This morning the text of the sermon is John 16, 7 through 11. I would like us to turn first of all to Acts chapter 2, that chapter dealing with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and read together from verses 22 to 41. After the Holy Spirit had been poured out and the disciples are accused of being drunk, and Peter begins to preach, and we take it up in verse 22 through 41 as we give our attention to the reading of the Word of God. Acts chapter 2, beginning at verse 22. Men of Israel, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him, I saw the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence. Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, yet he said, Lord, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off. For all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. If you would turn back to John chapter 16, again the text being verses 7 through 11, if you would keep that in mind as we read from verses 5 through 16. Beginning at verse 5, Jesus says, 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 that 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. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as I've already mentioned, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was no small event in the life of and for the life of Christ's church. Again, sometimes it seems that the more the history of redemption moved from or moved past the events of the crucifixion and death and resurrection of Christ, it seems that the events that came after that were considered as less significant by the church, especially the church today. After His resurrection, you see, Jesus made numerous appearances to His followers which many say must have been exciting, but the important thing is that He arose. Christ ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father. That's wonderful, but again, He arose. Don't you dare take away from that event. And then the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. That's nice too, but don't forget, He arose. You see, if it's not connected with Christmas or Easter or Good Friday, we tend to think that, well, it's really not very important and I can disregard it if I feel like it. Of course, we see that on Ascension Day service, don't we, when most of us decide it's not important enough to come. We tend to forget that all of these events, every last one of them, are of utmost importance. All are necessary in and for the life of Christ's church. Not one of them can be left out. And this is especially true with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The celebration of Pentecost. And boys and girls, Pentecost did not start when Christ came. Pentecost was a feast that was celebrated annually by the Israelites for many, many years. The celebration of the Feast of Pentecost was a celebration of gathering in the harvest and bringing the first fruits as an offering to God. And therefore, it was fitting that in God's providence, the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost as a sign of the gathering of Christ's church. You see, beloved, you cannot separate the work of the Holy Spirit from the work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God applies to God's people the salvation that Christ secured for God's people. He completes Christ's work. He gathers, defends, and preserves Christ's church. And in the text before us from John chapter 16, Jesus Himself tells us of the necessity and of the importance of the Spirit's coming. And He also speaks of the Spirit's task. And that task includes, among many other things, it includes for believers leading them in self-examination in preparation for coming to the Lord's table. So we consider this Word of God this morning, Christ promises the Pentecost Spirit for two reasons. First of all, for the ongoing benefit of His people, of His church. And secondly, for the necessary conviction of the world. We know, of course, that Jesus had been teaching and training and preparing His disciples for ministry. And this included preparing them for, first of all, His going away to the cross. his going away to death, and then ultimately for his ascension, his going away to heaven. Yet talk of that, talk of his going away made them sad and uneasy. Jesus says in verse 6, because I have said these things, going back to verse 5, now I am going to him who sent me, because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. The disciples just didn't understand. And even after Jesus had told them before some wonderful things, For example, in John 14, verse 2, He told them that He was going away to prepare a place for them. And in chapter 14, verse 12, He said that they would be enabled to do greater works. And then in chapter 14, verse 20, He said they would be given a richer knowledge of Him and all of this because He was going away to the Father. And even though He said all of those wonderful things, made all of those wonderful promises, they were still downcast because they just didn't understand. It should have been plain to them that His going would be for their benefit, but it wasn't plain to them because they did not yet have the Spirit, the Comforter, the Counselor. Jesus' disciples and His followers simply couldn't imagine not having Jesus with them physically. It's clear that they couldn't conceive of His being with them only in spirit and not in flesh and blood. We see that throughout his ministry. For example, when Lazarus died, Jesus' friend, then his sister Mary said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died as if he wasn't there. But we know from the testimony of Scripture that he was fully aware. Jesus was completely aware of all that was taking place. And then on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter wanted to build tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah it as a demonstration of keeping Jesus with them in some sort of a physical way. Because of their lack of understanding, the disciples were filled with sorrow because He was going away. But Jesus says, I tell you the truth. In chapter 14, He had said, trust in God, or another translation, believe in God. And then He follows that up, trust also or believe also in me. This was a way of saying, of Jesus saying, I am God. And now as God, Jesus speaks the truth, and the truth is this, as verse 7 says, he says, 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. See, the fact of Christ going away was intended to drive out the sorrow that they felt and to replace that sorrow with joy because Christ's physical absence would bring them greater blessing than if He stayed. Of course, we can understand the disciples' point of view, can't we? Boys and girls, you know that if you have a grandpa and grandma who live a long way away and they come for a visit and then it's time for them to go again, you're sad. You're not filled with joy, But you're sad because they've got to go away. The Greek word translated as good, it is good for you. The Greek word translated as good can also be translated as profitable or advantage or expedient. It is profitable for you. It is to your advantage and it is expedient for you. All those words are found in different translations. Christ going away was of utmost importance. It's interesting, though, that Jesus and Caiaphas, the high priest, agreed when it came to his going away. We've used Caiaphas' words on other occasions for different reasons, but back in chapter 11, when we read about the plot to kill Jesus, then Caiaphas says these words, You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. See, Jesus and Caiaphas agreed there, but the difference is that Caiaphas believed it was better for Jesus to go, it was expedient for Jesus to go in order that His work and His ministry might be stopped. But Jesus knew that it was better for Him to go in order to complete His earthly work, and so that His ministry and His work would spread and be applied to the end of the earth. Well, what was the good? What was the advantage? Well, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, the Helper as we know Him, the Comforter. You see, Christ's departure, beloved, it was a triumph, not a tragedy. It was a help, not a hindrance. The Holy Spirit would not be given if Christ remained. And when He came, the Holy Spirit would testify of the glory of Christ, as John says in verse 14, and He would testify of the glorified Christ. And therefore Christ had to be glorified and exalted on the throne at the right hand of His Father. And we must understand, beloved, that the gift of the Holy Spirit given on Pentecost to stay is the down payment of eternal life. The Catechism says a down payment, earnest money. That Christ will come again. That He will take us to be with Him. We read our Lord's words in verse 16 of chapter 14. He says, I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever. The Holy Spirit is a guarantee of eternal life for those in whom He lives and works. And He also gives a foretaste of that eternal life as He causes God's people to have fellowship with each other as we are right now. And fellowship with the Lord. He, the Holy Spirit, is the one who incorporates us into the body of Christ. He is the one who regenerates the elect, gives new life to the elect and dwells in them. He is the one who sanctifies God's people in preparation for eternal life. He is the one who leads into all truth. He is the one who witnesses of Christ. He is the one who comforts us in our sorrow. He is the one who convicts. And if you can identify with any of those things, any of those experiences in your life, that's the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. But how could He possibly give us these blessings until the basis, the foundation for these blessings had been established? That basis, that foundation is the triumph of Christ, which is more than just the cross and the grave and the empty tomb, but it is His return to the Father by way of the cross and the grave. and the empty tomb. See, when on earth Jesus in His humanity could only be one place at one time. In fact, we read in Luke 4 where the crowds were trying to prevent Jesus from leaving them. They wanted to keep Him to themselves and He said, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also because for this purpose I have been sent. Boys and girls, you know that a person, a man or a woman can only be at one place at one time In His humanity, He was limited in a sense that like you and me, He could only be in one place at one time. But when God the Father placed Him on His heavenly throne, He also placed all things under the feet of Jesus. And now Jesus rules over all things at one and the same time through His Spirit. And by the power of His Spirit, Christ is preached throughout the world. Not just here this morning. In churches throughout the world. You see, if Christ remained, He would only be present to our eyes, to a few eyes at a time. But through the Holy Spirit, He is present in the church and in our hearts through each and every believer. And this is so true that Jesus gave the church this assurance where two or three are gathered together in My name. I am there in the midst of them. And that's our comfort, beloved, that even our loved ones, our believing loved ones in other parts of the world. On this day, our God is with them through His Spirit. And every day He is with them as He is with us. Jesus had been preparing His disciples and His church to perform a task. That task was to preach the gospel to every nation. But He also warned them that this task wouldn't be easy. They would be hated. They would be persecuted. They might even be killed. And as we sit here today some 2,000 years later, the pages of Scripture show us some of the advantage His disciples enjoyed. What I mean is we can read not only of the promises made to them, but a few pages later we can read of the fulfillment also that they enjoyed. And all we need to do is to contrast the behavior of the disciples before the outpouring of the Spirit and afterward. You remember, I trust, that when Jesus told the twelve that they would all forsake Him, they said, and especially Peter, no way. That will never happen. I, Peter, I will die for you before I will deny you. And the rest said, yep, that's the way it is with us too. We will die for you. Of course, we know that Jesus told Peter that the rooster, the animal, would remind him of the truth. And Mark testifies in Mark 14, verse 50, that just a matter of hours after they all said they would die for Him, that their behavior was such that they all forsook Him and fled. But after they received the Holy Spirit, Luke records in the book of Acts that they faced open hostility and even death with courageous joy and with triumphant faith. Acts 5, verse 41 tells us that after the Sanhedrin, The Jewish Supreme Court had the apostles beaten and warned. We read, they, the disciples, the apostles departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And what about our friend Peter? In the portion we read from Acts 2, it's clear that Peter himself had a boldness under the influence of the Holy Spirit that he never had before. You see, it's no exaggeration that Christ's going would indeed be for their good. And beloved, Christ's leaving this earth and returning to His Father was and is also for our good today. As the Holy Spirit continues to testify of the glorified Christ and continues to apply Christ's redemption to the hearts and lives of God's people today, He continues to build Christ's church one believer at a time. And one of the ways He does this again is through the building of our faith, through the means of grace, the preaching of the Word of God, the administration of the sacraments, and especially, as we think this morning, of the Lord's table. Through self-examination, God's Spirit causes one to rightly examine his heart that he might know his sinful condition, that he might believe that salvation is found only in Christ Jesus, And that he might then faithfully engage in the service to God required of a thankful heart. One of the Spirit's tasks, as the text says, is that of convicting the world. Christ's promise of the Pentecost Spirit was indeed for the ongoing benefit of His people, but also for the necessary conviction of the world. In fact, this work of convicting the world is also a benefit for God's people. The text says, beginning in verse 8, 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. Beloved, God, Christ calls his disciples, he calls his church today, especially the ministers of his word, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. To let the whole world know. And what does the world need to know about? According to the text, three main points which are foundational to the gospel. Sin, righteousness, and judgment. You see, God calls men to preach the word and he calls his people to testify to it. But that's all that we can do. I can only, by God's grace, speak the words and lend you my voice as any other minister. The effect comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the one and only one who convicts the heart of mankind. He is the one who makes the witness of Christ effective in the world. The Holy Spirit is the only explanation for the words of men having any effect in other men so that the Word of God penetrates hearts, taking root, yielding fruit, changing hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. Apart from the Spirit of God, my words are only a dead letter, only a worthless sound. Now before we consider together these three major points of which the Spirit convicts, we need to understand that to convict can mean two things. First, it can mean to prove guilty, to prove one guilty. This doesn't mean, though, that the one who is guilty is moved to admit or confess his guilt. We see it in the courts of law today when the judge asks one who has been charged with something, how do you plead? Most often they say, not guilty. If there's any possibility of getting off, I'm not guilty, you see. And boys and girls, you might get caught with cookie crumbs all over your face and you might even get caught with your hand in the cookie jar right after mom said, no snacks before dinner. You got caught. You are definitely guilty. But because you know that you might get punished, you might not be so sure if you want to confess your guilt. I'm not saying you shouldn't confess your guilt. You should. But you don't really want to get in trouble, you see. But to convict can also mean to awaken one to a consciousness of guilt and to move that one toward repentance. That is, to drive home a personal conviction in a person's heart and in his mind of his guilt. And when the Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt, It involves both of these, but not in every person alike. The Gospel, the good news, immediately proves that the whole world is guilty. In fact, the guilty verdict has been there ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit. The very need for a Savior is proof that the world was guilty. Now again, with many, this guilt is brought to the conscience so that they feel this guilt. They know they are guilty by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. And these elect then are not only convinced of it in their soul, but by the grace of God they openly and truly repent. And confessing the wrong which they've committed, they cast themselves by the grace of God upon the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. And Jesus says that the Holy Spirit convicts the world with regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. But he doesn't tell us in this text what the result of this convicting is. Now, verse 8 again says, When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. But I must say that in the original Greek manuscripts, the word guilt is not there. It's been added in our NIV translation. Most other translations, you will not find it in the New American Standard, in the King James, in the New King James, and many others. you will not find the word guilt that says something more like, when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. I don't know why the editors of the NIV added it. Maybe they took a particular position and wanted to try to sway us on which kind of guilt they believe it is. But we don't know. Jesus just says that the world is convicted. You see, beloved, the world is made up of both the elect and the reprobate, those whom God has chosen, those whom God has passed over. And therefore, from many other passages of Scripture, we learn that in some cases the result will be conversion. For example, in Acts 2, 3,000 were added to the church that day. Or we think of Paul on the Damascus Trail. He certainly is an example of true conversion, a conviction of the consciousness of guilt. But the sad result is that others will be hardened toward everlasting punishment. Indeed, condemned as guilty, but not that they believe it or accept it. We think of those to whom Stephen preached in Acts chapter 7, where we read in verse 54, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. They hated what he was saying. The idea is they were like rabid animals, uncontrollable, snapping their teeth at Him. In 2 Corinthians 2 verses 15 and 16, Paul also clearly speaks of this two-fold result when he says, For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin because men do not believe in Me, Jesus said. Apart from Jesus Christ and believing in Him, one is totally depraved. Each one of us, by nature, is totally depraved. Unbelief separates one from Christ, and when one is separated from Christ, there is nothing but sin. And the one great sin, I think we can say, which embraces all other sin or is like an umbrella from which sin flows is unbelief. Unbelief. And unless one is convicted of his sin, he will not see the need for believing in Christ. When one is caught in the snare of unbelief, Jesus Christ is not even an option. That one doesn't even realize that salvation is necessary. Apart from the work of the Counselor, the world refuses to acknowledge its sin and refuses to turn to Jesus precisely because the world does not believe in Him. Yet on the other hand, God's people are led to believe. The second thing the counselor convicts of is righteousness because, as Jesus says, I am going to the Father where you can see Me no longer. You see, the world has its own standard of righteousness, a righteousness of their own making. And the world's righteousness may be a works righteousness or a righteousness where their good deeds cancel out their bad deeds or some other invented form of righteousness. But Jesus is saying that true righteousness can only be found in Him and the fact that He was going to be going away would confirm this. When He says, I am going to the Father where you can see Me no longer, He has His death and His resurrection and His ascension in view. Because He alone is perfectly righteous, He was able to suffer the cruel death of the cross to pay the debt of sin and unrighteousness. And by raising Him from the dead, God the Father accepted His righteous work as payment in full. And by bringing Him back to heaven and seating Jesus on the heavenly throne, God the Father was marking Christ as the one and only perfectly righteous One. The ascension was a confirmation. of His righteousness. When the Holy Spirit convicts the world of its sin, then what follows is a conviction of their state of righteousness. And when the world's state of righteousness is compared to Christ's state of righteousness, then the truth reveals that the world is really in a state of unrighteousness because they have not believed in the righteous one. Many today still see themselves as basically righteous. But the truth is, they have a false comfort. Isaiah reminds us that even our best works are as filthy rags. God's people are justified only on the basis of Christ's righteousness. His passive and His active obedience. The third thing the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is judgment. because the prince of this world now stands condemned. The Bible clearly points out that Satan is the ruler of this world. And according to John 12, verse 31, he is already condemned. We read, Now is the time for judgment on this world. Now the prince of this world will be driven out. And one day this will be clear for all to see as Revelation 20, verse 10 points out, The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophets are and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. See, beloved, the world will be judged according to the righteous standard of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment by pointing to the world's ruler whose fate is already sealed and those who cling to the advice of Satan in condemning Christ in unbelief, they too stand condemned. And therefore they will not stand in the judgment as the psalmist says in Psalm 1. Instead, they are like the chaff which the wind blows away. The Holy Spirit works through the message of the gospel to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. And in those whom God has chosen for the foundation of the world, the Spirit awakens their conscience to the sin of unbelief and to the righteousness of Christ. We have a beautiful example of this with Peter's Pentecost sermon. Peter preaches of their sin of rejecting Christ when he says in verse 23, You, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. And then he goes on in verse 32, God has raised this Jesus to life. And while speaking of their unrighteousness, Peter preaches of Christ's righteousness when he says that Jesus of Nazareth was a man credited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs. And then finally, Peter also preaches of the judgment of those who are hostile to Christ. Quoting David, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. And then in verse 20 we read, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. And the result, verse 41, Those who accepted His message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. Beloved, the advantage of the coming of the Holy Spirit is that He would make the work of Christ's church, the work of spreading the gospel, make it effective by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and by applying the benefits of Christ's redemption to His people. The church today must remember that we don't convict people. We don't change one's heart as much as we would like to. We can't do it. We don't do it. The Holy Spirit does it, if that is God's will. We are called to spread the gospel. We are called to sow and water the seed, and the Lord through His Spirit grants the increase. The church can have all the gimmicks it wants to try to get people into the door, but without the true preaching of the Word of God, which is the tool of the Holy Spirit, which is His sword. Apart from that, the world will not be convicted of anything. As you prepare to come to the Lord's table, may you be reminded and convicted of your sin and need for the righteousness of Christ and of the truth of the judgment and condemnation to the eternal lake of fire for those who continue in sin and unbelief. But may you also be reminded and convinced of the blessed heavenly banquet for those who believe by the grace of God. Boys and girls, God in His mercy and grace comes to you and to each of us with His preached words Sunday after Sunday. And may we all be convinced of God's truth by the power of the Pentecost Spirit. As well, may we all be convicted daily. And then may we also glorify Him for bringing His light to our hearts and showing us the truth of Jesus instead of leaving us bound to the darkness of the lies of Satan. Now, beloved, praise God for the Holy Spirit. How important is He? If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the only way to the Father, that there is salvation in no other, if you believe that in your heart, that is the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. If you feel guilty when you sin, if you have a true heartfelt sorrow for your sin because you have offended God, that sorrow is the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart. If you then truly confess your sin that you are sorry for repenting and asking for forgiveness, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. If you enjoy the assurance of forgiveness, if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your sins are forgiven, that too is the work of the Holy Spirit. If you have the assurance of eternal life that the Lord should call you home today that you would be in His presence in the twinkling of an eye, again, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. If you are able to discern and make life's decisions in a godly way, not like Samson. Tonight we're going to consider Samson as he went to Gaza and lay with a prostitute and then after that he pulls up those gates, you remember? Then after that he finds Delilah. Not very discerning. But if you are able to discern and make life's decisions in a godly way according to the truth of the Word of God, that too is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. And if you desire to walk in a way that pleases God, to keep away from that which offends God, that which violates His holiness, and instead to walk in a way that pleases Him in all things, again, the work of the Holy Spirit. If you are able to engage in true self-examination and preparation for coming to the Lord's table, that too, beloved, is the work of the Holy Spirit. Oh, the Holy Spirit's busy, isn't He? How busy. And may we come next week, the Lord willing, prepared to celebrate at Christ's table of righteousness. The coming of the Holy Spirit of God on Pentecost was much more than just a nice event. it was a necessary event for the ongoing benefit of Christ's church and may we be a people in whom the Holy Spirit of God richly dwells Amen shall we pray Father by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name we pray to you once again thanking You for Your Word, the sword of the Spirit, His tool which He uses to bring many to faith. Father, we thank You that You have brought us to that most glorious faith. We know, Father, as well that that tool of the Holy Spirit also works to harden some in unbelief. We pray, Lord, for those who do not yet believe that your word may go forth powerfully and effectively and that you would indeed be pleased to continue to build your church to gather in the number of the elect by the power of your Holy Spirit that your halls may be full that the bride might be perfectly complete and adorned for the bridegroom one day lead us each and every moment of our lives by the power of your Spirit and thank you Father for your promise that you will never leave us or forsake us in Jesus name alone we pray Amen.