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VREC007.mp3|
새 센타 첫 영어예배를 드리게 하신 하나님 아버지께 감사드립니다. 빌립 형제님이 케냐 가운데 복의 씨앗 되길 기도합니다.^^ John 16:1-15 Key Verse: 16:13a THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” Today's passage contains Jesus’ last words to his disciples before his arrest and trial. It is the end of Jesus’ upper room dialogue. Jesus teaches many important truths to his disciples, and wants to teach even more. Yet Jesus is restricted by their capacity to learn. So Jesus entrusts them to the Holy Spirit. Jesus explains the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the fullest explanation Jesus gives in the gospels. Today let’s learn the work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ words. First, Jesus must leave so the Counselor can come (5-7). Verses 1-4 say about the suffering the disciples would go through. Jesus told them all this so that they would not go astray. People would put them out of the synagogue. This means "being excommunicated" from their community. They would be deprived of their citizenship. They couldn't possibly get a job. They might get fired from their job simply because they were Christians. Even some of them would be martyred for the sake of Jesus' name. Jewish religious leaders were radically passionate towards God. They put Christians into prison and put them to death. They thought they were right. They thought they were offering a service to God. But they did such things because they did not know God and his Son. Their ignorance blinded them into doing violent, cruel, merciless deeds to Christians. The disciples did not know what Jesus was talking about. But when the time came, they would remember what Jesus had warned them about. Have you ever gotten vaccinated? Kids are afraid of injection. Before they get injected, they are in extreme fear. As soon as the shot stings, they burst into crying. Sometimes parents say to their little kids for intimidation, "If you don't listen to me, I'll get you injected." Vaccination is to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccination is considered to be the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases. Likewise, Jesus told his disciples about the suffering they would face 'for spiritual vaccination'. Being vaccinated spiritually is beneficial for your spiritual health. Sometimes we are vaccinated through Bible study. Sometimes we are vaccinated through our Bible teachers. When your Bible teacher gives you rebukes, it is for spiritual vaccination. When I was in college, Missionary Mark Yang trained me a lot. He rebuked me for my pride. At that time, there were competitions for main speakers in Summer Bible Camp. I applied for that, but Msn Mark Yang dropped me. Instead, he had me deliver a five-minute message before the main lecture. The title of the message he gave me was John 3:30: "He must become greater; I must become less." Msn. Mark Yang wanted me to be like John the Baptist, saying again and again, "You must become little; then Jesus will become great." His training gave me a shock at frist, but it worked as spiritual vaccination. Jesus' teaching was not only about good aspects such as comfort, encouragement, promise, and success. Jesus also talked about persecution, suffering, sacrifice, cross and even death. That is a kind of spiritual vaccination for protection. That is for us to become stronger. Look at verse 5. “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’” Jesus was going to the Father through his death and resurrection. But the disciples were not asking anything. The atmosphere was freezing. They were filled with grief after hearing Jesus say that he was leaving them.(5) They were somewhat like a little child who cries as his dad leaves in the morning. Jesus told them the truth that could give real hope in the time of grief. Look at verse 7. “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” Jesus said that he was going away. This was for their good. Why is Jesus' going away for their good? In the first place, the Counselor would come to them. Here, the Counselor refers to the Holy Spirit. Jesus was limited in time and space because he was with the disciples in the form of a human body. He couldn't stay with his disciples forever. But the Holy Spirit cannot be limited in space and time. The Holy Spirit can help them beyond time and space. He comes along with them wherever they go. The Holy Spirit gives them strength when they need it. He gives them wisdom when they need it. Therefore, Jesus' going away does not mean 'parting with Jesus,' but 'new union.' The Holy Spirit's coming is a new form of Jesus' dwelling. Jesus is coming to them through the Holy Spirit. In the second place, Jesus' disciples can learn independent faith. As long as Jesus was with them, the disciples looked to the Incarnate Jesus for wisdom and guidance and all necessary things－even for lunch. They expected Jesus to give them direction. They sought Jesus’ approval and correction constantly. So they did not pray. They did not take responsibility for world salvation. They were given whatever they needed from Jesus. Now, they would be left alone. They would live and do things on their own. They would need independent faith. They looked to the Incarnate Jesus, but now they would have to depend only on the Holy Spirit. They didn't have to pray, but now they would have to pray desperately. Now they were like a youngest son who has a family to support－a wife and two kids. He can no longer live according to his impulses, but must bear a real responsibility. This turns him into a real man－a father and a husband. When we have things we must take responsibility for, we grow mature while we struggle to carry out what have to do. As a tree is exposed to storms and strong winds, it grows strong and tall through the process of taking root deep under the ground. Likewise, we, Jesus' disciples, grow strong and independent as we withstand suffering and trials only by depending on the Holy Spirit. Second, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt (8-11). Look at verse 8. “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment....” The Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt. The word “convict” means "giving a verdict." One who is convicted cannot but admit and acknowledge that he did wrong based on the facts. Then, he accepts responsibility, including due punishment. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt in three ways－in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement. In other words, the Holy Spirit makes three things clear by giving verdicts: What is sin? What is righteousness? and What is judgement? In the first place, he convicts the world in regard to sin. Look at verse 9. "in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me" This verse makes it clear that unbelief is sin. Do you accept easily the fact that unbelief is sin? People take unbelief lightly. They regard a terrorist as a worse sinner than an unbeliever. Among unbelievers are some people who live morally. They think they can live without law. They say, "I'm proud of myself living according to my conscience. I don't think I need God for now. Believing God is a kind of option. People's choice in religion must be respected." But unbelief is very serious, for all kinds of wickedness come from unbelief. Unbelief problem is spiritual ignorance problem. Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus on the cross did not know what they were doing. So Jesus prayed for them, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." After Jesus' breathing his last breath, darkness came over the whole land. Then, a centurion, seeing what had happened, realized his spiritual ignorance, saying, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. They did realize they were sinners. Every summer Bible camp, we see lots of people confess their sins and accept Jesus. Especially, when they listen to the message about Jesus' cross, they shed their tears realizing their sins under the cross. This shows that the Holy Spirit comes upon them mightily and makes them realize that they are sinners. The Holy Spirit convicts ignorant people of their sins. As for me, it took long time for me to realize that unbelief is sin. Before I accepted Jesus, I thought I had been relatively righteous. At that time, I thought to myself, "I respected my parents. I tried not to offend my friends. I listened to teachers as attentively as I could. I tried to help others as much as I could." However, as I studied John 5, I suddenly realized I was a sinful man before God. I realized that I had lived under the power of fatalism and darkness, being cut off from God's love and life. I realized that the reason I was not happy at all though I tried my best to be happy was that I lived without God, the giver of life. The moment I realized I'm a sinful man during the Bible study, I bowed down to Jesus for forgiveness with tears. That was the moment when the Holy Spirit convicted me of sin. In the second place, the Holy Spirit convicts the world in regard to righteousness. Look at verse 10. "in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer" People try to do righteous things. They do voluntary work for sick people or help others by donation. They try to be faithful to their conscience. These are all for their self-righteousness. Jewish people observed the law thoroughly for self-righteousness. Even church-goers satisfy their self-righteousness by doing many things in their church. This kind of righteousness is against God's righteousness. What is the righteousness of God? It is to have a right relationship with God through Jesus. The Jews tried to have a right relationship with God by keeping the law. But the problem was that they could not keep all the laws. They failed to be right with God. No one could meet God’s high standard. No one can reach God’s righteousness by human efforts or goodness. But God's righteousness has been revealed in the gospel. How can we have a right relationship with God? The only requirement is to believe in Jesus who shed his precious blood and died on the cross for our sins. God made us right with him by offering Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. The righteousness is not the work of man but the gift of God so that no one can boast of their work. We cannot do it, but God did it for us. It is a pure grace of God. All we have to do is to live by faith. The Holy Spirit helps us make a right relationship with God through Jesus! Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we can come nearer to God, depending on Jesus' precious blood. In the third place, the Holy Spirit also convicts the world in regard to judgment. Look at verse 11. “...and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” Here, 'the prince of this world' refers to "Satan." So this verse means that the Holy Spirit assures us that God already judged Satan. Man fell into temptation by Satan; as a result, Satan rules this world with cruelty. The world Satan rules is full of all sorts of evils. Even though man have wealth and worldly power and enjoy a pleasure-seeking life, they are not happy at all. They are rather under the power of darkness and death. Satan gives us fear, failure, despair, vanity, and death. He wields his power to slave us in his chains. Satan is the enemy of all mankind. When Jesus died, the world became dark. It looked like Satan won a victory over the world. But Jesus rose again from the dead to crush the power of Satan! Jesus won a final victory over Satan! The Holy Spirit assures us that Jesus has got a triumph over the prince of the world! When we are persecuted or face difficulties, Satan planted doubt, fear, charges and despair in our hearts. But we must know that Satan has been knock down by Jesus' resurrection. He is like a snake just wriggling in its tail with its head crushed. We have already secured a victory in our spiritual wars because of Jesus' resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives us strength and courage to fight against the prince of the world. He gives us inner power to overcome despair, failure, and fear Satan plants into our hearts. Third, he will guide you into all truth (12-15). Look at verse 13a. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all 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. ” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He guides us into all truth. The world is full of sins and falsehood. There is no absolute standard for good. All things are changing like shifting shadows. We live in this world, not knowing what to do. The world is dangerous and harsh and cruel; on the other hand, we are so much week. We are worried that we cannot live according to the truth in the turmoil of the evil world. But the Holy Spirit helps us walk straight along the path of truth and righteousness. What we are required to do is to hold firmly on to God's word. In other words, we must keep studying Bible. Bible study keep us from going away out into the worldly waves. The Holy Spirit is our guide who dwells in our souls. The Holy Spirit is our captain on the voyage to the heavenly port. He is our personal tutor, leading us step by step. His teachings are not difficult to understand. He teaches us one by one, and he helps us walk step by step. The most important thing here is that the Holy Spirit works in us through the word of God. Therefore, Bible study and reading is very significant to live a life full of Holy Spirit. Seeing from the Book of Acts, the work of the Holy Spirit is closely related to Bible ministry. Act chapter 19 shows how the Holy Spirit works. When St. Paul stayed in Ephesus, he made a small group to study Bible. He and his disciples had Bible study in the lecture hall of Tyrannus every day. It continued for two years. Through this Bible study, the Holy Spirit worked mightily not only in Ephesus, but also throughout Asia Minor. Many people came to the lecture hall. Those who heard the gospel shared it with others. The gospel spread by word of mouth. In the course of two years, all people in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Let's keep on Bible study diligently. Let's keep Bible reading daily. Let's try our best to teach Bible to students. This is the way the Holy Spirit works. Verse 13b ends, “...he will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit has all wisdom and insight and can tell everything about the future if he wants to. But in the context of this passage, his foretelling is about what Jesus will do. There was still much Jesus had to do to complete his messianic ministry. He had to die on the cross, rise again, and ascend into heaven. He would sit at God’s right hand while the Father put all things under his feet. He will come again in power and glory to judge the living and the dead. There is such deep spiritual meaning in each of these events that no human mind can comprehend by reason alone. But the Holy Spirit would enlighten the disciples about the meaning of Jesus’ ministry in its full scope. Today we thought mainly about the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt. He tells us concerning what sin is, what righteousness is, and what judgement is. And the Holy Spirit guides his disciples into all truth. He is our best Bible teacher. May the Holy Spirit be your guide. |
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