Incarnation 47 - Gospel of John - John 16:4-15

[00:00:22] God is doing in your life, and it seems like it's just coming all at once, and you don't

[00:00:27] have the resources to deal with it. I think maybe some of these disciples felt that way

[00:00:32] that night. They're talking about big, big things. And so if you would turn to me, to John

[00:00:38] 16 with me, we're going to begin in verse 1. We went through verse 4 last week, but I want

[00:00:45] to use verse 1 through 4 today as a springboard into through verse 15. And so we're reading

[00:00:49] Jesus' words here in John 16, and he says,

[00:01:19] I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. But now

[00:01:25] I'm going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, where are you going? But because I've

[00:01:30] said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth,

[00:01:35] it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper would not come

[00:01:41] to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world

[00:01:48] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe

[00:01:53] in me. Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no

[00:02:00] longer. Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things

[00:02:07] to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide

[00:02:12] you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears,

[00:02:18] he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify

[00:02:23] me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All the Father has is mine. Therefore

[00:02:30] I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. This is the word of God.

[00:02:37] Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus, once again, we read your words that you said to your disciples

[00:02:45] many, many years ago, but we pray that they still have lasting effects in our lives even

[00:02:50] today. So bless us, bless our thoughts, and keep our distractions at a minimum as we look

[00:02:56] into your word and your words, because they carry the power that saves us. And Holy Spirit

[00:03:02] always guide us and keep us until we see you again. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, in May of 2022,

[00:03:12] Darren Harrison had an ordinary day turned into an extraordinary story of survival and faith.

[00:03:20] Darren was a 39-year-old Florida man. He was a passenger on a Cessna 208, small single-engine

[00:03:26] plane. He was heading home from a fishing trip. He was sitting calmly in the cabin. When the

[00:03:32] unthinkable happened, the pilot suffered a medical emergency, and he fell unconscious.

[00:03:38] The aircraft slowly veered to the right and into a nosedive. Darren, with no previous flight

[00:03:46] experience, leapt into action. Climbing into the front seat, he found the pilot slumped over

[00:03:50] the controls. The plane was now in a steep descent, and the ocean was rapidly approaching. Darren

[00:03:58] wrestled the pilot out of the way, grabbed the controls, and went to call for help over

[00:04:02] the radio, only at the other end of his headset was four frayed wires. After finding a backup

[00:04:09] headset, he called for help on the radio, and he said, I've got a serious situation here.

[00:04:16] The pilot is incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the plane. A voice over the radio responded

[00:04:24] quickly. Air traffic controller Robert Morgan, who also happened to be a flight instructor, took

[00:04:29] the call. Darren heard Morgan's voice ask him where he was, but the GPS was dark, and Darren responded,

[00:04:36] I have no idea. All Darren had to get him back safely on the ground was Robert Morgan's voice.

[00:04:46] Morgan calmly began to guide Darren through the process of flying and landing the plane. Using

[00:04:51] a picture of the Cessna's cockpit, he described, which levers and buttons to use, instructing Darren

[00:04:57] through every step. Just focus on my voice, Morgan said, and I'll bring you home. Darren had no choice.

[00:05:08] The situation was dire. He later recounted the surreal weight of the moment, saying he felt

[00:05:14] overwhelming peace. Despite the chaos, God was with me, he said. As the plane approached Palm Beach

[00:05:23] International Airport, Darren followed Morgan's voice exactly. His hands trembled, but his mind stayed focused.

[00:05:30] With nothing to guide him back to safety, but the voice of someone he could not see and had never met,

[00:05:36] Darren put his trust in what he heard over that radio headset. And when he approached the runway,

[00:05:41] and the wheels gently touched down, he realized that he was actually going to make it home to his wife

[00:05:47] and soon-to-be-born daughter. In interviews after the event, Darren humbly reflected on what happened.

[00:05:55] He said, the hand of God was on that plane. The pilot recovered.

[00:06:01] Darren credited divine intervention for the peace and clarity he felt during those harrowing moments.

[00:06:08] The voice of the man that Darren could not see guided him back to safety. Despite Darren's confusion,

[00:06:14] his lack of expertise, and the absence of technical instruments, his trust in someone who knew the way

[00:06:22] home saved his life. In the upper room discourse, the disciples were in some way in the position or in

[00:06:37] the shoes of Darren that day. They were shell-shocked at the situation they were in. They were afraid,

[00:06:44] certainly. I'm sure they felt unprepared, but they had to perform. And even today, we ourselves,

[00:06:52] us here in this room, at times find ourselves in the position of the disciples that night too.

[00:07:01] And Jesus knows this, and he knows your feelings. He knew the disciples' feelings, and he is that voice

[00:07:07] we should trust. We can't see him. The disciples had seen him for three and a half years, and they were

[00:07:13] being told, you're not going to see me anymore. Jesus knows this. But even after that, he left the

[00:07:22] disciples and he went to the Father. They could still hear his voice through the work of the Spirit

[00:07:29] that he would send. And we can do the same. Even today, let's look at what Jesus says here and how

[00:07:38] he handles this situation in the last part of verse 4, talking to these young men. He says,

[00:07:43] I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you.

[00:07:49] He says, I'm not telling you these things now, today, these big things, new things,

[00:07:54] because I was with you the whole time. You didn't need to hear those things just yet.

[00:07:59] And they might think, because you were with us,

[00:08:02] that's the reason you didn't tell us these things until now,

[00:08:06] because you were with us? What does that mean, Jesus?

[00:08:09] Well, it could have something to do with what Jesus says in verse 12, as we'll see in a moment,

[00:08:13] where he says, there's even more to say, but you can't handle it right now.

[00:08:21] Your next note, your first note here, if you're taking notes,

[00:08:24] says, the Lord does not give us what we need until we need it. Did you ever notice that in life?

[00:08:29] You might say, I need this right now. I really got to have this right now. He doesn't give it to us

[00:08:33] until you need it, until you really need it. And maybe even sometimes after the deadline,

[00:08:39] then you get it and you think, oh, that was late, Lord. But you realize, actually, no, it was really

[00:08:43] perfect timing. The fact that he hadn't told them what he was telling them now could also have

[00:08:52] something to do with the fact that they didn't need to hear it until then. What were they going to do

[00:08:56] with that information three years prior? Now's the time. And so now Jesus says, I'll tell you now.

[00:09:05] The Lord doesn't give us the whole plan up front. And if he did, we'd probably say, no, thanks.

[00:09:10] And, you know, we don't like that approach. We want the whole plan now. We want to see everything

[00:09:14] A to Z, especially in this culture. We're very linear thinking. How does everything go in steps?

[00:09:18] And if you don't show me the whole plan, you don't have a business model,

[00:09:21] we really can't do business together. We don't like that, especially not in the way we've grown up.

[00:09:28] But we hear it when you go through Burger King. They say, we want you to have it your way. You're

[00:09:34] going to have it just like you want. Right now, some of this, not that. Hold the lettuce, extra

[00:09:40] tomatoes. Have it your way. That's what we expect. We're entitled almost in this culture. Like Frank

[00:09:46] Sinatra said back, what year was that? When he was saying, I did it my way. I did it my way.

[00:09:52] Like we're supposed to think that's virtuous. Me, me, me. But our culture preaches that at us. The

[00:09:59] hospitality industry, what's the number one rule? The customer's always right. Have you heard that?

[00:10:05] The customer's always right. So they get what they want. We bend over backwards because we want them

[00:10:10] to be satisfied and tell their friends about how great this restaurant is. Oh, you have it your way.

[00:10:15] You do it your way. You're always right. You know, we get preached this our whole lives and we feel

[00:10:20] entitled. And so when we go to the Lord and say, Lord, I prayed for this thing twice.

[00:10:25] Why don't I have it? And why don't I have it when I said I wanted to have it? You know my heart.

[00:10:31] He might say, you don't need it right now. We know what we want and we want it now. And this whole

[00:10:38] culture is immediate gratification culture. And when we can't have it our way, if I can't do it my way,

[00:10:47] we don't like that. We're just spoiled brats sometimes. Sometimes as adults, we act like

[00:10:55] children, don't we? At least in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. We act like children. We whine

[00:11:01] and cry and we don't get it my way. We throw a fit and we're on the floor. You know, you've seen

[00:11:05] five-year-olds throwing a fit. In our own way, we throw more distinguished fits. But we throw fits.

[00:11:16] He might tell us at times after we pray those prayers, he might say, no, not yet. Not yet. Be

[00:11:23] patient. I'll give you what you need when you need it. And we as adults need to learn those lessons too.

[00:11:30] He goes on in verse 5 and he says,

[00:11:52] To this point, again, Jesus has been with these young men for three and a half years and he's telling

[00:11:59] them I'm leaving, I'm going away. And they're worried about themselves and their sadness and

[00:12:03] their confusion. What about me? I don't get it. He says, you're not even asking me where I'm going.

[00:12:07] You're so worried about how you're feeling. You're confused and you, you, you. You don't even bother

[00:12:12] to ask me where. Maybe you want to know where I'm going. We're so concerned. And that sounds like us.

[00:12:18] You know, we have stories in the Bible about Israel or about the disciples. And sometimes I can see

[00:12:23] myself in these people. You know, up and down emotions and this and that and self-centered.

[00:12:28] And I think that's by design so we can identify with these people because we do the same things.

[00:12:35] They didn't think to ask him, well, where are you going? Explain it to us. Lay it out for us.

[00:12:41] They were individually asking themselves, yeah, yeah, Jesus, I know. But what about me?

[00:12:48] What about me? Those are three words that can really throw you on the wrong track.

[00:12:53] When you come to a situation, you think of any first responders, police officers, fire department,

[00:12:58] nurses, you run to the scene and if the first question the police officer says is, what about me?

[00:13:06] The person who actually needs help and the reason you came is not going to get the help

[00:13:10] because your priority is not on the right thing. Jesus says, I'm going away. I am the Lord Jesus

[00:13:18] Christ, God on earth. I'm leaving. And they're saying, what about me? Don't we do that?

[00:13:24] Doesn't our father look down on us and say, can you get your priorities straight?

[00:13:31] More than what they are. They were sorrowful. They were sad.

[00:13:38] But Jesus tells them like any good father would, I know you're sad for this thing

[00:13:43] or it hurts right now, but he says, it's for your advantage. It's for your own good.

[00:13:48] I know you don't understand that right now.

[00:13:50] I talk a lot about my kids, maybe not individually by name, but the fact that I have kids and a lot of you,

[00:13:55] most of you have had kids. Understand, our kids don't understand why sometimes.

[00:14:00] Most times you do things. What's the number one question a kid always asks?

[00:14:03] Why? Why, why, why, dad? Why?

[00:14:07] Just trust me. I don't have time to go into why.

[00:14:10] It's for your own good. Just eat your vegetables.

[00:14:13] Why, why, why? Calcium, the vitamins, just eat your vegetables. Just obey me.

[00:14:19] Sounds like our heavenly father is saying to us, can you just obey me? Can you just trust me?

[00:14:24] But why, but why?

[00:14:26] Your next note here says, seeing our circumstances through our perspective, excuse me, is not the same as seeing them through God's perspective.

[00:14:38] Boy, God looks at things differently than we do.

[00:14:42] We have our own rose-colored glasses and we see them just like hell we want.

[00:14:47] But I think it's a healthy exercise to try to see what God sees in our lives.

[00:14:51] See our circumstances the way he sees them in our lives.

[00:14:55] And we probably would agree more than you might think we'd agree with him saying, no, it's not the time for that.

[00:15:02] I think you're going to wait on that.

[00:15:04] Or maybe just the answer is no.

[00:15:07] I prayed for this thing a lot and he just says no.

[00:15:11] Well, my father said no at times too.

[00:15:13] And you know what? It was for my own benefit.

[00:15:17] Because he loves us.

[00:15:18] You know, love is not equated with permission.

[00:15:23] If the kids just say, well, God, you won't, or if we say to God, God, you won't let me do anything.

[00:15:28] You won't let me have any fun like the kid would say.

[00:15:30] You won't let me go to my friends overnight and sleep and they're going to have alcohol and it's going to be great, Dad.

[00:15:34] You won't let me do anything.

[00:15:35] You don't love me.

[00:15:38] No, no.

[00:15:38] If I permit you to do that, that's unloving in my opinion.

[00:15:43] I'm supposed to protect my kids.

[00:15:46] And if I do something for their own benefit that they don't like at the moment, that's love.

[00:15:51] But they say, no, you don't love me.

[00:15:52] You don't let me do whatever I want.

[00:15:54] We don't get to do that in front of our Lord either.

[00:15:57] If we say, Lord, I want to go out and I want to sin and hurt people, he's going to prevent that if he wills it and says, no, you're not.

[00:16:06] Well, you don't love me.

[00:16:07] No, I love the people that you're about to hurt.

[00:16:09] And I'm going to say no to you.

[00:16:11] I'm not going to allow you to do that.

[00:16:12] You know, the Lord intervenes even today in people's lives and stops evil when only he can stop it.

[00:16:21] Out of love for us.

[00:16:26] You look at verse 7, he says again, I know you're worried.

[00:16:30] I know you're sorrowful.

[00:16:31] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

[00:16:33] It is to your advantage that I go away.

[00:16:34] He's telling you this is for your own good, your benefit.

[00:16:37] For if I don't go away, the helper, this is the Holy Spirit, will not come to you.

[00:16:42] But if I go, I will send him to you.

[00:16:45] And they understand now.

[00:16:47] They're getting it now.

[00:16:47] Yes, he is going away.

[00:16:50] He is going to leave them, but he's not going to leave them alone.

[00:16:56] Why?

[00:16:56] Because he loves them.

[00:16:57] And he loves us.

[00:16:59] He did leave in the flesh, but he didn't leave them alone.

[00:17:04] Your next note says, in case of emergency, remember, Jesus has not left you alone.

[00:17:11] Even though it may feel that way at times, when people will share with me once in a while,

[00:17:21] things like, I can't feel the Lord's presence right now in my life.

[00:17:26] Or it feels like the Lord has walked away for a while from me.

[00:17:30] Things like that.

[00:17:33] But remember, Jesus has not left you alone.

[00:17:37] He's not abandoned you.

[00:17:39] He's not forsaken you.

[00:17:42] Hebrews 13 tells us this.

[00:17:44] Excuse me, among other places.

[00:17:47] Well, I just don't feel his presence like I used to.

[00:17:50] People will say.

[00:17:51] We might all say that or think that or feel it.

[00:17:54] Maybe you wandered away.

[00:17:58] Maybe I wandered away.

[00:18:01] But Jesus didn't.

[00:18:03] In fact, even when he left in the flesh, he sent his spirit also to make sure we're never alone.

[00:18:14] You say, well, my prayers aren't being answered right now.

[00:18:16] They haven't been answered for a month.

[00:18:17] Well, maybe the answer is no.

[00:18:21] Like we said last week, the week before, I will give anything if you pray in my name.

[00:18:27] If you pray according to my will.

[00:18:29] If you pray in the way I would pray, you'll have it.

[00:18:31] But if you pray self-centered things about things that are wicked things, he's not going to give you those things.

[00:18:38] That's not according to his character and his will.

[00:18:42] If you pray anything in the name of Jesus, in my name, according to my will, according to my character, of course I'll give them to you.

[00:18:49] Maybe we've been praying prayers and the answer is no.

[00:18:52] And that's an answered prayer.

[00:18:54] People say, that prayer wasn't answered.

[00:18:56] Yes, it was.

[00:18:57] It was answered no.

[00:18:58] We have to think of things like that too, that way.

[00:19:01] He does not leave his people and he never will.

[00:19:04] And he hasn't left us alone.

[00:19:10] Your next note here also says, don't allow, this is important, your feelings to be the standard.

[00:19:17] But let the truth be the standard.

[00:19:19] Well, what's meant by that?

[00:19:22] Our feelings change every day.

[00:19:24] And you can have the exact same day tomorrow as you had today and feel good tomorrow and have a downer day today.

[00:19:30] Because your feelings are up and down and up and down.

[00:19:32] That's not a good standard to have.

[00:19:33] I don't feel this and I don't feel that.

[00:19:35] Don't allow those feelings to be the standard of how you live your life.

[00:19:39] Let the truth of God's word be the standard.

[00:19:41] Do you believe the words of Jesus or not?

[00:19:43] I would say, yes, we all believe the words of Jesus.

[00:19:47] Even when your feelings say something different?

[00:19:49] Well, my feelings are pretty strong.

[00:19:53] He's saying, believe it or not, it's to your advantage.

[00:19:56] But they just didn't see it that way.

[00:19:58] And of course, then you have all the cases that they're going to make.

[00:20:02] Well, no, see, here's not why.

[00:20:04] Here's why it's not to our advantage, Lord.

[00:20:05] Maybe they had some of those side conversations.

[00:20:07] Maybe it's better if you stayed.

[00:20:08] Jesus, can you think about this?

[00:20:12] But he knew it's to your advantage.

[00:20:15] Trust me.

[00:20:17] Trust me.

[00:20:19] In verse 8, he goes on.

[00:20:20] He says, speaking about the Holy Spirit.

[00:20:23] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

[00:20:29] And then he elaborates, concerning sin because they do not believe in me.

[00:20:33] Concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.

[00:20:37] And concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.

[00:20:43] They're getting the picture now.

[00:20:45] The man standing in front of them, their rabbi, their teacher, is telling them, I am leaving you.

[00:20:51] And it's sinking in.

[00:20:53] And now he's telling them why.

[00:20:55] And he's telling them, he's going to send the helper.

[00:20:58] They're looking forward now to something.

[00:21:00] They've never heard about this new news before.

[00:21:04] Jesus is leaving.

[00:21:05] He's going away in the flesh.

[00:21:07] And he's sending the Holy Spirit.

[00:21:08] And the Spirit will do what Jesus has been doing.

[00:21:14] But on a wider scale, remember in John 14 we talked about the greater works that these disciples would be doing in the book of Acts.

[00:21:21] After Christ ascends to the throne.

[00:21:23] He'll do greater works.

[00:21:25] It'll be widespread.

[00:21:27] And this thing's going global.

[00:21:29] You know, Jesus could affect many people in those days in one body.

[00:21:34] But the Holy Spirit now can be in every believer.

[00:21:39] And these are greater works.

[00:21:40] John 14 talks about that.

[00:21:42] And that's partly why it's to your advantage he says that I go away because I'll send my spirits.

[00:21:47] And it'll almost be like as if I, me, were dwelling inside of you.

[00:21:51] Each of you.

[00:21:52] And you can all go and multiply.

[00:21:56] Jesus says the Spirit will do these three things in this passage.

[00:21:59] To convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.

[00:22:05] And I thought if it was your last day on earth and you had to get the most important information out to the people you love, what would it be?

[00:22:12] And he decides, Jesus in his infinite wisdom, I'm going to tell them these three things about who I'm sending.

[00:22:19] What the Spirit will do.

[00:22:20] He's going to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

[00:22:26] Why those things?

[00:22:28] Because he knows best.

[00:22:30] Regarding sin, he said the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin.

[00:22:35] And I know that you know that we're all, as they say, heading at the speed of life toward an appointment with the judge on judgment day.

[00:22:46] And you all have an appointment.

[00:22:51] And I'll see you there because I have an appointment too.

[00:22:53] We all have to go.

[00:22:56] And we're either going to be found guilty or innocent that day.

[00:23:01] And what will convict us is our unpaid sin debt against the Holy God.

[00:23:11] If anyone's brought before God who's not been convicted, they'd go free, wouldn't they?

[00:23:15] If you haven't been convicted of sin, you'd go free.

[00:23:17] You're innocent.

[00:23:20] But God's Word said in Romans 3.23, all have sinned.

[00:23:26] All have sinned and continuously fall short of the glory of God.

[00:23:31] There's no innocent person.

[00:23:34] We're all convicted of sin.

[00:23:36] Read John, we just read from Randy, John 3.16.

[00:23:39] Read John 3.17 and 18.

[00:23:40] If you haven't believed, you're condemned already.

[00:23:42] You're convicted already.

[00:23:44] It's the default position.

[00:23:46] Excuse me.

[00:23:48] Barry, would you mind getting me a little drink or something?

[00:23:51] Thank you.

[00:23:53] The Holy Spirit is convicting the world of sin.

[00:23:55] And we're all found guilty of it until and unless our faith in Christ frees us from that.

[00:24:03] Until His blood washes our sins away through faith in Him.

[00:24:08] Otherwise, we're all convicts.

[00:24:13] We are all convicts.

[00:24:14] But some of us are ex-cons.

[00:24:16] You ever hear that term?

[00:24:17] Used to be a convict.

[00:24:18] But now I'm free in Christ.

[00:24:20] I've been acquitted in God's court.

[00:24:23] And I've said it before, interestingly, in our legal system, you're found guilty or not guilty.

[00:24:28] Thank you.

[00:24:29] Appreciate it.

[00:24:32] But in God's legal system, you're found guilty or innocent.

[00:24:37] There's a difference between innocent and not guilty.

[00:24:39] Not guilty means you may have done it, we just can't prove it.

[00:24:43] But God declares us in His word innocent.

[00:24:47] As if you never did it.

[00:24:49] Because we're covered with the righteousness of Christ.

[00:24:52] And that brings us to our next point.

[00:24:53] The Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness.

[00:24:56] What does that mean?

[00:24:58] And He said, well, because I go to the Father.

[00:25:01] Why did He say that?

[00:25:02] The Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness because I go to the Father?

[00:25:08] The emphasis needs to be on Jesus.

[00:25:10] The I in this sentence.

[00:25:12] The Holy Spirit's going to convict the world of righteousness

[00:25:15] because He's the only one that on His merits could go to the Father.

[00:25:20] Only one.

[00:25:21] Jesus Christ.

[00:25:23] You try getting to the Father and going to heaven and ascending to the throne

[00:25:27] on your righteousness and on your merits or mine.

[00:25:31] Good luck with that.

[00:25:34] We don't have any hope of going to the Father on our righteousness.

[00:25:40] He is the only one who is righteous.

[00:25:42] And there's only one that could ever go and it was Him.

[00:25:46] I love how Paul reflects on this idea in Philippians 3.

[00:25:49] He says, Paul, the apostle, our greatest missionary we ever had,

[00:25:52] wrote half the New Testament.

[00:25:53] It says this.

[00:25:55] If anyone thinks that he has reason for confidence in the flesh,

[00:25:58] he says, I have more.

[00:26:00] Well, that sounds pretty humble.

[00:26:03] Previously in this chapter, he says,

[00:26:04] now listen, I'm going to speak like a madman.

[00:26:06] I don't normally speak this way.

[00:26:07] I'm doing this as an example.

[00:26:09] So this isn't Paul being prideful.

[00:26:10] He's not.

[00:26:11] He's being humble.

[00:26:12] But he's saying if you think your righteousness is going to get you to heaven without Christ,

[00:26:16] let me tell you my story.

[00:26:19] If anyone thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh,

[00:26:22] I have more.

[00:26:23] He says,

[00:26:23] I will circumcise on the eighth day of the people of Israel,

[00:26:27] of the tribe of Benjamin,

[00:26:29] a Hebrew of Hebrews,

[00:26:31] as to the law of Pharisee,

[00:26:33] as to zeal,

[00:26:35] a prosecutor of the church.

[00:26:37] He took pride in that.

[00:26:39] As to righteousness under the law,

[00:26:41] blameless.

[00:26:42] But whatever gain I had,

[00:26:51] he says,

[00:26:52] I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

[00:26:58] Indeed,

[00:26:59] I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus,

[00:27:04] my Lord.

[00:27:05] For his sake,

[00:27:06] I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him,

[00:27:15] not having a righteousness of my own.

[00:27:18] Because that's worthless.

[00:27:22] That comes from the law,

[00:27:23] but that which comes through faith in Christ.

[00:27:27] The righteousness from God that depends on faith.

[00:27:29] That's the righteousness that's going to get you there,

[00:27:31] not your own.

[00:27:36] When Paul here,

[00:27:38] in verse

[00:27:40] eight,

[00:27:42] in our English translations,

[00:27:43] they use such a nice word,

[00:27:45] rubbish.

[00:27:48] For his sake,

[00:27:49] I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish.

[00:27:52] All those degrees and all those acclimates I did before I prosecuted the church.

[00:27:58] He says,

[00:27:59] it's all rubbish.

[00:27:59] The Greek word really means excrement.

[00:28:04] Dung.

[00:28:06] That's what Paul considers his great works.

[00:28:09] And Isaiah,

[00:28:12] I mentioned this before,

[00:28:13] he says,

[00:28:14] if you think you have righteous works,

[00:28:15] you know what your righteous works look like in front of God's holy throne?

[00:28:19] Filthy rags.

[00:28:21] And again,

[00:28:21] our English translators did us a favor and are nice because the Hebrew word there means menstrual rags.

[00:28:29] That's how holy your holy works are.

[00:28:32] Without Christ,

[00:28:34] worthless.

[00:28:39] Your next note says,

[00:28:41] all your righteousness will bring you is judgment.

[00:28:46] It is only Christ's righteousness that will bring you salvation.

[00:28:55] Stop having so much faith in yourself.

[00:29:00] Stop thinking you can help Jesus.

[00:29:02] Like we talked about in the question,

[00:29:04] the catechism question.

[00:29:05] We can't help Jesus save us.

[00:29:07] He's done it.

[00:29:08] We can't add to it.

[00:29:09] He covers your unrighteousness with his righteousness.

[00:29:16] We talked about the white robes of righteousness.

[00:29:19] The perfect works of Christ that cover our imperfections.

[00:29:23] That we call righteous works and they're pretty righteous.

[00:29:26] And we think it compared to the next guy,

[00:29:28] they're pretty righteous.

[00:29:29] My work.

[00:29:30] But in front of the perfection of Christ's righteousness,

[00:29:34] our righteous works are nothing.

[00:29:36] Don't rely on them.

[00:29:38] Don't rely on you.

[00:29:40] And the Holy Spirit points to and convicts the world of this truth,

[00:29:45] that Christ's righteousness is the only way to salvation.

[00:29:49] You can't do it.

[00:29:51] We don't like hearing that either.

[00:29:52] You can't do it.

[00:29:54] Imagine Nike had changed their logo or their slogan from just do it to I can't do it.

[00:30:00] Probably wouldn't sell many shoes.

[00:30:02] You can't do it.

[00:30:04] But it really hits at the pride, the heart of man that's prideful.

[00:30:08] Someone tells you you can't do it, they say, watch me.

[00:30:11] Now I want to do it.

[00:30:13] Now I want to do it even more because you told me I can't.

[00:30:17] Good luck.

[00:30:19] But don't rely on your own righteousness.

[00:30:22] Insufficient.

[00:30:24] The next one, judgment.

[00:30:26] Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict the world of judgment.

[00:30:28] Why?

[00:30:29] Because the ruler of this world is judged.

[00:30:31] That's the reason he gives.

[00:30:31] Because the ruler of this world is judged.

[00:30:34] Well, what does this mean?

[00:30:35] He says if the ruler of this world is judged,

[00:30:37] the mightiest evil power in this world is already judged and doomed.

[00:30:40] Why would you want to follow him?

[00:30:42] He's already condemned and judged.

[00:30:44] You think you can go against the way of the Lord and be saved and overpower the Lord?

[00:30:51] Satan tried that.

[00:30:52] He wanted to be God.

[00:30:54] And he's doomed.

[00:30:58] Jesus is saying that if you're following Satan and his ways of evil,

[00:31:04] and even the most powerful evil entity is doomed and condemned forever,

[00:31:09] then you certainly have no chance of escaping God's wrath.

[00:31:17] And he's testified about that in Scripture.

[00:31:20] The Holy Spirit's already made it plain through Scripture

[00:31:22] about how Satan is defeated.

[00:31:25] He's a defeated foe.

[00:31:26] In Genesis, way back to the first book of the Bible,

[00:31:29] Genesis chapter 3, where the Lord prophesies that the Messiah will come

[00:31:32] and crush Satan's head.

[00:31:34] Jacob preached about it.

[00:31:36] From the beginning, he was defeated.

[00:31:39] Even on to Colossians 2,

[00:31:41] when God disarmed the rulers and authorities

[00:31:42] and put them to open shame

[00:31:45] by triumphant over them at the foot of the cross.

[00:31:49] They're defeated because of Christ.

[00:31:53] And then on to the last book of the Scriptures,

[00:31:55] Revelation chapter 20,

[00:31:56] where the devil's cast finally into the lake of fire

[00:31:59] to be tormented day and night forever and ever.

[00:32:04] You're going to walk away from Jesus Christ

[00:32:08] and go to the dark side

[00:32:10] and try to have success there.

[00:32:13] The only place you're going to end up

[00:32:14] is in the lake of fire with Satan.

[00:32:19] If you rely on yourself,

[00:32:21] and you say, well, I'm my own man.

[00:32:22] I'm not going to follow anyone.

[00:32:23] Good luck with that.

[00:32:24] Your righteousness is not enough.

[00:32:29] The Spirit convicts the world of the fact that

[00:32:32] even its evil leader,

[00:32:34] the Bible calls the devil, Satan,

[00:32:37] the ruler of this world,

[00:32:38] the God of this world at times.

[00:32:41] Even he's doomed.

[00:32:45] These things,

[00:32:47] convicting the world of sin and righteousness,

[00:32:51] and judgment,

[00:32:52] the Spirit does.

[00:32:55] And they are what Jesus also did.

[00:32:59] He did not leave us alone when he left.

[00:33:02] In verse 12,

[00:33:04] he goes on and he says,

[00:33:05] I still have many things to say to you,

[00:33:07] but you cannot bear them now.

[00:33:09] When the Spirit of truth comes,

[00:33:10] he will guide you into all truth,

[00:33:12] for he will not speak on his own authority,

[00:33:14] but whatever he hears,

[00:33:15] he will speak.

[00:33:17] And he will declare to you the things that are to come.

[00:33:20] He will glorify me,

[00:33:21] for he will take what is mine and declare to you.

[00:33:24] All that the Father has is mine.

[00:33:25] Therefore I say,

[00:33:26] I said that he will take what is mine

[00:33:29] and declare to you.

[00:33:31] You see, there's always more.

[00:33:33] There's always more he could share with us.

[00:33:36] Are we to demand more?

[00:33:39] There's always more he could share with us.

[00:33:40] Where does he stop?

[00:33:41] Do you want the whole thing?

[00:33:46] As a good servant and follower of Christ,

[00:33:48] we should understand we're on a need-to-know basis.

[00:33:52] He's not going to share with us

[00:33:53] how he made the heavens and the earth right now.

[00:33:55] Maybe if he feels like it later,

[00:33:58] when we're in heaven,

[00:33:58] he can sit by the fire,

[00:34:00] whatever is going on,

[00:34:01] and he can say,

[00:34:03] now check this out.

[00:34:04] Look at what I did here.

[00:34:05] But you know what?

[00:34:06] Now's not the time for that.

[00:34:10] There's always more.

[00:34:14] Don't be so upset that he doesn't

[00:34:15] let us see it all, all the time.

[00:34:17] See the whole thing.

[00:34:18] Don't be so upset.

[00:34:18] At some point,

[00:34:19] we have to be okay with not knowing everything.

[00:34:23] Where's that line?

[00:34:26] We have to get better at just trusting him

[00:34:30] like our good Father.

[00:34:31] The disciples could not bear it then.

[00:34:33] If he just let them all have it,

[00:34:35] he said, you can't bear it now.

[00:34:36] Just like them,

[00:34:37] I'm sure we couldn't bear it all even today

[00:34:39] if he let us in on the plan

[00:34:41] for the next six years or six months.

[00:34:45] We'd say, hold it.

[00:34:46] Lord, I can't take it.

[00:34:47] I can't deal with this right now.

[00:34:49] Why'd you tell me that?

[00:34:50] Now I've got to worry for six months

[00:34:52] about that things that's going to happen.

[00:34:53] He knows.

[00:34:54] That's why he doesn't tell us.

[00:34:56] He tells us what we need to know,

[00:34:58] when we need to know him.

[00:35:00] Just keep trusting him.

[00:35:01] Just keep focusing on him,

[00:35:02] that voice.

[00:35:03] We can't see him,

[00:35:04] but we can hear him

[00:35:05] through his spirit within us.

[00:35:07] Keep focused on the voice of Christ

[00:35:09] through the spirit,

[00:35:10] and he'll bring you home.

[00:35:12] Just like Darren Harrison.

[00:35:15] All he had was that voice in his ear.

[00:35:18] I couldn't see the guy.

[00:35:19] I couldn't see the plane in the airport.

[00:35:21] I just had the voice telling me what to do.

[00:35:23] And I got home.

[00:35:29] Jesus here tells the disciples

[00:35:30] something else the spirit will do,

[00:35:31] which is always to guide them into all truth.

[00:35:33] He's called the spirit of truth

[00:35:34] here in this passage.

[00:35:37] As Christians,

[00:35:38] that means to me

[00:35:39] that we know the way home.

[00:35:41] If we were that pilot,

[00:35:42] we could have said,

[00:35:43] if he says, where are you?

[00:35:44] We could spiritually,

[00:35:46] in a spiritual sense,

[00:35:46] say, I don't know,

[00:35:47] but I know the way home

[00:35:48] because I know Jesus.

[00:35:51] And we might have to be the voice

[00:35:52] in someone else's ear

[00:35:53] where all they have is our voice,

[00:35:55] giving them the truth of the scriptures.

[00:35:57] That's the way home.

[00:35:59] Listen to Jesus' voice through me.

[00:36:04] And with that voice in our hearts,

[00:36:06] in our ears,

[00:36:07] we hear from the spirit.

[00:36:08] We know the way home.

[00:36:09] We know the right thing to do.

[00:36:11] You know,

[00:36:11] the spirit testifies with your spirit.

[00:36:13] If you're in Christ,

[00:36:13] the right thing to do.

[00:36:15] We know the right thing to do.

[00:36:16] We test it against scripture.

[00:36:18] We know the true God.

[00:36:19] We know the way home

[00:36:20] because of the spirit.

[00:36:21] He's always guiding us

[00:36:22] every day,

[00:36:23] every minute.

[00:36:26] Jesus also said

[00:36:26] that the spirit guides us,

[00:36:28] but he doesn't speak for himself.

[00:36:29] He speaks what he hears,

[00:36:31] the father say,

[00:36:32] what Christ says.

[00:36:34] And he always glorifies Christ

[00:36:36] and he always points to Christ.

[00:36:38] The spirit never glorifies himself

[00:36:40] or says,

[00:36:41] stop at me.

[00:36:42] You don't have to go to Jesus.

[00:36:44] He always points to Jesus.

[00:36:49] I'm going to go down

[00:36:50] to your next note here,

[00:36:51] which says,

[00:36:52] we must keep Christ

[00:36:53] and his gospel at the center

[00:36:56] or anything we do

[00:36:57] will be off center.

[00:37:02] We got to keep him

[00:37:03] at the center

[00:37:03] and his gospel

[00:37:04] at the center.

[00:37:05] And if we don't,

[00:37:06] anything else we do

[00:37:06] is going to be off center

[00:37:07] if Christ is not the center.

[00:37:10] The spirit always points to Christ.

[00:37:11] And I would caution

[00:37:12] any Christian

[00:37:14] to be very leery

[00:37:16] and I've done this before,

[00:37:17] about any church or ministry

[00:37:18] that emphasizes

[00:37:20] or elevates

[00:37:21] the Holy Spirit

[00:37:22] above Jesus Christ.

[00:37:25] The spirit himself

[00:37:27] doesn't even do that

[00:37:29] and would never do that.

[00:37:30] What does the spirit do?

[00:37:31] Go to Jesus.

[00:37:36] And please hear me,

[00:37:37] we need the Holy Spirit.

[00:37:38] We are ineffective

[00:37:39] without the spirit.

[00:37:40] We can do nothing

[00:37:40] without the power

[00:37:42] of the Holy Spirit

[00:37:42] within us.

[00:37:44] We rely upon him

[00:37:45] every day.

[00:37:47] But it's not as if

[00:37:48] now that we're Christians

[00:37:49] we've kind of graduated

[00:37:50] from Jesus

[00:37:51] and now focus on the spirit

[00:37:53] and leave Jesus

[00:37:54] in the back seat.

[00:37:55] No, that's not how it works.

[00:37:57] We serve God the Father,

[00:37:58] God the Son,

[00:37:59] God the Holy Spirit.

[00:38:01] Jesus Christ is still

[00:38:02] the name above all names.

[00:38:05] We need the spirit.

[00:38:07] But don't forget

[00:38:08] the gospel.

[00:38:10] Don't forget Jesus.

[00:38:13] So what can we take

[00:38:14] from this message?

[00:38:15] Last night of Jesus' life,

[00:38:16] coming to the end here

[00:38:18] of his disciples,

[00:38:20] time with him,

[00:38:22] the next day he knows

[00:38:22] he's going to die.

[00:38:25] He's telling his disciples

[00:38:26] here in this passage,

[00:38:27] don't worry.

[00:38:29] I know what's coming.

[00:38:30] I know that you don't

[00:38:31] know what's coming.

[00:38:32] Don't worry.

[00:38:33] And how many times

[00:38:34] does it say,

[00:38:35] be not afraid in scripture?

[00:38:36] Does anyone know?

[00:38:38] 365.

[00:38:41] Coincidence?

[00:38:42] Maybe, maybe not.

[00:38:45] Don't worry.

[00:38:46] Trust him.

[00:38:49] He would say,

[00:38:50] I'm leaving,

[00:38:51] but I'm not leaving you alone.

[00:38:53] I'm sending the spirit.

[00:38:55] He's going to guide you

[00:38:56] every day into all truth

[00:38:57] and always towards me.

[00:38:59] He's going to testify

[00:39:00] about me.

[00:39:01] And he would say,

[00:39:02] keep your eyes on me.

[00:39:04] Keep our eyes on Jesus.

[00:39:06] Don't lose focus of him.

[00:39:09] Don't lose focus of his voice.

[00:39:11] Seek out his voice.

[00:39:13] Even though we can't see him,

[00:39:14] we can focus on him.

[00:39:16] The spirit tells us

[00:39:18] and testifies of that.

[00:39:19] Don't stop at the spirit.

[00:39:20] He's pointing us to Christ.

[00:39:23] The disciples were saying,

[00:39:25] we don't understand.

[00:39:26] Remember, we were afraid.

[00:39:27] What about us?

[00:39:27] What about me?

[00:39:29] We were putting,

[00:39:30] they were putting their trust

[00:39:31] and their faith

[00:39:33] in their own intellect

[00:39:34] and in their own capabilities.

[00:39:36] We do that too.

[00:39:38] We don't want to admit it,

[00:39:39] but we do that.

[00:39:43] We got to keep Jesus

[00:39:44] at the focal point.

[00:39:45] Don't forget about what saves.

[00:39:47] It's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[00:39:48] That's what saves.

[00:39:49] And don't let anything get

[00:39:50] to the point where it

[00:39:51] takes the place of Jesus,

[00:39:53] where he takes a back seat.

[00:39:55] The lust of the flesh,

[00:39:56] the pride of life,

[00:39:58] all those things might get

[00:39:59] in the way of

[00:40:00] Jesus being first.

[00:40:01] What about me?

[00:40:02] You know,

[00:40:02] that gets in the way

[00:40:03] of Jesus being first.

[00:40:04] Me.

[00:40:06] You.

[00:40:08] Don't let it.

[00:40:08] Don't get distracted

[00:40:09] by what we call bad things

[00:40:11] because those bad things,

[00:40:12] oh no, Jesus is leaving,

[00:40:13] might actually be a good thing.

[00:40:14] He says, no,

[00:40:15] it's actually a good thing.

[00:40:17] Trust me.

[00:40:18] Seek my will.

[00:40:22] These are big changes

[00:40:23] that were coming

[00:40:23] for these young men

[00:40:24] and big changes

[00:40:25] that are coming for us too.

[00:40:27] We just don't know

[00:40:28] what they are yet,

[00:40:28] but he does.

[00:40:29] And they're always coming.

[00:40:31] He says, trust me.

[00:40:32] Don't worry.

[00:40:34] I know what's coming.

[00:40:37] Even though I'm going away,

[00:40:38] I'm sending the Spirit.

[00:40:40] He'll testify about me.

[00:40:42] And it's as if Jesus was saying,

[00:40:44] so here's what I want you to do, guys.

[00:40:45] I want you to continue your ministry

[00:40:47] as if I were still here

[00:40:48] in the flesh with you.

[00:40:51] Yet when I'm gone,

[00:40:53] my Spirit will be in you.

[00:40:57] It'll be in you.

[00:40:58] And we can do that too.

[00:41:00] Now we're here.

[00:41:00] We don't see Jesus in the flesh,

[00:41:04] but we have the Spirit within us.

[00:41:06] We know his heart.

[00:41:07] How?

[00:41:08] Because he told us

[00:41:09] through his life

[00:41:11] that the apostles lived with him.

[00:41:13] Wrote down what he did,

[00:41:14] what he said.

[00:41:14] We believe it.

[00:41:16] Your feelings aren't the standard.

[00:41:17] The truth is the standard.

[00:41:18] Well, where would he get the truth?

[00:41:20] The words of Scripture.

[00:41:21] The Holy Spirit guided men

[00:41:23] to write down the words of Scripture.

[00:41:25] He brought to the remembrance

[00:41:26] the things that Jesus said to them,

[00:41:28] and they wrote them down in Scripture.

[00:41:29] And this is how God wants us

[00:41:31] to learn the truth of the gospel,

[00:41:33] his word.

[00:41:35] Don't believe your feelings

[00:41:36] as much as you believe God's word.

[00:41:38] Keep Jesus at the focal point

[00:41:39] where everything else is off center.

[00:41:44] Jesus will die the next day,

[00:41:46] and we'll look into that further next time.

[00:41:50] Please stand with me as we pray.

[00:41:59] Dear Heavenly Father,

[00:41:59] we know that you know all the plans for us,

[00:42:03] and we know that we want to know

[00:42:05] all the plans at times too.

[00:42:06] But Lord, just teach us patience.

[00:42:09] Teach us trust.

[00:42:12] Always teach us to keep you first

[00:42:13] and not us,

[00:42:14] even though we are tempted to.

[00:42:16] Even subconsciously,

[00:42:17] we put ourselves before you at times.

[00:42:18] We don't even realize it.

[00:42:21] Lord, have grace on us and mercy.

[00:42:24] We want to be like you,

[00:42:25] and we're still on our way.

[00:42:28] And Holy Spirit,

[00:42:29] as you have always done,

[00:42:30] we ask that you prompt us

[00:42:32] and lead us

[00:42:32] and guide us into even more truth.

[00:42:35] Embolden us as we share

[00:42:37] our faith with others

[00:42:38] this holiday season,

[00:42:39] where Thanksgiving and Christmas

[00:42:41] and everything in between,

[00:42:42] that others may come to you in faith

[00:42:44] and experience the presence

[00:42:46] of you, the Spirit,

[00:42:48] in our lives.

[00:42:49] Lord, be with us as we go.

[00:42:51] Keep us safe and healthy

[00:42:52] until we meet again.

[00:42:53] In Jesus' name we pray.

[00:42:55] Amen.