Oxendine, Charles: Ministry From Johns Gospel 19 ~ John 16

See you all out this evening. We trust that, uh, the word will, as is spoken today, will be a source of encouragement and blessing and challenge to the hearts of those who are the hearers. I would like to remind you that we have the choice gleanings calendars out front. We mentioned that this morning to you, and, uh, you are entitled to one per family, one per household, or however you want to look at it. I said that to a place one time, and this young lady came up to me. She says, well, I, I still live at home, but I'm a household by myself. And so anyway, she's a pretty large girl, but... She She really really was, I'm but... But anyway, you have, uh, if you one for household, one for family, any way you wanna... But be sure and get you one. I mean, that's your Christmas card. I'm not gonna send you any Christmas cards. John chapter sixteen. These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogue. J, the time cometh when whoever killeth you will think that they doeth God's service. These things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was with you. But now I go my way unto him that sent me, and none of you asketh me, whither goest thou? But because I said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for me, for you, that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you, and when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin because they believe not on me. Of righteousness because I go to my Father, and you see me no more. Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. I'm sure that the Lord will bless to our hearts the reading of his word. As you open the Bible to the Gospels, you will note that there is a tremendous sort of an impact which, uh, comes upon this earth as it is set before us in the, in the Gospels, particularly in the Synoptic Gospels, because you have there in the birth of the Lord Jesus and a couple of those, and some of the early, some of the events in his early life, that is in a, as he was being, uh, we see the baptism of the Lord Jesus, and we see the, uh, his temptation in the wilderness and so forth. And you read, uh, that the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And then you see the Lord as he goes about ministering in a very definite way. And, uh, in the Gospel of Mark, one of the things that you seems to, uh, be set before us is the con- constancy of the activity that's associated with the ministry of the Lord Jesus. It was not, uh, uh, the language of the text seems to carry with it the idea of a, uh, a sense of urgency about the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth. And, uh, so in this passage of scripture that we're reading here, the Lord is talking about leaving. He's talking about going away. And he tells, and he is telling his disciples that he is going away, and another is to come. And one who is going to, uh, be here instead of the Lord, in a sense. And, uh, you know, in verse seven he says, uh, if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. So here's, uh, one who is going away, one who is coming, each having their individual service or ministry which they will, they perform here upon the earth. And so the Lord is sa- says to them, now whenever he comes, there will be a special ministry that he will perform. And uh, as you notice and as you read down through this passage, and as you hear the Lord speaking of the coming of the Spirit of God, one of the things which, uh, s- uh, sticks out as far in as in our understanding is the fact that when the Spirit of God comes, his ministry is going to have, it's going to be a Christ-centered ministry, primarily. Christ is going to be in the very center of it, and you notice what he says here, and, uh, he says, he shall convince the war, convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because they believe not on me. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be the theme of the ministry of the Spirit of God. He's going, when he convicts of sin, it's going to be sin in connection with the person of Christ. And I think this is significant that we remember this. I heard a man speaking one time, and he said, any, uh, well, he says any ministry, well, the any ministry, well, I've heard various ones say any ministry that is not Christ-centered is not of the Holy Spirit. And so we have to understand that, that the, the Lord Jesus Christ is the central theme of all the Bible. And so he is the one that is the central theme of the message of the gospel in the world today. And so the Lord is saying then that I go away, the Spirit of God is going to come, and he is going to perform a ministry concerning me. You notice in verse ten, of righteousness because I go to the Father. So here again, it's a, uh, it's a dual ministry, actually, he's speaking of here in regards to the Spirit of God in ministering toward the person of Christ. And then, of course, in the third part, in verse eleven he talks about it's a ministry of judgment, and it's the judgment is because the prince of the world is judged. And so, uh, uh, so anyway, you have here that there is this ministry which is going to be centered around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says that, and first of all, there's going to be this conviction, and it's a conviction of sin. We often wonder at this, uh, we, you think about the, the lives of individuals, and I think about my own personal experience, and you can think about your own personal experience in your relationship with God. And, uh, we think back when there was this time in our lives when we came under the conviction, we became convicted in our hearts and in our minds and our lives, we were in our souls, we were convicted of the fact that we were not saved, and there was a conviction, uh, there, uh, and there was a driving need being impressed upon us of the fact that we needed to be saved. Well, at least, uh, that was my experience. I don't know what yours was. And yes, you were go to the, you go into the New Testament, and you find a man like Saul of Tarsus, and he meets the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and there is a conviction that is brought into his heart in relation to the person of Christ. Some suggest that probably the, the Lord, the Spirit of God may have been working on the, this man's heart after his, uh, witnessing the death of Stephen when he was being stoned. And this was the culmination of it as he came and the, the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. And so the Lord, uh, he says here that, uh, that in verse, uh, nine, uh, verse eight, when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin. You know, uh, this is one of the problems in society today. Uh, you cannot find anyone who can fittingly reprove the world of sin. And this is the reason why there's so much crime in our world today. It's hard to find a jury that can convict a man, regardless to what kind of crime he commits, and get a conviction that will stick and that, and, and, and have the sentence carried out. My uncle was a pro- police chief in Timbuktu for a number of years, and he said to me just a few years ago, we were talking about this thing of sentencing of criminals. He says, you know, he says a man can actually get a sentence, but he can be convicted, and he can be sentenced to life without parole and be out in maybe three or four years. Now, why is that? The reason, one of the problems in our society is, there is not the ability on the parts of men to have convictions about things. And so consequently, we, it matters not what goes on, uh, in certain levels of our society. There is, in the language of William Bennett, a death of rage. Nobody becomes indignant about anything other than if they catch somebody killing a whale, or you become indignant about that, or cutting down some of the trees or in destroying some of the, uh, national monuments, which are woodlands or something to that extent. I'm not even suggesting that you should not preserve things like that, but I'm just simply saying that is where we have the, our indignation has degenerated to. And so here we sit, and the Lord says, when the Spirit comes, he is going to convict men of sin. And I am s- and I am convinced that the Lord understood, um, that's a mood statement perhaps, but the Lord understood that would probably there would, that would, there would come this day when men or could not speak with conviction. Elijah could. Elisha could speak with conviction. The early disciples could. But it's hard for men to speak with conviction today because so many hands are so dirty until Jesse Jackson said that, uh, why the Lord told me to pick up the stones, and he says, well, you without sin, let him cast the first stone, and you said, when you put that kind of restriction on a man, there's no stones flying. There is no conviction. But the Spirit of God convicts. And the Spirit of God can get to the heart of the man. And he says to he says to his disciples that this conviction is going to be, in the language of the Lord Jesus himself, he says, of sin because they believed not on me. And so, when you come to the book of the Acts, and you see that when the Spirit of God came upon this earth in manifestation in chapter two on the day of Pentecost. If you remember that incident, uh, when we can hold our place here and turn there. Acts chapter two. Peter is the spokesman on that memorable day, and in the opening part of the chapter, it tells us, uh, in verse two, suddenly there came the sound from heaven of as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with one with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now here is a manifestation of the power of the Spirit of God, evidentially. There's no question in anybody's mind in that whole building that something miraculous is taking place. This is not an ordinary... This is not a, a business as usual set of circumstances. It was an extraordinary event. And then later on, you remember, down in the chapter, verse twenty two, Peter now begins to address the, uh, the congregation. And he addresses the nation of Israel, uh, through the people who are there. Ye men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you with miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain. He is putting the guilt right upon them. He is saying, you are the guilty parties, you are guilty of the death of Christ. You are the killers, actually. You go over to chapter two, you see there in verse, uh, verse thirteen, Peter again is speaking, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go, and ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and kill the Prince of Life. This is a solemn charge that is placed at the feet or upon the, on the head of the children of Israel, the nation of Israel. You are guilty of the murder of the Son of God. Now, a few years ago, you remember the Pope exonerated the people. He exonerated the nation of Israel. Well, God hasn't. So regardless of what the Pope says, God says they are still guilty of the murder of the Son of God. And what's the results? You go down back in chapter two and you read as the, the, the, uh, the Apostle Paul brings to bear upon the, uh, upon them the, their responsibilities in regards to, uh, uh, what they, their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse thirty six. therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. He is no longer dead. You killed him. He w- you put him in the grave, or had him put in the grave, but he is no longer in the grave. He has been resurrected from the grave. He tells them, he tells, he speaks about that in the verses twenty nine through thirty and so forth in that section in there. God hath raised him up, and he's sitting and sitting on his throne, and so he is speaking of the resurrection, and he spoke of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there was conviction in the hearts of these individuals. And what do they say? And, uh, verse thirty seven, and when they had heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? The Spirit of God is bringing conviction in the hearts of these individuals in relation to their, in regards to their relationship with the death of the Son of God. It's a hard thing, but it's a hateful thing to the Jews today. Whenever they speak of the fact that the Christians actually accuse them of killing Jesus, killing their Messiah. But regardless to what they, how they respond, it is true nonetheless. They did kill him. And so, when there's this awakening on their part, there's conviction brought into their hearts concerning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of sin because you believed not on me. I think I told you about James Norman. I don't have too many stories that I can share with you. I give you some over and over. James Norman was dying with oxygen being pumped to him twenty four hours a day. And I would sit with him and share with him the gospel. Do you believe that? Yes, I believe it. You believe that Christ died for you? Yes, I believe he died for me. Well, in John three sixteen, what is this that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. Do you believe that? Yeah, I believe it. What does it say? Whoever believes has everlasting life. What do you believe? Do you believe on Christ? Yes. Do you believe he died for your sins? Yes. Do you believe his sin- his death was sufficient to take your sins away? Yes, I believe that. Well, then what does it say about you? He says, I've got everlasting life. I said, well, are you saved? Well, I don't feel anything. I don't feel anything. What does God's word say you say? Well, his word says I'm saved, but... Convict because they believe not on me. So you have this conviction. You see, he came into this world, and as he came into this world, back in, back in John's Gospel, chapter fifteen and verse twenty two: If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin. But now they have no cloak for their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ came and revealed himself and spoke the word of God to men, and their response to him revealed what was in their hearts in regards to the person of Christ, sin. Samuel Rideout is quoted as saying in the days of moder- moderationism in the Church of Scotland, a preacher in the morning said, if virtue were to appear upon the earth incarnate, ravished by her beauty, men would fall down and worship her. And he said, in this evening of the same day, a servant of God, a servant of Christ, occupied the same pulpit and said, Virtue incarnate did come to earth, and men's cry was, away with him, crucify him. This man who walked upon the earth, the Son of God, who demonstrated, as he did in many infallible proofs, him being delivered by the, uh, who being, or in the language of Acts two, where he is speaking about he was approved of God by miracles and signs and wonders among you, as ye yourselves also know. It's evidenced before you. Now, what have you done with him? Well, the Spirit of God convicts men of sin, of not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts of righteousness as well. And he says, uh, of right back in chapter sixteen, verse ten— of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more. Do you remember, we notice, uh, as you go back to the book of the Acts, Acts chapter two. we pointed out to you how that Paul, uh, that Peter is speaking, and he's talking about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and how he's seated at the right hand of God. He's gone back to the throne of God. And, uh, you can trace it right on through. Peter spoke of the resurrection of Christ, and he was constantly bringing before the people the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. And you go on over and you remember Stephen, whenever he is speaking, and just before he is stoned to death, he, uh, he is speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. He begins in chapter seven, verse two. He talks about the God of glory who appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia. And then he brings the history of the nation of Israel right on down until the day in the age in which he was standing before the people. And, uh, what does he say to them in verse fifty one? Ye stiff-necked and circumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Ghost, as your followers did, so, so do you. Which of the fa- prophets have you not, your, our fathers not persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before them the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been also the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law at the dispensation of angels and have not kept it. And when they heard these sayings, they were cut into their hearts and gnashed in their on him with their teeth, and but he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfast to the heaven and saw the glory of God. He began by speaking of the God of glory, and he says, now I am seeing the glory of God. He can see the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, seated in heaven. And the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven has sent the Holy Spirit down here upon this earth, and he is producing such conviction on the hearts of the individuals. Because if the Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, it is a declaration of the righteousness of Christ, because that's the only way that it would be possible for him to be seated there tonight. Were he an unrighteous man, were he a sinner like us, this would not be the place that he occupied. But the fact that he is there is a vindication of his righteousness. And so, our righteousness was perfected by Christ when he was seated in heavenly places, because we are seated to heaven- in heavenly places together with him as well. And so, it is necessary to see Jesus at God's right hand for us to know that we are accepted in the beloved. I can remember one time I was... you do things in ignorance, but it can be detrimental, it can be devastating, it can be difficult, I mean, it can be very destructive. I was working with a group of young people one time, and uh, there's some questions, young fellows started asking questions. I was young and young in the knowledge of the truth of the word of God, just beginning to learn truths, and and uh, I really hadn't, I didn't know, I didn't know any better. I was speaking in ignorance. But I said something like this, I said, you know, when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, I said he had paid the penalty for our sins. And if we were s- and if the Lord Jesus had not been raised from the dead, we could still have been saved. Isn't that logical? I mean, if the debt was paid on the cross, when they took him off the cross and they put him into the ground, if he had never been raised from the dead... What kind of message would we have? How would we know? How would we know that our sins are taken away? He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again because of our justification. One of those little smart mouth boys when told elders what I was teaching down there. And one of the elders came to me and said, I hear that you... Yeah. He straightened me out. I'm glad he did. I didn't resent it. I was wrong. The resurrection of Christ is essential to our salvation. You see, there is of righteousness because I go to my Father. He's going to convict of the righteousness of Christ and the fact that he is there, seated in the heavens, in in the heavenlies, and he is seated in the presence of the Father. It is a declaration to all that he, this was a righteous man. You know what, you got plenty of men that have come on the scene and have been the saviors of their people, if you will. I mean, the every religion pretty well has got their savior, some great man or woman or whatever that lived here upon the earth, and he died. But where is he now? He's dead. That's not the testimony of Christ. That's not the testimony of the Christian. We've got a savior that's at the right hand of God. He's the righteous one. So he's going to convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Judgment to come, somebody interprets that. The Lord Jesus said, now is the judgment of the world, and Satan has been judged. And you know, in Hebrews chapter two, it speaks about this one who destroyed the him who had the power of death, which is the devil. On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ judged sin, and he acquitted all those that believe on him. In heaven, he defends all those who would try to re-arrest his people. I told you about the conversation with the young lady a couple of years, a couple of days ago. She's there sitting at the table trying to convince me that she knows that it is possible for a person who is saved to lose their salvation and ultimately go to hell. What is the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? He has taken our judgment, and he is there, he ever lives to make intercession for us. He is there for us. He is there as us. And if we're seated together in heavenly places, in heaven, in heavenly places, what a marvelous privilege it is to know that the world can be convicted of judgment to come, but in Romans chapter eight it tells us there is now therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. We don't look forward to judgment to come. In Romans chapter 8, we're told that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit. In Acts chapter twenty four, when Peter or Paul is preaching to Felix, you remember, and he's reason with him about judgment to come, it says that Felix trembled. There was a conviction in his heart. We had a man down home who came out to the gospel meetings. They were having a gospel series down there years ago, and they, he stood, they stayed there, and there was such conviction in his heart until he was set there, and he trembled, and he held on to the back of the pew sitting in front of him, they said, to keep, to hold on to, to keep from having to walk down to the front of the building. He was in such deep conviction, and he walked out of that building, and he died without ever professing Christ. He was convicted of judgment to come. The conscience bears witness. In Romans chapter two, we're told that the conscience excuses and accuses, but it does not justify. And for one to say, let your conscience be your guide, and do go go according to your conscience, well, there are people who have seared consciences, and there are those who have defiled consciences, and it is only those who know the Lord Jesus Christ who have purged consciences. And in Romans chapter nine, his spirit bears witness, and the Holy Spirit in the work of the Lord. What a glorious privilege that we have to be able to have this experience in the world to come, in this world in which we live. There is a time of judgment. You remember in Genesis chapter six, before the flood, the earth was filled with violence, and God judged this world. Later on, in Genesis fifteen, we're told that the iniquities of the Amorites was not yet full, but there came a day whenever it was filled, and God brought judgment upon the people. In Revelation, in Romans chapter eleven, there is speaking concerning the fullness of the Gentiles. That day has not yet come. God is still putting up with the Gentiles in this world, but there's coming a day. Lord Jesus has said, uh, God tells in the Psalms, there you remember, ask of me and I'll give thee the heathen for thine inheritance. One day he's going to ask for them, and he's going to get them, and he's going to judge them. And when, in Galatians chapter four we read, when in the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made unto the law, to redeem them that were under the law. He sent forth his son into this world to deliver men from judgment. He shall convict the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment. We trust that if there's one in the room tonight who has never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God can speak to your heart, cause you to see that you're a sinner. You have sinned in rejecting the gospel of God. You have sinned in rejecting the sacrifice, the salvation which God has offered to you through his son. That you are sinning if you continue to do so. And that you recognize that there is one who is seated in heaven tonight, who is seated at God's right hand, who is the righteous one. And if you fail to do so, you must look forward to the judgment to come. When there is coming a day, in Revelation chapter twenty, the writer says, and I saw a great white throne, and there was one sitting on that throne, and the dead, small and great, stood before God, and the books were opened, and they were judged, every man out of the books. Judgment of the great White Throne. No believer will be there, but that will be the place where every unbeliever who goes into eternity will appear before God. This morning we were mentioning in Genesis chapter three, that man does everything that he can to avoid coming into the presence of God, but ultimately every man must appear before God and give an account of himself to God. May the Spirit of God convict your heart, encourage you to come to him and to know his life eternal. Let us pray. We're thankful, Father, for thy word. We're thankful for the Holy Spirit, who does bring before us the person of Christ, the greatness of his person, the greatness of his work. And we pray that, should there be one here tonight who has never done so, we may trust thee, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, and be gloriously saved. In the name of our blessed Savior we pray. Amen.