April 03, 2022
Greetings and blessings to all of you. Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit? Why did He promise that? The Word says… to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement (John 16:8). The Holy Spirt must accomplish this painful work in men’s hearts. The work of the Holy Spirit is threefold:
CONVICTION OF SIN: Men do not believe because they are sinners.
Jer. 7: 9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to what his deed deserves”. Therefore, their sin is unbelief in the full face of divine revelation. So, when the Holy Spirit comes it awakens him. He then realizes his guilt before God. He realizes that he has no resources to meet God’s charge. He realizes he has no Savior in whom to hide from God’s wrath (Eph.2:12).
CONVICTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: When the Spirit displays Christ’s righteousness, he thereby displays man’s guilt and thus brings an abiding sense of conviction as a consequence. (Romans 3:9-12)
CONVICTION OF JUDGEMENT: The ministry of the Spirit thus produces a total reversal…. a conversion of our thinking. We are now confronted with our contempt, our indifference and our opposition of Christ. The Holy Spirit declares us guilty and condemned. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost this is what happened in Acts 2:23-34. When the people heard this…. heard what? How Christ Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God… how David had received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit. And has poured out on what you see and hear now …they were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the other apostles “brothers what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Are we awakened out of our slumber {in sin} and transferred to the Kingdom of God? If not, TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. Let us honor, yield and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit.
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC