John 16:1-13

John 16:1‑13
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Abides.
To answer all need.
The Father's good pleasure has laid up a store. Plentiful treasure is to the poor.
267.
Great God and Father, we thank you for the truth of this.
Brushes him that we have sung of the fullness that abides in Jesus our head.
An infinite fullness, very fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily.
And we are the poor father.
We thank you that that fullness can meet every need.
And delights to.
That we might as thy people, as thy body, Lord Jesus, might grow up unto thee, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ.
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And so we look to Thee at this time, asking Father, that they'll be pleased to pour us out a blessing. Lord Jesus, that.
They'll direct us to the portion that we need. They'll lost our needs perfectly. We thank You for this will give us to be real before Thee. We pray. We pray that there would be the liberty of Thy Holy Spirit, Father. And again we thank you for this occasion and for the love and the energy that has made it possible behind us of our brother here. We ask for Thy gracious help, Father, and the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Amen.
Like to suggest that we read in the 16th chapter of the book of John's Gospel. It's a chapter we don't often take up. We often concentrate on the three previous chapters. But I was thinking of it in connection with the hymns we sang both at the prayer meeting and the one we sang.
Just at the beginning of this meeting, connection with.
Difficulties of still being here in this world and God's provision for us. I realize it's a long chapter, but perhaps we could read it anyway. And we certainly won't get everything in this chapter in a couple of readings, but it might be for a prophet to read the whole thing.
John's Gospel, chapter 16.
These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues. Yeah, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service.
And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to Him that sent me. And none of you asketh me whether goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment of sin, because they believe not on me, Of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more, of judgment, because he, the Prince of this world, is judged.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come.
He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. A little while, and you shall not see me. And again a little while, and you shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He has said unto us? A little while, and you shall not see me.
And again a little while, and you shall see me. And because I go to the Father.
They said, therefore, what is this that he saith a little while. We cannot tell what he said. Now Jesus knew that they were desires to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that? I said, a little while, and you shall not see me, and again a little while, and you shall see me.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow because her hours come. But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more that the the anguish for joy, that a child is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow. But I will see you again.
And your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, he will give it to you hitherto heavy. Ask nothing in My name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs. But the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.
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At that day you shall ask in my name, and I say unto you, that I will pray the Father for you. For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and him come into the world again. I leave the world and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speaketh thou plainly, and be and speaketh no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things?
And need us not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them. Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh. Yeah, and now is come.
That ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
Well, as we know these chapters in John's Gospel, we often refer to them as the Upper Room ministry, that is chapters 131415 and here the 16th chapter. And then at the end of it, the Lord Jesus in the 17th chapter, lifting up his eyes to heaven and praying not only for the little company that was around him on that occasion, but for all those down through the centuries in the ages that would believe.
The older brethren often referred to it as his High Priestly Prayer, the Lord's Prayer.
But it is interesting that there is a distinct break at the end of the 14th chapter, because all the ministry was not given in the upper room. The 13th and 14th chapters were expounded in the upper room. And then the Lord Jesus says at the end of chapter 14, Arise, let us go hence. And they see, it seems that they move from the upper room into the dark night of the world, to pass on to the Garden of Gethsemane.
And on the way to the garden, he gives these 15th and 16th chapters. And I think it's important to see that in, in taking up this chapter to understand its character. Because in the 13th and 14th chapters, in the upper room, in the shelter and separation of the upper room, he gives them that which sets them in relationship to divine persons as to where they are now and in connection with the Father's house and the hope of the Lord's return.
So he sets us in those chapters in relationship with himself, not here in this world, but the man in the glory as he was going to return to the Father's house. As I say, he gives us the hope of what is ahead. This world's not our home. There's something else far better waiting for us, and so on.
But as they begin their track from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane.
He sets them now in relationship to the world. He was going to leave them in a hostile world and in a world that was is still affected by the curse of sin. And so the 15th chapter we have the the truth of of fruit bearing and how that though he was going to leave them and go back to the glory, he there was going to be a way that they could bear fruit and give testimony to himself.
Being left alone in this world and so on. And he goes on to expound further of the Spirit of God and so on. And in this chapter again, he's stressing to them that life is not going to be easy in his absence. He is going to leave them in a world that's under the effects of sin and a world, as I say, that is hostile to everything that has been set up by God and established by Christ. But he says to them, never mind.
I'm going to continue to provide for you, and the resources that you're going to have at your disposal for living in a hostile world are going to be greater resources than you've had even with my presence physically with you. And so he leaves them with no illusion as to the condition of things that they're going to find around them. And brother and I believe that we need to be encouraged by a chapter like this.
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Are things any better in the world than when the Lord Jesus was here? Are things any better in the world than we have unfolded to us in the early days of the Church, in the book of the Acts, and in the Epistles by the different New Testament writers know things are perhaps even darker, if it's possible. The moral and spiritual darkness is deepening over the Western world and over this planet every day. But, brethren, we have the same Christ.
We have the Spirit of God, we're linked to heaven, we're on our way there. Yes, we're still here. And I suppose none of us have any illusions as to the fact that we're still here. We're going through God's people are going through circumstances today that perhaps we've never passed through before physically and in connection with our relationships to the world and so on. But brethren, let's be encouraged as we take this up. And at the end of the chapters we had the Lord Jesus could say.
In the world ye shall have tribulation. Yes, we will, as long as we're here. But be of good cheer. I've overcome the world.
Important to see the.
The character as our brother Jim is outlined of the Upper Room ministry because it is in view of the Lord's absence.
He was going to leave them. He had been there, their support and strength during His earthly pathway, but now He was going back to the Father, and their hearts were filled with sorrow.
But he was going to send the divine person, the Holy Spirit, the comforter that characterizes Christianity.
A living man in the glory and the Holy Spirit of God here on earth. What an inestimable privilege we have. A divine person within us, living within us. And then he brings out the the the reproach, the persecution that would ensue.
Mainly from the religious world here, those that even might have a profession of Christianity, but we're really opposed to the Christ of God. And so he warns us of this, but at the same time shows us the resource that we have.
In Him glorified and by the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us and also collectively.
It's nice to see that.
The Lord Jesus.
He informs his disciples ahead of time as to the sort of treatment that they would receive from this world.
And that they would experience persecution.
It wasn't something that should come as a surprise to them.
The Lord Jesus knows the future. He knows the end from the beginning.
As a wonderful thing.
To be able to look into the future.
And to know what is ahead and we experience trial and difficulty persecution from this world at the present time.
It should not be something that offends us or that surprises us.
Because the Lord Jesus, he says in the world you shall have tribulation.
He experienced it.
And.
He tells his disciples here about.
The comforter that would come and in his absence would indwell them.
And what a wonderful encouragement this is to us to realize.
That the Lord Jesus would not leave his own comfortless.
But he sends his Spirit. The Spirit of God comes to indwell each and every believer and is the comforter. Now notice in chapter 15 the Lord Jesus could say when the comforter is come.
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Verse 26 Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth.
Which proceedeth from the father he shall testify.
Of me.
And he speaks of it again in our chapter.
In verse 14 He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
And so I believe through the power of the Spirit of God indwelling the believer, we can enjoy the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself right here and now, even though He's not bodily here with us. We have.
This wonderful person of the Godhead, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit to indwell us that.
Testifies of Jesus.
And.
I wonder.
How many hours of the waking day do we think about the fact that God dwells within you and me by your Spirit?
It's a marvelous truth.
Two great truths of Christianity to realize that there's a man.
In the glory, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ who walked here on earth a glorified man. There he is in the glory, but also God here on earth.
The Holy Spirit is God and dwells the indwells, the believer. So there was great comfort, wasn't there for the disciples. And it's written here for our comfort encouragement too. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.
Referring to the Holy Spirit.
It is remarkable, isn't it, that it is religious persecution that the Lord Jesus brings before them. First of all, because he knew that that was imminent after his return to the Father. He knew that that's what the disciples were going to suffer. And so we see it immediately in the 4th chapter of the book of Acts, when Peter and John having given testimony and witness to Christ, they're brought up before the council. Not before some secular tribunal, but before the high priest and the religious council.
And it's interesting in that eighth verse of the 4th chapter, it says, and Peter being full of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit had been given between the chapter we're reading and the 4th chapter of Acts, the Spirit had been given. The instruction was here. So there were no surprises. The power, the promise had been given. And now Peter and John in the power of the Holy Spirit can give witness and testimony to the council and go out from the council and continue the work that the Spirit of God began.
On the day of Pentecost. But I say it's religious persecution that the Lord stresses, because down through the ages to this very time, I suppose there have been more slain and more persecuted under the banner of religion.
And even Christianity than perhaps in all the political wars that have taken place, we read about the Crusades and those wars and thousands and thousands of men, women and children indiscriminately slain under the banner of the cross and Christianity. And that's why the Lord said in the end of verse two that when they do it, they'll think they're doing God's service. And you know, the apostle Paul as Saul of Tarsus was doing that himself.
He went out to persecute the Church of God, the followers of Christ, and he said himself, he thought he was doing God's will. He thought he ought verily to do many things contrary to that way and to the to the name of Christ. Thank God he got turned around and his zeal and energy was then directed to the service of God and the blessing of his people. But I, I when we think of persecution, we often think of it in different ways, but to realize that it is religion that has been the greatest and is the greatest persecuted.
Of Christianity. But you say, how can those brethren stand? How did they stand at the stake and rejoice? How do our brethren who are in prison for their testimony today, how do they do it? They have the comfort and the power of the Spirit of God and it's through the Spirit of God that grace and power are given for the moment. And we we wonder at it. We don't need that until and we don't need that at the present. We sit here with complete liberty if we were to face that kind of difficulty.
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The resource would be available for us as well.
Verse one, it says these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended or stumbled. And I think that's a a very important thing that we need to look at that if you look in what is taught among Christians today. It's a very great teaching that the world will be come better and better through the efforts of Christians and eventually we'll win.
The world for Christ. And as far as I understand it, a majority of believers think that this is what the Word of God teaches because they don't properly understand or divide the word of truth. And so the Lord is trying to prepare the disciples for the truth. What's really going to come here? It's not going to get better, but it's going to get worse. They didn't understand it and after the Lord rose from the dead, they struggled with it. They said in Acts 1, Wilt thou at this time return, restore the Kingdom unto Israel?
And the Lord had to tell them, it's not for you to know the times of the seasons. And they had to wait. No doubt, when the Spirit of God came, He brought them back to these very words. And they had to learn something of that. And so do we. We have to learn that we're in a time right now when the Lord is absent and things are not going to get better again until after He comes the second time.
And makes them better himself for us. We have this same portion as generally the 2nd epistle show us. It doesn't change, does it? And we need to learn dispensational truth that sets all of these things in their proper order so that we can understand where we are today and not be stumbled.
You were mentioning a gym about the war, the religious wars that have taken place in our time and history of bread, and we're living in the days of great wars when we think of the Arab world that they say we're fighting a holy war.
So their way of thinking, they believe they are and they'll give the life for the cause. But this is the example for still living in that day.
Of these crises that we're facing daily is that we're still fighting these wars today.
But it's a reality.
We follow our rejected Christ. We don't gather around a glorified Christ now. Tomorrow morning we will remember the Lord in his death.
But it's a round of rejected Christ. These people mentioned in verse two acted according to their conscience, but their conscience was not regulated by the Word of God.
Perhaps, perhaps you could have a word on the on the conscience. It's the knowledge of good and evil. But.
Unless there is, it is regulated by the word of God. Here these people were acting according to their conscience, but it was completely contrary to to God's word. Paul, Saul was in the same condition.
When he persecuted the Church of God. So the conscience must be brought into the light and teaching of the word of God. Is that right? Yes, because Paul, when he persecuted the church, he did it with a good conscience. He even said that he had lived in all good conscience between before God and man. And I don't believe that just referred to after he was saved, he had persecuted the Church of God doing what he thought. As the Lord said, they'll think they're doing God's service.
And so that's why we often say that our conscience is not our guide. The conscience is the check. It's the yellow light. But it it is not our guide. I'll tell a little story that'll make you smile, but it'll illustrate my point. The first time I was ever in Cairo, Egypt. And there are plenty of traffic lights in Cairo, Egypt, but they don't have the same connotation they do in New York or Toronto or any city or town in the Western world. And those traffic lights are completely ignored most of the time.
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And I was having a meeting in Cairo and Brother Phil Ogali was with me and I was going to use the age-old adage that our conscience is like the traffic light. And Phil, who was translating for me, looked at me in an English. She said, Jim, that that illustration won't work here.
Because there's lots of traffic lights, as I say, but they lay on the horn and whoever has the most nerve or is going the fastest is going to be the first to get through the intersection. But I just say that because we cannot use the conscience as the guide. We may have a seared conscience, we may have a bad conscience, but we may have a conscience that may be good, but not guided by the by the word of God. And so God has given us the light of his Word.
And that's why the Lord Jesus on this occasion sought to instruct so carefully the disciples as to what was ahead. I know that the truth of what we have in these chapters is not developed till the epistles. But the Lord Jesus gave the seeds of Christianity and what was developed later on by the apostles to instruct them so that when the time came, yes, they had a conscience. But that wasn't the guide. It was the Word of God and the instructions that He himself had laid down.
But there was another problem here and we get it just to move on a little bit because we only have two readings. But notice verse five. He says, But now I go my my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me whether goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. You know the disciples weren't really concentrating and taking in what the Lord was saying to them. Why?
Because they were preoccupied with present circumstances and sorrow. And I want to make this practical application. And this is one of was one of my exercises in suggesting this portion. You know, there are a lot of sorrows today. And I realized there are brethren sitting in these chairs that are going through real heartaches, real sorrows and trials of one sort or another. But if we get over occupied and under those sorrows, we're not going to enjoy future blessings.
You know, the Lord Jesus was seeking to bring before them what was future in connection with the resources that He was going to send to give them, to get them through this life in connection with the glory that was ahead. They just weren't getting it because their hearts were so sorrowful, preoccupied with the circumstances that they knew they were going to face after the Lord left them. And brethren, I'm not, I'm not belittling the circumstances or underestimating the sorrows. I know there's brethren here going through trials that I've never been called on to pass through.
But what we need to do is to be occupied with Christ, to have the experience, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, to have the Father's House and the hope of the Lords coming before us to lift our focus and our vision above the circumstances and beyond this life and the horizons of this sad, sin, sick world. That we might have the experience of the joy that he later speaks of in this chapter.
The joy that isn't dependent on circumstances. And so let's not be preoccupied with the circumstances that we're overcome with sorrow.
But let's be occupied with Christ, that we might rise above the sorrows and difficulties and live for his glory.
Maybe the verse in the Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12 in connection with our chapter, Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12.
Yeah, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
I believe there is a word for our conscience there as we live our Christian life from day-to-day, maybe at school or at work.
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No May the Lord keep us to live close to Him.
That His love, His grace and His truth will shine and reach the conscience of people.
Surely we're not looking for persecution, but if the conscience is reached, very often it will come.
You see Paul in many instances before he was saved.
He did, he persecuted his, he was going out carrying out threatenings and slaughter. And you did that with a good conscience before God. But then in Timothy, we read that he had a pure conscience. And as a pure conscience, I think it's a difference between a good conscience, a good conscience. He's satisfied with his own heart and what he's doing. But with the pure conscience, I think it's guided by the word of God. And when our conscience is is affected by the word of God, then it's going to have an effect in a godly way in our in our.
Actions.
Purge conscience is in connection with our standing before God.
A good conscience is in connection with our state.
It's not a contradiction. We have a purge conscience through the finished work of Christ that's brought out very clearly in the book of Hebrews. We have no more conscience of sins. But if I walk carelessly, I will not have a good conscience. My state will not be in accordance with.
My standing so a good conscience comes from walking in self judgment and carefulness before God, judging my my ways and my my conduct and my my manner of life.
To maintain a good conscience, we must walk carefully and.
Exercised before God.
But I think what Tim says is good because of pure conscience in the light of the word of God judges evil as well.
And so it when we get into the Word, we get that sense of what is right and wrong as far as God's standard, not the standard of the world, that changes. But when we get a sense of holiness in regard to God, then we not only have a good conscience, but we have a pure conscience, having judged evil in our lives.
There have been some navigators, especially those traveling towards the polar region.
That felt that they could rely upon their compass, and usually you can.
But there's magnetic interference as you get through the polar regions and they throw compasses off.
And that just shows that that compass could not be relied upon.
It's important to see that they were to know Christ in a in a different way. We're all familiar with that.
Occasion when the Lord spoke to Mary we it's in the same gospel in chapter 20. Maybe we could just turn to it chapter 20.
Verse 17 Jesus said on Seth unto her, Mary, touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. Well, as has been been mentioned, the Jews looked for the establishment of the Kingdom, and the Lord reigning in glory and power. It was a disappointment to them that the Lord had not come in that character, and.
And overcome their enemies they were.
They were under the power of the Roman domination, but the Lord speaks here of of knowing Him in a different way.
He was going to go back to the glory and they would no longer know Him in that earthly character as the Messiah to establish the Kingdom, to deliver the nation from their oppression and tyranny. They weren't to know him in that character.
Though we have known Christ after the flesh, henceforth knowing Him no more, we know Him now as a glorified man at God's right hand. And the thought here in the case of Mary has retained me not. That is, the Lord was not there to bring in the Kingdom, He was going to return to the glory, and Mary would know Him.
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As a as a man at God's right hand.
One who would bring her into heavenly blessing and relationship which was not known under the Judaistic system or even while the Lord was here on earth so.
That relationship of father would be understood and entered into and the truth of.
The Church of God would be brought out. It was now knowing the Lord in a heavenly character and that's the way, brethren, that we know him now and when the Lord speaks in our chapter.
Verse 19 latter part of the verse, a little while, and ye shall not see me, and they gain a little while and ye shall see me. How would that be possible? Does that refer to the Lord's coming? No, it refers to the Spirit of God coming. When He would be the third person of the Trinity or the divine Person. They would, they would see the Lord.
Have a deeper understanding of the person of Christ and what they had in him through the Holy Spirit of God who would come to abide within the believer.
So there are three things that the Spirit of God does in this world, three things that the work that he has taken up in connection with the work that the Lord Jesus began. When the Lord Jesus was here in this world, He reproved the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment to come.
But the Lord Jesus was going back to the Father, and the Spirit of God was going to be sent down to take up that work. And so that's why just to to notice it.
Verse 8 And when he has come, that's the Spirit of God. He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now there are three things that characterize this world today. It's characterized by sin. It's under sin, it's without righteousness.
We have no trouble seeing that, and it's under judgment, and the presence of the Spirit of God here is not a test for this world.
The fact that the Lord has gone back to glory as and is a glorified man at the right hand of God, and that the Spirit of God was sent down on the day of Pentecost to take up this work is not a further test. The test was over at the cross. They rejected the Lord Jesus and said we won't have him. The test was over at the cross. The Spirit of God now is here to give reproof, to show that these things now.
The doom of this world, the judgment of this world is now sealed. And so we find first of all, he says of sin because they believe not on me. And so the Spirit of God is here and man, though his conscience may become very seared, he still there's still some consciousness of sin. The Spirit of God is here in this world reproving the world of sin. If I can illustrate it this way, someone goes down and they rob a bank and Scranton this evening.
As seared as their conscience has become, they still know they're doing wrong.
But it's remarkable to think that when the Spirit of God is taken out at the rapture, when we're gone and the Spirit of God is gone, the reprover of sin will be gone too. Now man will still have a conscience, but he'll have nothing in the same way to reprove his conscience. Open sin and rebellion will wreak havoc, because the Spirit of God is the reprover of sin, will be removed from this world. So he's reproving the world of sin, of righteousness again, as seared as man's conscience may become.
There's still some consciousness of what is right and what is wrong, and so of righteousness and then of judgment.
To come. And so when we preach the gospel in the power of the Spirit, we seek from the Word of God to impress these three things upon the soul, that the conscience might be reached as to sin and its effects as to the unrighteousness that is so prevalent and characteristic of the world today.
And the fact that there's judgment, the Lord himself said, now is the judgment of this world. Now is the Prince of the world cast out again. The the doom of this world is sealed. The presence of the Spirit of God shows very clearly that the devil's been defeated and judgment has been pronounced. So this is the.
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Part of the function of the Spirit of God as being here in this world in the absence of the Lord Jesus.
They're not. The Apostle Paul before he was converted have ****** of conscience, you know.
In Acts Chapter 9.
We find that the Lord speaks to Saul.
So so a white persecutor style me says, who art thou Lord? And the answer is, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.
It is hard for thee to kick against the prick. So even as the apostle in his unconverted days was persecuting the Church of God. What were these ******? Were they not ****** of conscience? I realized that he spoke of all we seeking to have a conscious sport of offense between God and man, but.
Seems to me he must have had some sense.
That.
He was perhaps not doing that, which was right.
Presence of Seoul.
At the martyrdom of Steven might have been one of those ****** of conscience.
Mentions his presence there on that occasion.
Another one has suggested the apostle Paul refers to kinsman that were in Christ before him, whether it was actually relatives or not. But if we think of relatives who are saved before us, what are they perhaps doing or what would they most likely be doing? That's praying for us. And that may have also been another prick of conscience.
We have in the 15th chapter the most severe condemnation of man in the Bible, chapter 15 and verse.
25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled, that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause. Without a cause.
It's it's the final Test of man in the flesh.
Before there were transgressions of the law and so on, man was a Sinner under the old Judaistic system, certainly.
But they might have said they had religion and they were religious people, but now here is the Son of God in their midst, the Holy One of God, sinless, manifesting the very nature and the very character of God. So the condemnation of sin, because they believe not on me.
They rejected God manifest in the flesh. They showed truly what was in their nature.
Opposed to to God himself, because here was God manifest among them. There was no cause of hatred toward him. There was nothing inconsistent in his life. There might be an us, there might be a cause in us, not in the blessed and the Lord Jesus. So it really showed what the nature of man was.
I think that's the point that.
Man demonstrated by his rejection of Christ what his true nature and character was enmity against God.
Illustrated in the Old Testament in connection with David in the 17th chapter. First Samuel we read in the 28th verse of Lives. Anger was kindled against David.
And so.
He makes further remarks, but then David replies in verse 29.
What have I now done? Is there not a clause? And in John chapter 12 The Lord.
Graciously says, for this cause, have I come on to this hour? So we see what was meant in man's heart, and we see what was in God's heart.
And I believe that this portion of First Samuel illustrates the verse that you just referred to John.
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So what we find here is that the Lord Jesus is really saying to the disciples that union with himself in glory in a future time was going to be greater blessing than having himself physically with with them as he walked through this world during his public ministry. So Paul later on said, henceforth know we no man after the flesh, though we knew Christ after the flesh, henceforth know we him no more. And there was going to be by the Spirit of God now a union.
That was far greater and far closer than anything the disciples had enjoyed up until this point. And that's why he didn't want them to be sorrowful. He's saying, as it were, if you only knew what was ahead. If you only knew the blessing that you're going to be brought into after I go to the cross, accomplish the work, and rise from the dead, and I'm ascended back and glorified at God's right hand. I have tremendous blessing for you in Christianity that you not only not have not enjoyed prior to this, but you can't.
As long as I'm with you, you can't. And so we notice what he says here.
In verse 12, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. They couldn't take in everything that He wanted to say to them in connection with the blessings that were in store for them in Christianity. He sows the seeds, He gives them some little thoughts, some little hints as we go along, but He can't expound to them fully because they don't have the capacity to take it in yet.
And if we were to go back in these chapters and ahead to we would find that this is developed because he when the Spirit of God was come, then they were going to have the capacity to fully take in these things and to walk in the power and enjoyment of them.
And so that's why earlier in these chapters he said that again, there were many things that he'd like to say to them, but he was only speaking a few things. But when the Spirit has come, he will bring to remembrance all things that I have spoken unto you. And we know in the acts that they often, on occasion, it says they remembered his words. They remembered the things that he had spoken to them. But now they had the Spirit as the Remembrancer to bring those things back to them and to make them good to them for the time.
And if I can just say this, which really introduces the next little section we have in our chapter, beginning with verse 13, where he's going to refer to the Spirit in a different context. The Spirit of God is given to meet us in our present need. It's been referred to as the comforter. It was introduced that way earlier in these chapters as the comforter. Why? Because that's what the disciples needed on this occasion. They needed comfort.
Their hearts were troubled, they were afraid. And so he introduces the Spirit of God as the comforter. Aren't we thankful for the comforter? The Spirit of God is still doing that work. You say I'm just so discouraged. I just, I don't know if I can go on. I'm overwhelmed by the difficulties and the sorrows. There's one who is the comforter and encourager. That's the Spirit of God ministering the things of Christ to us for our comfort and encouragement.
Now he's going to go on and speak of the Spirit of truth because it's the Spirit of God that brings before us the Word of God, the truth of God. As we've been saying, we have the truth of God, the guidebook. We have the word for us here in this book. It does. This book doesn't just contain the Word of God. It is the Word of God from cover to cover. But how are we going to understand it? You know, none of us would understand so much as John 316.
If it wasn't a work of the Spirit of God, it must be in the power of the Spirit if we're going to enjoy the simplest truth that is presented in this book. But we have the Spirit of truth who is brought before us in John's ministry, both in the gospel and in the epistle, 7 times. The Spirit and the truth are intimately connected. I'll just give you the first time in John 4 where he spoke to the woman at the well.
He spoke of, he spoke there, of they that worship the Father must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And I say seven times in John's ministry, the spirit and the truth are intimately linked together.
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Before we go too far, I want to I'd like to go back to the.
When the Spirit of God will come, he will pre pre reprove the world of sin and righteousness and judgment and just make a comment about that.
Many people like to go out and and share the gospel with others, but they don't know how and this is kind of a nice little outline of the gospel.
First you need to present the fact of sin, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Many people don't believe they're a Sinner. They don't think they're what they've done is that bad? We go to Malawi and everybody thinks they're born a Christian and they only lose that if they do something terrible and they get caught for it.
And so we need to reprove the world of sin. Maybe you are sitting here today. Maybe you're a father or a mother, and you've been gathered to the Lord's name for many years.
I asked you to tell me how to get saved.
Well, you don't really know how to explain it.
You really don't know how to tell your children how to be saved.
You may be telling them, well, you just asked the Lord Jesus to come into your heart. Well, that doesn't work because the Lord Jesus can't come into a heart that's full of sin and you really don't understand how to present the gospel.
Well, maybe I ask you, Mom and Dad, are you saved? You've been going on a long time being gathered to the Lord's name. You've been gone on a long time. You look like a Christian, and you can say a lot of nice things, but do you really know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Is he your Lord? Is he the guide of your life? And so we need to reprove the world of sin and convince men that they are sinners. Even if they're born and they haven't done any bad things, you're still a Sinner.
Because you're born with the nature of Adam, you are a Sinner. And so you need to be reproved, convinced that you are a Sinner because you can't be saved unless you're lost. And so first we need to convince a person that they are a Sinner, that they are lost, and then it says convince them of righteousness. The Lord Jesus, he came in all His Holiness and his sinlessness and the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of God cannot abide sin, and so we cannot go to heaven in the presence of God with our sin. And so the Lord Jesus was sent into this world to die on the cross for us, and so we convinced the world of judgment.
The two contrast there of sin and righteousness. They can't go together. And so we need to convince the world of judgment because sin and righteousness of God cannot go together. The Lord Jesus had to come into this world to be judged for our sins and they took him. They put him on the cross, and man and Satan combined in one terrible act of crucifixion against the Lord Jesus. But at the same time.
God, the wrath of God fell in the Lord Jesus Christ for my sin. Now the the gospel is offered to all whosoever will may come. But if you reject the Lord Jesus, if you reject that, that his payment of that judgment will, that judgment will then have to fall on your own head. And so that we have the sin, we have righteousness and of judgment. It says of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. God created the hell for the devil and his angels.
He didn't create hell for you.
And yet the Prince of this world is judged, and if you are, if you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you also will be sent into the same judgment into hell for eternity.
Like to.
Take up that same line again, there's a.
In connection with the 2nd chapter of Acts, when the Spirit of God did was sent down from a glorified Christ.
His very presence afforded the proof of these things that are brought out in our chapter of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Not only did Peter give testimony by the power of the Spirit of God reaching men's conscience with the very presence of the Spirit of God did that work. So in the second chapter of Acts, when Peter speaks to the crowd there in the day of Pentecost.
He says in verse 32, This Jesus hath God raised up wherever we are all witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this which he now see and hear. Verse 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart. They were pricked in their heart. They saw the power of the Spirit of God.
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Displayed here in this world, the Spirit of God was here and it convicted them that they had sinned. They had crucified the Holy One, the just One.
And the Spirit of God being sent here was the result of Christ being glorified. Who glorified Him? God did. God took the man that they had rejected, that they had cast out, and set Him at His own right hand. And it was as a consequence of that that the Spirit of God was here. His very presence was the proof that they had sinned.
And what they had done to Christ, what was the next thing? God was righteous and putting him there at his right hand, because he had done no sin. He was a spotless one. And the Spirit of God's presence here was proof of that too, of righteousness and of judgment to come. What do they say? What shall we do? And he says, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the remission of sins. And then the end of verse 47.
And the Lord added just the church should really be left out of the translation. The Lord added daily such as not were saved, but should be saved from what? The judgment that was going to righteously come upon this world for what they did to the Son of God and the presence of the Spirit of God affords proof that judgment is coming. And so there's a wonderful testimony reaching conscience and heart, and a result of separating those who are reached from this world upon which judgment was coming.
And also the very presence of the Spirit of God affords those proofs of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
World was in conflict with God, wasn't it?
God raised his Son from the dead, but.
The spirit of *******.
Came down because he had been rejected by man, but glorified by God. So there we see a divine righteousness. God was righteous in raising His Son from the dead. He couldn't leave him in the grave. He had glorified him about the whole question of sin, but he was in conflict with the world that put him on the cross.
It's nice to see two in these verses, and it's been brought out in a number of different ways, but just to look back at chapter 15, the very last two verses.
Starting with the comforter, when the comforters come, who I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness of me, because you've been with me from the beginning. It's nice to see from there and through the verses in our chapter. Nothing vital has been committed to us. We're brought in and a wonderful, blessed way.
To share in that work of bearing a testimony. But it's not dependent upon us. He shall bear witness. He is going to bring us into all truth. He's going to show us those things to come. It's all dependent upon him.
Looking at this 13th verse again, where it says He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of himself, some feel it should be rendered from himself as we have in the last clause of that verse. And don't we have a lovely picture of the Spirit of God and the eldest servant of Abraham in the 24th chapter of Genesis? Just look, let's look at it very briefly, Genesis chapter 24.
A few verses that I think we should note.
This one.
Was certainly trusted.
With the Genesis 24.
He was fully trusted by Abraham.
If we have enough first verse.
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Or in the second verse. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that rule us over all that he had.
I pray thee.
Thy hand on put my hand, I pray thee, under my thigh. And so he, he communicates.
A message to that elder servant, and that servant seeks.
To complete that message in that task and in verse 27, there's a clause in there it says by being in the way that the Lord led me and then when he reaches his destination, it's time for him to communicate. There are formalities that are going through.
The washing of the hands and feet, etcetera.
But then a meal is set before this servant, and the servant does not sit down to eat the meal before he communicates.
What was on Abrahams heart? And if we see that in verse 33 it says and there was set me before him to eat, but he said I will not eat until I have told my errand. And he said, speak on.
And he said, I am Abrahams servant. And then he goes on to tell how the Lord has had blessed his master. So that was a communication from Abraham wasn't it? And it was perfectly fulfilled by the servant. We often mark a message because ourselves get in the way. And this servant didn't let that happen, did he?
Shall not speak from himself brings out that the Spirit of God is here present in this world in the certain sense, in the same character and way the Lord was the eternal Son of God came into this world in a way that he'd never been before in the incarnation. Here is a dependent man, and he only spoke those things that the Father gave him to speak. The Spirit of God is very personally here, every bit as much as the Son of God when he was Incarnate.
And came into this world, he's personally here as a as in a sense dependent in that way as to what he gives out and what he says and what he teaches the disciples. He only speaks that which has given him to speak. So he doesn't speak from himself. He speaks. What is given him to speak has been brought out nicely from Genesis. It's not that he doesn't speak about himself or we'd have no doctrine of the Holy Spirit to take up from the Word.
He certainly does speak about himself in the Word of God. It's not divinely inspired by the Spirit of God, but he doesn't speak from himself.
When he's here and the character that he is now, should we direct praise to the Holy Spirit?
That is, that is not supported by any scripture. We praise the Lord by the Spirit of God, but we don't direct praise to the Holy Spirit of God.
And it's to guide us into all truth, not just part of the truth. The disciples were given some of the truth in the upper room, but there was much more, as we've been saying, to be developed and brought out in Christianity. And so once the Spirit of God is given and the Canon of Scripture is completed by the New Testament apostles and prophets, now we have all truth. Not that we know everything, but we have the capacity now to have the whole truth of God brought before us as to his counsels and purposes.
You might say also the Spirit of God always agrees with the word of God. The person tells me that they.
Our lead of the Spirit of God to do something I'll just give a.
Overt example, if a sister says that she is led by the Spirit of God to preach.
I would have to say a sister, your motive may be good, but you are not LED of the Spirit of God because the word of God.
Definitely forbid such. So the Spirit of God and the Word of God always agree.
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Sing #156.
We pray.
Loving God and our Father, we thank Thee for the privilege that we've had to.
Here this ministry.
Of the Holy Spirit particularly.
Great encouragement that He is for us in this world. Thank You for the guy that He is to us into the truth. We just thank Thee Lord Jesus, for finishing the work that that was given to do. We thank Thee for sending the Comforter. And now as we have time together to be over Thy word, we pray that we may listen and learn.
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And these things may fill our hearts and our lives. They benefit from these things. We pray for anyone in the room today who is not safe. We just pray for young and old. And Lord, we just pray that each one may be trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. So we thank Thee for the time together. We pray for our families. We pray for those traveling. And Lord, we just thank Thee for our dear brethren here.
It is called all these meetings, Lord, and as led by Thee to be a blessing to others. So we give thanks my name, Lord Jesus.