Icon of the Pentecost (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

⁷  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. ⁸  And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. ⁹  The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. ¹⁰  Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. ¹¹  Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.  John 16:6-11 (NLT) 

In some Christian ministry, we assess how mature a believer is based on how much he knows. But the New Testament assesses the maturity of a believer based on how much he obeys (e.g. John 14:15; James 1:22-25) Think about every sermon, Bible study and Bible passage you have heard or read (knowledge). Estimate what percentage of that you consistently obey. It can be a bit embarrassing. You may say, “I consistently obey about 30% of all I know.” In a knowledge-based assessment of maturity, can we be comfortable with disobeying 70% of all we know. Is that really biblical maturity? If one has been a believer a long time he may have lots of knowledge, but may also have a low obedience factor. Despite his knowledge-based “maturity,” his disobedience factor is high! (1)
I know a lot of people who talk about the blessing of the Holy Spirit’s coming on Pentecost, and others who long for a restoration of spirituality in the church in America.

I am not sure they are as ready as they think they are!

Look at the promise above from John 16.  Are you ready to have the Holy Spirit convict you of your sin?  Are you ready to be purged of your sin?   Are you ready to face how often you are disobedient you are to God?  How often you betray Him and His plan for your life?

Do you welcome God working in your life?  Many of us say we do, yet when push comes to shove, we struggle to confess our sins, choosing instead to hide it, justify it, say our sin isn’t as bad as those other people,  ignore it, or even… run from God.  I think we do far too often…

We rejoice in our salvation – but are we ready to let go of that which Christ saves us from?

We talk of His righteousness – the righteousness that comes from heaven, do you see it as something so much more valuable than any of the sins that we cling to?

May we be found, may we find ourselves, hidden in Christ Jesus, His righteousness ours, His cleansing us of sin, so that He can bring us home to the Father…

And may we strive for not just obeying His word, but treasuring it, for it is our life… in Him

(1) Smith, Steve; Kai, with Ying (2011-09-21). T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution (Kindle Locations 1186-1192). WIGTake Resources, LLC. Kindle Edition.

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