John 16:1-15 pt 1 Theme: The Work of the Holy Spirit

John 16:1-15 and the Theme of the Holy Spirit’s Work

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John's Gospel, Chapter 16. John's Gospel, Chapter 16, we will consider verses 1 through 15. The Gospel of John, Chapter 16, verses 1 through 15. This is message number 96.

Please join me as I open this up in prayer. Our glorious God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lord, we have gathered together to hear from you, to devote ourselves to your Word. God, we ask that you would speak, that you would make yourself real to us in this moment in a unique way.

We ask that you would just leap off of these pages and what you would have for us to do and be will be made evident through your manservant here today. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. In preaching, sometimes preachers, they look around the room to feel the pulse, to see what's going on, to see how they are to deliver the message.

Sometimes they use what's going on in the congregation to figure out what to preach about. They want to know your marital problems. They want to know your unique sinful problems or whatever it is that's going on in your life.

Therefore, they can take that problem and shoehorn it into the text. That is not what we do here. Although sometimes what's presented to us in the text that's delivered from the preacher might seem to touch on your unique sins, your unique situation that's going on in your life.

I do not look around. I do not try to feel the pulse. I just want what God's Word has to say to be brought forth in its unique context and to try to make application to our context today. And although we are finishing up with chapter 15, we are still studying the same conversation that Jesus was having with his disciples.

Judas has left to betray Jesus while Jesus with the other 11 disciples are walking to the garden of Gethsemane. And listen, this conversation has been profound and eye-opening to say the least. At least it has to me.

John 15 and I'm carrying on through 16 and 17. So far as I've been walking through the text and we've been looking and noticing what's taking place here, I seem to find unique moments in these chapter divisions that I'm like, this is my favorite chapter.

This is my favorite chapter. This one's my favorite chapter. Or no, this one's my favorite chapter. And I seem to have said that in chapter 15. It's become one of my favorite chapters. And luckily for us, it continues to grow because we're in that same conversation here in chapter 16.

Jesus has announced that he is the true vine, that Israel is not the true vine. They were a vine, but he is the true vine. He is who Israel was pointing to. And that his father was the vine dresser and that those that are branches that are a part of the vine who is Jesus, they are to abide in Jesus.

They are to remain in Jesus. And that we abide in Jesus, we bear fruit. And those that bear fruit, we know that that takes place through the pruning of the vine dresser. We abide by believing in the name of Jesus and loving one another as ourselves.

And this takes place, this pruning takes place as we gather together as a corporate body under the word of God where the father with his snips and with his knife prunes us. And last week from chapter 15, Jesus began to warn his disciples about the developing persecution that is on the horizon.

And during the ministry of Jesus, the attention was on Jesus and it wasn't on his disciples. The disciples were not getting persecuted during the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was being persecuted during the ministry of Jesus.

Several times, I'm not sure how many times, but the text gives us several times where they tried to attack Jesus or they tried to stone Jesus. They tried to seize Jesus and Jesus would slip out of their hands.

And he would say something like, it's not my time. But over and over they tried to trick Jesus with questions. They were aiming to persecute him. Not his followers, him. However, once Jesus has ascended to the father and the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place, the attention, the gaze of the world will then focus on the followers of Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus is no longer there for them to persecute. Jesus tells them, his disciples, that they will be persecuted, hated, and witnesses for him. However, this sequence is out of order. It's backwards.

We see in Scripture that their witness caused the hatred that brought about the persecution. It was their witness that caused the hatred that brought about the persecution. This persecution that Jesus is warning them about.

You're going to be persecuted. Well, why are they going to be persecuted? Because they're going to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. That is the same sequence for you and I today. Listen, I mentioned earlier, I do not read the pulse.

I'm not checking the pulse of the church. I truly believe that most of y 'all are far more godlier than I am. And I don't believe that there's only one way to do this. I've mentioned that several times.

But this is what the text tells us. If you do not witness, you will not be hated. And therefore, you will not be persecuted. The persecution comes because of witnessing. When you're witnessing, people begin to hate you and you will be persecuted.

But if you do not witness, you will not be hated. And therefore, you will not be persecuted. And if that's you, this text is not talking about you. And there's no way that I can make application for it to be talking about you.

The disciples of Jesus are to be persecuted because they're witnesses for Jesus. Now, you might know some people who are persecuted, scare quotes, because they're angry and bitter. I would use other words, but I'm behind the pulpit.

I'm trying to tone it down.

Right?

There's a lot of Christians who are angry and bitter. Not witnesses for Jesus, and people come against them. That's not what Jesus is talking about here. That's not persecution. Persecution is being a witness for Jesus Christ and being hated for your witness.

Now, I've been that angry and bitter Christian in my life. During our series on revival, I mentioned that I did not want to be persecuted. Anybody here want to be persecuted?

No?

We don't want to be persecuted, right? And if you remember, during our series on revival, we walked through the book of Acts, and I mentioned how I did not want to be persecuted, and at the same time, I did not not want to be persecuted.

And that is still my position. I do not want to be persecuted. And at the same time, I do not not want to be persecuted. Because I want my whole heart, my whole self, everything that I am, to be aligned with Jesus Christ.

And what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Our theme for this week is the work of the Holy Spirit, and my proposition is this. God is in control. God is in control. Please join me as I read for us our text.

John 16, verses 1 through 15. Jesus is still speaking.

He says,.

I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. But now that I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asked me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Nevertheless, I tell you, 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 away, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

Concerning sins 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.

But when the Holy Spirit, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak of his own authority. But whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will declare to you all the things that are to come.

He will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and give it 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. In our outline today, we're going to see the work of the Holy Spirit in persecution and helper.

Prosecution and prosecutor. And lastly, revelation and glorify. So point number one, this is all we'll get to today. This is a large portion of text. It's persecution and helper. And hopefully next week we'll get through the next two points.

That's not a promise. I'm a week-by-week sermon builder. We'll get through the persecution and prosecutor and revelation and glorify. But as we transition concerning persecution, I want to give you a quote from Leonard Ravenhill.

If you have not dove into Leonard Ravenhill, very passionate preacher. Theology is a little different, but he is a brother in Christ. He says this, quote, The early church was married to poverty, prison, and persecutions.

Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity. End quote. He said this a long time ago. How real is this in our day? My dear brothers and sisters, the promise of living a godly life is not health and wealth, but hatred and persecution.

2 Timothy 3, verse 12, we looked at this last week. It says this, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. That is not a popular message. That is not something that the masses want to hear.

That's not something a preacher with his finger on the pulse wants to say. The message of the church should not be popular. Pastors should not be known for their personality, but for their faithfulness and for the preaching of God's word.

And if you have entered the faith for prosperity, my dear friend, you have entered in through the wrong door, especially in the reformed context. Now, as we enter into our first point, we're going to see that the Holy Spirit is the primary agent that brings about persecution as well as help.

But the Holy Spirit is the primary agent that brings about persecution as well as help. This point will also, as well as the other two points, will not be detached from last week's message, nor every message we've done so far in chapter 15.

This is one conversation. Point number one, the persecution and helper of Christians. This is going to be taken from verses one through seven, but we're going to begin by looking at verse one. Verse one.

Again, this is Jesus speaking. He says, I did not say these things to you from the beginning. Oh, excuse me. I looked. That was verse four. Excuse me. Verse one. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

Jesus begins this chapter. By saying so, there has to be a context. I did not say these things to you. I said these things to you to keep you from falling away. Now, if you remember, Judas has already left to betray Jesus.

The disciples don't know that yet. The disciples are about to witness one of their own, Judas, walk up and betray Jesus with a kiss. They're about to visually see a disciple of Jesus Christ fall away.

Peter himself is about to betray Jesus three times. They're about to see, right then and there, falling away. The Greek word here for falling away is scandalous. In its systematic domain, it is a figurative stumble.

It's not a literal stumble, right? It's not someone who stumbles over. It's not someone who's doing what I'm doing today, right? I'm up here stumbling, right? It's not someone who stumbles around literal.

It's a figurative. It's spiritual. This is a spiritual stumble. Jesus is not saying to them that you're going to physically fall down, but he's saying to them that when persecution comes upon them, he doesn't want this persecution to be a stumbling block, a spiritual stumbling block, meaning he doesn't want what's about to come upon them, catch them by surprise.

So therefore, Jesus is telling them up front that persecution is coming. Imagine if he was to tell them that health, wealth, and prosperity is coming, and then all of a sudden persecution comes. Something is coming that they were not expecting.

That would be a stumbling block. And so Jesus is warning them that persecution is coming, and he is telling them this so they do not fall away once it comes, that they are not called off guard, so they will not stumble, which is what we looked at last week.

So if you look back at last week, chapter 15, I want to read to you verses 18 through 20. This is what Jesus was saying, and we walked through the last two weeks. Verse 18, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember, the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master.

Do we have any servants in here? This word servant is actually slave. A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, speaking of the master, they will persecute you, speaking of the slave.

Any slaves in here? If they kept my words, meaning believed his words, they will keep your words, believe your words. Some's going to persecute you. Some are going to hear you preach the gospel. They're going to repent and believe.

But all these things that they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. Jesus here is calling them. He is calling you. He's calling you and I to bear witness of him, which will in turn cause hatred that will bring about persecution.

Again, you don't have to stand up on the street corners like some of us do, but you are, as a Christian, called to be a witness that causes people to hate you, that will bring forth persecution. However, the cause of their witness is the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will bear witness to them, Jesus, and then through the Holy Spirit, they will begin to bear witness to the world, the person and work of Jesus. This means that the spirit is the primary agent of their persecution.

And while Jesus is on earth, Jesus bore witness about the Father. And now that Jesus has went to be with the Father, the Holy Spirit is going to bear witness about Jesus to his followers, and more about that next week.

Although as we've been walking through the book of John, we've been seeing Jesus, as they gaze their eyes on Jesus, he points to the Father. And now when the Holy Spirit comes, as the apostles are looking to this Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit's pointing to Jesus.

And that through their witness, as you see in the book of Acts, as they're witnessing through the Holy Spirit, they're pointing to Jesus. They're doing what Jesus did. Though Jesus pointed to the Father, the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, and us through the Holy Spirit will point to Jesus.

And we'll get more into that next week. So let's begin by bringing verses 26 and 27 from chapter 15 into our context. So I want to read for you chapter 15, verses 26 through 27, and then in chapter 16, verses 1 through 3, so that you can see how the Holy Spirit is the primary agent of persecution.

Verse 26, But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. He's speaking to them. He's going to bear witness about Christ.

And you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said to you all these things to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogue. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God.

And they will do these things because they do not know the Father nor me. In the context of Scripture, to be removed, to be put out of the synagogue is to be removed from Jewish life. Everything concerning Jewish life was built around these synagogues.

It is to have the same life as a leopard. When a leopard would walk into a city, they would have to scream, leprosy, leprosy, leprosy. I'm a leopard. People stay away from me. Someone who was removed from the synagogue did not have to do that.

But guess what the people who were part of the synagogue did? They stayed away from those that were not a part of the synagogue. It was to be alone. It is to be removed from the city. And I'm not sure, I don't even think we have an equivalent to measure what this is, what takes place here by it.

We do have church discipline. People can be removed from the church. However, this is more like being removed from a nation. This is more like if someone was to do something here that would cause us to remove them from the church or kicked out of America.

They can have no dealings in America. This is how serious this is. To be removed from synagogue. It is to be disowned by everyone.

Everyone you know.

It is to be without the ability to come and to participate in Sabbaths and feast days. It is to be removed from the ability to celebrate holidays. It is to be cut off, severed from their people, to be removed from the old covenant.

This is what Paul is talking about concerning circumcision in Galatians, about anyone who preaches a false gospel, let them be anathema. Removed from Christ. Severed. He gives the imagery, sorry ladies and gentlemen, of circumcision.

The foreskin being removed from a person and sent elsewhere. That's what it means to be cut off. And that's what takes place when someone is removed from the synagogue. They are removed from their people.

We saw this in John 9 that the parents of that man who was born blind were unwilling to be removed from the synagogue, but they were willing for their son to be removed from the synagogue. Turn back with me to John 9.

I want you to think about this as a parent so you can see how serious this is. What would make you say, you know, don't take us out, but you can take the child out. What would make you throw your child out?

Like this is how serious this is. Look at verse 18. So Jesus had healed a man who was born blind from birth. It says the Jews did not believe that this man had been blind and had received his sight until they called his parents.

The parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

But how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself. Look at verse 22. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews.

For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, his parents said, he is of age, ask him. The rejection of their son. They threw their kid under the bus, as we would say today.

I cannot tell you anything that would take place here in our country that would make me throw one of my children under the bus. Even if it's been a bad day and I've been yelling at them, like in my head I've already beat them two times, right?

I'm not going to give my child over like this. This is how serious it is. I think sometimes we can read this and just glance over and not really take what's coming to us. Not really ingest what God has for us.

This is why it's so important to be a part of a church where a pastor, a preacher is going through books of the Bible expositionally. Once Jesus has ascended to the Father, his disciples will confess that Jesus is the Christ.

And therefore, because of that, they will be removed from synagogue. So Jesus is warning them. They're about to be disowned by their nation. They're about to be lepers. They're about to be cut off.

He's warning them.

We see something like this, but probably not still the equivalent when it comes to certain sub-Christian cults, right? Such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, and stuff like that. Whenever you stop being a part of that sub-Christian community, you leave the community.

To leave a community is to be disowned by that community. By that community, not by a nation, but by that community. If someone was to be put out here for a heinous sin, because that's what it would take, something very heinous that's being unrepented of, I will not say that we just disown him and have nothing to do with him.

I would encourage you to, when you see this person, to witness to him. Not necessarily feast and fellowship, but to witness to him, to call him to repentance, or even her, to repentance. But if you left Jehovah Witnesses, which we have a member here who has, and we know people that have left Mormonism, and they were disowned by their community.

However, still, what we see here in the text to be removed from the synagogue is much worse. Like I said, it is as if you were excommunicated here, and then all of a sudden, you could have no dealings with anyone anywhere in America.

You were welcomed nowhere. The religious leaders of that day, as well as political leaders of that day, persecuted the church, thinking they were offering service to God. And I think it's fair to say that religious leaders and political leaders throughout time that have attacked the church did so thinking they were offering service to God.

But in truth, they do not know God. They did not, do not know God, because to know God is to know Christ. We have seen the horrific persecution of Christians done by religious leaders or done by other religions, such as Jews, Rome, the Vikings, the Roman Catholic Church even, and Islam.

In this persecution of Christians, they think that they were offering service to God, but in truth, they did not know God. And we can have this debate concerning the Catholics, and I'm up for it, and the persecution and killing of Christians.

They thought they were offering service to God, but in truth, they did not know God. We're to love one another. We're to be known by our love for one another. And yes, the best of men are men at best.

We get that. We understand that. The Apostle Paul here is a great example of this. Turn with me to Galatians 1. Galatians 1. As we know, the Apostle Paul, who was known as Saul, was a persecutor of the church.

He was involved with the stoning of Stephen. The text tells us that they lay their feet, or some of them say that Stephen, I mean that Saul, Paul here, was holding the coats of those. Some say it was laid at his feet.

I kind of see this because Saul here was a leader of a synagogue. I kind of see this as those who were stoning him were laying their coats at his feet, saying, look what we're doing for synagogue. Look what we're doing for God.

Paul gives his testimony in chapter 1, verse 13. He says this, For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. So what did he do?

He persecuted the church of God violently with the intentions to destroy it. He says, I was advancing in Judaism beyond many, beyond what many, for doing what he was doing here of my own age among my people.

So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my father. But when he, speaking of God, who set me apart before I was born and called me by his grace and was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.

So he who he was trying to destroy, he now preaches. The apostle Paul was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers, the traditions by which he was serving God through destroying the church.

That he thought he was serving God by destroying the church. Paul represented the most zealous and most religious Jew and so on and so forth with Rome, the Vikings, and the Roman Catholic Church and Islam.

The religious Jews believed that Christians were blasphemers who worshiped Jesus, who was merely a man. To them, Jesus was nothing more than a man, a blasphemer who claimed to be God. Rome persecuted the church, the Christians, the Christian church, not for believing in Jesus, but for not believing in their many gods as well.

You see, Rome respected the Jews, although they only believed in one god because it was an ancient religion. But they didn't see Christians as a part of this ancient religion. They didn't understand Baptist covenant theology, let's say, because we believe that the way Abraham is saved is the same way that we're saved.

The true children of Abraham are those who have the faith of Abraham. They saw Christians pop up in this Jesus character and that this Jesus was being worshiped and it was a new religion. They didn't like new religions.

And they would take you in if you also worshiped their gods. Again, to them, we were just atheists. We were nothing more than atheists because we denied their gods. We said, no, Caesar's not Lord. Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is God. Jesus is Jesus Christ. And so because Christians would say things like that, we were put to death as atheists. They wanted us to worship their God as well as Caesar. And as you read in church history, faithful Christians who abide in Christ, they did not worship Caesar and were put to death.

And Rome had many different ways of putting Christians to death. They would pour hot tar on them and set them on fire and use them as candles. They would crucify them, saw them in two, bottom to top. They would start in your private area and saw all the way to your head.

They would feed you to lions. They had many different ways of killing Christians. They crucify you, right side up, upside down, did not matter to them. They boil you in oil as you're dipping that turkey in the oil.

Imagine a live person being dipped into something like that. Rome wasn't playing. They perfected killing. The Vikings killed for Odin. The Roman Catholic Church killed over theology. And Islamic Muslims kill over land.

And all of them did so believing that they were offering service to God or gods. And Christians just so happened to be the butt of their joke. They were at the tip of their spear. Jesus was not only telling His disciples, warning His disciples of this coming persecution.

He was also telling us through Holy Scripture. You and I, all of Christians everywhere, warning us of persecution. And again, persecution, just like witnessing, just like evangelism, can come in different levels, let's say.

It could be, as we see with Jake, who left Jehovah's Witnesses, that this community has rejected him. It's persecution. It could be that you might not be in a religious family, but you become a Christian, and now your cousins, your family, want nothing to do with you.

That's a form of persecution. And all those who desire to live a godly life in Jesus Christ, what will they be? Persecuted. It's not always at the tip of the spear. Well, it is at the tip of the spear, but that spear doesn't have to be a literal spear.

And that kind of persecution hurts too. If you are put to death, or if you are persecuted for your faith, those who are doing it believe that they are offering service to their gods. Atheism has its own god as well.

To believe something is to be in a religion. If you believe in the Big Bang Theory, and that we were all just nothing that became something. We all come from an animal that somehow walked out of the, that stardust fell into the ocean, created all these many different fish, and one day one of these fish had lungs and gills that walked out, monkeys, so on and so forth.

That's a belief that is a religion. So that when it comes,.

Excuse me,.

They're offering service to God, and he tells them this so that when it comes, they will not stumble over what God has planned for us, or allow this persecution that God has planned for us to hinder our walk with God.

And what we need to take away from everything is that God is in control. And we know that as Reformed people, right? But do we understand that God is in control of our persecutions? Do we understand that?

That God is in control of our persecutions. If you're living a life right now, and it's not because you're facing the cross, you're facing lions, guess who's in control of that?

God.

But if you're abiding in Christ, and the persecution that you do receive, it might be a rejection from a child, it might be a rejection from a parent. Jesus said that he came to make halls of division.

God is in control of that. That is persecution. We do not need to... Listen, don't envy those that had a walk on that ice sheet that I talked about last week. I ain't envying those for nothing.

Right?

But if you want to experience just a little bit of persecution, I would say please come out with us as we go out and witness. Yesterday we definitely received a lot of hate from people in the community.

Read with me verses 4 through 7. Jesus says, But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes, speaking of the persecutor, you may remember that I told you. I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you, but now that I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asked me why 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. Because if I go away, the helper will come to you. But if I go, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Excuse me in my misplacing of words. In verse 4, Jesus tells them why he is telling them, and why he didn't tell them from the beginning. He's telling them to warn them, verse 4. He didn't tell them from the beginning because he was with them, also, verse 4.

The persecution was aimed at him, Jesus, not them. Jesus was the one who was testifying against the world. He was testifying against the world, not his disciples. Remember John 7, verse 7. Jesus is speaking to these religious leaders.

He says that the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. So Jesus was pointing to the Father. And then everything that Jesus was saying, he said to himself that he gets from the Father, and he gives it to them.

So it's the Father's testimony that their works were evil. So when the Holy Spirit bears witness to them, he's going to bear witness to the words of Jesus, which the world's works are evil. And as the disciples go out and witness, he's going to be bearing witness to the disciples that the world's works are evil.

And then as we're going out and we're proclaiming and we're witnessing, the Holy Spirit through us is going to be proclaiming and witnessing to this world that its works are evil. But Jesus is saying to them that he was being persecuted.

His disciples are not being persecuted because the disciples at that time were not doing what Jesus was doing. Jesus was the one being persecuted because he was saying that their works were evil. And we saw this with John the Baptist.

John the Baptist testified against the world that its works were evil. And we saw what happened to John the Baptist. He ended up with his head chopped off and on a platter. He had many different ways of killing people.

This is one of the ways that Islamic extremists like to kill Christians, by cutting off their heads. Now concerning a fallen away, Jesus has already told us that a fallen away is coming. But he also told us who it is that would fall away, and he told us it would be a false convert over the word of God.

Now did Jesus use those words? But that the word of God through the Holy Spirit will bring about persecution. And listen, if you're not a Christian, you will fall away when persecution comes. That's what Jesus is saying here.

A fallen away is coming. I'm telling you this so that you will not fall away. Because those that fall away, they went out from us because they're not of us. Now we're using different scriptures to bring it into the context here.

But Jesus tells us this in Matthew chapter 13. If you turn with me to Matthew chapter 13, this is the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower. Chapter 13 verse 1 is where we'll start. It says, A sower went out to sow.

Here's the parable. A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they did not have depth of soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and those thorns grew up and choked them out. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.