“When he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged….When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. ” John 16:8-14 NLT
I learned a long time ago that while God, in His work, may seem random, that is an illusion of the highest order. God never does anything without a plan. We humans are the ones who shoot from the hip and play things by ear.
So when God planned the church, the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was not an afterthought. He was not an add-on to church history just for good measure. His arrival and work were as minutely planned as the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
In John 16 Jesus outlines the Holy Spirit’s job in the church.
1. He will convict the world of sin
2.He will convict the world towards righteousness
3. He will convict the world that judgment is coming
4. He will reveal to the church all of God’s future plans.
In short the Holy Spirit is the liaison connecting Earth and Heaven. He alone is invested with the authority and power to convince men of their sin, reveal the pathway to righteousness and clue mankind in about God’s progressive timetable. The church cannot do its work without the Holy Spirit….But,good golly Miss Molly, we have tried.
Let’s be real, Holy Ghost is definitely an out of the box thinker. He gets His job done, for sure, but I would never think to do it the way He does. For instance, I never would have chosen tongues as the first sign of my coming. Then again, no one can argue with the results: After all, 3,000 gave their hearts to Jesus on that day.
Whatever we may think of His methods, though, we don’t get a say in Holy Spirit’s job performance. He is God. Jesus and the Father commissioned Him and we don’t get to relieve Him of His duties. Further He is not random. He has a reason for everything. Every gift has a purpose and should be gladly received. Every miracle has its place and points to the Christ. Every leader called and commissioned by the Holy Spirit is raised up for a purpose that fits directly into His plan. Nothing done in relationship with Him is a waste or unfruitful. If He ordained it the results are with Him even if we do not see or understand them.
the Holy Spirit came to take up Jesus’ place at Jesus’ command and the church desperately needs Him to do His job particularly as we see the end approaching.
He has told us the end is near (you have heard it in your heart). I am so thankful that He is fulfilling His other roles as well! Let’s commit to allowing Him the privilege of convicting people of their sin and showing them the way to righteousness in Christ! Oh church let us allow the Holy Spirit more freedom in our lives than ever before!
Reinventing the We'll 