I Am Going - Part 2

Bryan Chapell: If you are feeling the weight of sin in your life, in which we sometimes say, I I'm not sure I'm a Christian, I'm I'm not sure I should come to the church, I'm not sure I'd be involved, it's because I have sin in my life. I want to say, are you concerned about sin in your life? Yes. Praise God. That's the evidence of the spirit in you. You could not feel that were it not for the spirit at work in you.
Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapell. In today's episode, pastor Brian shares the second half of a lesson from John 16:5. Dr. Chapell illuminates the working of the Holy Spirit, the helper that Jesus promised would come to us. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for Dr. Chapell's book Grace at Work. In this book, pastor Brian shares how your work is a unique opportunity and calling for displaying God's character and care. Let's hear now from Dr. Brian Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson I Am Going.
Bryan Chapell: Would you look in your Bibles with me this morning at John chapter 16? John chapter 16 in your Grace Bibles, that's page 902. In the great power outage of 2003, a single tree falling on a power line in Ohio triggered a series of events that caused the loss of power for 55 million people through the Midwest, the Northeast, and Canada. A single tree on a power line in Ohio. I mean, there was amazing power available, but because there was no at that time redundancy built into that part of the system, no matter how much power was available, it was denied to 55 million people. In the chapter of scripture that we looked at last week, Jesus promises an amazing provision of power that he would be the vine possessing the power of God and that we could connect to him as the branches, a tremendous promise. Except for this. This we he says, but I'm leaving. What now? Is there any redundancy built into the system that we might have power when he is gone? How might we have such power? That's John 16. Let's stand as we honor God's word and read the first 15 verses of John chapter 16. Jesus is speaking and he says, I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me. But I have said these things to you that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you. I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me and none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, here in this portion of your word inspired by your Holy Spirit, you tell us that work that the spirit would do in behalf of Jesus, come to us, convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment, and ultimately complete what is needed of Christ in us. And so with humility, we would now bow before you and ask for that work which is beyond our fathoming, even the the inner work of the Holy Spirit by which you convict us and complete us in Christ's purposes. Would you do that even now by opening our hearts to the truths of your word and transforming us by your spirit, the spirit who is even here with us now? It is in his power and by his ability that we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. What we are asking the spirit to do when we talk about sin is to convict people of things we cannot convict them of. But then if they are experiencing that guilt for sin, we have this amazing privilege of saying, you know what? If if you're worried about your guilt of sin, praise God. You could not have experienced that guilt for sin if the Holy Spirit were not working in you. It's the Spirit's job to convict you of sin. So if you are feeling the weight of sin in your life, in which we sometimes say, I I'm not sure I'm a Christian, I'm I'm not sure I should come to the church, I not sure I'd be involved, it's because I have sin in my life. I want to say, are you concerned about sin in your life? Yes. Praise God. That's the evidence of the spirit in you. You could not feel that were it not for the spirit at work in you. And so we have to tell people when they feel that conviction of sin, you have to know that's the Holy Spirit directing you to the grace of God. We We We don't stay on this theme if there's something the spirit's meaning to direct you toward. Now I'll tell you something. Not all people feel that conviction of sin. And so the job of the Holy Spirit is not only convict of sin. Remember there was something next? The Spirit's job is convict of sin. What was the next thing in the list? Righteousness. That's interesting. Not your lack of righteousness, the job of the Holy Spirit is to convict you of your righteousness, to to bring to to light, to to expose for what it is, to prove the necessity of convicting your righteousness. You know that. Isaiah 64:6 says what? All our righteousness is only what to God? Filthy rags. And yet our tendency is to say, I'm okay with God because of what I've done. I I I I'm righteous. And And what happens when God is truly at work among a people is we begin to repent of our righteousness, not just our sin. We begin to recognize the great disproportion between our best works and God's true holiness. And we say, God, what I've been doing for so much of my life is I've been balancing the scales. I've been saying, well, I'm not terrible, but you know, the good kind of outweighs the bad. And we do not recognize that Jesus himself would say when we've done all that we should do, we are still unworthy servants. It is not our righteousness that makes us right before God. It is Christ's righteousness that makes us right before God. And the spirit of God comes to condemn, to convict us of our righteousness. It is always the way it happens when there is a great movement of the spirit in the church of Jesus Christ. We think that revivals happen when somehow out there in the world, people become aware of their sin and they turn to Christ. Do you know the great revivals that we know about are when the people of God are convicted of their righteousness? I am not father worthy of you. You must do something in my behalf. I begin to recognize it is not what I do or could do that would make me right before you. I stand convicted of my righteousness, not just of my sin. And that's when we fall on our knees and are broken and begin to be humble with the people who so much need the work of the gospel in their lives too. You want to see it? Remember the last thing we would be judged for, right? The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world of sin and righteousness. And what was number three? Judgment. Now if you say, well, that that there will be a judgment down the road, yes, I understand that. But that's not what this is saying. The Holy Spirit will convict us of our judgment that what we are doing so often is we are making ourselves right before God by a process of comparison. How do I know I'm right before God? Well, I'm not perfect. I'm just better than you are. And so we establish our righteousness by our judgment of others, right? I mean, it's got, you know, that old anecdote, you know, the two guys running from the bear, right? One slows down to put on the tennis shoes. The other says, you cannot run a bear, right? What does he say? I don't have to outrun a bear. What? I just have to outrun you. Well, I'm I'm I'm not holy, I know. You know, I'm I'm just holier than you. Are those people out there the ones whose lifestyles we don't approve, or dress we don't approve, or relationships we don't I'm just not like that. The Holy Spirit will convict us of our judgment. I think of the things we talk about in this comprehensive calling and and all these things that we would hope to happen as a church, but I recognize it it it is just spit in the wind if our hearts have not been changed. And what will change our hearts is when the Holy Spirit convicts us of our righteousness and ultimately shows us that we're depending on our righteousness by convicting us of our judgment.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapell. Sometimes your job can feel merely like the daily grind that's needed to provide for family or pay the bills. Yet you can worship God by your work, rising above drudgery, duty, or self-interest with the understanding that your job is a unique calling for displaying God's character and care. Your work becomes worship when you see the glory beyond the grind, the mission in the mundane, and the grace at work. This is the focus of pastor Brian Chapell's book Grace at Work. As a thank you for supporting our ministry here at Unlimited Grace, we would like to send you a copy of this book to encourage you and help you understand how your work fulfills God's purposes, even if he calls you to labor in difficult places or for difficult people. You can request your copy of Grace at Work when you donate online at unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Brian Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.
Bryan Chapell: Friend of mine, some of you may know Trevin Wax, a pastor. He writes a lot. And he wrote recently an article simply entitled I Weep for Miley. In this, he talks about his movement from judgment to the compassion of Christ. Picking up a sandwich today, I saw a news report on CNN about Miley Cyrus's latest performance. I was shocked. And for the rest of the day, he fumed. What kind of people are we? What kind of culture is this? But then as the Holy Spirit began to work in his heart, the judgment was broken by Christ's compassion. Tonight he wrote, I do not judge. I weep. I weep for the little girl who gave us Hannah Montana and became a role model to millions of little girls across America. I weep for the lostness of that girl who doesn't see herself stumbling about in the dark. I weep for an entertainment culture that celebrates the breaking of every taboo, casting off every restraint only then to mock the stars who follow suit. I weep for women enslaved by a false view of sexual liberation. I weep for the times that I've looked at women as objects and failed to see them as someone's sisters or daughters. I weep for the fathers of Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry and Lady Gaga and Madonna and all the other women who feel that they have to sexualize themselves to have someone else really love them or care for them. I weep for my 5-year-old daughter who twirls around like a princess and hugs me tight at night, and I think of the world that I will send her into. I weep for the broken, the messed up world that we live in. But finally, I weep for the power of grace. There's Jesus lifting up the head of a woman of the night whom others are ready to judge and stone and then sending her away into the light. There is Jesus in a crowd healing a woman desperately trying to cover her shame. There's Jesus at the well transforming a woman tossed aside by multiple men. And then I weep, I realize that weeping is no longer enough. I must pray. I must pray for the work of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin, but also of my righteousness that makes me stand apart and my judgment that condemns rather than shows compassion. I must pray for the work of the Holy Spirit, not just in others, but in me. When that happens, the presence of Christ is most powerful because I know his compassion for me when I have failed and not lived up and balanced the scales the wrong way. If the Holy Spirit is ultimately not only coming to us and convicting the world, but having convicted left us alone, then there's no reason for him. But that's not what the spirit does. Having convicted of sin and righteousness and judgment, the final thing Jesus tells us the spirit will do is complete us, complete us in him. Look at the wonderful words, verse 12. Jesus speaking to the disciples says, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Don't you love that verse? Jesus said, I'm going to give you time to grow up. Aren't you glad Jesus gives us time to grow up? You know, that that he's you don't have to have it all straight right away. I recognize that there are things if I were just to tell you everything right now, it would break you. Haven't you experienced that? Some of you have been long in the faith. You know, you you kind of have the spirit put a spotlight on one area of your life and and you you recognize that repentance and obedience are called for and and you begin to work and and deal with that and and and and and you're just so thankful the spirit gives you victory. And then what does the Holy Spirit do? He shifts the spotlight to another area of your life. And and and while that's troubling, you say, thank you, Lord, for not doing it all at once. I I could not have borne it if you had done it all. And here's Jesus saying, here's the role of the Holy Spirit. I'm I'm going to bring my light into your life, but but right now, I've got more to say than you can bear. So I'm not going to do it all at once. What does the Holy Spirit do as he brings more into our life from Jesus over time? Verse 13. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority. This is further expansion of what Jesus was saying in John 14 where he says, when the Holy Spirit comes, he will bring to remembrance everything I have said to you. Have some of you had that experience that that you're going through some difficult trial, some awful thing in life? And and the witness of the Holy Spirit in ways that you cannot quite explain brings to your heart and mind dear truths out of scripture, maybe things that you'd thought about a certain way long ago, but but now they come with fresh meaning to you. It's why our our worship plans are sometimes so difficult as they shift a little bit. We've We've been taught the truths and the words of scripture in certain hymns or tunes or ways of expressing. And now when things shift, we we feel not we're just changing preference, we're changing our connection. And we have to learn to be gentle with each other and understand that that shift that's occurring. I can remember in a particular pastoral situation where person very dear in our church, a young woman was struck and killed by a drunk driver. And and my having to go speak to her parents to to talk about that and announce it to them. And and just so desperate in my own heart, what what will I say? What will I do? And and all that I could think of in those moments were he leadeth me. Oh, precious thought. Oh, words with heavenly comfort wrought. He leadeth me wherever I go, whatever I do, still it is God's word that leadeth me. I recognize that just the hymn of my youth was coming in speaking the truth of scripture to me as I was being reminded Jesus would lead me. He would help me. And I needed it in that moment. And that's what the Holy Spirit will do. He'll He'll guide us in the truth and and there will be moments that we don't even know how it happens that God will bring to mind to reference again the things that are of Christ, the worship of the church, the worship of your youth, the the verse that was so meaningful once upon a time is gone out of your and now it comes back. As God by his spirit is completing us in the work of Jesus. But the best thing is is really the last that is said, this work of the Holy Spirit, verse 14. He will glorify me, says Jesus. For he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore, I said he will take what is mine and declare it to you. What is what is ultimately the role of the Holy Spirit? It is to glorify Jesus, to make Jesus known, evident, and praised by his people so that whatever we're facing, the difficulty, the hard thing, that that the Spirit's job is to bring to mind and heart and relevance the glory of Jesus. You know, there are sometimes entire movements that get caught up in in focus upon the Holy Spirit. And you have trouble finding a particular verse that says, you know, that just seems off somehow until you recognize what Jesus is saying is the role of the Holy Spirit is never to focus on the spirit. The role of the Holy Spirit is to focus our eyes on Christ. And while there be wonderful ways, miraculous ways the spirit does, the spirit is not bringing attention to himself. He's focusing us on Christ, but even more. The notion that what Jesus has is being declared. What does Jesus have? You know. John himself tells us, behold what manner of love I have lavished upon you that you should be called the what? The children of God. And that is what you are. Jesus says, you are mine. That's what the Holy Spirit will declare to you that that you are my precious possession. And no matter the the hard things or the failed things in your life, my spirit can still be the witness of my presence within you claiming you for heaven as you trust in him. Some of you will know the author Flannery O'Connor who in one of the short stories of young people struggling with the things of God speaks about some young girls in a parochial school who are told by their teacher one day trying to keep them away from boys and temptation. Remember your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And leaving class, the girls just began to to chortle and jeer. Can you believe it? She says, we're the temple of the Holy Spirit. And they call each other temple one and temple two. But a younger girl who is with them, who is struggling with all the issues the teacher talked about, marvels that despite the difficulty in her heart and life, that the Holy Spirit of God would make her his temple, that she despite all the difficulties is God's treasured possession by the work of Jesus Christ. And that's the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It's his ministry to you too. As you with this day recognize what's he doing? Convicting me of sin. Listen if he is. Listen. But don't let it take you down. Let it take you to the one to whom the spirit gives glory. He calls you his own. And as you trust in him, you are his forever.
Guest (Male): That's pastor Brian Chapell. And you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from pastor Brian. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.