I think I speak for everyone when I say that we fully understand loss. Whether it is the loss of a parent, or a spouse, or a child to death or the loss of a close friend because of a relocation, we know the pain of losing someone that is meaningful to us. The gospels describe such a loss for the disciples. Jesus had become their guide. He had become their hope, and their Lord. When He explained that He was going to leave them, we get this feeling how confused and distressed they were. They had finally found the One who they believed was the Messiah, so how were they going to continue without Him?
But Jesus told them that He was not going to leave them alone. He would send His Holy Spirit to be with them. And here is what I want us to realize today. Jesus also promised that same promise to us. He won't leave us alone either. Today I will be using portions of John 15 & 16 for the message about being convicted by the Holy Spirit. Prayer
Before His death, Jesus shared a final Passover meal with His disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem. Jesus already knew that in just a few hours He would be arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified. He also knew that His disciples would be scattered, confused, and afraid. So, as they finished that Passover meal, Jesus began what some have called His farewell address. Of the many things that Jesus told them that night, probably the most touching moment was when He told them He was leaving them. He literally said, "little children, I am with you a little while longer." From this background, we pick up the story in:
John 15: 26-27 - “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father —the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
Can you imagine the confusion that the disciples had when Jesus said this? One by one, they begin to ask questions, trying to understand what Jesus was telling them. John recorded questions from several of the disciples and the tender way Jesus answered them. Despite the fear and uncertainty that He no doubt saw in His disciples’ eyes, Jesus told them that He was not going to leave them alone.
And so He began to teach the disciples about the Holy Spirit and His work. He said that the Holy Spirit would come from the Father and be with them. Just as Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples, Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to us. I'm not sure that you fully realize what a wonderful thing that is. The Holy Spirit is God's presence with us. How often do you think about the Holy Spirit's presence in your life? Sure, we talk about how much God loves us and helps us. We talk about Jesus all the time. But how much and how often do we consider the Holy Spirit that indwells us.
You see, once Jesus left this Earth and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us, the Holy Spirit is now our Counselor. He is the one that offers us comfort and help. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that He was sending the Holy Spirit to be with them. And He used two phrases to describe the Holy Spirit.
First, He used the word counselor. The role of the Holy Spirit is to be present with those who belong to Jesus. The Greek word that was used for the Holy Spirit, parakletos, literally means one called to assist another, an advocate, or one who pleads the cause of another. It is that same Holy Spirit that will walk with us, comfort us, and provide the help that we need.
The second phrase that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit was that He called it the spirit of truth. A key role of the Holy Spirit is to give testimony to the truth of Jesus. Back in John 5:31-39, Jesus identified six witnesses who testified about Him as the Messiah. I will let you read that on your own but one of those identifying witnesses was the Holy Spirit. He said that the Holy Spirit would continue to testify to the truth of Jesus to the disciples and through them to the world. You see, the Holy Spirit is God. He is the third person of the trinity. He is just as equal with God the Father and God the Son.
So let me say that again. As a member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is God. And Jesus said in verse 26 that the Holy Spirit will be the one I will send to you from the Father. This verse is a clear picture of the Trinity. God is one God who exists in three persons. You may ask, does the Holy Spirit come from the Father or from Jesus? The answer to that is yes. Both of those are accurate. He is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit comes from God - Father and Son.
Back in John 14:16. Jesus said He would ask the Father to send another Counselor, which refers to another of the same kind. In other words, Jesus would send someone just like Himself.
The Holy Spirit dwells with believers today. The Holy Spirit is God's presence with us. We might feel alone at times, but Jesus promised to never to leave us or abandon us. He is always present with us in the person of the Counselor. He is always present with us through the Holy Spirit. Let's talk for a moment about the presence of the Holy Spirit. We move into the 16th chapter of John.
John 16:7 – “ Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.”
This chapter begins with Jesus explaining to the disciples how hard their lives would soon become. So, it probably really confused the disciples when Jesus told them that once He leaves them it would benefit them. You see, the disciples had chosen to give up everything to be with Jesus. They left fishing boats, families, homes, and tax booths to follow Jesus. How on Earth could His absence be to their advantage, especially if they were going to face the hardships that He is describing?
We now know but the disciples at the time didn't understand the benefit would come in the presence of the Holy Spirit since the spirit would be with them in a way that Jesus had not been. During his earthly ministry, Jesus worked hard to carry out his mission in one specific place at a time. But the Holy Spirit is different. He moves and works all over the world without a concern for time or place to accomplish God's work. And in all of this, we can take comfort in that truth. The truth that the Holy Spirit is always with us, helping us to know God's Will and accomplish the work that He has for us.
And here is how we can apply this to our lives. If I was a betting man, I would bet that most every person in this room right now is facing some sort of a challenging situation that you are currently dealing with. What God is asking us to do is to thank God for the presence of the Holy Spirit who will provide daily guidance and comfort.
John 16:8-11 – “When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
In these verses, Jesus describes the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that He was going to send. And we see this convicting work in three ways.
- the spirit convicts us of sin. It's the Holy Spirit that helps us to understand the evil in our own hearts. Only the Holy Spirit can convict us of our faithlessness which leads to our sinful behavior.
- Jesus says that the spirit convicts us of righteousness. Jesus was referring to His own righteousness. So, the Holy Spirit convicts us of how righteous Jesus is. In fact, in verse 10, Jesus tied the conviction of righteousness to the fact that He was returning to His Father. Let me explain.
Jesus's return to His place at the Father's right hand showed us that He is completely pure, completely righteous. Jesus is so perfectly righteous that our every word and every deed is measured against His righteousness. And if we compare ourselves to Jesus, our guilt becomes quite evident and in that we are convicted of His righteousness.
- Jesus also says in verse 11 that the spirit convicts us of judgment. When we see our sin and contrast it to the righteousness of Christ, it's clear that we deserve judgment.
It's a lot like the prophet Isaiah when he came into the presence of God. When he saw the purity and righteousness of God, he realized how guilty and sinful he was.
Isaiah 6:5 – “Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.
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More than once I have sat with individuals who were convicted of their sins by the Holy Spirit. As they poured out their griefs, they couldn't even bring themselves to look me in the eye. They were so ashamed of themselves as the Holy Spirit made them realize the error of their ways. Many of those times those individuals felt that God didn't want to have anything to do with them.
The beauty of the Holy Spirit is that he doesn't leave us in that condition. We all need to realize that once we are convicted by the Holy Spirit, Jesus forgives us. All this time we may have been running away from God, and all of that time Jesus was wanting to restore us. The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us so that we can remain in sin. He convicts us so that we can feel and know the grace and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
My friends, if there is a sin in your life that is bothering you at this moment, that is the Holy Spirit that is convicting you of that sin. God wants you to know that all you have to do is ask Him for forgiveness and cleansing. The Bible tells us that “if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
John 16:12 – 15 – ““I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.
**********14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.”
Let me try to explain this passage to you. Jesus had explained a lot to His disciples, but He knew they still couldn't understand all that He wanted them to know. Jesus wanted the disciples to understand how the Holy Spirit would benefit them.
So He explained a few different ways that the Spirit would work, giving a clearer picture of what the disciples could expect.
- the spirit would lead them to a deeper truth related to Jesus's mission in the world. You see, when Jesus left this Earth, He sent the Holy Spirit so that He would be with them and us. It's the Holy Spirit that leads us into all the truth. Jesus said that He had so many things He wanted to tell His disciples but that He couldn't tell them right then. But what He was saying to say to them is that once He left and the Spirit of Truth came, it would be the Holy Spirit that would guide them along their way in all truth. Don't you see that it is the Holy Spirit that helps us grasp a deeper understanding of God's kingdom work.
- Jesus continued and said that the Holy Spirit would only speak what he hears from God. In other words, He would never lead them to a different truth than what Jesus had shared with them, but He would continue to deepen their understanding. The more that we are in tune with God, the more the Holy Spirit works within us to deepen our understanding of why God uses us to accomplish things that we may not fully know why.
- and Jesus added another thing. The Holy Spirit would bring glory to Christ. The Holy Spirit's work among both believers and unbelievers is always to draw attention to Jesus, and the fact that He was God on Earth. The Holy Spirit is always trying to draw attention to Jesus's saving work on the cross, and His coming return.
So in all of this, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. And just as He did with the disciples, the Holy Spirit still guides believers today to understand Jesus and His mission to reach a lost world with the gospel. The Holy Spirit speaks only what He hears from God. He doesn't contradict the word of God, but He guides us to understand it. And if we listen to that Holy Spirit, we can't go wrong. The Holy Spirit is literally God in us.
So when you're out doing your own thing and your conscience suddenly begins to bother you, that is really the Holy Spirit convicting you of the truth. You will never go wrong by following your heart. Your heart is led by the Holy Spirit.
If you have never felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, maybe it's time that you get in closer touch with God. And there is no better way to connect with God than through His Son Jesus Christ.
If you don't know Jesus personally, during our response time in just a moment, come as the Spirit leads, and I will help you to know Jesus in a personal way. And remember this, if in a few minutes you feel the tug on your heart to accept Jesus in a personal way, that is the Holy Spirit speaking to you now. Let's pray about it now, and as the music begins, just step out and come just As You Are.
