1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,320 to set up the scripture that we'll be reading this morning, 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,000 I wanna say, first of all, you got your thumb there, 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,200 your finger there in that reference. 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,860 This is taking place in the book of John. 5 00:00:10,860 --> 00:00:13,600 We were there last week in John chapter 14, 6 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,980 and this section, John 13 through 16, 7 00:00:16,980 --> 00:00:20,040 is what's been called the upper room discourse. 8 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,880 Now John is very unique in this in that he spends a lot, 9 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,400 the bulk of his book, in the final days 10 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,040 and hours of Jesus' life. 11 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,680 And the upper room discourse, you might think of this 12 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,660 as his final intimate words. 13 00:00:33,660 --> 00:00:38,000 Now chapter 13 and 14 represent the words that he spoke 14 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:39,080 around the Last Supper. 15 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,520 We just participated in a remembrance of the Last Supper. 16 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,440 13, 14 are the words he spoke during that to his disciples. 17 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,800 And then moving into 15, 16, you have Jesus and his disciples 18 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,240 en route to the Garden of Gethsemane, 19 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,000 and he continues to teach them and instruct them 20 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:57,500 in what he wants them to remember. 21 00:00:57,500 --> 00:01:00,880 So these are his final intimate instructions 22 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,480 to the people who walked with him for three years. 23 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:06,540 And the truth is they're troubled. 24 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,920 They're really troubled in heart because Jesus has told them 25 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,320 they're going to have lots of difficulties and troubles, 26 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,960 that the people that they have loved or grown up around 27 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:20,440 are going to turn against them, 28 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,080 and they're going to be persecuted because of Jesus. 29 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:29,080 He's also said that he himself is going to die. 30 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:30,520 He's going to die. 31 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,180 And Peter, his right hand man, is going to deny him. 32 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,880 And that he will have to go away for some time. 33 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,320 And for us to really understand the moment 34 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:44,380 that the disciples are in, we kind of have to wrap 35 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:48,240 our brains around what might be called Jewish eschatology 36 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,920 or the Jewish mindset around the end of times, 37 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,200 what that will look like. 38 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,160 And what they believed would happen was that a time 39 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,720 of great trouble would come upon the nation, 40 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,840 and the trouble was intended to awaken the hearts 41 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:04,840 of God's people so that they would turn back 42 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,040 and cry out for a messiah. 43 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,000 In other words, it's kind of like a repeat of Egypt. 44 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,400 When the people were in slavery and they were crying out 45 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,040 for God to send a deliverer, they believed at the end 46 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:16,360 of times that would happen again. 47 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,820 Trouble would come, they would be enslaved, 48 00:02:19,820 --> 00:02:23,440 or nations had come in and taken them captive, 49 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,520 and they would awaken in their hearts to remember the Lord 50 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,600 and cry out to him. 51 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:30,760 And then after that time of trouble, 52 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,000 a forerunner would come. 53 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,580 Someone would come announcing the messiah is at hand, 54 00:02:37,580 --> 00:02:39,080 an Elijah. 55 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,280 And so for the disciples, they were in great trouble. 56 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:44,000 Rome had taken over. 57 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,240 Rome was occupying their lands. 58 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,960 And they were in great distress and trouble. 59 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,360 But John the Baptist, the forerunner, had come and said, 60 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,760 the messiah is coming, the lamb of God, 61 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:57,320 who takes away the sins of the world. 62 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,680 And the disciples believed them. 63 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,920 And so you can imagine, point number one 64 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:05,160 in their Jewish eschatology, check. 65 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,280 Point number two, check, it's happening. 66 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,800 It's happening in our day and time. 67 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,520 Look, and then Jesus comes on the scene, 68 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:15,800 and the messiah is there. 69 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,800 And in their mindset, the messiah would appear, 70 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,520 and he would establish his kingdom forever. 71 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,680 His kingdom on earth is what they thought. 72 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:27,600 His kingdom in the physical. 73 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,840 He would route the Romans and drive them out of the country 74 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,320 and reestablish all the tribes and worship. 75 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,920 And so to them, this is what was happening. 76 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,120 And everything that Jesus has told them now is just wrong. 77 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:43,160 It's wrong. 78 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,320 How does that fit in to what we expected? 79 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,040 And so John, writing this much later, 80 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,840 after Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension, 81 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,600 when he writes his letter, 82 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,520 he's trying to capture that feeling. 83 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,760 And in this upper room discourse, 84 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:02,240 and throughout his writings, really, 85 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,400 he uses a technique, a style called amplification. 86 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,880 It's very unique to John. 87 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,040 If you read John or 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, 88 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,480 or even Revelation, he'll use it. 89 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,320 But amplification is where he introduces some themes 90 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:19,320 into the text, and then he keeps looping back around to them. 91 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,280 So instead of being like Paul, 92 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:25,160 who introduces a logical progression to a conclusion, 93 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,600 John introduces three or four themes, 94 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,080 and then he just keeps looping it back 95 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:30,120 and adding more and more. 96 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:31,640 It's kind of like holding something 97 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,720 that is so beautiful in your hand, 98 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,320 that you can't take it all in with one look. 99 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:38,600 And so you hold it in your hand, 100 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,840 and you turn it around, and you turn it around, 101 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,000 and you look, and then you look, 102 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,040 and it's getting more and more beautiful and glorious. 103 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,440 Well, that's John's style, his amplification. 104 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,240 And so in this upper room discourse, 105 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:51,720 we've already hit on the themes 106 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,680 that we're gonna read in today's scripture 107 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:55,680 multiple times before. 108 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,640 And he's hitting them one more time to bring them up 109 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,760 and help us to see them again from maybe a different facet 110 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,280 or a different light on this glorious thing. 111 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:07,680 Just to give you a quick survey, 112 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:08,960 the scriptures won't be up here, 113 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,280 but in John 14, 15 through 17, 114 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,920 he said, if you love me, you will keep my commands, 115 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:15,120 and I will ask the Father, 116 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:17,000 and he will give you another counselor 117 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,760 to be with you forever. 118 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,000 He is the Spirit of truth. 119 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:22,480 The world is unable to receive him 120 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,200 because it doesn't see him or know him, 121 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,600 but you know him because he remains with you 122 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,440 and will be in you. 123 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:33,600 And then a little bit later in John 14, 124 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:35,840 he says, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. 125 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:36,880 That sounds familiar. 126 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:37,720 Did I already read this? 127 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,080 Yes. 128 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,160 Amplification, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. 129 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:43,760 My Father will love him, 130 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,720 and he will come to him and make our home, 131 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,320 and we will come to him and make our home with him. 132 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:50,760 Gabe, there's a little bit of feedback. 133 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,800 The one who doesn't love me will not keep my words. 134 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,400 The word that you hear is not mine, 135 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,080 but is from the Father who sent me. 136 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,840 I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you, 137 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:04,920 but the counselor, the Holy Spirit, 138 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,080 whom the Father will send in my name, 139 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:08,480 will teach you all things 140 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:10,440 and remind you of everything I told you. 141 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,600 And then again, in chapter 15, 142 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:15,840 when the counselor comes, 143 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:17,800 the one I will send to you from the Father, 144 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,440 the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, 145 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,080 he will testify about me. 146 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:24,600 You also will testify 147 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,720 because you have been with me from the beginning. 148 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:29,400 So we see over and over again, 149 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,520 he's interjecting a little bit more about the Holy Spirit 150 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:33,680 and telling us a little bit more. 151 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,520 And so today's scripture out of John 16, 152 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,240 takes it one step deeper. 153 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:39,080 Read with me. 154 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:42,760 Not with me, but read along with me. 155 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,120 Ha ha ha. 156 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:45,720 It's too long to read with me. 157 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:46,560 Ha ha ha. 158 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,360 I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 159 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,080 They will ban you from the synagogues. 160 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,040 In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you 161 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,960 will think he is offering sacrifice to God. 162 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:02,880 They will do these things 163 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,520 because they have not known the Father or me. 164 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:07,760 But I have told you these things 165 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,320 so that when their time comes, 166 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,400 you will remember I told them to you. 167 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:14,280 I didn't tell you these things from the beginning 168 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:15,760 because I was with you. 169 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,520 But now I'm going away to him who sent me. 170 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,520 And not one of you asks me, where are you going? 171 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,000 Yet because I have spoken these things to you, 172 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,040 sorrow has filled your heart. 173 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,440 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. 174 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,560 It is for your benefit that I go away 175 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:36,000 because if I don't go away, 176 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,840 the counselor will not come to you. 177 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:40,920 If I go, I will send him to you. 178 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:42,960 When he comes, he will convict the world 179 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,640 about sin, righteousness, and judgment. 180 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,040 About sin because they do not believe in me. 181 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,600 About righteousness because I am going to the Father 182 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,800 and you will no longer see me. 183 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,560 And about judgment because the ruler of this world 184 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:58,960 has been judged. 185 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:01,520 I still have many things to tell you, 186 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,480 but you can't bear them now. 187 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:05,960 When the Spirit of truth comes, 188 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,720 he will guide you into all truth. 189 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,000 For he will not speak on his own, 190 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,760 but he will speak whatever he hears. 191 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,360 He will also declare to you what is to come. 192 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:21,240 He will glorify me because he will take from what is mine 193 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:22,600 and declare it to you. 194 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,280 Everything the Father has is mine. 195 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,760 This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine 196 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,320 and will declare it to you. 197 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:33,480 This is God's word. 198 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:38,120 Has anyone in here been to the Holy Lands? 199 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,520 Couple of folks have been on a trip there. 200 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,480 Anyone else who hasn't been there 201 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,160 wanted to go at some point in life? 202 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:46,880 Like you thought, I wanna go there. 203 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,080 That's me, man, totally. 204 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,040 It's like a history junkie's like dream to go there. 205 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,720 Not just that, then you read the Bible 206 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,720 and you imagine it coming alive as you go and you step foot. 207 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:03,440 Maybe walk in the places that Jesus walked with the disciples, 208 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:05,440 but I could even one up that, right? 209 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,600 If I had a time machine and I could go back in time, 210 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:10,720 I'd go to the Holy Lands, 211 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,800 but I'd go back when Jesus was there, right? 212 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,480 And I'd slip into the crowd, you know, 213 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,600 just kinda trail along, see what he's doing, 214 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:21,400 and witness the events. 215 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,160 Watch as he feeds the 5,000. 216 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,240 Maybe watch and observe as he calms the waves on the sea 217 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,320 to see the miracles of Christ. 218 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:34,600 The first point, if you're taking notes, 219 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:36,840 I'll have you write down the Spirit and Jesus, 220 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:38,440 and it comes out of verse seven 221 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,640 where John, recording Jesus' word, says, 222 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,360 it is for your benefit that I go away 223 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,240 because I can't go away, 224 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:47,280 but because if I don't go away, 225 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,040 the counselor will not come to you, 226 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,240 and if I go, I will send him to you. 227 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,880 Another translation says it is better, 228 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:57,840 it is better that I go. 229 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,600 If I don't go, the Spirit, the counselor, 230 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,680 will not come to you. 231 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:06,040 The Spirit will not come to the believer 232 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,040 unless and until Jesus first goes. 233 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,120 And that's hard for them to hear, but why is that? 234 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,840 What is the relationship between the Spirit and Jesus? 235 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,920 And the truth is that the Spirit cannot come 236 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,280 and cannot do its job unless and until Jesus first 237 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:29,280 goes to the cross, unless and until Jesus goes to the tomb 238 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,080 until he rises from the grave and ascends to heaven, 239 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:38,080 only then can the Spirit do its work. 240 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:40,320 Why? 241 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:44,000 That's because while the Spirit did work 242 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,360 throughout the biblical history, 243 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:50,360 the full power or the most essential work 244 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:55,360 of the Holy Spirit is this, to glorify Jesus. 245 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,040 That's what the Spirit is about. 246 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,600 Verse 14 says that, he will glorify me. 247 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,280 He will speak to you my words. 248 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,120 He will remind you of what I have said. 249 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,200 He will bring glory to God the Son. 250 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,400 The Holy Spirit's power, as one pastor put it, 251 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,920 is Christ exalting, Gospel applying, 252 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,400 new covenant fulfilling, deepest sin convicting, 253 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,400 Satan defeating power. 254 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,800 And none of this can be testified to by the Spirit 255 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,320 until Jesus goes to the cross, enters the tomb, 256 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,360 is resurrected, and ascends to the Father. 257 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,560 Only then can the full force of the message of Christ 258 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:42,400 be preached. 259 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,920 He must go away in order for the Spirit to come 260 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:50,920 and declare, empower the truth, the exalted Christ. 261 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:53,680 The resurrection and the ascension 262 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:55,920 prove that the world was wrong. 263 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,680 Not only wrong, but guilty of hatred and unbelief. 264 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:02,720 The resurrection and ascension prove 265 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,640 that what they believed about Jesus, 266 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,160 and particularly the world in John, in his writings, 267 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,920 represent the unbelieving Jews of his time. 268 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,160 So the world, the unbelieving Jews 269 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,000 who represent all those who are in unbelief, 270 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:24,120 they demanded the death of the perfect and righteous Jesus. 271 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,920 They actually went further than that, right? 272 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,600 They actually said that he was a sinner, 273 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,400 that he was a sinner when he was, 274 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,320 they were interviewing the blind man, right? 275 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,920 And they said, Jesus, Jesus, 276 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:44,400 bring glory to God, tell the truth. 277 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:45,960 Certainly the sinner over there 278 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,760 couldn't have done those things. 279 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:50,120 They put him to death as a sinner. 280 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,240 Well, the Spirit in the resurrection 281 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,360 testifies to the validity of Christ's claims 282 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,720 that God said, no, he's mine. 283 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,480 He is righteous in his death, 284 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,600 burial, resurrection, and ascension. 285 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:08,760 And so we begin with the Spirit and Jesus, 286 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,040 but number two, the Spirit in the world 287 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:12,440 the Scripture talks about. 288 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,240 We understand the primary role of the Spirit 289 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:20,320 is to exalt Christ and not me, right? 290 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,440 He's not a me exalting Spirit. 291 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,080 And that's important for us to remember, 292 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:26,640 especially as you consider 293 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,120 how some people treat the Holy Spirit, 294 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,040 as if he is a me exalting Spirit. 295 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,880 Give me the gifts, give me the whatever, 296 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,920 the enablement, the power to exalt myself 297 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,320 or exalt what I want higher than anything else. 298 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,800 Good morning, come on in. 299 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:49,560 No, she's not. 300 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,720 And so we now need to look at how the Spirit 301 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,560 will convict the world, the Scripture says, 302 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,440 convict the world in three specific areas. 303 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,720 Verse eight, when he comes, he will convict the world 304 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,520 about sin, righteousness, and judgment, 305 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,920 about sin because they do not believe in me, 306 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:12,520 about righteousness because I am going to the Father 307 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:14,320 and you will no longer see me, 308 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,520 and about judgment because the ruler of this world 309 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,880 has been judged. 310 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,920 So A, it's about sin. 311 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:28,520 The Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin. 312 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,160 And the word convict is like the word convince 313 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,600 or attempt to compel an understanding, 314 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,600 to prove their need for, to declare their guilt. 315 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,280 When it says that the Bible, when it says that he will 316 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,840 convict the world is saying that he will show them 317 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,760 that they're under guilt. 318 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,040 He will prove to them that they're guilty. 319 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,360 It's not always easy to hear that you're guilty, 320 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,080 but it's necessary. 321 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,560 No change will happen until you recognize first 322 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,280 the guilt that you're under. 323 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,320 You don't need a savior if you're not guilty. 324 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,800 And so the Holy Spirit comes to the world 325 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,320 and convicts the world of its sin. 326 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,480 Now notice that it says sin and not sins. 327 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,480 One word, sins, describes the individual things that we do 328 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,640 that are morally wrong, whereas the term sin 329 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:18,760 describes something else. 330 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:23,280 It is more of a technical term, and it means unbelief. 331 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:25,240 Unbelief. 332 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,760 And so the Holy Spirit will come and convict the world 333 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:32,760 of unbelief because they did not believe in me. 334 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,000 We don't like to hear that we're guilty, 335 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,240 but we need to hear it. 336 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,560 And the Holy Spirit will bring conviction into this world. 337 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:45,560 He will prove our need for a savior. 338 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,040 He convicts them of their unbelief. 339 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,400 The Jewish folks of his time believed 340 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:52,320 that they knew the father. 341 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,120 They claimed Abraham as our father, 342 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:56,720 and Jesus said, if you don't know me, 343 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:58,600 you don't know the father. 344 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,840 If you don't know who I am, you don't recognize 345 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,000 who I am in this story, then you know nothing of the father. 346 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,720 You would recognize me, you would believe in me 347 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,200 if you knew the father. 348 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,600 Rejecting Jesus is rejecting the father. 349 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,040 And the Holy Spirit's work here on earth is to come 350 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:22,160 and convict, to declare under guilt 351 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,560 those who have not believed. 352 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,280 But he also convicts of righteousness. 353 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,720 And the ascension of Christ is a declaration 354 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:32,800 of Christ's righteousness. 355 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:34,960 It validates his claim about the father. 356 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,440 It says that his work in this life 357 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,840 and his death and resurrection were not actions 358 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,240 that earned him standing with God. 359 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,840 We tend to think of righteousness as if it's something, 360 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,000 what's the list of righteousness that I need to do 361 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,560 in order to earn something? 362 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:50,720 Righteousness is not about a list of things. 363 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,000 It's about a standing, a status that one has. 364 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,000 When Jesus was resurrected and his ministry was validated, 365 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,240 it proved he had a standing before God of faith. 366 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,760 It proved that he was in right relationship with God. 367 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,000 And God came by divine action and did what only God 368 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,840 could do, everyone recognized, 369 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,560 man can't resurrect dead people. 370 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,520 We can't go around and make dead people alive again. 371 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,880 And so if this person is truly alive, 372 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,680 if the resurrection happened, it was a divine action 373 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,720 that could only come from the father. 374 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,880 And if the father, God involved in this business 375 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:32,200 of resurrecting this person, 376 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,200 it must mean something about that person. 377 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,080 It must mean something about his standing before God. 378 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:46,360 And the Holy Spirit comes to testify of his standing. 379 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,560 According to the standard of righteousness, 380 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,720 the standard of righteousness that the people 381 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:55,240 of Jesus's time held, that Jesus was a sinner, 382 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:56,680 he deserved death. 383 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,320 He should have known not to heal this guy on the Sabbath. 384 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:07,000 Should have known not to restore this broken person's body 385 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:07,820 on the Sabbath. 386 00:18:07,820 --> 00:18:09,960 If he had known that, he would have been righteous, 387 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,160 but he's not righteous, he's a sinner because he healed. 388 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,960 According to their standard of righteousness, 389 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,080 they judged and lived by. 390 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,640 They saw Jesus as the sinner. 391 00:18:21,580 --> 00:18:23,280 The Holy Spirit, though, will testify 392 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:24,800 to the righteousness of Christ. 393 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,120 He will convict the world of all the false standards 394 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:30,040 of righteousness that we hold. 395 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:30,880 That's cool. 396 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:37,640 Try preaching like that, right? 397 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:41,920 All right. 398 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:46,820 We can paint the building, 399 00:18:46,820 --> 00:18:48,680 but we can't get a music stand, right? 400 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,440 But let's talk for a second, 401 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,680 now that I've distracted everyone, and comic relief. 402 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:02,680 What are some areas of false standards of self-righteousness 403 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:07,840 that people, not anyone here, but folks get caught up in? 404 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:09,800 What are false standards of righteousness 405 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:14,720 that we might get ourselves into and believe as true? 406 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:16,920 Does anyone have an answer? 407 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:18,040 I go to church every Sunday. 408 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:19,480 I go to church every Sunday. 409 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:21,920 A religious identity. 410 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:23,820 I go to church every Sunday. 411 00:19:23,820 --> 00:19:25,400 That means I'm righteous. 412 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,540 You don't know how many folks I've asked, 413 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:32,220 are you a Christian? 414 00:19:33,540 --> 00:19:34,920 Are you a believer? 415 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,600 And you know what their first answer is? 416 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,000 I go to church every week. 417 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:41,840 And right there, it's like, okay, 418 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:46,840 you have put your righteousness, your standard of righteousness 419 00:19:46,940 --> 00:19:49,380 in your religious identity. 420 00:19:49,380 --> 00:19:50,220 I go to church. 421 00:19:50,220 --> 00:19:51,060 I'm a part of this. 422 00:19:51,060 --> 00:19:54,060 And some people do it based upon which church they go to. 423 00:19:54,060 --> 00:19:54,900 Right? 424 00:19:54,900 --> 00:19:57,260 I go to this church. 425 00:19:57,260 --> 00:20:01,260 I'm not like those people over there at Village. 426 00:20:03,140 --> 00:20:04,140 Right, religious identity. 427 00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:04,960 Any other ones? 428 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,480 Other places we put our standard of righteousness in? 429 00:20:10,220 --> 00:20:11,680 I do more, give more? 430 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:13,420 Yeah, yeah. 431 00:20:13,420 --> 00:20:16,460 So this, comparative, right? 432 00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:19,780 I think I put it down as comparative righteousness, yes. 433 00:20:19,780 --> 00:20:21,900 Measuring one's own righteousness 434 00:20:21,900 --> 00:20:23,740 by comparing them to someone else 435 00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:26,240 and then usually feeling superior 436 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,500 when your list looks a little bit longer than theirs. 437 00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:32,340 Or the flip side, feeling like you're not measuring up 438 00:20:32,340 --> 00:20:34,620 when you compare to someone and go, 439 00:20:34,620 --> 00:20:35,820 I'm not as good as them. 440 00:20:36,780 --> 00:20:37,780 Any others? 441 00:20:37,780 --> 00:20:42,780 My revelation, yeah, my understanding of God. 442 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,880 I have a better, fuller picture of it. 443 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,320 And so, again, comparative. 444 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:50,960 I'm comparing against you. 445 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:53,840 And so you really are my standard. 446 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,480 And if I can beat you, then I'm better than you. 447 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:57,320 Yeah. 448 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:00,960 Self-righteousness, right? 449 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,000 In one's own actions, in one's own morality, 450 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,640 one's own adherence to laws and rules, 451 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:10,560 you might call it legalism, right? 452 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,160 I keep all the rules. 453 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:17,000 I read the book, I made the list, I keep all the rules. 454 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,400 I'm owed, I earned righteousness. 455 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,720 I earned right standing before God. 456 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,800 One that I highlighted on my list here 457 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:32,800 is sentimentality or sentimentalism. 458 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:39,920 My righteousness is found not in my good deeds, 459 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,840 but in my good intentions. 460 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,280 Just the world is all, it never works out, 461 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:48,760 but I want it to do right. 462 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,440 I feel better about myself now. 463 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:53,200 I feel better. 464 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:56,600 All of these and all the other ones, 465 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,560 tolerance, my righteousness is found 466 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,200 in tolerating anything and any belief in anyone, right? 467 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:04,040 I'm open. 468 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,040 I'm tolerant. 469 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,040 That makes me more right. 470 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,880 All of our false standards of righteousness, 471 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,760 when compared to Christ and what he did, 472 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,720 fall flat in the spirit, testifies to righteousness. 473 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:20,680 It comes and says, your fault, 474 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,080 it destroys all of our crooked and false standards 475 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:25,320 of righteousness in light of Christ, 476 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:26,960 because he testifies to Christ, 477 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,000 that Christ was the only one perfect human 478 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,520 who ever walked, who walked righteously before God, 479 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,480 and the righteous man was killed by the hands of humans. 480 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,480 And like Adam, right in the garden, we go, 481 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:40,200 oh man, he really screwed it up for humanity. 482 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:41,640 No, he represented humanity. 483 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,720 He made the choice that every one of you would have made 484 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,000 if you were there. 485 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,840 The same is true of Jesus. 486 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,800 Oh, I wouldn't have crucified him. 487 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,040 Really? 488 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,280 You don't think in your self-righteousness. 489 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,040 You don't think in one of your other standards 490 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:55,960 of righteousness, he wouldn't have rubbed 491 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,200 against the grain on you, and you would have said, 492 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,640 I don't like this guy, let's get him out of here. 493 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,960 But instead, Christ gave himself freely, 494 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:11,640 out of his standing before God, he lived his life 495 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,440 and died the death that we deserved, 496 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,280 and the spirit testifies and convicts the world 497 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,680 on our false standards of righteousness. 498 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,720 You can't measure up. 499 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,400 No matter how many good things you do, 500 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,000 it's not enough. 501 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000 No matter how many people you compare to, 502 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,000 someone's always better. 503 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,720 And all your good intentions, 504 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,480 sorry, look what they got you. 505 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:37,760 The final one is judgment. 506 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,320 Sin, righteousness, he convicts on judgment. 507 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,320 He will convict the world concerning judgment 508 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:47,400 because the ruler of this air has been judged. 509 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,680 The ruler of the air refers to Satan, 510 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,120 that snake from the garden, and the one who 511 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:57,120 his defeat was prophesied all the way back in Genesis 3, 512 00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:59,560 when it said from the woman would come an offspring, 513 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,920 a male offspring who would crush the head of that serpent. 514 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:09,160 He is defeated, and yet, there's this already and not yet 515 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,360 that is very indicative of our faith, 516 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:13,760 and that is something can be true 517 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,200 and absolutely true right now, and yet we don't see 518 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,960 the fullness of the effects of that truth yet. 519 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,920 It's already true, and yet we're waiting too 520 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,120 for the full effects of it. 521 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:26,080 Like the Bible says that we're seated with Christ 522 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,000 in the heavenly realms. 523 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:28,840 Look around. 524 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,040 We're in the youth chapel. 525 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:35,200 And yet we're seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. 526 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,680 It's already and yet not yet. 527 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,080 And the same is true of the defeat of the enemy. 528 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,120 He is 100% defeated, he's done. 529 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:46,480 Christ destroyed the work of the enemy. 530 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,360 In fact, that's what 1 John 3 verse 8 says. 531 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:53,360 The son of man came to defeat the works of the enemy, 532 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:56,080 and that's exactly what he did. 533 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,560 And yet we also see that there are effects 534 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,920 of his temptation and his work still on this earth 535 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:08,760 that we're waiting for a final eradication of those effects, 536 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:10,400 the already not yet. 537 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,400 The Holy Spirit convicts of judgment 538 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,600 because we like to ignore the reality of judgment, 539 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,200 and some folks want to ignore God 540 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,080 in the reality of the final judgment in their life. 541 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,680 1 Peter or 2 Peter chapter three, verse three, 542 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,200 talks about this. 543 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,800 Above all, be aware of this. 544 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,200 He's talking about the last days, 545 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,840 so the days that we are in, and he's talking to the church, 546 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,480 he's talking to you, and he says, beware of these people. 547 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:43,280 Be aware of scoffers who come in the last days 548 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,640 scoffing and following their own evil desires, 549 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:51,040 saying, where is his coming that he promised? 550 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,600 Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, 551 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,480 all things continue as they have been 552 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,200 since the beginning of creation. 553 00:25:58,640 --> 00:25:59,560 Everything's the same. 554 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,440 Where's this second coming of Jesus? 555 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,560 Where's this judgment you talked about? 556 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,040 It's exactly the way it's always been. 557 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,240 There's no judgment. 558 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,360 They deliberately overlook this. 559 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,600 By the word of God, the heavens came 560 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,440 into being long ago when the earth was brought about 561 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:20,320 from water and through water. 562 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,560 And through these, the world of that time 563 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:24,640 perished when it was flooded. 564 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,000 By the same word, the present heavens and earth 565 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,960 are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment 566 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,760 and destruction of the ungodly. 567 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,160 You may think God is long in coming. 568 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,120 You may think he's delayed or not happening, 569 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:40,960 but it's coming. 570 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,160 As sure as the judgment came the first time, 571 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:45,720 it's coming again. 572 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,120 And he may be delayed, and the Bible goes on to say 573 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:50,800 that he's delayed for a reason. 574 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:55,920 Because of his kindness, so that more might be brought in, 575 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,120 more might believe, but it is in their unbelief 576 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:02,200 that they deny judgment, put it off and say, 577 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,360 oh, it's not coming. 578 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,000 The Holy Spirit comes and convicts the world. 579 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,840 The Holy Spirit moves about this world, 580 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,480 convicting of sin and righteousness and judgment. 581 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,240 The Holy Spirit will use all kinds of means 582 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,280 to accomplish this, but do you know what the primary means 583 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:21,120 the Holy Spirit uses to bring conviction of sin, 584 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:23,280 righteousness and judgment is? 585 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:25,840 Us. 586 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,440 Where does it say the Holy Spirit will come? 587 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,360 Is he gonna be down at the Circle K? 588 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:34,760 And anyone who goes into the Circle K 589 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:36,120 will have an encounter with the Holy Spirit 590 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:37,400 and might be convicted. 591 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,880 Where is he gonna make his home? 592 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,440 Where is he going to do his work? 593 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,640 What is he going to transform and change 594 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,200 into the likeness of Christ? 595 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:49,040 Us. 596 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,600 And it's our presence in this world at this time 597 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,840 that is the primary force bringing conviction, 598 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,600 the Holy Spirit within us, living out through us, 599 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:04,120 bringing conviction on the world of sin, of unbelief, 600 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,480 of their false standards of righteousness 601 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,480 and their denial of the impending judgment 602 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,920 that is coming upon them. 603 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,200 It is us, the people of God. 604 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,760 How many people were converted in the Book of Acts 605 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,240 without the active participation of one of Jesus' followers? 606 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:24,640 Were there a couple stories you go, 607 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,560 well, Paul, he was on the road, right? 608 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:30,440 He kinda got knocked off, right, his donkey, 609 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,040 found himself on the ground and was like, what the heck, 610 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,920 you know, and just had this encounter with Jesus. 611 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,680 And yet what did the Spirit tell him to do? 612 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:39,880 What did Jesus tell him to do? 613 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,320 Go, I'm gonna send someone to you. 614 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,240 Why did he need someone to go to him? 615 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,200 Because the primary use, the primary way 616 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:50,720 that the Holy Spirit works is through us. 617 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,840 Think of Peter, right, an angel appears, tells him, 618 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,560 hey, you've been thinking about this whole thing all wrong. 619 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:57,400 Right? 620 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,960 It's all wrong, but I need you to go over here and do this. 621 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,160 I need you to talk to these people 622 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,600 because your presence there is going to bring the gospel, 623 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,160 bring the word of Jesus, convict sin, 624 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,360 conviction of righteousness and judgment, 625 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:14,960 and people will believe, it's through his people. 626 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,040 We've seen how the Holy Spirit works in the world at large, 627 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,200 convicting it of sin and righteousness and judgment, 628 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:23,720 but what about us as believers? 629 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,040 How does the Spirit work in our lives? 630 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,600 And that's the final point, the Spirit and believers. 631 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:31,880 When the counselor comes, 632 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,480 the one I will send to you from the Father, 633 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,360 the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, 634 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,880 he will testify about me, you also will testify 635 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,320 because you have been with me from the beginning. 636 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,840 The counselor, the Spirit of truth will come to you. 637 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:50,000 Why is that important? 638 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,680 Why is it better that he is with us? 639 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:58,960 One of our big problems, maybe our biggest problem is 640 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:04,320 that the things we know in our head aren't real in our heart. 641 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,640 The things we know in our head aren't real in our heart. 642 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,040 And that reality causes all kinds of trouble 643 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,560 and difficulty in our lives. 644 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,680 How many would acknowledge, I know a lot, 645 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,320 but it doesn't always move me to do the right thing. 646 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:27,320 We know that God is our Father and we are his children, 647 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,840 but at times our hearts are anxious and worried. 648 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:33,160 We know that we have overcome Satan 649 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:35,720 and we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus 650 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,360 and yet we'll spend our days cursing the darkness 651 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:40,640 and acting like we're defeated. 652 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,480 You guys probably run into a person like that, right? 653 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:45,040 The devil's always getting them. 654 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:50,640 We know we are right to be defeated. 655 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,640 We know we are righteous on the merits of Christ 656 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,440 and that this is the true meaning of Sabbath rest, 657 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,240 that we don't need to work for our salvation, 658 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,560 but we can rest in the merits of Christ, 659 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,960 but we work tirelessly to earn God's favor 660 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,640 and to stay in his good graces and this crushes us 661 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,840 because we can never live up to it. 662 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,880 Enough is never enough. 663 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:15,560 And so how do we respond to these troubles 664 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,640 and this disconnect between our head and heart? 665 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,760 Usually two ways. 666 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:23,080 We think we need new circumstances. 667 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:25,800 Just give me new circumstances. 668 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:30,800 Man, if I only had more money, I would have fewer problems. 669 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,800 If I only had a better car or a different house 670 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,320 or a new job or a different spouse, 671 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,720 my life would be better. 672 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,720 Just give me new circumstances. 673 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,720 Or maybe we think we need new information. 674 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,160 If I just read the right book or I talked to the right person 675 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,120 or I got the right counseling 676 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:52,520 or I went to the right conference 677 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,120 or I listened to the right podcast 678 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:55,840 or I found the perfect routine, 679 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,840 my life would finally be free of this disconnect 680 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,280 and I'd finally take the information that I have in my head 681 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,080 and it would go down into my heart and I would live it out. 682 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,960 But what we actually need is not new circumstances 683 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:10,800 and new information. 684 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,560 What we need is for the Holy Spirit 685 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,480 to make us mentally acknowledge 686 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,040 that mental knowledge that we have 687 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,160 to be backed up by experiential power. 688 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,160 We need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. 689 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:28,360 D.L. Moody once gave an illustration. 690 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,560 He held up a glass, like a cup, 691 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,120 and he held it up before a crowd and said, 692 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,120 how do I get the air out of this glass? 693 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,360 And he said, I could take a vacuum 694 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,560 and I could seal it up over it and suck all the air out, 695 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:45,040 but this glass is not working. 696 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:46,560 I could suck all the air out, 697 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,080 but this fragile little glass would just break and blow up 698 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,800 and that would not get the air out. 699 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,200 And then he walked over to a table 700 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,640 and he picked up a pitcher of water 701 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,960 and he held out the glass and he poured the water in slowly 702 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:02,840 and as the water filled up, he said, 703 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,160 look, the air is slowly displaced out of the glass. 704 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,720 I think a lot of us think we have to go into our lives 705 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,240 and we have to get new information or new circumstances 706 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:16,680 to go through and pick through all the sins of our hearts 707 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:17,520 to get us clean. 708 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,480 We gotta, I just gotta find them all. 709 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,560 I gotta find everything in the dark recesses of my heart 710 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,280 and I think the Spirit is saying, 711 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,600 no, you need to be filled with the Spirit. 712 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,320 The Spirit will displace the things in your heart 713 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:29,600 that shouldn't be there. 714 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:33,040 You need more of God's presence in your life, 715 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,560 not more activity, more trying to fish out 716 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:38,520 the dirty things of your heart. 717 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,360 You need more of Jesus, more of Jesus' Spirit, 718 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,440 more of the Holy Spirit at work within your heart. 719 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,880 Be filled with the Holy Spirit and then you will not, 720 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:48,400 dot, dot, dot. 721 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:49,400 Be filled with the Holy Spirit. 722 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:51,720 Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 723 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,240 Not so that you can have a better life. 724 00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:00,880 Not so that you can have better circumstances outside, 725 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,200 but so that your view of circumstances change altogether 726 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,080 and the purpose of your life changes 727 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,800 from being all about you to being all about 728 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,160 the glory of Christ because the Spirit will not come 729 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:15,080 and occupy a heart that is self-centered and all about you. 730 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:17,840 The Holy Spirit is here for one purpose. 731 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,000 His express highest call is to glorify Jesus 732 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,240 and if you pray, fill me up so that I can glorify Jesus, 733 00:34:25,240 --> 00:34:27,520 he will answer that prayer every single time. 734 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,920 Fill me up so that I can bring glory to Jesus. 735 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,480 He will fill you up and displace the things in your heart 736 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:34,760 that shouldn't be there. 737 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:36,640 You don't need to go picking around 738 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:37,760 and you don't need anyone else 739 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,720 nitpicking your sins either. 740 00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:42,560 You need more of the Holy Spirit in your life. 741 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,120 The Holy Spirit has the power to overcome sin. 742 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,640 It has the power to equip us to do the work of the gospel. 743 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,440 It has the power to send us out into this world 744 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,200 and have an effect, to preach the gospel 745 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:57,560 and things actually happen. 746 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,520 Hearts change, people fall under conviction and ask, 747 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,480 what must I do to be saved? 748 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,400 That's not our power. 749 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,000 That's not in a book somewhere. 750 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:08,400 That's the Holy Spirit. 751 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:09,600 And that's what we need. 752 00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:13,480 Just think about the apostles' experience. 753 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,200 Think about the apostles before Pentecost 754 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:18,520 and after Pentecost. 755 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:21,320 That's a different crew, man. 756 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,440 That's a different group of people. 757 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,640 Before, they hardly ever got anything that Jesus was saying. 758 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:28,800 They misunderstood him all the time. 759 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,080 They completely missed his teaching often. 760 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:32,200 They denied him. 761 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,600 They scattered when he was crucified. 762 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,320 They looked like weaklings, 763 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:41,320 not a crew that I would choose for anything noble. 764 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,520 And yet Jesus said, just hang on. 765 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,840 When I go, when I'm enthroned in heaven 766 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,040 and I send the Holy Spirit to you, just wait. 767 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,200 And in the upper room at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes 768 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,640 and Peter preaches his first written message 769 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,000 that we know of and what happens. 770 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:04,720 People were cut to the heart, asked, 771 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:06,800 what must we do to be saved? 772 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,720 Thousands gave their life to Christ. 773 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:13,560 Thousands committed to follow the same Peter 774 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:18,560 who days earlier was a denying weakling, 775 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:22,600 was filled with a power. 776 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:26,760 And people went, wait a sec, who are these people? 777 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:28,080 Who are they? 778 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,240 In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 36, it says, 779 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:36,400 something. 780 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,360 I love this, I really love this scripture, man. 781 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,160 It's talking about the work of the Spirit 782 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,120 when he comes to God's people. 783 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,200 It says, I will give you the power 784 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:56,080 to follow the same Peter 785 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:01,080 and he says, I will give them a new heart 786 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,160 and put a new spirit in them. 787 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,800 I will remove your heart of stone 788 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,960 and give you a heart of flesh. 789 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:12,720 I will place my spirit within you 790 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:16,160 and cause you to follow my statutes 791 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,720 and carefully observe my ordinances. 792 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:21,160 You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors 793 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,560 and you will be my people and I will be your God. 794 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:27,720 I will save you from all your uncleanliness. 795 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,920 I will summon the grain and make it plentiful. 796 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:32,760 I will not bring famine on you. 797 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:34,520 I will also make the fruit of the tree 798 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:36,600 and the produce of the field plentiful 799 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:38,440 so that you will no longer experience 800 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,440 reproach among the nations on account of famine. 801 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:44,160 You will remember your evil ways and your deeds 802 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:46,720 that were not good and you will loathe yourself 803 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:49,240 for your iniquities and detestable practices. 804 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:51,600 It is not for your sake that I will act. 805 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:53,360 This is what declares the Lord. 806 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,200 Let this be known to you. 807 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,520 Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, 808 00:37:58,520 --> 00:37:59,640 House of Israel. 809 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,760 This is what the Lord God says. 810 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,920 On the day I cleanse you from your iniquities, 811 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,320 I will cause the cities to be inhabited 812 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,840 and the ruins to be rebuilt. 813 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:14,120 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of dying, 814 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,920 lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by. 815 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:19,240 They will say, this land that was desolate 816 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:21,680 has become like the Garden of Eden. 817 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:25,320 The cities who were once ruined, desolate and demolished 818 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,040 are now fortified and inhabited. 819 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,720 Then the nations that remain around you will know 820 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,520 that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was demolished 821 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,360 and have replanted what was desolate. 822 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:38,360 I, the Lord, have spoken and I will do it. 823 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:42,840 It goes along and it has this beautiful poetic thing 824 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,280 like the Lord's gonna do all these beautiful things, 825 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:46,320 he's gonna give us our spirit 826 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,400 and then the reality hits, right? 827 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:49,800 Yeah, you're the sinner. 828 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:50,640 You're the sinner. 829 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:53,120 God's doing all of it. 830 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:56,840 He's putting a new spirit in you 831 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,520 to lead you to obey his commands. 832 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:02,640 He's washing you clean of all your iniquities. 833 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:06,800 He's taking away the guilt and shame of your heart. 834 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:10,080 You're the detestable sinner, he's the glorious Lord. 835 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:12,120 Let's bring glory to God. 836 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:15,240 Let's bring glory and honor to him. 837 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:18,640 Let our hearts be moved that he would take someone like me 838 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:20,560 and if you go, and I'm not a detestable sinner, 839 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:23,800 remember the false standards of righteousness we hold. 840 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:30,760 Remember, next to Jesus, we are all detestable sinners 841 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,120 in need of a savior, but the promise that God made 842 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:39,000 in Ezekiel is that he would send his spirit 843 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,880 and he would do in us what we could never do for ourselves. 844 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,960 We could never clean ourselves up good enough. 845 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,360 You will receive power when the spirit comes on you 846 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:52,000 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, 847 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,760 and to the ends of the earth. 848 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,840 I wanna remind that this is not power in general. 849 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,720 This is not power to get a better parking spot. 850 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:11,080 This is not power to wake up in the morning. 851 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:16,080 This is power to be a Christ-exalting, God-honoring, 852 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:20,320 Satan-defeating, deep as sin-convicting, 853 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,960 covenant-fulfilling, gospel-applying disciple 854 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,880 with the spirit of Christ alive in you. 855 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,240 If you are serious about living the life of Christ, 856 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:33,040 then you need the spirit's power more than anything, 857 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:38,200 but not power to help you do whatever it is that you want. 858 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,120 Power to bring glory and honor to Christ. 859 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:42,480 Power to exalt Christ. 860 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:45,720 Power to make Jesus glorious in your life 861 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,080 and in the lives of those around you 862 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,920 so that when they look into your unveiled face, 863 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,320 they see the glory of the Lord shining. 864 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:58,120 That's what the spirit is all about 865 00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:00,120 and he will answer those prayers. 866 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:03,560 And so church, how will we bring the gospel to life? 867 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:07,000 It will be that the spirit will be the spirit 868 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,080 that exalts Jesus and that convicts the world 869 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:13,320 is the same spirit that empowers our mission. 870 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,160 Without Jesus, we can't do it. 871 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:36,680 The question is how will you respond to the spirit?