Tonight, for our Scripture reading, turn with me to John chapter 15, beginning at verse 26 through chapter 16, verse 16. The text being chapter 16, John 16, verses 13 through 15. Along with Lord's Day 20 in the back of the Psalter hymnal, so I invite you to turn there first. Lord's Day 20, page 27 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. One question and answer, 53. I'd like to begin tonight by confessing together what we believe using these words. Lord's Day 20, page 27. Question 53 asks, What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit? First, He, as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God. Second, He has been given to me personally, so that by true faith, He makes me share in Christ and all His blessings, comforts me, and remains with me forever. Now, of course, beloved, Lord's Day 20 begins the third and final section of the Catechism's summary of not only the Apostles' Creed, but also then of the Catechism's treatment of the triune God. It's the section dealing with the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. You may recall back in Lord's Day 8, question and answer 24, which was back at the beginning of our consideration of the Creed, it says, how are these articles of the Creed divided into three parts? God the Father, and our creation, God the Son, and our redemption, God the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification. See, the Holy Spirit is not just some power that comes out of God or out from God, but the Holy Spirit, of course, is God Himself, the third person of the Blessed Trinity. And this can be sometimes difficult to understand, the Holy Spirit and His work of sanctification. When we think about the Father in creation, we look around at creation, we look around at the mountains, the hills, the grass, the flowers. With our technology, we look out into space and see the galaxies and the planets and the stars and we can see these things so we can understand the Father, the power of God and creation. But when we think about the Son and redemption, we know that the Son of God came to this earth, became man, human, flesh and blood like you and me. He lived, He died, He rose again. He ascended into heavens, but even at this very moment, Our flesh and blood, of course, in the glorified state, is in heaven even at this very moment. Again, something tangible for us. But the Holy Spirit and sanctification, that can be somewhat hard to grasp. Jesus said that He would send the one He called the Comforter, the Counselor, the Helper. But what does that mean? In John 3, verse 8, speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus says, The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Jesus likens, in a sense, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to the wind. Now, boys and girls, you know that you can't see the wind. We think we can, but it's the effects of the wind that we see. Even with a tornado, we see the debris that's being twisted around in the tornado, and therefore through that we see the shape that the wind is taking, but we can't see the wind. We can see the effects of it. We can feel its force. We can feel its temperature, but we can't see the wind. And the same thing is true of the Holy Spirit. We cannot see the Holy Spirit. But the power of the Spirit, the effect of the Holy Spirit can be known, experienced. and seen in those and by those for whom Christ sent His Holy Spirit. Christ's church beloved, those He came to save, own Christ's promise of the heralding Holy Spirit. Tonight we want to read together from John 15 again, beginning at verse 26. Understanding that in chapters 13-17 of John's Gospel, Christ there prepares His disciples for His going, And in a specific way, he prepares them for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We read now the Word of God, beginning at verse 26 of chapter 15. When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue. In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this so that when the time comes, you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, where are you going? Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 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. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. In regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me. In regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 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. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. Words of the text again, verses 13 through 15, 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. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you all that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you. Beloved in Christ the Lord, have you ever dreamt of having your own genie? You know what I'm talking about? A genie in a bottle, the one that pops out when you rub the bottle or the lamp and gives you three wishes so that you get what you want. The genie jumps at your very command. Well, some have made the Holy Spirit nothing more than a genie in a bottle to give me what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. After all, isn't that what helper, counselor, comforter means anyway? But you see, beloved, that's not why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to make me rich or to give me healing or to fix my troubled circumstances at the snap of my fingers. There are those who preach a health and wealth gospel that have turned the Spirit into a genie in a bottle. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Just ask for anything you want. Just name it and claim it. Oh, of course, there's one detail. You've got to have enough faith. But just ask. The Holy Spirit was not given to us to give us what we want, when we want, how we want it, but the Holy Spirit is the gift of Jesus Christ to give us what we need the most. And that is the truth. Jesus here calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth. Truth, we know, is an attribute of God. Jesus said in John 14 that He is the truth. And therefore, the Holy Spirit comes with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And He comes heralding that truth. That's the focus of this text. Maybe you noticed that by some of the words that were used. Guide, speak, tell, make known. That's what a herald does. He makes known a message. And as we consider the Holy Spirit's work of heralding, we must know, first of all, how He works, the manner. Now, we're not talking here about the mechanics of the Holy Spirit's work. Something that we can't know. Something that's a mystery to us. For example, how the Holy Spirit transforms one's heart. How the Holy Spirit removes the blinders of sin. Or how the Holy Spirit brings one from darkness into the marvelous light of God. All of that is a mystery to us. But when we talk about how He works, we're talking about His manner of working as God. As we've already mentioned, the Holy Spirit is God. We confess, He as well as the Father and the Son is eternal God. Now, we've already dealt with the Trinity, the three persons, one divine essence, three persons. We've dealt with that earlier in our consideration of the Apostles' Creed. So therefore, here, I believe that it's not just talking about being introduced to the work of the Spirit and sanctification. Bringing up the fact that He is God along with Father and the Son is not simply reminding us that He is the third person of the Trinity. But it's meant to tell us, as we consider the Holy Spirit and our sanctification, that the Holy Spirit is in full harmony with the Father and the Son. That the Holy Spirit, that there is complete cooperation between the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. He works as God, as the triune God. He's not independent. We confess in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son. That means He's not a lone ranger. He does not work by Himself or on behalf of Himself. He does not herald a message of Himself. In verse 13, Jesus says, He will not speak on His own. In other words, He will not tell a story that is different. He will not tell a truth that contradicts the truth of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is dependent on the Godhead. There's only one truth of the one mighty redemptive work of the triune God accomplished by the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. and the Holy Spirit is bound to that one truth. He is bound to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit's work is always together with the Father and the Son. And the truth that is heralded is the truth of God's saving grace through Jesus Christ. Our sanctification, you see, is according to that one truth. And Jesus said of the Spirit of Truth that He would take of what is Mine, and then Jesus goes on to say, and all that belongs to the Father is Mine, so He will take of what is Mine and make it known to you. And that includes everything about Christ's Person and His work. It includes His Person, Christ's Deity, His glory, His majesty, His power, His righteousness, but also His work, His satisfaction. In other words, the Holy Spirit would also make known to us the truth of our need and that only Jesus Christ is sufficient for our need. In other words, the Holy Spirit applies the work of Jesus Christ. As an aside, Pentecostalism teaches that we must receive and that we must experience the Holy Spirit in some way that's independent of the Father and the Son. We must be slain in the Spirit in such a way that it is recognized through uncontrollable shaking and unintelligible babbling. My first job out of college up in Bellflower, there was an elderly gentleman that worked with us, a neat man, a believer. He'd come to the faith maybe later in life, but through Pentecostalism. And he would tell me about his experiences of rolling in the aisles uncontrollably and of babbling, speaking with tongues and how awesome that was. How he didn't know where it came from. He didn't know why it came, how it came. He didn't know what he said. Yet, beloved, he would speak in tongues. He would roll around and shake, shake in the aisles. But at the very same time, He made it clear to me that if one didn't have that, that their testimony was questionable. Their salvation was questionable. Or you can confess the Father. You can say that you believe in the Son, Jesus Christ. But if you're not slain in the Spirit in that uncontrollable way, then your salvation is questionable. But that's not what Jesus meant when He compared the Spirit to the wind. That we don't know where the Spirit comes from. We don't know where the Spirit is going. We don't know what He is going to do. But we experience the effects of the Spirit in some way. You see, that does nothing more than put emphasis on my experience. My salvation is dependent on my experience. And it does not put the emphasis on what Christ has done. But that alone is the Holy Spirit's focus. As God, the heralding Holy Spirit works powerfully, perfectly, completely, effectually, unfailingly, and everlastingly on behalf of the Father and the Son. And the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God. That's His tool. He always works through the Word that He has inspired. That word which he inspired Paul to say is God-breathed. His voice is heard in the voice of Scripture. You want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? Read the Word of God. And as that word is faithfully preached, it is the Word of God Himself. And that Word of God, the Scripture, has power because of the Spirit. And Paul describes that power in 2 Timothy 3, verse 17, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Holy Spirit, God Himself, heralds the truth. But then we need to ask, where? Where does He work? What is the place of the Holy Spirit's work? And on the one hand, we can say everywhere, right? The psalmist in Psalm 139 says, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? And says, there's nowhere that I can go. If I go to the heights of the heavens, you are there. If I go to the depths, behold, you are there. This life and all that lives and breathes exists by the power of the Holy Spirit. But as well, that Word of God is to be preached to all the nations throughout the whole world. And the Holy Spirit works that way too. Jesus says in verse 8 that when He comes, He will convict the world of guilt. But the sad truth is that not all will believe. and therefore we must ask, where specifically does the Holy Spirit work His work of sanctification? And that is clearly in the church. It's in believers who make up the church. Jesus makes a clear distinction, contrast between when He comes, He will convict the world, and then He changes His attention to you in the text. Every time you see the word you, He will tell you. He will make known to you. He will guide you. The word you is in the plural. He's talking to His disciples. To believers. To representatives of the church. And in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul makes it clear that the church is God's temple. Now the catechism focuses on individual believers. It says, He has been given to me personally. The older version of the catechism, I think, says it a little bit better. He also has been given to me personally. You see, there's no contradiction between the individual and the church. He has been given to me personally, along with all other believers personally, those who make up the church. And again, Paul in 1 Corinthians 6, he makes it clear that individual believers are temples of the Holy Spirit. Beloved, the church is the living body of Christ. And the Holy Spirit heralds the truth to the heart of individual believers and the body of Christ through the preaching of the word of truth. The church is the work area of the Holy Spirit. And that means to remove oneself from that work area is deadly, it's dangerous. The Holy Spirit works in the body of Christ, those united to Him. But Jesus Christ sent his heralding Holy Spirit for a purpose in the place where he works. In the third place, we consider why he works. Jesus makes it clear that the ultimate purpose, the ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory to Jesus Christ. And he does that by heralding the truth of him through the preaching of the Word, through the reading of Scripture, applying it to the hearts and lives of people. He heralds the truth of Jesus Christ. And that ultimate purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ is then reached by the Holy Spirit being the comforter, being the counselor, being the helper Christ said He would be, being that in the place where Christ said He would be it. Christ sent His Holy Spirit for the benefit of His people to apply to us the truth He teaches so that the truth wouldn't simply stop at the ears, but so that that truth might penetrate and become firmly fixed in the heart. And the benefits of the work of the Holy Spirit include, as Jesus says, guiding us into all truth. Notice, boys and girls, the Holy Spirit is a guide. We know what a guide is. A guide is one who leads, who shows the way. We have the figure here of a guide who safely shows and leads the way through an unknown territory. If you want to go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you need a guide so that you don't go off the side of the cliff and fall all the way to the bottom. The Holy Spirit guides believers on the path of righteousness, a path that was previously unknown to the sinner. And the Holy Spirit guides God's people in the arena of the truth of God. You see, it's very specific. The truth of Jesus Christ. He doesn't lead us by suggestion. He doesn't lead us according to potentials. He leads us into all truth. He doesn't lead us to what is false or according to the lie. It's not His purpose to deceive us or to lead us astray in any way. And that explains why the world of unbelievers does not receive the Holy Spirit. And that is because they are governed by the Father of lies. The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth and certainty that salvation is only in Jesus Christ and He leads us and empowers us. That's why we can sing and pray, Lead me, Lord. Lead me in Your righteousness. He leads us and empowers us to embrace that truth so that we actually, really believe in Jesus Christ. Those He brings to faith in Jesus Christ, He then leads them throughout His life and He gives them power to walk in the truth of the Word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our path. Beloved, the Bible is clear, especially in the New Testament, the epistles, over and over and over and over again, that the Holy Spirit empowers believers to hear the Word of God, to believe it, to obey it and walk in the truth of the Word. And because it's the truth, it's what's best for us. It's not to be doubted. It's not to be questioned. And therefore, when God's Word says that there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved, and that Jesus is the only way to the Father, the Word of God is not kidding. That means to look anywhere else is dangerous, it's deadly, it's a waste of time. When the Word of God says, give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, that means pay your taxes. When the Word of God says, speak the truth in love and don't lie, don't gossip, that means be careful what you say and how you say it. use words that build up and use them in such a way that edify. When the Word of God says, keep the Sabbath day holy, it means God is saying, it's for me. I've given you six days to serve me by your labor, your recreation, and your work. Don't justify your selfish activities by saying, well, I'm using my talents for God. It's for me. for you to find rest in Me. And when the Word of God says, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, think about such things. That's not a suggestion. It's not a suggestion to think about those things. But it's very clear, that's what we are to think on, not the opposite. And that means watch what you fill your mind and your heart with through your eyes and your ears. Watch how you spend your free time. Young people, all of us to be sure, but young people in a special way, watch what you listen to. Be careful. Be careful what you see in the movie theater. Be careful with regard to the activities you participate in. Does it conform to what the Word of God says? You see, sadly, even in the church, we've adopted a dangerous practice. I've seen it over and over again. That when someone is challenged by the preacher or their elder or even a fellow believer with regard to something they're doing or some activity they're participating in, they quickly retort, you show me what's wrong with this. You show me from the Bible where I can't do this. But you see, beloved, that's the wrong attitude. The burden of proof is not on God. He speaks clearly. It's on you and me. And that means that we must exercise the wisdom and the discernment that He has given to us and ask questions. For example, does this fit with the truth of God's Word? How does this benefit my life and my walk with God and my witness for Him? How does this help me to grow as a Christian? How does this glorify Christ? You see, there's nothing. There are no neutral areas. Music's not neutral. Video games aren't neutral. Recreation isn't neutral. There's nothing that is neutral. And the truth is, the Holy Spirit would never lead us to do something that would cause us to be unfaithful or cause us to be disobedient to God. If you are, it's because you have rejected the truth. And therefore, we also need to be careful when we say we want to do something. We say, well, I believe God wants me to do this. I believe He's leading me to do this. I've known young families that have moved to an area because of a job, for example. A great promotion. But they gave no consideration of whether there was a true church there or a Christian school for their kids. Those things were an afterthought when those things really come before the job. The Holy Spirit, beloved, guides us in all truth for our benefit and for the glory of Jesus Christ. He will certainly, without fail, apply that work to Christ redeemed so that as we confess by true faith, He makes me share in Christ and all His blessings, comforts me, and remains with me forever. And that points to another benefit of the Holy Spirit. He will tell you, Jesus says, what is yet to come. The Spirit of truth comforts us with the truth, beloved, that Jesus Christ isn't gone for good. But Jesus Christ is coming again to bring His church to Himself in eternal glory. And until then, by faith, We are not to be surprised by the signs of the times, wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and all these terrible things that could affect us in this life. Until then, by faith, we are assured that the Holy Spirit enriches us with nothing other than the riches of Jesus Christ. Nothing but the very best. And as the Holy Spirit heralds that truth, Christ is glorified and Christ is further glorified as that truth is applied to your life and mine. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to transform with the truth, the truth alone that sets us free. Indeed, congregation, the Holy Spirit's work is experienced, it's recognized, it's seen, it's known, but not by some uncontrollable confusion or some unintelligible babbling. Again, the effects of the wind are clear. If the wind is pushing over a tree, we see that. If the wind is blowing debris in a storm down the street, we see that. The effects of the wind are clear to see. And the same is true with regard to the work of the Holy Spirit. It's clear to see in regeneration. We don't know when that happens, but we know that it happens. That one has been given new birth, a new heart that understands the truth of Jesus Christ and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. His work is experienced in assurance. The assurance of forgiveness. The assurance of reconciliation with God. So that even in continued sin, which I now hate, the Holy Spirit testifies with my spirit that I am a child of God. His work is experienced in that He seals something to us. Boys and girls, you know what a seal is? not the kind that swims in the water, but to seal something tight, like an envelope. When you lick the envelope and stick it shut, and it's stuck shut, it's sealed shut. You have to tear the envelope open to get out what's ever inside. The Holy Spirit seals something to us by faith, giving me the confidence that all the blessings of redemption, all that Christ has earned for me by His work, all these things are mine, and no one can ever take them away. They are sealed to me. His work is evidenced in sanctification as He daily changes my heart and my attitude, my acting, my thoughts and my words so that I desire more and more and practice more and more that which is pleasing to God. More and more, I look forward to the Lord's day and worship with God's people. More and more, I talk boldly of Jesus Christ. More and more, I return love and kindness for hatred that is done against me. More and more, all of my life is changed. You know, I was thinking about this, and sometimes it seems trite. We generalize often from the pulpit that, well, simply all of life. But it's true. With sanctification, it touches all of life. The believer's heart, soul, mind, strength, thoughts, words, actions, everything. How I work is transformed. as well as my attitude toward work. How I relate with others, as well as my attitude toward others. It's all transformed. How I speak, including what I speak, it's all transformed by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. His work is seen as we bear fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace. It's seen as God's people exercise the gifts that Christ generously pours out by the power of the Holy Spirit and in doing so as those gifts are exercised, others also see the work of the Holy Spirit as we become a blessing to them. His work is seen in witnessing, recognizing that the world is bound to sin and that only the truth of Jesus Christ sets one free. His work is evidence, beloved, in the things that we have yet to consider in the creed, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Some would say that the Reformed doctrine doesn't say a whole lot about the Holy Spirit. I mean, we have one Lord's Day here with one question and answer. We talk about the Spirit with regard to the Trinity, but that's it. But if you study the Catechism, for example, about 23 or 24 Lord's Days specifically talk about the work, the power of the Holy Spirit. We clearly understand the Holy Spirit's work. You see, beloved, there's nothing confusing at all about the work of the Holy Spirit. Why does the Spirit work? To glorify Christ by making Him known and bringing those for whom He died to Him. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, as we confess in the Nicene Creed, there would be no incarnation. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there would be no Christians, no one believing. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, no one would be saved. There would be no church. There would be no hope. No life everlasting. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son in order to bring us to the Father through the Son. He takes us. He leads us to Christ, binding to Him by faith, breaking us down that we might look outside of ourselves to another for salvation. And He guides us in only one direction. The narrow road that leads to eternal life. He fixes our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Yet, sadly, we know it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit. He leads us in all truth. But we sometimes have a tendency, again, to turn that truth into suggestions. To treat that truth as something optional. And we reject that truth and go our own way. Beloved, we are responsible for our sin, not the Holy Spirit. So, therefore, do you have a conscience? do you have a conscience? Do you have a conscience that is troubled by your sins? A conscience that hates your sin? Do you ask for forgiveness every day? Do you desire to live according to the truth of God's Word? Is it your wish that others may know Jesus Christ and His saving love? Are you conscious? Do you consciously strive to do all that you do to the glory of God? Do you try to fill your mind and your heart through what you read and hear and see? Do you try to fill your mind and heart with things that will help you grow as a Christian? Do you desire God's will more than your own will? Do you really, truly look forward to heaven? Do you truly believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? If you do, then praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit in you. That He is busy. That He is active. That He has taught you the truth. That He has applied the truth of Jesus and His love to your heart because it could happen no other way. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 3, No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, may our earnest prayer be that the Holy Spirit would remain busy and active in our hearts and lives moment by moment, breaking down our resistance that we may still have because of our sin, our resistance to His work. And instead, building us up more and more in the most holy faith. giving us a greater courage to joyfully demonstrate and speak of the love of Jesus Christ. May we pray that He would remain active, granting us wisdom and strength to recognize and resist Satan's flaming arrows of temptation and deceit. And may it be our prayer that He would remain active, keeping us from following our own paths of desire, and said, lead us by the light of the Word of God, by His truth. Praise God, brothers and sisters. The Holy Spirit is not a genie in a bottle to give us what we want and to do what we want for us because we would get it all wrong. We don't know what we want. We don't know what we need. Praise God. The Holy Spirit is God Himself who guides us to and gives us what we need the most. The saving truth of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we pray that You would hear our prayer. Empowered by Your Holy Spirit we might be as we offer up our prayers to You. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake. We thank You for Your complete work for us and in us. We thank You for the work that You continue to do by Your Holy Spirit. We thank You, Lord Jesus, for sending to us the Comforter, the Counselor to help us while You are physically away from us to represent You here on this earth in our hearts and lives in Your church. And Father, we pray too that we, empowered by Your Holy Spirit, might represent You well to those who see us. Lord God, continue to work in our hearts and lives. Make us, we pray, more faithful to You day by day, more faithful servants and workers of the Most High God so that You may be glorified, so that Your kingdom may be advanced, that if it is Your will sinners might be converted and that Your people, saints, would be ever edified. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. In His name we pray. Amen. Thank you.