O God. Thou Art My God (1)
A Sermon on John 3:8
Scripture
8The 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.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on John 3:8 titled “O God. Thou Art My God (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches about the difference between Christianity and religion. He communicates that though religion might look good outwardly, the true Christian will have an inward transformation as well. This inward transformation takes place through the power of the Spirit who goes where He wishes. There is no point, preaches Dr. Lloyd-Jones, in hyper-analyzing where the Spirit comes and goes. Rather, Christians must simply have faith that God will do what He wishes, and what He wishes is best. Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches about the importance of the inward transformation of a person who is truly a believer in Christ. A believer recognizes that faith is not religion, but founded rather in the truth and character of God. In this sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the greatest enemies of the church are religion and philosophy. These infrastructures contain many people and convince them that their participation and activity is what merits them eternal life. Rather, it is repentance and faith in Christ that brings life. He preaches also that when a person truly longs for God, books do not satisfy them. Books may show them how to further revel in God’s glory, but the true person of God must live a life of submission to Him.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon passage is John 3:8 - "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 everyone that is born of the Spirit."
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The sermon message is about the difference between religion and true Christianity. Religion relies on external actions and duties whereas true Christianity relies on an inner knowledge of God through being born again by the Spirit.
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The first test of true Christianity is loving the brethren. The second test is loving God and desiring to know Him personally. This is in contrast to just having an intellectual knowledge about God.
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When someone is born again, they realize religious interests and activities are not enough. They desire a personal knowledge of God more than religious duties or even blessings and experiences from God.
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Being born again means realizing knowing God personally is the chief end of salvation. This is eternal life according to John 17:3. This is an immediate, direct knowledge of God's presence.
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Examples of people who knew God personally include Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. David also knew God's presence and power in the sanctuary and longed for that presence even in the wilderness.
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Paul's desire was to know Christ personally in Philippians 3:10. This is an inner, experiential knowledge that goes beyond theoretical knowledge.
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When someone is born again, they know that knowing God personally is possible in this life. They are no longer satisfied with anything less. They desire God Himself above all else.
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The devil cannot produce a desire for personally knowing God. Only God can implant this desire through the new birth. This is an ultimate test of true Christianity.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.