Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Dan, as we go to the Lord of prayer this morning, it's great. That helps middle school students slip out as well.
[00:00:06] I want to just read a little bit from psalm 93. Ever have those moments in your reading and scripture just kind of comes alive? And this week I was reading this text and it says, the Lord reigns. We've been singing that our God reigns. Right. We'll sing hallelujah. He's robed in majesty. The Lord is robed in majesty. And armed with strength. Indeed, the world is astounded, established, firm and secure. And the thought struck me, you know, as we look at our world today, sometimes people are really anxious about what's happening in our world. How many say that's probably true? Isn't there a little bit of anxiety about our world today? Can I tell you? God's in charge. Does anybody read this? God's reigning. The world is firm and established by God. God is in control. That's what I want to tell you this morning. And maybe you're here today and you're going through some challenges in your life. I think it's so great when we can stop focusing on the problems because, you know, that's not going to help. That's not what solves them. I think we got to look a little higher. We got to look to God. And so we're going to do something this morning. If you come today and you're heavy hearted or you're going through a challenging moment, or your problems seem to be overwhelming you, and you seem to be focused in on your problems, I want you to do something really special today. I want you to just lift your hands and I want you to just give them to God right now. We're just going to give all of the things on our mind to God right now. We're going to cast all our cares on him because the scripture says he cares for us. He is a burden bearer. We're going to give our burdens to God. We're going to say, God, I'm going to allow you to reign in my life. I'm going to allow you to settle things. I'm going to allow you to be in control and in charge. I don't have to try to solve all the world's problems to give them over to you right now. I'm going to walk in peace and enjoy and in hope. And so, Father, we do that right now. We lift every anxious heart, every distressed heart, every oppressed heart, every heart that's walking through despair. Maybe there's loss in their life. There's sickness in their life. There's relational tensions. There's challenges before them. They're perplexed. Don't know what to do. Father, we're taking all those problems. We're just going to give them to you right now. We're giving our problem over to you because you're in charge, you're ruling, you're reigning. And, Lord, we just thank you. As we lay them at your feet, we're going to watch how you are going to answer these prayers right now. We're going to get excited to see the good thing that you're about to do in our lives, and we thank you for that in Jesus name. And God's people said, amen. You may be seated. We're going to turn to the Gospel of John. We're going to continue our series from that book. I'm gonna speak on how God's spirit works in our world today. Somebody asked me a while ago, pastor, do you ever speak on the Holy Spirit? Well, this is it, guys. We're at that chapter now. I always speak on what's coming up in the chapter. So if you want to know where's he going, you can just read on ahead here in John. You'll find out what I'm going to talk about. You know, how does God's spirit work today? You know, probably one of the most painful situations or experiences in life is when we lose someone we love. And I know people in our church, family, they're walking through this experience. You know, sometimes, you know, we love them, we've come to depend upon them, and now they're not with us any longer. Maybe I think of a child who's lost a parent or a young person who's lost a key mentor in their life, maybe not always through death, but, you know, maybe some change has happened and, you know, this creates a little bit of disorientation. It causes some measure of fear and apprehension. What will tomorrow hold? And I'm saying all of this not to hit wounds in our hearts, but to really understand, I think, not just the emotional pain, but the deeper question that many people ask, once this has happened, how do you go forward from here?
[00:04:08] How do you go forward with that person not being there anymore? It's a very powerful question, and I believe that we cannot understand what I'm going to look at today without understanding that background in the context of the words of Jesus here in John 15 last two verses, in chapter 16, Jesus is telling his disciples he's about to leave. And this creates all kinds of emotion inside of these people, because, listen, they've given up their whole, their lives. They've put all of their future on Jesus, and now he's telling them he's leaving. And I think part of the apprehension in their situation is the confusion over what we would call messianic expectations. They had an idea that what Jesus had come to do would be to physically rule and reign in Israel. And Jesus is now telling them, I'm leaving. And they're going, what? I mean, this is not how we understood things. This is not our expectation. How many have ever had those moments in life where God does something and all of a sudden you go, I did not expect that. That's not what I expected God to do, actually. This is confusing me. This is painful.
[00:05:23] There's a lot of uncertainty right now.
[00:05:27] I feel a sense of ambiguity and not only uncertainty, but a little bit of fear. I'm wondering what this tomorrow hold. And the thoughts in their minds are, why would Jesus be leaving? And if Jesus left, what's going to happen to them? And also, I thought God's kingdom was going to come a certain way. How is God's kingdom supposed to come? Jesus has been talking. The king is here. I'm come. The kingdom of God is now at hand. The kingdom of God is coming. And these guys are listening to this. And now they're going, well, now what's going to happen? Can you see the apprehension inside of their minds?
[00:06:07] And then how's the work going to continue without Jesus? Because human effort's not going to make it happen. How many know when you're walking with Jesus, anything can happen. Storm stop. People are raised from the dead. You know, the demonized are delivered. People that are sick are being healed. Yeah, Jesus gave them a moment when they went out and did these things. But, you know, they know that if Jesus is not around and there's a problem, what are we going to do now, right? Where are we going to turn? And they're thinking all of these thoughts in their minds.
[00:06:35] And then also the spiritual opposition to the work of God now is going to be faced along without Jesus. Because up until this point, these guys had always been defended by Jesus. Remember, when they're walking through the grain fields eating and they're criticized, Jesus immediately advocates for them. He steps in and he takes on the opposition. So now Jesus is no longer there to handle the pressure and opposition that they're going to experience. He's no longer there as their advocate. He's no longer there to protect them from that antagonism that has come from this hostile religious community, and Jesus won't be there to defend them. I don't know if you've been. Patty and I have been kind of watching the chosen a little bit. Some of you may know what that's about. It's kind of a series on the life of Jesus. You know, I would argue that not everything is totally in the Bible, but I think they're adding a little dimension, a little element. But what I really like about it, I'm going to endorse it in this way that they're moving the idea of religion from abstract propositions to real people in real relationships to the issues that they're struggling with. And I think they're doing a great job of portraying that. That's coming across so powerfully. And as I've been preaching through the gospel of John, how many are getting a sense that there's this growing hostility between Jesus and the religious establishment? How many sense that? And Jesus is saying and doing things that's ticking them right off and they're trying to straighten Jesus out. And little do they know he's actually God in the flesh. And they've got a wrong understanding. And they're so locked into their position that they're literally fighting God. And we're going to find out that this creates a lot of problems to the point where they actually crucify Jesus and later on begin to persecute the early church. And we'll see that in a few minutes here in our story, Jesus now is going to explain to them how God's kingdom is going to be empowered and effective. Now, if I was to say to you here, how many here want to be more effective and fruitful in your life than you've ever been in your entire life? Anybody up for that? Well, quite a few of you got your hands up. Now, how many here would say, pastor, I want to have more opposition and hostility in my life? Raise your hands.
[00:08:51] Nobody's raising their hands, but I'm going to point out to you today that with the one comes the other, the more effective and fruitful you become, the more hostility and opposition you will experience in life. Now, I don't think we want to hear that, but I think it's really important that we're armed with our minds to know that if we do what Jesus is asking us to do, we're not always going to be embraced. We're not always going to be accepted. And that's a point I think we need to understand. So let's take a look at the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer here according to Jesus in this upper room discourse. And I want to look at three things that we're going to discover. First of all, the role of the Holy Spirit in moments of hostility and persecution. Now, I know last week, you know, I talked about it. I talked a little bit about handling these things, and I also pointed out to us that one of the identification markers of a true follower of Jesus is not only that we love one another, not only that we obey God's word, not only that we are living in community with each other, but that we will also experience opposition and persecution. That's part of being a follower of Jesus. And Paul says that very same thing in his letter to Timothy. He says, in fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It won't be. Maybe you'll be persecuted. It just says will be. And I think we have to understand that once we align ourselves with Jesus and his values and live out his life, there will be a pushback, and we need to get that in our minds. This is not abnormal. As a matter of fact, I would argue if you're not experiencing any of that, you're probably somehow derailed from what the true christian life is all about. You're not that effective, you're not that fruitful, and that's why you're not experiencing it. As a matter of fact, I would argue that I think many people are silent to avoid negative responses. We just don't do anything. We don't say anything. We don't want to ruffle the boat. If I could say it that way. We don't want to create any discomfort for people, or particularly for ourselves. And a lot of times the temptation is we want to be accepted by everybody, but the reality is that's not true biblical Christianity. And I'm going to raise the question, you know, if we're being silent, the problem is that there are people not hearing the good news.
[00:11:21] Yeah. And they'll be crying.
[00:11:25] Eventually they'll be crying. Believe me, they're not hearing the good news. And the problem with that is, you know, and I thought, I think about this once in a while. I think, you know, I sure hate to be in eternity. And there were people that could have been here if I'd have been a little bit more courageous or a little bit more bold. You know, I think about that. Maybe you don't, but I do. I reflect on that. I say, God, I don't want to have anybody not here because I let down and didn't do what I could have done to help them hear the good news and give them the opportunity to make that decision, because I think it's one thing for people to choose to reject Christ, and it's another one for us not to give them any opportunity to choose. So the primary ministry, as we're about to see of the Holy Spirit, is to testify of the good news about the person and work of Jesus Christ. Now, we could talk about the gifts, and if I'm preaching in corinthians, I would. But right now, I'm giving you the primary role of the Holy Spirit in the world today. This is it. And listen to what Jesus said. This is not for me. This is from Jesus. He says this when the advocate comes. That's another name for the Holy Spirit whom I will send to you from the Father. The spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father. He will testify about me, who's speaking. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is going to be a witness to the person and work of Christ. But in that breath, we get the next sentence, which I think is very. It's tied together. And he says this, and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. Now you can say, well, pastor, it makes sense. These guys with Jesus, they saw what Jesus did. They're testifying to what Jesus did. They're experiencing his death. They experienced his resurrection. Yeah, but it's not just them. There's an application to us today. You and I have experienced the life of Christ in us. We have come to faith in Jesus. It's changed our life. It's brought us hope. It's brought us peace. It's brought us joy. It's given us eternal life. And for us to be silent about the good things that God has done for us, well, I think that's a measure of disobedience in our life. As a matter of fact, I raised the question. How does the Holy Spirit speak? Well, he speaks through people. As a matter of fact, Merrill Tenney says the witness of the spirit is powerful because he comes with supernatural insight and conviction to demonstrate the reality of the unseen father. The witness of the disciples is also potent because it presents the unanswerable argument of transformed lives. You see, when you and I are walking in obedience to God, people see the change in our life. We are actually witnessing to them of the life of God in us. That's a very powerful witness.
[00:14:17] But how does that happen? It's the spirit of God living inside of us that's flowing through our lives. He goes on to say, everyone knew that these men had been and could see what they became through their contact with Jesus. In other words, they changed. Roland Tasker says, the witness of the advocate and the witness of the apostles are, in effect, a single witness. You see, when the Holy Spirit is going to come alongside and comfort us, yes, we can have an emotional feeling of his presence. I think that's very legitimate. But generally, when the Holy Spirit is comforting us, you know how he's doing it. Through another believer. The spirit living inside of each one of us is ministering to each of us, and it's the ministry of the spirit. And so when you and I are speaking God's word or singing God's word, actually the spirit is doing it through you. It's the spirit singing through you. It's the spirit speaking through you. It's the spirit encouraging through you. It's the spirit giving through you. God does his work through the church. Isn't that interesting?
[00:15:18] Now, I think we can say this too, and I think what Gerald Bochart says, he's explaining the intertwining of ministry between the Holy Spirit and you and I, the believer. He says this, the basic message of the gospel is available, and both spirit and the disciples are together agents of communicating the gospel.
[00:15:39] The role of the spirit here, then, is likened to that of a supporter for the disciples and witnessing to a hostile world. I think we got to get that in our mind. Our world is hostile. Okay, there's no neutrality here, folks. There's a hostility. He said. This statement, of course, does not mean that there are no disciples present. The spirit is unable to work. And what he's saying is, if we don't do our part, then God's not able to do anything. He goes on to say it that way. He says, such a suggestion would mean that God is bound totally by human frailty. And how many know God's not bound by anything. Rather, the meaning of these verses points to the intended harmony of humans and the spirit working in mission. So what is this saying? He's saying that God can work despite us. He can work around us, but God generally chooses to work through us.
[00:16:30] How many think, that's amazing? You know, here's a parent. They get a little toddler, and they decide to let the little toddler help them. How many know? That's always fun and cute, and it can be very messy, and they may not do it exactly the way you want them to do it. How many know that's true, but how many know it's so important that they feel like they're participating with mom and dad in a project. They gain a sense of ownership. There's a bond that develops between them. I mean, that's all true. And you know what? God is so good, he wants to include you and me in his great work, because he knows that ultimately, as we're working with him, something happens to us, we begin to change. I believe one of the greatest means of bringing about transformation in the life of a believer is when you and I begin to cooperate and labor with and work with the Holy Spirit, that we're surrendered to him, we're submitted to him, and we're cooperating with him, and he's using us. And you know what? That's when we're the happiest. That's when there's great joy in our life, because God is, you know, we're kind of intertwined with the working of God's spirit. That's why I'm really high on motivating every saint to do the ministry. See, my passion as a pastor is equip you so that you do the work of the ministry, because I know then what will happen is the Holy Spirit is going to use you, and it's going to bring about transformation in your life. That's why I'm so motivated for that to happen as believers. It's also why Jesus said to his disciples, you know, listen, guys, I'm about ready to go back into heaven. They finally get through the crucifixion. That was devastating. Then they have the resurrection that was joyous. And then Jesus tells them, I'm leaving. What? We just got you back. Now you're going again? Yep. And not only that, I want you to go out there, and I want you to do something special for me. I want you to take what I've been doing, and I want you to keep doing it. I want you to take what I've done and explain to them the significance of my death and resurrection to this world. And you can't do it by yourselves, so listen to what he tells them. In the book of acts, just before he ascends, he said on one occasion while he was eating with them, he gave them this command, do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift of my father. For the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about. When did he speak about it? Well, right here in John, chapter 14, 1516, in the upper room. Then he said this, for John, baptized with water. But in a few days, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Next verse says, but they hadn't received the Holy Spirit until that point. Now they're going to receive the Holy Spirit. Why are they receiving the Holy Spirit? But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be what?
[00:19:15] You will be what witnesses. So listen, I'm not against the gifts of the spirit, folks, but I think we need to understand the primary role of the Holy Spirit in your life, in my life is to make you and I empowered, effective, fruitful witnesses.
[00:19:35] That's the most important thing. We lose sight of that all the time. We get caught up in other things. No, this is the reason. So I think we need, there's all these challenges that come in sharing our faith.
[00:19:52] And the greatest witness, I think, is a transformed life. And listen to what Paul says. He says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. What is he telling us? You know, so, you know, I was just praying with someone this morning. You know, they were, they were allowing their past to define their present. I said, listen to me real carefully. That person's no longer here. Can I tell you something? Before you knew Jesus, you were another person.
[00:20:20] I want you to hear this very, very carefully. This is so critical. That person is no longer alive. You are a new creation.
[00:20:29] The old has gone, the new has come. You go, what's new? God is living in you. God has forgiven you. God is empowering you. God has a plan for you. God has a purpose for you that you were disconnected from all this time. But now you have been made alive.
[00:20:52] You're alive.
[00:20:54] You're new. Isn't this great? And your life begins to change. And that is the most powerful witness is the transformation of a human life that speaks so loud to people they go, man, what's happened to you? You know, when I look at our world today, this is what you need to hear from me. I'll just say it this way. While the world is freaking out, full of fear and anxiety, the Christian should be, wow. I got total confidence in God. He's ruling and reigning. My eyes are lifted up. I know the ultimate solution is Jesus return. I'm full of joy. I'm full of hope. People are walking around going, how can you live like this in this messed up world? I've got Jesus.
[00:21:38] Amen. I've got Jesus.
[00:21:41] But if we live in fear and trepidation and behave just like everybody else, what's different about our lives?
[00:21:50] It's a good question.
[00:21:52] I think we should be reflecting something far more positive, more exciting, more dynamic. Yeah, but, you know, I got problems, pastor. Everybody's got problems in the world. You'll have trouble. Jesus says, be of good cheer. I'm with you. I've overcome this crazy world.
[00:22:11] Right?
[00:22:12] Come on. Let's not focus on the problems. Let's focus on the one who solves problems. You know, I'm not worried about the storm. I'm looking at Jesus in the boat. He's going to talk to that water. He's going to talk to that storm. Amen. Yeah, let's look at that.
[00:22:28] Listen to what happens. So these Peter and John, they get in trouble. They're just preaching the gospel. How many know there's hostility? They end up before the Sanhedrin. Listen to their response to Peter and John after they talked to the Sanhedrin, when they saw the courage of Peter and John. Were Peter and John afraid? Obviously not. They were courageous. They even told these guys that they were responsible for crucifying Jesus. That took a little boldness, and they realized that they were unschooled, an ordinary man. They were astonished. They go, where is this coming from? And they took note that these people, men, had been with Jesus. They said, the only way we can conclude that these people are this fearless, this courageous miracles are happening. And you know what? These guys can now quote Torah like nobody's business, and actually put us in our place is they've been with Jesus. And wouldn't that be great if people go, you know, I look at your life, and I don't quite understand it, but all I can attribute it to, you've been with Jesus. Isn't that awesome?
[00:23:30] Isn't that the way it should be? You've been with Jesus. That's why you're different, you know?
[00:23:36] Now, the early church was comprised of jewish adherents, and they were excommunicated from the synagogue, which in our books, you know, like, we look at the church today, we equate the synagogue and the church. No, it was far more significant than that. The synagogue was their whole life. This is where they met. This is where they arranged marriages. This is where they build business arrangements. This was everything. To be excommunicated from the synagogue means you don't have a life. It was a threat. Big deal. But you know what?
[00:24:15] Jesus knew that that was a big deal. And so this is what he says to them in John 16 one. All this I've told you so that you will not fall away.
[00:24:26] Interesting comment. Next verse, they will put you out of the synagogue. In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they're offering a service to God. Don Carson says, do you know what the greatest challenge the early disciples face? This is going to shock you. This is what he said. The greatest danger the disciples will confront from the opposition of the world is not death, but apostasy.
[00:24:51] I think it's the same today. It's the same threat. You see, you and I need to understand something. When the pressure comes on, the temptation is to conform to this world.
[00:25:04] But when we don't conform, you know what? It's possible, and it does happen in some parts of the world, you lose your life.
[00:25:11] Here's what you need to know. What's the greater danger, death or apostasy?
[00:25:17] I'm going to tell you right now, it's apostasy. You say, why? Because that means for all of eternity we will be eternally separated from God. That's the greater threat. So Jesus said, I want you to have a thinking in your mind. Be forewarned that when you and I serve God and we become even more effective in our service for God, we will actually anticipate hostility, opposition, and even persecution.
[00:25:45] Now, we don't want to hear this stuff, right? You go, who signed up for this?
[00:25:49] But I've signed up for eternal life. I signed up to be with Jesus forever. And this is part of the price you and I have to be prepared to pay. It's going to happen.
[00:26:01] Jesus now explains to those who were and often are doing the persecuting.
[00:26:07] He says, listen, they're going to think they're doing God service. Matter of fact, Carson goes on to say, in any case, John treats the persecution with intense irony. These religious persecutors think they're offering a service. The greek word literally means worship or spiritual service to God. They're profoundly deluded. Yet at the same time, the death of these christians by persecution is actually an offering to God. God sees the sacrifice of a person giving their life for him. He said, that's the greatest gift we can give. Now, let me just say this. It's one thing to lay down your life physically, but how about daily laying down your self life? That's an act of worship. We got to consider that, you know? Do I have to have my way all the time? Hmm, interesting. We know that Paul's life before Christ, he was a persecutor. As a matter of fact, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was the number one persecutor against the church. But Paul says this regarding in his own testimony. He says, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointed me to his service. Then he said this, even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man. I want to pause here and just say this. When we only have religion, it fills us with hate. I see so much hate in the world based on religion. It just fills people with it. Jesus is not about religion and hate. He's about love and forgiveness. He's about transformation. And if we become a hateful, angry, violent person, that's not Christianity. That's all that is, is religion. That's what Paul had. But when he met Jesus, he became a man full of love. He was willing to suffer. He was willing to be persecuted. You know, he was a totally different person. He said, I was now shown mercy. And because I acted in ignorance and unbelief, he goes on to say, the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. So he said, now, all of a sudden, I had a genuine faith in God, and I had a love that comes from God. And one of the evidence and I talked about this identifying marker last week of the believer is love. You and I should be loving, not hating.
[00:28:12] Jesus now explains what's motivating such drastic measures in which martyrdom does occur. At times they will do such things because they have not known the father or me.
[00:28:26] That's a powerful statement. So if people are persecuting you, they don't know God. And I don't care if they say they know God. Jesus says, they don't know God. Wow, that's strong. Verse four. I have told you this so that when their time comes, you'll remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you. So Jesus said, the reason why I didn't talk about persecution was I was always there to advocate for you. But now that I'm leaving, you need to know about this. You need to be aware this is going to happen.
[00:28:58] But now I'm going to him who sent me. None of you asked me, where are you going? Now the response of the disciples to Jesus is warning of persecution and of leaving them. This is their response. Jesus says, rather, you are filled with grief because I said these things. In other words, you're upset, you're sorrowing, you're confused, you know, but very truly, I tell you, it is for your good that I'm going away unless I go away. The advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send them to you. Now, how many go, wait a minute. How many feel like, you know, when people leave, this doesn't seem good to us. I mean, there's a lot of things in our lives that we say, I don't see the good in this. Anybody ever had that happen in life where you're going? I don't see the good in what God just allowed to happen. Anybody relate to that statement? Of course, we should all say, yeah, I get that. But I love what da Carson says. He says, you know, jesus valuation of what is for his disciples good indeed for our good ought to temper longings of, oh, if I could only have been in Galilee when Jesus was there. Now, how many have ever had that thought? Wouldn't it be awesome to be, you know, kind of hanging out with Jesus and the disciples in Galilee and watching all these things happen?
[00:30:10] Everyone said, well, that would be great. No, it wouldn't be that good.
[00:30:14] What? Well, listen, what he says, he keeps going on and saying, the same Jesus. This same Jesus insists it's better to be alive now, after the coming of the spirit. Before the triumphant, inbreaking of God's saving reign before the inauguration of the new covenant millions were ignoring the claims of the true God.
[00:30:37] But now Pentecost has transformed that limitation and millions have been brought to happy submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and to growing obedience by the power of the spirit whom he bequeathed. What's he saying? He's saying we're living in a better time. You say, why is that? Why is now better than 2000 years ago when Jesus was running around the earth and we're running after him? Why would this now be better than that? How many say, I'm having a hard time grasping that. Pastor, I'm going to help you out. Jesus could only be at one place at one time. So when he's not right beside you, you're by yourself. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. How can he make that promise? Because the Father sent the Holy Spirit to us. And the Holy Spirit is actually the spirit of Christ and the spirit of the father and the spirit of God now living inside of us. And so what's going on now is instead of having Jesus with us we have Jesus in us.
[00:31:38] And how many go, that's way better because I can bug Jesus at any time. I could be at India at three in the morning bugging him. I can be, you know, anytime in the afternoon. I can bug him. No, matter what time. I can bug him in the good time. I can bug him in the bad time. Actually, God loves it when I bug them.
[00:31:56] Sometimes as people, we just go, I wish this person would stop bugging me. Well, God never feels that way. He loves it. Keep bugging him, you know, because he's always with us. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. You go, I just don't know if God really knows how I feel. God goes, certainly I know how you feel. I live with you. I know all about you. I even know what you're thinking. I even know what's wrong with you. I even know some of the stuff you don't even know about you. And I still love you. Isn't that awesome? So we're living in a better time, folks. Isn't that great?
[00:32:26] So don't go there. That's what Carson is telling us. Let's look at the second thing regarding sin, righteousness and judgment. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in dealing with sin, righteousness and judgment? Well, he's revealing to our world that they're guilty of sin and that their righteousness is inadequate and that he's judging the prince of this world. Holy Spirit speaks to the heir of humanity in relationship to sin. This is what it says in verse eight. When he comes, the Holy Spirit comes. He will prove the world to be wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment about sin, because people do not believe in me. Now that was interesting. He's not walking around going, you're doing this wrong. You're doing that wrong. He's not a nitpicker. That's not what he's doing.
[00:33:16] What he's saying is the Holy Spirit is trying to tell people, you need Jesus.
[00:33:22] That's your big problem.
[00:33:24] You see, Roland Tasker says he will expose the naked truth, that the root of sin lies in the desire of people to live their lives in self centered independence, disowning any allegiance to Jesus. In other words, people want to do their own thing. They don't want God in their life. They don't want to be bothered. That's the big sin. It's a rejection of God.
[00:33:44] It's the primary reason why people hate Jesus. They don't want to be told that they need him, and they get offended by us when we tell them, hey, you need Jesus. That bugs them. Jesus explains this teaching that his teaching had on the people when he was speaking, because look what he would do. In John 1522, he said, if I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Why? Because they've seen Jesus. God has come to humanity and they've rejected God. There's no excuse for that.
[00:34:15] I said it last week. You know, in the past, God put up with people's ignorance. Paul is preaching this in acts 17, but he says, now God's not going to tolerate that. We're all going to be judged. Every human being on this planet is going to be judged according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. People are without excuse. It's pretty strong language. Read the scriptures carefully. It brings that up very clearly. Don Carson says he convicts the world of its sin because people who constitute the world do not believe in Jesus. If they did believe in Jesus, they would believe his statements about their guilt and turn to him. Goes on to say, as it is, their unbelief brings not only condemnation, but willful ignorance of their need. Willful ignorance of their need. They're willingly remaining ignorant.
[00:35:05] And by the way, that's problematic. When you have the opportunity to learn something and you don't take advantage of it, you're going to suffer for being willfully ignorant.
[00:35:15] That's true in many areas in life. The world's unbelief not only ensures that it will not receive life, it ensures that it cannot perceive that it walks in death and needs life. And I think this is probably the greatest challenge. We see the lack of concern people have for their own souls. How many say, that's it right there? I've just probably nailed it. You know what we got here in our city? I call it the walking dead.
[00:35:39] And the majority of people in this city are the walking dead. Did you realize that? No, I know there's a show. I never watch that. There's a show out there. The walking Dead, folks. There's a whole stack of people walking dead. They're dead. In their trespasses and sins, they're walking dead. They have no concern about their souls. Have you met people like that? No concern about their soul. They just seemed to be everywhere. They're the walking dead. And it's sad.
[00:36:07] But the Holy Spirit now reveals what's considered right in the eyes of God. Verse ten about righteousness, because I'm going to the Father where you can see me no longer. So in other words, because Jesus is gone, and he was revealing what was right. How is right to be revealed in our world today? Through the Holy Spirit. And how does the holy spirit do it? Through your life and in my life. And you know why? There's so much pressure for us to conform to the ways of this world is because they don't want to see that there are people that are walking in a right relationship with God that is revealing the true nature of what's right, because people are creating their own right. And what the right that people are creating today is right in their own eyes. And everybody's doing what's right in their own eyes. And everybody says it's okay to do what's right in your own eyes. But that's problematic. And the reason why it's problematic is because our righteousness, you know, a lot of people think that they're going to be okay before God because they're a good person. I'm doing the right things.
[00:37:03] Listen to what Isaiah the prophet said. He said, all of your righteousness is as a filthy rag. Wow, that's strong language, isn't it?
[00:37:13] In other words, you and I, even the best we can possibly be doesn't negate the worst we could possibly be.
[00:37:22] And James points out something very strong in his writings. He said, if you keep all of the law and yet break it on one point, you're guilty of breaking them all.
[00:37:34] You're still a lawbreaker. And if you've broken God's law, the wages of sin is still death. And so you and I can't keep the law. The problem with the first covenant wasn't the law. The problem with the first covenant wasn't that God didn't care for people and create and constitute what was healthy and right. The problem was we couldn't keep it, and we still can't keep it. We need the spirit of God in our lives. And then the final one, the Holy Spirit now is explaining how the work of Christ is judgment on sin. On the prince of this world. Sorry, on the prince of this world.
[00:38:14] I'm just looking at my notes here. Something jumped, but that's okay.
[00:38:18] Oh, here I see what I did.
[00:38:20] So who determines what is right?
[00:38:24] I've repeated this line. Humanity is not in control either of the future or of setting the standards for life. This is the work of God. In other words, we don't determine what's right, God does. There's the big problem. Our society is trying to determine what's right. No, you can't. God does.
[00:38:43] And one of Jesus most startling roles with respect to the world was to show up the emptiness and pretensions to expose by his light the darkness of the world for what it really is. Listen what John said. This is the verdict. Light has come into the world and people love darkness instead of light because why? Their deeds were evil. People don't want to be exposed. He goes on to say in verse 20, everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. So that's why there's this tension all the time that's going on in our society, because you and I are light. How many know? Darkness doesn't have anything to do with light. They're in conflict with each other. Light dispels darkness and it exposes the evil deeds of darkness. So the darkness runs from the light. It's afraid of the light because light dispels darkness.
[00:39:31] So the Holy Spirit now explains how the, I mean, the Holy Spirit explains the work of Christ as a judgment on the prince of this world. That's Satan about judgment. Because the prince of the world now stands condemned. Carson says the world's judgment is profoundly wrong and morally perverse. That's a pretty strong statement. Let me repeat that. The swirl's judgments are profoundly wrong and morally perverse. How many can I go, boy, everything seems distorted. There's a lot of twistedness in our world today, right? He goes on. He says, the paraclete, the Holy Spirit, convicts the worlds of its false judgment, because in the impending triumph of Christ, the prince of this world now stands condemned. He thought he was destroying Jesus by having him crucified. That was the moment of the greatest triumph of Christ. Jesus took what the greatest evil was and transformed it into the greatest victory. And the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a powerful element in all of our lives. It says all false judgment is related to him who was a liar from the beginning. That's Satan, whose children we are. If we echo his values, if he stands condemned by the triumph of the cross, the false judgment on those who follow in his trains is doubly exposed.
[00:40:45] What's he saying? He's basically saying, listen, you know what? People who are embracing the lies of the enemy, they're going to be judged because they're embracing what's wrong. He goes on to say here, the need for conviction of this false judgment is all the more urgent. The world is condemned already and in desperate need to learn of its plight. Now, how many know that you can't help somebody unless they realize they've got a problem? Has anybody figured that out yet? You know, I know we don't talk about sin anymore in our world, but we do talk about addictions and dysfunctions, do we not? We use psychological terms. Can I just say it just as clear as I can possibly be. First step in overcoming these problems is admitting you have the problem. How many say that's true? It's true. The first way of overcoming sin is admitting I'm a sinner. And the good news of Jesus Christ is for sinners. You won't even see a need for a savior until you understand you're a sinner. And once you understand that, then you're going to say, I really need to be saved. I need a savior, and Jesus is the savior. Let me move on to the final truth or role about the Holy Spirit. And bringing people in is bringing them into the truth. He's the guide that will bring us there. Jesus said, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. Remember now, these guys are, this is before Jesus crucifixion. And he knows there's only so much I can tell you now, because you're not even getting what I'm telling you, let alone understanding what's about to happen. He says, I'm going to stop. Then he says this, but when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. Hang on to that little phrase, yet to come.
[00:42:24] He will glorify me, because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. So the same way Jesus was making known what the Father wanted to say, the spirit is going to make known what Jesus wants to say. So the Holy Spirit is only telling us what the Father and the Son want us to know. Verse 15. All that belongs to the Father's mind. That is why I said, the spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you now, while the work of the spirit in the life of the unbeliever brings conviction and then reveals the judgment for their persistent rebellion. The believer. For the believer, the work of the Spirit is guidance. I will lead you into all truth. I will tell you what's about to happen.
[00:43:06] Guide implies leadership for a person who's interested in traveling on the right path, but who needs help in finding it. So what the Holy Spirit does is guide us to Christ, guides us to the right kind of life, guides us to the right kind of decisions. Okay? That's his job. He's going to do that. He's a guide. He goes on to say, the believer may not have progressed far along the way of truth, but is desirous of going in the right direction and needs the good offices of the spirit to conduct him on his way. So the Holy Spirit is the one that's teaching us. Isn't that great? Then he goes on here.
[00:43:41] So it's obvious then from reading the gospels that the disciples were now overwhelmed, confused and stunned by the crucifixion. But then all of a sudden, the resurrection comes along, and then we see that the day of Pentecost happens. But remember that statement that Jesus said, I'm going to teach you what's about to happen.
[00:44:02] So Gerald Bouchard says, one does not have to be a brilliant interpreter to guess that this last clause has led to a great deal of speculation concerning its intended meaning. Is the role of the spirit to provide predictions concerning future events?
[00:44:19] We'll see. Or is the role one of simply providing perspective for the future in light of the already revealed message of the gospel?
[00:44:28] These two poles of opinion reflect the two sides of the way people speak of prophecy today, foretelling and foretelling.
[00:44:37] But then I like what he says. He brings it together. He brings a synergism of the two ideas. The former can be as radically expansive and lacking in controlled guidelines. In other words, if we think that the spirit of God is going to tell us what is going to happen in the future, and we are going to get it all right, he says, we don't have any guidelines. We're going to go all over the map, and people do all the time. Okay. But on the other side, he said, people can be very restrictive and they don't see any need for the spirit to kind of give us guidance. So he said, the appropriate meaning is undoubtedly to be found in the synergism of both, wherein wide ranging speculation is eliminated by remembering. These words were written as a farewell message to, to anxious disciples who feared the imminent loss of Jesus, their physical companion and guide.
[00:45:27] But the future was also an unknown page for them, since the paraclete, the Holy Spirit passages indicate that the coming times would be traumatic for them, and that in such times the disciples would need the truthful and authentic spirit to guide them through their forthcoming wilderness. In other words, how many know we do need the spirit of God to guide us? That's what he's telling them. These guys had no idea where they were going. They didn't have Jesus leading in front of them anymore. Now they had the Holy Spirit in them, but they had to kind of figure out where to go.
[00:45:55] That's where we're at. We're kind of in that same place. He goes on to say it is in this combination of farewell and hope, of guidance that contemporary readers can find in this passage to be of great significance for their life of discipleship. So.
[00:46:13] So what's the role of the Holy Spirit? That's the question I raised in today's world. We see it in the early followers. And how does that apply to us? He comes to convince us of who Jesus is, number one, and why we need him in order to be in a right relationship with the father. How many? See, that's the number one role. Number two, we're often empowered and enabled to become the person God designed for us to become. Why? So we could become effective witnesses. See, when you and I become what God wants us to become, we're a witness. We're witnessing just through our life. And also out of that person, that character of Christ we speak, you're speaking what you really are. So if you're changing and becoming more christlike, your words and your life are a witness. That's what you need to understand. We become a new creation, a transformed person who, in word and deed now are revealing Christ. Other people we need to anticipate. Number three, a measure of rejection and hostility from the values of our society. And the more effective and fruitful you become, the more opposition and hostility you will experience.
[00:47:30] You go, oh, I don't know if I want to take that on, pastor. Well, I got to ask a question.
[00:47:36] Let's just think about for a minute.
[00:47:40] When we get to eternity, what's going to be more important to you? How many people you offended in life or how many people you brought into the kingdom? What's going to be more important to you at that moment?
[00:47:52] What do you think is going to be more important?
[00:47:55] How many people came into the kingdom? Wouldn't it be that?
[00:47:58] Certainly it would be that, hey, listen, I can't control people's response to me.
[00:48:04] I can't control people's response to the gospel. I can't control people, but I can control myself because the spirit gives us self control. I can control what I'm going to say, and I can control a concern for others, and I can control the fact that I'm going to communicate the message through my life and my words so that they're impacted. I can control that. Or I can change my mind and say, no, I just want to be accepted by people. I don't want to offend anybody and alienate anybody. Well, you know, sometimes people you can't just throw the gospel out through. Sometimes people aren't ready to receive it. I get it. Jesus said, don't throw your pearls before swine. What did he mean by that? You can tell sometimes when you're talking to people, this person is not open to the gospel. Don't even bother going there. They're not ready for it yet. That doesn't mean they'll always be like that. But today they're nothing. But when I have an opportunity, am I seizing those moments and talking to people about the things of God? You know, and when the spirit of God comes on you and people are asking questions. And Peter said it, when people start asking questions, we should have answers and we should be talking to people. And, you know, we probably could do a lot better job of communicating the gospel to our world around us. Don't you think that's true?
[00:49:21] I think sometimes we're just too caught up with our own personal lives and that's why we're ineffective. How about that one?
[00:49:28] That can happen, isn't it? That happens to me too, guys. I don't have, I'm not, you know, just like I always get it. Let me close with this quote. The divine resource of the spirit is the gift Jesus sent from the Father to christians in a hostile world so that they could cope effectively with the anxiety that is inherent in living in a life context that openly resists the proclamation of the gospel. How many say, I need the Holy Spirit to help me? I need the Holy Spirit to help me in this hostile world so I can be effective in bringing the good news of Jesus. Let's stand.
[00:50:06] I want to pray.
[00:50:09] How many say, I want to be more effective?
[00:50:13] Okay, but everybody now knows when I say that, says, okay, God, I'm open to more hostility and opposition.
[00:50:20] Keep your hands up. I'm just pointing this out. I want to be more effective, God. And then this week, you know, you're more effective, going, man, it was an awful week. I had so much opposition and hostility. I'm going, they go together.
[00:50:33] They go together. I wish I could say, oh no. You know, not everybody's hostile. Don't misunderstand, but I'm just trying to prepare you. You start becoming extremely effective. You know, it's like the devil goes, I gotta stop this person. Do you see what they're doing? I gotta stop this person. Cause they're impacting people and they're removing them from my kingdom. Ooh, you know, I wanna be known as a dangerous person to Satan.
[00:51:03] I'm dangerous to that kingdom because I'm doing exactly what the father wants me to do. And it's affecting people for good.
[00:51:11] How many say, I want to be dangerous against the kingdom of darkness?
[00:51:16] Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we know we can't do it in our own strength.
[00:51:21] I'm not even dangerous to myself.
[00:51:24] So, Lord, I just pray today that your spirit would come in such a supernatural way that you would so empower us and fill us that we would become more effective in living a life of obedience and living a life of passion for you and living a life with spiritual values and goals in our minds and not so caught up with what this world is shoving our way and advertising at us and telling us how we gotta think and believe and worrying about all the problems in the world. Help us to rise above that.
[00:51:58] Help us to be dangerous in this world, because souls are coming into your kingdom and you're using us. Holy Spirit, I pray today that you'll use every single person that's listening to this message. Because my prayer today was out of this sermon, more people would get saved than ever before. Not because today they're hearing a message, but because today the believers are responding in obedience to your message of being a dynamic, effective and a powerful witness. And because of that, Lord, my brothers and sisters are going to bring many people into your kingdom. And I rejoice in that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you. As you leave this morning.
