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Born of the Spirit  

Thoughts on the Passage

Nicodemus is an important man. He is the greatest teacher of the time. 

He comes to Jesus because he sees something special in Jesus and he wants to know more about Jesus. So Nicodemus comes at night and talks. He sees Jesus as a Rabbi – a teacher with some great insight. Jesus goes right to the key problem that Nicodemus must deal with. Becoming part of God’s kingdom.

To be part of the kingdom of God, we must be born of water and the Spirit. To us this sounds strange, but it should have been clear to Nicodemus because he was a master teacher. Jesus is talking about Ezekiel 36. Born of water – our hearts are washed clean and our sin is removed. Born of the Spirit – we are given a new heart so we can obey the commands of God. To be part of God’s kingdom we need forgiveness and a new heart.

Nicodemus struggles with this simple concept. He struggles because to be part of the kingdom of God, he thinks that people must be a Jew, because the Jews are God’s special people. How can people be part of God’s kingdom and not become a Jew? Nicodemus sees the kingdom of God as physical – Jesus says it is spiritual. You cannot see the Spirit or the spiritual kingdom – but like the wind blowing trees, grass and leaves, we see it and know that wind is real.

Born again by the Spirit. 

It is real. 

It is spiritual. 

We cannot see it. 

We see it is real by the results in people’s lives.

Application

To be part of the Kingdom of God – becoming a person who received forgiveness from our sin and a new heart. Are you a part of this Kingdom? It is a spiritual community – not a physical kingdom.

Does our life reveal the presence of God’s Spirit? Like the wind blowing the trees, do people see God’s Kingdom because our lives are different?

Time to Pray

Father, to be part of Your Kingdom is not limited to one group of people – it is available to everyone. People with a poor understanding of Your heart for all mankind struggle with that. I do not want to be that kind of person. Help me to watch the wind – watch what Your Spirit is doing. Help me see the spiritual life that You release into people and rejoice. People cannot hide their changed heart because it shows. We still struggle – some struggle a lot, and some never get past the struggles. Still, the wind is blowing. Holy Spirit blow across this city, this nation, this region. Blow so that the people around notice what You are doing in the lives of people – and they want it and look for it like Nicodemus did. In Jesus’ name, Amen.