| Letting the Holy Spirit Work |
Letting the Holy Spirit Work
"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment."
— John 16:8
Why has the Spirit come into this world? What does God's Holy Spirit want to
do in the life of the unbeliever? The Holy Spirit is very involved in the actual
work of conversion. You see, before we were Christians, it was the Holy Spirit
who convicted us of our sin (see John 16:8). Another way to translate the
word "convict" in John 16:8 is "convince."
Notice this verse doesn't say He will convict the unbeliever of a specific sin.
Rather, He wants to convince him or her of sin in general, the root cause of all
sins.
Now we can try to produce in someone a sense of guilt and wrongdoing. In an
effort to "help" the conversion process along, we want to make them feel guilty
or to feel really bad about something. Mothers seem to have an unusual
ability in this area. But only the Holy Spirit can effectively produce a guilt that
will bring a person to their senses.
Sometimes we get in the way of conversion. We get impatient, or we try to
assist the Spirit. We can be telling someone about the Lord, maybe a friend or
a coworker or a family member, and as they are getting interested and asking
questions, we see they are getting closer. So we start trying to convert that
person in our own strength. We try to complete the transaction when the Spirit
is still working.
The best thing we can do after we have shared the Word of God with
someone is to pray that it takes root. We should just do our part and leave it
in the hands of God. We don't need to force the issue. He will convince a
person. Let God's Spirit do His work.
"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment."
— John 16:8
Why has the Spirit come into this world? What does God's Holy Spirit want to
do in the life of the unbeliever? The Holy Spirit is very involved in the actual
work of conversion. You see, before we were Christians, it was the Holy Spirit
who convicted us of our sin (see John 16:8). Another way to translate the
word "convict" in John 16:8 is "convince."
Notice this verse doesn't say He will convict the unbeliever of a specific sin.
Rather, He wants to convince him or her of sin in general, the root cause of all
sins.
Now we can try to produce in someone a sense of guilt and wrongdoing. In an
effort to "help" the conversion process along, we want to make them feel guilty
or to feel really bad about something. Mothers seem to have an unusual
ability in this area. But only the Holy Spirit can effectively produce a guilt that
will bring a person to their senses.
Sometimes we get in the way of conversion. We get impatient, or we try to
assist the Spirit. We can be telling someone about the Lord, maybe a friend or
a coworker or a family member, and as they are getting interested and asking
questions, we see they are getting closer. So we start trying to convert that
person in our own strength. We try to complete the transaction when the Spirit
is still working.
The best thing we can do after we have shared the Word of God with
someone is to pray that it takes root. We should just do our part and leave it
in the hands of God. We don't need to force the issue. He will convince a
person. Let God's Spirit do His work.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |