O God. Thou Art My God (2)
A Sermon on John 3:8
Originally preached March 13, 1966
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
Do you know the difference between religion and a relationship with God? In this sermon from John 3:8 titled “O God. Thou Art My God (2),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells listeners that to be truly of God is to be born again through the death of Christ Jesus. Christianity is not about mere religion; it is about God’s gift of sonship imparted to the Christian when they are saved. He shares a quote from a Puritan on his deathbed: “God dealeth familiarly with man.” By this, he means that God created His people, God knows His people, and God loves His people. True believers in Christ will delight to know Him and to meditate on Him. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains a crucial difference between philosophy and true Christianity: a philosopher has a dead god, but the Christian’s God is alive. The true person of God loves to meditate on God Himself. The more they grow, the greater the desire to spend their days meditating upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who He truly is, and how He has been revealed in the Scriptures. Toward the end of the sermon, hear Dr. Lloyd-Jones tap his hymnal when speaking of the delight Christians should have in singing the wonderful deeds and attributes of our Savior described within the hymnal’s pages.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on John 3:8 which talks about being born of the Spirit.
- To be born of the Spirit means to be born again, born from above, and become partakers of the divine nature.
- Christianity is about an internal transformation, not just external practices. It is about being born again by the Spirit.
- One sign of the new birth is an increasing awareness and desire for the knowledge of God. This is the ultimate purpose of salvation.
- There is a difference between believing in God intellectually and personally knowing the living God. The latter is a sign of the new birth.
- Like David, someone born of the Spirit will pant for God and thirst for the living God. They will cry out "Oh that I knew where I might find him!".
- The new birth leads to an increasing interest in the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not just for what they can provide but for who they are.
- There will be an increasing interest in the glory and person of Jesus Christ. Meditating on His eternal glory, incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. This leads to worship, adoration, and glorying in Christ.
- The new birth leads to an interest in God the Father - His attributes, His works in creation and providence, His grace in redemption. There is praise, adoration, and delight in God.
- The sermon asks whether we have this personal knowledge of and interest in God. Whether we thirst for God, glory in Christ, and delight in the Father. This is the evidence of the new birth.
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.