John 16:8 says that the Holy Spirit convicts or convinced unbelievers of sin.

This reminds me of a story I read about my 5th great grandfather who established the first church of any denomination in present day Tennessee in 1779.

There was a time, as an unbeliever, he determined to stop the spreading of the gospel in his area of the country. One day he heard that a key evangelist was going to be near his town and was going to be preaching in a field. He approached him at that location deciding to give him a piece of his mind and to ask him to leave. If he didn’t, he would try to force him to do so. When he approached him the conviction of the Holy Spirit came upon him and he fell to knees and asked this minister of the gospel to pray for him.

He confessed his sins and never was the same person he used to be. He changed from trying to prevent the message of Jesus from being taught into a leader in making sure this message was heard by as many people as possible.

He went on to start a second church and passed from this world with a burning desire to do more.

If you are not a believer in Jesus may God’s Holy Spirit convince you of your need for Him in your life. If you are a believer, then thank God every day for the time when you were convinced of your sins and your need for a Savior.