~ February 21 ~
“In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 7Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 9He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 10And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.” (Psalms 18:6-12)
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8; all scripture quoted is from the King James Version)
The wind can be mysterious to the mind of man. We feel its presence every day, yet we cannot see it. Even if the wind stirs up a dust, we see the dust particles but not the wind that stirs them. Where it actually originates, we cannot tell. Of course, recent meteorologists have learned what the Old Testament prophets wrote millennia ago – winds are caused by differences in heart and pressure. Here is a bit of meteorological science that the meteorologist did not discover until the mid-nineteenth century, yet it was written more than one thousand years before Christ in the Holy Bible: “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7)
Of course, we now understand the truth of this principle written by Solomon. Cold air masses are heavier and denser than warmer air masses. So, the higher pressure in the cold air mass moves into the less dense low-pressure mass causing winds to blow. There is a lot of science revealed in the Bible if men would simply open their eyes to the fact.
But today, we are discussing the winds in the sense of their use and creation by God. He has used the wind to bring Judgment on errant peoples. For example, God sent a great wind into the sea to apprehend the fleeing Jonah. Our Lord sent a great storm to sea to test His disciples. He sends mighty winds against rebellious people and nations: “The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.” (Isaiah 17:13) This puts us in mind of the mighty tornadoes and hurricanes that bring such devastation to man and beast. (See also Isaiah 41:16) Our own nation has witnessed an increasing devastation at the hands of great winds coming from the sea. Perhaps it is a warning to a rebellious nation.
Jesus is speaking in our verse from John chapter three of a different nature of wind – that which compares the wind to the Holy Spirit. We can see neither the wind, nor the Holy Spirit – both are invisible, but we can sense their presence. Even the wicked are given a witness of the evil of their doings. Even the minister of God may not discern the intentions of the spirit until it is revealed to Him at God’s discretion. But the man of flesh can never grasp the inner workings of the Spirit: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) Of course, the carnal mind can never discern the sure pleadings of the spirit, but the believer may understand because he thinks not with the carnal mind, but the Mind of Christ. “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
The wind has another characteristic comparable with the Holy Spirit – it cleanses the wheat and separates it from the worthless chaff. The air we breathe following a windstorm is clean and pristine. All the unpleasant vapors of animals and man are carried away.
No man commands the wind, nor the Holy Spirit. Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Hagin, etc., – none command the Holy Spirit. It does not stand by until the scheduled airtime for so-called miracles and healings on TV. The wind cools our heated foreheads in desert climes, and the Spirit cools our immoderate tempers in moments of anger or dispute. Weather forecasters can discern certain patterns in which winds may be a factor for our weather. So can the Christian discern circumstances that may lead us to follow the Holy Spirit in our calling. The winds are commanded by God. So is the Holy spirit thereby directed. When the mighty rushing of the Holy spirit has calmed, listen for that still, small Voice.
