I wonder if youāve ever thought to yourself: If only Jesus was around, things would be so much better.Ā Thereād be no coronavirus because Jesus would overcome it, heād heal people on the spot. If people could see Jesus with their own eyes, everyone would believe in Jesus.Ā Thereād be no more tricky questions. Questions like: āWhy is there suffering in this world?ā Weād have direct access to Jesus.
But the fact that Jesus is not here, we canāt touch him we canāt see him, we canāt hear him and thatās actually a really good thing.Ā Jesus has already warned that the world will hate him. The world will hate those who follow Jesus. And so in the midst of a hostile world, Jesus - in John 16 - is now going to prepare his disciples for his departure. Take a look at verse 7
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (NIV)
Jesus, the one who always acts for our good. Declares itās actually better for me to go than to stay. If I DONāT go, then the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, wonāt turn up.Ā Jesus isnāt about to do a cut and run, to abort the mission.
The mission will go on. Jesus knows heās heading for the cross but that wonāt be the end. The next part of Godās plan is about to unfold.
Now before we dive further into John 16, itās worth mentioning that this is ground zero when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Thereās plenty of place weāre tempted to go when it comes to working out the person and work of the Holy Spirit. But thereās no better place to go than straight to the source. Here in John 16, weāre going straight to Jesus. And what He says about Himself.Ā In fact, Jesus outlines two things about what the Holy Spirit does here in John 16.
The Spirit has:
1. MINISTRY TO THE WORLD
Most of the time in Johnās gospel, āthe worldā is used in the negative. It describes the hostile world order towards God. A world who rebels against its creator. Weāve seen it already last week - the world will hate. Thatās a strong word, but it will hate you because you follow Jesus.Ā Itās to this world, the Spirit, rather than abandoning, rather than giving up on the world, verses 8 - 9 tells us Heāll do three things.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.Ā (NIV)
Notice here how the Spirit is a āheā not an āitā, the Spirit is not the force, like in Star Wars, heās a person. Heās God! You can know him! You can be in relationship with him! His actions are real actions. So, when it comes to the world, he will prove the world to be in the wrong.
Whereas the world says: You and I - weāre actually pretty good people. The Spirit says to the world: youāre actually in the wrong.Ā Youāre wrong on the most important question in life. On where you stand with Jesus. Notice how itās sin not sins. The ultimate sin is to reject Jesus.
Now because the Holy Spirit is doing the heavy lifting, when we evangelise, we donāt have to manipulate people. It takes the pressure off. We canāt nag people into the kingdom and nor do we have to! Donāt try and do the job of the Holy Spirit. We can reach peoples ears but we canāt reach their hearts. Thatās the job of the Holy Spirit.
If you havenāt said Yes to Jesus, maybe the Holy Spirit is convicting you now.
I used to think I was a Christian at school. I didnāt do drugs, I never got drunk, I followed the rules, I canāt remember getting a detention. It wasnāt until the Spirit of God opened my eyes for me to realise that no matter how many good things I had done goodness was defined by something objective. Something definitive. And thatās whether I believe in Jesus or not. Thatās definitive, objective.Ā So, if you want to get right with God then ask him to persuade you, through the Spirit. Ask him to help you get over the line. Verse 10
about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer (NIV)
Whereas the world says: Jesus is irrelevant, that he really isnāt God, or from God. The Spirit says āJesus is in the right, He is EXACTLY who he said he was.āĀ The Spirit confirms who Jesus claimed to be and this fact is in his resurrection and in his ascension. He is in the right!
This is not the righteousness we read about elsewhere in the Bible, particularly in Paulās letters. Whereas that righteousness describes a legal standing before God. The righteousness the Spirit will convict the world about is in verse 11, that Jesus really IS who he says he is!
and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.Ā (NIV)
Whereas the world and its ruler, Satan, thinks itās in the right. The Spirit, comes along and says āItās game over. Youāve lost.āĀ Satan might say āGodās not there. Godās not for youā. But the Spirit simply says: thatās just a pack of lies.Ā The Spirit will bring things out of the darkness and into the light, the deception and the corruption of the world will be exposed for what it is.
The prince of this world has been disarmed, defeated and destroyed, by a king, and not just any king, but the king of kings.Ā The cross was Satanās greatest failure. Not his greatest victory!
2.MINISTRY TO HIS FOLLOWERS
Throughout these chapters in John, one of the things that stands out is the fact that Jesus knows EXACTLY how his disciples are feeling. He knows their fears, their anxieties and their uncertainty, thatās exactly what he addresses in verse 19 - 22.
Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, āAre you asking one another what I meant when I said, āIn a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see meā? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (NIV)
To help the disciples understand the fact Jesus is going to appear āin a little whileā Jesus uses the example of childbirth.
Now Iāve seen, with my own eyes, a child being born 4 times. But thatās nothing compared to my wife Teresa, sheās been through childbirth 4 times and none of it was pleasant. First thereās the lead up to the labour, the aches, the pains, the swollen ankles, not to mention the contractions, the screaming, the sheer length of time.Ā With one of our children, she was in labour for nearly an entire day! But once each of our children came out those cries gave way to smiles and to relief at being able to hold, to hug, to kiss the child whoād spent 9 months in her womb. At last.
Notice here how Jesus says, your sorrow wonāt be replaced by joy. It wonāt be a case of trading in one for the other. No, sorrow will turn into joy. The very thing that generates so much agony and pain, that same event will become the very reason for celebration.Ā Every moment of sorrow, every period of suffering, every temptation, every sickness. Every time youāre on the receiving end of persecution because you stuck your neck out for Jesus.
Every moment of discipline. Absolutely none of us find it pleasant at the time. But we can be sure that God isnāt wasting any of those things. He is the great recycler! You can be sure heāll use those things for His glory, and our good!
Verse 23 shows that part of that joy you and I will experience will come through answered prayer.
In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (NIV)
Whereas Jesusā disciples could only access the Father through Jesus. Now because of Jesus, they will have direct access to the Father.Ā Thereās nothing more joyous than having your prayers heard by the God of this universe. Your prayers arenāt simply hitting the wall and bouncing off the roof. Instead, because theyāre prayers prayed in Jesus name, they will be heard.
And so, let me ask you, how are you going with those impossible prayer points?
Admittedly Iāve slipped off the horse. But knowing that itās actually for my joy to keep praying prayers, in the name of Jesus, because of Jesus, through Jesus, all thanks to Jesus. Thatās what inspires me to get back on the horse!Ā And so, we come to last part of John 16. A timely word given the world weāre finding ourselves in right now.
āA time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. āI have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.ā (NIV)
Jesus has overcome the world in so many ways. One of the ways is there in verse 32. That thereāll be a time when Jesus is back reunited with his Father.
Jesus has overcome world in other ways too.
As each person is no longer part of this world but part of the kingdom!
Itās precisely because Jesus has overcome this world, we can now live in anxiety? No, we can have peace. Jesus wants us to take heart, to have confidence, to know his comfort. Thanks to Jesus, we have peace.Ā What does peace look like in the midst of coronavirus?
Iāve washed my hands probably more this week than I ever have before. Can I encourage you, the next time youāre washing your hands, the proper way, remind yourself that,āØthanks to Jesus, You're held safe in the Fatherās hands, the hands that flung the stars into space, that hung there on the cross, for me.
This week, I asked one of my daughters how she was feeling about the coronavirus, with things she was looking forward being cancelled left, right and centre. With routines being completely changed. I was expecting that she would say sheād be nervous, scared and uncertain.Ā But her response surprised me. She said: āI donāt have to be nervous or afraid. God is with me. And I know Iām going to heavenā
She had ministered to me. She had shown me what peace during these crazy, uncertain times, looks like.
Thanks to Jesus, and His Spirit, you and I can have a peace that surpasses all understanding.