(Audio)
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit
he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
We are reborn in baptism. This is the font unsealed by the resurrection of Jesus. It is the living water that poured forth from his side. He was submerged in water, the Spirit came upon him, and the Father recognized him as Son in the sight of everyone. We are submerged and the Spirit makes us sons and daughters in him. This is not merely a past fact with no significance to us now. It is the deepest reality of who we are. But we need to remember to live and act based on that truth.
The wind blows where it wills,
and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Those who are born of Spirit are moved by a force that is invisible to the secular world. Their new life of water and the Spirit is not a one time event, but a transformation into a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led people. Understanding and judging the things that are happening and so determining how to respond is no longer meant simply to rest on our rational powers. The Spirit shows us deeper patterns of meaning and ways of living than we would figure out on our own.
Why did the Gentiles rage
and the peoples entertain folly?
The kings of the earth took their stand
and the princes gathered together
against the Lord and against his anointed.
We look out to the world and there seems to be one obvious story unfolding, and it is discouraging to say the least. But for those whose minds have been renewed a deeper story is the true one.
Indeed they gathered in this city
against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed,
Herod and Pontius Pilate,
together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do what your hand and your will
had long ago planned to take place.
It seems like the Gentiles rage and the peoples entertain folly. It seems like the world is quite effectively standing against the Lord and his anointed. But this is not what the Spirit shows us. The Spirit reveals that even now God is enabling his word to be spoken with boldness, that even now he is stretching forth his hand to heal, and to work signs and wonders.
And now, Lord, take note of their threats,
and enable your servants to speak your word
with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal,
and signs and wonders are done
through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
Which perspective characterizes us? Are we more fearful of the folly the people entertain? Or are we more confident in what is and can be accomplished through the name of God's holy servant Jesus, as the Spirit reveals that to us? Peter and John's confidence was undiminished even by imprisonment. Being found worthy to suffer for the name only encouraged them. To have a confidence like that we need to have Spirit-filled prayer like theres. And for that, we need only ask.
As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
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