John
16:7-15 (The Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Part 2)
Intro: Have you ever had this thought I wish I lived
during the time of the apostles.
A)I
wish that I was there to hear Jesus teach the sermon on the MT.
B) If I
could have seen him / heard him / touched him I would be a stronger believer.
1) I
have felt that way at times!
C) But
Jesus says something here in
7 Nevertheless
I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to
you.
D)
Why an advantage? Jesus limited by time and space in His physical body
couldnt be with Peter in Galilee and John in
1)
He would have to Choose. But now In them by His Spirit.
You
look at the Disciples so often before this when Jesus gave a teaching
afterwards
A)They didnt get it they
were in the dark. They were at a loss.
B)That all Changed after they received the Spirit- they were
invigorated strengthened & encouraged
1)
Jesus was now in them not just principles to remember but His spirit
impressing upon their hearts.
Someone asked me a very good question a weak or so ago.
A)What was
the difference between the relationship to the OT saints and the NT saints?
B) Good
question: We read of the HS coming upon people in the OT at various times for
empowering for certain circumstances.
1)
like He was upon Moses.
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
C) See
the OT believers had the HS with them.
Just like the disciples did when Jesus was with them.
D) But the Difference between them and us is no where
do you read of the HS being in them.
1)
Indwelling them Abiding with them day by day.
E) He
would come upon them to empower them for certain service but He wasnt in
them
1) See that is one of the blessings of the NC .
Jesus established a NC for those who would trust in his
work on the cross
Here is how the Lord described that NC
B) This
is the primary difference between the OC and the NC Old was external
outward performance
1) The
NC New heart and place my Spirit in you
C)
Doing a work on the inside We now have a new relationship to the Spirit of
God
1) He
indwells the believer. No longer with us but now in us.
D)
Guide, teach, comfort, instruct, point us to Jesus and to empower us to be
witnesses.
Charity Harris is our girls basketball coach here at CCV
She asked me this week help out some
A)Here
is what is challenging about coaching. I can instruct talk until blue in the
face
B) Lay out a game plan. But I cant infuse! I cant
get into the players head and make decisions
1) I
cant get into their body and make plays
C) But this is the difference in the Ministry of the HS
in the NC vs OC He is now in us.
1) Not just instruction in our minds but stirring now
our hearts moving on our hearts
D) Empowering our
wills and our bodies to walk with Christ follow Christ serve Christ
1) The
key for us is learning to listen to those promptings
Jesus here in
A)He
has said some hard things tough instruction. but each time He says them.
B) He
follows it up by reminding them I am sending the Helper to you Parakeets
and this is what He is going to do
1) Teach you
2)
Bring to your remembrance
3)
Bring peace and Stability to you
4) He
will testify of me-
5) He will bear witness
6) He will
guide you into all truth-
7) He
will speak in the authority of Jesus
8) He will glorify Jesus
9) He
will take the things of Christ and reveal them to us.
C) That
is the ministry of the HS that we have talked about thus far.
Today
we want to focus on v.8-11 where the Lord goes on to point out an important
ministry the HS would have in the lives of believers.
8 And when He
has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in
Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to
My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
A)Now I believe that these
verses are often misunderstood.
B)
They are commonly quoted, and most of us read it as though the Holy Spirit is
going to come into the world and work directly upon the hearts of unbelievers,
C)those
who are not Christians, and convict them, or convince them, of these three things:
sin, righteousness, and judgment.
D) Now I do believe that the
Bible teaches us that the spirit of God does convict does speak to mens
hearts directly-
1)
but I dont think that is what this verse is implying.
Now
one of my favorite modern day commentators is Ray Stedman-
He
pointed out something here I had never seen before.
He
points out that there is are two key words missing in v.8 brings context watch this
Read
v.7 again emphasizing these words
7 Nevertheless I tell you
the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the
Helper will not come to you;
but if I depart, I will send Him to
you.
12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has
come, He will guide you into
all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He
will speak; and He will tell you things
to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He
will take of what is Mine and declare it to
you. 15 All things that the
Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
It is clear
the emphasis here is on the HS coming TO THEM.
A) In light of that Stedman
suggest that v. 8 then should be read in this way.
8 And when He has come TO
YOU, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not
believe in Me; 10 of righteousness,
because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this
world is judged.
B)
In other words the ministry of the HS being talked about here is not something
that He does independently 1) But He is working directly through the Church. He
is working directly through the Lords people.
C)
See the HS doesnt float around like some ghost impressing upon the hearts of
unbelievers they need Jesus.
D) He is almost always seen
working in conjunction with a vessel with a person.
1)
The Holy Spirit works through the people in whom He lives.
E)
Example: When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, He empowered Peter to preach;
and the preaching of the Word brought conviction to those who heard.
That
I believe is what this passage is teaching us here
A)Jesus is teaching the
disciples that when the HS comes He is going to be working in them to
accomplish a greater impact
B)Another one of my favorite
modern day commentators supports this idea
Warren Wiersbe
It
is important to note that the Spirit comes to the church and not to the
world. This means that He works in and through the church. The Holy Spirit does
not minister in a vacuum. Just as the Son of God had to have a body in order to
do His work on earth, so the Spirit of God needs a body to accomplish His
ministries; and that body is the church. Our bodies are His tools and temples,
and He wants to use us to glorify Christ and to witness to a lost world.
.
So
the point that Jesus is making is how the HS was going to be working thru them
in order to accomplish 3 important
things
A)Thru the Church He intends
to have a 3 fold affect upon the world.
B) Convict the world of sin,
of righteousness and of Judgment.
C)There are three things the
world ought to see when it looks at the church looks at individual believers.
1) Marks we are walking in the Spirit.
First
thing it should see when it looks at us is the Life of Jesus.
A)It ought to be convicted
of sin, but there is one specific sin He is referring to: "because they believe not on me. "
B)That right there is the
greatest sin in the World.
Not murder / rape/ child
abuse / genocide/ -
1)
Listen U might not like this. I
dont always but a person can be forgiven of all of those things
C) But there is one sin they
will not be forgiven That is the sin of not believing in Jesus
1)
that is the sin that sends a person to Hell
2)
Believe = to cling to trust in and rely upon.
See
the HS is seeking to work in the Church in individual believers in such a way
A)that
when the world looks at us get to know us clear to them they are missing
Jesus.
B)The
key word here is convict (John
16:8). It is a legal word that means to bring to light, to expose, convince.
C)Our belief and reliance upon Jesus is to
be so apparent so strong that when the world looks at us
1)
I am missing something.
What
is the church for?
A)It
is to bring Jesus consistently before the world.
B)
It is interesting to note that the greatest spiritual awakening in our day
called the Jesus movement
1)
That is the way it should be About Jesus
C)
Look at the Church today last 15yrs look at what the Church is doing
Brochures for Seminars
1)
there are a lot of Church movements
In
the 80s popular Seeker sensitive movement Lighten up Make the seeker
comfortable
A)Late 90s into today.
B) New Emerging Church
movements
2)
C)
These are movements They will tell you how to do it Stats on how affective
it is.
1)
So much out there about the Church and what it has to offer Society groups
for everything
D) But what is interesting
to me you look at the early Church that was not their mentality.
They
never talked about the church. The early Christians never wasted their time in
that.
A)They talked about the
Lord. The church doesn't save anybody.
B)That was the first Jesus
movement that is what we need now
1)Jesus
forgives / heals / restores /
C) Holy Spirit wants to
manifest Jesus so clearly to the world in us They are convicted Missing it.
Now
in order for that to happen we have to be Salt and Light. Salt tasted Light seen
A)Problem for some of us
Bring an unsaved friend giant question mark who is that.
B) Here is what happens get saved your unsaved friends either get
saved or bail!
C)How many of you had that
happen.
1)For
most of us the Lord allows us to go thru a period of incubation { separated
that is good
D)But
once we get stronger He then wants to use us work thru us shine in us
1) Convince the World of
their need of Him
How does that happen Make friends seek out
reach out
A)Most powerful form of
evangelism is relational
B)There are some great
brothers and sisters in our Church who love to go street witnessing
1) That is great builds
you up but it is not the most effective form of evangelism and discipleship
C) Our
Here
is what is interesting: In the 10 yrs that I have been pastor here
consistently always those who have gone street witnessing
A)You know I have not met
one person who has come to Christ thru that who attends Church here
B) Not one person who was
led to Christ by someone street witnessing discipled
Plugged in
1). People
praying a prayer to receive Christ
C)But the flip side of that
is this I have met countless way too many to
count people who were led to Christ or brought here by co- worker
1)
Neighbor, a relative, someone who became friends with them
D) Came got
saved got plugged in and now are walking with the Lord serving the Lord
How
does that happen? It happens when a Christian is willing to get out of comfort
zone
A)Get focus off of ourselves
and everything we have going on. Our lives are busy
B) We start to realize why
we are here. We are here to be Salt and light we are here to reach out
1) So we make friends, rub
shoulders, invest time
C) Get
to know someone - And as we begin to live before them they get to know
us.
1)
They see our relationship with Christ They see He is center
2) Talk
about Jesus Best friend Courson act like they are
already saved.
D) They realize and are
convicted and convinced I dont have that.
If
we did this: We might see another Jesus movement and there would be a need for
all these church movements
A)What the world needs to
see is Christians actively living out their relationship with Christ.
2nd
Thing the world is convinced of flows right out of that relationship.
Righteousness
A)Now notice it doesnt say
that the HS convicts the world of unrighteousness
B) Not convincing them of
what is wrong but of righteousness
C) Which I think further
supports what Jesus is saying here applies to the HS working thru Believers
1) Jesus said I go to my
Father and they dont see me anymore but they
will see me in you.
D) My righteousness is to be
displayed in your lives
That
is why as believers We do what we do as unto the Lord
A)Jobs hardest most
faithful loyal workers that is righteousness being displayed
B) Business practices we are
honest ethical
1) The world loves to preach
situational ethics So your morals and ethics are based on the situation
C)
So there are times when it is ok to cut corners
1) There are times when it
is ok to lie
2) There are times that might
warrant doing a have hearted effort
D) You really need to get
home for one reason or another
The
Bible doesnt teach situational ethics it says whatever you do in word or in
deed do all in the name of the Lord
A) In the Psalm 29:2 we are
encouraged to Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness
B) Implied in that verse is
that there is a beauty in Holiness Beauty in holy living
C) The world sees that
Righteousness in our conduct in our speech
1) Friendships and is to be
convicted by that
In
Ephesians Paul talks about not grieving the HS
A)List there in
B) Lying, Anger, stealing,
corrupt speech, cutting talk doesnt edify
1) Bitterness,
Malice, - evil speaking or gossip
C) Now the world sees all of
that in each other so when they dont see it in us they are convicted of
righteousness
3rd
Of Judgment
A)The
third thing the world is to see as it looks at the church is judgment, "because the ruler of this world is judged."
Two Systems
A)System of this world is
live for the moment live for yourself.
B) But the unbeliever
falling that system is painfully aware it doesnt work
1) Not satisfied!
C) But the system of Jesus
is radically different
D) See the Lord is seeking
thru His Spirit ministering the Lords will and word to us
1)
Live not for the moment but for eternity
E)
Die to self in order to bless others build up others
Again
when we are walking in the Spirit and treating others in that way the World
looks on convinced
A)Something
going on here something different
B)
I have way more than they do but they are much more content more satisfied
C)
They are judged convicted Missing it
Jesus
wants his disciples to realize that says here that Satan is already judged
15 Having disarmed
principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them in it.
A)Sometimes we can have this
defeatist attitude
1) Life is uphill battle
B) Guys we are on the
winning side
1) More than conquerors
Our Lord is the King we
know how this thing ends Satan is defeated
A) Satan has lost only a
matter of time before his time is gone
C) His system doesnt work
- It is flawed it doesnt produce
satisfaction
When
Believers allow the Lord to live thru them by the HS
A)Living for eternity - Living not to please self but the Lord and
others
B) It communicates judgment
to the world
Judged in a good way!