The Spirit who can change hearts

We're going to be reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 16, if you'd like to turn there.

John 16 · chapter mention

We're going to be starting from the middle of verse 4, which is the start of the paragraph there.

And just a bit of context, we're going to be reading Jesus' words to his disciples the night before he's crucified.

John, chapter 16, starting halfway through verse 4.

John 16 · chapter mention

I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, where are you going?

But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.

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

And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.

Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.

Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

For he will not speak on his own authority.

But whatever he hears, he will speak.

And he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me.

For he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

All that the Father has is mine.

Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Okay.

Voices have died down.

Why don't we make a start?

My name is Dave.

I'm one of the pastors here.

If you don't know me, thanks for being with us.

I'm going to pray before we look at God's word.

Would you pray with me?

Lord God, you are not silent, but you speak.

You are not distant, but you are with us.

And so we ask that you would speak to each of our hearts this morning.

Lord, I pray that you would give each of us ears to hear you,

minds to understand and hearts that actually cherish what you say.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, when we are stuck in our sin or paralyzed by discouragement

or feeling inadequate to do any good,

when our heart is more in love with what the world has to offer

rather than the joy and the peace that Jesus has to offer,

what hope do we have that we can change?

I reckon surely if Jesus was standing right in front of us,

in the flesh,

he could set us free from our sin.

His presence would renew us, encourage us, put us back on our feet.

His power would be visible,

and desire for him would trump whatever the world has to offer.

Surely if he was right here, that would help us, that would change us.

But the surprising thing that our Lord says to us this morning in our passage

is that it is to your advantage.

It is better for you that I go away.

How can that possibly be better?

When a family member doesn't want to believe in Jesus,

when they make you feel stupid,

perhaps even ashamed,

for believing what Jesus says,

how can it be better that Jesus isn't here?

When Christians and churches argue and distance themselves from one another

over small differences,

how can it be better that Jesus isn't here?

When you've got me and Rob and David to stand up here and preach,

how is it not better that Jesus isn't here preaching?

When we want all of Glendale and all university students

and all of Myanmar and PNG and Pillard to hear the good news

and believe and have eternal life,

how is it not better that Jesus isn't here?

During the days of the Reformation,

when Martin Luther was making a stand for the gospel

that we are saved by grace alone,

through faith alone,

in Christ alone,

by God's word alone,

but those with all the power in this world

were hunting him down to kill him,

how is it not better that Jesus wasn't here at that time?

When in the early days of the church

and Roman emperors who had all the power

sometimes systematically

attacked the Christians,

burning rare copies of the Bible,

killing church leaders,

and sometimes ordering an empire-wide,

everyone in the empire had to sacrifice the Roman gods

or be executed.

How is it not better at that time for the church

when it was just starting

for Jesus not to be here,

to protect it?

Or when the church began initially,

it was just 120 people,

less people than in this room,

and ordinary people,

alone and fearful in Jerusalem,

and yet they're tasked

to take the good news to the whole world.

How is it not better that Jesus

wasn't here?

How is it not better?

How is it not better?

How is it not better that Jesus wasn't here?

Let's find out.

Let's listen to John 16.

In John 16,

we're in the upper room,

and in about 24 hours,

Jesus will be dead.

So like a commander,

he's preparing his troops

for the battle to come.

Up to this point,

he's been with them,

absorbing all the hostility upon himself,

with the disciples tucked safely behind him.

But he warns us,

this hostility won't stop once he's gone,

it's just going to be redirected to his people.

Don't be surprised.

Hold your ground.

Keep telling people the truth.

But the people of this world

aren't only lacking information about God.

If they were,

every single person who met Jesus

would have believed.

But that didn't happen.

What is the real problem?

What's the real obstacle?

John 3, verse 19 tells us,

John 3:19

and this is the judgment.

The light has come into the world,

and people loved the darkness

rather than the light

because their works were evil.

How do you like it when in the dark

someone turns the light on?

It's really annoying, isn't it?

How will Jesus' disciples have any success

in bringing people who love darkness

into the light of knowing God?

Jesus is saying,

get ready to take all the hits,

stand firm,

continue offering the world

what it doesn't want.

In the TV series,

Blackadder Goes Forth,

Rowan Atkinson plays Captain Blackadder,

and he's in the trenches during World War II,

and in one scene,

the army general pays a visit to the trenches

before the troops go over the top

and advance towards the enemies

with their machine guns.

And the general asks the soldier,

Baldrick,

are you looking forward to the big push?

to which Baldrick replies,

no, sir,

I'm absolutely terrified.

The general laughs,

ah,

the healthy humour of the honest Tommy,

don't worry, my boy,

if you should falter,

remember I am right behind you.

To which Rowan Atkinson says,

yes,

about 35 miles behind you.

The disciples are filled with sorrow

in their heart.

And it seems reasonable, doesn't it?

Our King is leaving us.

Have you ever felt disillusioned

with the local church?

discouraged from not seeing any fruit?

Perhaps you've even experienced

the sting of hostile friends and families

who are trying to turn off the light.

But is it right for the apostles then

and for us now to be filled with sorrow?

Is it right?

Jesus doesn't think so.

He draws the disciples' attention

to the fact that none of you ask me

where I'm going.

Why should they be focused on that?

And didn't Peter just hours before

ask that very question?

I think when Peter asked it,

he wasn't focused on the actual answer.

But like a child who expects

to spend the day with their dad

and their dad is called in to work

for an emergency

and the child asks the dad,

where are you going?

It's an expression of feeling abandoned.

Why are you leaving me?

The disciples aren't focused

on where Jesus is going.

They're focused on the hardships

that his leaving will mean for them.

So why should they

and why should we

be focused on where Jesus is going?

Sometimes I can get into this

self-pitying headspace

where woe is me.

All I can think about

is the negative impacts on me

and Emma has to put up with me.

I don't know if you've experienced this,

but what do I need

at that point in time

to put my attention to?

What's going to refresh my perspective

and give me new strength?

I need to remember

why Jesus left.

I need to remember where he is

and how he's giving me,

he's giving us all we need

to face the circumstances

that we're in.

Our king

is not

35 miles

behind us.

The king

we serve,

he went alone

into the battle

that won the war.

He took upon himself

the full force

of the hatred of the world.

He let Satan

have his hour over him.

He took our sin

and he ran straight

towards the wrath

and judgment of God.

He did it for us.

Without him leaving,

I would still love

the darkness.

But now he is raised

to the Father's side

in all authority

and he's raised us

with him.

we no longer belong

to the world

but we are

the eternal children

of God.

And you and I

right here and now

have all the authority

of heaven

at work

to help us

in every single moment

that we face.

That's not reason

for sorrow,

that's reason

for rejoicing.

But even at this

late hour,

the apostles

still don't get

what Jesus

is about to do

for them.

They have the truth

sitting right across

from them

but the truth

hasn't gripped

their hearts yet.

Jesus is going

to win

the decisive battle

but even when

he's gone,

it's still better

for the church

that he isn't here.

while we represent

him on earth.

So why is it better?

Verse 7,

have a look.

For if I do not

go away,

the helper

will not come

to you

but if I go,

I will send

him to you.

We're not told

why the Holy Spirit

can't be sent

until Jesus

is gone.

It could be

because

it's only once

Christ gets

the victory

that the Holy Spirit

can apply

that victory

into our hearts

but whatever

the reason,

Jesus says

it's better

that he leaves

and the Spirit

comes

and he explains

why.

He doesn't leave

it at that.

He helps us

understand why.

The Spirit's

going to do

two things.

Notice the Spirit's

two names.

They tell us

what his two works

will be.

In verses

8 to 11

he's the helper

which doesn't

mean he's

a personal

assistant.

The word

doesn't have

an exact

translation

for English

but it's

more like

a legal

prosecutor

who argues

for the truth

convicting

unbelieving

hostile hearts

of the truth

of Christ.

And in

verses 12

to 15

he's called

the Spirit

of Truth

because he

guides Christ's

people

into all

truth

by speaking

on behalf

of Christ

and about

Christ.

So let's

take a closer

look at each

of these.

First

the prosecutor.

Verse 8

Now these

verses are

difficult.

When I first

read them

I was so

confused.

I was like

what is

going on?

But once

we look at

them it's

really

encouraging.

We don't

have time to

go through

all the

detail of

the verses

so let me

just highlight

the overall

flow of

what's being

said here.

When the

Spirit's

work is

mentioned in

the New

Testament

it's nearly

always in

Christians,

among

Christians.

But here

the Spirit

will be

working in

the unbelieving

world.

So picture

an average

Australian

happy in

their

materialistic

self-centered

lifestyle.

not

interested in

God

because

they're

convinced

the

universe

created

itself

and yet

self-assured

that they

are a good

person.

So much

so that

there's not

even slight

fear that

God's

judgment

might be

coming.

What hope

of change

is there in

a heart

like that?

if we

really

polish our

church

services

and our

ministries

is that

going to

change?

From

culture to

culture the

expression of

this is going

to change.

From

person to

person the

expression of

this unbelief

is going to

change.

But what is

universal is

that humanly

speaking it is

impossible

that a

single heart

is changed.

And that's

why these

verses are

such good

news.

It's the

only reason

we're here

this morning.

There's only

one power

that gives

us any

hope.

The Holy

Spirit

convicting a

person's

heart of

the truth.

Notice

that this

conviction is

all centred

on Jesus

and what

he has

done.

about sin

because they

do not

believe in

me.

If Jesus

is the

exact measure

of what is

right and

good but

someone just

disregards

Jesus,

how can a

person even

see their

own sin

clearly?

They've

already

disregarded the

measure of

what's good.

The Spirit

must show

someone their

sin.

Otherwise

we're blind

to it.

Whenever

you see

your sin

that is

God's

grace.

About

righteousness

because I

go to the

Father and

you see me

no longer.

If you

ask someone

today are

you a good

person?

I think

most people

would say

yeah,

I'm pretty

good.

But what's

the measure

they're using

to evaluate

their own

righteousness?

While Jesus

was on

earth,

his righteousness

exposed every

false measure

of righteousness.

righteousness.

But since

Jesus goes

to the

Father,

he is

vindicated

as being

the only

true

righteous

one.

Even

though the

world condemned

him,

he is

righteous.

And when he

says we see

him no longer,

he's referring

to his

death.

He's leaving.

he's going

to die in

order to

give us

true

righteousness.

The

Holy Spirit

alone can

expose a

person's

false sense

of goodness

and also

convict a

person of

Jesus'

true

righteousness.

About

judgment.

Because the

ruler of

this world

is judged.

Despite

the world

deciding that

Jesus should

die,

what really

happened on

the cross

was that

Jesus judged

the ruler of

this world,

Satan,

and all who

belong to

him by

believing

lies.

The cross

of Jesus

tells the

world that

they stand

under God's

judgment.

judgment.

A person

needs to be

convicted of

their wrong

assessment of

Jesus and

convicted that

they are in

danger of

God's

judgment.

This is

good news.

What hope is

there that

unbelieving,

hostile hearts

can change?

What hope is

there is that

the spirit

smashes through

unbelief and

presses the

truth into

someone's

heart?

If you

believe in

Jesus this

morning, you

didn't just

need information

to make an

informed choice.

You needed the

spirit to break

you down, to

get into your

heart, to

smash through

our unbelief,

expose your

sin, expose

your false

measure of

goodness,

expose that

you're in

danger of

the judgment

of God and

then show you

Christ and

how good he

is and that

he's able to

save us.

Praise God for

the spirit's work

in our hearts.

It is a

miracle if you

believe.

But by what

means does the

spirit usually do

this heart

convicting work?

The primary

instrument he

uses is the

witness of

Christ's people.

Notice that

although the

spirit works in

the world, that

the spirit is

given to you,

to the

disciples.

And at the

end of the

previous chapter,

the hostile

world will be

taken on by

the spirit

bearing witness

and the

church, the

disciples bearing

witness.

They're united in

doing that.

The spirit works

through the

witness of the

church.

As we live

for the truth,

as we speak

the truth, if

the spirit takes

that and works

it in a

person's heart,

how can our

witness fail to

achieve everything

that God wants

it to achieve?

You and I

can't get to a

person's heart.

I don't believe I

can, preaching

this morning.

I can't get to a

person's heart.

But that's not my

job.

That's not our

job.

That's not a

burden we should

carry.

That's the

spirit's job.

But the

spirit does use

us, his local

church, as his

primary instrument.

And that's why

the second work

of the Holy

Spirit in verses

12 to 15 is

just as critical

and exactly what

we need.

The apostles

couldn't handle

all that they were

hearing from Jesus.

It wasn't sinking

in.

Partly that's

because Jesus

hadn't died and

risen yet.

But it's also

probably because

like us all,

grasping the

truth is not a

one-time event.

It's an ongoing

process.

So this is what

the spirit does for

us.

Look at verse

14.

In an even

better way, the

church does have

Christ speaking

to us, but

speaking by the

spirit into our

hearts so that we

actually believe

what we hear.

like the

son only

speaking with

the authority

of the father,

so the spirit

will only speak

with the

authority of

the son.

In other

words, there

is no more

truth about God

to be found

that is outside

of Jesus.

It's all in

Jesus.

The spirit

places the

entire spotlight

on Christ.

Christ.

He wants

Christ to get

all the glory

in our hearts,

in the world.

He wants us

to know him,

believe him,

and love him.

The spirit

took what the

apostles saw

as they lived

with Jesus

through his

earthly ministry

the whole way

through.

He took

what the

apostles saw

and then

he made

them believe

it and

taught them

the implications

of all that

they saw,

how to live

the Christian

way.

So this work

of the spirit

is first

for the

apostles.

Then through

the teaching

of the

apostles,

the spirit

works all

truth into

the hearts

of the entire

church down

through the

ages,

from generation

to generation.

We only

know about

Christ because

of the

New Testament,

because of

God's word

showing us

the Old

Testament,

the promises

being fulfilled.

We only know

that through

the apostles'

testimony.

testimony.

Through the

word of God,

the spirit

speaks into

our hearts.

And there's

so many

encouraging

implications

of this.

You and

I don't

need to go

searching for

God's voice

in our gut

feelings.

We don't

need to go

searching for

God's voice

in a random

lyric playing

on the radio.

We search

for God's

voice in

the truth

of God's

word.

Whenever you

read it,

whenever you

hear truthful

teaching,

when your

friend speaks

it to you,

you are

hearing the

spirit speak.

God's word

is not this

static textbook

that we

dissect and

analyze.

God's word

is alive and

active because

the spirit is

at work

speaking through

the word

to glorify

Christ.

God is

speaking.

Now some

truths will

grip us in

a penny

drop moment.

We'll just

say, oh wow,

I never saw

that before.

But I think

other truths

are just bit

by bit by bit

by bit,

like a stream

cutting away

the rock.

The spirit

is at work

speaking to

our hearts,

helping us

understand

Christ.

We are

not left

alone to

understand

Christ, to

believe Christ,

to live for

him.

The spirit

is among

us and in

us,

speaking.

Now I

don't think

this should

make us

lazy and

passive.

I think

this actually

gives us

confidence

that any

effort we

put in at

small group

discussion,

in Grace

Kids, over

the dinner

table, one

to ones, in

all our

conversations

with one

another, any

effort that we

put in to

help one

another know

Christ better,

this gives us

confidence that

the spirit is

taking that and

working it in

our hearts.

it's not

useless, he's

powerfully at

work.

So let's

return to our

original question,

how can it

possibly be

better that

Jesus leaves

his people?

Even though we

sometimes feel

abandoned, our

Lord has not

left us as

orphans in this

world.

It is

better that

Jesus left

because the

spirit is here

changing hearts,

convicting the

world and

guiding the

church into

truth.

Remember how

the church

began.

Just a

handful of

ordinary people

in one city

behind closed

doors,

probably afraid

for their own

lives,

intimidated by

the task

going to

the whole

world.

But when

the spirit

came,

Peter,

who had

once disowned

Christ publicly,

this time he

goes out into

the world and

he says,

let all the

house of

Israel therefore

know for

certain that

God has made

him both

Lord and

Christ, this

Jesus whom

you crucified.

And what

happened?

Now when they

heard this,

they were cut

to the heart.

And said to

Peter and the

rest of the

apostles,

brothers, what

shall we do?

And Peter said

to them, repent

and be baptized

every one of you

in the name of

Jesus Christ for

the forgiveness

of your sins and

you will receive

the gift of the

Holy Spirit.

For the promise is

for you and for

your children and

for all who are

far off, everyone

whom the Lord God

calls to himself.

So those who

received his word

were baptized and

there were added

that day about

3,000 souls and

they devoted

themselves to the

apostles' teaching

and the fellowship

to the breaking

of bread and the

prayers.

Instead of seeing

Jesus with our

eyes and hearing

him with our

ears, better

than that, we

have the Spirit

speaking the truth

with convicting

force into our

hearts.

That family

member who

humanly speaking

has no chance

of seeing their

sin and crying

out for a

saviour, when

you feel

threatened and

fearful and

alone in your

conversations with

them, remember

the Spirit can

change hearts.

So pray.

while ever as a

church and as

families and in

our own minds we

are constantly

seeking God's

voice through his

word, then we

can have every

confidence the

Spirit will change

our hearts to be

more and more

satisfied by the

truth.

It's better for us

because the Spirit

is here changing

our hearts.

Will you pray

with me?

Father, left to

ourselves we

would not

only not

understand the

gospel, we

would not be

attracted to

you.

We would want

to keep living

for ourselves.

Father, we

praise your

mercy for

sending Jesus

to die for

us and

sending your

Spirit to

change our

hearts, to

break through

our unbelief.

We are only

here this

morning because

of your mercy

alone.

Help us as a

church praise

your mercy

alone.

Father, help us

as a church to

seek after your

voice.

Thank you that

you're with us.

Thank you that

you have not

left us.

Keep speaking to

us, Lord, and

give us hearts

that listen.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.