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The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Holy Spirit 1 01/03/10
John 14:12-24
Series: The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Pastor: Steve Hart
John 14-16 records some of Jesus final words to his disciples before his death. After sharing a meal together and washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus begins to give the disciples instructions on how to be his people after he is gone. He instructs them to love one another radically and sacrificially, and to continue doing the works they’ve seen him doing. The disciples grow increasingly anxious. They are fearful of what it means for them if Jesus is no longer with them. How will they go on loving, serving, and doing his work? In the midst of their anxiety, Jesus speaks these words: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever...” Jesus promises “another” will come, who will be Jesus, and yet not be Jesus. Later he says that he and his Father will come to make their home in those who love Jesus. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus returns to his Father, he sends his Spirit (Acts 1-2).
Holy Spirit 2 01/10/10
John 14:25-31
Series: The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Pastor: Steve Hart
If we are going to make disciples, we are utterly dependent on the Spirit. We can’t make this happen on our own! And we are unfortunately so dependent on humans that we’ve forgotten the power of the Spirit to work through us. We need to realize that we have everything we need in the Spirit, and stop making excuses for why we can’t teach, lead, or admonish others. Jesus has already equipped you to make disciples, and he is urging you to step out and trust that his Spirit will do the work through you! You already have everything you need, so you have no excuse! Every disciple of Jesus is fully equipped to be a disci- ple maker, regardless of how long you have known Jesus or how much Bible you understand! Do you believe that?
Holy Spirit 3 01/17/10
John 15:8-16:4
Series: The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Pastor: Steve Hart
The two primary “fruits” that Jesus wants to produce in his disciples is love for one another and the ongoing ministry of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples. He wants them to be the church! So he sends his Spirit to dwell with them and in them, and by reliance upon the Spirit these disciples will find themselves comforted and empowered for the works of ministry Jesus has prepared for them. This week we’ll focus on the Spirit’s role in making these disciples - and us - bold and winsome witnesses to Jesus. The primary verses we’ll look at are in John 15.26-27.
Holy Spirit 4 01/24/10
John 16:4-11
Series: The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Pastor: Steve Hart
One of the key roles the Spirit plays is that of prosecuting attorney. Jesus says when the Spirit comes he will “convict the world,” meaning he’ll bring the world to see their guilt before a Holy God and their need for salvation in Jesus. J.I Packer says, “Jesus said that the Spirit would “convict the world” of the sin of not believing in him, of the fact that he was in the right with God the Father (as his welcome back to heaven proved), and of the reality of judgment both here and hereafter (John 16:8-11). This threefold conviction is still God’s means of making sin repulsive and Christ adorable in the eyes of persons who previously loved sin and cared nothing for the divine Savior.” But how?
Holy Spirit 5 01/31/10
John 16:12-15
Series: The Spirit and the Church: John 14-16
Pastor: Steve Hart
The Spirit’s job is to take the objective reality of our Father’s love for us and make it real to us. Sinclair Ferguson says it like this: “If it is a fact that God has adopted us into his family, then the Spirit must come and assure us that this is true. The Spirit must enable us to live in the enjoyment of such a rich spiritual blessing. God sends his Spirit into our hearts bringing us the deep spiritual and psychological security that rests on the objective fact that our sins are forgiven and we completely belong to the Lord.”