Reading: John chapter 16 verses 1-11.
Ill:
• In 1992 a lighthouse was built in Santo Domingo,
• The capital of the Dominican Republic.
• The lighthouse was built to commemorate the;
• 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
• Santo Domingo is one of the poorest areas in the world.
• And to construct this huge structure;
• 150,000 people were evicted from their homes in a shantytown to make room for it.
• The lighthouse also cause another ongoing problem;
• The intensity of its light means that electricity is rationed throughout much of the city.
• In other words:
• The light that brings security for some brings discomfort for others.
• Jesus is the light that brings revelation and security;
• But as his disciples are about to find out;
• He also brings discomfort and suffering for himself and for others.
In chapter 16 of John’s gospel we are breaking into a section of teaching:
• This section actually starts in chapter 15 verse 18;
• And concludes in chapter 16 verse 15.
• The apostle John ties together two key themes:
• The opposition of the world against the his people – the Church,
• The ministry of the Holy Spirit to and through his people.
Verse 6:
• We are told that the disciples were:
• N.I.V.: “Filled with grief”. K.J.B.: “Sorrow had filled their hearts”
• The expression used here is very emphatical;
• “The disciples hearts were so full of concern, that they were ready to burst”.
• Ill: Balloon filled with air, as far as you can take it before it pops.
Question: What caused their grief and sorrow?
Answer: There are two reasons why were full of grief and sorrow:
(1). The disciples will suffer (vs 2-4).
“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the hour is coming when those who kill you will think they are offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4I have told you this, so that when their hour comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you”.
• Jesus told his disciples that the hatred he experienced while here on earth;
• Will now be vented on them!
• 7 times we are told in John’s gospel;
• We are told that they persecuted or they plotted or tried to kill Jesus;
• (5:16, 7:19, 7:25, 8:37, 8:59, 9:22, 11:8).
• Jesus now tells his disciples that the hatred he has experienced;
• Will now be vented on them!
(a).
• Jesus tells his disciples the form this persecution will take:
• Verse 2: “They will be put out of the synagogue.”
(b).
• Jesus tells his disciples the severity of the persecution:
• Verse 2: “They will kill you thinking that this is actually service to God”.
(c).
• Jesus tells his disciples will do this:
• Verse 2: It will be the people from the synagogues.
(d).
• Jesus tells his disciples the reason for the persecution:
• Verse 3: They do it because they do not know Jesus or his Father in heaven.
(e).
• Jesus then gives his disciples a warning:
• Verse 4: “I did not tell you at first, because I was with you”.
So the first piece if information to depress the disciples is that persecution is coming:
• Question: Did persecution take place?
• Answer: Yes.
• Just read the book of Acts (the history book of the early Church);
• Or even a good Bible encyclopaedia that contains Church history! Ill: Foxes book of martyrs
Ill:
Do you know what became of the twelve disciples?
• John died of extreme old age in Ephesus.
• Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.
• Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
• Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.
• James, the younger brother of Jesus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple,
• And then beaten to death with a club.
• Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.
• James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.
• Thomas, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the east Indies.
• Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis (Abyssinia).
• Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
• Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).
Note:
• That really happened in the first century, it has happened throughout history;
• And it still happens today!
Ill:
• Thursday evening as I was preparing;
• I got this news from Premier Christian News (& also an email from YWAM).
• Christians in the Indian state of Orissa have been threatened with more violence.
• Over the past few months Hindu extremists have targeted believers,
• Killing 67 and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
Ill:
Barnabus Trust booklet on Persecution.
Ill:
• Persecution and the growth of the Church often go hand in hand,
• In our time and English culture we are for the time being having an easy ride.
• But go back a 500 hundred years;
• And you would have been killed for having an English Bible!
• Ill: 1539, when King Henry VIII finally allowed,
• And even funded, the printing of an English Bible known as the “Great Bible
(2). The disciples will be alone (vs 5).
“…but now I am going to him who sent me”.
• Chapter 16 is a record of Christ's last night with His disciples.
• In a matter of hours he will be facing crucifixion.
• And between the cross and Pentecost;
• For a short period of time they would be on their own!
• Although the disciples couldn’t figure out what Pentecost would mean;
• They had enough brains to know that;
• The crucifixion of Jesus would forever change their relationship with him.
• He would no longer physically walk beside them like he had done the previous 3 years.
Ill:
Little boy “I want someone with skin on!”
(3). The disciples will be helped (vs 8&13).
• Verse 8: “When he comes,”
• Verse 13: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes”
Jesus aware of the shock and the devastation of this news to his disciples;
• Explains to the disciples why this must all take place for a reason;
• And he also explains who it is who will help them to cope with these situations.
• Jesus comforted the disciples with these words recorded in chapter 15 & 16;
• Where he promises them that the Holy Spirit would be in them and with them.
Note:
• Don’t forget (from last week) the Holy Spirit is a person and not a force or an influence;
• He will encourage and comfort the disciples just like Jesus had done!
• Jesus called the helper (chapter 14 verse 16: “Another counsellor”
• That word ‘another’ means; ‘something that is separate, but of exactly of the same kind’
• In other words the Holy Spirit who does not have a body (i.e. Spirit) would do for the disciples;
• What Jesus a real person, made of flesh & blood had been doing for them!
Ill:
• In our English Bibles we have the word 'Comforter' or 'Counsellor' – soft word:
• I think a better word would be ‘strengthener’ – strong word (ill: Wycliffe’s meaning).
• It is the Greek word 'Paraclete' not Parakete (that's a bird!).
• It is a word made up of two Greek terms:
• (1). FIRST GREEK TERM USED IS THE TERM 'PARA', WHICH MEANS 'ALONGSIDE'.
• ill: If I stand by this OHP, I am 'Para' the OHP.
• ill: Para-chute or Parallel lines or parallel bars.
• (2). GREEK TERM USED IS 'KALEO', WHICH MEANS 'TO CALL'.
• ill: Call you out the front.
• I would have 'Kaleo' you, I would have called you out.
• Combined those two terms make up the word:
• 'Par-a-kle-tos' and mean, ‘to call alongside'
• And called alongside for a definite purpose i.e. to help!
Now every Christian has the Holy Spirit!
• When you became a Christian, i.e. asked Jesus into your life etc,
• Weather you realised it or not, the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life.
• Ill: The older versions of the Bible say ‘Holy Ghost’….Anglo Saxon word for ‘Guest’.
• Ill: In fact the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 9, talking about the Holy Spirit:
• "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ".
With that in mind remember this,
• No-one gets more of the Holy Spirit than anyone else:
• He is a person not a force or an influence, therefore we get all of him or none of him,
• Question: Does he get all of us?
• Ill: House illustration.
(2). The helper will convict of? (vs 7-11)
• Yes, the departure of Jesus will bring the disciples grief;
• But it will also bring the disciples the gift of the helper, the Holy Spirit.
• The departure of Jesus was a cause for sadness;
• But the arrival of the Holy Spirit would be a cause for joy!
Ill:
The great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (Ro-ald Amun-son),
• Was the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole;
• And the first to discover the South Pole.
• On one of his trips, Amundsen (Amun-son), took a homing pigeon with him.
• When he had finally reached the top of the world,
• He opened the bird’s cage and set it free.
• The homing pigeon did what all homing pigeons do, he flew home.
• Each day that her husband had gone away (Amun-son’s), wife, back in Norway,
• Was looking up to the sky for the return of that bird.
• When she saw the bird,
• She knew that husband was alive and had achieved his goal!”
• So it was when Jesus ascended.
• He was gone, but the disciples clung to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit.
• What joy, then, when the dovelike Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.
• The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious.
The Holy Spirit was given for many reasons:
• In this talk we are only concerned with only the reasons given in our passage;
• Verse 8 tells us why he was given.
• N.I.V.: “Says he will prove the world to be in the wrong”
• K.J.B.: “He will reprove the world of sin”.
• N.L.B.: “He will convict the world of its sin”
• C.E.V.: “He will show the people of this world the truth about sin”
The Greek word translated into English as; “prove, reprove, convict & show”:
• Ill: Was used in New Testament times for the cross-examination of a witness;
• To convict (that is show) a person the crime they have committed.
• In other words the penny drops and they realise that they are responsible, they are guilty!
• Ill: It was used in debating when you held a contrary view to your opponent.
• It can show a person the weakness of their argumentand the strength of their opponents.
• In other words they are right and you are wrong (i.e. no answer to your opponents facts).
Jesus says in verse 8 that is the job of the Holy Spirit:
• We may present facts, well thought out logical arguments, or even brilliant sermons;
• But ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who brings the understanding and conviction.
(1). The Holy Spirit convicts of sin (8&9)
If you are a Christian it is because the Holy Spirit was at work in your life:
• He helped you see that you needed saving?
• He was the one who made you aware that your sin needed to be dealt with!
Ill:
• When the Jewish people with the help of the Roman army crucified Jesus;
• They did not think they had done anything wrong!
• They thought they were getting rid of an impostor, a false Messiah.
• They thought they were actually doing the will of God.
• Ill: But later on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2);
• Many of the same crowd heard Peter preach the very first Christian sermon.
• This time those same people were ‘cut to the heart’, were under deep conviction;
• They knew they had sinned and called out to Peter; “What must we do to be saved?”
Note:
• Peter knew it was not his eloquence of preaching that brought out that reaction;
• It was not even the content of his sermon (though pretty good it was).
• It was the Holy Spirit who took the word of God and applied it to the hearts of the crowd.
• He did it then and he is still doing it 2000 years later!
• Ill: Maybe even tonight!
• God’s Spirit is showing you that you too need to respond and be saved!
(2). The Holy Spirit convicts of Righteousness
(vs 8&10)
• The word ‘righteousness’ simply means ‘right (cut it in half);
• i.e. Being in a right relationship with God, or living right for God in a world gone wrong!
• The righteousness mentioned here;
• Is the righteousness that comes to us through the death of Jesus
Ill:
• If you ask the average person how do you get to heaven?
• Most people will say:
• “Be kind and good to others” “Do you best” or “Be sincere” etc
• The emphasis is on what we can do and the Bible teaches we can do nothing!
• Ill: The Bible says of human beings:
• Romans chapter 3 verse 10: “There is none righteous, no not one!”
If you are a Christian here tonight it is because the Holy Spirit was at work in your life:
• He showed you that you had no righteousness to offer God:
• Quote: Hymn: Rock of Ages.
“Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.”
(3). The Holy Spirit convicts of judgement
(8&11)
• In verse 11: Jesus says; “The prince of this world now stands condemned.”
• The point I believe Jesus is making with this statement is this;
• The cross was not a brief encounter with the devil.
• It was a decisive victory with eternal consequences.
• He is a defeated foe and all he has to look forward to is the executing of the sentence;
• And that will occur when Jesus Christ returns in glory!
Now no-one wants to believe in judgement
• But said Jesus (verse 11):
• The judgement of Satan is proof that there will be a judgement.
• One day men and women will stand before the great judge Jesus;
• Quote: John chapter 5 verse 22:
• “The Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son”.
• Jesus certainly believed in a future day of judgement.
If you are a Christian here tonight it is because the Holy Spirit was at work in your life:
• Showing you that ‘wages of sin is death’.
• Showing you “It is appointed unto all men to die and after this the judgement”
• But the Spirit show us that he (Jesus) died so that we do not have too;
• He died and was judged so that we can be let off and forgiven.
• He was sentenced to death, so that we could have life.
• He was punished so that we could be declared innocent.
• If you are a xtian here tonight it is because the Holy Spirit has showed you these things;
• Because the Holy Spirit has convicted or convinced you of these truths.
Ill:
Possible prayer of commitment.
(3). The Holy Spirit is the guide who (vs 12-15)
(1). who is needed (vs 12)
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear”
• I think every preacher feels the same way;
• Ill: Two enemies – the devil and the clock.
• For some the problem is not running out of time but too much information to take on board;
• Ill: Spiritual indigestion.
Because we can only take in so much at a time;
• Jesus made a start with the truth;
• And when he goes the Holy Spirit will come to teach us more needed truth;
• That extra needed truth;
• Would find its fulfilment in the Spirit inspiring & guiding the writers of the N.T.
(2). The Guide who was promised (vs 13a)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth”.
• Note: “When” not “If” he comes;
• Again this promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
Ill:
• His coming that turned the fearful disciples, who were hiding away behind locked doors
• Into courageous preachers who stood in the open air and preached a convicting message!
(3). The Guide who has authority (vs 13b)
“He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,
and he will tell you what is yet to come”.
• This verse is not saying that the Holy Spirit never mentions himself;
• It is obvious from scripture that he does on many, many occasions.
• I believe that this verse is saying the Holy Spirit will never act independent of the Father;
• He will never act independent of the Son;
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will all speak with one voice and one mind.
• They speak in unison, in agreement and in harmony.
(4). Guide who has an objective (vs 14-15)
“He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you."
• The objective of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ.
• Just as Jesus glorified the Father , so the Spirit glorifies the Son.
• The persons of the Holy trinity (Godhead);
• Always glorify each other.
Ill:
• Two men who had very different priorities were:
• Ray Krock & David Livingstone.
• Ill: Ray Krock was the founder of McDonald’s (as we know it),
• He was once asked by a reporter what he believed in.
• “I believe in God, my family and McDonald’s,” he said.
• Then he added, “When I get to the office, I reverse the order.
• Ill: The body of missionary and explorer David Livingstone;
• Was buried in Westminster Abbey England in 1874.
• But one part of him was missing!
• His heart was buried in the Africa he loved.
• It was buried at the foot of a tall tree in a small African village.
• The natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved & respected.
Two men with very different priorities in life:
• One determined to make money;
• One determined to glorify Christ and make Christ known!
