WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:05.030 I do hope that you were listening in and heard 00:00:05.030 --> 00:00:08.310 the last message that I gave on the person of 00:00:08.310 --> 00:00:11.269 the Holy Spirit. For the message that I shall 00:00:11.269 --> 00:00:19.129 give today will mean so much more to you. Remember 00:00:19.129 --> 00:00:26.510 when I left you in my last message. It was a 00:00:26.510 --> 00:00:32.689 determined fact. that the Holy Spirit as a person 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:40.070 in the world today has a definite work that he 00:00:40.070 --> 00:00:43.850 is doing. Before Jesus went away, one of the 00:00:43.850 --> 00:00:48.189 very last things that he did was to tell of the 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:51.289 coming of the Holy Spirit. And in telling of 00:00:51.289 --> 00:00:57.049 his coming, he also told of the definite work. 00:00:57.549 --> 00:01:02.189 that the Holy Spirit would be doing while He 00:01:02.189 --> 00:01:09.189 was here in residence on this earth. And I left 00:01:09.189 --> 00:01:12.549 you, if you remember, with that portion of the 00:01:12.549 --> 00:01:15.189 Word of God as found in the 16th chapter of John. 00:01:16.370 --> 00:01:22.730 And we see here from this scripture that the 00:01:22.730 --> 00:01:28.859 Holy Spirit's work as to the world is threefold. 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.500 Let me read it to you just once. It's found in 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:35.140 the 16th chapter of John, beginning with the 00:01:35.140 --> 00:01:40.700 8th verse. And he, when he is come, will convict 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:44.819 the world in respect of sin and of righteousness 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:49.219 and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe 00:01:49.219 --> 00:01:52.500 not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:56.439 the Father and ye behold me no more. of judgment, 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:02.200 because the prince of this world hath been judged. 00:02:02.939 --> 00:02:07.439 Now, from this scripture, we see that the Holy 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:12.639 Spirit is doing a threefold work in the world 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:19.479 today. First, to convict the world of sin. And 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:23.379 I explain that portion of the word of God to 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:28.759 you. in my last message. Second, to convict the 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.319 world of righteousness. And third, to convict 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:37.400 the world of judgment. Now for a very few minutes, 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:42.500 you and I are going to consider the second of 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:46.580 the work of the Holy Spirit here on this earth 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:53.110 and while He is in the world. To convict... the 00:02:53.110 --> 00:02:59.430 world of righteousness. Let me first of all ask 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:06.330 just one question. What is righteousness? When 00:03:06.330 --> 00:03:12.270 we think of righteousness, we must remember that 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:16.629 it must be conformed to the divine standard of 00:03:16.629 --> 00:03:22.139 right and justice, to be upright. and blameless. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:28.780 But it is not the world's righteousness that 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:33.520 is here meant, for it has none. It is the righteousness 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:40.080 of Jesus. When Jesus was here on earth, he claimed 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:45.520 to be the very Son of God. He claimed to forgive 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:52.659 sins. to be himself holy and sinless, and that 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:55.639 whosoever believed on him should have eternal 00:03:55.639 --> 00:04:01.180 life. Those were his claims. And believe me, 00:04:01.259 --> 00:04:07.939 those were claims that were mighty hard for men 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:11.360 and women to accept. What would you think of 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:16.000 one coming in our midst, claiming to be the very 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:22.519 Son of God, claiming to be absolutely holy without 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:29.540 sin, claiming to forgive sins, claiming that 00:04:29.540 --> 00:04:34.439 whosoever believed on him should have eternal 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:40.860 life. It was very difficult for men and women 00:04:40.860 --> 00:04:46.040 to accept to believe his claims while he was 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:51.100 here on earth. He went to the cross under charges 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:58.180 of sedition and blasphemy. Even amid his dying 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:04.300 agonies, the challenge was hurled at him as spittle 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:12.639 ran down his flesh. If thou... Be the Son of 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:18.600 God. Come down from the cross. All that challenge. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:23.579 Listen to the challenge from the lips of that 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:32.879 angry mob. If thou be the Son of the Living God, 00:05:33.100 --> 00:05:39.399 if you are all that you say that you are, then... 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:43.439 Come down from the cross. Come on. Prove yourself 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:49.420 now. He failed to justify his claim by coming 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:54.339 down from the cross. He died as an ordinary mortal 00:05:54.339 --> 00:05:59.459 dies. The shades of night found him locked in 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:04.959 the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and a Roman guard 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:08.910 keeping watch. There was nothing supernatural 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:12.930 about that. It was all just as human as could 00:06:12.930 --> 00:06:17.769 be. Where now are all of his claims to deity? 00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:23.850 He died as any ordinary man died. He died as 00:06:23.850 --> 00:06:30.569 any thief would have died. Where now are all 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:38.129 his claims to deity? He said, that he was the 00:06:38.129 --> 00:06:40.949 very son of the living God, and yet truly there 00:06:40.949 --> 00:06:45.490 was no deity manifested in his death, none whatsoever. 00:06:47.189 --> 00:06:53.750 Was that to be the end of all his claims? Suppose 00:06:53.750 --> 00:06:57.709 he remained in the tomb and had not risen. What 00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:05.189 evidence would we have had he remained in the 00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:11.939 tomb? Had there been no resurrection, how would 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:17.139 we have known that he was all that he said that 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:21.920 he was? How would we have known that he was not 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:25.519 an imposter, a false messiah, like many before 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:30.540 him? None. Absolutely none. If Christ be not 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:34.800 risen, the scripture says, then is our preaching 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:40.790 vain. and your faith is vain also. If Jesus had 00:07:40.790 --> 00:07:44.470 not risen from the grave, that would have been 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:49.269 the end of his righteousness. The fact, then, 00:07:49.310 --> 00:07:56.149 that Jesus rose from the dead is proof that his 00:07:56.149 --> 00:08:01.790 claims were true, and thus his righteousness 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:05.800 was established. and that he was declared to 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.639 be the Son of God with power according to the 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:16.240 Spirit of Holiness, the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:22.420 from the dead. Remember, the proof of the deity 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:27.459 and divinity of Jesus Christ was not in his death. 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:34.960 Sometimes I... think that we make so much over 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.860 the crucifixion of Jesus, his death on the cross. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:45.980 Hundreds had died in the same way. The proof 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:52.720 of his deity was not in his death on the cross. 00:08:53.639 --> 00:08:59.799 Know that. The proof of his deity and his divinity. 00:09:01.450 --> 00:09:08.169 was in his glorious resurrection. The fact that 00:09:08.169 --> 00:09:12.590 Jesus rose from the dead is proof that his claims 00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:18.529 were true. His righteousness, this righteousness 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:25.029 that the word of God is referring to when it 00:09:25.029 --> 00:09:31.480 says the Holy Spirit. will reprove the world 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:36.860 of sin and of righteousness. This is the righteousness 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:41.840 that the Holy Spirit is reproving the world of 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:46.740 and is proving to the world this very day. This 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:53.120 righteousness. His claims were true. And thus 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:59.370 his righteousness was established. And he was 00:09:59.370 --> 00:10:05.529 declared to be the Son of God with power according 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:10.210 to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection 00:10:10.210 --> 00:10:14.509 from the dead. Pause a minute. Consider something. 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:19.450 The standard miracle of the Old Testament is 00:10:19.450 --> 00:10:24.370 the opening of the Red Sea. And the standard 00:10:24.370 --> 00:10:28.710 miracle of the New Testament is the resurrection 00:10:28.710 --> 00:10:35.789 and the exaltation of Jesus is the indisputable 00:10:35.789 --> 00:10:45.269 proof of his righteousness. But how is the world 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:49.309 to know and be convinced of this glorious fact? 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:54.029 That, beloved, is the work of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:58.820 I want you to see something that's very remarkable. 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:05.820 We speak of His resurrection. We believe in His 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:11.279 glorious resurrection. We have every confidence 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:17.720 of His wonderful, supernatural resurrection. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:25.940 But there is more than His resurrection. there 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:36.240 is also his exaltation. Know that. Even though 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:42.200 there was proof of his resurrection, how do we 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:49.720 know that he is this very hour seated at the 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:53.700 right hand of God the Father in position of great 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:57.860 high priest? ever living to make intercession 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:04.679 for you and for me. In just our common language 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:09.500 today, let me put it like this. How do we know 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:15.259 that he made it from earth to glory? That's right. 00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:23.769 How do we know for sure that he is seated at 00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:27.009 the right hand of God the Father, something might 00:12:27.009 --> 00:12:30.769 have gone wrong. Something might have happened 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:33.850 from the time that his feet left the Mount of 00:12:33.850 --> 00:12:39.850 Olives until he reached the Father's throne. 00:12:40.190 --> 00:12:46.629 How can I be sure? How do I know that I have 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:52.059 a great high priest? How can I be sure that he's 00:12:52.059 --> 00:12:58.019 there and I can confess my sins to him? Oh, to 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:02.220 me this is glorious. Follow me a minute. Why 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:05.559 are the disciples of Jesus knew that he had been 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:10.679 raised from the dead? They did not know whether 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:15.379 he had been exalted. And they could not know 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:21.940 unless a witness. was sent from heaven. And the 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:28.500 witness that was sent was the Holy Ghost. Now, 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:33.220 let me just give you a homey illustration. If 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:35.259 a friend should tell you that he was going to 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:37.779 take a trip to the Holy Land, and that when he 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:43.240 reached his destination, that he would send you, 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:49.529 oh, let me say, a box of figs. Now, even though 00:13:49.529 --> 00:13:53.409 you did not hear from him by cable or even though 00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:58.450 he did not send you a letter, the fact that you 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:03.769 received the box of figs that he said that he 00:14:03.769 --> 00:14:09.629 would send you upon reaching the Holy Land would 00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:14.129 be evidence sufficient that he had reached his 00:14:14.129 --> 00:14:21.960 destination. And so, the fact that the promised 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:25.759 gift of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:31.659 was visible evidence and sufficient evidence 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:36.240 to the disciples that Jesus had reached heaven 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:39.299 and that the Father had approved of his work 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:42.759 here on earth and had accepted the sacrifice 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:49.000 of the cross. as an acknowledgement of his righteousness, 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:56.379 and had exalted him to a seat beside himself 00:14:56.379 --> 00:15:05.379 on his throne. Oh, that's thrilling. We have 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:12.539 proof positive. There is no room for unbelief. 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:21.399 There is no room for anxiety on our part whatsoever. 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.620 Peter's defense before the consul were these 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:31.480 words. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:38.740 whom ye slew, and hanged on the cross. Him hath 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:45.149 God exalted with his right hand. That is, drew 00:15:45.149 --> 00:15:50.629 him up with his right hand to a seat at his right 00:15:50.629 --> 00:15:54.990 hand on his throne to be prince. For remember, 00:15:55.090 --> 00:16:01.549 he is not yet king. And a savior for to give 00:16:01.549 --> 00:16:05.549 repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 00:16:06.169 --> 00:16:11.330 And we... The disciples are his witnesses of 00:16:11.330 --> 00:16:17.269 these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost. 00:16:18.710 --> 00:16:25.009 You know, the law required two witnesses. Read 00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:27.769 it, the 17th chapter of Deuteronomy, the 6th 00:16:27.769 --> 00:16:31.110 verse. Now while the disciples could bear witness 00:16:31.110 --> 00:16:35.269 to the crucifixion, and the resurrection, and 00:16:35.269 --> 00:16:38.340 the ascension of Jesus, they could not testify 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:43.779 to his exaltation, as that was beyond their human 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:48.440 vision. But the Holy Ghost could, for the Holy 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:55.159 Ghost had witnessed to the exaltation of Jesus. 00:16:56.980 --> 00:17:01.899 The Holy Ghost had seen him at the right hand 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:05.180 of God the Father in position of great high priest. 00:17:06.190 --> 00:17:10.710 before he ever came to this earth to take up 00:17:10.710 --> 00:17:19.029 his residence. He did come and bear witness that 00:17:19.029 --> 00:17:26.230 Jesus had been exalted. Therefore, the law that 00:17:26.230 --> 00:17:35.170 required two witnesses had been satisfied. If 00:17:35.170 --> 00:17:40.150 Jesus had not been what he claimed to be, the 00:17:40.150 --> 00:17:44.769 Father would never have received him back and 00:17:44.769 --> 00:17:50.049 exalted him. And the Holy Spirit would never 00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:57.549 have been sent to testify to his exaltation. 00:17:58.630 --> 00:18:04.680 The Holy Spirit, then, is the... Only one who 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:10.819 can convince the world of the righteousness of 00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:16.740 Jesus. That's what this scripture means. When 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:21.880 he has come, he will reprove the world of sin 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:28.200 and of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Ours? 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:35.309 No. The righteous. of Jesus, having been accepted 00:18:35.309 --> 00:18:39.569 to the Father and is now in position of great 00:18:39.569 --> 00:18:46.029 high priest. That's why, beloved, I am so certain, 00:18:46.230 --> 00:18:57.089 I am so sure that I have a priest. I have a glorious 00:18:57.089 --> 00:19:03.500 priest. A priest to whom I confess all of my 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:11.119 sins. A priest to whom I confess all of my failures 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:16.619 and all of my shortcomings. I talk to him every 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:23.099 day. He knows me better than I know myself. He 00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:27.359 understands that I am made of dust. He knows 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:34.240 my failures. He knows my weaknesses. He knows 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:40.619 I have no righteousness of my own. He knows me 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:45.259 so completely and is so compassionate that he's 00:19:45.259 --> 00:19:49.519 even touched with the feeling of my infirmity. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:56.619 I go to him. I have positive proof that he's 00:19:56.619 --> 00:20:02.029 there. Because the Holy Spirit came and did give 00:20:02.029 --> 00:20:12.230 witness of his exaltation. Seeing then that we 00:20:12.230 --> 00:20:20.029 have a great high priest, all to be this wonderful. 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:26.950 Not an earthly priest. We had an earthly priest. 00:20:27.850 --> 00:20:32.910 before the exaltation of Jesus to the right hand 00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:37.569 of God the Father. But now Jesus has taken that 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:43.490 position. Seeing then that we have a great high 00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:50.569 priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:57.490 the Son of God, let us hold fast. our profession 00:20:57.490 --> 00:21:04.130 for we have not an high priest which cannot be 00:21:04.130 --> 00:21:08.029 touched with the feeling of our infirmities but 00:21:08.029 --> 00:21:14.990 was in all points tempted like as we are yet 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:25.279 without sin therefore Let us come boldly unto 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:30.019 the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy 00:21:30.019 --> 00:21:40.240 and find grace to help in time of need. And that 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.500 great high priest will hear the slightest whisper 00:21:44.500 --> 00:21:48.880 from that heart of yours. He sees that falling 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:54.339 tear. He is there making intercession for you 00:21:54.339 --> 00:21:57.299 night and day.