"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 every one that is born of the Spirit." - John 3:8 KJV

Jesus is explaining that just as the wind has a sound that accompanies it, so likewise the Spirit has a sound that accompanies it. We learn later in Acts, that speaking in tongues is the sound that accompanies the Holy Ghost as Jesus fills an individual with His Spirit.

{Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

{Act 10:45-46 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.

{Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.}

We see from our human experience, that when a baby is born there is a sound. It is when the baby inhales his first breath that the sound is emitted – a cry! This is how we know the baby is alive outside the womb. He must take a breath, or he will die. If there is no sound, there is a panic on the part of the medical personnel. They know the baby has not taken that life-giving breath, so they are trying to get the baby to breathe.

That breath that a baby receives when he is born in the natural is like the Spirit we receive when we are born again of the Spirit.

Speaking to Nicodemus,

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3 KJV

And then,

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." - John 3:5 KJV

So it is as Jesus said, when we are born of the Spirit there is a sound.

We see in the Bible and from our experience today that this sound is speaking in tongues.

[Note: Tongues is a language. Tongues as the sign of receiving the Holy Ghost is speaking in a language we do not know, as the Spirit of God speaks through us. We speak in other tongues as God is filling us with His Spirit, trusting and allowing Him to change our words of praise into a language we do not know.]

When the baby takes his first breath and cries out, that is not the end of the story! If he is going to survive, he MUST continue to breath, and if he is a normal baby, he will continue to make sounds. As he grows, he will become more articulate, speaking clear words, and then forming sentences.

So it is in our new birth experience. If we want to stay spiritually alive, we must continue to be filled with God’s Spirit. And, as Jesus said, we hear a sound when any one is born of the Spirit.

[Note: Speaking in tongues when receiving the Spirit is not to be confused with the gift of tongues, which is one of nine gifts of the Spirit given by God to minister to the church body as a whole. The gift of faith is another of the nine gifts of the Spirit. Everyone might not have the gift of faith, and everyone might not have the gift of tongues, but everyone must have faith to come to God, and everyone speaks in tongues when they are filled with God’s Spirit.]