April 13, 2003
Morning Service
Text: John 16:5-15
Subject: The Work of the Holy Spirit
Title: You Won’t Even Know I?m Gone
When you were in school did you ever wonder why you had to learn some of the things you were learning? I took three years of art in school because I wanted to paint and draw and sculpt things. Who cared who the French impressionists were and when they lived and what they did? Who cared about all the classical artists? I just wanted to do hands on things. In English class, why did we have to conjugate all those verbs? Who cares what the past perfect or present perfect or future perfect tense of a verb is. I can communicate OK without all that stuff. And here comes the big one. Why did we have to learn all the XYZ stuff in algebra and geometry? I remember thinking that I would never use this. Give me something I can use in real life. For the life of me I couldn’t understand what significance these things would have in my life.
As I matured and began to go through phases of my life the evidence of the purpose of these things began to come to light. As I began in the carpentry trade, it didn’t take long to see that much of the deductive reasoning we were taught in geometry class was being put to use in construction. Also many of the geometric proofs and equations have been effective in building homes. For instance, it is quite necessary to know what constitutes "square" in order to begin a house. If you start out of square, you stay out of square. Geometry is used to figure rafters, concrete, drywall etc. Everywhere you turn in construction, geometry is there.
I’m glad for the English classes as well. I could only wish I had paid a little more attention, but at least I do know the difference between similes and metaphors. I know about double negatives. I don’t use them no more! (Just kidding)! I have a good understanding of the basics, which allows me to communicate with you better. Even my speech classes taught me things I thought I would never use. Even though at the time I could not understand it.
Oh yes. History class has been important also. It has helped me win at Trivial Pursuit more than once.
We see today, in our text, a teacher telling His students things they could not understand, but would later. Jesus is telling His students, the disciples, about the coming of the Holy Spirit and His ministry. Jesus had already told them of His pending suffering and death. It was hard for them to accept. Now He is telling them that He is going away.
Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus could have lived forever on earth and continued His ministry of healing and salvation? That’s what the disciples thought too. But there was a reason that Jesus had to leave. Today I want to help you get a grasp as to why Jesus returned to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit, and explain what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is and how it affects Christians.
I. Jesus had to go away. He had predicted His own death. His going away was not in the nature of man because "It is appointed for men once to die".
Jesus was going to the Father by His own will. John 10:18, "No one takes it (my life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again." Everything Jesus had done in His earthly ministry had moved Him to this point. John 13:36 Peter asked Jesus, "Where are you going?" He had forgotten what Jesus had been teaching him in those three and one half years of schooling he had been through. He was thinking on a physical plane and not the spiritual. Thomas was thinking the same way in John 14:5. They apparently did not understand what Jesus had just told them in John 14:2-3, "In My Father’s house are many mansions (dwelling places): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." They didn’t ask about the mansions. They didn’t even ask about the Father’s house. Sorrow had so gripped their hearts that they were concerned only about their future and not about the future of Jesus. (Verse 6.) They didn’t ask questions because maybe they didn’t want to hear the answers. When we know something is coming that we won’t like we just don’t talk about it, like it will go a way. Jesus is communicating to them that His departure is a necessary step in their spiritual growth process.
He is calling them to walk by faith and not by sight.
Step it up a notch. John 20:29, "Thomas because you have seen Me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Romans 8:24, "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?"
2 Corinthians 5:7, "For we walk by faith and not by sight."
He has to take this step, first of all, for their sin to be removed from them. If Jesus doesn’t die on a cross, then there is no sacrifice for sin. We can’t be saved. Verse 7, "It is to your advantage that I go away." How many of you have had a loved one that became ill and you just watched them go downhill. It’s a hard thing to do. Even though they are suffering you want to hold on to them as long as you can. At some point you can release them to go on to be with the Lord rather than to suffer any longer. It is better for them, not for you. But Jesus says it is better for you that I go away. - It’s to your advantage! KJV says it is expedient that I go away. Why would it be better? Because He is going to send a Helper. Look at the word advantage in the context of the passage. I found this very enlightening. The context is about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word translated expedient or advantage is an interesting word; sumpheros. It comes from two Greek words. The first is sun pronounced (soon) It is a primary preposition denoting union like with or together, but closer. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, beside, with. In composition it has similar applications including the idea of completeness. The second word is phero - to bear or carry, to bring forth, to be driven, to endure, lead, go on, reach. Look at what Jesus is saying to them. When I go away it is to your advantage. The helper will come and he will - two Greek meanings put together.
Carry you by association.
Bring forth your possession.
Be beside you to help you endure.
He will lead you by His companionship.
He will help you reach your completeness.
Everything in that one word is pointing to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them these things, but how hard it is to understand until hindsight kicks in. It’s to your advantage that -
Jesus will be arrested.
Jesus’ miracles and teaching would cease.
Jesus would be beaten.
He would be tried and sentenced to death.
He would die on a cross.
He would be placed in a cold tomb.
When those things were happening don’t you know they were thinking, "How can this be to our advantage?"
It was difficult for them to accept when they were overcome with grief and self-pity. Oh, what are we going to do now?
II. I will send Him to you.
The Holy Spirit works along side us, through us, He goes before us. Have you ever heard people say, "I wish I could have lived when Jesus did - to hear Him teach and just be near Him. If Jesus were here now things would be a lot different." Yes they would.
First, as I said before, there would be no salvation - no propitiation for sin.
Second, you would see Jesus, and a handful of disciples trying to do all the work of the ministry.
We are clearly better off under the ministry of the Holy Spirit. How can I say that? When Jesus died on a cross for our sin, and went to sit at the right hand of the Father, and then sent the Holy Spirit, the work of the ministry was transferred from a handful of people to every one who believes.
The Holy Spirit has not come to the world, but to the church, to work with us and through us.
III. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world-
Of sin.
Before the Holy Spirit came people were convicted of their sin by the OT Scriptures and by people, i.e. the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles. They were convicted by personal influence of others.
The Greek word translated "convict" is used 18 times in the NT. Each one involves showing someone their sin in order to bring them to repentance. It is a legal term used by judges to pronounce a verdict by which a person’s guilt is defined and fixed.
In the world, the sin we see is the sin of unbelief in people. John 3:18 says, "He who believes is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son."
The Holy Spirit not only convicts people of their sin, He brings them to an inescapable sense of guilt so they are forced to realize their hopelessness before God. 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."
The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin is to bring people to repentance. We can point out the sin of unbelief in people and even get them to understand it, but it is the Holy Spirit who convicts their hearts unto repentance.
The Holy Spirit convicts of righteousness.
This righteousness refers to right standing before God.
The world doesn’t have that. Only good works. And those good works are inferior to the righteousness that is needed to be accepted by God. Romans 10:3, "for they being ignorant of God?s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."
They rely on self-righteousness.
Isaiah 64:6, "But we are like an unclean thing, and our righteousnesses are like filthy rags."
The standard of righteousness we have is Christ.
Because He alone is righteous, He was the only one who could have gone to the Father. Man cannot bridge the gap of sin on his own. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore the Holy Spirit convicts of false righteousness and shows men their need for a mediator. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of Judgment. Satan’s rule is over. He has already been judged He was already judged and found lacking when he was thrown out of heaven. Jesus knew he was a murderer, a thief, and a destroyer.
Now anyone who gives in to the authority of Satan instead of trusting in Christ is condemned with him.
Whenever actions are evaluated by an absolute power (God) judgment always occurs. What was Isaiah’s response to the glory of God in Isaiah 6?
He knew he was a sinner and had already been judged.
Satan has already been judged. Even though he is still at work in the world, he has already been judged and condemned. He no longer has any authority except over those who will allow him to have authority.
Revelation 12:11, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony."
The world system and its ruler are guilty. Case closed!
IV. The Holy Spirit comes to give guidance to the disciples.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them right now..."
Our revelation of Jesus Christ is a progressive revelation. He gives us understanding of himself when we mature enough to handle them. Does the Holy Spirit teach us something new about Jesus that is not written in the bible? He does not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak. John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all things that I have said to you."
There won’t be anything new that hasn?t been told to us before, but we will gain new insights to the word of God as we mature. There was a radio program that used to be on called the "Prophecy Club". Folks, don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that God is still raising up prophets to speak forth His word. But I believe that prophecy (forthtelling) of God’s word must line up with scripture and that prophecy (foretelling) must be put to the test of prophecy. If it doesn’t come to pass it isn’t from God. I listened to these so-called prophets and their words and I really wanted to believe the things they were saying. I was hungry for a fresh word from God. I emailed the folks in charge and asked a simple question. Have any of the prophecies given come true? It was a simple and sincere question. I received no answer. I let it go at that, but I resolved to make sure to be careful about prophecies. I test the spirits.
Look at the involvement of the Trinity concerning biblical revelation.1 John 2:27, "But the anointing (of the Holy Spirit) which you have received from Him (God) abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it is taught you, you will abide in Him (Christ)."
Does that mean that we don’t need a teaching ministry in the church?
It means that the reality of what is taught or read can only be ministered to the heart by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit comes to glorify Christ.
All the gifts of the Spirit, all the writings of the apostles, all the preaching, all the tongues, all the miracles that confirm the word of God, were given to glorify Christ.
He will take what is mine and declare it to you.
He will glorify Christ by causing people to see their need for a Savior.
He makes God a reality to people.Both saved and unsaved. He takes Jesus words, places them in our hearts as reality and helps us apply them to our lives.
The result? Lives are changed and Jesus is glorified.
Gordon Brownville’s Symbols of the Holy Spirit tells about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole and to discover the South Pole. On one of his trips, Amundsen 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. Imagine the delight of Amundsen’s wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above. No doubt she exclaimed, "He’s alive! My husband is still alive!"
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 at the right of the Father. This continues to be the Spirit’s message.
Thomas Lindberg.
What is the Holy Spirit saying to us today?
1. His work is the same. He is still convicting people of sin. Not only those unsaved, but believers as well. He ministers truth to you in order to help you walk a pure and holy life - not just in word but in deed also.
2. He is still in the teaching ministry. If you don?t believe me then the next time you sit down to read your bible ask Him to open your eyes to new truth and see what happens.
3. He is still here to glorify Christ. It would appear that this is closely related to the first two things mentioned. The Holy Spirit heightens our understanding, our love, our reverence for the Lord. He is still changing the hearts of the lost and teaching believers. Why? Because through these things the victory of Christ over the enemy becomes reality to the world and Christ is glorified.
The Holy Spirit has been given. What are you going to do with Him?
