The Powerful Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit CONVICTS

John 16:5-11; Luke 7:36-8:3

July 15, 2001

by Janet Loughry, Associate Pastor

I am Joanna! From the scripture that Rick read earlier, you heard just a few facts about me...my name, my husband’s name, what his job was, and that I was among the company with the man called Jesus. I am old now, you will forgive my notes.

It is true my husband’s name was Chuza. He was a well-respected steward of Herod. Now Herod was the Roman ruler over Galilee. It is also true I am a woman of financial means. I know that for many I am considered "just a name" in your Bible. But there is something more about you I want you to know. Perhaps some of you might identify with this. I was not a bad person, I never hurt anyone intentionally. I never took anything that wasn’t mine. I did not spend Chuza’s money just because we had much. I tried to not to gossip and encouraged my servants away from doing so. I was a pretty good person. Yet God, convicted me of my sinfulness and of not knowing Jesus. Something else you need to know and that the Bible doesn’t say with such clarity is that as Herod’s steward, Chuza was a Number 1, trusted, right hand person of the king. This same king, Herod, is the same one who killed John the Baptizer. This is the same king who tried to kill Jesus Christ.

All this made it so very difficult to approach the man called Jesus when I was so ill. I suffered so much and for so long. When Herod’s own physician could not heal me I knew I was in deep trouble. But one of my servants was a follower of Jesus and knew in her heart this Jesus could and would help me.

What a life-changing experience. Jesus did more than just restore me to normal and good health. Don’t get me wrong, that was wonderful! And after all these years, I am still eternally grateful to him. He gave me life again!!! I owed him so much. I knew I had been touched by a miracle. The amazing thing was I also knew I had to give my life to this One Who gave me life. I became a devoted follower and disciple of Jesus.

So here I was, wealthy, respected Joanna, right in the middle of a potentially explosive situation. Don’t think I didn’t need God’s help. That is the understatement of the year. Following Jesus, being his disciple, supporting him financially, don’t think that didn’t cause raised eye brows and more than one discussion within the Palace walls. "So Chuza. where’s your wife? Where’s Joanna, Chuza? Out in the countryside with the peasant preacher, the one who claims to forgive sins?" At home it wasn’t much better. I am sure many of you have those financial discussions...So how much do you want to give to church, this year?" Right? And then pile on top of that all those faith discussions. Now I am not complaining - but it wasn’t always easy.

I am also not bragging when I say, that after everything that Jesus did for me, I am so glad my own financial resources could be used to minister in a very basic way to Jesus, and the men you refer to as the Twelve Disciples. I hear some things just never change. Several of us women were with Jesus almost has much as the Twelve. I actually came to enjoy and truly love the many other women traveling with Jesus. All of us were just so grateful to be in his presence. Several of us women were with Jesus almost as much as the twelve.

Well, enough about all that. I came here today to tell you about a very special day we spent with Jesus and the twelve. That was the day Jesus told us he was leaving us.

That day started out really no different that others. Once again we needed to fix a meal, kind of be in the background, we women were in the background - back then. Sometimes in a different room, doing the mending, beginning preparations for the next meal or keeping the children quiet. But listening; always listening.

But there was definitely something in the air that told us this day held something quite different. As I look back, I am sure Jesus already knew what He was going to say to these men. Think back with me if you can. Just three years prior this man before them asked them each to drop everything, leave their secure and good and safe lives behind and follow Him. Probably if asked, each would admit those were the best three years of each of their lives. The things they learned about their world, their families and neighbors - and who is our neighbor, anyway? They learned about their abilities and energy and their prejudices. Yes, well, except for Judas. He never got it and was actually got by this point.

But they had spent pretty much every waking hour together. Peter, James and John, long after all the events that are recorded in your Bible, continued to tell stories about the different people they met, talked with and witnessed miracles because of just being with Jesus. They were taught so much and Jesus drew them so close to God.

But now. What a catastrophe! The unthinkable was about to happen. Jesus was telling them He had to leave. Just up and go, leave them. After they had given up so much for him. To be honest I do remember on different occasions Jesus told them and us he would be going away soon. Of course not one of us believed him. I could hear Peter’s raised voice...nothing new there...more than once say, "Lord, you can’t possibly mean ‘going away’ where we can’t go and be with you?" And Philip and Thomas, cute Thomas, later asked questions too - just about the same way as Peter. It occurred to me they were being a little selfish. But then I guess I really don’t know. Did any of us really know the right question to be asking Jesus? And that day I sort of got the impression Jesus was getting irritated with them. Once in awhile it seemed like Jesus just sighed deeply. I thought I could sense he really wanted to just roll his eyes at these guys and maybe even shake them a little.

Well I think they were shaken that day - Yes, shaken to their core. This had a lot more to do with what he said than if he had reached out and physically touched them. Jesus looked sad and filled with sorrow in a way I can’t explain, even after all these years. He knew the sorrow these men were feeling, for he said, "Sorrow has filled your heart." Such a picture of sorrow invading the heart and taking possession of it. He knew this was a deep and wholehearted grief they were feeling. Those of us in the other room were feeling it too! We certainly didn’t understand, but we were feeling it! And Jesus knew!

Ye, he was still going to go. He was still going to go to the One who had sent him. We all knew that was His, our heavenly Father, God. But Why? "WHY" was the only question of the day. What a day!!!

Jesus started out by saying "I am telling you the truth." Like he’d ever lied to any of us before, right? He said this for us to sit up and take note and learn something here. So even from a different room, we sat up, took note and listened. Even the children quieted down.

Shhhh - What did he say? It is to our advantage that He go away? Can’t you just imagine Peter, or even the beloved John, screwing up their faces and thinking or even saying out loud, "Advantage - Smantage - get real!!!" But what did he mean by all this? Jesus said he had to leave or this Helper would not come to us. When He was gone He himself would send this helper. You - in your time - know this helper as the Holy Spirit.

What did these eleven, or any of us, need with this Holy Spirit person that we could not or did not already have with Jesus? What was the advantage? Well, Jesus’ presence, on earth was limited to one place at a time. With Jesus going back to the Father who had sent him, then He could send the Holy Spirit. That means there was the opportunity for Jesus to be in the whole world at all times. That means constantly, and everywhere! That is when it hit me that that’s why we could not have both Jesus and this Holy Spirit. This was why Jesus had to leave and why he then had to send the Holy Spirit. That is the advantage! And just as it happened about 2000 years ago, it is still happening that the work of Jesus is fulfilled. It is what some have begun to call being brought to a state of perfection with the continuing work of the Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit is not God in the whole world. Rather Holy Spirit is God...indwelling, intimately in each believer. This enables a personal relationship with God because of wonderful work of the Holy Spirit living in and working through you. That is the advantage!

But what is this wonderful work? Well, I asked that question too. Not out loud mind you! But of course Jesus had the answer right then and there - for here and now, too! I had to stop and just ponder what Jesus could mean when He said the Holy Spirit would CONVICT the world concerning sin - because they do not believe in Jesus.

Get this! The job of convicting people is convicting unbelieving people of sin. Here sin is the refusal to commit yourself to Jesus, God’s Savior. It is a sin not to believe in Jesus! Not Peter, James and John, or any of the rest of the eleven or any of us back then, or you here today can convict anyone else of sin. Jesus says this needs the work of the Spirit. That is probably a very wise decision. Can you just imagine Peter dispensing judgement? But to be fair, I’m sure we each have a little bit of Peter in us. You know, just pushing to hold on to our own form of what is right and what is wrong. After all isn’t it usually the "other person" who is wrong? Truly, it is only when the Holy Spirit has done a work of grace in a person’s heart that that person sees their own sin for the horrible reality it is.

Take for example all those people who crucified Jesus. They did not believe they were sinning. They believed they were serving God. But later when our very same Peter preached the story of that crucifixion, they were cut to their very hearts. They had the terrible conviction that the crucifixion was the greatest crime in history and that their sin had caused it. Three thousand repented! Yes, 3000 believed and were saved. Now I’ve heard Peter preach. Sure he’s good. But 3000 good? Not even Peter!

That was and is the Holy Spirit, come and already beginning to do his work of conviction of sin in the world. That was Pentecost, something you just celebrated last month, the birth of the church. Again I tell you, nothing I Joanna say today, or anything your preachers of today say, can convict anyone of their sin. That is the Holy Spirit at work calling the world to repentance.

Jesus then said the Holy Spirit would, CONVICT the world concerning righteousness- because I go to the father and you no longer behold me.

I don’t know about you, but that word righteousness always gets in my way. Righteousness is Wholeness = W-H-O-L-E-N-E-S-S. Back then, people around us were thinking that Jesus was not righteous. They thought him to be a sinner like everyone else - or worse! - They thought Jesus to be an unrighteous man because he didn’t keep the rules; their man-made rules. Then he ended up on the cross. And we know that is the symbol of God’s cursing.

The good news is, the charge of Jesus being a sinner was wiped out by his resurrection. When God, the Father, "raised Jesus from the dead, he was saying, ‘This is the Man I accept, and all people unlike him I reject.’ (from, Hughes, Preaching the Word - John - That You May Believe p379)" It is because of Jesus and His resurrection that you and I are made whole. The only way to wholeness is to come to Jesus. He gave us the Holy Spirit. One of the Spirit’s first jobs is to give to us that which we can never earn. That is righteousness before God. Christ’s death on the Cross made a personal relationship with God available to us. When we confess our sin, the Holy Spirit declares us righteous before God.

Finally, Jesus also said the Holy Spirit would CONVICT the world concerning judgment- -because the ruler of this world (the cosmos) has been judged.

Put in plain words Judgment was not only going to be in the future - the eternal future, but right then. You see, this is Christ’s judgment over Satan. Do you see? Evil in this world has been shown for what it is! The Ruler of this world, Satan, the one who has charge of the world system, has been judged!!! Satan has been judged! By doing this Jesus took out of the hands of the Disciples and out of my hands and out of your hands that rod of punishment against those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord. That is the task of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who will expose, and bring to knees, those of the world. The Holy Spirit is the One who judges.

I know that you know that all those years ago Jesus and his unwelcome truth were rejected. What I’ve been saying this morning is that the Holy Spirit took over the role and the message of Jesus. Just as people rejected Jesus, so they reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit. However, all these years has not changed the truth. The Holy Spirit is ‘another Jesus.’

We needed Jesus back then, and he left us. But he sent the Holy Spirit for us, for you, for all of us so that Jesus’ message to the world can be extended, even unto you this day. You, today have the advantage of Jesus remaining with you, through the powerful, convicting, work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.