Nov. 19, 2017 PM Service The Holy Spirit and His Works by Pastor Josh Sheldon

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

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And in chapter 16 we'll look this morning or this afternoon

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I should say verses 4 through 15 These are the words of the

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Lord Jesus Says I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you

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But now I am going to him who sent me and none of you asks me. Where are you going? But because I've said these things to you sorrow has filled your heart

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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

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I will send him to you and When he comes he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment

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Concerning sin because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness because I go to the father and you will see me no longer

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Concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. I Still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them

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Now when the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority

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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.

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All the father has is mine Therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you so quite simply

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The Spirit of God continues the work begun by the Son of God The Holy Spirit comes and continues this work begun by the

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Lord Jesus Christ in his incarnation If you think about the transition is

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Seamless as the incarnate Son God in the flesh returns to his father and the

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Holy Spirit's entrance comes the books of Luke and Acts we know share one single author

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Which is Luke and some wonder why Luke wasn't made the fourth gospel So that acts would follow in sequence and the same author would have

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Luke and then acts because he wrote them both You know as I studied for this message

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I decided that I like having John's golf gospel where it is because where the book of Acts is

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About the continuing work of Christ by his spirits work in the disciples in the Apostles It is this gospel is

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John's gospel that most clearly anticipates that work of the

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Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit very simply continues the work begun by Christ Jesus through his the

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Spirit's unique ministry By which what does he do? He empowers our testimony of the gospel

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The Holy Spirit is the one who makes powerful the words we speak about the gospel of the

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Lord Jesus Christ Just before the passage I read and right after speaking of the world's hatred for God in verse 26

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The Lord Jesus said when the helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father. He will bear witness about me and Almost immediately

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Jesus adds and you also will bear witness So the

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Spirit comes and bears witness, how does he bear witness he bears witness to our spirits And he empowers our speaking our testimony our words about the

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Lord Jesus Christ in his gospel So in verses 4 through 15 what

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I read from chapter 16 of John's gospel We have some of the details of the

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Holy Spirit's work, and how he works fleshed out for us The first thing we see in verses 4 through 7 we see why the

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Holy Spirit had to wait until Jesus had ascended back to his father Before we look at his words though at Jesus words though it must be stated that God in the flesh

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That's Jesus and God the Spirit Who is the Holy Spirit the helper the

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Spirit of truth all these names that Jesus gave to that person of the Trinity? They could not inhabit this physical world at the same time now there's several reasons for this and Primarily is that Jesus says so in verse 7

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He says he will not come the Spirit will not come or be sent until Jesus returns

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Jesus then sends him and Note carefully that he doesn't call him down Which is what he would do if he wanted to be there with him at the same time

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Rather than that we have to notice that Jesus Goes back to the father and from there sends the

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Spirit to us And that's enough reason right there for us to understand why they can't both be here

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Because very simple terms Jesus says that Unless I send him he won't come and when

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Jesus sends him he's there and not here And then the Spirit is here and not there But another reason has to do with the last words that Jesus spoke before he died

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And that comes in this gospel just a few chapters from where we are now in chapter 16

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First Jesus said it is finished He had done all that he was sent to do

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All the Father's will for him of All of that not a single word not so much as a jot or a tittle fell to the ground, but all was accomplished

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So Jesus like the Word of God in Isaiah 55 11 He did not return to the father except that all he had purposed was done

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So it had Jesus remained here after having won our salvation after having said it is finished if he had stayed here

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Then it would have seemed as if there's something more to do that his work wasn't finished. He was here still doing

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Something but there wasn't anything left to do there isn't anything left to do

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So Jesus returned because his mission here Having accomplished all the

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Father's will Was done it was complete Jesus Jesus resurrection ascension is

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God's final stamp of approval that the work of redemption was flawlessly finished

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It's a perfect work that Jesus did a complete work a perfect work a work that actually in fact saves because Christ accomplished everything in regards to our sins before God and Answering those sins in his own suffering as God put the wrath deserved by us upon him

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He left none of the wrath out and Jesus never left. None of the wrath paid for It is finished and so being finished

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Having done all he returned to the one who sent him to do all So when

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Jesus says it was to their advantage that he goes away one reason is that this means Salvation is final and secure

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Which is of course a great advantage to them who first heard these words and to us today

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It's a great advantage to our spirits to know that this work is complete so much So that Jesus returns to the father where he sits down sitting meaning he's finished his work at the father's right hand

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So many people wrestle with salvation whether or not they're good enough to enter into God's presence in heaven

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And we can understand very simply that you're not good enough to go to heaven I'm not good enough to go to heaven nobody as Jesus is and There he is.

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He's there. He's not here He's there ready to welcome his blood -bought disciples into his father's company, which he couldn't do if he were still here

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Second is the Holy Spirit's work in the world at large There's kind of a threefold

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Chord of what he's going to do or what he did when he came in verse 8 he will convict or convince in some

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Translations he will convict the world concerning sin righteousness and judgment these three

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Then the Lord addresses in the next verses in order sin in verse 9 righteousness in verse 10 judgment in verse 11

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There's a pattern in to these verses that helps us understand the spirits work here First is the word concerning It introduces what they're guilty of the world world is guilty for its sin is guilty concerning sin

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Guilty for having established a righteousness of their own, so they're guilty concerning righteousness. They're guilty of judgment

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Guilty concerning judgment because their spiritual blindness led them to create their own standards of judgment

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By which they judged and crucified for example the Prince of Glory and then there's the word because It tells us why the

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Spirit engages in this work so guilty of their sin because they do not believe guilty of their righteousness

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Because Christ's ascension is God's final word about righteousness Guilty of judgment because what they had followed the one they had fought we should say who they followed is judged

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So concerning sin because they do not believe in me You or I can do a lot in regards to sin.

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I Don't mean our own sin. I mean in explaining it to others We can point it out we can prove that this or that is considered sin according to God's Word There's a lot we can do about sin

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Go to our brother and tell him how he sinned against us We can do this and we should do this

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But we are limited Because you know you and I cannot do of sin with sin

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Especially in regards to others We cannot convict of sin

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We might very well make people angry Enough so that they never want to be near a holier -than -thou fanatic again or so they may view us

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We may be even be able to make someone feel guilty But we can't make them feel guilty in the biblical sense of the gospel and salvation

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The best we can do is make them feel bad You see conviction convincing someone of their sin in The true sense of the word as Jesus means it.

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That's the spirits realm Worldly ways are hard to abandon. No one is going to change the way of life unless it's proven wrong or even harmful

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Say why should I stop living thus unless there's something better? but only the

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Spirit Brings the kind of convincing the kind of conviction that can break down those kind of strongholds

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So we can point out sin and we must God calls us to in ourselves in others within the church

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We can talk to our neighbors if they ask us we can talk to them about sin And we can show them how this or that behavior is against God word and God's word calls us in but only the

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Holy Spirit Can at the level of the soul the heart the spirit of a man convince someone

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That they are actually a sinner He says concerning righteousness because I go to the

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Father and you will no longer you'll see me no longer The world's view of righteousness is so diametrically opposed to God's Jesus speaks of his resurrection.

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He will go to the Father only after he has made atonement for his people's sins and How will we know that this has been accomplished?

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That's easy At least it's easy to state the resurrection

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Jesus after having made satisfaction was laid in the tomb and on the third day

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He rose and 40 days later. He returned to the father riding up to him on the clouds accompanied by angels

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What is this? This is the divine confirmation that Jesus the righteous in fact satisfied all the father's demands for righteousness

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Righteousness is required for anyone who would stand before God Righteousness is to be had only by faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ Most the argument of Romans chapter 4 Righteousness which

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God in his grace imputes to those who have faith in his son the righteousness of God himself

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Christ's righteousness imputed to those who believe And so it's the

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Holy Spirit Who will convict convince the world concerning righteousness

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Not us We can't do it because we cannot prove at that level of a man's spirit that God's righteousness is right we cannot prove or convince someone that by the resurrection god said

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Righteousness has been accomplished We can tell people that and we must

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But only the spirit only the holy spirit the spirit of truth the helper only he can convince men spirits

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Verse 11 is concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged The prince of the air has held sway since the disaster of eden keeping men in his power by keeping them afraid of death

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That's hebrews 2 15 So fearing death what do men do they flock to his banner?

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Pardon me They seek his answer they look there for comfort And they find it don't they they say things like death is just a natural part of life and that's how they assuage their fear of death hebrews 2 15 speaks about Oh death death is just a part of living and we scream from the scripture.

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We say no it isn't There's nothing natural about death. It is awful. It was never intended by god

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Death is contextual says the ruler of this world It applies only to those who've been born fetuses don't count the world buys this and more

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God's judgment says something different. It says i'm fearfully and wonderfully made it says before word was on my tongue

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Behold, you knew it all together The scripture says god set me apart before I was born

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All that the enemy has propagated stands judged He with his adherence is judged by the death burial and resurrection of the lord jesus christ

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And then there's the spirit's work in us which is verses 12 to 15

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The lord begins by telling the disciples that they cannot bear the rest of what he has to say

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That doesn't mean that they or we will never know just that while he while jesus was there

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The rest would have been unbearable The original says something like you haven't the power yet to bear them these words that i'm holding back on you

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And what exactly these things are we're not told quite exactly But we can make an educated guess that he means the proceedings of the coming day

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You see when jesus spoke to his disciples here his passion was only hours away They would see him beaten and spat upon and scourged to the bone

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They would see him nailed to the cross and mocked And they would see him give his last breath and they would see him dead

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He says you wouldn't be able to bear the rest of what I have to tell you You'd ask ourselves.

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Why would this have been unbearable? And the answer to that question is because without the resurrection

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Jesus's death was just another unjust death If there's no resurrection then all he bought was a better you your best life now or be all you can be

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But these are no cause for joy or hope After the resurrection

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For those whose hearts have been furrowed and sown and cultivated with this life -giving message of salvation

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Then the resurrection brings together everything from genesis to revelation Because by the resurrection we know that our lord's death was accepted and therefore so shall we be

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So jesus held back Telling them all the details Because until they see him risen

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And alive and later ascended back to the father without that is just an ugly brutal unjust death of a good man

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But with the resurrection Not only can we then bear what happened not only would the disciples be able to look upon the whole thing with God's eyes with joyful eyes

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But then they'd be able to be empowered and Certain and confident in this gospel, which they actually saw with their own eyes the whole

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Drama of it with the resurrection It all becomes quite bearable

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The 11 disciples would know that he rose from the dead because they would see him die on the cross

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Then they would see him on the shore and join him from breakfast. Then they would dance for joy Face down any trial stand up against the powers that be even with execution hanging over them after Not before but after the resurrection

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The lord says when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority

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But whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things which are to come

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Now note that he does not say that the holy spirit doesn't have authority Only that when he speaks

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It is not on his own The spirit goes where he will and he brings new birth to whomever he will that's john chapter 3 verse 8

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This is actually an affirmation of our trinitarian doctrine. God is one Eternally existent in three persons father son holy spirit

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And each person of god has in and of himself all that it means to be god

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All three father son and spirit they each have in their own person

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The full attribute of holiness of power of righteousness of authority all the attributes of god

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What jesus seems to say is that the authority of the holy spirit's word is the authority vested in the totality of god

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So when he speaks he does not speak for god so much as he speaks as god

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Not his own authority as though the father had one set of decrees The son had another set of decrees and the spirit had yet another set god is one

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The spirit declares things to come just as jesus did chapter 15 verse 4

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So he will not speak on his own authority as though he has a different authority from anyone else in the godhead he speaks as god

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Christ goes on. He will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you

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All that the father has is mine. Therefore. I said that he will take what is mine declare it to you Christ will be disgraced on the cross the next day.

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He will be made to be sin who knew no sin And then the spirit will by the father's will and satisfaction with his son's accomplishment glorify him by raising him from the dead

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He will declare this to god's people a message that we declare to an unconcerned world a generally unconcerned world

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That christ our lord is risen today And every time we think this we have to think or say hallelujah because christ is risen.

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He is risen indeed so the spirit continues jesus's work

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He does this By working in and through us. He does this by empowering us to speak with conviction and power because only he can bring that kind of conviction

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He does this by speaking the words of god to the people of god the way jesus the word of god in the flesh did

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He continues What jesus did there's no new declaration only that it comes not just to those who saw and heard jesus 2 000 years ago but to all whom the spirit wills

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Jesus then clothed in the like or jesus then I should say clothed in the likeness of sinful flesh could only be where he was

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I am here with you and I can be nowhere else Even if technology transported my words my image somewhere else.

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I am only here Just as you are And so also it was with the word made flesh while the word was flesh.

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He could only be where he was But the spirit of god

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Has no such limitation The spirit of god is not god incarnate. He's god the spirit Jesus only jesus only god the son became god in the flesh

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But the spirit Is spirit He never has been he never will be flesh and bones

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So he's free to go where he will and too many as he will without limit of place or number

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So our lord has left us here We're surrounded by a world that not only does not acknowledge sin, but hates the very idea of sin

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They have their own righteousness Judge things their own way and all that with the scriptures closed

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They're probably not even in the environs where they make such judgments. Our lord has left us here in a world like that So what can we do in the face of such enmity?

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Because just before this part of his discourse he said the world will hate you Remember if the world hates you it hated me first So we discussed last sunday

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So what do we do? How do we change this topsy -turvy world? Where good is called evil and evil is called good light is called darkness and darkness is called light.

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That's isaiah 5 What can we do? Can we do anything about it?

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And the short answer is really well, we can't I don't believe we can and And this inability once the wound to our pride is healed should be a great comfort to us because the lord said

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My grace is sufficient for you My power is made perfect in weakness and that power working in us by the spirit of god is a power that has changed countries and people and nations

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If you're here believing in the lord jesus christ that same power changed your heart And there's no limitation to what the spirit of god can do

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If you read the book of acts this continuing work of jesus by the apostles through the indwelling spirit and his power

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We know that he's powerful We know that he's great. We know that he does bring conviction

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We know he does convince of sin and righteousness of judgment because we sitting here today believe in him

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And have been convicted And I imagine that you were no more or less stubborn than I was

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It's the same god doing the same miracle by the same spirit in the broken hearts of sinful men

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My grace is sufficient for my power is made perfect in weakness. Paul was told that in regards to his

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Physical malady he had that thorn in his flesh It well applies to our spiritual maladies

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In our weakness christ made perfect Or as the lord said deservable by the prophet not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the lord of hosts

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Once convinced of sin and righteousness and judgment by the spirit of god the one whose soul has been penetrated

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He cries out with the men in acts chapter 2 after peter's first sermon men and brethren. What shall

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I do? Well, I can't cause anyone to make such a plea I can't make it happen

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But the spirit of god he can and he does He made me cry out to god for an answer to my sin as he did you

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And every other believer who ever fell before his cross And by the spirit's work if one should ask you or me that question, what shall

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I do? We have the answer don't we? We have a spirit empowered answer.

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We have an answer true to the scripture that carries on the work of jesus christ Which is what the spirit does in and through us

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That's not just an answer. It's the answer is what peter said at pentecost repent and believe in the lord.

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Jesus christ So we when we gather together We when we go out in the world and speak of jesus christ

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We are a continuation of that work We are those who can know the truth and compare what happened on that awful day when jesus was

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Tortured and crucified and god porters wrath upon him because we are those

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Who are convinced of sin and righteousness and judgment and by that same spirit given faith to believe

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That god has raised him from the dead We are those who when we speak as we speak for god in prayer and submission to his spirit

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We speak with as it were the power of god at least we speak the powerful word of god

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That the spirit then uses to convict and convince souls and bring them to christ just as he did you

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Just as he did me And by the resurrection

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Which of course we'll speak of and remember at the lord's table in a few moments by the resurrection

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We know that all this is true And we know therefore that we can bear the horrible things that happened to jesus that terrible day when he paid for our sins because we could look upon it with joy and Thanksgiving because we know there

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Our sins were answered. We know this because god raised him from the dead This is the work of the spirit to convince men of these glorious truths.