The Holy Spirit…Convicts

well friends welcome back as we join again to worship together

trust a number of you got to enjoy digital tea and coffee chance to continue friendship

with each other again let me say thank you to those who have been phoning and providing help

for each other and sending messages of support and encouragement thank you to everybody who's been

in touch with me as well it's good to feel that connection of christian family now as we begin

our worship i want to read from psalm 9 you're in the battle with fear which i think we are facing

on many levels and fronts now what we as the people of god need is we need the truth of god's salvation

we need to constantly be reminding ourselves of god's goodness to us it's so this is how psalm 9

begins i will praise you o lord with all my heart i will tell of all your wonders i will be glad

and rejoice in you i will sing praise to your name o most high so we're going to sing now let's sing

loud let's sing to wake our neighborhood and let people know that we're worshiping this hymn

he will hold me fast which helps us to grab hold of the security that we have in christ so again

kellen will lead us and let's all join together so that we can sing

when i fear my faith will fail christ will hold me fast when the tempter would prevail

he will hold me fast i could never keep my hope through life's fearful path for my love is often cold

he must hold me fast he must hold me fast he will hold me fast he will hold me fast

he will hold me fast for my savior loves me so he will hold me fast

he will hold me fast

he will hold me fast

he will hold me fast

Precious in His holy sight

He will hold me fast

He'll not let my soul be lost

His promises shall last

Fought by Him at such a cost

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

For my Savior loves me so

He will hold me fast

For my life He bled at night

Christ will hold me fast

Justice has been satisfied

He will hold me fast

Raised with Him to endless life

He will hold me fast

Till our faith is turned to sight

When He comes at last

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

For my Savior loves me so

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

For my Savior loves me so

He will hold me fast

He will hold me fast

Now

Let's pray together

Let's call on God

Our Father

That we thank you that the Bible

Is full of your goodness

Your acts of saving power

Those reminders of your faithfulness

We thank you for the story of the church

How you have kept and protected

And provided for your people

Thank you as we look back on our own lives

We can see your mercies that are new to us

Every morning

That we can sing of your faithfulness

And your great work in our lives

Especially

Thank you

For those of us who are trusting in Jesus

That you revealed Him to us

As the Savior that we need

Lord today

We pray

That you would be for us

Our solid hope

We ask that you would keep us

Looking to Jesus

To trust that just as He is the author of our faith

So He is the perfecter of our faith

And at every point in between

Jesus will be with us

Lord we ask

That you would be the God

Who would bring comfort to us

In our loneliness

As we face extended separation

From people that we love

And from all that is familiar

We thank you

That you are the God

Who promises

To always be with us

And to never leave

Or forsake us

Lord we pray

That you would keep us remembering

That in all the battles we face

The greatest battle we face

Is against the sin in our own lives

We confess our sin

And our unbelief

We confess

We confess

Those ways in which

In our words

In our actions

In our thoughts

We have not lived to glorify You

We have not lived to love You

Or to love others

And we thank You

Again for the cross

And the resurrection of Jesus

The forgiveness that we have

The freedom from condemnation

We have in Him

Lord we pray

That You would be

Our source of peace

When all around us

Seems anxious

We ask that You would cause us

As Your people

To have such a settled hope

That people would notice

There is something different

And positive

And attractive

About the way we are living

We ask that You would enable us

To turn to You

We ask that

We would not be anxious

About anything

But in everything

By prayer and petition

With thanksgiving

We would present our requests

To You our God

And that the peace of God

Which transcends all understanding

Would truly guard our hearts

And our minds

In Christ Jesus

At this time

Lord we love You

And we know that You love us

We need You

We pray that You would constantly be

Our source of security and refuge

That we would not be ashamed

To say we are utterly dependent on You

And that as we depend on You

We would find that You would give strength

For us in our weakness

Now we pray that You would be with us

As we hear from Your Word

As we reflect on it together

As it is preached

Speak to us we pray

In Jesus name

Amen

Now we are going to read

In John chapter 16

John 16 · chapter mention

So if you have a Bible or a device

You will want to turn there

You will want to turn there to John chapter 16

John 16 · chapter mention

Last week if you will remember

We were talking about the Holy Spirit

In a believer's life

Especially thinking about the Holy Spirit

In the life of the church

Well today we turn to Jesus' words here

In John 16 to think about

The Holy Spirit who convicts

So let's read together

John chapter 16 from verse 5

John 16 · chapter mention

To verse 15

Let's hear God's Word

Now I am going to Him who sent me

Yet none of you asks me

Where are you going?

Because I have said these things

You are filled with grief

But I tell you the truth

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

And righteousness

And judgment

In regard to sin

Because men do not believe in me

In regard to righteousness

Because I am going to the Father

Where you can see me no longer

And in regard to judgment

Because the Prince of this world

Now stands condemned

I have much more to say to you

More than you can now bear

But when he

The Spirit of truth comes

He will guide you

Into all truth

He will not speak on his own

He will speak only what he hears

And he will tell you

What is yet to come

He will bring glory to me

By taking from what is mine

And making it known to you

All that belongs to the Father

Is mine

That is why I said

The Spirit will take from what is mine

And make it known

And make it known to you

Amen

And we thank God

For his word

Now let's think about it

For a little while

Together

Let me begin

By sharing words

You may be familiar with

From the book of Proverbs

Proverbs 27 · chapter mention

Chapter 27

And verse 6

We hear these words

The wounds from a friend

Can be trusted

And when you hear those words

I wonder if in your mind

Comes a family member perhaps

Or a friend who is like that for you

Somebody who helpfully

Graciously

Exposes times when your thinking

Has been wrong

When your words or your actions

Have been wrong

Someone who does that

Out of loving concern for you

And as painful as it was

It led you to see

And it led you to change

Now keep that idea in your mind

Jesus here

Is preparing anxious

And troubled disciples

For his departure

John 13 to John 17

Is a lengthy

Set of farewell teaching

From Jesus

And the theme of the spirit

Is something that Jesus

Returns to

A few times over these

Chapters

Jesus here

Talks about the spirit

As counsellor

The spirit who comes

Alongside of us

The spirit who will be

An encourager

A friend to the disciples

Just as Jesus was a friend

To the disciples

But the spirit also here

That sense of counsellor

Has the idea of being an advocate

And here

Let's think about

The spirit as

A prosecution lawyer

Like that friend

From earlier

The spirit as a prosecution lawyer

Exposing

Wrong beliefs

Wrong behaviours

For our good

Not to condemn

But with the desire

That we would

Change

So here's our idea

For today

The Holy Spirit

Comes from Jesus

As a gift

To convict

The world

About the truth

Of Jesus

To turn people

To believe in Jesus

The Holy Spirit

Comes

The Holy Spirit

Convicts

So

First of all

And it's important

For us to

Ask this question

Why is the Holy Spirit

Coming

Good news

Perhaps like me

You find

In verse 7

Quite striking

I can only imagine

The disciples

Finding it really striking

When Jesus says

I tell you the truth

It's for your good

That I am

Going away

And maybe they were thinking

How can Jesus

Leaving

Be good news

Certainly they didn't

Act

And they didn't

Feel

Emotionally

Like it was

Good news

I wonder for us

Today

Can we see

Why Jesus

Says that

How Jesus

Going

Connects with

The coming

Of the Holy Spirit

And how that's

Good news

Let's try and

Help on another

Let me suggest

Three reasons

To see

Why Jesus

Departing

And the

Spirit coming

Was good news

For the disciples

And it's good news

For us

Firstly

Let's think of

The word

Promise

And when you

Read the Old Testament

And especially

When you read

The Old Testament

Prophets

You discover there

That the coming

Of the Spirit

Is connected

To

The saving

Rain of God

Beginning

Coming

In a new way

So when the

Spirit comes

It's a sign

That the rule

Of God

Is coming

In the world

In a new way

Jesus understands

That this requires

Something

It requires

Jesus'

Departure

It requires

Jesus to go

To go to the cross

To die for sin

To die for sinners

In our place

As our substitute

As our sacrifice

It requires

It requires

It requires that Jesus

Then rise

In victory

And return

To glory

To rule

As king

And as king

To then send

The promised

Holy Spirit

To his

People

As a way

To extend

The rule

Of God

In the world

So there's

That promise

From the Old

Testament

That makes

The coming

Of the Holy

Spirit

Good news

But there was

Also

The promise

Of Jesus

So we thought

About his words

Last week

I will not

Leave you

As orphans

I will come

To you

There is good

News for the

Disciples

And good news

For us today

If we're trusting

In Jesus

The coming

Of the Holy

Spirit

Means that

Promise is

Kept

That Jesus

Is with

His people

In a new

Way

So the second

Word

To help us

Think about

How the

Coming of the

Holy Spirit

Is good news

Is connected

To presence

So we have

Promised

Presence

The presence

Of Jesus

So up until

Now for the

Disciples

And in the

Time of Jesus

How could a

Person know

How could a

Person enjoy

Jesus

How could they

Talk with him

And learn from him

Well they had to be

Physically with him

Didn't they

They had to be

In the same place

Jesus

In his human body

Was limited to being

In one place

At one time

But now

Jesus by his

Spirit he says

He comes to live

In the hearts

Of his people

So Jesus can be

With his disciples

And he can be

With us

All the time

And everyone

And that's good news

And also

The spirit

Allows the rule

Of Christ

To spread

In the world

In a new way

Because that good news

Can be spread

By his people

There are some

Important results

For us

As Christians

Today

You know

We are

Isolated

Isolated

From one another

For the next few weeks

But you and I

We are never

Isolated from Jesus

By faith

You are never

Alone

Even when you feel

Lonely

Whoever you are

Wherever you are

And forever

Jesus is with

His church

His people

That's good news

And then we think

About the mission

Of God

And we think

About how

Christianity

Has become

A global religion

That since

The coming of Jesus

Hundreds of millions

Of people

Have declared

Jesus is Lord

By the power

Of the Spirit

Around the world

Millions and millions

Of people

Even though they

Can't get to church

Are still worshipping

Because we know

We believe

We love

Jesus

Who is Lord

So there is

Promise

There is presence

And the one last thing

To say

About the Holy Spirit

Coming is good news

For now

Is to do with

The word

Pleading

J.C.Royle

Bishop of

Liverpool

Back in the

19th century

Said this

The Spirit

Would be a

Pleader

For God

Throughout the

Whole world

And by that

J.C.Royle

Meant that

Whenever a person

Reads

The Bible

It's as if

The Spirit

Is pleading

Through the word

That he inspired

That we believe

It's truth

And respond

To the God

Of truth

Especially

That the Spirit

Pleads through

The gospel

That declaration

Of what

God has done

For us

In Jesus

To forgive

Our sins

And to give

Us eternal

One

And also

The Spirit

Pleads through

The witness

And the testimony

Of the people

Of God

Saying to us

Saying to the world

The saviour

They worship

As a saviour

You should follow

And trust too

The Spirit

Pleads with us

To say

You cannot

Know God

And you cannot

Live the Christian

Life in your

Own power

The Spirit

Comes as it were

To turn the light

On for us

To cause us

To see

What we couldn't

Before

And part of

How he does that

Is through this

Convicting work

That Jesus

Speaks of

So let's

Turn to that now

And ask this question

Why is the Holy Spirit

Convicting the world

Good news

Because maybe we don't

Hear the word

Conviction

Convicted of a crime

For example

As good news

Again let's go

Back to the Proverbs

Like the trusted

Words of a friend

Listening to the Spirit

Is good news

Conviction

Is a gift

Because what the Spirit

Does is he

Exposes

Our wrong thinking

And our wrong beliefs

About Jesus

In order to turn people

To Jesus

In order that we

Might believe

By grace

That we might be

Saved

By faith

So in terms of

How we respond

To this truth

Today

All of us

The desired response

Is that either

It would increase

Our thankfulness

For the work

Of the Spirit

Who comes

To reveal

Jesus to us

And his glory

So

And also to make us

More like

Jesus

The Spirit

Who wants us

To keep in step

With him

So we keep

Listening to

And following

Jesus

So our response

Is lives of worship

And obedience

To Jesus

Whatever our circumstances

In the middle

Of the trouble

We find ourselves in

Or the other response

And this is if you're

Not a Christian

Is that you would

Listen

Listen to the Spirit

In his word

From Jesus

Convicting you

And exposing your guilt

Like that prosecution lawyer

So that

You would repent from sin

You would turn from it

And turn to God

You would trust in Jesus

His Lord

And Saviour

So in verse 8

Which we read

Jesus focuses on

Three ways

The Spirit

Will convict

The world

When the Spirit

Comes

He will convict

The world of guilt

In regard to sin

And righteousness

And judgment

So let's look at

Each of those in turn

First of all

Sin

Verse 9

In regard to sin

Because men do not

Believe in me

So the sin

That we're convicted of

In particular

Is the sin of not

Believing in Jesus

So let's think of

Three ways

Where the world

Fails to believe in Jesus

Think about the identity

Of Jesus

First of all

John's gospel

Is really clear

The Bible is clear

Jesus is the revelation

From God

So John's gospel

Begins

In the beginning

Was the word

And the word

Was with God

And the word

Was God

That when we look

At Jesus

We are seeing

The glory of God

In human form

Jesus seven times

In John's gospel

Describes himself

As I am

I am the good shepherd

I am the bread of life

I am the vine

I am

Was a title for God

In the old testament

Jesus saying

I am God

And I have come

To reveal God

Think about the name

And the titles

Of Jesus

Jesus means

God saves

So we need to see

The identity of Jesus

As God's saviour

Christ

Jesus the Christ

God's anointed one

Chosen for a set purpose

The purpose

To be that king

Who would rule

For us

To be the prophet

Who would speak

God's truth to us

To be the priest

Who would give himself

As the perfect sacrifice

To make us right

With God

To forgive our sin

And Jesus is the Christ

And he is the Lord

And the Lord

Of course

The old testament title

For God himself

Jesus is God

God's king

God's saviour

That's his identity

So how do we see

Unbelief in regard

To his identity

Well we see it

In hostility

Again as we move

Towards Easter

Think about what happens

Around the cross of Jesus

We see

Rejection of Jesus

Hatred of him

We see him being

Falsely accused

Beaten

Mocked

Shamefully put

To death

Today

In our world

We also see

Rejection of Jesus

We see

Mockery

Of Jesus

And his church

So there's hostility

And sin and unbelief

But there's also apathy

Where people fail

To take his claims

Seriously

Perhaps happy

To see Jesus

As a good man

Perhaps happy

To hear him

As a wise teacher

Some kind of

Spiritual guru

But to have that

Attitude

Well it's fine

For you

To take Jesus

Seriously

But he's not

For me

To pick and choose

Jesus says

He's Lord

And God

And he's the only way

To God

So it's not enough

To just say

He's a good teacher

Or a good man

So there's apathy

In really engaging

With Jesus

There's that

Sin

Of not believing

In Jesus

Also in terms of

His mission

You know the Bible

Is clear

Jesus came on

A rescue mission

Jesus said

He's come to give

His life as a ransom

It's as if we're

Held hostage

And Jesus

Pays in his own

Body and blood

The price to set us

Free

To forgive us

And give us

Eternal life

But what does

Unbelief look like

It means

There's no

Repentance

There's no

Recognition

That we need

That

There's no

Faith in

Jesus

There's no

Love for

Jesus

There's an

Unwillingness

To count

The cost

Of being

A disciple

Of Jesus

And if we

Think about

The theme

Of worship

Positively

At the end

Of John's

Gospel

In chapter

20

We find

The wonderful

Example of

Thomas

When he

Meets the

Risen

Jesus

Falls

On his

Ease

He says

My Lord

My God

He worships

Jesus

As he

Truly is

But

Sin and

Unbelief

Looks like

A failure

To glorify

God

To

Failure

To glorify

Jesus

Failure

To honour

And love

Jesus

Failure

To see

Him

As the

Greatest

Of all

Treasures

So we

Live for

Other things

More than

We live

For

Jesus

Who is

God

And the

Bible

Says

We are

All by

Nature

Part of

The

World

This

Culture

That is

Hostile

And in

Rebellion

Against

God

We are

United

In our

Blindness

I don't

Know if

You've

Been

Having

The

Same

Problems

That we

Have

The internet

Feels like

It's

Breaking

Sometimes

You try

And watch

Something on

Netflix

And sometimes

The picture

Is so

Pixelated

The signal

Is so

Slow

And so

Poor

That

Sometimes

We've

Had to

Turn off

Because you

Can't

Make out

The

Character's

Faces

Even

That's

Us

Spiritually

By

Nature

We are

Unable

And we

Are unwilling

To see

Jesus

As he

Truly

Is

Unless

The spirit

Comes

As a

Gift of

God's

Grace

Unless

The spirit

Convicts us

Of our

Sin

And our

Unbelief

Unless he

Opens our

Eyes

So that

Now we're

Really seeing

The personal

Work of

Jesus

And our

Need of

Him

Then that

View will

Never

Change

So conviction

Is good

News when

It means

That now we

Are restored

To the love

That we

Long for

And we're

Made for

To know

And enjoy

The love

Of God

So the

Holy Spirit

Convicts us

Sin

What's the

Next way

The spirit

Convicts

The world

We see

He convicts

The world

In regard

To righteousness

Verse 10

Because I

Am going

To the

Father

Where you

Can see

Me

No

Longer

Does that

Mean the

Spirit

Reveals

To us

That true

Righteousness

Is found

In Jesus

And only

In Jesus

So for

The disciples

You wouldn't

Find righteousness

In the

Temple

You wouldn't

Find it

In the

Self-righteous

Religion

That so

Many people

Were following

In the

Day

For us

To

True

Righteousness

In God's

sight

Doesn't come

From our

Religious

Practices

Doesn't come

From our

Moral

Efforts

Righteousness

Comes in

Jesus

And from

Jesus

Jesus

Said I

Am the

Way to

God

Because I

Am the

Truth

And the

Life

No one

Comes to

The

Father

Except

Through

Me

Jesus

Is

Realistic

About

Your

Inability

And

Mine

To be

Right

With God

By ourselves

And

He's

Realistic

About

His

Own

Perfect

Righteousness

As

Good

News

But then

You think

About the

Cross

What's

Happening

There

At the

Cross

Jesus

Is

Dying

And

He's

Dying

Under

God's

Curse

And

He's

Dying

Experiencing

The

Wrath

Of

God

And

So

We

Need

To

Ask

What's

Happening

There

Why

Is

Jesus

Doing

That

Jesus

In

Love

Has

Come

To

Take

The

Place

Of

Unrighteous

Sinners

To

Take

Our

Place

For

Our

Sin

So

That

A great

Exchange

Might

Happen

He

Might

Take

Our

Sin

And

He

Might

Give

Us

Azure

To

제대로

Way

Fair

To

Harley

The

If

You

here good news of freedom from a self-help religion maybe you find yourself climbing that ladder

today trying desperately hard to get to god well the spirit would want to convict you that that

ladder it is going nowhere and it is leaning on nothing so it will collapse we need jesus to come

down in order to raise us up to god praise god he did so conviction again is good news when it comes

to righteousness because it gives us assurance of trusting jesus we are in christ by the spirit

we are declared righteous as a gift of his grace and we are given the power to do righteousness

which we were unable to do before one last way the spirit will convict the world and it's in regard

to judgment verse 11 because the prince of this world now stands condemned

judgment looking ahead to the cross there demonstrating that the work of christ

destroys the devil's work so the spirit comes to our our hearts and minds and convicts us

convinces us that the cross is victory and not defeat lots of people there on the day of the cross

thought it was the end of jesus and his claims lots of people today still see the cross as defeat

but the spirit opens our eyes and shows us the truth that the battle has been won by jesus over the

forces of evil and his death and resurrection and his ascension to glory there are proof for us and the

spirit also convicts us that the cross stands as a warning sign just as judgment came on the devil

so it will be for those in the world who reject and rebel against jesus

the spirit wants to use a megaphone to let us hear you are on the wrong side of history

if you are not following jesus

when we think about kids in a playground playing games together team games

you will notice i'm sure that they always want to switch to be on the winning team

or they have that sense of that boy that girl they're really good at this sport so i want to be on their

side there's there's wisdom in that spiritually jesus is the winner the cross is victory his second

coming will be victory complete

his resurrection and return to glory are proof of that we need to be on the winning side and the spirit

wants to show us that to turn us in that direction so there is good news here the holy spirit comes from

to convict us in that direction so we will believe so today let's hear the spirit as a friend whose wounds can be trusted

let him expose and convict us of our sin and our unbelief whether we're christian or not

as christians we are still guilty of sin and unbelief and we want the spirit to show that to us we might

constantly be returning be repenting every day

let's ask the spirit to convict us of our foolish attempts at being good enough for god

so we'd stop resting in ourselves trusting in ourselves and trust and rest in jesus alone for salvation

and we'd ask the spirit to convict us of the judgment on rebellion and rejection

so that with a sense of desperation and urgency we would run to jesus or we'd stay close to jesus

so in response

may we either

find ourselves gratefully and increasingly

worshipping jesus as we are led by the spirit

or

if you're not christian

ask today

for the gift

for the gift

to repent

to turn away from your sin

to turn away from your unbelief

to turn away from the path leading to judgment and destruction

turn

and ask for the gift of faith

that you would believe in jesus

that you would be saved

that you too would know that the coming

of the spirit

is good

good news

now let's

close

our time of worship

kellen will lead us in singing a couple of sections from

psalm 51

the first four verses

and then verses 7

to 12

this song is a prayer

david's prayer

after god used

the words of nathan the prophet

to convict him

of his sin

and guilt

so let's

use these

as our words of response

so let's

sing

together

oh my god

have mercy

on me

in your steadfast love

i pray

in your infinite compassion

my transgressions wipe away

cleanse me from iniquity

wash my sin away from me

for i know my own transgressions

i can see my sinful plight

you

you

only

i've offended

and

done evil

in your sight

so

your words

are

verified

and your

verdict

justified

and your

blood

cleansed with

hyssop

purify

me

i'll be

whiter

than

the

snow

let

the

bones

you

crushed

may

joyful

may i

joy

and

gladness

know

from

my

failure

hide

your

face

blot

out

all

my

wicked

lord

create

a

pure

heart

in me

and

a

steadfast

mind

renewed

do

not

take

your

spirit

from

me

cast

me

not

away

from

you

give

me

back

the

joy

i

had

keep

my

willing

spirit

glad

now

let's pray

as we

close

father

god

thank you

for this

wonderful

truth

that jesus

revealed

that it

is for

our

good

and that

the

spirit

is

sent

thank

you

that it

means

that we

can

always

have

jesus

with

us

he

can

be

for

us

that

friend

who

sticks

closer

than

any

brother

thank

you

that his

kingdom

is

spreading

and

continues

to

spread

and even

in the

midst

of the

coronavirus

is still

spreading

as men

and women

and boys

and girls

in their

need

led by

the spirit

are turning

to jesus

in faith

lord we

ask that the

spirit would

be convicting

us of sin

and unbelief

convicting

us that

righteousness is

found only

in jesus

to convict

us of the

judgment that

comes on

unbelief

so that we

would trust

and always

trust

in jesus

that you

would cause

us to

love him

and to

love him

more

and that

we would

this week

live lives

of

grateful

obedience

seeking to

do good

and to

show mercy

as a

response to

your kindness

to us

we pray

in jesus

name

amen

so again

do stay

in touch

do connect

with each

other

do take

the chance

to be

involved in

our

community

groups

join us

tomorrow

at 8pm

where we'll be

praying online

through zoom

and again that

link will be

available

it was great

to have

people from

different

locations

joining us

to pray

our church

one another

our nation

needs

prayer

at this

time

and again

may God

be with you

and bless you

this week

peace

please

not

be with you

you

you

work

every

day

of

the

ают

means

who

are

to see

the

a

by

ern

were

the

who

you

quit

when

it

you

can

as

are

we

you

know

or

and

n

after

and