Who is the Holy Spirit? Unhealed Wounds of Conviction

10 Message Title Vision 2018: Forward Who is the Holy Spirit? John 16:7-8 2017 DATE AM Introduction: Billy Graham said, “It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love.” https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/833766-it-is-the-holy-spirit-s-job-to-convict-god-s-job I. Triune Godhead A. I am a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor, Uber & Lyft driver… :) With each of these "functions" I have different roles & responsibilities to fill. It is the same with the Holy Spirit of God. He is the third, but not a "lesser" part of the Triune Godhead. I am one person serving in distinct, separate roles & unique functions.  B. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the convictor of sin. a. Without conviction people will not confess their sin. Without the confession of sin people will not be saved. I do not think we realize how long eternity is nor do we understand the fierce judgments & wrath of Hell upon sinners. May the Church of the living God pray in the convicting power of the Holy Ghost. I read of two men who went before Charles Finney’s revival meetings. One place they were staying, then modern hotel/boarding house, the lady in charge told Charles Finney the men had not come out of the room for three days & had been on the floor groaning & crying. She was concerned they were ill or derainged. Finney knew they were seeking God for the conversion of souls. b. Be the mouthpiece of the Spirit - {Adalyn's witness to a 9 year girl at the playground of how she can tell her how to be a Christian.}  Acts 4:36-37, 5:1-4 (BIBLE) Acts 4:36And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. NKJV Notice, Peter knows the Holy Spirit is a Person & He is God. The name Ananias means “God has favored.” {Hebrew} “Whom Jehovah has graciously given.” {Greek} The name Sapphira means “Sapphire” which is a precious stone. They were not deadbeats. They were favored & beautiful in the eyes of God, yet they did not allow the Holy Spirit as Convictor to minister to their: II. Unhealed Wounds of Conviction Remember the application: Conviction Opens the Door to Repentance & Salvation. What can happen when a serious wound is not attended to? A key is the neglect of a serious, potentially deadly wound. When sin is not dealt with it is deadly! Annanias & Saphira were trying to “position” themselves in the Church, following the action of Joses but they were not honest. A. Confess a. Repent, but they didn’t; Annanias & Saphira did not deal with an unhealed wound, maybe they didn’t see it as deadly. This is unrepented sin, unhealed wounds of conviction. Rest assured, the Holy Ghost had at some point convicted them of the root problem but they ignored it so long they couldn’t see the seriousness of the wound & it killed them both. b. There was something in their life that lead to this perverted spirit of lying. This was a manifestation of the root issue. c. ANSWER: They had perverse vanity & ambition, a lack of faith & hypocrisy. They had the sin of greed but the greater sin of pride.  B. Contempt a. Many "people don’t believe that sin is contempt toward God. We have more polite terms like ‘It was a mistake,’ ‘I messed up.’ At the heart of it is contempt; a contemptuous attitude toward the person and the work of God, toward His holiness and righteousness in particular." https://www.ligonier.org/blog/sin-contempt-god/ b. Ananias & Sapphira lied to God by lying to the Holy Spirit, who is Divine as well as personal. Aanais & Sapphira refused to listen to the bidding, pleading, wooing, conviction of the Holy Ghost but when He personally spoke to Peter the truth came out & this unhealed wound killed them. c. This sin was unnecessary. Peter said, the money was theirs to use, but to inflate their “spiritual” standing they said all the money was given. Satan can fill the heart, he can influence you, but he can’t do the sinning.  C. Convict – Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the convictor of sin. a. He does things that we associate with personality. He teaches, He inspires, He guides, He leads, He grieves, He convicts us of sin, and more. The Holy Ghost is Divine, He is God therefore Peter says you lied to the Holy Ghost & in lying to Him you lied to God. b. He is a convictor of sin. He NEVER allowed anyone to fall into sin that He did not try to convince them of the wrong. But when a wound is ignored, it gets infected & festers, the poison of that unhealed wound spreads & spreads until it gets in the blood then death is nearer than you may think. The Blood of Jesus Christ will heal of that infectious sin! III. The Holy Spirit as Convictor brings Revival. A. Listen to what revival looks like (Revival which broke out in Scotland in the late 1800's): a. "Often as Robert Murray McCheynne preached the entire congregation was brought to tears… 'It was like a pent-up flood breaking forth; tears were streaming from the eyes of many, and some fell on the ground groaning and weeping and crying for mercy.' At other times men and women were so overcome with grief and conviction that they literally had to be carried out of the church. 'In some areas whole congregations were frequently moved as one man, and the voice of the minister was drowned out by the cries of anxious souls.'" "Many could no longer control their feelings and broke forth simultaneously in weeping and wailing, tears and groans, intermingled with shouts of joy and praise. Others fell to the ground as if they had been dead." Fire on the Altar pg. 70-71 b. Cry out to God, day or night – He hears your cry. B. {Compare the difference between the convicting power of the holy ghost in Peter's life whenever he repented before Jesus and that of Judas who never repented.} C. The reason we can do this is because of the resurrection of Christ. - He asks us to: * Repent * Live by Faith * Be Baptized * Be Filled with His Spirit Conclusion: PRESENT THE GOSPEL FOR SALVATION – EVERY WEEK – AND THE NEED TO COME FORWARD IN PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST.