The Ministry of the Holy Spirit - 1/25/26 - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

>> Amen. Well, good morning, church family.

Hope you're having a good day in the

Lord and appreciate you tuning in here

with us uh to our Facebook YouTube

broadcast for today and I wanted to be

able to have church today. Didn't want

to miss out on nothing and uh weather's

just caused us pretty much be shut down

and it's pretty nasty and yucky out

there, but I'm thankful the Lord allowed

us to make it in to have live service

here this morning. And I appreciate you

tuning in with us. I will say if you

would uh go ahead and share uh the video

uh whatever platform you're on, let them

get the word out. Let them know, let our

church know that we're having this if

they didn't know already. And uh and

we'll have share a portion of a chapter

word of God today and give you a little

message. And this is going to be

different for me. So y'all bear with me,

but we'll get through it together. But I

want to share some word with you today

and have a time of prayer. And so I've

got uh here on the pull pit with me,

I've got the live stream going. So, if

you have a prayer request or something

uh you'd like to uh make mention of, uh

you can put that in the comments there.

And I know everybody can see that there

on the comments. And so, if you have a

prayer request you'd like to share

anything like that, um it is delayed a

little bit, so I may not see it on here,

but I did want to let you know that uh

that way our church family can be

praying. Uh but do like and share the

video uh so we can get it out there to

as many uh as we can. and uh got some

some already coming up on here. So, uh I

appreciate you tuning in with us. Uh but

if you have a Bible, I invite you to go

ahead and be find your place, the Gospel

of John, if you'd like to. Gospel of

John, chapter 16, and we'll go there in

John 16 · chapter mention

just a minute. Uh but do want to make

mention of a couple of announcements. Um

you know, yesterday, uh we were supposed

to have soul win and visitation uh on

yesterday, but we had to we moved that

just due to the extreme cold

temperatures. uh didn't want anybody get

mad at us knocking on their door

yesterday. And so we're going to

reschedu that to this coming Saturday

and this coming Saturday the 31st. And

so uh it's 10:00 the 31st we have

visitation. And hard to believe January

is already coming to a close uh but here

we are. And so remember that on the

31st. And then uh do remember if you

haven't already for those that's going

on the marriage conference February the

23rd through the 25th if you haven't

already uh go ahead and reserve your

room. Uh you need to have that done

before February comes around. And so

that gives you about a week there to get

your room reserved. Remember the rooms

are booked under MBC. Okay? And so

remember that if you would please and

that'll be here before you know it as

well. And then the first week there,

February, uh we'll have uh ladies

fellowship, men's fellowship, ladies the

2nd, men's the 5th, and then our ladies

shopping trip there on the 7th. And so

if you would remember all of that and

we'll let you know kind of as the

weather progresses uh this week what we

decide to do. Um I do know that this

coming Wednesday um probably going to be

really hard for us to have a service

just with the temperatures forecasting

like they are. And so we'll keep you

posted and but we just want to make sure

everybody's safe and uh and if you can

I'll say this, make sure you got

everything uh with you. I hope you

already done that. But I'll say this,

try not to get out as much as you can

just traveling in. Uh me and Brother

Randall's here. Uh we the roads are bad.

So uh if you would just stay at home,

stay safe with your family and uh we'll

say more about that in just a few

minutes. Uh but do remember these

announcements and be praying uh for the

upcoming events at the church. uh the

marriage conference as well uh as

revival be coming up there in the month

of March and so be praying about that as

well the 9th through the 13th. Okay. And

so got several request of prayer here.

We'll look at for just a minute. Uh do

continue to pray um for brother Donnie

and sister Sarah Joe Abbott. Continue to

pray for them. See that comment on

there. And like I said, there is

probably a little bit of a delay uh to

my screen from what the live feed is. Uh

but do remember them. Uh remember Miss

Tracy Fortune's uh daughter and her

surgery. Do remember that. And uh

remember these requests. There's several

on here. I'm not going to be able to get

to everybody. And so you see the

comments there. Just make sure to take

time to pray and uh we'll say more about

that in just a minute as we get to the

message. Uh but do if you haven't

already shared the video, go on there

and share the video and get it out so we

can get as many people on here with us

as we can. John chapter 16 is where

John 16 · chapter mention

we'll be. And so we'll go to the Lord in

a word of prayer uh this morning. And do

remember uh you missionaries, pray for

them and pray for our country. God will

help us. And we definitely need his

help. We're living in cold times, not

just the weather. Amen. Uh our world is

very cold and dark. We need God's help.

And so remember to pray for our country

and our leadership. And pray for the

churches during this time. pray for each

other and those uh need safety during

this time. They're working out on the

roads trying to get everything as well

as the linemen, linemen. So remember

them as well. All right, let's go to the

Lord in prayer and ask him to help us as

we look in the word of God and like I

said there on the announcements for

this. We're not going to take a whole

lot of your time. Just wanted to share

uh sort of a devotional thought with you

and pray that God would help us. But

let's pray and ask the Lord to help us

this morning. There is a lot of prayer

requests on here and so if you would

just remember those each of those in

prayer. Got several on here. Continue to

pray for all those on the prayer list at

the church uh as well. All right, let's

pray together this morning. If you could

bow where you're at there and let's pray

and ask the Lord to help us. Our father,

uh we come before you today. Thank you

for the privilege uh that we have, Lord,

to uh still be able to have church

today. God, I I thank you for the gift

of of modern technology. Lord, we know

it's not perfect. Uh but Lord, we know

otherwise we wouldn't have been able to

have church today. And so God, I want to

say thank you for that and thank you for

this these means uh that we have to

worship you and gather around the word

of God still. And Lord, I pray that you

would help us give us wisdom today as we

have gathered here uh around the word of

God uh to study and to share truth this

morning. I pray that you will bless the

listener. God, I pray for these many

requests of prayer uh that's been

mentioned. You know each and every one

of them. And uh God, I pray that you

would touch and bless in every

situation. God, you know the needs. And

Lord, we pray for each one this morning.

Our church, God, still recovering um

from different procedures, surgeries,

things of that nature. God, that you

would be with them and help them. And

Lord, I ask you that you would help us

today as we share the word of God for

just a little while. Uh God, it's

different. My flesh doesn't like it. But

God, I know that this what you want us

to do today. And so, God, I pray you'd

help us, rid us of the flesh, and use us

for your glory and speak to every heart.

I pray God you'll take this time and use

it for your glory and honor. And Lord,

we pray you'd keep your hand about those

that are traveling, uh those that are

working to clean up the roads, as well

as those that'll be working on power

lines. Pray you'd watch over them. And

uh please protect each one of our church

folk and be with them during this time.

And we want to say thank you. Thank you

for allowing us this privilege. Thank

you for the blood of Jesus and for

saving my soul from hell. Lord, I love

you. Thank you so much for all that you

do for us. would you help us this

morning and give us grace. We ask it in

Jesus name. Amen. Amen. John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

if you have a Bible and just share a

thought here with you the Lord put on my

heart and had some time to meditate here

the last few days and I just pray that

the Lord would give us something maybe

we could share to be a blessing to you.

And I know we got many different outlets

here that you'll be watching on. some uh

YouTube, some on Facebook, this will

probably be on a podcast uh later. And

so um whatever outlet you're listening

to us from, we want to say thank you for

tuning in with us. And so if you have a

Bible, sit down with us and get get you

a cup of coffee if you need today, man.

We'll read the word of God and study for

just a minute of time here. John chapter

John 16 · chapter mention

16. I want to begin reading in verse

number one. And we'll give you the

thought here in just a moment. John 16

verse number one. The Bible says, "These

things have I spoken unto you, that ye

should not be offended. They shall put

you out of the synagogues. Yay, the time

cometh, that whosoever kleth you will

think that he doeth God's service. These

things will they do unto you, because

they have not known the Father, nor me.

But these things have I told you, that

when the time shall come, you may

remember that I told you them. These

things I said not unto you at the

beginning, because I was with you. But

now I go my way to him that sent me, and

none of you askketh me, whether goest

thou? But because I have said these

things unto you, sorrow hath filled your

heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the

truth. It is expedient for you that I go

away. For if I go not away, the

comforter will not come unto you. But if

I depart, I will send him unto you. And

when he has come, he will reprove the

world of sin and of righteousness and of

judgment. Of sin because they believe

not on me. Of righteousness because I go

to my father and you see me no more. Of

judgment because the prince of this

world is judged. Verse 12, he says, "I

have yet many things to say unto you,

but you cannot bear them now. How be it,

when he, the Spirit of truth, has come,

he will guide you into all truth. For he

shall not speak of himself, but

whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he

speak, and he will show you things to

come. He shall glorify me, for he shall

receive of mine, and shall show it unto

you. All things that the Father hath are

mine. Therefore said I, that he shall

take of mine, and shall show it unto

you. A little while and ye shall not see

me. And again, a little while and ye

shall see me because I go to the father.

Now, the thought this morning that the

Lord's put on my heart for this time

period, uh he's given us here to just

study the word of God for a moment of

time is based there out of verse number

seven where the Bible says Jesus says,

he said, "I'll tell you the truth. It's

expedient for you that I go away. For if

I go not away, the comforter will not

come unto you." And I want to talk for

just a few moments of time about the

ministry of the Holy Spirit. About the

ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now, uh

this time period, what we're what we're

living through today. Of course, we're

not gathered here uh in the sanctuary

this morning. Uh but I was thinking

about this preparing this this message

and what God had uh put on my heart for

this particular uh time today. I want to

share with you that we've been gifted.

Uh each and every day is a gift. We know

that that the Lord has blessed us with

the opportunity to serve uh in the

capacity of each and every day allows us

different opportunities. And I'll say

this about that today. Um you may feel

like you're pretty much locked up where

you're at uh there at home. But I want

to say this, in our day and time, this

might be the best thing that's happened

for some of you. And uh what I mean by

that is it's took you away from all your

business. It's uh slowed you down a

little bit. And uh because of that, I

want to just say a few things concerning

that. And then I'll give you some

thoughts here concerning the ministry of

the Holy Spirit. Many times the

busyiness of our life is what hinders us

from hearing his voice. We are so

cumbered about by many things. We've got

plans and things that are going on in

our lives. We're busy with work. We're

busy with school. We're busy uh in all

factors of life. And we we insert church

there and put that on the list as well.

And then if we have time for the other

ministries that God uh wants us to do,

we'll do that when we have time. We show

what our priorities really are. And I

want to say that during this time uh

that we've been given where it looks

like we're going to have several days of

quietness. I want to say embrace the

embrace the silence. And uh I think I

think God has given us this time period.

I think we can use it uh in such a way

that'll help us if we'll allow it to. Uh

but God wants to speak to us. And now we

know this. The church knows that God

wants to speak to us every day of our

life. He expects us to have daily

fellowship uh with him. And uh many

times I know myself there's many days

that because of busyness even I uh

there's some days that I I miss the

prayer closet like I should I always try

to spend some time with the Lord but I

don't always spend enough time. And uh I

I would say for all of us we could agree

this morning that we need to embrace uh

the time that we've been given uh in the

silence. And so I I notice in this the

the thought here of the text Jesus is

dealing with a broken people. And I I

mentioned that busyiness can hinder us

from heal from hearing from the Holy

Spirit. But I'll tell you this, our our

own brokenness can hinder us uh from

hearing from the Holy Spirit because the

Bible says in in verse number six of

John 16, Jesus there his disciples are

troubled. And he says because I've said

these things unto you, sorrow hath

filled your heart. You see, he's he's

he's made them aware of the fact that

the world is not going to accept them.

Rather, the world is going to reject

them and their ministry. He's not

they're not going to be welcome. Their

welcome map's not going to be rolled

out. The red carpet is not going to be

placed before them. They're going to be

rejected because Christ was rejected.

And and he says, because I've said that,

you know, I'm going away. I'm having to

leave and and you can't go where I'm

coming to. He said, "Because I've told

you all these things," he said, "sorrow

has filled your heart." But he says in

verse 7, notice that first word. He

says, "Nevertheless, I tell you the

truth. It is expedient for you that I go

away." And so, we know that Christ here

in this text is dealing with the fact

that he was headed to Calvary. It's

expedient. It was necessary for him that

he go away because salvation could not

be brought to them if they had not if he

had not went to the cross and went away

for a time. And I'll say more about that

in a minute. But he know he notes a

statement. He makes a statement in verse

7. He says, "For if I go not away, the

comforter will not come unto you." And

so I was thinking about this truth and

you know busyness hinders us from

hearing from the Holy Spirit. Brokenness

will hinder us from hearing from the

Holy Spirit. And I'll say this, our

burdens, burdens in our life will hinder

us from hearing from the Holy Spirit. we

it'll cause us to be distracted and

busyness will distract us. Brokenness

will surely distract us. But I'll say

this burdens that we have, things that

may not necessarily be a direct problem

in our life, but things that are

affecting us from the outside in, they

can hinder us from hearing from the Holy

Spirit. And Jesus is telling them,

you're broken about this, about what

I've told you. You're burdened by this.

You cannot accept that this is the truth

of my life. This is where I'm headed.

Cal the Calvary is is my purpose. You do

not want to hear that. He said, but I'm

telling you, if I don't go away, the

Holy Spirit cannot come unto you. And I

want to say this, there's so many things

in our life that can hinder the voice of

the Holy Spirit coming to us. But that

does not negate his ministry is still

present. He still wants to work in our

life. He still wants to do in our life,

what he has been purposed, what he's

been placed in our life to do. Now the

Bible teaches us that when you get

saved, the Holy Spirit indwells the

believer. And the great commission tells

us that we would receive power. He told

the disciples that you should receive

power. After that, the Holy Ghost should

come upon you and you shall be witnesses

unto me. And so the work of the Holy

Spirit in our life is so that we might

be a witness for Christ. But but he lays

out here in this text a a three-fold

ministry of the Holy Spirit. And I want

to just give you these truths here

today. And in the slowness of this time

when we most of us are pretty much

homebound for a few days probably, I

want to say make the most of that and uh

take time, read your Bible more than you

ever have. Pray more than you ever have.

Make it a make it a personal thing that

you're going to do more for God in these

days than you ever had. You say,

"Preacher, well, I can't get out and I

can't go to people." Well, I'll tell you

this. Uh the greatest battle is that

battle that's on our knees and it's it's

won in prayer. And uh we need to take

time to pray and spend time with the

Holy Spirit. And I notice first of all

in this the thought the ministry of the

Holy Spirit here. I want to consider the

advocacy of the Holy Spirit there in

verse number seven. He says for if I go

not away the comforter will not come

unto you. Now the the label here is used

for the Holy Spirit. The comforter. Now

we know that word in the Greek is the

pariclete. It means one called alongside

to help. In a literal definition, strong

definition says it's an intercessor or

an advocate. Now, we know the Bible

teaches us according to the book of

first John in chapter number two, if any

man sin, we have an advocate with the

father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And

so, when you think about scripture, the

picture of our advocate, Christ is the

believer's advocate with the father. But

in the like manner, the Holy Spirit is

our advocate with Christ. He is our

minister in the presence of Christ.

Romans chapter 8 tells us that he maketh

Romans 8 · chapter mention

intercession for us with groanings which

cannot be uttered. Those intercessions

are made under unto the son. And so he

is our advocate. I'll say this, you

notice in verse number seven that he is

dispatched from Christ. Look what the

Bible says. If I go not away, the

comforter will not come unto you. But if

I depart, notice this, I will send him

unto you. And so Christ in his

departure, he's going to dispatch the

Holy Spirit. He's telling these men,

"Hey, just because I'm leaving you

behind for a period of time to go to the

cross and then after that I'll be

received up into heaven of my father,

I'm not going to leave you comfortless."

He told them that in John 14. He said,

"I'm not going to leave you comfortless.

I will come to you." And the comforter

is who he was talking about. The Holy

Spirit of God would come. He would be

dispatched and his destination is seen

in verse 7. But if I depart, I will send

him unto you. And so the ministry of the

of the Holy Spirit is personal. And and

this is what I love about this text

because we it teaches us the truth that

Christ had to leave. He was a man bound

in a physical body. God became flesh.

John chapter 1 in verse number 14 tells

John 1 · chapter mention

us that. And so he was limited. Christ

was limited to the elements of the

physical body. He could only be in one

place at one time. He couldn't be in

many places because of his physical

body. And so he wasn't able to operate

in the spiritual realm in the same sense

that he was able to before when he was

in heaven. And so the Holy Spirit was to

come so that he might be with them

always. You see, the disciples were not

always with Jesus. Not at every point in

time. There was times when he had to

depart from them for whatever reason. We

know that Calvary, all the disciples

forsook him and fled. But he was telling

them there was coming a day when Jesus

would be gone. But the Holy Spirit would

come and he would be with them always.

And it goes beyond just the fact that he

would be with them always. He's

dispatched. His destination was unto

them. He said, "I will send him unto

you." But we know from what he told them

in chapter 14 that it's more than that.

It wasn't only that he would uh stay

with them always, but he would be in

them. Notice John chapter 14 and verse

John 14 · chapter mention

17. Listen to what Jesus says. even the

spirit of truth whom the world cannot

receive because it seeth him not neither

knoweth him but you know him for he

dwelleth with you notice this and shall

be in you and so the promise of the

inddwelling spirit of God was coming to

them and he was trying to tell them hey

it's going to be better from here Jesus

gave them the promise he said greater

works than these shall you do because

I've sent to my father what was that

promise uh stating it was stating that

the Holy Spirit through them would be

able to reach preach more and do more

for the glory of God than even Christ

being among them could do. And it was

Christ's purpose. It was his plan that

the Holy Spirit, the advocate, would

come and dwell in the hearts of the

believer. The book of First John tells

us that there are three that bear record

in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the

Holy Ghost. And there are three that

bear record on the earth. And it's the

spirit, the water, and the blood. And

and so the spirit of God is that one

that witnesses on this earth. He is our

he is dwelling within us. That's why the

Bible says that we are the temple of the

Holy Ghost of God. We're the temple of

God. We've been bought with a price. And

so, he dwells in our heart. He is our

advocate. He answers to Christ

concerning our estate. Now, I want to

remind you of this truth, okay? We have

no ability to speak to Christ apart from

the Holy Spirit. We have no entrance

into the throne room without the power

of the Holy Spirit. Jude talks about

building up yourselves on your most holy

faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. And so

if there is a prayer that is made, it

must be made through the power of the

Holy Spirit. And so thus, he is our

advocate. Romans chapter 8, I want to

Romans 8 · chapter mention

turn you and read this verse to you for

just a minute. You say, "Preacher, how

can I know that he's present in my

life?" Listen to what he says in verse

number 15. Romans chapter number 8,

verse 14 rather. For as many as are led

by the spirit of God, they are the sons

of God. So the spirit leads us. I'll say

more about that in a minute. Verse 15.

For you have not received the spirit of

bondage again to fear, but you have

received the spirit of adoption whereby

we cry aba father. There's the witness

of our heart. We cry unto the Lord. He

is our father. Verse 16, the spirit

itself beareth witness with our spirit

that we are the children of God. And so

the Holy Spirit bears witness with our

human spirit and lets us know that we're

saved. There is a knowledge of the

indwelling spirit of God. Now before man

gets saved, he has a conscience that

gives him a baseline of what's right and

wrong. But you understand when a man

gets saved, the Holy Spirit brings about

a supernatural conscience unto him. And

it causes him to know more than just

what's right and wrong, but it causes

him to know how to do right. You see, a

lost man doesn't know how to do right.

And the Holy Spirit is the one that

would teach us how to do right. He is

our advocate making intercession for us

before the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I

consider the ministry of the Holy

Spirit. And if you want to make these

points here, there's the advocacy here

that's mentioned. And we could say it

this way that he is leading the saints.

We could put it that way. The advocate

in the Holy Spirit. Then I notice not

only the advocacy of the Holy Spirit,

but I notice the admonishing of the Holy

Spirit. Notice verse number eight. And

when he has come, he will reprove the

world of sin and of righteousness and of

judgment. Of sin because they believe

not on me. Of righteousness because I go

to my father and you see me no more. Of

judgment because the prince of this

world is judged. And so the Holy Spirit

was coming unto them personally. In

verse number seven, he said, I will send

him unto you. It would be a personal

presence. But you understand verse

number eight, the presence of the Holy

Ghost in this world. He brings about a

reproof when he comes. It is his

presence that brings about this reproof.

Verse number three, he says he will

reprove the world of sin, of

righteousness, and of judgment. Now that

word reprove means to convince or to

admonish, strong says. And so when he

has come, his literal presence is going

to shed light upon the darkness of this

world. And so what does he what does his

admonishing ministry look like? Well, of

course, the advocacy there is for the

leading of the saints, but his

admonishing is is for to to show sinners

their loss to show how that they are in

darkness. And so I notice this first of

all I consider first of all in his ad

his admonishing ministry. He admonishes

them number one concerning their fa the

fatal sin. Verse number nine, look what

he says. He says he'll reprove the world

sin verse eight of righteousness and of

judgment. Verse nine, the first

description of sin because they believe

not on me. Now, you've heard it said

this way that that sin, all sin, uh, is

forgivable except the unpardonable sin.

Now, I want to say this to you this

morning, and I don't want to be

confusing when I say this, but God has

never once forgiven a sin. All sin has

been judged in the person of Jesus

Christ. If you are saved, Jesus, he he

took your sin. The Bible tells us that

the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

hath made him to be sin for us who knew

no sin that we might be made the

righteousness of God in him. And so

Christ, God has never forgiven us sin,

but he has often forgiven sinners.

That's what Dr. Rudy Smith said and I I

agree with him. And what he's saying

here in verse number nine is he is

labeling the sin of sins. This is the

fatal sin. This is the final sin. so to

speak. What is the sin that condemns men

to hell? It's not adultery. It's not

homosexuality. It's not murder. It's not

any of those sins. But it is the sin of

unbelief. This is the fatal sin. This is

the sin of sins, the mother sin, the

father's sin. And this is where all sin

comes to those that refuse to believe on

the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says that

the Holy Spirit is going to admonish

them concerning this fatal sin that is

unbelief. You understand this morning

does not h matter how good of a person

you are if you do not believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that

the wrath of God abideth on you. And so

this sin the beginning and the ending of

all sin is unbelief. And so he

admonishes them concerning their fatal

sin. The Holy Spirit each and every day

is admonishing those that are at loss

concerning their sin of unbelief. And

I'll say this to those of us who are

saved. uh he admonishes us concerning

the sin of unbelief. It's the sin of

unbelief that hinders those who are

saved from going forward for God. I'd

say more about that, but time will not

allow me. Notice not only he admonishes

them concerning the fatal sin that is

unbelief, but he also admonishes them

concerning the faithful standard. In

verse 10, he says, "Of sin, because they

believe not on me, of righteousness

because I go to my father and you see me

no more." And so what this states here

in the text is is that Christ as he has

come, he has set the standard of

righteousness. The Bible tells us that

Christ is the express image of God the

Father and he is the standard. He is the

plum line in which all of men are to

line themselves up against. And if your

righteousness does not does not exceed

the righteous, Jesus said to the scribes

and Pharisees, you shall not enter into

the kingdom of God. But I'll say this,

if your righteousness is not the

righteousness of Christ, there is no

salvation in your life. Now, what is the

truth here? He admonishes them

concerning their sin, but he also

admonishes them concerning the standard.

You understand that for a man to be

saved, he cannot make himself righteous,

but he has to be made righteous. It's

not an interior work, but it is an

exterior work of the Lord imputing his

righteousness onto those who would trust

him by faith. And he says in verse 10,

he said he's going to reprove the world

of righteousness because I go to my

father. Now, what's the truth here? He's

talking about the ascension. The fact

that Jesus would leave his disciples

behind. We notice the note in the book

of Acts, chapter number one, his

ascension is made. those disciples stand

there gazing up into the heavens looking

for Jesus and the angels speak to them

say ye men of Galilee why stand you up

into the gaz gazing up into the heavens

he said for this same Jesus shall come

unto you again in like manner and what g

what the Jesus is saying here is that as

his bodily presence leaves his presence

in the Holy Spirit would come to to

reestablish and reinforce the standard

now the standard is Christ and salvation

the Bible says in the book of actsap

Chapter number four. For there's none

other name under heaven given among men

whereby you must be saved. And so he

alone is righteous. What does the Bible

tell us about sin? Romans chapter 3 and

Romans 3 · chapter mention

verse number 23 says, "For all have

sinned and come short of the glory of

God." Romans tells us that there's none

righteous. Know not one. There's none

that understandeth. There's none that

seeketh after God. And so there is no

righteousness that is attainable in the

flesh. But there's only righteousness of

Christ that is imputed unto the

believer. And so the fatal sin is

unbelief. The faithful standard is the

righteousness of Christ. What did Jesus

tell his disciples in Matthew chapter 6

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

and verse number 33? He said, "Seek ye

seek ye first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things

shall be added unto you." And so there

is the faithful standard. There's the

fatal sin. But he doesn't only admonish

them concerning sin and the standard of

righteousness, but he also admonishes

them concerning the final sentence,

verse 11. He's going to reprove the

world of sin, of righteousness, of

judgment, because the prince of this

world, notice that, is judged. Now, that

simply tells us, this is foreshadowing.

Christ in his death on Calvar's cross

would bruise the head of the serpent's

seed according to Genesis chapter number

three would bruise his head and the

serpent's dominion Satan's dominion

would be finished and cal at Calvary

Jesus Christ doomed the realm of Satan

to destruction and so the final sentence

was placed upon the devil at Calvary

victory was won at Calvary and so what

does this tell us that that all men are

coming to a day of judgment. Notice that

in verse 11 of judgment because who the

prince of this world is judged. You see

the reason that sinners die and go to a

place called hell is because they are a

two-fold child of hell. They are born

into this world conceived in sin and by

their actions they choose to sin and so

they follow the devil. But you

understand Jesus says the Holy Spirit is

going to commit. judgment is committed

unto Christ. The Holy Spirit is going to

witness this. He's going to reprove the

world of judgment because the prince,

the leader, the devil himself is judged.

And so those that would follow in his

steps, they are sentenced as well. And

so there is the fatal sin and the

faithful standard. And I'm thankful

there is a final sentence. The devil and

his his uh angels and all of those that

would follow in his steps, they will be

sinners. And the Holy Spirit is

admonishing this. The reason why the

world refuses the voice of the Holy

Ghost in their life is because he tells

them who they really are. There's many

voices in this world today that say many

different things there. Everything's

relative. But the truth is when it comes

down to the bottom line, the truth that

God shares with us, the sentence is set,

the standard is set, the sin is

described, and it is unbelief, refusing

to receive the words of God. And so

there is the advocacy of the Holy

Spirit. There is the admonishing of the

Holy Spirit. But then notice thirdly,

and we'll be done here in just a moment.

Consider not only the advocacy and admon

and the admonishing ministry, but

consider the assisting ministry. Verse

number 12, Jesus says this to his

disciples. He says, "I have yet many

things to say unto you, but you cannot

bear them now." And so Jesus has a

desire to tell them future events,

things that he has not told them up to

this point. Of course, he's headed to

Calvary. And he's tried his best to

explain to them what has come what is

coming for him and what is coming for

them, but their flesh would not allow

them to receive that truth. And so what

we discover here is verse 12, he says,

"You cannot bear them. You cannot

receive the truths that I want to share

unto you now." But in verse 13, he

starts off with this little word. He

says, "How be it when he, the spirit of

truth, has come. He will guide you." And

so the Holy Spirit, he is our advocate

personally. He admonishes the world to

turn to Christ, turn from their sin, to

turn under the righteousness, to turn

away from the judgment that is to come.

But then for the believer, he is our

assistant. He's he is with us at all

times. and thankful for the everpresent

hand of the Holy Spirit in our life. He

is always at work in our heart. Now, the

Bible teaches us that God's going to

finish the work that he started in us.

How's he going to do that? He's going to

do that through the working of the Holy

Spirit. Notice what he says here in

verse 13, 14, and 15. So, in this

assisting ministry of the Holy Spirit,

there's guiding. Notice that in verse

13, he will guide you into all truth.

That word guide there speaks of an

influence. He will guide you, notice

that into all truth. Now Jesus had

shared much truth with them up to this

point. And and the thing was that they

did not understand many of the truths

that Jesus had spoken. But he was

telling them that there would come one

that would indwell on the inside and

would give them understanding of the

truths that were previously spoken. But

he would also not only influence them

concerning the truths that Christ had

told them, but he would also influence

them into the truths that they would

learn afterward. Because he just told

them in verse 12, he said, "There's many

things that I want to say, but you

cannot bear them now." But he says of

the spirit of truth, he will guide you

into all truth. The thing about the Holy

Ghost is, and many people say that

they're led by the Holy Spirit in this

day and time, but the truth is about

their life, when you measure up their

life, they're not led by the entirety of

the word of God. If you cherrypick the

scripture and try to make things twist

and turn to the m way that you want them

to affect your life. You are not being

led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit,

his influence is total. It is all truth.

You're not going to take one and have

the other. You're not going to be able

to have one foot in and one foot out and

have the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

That implies there must be complete

submission. If he will guide you into

all truth, that means that you must be

willing to follow. Now, you know, just

by the thought of the terminology that's

used, he will guide you. A guide is only

as good as the one who is willing to

follow. And so, he is willing to guide.

He wants to influence you into all

truth, give you the understanding of all

truth. There's not only his influence in

the guiding, but there's his

inspiration. In verse 13, look what the

Bible says. For he shall not speak of

himself, but whatsoever he shall hear,

that shall he speak. So the spirit of

God is in is the influence in our life

that guides us into truth. But his

inspiration is the father. You see, the

spirit of God does not speak of himself.

He has no will of his own. But he is

controlled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

whatsoever he shall hear that shall he

speak. So as the words of God are spoken

unto him by the Lord Jesus Christ for he

is the word that is what the Holy Ghost

witnesses in our heart. A good image of

the Holy Ghost in our life is the same

picture of the what the Lord Jesus

Christ showed to us on this earth. He

said I can only do those things that

please the father. The Holy Spirit only

does and says the things that please the

Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Bible says

there in verse number 13, he shall not

speak of himself, but whatsoever he

shall hear, that shall he speak. As

Christ speaks to him, he will speak to

us. So there's his influence. His

influence is of our own is upon our

faith. He influences our growth and our

faith. And then his inspiration is from

the father. But then in verse 13,

there's his indication. What does the

Holy Spirit indicate? Well, he indicates

the future in verse 13. and he will show

you things to come. He's going to give

you wisdom concerning future events.

He's going to give you understanding

concerning what is to come in your life.

And not only your life, but the the

existence of the world and what is to

come beyond this life. He will show you

things to come. I'll say this. You're

going to know anything about your life

and what is to come. The Holy Spirit's

going to have to teach you. If you're

going to know anything about the Bible

in your life or anything about the

purpose of God for your life, what he is

doing, why he is doing it, how he is

doing it, you're going to have to have

the Holy Spirit's voice in your life.

And so there is the assisting ministry

of the Holy Spirit seen in the guiding.

But it's not only seen in his guiding of

believers, but it's also seen in his

glorifying of the Lord Jesus Christ. In

verse 14, notice those first four words.

He shall glorify me. He shall glorify

me. The primary ministry of the Holy

Spirit is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ

to lift him up to magnify him. And as

Jesus is exalted, the scriptures are

magnified. Now, we know what Jesus said

there in the book of John chapter 3. He

John 3 · chapter mention

told Nicodemus, he said, "And I if I be

lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all

men unto myself." And so on Calvary, we

often equate that ministry there of

Calvary that he was lifted up on

Calvar's cross and that as he was lifted

up there, the whole earth is drawn unto

him to the cross. But you understand the

Holy Spirit is the is the one that

glorifies that lifts up Jesus. And by

the Holy Spirit, the world is is will be

can be saved and those that will come

unto him will be saved. His ministry is

a glorifying ministry. You say,

"Preacher, how do I know how much the

Holy Spirit's working in my life?" Well,

how much do you glorify God in your

life? How much do you exalt him? How

much is his praise on your lips? How is

he guiding your life? Are you following

his influence? Do you have his

indications? And I'm not talking about

extra biblical uh things that are

outside of the scriptures, but I'm

talking about how much of this Bible do

you live by? His guiding, his

glorifying. And I'll say this and I'll

be done. this this afternoon verse

number 15 he is glorifying but he's also

granting you see anything that we will

receive in our life it comes through the

ministry of the Holy Spirit verse 15 the

Bible says all things that the father

hath are mine therefore said I that he

shall take of mine and shall show it

unto you and so what this implies is

first of all that there's a storehouse

verse verse number 15 Verse 14, he shall

receive of mine, that's Christ, and

shall show it unto you. Verse 15, all

things that the Father hath are mine. So

you see the Trinity manifested there.

What the Father has, the Son has, and

all that the Father has, the Son has all

of that. And the Bible says in verse 15,

"Therefore said I that he shall take of

mine and shall show it unto you. All the

praise, all the glory, all the honor,

all the promises, all the provision,

everything that God has and everything

that God is is entrusted in the person

of Jesus Christ." And so because of

that, the Holy Spirit is the one, if you

were to consider it this way, if the if

this is imaged as a large estate, the

Holy Spirit is the executive of that

estate. And he is the one that is

entrusted to divvy out the grace and the

provision and the promises unto you.

Verse 15, he shall take of mine and

shall show it unto you. any blessing in

your life, and I'm not talking about

physical things, but any blessing of

spiritual measure in your life, being

able to serve God, being able to work

for God, being effective in the ministry

that God has called you to do only

happens and it's only made possible by

the working of the Holy Spirit. He says

in verse 15, "All things that the Father

hath are mine." The storehouse is there.

But I'll say this, the Holy Spirit wants

to share with with you out of this

storehouse. But the truth is what

hinders us so often times is we are

refusing to receive it because of our

burdens, our brokenness, most of the

time our busyiness. And so I want to say

this to you, all right? These these days

and and uh I want to make this this

statement. I'll be done here this

morning. During these days when you're

at home, you're getting to spend a lot

of time with your family. I'll encourage

you, dads, take your Bible and sit down

with your family, study the word of God.

You're not going to get days like this

often in your life. You're not going to

get these opportunities. One day, your

children will be grown and gone. You

don't have another chance to tell them

the word of God. Just sit down in a

family set and you ought to make it a a

priority in your life. And you say,

"Preacher, well, I've never had the time

up to this point." Well, that's what I'm

telling you. You have the time now. And

what I want to encourage you to do, if

you'll make the time now to do what you

know you need to do, spend time in God's

word and in prayer, you'll make it a

habit later when things get busy again.

And make sure that you're spending the

time with God that he wants you to

spend. And uh I thank you so much for

listening with us today. Tune in with

us. And uh I I know this. I know God

will help us, but it's going to come

from the private place. It's going to

come through the ministry of the Holy

Spirit in our life. I know I've said a

lot about that here at the church of

late, but the Bible still tells us we're

to be be filled with the spirit. Amen.

Be not drunk with wine. Word is excess,

but be filled with the spirit. Be

controlled. Be led by the spirit of God.

I tell you what, God can do something

with our lives if we'll be filled and be

led by the spirit of God. Allow him to

assist us in our daily life. And I love

you, church. I appreciate you listening

in with us. and go back through there

and check out the prayer requests there

on the live feed and pray one for

another. And I want to let you know this

as far as this week goes. Wednesday

night service is not cancelled yet.

Okay. Um I know weather and all it's not

looking good. Um but we'll let you know

as of when it comes to that time. Um I'm

sure you know due to everything we

probably will have to postpone that and

so you just stay up with us. We'll have

the church message out on the Facebook

page and we'll let you know as

everything comes in what we see and so

be safe and if you have a need I will

say this church family if you have a

need please let us know and myself the

deacons brother Kyle Brother Chris or

any of the men if you have a need please

let us know and we'll help you any way

that we can love each and every one of

you and let's close in a word of prayer

and uh then I appreciate you so much for

tuning in with us today. Father, thank

you for the good day. Thank you for your

grace and your mercy. And thank you for

allowing me to share the word of God

today with our church, Lord. I sure love

them. Miss them this morning, God, or

this afternoon. It's it's different,

Lord, this way. But God, I'm thankful we

still have the opportunity to share the

word of God. And I pray you'll take it

and use it for your glory. And help us

to be uh submissive, Lord, to be

faithful to listen to the voice of the

Holy Spirit in these days. Help us to

take time and pray and read our Bibles,

Lord, not to just be lazy and sit

around, look at our phones, uh but God,

to take time and pray and read God's

word and pray for the lost. Lord, I pray

you'll do a work in our church. I pray

when we come back in here, Lord, in the

next days, whenever it is, I pray God

that we'll not be laxed. Uh Lord, we'll

not have to get used to it again, but

Lord, that we'll just have spent time

with you in prayer and in the word of

God, and we'll just be refreshed and

ready to worship. And Lord, I just pray

you'll do that for us. I sure love you.

Thank you for loving us and believe with

our church family. Please, Lord, watch

over those uh that are that are working

the roads as well as the power

companies. Please watch over those

linemen and watch over them. Be with our

church family. All those prayer

requests, God, touch each and every

need. We'll be sure to thank you for

what you do. We love you and we ask it

all in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you,

church. Hope you have a wonderful day.

God bless you.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.