THE CONVICTION OF THE SPIRIT
Romans 8:12-14
JOKE: Late one night, a burglar broke into a house that he thought was empty. He tiptoed through the living room but suddenly he froze in his tracks when he heard a loud voice say: "Jesus is watching you."
Silence returned to the house, so the burglar crept forward again.
"Jesus is watching you," the voice boomed again.
The burglar stopped dead again. He was frightened. Frantically, he looked all around. In a dark corner, he spotted a bird cage and in the cage was a parrot.
He asked the parrot: "Was that you who said Jesus is watching me?"
"Yes", said the parrot.
The burglar breathed a sigh of relief, then he asked the parrot: "What’s your name?"
"Clarence," said the bird.
"That’s a dumb name for a parrot," sneered the burglar. "What idiot named you Clarence?"
The parrot said, "The same idiot who named the Rottweiler Jesus."
1. We will never get over our sins and quit sinning until the Holy Spirit convicts us!
a. How do we recognize sin? IN OUR LIVES? Children¡¦s lives?
b. Good old fashioned Holy Ghost conviction: Knowing how sin is hurting us/Hurting God (Jeff¡¦s song: Does He still feel the nails every time I fail?)
c. Have you ever wondered why people keep on living in sin? (Young people will never learn to follow the Holy Spirit if we first don¡¦t teach them right from wrong¡Xthe dangers of choosing wrong and the blessings that come from choosing right)
d. A wrong diagnosis leads to a wrong remedy
ILLUST: Construction worker Patrick Lawler thought he had a toothache.
- For almost a week, he tried painkillers and ice packs to reduce the swelling.
- When nothing he did brought relief, he finally went to the dental office where his wife works.
- Only after the dentist took an x-ray did Patrick learn the true source of the toothache. He had a four-inch nail in his head.
- When the dentists reported their discovery to Patrick’s wife, she thought they were joking ¡V But the x-ray revealed the truth. [SHOW X-RAY SLIDE]
- The nail had entered through his mouth, just missing Patrick’s right eye.
- The incident occurred six days earlier when Patrick was working with a nail gun that backfired.
- Although one of the nails shot into his mouth and embedded itself, Patrick didn’t realize it.
- He merely complained of a toothache and blurry vision, and even tried ice cream to soothe the pain.
- After the nail was discovered, surgeons at a Denver hospital successfully removed it through four hours of surgery.
- Although it is a "pretty rare injury," one neurosurgeon admitted, "this is the second one we’ve seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn’t actually realize the nail had been embedded in their skull."]
- A wrong diagnosis only leads to a wrong remedy.
2. In the spiritual realm, unless we recognize the deadly reality of sin, we will never turn to the only solution, which is found in Christ.
a. And to help us to recognize and remedy the problem of sin in our lives, we who are Christians have the indwelling Holy Spirit.
b. There are three specific areas of the Holy Spirit¡¦s ministry in this regard that we need to look at today
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS
[- I¡¦m sure you¡¦re aware that every day in this country, men and women go on trial for various crimes, and many of them are convicted for committing the crimes they have been accused of.
- And with that conviction generally comes a sentence resulting in jail time, probation, and/or restitution of some kind.
- In the vast majority of cases, the conviction is something the criminal desperately wants to avoid at all costs.]
1. In the Christian faith there is a type of conviction that has some similarities with the criminal type, but hopefully it is something that we desire and use to our benefit.
a. It is the conviction that comes to us from the Holy Spirit when we are doing something that is out of line with the faith we have professed in Christ
b. The Holy Spirit, who lives within us, will expose our sin to us, giving us a warning to cease and desist our ungodly behavior, and will also give us the ability to resist that sin.
EX: When someone says that they are ¡§coming under conviction¡¨ that is Christianese for ¡§The Holy Spirit is letting me know I¡¦m going down the wrong path.¡¨
READ AGAIN: Rom. 8:12-14
2. In the criminal justice system, when a person is convicted the main goal is to bring them to justice.
a. But when we come under the Holy Spirit¡¦s conviction for the sins we have committed, or are thinking of committing, the goal is spiritual freedom.
- So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. ¡V Romans 8:1-2
„« SO: Rather than understanding the Holy Spirit¡¦s conviction as a negative thing, we should come to the understanding that it is the most positive thing that could happen to us.
3. And how does the Holy Spirit convict?
a. He does it when we are reading the Word of God,
b. He convicts by speaking into our conscience,
c. He does it by using others who have influence over our lives ¡V He works in many ways, to give us the power to reject sin, and to embrace righteousness.
„« But for that conviction to be effective, we have to be open to hearing what the Holy Spirit has to say.
„« In other words, we have to work toward keeping our hearts and minds sensitive to the Spirit¡¦s leading.
d. The Holy Spirit convicts those who are already Christians, but let¡¦s look at another way that He works.
II. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS THE WORLD
1. Some Christians have erroneously stated that the Holy Spirit cannot work in the lives of an unbeliever.
a. I would have to say that the Spirit regularly works in the world of the unbeliever.
- "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.¡¨ ¡V John 16:8-11 (NASB)
b. SO: According to Jesus, the Spirit has come to convict ¡§the world¡¨ and by ¡§the world¡¨ He means those who are not in a relationship with Him.
c. There are three specific ways the Holy Spirit convicts the world that I want to look at with you briefly.
„» CONCERNING SIN
1. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world concerning sin because the world does not believe in Him.
a. ???What do you think the greatest sin in the world is? Is it murder? Is it rape? Is it child abuse? Or maybe something else?
b. The fact of the matter is, you might be sitting here today and done none of those things, but be guilty of the greatest sin in the world.
„« The greatest sin in the world is the sin of unbelief ¡V it is the sin of rejecting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
- Because if you do not believe in Jesus, that is, if you have not trusted Him as Lord, the Bible tells us that you are lost and will spend eternity apart from Him.
- If you reject Him now, He will reject you at the judgment.
- If you accept Him now, He will accept you this very moment, and for all eternity.
- The Holy Spirit has come into the world to convict men and women of their sin of unbelief so that they will turn to Jesus and live forever.
„» CONCERNING RIGHTEOUSNESS
- (Jesus) was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God. ¡V Romans 4:25
1. Jesus raised from the dead, not only to have our sins subtracted, but so that His righteousness could be added.
a. You see, it¡¦s not enough just to have your sins forgiven, that won¡¦t get you into the presence of God ¡V
b. You have to have the righteousness of Christ, and that comes when you place your trust in Him.
- The Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of that fact, and to let those outside of Christ know that they can have the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself, when they allow Him to become Lord of their life.
„» CONCERNING JUDGMENT
THOUGHT PROVIKING: One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the evil that was going on. He decided to send an angel down to Earth to check it out.
So he called one of His best angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time.
When the angel returned she told God, yes it is bad on Earth, 95% is bad and 5% is good. Well, God thought for a moment and said "Maybe I had better send down a second angel, to get another point of view."
So God called another angel and sent her to Earth for a time too.
When the angel returned she went to God and told Him yes, the Earth was in decline, 95% was bad and 5% was good. God said this was not good.
So He decided to E-mail the 5% that were good. He wanted to encourage them..............give them a little something to help them keep going.
Do you know what that E-mail said?
You didn¡¦t get one either, huh?
Kind of makes you think about what God sees when He looks down!
Now this is not talking about the final judgment in this context.
- No, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world concerning judgment, and then pointed out that this was ¡§because the ruler of this world has been judged.¡¨
- And we know from elsewhere in the Bible that the ¡§ruler of this world¡¨ is Satan.
- Satan has already been judged, and so has everyone who refuses to accept Christ.
1. Some people say, ¡§Well, I¡¦m willing to take my chances at the judgment and not worry about accepting Christ today.¡¨
"We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin... But, mere time does nothing either to the fact or guilt of sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ." CS Lewis
a. If we had to stand before God in the filthy rags of our sin every single one of us would be separated from Him forever.
„« But in Jesus Christ the filthy rags are made white as snow, and we stand before God judged innocent because of what Jesus has done for us.
- So you see, the Holy Spirit is very active in the world of unbelievers.
- And the purpose of His activity is to convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, so that they will turn their lives over to Jesus.
III. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS THE WORLD THROUGH US
[- Dale Rooks, a school crossing guard in Florida, tried everything to get cars to slow down through the school zone.
- But nothing worked until he took a blow dryer and wrapped it in electrical tape, making it look like a radar gun.
- Dale just points the blow dryer at passing cars, and it’s incredible how quickly they hit the brakes.
"It’s almost comical," Dale says. "It’s amazing how well it works."]
1. We are called to do something like that in this world in which we live, but we have real power, the Holy Spirit, behind the message we bring.
a. We have the power and ability to stop people in their spiritual tracks, through our witness, through the Word of God, and through the way we live our lives.
JASON PAGE ---going into the store¡K.
b. As a Christian, you are God¡¦s agent to bring the world to Him.
„« The Holy Spirit will empower you, He will speak through you, and He will use you, but you have to be a willing and eager participant in the process.
2. Let¡¦s look at a good Bible example of the Holy Spirit convicting the world through a human being like us.
- Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost to a big crowd, and this is what he told them: Acts 2:36-So let it be clearly known by everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah!" ¡V
- Peter is giving words inspired by the Spirit of God to do what? To convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.
- And what happened? Here is the crowd¡¦s reaction:
Acts 2:37- Peter’s words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" ¡V
a. While this is not always the case, here is an example of people responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit that was delivered by a human agent just like us.
b. Peter then told them how to accept Christ and solve their sin, righteousness, and judgment issue:
Acts 2:38-40- Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles ¡Xall who have been called by the Lord our God." Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, "Save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray!" ¡V
CLOSING: Remember:
- The Holy Spirit convicts CHRISTIANS when they are not living the right way-
- He then gives us power to convict others of their sin so they will turn to God
- He then makes us all WITNESSES in this world
ILLUST: David Yarborough tells the story from one of Max Lucado¡¦s books of a lady who had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century was quite wealthy but also quite frugal. The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home.
Several weeks after the installation, a meter reader appeared at her door. He asked if her electricity was working well, and she assured him it was. "I¡¦m wondering if you can explain something to me," he said. "Your meter shows scarcely any usage. Are you using your power?" "Certainly," she answered. "Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off."
Yarborough goes on to say, ¡§She tapped into the power but did not use it. Her house is connected but not altered. Don¡¦t we make the same mistake?
----We, too-with our souls saved but our hearts unchanged - are connected but not altered.
---Trusting Christ for salvation but resisting transformation.
---We occasionally flip the switch, but most of the time we settle for shadows.
