Sunday 19th October 2014 - River and wind of the Spirit - Nick Nicholson

The wind and river of God John 3 v 3 - 8 If we are born of the Spirit and are filled with the Spirit then surely we can tell how the wind of the spirit is blowing? Do you agree? We have to catch the wind of the spirit and get blown along in it! What is the Spirit saying and doing? People want God but they don't want the religious spirit. On the whole there is an openness for the culture and values of the Kingdom of God. Our purpose is to demonstrate that life... but not to wrap it up in ugly looking paper that bears no reflection of what's inside. It would be like wrapping a gold ring in a scrappy bit of newspaper!! Ezekiel 47 v 1 - 12 Contemporary English Version Important history of this passage to KLC • as a group of people we have been pursuing God - both in our individual lives and in our times when we meet together - and we continue to do so • it is reflected in our vision statement • we see the result of this in transformed lives - whether among those in the church, or in the communities where we have our influences This open vision is supernatural - it's not normal - it's the opposite of what would be expected with a river • one source - a small stream - no other rivers feeding into it • the river gets deeper the further away from the source No wonder the man says, "pay attention to what you've seen". In other words - this is a foundation of what I am going to show you next. Remember this because it's really important. The river flows into the Dead Sea. There is no life in it. It's so salty that nothing can live in it. The river of God flows into the Sea and brings life - • all kinds of fish and animals - as many fish as the Med • salt remains so that the fish can be preserved - this is not simply about an instance of God's blessing and provision - but about continual sustenance - a life time • trees will fruit every month - for food • leaves will never fail - used for healing of the nations This is representative of the Kingdom of God on earth. The Scripture shows us what we can expect to see as we enter the 'sea of those places where we spend our time' - work, leisure, home etc. We are to sense the direction of the wind of the Spirit and, as God's 'agents' let the fruit in our lives extend the Kingdom of God, whether this be an act of kindness to changing the changing the culture of a workplace or a home etc. We each have a part to play. When a river enters a sea - an estuary - the conditions frequently change - tide and winds. The sea swells once out of the protection of the land and the wind speed often increases. We need to learn to navigate our lives, our witness, and our well-being in this time - it can be unpredictable! We don't want any capsizes! The most important thing is to keep in the flow of the river when in the sea. This means we will remain effective. If we get detached from the source - get cut off from the temple - then we are in danger of being cast adrift and we might have to send out the lifeboat to rescue!