Date: 16 September 2001
Service/s: 8.30am, 10.00am
Series: 2 part series on the Holy Spirit
Passage: John 16:5-15
Aim: To show people the role of the Holy Spirit working in the world to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement.
I want to help people to understand what this means in the light of the attack on America.
Outline: Trouble
Hope
Perspective
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* I doubt we’ll ever forget the images of this week
* Throughout the week I’ve tried in vain to put myself in the shoes of some of the people involved...
* I’ve asked myself what must it have felt like to be stuck above where the planes had gone into the buildings, unable to get down...
* I’ve asked myself what must it have been like to be sitting down at your desk and see a plane coming straight for you...
* I tried to imagine what it must have been like to witness a plane going into one of our skyscrapers, or see one of them come down.
* What must it have been like to be on one of the planes... heading straight for the building - or that 4th one, where it appears passengers ganged up against the hijackers?
* I’ve asked myself what it must have been like to receive a call from your wife or husband from one of the planes or from the 103rd floor of the World Trade Centre and have them tell you this is goodbye and I love you...
* And I’ve asked myself what must it have been like to be so controlled by rage and hate for Americans, that you could so boldly take controls of a plane that you have been learning how to fly and take it straight in to a building knowing you would instantly die?
* ...I didn’t have many answers to my questions... I don’t think we could possibly imagine what it was like.. nor what it is like now - to wait with fading hope for news of loved ones missing... to be combing through rubble several stories high... to be pulling out bodies and body parts...
* those in a generation older than myself, know perhaps some of the shock and horror of the week - perhaps from WWII or Vietnam... but the Gulf War a decade ago, did not seem as serious as this. The unknown question of what this could escalate into, is very much on our minds and is the subject of our prayers...
* I want to reflect with you about the week this morning under 3 headings... trouble, hope, and perspective.
1 Where has this trouble come from?
* There was a Salvation Army officer being interviewed on Channel 9 through the week and he shared the story of being asked in situations such as these the inevitable question ’where was your God in all of this?’.
* The Salvation Army officer politely answered his accuser by saying, ’tell me this, does God control your life?’, The answer came swift and firm: ’No way. I run my own life’. To which the Salvation army officer replied, ’then there is your answer’.
* We cannot blame God for the actions of men and women. God has blessed us with a clear choice - love, serve, worship and live for him... or not.
* Like all evil in the world today, this happened because men and women rejected the truth about the Lord Jesus, were filled with rage and hate of America and all it stood for... and boldly, cunningly, brazenly, over a period of many years, planned to let their anger and hate run its full course.
* Why is the world in the mess it is in - even before the terrible events of this week? Because of the wholesale rejection of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
* As I said in my email during the week, if you reject God, anything goes... there is no need for love... mercy... compassion... no rules... no standards... you decide... you become your own God. All the worse if it is justified by the twisted distortion of ’religion’!
* The Bible is not surprised by this violence, and makes it clear that terrible things will continue to happen in a world that has pushed God out...
* But we mustn’t be so naïve as to think its all over there and far away... nor must we think it is new or getting worse... for the evil in our own nation, our own city, our own families, our own lives, comes from the rejection of God as God, and the exaltation of self in his place.
* Take evil to its ultimate conclusion and everything that is the opposite to love and grace and mercy will result.
* Take evil to its ultimate conclusion, and you find the Son of God mocked and beaten and strung up on a cross and left to die the long cruel death that crucifixion was. Where was God that day? Allowing evil to take its course. Allowing mankind to reap what it had sown.
* The trouble on Tuesday came from the same source as trouble every day... the same source that pushed Adam and Eve from the Garden... the desire to push God aside because we know better... the desire to play ’God’.
* But friends, there is
2 Great hope in our world
* ... great hope because of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.
* Last Sunday we explored together the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer... how he - the Spirit of the Lord Jesus - is with us and in us... how he is another Jesus right with us all the time... how he is our advocate and comforter, encourager...
* And in this morning’s passage from John’s gospel, we discover that the Holy Spirit also has a role to play in the world...
* Have a look with me at v7 I tell you the truth says Jesus, It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness and judgement...
* And here is our hope this morning, in the world we have woken up to find ourselves in this week. Our hope is in God’s Holy Spirit, who will convict and convince the world of sin... with a view to the world turning from sin to serve and please God!
* "the world" - as we saw last week, is the world which has rejected God... the world has no idea about sin or righteousness of judgement
* The world - the average unbeliever... thinks sin is what really bad people do, it thinks its righteousness is sufficient already, and thinks that judgement is a long way away and largely irrelevant.
* But the Holy Spirit is at work in the world... showing it that sin is more serious than it thinks, that God’s standard of righteousness is much higher than it thinks and that judgement is much closer than it thinks.
* Let me unpack these three a little with Jesus’ help
* Jesus says in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me.
* There’s the problem you see... this is what lies at the heart of all sin - not believing in Jesus. That is what men and women who are not Christian, need convicting of! Convincing of!
* Thousands of people all over the world, all over this city, this suburb, would never consider that the word ’sinner’ belongs to them... and how dare I insult them that way. That is until you hit Jesus’ definition of sin... not believing in Jesus. That’s an entirely different matter. Sin is pushing him out, ignoring him, living as if he doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter.
* Notice that this also means, that you may fervently follow another faith... but if you do not believe in Jesus... that Jesus is God’s Son and our Saviour... than you sin!
* I cannot convince people of that on my own. I’ve tried. People cannot see the issues. But when the Holy Spirit goes to work on someone - then you see it - you see the eyes of their heart open with understanding... of course.. now I understand... its living without God and Jesus... ignoring them... that is the issue! ///
* Then Jesus continues: "in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father"... Righteousness is a technical way of saying ’right relationship’ - meeting the requirements of the relationship.
* You see, not only do most people consider that the word ’sinner’ could not possibly apply to them, they also consider that they are already in ’right relationship’ with God - that they are utterly acceptable to God, because of their high morals and the great contribution they are making to society.
* But you see we have to face the fact that any high morals and good deeds we do, while still not believing in Jesus are worth nothing... they are an insult in fact, to God.
* It’s a very difficult job to convince people that all the good they do - and many do a considerable amount - is not what makes them ’righteous’ - right with God!
* In fact, because Jesus has now ascended to the Father, we need the Holy Spirit to convict people of this truth.
* How then do we become right with God?
* When we address the first issue... of not believing in Jesus... and put that right... then on the grounds that Jesus removed all our UNrighteousness at the cross, taking sin’s punishment, he declares us ’righteous’ - right with him. It’s by his grace in removing our sin, that he can then declare us ’righteous’.
* Again - its only by the Holy Spirit that people will ever see this... Again I’ve tried.. people cannot understand why their ’goodness’ is not enough... cannot understand the need for the gift of Jesus’ righteousness... only the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of people who are full of pride of their own achievements... only the Holy Spirit can help people humble themselves before God and recognise their need... //
* And the final thing the world needs convicting of by the power of the Holy Spirit is judgement.
* Most people are pretty blasé about God’s judgement. They think back to the fire and brimstone preachers of yesterday, consider they must surely have been completely over the top and God’s judgement is surely far away and irrelevant to them.
* Jesus says and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
* The prince of this world is the way Jesus refers to Satan... he is condemned - as good as gone - even as Jesus speaks 2000 years ago... Judgement is not something necessarily reserved for the last day - its real, its serious, its relevant to all who do not believe in Jesus and whose righteousness does not reach the level of the Lord Jesus. And the Holy Spirit must convict people of the reality of judgement and therefore the need to now start believing in Jesus and to accept God’s gracious gift of Jesus’ righteousness in place of their own. ///
* The Holy Spirit - at work in the world now - to convict people of sin, of righteousness and of judgement.... Why? Why act in this role as prosecutor... isn’t he meant to be our advocate?
* He works to convict the unbeliever of this reality, so Jesus can then speak for them as their advocate before the Father!
* when a person is convicted by the Holy Spirit, that the essence of sin is their failure to believe in Jesus, that their righteousness is seriously flawed, that they are under the threat of condemnation... what will they do?
* they will turn around and confess...! They will admit their need of God’s grace and forgiveness. They will put an end to their unbelief, they will receive the magnificent gift of Jesus’ righteousness and therefore be acquitted - declared ’not guilty’ and be safe on judgement day!
* What a great work of the Spirit!
* This is the only hope for the world isn’t it? Do we want to see real change in the world... across the world... in people’s lives...? Then it has to happen by the Holy Spirit!
* It won’t happen by retaliation attacks I can assure you...
* It won’t happen by the elimination of a few more thousand people.
* It won’t happen by angry people taking the revenge. If America considers it can rid the world of evil.... Well - where would it stop?
* The only hope for the world is this magnificent work of the Holy Spirit, convicting people and turning their life utterly on its head, so that they want to live with Jesus, they long to grow in the likeness of his character, they want to rid their lives of rage and hate and malice and revenge and live it instead with love and joy, and peace and patience, and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control...
* Then what a different world we would have...
* Only the Holy Spirit can change people’s hearts. So we pray. We pray for our friends and relatives who aren’t Christians - please Lord - by your Spirit, show them the reality of their situation before you... convict them of sin and righteousness and judgement... Show them you are the way the truth and the life... show them your love....
* You may of course become involved in the answer to your own prayer - because it may be through you that the Holy Spirit chooses to work to tell people about God’s love and grace and explain to them about sin and Jesus and his righteousness.
* For our Nation... we pray.. Lord... go to work by your Holy Spirit, so that more and more people see their sin...
* For our world... dare we pray this even for terrorists...? (how radical is the Christian faith...!) Lord have mercy on the terrorists, convict them of their sin and turn their hearts to you...
* ....its their only hope... and our only hope for a different world...
* as for revenge or retaliation... here is what is said in the letter to the Romans... "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. ///
* we’ve looked at the trouble, we’ve looked at our hope, and finally this morning, it is important that we maintain
3 Perspective
* To close this morning I want to take you to the end of the chapter... v33 Jesus closes his final teaching with the disciples that began back in Ch 13 and says: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
* The reason he expects his disciples to have trouble in the world is because people will hate them. 15:18 If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first...
* This life here and now will continue to have trouble.... That is the gritty reality which Jesus doesn’t hide is disciples from, nor will he protect his disciples from. It will be the result of living for Jesus in a world that is against Jesus.
* But we need the perspective here, that although in the world we will have trouble, in Jesus we will have peace.
* We have his Spirit - with us and in us, we have the peace he promises which is like no peace the world can offer; we know that the Holy Spirit can take people’s lives and turn them around for God, and we have the promise here that Jesus has overcome the world.
* Sometimes the world can overwhelm us - and particularly this week - that is perfectly understandable... but look at what Jesus says - he has overcome the world.
* That is - who will win out in the end? The world? - the world of rebellion, the world of evil, the world with its heart set against God? Or Jesus - Son of God, Saviour and Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World... to whom all majesty and worship and might and power belong... who will win out?
* Who will win out no matter what the ensuring weeks bring?
* Who will win out no matter what President Bush does?
* Who will win out no matter what else the terrorists have up their sleeves?
* It will only ever be Jesus.
* One day like on the lake calming the storm, he will say to the raging nations - "be still and know that I am God... I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
* And then "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" ///
* When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement
* In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!
Post Script
* It may be that in the course of this morning’s sermon, the Holy Spirit has been at work in your heart - convicting you that the heart of sin is not believing in Jesus, convicting you that your righteousness falls short of God’s standards, convicting you of impending judgement... and it may be that because of the Holy Spirit’s convicting work, you may now want to turn your life around... to believe in Jesus, and claim the gift of his righteousness through his death on the cross, and so be declared ’not guilty’ in the coming judgement...
* If so... I want to warmly encourage you to make sure you see myself or Ben or Margaret or Dave after the service.. because we want to share with you how you can make this magnificent change in your life and start living in relationship with God, and know his presence with you and in you...!
Preaching Christ....
...by the power of the Holy Spirit
...and the authority of the Word of God
St Andrew’s Anglican Church Roseville
