Double barrelled support

Good morning friends, it's great to be here at church with you this morning.

We as a church have a vision to grow, St Paul's has a vision to grow.

It's a vision which was put before you a bit over two years ago, or actually about two years ago.

It's not the only time you've had one of these visions, you've had them in the past.

The vision fundamentally is not for people to come from other churches to this church,

but it's a vision for people to come to Christ.

And as you look at that vision for 10 congregations of 100 core members in about 10 years,

when you look at that, do you think it's possible?

Do you think it's possible?

Some of you will be sceptical because of the world in which we live.

It's going further and further away from Christianity.

Some of you are weary of bearing witness to Jesus and having so many rejections,

and you wonder whether it's possible.

Some of you are pumped up and think it's absolutely possible,

because what we'll do is we just bludgeon people until they become,

we just annoy them until they turn to Christ.

And so for those of you who are not discouraged,

I think maybe you should be.

And those of you who are,

these are words of encouragement and comfort here from the Lord Jesus.

And so grab your Bibles and turn to John 16.

You need your Bibles open in front of you.

I'd like you to follow along with me.

John 16, I'm going to focus primarily on verses 5 to 15.

And it was great to have the rest of it read,

but we're going to focus on 5 to 15.

So we're still with Jesus and the 11 disciples

in the last few hours of Jesus' life

in what is known as the farewell discourse.

For the disciples, it seems that it has been mostly bad news up until this point.

Verse 5 indicates that all this talk of Jesus' impending departure of the Father

via the cross has reduced the disciples to virtual silence.

Or as verse 6 says,

They are filled with grief.

The disciples are so self-absorbed that they are not really asking sympathetic questions

about what Jesus is doing, where he's going, and why.

They are so concerned about their problems,

their own feeling of abandonment,

their sense of impending crisis and doom,

that they do not really listen.

They grieve for themselves.

And yet in verse 7, Jesus says,

But I tell you the truth,

it is for your good that I'm going away.

Unless I go away, the counsellor will not come to you,

but if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus is saying to these grieving disciples,

feeling the sense of abandonment,

it's going to be better for you once I return to the Father,

because once I've gone, the Holy Spirit will come.

How is that possible?

How is it going to be better for them?

I mean, is this just another one of those good news, bad news jokes,

where the good news isn't really the good news after all?

Like the one I heard of the doctor who visited a patient after surgery

and said to him,

I've got some good news and some bad news.

The bad news is we amputated the wrong leg.

The good news is the bad leg is improving.

Now, the good news actually isn't good news.

It's just simply designed to stake the sting out of the bad news.

And is that what Jesus is doing here in verse 7?

Jesus says,

I think at least a couple of things in this section

that makes the coming of the Holy Spirit good news.

This is really good news.

This is especially important for grieving disciples

who have heard a lot of bad news up until this point.

Not only is Jesus departing,

but they've just heard, as we looked at last week when Sam was preaching,

that when Jesus departs, the world is going to hate them for his sake.

I mean, does it get any worse than this?

And so here's the good news in the coming of the Holy Spirit in this section.

Number one, the Holy Spirit will convict the world.

And number two, the Holy Spirit will minister to the disciples.

We saw last week that with the departure of Jesus,

it will be the disciples who will bear witness to him.

But it will be tough because the world is opposed to Jesus.

The word is, they will hate you for me.

Jesus is, in effect, passing on the baton of the task

of telling the world about him to his disciples.

But the good news here is they're not going to do it alone.

They're not alone in this task.

In fact, I think it would actually be more accurate

to say that Jesus is passing on the baton,

the task of telling the world about Jesus to the Holy Spirit.

So in chapter 15, verse 26, just flick back a little bit,

Jesus says,

When the counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father,

he will testify about me.

So the one who is going to testify is no longer Jesus,

but it is the Spirit.

And then if you look into chapter 16, verse 7,

But I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I'm going away.

Unless I go away, the counsellor will not come to you,

but if I go, I will send him to you.

And when he comes, he will convict the world of guilt

in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.

That little word convict in verse 8,

I think is the key to understanding verses 8 to 11.

Convict means to bring to light, or it means to expose.

And it has the idea of an exposure which puts to shame.

So the aim of the Holy Spirit's work is not to produce a guilty verdict,

because that is already there according to John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

The aim is to help us to see the perilous condition in which we stand before God.

It's like a bright spotlight shining into a dark night,

cutting through the darkness and revealing whatever was hidden in the darkness.

The Spirit comes to shine light into the world.

But what we need to see is it happens as the disciples testify to what Jesus has done,

that the Spirit is doing his work of convicting and exposing the world.

So I'll read again from chapter 15, verse 26.

When the counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father,

he will testify about me.

And then look at the very next verse.

And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

And so the way that the Spirit will convict the world

is as the disciples bear witness to Jesus.

Verses 8 to 11 are the central verses of this section,

and they reveal how the Spirit will convict the world.

He will point the spotlight, if you like,

and he will expose three areas.

The attitudes of the world,

the actions of the world,

and the accountability of the world.

Firstly, when the Spirit comes,

he will convict the world, verse 9,

in regard to sin,

because men do not believe in me.

Sin is where we place ourselves

at the centre of the universe.

It's an attitude that says,

I am the king.

Sin doesn't recognise that Jesus is God's appointed king.

And Jesus says that he will send the Spirit,

and he will be at work in the world,

bringing people to a self-conscious recognition

of personal and collective guilt.

The Spirit will expose the way people reject God,

and the way that they have rejected Jesus.

That they do not believe his claims,

that they do not accept his teaching,

that they do not turn to him for salvation

or discern their need of him.

The Spirit will come,

and as disciples speak,

he will convict the world of their sin,

of rejecting Jesus.

Secondly, the Spirit will expose the actions of the world,

and this has to do with the moral side of sin.

In verse 10,

in regard to righteousness,

because I am going to the Father,

where you can see me no longer.

It is quite amazing that,

as you read through John's Gospel,

to see how often Jesus clashed

with religious people,

with people who thought that

they were doing pretty much okay.

But as Jesus interacts with them,

what he does is he exposes them

as to being complete fakes,

as being shams.

And so the conviction in regard to righteousness here

has an ironic edge to it.

People of the world

do not normally think of themselves

as lost,

as sinners.

We struggle with that.

We have a much better view of ourselves

than we ought.

We naturally think of ourselves

as essentially righteous

until you have Jesus standing beside you.

I used to play tennis every week.

And after a while,

I started to think

I wasn't too bad at the game.

When you play with people

who are 10 to 15 years older than you,

it's not hard to think,

generally.

You pick your opponents well.

I knew I wasn't the best of the game.

I could see that.

But I certainly had my fair share of on days

and a few off days as well.

It wasn't until I did wedding prep

with a guy once,

I went there before going to tennis,

and I had my tennis gear,

and he said,

you play tennis?

I said, yeah, I do.

And he said, fantastic.

Fantastic.

After a few weeks,

he said, I play the occasional game of tennis.

We should play one day.

Awesome.

So this guy was younger than me,

so I thought at the very least,

I'll get some exercise.

And so we get up there,

and the first service told me

that I had made a grave mistake.

This guy was an A-grade tennis player.

And so I'm standing there.

I'm seeing him serve.

I know the ball's going to go to the right.

He does a beautiful kick in his serve.

I dive to the right,

and the ball goes to the left.

There's no...

What?

This guy could make a tennis ball do magic.

It was amazing.

Eventually, I'd just stand there

and just let me watch you play.

You know,

and in the end,

he thrashed me.

I got no point from him.

He didn't even make a mistake

in order for me to get a point.

He thrashed me.

And so the next time,

he said,

we should do this again someday.

Yes.

When I get over this demoralising defeat,

I will do that.

Next time,

I brought in someone else,

and we played doubles against him.

And he thrashed us both.

And so the way to handle that

is just never invite him back again.

And that's what we did.

You see,

after playing with him

for a very short time,

I realised I wasn't such a hotshot.

Perfection does that for you.

It exposes

your weaknesses

and your inadequacies.

And that is what

the perfect life of Jesus did

with everyone he met.

Compared with Jesus,

even the good things that we do,

which are mixed with

bad motives,

are like filthy rags

beside Jesus.

Until a person

who is satisfied

with their own righteousness

perceives its inadequacy,

its self-centredness,

its shortcomings,

its imperfections,

it is difficult

to perceive

how the good news

of the gospel

will ever be received

as good news.

The good news is

that in trusting Jesus,

not only is our sin

placed on Jesus,

but his perfect righteousness

is placed on us.

It becomes ours.

But if it is just

the work of the Holy Spirit

to show up

the false righteousness

of the world,

now that Jesus

returned to the Father,

what part do the disciples

play in that?

If we are walking

with him

and he's our partner

in this,

we know it is the Holy Spirit

who's bare witness,

but the disciples

must also bear witness.

In a sense,

we join the Holy Spirit

in preserving

the presence of Christ

in our Christ-rejecting world.

The Holy Spirit

in part discharges

his witnessing responsibility

by transforming

the righteousness

of the disciples.

The Holy Spirit

works

in the disciple

of Jesus

to produce

deep

biblical

righteousness

which convicts

the world

of its unrighteousness.

Our lives matter.

Our righteousness

matters.

the world

ought to be

convicted

of their

unrighteousness

by our righteousness.

So whether it is

through

his own

secret operation

or through

the disciples

of Jesus,

the Spirit

is actively

transforming.

Through the disciples

of Jesus,

he's actively

transforming,

he confronts

the world

with the

inadequacy

of its

own

self-righteousness.

The third

exposing work

of the Holy Spirit

is that he will

expose the world

to accountability.

People are not

right with God

because they have

rejected Christ

and therefore

they deserve

God's

punishment.

And the Holy Spirit's

job is

in effect

to pull our

heads out of

the sand

so that we can

recognize

the grave danger

that we are in.

the Holy Spirit

helps us to see

that we are on

a collision course

of judgment

with God

and that on

that process

of that collision

course

that all our

judgments

about Christ

and about God

and about the

spiritual realm

and about life

and death

are all wrong

judgments

without the

Spirit.

And so how

does the Spirit

do that?

Verse 11

He will expose

the world

of judgment

because

the prince

of this world

now stands

condemned.

He's talking

about Satan

when he talks

about the prince

of this world.

One of the first

things that happened

when Hitler

was overthrown

was that all

his cronies

apart from those

who committed suicide

and those who were

captured

they headed off

to South America.

Hitler had fallen

and their own

downfall

and their own

judgment

was a certainty

as a result.

And so as Jesus

goes to the cross

he sets in motion

a sequence of events

almost like a

domino effect.

Because Satan

has been judged

then the overthrow

of every individual

who belongs to him

is a certainty.

If your attitude

to Jesus

is one of rejection

then you are

in fact siding

with the prince

of this world.

And your eventual

overthrow

like his

your eventual

judgment

is a

dead certainty.

And so the

Holy Spirit

shines the light

of the gospel

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

in such a way

that our hearts

and our minds

our judgments

are all

exposed

for what they

are.

False.

Fake.

You see

having cotton

onto the

onto the fact

that our attitude

is one of rebellion

having seen

our actions

as like filthy

rags to God

it is clear

that we are

accountable to God

and that my friends

is not the work

of your intellect

it is the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Without the work

of the Spirit

shining

that into your

heart

and into your mind

you are not

capable of seeing it.

The world

is so depraved

left to our own

devices

we are so

depraved

we fail

to discern

what sin

righteousness

and judgment

really are

and only

by the Spirit's

deep convicting

work

can we ever

hope to recognize

the magnitude

of our misconceptions

and our gross

unbelief.

And so

these verses

I believe

serve to

foster

a quiet

confidence

in the heart

of every

believer

as we face

the responsibility

to bear witness

to Jesus.

These verses

firstly

humble us

and realize

what we are

not capable

of doing

and secondly

they are there

to foster

a quiet

confidence

in the heart

of every believer

with the

responsibility

to bear witness

to Jesus.

we look

around the

world

and we

wonder

how we

can ever

persuade

people to

believe in

the gospel

of the

Lord

Jesus

it just

seems like

nuts

on the

surface

we know

we don't

want to

stoop to

gimmicks

and playing

tricks

and manipulation

and we

know that

in the

end

intellectual

arguments

why they're

helpful

they alone

don't guarantee

anything

because it's

not a matter

of the

intellect

we know

of people

who know

certain facts

about

Christianity

who

probably

even know

the right

facts about

Jesus

and yet

who refuse

to trust

Jesus

we often

wonder

how will

we ever

penetrate

the wall

of unbelief

how will

we ever

penetrate

the wall

of unbelief

in Chatswood

let me

tell you

I would

quit

Christian

ministry

immediately

if I

was not

convinced

that it's

the Lord

Jesus

who is

building

his

church

and if

it wasn't

that the

father had

given people

to his

son

and that

the Holy

Spirit

is working

in the

world

to convict

the world

of its

sin

and its

righteousness

and its

judgment

I have

no confidence

that on

my own

I could

successfully

persuade

anyone

including

my

children

and I

can

persuade

them

of most

things

I have

no confidence

on my own

that I could

successfully

persuade

anyone

of their

deepest

need

and of

the truth

of the

gospel

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and therefore

I find

this passage

comforting

I have

not

been

abandoned

to do

the task

of bearing

witness to

the Lord

Jesus

such a

perspective

feels my

labour

and ought

to feel

your labour

for Christ

with such

a supreme

significance

that it

ought to

obliterate

any fear

of failure

because

your work

for the

Lord

is not

in

vain

but wait

there's

more

there's

more to

come from

this

passage

I was

tempted

to leave

it there

but we'd

only

probably

filled

in 15

minutes

some of

you may

say that's

enough

there is a

second ministry

the Holy

Spirit

and it

is linked

and it

is very

precious

it's

there in

verse 12

I have

much more

to say

to you

much more

than you

can now

bear

and so

there is

a sense

where

these

eleven

can't

take

any more

from

Jesus

because

their

confusion

and grief

they are

experiencing

and there's

also a

sense

where they

can't

fully

grasp

it

until

after

the

death

and

resurrection

and

ascension

of

Jesus

there's

not

clarity

to what

Jesus

is saying

at this

point

for them

and so

here's

the second

aspect

of the

Holy

Spirit's

work

he will

complete

the

revelation

of God

in Jesus

Christ

verse 13

but when

he the

spirit of

truth

comes

he will

guide you

into all

truth

he will

not speak

on his

own

he will

speak

only

what he

hears

and he

will tell

you

what is

yet

to come

chapter 14

in chapter

14

Jesus

promised

that the

spirit of

truth

will remind

the

disciples

of everything

that Jesus

taught

them

now he

is promising

something a

little bit

more

the 11

disciples

will be

led

into a

true

understanding

of the

saving

events

which are

about to

take place

they will

get clarity

on the

death and

resurrection

and ascension

of Jesus

and they

will be

given

glimpses

of the

future

the final

climax

of world

history

will

partially

be

unveiled

to them

so that

they will

be able

to get

a glimpse

of the

sweep

of God's

enormous

plan of

salvation

and the

central

part

that Jesus

plays in

it all

that's a

promise

for a

confused

bewilding

disciples

but in

leading them

to this

truth

the Holy

Spirit

was not

going to

speak

on his

own

Jesus

insists

he will

speak

only

what

he

hears

the

spirit

will

only

speak

of

what

he

hears

verse

13

but when

he

the

spirit

of

truth

comes

he

will

guide

you

into

all

truth

he

will

not

speak

on

his

own

he

will

speak

only

what

he

hears

and

he

will

tell

you

what

is

yet

to

come

he

will

bring

glory

to

me

by

taking

from

what

is

mine

and

making

it

known

to

you

all

that

belongs

to

the

father

is

mine

that

is

why

I

said

the

spirit

will

take

from

what

is

mine

and

make

it

known

to

you

and

so

what

these

verses

saying

is

that

the

general

subject

matter

of

the

spirit

is

restricted

but

it

is

a

glorious

restriction

the

spirit

will

take

that

which

is

Jesus

is

and

make

it

known

to

the

disciples

of

Jesus

and

so

the

focus

here

is

entirely

on

Jesus

even

when

the

spirit

comes

the

role

of

the

spirit

here

is

to

bring

glory

to

Jesus

as

it

says

it

was

necessary

for

Jesus

to

be

glorified

by

going

to

the

father

by

way

of

the

cross

but

when

he

leaves

it's

not

time

now

for

the

spirit

to

receive

glory

but

for

Christ

to

receive

more

glory

through

the

ministry

of

the

spirit

and

that

of

his

disciples

as

Jesus

took

that

which

belongs

to

the

father

and

made

it

known

to

his

disciples

so

the

spirit

takes

that

which

belongs

to

Jesus

and

makes

it

known

to

us

nothing

brings

more

glory

to

our

Lord

Jesus

than

for

his

followers

to

become

steeped

in

all

truth

concerning

him

let me

just say

that

again

nothing

brings

more

glory

to

our

Lord

Jesus

than

for

his

followers

to

become

steeped

in

all

truth

concerning

him

of

course

the

acquisition

of

that

truth

is

intellectual

but

it

is

not

merely

intellectual

so

if

you're

down

the

line

which

says

we

need

to

abandon

intellectualism

in the

Christian

faith

you

need

to

feel

stuff

about

the

spirit

you're

wrong

if

you're

down

the

other

line

and

says

what

we

need

to

do

is

sit

and

contemplate

and

just

intellectualize

this

stuff

and

not

be

moved

to

worship

out

of

the

heart

you're

wrong

as

this

truth

is

truly

absorbed

by the

followers

of the

Lord

Jesus

it

transforms

us

enabling

us

to

reflect

the

righteousness

and the

glory

of the

Lord

Jesus

and

thereby

bring

praise

to his

name

glory

comes

to

Jesus

when

the

truths

of the

gospel

are

established

in

our

lives

in

such

a

way

that

we

are

overwhelmed

to

the

point

of

praise

and

overflow

in

righteousness

and

so

the

bad

news

the

disciples

are

grieving

over

here

is

that

Jesus

going

to

the

cross

is

in

fact

actually

the

good

news

it

really

is

good

news

it

is

good

news

for

us

and

it

was

good

news

for

them

and

it's

in

fact

good

news

for

the

rest

of

the

world

and

so

can

I

say

I

just

want

to

praise

God

that

we

are

not

left

alone

to do

this

work

of

bearing

witness

to

Jesus

in

Chatswood

and

beyond

Chatswood

we're

not

left

alone

to

that

task

if

you

feel

inadequate

to

that

task

I

think

you

probably

should

praise

God

that

the

spirit

is

at

work

in

this

world

bringing

conviction

as

we

faithfully

and

boldly

speak

out

the

truth

of

the

gospel

praise

God

that

the

work

of

the

spirit

is

bringing

the

truths

of

Christ

into

my

life

and

I

pray

that

he

will

continue

to bring

transformation

to me

and to

you

so that

we shine

forth

not just

the truth

of the

gospel

but the

life of

righteousness

as well

so may we

consistently

here at

St. Paul's

rely upon the

spirit for

empowerment

to lead us

into all

truth

and for

that truth

to bring

transformation

to our

lives

and for

that

transformation

that

truth

to have

an

impact

in

such

a

way

that

we

bear

witness

to

this

world

and the

spirit

will bring

conviction

to people's

lives

for their

great need

for Christ

for his

glory

forever

and ever

Amen