THE CONVICTION OF THE SPIRIT

Jesus said, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment… When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.”  (John 16:7,8,13 NLT)

Every year our entire church staff goes on a pilgrimage to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  During one of the sessions this past year, our team was sitting in the balcony of the Gwinnett Center listening to my friend and pastor of LifeChurch, Craig Groeschel.  And he asked this question: “Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?”

I felt a tremendous sense of conviction when Craig asked that question.  As I sat in that balcony, surrounded by twelve thousand other leaders, I heard the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit said to my spirit in His kind yet convicting voice, Mark, what happened to the college kid who used to pace the chapel balcony seeking My face?

There are few things I hate more or appreciate more than the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  It is so painful.  But it is so necessary.  And I’m so grateful that God loves me enough to break me where I need to be broken.  Can I make an observation?  You cannot listen to just half of what the Holy Spirit has to say.  It’s a package deal.  If you aren’t willing to listen to everything He has to say, you won’t hear anything He has to say.  If you tune out His convicting voice, you won’t hear His comforting voice or guiding voice either.  As I was seated in the balcony, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the raw spiritual intensity I once had.  He revealed how calloused my heart had become.  And I realized that I had somehow lost my soul while serving God.  And it wrecked me.

Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?  

-- Mark Batterson in “PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity”

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EMBEDDING PRAYER INTO OUR DAILY LIVES – Part 3 of 3

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)

Prayer, more than any other single activity, is what places us in the flow of the Spirit. When we pray, hearts get convicted, sin gets confessed, believers get united, intentions get encouraged, people receive guidance, the church is strengthened, stubbornness gets melted, wills get surrendered, evil gets defeated, grace gets released, illness gets healed, sorrows are comforted, faith is born, hope is grown, and love triumphs.

In prayer -- in the presence of God -- we come closest to being fully ourselves.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”

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INVITE THE SPIRIT TO EXAMINE YOUR SOUL – Part 3 of 3

“People cannot see their own mistakes. Forgive me for my secret sins. Keep me from the sins of pride; don’t let them rule me. Then I can be pure and innocent of the greatest of sins. I hope my words and thoughts please You. Lord, You are my Rock, the One who saves me.”  (Psalm 19:12-14 NCV)

The smoke detector wasn’t my enemy; the fire was my enemy. The smoke detector was simply trying to help me.

I have a life. That’s my house. I have a soul. You do too. Do you hear any beeping sounds there?

Beeping can sound like this: A parent neglects his children. They complain, misbehave, or increase the level of conflict around the house, and the parent has a nagging sense of failure. But instead of looking closely at his parenting – instead of talking directly about it with his children – he buries himself more fully in work, hobbies, or television.

A woman feels a twinge of pain when she sees a documentary about famine in Africa. She vaguely wonders about how little money she gives. But she doesn’t like the discomfort, so she distracts herself by going shopping.

An angry man blows up at those closest to him. His “beeping sound” is his loneliness. He takes the batteries out of the smoke detector by drinking a little more, convincing himself his relatives are all difficult people.

Guilt is not my enemy. Sin, which blocks off life, is my enemy. The Spirit will often bring a sense of conviction, and when He does, the best response is not to suppress the guilt, but to get out of bed, take a look around the house, and put out the fire before it does more damage.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”

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INVITE THE SPIRIT TO EXAMINE YOUR SOUL – Part 1 of 3

Trying to see the truth about myself is like trying to see the inside of my own eyeballs. “Who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults,” the psalmist asked [in Psalm 19:12]. Fortunately, we are not left on our own. The Spirit is already at work in us. Our job is simply to listen and respond.

Once, in the middle of the night, Nancy and I were lying in bed and there was a tremendously loud beeping sound. Nancy gave me an elbow to the ribs and said, “What is that sound?”

I knew that if I acknowledged hearing the sound, it would be my job to go check it out. So I said, “What sound?” But I had to say it very loudly so that she could hear me over the tremendously loud beeping sound.

And she said, “That tremendously loud beeping sound.”

“Oh, that sound! Let me go find out.”

I went into the hallway, found the problem, and took care of it. When I got back to bed, Nancy asked, “What was it?” I told her it was the smoke detector.

“What made it stop?” I told her I took the battery out.

“You can’t do that,” she said. “There could be a fire in the house somewhere.”

“Nancy,” I explained patiently, “we’re upstairs. There’s no smoke, we can’t smell anything, there’s no heat coming from anyplace. I checked. Do you smell any smoke? I don’t smell any smoke. It was clearly a battery problem. Trust me. I took care of it.”

We went back to sleep.

– John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”