Berwick - Holy Spirit: Convicting and Conforming

The Holy Spirit Convicts and ConformsScott Hawkins / General AdultThe Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit Convicts and Conforms

I. Introduction

A. l consider it an honor to be here with you today for a couple of reasons:

First, I can’t tell you how much I consider it a privilege it is to preach behind this pulpit because of of the man’s God-given responsibility it is to fill it each week. There are very few people in this world that I respect as much as I do Mike Langford.

Mike has been and always be my pastor. But as the years have gone by he has become one of my closest friends.

But every time I preach in this pulpit there is a pressure that I feel because I know the type of solid teaching you are accustomed to week in and week out.

Secondly, being here at Berwick is always like coming home. I served on staff here nearly 18 years ago. Though my time here was short, this church made a tremendous impact on my life. Not only did we accomplish incredible things for the Kingdom, but Berwick has shaped how I perceive how church should be. I always think of this church as a people of unity and community.

Tonight at 4pm will begin the first of 25 small groups meeting this week for Renovation Church where I serve. Our small groups system is heavily influenced by my time here at Berwick. Each group is designed to Love God and Love People through a Love For God’s Word.

That is a direct result of your influence on me. So I want to thank you for the impact you’ve had on my life. Not only are you impacting lives here but your influence is felt all the way to St Joseph

B. This morning open your Bible to John 16

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 19While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

a. Today we are going to look at a couple of the ways we encounter the Holy Spirit the most on a day-to-day basis.This morning we are going to see how the Holy Spirit CONVICTS and CONFORMS us.

b. If you will stand in honor of reading God’s Word this morning.

PrayToday we are going to look at a couple of the ways we encounter the Holy Spirit the most on a day-to-day basis.This morning we are going to see how the Holy Spirit CONVICTS and CONFORMS us.

5 But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

5 But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

II. The Holy Spirit Convicts.

A. One of the primary roles of The Holy Spirit in our lives is He convicts us of our sini.

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 16Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment:

If you are like me, I read the Gospels and wish I could have been one of the disciples and spent those three years with Him like they did. I have to admit, as I read Mathew, Mark, Luke and am sometimes jealous and I think, “My faith would be so much deeper if I was able to see Him and hear Him like they did”, but Jesus actually told His Disciples that it would actually be better for them, not if He stayed, but if He left them.Why? Because they would not experience the Holy Spirit until He left to return back to the Father. With the Holy Spirit living inside of us it means that we are never without the presence of God in our lives.But Jesus point here in is the Spirit will convict us.B. Our first interaction with the Holy Spirit comes as He convicts us of our need for Jesus.i. If it were not for the Holy Spirit we would have no desire within us for Jesus because of our sin. Romans tells us that we are “dead in our trespasses and sins”. That means apart from Jesus we are spiritually dead until we come to faith in Him.ii. Notice what Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict us of: sin, righteousness, and judgement.Sin - The fact that, like Adam & Eve, we have all rebelled against God. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” ().Righteousness - Because we sin we are sinners and God is holy. It is our sin that separates us from a God and that is why Jesus came. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” ().Judgement - Because of our sin we deserve judgment. We deserve eternal separation from God in hell, but the Spirit convicts us that for those who put their trust in Jesus that Jesus has experienced the wrath of God for us so we won’t. “God made HIm who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that in Him we may become the righteousness of God” .

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 214 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them 16 on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus

b. “...Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them on the day when God judges...”. The Apostle Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit works with our conscience to know what is right and wrong. Because of this we should know that we are sinners in need of forgiveness by God and that how we respond to the Gospel will either C. But The Holy Sprit’s conviction of us is something that goes beyond just coming to faith in Christ, because, at least this side of heaven, we are not perfect and we still sin.i. I have been a Christian for almost 30 years now and I still struggle with sin in ways that I never thought I would when I gave my life to the Lord when I was 14 years old. In many ways, I thought living as a Christian would have been easier by now, but the older I get in the Lord the more aware I become of my attraction to sin.1. I don’t think I am alone in this; I think most of us in this room can identify. We know the war that goes on inside of our hearts. 2. We know what the Bible says about how we are to conduct ourselves but sometimes we act totally opposite of that.We know the Bible says that we are to love even our enemies, but we find that we too quickly become mad or angry at those closest to us like our spouses.We know we are to forgive as Jesus has forgiven us but we have a hard time letting go of our past hurts.We feel this pull within because we are caught between reacting to do what we want to do that is often sinful and doing what we know God would have us do and respond in a way that is honoring to Him.I don’t know how many of you are UFC fans but to me the best matches are when two heavy-weights are just going toe-to-toe and slug it out. I often feel like these opposing things of sin and resisting sin are like a heavy-weight UFC match going on in my heart. D. This struggle is actually Biblical. Listen to how Paul puts this battle that goes on in our hearts between the Holy Spirit and our sinful desires.

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

ii. Vs. 16 Paul says if we “walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desire of the flesh”Right from the start Paul addresses these to opposing things that are within all of our hearts.What does Paul mean that we are to “walk in the Spirit”?I think we too often take passages like this and make them mystical, but Paul is actually addressing it in the practical. He means that we are to be yielded and surrendered to the Lord. Sin and righteousness can not co-exist, so Paul puts in this as a verb “to walk” meaning it takes being intentional to walk. It is allowing the Spirit to enable us and empower us to walk in HIs strength to live for Jesus.This is important for us to understand this intentionality it takes to walk with God, because left to our own devices we will always take the path of least resistance.Let me put it this way: Imagine if I were to take a ball and set it in the middle of a giant hill. Do you think it is going to roll up the hill or down the hill? It always going to take the path of least resistance. This is how we are with our sin nature apart from the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We will always be drawn to our flesh, but the Spirit fights to turn our attention back to the Lord.Vs. 17 “For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.”

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 715 For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this law:,af When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me.

We have to understand the war within that takes place between the flesh and the Holy Spirit. They are fighting for our attention and it is up to us to determine who we are going to listen to.The Spirit fights to bring Christ-likeness in our lives. His desire is to bring about desires that would cause us to draw closer to the Lord and grow in our relationship with HIm. The flesh works that we would find satisfaction within ourselves.Look at the list Paul gives just a few verses down in verses 19-21

​New Living Translation Chapter 5When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

3. Sometimes we try and get as close as we can to sin. We think we will never allow it to get out of hand, because we won’t let it.a. We get angry, but we feel justified because we were provoked. Plus, we will say that our anger issues are because on how our parents were growing up.b. Maybe there is that person at work and there is innocent flirting that happens, but you think that you can control it and it won’t go anywhere.c. Some of you consistently look at porn, but you don’t consider yourself addicted but you are consistent and you tell yourself you will stop if it “becomes a problem”.d. Others are you are so invested in your jobs that your family is falling apart around you and you don’t even notice because you are never there.e. All the while there are these sin-dominated life issues and we think we have a handle on them. We think, “I got this. I won’t let it get out of control.”

i. Tatiana Siberian Tiger - If would have visited the San Francisco Zoo prior to Christmas Day 2007 you would have been able to enjoy observing a zoo favorite - a three year old female Siberian Tiger affectionately known as Tatiana. However that would all end shortly after 5pm Christmas Day with San Fransisco police firing their guns at Tatiana that would end her life that day

You might be curious as to what would cause this need? An investigation later discovered that earlier that day 17 year Carlos Sousa and two friends were taunting and provoking Tatiana while she was in her enclosure making her nervous, scared and aggravated. Then the unthinkable happened - Titiana scaled the 13 foot wall of her enclosure, a hight that no zoo officials ever thought a tiger could escape from, and mauled Carlos Sousa to death. One of the men who was a part of taunting the young tiger reportedly admitted that they knew their actions were wrong but they never considered themselves in danger because of the enclosure where Tatiana was kept.

ii. This is often how we view sin. We get as close to it as we can and taunt it and flirt with it, all the while thinking we are safe that we are in control, but we do not realize the danger of our tauntings and flirtations. We think we will never “cross the line” (whatever that line may be) or we are so secreactive and put such measures that we will never get caught.

(1) This should remind us about what God said to Cain when he was upset with his brother Able in , “...if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”(2) We don’t realize the the danger of not taking our sin seriously and so the Holy Spirit goes to war with our flesh in order to win not only our affections to Christ but also our actions and thoughts.(3) There is no doubt that we engage in spiritual warfare on a daily basis. Scripture is very clear about that, but often times are problems are not the result of the enemy but us allowing our flesh to lead us and we make stupid sinful choices. This why Paul encourages us in verse 18 to be “led by the Spirit”.iii. Pastor Craig Groeschel puts it this way:

“What you feed grows and and what you starve dies.” - Craig Groeschell

(1) This is so important for us to understand. When we walk in the Spirit, He will lead us into actions that honor and glorify God and when we follow the Spirit’s leading we will starve the flesh. Not that we will ever be sinless this side of heaven, but we will find ourselves being less dominated by particular sins that we once had a hold on us.

III. The Spirit Conforms Us to Jesus

A. The last function of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we want to talk about today is how the Spirit CONFORMS US TO CHRIST.B. Here is what I want you to understand about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives: Jesus did not save you so you would become:i. A good personii. A faithful church attenderiii. The goal really isn’t about us modifying our behavior.C. This becomes what I think can be one of the greatest dangers to our faith and our relationship with Christ is when we think Christianity is only about us being “better”. Better than I used to be. Better habits than I used to have. That only leads to moralism which is dangerous because that is who the Pharisees were that Jesus challenged. i. Moralism leads to pride and arrogance that makes us think we are better than others and look down our noses at them.ii. This sets us up to look at our morals and our standards and judge others so we can feel good about ourselves. i.e-”I know I have my own issues, but at least I am not as bad as that person.”D. If you don’t hear anything else I say today I want you to get this: The Holy Spirit does not work in our lives to bring behavior modification, but the Spirit works to bring about Gospel Transformation. (Hannah’s cue).i. The Gospel is not about us being better it is about us being new.

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

ii. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of Jesus, all of our sins are forgiven. They are gone! The Spirit works this transformation in our hearts so we become more like Jesus.E. If your thinking of the Gospel is only being a better version of you are missing the point. The Gospel doesn’t say. “Be Better and do better”. The Gospel takes you to a hill where a Cross stands above all the landscape. On that cross is a suffering savior in agony bearing the weight of your sin and my sin. The Gospel takes you to an empty tomb that is the proof that all things really can be made new in your heart. That Gospel leads you to an everyday surrender to follow Jesus simply because He is worthy. And in that Gospel there is a Spirit that enables you and empowers you to live for Jesus. Don’t take for granted how precious this Gospel is.F. I want to leave you with this passage and I hope you underline it in your Bible.

​Christian Standard Bible Chapter 317 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at,aj the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

i. Here is what the Apostle Paul says about the working of the Spirit.(1) The Spirit works brings freedom in our lives not bring a bondage of performance. (Vs.17)(2) The Spirit works to make us look more and more like Jesus. This will be a fight on His part and our part until the day we die, but one day we will reach the other side of eternity and then our struggle is over and forever more we will be like Jesus.

Conclusion/Invitation

A. Maybe you are here today and you have struggled recently in your walk. Maybe you’ve reduced your faith to “do better and be better” and you are exhausted. I would encourage you to let that go and accept you can never be good enough. It is defeating.i. I would encourage you to surrender to the Spirit today and say, “I can’t but You can. Lead me.B. Maybe you are here today and you’ve never surrendered you life to Christ. You have never looked to the Cross and repented of your sins, but you are ready to begin today. He will make you new. He might not take away all your problems, but He will give you a new heart.C. I am going to ask our prayer team to come up here and they would love to pray with you and even tell you more about Jesus and His life giving Gospel.