John 15:26-16:4: The Spirit-Empowered Church

2 Corinthians 4:7–11 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Intro

What hope and confidence do we have to carry out the Great Commission and endure the hatred and hostility of the World.

When the road is long and all looks dark what can we look to to keep us going?

We need this today because when you look out at the world its obvious that we have an uphill climb and if were’ not careful that uphill climb can turn into despair.

But we need not despair… we need not be hopeless… because Christ has given us the power and grace of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We are not sent out alone… abandoned… left to our own resources.

And you need this because you are the church.

what does this sermon have to do with me? I’m not a pastor or missionary… I’m so small and insignificant.

but you’re not just a Christian… an individual bb out in this world… you are a member of Christ’s church.

And as member of Christ’s Church these promises are for you.

When the world looks dark… our Big Idea for the day…

The Church is sent in the power and grace of the Spirit to bear witness to the gospel and endure the hatred and persecution of the world.

We are not the Church Impotent - powerless and besieged on every side.

We are the Church Militant…

We’re playing offense not defense.

And when we have doubts, or when we get discouraged… we need to remember that we are indwelt with the Almighty Holy Spirit Who is faithful to help us in all that we need.

And we see that faithfulness in the lives of the Apostles in John 15:26-16:4 and that faithfulness gives us faith in the Holy Spirit’s faithfulness towards us as we strive to glorify Christ and proclaim His salvation to the world… our very identity as a Church.

We are going to have three points today all speaking to the faithfulness and heavenly resources we have in the Holy Spirit as we take the gospel out to a dark and hostile world.

Number 1… The Helper Empowers the Church to Bear Witness.

Number 2… The Helper Sustains the Church to Bear Suffering.

And Number 3… The Helper Empowers and Sustains Us as the Church Today.

Let’s start with point number 1…

I. The Helper Empowers the Church to Bear Witness

John 15:26–27 But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

To understand the full weight of this passage, we need to put it in context.

Its the night of Christ’s betrayal where He was going to be delivered over to the cross.

And had told the disciples Where I am going you cannot come (John 13:33).

I am going to the cross to pay for your sins and ascending into Heaven to reconcile you to God the Father (John 14:6).

And while I’m gone, I have a job for you.

I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit (John 15:16).

I am sending you out into the world too proclaim the good news of the gospel whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you (John 15:16).

But as you go, you will be hated by the world.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you (John 15:20).

Jesus was preparing the Apostles for what they were going to face on this global conquest and mission.

Witness and Persecution…

Mission and Being hated by the World.

That’s the backdrop for our passage.

And so to encourage the Disciples in this daunting… world-wide mission and the resistance and ] hostility they were going to face from the world, Jesus says…

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

In other words… I am sending you out into a dark and hostile world… as sheep in the midst of wolves, but I’m not sending you out alone… I will be with you… and the grace and power of God will be with you because the Helper will be with you and He will bear witness about me. (Matthew 10:16, 28:18-20).

The Church does not go out alone… we go in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.

And its against this background that Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as the Helper.

Earlier Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Helper in the context of sanctification but here its in the context of mission… of Witness and Being hated by the World (John 14:15-17).

He gives us power to proclaim and grace to sustain.

As the Helper He comes alongside with strength to give help, comfort, defense, or aid.

That’s what the word Helper means.

So the Holy Spirit doesn’t just help us in our sanctification… He also helps us in bearing witness and suffering the hatred and hostility of the world.

He empowers the Church and comes alongside us.

That is who the Holy Spirit is and describes His ministry to us.

He Helps us bear witness and endure the hatred and persecution of the World.

Jesus said He will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning.

As we preach the Gospel and bear witness to Christ, the Holy Spirit also bears witness in and through us.

Like Paul said Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).

One of the things we need to know as we bear witness in an increasingly dark and hostile world is that when we bear witness, we do not do so alone.

The Holy Spirit bears witness with us.

This should give us confidence even when we don’t necessarily see conversions as fruit because we can plant, we can water, but only God and give the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6).

But when you bear witness to the gospel, your witness is never wasted.

God’s Word does not return to Him void but always accomplishes that which He purposed, and sometimes that purpose is to heap judgment and condemnation on those who reject the gospel (Isaiah 55:11).

But whenever you bear witness…. whether that’s to your child… your coworker… that family member or friend… even when it looks like nothing is happening and you stumble over your words… the Holy Spirit is bearing witness through you.

For those that are being saved… the aroma of life to life and those who are perishing death to death (2 Corinthians 2:16).

But God and the Holy Spirit through you is always accomplishing His purpose.

We as a church might seem week… powerless… besieged on every side but we are sent in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit with the Power of the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

Apostles

We see this particularly in the life of the Apostles.

Now its important that we note when this promises was given it was given specifically to those Apostles in that Upper Room Discourse.

In just a few verses Jesus will say They will put you out of the synagogues… none of us are worried about being put out of the synagogues today.

And here Jesus said you will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning… this was only true of the Apostles in Jesus’ day.

This is why the Apostles hold a special place as the foundation (with Christ Himself being the cornerstone) of the Church (Ephesians 2:20).

They were with Christ from the beginning and were eye-witnesses to the resurrection of Christ (cf. Acts 1:21-22).

That’s why Paul gets in… He was an eye-witness to the resurrection of Jesus on the Damascus road.

Eye-Witness

Now this is important for our faith because we don’t follow cleverly devised myths or speculation.

Our faith is built on the eyewitness testimony of the Apostles themselves.

The Apostle John who wrote this very same book said That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hand…we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 John 1:1-3).

And as Peter said in 2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty… or in other words… we were with Him from the beginning.

One of the great confidences we have in our faith… besides the inward witness of the Holy Spirit… is that don’t follow a made up myth or a legend that says Jesus rose from the dead.

We follow the eye-witness testimony of the men who were His Apostles.

Men who… everyone besides John who was boiled alive for his faith… died for their testimony of Christ.

That’s what the word Martyr means… Witness… someone who died for their faith in Jesus Christ.

This is one of the great apologetics for our faith.

Before the resurrection all these men abandoned Christ.

Peter denied the Lord three times and said I did not know the man! only to later be crucified upside down because he said I am not worthy to die like my Savior.

What accounts for the change?

Men do not go from cowards to martyrs for a lie.

How did they go from denying Christ to dying for Him?

The answer is the resurrection of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

They could not deny what they had seen with their own eyes… an eyewitness testimony which has now been recorded for us in the Holy Scripture.

The same passage that said For we did not follow cleverly devised myths… but were eyewitnesses of his majesty also says And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed…For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21).

Scripture is the Eyewitness testimony of the Apostles and the Holy Spirit handed down to us today.

So you do not follow cleverly devised myths but have a sure and solid ground for your faith.

Spirit’s Faithfulness

Now just because this promise was made specifically to the Apostles of Jesus’ day doesn’t mean it doesn’t have application and encouragement for us.

We are heirs of the Apostles.

And the same Spirit that empowered and sustained them in a dark and hostile world is the same Spirit that empowers and sustains us today as we continue their mission and carry the gospel out to the world.

So what I want to do is look at the work of the Spirit in the life of the Apostles and the early church to see the Spirit’s faithfulness to empower and sustain them in their mission…

And in doing so grow our faith in the Holy Spirit’s faithfulness towards us and give us a vision for what the power of the Holy Spirit could like in the Church today if we would bear witness and carry out the Great Commission in faith and dependance on Him.

Great Commission

When Jesus gave the Great Commission He said in Matthew 28:18–20 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

This is the mission of every church in every age.

Luke 24 says it a little different.

Luke 24:46–49 Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

And then speaking to the Apostles…

You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

That’s the Holy Spirit.

So I want you to see that its the same pattern as in our passage: Jesus gives them the Great Commission and then promises them the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost

And then we see the fulfillment of that promise with Pentecost in Acts 2.

Acts 2:1–4 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there’s a lot of bad teaching about the meaning of tongues and Pentecost in Acts 2.

Here’s what you need to know… Its a reversal of the tower of Babel.

At the tower of Babel, God had judged the nations and scattered them, and at Pentecost he was bringing them back and proclaiming the gospel of salvation in their own language (Acts 2:5-6).

Verse 5 says Acts 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven… every nation in the Roman Empire…

And just as Christ promised from the very beginning He was empowering the church to take the gospel to every nation.

That’s what the gift of tongues was for.

It was the power of the Holy Spirit to empower the disciples to bear witness to every nation.

Its the fulfillment of everything we are talking about here.

And if the Holy Spirit empowered them, He still empowers us today not with tongues as that was a particular gift for that particular Apostolic age… but by His faithfulness to come alongside and give us help in everything we need.

And so Peter… filled with the Holy Spirit… stood up and bore witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He said Acts 2:22–24 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses (Acts 2:32).

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:36).

And what did the Holy Spirit… bearing witness through Him… do?

It says Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37).

They were convicted in their soul… a work only the Holy Spirit could do… and there were added that day about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41).

When the Holy Spirit bears witness in the church… the church explodes and goes forth.

In fact, all throughout the book of Acts it says that the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly (Acts 6:7; cf. Acts 12:24, 19:20).

Summary

Now here’s what I want you to see.

I want you to see how the mission of the church is intimately tied with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:4).

He is the One who empowers our witness.

He is the One who cuts sinners to the heart and gives them the gift of saving faith (cf. John 3:6-8; 6:63).

We have hope in our preaching of the gospel because we have hope in the Holy Spirit who has the power to save whomever He wills.

So when we bear witness… we can bear witness with confidence and boldness knowing the Holy Spirit bears witness in us.

And in His faithfulness to the Apostles, we see His faithfulness to us because the same Spirit that indwelt them is the same Spirit that indwells us today.

The Church goes forth in the power of the Spirit and the Helper empowers the church in our Witness to condemn the reprobate… all those who reject Christ… and save the elect.

Number 2… Not only does the Helper Empower the Church to bear witness.

He also…

II. The Helper Sustains the Church to Bear Suffering

John 16:1–4 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 is 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.

The emphasis on the synagogues and that whoever would kill the Apostles would think He was offering service to God highlights that the first and primary persecutors of the early church were the Jews.

Just as they had rejected God and killed the prophets they would persecute and kill the early church and in so doing fill up the measure of their sins bringing God’s ultimate wrath and judgment on them and in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in AD 70 (Matthew 23:32-36).

We see this persecution all throughout the book of Acts where the Jews are constantly the ones resisting and persecuting the church believing they are doing so in the Name of God (Acts 5:34-39; Acts 6:8-14, 7:54-60; Acts 9:1-2; Acts 17:1-15).

But here’s the point and encouraging thing for us.

To be put out of the synagogue was to be excommunicated from everything associated with Jewish life.

You would lose your family, your friends, your business…

For the Disciples who were all themselves Jews it was to lose absolutely everything at the cost of following Jesus.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you (John 15:18).

To be a follower of Christ is to be excommunicated from the world.

And as we enter into a world that is more and more hostile to Christianity we need to see the Holy Spirit as the One who helps us bear our suffering for the Name of Christ just as He Helped the Disciples bear theirs.

Just as when you bear witness you are not alone…

When you suffer for righteousness sake… when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on Christ’s account… (Matthew 5:10-11).

When you are hated for holding fast to Christ and the authority His Word no matter how unpopular or hated it is in the culture…

The Holy Spirit is with you… He empowers you to bear persecution just as much as He empowers you to bear witness… and the two go hand in hand.

Let’s look at one example in Acts 4.

Acts 4

After healing a lame man and preaching the gospel Peter and John were arrested and brought before the elders, the rulers, and the scribes along with the High Priest and the High-Priestly family (Acts 4:5-6).

And they were asked by them By what power or by what name did you do this? (Acts 4:7).

And Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit… that’s our key… bore witness and said Jesus Christ (Acts 4:8-12).

Now the Jews didn’t really know what to do because standing beside Peter and John was the lame man who had been healed (Acts 4:14).

What could they say?

And So, verse 18, they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).

Verse 19 and 20: But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

There’s that Apostolic eye witness again.

And so after threatening them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them. (Acts 4:21).

Now what did the Disciples do?

The same thing we should do when we face the hatred and hostility of the world.

They came together as a church and they prayed… they prayed for boldness.

Acts 4:29–30 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

And do you know what happened?

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

The Holy Spirit empowered their witness and sustained them in suffering.

Counted Worthy

We see this just one chapter later, where the High Priest arrested the Apostles after the continued to preach and teach and brought them before the council saying “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name” (Acts 5:28).

But the Apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:29-32).

He will bear witness and you also will bear witness… everything Jesus had said.

The church is never alone in bearing witness for Christ.

And so seeing there was nothing they could do, the council took them and beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then let them go (Acts 5:40).

And then by the power of the Holy Spirit… the Apostles left the council and rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name (Acts 5:41).

The Holy Spirit gave them boldness and the grace to bear suffering and sustain them through persecution.

From there the Apostles were put in prison, beaten, stoned, killed with swords, and harassed all throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 12:5; 2 Corinthians 11:23-25; Acts 7:59; Acts 14:19, Acts 14:2, Acts 17:1-15).

And the Spirit sustained them to the end with as I said all but one giving their life for the faith and the one that didn’t suffering torture and exile on an island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of the Lord Jesus (Revelation 1:9).

And as we go out into the world… sheep sent out into a world of wolves that same Spirit is with us to sustain us to the end.

And that takes us to point number 3…

III. The Helper Empowers and Sustains Us as the Church Today

The Holy Spirit that empowered and sustain the Apostles is the same Holy Spirit who now empowers and sustains us.

What I hope you’ve seen in this sermon today and what encouragement it has for us as a Church is that no matter how dark… no matter how difficult… we are not alone in the world today.

We go forth in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit to bear witness in a dark and hostile world.

And no matter our weakness… and no matter the opposition of the world against us, we have the Helper who goes with us.

This is particularly encouraging for us as we enter into a more and more negative world.

A world that more and more hates you for holding fast to Christ and a biblical worldview.

And what you need to hear is that no matter how high of a hill we have to climb or how daunting the opposition of the world we might face… the Spirit is faithful to uphold us and to help us bear witness.

The Church will grow… overcome… and bring glory to Christ.

We saw that faithfulness in the life of the Apostles and its the same faithfulness we can bank our lives and our church on today.

Three Applications

So there’s three applications I want us to take away from this sermon as a Church.

1. Spirit’s Faithfulness

Number 1… the Spirit’s Faithfulness.

That’s what we just saw and what we’ve been talking about all morning.

He was faithful to them and He will be faithful to us.

2. Apostolic Example

Number 2… the Apostles’ Example.

As heirs of the Apostles, we should strive to follow them in their footsteps and in particular follow them in three ways.

Boldness

First their boldness.

No matter how much pressure or opposition from the world… they were bold for Christ.

They refused to hide their light under a basket (Matthew 5:14-16).

Dependence

Second… their faith and dependence on the Holy Spirit.

When they looked out at the world or when they faced opposition, they prayed to God.

The Mission cannot go by our own strength and power.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all (John 6:63).

Only the Spirit can open blind eyes and awaken dead hearts (John 3:6-8).

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain (Psalm 127:1).

Witness

And thirdly, we want to follow their example in their Apostolic witness.

Jesus said He will bear witness and you also will bear witness.

The witness of the Apostles was Christ crucified and risen from the dead for repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

We saw that in Peter’s sermons in the book of Acts.

Paul said For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).

And For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).

Again that Apostolic eye-witness we have seen.

Our job is to preach the Gospel.

Paul said Preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2).

And For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

It is the gospel that has the power to save and it is the job of the church to guard the good deposit entrusted to you and contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Romans 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:14, Jude 3).

3. Hope and Confidence

And finally… and this is the big one I really wanted you to see… we as a church should have a great hope and confidence in God’s grace in fulfilling the Great Commission.

I think most Christians look at the Great Commission like, “We are doing our best” without any real hope of confidence in making an impact in the world.

Let’s face it… today without the eyes of faith… the Church looks weak.

The hatred of the world is ramping up and the opposition is only growing stronger.

Sin and wickedness run rampant.

And all the while false teachers and wolves plague the church and most churches don’t even hold to a sound biblical gospel.

Without the eyes of faith, the Church Militant looks a lot more like the Church impotent.

Maybe you feel that some weakness today.

Maybe you’ve looked out at the world and seen all the stuff we’ve talked about and asked, “What could we ever possibly do?”

What hope to we have?

It feels like we are hanging by a thread besieged on every side with the idea that we are fighting a losing battle just holding on for dear life trying to do the best that we can.

But we have every confidence and every hope in the fulfillment of the Great Commission because our hope and our confidence rests in the Purpose of the Father… the Promise of the Son… and the Power of the Holy Spirit.

The Sovereign will of the Triune God Himself to build and save His Church.

Jesus said in one of my favorite verses and honestly the thing that keeps me going as a Pastor.

Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Christ will not fail to build His Church.

Now does that mean we will see 3,000 and 5,000 people come to Christ like we see in the book of Acts?

Probably not.

But what it means is that even when everything looks weak… we are not fighting a losing battle.

We are not fighting for Victory… We are fighting from Victory… because Christ overcame the grave.

In John 16:33 He says I have overcome the world.

John 16:11 the ruler of this world is judged.

When Christ says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it… that’s not actually the best translation.

The literal word is hades or the place of the dead.

So its like Christ is saying the Gates of Death will not prevail against it.

The Church is sent out into a Dead and Dying World.

And Gates are a defensive posture.

We are laying seige against Death in the World.

And the Gates of Death will not prevail… they will not stand against the onslaught of the Church because Christ… the Head of the Church… conquered the grave.

The eyes of faith look out at the world and say the Gates of Death will not prevail.

It doesn’t matter how dark.

It doesn’t matter how much opposition.

Christ will build His Church.

Because Christ has given the Church the Helper… the Power of the Holy Spirit.

He has the power to give life from the dead… to awaken dead hearts (John 3:3-8; Romans 8:11).

And the Church… us… we ourselves… go forth in His grace and power against all the Gates of Death.

The name of the Helper itself implies that the Holy Spirit will actually help us to accomplish what Christ has purposed.

To bear witness and endure the hatred and hostility of the World.

Its like Jesus is saying… Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

I’m sending you out into a dark and dying… dead and hostile world.

And the opposition might be fierce and the task overwhelming.

But trust in me.

Bear witness no matter what.

And when you face the hatred… hostility… and pushback from the world…

Do not think their resources are greater than yours… that the Gates of Death will prevail.

You are not alone… the Helper is with you.

You are resourced with the power of Heaven and Almighty God Himself before whom no opposition spiritual or worldly can stand.