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[0:00] Good evening. Welcome to all of you. Welcome particularly half of Loftus. It's good to see the whole village has turned out. We do welcome you and especially welcome Robin. Robin's going to be bringing us God's word later on and thank you for that for joining us and sharing with us.

[0:21] As you can see the table is laid for communion or the Lord's Supper and again we do welcome all those who know and love the Lord Jesus as their saviour to share with us. If you know that Christ died for you, you put your faith and trust in him, then please do take the bread and the wine.

[0:38] But if you know in your heart of hearts that you're not truly a Christian, you're not truly trusting in him, then just let the bread and wine pass. Please feel free to stay but the Bible says that we do ourselves more harm than good if we take of the bread and wine when we haven't got that saving faith and are not walking with the Lord. Well this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, a Sunday when as Christians we remember the giving of the Holy Spirit in his fullness to the church in Acts chapter 2 and that wonderful sermon that Peter was unable to give, unable to preach in such a way that 3,000 people in that day came to faith in Christ, trusting in him. I'm just going to read out part of the sermon near the end where Peter is preaching, just to remind us particularly about what happened on that day.

[1:34] Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

[2:10] Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what shall we do? Peter reminded the people that the Holy Spirit coming into the world was something that God had promised, promised throughout the Old Testament, promised in the book of Joel and Jeremiah and others as well. But also Jesus had promised, promised another comforter, another counselor like himself, another one who would come and he would fill our lives and give us life. So we're going to sing our first hymn, it's 343, which reminds us of the promise of Jesus, our blessed Redeemer, ere he breathed his tender last farewell. Let's stand and sing. Three, four, three.

[3:15] Let's help we come to God in prayer. Let us pray together. We come to you again this evening, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, most glorious Trinity, most awesome Godhead, a mystery which we cannot fathom, for there is nothing in heaven or earth or under the earth or in the universe that compares with you, one God, three persons, without confusion, without mixture, each with the same deity, authority, power, each one deserving and calling for worship and praise of equal measure.

[4:03] Lord, we thank you that though we do not fully understand Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet we rejoice in the truth that you are three and yet one. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that you are the one who purposed and planned to rescue us from our sins even before the world was made. We thank you that, Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you determined to come into this world to take on our humanity and suffer and die in our place.

[4:35] Again, you determined to do that before the world was made. And Holy Spirit, your ministry is to take the wonderful work of Jesus, the riches that he has purchased with his blood and apply them to our lives. Your work is to open our blind eyes, to give us ears to hear, to raise us from death in sin and iniquity, to make us living creatures, new creations, to make us children of the awesome God.

[5:09] And, O Lord, we thank you again that in each of your persons you have come into this world with salvation and grace, and that our salvation depends upon each of you. We thank you that we are those who are brought to life by the triune God.

[5:29] And we praise you and thank you for that day, that wonderful Pentecost day, those thousands of years ago, when your Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, frightened, anxious, worried, Lord, timid in that sense, having seen their Master, their Saviour, their Redeemer crucified, and yet meeting him, risen again from the dead, waiting for that power from on high. Thank you that you came, Holy Spirit, from the Father and the Son.

[5:56] You came and you burst open the hearts of the disciples and burst open the doors of that upper room so that they flooded out, proclaiming, telling, speaking of Jesus Christ, the Risen One.

[6:11] We thank you that as they preached, you attended their words, so that their words went like arrows to hearts and lives of those who were there, that brought conviction of sin and righteousness and judgment, so that all who were there knew that this was not some man-made phenomena.

[6:27] This was not some Celtic thing. This was not just some crazed hallucination. This was God at work in the world. We thank you that you've continued that work up until this day.

[6:39] Continue to reach the lost, to save sinners, to bring into life those who are dead. We pray that again, Holy Spirit, you yourself would be here this evening, working in our hearts and lives too.

[6:54] Give us ears to hear your word. Give us hearts, we pray, to receive and to trust in you. Cause us again to be those who open their minds, the eyes, the ears, yes, even the lips of our lives, that we may live for you in all the days ahead.

[7:14] We thank you for this day. We thank you for all that you've done for us and all that you're doing for us and all that you've promised us, just as you came in fulfillment of the promises of God.

[7:25] So we know that all the promises of God will be fulfilled and accomplished in this world, in your time, for your glory. Help us then in this time together and help Robin as he brings to us your word a little later.

[7:40] Speak through him to us, we pray. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Robin's asked that we read from the Gospel of John and Chapter 3.

[7:55] Gospel of John and Chapter 3. And if you've got one of the Red Church Bibles, that's page 1065. Page 1065, John Chapter 3.

[8:10] We're going to read the first eight verses. The first eight verses of this meeting between Jesus and this religious leader.

[8:23] So beginning at verse 1 of John Chapter 3. Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.

[8:33] He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.

[8:48] Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. How can someone be born when they are old?

[9:01] Nicodemus asked. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born? Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

[9:18] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases.

[9:31] You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

[9:41] Good evening.

[9:53] Good evening. It is good to be with you again. Let's just pray as we come to consider God's Word. Father, we thank you for your word.

[10:13] Living and active. And how we pray as we consider it tonight, we might know the work of your Spirit. Opening our hearts and minds to the truth.

[10:26] Enabling us to respond in faith. And we pray that we might know and feel your presence. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

[10:42] If someone borrowed your pen and then later handed it back to you and said, You need a new pen. What would you expect of the condition of your pen?

[10:58] You'd think it was broken, yeah? If you came home from holiday and your neighbour, who'd been looking after your goldfish, said, You need to get a new goldfish.

[11:13] You'd know what happened to your goldfish. If your teacher handed you back your homework and said, You must start again.

[11:26] You'd know what your teacher thought of what you'd done. Now when Jesus says, You must be born again, which he says here in John chapter 3, three times, he is saying that something is absolutely, drastically wrong and something absolutely radical needs to happen.

[11:55] And he says this to a man, Nicodemus, who it says in my version, I'm reading from the ESV, which won't be too far different from the NIVs that you've got, I think.

[12:06] He calls him a ruler of the Jews, a member of the ruling council. This was a very religious man who went about his religious duties.

[12:16] He's, no doubt he was exemplary in his life in many ways. But Jesus says to him, You must be born again.

[12:28] Something was absolutely, drastically wrong and needed to be radically changed. You know, without Christ, we tend to think of ourselves as pretty decent people.

[12:43] I think we're all prone to that in one way or another. We think we're living lives, we're trying to benefit our families, we're trying to help our friends, we're trying to benefit society.

[12:55] And it's true that we're not as wicked as we could be, but the Bible has a sobering way of describing our spiritual condition, that we are stone dead.

[13:13] The solution to our predicament needs to be more radical than just pulling our socks up or turning over a new leaf.

[13:25] It needs to tackle the very root of the problem of sin in our hearts. You wouldn't think it was something very good, would you? If you went to the doctors and he told you you'd got a cancerous growth on your skin and when you went to the pharmacy after he'd given you a prescription, what he gave you was some makeup to cover up what it looked like.

[13:50] That's not a solution, is it? That's covering up on the outside. The solution that we need needs to deal needs to deal with the rebellion and sin that's in our hearts towards a holy God.

[14:04] It needs a complete transformation. Starting in the heart and working itself out in our lives rather than the other way around, which is what often religion pretends to do.

[14:18] Say, well, if you make the outside look right, if you do this and you do that and you do the other, then God might accept you. That's not the solution that Jesus brings.

[14:29] What he says is required is a complete transformation from the inside out. In the Bible, we use the word regeneration as a new birth required.

[14:42] Something, remembering that we're dead, that requires the initiative of God to do in our hearts and lives. This is how the Bible describes this spiritual necessity.

[14:55] If we want to see the kingdom of God or if we want to enter into the kingdom of God, if we want to be acceptable to God, then we need to experience a new birth.

[15:08] You probably know as well as I do that if you speak to the general public, perhaps if you're quite new, you might feel the same to the church here, that if someone says something about a born-again Christian, all sorts of stereotypes go around in your mind about what that might mean and no doubt they're not very positive to many, many people in society.

[15:31] But the truth, of course, is we're reading Jesus' words and there is no other type of Christian apart from a born-again Christian.

[15:42] All true Christians are born again. To be a follower of Jesus, to be a little Christ, to be a disciple, to be a Christian, you must be born again. No one else will see the kingdom of God.

[15:56] No one else, according to this passage, will enter in to the kingdom of God. Now we should remember that when we speak like this, we speak not from our own authority but from the authority of Jesus inspired here by the Holy Spirit and recorded in the scripture for us.

[16:17] Three times in this passage, Jesus says you must be born again. Just look with me. Verse 3, Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

[16:34] I think the NIV says very truly or something similar. Truly, truly, it's amen, amen. This is really important. Pin back your luggles and listen to this. He didn't quite say it like that.

[16:45] I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And then in verse 5, Truly, truly again, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

[17:02] And in verse 7, Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. Tonight, we're going to focus on verse 8 of this passage.

[17:19] I want to think about the work and the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing new birth and the way that Jesus likens the work of the Holy Spirit to the wind.

[17:35] But let me first just ask you the plain question for you to answer in your own hearts and minds, Have you been born again? For if you have not been born again, if you're not sure if you've been born again, this is the primary thing I want you to think about.

[17:53] And I plead with you to come to Christ tonight and trust in him, to believe on his work and receive his salvation. And don't go home until you've resolved in your heart that you have been born again.

[18:07] So verse 8 says, The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it 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.

[18:28] This imagery of wind surely is a picture of a sovereign God working in his power and his way accomplishing the work of salvation in people's hearts and in their lives.

[18:48] It might help you, I'm no linguistic expert, but it might help you to understand as you read that verse that the Greek word for wind is the same as the Greek word for spirit.

[19:01] And in fact, it's true in Hebrew too. The word for wind is the same as the word for spirit. And you might find it helpful to read the verse again and think about the fact that this, the wind and the spirit, there's been, there's an interplay between those two words.

[19:17] So what is Jesus saying in verse 8 about the work of the Holy Spirit? Firstly, he's saying that his work is beyond our knowledge or another way of saying that is his work is mysterious.

[19:36] Secondly, that his work is beyond our control. Another way of saying that is his work is sovereign. And thirdly, that he's saying that it's beyond our ability.

[19:50] His work is beyond our ability, what we can do. And another way of saying that would be to say that his work is effective. So the work of the Spirit of God is beyond our knowledge.

[20:05] His work is mysterious. Jesus says the wind blows where it wishes. you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes and so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

[20:24] The action of the wind, we have to agree surely, is a mysterious phenomenon. Even with all the modern scientific equipment that we have and all the knowledge that we're growing and all the computer modelling of the weathermen, they still get it wrong.

[20:41] Do you remember? Some of you wouldn't have been born but I was. 1987. Famous, famous meteorologist Michael Fish.

[20:52] What great criticism he drew. He reported for several hours before a storm hit and it seemed flippant what he said. He said, earlier on today, I will need my glasses for this, earlier on today apparently a woman rang the BBC and said that she heard that there was a hurricane on the way.

[21:09] Well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't. But having said that, actually, the weather will become very windy but most of the strong winds will be down over Spain and across into France.

[21:22] Of course, in fact, the winds were so severe that 22 people died and there was significant damage to buildings and trees and it was certainly a hurricane.

[21:36] And I was reflecting on this and I was thinking, well, of all the people in the world that should know something about wind, it should be the people that live in Whitby because I don't know about you but every time I come to Whitby I get blown about.

[21:48] But it's true, isn't it? The wind and the working of the wind is indeed a mystery to us. Have you ever been outside and suddenly noticed that the wind just seems to have completely changed direction?

[22:04] Inexplicably, suddenly, there's a great change in the wind. Or perhaps you've looked up and seen one set of clouds going in one direction in the wind and another set of clouds going in a different direction and scratched your head somewhat about how that happens.

[22:21] Or perhaps, really annoyingly, if any of you are cyclists, I know hills are terrible and Whitby is hilly and so is Loftus, but is there something about the wind when you're on a bike?

[22:32] It always seems to be blowing in your face. The working of the wind is mysterious. And so it is with the work of the Spirit of God in regeneration.

[22:47] We need to acknowledge that God's ways are higher than our ways. We cannot put His ways in a box, in a formula. The working of the Spirit of God in bringing new life to people surprises us.

[23:01] Unexpected things happen. Who knows who might be saved this very day? The person that you might think is the furthest in your mind from somebody that's going to come to faith today might be the person who will know the conviction of the work of God today.

[23:20] The person that you've been praying for for years and years and years might be the person who today, tonight, comes under conviction in the work of the Holy Spirit and comes to new birth.

[23:35] Perhaps your husband or your wife who doesn't know Christ. Perhaps a child of yours who's gone off and is living an ungodly life might be today the person who God works by His Spirit in their hearts and draws them to Him.

[23:51] Perhaps you've got ungodly parents or other relatives or friends or people that you just think it's impossible. How could they ever come to know Christ? Perhaps in God's mysterious work they might know regeneration and rebirth this day.

[24:10] Now we might perceive at times what might seem to be a movement of God a movement of His Spirit but no one fully understands or grasps how these works begin or how they end.

[24:29] We can study and rejoice in God's great work over the centuries the great awakening the great revivals Wesley, Whitfield, Spurgeon the revival in Wales and Hebrides and all these other wonderful things that have happened through history those things that are happening in other parts of the world as God moves in a mighty way by His Spirit.

[24:50] Some places seem to be dramatically under the working of God's Holy Spirit and others it seems almost being passed by. And so let's tonight just do two things.

[25:06] Firstly let's just admit that we have a lack of knowledge that God's work by His Spirit of regeneration is beyond our complete understanding.

[25:16] There's many things about it revealed to us in the Scriptures but there are many things that are beyond our understanding. But let's also be encouraged this evening that we serve a God whose ways are higher than our ways and that we can pray for and even let's say expect God to do unpredictable and unexpected things as He moves by His Spirit in people's lives.

[25:47] It's a wonderful thing isn't it that there's an anticipation and an expectation that God will do things that we haven't planned we haven't worked for and He just does in His suffering purposes.

[26:02] Perhaps that person that you've been praying for for years and years and years might come to know Christ today. So the work of the Holy Spirit is beyond our knowledge.

[26:17] His work is mysterious. His ways are higher than ours. Secondly then the work of God's Spirit is beyond our control that He is sovereign and no doubt you can see there's a connection even with the first point but let's think about this specifically God's sovereignty in the work of His Holy Spirit.

[26:43] The Scripture says the wind blows where it wishes or where it pleases and you hear it sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes and so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

[26:57] The wind blows where it wishes. Remember this is an analogy of the work of God's Spirit in salvation. His wind, His power blows wherever it or He wishes.

[27:19] Have you ever been on the beach with a kite and two great long strings and longing the wind to blow in order to pick the kite up into the sky?

[27:32] Have you ever been in a boat? I can't say that I have in this way. Just like Arthur Ransom would describe in Swallows and Amazon, whistling to the wind.

[27:46] When the calms have come and the sail's gone slack and you're wanting some wind to come and pick up the sail. Have you been on a boat in a different circumstance when the wind's just that little bit too strong and the waves are just feeling a little bit too big and you're crying out to the wind to die down and give you some peace?

[28:11] Or perhaps like us, more often I have done that actually and been on a boat wishing that it would calm down a bit, feeling a bit sick. But perhaps one thing I've done many times is try to put a tent up in the wind.

[28:23] Which is quite a picture, isn't it, when you realise that you've got a parachute between you and the wind becomes amazingly strong. You might stand defiantly on the end of the harbour in Whitby wishing that the wind would die down.

[28:49] But the bottom line is you cannot control the wind. This is a matter for God. And of course that great act of the Lord Jesus, you remember when he was in the boat sleeping in the back and the great storm whipped up and the disciples who were hardened fishermen, many of them were fearing for their lives.

[29:11] Jesus was asleep in the back. And what did he do when they woke him in fear and terror? He stood up and he said, be still. And the winds died down and the waves were calm.

[29:25] A great sign of Jesus' divinity. We need to remember that we cannot control the work of God's spirit in salvation.

[29:41] salvation. Now I'm the first to quote like many many of you I'm sure, John chapter 3 and verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

[30:01] And we cry that out and we preach that and we proclaim that and we share that with our friends and neighbours that all those who trust him will come into his kingdom. They will be born again.

[30:12] God will do his work. All those who are everyone is invited to trust in him. But we need to remember this side of the coin too that it's only by the work of God's spirit that people are enabled to come in faith and believe and trust in Christ.

[30:36] We can do no more to control the work of God in salvation than we can call dead Lazarus from the grave. You see that's exactly what we're doing isn't it?

[30:49] When we repeat that verse 16 inviting people to believe on Christ we're talking to dead people and saying to them believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

[31:00] They're spiritually dead and we're asking them to do something. Just like Jesus stood outside the tomb to Lazarus who'd been dead for four days and said Lazarus come out.

[31:11] Well how can a dead man come out of a tomb? What's the point in commanding someone to do something that's impossible for them? Well it's because the work of the Spirit of God brings life to Lazarus.

[31:26] And so as we proclaim the gospel and we call people to believe on Jesus Christ we believe that in his sovereignty he will bring life to people, make them alive and grant them the ability to come to him in faith.

[31:45] So let's just reflect on this a little bit. Can I ask you and encourage you if you're a saved person, if you're someone who is born again, just to reflect on what God has done in your life.

[31:58] To see the hand of God in what he has done. Not to think for a moment about the things that you did, no doubt some of you might be able to say well I went up to the front of a meeting or I prayed this prayer or I remember that particular preacher on that particular night.

[32:15] They're wonderful memories and they're true, it's a good thing to remember those things but tonight I want to encourage you to think about what God was doing in bringing you to that place, even to listen to that preacher, even to have the courage to raise a hand or come to the front or pray a prayer or whatever it was that happened when you became a Christian, perhaps you were just sitting at home, perhaps you were crying out to God in your desperation, just think for a moment and be thankful that God brought you to the place where you cried out to him, for that's a work of God in your heart that God has done by his spirit.

[32:55] Let's also, as well as being thankful for what God has done for us, in the work of his spirit in our hearts, his sovereign work, let's also beware of trying to organise God's work of salvation.

[33:12] The scripture says here that the wind blows where it wishes, or where it pleases.

[33:27] Be careful. There's much organising to do, I'm not suggesting there's not things we shouldn't organise, I'm not saying organising is wrong at all, but let's remember in all our organising, the most effective thing is to be on our knees praying to God that he would bring new life to people.

[33:45] All of the organising in the world will not bring one single person to faith in Christ. It's a work, a sovereign work of God's Holy Spirit.

[33:56] Beware of feeling that you've found some formula. you know, we have things that are very helpful to us. Peter's just speaking about a series that he's going to run for people that are interested in finding out about faith.

[34:11] And no doubt there's many others that we could use. But let's not put our dependence and hope in them or any particular method, any particular strategy, but to remember that this is a sovereign work of God's Holy Spirit.

[34:26] Let's not follow a bandwagon. Let's not follow the Lakers fad. Let's use all the things that God gives us as a resource, but let's keep our dependence upon him. Let's beware of trying to manipulate or force people or coerce people into the kingdom.

[34:45] We cannot do it. It might be tempting at times. You might want to drag people. You might want to almost like tie them and draw them in. You might want to compel them in, as it says in one of the parables.

[34:57] We cannot make someone a Christian by force. Let's remember too that God works in different ways with different people.

[35:11] That there are some people who need a great tornado to come and confront them in their sin. Some people need a warm, gentle breeze of encouragement.

[35:24] Some need a piercing northeast wind. It would be horrible here in Whitby, wouldn't it, with none of them. A piercing northeaster wind to bring them to conviction and to their knees before their creator.

[35:41] But in all these things, let's be encouraged. Let's be encouraged here in Whitby and let's be encouraged in Loftus and indeed, of course, all around the country. by God's grace as he works in people's hearts and lives, doing things that perhaps at the moment we know nothing of.

[35:56] But there are perhaps people behind doors, even on this street, where God is working in their hearts already by his spirit. He sees the whole thing and we just see a part.

[36:09] So, the work of the spirit is beyond our control. He is sovereign in his work. And lastly, the work of the spirit is beyond our ability.

[36:20] He is effective in his work. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes, and so it is with everyone who is born of the spirit.

[36:36] The work of the spirit is effective in bringing people to new life. I was just thinking of images of the power of the wind.

[36:47] One of them was indeed being down on the harbour. But I recall one day being up atop of a mountain, I think it might have been Helvalon, one of those in the lakes, I think, and being tempted, I don't know why, but I don't know if someone showed me, but have you ever done this, kids, or you're adults, where you undo your jacket, it was like a windproof jacket, undo your jacket, and you sort of flip it up over your head like this.

[37:09] Have you seen people doing it if you haven't done it yourself? And you can almost lean right into the wind. If it's really strong and constant, you can see what angle you can lean at as the wind is sort of caught in your jacket and trying to pull you back.

[37:23] The power of the wind is immense, even a great hunk like me, being held up by the wind just by lifting up a jacket. The work of God's Holy Spirit is powerful and effective.

[37:38] He leaves evidence in his wake. Now some works of the Spirit, I'm not suggesting that all works of the Spirit are loud and noisy and brash. The work of the Spirit might be silent.

[37:51] Even rebirth itself for you might have been something very quiet affair, not a noisy affair. Perhaps the actual experience of coming to Christ wasn't all singing, all dancing, just a quiet voice, a quiet calling.

[38:05] Perhaps you were on your own and no other people saw you at that time. And I just want to encourage any of you who had a conversion experience that wasn't dramatic.

[38:19] You know, we often hear conversion stories of people that are converted that's dramatic and it is, we praise God that he's able to do such amazing things. People that were taken from all sorts of sinful past and brought into his kingdom.

[38:34] But yours might seem very small in comparison. You might have thought, well, you're sort of an ordinary sort of person and it's quiet and there's nothing really, you can't really elaborate very much, just that there was something quiet and God did a work and you, it's a wonderful thing.

[38:47] That's a miracle. God has done a miracle in your life to bring you to that point of faith. So don't feel like your testimony is worth less than anyone else's because it's not so dramatic because your sins weren't perhaps quite so public.

[39:01] We're all sinners and it takes a miraculous work of God's spirit to bring us into his kingdom. The stagnant air of death clings or hangs over the unbeliever.

[39:20] The air, we might say, was thick and muggy. We've had a few days like that recently, haven't we? But the wind of God, the fresh breath of God, brings new desires, a new hunger, a new strength, a new comfort.

[39:37] You see, there's one thing for sure, that when God does bring someone to new life in Christ, whether it's a dramatic thing or a quiet thing, there will be evidence. We will see the work of God in their lives.

[39:50] There'll be new desires. There'll be changing attitudes. Their lifestyle will be transformed. And it's a lifetime of work, but God's work will be noticed by other people.

[40:02] His work is effective. So just as you can hear the wind, but you cannot see where it came from or where it goes, there will be evidence of the Spirit's work in the life of someone born again.

[40:23] And can I just encourage you tonight to look for that, look for that work in your life. Examine yourself. See if you're of the faith. Can you see the work of the Spirit of God in your own life?

[40:34] Because we believe surely that God's work by his Spirit is effective in bringing us into the likeness of God's Son, the Lord Jesus.

[40:47] And look for his work in others' lives as well, as brothers and sisters in Christ. You can encourage one another when you see what God is doing in each other's lives. God's work in your life.

[40:58] So let me just conclude. The work of the Spirit is beyond our knowledge. It's mysterious. The work of the Spirit is beyond our control. It's sovereign. The work of the Spirit is beyond our ability.

[41:13] His work is effective in our lives. Let me ask you again. Have you been born again by the Spirit of God? Have you felt his work in your life?

[41:24] Have you been made alive to him? Have you got new desires to follow him? Do you know him? Do you love him? Can you hear him today?

[41:36] Is he encouraging you? Is he challenging you? Is he convicting you? Is he showing you the right path? Is he lifting up for you the name of Jesus that he might be exalted and glorified in your life?

[41:52] And let me just say to those perhaps you come tonight and you're still not sure if this is you let me remind you of the next section of John's Gospel which reminds us that yes God is sovereign but you have a responsibility what you have to do is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ not just that he existed but to trust him with your life believe that he died for you and put your life into his hands make him your Lord for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life let's pray Father God we are so thankful for the work of your Holy Spirit and how we pray Lord God that you would continue the work that you've started in our lives that you would bring it one day to completion that day when we see the Lord Jesus we are brought into his presence and we know what it is to be perfect and in his glory and how we pray that you would do that same work in other people's lives around us we cry out to you

[43:18]  Lord for the people of Whitby for the people in our families for the people in our neighbourhoods for the people in our villages for the people that we work with for the rich and for the poor alike we cry out to you Lord to do a work by your spirit that will be effective in bringing them to know Christ and to love him in Jesus name we pray Amen