Amen.
Please open your Bibles up to the Gospel according to John, chapter 16, this morning.
We are back in John after taking a brief month-long break during the month of January,
and we're in the homestretch now.
Just ten sermons remaining in the Gospel according to John, if you can believe it.
So this morning we're going to be in chapter 16, and I will start in the second half of verse 4
and read all the way through verse 15.
So when you found that in your Bibles, if you would, let's stand together for the reading of God's Word.
John, chapter 16, listen along as I read verse 4 through 15.
Jesus says,
I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you.
But now I am going to him who sent me.
And none of you asks me, where are you going?
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
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 go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.
Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.
Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.
And he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
All that the Father has is mine.
Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
This is God's holy word.
Lord, we praise you for this word.
And we pray now that you would do what this text has promised.
That you would, by your Spirit, guide us into all the truth.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
You may have heard it said before that last words are meant to be lasting words.
Well, here in this section of John's Gospel, we are functioning like flies on the wall,
listening in on some of Jesus' last words to his disciples.
And I'll remind you kind of where we are in the place of John's Gospel,
since it's been a while since we've been in this book,
that this is Thursday.
This is the final day of Jesus' earthly life before the events of Friday,
before the events of the cross.
These are the quickly passing, precious moments before he is betrayed,
before he's arrested, before he's tried, before he's hung on a cross.
And knowing this, Jesus spends his final moments here comforting and encouraging his disciples
and preparing them for what's to come.
And I want us to place ourselves for a moment in the disciples' shoes.
And imagine how they must be feeling.
I don't know if you've ever been with someone in the final moments before their earthly life is over,
in the final moments before they die.
Those moments are weighty.
And most of you know that I went to go see my grandmother last fall,
in the moments leading up to her death.
And I'll tell you, every word was precious.
Every squeeze of the hand was precious.
Every moment that we had left with her was precious.
And we, the family, selfishly, we did not want her to go.
But we knew, even so, as hard as it would be for us to let her go,
that it would be much better for her.
She was a believer.
We knew that she was going to be with the Lord.
And that it's to her advantage that she go.
Well, here, you can imagine, again, the disciples.
They did not want Jesus to go.
They did not want Jesus to leave.
As much as he had prepared them for this moment,
as much as he had told them that I am getting ready to go to the Father,
they did not want him to go.
They loved him as a teacher.
They loved him as a friend.
And Jesus knows this.
He recognizes this.
So he says in verse 6, he says,
Well, because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Well, of course it has.
But then he says something surprising in verse 7.
Look there with me.
Nevertheless, he says, verse 7,
It is to your advantage that I go away.
How can that be?
It might be better for you, Jesus, to go.
We know where you're going.
It might be better for you to go.
You're going up to be with the Father.
You're going to reclaim the glory that you had before the ages began.
But how in the world could it be better for us that you go?
How is your leaving an advantage to us?
Well, he tells us.
Look at verse 7 again.
He says,
For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.
You know, I've heard people say before,
Well, I just wish I could have been there with Jesus.
Now, I wish I could have walked with Jesus.
I wish I could have witnessed his miracles firsthand.
I wish I could have been there on the Sermon on the Mount
and sat there and listened to his teaching firsthand.
Well, I know it's hard to believe.
But what this passage teaches us this morning
is that it is even better for us right now in the age of the Holy Spirit
than it was for his disciples who lived and walked with Jesus for three years on earth.
Can you believe that?
The Holy Spirit, the helper, is a tremendous advantage to us as believers.
This is what this passage is teaching us this morning.
We've already seen in the Gospel of John that the Spirit,
we've seen some of his work,
the Spirit is the one who gives life.
You must be born again of the Spirit,
not of the flesh,
in order to enter into the kingdom of God.
We've seen even in the same conversation here in the upper room,
Jesus has promised another helper to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you.
John 14, 16, and 17.
He's told us that this Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things
and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14, verse 26.
He's told us,
when the helper comes,
whom I will send from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will bear witness about me.
See, in this conversation,
Jesus is preparing the disciples
and he's preparing us
for what life looks like
in the age of the Holy Spirit.
He's teaching us and his disciples
a little bit about the person
and the work of the Holy Spirit
and why, how,
this is an advantage for us.
And here in our passage,
verses 8 through 15,
Jesus tells us two final works
of the Holy Spirit.
Two final works of the Holy Spirit.
First, he says that
the Holy Spirit convicts.
The Holy Spirit convicts.
Look there at verses 8 through 11.
Starting in verse 8,
Jesus says,
when he, the Spirit, comes,
he will convict the world
concerning sin
and righteousness
and judgment.
See, the first work of the Holy Spirit here
is the work of conviction.
There was a time,
and maybe we're still in it,
I don't know,
I feel like maybe we've grown out of this a little bit.
There was a time when
felt needs ministry
became very popular
in the church in America.
Everything was geared
towards being
seeker sensitive.
I mean,
making sure that the worship service
was as comfortable
and as appealing
and as accessible
as possible
to non-believers.
pastors would speak
on whatever they thought
might be appealing
to the crowds,
whatever the felt needs
of the crowds might be.
Of course,
they would use the Bible
to get there.
They used the Bible
as a launching point
to get to that felt need.
But I'll tell you something,
if the goal
is simply to draw a crowd
and to make non-believers
feel good
and feel at ease
and feel comfortable,
I'll tell you a few things
that you will never hear
or see
in a seeker sensitive
worship service.
you will not have
many prayers of confession
we had this morning.
That doesn't feel great.
It's a little bit awkward,
isn't it?
A little bit
naming sins in public,
talking about sin.
You probably won't hear
much talk about sin
at all.
And if you do,
it probably would be
minimize the weight of sin,
the severity of sin.
Maybe it would be talked about
as something that you can overcome
or grow out of,
not as an eternal offense
against a holy God.
You probably won't hear
many difficult sermons,
difficult texts preached.
You know,
one of the advantages
of not preaching
passage by passage
through a book of the Bible,
the advantage for the preacher
is they get to hop right over
difficult or controversial text
and preach whatever
might feel good
to the people
who would hear it.
You probably won't hear
many theologically rich songs,
songs that aim to teach
rather than just to make you
feel something.
I kid you not,
I hesitated whether to share this.
It's not here.
I've been to a church service
in the past
where as part of the worship service,
they sang a song
from a popular movie
at the time,
O Brother,
Where Art Thou?
and they played a clip
from one of the Rocky movies
as a part of the worship service,
as a part of their attempt
to connect with the non-believers
in the room.
All of that
because the aim
was to make non-believers
feel comfortable.
Here's my point.
Could it be
that what non-believers need
is not to be made comfortable?
Welcomed,
yes,
loved,
yes,
invited,
yes,
but not invited
to a cheap knock-off
of their own culture.
Invited to hear
the Word of God
and to see
the people of God
worship
and to be
a part of what
the Spirit of God
is doing
in the midst
of the people of God,
to see the Spirit
of God
at work.
Jesus says here
the Spirit
doesn't come
to comfort the world.
What does He come to do?
He comes to convict
the world.
Now don't mishear me.
There's comfort
to be had
in the Holy Spirit.
Amen?
In other translations,
He's called the comforter
even in this own passage.
The comforter.
I will send to you
the comforter.
But that comfort
comes after conviction.
There is no comfort
for any sinner
who has not been convicted
of his sin
repented of his sin
and trusted in Christ.
The Spirit,
Jesus says,
comes to convict
the world
and He does so
in three main categories.
Look here with me.
He says,
He convicts the world
concerning sin,
righteousness,
and judgment.
Concerning sin,
He says in verse 9,
because they do not
believe in Me.
This is the biggest
problem in the world.
We spoke about this
last week,
didn't we?
The biggest problem
facing the world today
is that men and women
all over the globe
do not believe
in Jesus.
And the reason
that they don't believe
in Jesus
is because
they have been
blinded by sin.
What we need,
more than anything,
is not to be made
comfortable.
What we need
is to see our sin
for what it is,
to see the holiness
of God
for what He is,
and to see our need
for Christ
to bridge that gap.
We need to be
convicted of our sin
or we cannot be saved.
There has to be
a genuine recognition
that you are a sinner
in need of a Savior,
and only the Holy Spirit
can give you
that spiritual sight.
He says,
He comes to convict
the world
concerning righteousness.
Verse 10,
Because I go to the Father
and you will see Me
no longer.
Now,
let me ask you something.
Why in the world
would we need to be convicted
concerning righteousness?
I understand we need
to be convicted
concerning sin.
Why in the world
do we need to be convicted
concerning righteousness?
What does this mean?
Well,
I read a handful
of commentaries
here concerning this verse
and surprise,
surprise,
people are all over the map
divided on what they think
this might mean.
Let me tell you
what I think is going on here.
I think we have a clue,
actually,
in the context
of our passage.
Look up to verse 2,
chapter 16,
verse 2.
I think this is
an example
of what Jesus
is talking about,
about being convicted
concerning righteousness.
In verse 2,
Jesus is preparing
His disciples
for persecution.
Up to this point,
Jesus has functioned
as a sort of
persecution magnet.
All of the persecution
has come to Him.
His disciples have
had it pretty easy
up to this point.
But guess what?
Now He's leaving
and who's going
to be left
to collect all
the persecution?
His disciples.
And so He prepares them
and He says this
in verse 2.
He says,
they will put you
out of the synagogues.
Indeed,
the hour is coming
when whoever
kills you
will think
he is offering
service
to God.
And they will do
these things
because
they have not
known the Father
nor me.
Did you hear that?
Whoever kills you
will think
he is offering
service
to God.
Jesus is telling
them that
the persecutions
that the disciples
are about to endure
in the minds
of those
who are persecuting,
they are righteous
acts.
In the minds
of those
who are bringing
the persecution
to the persecutors,
these are
God-honoring,
God-serving
acts of righteousness.
But Jesus says
they don't even
know the Father.
So how could
they possibly
know righteousness?
righteousness.
It's a broken
system
of righteousness.
And in a similar
way, I would argue
that all of us,
everyone in the world,
lives within
a false
system
of righteousness.
A broken
understanding
of right and wrong,
holy and impure,
until the Holy
Spirit convicts
us and shows
us the truth,
which is that we
have no
righteousness.
And we need
to understand
that the world
standard of
righteousness
is broken.
Our good
is not
God's good.
Our righteousness
is not
God's
righteousness.
And he says
the Holy Spirit
will convict
the world
of their
righteousness
because
I am going
to the Father.
You know what
Jesus loved to do?
Jesus loved
upsetting
the false
righteousness
of the world,
didn't he?
Jesus loved
to show the
Pharisees
in particular
that their
version of
righteousness
was empty.
It was vain.
It was worthless.
It was not
true righteousness.
But now
Jesus is leaving.
So who's
going to do
that work
of convicting
the world
of their
false
righteousness?
He says
the Holy Spirit
will come.
The Holy Spirit
shows us
that our
system of
right and
wrong,
good and
bad,
good enough
for God
is completely
broken.
He shows us
that all of
our righteous
deeds are
filthy rags.
That we have
nothing good
whatsoever
to bring to
God that
would make
him more
inclined to
accept us.
He convicts
us of
righteousness.
One of my
favorite songs
says,
nothing in
my hands
I bring.
Simply to
thy cross
I cling.
Naked
come to
thee for
dress.
Helpless
look to
thee for
grace.
Foul I
to the
fountain
fly.
Wash
me
Savior
or I
die.
See,
when we're
convicted of
our lack
of righteousness,
what that does
in our hearts
is it makes
us feel
our need
for true
righteousness,
true
holiness that
cannot come
from within
us.
It must be
given to
us by
someone else
and exactly
what God
does in
the gospel
is he
gives to
us the
righteousness
that he
demands from
us.
God
provides to
us sinners,
unworthy
sinners,
provides to
us the
perfection
that he
demands from
us,
not because
of our
goodness,
but because
of the
perfect
righteousness
of Christ
credited to
sinners by
faith.
That's the
work of the
Holy Spirit.
The last
category here,
the Spirit
convicts,
he says,
verse 11,
concerning
judgment,
because the
ruler of
this world
is judged.
And he's
talking about
Satan,
the enemy.
Now I want you
to think with
me for a moment
about what
happened at
the cross
of Christ.
When Jesus
gave his
life,
what happened?
Well,
sin was
defeated in
him.
And when he
rose from the
grave,
what happened?
Death was
defeated in
him.
He conquered
death.
And as he
accomplished
his plan of
God for the
salvation of
sinners,
what happened?
Well,
the enemy
was judged.
His verdict
is in.
The judgment
is in.
The final
judgment is
yet to come,
yes,
but the
verdict is
already in.
He is done.
The death
and resurrection
of Jesus
was a fatal
and devastating
blow to the
enemy and to
his kingdom
and to
all who
belong to
his kingdom.
And so
Jesus tells
us one of
the works
of the
spirit is
to open
up our
eyes to
see that
following
him is
in vain.
Belonging
to Satan's
kingdom is
in vain.
It's the
work of the
spirit of
God to
take a
sinner,
someone who
belongs to
the kingdom
of this
world,
someone who
by nature
and by
choice walks
in the way
of Satan
as an
enemy of
God to
take that
person and
to convince
them that
this path,
this way
of life is
in vain.
It's a
sinking ship.
It's crashing
quickly towards
judgment.
The verdict is
already in.
See, the
spirit takes
the truth of
God, applies
it to your
heart so that
you see that
life is in
vain and my
only hope is
Christ.
He transfers
you from the
kingdom of
darkness into
the kingdom of
his beloved
son.
The spirit.
He convicts
the world of
sin and of
righteousness and
of judgment.
But church, let
me ask you
this.
How in the
world is that
an advantage
to us?
How in the
world is that
an advantage
to us?
Well, for one,
if you are a
Christian, you
are a
beneficiary of
this work of
the spirit.
If you are a
Christian, it's
because the
spirit of God
has come to
you convicting
you of your
sin, convicting
you of your
lack of
righteousness, of
your need for
Christ's
righteousness,
convicting you
of the coming
judgment against
your sin, and
showing you the
only hope you
have is Christ in
the gospel.
That convicting
work is to our
advantage because it
doesn't stop at
conversion, does it?
We continue all
through our life as
Christians.
the spirit
continues to
convict us of
sin, continues to
guide us in
righteousness, continues
to teach us and
remind us that we
live every day now
in light of that
great coming day
when Christ returns.
That's a work of
the spirit in us.
It's to our
advantage, church.
It's also to our
advantage because it
gives us confidence in
our mission, doesn't
it?
Again, put yourself in
the disciples'
shoes.
In a matter of
hours, Jesus is
going to be
arrested, he's
going to die, he's
going to rise again
and appear to you,
and he's going to
commission the
disciples to go into
the world as his
witnesses.
They're about to be
tasked with taking
the mission, taking
the message of the
gospel, going and
making disciples of
all nations, teaching
and proclaiming to
all the world all
that Jesus has said
and done.
How can you have
any confidence
whatsoever that
anyone will listen
to your message?
Jesus reminds them
that their power
for their proclamation
of the gospel, it
does not rest within
them.
What does he say in
Acts 1.8?
He says, you will
receive power when
the Holy Spirit
comes upon you
and you will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem and
Judea and
Samaria to the
uttermost ends of
the world.
people.
And so it is
with us, church.
We cannot
convict anyone
of their sin.
We don't have the
power within us to
convert one sinner
into the kingdom of
God.
We are unable to
do it.
But Jesus tells us
that the Holy Spirit,
as we proclaim the
truth faithfully and
obediently as we go,
the Holy Spirit
convicts the world
of sin and of
righteousness and
of judgment.
The Spirit will
convict.
And second, he
tells us that the
Spirit will guide
into the truth.
First, the Spirit
convicts.
Second, the second
work of the Spirit
here in this passage,
verses 12 through 15,
we see the Spirit
guides into the
truth.
Look there,
starting in verse
12.
Jesus says, I still
have many things to
say to you, but you
cannot bear them
now.
When the Spirit of
truth comes, he will
guide you into all
the truth.
For he will not speak
on his own authority,
but whatever he
hears, he will speak.
And he will declare to
you the things that
are to come.
He will glorify me,
for he will take what
is mine and declare it
to you.
All that the Father
has is mine.
Therefore I said,
that he will take what
is mine and declare it
to you.
How would I
summarize the work
of the Holy Spirit?
I do it like this.
The Holy Spirit's
work is to bring
glory to Jesus
by speaking the
truth of who he
is and what he's
done into the
hearts of sinners.
I'll say that again.
The work of the
Holy Spirit,
primarily,
is to bring
glory to Jesus
by declaring
the truth
of who he is
and what he's
done.
Declaring it in
power so that we
believe it and love
it and trust it.
This passage,
I love this passage
because it gets
right at the heart
of the work
of the Holy Spirit.
I want you to
notice that we
see a glimpse here
of the Trinity
at work.
All three members
of the Godhead,
God the Father,
God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit,
we believe that
God is three
persons,
blessed Trinity.
Amen?
We see all three
at work here in
this passage.
We believe God
is three in one.
Father,
Son,
Holy Spirit,
one God,
three persons.
This is not
simple,
but it is basic,
fundamental Christianity,
101.
I want us to go
just a step further
here.
Okay?
This is who God
is.
He is Trinity.
Theologians call this
the ontological
Trinity.
That's a big word.
Okay?
I won't ask you
to spell it.
Every member
of the Trinity,
Father,
Son,
Holy Spirit,
is 100% God.
He is not
divided up
into parts.
He's not
one-third here,
one-third here.
And so when we
talk about God
the Father,
we are talking
about God.
When we talk
about Jesus,
the Son of God,
we are talking
about God.
When we talk
about the Holy Spirit,
we are talking
about God.
That's who He is,
the ontological
Trinity.
And yet,
at the same time,
we have to be
careful and clear
to make clear
distinctions
when we talk
about what
God does,
how God
functions,
how each member
of the Godhead,
the Father,
the Son,
the Holy Spirit,
how they play
out their roles,
miracles,
particularly
in the work
of redemption.
And when we
talk about
what each person
of the Trinity
is doing,
this is what we
call the
economic Trinity.
The ontological
Trinity is who
God is,
the economic
Trinity is how
God functions,
particularly how
each member
functions in the
work of salvation.
Is everybody
with me?
Y'all tracking
with me?
Okay.
Think about it
like this.
The great
work of salvation.
Well, you and
I are the
beneficiaries of
the reason why
we're gathered
here as a
church proclaiming
the message
of the gospel.
The work of
salvation was
arranged by
God the Father,
primarily.
It was
accomplished by
God the Son,
and it is
applied by
God the Spirit.
I'll say
that again.
God the
Father,
arranged our
salvation.
He planned it
out in eternity
past alongside
the Spirit,
alongside the
Son.
God the Son is
the one who
actually stepped
into human
history and
accomplished this
plan by living,
by dying,
by rising,
and the Spirit
now is the
one who takes
that finished
work of Jesus
and applies it
to the hearts
of sinners by
declaring the
truth in power.
Are you with
me?
That's the
work of the
Spirit.
That's what
Jesus says
the Spirit
will come
and do.
He says,
He will
glorify me
for He
will take
what is
mine and
declare it
to you.
And this
is why,
by the way,
the Spirit
doesn't come
until after
Christ has
gone.
You know
why?
It's because
at the very
heart of the
Spirit's work
is the
announcing
and applying
the finished
work of
Christ.
The very
basis and
substance of
the Spirit's
work is the
Son's work.
Until that
work is
finished,
until the
cross is
completed,
until the
resurrection is
completed,
the Spirit's
work cannot
begin in
full.
The Spirit's
work,
His role,
is to
transform our
mind and
our heart
so that we
grasp and
we love
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
And this
is how He
convicts the
world of
sin,
by the way.
This is how
He shows
us righteousness,
by the way.
This is how
He shows us
judgment,
by the way.
He shines
as a beacon
pointing us
towards the
cross of
Christ,
what Christ
has done
makes much
of the glory
of Christ.
The Spirit,
the role of
the Holy Spirit
is to bring
glory to
Christ by
taking the
finished work
of Jesus
and the
words of
Jesus and
applying them
in power to
our hearts so
that we see
and are convinced
that this is
true.
This is good.
This is worthy
of my life.
That's the work
of the Spirit.
You know,
that's what it
means to be a
Christian.
What it means
to be a
Christian is that
by the grace
of God,
the Spirit
of God has
taken the
work and
words of
Christ,
applied them
to your
heart so
that you
believe,
and love
the glory
of King
Jesus.
And if you're
sitting here
and you just
don't understand
what all the
fuss is about
with Jesus,
and why we
talk so much
about Jesus,
why we sing
these songs
that teach us
about Jesus,
why we make
such a big
deal about
the glory
of Jesus,
what you need
more than
anything is
for the Spirit
of God
to open the
eyes of your
heart to see
Him for who
He is.
Now,
I want to
apply this
to us
because this
is full of
application for
us,
but first,
we have to
apply it to
the disciples
because there's
a particular
unique application
to them
that's unique
to them.
We can't make
a beeline
straight to us.
I know we
want to.
That's how we
tend to read
the Bible,
but this is a
conversation between
Jesus and
His disciples.
He says,
I still have
many things
to say to
you,
disciples,
but you,
disciples,
you cannot
bear them
now.
When the
Spirit of
truth comes,
He will
guide you,
disciples,
into all
the truth.
He will not
speak on His
own authority,
but whatever
He hears,
He will speak,
and He will
declare to
you,
twelve
disciples,
the things
that are
to come.
We need to
understand this
promise is not
primarily directly
about us.
It's not
primarily to
us or for
us.
It is to
these disciples
who are about
to see Jesus
crucified.
So what's the
promise for
them?
Well,
it's a promise
that once
Jesus is
gone,
the Spirit
will come
and He will
do what the
Spirit does.
He will
clarify for
them in their
hearts with
supernatural
accuracy and
power who
Jesus is
and what
Jesus accomplished
on that
cross.
He will
teach them
and show
them with
supernatural
clarity and
power what
the resurrection
means.
He will
guide them
into all
the truth
of the
person and
the work
of Christ.
All the
truth that
they had
such a hard
time wrapping
their minds
around while
they walked
with Jesus
on earth
for three
years.
He says,
I have more
to tell you
now,
but you
can't handle
it.
Once I
go,
the Spirit
will come
and will
guide you
into all
the truth.
And how
do we
know that
this promise
was kept,
church?
We have
the finished
word of
God,
completed
word of
God in
our hands.
The finished
Bible is the
result of
this promise
fulfilled.
The whole
New Testament,
think about
this,
the whole
New Testament
was written
after Jesus
died and
ascended into
heaven.
written
after the
events of
the cross,
after the
events of
the resurrection,
the whole
thing is an
unpacking and
applying of
the work of
Christ.
Christ crucified,
Christ resurrected,
Christ returning.
How did
these bumbling,
fumbling men
do this?
These 12
disciples who
couldn't tie
their shoes
while they
were walking
with Jesus,
how in the
world could
they unpack
the depths
of the cross
and the
power of
this book?
The Holy
Spirit came
and revealed
to them,
guided them
into all
the truth
and they
wrote it
down for
our good.
I want us
to know
that this
future-oriented
revelation
of divine
truth was a
promise primarily
to them,
not to
us.
This sort
of future-oriented
authoritative
witness
finished with
the book
of revelation.
And so
our application
is not to
seek out
further
revelation
from the
Spirit beyond
the finished
word of
God,
beyond Christ,
beyond the
gospel.
It's to seek
the Spirit's
help,
to seek
His
illumination
that we
might better
understand and
revel in what
He's already
revealed in
Christ.
I want to
understand that
application first,
but there is
more application
for us.
And I want us
just to think
through this
as we close
because unfortunately,
as you know,
the Holy Spirit
is one of the
most misunderstood,
misinterpreted,
misapplied facets
of the Christian
life.
Often he is
sadly at best
often misunderstood
as some sort of
just impersonal
force,
a power to
be felt,
maybe an experience
waiting to be
had,
and at worst,
he's misapplied
as a tactic
to manipulate
and to deceive.
We have to be
careful what
we call
spiritual.
And so we
should understand,
church,
for us,
that the Spirit
is all about
the truth.
You see that
here?
The Spirit of
truth will
guide you into
all the truth.
How?
By declaring
truth.
What's the
truth?
Jesus Himself
has said,
I am the
truth.
If the Spirit
is leading
Christ's disciples
further and
deeper into
truth,
it cannot be
anything beyond
Christ Himself.
And the Spirit
is all about
bringing glory
to Christ
by declaring
who He is
and what He's
done.
And so the way
that you and I
can tell if a
work is of
the Spirit
is not primarily
how it makes
you feel,
how spectacular
or how sensational
it might appear,
but whether or not
it is all about
Christ.
Whether or not
Christ is magnified
in this work.
Whether or not
it's all about
the glory of
King Jesus.
So here's
what this means
for us
practically.
Any hunger
for quote
unquote
spirituality
that goes
beyond the
glory of
Christ
is not
truly spiritual
at all.
Any
revelation
that
distracts from
the glory of
Christ or
detracts from
the glory of
Christ is not
of the Spirit
of God,
it is of
the enemy.
It's a lie.
Paul tells
us that
if I or
even an angel
from heaven
should proclaim
another gospel
from what I've
taught to you,
let him be
accursed.
Any
spiritual
power that
has an end
in and of
itself just
to be amazed
by demonstrations
of spiritual
power or even
at worst
to manipulate
you into
giving your
time,
giving your
money,
so you might
see some more
of that power,
might get a
little bit more
of that power
in your
life,
it's a lie.
It's not of
God.
The Holy
Spirit wants
to make much
of Jesus.
If you want
to understand
the work
of the Spirit,
church,
our mission
statement and
the Spirit's
mission statement
is one and
the same.
We exist to
magnify the
glory of God
in the gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
That's what
the Spirit
aims to do.
We have to
be careful
what we deem
to be
spiritual.
We can
apply this
to music.
I'm going
to start
meddling here
for a minute.
I know music
is emotional
by nature,
so I'll try
and tread
lightly here.
I like to
listen to
soundtracks,
movie soundtracks.
I think it's
amazing you can
listen to the
soundtrack of
a movie and
be moved
emotionally.
You can be
motivated,
you can be
saddened,
you can be
energized,
you can be
made to
feel tension
without a
single word
being sung.
That's powerful.
That's why
they add them
to the movie.
I don't know
if you've ever
watched a
dramatic scene
with the TV
on mute.
It just
doesn't hit
the same
way,
does it?
The music,
it moves
you emotionally.
Now here's
where it gets
dangerous.
You can
very easily,
very easily
put words
that are
not true
or not
really
substantial
words that
don't really
say anything
at all.
Put them
to a
moving tune
and sing
them in a
moving way
and you
have a
hit worship
song all
of a sudden.
And it
feels so
spiritual to
sing it and
you think it's
spiritual to
sing it because
it moves you
emotionally.
But I want to
be as clear as
I possibly
can,
church.
Emotional
does not
equal
spiritual.
Can I say
that again?
Emotional
does not
equal
spiritual.
Christ
centered
truth
is
spiritual.
Truth
and emotion
ought to
go together.
They should
go together.
But truth
has to
lead the
way.
Emotions
are a
terrible
leader.
We have
to be
led by
the truth
and our
emotions
ought to
follow.
We can
apply it
to sermons.
I'll pick
on myself
here for
a minute.
Preaching.
Did you
all know I
studied rhetoric
in college?
I got a
degree in
rhetoric.
That's my
bachelor's
degree,
which was
actually very
helpful.
I enjoyed it.
It taught me
skills in public
speaking and
speaking persuasively
and communicating
effectively.
But you know
what I also
learned?
There is a
way to
speak powerfully
and persuasively
where you
don't really
say anything
at all.
Politicians
are the
kings of
this.
But sadly,
so are a
lot of
pastors.
We
shouldn't
call a
sermon
powerful or
spiritual just
because it
left us
feeling a
certain way.
we have to
listen carefully,
intently,
with our
Bibles open,
with discernment
to see whether
or not Christ
has been
proclaimed.
Whether or
not Christ
has been
preached.
Has the
gospel been
preached this
morning?
A spiritual
sermon is all
about the
glory of
Jesus,
whether it's
from Genesis
or Revelation
or anywhere
in between.
And the
goal of a
preacher is
to join
the work
of the
Holy Spirit
in saying,
look at
Jesus.
Look at
Jesus.
Cling to
Jesus.
Trust in
Jesus.
He is the
glorious one
who demands
our praise.
Last one.
We can apply
this to our
growth as
believers.
How do you
grow as a
Christian?
How do you
grow as a
believer?
one of the
primary ways
you can see
if the
Spirit is
at work
in your
heart
is that
you begin
to see
the person
and work
of Christ
as more
and more
precious
to you.
More
and more
glorious.
How do we
do that?
If you want
to put yourself
in the presence
of the
Spirit
of God,
the best
place for you
to be is
wherever there
is God
exalting,
Christ
glorifying
truth.
Jonathan
Edwards
called this
laying
yourself
in the
way
of
allurement.
The world
will offer you
its own
form of
truth.
Will it
not?
The
world will
offer you
its own
form of
righteousness
and you
can have
it.
Or you
can have
Christ.
Lay
yourself
in the
way
of
allurement.
Put
yourself
daily
in the
word
of
God
with
the
aim
of
seeing
Christ
more
clearly.
Put
yourself
under
the
preaching
of
the
word
of
God.
Preaching
that
makes
much
of
the
glory
of
God
in
the
gospel
of
Christ.
And
not
to be
entertained
but
to be
enthralled
with
the
word
of
God.
Put
yourself
in a
community
of
believers
who
are
committed
imperfectly
yes but
genuinely
committed
to growing
and understanding
and obeying
and applying
the truth
to their
life.
You know
that's
what I
love
about
this
church
so
much.
We
are
small
in
number
but
I
believe
that
the
spirit
of
God
is
powerfully
at
work
right
here
among
us.
Don't
you?
So
church
as we
go
from
this
place
this week
fill
your heart
and your
mind
with the
glory
of
Christ
in the
gospel
and you
will see
the spirit
work
in power.
Let's pray.
Lord
we
thank you
for the
promised
Holy
Spirit.
We
thank you
for sending
the spirit
of truth
to convict
us
of our
sin
to convict
us
of false
righteousness
to convict
us
of coming
judgment
and to
guide us
to lead
us
into all
the truth.
We
thank you
for Christ
for his
work on
the cross
which we'll
proclaim
and enjoy
now
through communion.
We love
you.
We pray
all this
in Jesus
name.
Amen.