He will save them. This is why I
preach. Because I know He will. I know He will. Go back to your text and look
at the question of Nicodemus. How can these things be? Maybe
some of you have got that question. How in the world can this be?
How is this possible? Lord Jesus Christ rebukes this
man because he was religious and he did have some knowledge.
He understood a lot of things. Jesus gives a rebuke to this
man. He said, how are you a master of Israel and you don't know
these things? Verily, verily, I say unto you, we do speak what
we know. and testify what we have seen,
and you receive not our witness. I'll tell you this, if you're
lost, you receive not my witness. And I tell you, even if Jesus
Christ himself was standing up here preaching to you, you wouldn't
receive his witness either. He said, if I told you earthly
things and you believe not, how shall I tell you heavenly things? Jesus said, I told you the ABCs. This morning, I've told you the
ABCs of the Gospel. These are basic principles of
the Gospel. Basic, simple principles. And
these principles of the Gospel are represented in the Old Testament
Scriptures completely and plainly as they are in the New. Where do you suppose you can
find, in the Old Testament, talking about the wind of the Spirit
giving life? Ezekiel 37? Turn over there. Look over there. I tell you,
this is the same thing the Lord Jesus Christ preached to Nicodemus.
Same thing is here in Ezekiel 37. And the hand of the Lord was
upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set
me down in the midst of a valley full of dry bones, and caused me to pass by round
about them. And behold, they were very dry
in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. And he said unto
me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord,
thou knowest. And He said unto me, Prophesy,
preach upon these dry bones, and say unto them, O you dry
bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you
shall live. Is this not the same thing I'm
declaring this morning concerning the Spirit of God? I'm talking
to dead bones this morning. Dry. That means you are so empty
of any righteousness whatsoever, just dead, dry bones. That don't
sound logical, does it? It isn't. It's spiritual. I preach
to dead bones, and I know this, the Spirit of God alone can give
life. Lord, can these bones live? Lord,
Thou knowest. Because if they're going to have
life, You're going to give it to them. He says, tell them,
tell these dead bones, I will give you life. I will. And I am commanded to prophesy
unto you. And what happened when he prophesied
to these bones? He said, so as I was commanded,
I prophesied. And there was a noise. Behold,
the shaking of the bones came together bone to his bones. And
when I beheld, lo, the sinew and the flesh came upon them,
and skin covered about them, and there was no breath in them.
And He said, prophesy to the wind. What is this? This is praying for God the Holy
Spirit to come. This is praying the promises
of God. God has promised! God, You have
promised to give life to Your people. Lord, even so, come and
give life to Your people. And what happened? He said, prophesy to the wind,
say to the wind, thus saith the Lord, Come, ye four winds, O
breathe the breath upon these slain, and that they may live.
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came unto them,
and they lived, and stood on their feet, an exceeding great
army. Then He said unto me, Son of
man, these bones are the whole house of Israel, the whole house
of God's elect. Behold, they say, Oh, I love
this. This is what someone who's born
of the Spirit of God says. This is what someone who's given
life says. They say, our bones are dried. Our hope is lost. We are cut off for our parts.
That's what I say. My bones are dry. I have no righteousness
in myself. All my righteousness comes from
Him. I have no hope except the blood
of Christ be shed for my sins. I have no hope of resurrecting
except Jesus be raised from the dead. Therefore prophesy and say unto
them, You who have been born of the Spirit of God, listen
to what God said. Thus saith the Lord, Behold,
O my people, you are his. I will open your graves and cause
you to come out of your graves and bring you into the land of
Israel and you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened
your graves. Has your grave been opened? You have life to turn around
and look and see where you came from? Well, I came from a grave.
I was dead and now I'm alive. I have been born again of the
Spirit of God. Have you been born again of the
Spirit of God? Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. If you die in your sins, if you are not born again of
the Spirit of God and die in your sins, you will suffer the
justice of God forever. But we who have been born again
confess our sins. And we know that He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins. Faithful. I like that. Because everything
I do, sin is mixed with it. I'm so thankful that God came
to save sinners. I'm so thankful that he has opened
my eyes, my grave, to see what I am and to see what Jesus Christ,
my savior, has made me to be. His son. He's made me to be his
son. He chose me. He redeemed me,
He called me, and He'll keep me. What did I have to do with this? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was all of His free and sovereign
grace. And none of myself. And I'm thankful
to God for it. And if God saves you, it'll be
by His free grace. You won't merit it. You won't
earn it. God has to give it to you. Now, where the wind blows,
where the spirit blows, I know not. I don't know if God will
save you or he won't. That's none of my business. If I save you, somebody else
will lose you. If God does it. It's done. Praise God for His great mercy.
Let's stand. We'll be dismissed in prayer.