well friends welcome back as we join again to worship together
trust a number of you got to enjoy digital tea and coffee chance to continue friendship
with each other again let me say thank you to those who have been phoning and providing help
for each other and sending messages of support and encouragement thank you to everybody who's been
in touch with me as well it's good to feel that connection of christian family now as we begin
our worship i want to read from psalm 9 you're in the battle with fear which i think we are facing
on many levels and fronts now what we as the people of god need is we need the truth of god's salvation
we need to constantly be reminding ourselves of god's goodness to us it's so this is how psalm 9
begins i will praise you o lord with all my heart i will tell of all your wonders i will be glad
and rejoice in you i will sing praise to your name o most high so we're going to sing now let's sing
loud let's sing to wake our neighborhood and let people know that we're worshiping this hymn
he will hold me fast which helps us to grab hold of the security that we have in christ so again
kellen will lead us and let's all join together so that we can sing
when i fear my faith will fail christ will hold me fast when the tempter would prevail
he will hold me fast i could never keep my hope through life's fearful path for my love is often cold
he must hold me fast he must hold me fast he will hold me fast he will hold me fast
he will hold me fast for my savior loves me so he will hold me fast
he will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He'll not let my soul be lost
His promises shall last
Fought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
For my life He bled at night
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When He comes at last
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast
Now
Let's pray together
Let's call on God
Our Father
That we thank you that the Bible
Is full of your goodness
Your acts of saving power
Those reminders of your faithfulness
We thank you for the story of the church
How you have kept and protected
And provided for your people
Thank you as we look back on our own lives
We can see your mercies that are new to us
Every morning
That we can sing of your faithfulness
And your great work in our lives
Especially
Thank you
For those of us who are trusting in Jesus
That you revealed Him to us
As the Savior that we need
Lord today
We pray
That you would be for us
Our solid hope
We ask that you would keep us
Looking to Jesus
To trust that just as He is the author of our faith
So He is the perfecter of our faith
And at every point in between
Jesus will be with us
Lord we ask
That you would be the God
Who would bring comfort to us
In our loneliness
As we face extended separation
From people that we love
And from all that is familiar
We thank you
That you are the God
Who promises
To always be with us
And to never leave
Or forsake us
Lord we pray
That you would keep us remembering
That in all the battles we face
The greatest battle we face
Is against the sin in our own lives
We confess our sin
And our unbelief
We confess
Those ways in which
In our words
In our actions
In our thoughts
We have not lived to glorify You
We have not lived to love You
Or to love others
And we thank You
Again for the cross
And the resurrection of Jesus
The forgiveness that we have
The freedom from condemnation
We have in Him
Lord we pray
That You would be
Our source of peace
When all around us
Seems anxious
We ask that You would cause us
As Your people
To have such a settled hope
That people would notice
There is something different
And positive
And attractive
About the way we are living
We ask that You would enable us
To turn to You
We ask that
We would not be anxious
About anything
But in everything
By prayer and petition
With thanksgiving
We would present our requests
To You our God
And that the peace of God
Which transcends all understanding
Would truly guard our hearts
And our minds
In Christ Jesus
At this time
Lord we love You
And we know that You love us
We need You
We pray that You would constantly be
Our source of security and refuge
That we would not be ashamed
To say we are utterly dependent on You
And that as we depend on You
We would find that You would give strength
For us in our weakness
Now we pray that You would be with us
As we hear from Your Word
As we reflect on it together
As it is preached
Speak to us we pray
In Jesus name
Amen
Now we are going to read
In John chapter 16
So if you have a Bible or a device
You will want to turn there
You will want to turn there to John chapter 16
Last week if you will remember
We were talking about the Holy Spirit
In a believer's life
Especially thinking about the Holy Spirit
In the life of the church
Well today we turn to Jesus' words here
In John 16 to think about
The Holy Spirit who convicts
So let's read together
John chapter 16 from verse 5
To verse 15
Let's hear God's Word
Now I am going to Him who sent me
Yet none of you asks me
Where are you going?
Because I have said these things
You are filled with grief
But I tell you the truth
It is for your good that I am going away
Unless I go away
The counsellor 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
All that belongs to the Father
Is mine
That is why I said
The Spirit will take from what is mine
And make it known
And make it known to you
Amen
And we thank God
For his word
Now let's think about it
For a little while
Together
Let me begin
By sharing words
You may be familiar with
From the book of Proverbs
Chapter 27
And verse 6
We hear these words
The wounds from a friend
Can be trusted
And when you hear those words
I wonder if in your mind
Comes a family member perhaps
Or a friend who is like that for you
Somebody who helpfully
Graciously
Exposes times when your thinking
Has been wrong
When your words or your actions
Have been wrong
Someone who does that
Out of loving concern for you
And as painful as it was
It led you to see
And it led you to change
Now keep that idea in your mind
Jesus here
Is preparing anxious
And troubled disciples
For his departure
John 13 to John 17
Is a lengthy
Set of farewell teaching
From Jesus
And the theme of the spirit
Is something that Jesus
Returns to
A few times over these
Chapters
Jesus here
Talks about the spirit
As counsellor
The spirit who comes
Alongside of us
The spirit who will be
An encourager
A friend to the disciples
Just as Jesus was a friend
To the disciples
But the spirit also here
That sense of counsellor
Has the idea of being an advocate
And here
Let's think about
The spirit as
A prosecution lawyer
Like that friend
From earlier
The spirit as a prosecution lawyer
Exposing
Wrong beliefs
Wrong behaviours
For our good
Not to condemn
But with the desire
That we would
Change
So here's our idea
For today
The Holy Spirit
Comes from Jesus
As a gift
To convict
The world
About the truth
Of Jesus
To turn people
To believe in Jesus
The Holy Spirit
Comes
The Holy Spirit
Convicts
So
First of all
And it's important
For us to
Ask this question
Why is the Holy Spirit
Coming
Good news
Perhaps like me
You find
In verse 7
Quite striking
I can only imagine
The disciples
Finding it really striking
When Jesus says
I tell you the truth
It's for your good
That I am
Going away
And maybe they were thinking
How can Jesus
Leaving
Be good news
Certainly they didn't
Act
And they didn't
Feel
Emotionally
Like it was
Good news
I wonder for us
Today
Can we see
Why Jesus
Says that
How Jesus
Going
Connects with
The coming
Of the Holy Spirit
And how that's
Good news
Let's try and
Help on another
Let me suggest
Three reasons
To see
Why Jesus
Departing
And the
Spirit coming
Was good news
For the disciples
And it's good news
For us
Firstly
Let's think of
The word
Promise
And when you
Read the Old Testament
And especially
When you read
The Old Testament
Prophets
You discover there
That the coming
Of the Spirit
Is connected
To
The saving
Rain of God
Beginning
Coming
In a new way
So when the
Spirit comes
It's a sign
That the rule
Of God
Is coming
In the world
In a new way
Jesus understands
That this requires
Something
It requires
Jesus'
Departure
It requires
Jesus to go
To go to the cross
To die for sin
To die for sinners
In our place
As our substitute
As our sacrifice
It requires
It requires that Jesus
Then rise
In victory
And return
To glory
To rule
As king
And as king
To then send
The promised
Holy Spirit
To his
People
As a way
To extend
The rule
Of God
In the world
So there's
That promise
From the Old
Testament
That makes
The coming
Of the Holy
Spirit
Good news
But there was
Also
The promise
Of Jesus
So we thought
About his words
Last week
I will not
Leave you
As orphans
I will come
To you
There is good
News for the
Disciples
And good news
For us today
If we're trusting
In Jesus
The coming
Of the Holy
Spirit
Means that
Promise is
Kept
That Jesus
Is with
His people
In a new
Way
So the second
Word
To help us
Think about
How the
Coming of the
Holy Spirit
Is good news
Is connected
To presence
So we have
Promised
Presence
The presence
Of Jesus
So up until
Now for the
Disciples
And in the
Time of Jesus
How could a
Person know
How could a
Person enjoy
Jesus
How could they
Talk with him
And learn from him
Well they had to be
Physically with him
Didn't they
They had to be
In the same place
Jesus
In his human body
Was limited to being
In one place
At one time
But now
Jesus by his
Spirit he says
He comes to live
In the hearts
Of his people
So Jesus can be
With his disciples
And he can be
With us
All the time
And everyone
And that's good news
And also
The spirit
Allows the rule
Of Christ
To spread
In the world
In a new way
Because that good news
Can be spread
By his people
There are some
Important results
For us
As Christians
Today
You know
We are
Isolated
From one another
For the next few weeks
But you and I
We are never
Isolated from Jesus
By faith
You are never
Alone
Even when you feel
Lonely
Whoever you are
Wherever you are
And forever
Jesus is with
His church
His people
That's good news
And then we think
About the mission
Of God
And we think
About how
Christianity
Has become
A global religion
That since
The coming of Jesus
Hundreds of millions
Of people
Have declared
Jesus is Lord
By the power
Of the Spirit
Around the world
Millions and millions
Of people
Even though they
Can't get to church
Are still worshipping
Because we know
We believe
We love
Jesus
Who is Lord
So there is
Promise
There is presence
And the one last thing
To say
About the Holy Spirit
Coming is good news
For now
Is to do with
The word
Pleading
J.C.Royle
Bishop of
Liverpool
Back in the
19th century
Said this
The Spirit
Would be a
Pleader
For God
Throughout the
Whole world
And by that
J.C.Royle
Meant that
Whenever a person
Reads
The Bible
It's as if
The Spirit
Is pleading
Through the word
That he inspired
That we believe
It's truth
And respond
To the God
Of truth
Especially
That the Spirit
Pleads through
The gospel
That declaration
Of what
God has done
For us
In Jesus
To forgive
Our sins
And to give
Us eternal
One
And also
The Spirit
Pleads through
The witness
And the testimony
Of the people
Of God
Saying to us
Saying to the world
The saviour
They worship
As a saviour
You should follow
And trust too
The Spirit
Pleads with us
To say
You cannot
Know God
And you cannot
Live the Christian
Life in your
Own power
The Spirit
Comes as it were
To turn the light
On for us
To cause us
To see
What we couldn't
Before
And part of
How he does that
Is through this
Convicting work
That Jesus
Speaks of
So let's
Turn to that now
And ask this question
Why is the Holy Spirit
Convicting the world
Good news
Because maybe we don't
Hear the word
Conviction
Convicted of a crime
For example
As good news
Again let's go
Back to the Proverbs
Like the trusted
Words of a friend
Listening to the Spirit
Is good news
Conviction
Is a gift
Because what the Spirit
Does is he
Exposes
Our wrong thinking
And our wrong beliefs
About Jesus
In order to turn people
To Jesus
In order that we
Might believe
By grace
That we might be
Saved
By faith
So in terms of
How we respond
To this truth
Today
All of us
The desired response
Is that either
It would increase
Our thankfulness
For the work
Of the Spirit
Who comes
To reveal
Jesus to us
And his glory
So
And also to make us
More like
Jesus
The Spirit
Who wants us
To keep in step
With him
So we keep
Listening to
And following
Jesus
So our response
Is lives of worship
And obedience
To Jesus
Whatever our circumstances
In the middle
Of the trouble
We find ourselves in
Or the other response
And this is if you're
Not a Christian
Is that you would
Listen
Listen to the Spirit
In his word
From Jesus
Convicting you
And exposing your guilt
Like that prosecution lawyer
So that
You would repent from sin
You would turn from it
And turn to God
You would trust in Jesus
His Lord
And Saviour
So in verse 8
Which we read
Jesus focuses on
Three ways
The Spirit
Will convict
The world
When the Spirit
Comes
He will convict
The world of guilt
In regard to sin
And righteousness
And judgment
So let's look at
Each of those in turn
First of all
Sin
Verse 9
In regard to sin
Because men do not
Believe in me
So the sin
That we're convicted of
In particular
Is the sin of not
Believing in Jesus
So let's think of
Three ways
Where the world
Fails to believe in Jesus
Think about the identity
Of Jesus
First of all
John's gospel
Is really clear
The Bible is clear
Jesus is the revelation
From God
So John's gospel
Begins
In the beginning
Was the word
And the word
Was with God
And the word
Was God
That when we look
At Jesus
We are seeing
The glory of God
In human form
Jesus seven times
In John's gospel
Describes himself
As I am
I am the good shepherd
I am the bread of life
I am the vine
I am
Was a title for God
In the old testament
Jesus saying
I am God
And I have come
To reveal God
Think about the name
And the titles
Of Jesus
Jesus means
God saves
So we need to see
The identity of Jesus
As God's saviour
Christ
Jesus the Christ
God's anointed one
Chosen for a set purpose
The purpose
To be that king
Who would rule
For us
To be the prophet
Who would speak
God's truth to us
To be the priest
Who would give himself
As the perfect sacrifice
To make us right
With God
To forgive our sin
And Jesus is the Christ
And he is the Lord
And the Lord
Of course
The old testament title
For God himself
Jesus is God
God's king
God's saviour
That's his identity
So how do we see
Unbelief in regard
To his identity
Well we see it
In hostility
Again as we move
Towards Easter
Think about what happens
Around the cross of Jesus
We see
Rejection of Jesus
Hatred of him
We see him being
Falsely accused
Beaten
Mocked
Shamefully put
To death
Today
In our world
We also see
Rejection of Jesus
We see
Mockery
Of Jesus
And his church
So there's hostility
And sin and unbelief
But there's also apathy
Where people fail
To take his claims
Seriously
Perhaps happy
To see Jesus
As a good man
Perhaps happy
To hear him
As a wise teacher
Some kind of
Spiritual guru
But to have that
Attitude
Well it's fine
For you
To take Jesus
Seriously
But he's not
For me
To pick and choose
Jesus says
He's Lord
And God
And he's the only way
To God
So it's not enough
To just say
He's a good teacher
Or a good man
So there's apathy
In really engaging
With Jesus
There's that
Sin
Of not believing
In Jesus
Also in terms of
His mission
You know the Bible
Is clear
Jesus came on
A rescue mission
Jesus said
He's come to give
His life as a ransom
It's as if we're
Held hostage
And Jesus
Pays in his own
Body and blood
The price to set us
Free
To forgive us
And give us
Eternal life
But what does
Unbelief look like
It means
There's no
Repentance
There's no
Recognition
That we need
That
There's no
Faith in
Jesus
There's no
Love for
Jesus
There's an
Unwillingness
To count
The cost
Of being
A disciple
Of Jesus
And if we
Think about
The theme
Of worship
Positively
At the end
Of John's
Gospel
In chapter
20
We find
The wonderful
Example of
Thomas
When he
Meets the
Risen
Jesus
Falls
On his
Ease
He says
My Lord
My God
He worships
Jesus
As he
Truly is
But
Sin and
Unbelief
Looks like
A failure
To glorify
God
To
Failure
To glorify
Jesus
Failure
To honour
And love
Jesus
Failure
To see
Him
As the
Greatest
Of all
Treasures
So we
Live for
Other things
More than
We live
For
Jesus
Who is
God
And the
Bible
Says
We are
All by
Nature
Part of
The
World
This
Culture
That is
Hostile
And in
Rebellion
Against
God
We are
United
In our
Blindness
I don't
Know if
You've
Been
Having
The
Same
Problems
That we
Have
The internet
Feels like
It's
Breaking
Sometimes
You try
And watch
Something on
Netflix
And sometimes
The picture
Is so
Pixelated
The signal
Is so
Slow
And so
Poor
That
Sometimes
We've
Had to
Turn off
Because you
Can't
Make out
The
Character's
Faces
Even
That's
Us
Spiritually
By
Nature
We are
Unable
And we
Are unwilling
To see
Jesus
As he
Truly
Is
Unless
The spirit
Comes
As a
Gift of
God's
Grace
Unless
The spirit
Convicts us
Of our
Sin
And our
Unbelief
Unless he
Opens our
Eyes
So that
Now we're
Really seeing
The personal
Work of
Jesus
And our
Need of
Him
Then that
View will
Never
Change
So conviction
Is good
News when
It means
That now we
Are restored
To the love
That we
Long for
And we're
Made for
To know
And enjoy
The love
Of God
So the
Holy Spirit
Convicts us
Sin
What's the
Next way
The spirit
Convicts
The world
We see
He convicts
The world
In regard
To righteousness
Verse 10
Because I
Am going
To the
Father
Where you
Can see
Me
No
Longer
Does that
Mean the
Spirit
Reveals
To us
That true
Righteousness
Is found
In Jesus
And only
In Jesus
So for
The disciples
You wouldn't
Find righteousness
In the
Temple
You wouldn't
Find it
In the
Self-righteous
Religion
That so
Many people
Were following
In the
Day
For us
To
True
Righteousness
In God's
sight
Doesn't come
From our
Religious
Practices
Doesn't come
From our
Moral
Efforts
Righteousness
Comes in
Jesus
And from
Jesus
Said I
Am the
Way to
God
Because I
Am the
Truth
And the
Life
No one
Comes to
The
Father
Except
Through
Me
Jesus
Is
Realistic
About
Your
Inability
And
Mine
To be
Right
With God
By ourselves
And
He's
Realistic
About
His
Own
Perfect
Righteousness
As
Good
News
But then
You think
About the
Cross
What's
Happening
There
At the
Cross
Jesus
Is
Dying
And
He's
Dying
Under
God's
Curse
And
He's
Dying
Experiencing
The
Wrath
Of
God
And
So
We
Need
To
Ask
What's
Happening
There
Why
Is
Jesus
Doing
That
Jesus
In
Love
Has
Come
To
Take
The
Place
Of
Unrighteous
Sinners
To
Take
Our
Place
For
Our
Sin
So
That
A great
Exchange
Might
Happen
He
Might
Take
Our
Sin
And
He
Might
Give
Us
Azure
To
제대로
Way
Fair
To
Harley
The
If
You
here good news of freedom from a self-help religion maybe you find yourself climbing that ladder
today trying desperately hard to get to god well the spirit would want to convict you that that
ladder it is going nowhere and it is leaning on nothing so it will collapse we need jesus to come
down in order to raise us up to god praise god he did so conviction again is good news when it comes
to righteousness because it gives us assurance of trusting jesus we are in christ by the spirit
we are declared righteous as a gift of his grace and we are given the power to do righteousness
which we were unable to do before one last way the spirit will convict the world and it's in regard
to judgment verse 11 because the prince of this world now stands condemned
judgment looking ahead to the cross there demonstrating that the work of christ
destroys the devil's work so the spirit comes to our our hearts and minds and convicts us
convinces us that the cross is victory and not defeat lots of people there on the day of the cross
thought it was the end of jesus and his claims lots of people today still see the cross as defeat
but the spirit opens our eyes and shows us the truth that the battle has been won by jesus over the
forces of evil and his death and resurrection and his ascension to glory there are proof for us and the
spirit also convicts us that the cross stands as a warning sign just as judgment came on the devil
so it will be for those in the world who reject and rebel against jesus
the spirit wants to use a megaphone to let us hear you are on the wrong side of history
if you are not following jesus
when we think about kids in a playground playing games together team games
you will notice i'm sure that they always want to switch to be on the winning team
or they have that sense of that boy that girl they're really good at this sport so i want to be on their
side there's there's wisdom in that spiritually jesus is the winner the cross is victory his second
coming will be victory complete
his resurrection and return to glory are proof of that we need to be on the winning side and the spirit
wants to show us that to turn us in that direction so there is good news here the holy spirit comes from
to convict us in that direction so we will believe so today let's hear the spirit as a friend whose wounds can be trusted
let him expose and convict us of our sin and our unbelief whether we're christian or not
as christians we are still guilty of sin and unbelief and we want the spirit to show that to us we might
constantly be returning be repenting every day
let's ask the spirit to convict us of our foolish attempts at being good enough for god
so we'd stop resting in ourselves trusting in ourselves and trust and rest in jesus alone for salvation
and we'd ask the spirit to convict us of the judgment on rebellion and rejection
so that with a sense of desperation and urgency we would run to jesus or we'd stay close to jesus
so in response
may we either
find ourselves gratefully and increasingly
worshipping jesus as we are led by the spirit
or
if you're not christian
ask today
for the gift
to repent
to turn away from your sin
to turn away from your unbelief
to turn away from the path leading to judgment and destruction
turn
and ask for the gift of faith
that you would believe in jesus
that you would be saved
that you too would know that the coming
of the spirit
is good
good news
now let's
close
our time of worship
kellen will lead us in singing a couple of sections from
psalm 51
the first four verses
and then verses 7
to 12
this song is a prayer
david's prayer
after god used
the words of nathan the prophet
to convict him
of his sin
and guilt
so let's
use these
as our words of response
so let's
sing
together
oh my god
have mercy
on me
in your steadfast love
i pray
in your infinite compassion
my transgressions wipe away
cleanse me from iniquity
wash my sin away from me
for i know my own transgressions
i can see my sinful plight
you
only
i've offended
and
done evil
in your sight
so
your words
are
verified
and your
verdict
justified
and your
blood
cleansed with
hyssop
purify
me
i'll be
whiter
than
the
snow
let
the
bones
you
crushed
may
joyful
may i
joy
and
gladness
know
from
my
failure
hide
your
face
blot
out
all
my
wicked
lord
create
a
pure
heart
in me
and
a
steadfast
mind
renewed
do
not
take
your
spirit
from
me
cast
me
not
away
from
you
give
me
back
the
joy
i
had
keep
my
willing
spirit
glad
now
let's pray
as we
close
father
god
thank you
for this
wonderful
truth
that jesus
revealed
that it
is for
our
good
and that
the
spirit
is
sent
thank
you
that it
means
that we
can
always
have
jesus
with
us
he
can
be
for
us
that
friend
who
sticks
closer
than
any
brother
thank
you
that his
kingdom
is
spreading
and
continues
to
spread
and even
in the
midst
of the
coronavirus
is still
spreading
as men
and women
and boys
and girls
in their
need
led by
the spirit
are turning
to jesus
in faith
lord we
ask that the
spirit would
be convicting
us of sin
and unbelief
convicting
us that
righteousness is
found only
in jesus
to convict
us of the
judgment that
comes on
unbelief
so that we
would trust
and always
trust
in jesus
that you
would cause
us to
love him
and to
love him
more
and that
we would
this week
live lives
of
grateful
obedience
seeking to
do good
and to
show mercy
as a
response to
your kindness
to us
we pray
in jesus
name
amen
so again
do stay
in touch
do connect
with each
other
do take
the chance
to be
involved in
our
community
groups
join us
tomorrow
at 8pm
where we'll be
praying online
through zoom
and again that
link will be
available
it was great
to have
people from
different
locations
joining us
to pray
our church
one another
our nation
needs
prayer
at this
time
and again
may God
be with you
and bless you
this week
peace
please
not
be with you
you
work
every
day
of
the
ают
means
who
are
to see
the
a
by
ern
were
the
who
you
quit
when
it
you
can
as
are
we
you
know
or
and
n
after
and