The Advantage

Amen. You may be seated. Kids, you're excused to your King's Kids classes.

! And if you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 16, 1 through 15.

John 16 · chapter mention

I'll be preaching 1 through 15 this morning.

It's on page 1072 of your pew Bible.

And as you're turning there, got a question.

Have you ever imagined what it would be like if Jesus remained?

Physically present with us today?

That He didn't leave.

That He stayed.

That He was with us.

We'd hear His voice.

We'd see His facial expressions.

We'd belly laugh with Him at the dinner table.

That's a glorious thought.

We'd feel His hug, His embrace.

The people that we love who've got questions about Jesus, we'd just bring them to Jesus.

Let Jesus speak for Himself.

People who have cancer, people who have mental illness, we'd bring them to Jesus.

Jesus would heal them.

It seems like the best possible situation would have been if Jesus just stayed physically present with us.

That's what it'll be like in the new heavens and the new earth.

When we will be with Him, we'll see Him face to face.

So why would Jesus leave?

Because in this passage that we're looking at today, Jesus is going to say repeatedly,

I'm leaving, I'm going.

Why would He say that?

And then why would He say,

It is to your advantage that I go away.

It's better for you that I go so that I can send to you the helper.

He's speaking of the Holy Spirit.

The third person of the Trinity.

It's better that I go so that I can send Him to you.

What advantage is the Holy Spirit to us today?

Maybe even more finely tuned,

What advantage is the Holy Spirit for?

To what end?

To what purpose?

And maybe here's a question.

How do you even know that the Holy Spirit is actively at work within a local church?

How do you know?

Well, we've been looking at the farewell discourse for the last couple weeks.

We're talking about an extended teaching Jesus gave within hours of His death.

And He has been preparing His disciples for His coming departure.

Not just His death and resurrection, but His ascension.

He's leaving the earth.

And I just want you to see in 15, 26 and 27,

The ending of the passage before what we're looking at today.

Jesus talks about the helper coming.

And then this helper will bear witness about me.

And then He turns to His disciples and He says to them,

You also will bear witness to Jesus.

What we're looking at.

The advantage of the Holy Spirit has everything to do with our bearing witness to Jesus.

We know what it's like to experience shunning for Jesus.

Did you know the Holy Spirit can give you joy in that?

We know what it's like to have family members who are not Christians yet.

And we start to think like,

Are they just beyond God's ability to save?

We can become discouraged.

We can become hopeless.

And in this world, we can become disoriented.

And the Spirit advantageously not only gives us joy,

but He gives us courage and He gives us the clarity of truth.

And all of that together gives us boldness.

Do you know what happens when Christians who are seeking to bear the fruit of the Spirit

and bear witness to Christ?

Start feeling overly fearful from the world.

And we start feeling like,

God's not going to save anybody in my family.

Or we start thinking things like,

Man, maybe the world's got a point.

Maybe I should just check out and check into the world.

Do you know what starts happening?

We start drifting.

Check out, blend in, ease up.

But Jesus warns about it in 16.1.

He talks about it as falling away.

About stumbling.

So Jesus, into our witness and into the temptation to fall away,

He speaks a word of advantage for us, brothers and sisters.

It's better that He goes away, that He can send the helper.

So here, chapter 16, 1 through 15.

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

They will put you out of the synagogues.

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he's offering service to God.

And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me.

But I have said these things to you that when their hour comes,

you may remember that I told them to you.

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

But now I'm going to Him who sent me.

And none of you asked 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's 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.

And all that the Father has is mine.

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

This morning, I want to look at three challenges to our witness to Christ.

Our testifying to who Jesus is and what He has done.

And see how the Holy Spirit is the advantage in these challenges.

Our advantage.

So, challenge number one.

Being shunned.

In verses 1-4, Jesus echoes what we were looking at last week.

And last week, at the end of John 15, I tried to convince you of something from the Scriptures.

This is what Jesus was trying to sober us up towards.

That the result of abiding in Jesus and bearing fruit to the glory of God will very well get you hated by the world.

And we're being told here we are to be witnesses to the very people that will hate us on account of Jesus' name.

In 16-2, we read, they will put you out of the synagogues.

They is another way of talking about the world.

Now, the planet Earth doesn't hate you.

It's sinful humanity and organized rebellion against God that will hate you.

And they might not hate you to your face.

They just might be polite about it.

But the world, Jesus is telling his disciples, they're going to put you out of the synagogues.

It's social shunning.

It's a kind of ostracizing and isolating and alienating, casting out of you do not belong here.

You don't fit.

Back in John chapter 9, when the man who was born blind was healed, the Pharisees couldn't believe it.

John 9 · chapter mention

And so they call his parents in.

And in 9-22, we are told the parents wouldn't, they wouldn't even come close to confessing Jesus as the Christ.

Because the Pharisees had threatened everyone that they'd be put out of the synagogues if they did.

Now, today, we're not living in fear of being put out of our synagogues, are we?

We fear a different kind of shunning, whether that's online, or whether that's in your family or in your workplace, your kids' athletics teams.

We fear getting pushed out.

We fear of being the object of ridicule of other people.

We fear being shunned.

And that's not all Jesus has to say here.

He goes even further.

He says, indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he's offering service to God.

Did you know that 10 of the 11 disciples that Jesus is speaking to right here died martyrs' deaths,

proclaiming Jesus is the Christ, died and was raised?

And the 11th, John, who's writing this, was apparently boiled in oil, but survived it.

Why would the world want to kill the disciples?

And it's not just disciples way back in the first century.

We have brothers and sisters all around the world who are being killed today for Christ.

By people who think that they're offering worship to God.

Jesus says that is happening because they have not known the Father nor me.

They don't have a relationship with the living God.

They are in darkness.

They are blinded.

They're living in a delusion.

Now, imagine if you are one of the disciples hearing this at this moment.

And I'm guessing, like if you're Matthew, you turn to Peter and you'd be like,

did he just say, whoever kills you?

Kill?

I can get shunned.

But killed?

In just minutes from Jesus speaking this,

his disciples, Jesus' disciples will abandon him.

They will abandon Jesus out of fear for their own lives.

Jesus knew what would happen.

But he also says in 16.1, he says,

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away,

to keep you from stumbling.

And so here they, in just minutes, they will flee Jesus.

But in a matter of days,

there will be an incredible transformation that takes place.

These fearful disciples who are hiding from those who may kill them,

they are radically changed.

And soon after Pentecost,

the falling of the Holy Spirit upon the local church,

they are transformed from being cowardly to being courageous.

They go from being fearful to bold and faithful.

And not just bold and faithful, joyful.

I've referenced Acts 16 a few times,

where Paul and Silas are in a Philippian jail cell,

feet in stocks,

and they're singing at midnight.

Joyful.

That they get to suffer for the name of Jesus.

What does that?

Who does that?

Who changes a person's heart from being fearful to joyful in the midst of being shunned?

It's the advantage.

It's the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one who does these things.

So, when Jesus says in 1511,

I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be full,

that abiding in the vine results in fruitfulness and fullness of joy,

that's taking place even when you're being shunned

shunned for the name of Jesus.

So, this first challenge that we're looking at here is

the challenge of being shunned,

being put out.

But what the Holy Spirit, our advantage, does

is He gives us joy in the moment.

The second challenge that we face,

we see in verses 4 through 11,

the second half of verse 4 through 11,

and that happens when we're feeling powerless

and a bit hopeless

when it comes to other people in our lives

that are not yet Christians.

We start thinking,

there's just no way

that they're going to become Christians.

There's no way

they're going to confess Jesus as their Lord.

In verses 4 through 7,

Jesus repeatedly tells His disciples,

He is going away.

Multiple times,

I'm going, I'm leaving.

Verse 6,

He tells His disciples,

I know that sorrow has filled your hearts.

They're not happy that Jesus is leaving

to go back to His Father.

They are sad.

They are fearful of being shunned

of these weighty words that Jesus has said.

Whoever kills you?

These are weighty words.

Of course they're going to be sorrowful

that their leader is leaving.

You know what?

These words that Jesus says to them and to us,

whoever kills you,

going to be put out of the synagogues,

we typically want to kind of run

from those kinds of words.

But they're really good words to linger on.

Because they get at things like,

am I willing?

Am I willing to be shunned?

Am I willing to step into hardship

on account of Jesus' name?

You can fill your heart with sorrow

and joy

even when you're feeling powerless.

And so when Jesus says that He's leaving,

in verse 7,

Jesus reveals that someone is coming in His stead.

Look at verse 7.

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.

Who is this helper?

Jesus has already referenced Him twice

in the farewell discourse.

He's referenced Him in 14, 25, and 26,

and 15, 26, and 27.

The helper is the Holy Spirit,

the third person of the Trinity.

Remember,

I gave you a crash course

in the Holy Spirit a couple weeks ago.

He is a person.

He is God present with us.

And He comes to dwell with us

the moment we believe in Jesus.

He is fully God.

He is a person.

He is a who, not an it.

He's present.

He's powerful.

He's a life giver.

And not only a life giver,

He brings peace, shalom.

And what Jesus is saying,

if I don't go,

the Holy Spirit's not coming,

so it's better that I go

so that the Holy Spirit comes,

He will help you.

Help them with what?

Well, in this context,

it's witnessing,

bearing witness to Jesus.

And not just to the original disciples,

to 21st century disciples,

to you and me.

The Holy Spirit will help us

in our witness.

He advantages us in our witness.

It's good and right for you

to feel like this

when it comes to

a non-believing relative or friend.

There is nothing in and of yourself

that you can do

that this person will go

from death to life.

There's not enough force

of your will

to change someone's eternity.

You can't be smart enough

and persuasive enough

to convince somebody

into the kingdom of God.

We bump into our limits

real quick.

But look what the Spirit

is able to do

in verse 8.

And when He comes,

He will convict the world

concerning sin

and righteousness

and judgment.

You can't not do that.

You don't have the power

to do that.

Only the Spirit of God

has the power to do that.

When we're talking about

conviction,

we're talking about

having an area of sin

or wrong exposed in you

and not just exposed.

You personally become convinced

that this area of wrong

is wrong against God.

That's the kind of conviction

we're talking about.

That not only is it exposed,

but I'm convinced

that this is grievous

in God's sight.

That something needs to change.

It's like this.

When a prosecutor

is seeking to

convince a jury

that this person

who's been charged

with a crime

is actually guilty,

they're going to expose it.

They're going to try to

bring as much facts to bear

in order to convince

that jury

that that person is guilty.

What the Holy Spirit does

is He convinces us

of our own guilt.

That something must change.

convince the world,

convict the world,

sinful humanity

and organized rebellion

against God.

The Holy Spirit

is able

to change

the hearts

of those

who make up the world.

We were once

in the world,

but we're no longer

of the world

because we've been called

out of the world

in order to bear witness

to the world.

the Spirit

will come

and convict

the world of sin.

And then Jesus

unpacks that

in verse 9.

There's a particular

kind of sin

He has in mind.

He says,

concerning sin

because they do not

believe in Me.

The Holy Spirit,

when He comes,

He will convict

sinners

dead in their sin

who are part

of the world,

He will show them,

expose them

and convince them

that they were wrong

to not believe in Jesus.

He will expose

that in them.

If you're a Christian

in the room,

He has done that

in you.

That instead of

not believing in Jesus,

you must believe

in Jesus.

because He's

your only hope.

He's God

in the flesh

who died on the cross

for your sins.

So He convicts

the world of sin

and in verse 8

we read that He convicts

the world of righteousness

and He spells that out

in verse 10.

It could be

a righteousness

that is a false righteousness.

Like what Isaiah

talks about

when he compares

the righteous deeds

of Israel

to filthy rags.

That could be

the case here.

I tend to think

what's being talked

about here

is more positively

stated.

A positive righteousness.

Because in verse 10

we read this.

Concerning righteousness

because I go to the Father

and He will see me

no longer.

With Jesus'

departure

there is not

this

physical presence

and demonstration

of righteousness

in front of them.

And so what the Spirit

does is not only

does He expose

and convince

of guilt

He exposes

and demonstrates

the goodness

of righteousness.

This is what you want.

Not hate

but love.

Not to be served

but to serve.

In both of these cases

whether it's

conviction

of sin

or conviction

of righteousness

brothers and sisters

our hope

our confidence

is not in ourselves

when we witness

it's in the Spirit

of God.

And then we read

in verse 8

He's coming to convict

the world of judgment

and He unpacks that

in verse 11.

He says

the ruler

of this world

the devil

has been judged.

If you remember

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

was the

dictator of Iraq

in March 2003

his government

was toppled

in Baghdad

and he went

on the loose.

December 2003

he was captured

November 2006

he was convicted

and December

of 2006

he was executed

by hanging.

He was a bad dude.

And what

Saddam Hussein's

being toppled

captured

convicted

and then

eventually executed

it demonstrates

is it took a while.

It was a process.

When Jesus Christ

died on the cross

and was raised

from the dead

at that moment

Satan was cast down

conquered

dominion changed

there's a new king

with a new kingdom

in town.

But just like

Saddam Hussein

who ran amok

for a little bit

the devil

is running amok.

He's been toppled

but he has yet

to be thrown

into the lake of fire.

But his doom

is sure.

In a similar way

what we're being

told here

is that the Holy Spirit

will convict

certain people

in the world

that this

domain of darkness

is doomed.

That the devil

his days

are numbered.

That this

is not

what you want

to be living for.

It gets exposed

and then

they're convinced

and then they're like

I gotta change.

I gotta move

from the domain

of darkness

into the kingdom

of the beloved son

and it's only

through Jesus

that you can get

flipped.

That you can get

repoed.

That you can get

delivered from

the domain of darkness

into the kingdom

of the beloved son.

And so in all

of these ways

the Holy Spirit

is convicting

the world

of sin

righteousness

and judgment.

It's a huge

a huge event

when the Spirit

brings us

to bear

in somebody's

heart.

How does

the Spirit

do this?

How does

the Holy Spirit

convict

people of

sin,

righteousness

and judgment?

Well it's not

apart from

the Bible.

People

know what

sin is

because the

Bible

defines

what sin

is.

People

know what

righteousness

is

because the

Bible

spells out

righteousness.

The Bible

people know

about judgment

because of

what the Bible

says about

judgment.

So the

Holy Spirit

in tandem

with God's

word

convicts the

world

of sin

righteousness

and judgment.

Can any

of you do

that on your

own?

No.

So the

Spirit of

God is

our hope

and

in the

face

of

hopelessness.

There might

be many

in the

world

but we've

got one

Holy Spirit

and He

is all

we need.

He is

the one

who is

able

powerful

to change

the human

heart

from being

dead

to giving

it new

life.

You know

to that end

I'm going

to shamelessly

say it's

not too

late to

sign up

for the

evangelism

class.

Right out

those doors

it's going

to be

great.

That's

challenge

number two.

When we

feel powerless

there is

courage

because of

the Holy

Spirit's

power.

The third

challenge

comes from

being in

the world.

we are

often

challenged

by the

world.

We can

get

disoriented

even

distracted.

We need

clarity.

Clarity

of the

truth.

Clarity

of purpose.

You know

there will

be times

when we

let our

guards

down.

There will

be times

maybe even

seasons when

you become

disoriented

or distracted

by the

desires of

the world.

your heart

suffers.

You become

dull.

And then

because God

is so patient

and kind

he kind of

snaps you out

of it.

He brings

you around.

I said

this earlier

but if

the world

is sinful

humanity

and organized

rebellion

against God

we once

were in

and of

the world

but we

are of

the world

no longer.

we have

been called

out of the

world.

Jesus chose

us out

of the

world.

We are

in the

world

but not

of the

world.

We've

been called

out of

the world

in order

to bear

witness

to the

world.

To bear

witness

to the

world

of who

Jesus is

and what

he's done.

and when

we are

bearing

fruit

and

bearing

witness

it

becomes

a

compelling

witness.

The

disciples were

listening to

Jesus say

this.

You can

imagine what

they're

thinking.

Wait,

you're

leaving?

Who's

going to

lead us?

Who's

going to

guide us?

And in

verse 12

Jesus tells

his disciples

he's got

more to

say to

them but

they're

not able

to hear.

Not

right now.

Tells

them

he's

leaving.

You've

got more

to tell

us but

you're

taking

off?

Verse

13

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.

Just like

Jesus did

not speak on

his own

authority but

only spoke

what he

heard from

his father.

So the

spirit doesn't

speak on

his authority

but he

speaks only

what he

has heard

from the

son and

the father.

And that

spirit of

God,

the spirit

of truth,

he is

going to

be the

proxy

teacher

guide of

the

disciples

upon

Jesus'

departure.

He is

going to

lead them.

He is

going to

lead us.

And in

verse 13

he's going

to declare

the things

that are

to come.

I love

the book

of

Revelation.

I love

it.

It is so

encouraging.

And it

speaks of

the things

that are

to come.

Do you

know it

was the

Holy Spirit

who

declared

that,

spoke

that to

the

apostle

John,

the same

guy that

wrote the

gospel of

John,

but he

declared it

down the

line,

the things

that are

to come.

Your book

of Revelation

is the

fulfillment of

what Jesus

is saying

here.

The things

that are

to come.

In verses

14 and

15,

Jesus says

two times,

the Spirit

will take

what is

his,

what is

mine,

and declare

it to

you.

the Spirit

will take

the truth

of who

Jesus

is,

and what

he's done,

is what

he's doing,

what he

will do,

and he

will declare

it to

you.

And he's

speaking to

his original

disciples.

He's going

to make it

known to

them.

We learn

from earlier

in the

farewell

discourse

that the

Spirit

will

cause,

bring to

mind,

bring to

remembrance

to the

apostles

what Jesus

has said.

And here

we're learning

that the

same Spirit

of truth

is going

to declare

to them

the things

that Jesus

has yet

to say,

but wants

to say,

even things

that are yet

to happen.

What we're

talking about

here is

the faith

passed on

to the

apostles

and to

us.

In Jude,

it's a

little book

right before

the book

of Revelation.

In Jude

3 we

read,

Beloved,

although I

was very

eager to

write to

you about

our common

salvation,

I found

it necessary

to write

appealing to

you to

contend for

the faith

that was

once for

all delivered

to the

saints.

Once and

for all,

the faith,

the body

of doctrine

and teaching

about who

Jesus is,

about the

church,

about justification

and union

with Christ,

the nature

of the

church,

end times,

this faith

was passed

down once

and for

all from

the apostles

to the

church.

And it's

the Holy

Spirit

that impressed

upon,

declared to

them

the faith.

truth.

We have

in the

Bible

what God

wants us

to have.

It's the

Spirit

declaring

truth.

Through this

passage,

there's such

an emphasis

on the

Spirit

declaring

the words

of Jesus

to the

apostles.

One of the

things that

I'm sure

you've noticed

among

evangelicals

is you

tend to

have

kind of

this

split

of

churches.

You've

got the

Bible

churches,

word

churches,

and then

you have

the Spirit

churches,

the passionate

churches.

And so

it's either

word or

Spirit,

but that

is not

what we're

reading here.

What we're

reading here

is not

either or,

it's both

and.

It's

word and

Spirit.

it's

what the

good

doctor,

D.

Martin

Lloyd

Jones,

would

call

doctrine

on

fire.

We

want to

be

biblically

robust

and

spiritually

aflame.

And there

is a

focus

that this

truth

narrows

in on

one

person.

In

John

16,

14,

Jesus

says,

of the

Holy

Spirit,

He

will

glorify

me.

His

declarative

work

is going

to

spotlight

Jesus.

So we've

seen three

challenges.

What is

the advantage

of the

Holy

Spirit

to us?

Joy,

when shunned.

It's

courage,

because of

His power

to change

people,

not our

own.

And it's

truth.

Truth,

the Spirit

of truth.

And you

know what

happens when

you take

all that

together?

when you

have joy

and you

have courage

and truth

that the

Holy Spirit

is working

at among

us?

Do you

know what

that does?

It makes

you bold.

It makes

you willing

to say

things and

do things

that you

may not

otherwise.

But wait,

hold on,

time out!

How is

that better

than Jesus

being with

us?

Couldn't

Jesus just

do that?

Why is

it that

it's to

our advantage

that the

Holy Spirit

comes?

Because Jesus

could have

done that.

He does

that too!

When the

second person

of the

Trinity,

the eternally

existent

second person

of the

Trinity,

the Word

when he

took on

flesh,

when he

became a

man,

he took

on flesh

fully

and finally

and forever.

He

purposefully

limited

himself

to a

place.

Do you

know what the

advantage is?

Jesus

said,

I gotta

go,

I'm

limited to

a place.

But the

one I'm

sending

is

unlimited

by space.

He's

not bound

by a

body.

He is

able to

radically

change

people from

the inside

out,

all around

the world

at any

time and

in any

place.

Simultaneously.

Do you

know what the

advantage is?

The Holy

Spirit?

This is a

missional

advantage.

It's

strategic.

strategic.

It's

about

bearing

witness to

the nations

and not

being limited

to one

place.

It's

about

empowering

the church

to bear

witness

to Christ

all over

the world.

That's

the end.

That's

the purpose.

The more

and more

people who

are currently

dead in

their sin

and blind

to God

will be

given new

life by

the Holy

Spirit.

They'll be

convicted of

their sin,

righteousness,

and judgment

and they

will behold

and they

will believe

and they

will be

given

eternal

life in

Christ

all around

the world.

The

Spirit's

work is

unlimited

in its

scope.

He is

at work

all over

the place

and that's

the advantage

and his

aim is

always

to glorify

Christ

through our

witness.

Do you

remember that

little phrase

in 1614,

he will

glorify me?

Jesus is

speaking of

the Holy

Spirit,

he will

glorify me.

This might

be a little

over simplistic

because the

Holy Spirit

does a lot

but I find

those four

words,

he will

glorify me

to be one

of the

most clear

and helpful

statements

on what

the Holy

Spirit is

seeking to

accomplish

at this

time,

in this

unique period

between

Jesus'

first coming

and his

second coming.

He will

glorify me

and that

should put

strength in

you.

J.I.

Packer,

you might be

familiar with

him,

he's a

prolific author,

since died,

he wrote a

little book

called

Keeping in

Step with

the Spirit

and he

tells a

story of

him going

to a

Baptist

church in

Vancouver

to preach

on these

four words,

he will

glorify me.

And he

got there

for a

classic

evening

Sunday

service

at a

Baptist

church

and it

was

dusk

and he

didn't

have an

opening

illustration.

So he's

a little

panicky

and he's

walking up

this hill

to this

Baptist

church

and all

of a

sudden

it's

dusk

and he's

like,

got my

illustration

because there

on the

side of

the building

of this

church

was an

illuminated

cross.

And he

goes,

there it

is.

There's

the

illustration

I've been

looking for

because

your gaze

from that

spotlight

was not

to the

spotlight.

The

spotlight

was drawing

your gaze

to the

cross

of

Jesus

Christ.

He will

glorify

me.

So whether

it's in our

bearing of

fruit or

bearing of

witness,

the Holy

Spirit is

eager to

spotlight

Jesus.

Which brings

me to a

question.

How do you

know when the

Holy Spirit is

actively at

work in a

local church?

What?

Is Jesus

being

spotlighted?

Is Jesus

being exalted

and magnified?

Are people

bearing the

fruit of the

Spirit, which

is very

Christ-like?

Are they

boldly

proclaiming who

Jesus is and

what he's

done?

That's how

you know.

How do we

respond?

We respond

in humility.

we respond

in prayer.

And I'm

going to pray

a prayer,

and would

you pray

with me in

response to

what Jesus

has shown

us this

morning?

Spirit of the

living God,

would you

fall afresh

upon us?

Would you

fill us,

give us

joy even

under worldly

pressure?

Would you

give us

power even

when the

odds are

stacked against

us?

And would

you give

us clarity

of truth,

the truth

about Jesus

that will

give us

not just

deepening

conviction,

but deepening

boldness?

Spirit of the

living God,

would you

bear fruit

in us and

bear witness

through us

in order

that Jesus

would be

spotlighted

in this

little slice

of the world

that we're

living in?

Lord,

would you

be pleased

to gather

for yourself

men and

women

from all

different walks

of life in

our city

through the

powerful witness

of the

spirit

in us?

In your

name we

pray,

amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.