The Types of the Holy Spirit - Part 3: The Wind

​REVIEW
 
So, let’s continue this new series on the Holy Spirit entitled— “The Types of the Holy Spirit.” Now, what we are doing in this series is looking at the various descriptions used of the Holy Spirit throughout God’s Word, understanding that there are many of these physical examples and analogies used in the Bible to describe Him.
 
Thus far, we have looked at the most popular picture we have of the Holy Spirit—the Dove. And we learned from this a lot about the Holy Spirit’s gentle and peaceful nature. We then looked at what is likely the most common type of the Holy Spirit used in the Scriptures—Oil.  And we saw that just as various people and things were “anointed” with oil in the Old Testament, likewise we have been anointed in this New & Better Covenant. So, we saw the various benefits of that. 
 
Therefore, in part one of this new series, we learned that while we want to be “harmless” as the Holy Ghost is, we don’t want to be “harmless” to the kingdom of darkness. We are to let the anointing of the Holy Ghost break the yokes around us. Therefore, let’s get on His team and start putting our hands on people—letting the anointing destroy the sickness, oppression, poverty, etc. that the enemy has bound people with. Amen.  
 
Then, last week, we began looking at two more types of the Holy Spirit—the Water & the Wine. And we saw that as one is baptized in water for repentance, we can also be baptized in the Holy Spirit for the power to repent. Amen! But we saw that this compares the water to the Holy Ghost. And like water is the source of life—refreshing, cleansing, and satisfying us—the Holy Spirit provides these same benefits in our spiritual lives. Yes, just as water is a necessity for our physical life, the Holy Spirit is a necessity for our spiritual life. And as we also learned last week, one of the reasons for this is because the difference between the Holy Spirit being upon us and us merely being saved is like the difference between a spring or well of water versus rivers of living water. Yes, the baptism of the Holy Spirit provides a huge difference in our spiritual walks.
 
But we also learned that it is up to us to drink of this water of the Spirit. Yes, God promised us this in Isaiah 44:3 when He said, “For I will pour water on Him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants.” So, we’ve got to get thirsty—for those who thirst for righteous things will be filled with righteous things, and this includes the Holy Spirit.
 
But then we turned the water into wine and began to look at another aspect of the Holy Spirit that we can drink of—New Wine.
 
We saw that on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost in that upper room, that there were those mocking who thought that they were drunk with new wine (Acts 2:13). But then we saw Peter correcting them saying, “For these are not drunk, as you suppose…” (2:15).
 
So, we saw that the Holy Spirit has an effect on us that wine has on people. Therefore, we need to, as Ephesians 5:18 says, “be not drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” Notice that the apostle Paul here compares being drunk with wine as being filled with the Spirit. One expositor states that the word “drunk” means “to be filled.” So what Paul was literally saying was “don’t be filled with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” And we saw that just as Jesus must have been fun to be around if the kids all liked Him, we too can be more enjoyable to be around if we stay full of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we learned that a believer does not need wine to experience joy; however, drinking of this new wine will produce genuine joy. Amen?
 
So, let’s stay full of the Holy Spirit and experience the various benefits of this spiritual water & wine. This will yield the joy, happiness, satisfaction, and abundant life that only He can provide! Lord, fill our cups to overflowing today! Amen!
 
THE EFFECTS OF WIND
 
So now, let’s move on to another type of the Holy Spirit, and like it is with this particular example of the Holy Spirit, we don’t see a lot of it, but we certainly see the effects of it.
 
In John chapter three, we have the popular story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus in the nighttime and Jesus teaching him about the new birth. The story begins in verse one: “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’” (John 3:1-8)
 
So, we can clearly see that Nicodemus, coming to Jesus by night, was not wanting his fellow Pharisees to know about this meeting. And we also see that he confesses that “we” know that He was a teacher sent from God because of the signs that prove His Father was with Him. That means that even though they accused Him of casting out demons and healing the sick by some demonic power, they really knew the truth—that He was sent by God.
 
But I love how Jesus never even responds to Nicodemus’ comment, but jumps right into the truth regarding the necessity of being born again. So, after Nicodemus questions how a man can be born a second time, Jesus goes on to explain that this new birth is a spiritual thing and, therefore, the Holy Spirit is who performs this spiritual new birth in us. But here is the point I want you to see:
 
In verse 8, after Jesus tells him not to marvel that He said that one must be born again (verse 7), He describes this spiritual rebirth with a physical example. Again, He says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 
What was Jesus saying here? He was saying that while we cannot see wind, we can see the effects of it. Likewise, while we cannot see the spiritual new birth that takes place in those who believe on Jesus Christ and confess His Lordship in their lives, we can see the effects of it. In other words, we cannot see the spiritual change that took place within someone, but we can both see and hear the fruit of that change. Yes, like Jesus said, we cannot physically tell where this change came from or where it is taking us (i.e. We cannot see how the Holy Spirit entered someone and our ultimate destination in heaven). Amen? Another point that can be taken from verse 3 is that, just like Nicodemus, unless you are born again, you won’t be able to understand spiritual truth. So that may be why you have not been able to get through to non-Christians when trying to share spiritual things.
 
But Jesus was specifically talking about being “born of the Spirit,” right? So, we are seeing the Holy Spirit being compared to the wind that blows where it wishes. Therefore, just as the wind blows where it wishes, the Holy Spirit blows where He wishes. In other words, this means that He does things according to how He wills to do them—dispersing His gifts and graces as He wills.
 
But the fact that the Holy Spirit is described as “wind” in the Scriptures, teaches us more than just He’s going to do what He wants to do. We can learn how He leads us in what He wills to do.
 
SETTING OUR SAIL
 
Interestingly enough, when we look at Matthew 4:1 where Jesus was being led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, the word “led” there also is used to describe “setting sail.” Yes, this word was used to describe how navigators would launch out to sea by setting sail. 
 
You see, when you are sailing you don’t just set your sails how you want to, you let the direction of the wind dictate how you arrange your sails. Likewise, we shouldn’t try and “set” everything in our life; we should let the “wind” (the Holy Spirit) dictate how we arrange everything. It is pointless to work against Him. Therefore, “the wind” can refer to “His will.”
 
Now the fact is, like it is possible to sail against the wind, it is possible for a believer to go against the Holy Spirit’s leading. And the truth is, the majority of Christians have done this more often than we have not. Like it was with Saul of Tarsus, in his zeal for what he thought was the will of God, he “kicked against the goads,” persecuting God’s church. And while that is an extreme example of going against the will of God, it shows us how we can, as Bob Seager sang, go “against the wind”—kicking against the direction the Holy Spirit is trying to take us.
 
But the truly spiritual person lets the wind of the Spirit direct them. And when we learn to let the Holy Spirit blow into our sails and take us in the direction He wills for us to go, we will always be led into victory. He is not going to lead us into darkness and defeat, but into that perfect path of triumph as Second Corinthians 2:14 teaches us. Thanks be to the Holy Spirit who always leads us in triumph!
 
But again, there is cooperation needed on our part! Our sails must be set to catch the wind and to be led into His plan and purpose for our lives. So, how do we do that? Well, let’s look at a couple of Scriptures that teach us how to “set our sails.”
 
Now the first example shows us the necessity of actually having a sail to set before we ever learn how to set it. This is found in Second Timothy 3:16-17 where the apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
 
The words “thoroughly equipped” in verse 17 come from a word used to describe a boat that was “completely outfitted” with all of the bells and whistles that would “totally equip” that boat for sailing to its destination. So, what are we seeing here? That it’s the Word of God—in fact, all of the Scriptures—that thoroughly equip us with the sails needed (among other things) to get to the other side. Hallelujah! Jesus said that His words were spirit and life (John 6:63). Therefore, in order to be equipped with the sails that will catch the wind of the Spirit, we need to be in the Word of God—studying to show ourselves approved and meditating on His saying both day and night.
 
Now we will come back to these verses in Second Timothy in a moment, but let’s look at another verse that teaches us how we set our sails to catch “the Holy Wind”—and it sheds light on the example we just saw of the importance of God’s Word.   
 
In Second Peter 1:20-21, the apostle Peter gives us insight into how the Scriptures were God breathed. It says, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
 
You see, these holy men wrote the things that they wrote because the Holy Spirit was “moving” them to write them. And don’t be mistaken here: This does not mean that He was directing them, dictating to them what to write. No, He was simply blowing into their sails and “inspiring” the things that they wrote.
 
THE SOFT, GENTLE BREEZE
 
You know, if you look at the Holy, Inspired Scriptures, one might wonder how this could be the infallible Word of God—because some of these writings certainly seemed like they were written by men due to the personal aspect in them. But what we need to understand is that when the Holy Spirit “moves” one to do and say something, that doesn’t mean He has taken them over. No, I can stand up before you today and be inspired by the Holy Spirit to say the things I am saying to you, but that doesn’t mean that everything I am saying is from God. The truth is—some of the things I say come through this weak and flawed vessel. For example, the Holy Spirit does not say, “y’all.” But on the other hand, He doesn’t say “thou” either. I know we have heard prophecies before that seems like God talks in the King James version, but that’s not true. But again, that doesn’t mean because we heard a prophecy laced with a bunch of old English that it wasn’t from the Lord. All that means is that God flows through these pipes and so we are capable of getting some God and some of the person in every God inspired unction. So, my point is that everything that is “Thus saith the Lord” is not all “Thus saith the Lord.” Some of it is “Thus saith them.” 
 
One of my favorite examples of this is found in the Book of Luke.
 
In Luke 1:1-4 we are told by Dr. Luke- “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”
 
So, notice what Luke was saying here: He said in verses 1&2 that there had been many who had taken it upon themselves to write about the life and ministry of Jesus—some of them being actual eyewitnesses to the things that Jesus said and did. But in verse 3, Luke said that in spite of all that had already been recorded by others, “it seemed good” to him also to write an orderly account of Jesus’ life and ministry because he had a perfect understanding of all things from the very first. Now we know that he had this “perfect understanding” from the beginning of Jesus’ life because of how Luke’s gospel has more details of the birth of Jesus than all of the other three gospels.
 
But I want to draw your attention to those three little words he used in verse 3— “it seemed good” —because they are extremely important regarding the subject at hand.
 
Now we should know that the Gospel of Luke was inspired by God as well, down to the very last jot and tittle. So, it would be a gross understatement to say that Luke was “led by the Holy Spirit” to write this book that would be canonized as Holy Scripture, correct?
 
But this “moving” of the Spirit is subtle, like a soft breeze and a gentle nudging. In fact, looking at this example in Luke as well as all of the other books of the Bible, you would have to add to the Bible to say that these individuals knew that what they were writing was God inspired.
 
For example, one would think that if Luke were going to be chosen to write one of the four most important books that would ever be written, God might have instructed him to do so through a dream, an open vision, an audible voice, etc., but he did not! You would have to add to the Bible to say that God led Luke to write this gospel through any of these spectacular forms of guidance. In fact, there is actually no indication that Luke even knew what he was writing was going to be passed down for 2,000 years and considered part of the Holy Scriptures.
 
So, this is pretty amazing to think that God led him to write one of the most important books ever written—one of the four Gospels that have been passed down for 2,000 years declaring the truth about our Savior—simply by the fact that it just seemed like a good idea. You would think that God would either have spoken to him in an audible voice saying— “Luuuuuke, I am your Father (notice the Star Wars undertone to this😊)! Write the things which I will tell you” or maybe God would have sent an angel with the message— “Thus saith the Lord, thou art to writest a book that wilt be canonizeth as Scripture and read by billions of people!” No, God led this man to write one of the most important books ever written simply by bearing witness with his spirit which manifested itself as it just seeming like a good thing to do! That is amazing!
 
Now here is the point we should learn from this: If God led Luke to write his gospel by just simply dropping an idea in his heart, how much more will He lead us in the same way!?! Let me say it this way: If the Lord led Luke to do something of such super-significance by this unspectacular inner witness, how much more will He lead us to do things of less significance by an unspectacular inner witness!?! That’s a powerful truth, my friends! And the Spirit, a still small voice (not our emotions), will lead us as we have more of God's Word hidden in our heart, because the Spirit and the Word agree.
 
But again, this Holy Spirit “moving” that Peter described is similar to how wind will carry things. Therefore, we see the truth of “setting the sail” used again, and we can learn that if our intentions are to glorify God and to love and bless others, then we can trust that the Holy Spirit will move us into His perfect plan for us!      
 
For example, we see this same word being used in the account of Jesus’ burial, how the man we began this teaching talking about—Nicodemus—was led. In John 9:39, it says, “And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.” Yes, the word “bringing” there is the same word that Peter used to describe how holy men were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the things they did. Now it might seem like Nicodemus is just choosing to do this, but I want you to see that just as Dr. Luke was obviously being moved by the Holy Spirit to write his gospel, Nicodemus was being moved by the Holy Spirit to honor Jesus at His burial. In both events, there were no fireworks and spectacular manifestations, but they were being moved by the Holy Spirit simply because their sails were set. Amen. 
 
THE RUSHING MIGHTY WIND
 
Interestingly enough, the word Peter used for “moved” in Second Peter 1:22 is the same word used in Acts 2:2 when the Holy Spirit is described as a rushing mighty wind. Therefore, the sound that came from heaven of a “rushing mighty wind” described a mighty wind that was “carrying or moving” something. Amen? Therefore, we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is a mighty wind that moves and carries people or things. And we need to understand this about the Holy Spirit—that one of His primary functions is to lead, inspire, and move us in our lives.  
 
But this example in Acts 2:2 teaches us something else about the effects of wind—it can be powerful! Notice that when the Holy Spirit showed up, He was described as a rushing mighty wind.
 
The word for “mighty” is only used this one time in the Scriptures, and it describes a violent and forceful wind. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is described as “wind,” then we can see that when He comes, “power” comes to! 
 
Jesus said in Luke 24:49, “…tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high,” speaking of the Holy Spirit. The word “endued” comes from the Greek word enduo which was a word first used in Greek literature in the story of a very ugly woman who went to a magician to see if he could help her. So, she came to him she said, “I’m very ugly. Can you help me?”, and he looked at her and agreed that she indeed was very ugly. But he told her that he could help her. So, he said, “Close your eyes and get ready to receive.” Then he proceeded to cast a spell on her and “Walla,” she was turned into a gorgeous woman.
 
Now it is very interesting to me that Jesus would use this word to describe the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but it paints an accurate picture. You first recognize that you need help, that you need something more, or that you are deficient in some way or another. Then you come to God and tell Him that you need His help and He looks at you and agrees that you indeed need His help. He proceeds to “endue” (or “clothe”) you with His Spirit and, as it says in First Samuel 10:6, “you are turned into another man”—a man or women of God clothed in the ability and power of God. Yes, with “wind” comes “power”—the power to change us and the power to change others through us. Amen!
 
This example in Acts chapter two gives us the very root meaning of the word “Spirit.” You see, the word “spirit” also can describe “breath.” So, the Spirit of God can also be called the breath of God.
 
Genesis 2:7 speaks of something God did only for man, and not even for the animals when we are told that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and “breathed” into his nostrils the breath of life; which made man a living soul. Now it is very clear in this verse that the breath of God is referring to when the very Spirit of God was breathed into Adam which gave him his spirit! But, as we know, Adam forfeited his spiritual life when he sinned in eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Therefore, because of his offense, we all died spiritually.
 
But now, thanks to Jesus, all who are born again by the Spirit of God have life breathed back into our spirit. Therefore, what Adam lost in the Fall, Jesus regained in the Resurrection! We see this in John 20:22 when He breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” So, just as the old creation began with the breath of God, so the new creation began with the breath of God as well. This is when His disciples were born again—when Jesus breathed into them the breath of life. And as we fall in love with the Word and start to breathe it in, it will be life in us.
 
Therefore, the Holy Spirit, like a rushing wind, breathes life back into us! So, may we let the Holy Spirit do His work in our lives—leading and guiding us through the wind that blows into our sails all the way!?! Glory!