The Spirit's Work

Welcome

Good morning everyone! It is good to be back after the weekend away at Skwim. It was a good weekend, no one got hurt, and we learned and talked more about what it means to abide in Jesus, to make him our home, our dwelling place.

As we begin this morning, let’s quickly recap were Pastor Dan left off last week. Last week he touched on the persecution that Christians will face, not because of themselves personally, but because of Jesus within them. Throughout this night of teaching that Jesus has with the disciples they continue to feel sorrow from what Jesus is telling them, but yet Jesus doesn’t want them to be sorrowful. He desires for them to begin to see the bigger picture of what is being done. So as the end of chapter 15 and first part of 16 say, persecution is going to be a reality for many Christians, but as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, we are given the Spirit to help us and to encourage us. The rest of chapter 16 really gets into the idea of what the Spirit’s role is in our lives. What exactly does the Spirit do and why do we need it? That is what I hope to answer this morning as we look at John 16. As we look at John 16 we are going to break it up into 4 different sections. We are going to try to cover a lot of scripture today, so we are going to dive right in at John 16:5b, right in the middle of verse 5. Jesus has just finished talking about persecution, how some will persecute them and think they are doing what God wants, and then Jesus says that he is leaving them to return to the father. This is where our passage picks up.

The Spirit Reveals

John 16:5–11 (NIV)

5 b None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

After talking about persecution Jesus points out to them that they are so preoccupied with their grief that they haven’t even asked Jesus where he was going. Peter did ask Jesus earlier in the night, but he was asking Jesus where he was going for his own personal reasons, he just wanted to go with Jesus and know why he couldn’t go with him. In Peter’s initial question he was wanting to know how he could go with Jesus, not what Jesus might be doing by going away. Jesus then tells them that even though he is going away, it is good for them because the Advocate, the Paraclete, will come to them when he does. This passage is important because it gives us a look at what the Holy Spirit is going to be doing in the world. The Spirit is a helper, yes, it is a teacher, yes, but it is also convicts us of our sin. The Spirit works in our lives to point out the sin that we participate in. The Spirit exposes sin to us while also assuring us of righteousness in Christ. It might sound less than pleasant to have the Spirit pointing out our sin, but it is part of God’s grace that the Spirit would do this. Ignorance is not bliss. Just because you don’t realize you have a problem, doesn’t mean you don’t have a problem.

For example, I have pretty terrible eyesight. One particular appointment just a few years ago was pretty shocking to me. I sat in the chair without glasses or contacts on and the worker put the letters up on the screen and asked me to say what letters I could see. I couldn’t see any so she went to the next. This repeated itself a few times. Eventually she questioned me on one. She asked, “Can you really not read what is there? Try really hard to see it.” And I tried the best I could, but it just looked like a blurry black mess of stuff. She turned the lights back on and told me to put my glasses back on. When I had my glasses on I noticed what was on the screen and why she was really trying to get me to see it. It was the giant E, the one that takes up the whole screen! I knew my eyesight was bad, but I had no idea it was THAT bad.

Part of the Spirit’s work in our lives is to act like glasses. On my own I don’t often recognize the sin that is in my life. On my own, I like to think that I’m a pretty good person, I’m not that bad of a guy. But then the Spirit enters the picture, I look through my life through the lens of the Spirit and the Spirit reveals to me the sin that is a part of my life that I had no idea about. One author says this about this process, he says, “It is designed to bring men and women of the world to recognize their need, and so turn to Jesus, and thus stop being the world.” The Spirit reveals truth to us and we recognize that we are not as clean as what we thought. But still, we have to listen and pay attention to what the Spirit is telling us. After my eye appointment I could have said, “No, I think you’re wrong, my eyes aren’t that bad. I can see just fine, it’s not a problem.” I could have done that! But if I had, I don’t think I would have my driver’s license anymore and I wouldn’t even be able to read or write anything by my eyesight. We have to respond when the Spirit reveals our sin to us. So the first part of the Spirit’s work is to reveal our sin to us, it will convict us of sin in our lives. (Possibly include surgery illustration. I didn’t get my knee looked at because I was afraid they would have to do something to it) Do you listen to the Holy Spirit as it convicts you of your sin? And what do you do after?

The Spirit Points

John 16:12–15 NIV

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Spirit doesn’t just reveals our disease to us, our sin, he also points us to our solution in Jesus. The Spirit is going to reveal our sin to us, but then also point us to truth. The truth being that we are sinners saved by grace through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So yes, having our shortcomings pointed out to us is not a pleasant process. We don’t really enjoy the feelings we have when the Spirit points out to us that we are more broken and sinful than we can even imagine. But the Spirit then points out to us that we are more loved by Jesus than we can even imagine. The Spirit draws us back into the love of Christ, to see the rescue that we have in Jesus. This goes back to a few weeks ago when I mentioned that our desire to bear fruit for God should be out of love, not obligation. When the Spirit points out our terrible sin, we should marvel at the love that Christ has for us, repent, and seek to live our lives out of that love for Jesus. We often want to be like Adam and Eve in the Garden, when after they sinned they tried to hide from God. Our response to shouldn’t be to hide or run away from God. It should be to turn toward him, to go to Jesus.

So the Spirit reveals our sin, and then points us to go to Jesus.

Sorrow to Joy

John 16:16–24 NIV

16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

As Jesus continues the disciples get confused. What does Jesus mean by saying in a little while we won’t see him, but then we will see him? Jesus knows that they are confused and tells them plainly that they will experience grief and will mourn over what is about to happen. But, similar to how a woman is able to forget her pain as she holds her child for the first time, so they to will experience joy at the end of their sorrow. The first part of Jesus’ statement refers to his death and burial, that is his going away, while the second part refers to the disciples seeing him again after his resurrection. While the disciples will grieve over Jesus’ death on the cross, eventually their sorrow will turn to joy. The very thing that caused them sorrow, they will look at with joy. This is still true for us today. Isn’t it quite shocking that we have crosses hanging up in our church, in our homes. Isn’t it weird that we have jewelry and all kinds of different things with crosses on them? The cross was an instrument of death. It was gruesome. They nailed people to them and let them hang there until they died! It is not a pretty think to look at! But after Jesus’ resurrection, we see the cross in an entirely new light. The thing that caused great sorrow for the disciples eventually caused great joy for them. While the cross is gruesome and cruel, it shows us the love of Christ and the way that we are now able to have forgiveness of sins.

Jesus then tells the disciples that their way of praying to God the Father is also going to be different as a result of Jesus. Up until this point the disciples have not prayed in Jesus’ name, but now they will. There is this new intimacy with God the father in prayer because of Jesus. So even though they will have sorrow, remember the joy that will come. This is true for us even today. We are not promised an easy life. We are not promised health and wealth by following Jesus. In fact, there is a very good chance that things in life will not go our way. And while it might seem like a simplified answer, we also can have joy despite our sorrow because of the work of Jesus. When we go through times of grief we must remember that we will see Jesus and our joy will be complete in that moment.

Trouble but Victory

John 16:25–33 NIV

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

It truly is amazing that God would love us. Jesus points out that we are loved by the father through Jesus. While we are broken, wretched, sinful people, God loves us. While there are times when we might doubt God’s love, or wonder if he loves us, the Spirit will point us once again back to Jesus. Look at Jesus, look at the cross, and sit in the love of God.

The disciples believe they now understand what Jesus is saying to them but Jesus immediately follow that by telling them they will all scatter after what is about to happen. As Jesus is arrested and tried the disciples will all leave him alone. While they will abandon him, the Father will not abandon him.

Then in verse 33 we have a great promise from Jesus.

John 16:33 NIV

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In Jesus we are able to have peace, shalom. This is more than the absence of conflict, but includes the blessings that come from a right relationship with God. We can have peace in our hearts, in our lives, because we know that our relationship with God the father has been restored through the work of Jesus. And while there will be times of persecution and trials in this world, Jesus has overcome the world. To bring in the theme from Skwim this last weekend, we get to abide in the victory of Jesus. We live in, we make our home in, the victory of Jesus. This can bring immense comfort to all of us. We don’t have to try to win the victory, we just rest and live in Jesus’.

Conclusion

So as we come to the conclusion of this passage, three things that I hope we take away from this passage.

1. The Spirit’s Work

First, that we recognize the Spirit’s work in our lives. The Spirit is going to convict us of our sin, he is going to point out where we have fallen short. But at the same time, he is going to point us back to Jesus. To remember what Jesus has done for us and how we can live out of our love for him.

2. Sorrow to Joy

Second, like the disciples, we are able to have joy even in the midst of sorrow. We are able to look at a terrible cross and instead of feeling sorrow, feel joy. While we experience grief and sorrow in our lives, never lose sight of the cross and the joy that it provides for you.

3. Trouble yet Victory

Finally, remember that Christ has already overcome. We are able to have peace in our lives through Jesus because his victory is total, it is complete. There is nothing we have to do to add to it. We get to abide, live in, Jesus’ victory, and that is worth remembering and celebrating.

Prayer