The Spirit in Me vs The Culture Around Me

John 16:5–15 ESV

5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 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. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

He had told them: where I am going you cannot come

Oh how they would have wanted to go. The had been asking where. Implying their desire to go with Him. Our desire to go to where He is sometimes overwhelms our willingness to stay and live out the Gospel.

Oh how I do when I look at the world around me.

I am terribly dissatisfied with the culture around me. With the brokenness around me. And sometimes it makes me want to shuck this old world and say ‘come quickly Lord Jesus’!

But you’ve heard the term ‘too heavenly minded to be any earthly good’.

We cant afford to only long to be with Jesus. And sometimes our longing is centered around a loved one we hope to be reunited with. But He, in His infinite wisdom, still has us here. Reminding ourselves of this truth helps keep our focus on our time here. There is still a world around us that needs to be redeemed. People groups all over this world who need to hear of Jesus. Children, right here in this town, who need to know that Jesus has broken the power of sin!

Jesus said His going was better, for the disciples, than staying.

Here’s another difficult truth we need to glean from this text: Sometimes God will remove what we think we cant live without because He can see it is better. To our advantage.

We grieve and moan over the removal. We shake our fist and demand to know why. We even wallow to the point of depression setting in. When if we would but SURRENDER to His will, we could rise above the moaning and wallowing and depression. Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles! They’ll let the Wind of the Spirit lift them above the brokenness where they can catch a glimpse of the perspective of God. If we will but surrender…

Surrender sounds like giving up, giving in, stopping our trying. But surrender never means not moving forward. Our best example of surrender is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He surrendered His will to the Father. Then moved forward to the cross.

The Spirit’s work in unbelievers

v.8 The Holy Spirit will convict: Guilt/conviction. Before/after conversion. Peters sermon at Pentecost best illustrates the point made here. People were convinced of the truth of Christ!

Acts 2:22 ESV

“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—

And what was the response of the hearers? They were cut to the heart. “What shall we do?!” When confronted with our own sinfulness, our own guilt, THAT’S the conviction of the Holy Spirit! He convinces us we have sin.

Of Sin, Righteousness and Judgement

The sin convicted of is unbelief. Unbelief has woven itself through the last few sermons. The last time we were in John, then through Ephesians and now we see it as the sin the Holy Spirit convinces us of.

When the Holy Spirit came, He began convincing mankind of his sin. Always accompanied by saving grace.

The righteousness is directly bound to the ascension. The ascension proved the claims Christ made about Himself in regard to righteousness.

Not the righteousness of those who were self-righteous. Those who did more good than bad. Those who were following the checklist.

The righteousness of Christ is absolute. For those who are working their way to goodness, it is abrasive. And it is not tolerated by unbelievers.

The judgement: because the ruler of this world has been judged. How does this convict unbelievers?

Once again to the example of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. You have been wrong in your judgement about Jesus. Crucifying Him was a mistake! His work on this earth has judged Satan and his influence. Death has been defeated. The grave no longer a permanent destination.

The final judgment given to all that is wrong with this world convinces unbelievers they are following one who has ultimately been defeated!

We need to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to the right persons, give us the right words, and enable us patiently to glorify Jesus Christ.

We need to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to the right persons, give us the right words, and enable us patiently to glorify Jesus Christ.

The Spirit’s work in believers

v.13 He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears...

The ministry of the Spirit to the believer is to enrich us with the treasures of God’s truth.

From :

So the Spirit’s work in believers includes stirring in us a desire to attack the brokenness of this world.

From :

Good news to the poor (in spirit, without hope)

Bind up brokenhearted

proclaim liberty to captives

open prison to those bound

comfort those mourning

To proclaim God’s favor and vengeance

The brokenness of the world stirs in us a desire to stand against it. To attack it even.

So the Spirit’s work in believers includes stirring in us a desire to attack the brokenness of this world.

So we are back to our question from last week: What change has the Spirit’s presence made in my life? Has He convinced you? Convinced you of your sinfulness? Of Jesus’ righteousness? Has His presence in your life motivated you to bring the good news…?