I do not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. But now I'm going to him who sent me. And none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is 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. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you see me no longer. Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all 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. He will glorify me, for he will take whatever is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore, I say that He will take what is mine and declare it to you. Amen. Continuing in our journey through the Gospel of John, this morning our focus is verse 7 through to verse 15, thereabout, of chapter 16 of John. And we come to a moment of great anxiety and mystery in the lives of the disciples. As Jesus and His disciples made their way from the upper room to Gethsemane, Jesus taught His disciples many valuable truths. He taught them many things. They saw Him do many miracles. Now, these men, understandably so, are upset at the notion that Jesus will be taken away. Jesus was going to be taken away from their midst. And Jesus is aware of their uncertainty and their fears, and He's aware of what is going through their minds. He knows that they are overwhelmed with the thoughts of His departure, and the disciples see no way out of this despair. And because of their distress, because of their discouragement, Jesus Christ gives them invaluable truths from chapter 14 of John all the way to chapter 16. And as He does so, He is doing so to encourage them. to comfort them and to teach them concerning Himself and the promises that He will bestow upon them when He goes. And He tells them in our portion of Scripture this morning that He will give to them a gift a gift of the helper or the comforter, the gift of the Holy Spirit. But at this particular point, the disciples are not familiar with the comforter. They are not familiar with the Holy Spirit. They are not familiar with what the Lord Jesus Christ is talking about. And therefore, they had a hard time just imagining how it is going to be, how things will be, how things will work out. And the Lord Jesus Christ slowly continues to explain to them. Now, you and I have the gift and the benefit of having a complete Bible right before us. And we can read what was to happen or to follow after this episode. But still, despite having the benefit of the complete Bible, Many today are still confused or not sure about the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Just as the disciples were confused, many, despite having the complete Bible before them, are still confused. But clearly this was not the intention of our Lord Jesus Christ. His desire when he was teaching his disciples and teaching all of us as recorded in John 16 is for us to come to appreciate the gift of the Holy Spirit and understand to a very large extent what Christ was saying so that those who believe in Christ can experience the leading, the guiding, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And I'd like us to open those verses from verse 7 to 15 and draw lessons for ourselves. The first thing I want us to see is the profit of the Lord's departure. The profit of the Lord's departure, the first part of verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. It is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you." The Lord's departure was going to be to the advantage of the disciples. At this moment, the disciples saw no benefit at all of the Lord's coming death. They could not comprehend how things would be with the departure of their Master. You will recall that they have been following the Lord Jesus Christ for three years. They had given up everything to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. They had spent years with Him. They had believed upon Him. They had expected Him to establish an earthly kingdom where He will rule and the disciples will rule alongside Him. And now Jesus Christ declares to them, that it is to their advantage that he goes away. How would it be? How would that be possible? What is it that will work to their advantage with the departure of their master? And the word advantage there, simply means profitable. And the Lord Jesus Christ was basically saying, it will be profitable to you that I depart. But how could this be profitable to the disciples? How it is that it was going to work to their advantage? And for us to appreciate this, we need to see what the Bible says, not only about the Holy Spirit, but about the mission of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. With the death of Jesus Christ, we now have a glorified and exalted Lord. And that's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19 and 20. With the death of Christ, we now have a glorified and exalted Lord. While He was on earth, He looked like the disciples, dressed like them, walked with them, ate with them. There was nothing attractive as far as the human eye was concerned. But now with the death of Christ, having been raised from the dead, we now have an exalted and glorified Savior. with the death of Christ, we now have an intercessor before the Father's throne. That's what Hebrews 4 verse 14 to 16 says, that we have one who intercedes for us before the Father's throne. We have one who knows the frailty of human life, human beings. And those who've come to faith in Him, He intercedes for each one of them before His Father's throne. With the death of Christ, we now have the presence of the Holy Spirit with us at all times. Jesus Christ in human body could only be in one place at a particular time. If He was in the house of Mary or in one of the disciples' house, He could only be in one place at a particular time. But the Holy Spirit is able to be with all believers at all times, in all places. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ said in John 14 and verse 16. He will dwell in you. John 14 and verse 16. And I'll ask the Father and He will give you another helper to be with you forever. Verse 17, even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. And with the death of Christ, We have the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers at all times, in all places. He is our guide. He guides us in all truth. He guides us against the evil ones, against the terrors of darkness. He helps us to understand the Scriptures as we read them. He is with us, as Paul says in Romans, even in those times when we fail to utter words to God, the Spirit of God helps us in our weakness, even in groans that words cannot utter. He is with us. He reminds us that we belong to Christ. With the death of Christ, we have the gospel to proclaim. We now have the real gospel to proclaim. The gospel is the good news, the good news of Jesus Christ, that He died and was raised from the dead, and all who call upon His name will be saved. That's what Romans chapter 10 tells us from verse 8 all the way to verse 13. With the death of Christ, we have a gospel to proclaim. He came. He died. He was raised from the dead. He's now seated at the right hand of his Father. We have the good news to proclaim to the world. With the death of Christ, we now have the worldwide work of the Holy Spirit. the work of Him convincing men of sin, the work of helping and guiding believers, the work of glorifying Christ. We have this wild, wide work of the Holy Spirit. That's what Christ says, that He will convict men of sin. And all this was going to be possible only with the departure of Christ, His death on the cross. We can dare say that it would not have been possible if Christ had not died. But having died, you say, I will ask the Father to send to you the Comforter, the Helper. He will dwell in you. And without the presence and the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the apostles would not have achieved what they had achieved. They would not have done what they had done. They would not have accomplished those works of which God desired of them. It was because of the Holy Spirit that was in them and with them on the day of Pentecost when He came into this world. to dwell in believers. There was this boldness that came upon the believers, and they were able to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were able to testify to those things that they heard, they saw, and they were witnesses of. The Holy Spirit was with them. This is true even for us as believers today. The Holy Spirit is profitable in our lives as well. He enables us to save God. He enables us to accomplish the things that God wants us to do. He enables us to proclaim the gospel with boldness. We've experienced it, and therefore, we preach the gospel. Christ says it is profitable that he departs. But secondly, let's look at the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Lord's Holy Spirit, from verse 7b all the way to verse 11, verse 7 there, B, if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see Me no longer. concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." We see the scriptures there giving us the purpose why the Lord is giving us His Holy Spirit. And notice how verse 7b begins there, "'If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.'" But if I go, I will send him to you." The Lord Jesus Christ is teaching there that upon his departure, the helper will come or would come. And the word helper there, or in other version, it's a comforter, comes from the Greek word palakētos. And the word parakletos speaks of an assistant or the helper or one who comes alongside of you to offer aid. In the Greek culture, it was also used to refer to a defense attorney, a lawyer, one who represents you in the courts of law. And the Lord Jesus Christ there is promising that upon His departure, He will send a helper, one who will come alongside you, one who comes to offer aid, one who will act as a defense attorney, one who will be by your side and will not leave you. And also the word that the Lord Jesus Christ uses there when He says, I will send Him to you. The word send there is a very interesting word that is used. It literally means to bid something to be carried to another, to bid something or someone to be carried to another or to insert something into another. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He is giving this promise, it was not a vague promise, but a sure promise. He says, literally saying, when I go, the Holy Spirit will come. And to those who believe, He will be inserted into you. I will insert Him into your life. And once He is present with you, He will come alongside you to give you aid. He will stand by you. He will always be with you. And the Lord Jesus Christ is giving this sure promise. And as He gives this sure promise, He's basically saying, you'll be filled with the Spirit. His presence will be inserted in our lives. And the purpose will be to convict the world of sin. to convict the world of sin. He will refute to confute the world of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts sinners of the fact of their sinfulness. The Holy Spirit makes Romans 3, 28-23 come alive for all, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. When the gospel is preached, God the Holy Spirit convicts sinners of their sin. He brings the message of the gospel to bear upon the heroes, to convict them and to show them of their sinfulness. People may deny personal sin, but when the Spirit of God comes in conviction, He shows the sinner, there's nothing left for you. but to cry in surrender to Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost person of the need of getting right with God. He convicts sinners of God's righteousness. He produces in the hearts of lost sinners a deep-seated feeling of their own filthiness, that there's nothing in and of themselves that can put a smile on God. They are not right with God. They are filthy before God. Unless God, through the ministry, the convicted ministry of the Holy Spirit, points you to the righteousness of Christ, you will remain in your filthiness. Unless you see that you are not right with God, and the only way to be right with God is to be in Christ. But we are told that the Spirit of God convicts the heart of man about the reality of the approaching judgment of God, the coming judgment of God. People may joke about hell. And many may even use the word hell as a byword in every language. They may joke about it, but deep in the soul of man is this knowledge that to live this world without Christ is to head to a Christless eternity in hell. Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 talks about God has put eternity in the heart of man. While men may joke about hell, they may say all kinds of things, but in the silence of their hearts, away from everyone, When they begin to think about life on earth, there's this realization that I don't know what lies beyond the grave. And to die without Christ is to go into eternity in hell. There was a French poet who was an atheist. and would mock Christians. But on his deathbed, these were his words, since I do not know what lies beyond the grave, it is safer for me not to die. Since I do not know what lies beyond the grave, It is safer for me not to die. And these words are in the book that I have. It's called The Last Words of Saints, Sinners, and Politicians. And it's always interesting what people say on their deathbed. And when you compare what Christians say, then politicians and sinners, you could see that in that moment of death, there is this realization that there's something beyond the grave. There's heaven or hell. And most of them realize that too late. And here Christ is saying in the Bible here, that the Holy Spirit convicts men of the coming judgment. There is a judgment coming, dear friends. And the Holy Spirit is a divine agent that convicts and convinces men of sin. And as you sit here this morning, hearing my voice, I ask you, have you come to the realization of your sins and the fact that one day you will stand before God in judgment? Is your life right with God? What is it that you are going to present before this great God? You may argue all you want, but you know that a time is coming when you will leave this world. But where will you spend the rest of eternity? Christ says the purpose of him sending the Holy Spirit upon his departure is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of the judgment that is coming. God's wrath has already been satisfied in Christ. And when God the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, Respond by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Christ has satisfied God the Father, and only in Christ can you stand accepted before God. And thirdly, we see the proclamation of the Holy Spirit. the proclamation of the Holy Spirit. You've seen the prophet of the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the Holy Spirit, now the proclamation of the Holy Spirit. That's from verse 12 all the way to verse 15. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for you 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. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore I say that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." The Lord Jesus Christ is saying there, that He will continue to speak to His people through the Holy Spirit has revealed to us in His Word. And Jesus speaks of the message that the disciples can expect to hear from the Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is saying that when the Helper comes, He will continue to proclaim the message that I've been proclaiming to the world. It is a consistent message. It is a message that never changes. It is a message that comes, that Jesus saves. The Holy Spirit has one agenda. He has one work to perform. and it is to exalt the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there Christ says He will not speak of Himself. He will not seek to promote His works. He will not come to exalt Himself, but He will come to exalt the Son of God, the Savior of the world. One of the challenges of our charismatic friends is that they seek to promote the work, the gifts, or the talents of the Holy Spirit more than they do the one who gave the Holy Spirit. They seek to speak about the emphasis about being baptized in the Spirit, being slain in the Spirit, or speaking in tongues. But they do not promote or emphasize the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here we see Christ saying, when the Spirit comes, He will exalt the Son. Because the Spirit will have one agenda, to proclaim and glorify and exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the same agenda that must be ours as Christians, to exalt and proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. We have no other agenda but to make Christ known to the ends of the earth. And if we're going to really test the genuineness of our spirituality, it must be, are we exalting the Son in our lives? Because this is the work of the Holy Spirit. He will exalt the Son. He will bring to remembrance to the disciples the things Christ taught them about Himself. And we have the Scriptures that reminds us of the things that Christ taught, that Christ did. As we read them, as we study, and we go out to proclaim the Son, the Spirit of God who reminds us of the message of Christ, and we must proclaim it to the world. The Spirit only speaks of that which He has received from God. He recites the message of God to us. He stands as a representative of God to humanity. He hears from God and then he passes it on to us so that we may proclaim it to the world. This is what Christ was saying to His disciples, and this is what is true of us. The Spirit of truth will guide us in all truth, and when He hears from God, reminding us of the unity in the Trinity, the Spirit hears from God, and He communicates it to us. And we have the Scriptures, the revelation of God. God continues to speak to us through His Word. And if we want to hear God, we must read the Scriptures. This is the mind of God. This is God speaking to us. And the Spirit of God helps us to understand and to apply these things and helps us to understand and see the meaning of the truth of God's Word in the Scriptures. And if you really long to hear God, read the Scriptures. God has spoken to us. He's told us what is wrong with the world. He's told us what would happen to the world. And He's told us of the coming judgment. It is through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we grow in Christ's likeness and long for His coming. And we must not grieve the Holy Spirit as God's people. We must be sensitive to His leading and we must be in tune with His agenda. to proclaim and exhort the Son of God. And so as we come to a close, I want to ask this morning, I want to ask you, where does this message find you today? Does this message come to you as you are struggling and wallowing in your sin? There's a message come to you in your state of sin. You know that you are lost. You know that you are not a Christian. And you know that if you die, you go to hell. The Spirit of God is convicting you, speaking to you, and challenging you this morning to come to Christ and believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins. and you must not continue wallowing in your sins. Or does this message find you already saved, but living your life in your own power and energy? I challenge you to confess your sin of self-reliance. and surrender yourself to the guiding and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that you be sensitive to His leading, that you not grieve Him with your careless words or how you use your body, the temple of God. Or does this message find you saved but struggling with the difficulties and the burdens of life? Lay those burdens to Christ. Bring those burdens before your Savior. Lay them before the Lord Jesus Christ. He cares for you. He will come alongside you in the person of the Holy Spirit as you go with those burdens of yours. He's there by your side. And he's saying, trust me, cast your burdens upon me. You should not go through this life with your burdens. There, I will always be there, neither leave you nor forsake you. I don't know where this message finds you, but God doesn't want you to remain where you are. He wants you to come to Him for salvation in Christ. He wants you to come to Him, trusting Him to carry you through all the days of your life on earth. He wants you to sing with joy, the Comforter has come. Oh, spread the tidings round, wherever man is found, wherever human heart and human was abound, let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound, the Comforter has come. The Comforter has come, the gift of God from heaven, the Father's promise given. And oh, let's pray the tide is round, wherever man is found, because the Comforter has come. Amen.