HEAVEN BOUND? Part 2

POINT: What Does It Mean To Be Led By The Holy Spirit And What Is The Evidence?

ME - Explain who you are and what you’re all about. Pastor in his church uses as introduction of idea or topic.

WE - It takes me from what I’m thinking or feeling to what WE are thinking and feeling. I have to find an emotional common ground with them around the topic or idea of the message. My goal is to raise a felt need with as many people in the audience as I can

GOD - where I take this emotional common ground I’ve established and introduce biblical truth into the discussion. Now I’m providing a solution to the need I just raised. Remember, we are not teaching the Bible to people; we’re teaching people the Bible. First, we connect with the people; then we move to the Bible.

1. The Beginning: The Holy Spirit Testifies To You That You Are Saved!

Romans 8:15–16 NIV84

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

a. The Holy Spirit Brings About An Inner Conviction

1) Produced By The Holy Spirit.

John 10:27–28 NIV84

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Romans 5:1 NIV84

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2) The Christians Will Always Battle With Sin . . . Don’t Give Up To Despair - But, Rejoice That He Is Changing You!

1 John 1:8 NIV84

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:10 NIV84

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

John 16:7–14 NIV84

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor 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.

i. If we don’t have remorse or guilt, or conviction after we have sinned, then we may either be grieving the Holy Spirit, we may be growing cold and calloused in our relationship, or we may not be born again.

a. Departure of the Savior - v7a

John 16:7 NIV84

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

b. Descent of the Spirit - v7b

c. The Spirit of God reproving - v8 (of sin, or righteousness and unrighteousness, of judgement

John 16:8 NIV84

When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

i. The word “reprove” KJV, or “convict” NIV, is not a strong enough word here. the word is a legal term that means to pronounce a judicial verdict by which the guilt of the culprit at the bar of justice is defined and fixed. The Spirit does not merely accuse men of sin, he brings to them an inescapable sense of guilt so that they realize their shame and helplessness before God.

ii. This Spirit is the prosecuting attorney who presents God’s case against humanity. He creates an inescapable awareness of sin so that it cannot be dismissed with an excuse or evaded by taking refuge in the fact that “everybody is doing it.” The Spirit’s function is like that of Nathan the prophet, who said to David, “You are the man” (2 Sam 12:7), and compelled him to acknowledge his misdeeds. David was so convicted that he was reduced to a state of complete penitence: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Ps 51:4).

d. The Spirit of God Rebuking - v9 - Christ would judge sinners, because of their failure to accept His love and pardon. The Bible speaks of the final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15.

John 16:9 NIV84

in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;

i. The essence of sin is unbelief, which is not simply a casual incredulity (in-cre-dul-ity) nor a difference of opinion; rather, it is a total rejection of God’s messenger and message.

a. Skepticism - It is an intellectual position of doubt about the nature or reality of something. Here, it is about God, who He is, what He has done.

i. beyond that . . . Philosophical skepticism it an approach to knowledge that doubts our ability to know anything for certain. “Lexham Bible Dictionary”

b. A court can convict a man of murder, but only the Spirit can convict him of unbelief. Jesus insisted that sin was fundamentally repudiation of his message and his mission.

e. The Spirit of God bringing righteousness - v10 - Christ has gone to the Father. Righteousness is needed in our lives, in our churches, and in our nation.

John 16:10 NIV84

in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;

i. The Holy Spirit enforces the absolute standard of God’s character, to which all thought ad action must be compared. Apart from a standard of righteousness, there can be no sin; and there must be an awareness of the holiness of God before a person will realize his own deficiency.

f. The Spirit of God Revealing - v11 - The Power of Satan will be Destroyed

John 16:11 NIV84

and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

i. Judgement always occurs when an act or thought is evaluated by an absolute principle. Actions are judged by their accord with law or by their lack of conformity to it. When human sin is confronted by the righteousness of Christ, its condemnation is self-evident. In this context “judgment” refers to the condemnation of satanic self-will and rebellion by the obedience and love toward the Father exhibited by Jesus. The Cross was the utter condemnation and defeat of the “prince of this world.” THIS IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE!

Acts 5:32 NIV84

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

i. Question that is dangerous: Wondering how close you can get to sin without actually sinning.

This is not a question that I like hearing. “Terry, is ___________ a sin?” Why would you want to ask a question that feeds your desire to sin. If these kinds of questions are floating around in our hearts that we need to check our hearts and get back into the Word of God. The question we should be asking is “How close can I get to God?

2. The Evidence of Change!

1 John 2:29 NIV84

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV84

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

a. The Spirit of God has His way!

1) Spiritual Ignorance - John 16:12 - There are things that are too overwhelming for men to know now that are understood by only the Lord and the holy spirit.

John 16:12 NIV84

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

2) The Spirit’s Impact - John 16:13 - The H.S. speaks of certain things.

John 16:13 NIV84

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.

a. Guidance - He will guide men into all truth.

b. Unselfish. He will not speak for Himself.

c. Revelation. He will speak what He hears from God.

d. Prophecy. He will tell future events.

3) The Spirit’s Influence - John 16:14

John 16:14 NIV84

He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

a. The Spirit will praise Christ. "He will bring glory to me”

b. The Spirit will share Christ. ". . . by taking what is mine and making it known to you.”

4) The Spirit Changes Men

a. Attitudes. The Holy Spirit will change once unholy men to Christlike men as He is allowed to work in their lives.

b. Ambitions. The Holy Spirit will give men goals that are pleasing to the Lord.

c. Affections. The Holy Spirit will help men to love Christ and others.

d. Actions. The Holy Spirit will show men how to put their love for christ and others into action.

3. The Practice Of God’s Presence!

Every time I think of God’s presence I think about God’s promise to Moses “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest”. (Ex. 33:14)

Exodus 33:14 NIV84

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

When we think of presence we think of . . . the presence or proximity of someone understood in terms of the face; with the implication of being before or in front of them . . . or the state of being in the same spatial area as another.

Brother Lawrence in his book “The Practice of the Presence of God” is an incredible journey of one’s life doing this very thing. When we consider his thoughts we come to this understanding of what this means.

Primarily, “The presence of God is the concentration of the soul’s attention on God, remembering that He is always present.”

The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in His divine company, speaking humbly and lovingly with Him in all seasons, at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way. This is especially important in times of temptation, sorrow, separation from God, and even in times of unfaithfulness and sin.

We must try to converse with God in little ways while we do our work; not in memorized prayer, not trying to recite previously formed thoughts. Rather, we should purely and simply reveal our hearts as the words come to us.

We must do everything with great care, avoiding impetuous actions, which are evidence of a disordered spirit. God wants us to work gently, calmly, and lovingly with Him, asking Him to accept our work. By this continual attention to God, we will resist the devil and cause him to flee (James 4:7).

YOU - Once I’ve introduced God’s view on the subject as the answer to the need, it makes it easy for me to then ask, ‘What are you going to do about it? This becomes the application segment, and if I’ve followed my map well, instead of having to stir up interest in making the application, the application comes as a relief or it’s always the answer to a question they’re already asking. Communicate the challenge at a personal level because life-change is going to come when people apply the truth to their lives. You just go back, and everywhere you raised a need, now you make an application and make sure you don’t raise a felt need that you aren’t going to cover from God’s Word and answer with an application. The worst thing a communicator can do is overpromise and under-deliver. You’re building trust with your listeners. Not just trust in the information, but trust in the relationship.

WE - the place to cast a common vision. A vision of what our lives, our church, and even our world would look like if only we would apply the truth of God’s Word. It’s the inspirational part of the message. My goal at this point is to inspire people to make a change. Sometimes being faced with God’s Word can leave the listener feeling defeated, if all they think about is how far they have to go. But, if I can give them a picture of what life will be like once they apply the truth, then they have a little hope.