A Mysterious Work

"Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
JOHN 3:8 NLT

Read John 3:6-16

In an earlier study, we saw that Jesus told Nicodemus, a Pharisees member of the Jewish council, that a person must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. Predictably, Nicodemus was stunned and bewildered by Jesus' declaration. "'How can a man be  born when he is old?"' he asked, then followed up with a crass question as to whether Jesus meant that a man must re-enter his mother's womb and emerge again. Here is bone of the moist learned men in Israel standing puzzled by theological concept expressed by Jesus. But his reaction is not unique. Many believers down through the centuries have struggled to understand the process of regeneration. They have fine so because regeneration is extremely mysterious. In fact, atitd root, it is impenetrable.
     Jesus acknowledges as much in His conversation with Nicodemus. "'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it."' He says, "'but [you] cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So everyone in regeneration is something like the wind. We can hear the wind howling, we can feel the breeze against our cheek, and we can even see the devastating when the wind blows terrible. Force. But these are secondary things we cannot see the wind itself. Even so,bwe cannot detect the Holy Spirit as He comes to regenerate our hearts, for He leaves no footprints. We cannot even pinpoint the moment of our spiritual resurrection. Nevertheless, regeneration is a spiritual reality that takes place internally and transforms a person to meet the requirement for seeing the kingdom of God.
    Because of this mysterious nature of regeneration, many professing Christian struggle to find assurance that regeneration has truly occurred bin their lives. It can be very difficult to find certain about the states of our own souls, let alone those of others. But the regeneration wrought by the Spirit shows itself I changes to the nature of the person who is born again. At rebirth, the internal disposition of our souls is renewed, so that we come to have an affection for God we did not have before. Thus affection is far from perfect, but it is there  and bit is real. Our hearts begin beating for God and we begin to manifest the fruit of a changed of life.
     Do you struggle with assurance that you have been truly born  again? Scripture makes clear that God wishes His children to have such assurance. Study the verses below and apply them to yourself. Do you see evidence of supernatural change in your life? If so, rejoice. And rest assured that you will indeed see the kingdom of God.