The Word Made Plain

Tony Clark: Welcome to the Word Made Playing with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, pastor Tony is teaching in the book of John. Please open your Bible to John chapter 16 verses 1 through 9.

Tony Clark: These things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogue. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offered God's service. Now, really, if you want to know the truth of the matter, the first four verses of this chapter should be the last four verses of chapter 15 because uh they are finishing up the thought that Jesus had about how God's people will be hated by the world. You understand chapter and verses only added to try to help us to find and locate certain verses in the Bible.

They're not inspired by God. They just to help us. And it's a great help, but they made a boo boo right here. They these first four verses should be the last four verses of chapter 15. Now, suffice it to say, in verse 1 when he says these things, he is referring to the warning that Jesus gave them in verses 18 through 25 of chapter 15, how the world would hate us because we belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus said at the end of verse 1 that he is telling them these things, so when the time comes or when these things happen, they should not be made to stumble.

Or that Greek word for stumble is scandalizo. And it refers to the bait stick in a trap. This term is used figuratively to the disciples being caught off guard like an animal ensnared in a trap. In other words, Jesus is saying, had I not warned you, the hatred of the world would have caught you disciples off guard and caused you to be disillusioned in your faith. And then Jesus warns in verse 2 that there will come a time when they will put you out of the synagogue. Let me just pause right here. That that term doesn't mean a thing to us to be put out of the synagogue.

Well, because we figure, well, you put me out of church, I just go down the street to the next church. I mean, it so I have to give you an understanding what it means for the Jew today or for the Jew at this particular time to be put out of the synagogue. To be put out of the synagogue, it meant three things. Number one, it meant number one, you were cut off from the very life of God. Number two, your family considered you dead. And number three, no one will come to your place of business any longer now that you've been put out of the synagogue.

That's what it meant for them. So it's huge today. Oh, you put me out of church. Oh, there's plenty of churches I can go to around there. Nothing for them. If this wasn't like that, it meant something a lot deeper. So Jesus said, he warns them that there will come a time when they will put you out of the synagogue. Then he goes on to say that the time will come that whoever kills you will think that he offered God's service. Or that Greek word for service is leitourgia. And it's a word that means worship, but it also refers to the service that we do to God.

And this is how it is used in this particular verse. And this was true with the apostle Paul. Before his conversion, he was Saul the Pharisee, a conservative religious leader that hated Christians. And when he had Stephen arrested in Acts chapter 6, the people who were stoning Stephen laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. In Philippians 3:6, Paul, that his name became later Paul, says that he was zealous for the law of God. He felt that he was being zealous for the law when he was persecuting the church. He thought that he was, here it is, doing God's service just like Jesus says in this verse.

And this is a warning to all of us, I believe, who have been walking with the Lord for some time, that we aren't persecuting other Christians and churches thinking that we're doing God's service. And Jesus said, yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you would think that he offered God's service. And you kill other Christians by killing their reputation or their good name. And you think that you're offering God's service when all the time you know different than Saul of Tarsus or Saul the Pharisee. Look what he says there in verses 3 and 4.

And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you. Now, the conjunction and connects what Jesus said in verse 2 with what he said in verse 3. In verse 2, he said whoever kills you would think that he offered God's service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me.

That's a key statement right there. This is an incredible statement to me because Jesus is saying that we can get so caught up in God's service that we miss God. Jesus said, those who kill believers would think that they're offering God's service and they would do it because they have not known the Father nor me. Oh, this is for us here. Let us not get so caught up in thinking that we're doing God's service that we miss the God that we are serving. And we can get so caught up in religious activity that it blinds us to God.

How can this happen? Oh, it can happen very easily by us leaving our first love. Our first love is Jesus. And this is what happened to the church in Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2 in verses 1 through 7. Jesus told them in Revelation 2:2, I know your works and I know your labor. Then in chapter 2 verse 4, he says, nevertheless, I have this against you. You have left your first love. Oh, see the church of Ephesus was still involved in religious activity, but they were doing it out of duty, out of habit, out of routine.

It had become mechanical to them. The love was gone. Something or someone has stolen their love that used to be for the Lord. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:14, he says, let everything that you do be done with love. He also said in 2 Corinthians 5:14, he says, for the love of Christ compels me. And Paul is saying that the love of Christ should be behind everything we do for the Lord. If not, then we will be just like the people Jesus is describing in verse 3. In verse 4, Jesus said, but these things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

In other words, Jesus is saying, I'm telling you these things beforehand so that when they come to pass, you will remember that I told you of them. Oh, the same is true for us. The things that Jesus is saying in John 15 in verses 18 through chapter 16 verse 4 that the world would hate us because we belong to Jesus Christ. He says, I'm telling you these things, so when they happen, when the world hates you because you belong to me, which is happening today, you would remember that I told you beforehand. Look what he says in verses 5 through 7.

He says, but now I go away to him who sent me and none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It 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 depart, I will send him to you. In these verses we see that Jesus is continuing his thought from the end of verse 4 where he says, and these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you.

Then Jesus said in verse 5, but now I go away to him who sent me. In other words, Jesus is saying when I was with you, I I I was a shield for you. I answered all of your questions. I protected you from the religious leaders, but now I'm about to go away. Jesus was preparing them for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And this is what we are trying to do as a church, to teach you from Genesis to Revelation to build you up in the most holy faith and teach you how to rely upon the Holy Spirit.

Teach you how to study the Bible because like Jesus, we cannot be with you everywhere. We can't answer all of your questions. Oh, we had a great time of question and answers the other night, but we can't be with you everywhere to answer all of your Bible questions you have or those who work with you or related to you. So I'm teaching you how to search the scriptures daily like the Bereans did in Acts 17:11 and how to rely on the Holy Spirit for yourself. We don't want you relying on us. No. We want to teach you to rely upon God because we won't be here all the time.

And you got to learn how to search the scriptures for yourself. You got to learn how to dig in for yourself. So I try to teach you in such a way to creating you a hunger for the word of God and the things of God so you can go and buy books and things or or now you really don't have to buy books. Go online and and the the books I have on my shelf, you can go online and get and so you can search the scriptures for yourself so you can rely upon the Holy Spirit because we definitely don't want you relying on us.

Then Jesus said in verse 6, because I have said these things, sorrow has filled your heart. Can I pause right here and say that Jesus sees the sorrow in your heart at the thought of you being alone? The disciples had sorrow at the thought of Jesus leaving them. And sorrow fills your heart because some person that you look to as your savior is talking about leaving you or have left you. And now sorrow has filled your heart like it did the disciples. I want to tell you what Jesus says in verse 7, it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. See, when Jesus took on a human body, he took on certain limitations as a man. Uh meaning that he could only be at one place at one time. And now Jesus is about to send his disciples out to take the gospel around the world. So the Holy Spirit can be with Peter in Jerusalem, Paul in Lystra, Thomas in India. And this is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important because it can be with you and counseling you and comforting you here in Newport News and some other believers in California and some in Georgia.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is so key. And this is why uh Jesus said at the end of verse 7, but if I depart, I will send him to you. But what I want to do is I want to go back and bring something to your attention that Jesus said in verse 5. This statement is a subtle rebuke by Jesus. I want you to notice what he said and I I believe you missed it as we were reading it. He said, but now I go away to him who sent me and none of you ask, where are you going?

This statement seems to be implying that the return of Jesus to his father was something that the disciples didn't seem to care enough to inquire any further. Jesus said, none of you asked me, where are you going? Oh, that Greek word for ask is erota. And it means to uh to to ask, to question. And because it's in the present tense, it means to keep on asking. And so Jesus is saying in other words, Jesus is saying, no one questioned or kept asking, where are you going? Where are you going? As if they didn't really care.

And that's why this question Jesus gave was a subtle rebuke. He said, I'm going back to the Father and none of you even care to ask, where where are you going? As if they don't even care. And I wonder if this has happened to us. We that hear or read about Jesus coming back again and we like the disciples don't care enough to ask further about this event. We offer different schools and seminars to help you grow in the Christian faith, the School of Discipleship, the School of the Bible, the School of Theology, the School of Apologetics to learn more about the Christian faith, to learn more about this God who came as a man and and died for you.

And many of you don't care enough to ask any further about these classes or these seminars or these courses. This is what Jesus was saying to his disciples. He said, I 'm going back to the Father and none of you ask, where are you going? And it was a little rebuke because it was like they didn't care. Oh, there's a part of them that care, but according to Jesus, none of you are asking, where are you going? You know where you what where you going? You going to leave us? Where are you going? Jesus was like as if you just didn't care.

It's amazing thing and it can happen to any of us where we become indifferent to the things of God. It reminds me of um in Matthew chapter 2 when the wise men came and asked uh Herod, where is he born King of the Jews? We've seen his star in the east and we've come to worship him. And so he went and got the religious leaders and they said, you know, hey, it says right here in the in in the book of Micah, they shall be born in Bethlehem, which is just a little town 5 miles south from here.

And so the wise men took off. And here's the thing. The Jews had been long waiting for their Messiah. And here it is. These men said the Messiah has been born. They even tell them where he's born, just a little town 5 miles south of here. And they didn't care enough to go. We we can easily become indifferent to the things of God and I I I'm ashamed to say that this can happen to all of us where the things of God, especially if you've been walking with the Lord for some time, the things of God you just become indifferent to them.

You just okay. Oh, you can quote a verse, you can quote a this and you can tell them the people this, but it it you you just it's lost something for you. And we need to be careful that this doesn't happen to us. Look what he says there in verse 8. And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now, in this verse, Jesus gives us some powerful insights into the job and duties of the Holy Spirit. We already saw in verse 7 that the Holy Spirit is called a helper, which can be translated a counselor.

Now, the Holy Spirit puts aside his duties as defender and becomes prosecutor. He says in verse 8 that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of three things, of sin, number one, of righteousness, number two, and of judgment. The word convict in the Greek language is elecho. And it means to bring to light, to convict, to reprove. It means to show someone his sin and summons him to repentance. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And whether the conviction comes privately like in Matthew 18:15 or congregationally like 1 Timothy 5:20 teaches, I don't know about you, but when I think of the Holy Spirit convicting the world of sin, I think of all the murders, the rapes, abortions, and all the evils of society.

But notice verse 9, what sin the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of. Look at verse 9. Of sin because they do not believe in me. This is the only sin the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of and that is not believing in Jesus Christ. See, if the if Jesus died for the sins of the world, then it is the Holy Spirit's job to convict the world of their need for Jesus Christ, the one who died on the cross for their sin. And when a person refuses to repent of their sin and accept Christ as their Lord and savior, this is what is called as I spoke about the other night, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgivable sin that Matthew chapter 12 verses 30 and 30 talks about.

And the reason why it is unforgivable is because a person goes to his or her grave rejecting Jesus Christ. So the Holy Spirit is convicting the world of number one of sin, which is the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin. Oh, I have to ask us this question this this morning. Do you sense the Holy Spirit convicting you of your need for accepting Jesus as your savior? If you do and you refuse, watch out. Why? Because each time you hear that you need to repent and accept Jesus as your Lord and savior and you refuse, your heart gets a little harder.

Then if you continue to refuse, then what 1 Timothy 4:2 says will happen to you where it says your conscience will become seared with a hot iron. The word seared in the Greek language is uh cauterizo. And it was used by the Greek medical uh writer Hippocrates to speak of cauterization. In other words, you can refuse to repent to the point where your your conscience will become cauterized, seared. It's like when you put a hot iron on a on a piece of fabric and you leave that iron there, that fabric has been seared. It's it's no longer good any longer.

This is what can happen to a person's conscience when they refuse to repent. Then when they want to repent, they won't won't want to repent. They won't they they because their conscience has been seared, they would not want to repent. You no longer sense a need to repent. And this is why the Bible says in Hebrews 3:15 today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Why? Because you may wake up one day and no longer sense the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. This is what the book of Genesis teaches. When God said, my spirit shall not always strive with man, meaning that it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict the world of their need for the savior.

And when a person continues to say, leave me alone, I don't want Jesus, I don't want Jesus. Oh, boy. God said, my spirit shall not always strive with man. And you may wake up one day and not sense that work of the spirit in your life. So I'm pleading with you. I'm pleading with you to respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life today while you can still hear his voice. Because it may come a time where you don't hear his voice anymore. Oh, that's when it's trouble. And so we will pick things up, God's will in verse 10, because I couldn't rush through this part.

I couldn't rush through it. I just had to wet your appetite for the work of the Holy Spirit. So the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin. We'll get to the other ones next time. Let me let me just conclude with this. Who or what is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the one who is convicting the world of sin, which is the sin of not believing in Jesus. And my question is, have you been sensing the work this particular work in your life lately? The real question is, have you responded?