1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,080 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:41,680 for the life we're searching for. We continue our series on the Holy Spirit today and I'm 6 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:46,520 going to ask that you take your Bibles and turn to John chapter 16 today. John chapter 7 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:53,280 16, today's title, The Work of the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives? 8 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,280 If you're using our hardback versions of the Bible that you'll find at the back, that's 9 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:03,440 page 1080 and we'll keep you apprised of what page we go to from passage to passage. But 10 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:09,520 today, John chapter 16, beginning in verse 7. You're also doing some reading this past 11 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:15,680 week about Mount Everest. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, 29,000 12 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:21,600 feet. It's part of the Himalayan mountain range between Nepal and Tibet. Now if you 13 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,880 are a Colorado fan and you go to the Rockies in Colorado or Utah, you'll see mountains 14 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:34,480 14,000 feet, 15,000 feet at times. If you go to Alaska, a little bit above 15,000 feet. 15 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:43,600 But imagine a mountain twice as high as all those mountains at 29,000 feet. Now, in history, 16 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:50,760 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest successfully. A few of them have died along the way, but 17 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:57,280 6,000 have climbed Mount Everest successfully. And it's really quite an undertaking to climb. 18 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,440 It takes two months to get to the top. It's absolutely necessary that you have a guide, 19 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:08,720 that you are trained, and that you not attempt to climb Mount Everest on your own. Never, 20 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,720 never should you do it on your own. As a matter of fact, I was reading an article this last 21 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:18,480 week about that and the question was asked, can an untrained person climb Mount Everest? 22 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:23,160 And the answer was very strong, very bold. And it says something like this, it would 23 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:29,320 be incredibly naive and stupid to even attempt to climb without training and without a guide. 24 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,240 It would nearly guarantee your failure and litter the trail with your corpse. Don't even 25 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,240 try it. That was a pretty strong no, I would say. Did you also know that if someone dies 26 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,760 on their way up Mount Everest, that they just leave the body there because it costs too 27 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:50,000 much to get it back down. And it stays in that state forever and ever because it's frozen 28 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,720 in whatever condition it lays down in. Probably too much information about Mount Everest for 29 00:02:53,720 --> 00:03:01,000 you today. The reason I bring up Mount Everest today is because what I'm talking to you about 30 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:07,120 today is about living the Christian life at the highest peak possible. And the impossibility 31 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:13,480 of doing it without a guide, without a helper, without the Holy Spirit. Now salvation is 32 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:18,680 not climbing a mountain. Salvation is a free gift from God. When we come to faith in Jesus 33 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,600 Christ, He gives us that free gift. But He also, in addition to cleansing us from our 34 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:30,520 sin and making us have a right relationship with Him, calls us to a radically higher lifestyle, 35 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:36,320 above and beyond the norm. And the only way you're going to get there is with a guide, 36 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:41,600 with training, with help. And that's who the Holy Spirit is. He is our helper, He is our 37 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:46,800 guide, He leads us along the way. Now with that in mind, I want you to take your Bibles 38 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:54,320 and stay in with me as we read John chapter 16 beginning in verse 7 through verse 15. 39 00:03:54,320 --> 00:04:00,720 Jesus says, but I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I 40 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:07,640 do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 41 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:13,880 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, 42 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,880 concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I 43 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:23,040 go to the Father and you no longer see Me, and concerning judgment because the ruler 44 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:28,120 of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot 45 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:34,360 bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the 46 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:40,240 truth, for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak and He 47 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:46,160 will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of mine and will 48 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:51,680 disclose it to you. And then He says, all things that the Father has are mine, therefore 49 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:57,880 I said that He takes of mine and will disclose it to you. We're going to talk about the empowering 50 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:03,320 help of the Holy Spirit today, His work in our lives. Father, in Jesus' name we ask that 51 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:10,280 you illuminate this text by your Holy Spirit. Thank you so much for giving us your words. 52 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:15,360 Thank you that Jesus said, your word is truth. Thank you for giving us the Spirit of truth 53 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:21,280 to help us as we read the words physically, you help us know spiritually, literally what 54 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:26,520 they mean in our lives. Father today, help us know we're never alone, that this high 55 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:32,720 calling you've placed on our lives is given to us with a help, the Holy Spirit. Thank 56 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,440 you for that. We ask this in Jesus' name. And everybody said, Amen. Please be seated 57 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:44,840 if you would. Jesus has not called you to live the Christian life alone. Aren't you 58 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:48,920 glad? I mean, if you really understand what it means to live the Christian life, there's 59 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:54,440 no way that you or I could do that on our own, with our own power, with our own strength, 60 00:05:54,440 --> 00:06:00,960 with our own ideas. In fact, we're the ones that trip over everything in our way. We need 61 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:06,240 a lot of help to live the life that Christ called us to. Now here we are, just mortal 62 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:11,320 human beings who were sinful, separated from God, completely estranged from who God is 63 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:17,280 and what God's ways are. The Lord saw fit to enlighten us, to turn the lights on, to 64 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:22,160 help us see who Jesus is. We put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and we receive this 65 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:28,880 amazing gift of eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And now he lives inside 66 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:34,480 of us, helping us do what Jesus never told us we could do. I said last week, quoting 67 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,280 a guy named Major Ian Thomas years ago who wrote about the Christ life, and he said this, 68 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:44,760 he said, you can't live this Christian life by yourself. Jesus said, you can't do it 69 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,640 on your own. I've never told you that you could, but I can do it in you, and I always 70 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:55,100 told you I would. I will live the Christian life through you in the form and in the power 71 00:06:55,100 --> 00:07:00,760 of the Holy Spirit. So now, once we come to faith in Christ, he gives us the Holy Spirit 72 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:06,880 from Pentecost onward. That is how we receive the Holy Spirit, and now he's in us. Now this 73 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:11,080 text answers four very important questions that I'm going to walk through with you today. 74 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,760 Now these four questions will help you know exactly how the Holy Spirit will work in your 75 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,160 life, and I trust today that he'll work in your life right now, today, right here in 76 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:26,200 this room, leading you, guiding you, convicting you, opening your eyes, illuminating things 77 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:31,520 to you as we read through this today. Four questions, first of all. Why is it to our 78 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:38,520 advantage that Jesus goes away? Now Jesus opens this section of the scripture in verse 79 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,680 seven by saying that very thing. He says, but I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage 80 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:48,800 that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, 81 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:56,200 I will send him to you. Obviously, Jesus is saying, the reason I've got to go away is 82 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:01,960 because I'm going to send another one like myself, and he's going to be with you all 83 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:07,400 the time. Not just from time to time, not just village to village and day to day, he's 84 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:13,800 going to be in you and with you all of the time. I'm leaving, but I'm leaving the Holy 85 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:19,320 Spirit with you. Jesus literally is saying things like this, I'm with you physically 86 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:25,680 from time to time, he will be with you and in you all the time. I minister in one place 87 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:30,580 at a time and then another place at a time. Sometimes you're there, sometimes you're not, 88 00:08:30,580 --> 00:08:37,520 but he will be in you all, all the time and everywhere. He said to them, I'm asking the 89 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:44,600 Father to work on your behalf, but after I leave, you'll be asking the Father directly 90 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:50,640 and he will answer you the way he answered me. Those are pretty powerful statements. 91 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:56,160 It's expedient that I go away because if I don't go away, you won't have the opportunity 92 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:02,640 to see the power that the Spirit of God can do and things he can lead you to in your own 93 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,440 life. I want you to know today as we walk through this, that Jesus is leaving the place 94 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:13,120 on the planet to go back to the Father because he has finished the work of redemption. He 95 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,520 has finished the work of the cross. Jesus died, was buried, rose again the third day. 96 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:23,640 The book of Hebrews tells us that when he had purchased the security for our sins, payment 97 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:28,160 for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Father on high. Now that's where he 98 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:33,960 is today, at the right hand of the Father, having completely secured salvation for all 99 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:39,720 who put their faith in his name. Jesus doesn't have to do anything else to make salvation 100 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:45,000 available to you. You just have to accept the gift of eternal life. Put your faith in 101 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,760 him so the work of redemption is done. He'll never have to die again. He'll never have 102 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:54,080 to perform another miracle. He'll never have to do anything else to please the Father. 103 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:59,600 He's done everything necessary and when he died on the cross, he said, it is finished 104 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:05,720 and paid in full. Now that makes me happy that he has done the work of redemption. Somebody 105 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:13,000 praise the Lord. He's done the work of redemption. For him to have done that, it was expedient 106 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:18,040 for him to go away now, having done the work on the earth and let the Holy Spirit come 107 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:25,640 and do the work he is called to do on this planet and in our lives. This to his, this 108 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:30,520 to our advantage that he has gone away. This to our advantage that he is preparing for 109 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:36,160 us a place in heaven. This to our advantage that he ever lives to intercede for us as 110 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:40,400 we walk on this earth. This to our advantage that he leaves the Holy Spirit behind to be 111 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:45,800 at work in our lives. This to our advantage. Sometimes we have a tendency to say, I wish 112 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,760 Jesus was still here because then I could go ask him questions, but it's to our advantage 113 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:54,040 that he's left because the Holy Spirit is in your heart to answer every question you 114 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:59,480 have and every need you have in your life. The question, well number one, why was it 115 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:05,120 to our advantage that Jesus go away and the answer obviously so that you could have the 116 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:10,800 presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The second question, really the big question 117 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:17,160 in this text is how will the Holy Spirit convict the world? Do you notice what it says in verse 118 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:22,140 eight and nine? Jesus goes on and talks about the work of the Holy Spirit and he uses the 119 00:11:22,140 --> 00:11:29,280 word convict here. He says, and he, when he comes, will convict the world. I think he 120 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:34,280 gives us three phrases that give us some definition there, but let's just pause for a moment and 121 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:40,320 look at that word convict. The word convict is an important word. It means to prove one 122 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:46,400 in the wrong. It means to bring a sense of shame or guilt. Now that's not a very popular 123 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,240 thing to talk about today. People don't like to feel shamed and they don't like to feel 124 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:57,840 guilty, unless of course we are. If we are guilty, we need to be shown that we are guilty. 125 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:04,320 And really the way we come to the place of knowing that we need a savior is to come to 126 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:09,160 the place of knowing we need to be saved. If we come to the place of knowing we need 127 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:14,440 forgiveness of sin, we have to also first come to the place of knowing we are in sin. 128 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:20,600 So the conviction of the Holy Spirit brings us to the place of guilt and shame, falling 129 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:27,200 short of God's standard, falling short of God's glory. Do you remember when Jesus was 130 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:33,320 on the earth, he had this encounter with the woman caught in adultery in John chapter 8. 131 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,040 And these men caught her in adultery, brought her before Jesus and were wanting to stone 132 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:43,480 her. And if you remember, Jesus knelt down and drew in the sand and then he stood up 133 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:48,600 and he said to all the crowd that was gathered there, many of them with stones in their hands, 134 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:56,040 he that has the first or he that has no sin, let him cast the first stone. Famous statement, 135 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:02,520 great statement. He who has no sin, let him cast the first stone. And the Bible almost 136 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:10,680 as in a pause, literally pause, and then slowly every one of them that held those stones walked 137 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:17,480 away until there was no one left. And he said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. 138 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:22,360 That's what conviction looks like. Conviction looks like a person that's ready to do something 139 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:28,860 until they're told that's wrong. You can't do that. And the realization that comes over 140 00:13:28,860 --> 00:13:34,920 their minds and over their lives, it says, that's right. I am not without sin. I can't 141 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:40,320 cast the stone and slowly dropping those stones and walking away. Conviction looks like that 142 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:46,280 when Jesus was on the planet. Now, conviction looks the same way today in the Holy Spirit's 143 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:53,360 work in our life, except in every heart and with every person and at all times that conviction 144 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,800 needs to take place. Not just there where the woman was caught in adultery, but in all 145 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:04,440 places and the Holy Spirit is in every heart and around every person convicting us of the 146 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,680 things that we need to be aware of. I think it's a powerful picture that conviction can 147 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:15,120 happen in our lives in that way. And three ways that Jesus says the Holy Spirit's conviction 148 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:21,000 comes on people today. Let me just name those three. First of all, he says that the Holy 149 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:27,840 Spirit will convict people of sin and unbelief. Do you see what it says in verse nine? Concerning 150 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:36,040 sin because they do not believe in me. For the Holy Spirit convicts us, he makes us realize 151 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,720 that we have something vital missing in our lives. Before you and I come to Christ, we 152 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,480 know there's a God-sized hole in our hearts. We sometimes describe it like that. We know 153 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,480 something's missing. We know we're not right with God. We're not sure exactly how to do 154 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:54,800 that. And sometimes we pursue that through religion or trying to do the right thing and 155 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,000 we're always missing the mark on how to make ourselves right with God. The Holy Spirit 156 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:04,300 convicts us that we're not right with God, that we have an inability to measure up to 157 00:15:04,300 --> 00:15:09,240 God's standards. It's a weighty word. It's not a great feeling to be under the conviction 158 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:14,440 of the Holy Spirit, but it's the healthiest thing that can happen to us when we are far 159 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:21,120 from God. In the New Testament, when the apostles began to preach after Pentecost, Peter stood 160 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,680 up after the Holy Spirit had fallen on all of them and he preached a powerful message 161 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:33,060 about Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross and rising from the grave on the third day. 162 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:40,640 And those hearing the message that the Bible says were convicted of sin and their unbelief. 163 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,880 I think Acts chapter 2 verse 37, if you want to turn to that, it's page 1089 on the hard 164 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,080 back version of your Bible. And here's what it says there. It really defines conviction. 165 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:57,800 And this is an important definition. It says, now when they had heard this, they were pierced 166 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:04,120 to the heart. I've always been captured by that phrase, pierced to the heart, because 167 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,520 I've felt it before, because I know what it feels like to be pierced to the heart with 168 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:13,200 conviction. When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and they said to Peter 169 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:18,780 and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what should we do? In other words, not only are 170 00:16:18,780 --> 00:16:26,200 they convicted, but they are moved to do something so that that conviction will turn into action 171 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:31,940 in some kind. That's what conviction is like. It's deeper than an emotional response, deeper 172 00:16:31,940 --> 00:16:40,680 than a mental thought. In the King James Version, the translation is cut to the heart. In the 173 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:45,240 Derby translation, which is kind of a variant translation, it says cut to the heart with 174 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:52,520 remorse and anxiety. Now the conviction of the Holy Spirit is important in our lives, 175 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:59,880 because it says that God is speaking to us. By the way, when people felt that feeling, 176 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:03,920 when the New Testament disciples began to preach the gospel, they tried to run the disciples 177 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:09,320 out of town. In fact, in the first five verses of John 16, Jesus is warning them, this world 178 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:13,680 is not going to be friendly towards you. They're not going to like you. They're not going to 179 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:18,940 enjoy what you say or how you live, because they'll be under conviction and they won't 180 00:17:18,940 --> 00:17:22,880 appreciate the conviction you're bringing into their lives by the power of the Holy 181 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:29,420 Spirit in you. They'll feel this remorse. They'll feel this anxiety. Most of us know 182 00:17:29,420 --> 00:17:34,200 the statement and agree with it, that the truth will set you free, but first it probably 183 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:39,280 will make you miserable. And that's happened to me a number of times, and I'm sure it has 184 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:44,520 to you as well. It makes us uncomfortable before we realize what we need to do about 185 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:49,920 it. But I want to break these ideas of conviction down for just a few moments so that we'll 186 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,200 understand fully what it means. And I'm asking God today, I've asked him throughout this 187 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:59,440 day, to let the conviction of the Holy Spirit happen in our hearts, however it needs to 188 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:04,120 happen. The beauty of it is, I don't know what you need the conviction of the Holy Spirit 189 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:08,920 to say to you, but he does and will. And the power of it is, he loves you so much that 190 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,000 he'll say to you what you need to hear. Some things about the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 191 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:21,000 The conviction of the Holy Spirit makes lost men miserable. Sometimes it makes them angry, 192 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:27,000 makes them mad. Sometimes they rage and lash out at the messengers. When I was in seminary 193 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:32,120 many years ago, I worked at Fort Worth, and I worked for a builder, and our job, my job 194 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:37,680 was to learn from this head builder, head carpenter, and our job was to renovate old 195 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:42,160 houses, turn up the sensory kinds of homes in Fort Worth. And I learned a lot from this 196 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:47,240 carpenter, but one thing I also learned is, he was an unbeliever, he hated the fact that 197 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:53,760 I was going to be a pastor and I was in seminary. And he never ceased to let me know how displeased 198 00:18:53,760 --> 00:19:00,400 he was that I followed Jesus, that I knew something about the Bible, and he just assumed 199 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,400 that I didn't like him, didn't care for him, and so forth. And every day I dealt with this 200 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,440 guy. I mean, this has got to be one of the most miserable people I've ever known on the 201 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:14,760 planet. And every day he tried to cut down Jesus and mock Jesus, and I can remember him 202 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:19,960 saying, you only want to be a carpenter because Jesus, your idol, was a carpenter. And day 203 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:25,160 in and day out, I dealt with that. And the truth is, this guy, whose name was also John, 204 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:31,360 was just really lost and really under conviction. And he didn't like the fact that somebody 205 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,400 was actually happy in Jesus that was around him. And he didn't like the fact that I could 206 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:42,200 just handle all he was dishing out and still not retaliate in some way. And at some point, 207 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:47,540 I got another job and when I gave notice to him, I said, John, you know, it's been a real 208 00:19:47,540 --> 00:19:52,400 joy working with you these last couple of years. And I said, however, I want to leave 209 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:56,120 you with this. I want to leave you with the fact that Jesus still loves you no matter 210 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:02,480 what. I learned really early on that the conviction of the Holy Spirit sometimes makes lost men 211 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:09,360 miserable, unhappy, lashing out. Sometimes people are under the conviction of the Holy 212 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:14,440 Spirit and they learn to handle it. That's an even scarier place to be. What they learn 213 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:20,840 to do is to shut off that conviction, that weightiness percent. They come to the place 214 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:27,360 where they say, I don't care at all. It doesn't make me angry, but I don't care at all. At 215 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:33,280 some point they become so desensitized to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You realize 216 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:38,760 it's going to take quite a miracle for them to ever turn to Christ. Sometimes conviction 217 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:43,240 makes people want to avoid the truth. They don't want to hear about the message of the 218 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,280 Bible. They don't want to talk to anybody that does believe in the Bible. They don't 219 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:51,680 really want to be around you if you're going to have some kind of a testimony or share 220 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:58,040 with them about what God is doing in your life. Sometimes they don't want to hear about 221 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:03,600 it. Now conviction also comes to the believer. Even though this portion of scripture talks 222 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:10,960 about convicting us of sin and unbelief, conviction makes believers restless. Have you ever done 223 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:15,360 something you knew you shouldn't be doing and you continue to do it and after a while 224 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:21,080 you feel that same cutting to the heart, that same conviction that says you're in the wrong. 225 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:25,000 You need to come back to Christ. You need to re-surrender that area of your life, whatever 226 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:30,640 it may be. That tug on your heart that says you're grieving Him. That's the conviction 227 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:35,080 of the Holy Spirit. Now if you don't know what that feels like, if you're in a relationship 228 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:39,740 with someone, a friendship, and have you ever had one of those moments where you've said 229 00:21:39,740 --> 00:21:44,640 something to your friends you should never say and immediately you feel that sinking 230 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:51,320 feeling in the pit of your stomach, I just did something wrong. If you've ever been married 231 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:57,320 you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've said something wrong, I've done something 232 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:02,480 wrong. All of a sudden my heart begins to twist, my stomach begins to get into knots 233 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:08,120 because I have done something wrong. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is much like that. It's 234 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:14,320 not just a physical thing, it's a cutting to the heart that says I have wandered away 235 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:19,160 from Christ. I love the conviction of the Holy Spirit as painful as it is for believers 236 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:25,560 because it says to us we're wandering and someone notices and that someone calls us 237 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:32,080 back. In my reading about climbing Mount Everest, and don't worry, I will never try to climb 238 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:38,720 Mount Everest. New Year's resolution every year is not run a marathon. I've kept that 239 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,200 resolution every year for the last 15 years. I will make a new one never to climb Mount 240 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:50,200 Everest. Those who climb Mount Everest realize that at certain points in that climb upward, 241 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:57,080 the climb is a little less sure face and a little more steep incline and very icy. At 242 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:04,080 those points a rope is fixed upon palms that are driven into the ground and that rope is 243 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:11,520 attached to the harness of the climber. And it's given enough leeway where you have a 244 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:17,560 little room to wander along the path but not too much room. And if someone slips, that 245 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:22,500 harness with that rope attached to the fixed rope will tug you and let you know you're 246 00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:27,160 wandering off the path. You're not going where you're supposed to go and in fact you're 247 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:32,760 going to a steeper incline and you may go over if you don't pull yourself back. That 248 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:39,400 tug of that rope or that climber is a life giving feeling because it says here's where 249 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:45,400 the safe place is and I'm now not in that safe place. I need to make my way back there. 250 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:50,080 That's what the conviction of the Holy Spirit is like for believers in Jesus Christ. The 251 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:55,760 tug on the heart that says you're wrong here. You're taking a wrong direction here. I'm 252 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:02,000 calling you back to my way for your life. And you ought to be grateful for the conviction 253 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:09,000 of the Holy Spirit in your life. I believe that a true believer in Jesus will be miserable 254 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:15,160 if they are at the will of God because the Holy Spirit will never leave you alone if 255 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,680 you're out of the will of God. And I thank God for that. I thank God for the taps on 256 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,800 the shoulder. I thank God for the tugs of the heart, for the cutting of the heart when 257 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,760 you know you're doing something wrong. And let me just tell you something today. The 258 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:34,200 wisest, best, most peaceful way to deal with that is simply turn back to Christ and come 259 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:40,160 back to him as fast as you possibly can. That's the only place for peace with God is in alignment 260 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:44,680 with him. And the Holy Spirit is telling you that. Come back, come back as fast as you 261 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:51,680 can. It may be today that God actually convicts someone in the room about some steps, some 262 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:58,680 things they're taking that is a reminder you need to come back to Christ. I love to say 263 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,960 it like this. If you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit in your life, God is not done 264 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:08,560 with you and aren't you glad he's not done with you. So we have that conviction in our 265 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:15,560 lives. He convicts the world concerning sin and unbelief. The scripture also says in verse 266 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,760 10 he would convict people of Jesus' righteousness. I'm only going to take a little time to talk 267 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:26,000 about this because it's a pretty simple concept even though it doesn't make sense at first. 268 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:33,120 Jesus was crucified like a thief between two thieves if you remember. Pilate, when he condemned 269 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:38,560 Jesus to die ultimately did it reluctantly by saying I find no sin in him. This is not 270 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:45,440 a guilty man. And when Jesus died on the cross all that condemned him condemned him saying 271 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:51,560 that he was claiming to be God but not acknowledging that he really was. When Jesus died he was 272 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:56,320 buried, he rose again the third day. When he rose again the third day he demonstrated 273 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,920 that he was not like every other thief that died on the cross, that he was not like any 274 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:05,680 other mortal man that ever died and was ever laid in a tomb, that he was not like any other 275 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:11,480 religious leader that there ever was but rather he was the righteous one who overcame death 276 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:17,400 and overcame sin and stood at the right hand of God. And the conviction of the Holy Spirit 277 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:22,800 came upon all those who put Jesus to death. Actually that was the message Peter preached 278 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:29,800 in Acts chapter 2 where people said what must we do? Yes, we put him to death. He was the 279 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:36,800 righteous one. He would also convict people of judgment the scripture says in verse 11 280 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:41,040 where they realized they were on the wrong side of the argument. He rose from the dead. 281 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:47,480 Satan, sin and death were on their side of the picture. Jesus was on the other side and 282 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:53,480 judgment was going to come for all those that were not in Jesus Christ. See the Holy Spirit 283 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:59,720 begins to bring conviction to all of us. In all situations we are in in order for us to 284 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:05,160 respond. You say well what does that look like to respond to the Holy Spirit? There's 285 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:12,040 a great text in Acts chapter 17 where Paul is preaching at Mars Hill to a group of philosophers. 286 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,960 If you'll turn to Acts chapter 17 I'll show you two verses that show three ways that people 287 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:22,320 respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You'll find it on page 1110 in the hard version 288 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:31,760 of your Bible. Acts chapter 17 verse 32 and verse 34. After Paul preached the crowd responded 289 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:36,440 this way. It said now when they had heard of the resurrection of the dead some began 290 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:43,960 to sneer but others said we will hear you again concerning this. So Paul went out of 291 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:53,480 their midst but some men joined him and believed. I absolutely love how this text opens it up 292 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:59,480 and says here's how people respond when they are convicted. Now we know externally how 293 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:04,240 they respond. Sometimes people run when they are convicted by the Holy Spirit. Some somehow 294 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:10,200 are overcome when they feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Some weep. Some talk nonstop 295 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,040 about a different subject. They want to put it out of their mind. Some actually act in 296 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:19,680 faith. Some change their lives on the basis of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But 297 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:24,040 they all fall into one of three categories found here. Let me give you those three very 298 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:29,780 simply first of all. If you are under the conviction of the Holy Spirit today you may 299 00:28:29,780 --> 00:28:36,600 first of all resist the presence of the Holy Spirit and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 300 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:41,800 You may resist him. I wouldn't advise that. That's not the thing you should do. But the 301 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:49,640 Bible says in Acts 17 some sneered. They made fun. They mocked the message of the resurrection. 302 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:57,680 Some sneered. Some resisted. The Bible also says a second group of people reconsidered 303 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:03,840 the message. In other words they said to Paul we will hear you again concerning this. Often 304 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:08,660 I think that takes place in a worship service or it takes place in a conversation where 305 00:29:08,660 --> 00:29:13,040 conviction happens. It might even happen in your quiet time or in your prayer life where 306 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,940 you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and you say you know this is just too hard 307 00:29:16,940 --> 00:29:21,280 for me to deal with right now. I'm going to go away and reconsider this a little later 308 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:25,640 and a little later you might come back. You might not come back to that subject, that 309 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:31,200 topic but reality sometimes we put it off because we're not quite ready to give in to 310 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:36,920 the ministry or the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Some resist. Some reconsider. Finally 311 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:42,720 some actually repent. Some repent. Notice what they said in Acts 17 again. Some men 312 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:48,840 joined him and believed. That is they turned. They changed. They said no longer will I just 313 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,800 say I'm going to reconsider this. No longer will I just resist that I'm going to turn. 314 00:29:53,800 --> 00:30:00,760 I'm going to repent and I'm going to believe and join the message that Paul preached. Just 315 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,640 know this when you're under the conviction of the Holy Spirit you're going to respond 316 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,440 one of those three ways. You're going to resist him. You're going to say I need to reconsider 317 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:16,320 this or you're going to repent. Always he wants us to turn to him. The conviction of 318 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:24,200 the Holy Spirit is very very real. Third question. How will the Holy Spirit guide the church? 319 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:29,320 Notice in verse 13 he goes on and he says but he when the Spirit of truth comes he will 320 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:35,480 guide you into all the truth for he will not speak on his own initiative but whatever he 321 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:41,440 hears he will speak and he will disclose to you what is to come. Listen let me just say 322 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,460 again and I've said it a number of times and the reason I've said it a number of times 323 00:30:45,460 --> 00:30:51,880 is because Jesus says it repeatedly. The Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth will guide you 324 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:58,320 day in and day out. He will lead you through everything you need to be led through as a 325 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:03,680 believer in Jesus Christ. Imagine climbing Mount Everest. Imagine looking at the guides 326 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:08,960 that are going in front of you. Imagine looking where their feet are being placed in the snow 327 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:13,840 or on that mountainside and realize that for you to survive you have to follow someone 328 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:18,560 who is your guide and you put your feet in front in that same place that the Holy Spirit 329 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:24,080 is going before you is putting his feet so that you might know how to walk. He is your 330 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:30,560 guide in every way and he will guide you to be doing exactly what Jesus said you should 331 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:38,600 do. Everywhere in John chapter 14 and John chapter 15 and John chapter 16 you have this 332 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:44,240 idea of the dependence of the Holy Spirit upon the Father and the Father on the Son 333 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:50,880 and the Son on the Holy Spirit. They are interdependent. They are harmonious. They are connected. They 334 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:57,400 are indivisible. They are aligned. They are unified. What one says the other says and 335 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,800 there will be no variation in that. There are times when people explain something that 336 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:08,880 they experience in life as something the Holy Spirit does that flies in the face of something 337 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:14,920 Jesus or the Father or the scripture says and I always bring them back to what did Jesus 338 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:21,560 say about the work of the Holy Spirit and always he brings us back to a reliance on 339 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:26,200 the word of God. There is no inconsistency in how he is going to work in your life. There 340 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,840 is no independence in how he is going to work in your life. There is no disconnect. Jesus 341 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:37,040 gives even more clarity in John 17 where he says in a high priestly prayer sanctify them, 342 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:43,000 that is the believers, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is the truth. Let me just 343 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:49,160 say something to you very plainly. Truth is not found first in the church. It is not found 344 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,840 in the preacher. It is not found in the tradition. It is not found in the pope. It is not found 345 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:58,480 in your heart. It is not found in your feelings. It is not found in nature. It is not found 346 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:04,540 in science. Truth is found in the word of God. Did you hear me today? Truth is found 347 00:33:04,540 --> 00:33:10,440 in the word of God. It is the basis for everything we believe. You must know your Bible and the 348 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:14,760 handbook, the guidebook for getting to the top of the Christian life is this book you 349 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:20,200 hold in your hand inspired by the Holy Spirit given to us, illuminated day by day, week 350 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:27,360 by week so we know how to walk with Him. I thank God for the ministry of the Holy Spirit 351 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:33,440 and the alignment of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit in our lives. Fourth question, 352 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:40,000 how will the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus? You notice what it says in verse 15, He will glorify 353 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:46,200 me. Jesus is now talking about the Holy Spirit. He will glorify me for He will take of mine 354 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:52,680 and will disclose it to you. Now what does glorify mean? I mean we used the word glorify 355 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:57,640 quite a bit, don't we? We sing songs and these songs say something about glorifying 356 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:03,840 God. The angels when they came to announce Jesus' birth said glory to God in the highest. 357 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:11,260 We're taught to do all things to the glory of God. We glorify Him through words of praise 358 00:34:11,260 --> 00:34:18,680 or through songs we sing. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 that you should let your light so 359 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:25,240 shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify my Father who is in heaven. 360 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:29,760 How do we glorify? What does it mean to glorify? Let me give you some words to define that 361 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:34,840 because the Holy Spirit is going to be glorifying Jesus through your life and you need to know 362 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:42,520 these words. Here's what glorify means. To glorify Jesus means to recognize and reveal 363 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:50,680 and reflect Him for who He is. Not complicated. You're a reflector of the character and the 364 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:58,160 nature and the glory of Christ. You are to recognize, to know Him, to get to know His 365 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:03,600 character, get to know who He is, what He says, how He speaks, how He lives and what 366 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:09,480 He wants to do in your life. You need to come to know Him. You recognize Him. Then you reveal 367 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,360 Him and then you reflect Him day in and day out. Now that's what the Holy Spirit is going 368 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:20,960 to do for Jesus as well. I broke it down into three words that I can remember. For me to 369 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:28,440 glorify Jesus and for the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus in my life. He will help me know Jesus, 370 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:33,480 help me show Jesus and help me grow like Jesus. I mean I need three words that simple. Can 371 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:40,800 you remember those three? Know Jesus, show Jesus and grow like Jesus, to be like Jesus. 372 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:46,520 That's what the Holy Spirit is always going to be doing in your life. I read a guy's writing, 373 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:53,320 a guy King who once said that there were three ways that the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. 374 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:57,160 And these are the three things he said. I love the three. He said the Holy Spirit glorifies 375 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:02,520 Jesus in these three ways. He wrote a book about Jesus. He helps believers become like 376 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:09,040 Jesus. He finds a bride that is the church for Jesus. And you know the church is just 377 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:13,800 us, the called out ones. Let me give you a statement today. If you're writing notes, 378 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,200 this is a great statement. To summarize everything that I've been talking about today, the Holy 379 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:23,560 Spirit is at work in your life when you are reading His book, letting Him change your 380 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:31,160 life and being the church. When you are reading His book, letting Him change your life by 381 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:37,640 conviction and by the transformation that comes from conviction and by being the church 382 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:43,240 itself. So my question to you today is are you letting the work of the Holy Spirit take 383 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:49,760 place in your life? Are you letting Him help you live the life above and beyond the life 384 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,940 that you had before Christ and the life that everybody else has? We ought to be called 385 00:36:54,940 --> 00:37:00,320 to something higher as followers of Jesus Christ. Or it may be today that you're trying 386 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:06,000 to live this life without the book and without the Spirit and without the church. You just 387 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:11,880 can't do that. You have to have those three in order to live the life God's called you 388 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:18,600 to. You know a number of years ago when I first started pastoring, we had a revival 389 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:23,520 in the church I was pastoring in Oklahoma. And for some reason the guy that was supposed 390 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:28,840 to preach and speak didn't show that day. And we went into an emergency mode. We'd publicize 391 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:34,520 this revival for quite a while. And so there I was a week off where I didn't prepare to 392 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,520 preach and the guy that was didn't show up. And so I thought it's going to be interesting 393 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:42,160 service this Sunday morning. It was in one service and there were three people that I'd 394 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:48,160 ask to come and stand up and simply tell the story of how they came to faith in Jesus and 395 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:53,280 how the Holy Spirit brought them to that place. And this was back in the days where the preacher 396 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:56,720 sat in the chair on the stage if you remember that. Sit on that little chair back there 397 00:37:56,720 --> 00:38:01,280 and watch people's back as they talked. And as the first guy got up to speak I realized 398 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:05,240 I cannot understand a word this guy was saying because I can't read his lips in the back 399 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:10,160 of his head right. So I come down to the very front row here. And this guy's name was Steve 400 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:16,240 and Steve gave a crystal clear testimony of living his life as an adult without Christ 401 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:20,000 but thinking that he was good enough just as good as all the other church members in 402 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:25,400 the church that he attended. And as Steve began to talk it became apparent that he became 403 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:31,960 a believer as an adult in spite of being a really good guy. He came to the place of realizing 404 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:36,680 by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that he was lost and separated from God in the 405 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:41,640 middle of the service one day and realizing that piercing to the heart and that conviction 406 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,440 that he had never believed in Christ and never trusted in Christ. And so he was telling that 407 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:49,980 story. As he told that story I was sitting on the front row and I happened to look across 408 00:38:49,980 --> 00:38:54,780 the congregation. It was kind of set up like this and I happened to look at a young woman 409 00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:58,880 sitting next to her husband. Her husband was a young deacon in our church and she had the 410 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:04,900 most painful expression on her face I ever have seen anybody in church. Now I see painful 411 00:39:04,900 --> 00:39:08,920 expressions from time to time when I preach from time to time. I want you to know sometimes 412 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,740 some of you have painful expressions on your face but this woman was in pain. I mean she 413 00:39:12,740 --> 00:39:17,440 was seriously hurting and it wasn't physical pain it was spiritual pain. And I wasn't 414 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:22,900 surprised that by the time the service ended we gave an invitation and she jumped up out 415 00:39:22,900 --> 00:39:28,360 of her seat and almost ran to the front and said I realized when Steve was talking that 416 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:33,400 I'd never come to faith in Jesus and I kind of knew that inside of me but she said at 417 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:38,400 that moment he was talking and the Holy Spirit told me that's right you have never put your 418 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:43,680 faith in me. She said it was as crystal clear as a bell and I give my life to Jesus today. 419 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:49,480 What a powerful picture of how the Holy Spirit convicts people's lives. And that's how he 420 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:57,860 wants to convict you either to come to Christ or to stay in Christ. If you've never come 421 00:39:57,860 --> 00:40:03,100 to Christ today I want to tell you the Holy Spirit may well be saying to you you've never 422 00:40:03,100 --> 00:40:10,980 taken the step of faith. You're close but you're not in. You're close to accepting me 423 00:40:10,980 --> 00:40:15,220 as Lord and Savior. You speak favorably of me. You read the Bible from time to time. 424 00:40:15,220 --> 00:40:21,260 You worship for the rest of the people but you've never ever taken this step of faith 425 00:40:21,260 --> 00:40:27,900 that puts all your trust in me. He may well be saying that today. And in just a few moments 426 00:40:27,900 --> 00:40:32,280 when we close this service I want you to talk to somebody. We have decision stations available 427 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:40,420 for that. Please don't resist the Holy Spirit. Some of you in this room today are believers. 428 00:40:40,420 --> 00:40:45,340 You've come to faith in Jesus and there's portions of your life that you are sold out 429 00:40:45,340 --> 00:40:50,540 for Jesus. You've surrendered for Jesus but there's also portions of your life that I 430 00:40:50,540 --> 00:40:57,580 don't know about but that God does. And he's speaking to you today and he says to you, 431 00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:06,060 repent. Don't resist me. Don't put this off. Repent. Get this out of your life or I'll 432 00:41:06,060 --> 00:41:13,540 never be able to use you the way I could if you allowed me to fill you completely. And 433 00:41:13,540 --> 00:41:22,460 my encouragement to you today is don't resist him. Don't reconsider for another time. Repent. 434 00:41:22,460 --> 00:41:30,340 When you sense that in your life it's not a game. It's not a show. It's not by manipulation. 435 00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:37,340 It's because he's in you or he's convicted you to come to him. I'm going to ask you in 436 00:41:37,340 --> 00:41:43,780 just a moment to stand. Why don't you go ahead and do that right now. And as we stand I'm 437 00:41:43,780 --> 00:41:48,700 going to ask you to be as quiet as you possibly can today when we exit. Sometimes when we 438 00:41:48,700 --> 00:41:55,900 close in prayer we begin talking but I just really sense today I want you to have a moment 439 00:41:55,900 --> 00:42:02,980 or two of silence. It could be that you want to stay in the room and just think through 440 00:42:02,980 --> 00:42:06,860 what you may be sensing right now. If the Holy Spirit is convicting you in some way 441 00:42:06,860 --> 00:42:11,300 that's what you need to do. It may be that you want to stop by the decision station and 442 00:42:11,300 --> 00:42:15,780 talk to somebody on your way out because they're equipped, they're ready to talk to you about 443 00:42:15,780 --> 00:42:20,140 giving your life to Christ or surrendering some aspect of your life to him if there's 444 00:42:20,140 --> 00:42:25,460 an area you haven't. I still invite you to our guest reception room afterwards but I 445 00:42:25,460 --> 00:42:31,900 want you to have the opportunity to act on any conviction of the Holy Spirit that he 446 00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:37,860 may be exercising, any work he may be doing in your life. I want you to be grateful for 447 00:42:37,860 --> 00:42:43,320 it. I want you to realize it's because he's singling you out because he has an incredible 448 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:51,020 purpose and plan for you. Much better than your own. It was you let him have his way. 449 00:42:51,020 --> 00:42:55,420 Father in Jesus name today I'm going to close with this prayer and I'm going to ask you 450 00:42:55,420 --> 00:43:01,040 because we're at this text and because this text emphasizes the conviction of your Holy 451 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:05,820 Spirit and we've taken some time to talk about what that means Father today that you would 452 00:43:05,820 --> 00:43:13,740 do the convicting work that Jesus said you would do Holy Spirit and I pray today that 453 00:43:13,740 --> 00:43:19,380 as we are convicted in this room in whatever way that you would allow us to respond freely 454 00:43:19,380 --> 00:43:25,540 to you not resisting not reconsidering but repenting turning away from whatever to put 455 00:43:25,540 --> 00:43:31,060 our everything in you and Lord I ask that you allow us to be bold enough courageous 456 00:43:31,060 --> 00:43:36,940 enough to do it because it's you that calls us to it not because it was the topic of this 457 00:43:36,940 --> 00:43:44,300 message today but it's because of the presence of your spirit in our lives. I thank you Father 458 00:43:44,300 --> 00:43:50,660 that you are real that this is real that you care that you love us that you call us to 459 00:43:50,660 --> 00:43:56,820 the highest possible life and you will help us get there help us surrender to you we ask 460 00:43:56,820 --> 00:44:14,700 this in Jesus name amen. God bless you.