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You Hey everyone, welcome to church. Can I get you to grab your hymnals and take a seat? And Can I get you to turn in your hymnals to hymn number one hundred and ninety one Hymn number one nine one in my heart there rings a melody Hymn number one nine one and when you found it, can I get you to stand please? Hymn number one hundred and ninety one Jesus Oh Oh There is a melody Let's open in a word of prayer dear Heavenly Father I just want to thank you that we can be gathered in your house again this afternoon Lord I just hope that you are be with us in this service and bless this service and in Jesus name. Amen May be seated Can I get to turn now to him number three hundred and thirty two in number three hundred and thirty two channels only Hymn number three hundred and thirty two Oh Oh Oh Every day This Okay, uh for our final Hymn before the Bible reading Can I get you to turn to him number one hundred and forty seven? Number one four seven leaning on the everlasting arms and number one hundred and forty seven What a fellowship Oh Wait I Have blessed God Okay, good singing I can I get you grab your bubbles now and turn to John chapter 16 John chapter 16 and brother Jordan's coming up for the bubble reading You Hello Okay, so John John 16 These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended that you should put you out of the synagogues Ye that time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God's service and 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 ye 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 to up to him that sent me And none of you askest me whether goest thou But because I said these things unto you sorrow hath filled your heart Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient 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 is 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 ye see me no more Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now Howbeit when he the spirit of truth is come He will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself But whosoever he shall hear that shall he speak And he will show you things to come He shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall reassure it unto you And all things that the father hath are mine Therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you A little while ye shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me Because I go to the father Then said some of his disciples among themselves What is this that he saith unto us? A little while and ye shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me And because I go to the father They said therefore what is this that he saith? A little while We cannot tell what he saith Now jesus known That they were desirous to ask him and said unto them Do ye inquire among yourselves of that? I said A little while and ye shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me Verily verily I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament But the world shall rejoice and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come But as soon as she is delivered out of the child she remembereth no more the anguish For the joy that a man is born into the world And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice And your joy no man taketh from you And in that day you shall ask me nothing Verily verily I say unto you Whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name he shall will give it to you he will give it to you Heather too have ye asked nothing in my name ask ye shall receive that your joy may be full These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall No more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the father At the day ye shall ask in my name and I say not unto you that I will pray the father for you For the father himself loveth you because ye have loved me and have believed that I came out from god I came forth from the father And come into the world Again, I leave the world and go to the father His disciples said onto him lo now speakest thou plainly speaketh no proverb Now are we sure that thou knowest all things we need is not that any man should ask thee But this we believe that thou comest forth from god Jesus answered them. Do ye know now believe? Believe the hour cometh ye is now come that ye shall be scattered every man to his own And shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the father is with me These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace in the world. Ye shall have tribulation But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world Let's pray God, thank you for this time that we can spend freely glorifying your presence here in our church lord Please fill pastor with your spirit in jesus name we pray. Amen Amen Thank you for that, um, so we are continuing the book of john chapter by chapter I was doing it on the wednesdays, but i'm going to bring it back to sundays, uh The chapter by chapter study for the book of john. So we're there in john chapter 16. Let's start there verse number one These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended total for the sermon this afternoon is don't be offended Don't be offended don't we live in a generation of easily offended people generation snowflake generation thin-skinned Well, you know what jesus christ is giving you the remedy if that's you if you feel like you're easily offended Someone says something nasty something's a little someone's a little bit critical and you get worked up and then the whole week You're speaking about how you've been offended then this is a sermon for you Okay, don't be offended these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended now as we keep going through this chapter John 16 It's still a continuation of everything that has been preaching through. John 15. John 14 After the passover event or the lord's table, I should say This is just a continuation meaning that we're going to find a lot of similar teachings in this chapter that we've seen in the previous chapters Um and some of the things going to overlap some of the things that i'm going to mention You can say oh you really preached about that last week past or the week before But here's the thing, please don't tune out, you know, just because something is repeated To me that should not be a reason to tune out of the sermon That should be a reason to pay attention to the sermon Like if jesus christ is saying the same thing again a second time or a third time or fourth time It's because he really wants us to nail it in In fact, I believe this is the best way to learn god's word or to preach god's word or to be balanced with god's word Is just to see what is emphasized in scripture what god emphasizes? I will emphasize what god repeats multiple times. I will repeat multiple times You know if god tells teaches something and it's like covered once or maybe it's not even covered that often in the bible My goal in the past is trying to cover that not that often Like god will know what the right balance is what the right diet is of knowing god's word based on how often you see things In the bible and so once again if things overlap or you feel like it's similar preaching from previous Weeks don't tune out. It's because the lord wants you to hear it multiple times. So it sinks in verse number two What doesn't he want his disciples to be offended about? Well, he doesn't want people to get offended if they say something nasty You know, they might go soul winning and someone might say something nasty to them on the on at the door And so god doesn't want you to get offended. Well Let's look at verse number two then shall they put you out of the synagogues? Meaning you're going to be rejected by your people. Yeah, the time cometh that whosoever kill of you will think that he doeth god's service Reverend christ is saying that some of these people are going to die Some of some of his people some of these believers are going to die for the name of christ And he says don't get offended about it I mean if you're going to get offended by something are you going to get offended by something nasty? Someone sets you at the door or you get offended by someone trying to kill you or killing you You know, god, jesus christ does not want us to be offended. He doesn't want his disciples to be offended They're about to go through one of the toughest times, you know christ being arrested and taken away Those three days and three nights are going to be hiding in fear Okay. Now I don't believe any of his disciples necessarily died during that period or wouldn't have recorded for us in the bible So of course, we know that after christ ascended to heaven To sit at the right hand of the father. Yes, some of his disciples were killed Okay, and so, you know, yes, we look at this passage. We look at the teaching of christ. Yes It's applicable, you know for his disciples during those three days and three nights But we can take those applications and apply to other places. We can apply today, you know We should not be offended today, you know people do die for the name of christ in other places in this world Today and so these are good teachers that we can still learn from today It says, uh that who serve in verse number two that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth god service And of course in this time as they persecuted the people of god, they thought they were serving god They thought they were doing the right thing according to the teachings of pharisees and scribes and the chief rulers Look at verse number three and these things will they do unto you? Why why do they do it? 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 All right, so it says look this time is coming where you will be persecuted for the name of christ And christ does not want us to be offended. Okay. I've got three major points the sermon this afternoon point Number one is don't be offended if you lose your life for christ Don't be offended All right, if you're facing persecution if people are seeking to hurt you or to harm you for the name of christ Don't get offended You see what is your natural response? You know if someone seeks to hurt you or harm you because of christ what's going to be your natural your your your your fleshly? Or carnal response Your kind of response would be to flee or like peter to deny, right? He denied christ We're not up to that story just yet, but he denied christ three times You know before the morning came That is a natural response of your natural being is to hide yourself. Pretend you're not a christian Pretend you don't love christ or you know of christ Because it is concerned that I might be persecuted or lose my life over this and you might get offended say well Why god why are you allowing me to go through such difficulties? Why allowing my enemies to similarly, you know get be victorious over me simply because I stand for you Well, you know what when that happens if it does happen in our lifetime if it happens here in australia I don't want you to get offended christ warned us already not to get offended if these things happened So point number one brevin is don't be offended if you lose your life for christ You know, don't forget these very famous passages, you know, psalm 116 verse 15 Precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints You know when someone dies and you're a saint of the lord, it's precious to him Because you're going from from this wicked carnal life into eternity with him You know when we learn not to get offended we start to really understand appreciate things that are eternal You know the hope of being with christ and not having ourselves so grounded in fleshly or earthly things It's good when you start to lose affection for the things of this world sometimes I talk to christians and they see the corruption of governments and They're like, oh frustrated about the governments and they're doing this. They're taking away our liberties Don't get frustrated. Don't get offended In fact, that should help you That should help you go. You know what? I don't care about this world You know what when people get so frustrated by the wickedness of this world and how this world is taken away It just shows you that your heart is still on this earth Don't get offended set your eyes on the lord Okay, the closer we get to our liberties being stripped away the closer we get to the end times The greater rejoicing you should have knowing that christ is coming Don't be offended if you lose your life for christ. Keep your finger then come with me to revelation chapter 2 Revelation I forget book of revelation was written by john as well revelation chapter 2 verse number 10 revelation chapter 2 verse number 10 These are the words of john toward or actually these are the words of christ, okay being penned down by john but for the church It says in revelation chapter 2 verse number 10 fear None of those things which thou shall suffer Behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried Look at this and you shall have tribulation 10 days What's the instruction from jesus? Be thou faithful unto death So hold on if some of our believer some of our brethren get cast into prison for the name of christ Should we not pray for their release? Yes, we should we should be praying for their release, you know Should we pray that you know god will deliver them out of the hand of the enemy? Yes But understand, you know god's will god's plan is that some will perish that some believers will die My question to you is are you ready to perish for the name of christ? Are you ready to give up your life for the things of god? I don't know think about it. You know, you know, it's a past. I've got so many more things that I want to accomplish in life You know australia is a good country in that regard that you know We still have liberties to some extent of our freedom the freedom to be in church the freedom to read the bible You know that so far has not been removed from us. So praise god for that. But you know what? You know that you've really matured in the lord when you're able to say lord If I have to lose my life for you, so be it i'm fine I'm fine with that, you know, and it says that thou shall be be be thou faithful unto death Look at this and I will give thee a crown of life There is a special reward There's a special crown that god will give christ will give if you lose your life for christ the crown of life Like you're losing your life, but it gives you the crown of life And I think i've covered this not that long ago that crown of life must be worth dying for Like when you get to heaven and you if you've been given that specific reward that specific crown Everyone's going to know. Wow, you lost your life for christ You're willing to give up everything on this life to follow christ and to die for him There must be great reward. There must be great riches great honor to actually fulfill That obligation and to have that crown of life You know another passage i'm going to read to you. You're very familiar You know, um and again because we don't want to get offended if things go bad in life And we think god should come through all the time God should all god, you know God will see them through even if they have to lose their life for christ or you have to lose your life for christ But I want you to remember this passage romans 835. I'll just read it to you quickly who shall separate us from the love of christ share tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword You know what a sword is for? to kill you Will any of these things separate us from the love of christ You know if you're facing persecution if you lose your life, does that mean god does not love you? Does that mean god's forgotten about you? No the bible says that nothing will separate us from that love Verse number 36 as it is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter All the day long, you know, this tells me that every day on planet earth someone is dying for the cause of christ I mean, I I think we should pray that that doesn't come to australia Like I think that we should be praying that you know, we have the liberties to continue doing work a work for god Or you know We should pray that we should not take for granted the liberties that we have Because you live in other places of this world. You can't be in church You can't you know, oh for the cause, you know for or you lose your life potentially, you know, this is just a reality And then it says in verse number 37 now in all these things we are more than conquerors Through him that loved us For i'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities Nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor death nor any other creature Shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ. Jesus our lord So if someone dies for the cause of christ, you know what it just shows how much Not only that do they love god, but god's love toward them That god will actually give them the crown of life. You know, what something to rejoice in for all eternity Back to john 16 john 16 verse number five So brethren if god if jesus christ does not want to get us to get offended if we die for him Then who are we to get offended because someone said something nasty to us Who are we just to get offended because someone said something nasty about our kids Should we get offended really when other christians are losing their life that kind of persecution You know We are we are whiners i'm telling you We are we complain we whine we murmur about just the littlest inconveniences in life Again, go back to covid think about all the wine taking place during covid. You didn't lose your life over it. Did you? It's still here You know god's people are still able to be in church to serve him To read our bibles to pray to him You know, it's not like the days of babylon being cast into the into the fiery furnace You know being made eunuchs imagine that Oh, I was forced to get vaccinated. Okay, but you didn't get it cut off Like god's people did when they were taken into babylon I mean that i'd rather the vaccination not that i'm not pro vaccination, but rather that than being made a eunuch of men I don't know which is the worst procedure out of those two. I mean, I think most of you would agree with me that Being made a eunuch is worse But we complain about everything where wine is about everything it surprises me because we're god's people should not get offended We're not taking this body to heaven are we I don't want this body in heaven and corrupt the place Take my soul take my spirit and my new resurrected body to heaven. That's where I want to be That's what I want to be in You know, I just want to challenge you because i'm tired of whining i'm tired of complaining I honestly I just think What is wrong with god's people we should be the ones rejoicing When things get tough and our liberties get removed, we should be the ones Bring it on Bring on some difficulties. Maybe we need it We need the humility You know, we need to be able to detach ourselves from the world and attach ourselves greater to the cause of christ and eternity I'm not having to go you i've wanted i've won plenty You know, this is why it kind of you know, when we hear god's word and we realize man Are we we can offend what are we getting offended at when christ is, you know, he's talking about death here We're still ticking along and we still get we still whine and complain and get offended verse number five john 16 verse number five But now he says to his disciple now I go my way to him that sent me So he's sent by the father now he's saying i'm going back to the father And none of you ask of me with a ghost now Like none of them are asking him where you're going Because then he says this but because i've said these things unto you sorrow have filled your heart So instead of them being concerned about where christ is about to go to back to the father They're more concerned about the sorrow that they're going to miss christ Because christ is not going to be there on the earth for these next days or whatever So, you know, they're starting to get worried. They're starting to get fearful. They're being full of sorrow, you know, where is christ going? Verse number seven Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient or profitable 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 so christ is starting to teach. Look you're going to have the comforter, you know, some people teach well This is this this starts to lead into modalism Where you know the reason christ had to go is because the comforter had to come And god can only operate in certain modes at certain times The comforter would not come if christ is there like you can't have christ and the holy spirit on the earth at the same time I don't believe that at all. I think that's just ridiculous In fact at the baptism of christ, we heard the voice of the father and the holy spirit, you know came upon christ okay, so that that's just What we see here is that there is an order to things, you know It might seem disorderly christ about to be arrested and being crucified but everything's playing out with the timing of god You know christ has to be taken be crucified rise from the dead and then the holy spirit This is just a timeline. God does things in an orderly manner. Okay in an orderly fashion And again, we're looking at the comforter here We're looking at the holy spirit and as we keep going through this chapter You will understand the importance of the holy spirit in our lives and and why specifically christ is saying the words that he says To his disciples at this point in time But I have point number two for you here and when offended The holy spirit is your comforter, okay when offended the holy spirit is your comforter. All right Listen, if I offend you at church, and I hope I don't I probably have I know I have some people Okay, and if I offend you i'm sorry But when you get offended, all right, what I want to do is remind yourself of what christ taught you. Okay, whatever offense you take run to the lord god The holy spirit is your comforter Okay, sometimes we get offended we get fired up get emotionally we've got hot and bothered But is it really worth it? You need to figure some things, you know, sometimes people don't mean to offend you and you get offended Sometimes things can just be so minor that you should learn to just let it you know, let it be water under the bridge But what you need to do is you need to go to the holy spirits and say holy spirit. You're my comforter Please tell me if i'm getting am I getting offended over the wrong things here? Or am I getting offended over the right things here? You know, the holy spirit is your comforter, you know, if you instead of being you know Getting hot and bothered every time you get offended if you take this first step I guarantee you most of the things you get offended about you're going to just be comforted by the lord god And you're able to put it behind you and just get on with life and focus on the things that matter That are more important that you know that matter to you but when offended the holy spirit is your Comforter now, why would he be a comforter in a time of being offended? Well If you can just keep your finger there and come back with me to john 14 just a few pages back john 14 Let me just remind you that the holy spirit obviously has many ministries in our life. But what is the key ministry? Uh there in john 14 verse number 26, but the comforter which is the holy ghost whom the father will send in my name He shall teach you all things So this is his primary mission Now he's got like I said, he's got many many ministries But he's come to teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance Whatsoever I have said unto you, so whatever christ taught the holy spirit is reminding the disciples of these teachings But notice what he says in verse number 27 So now that you've learned the teachings, you know, you learn doctrine you learn the bible notice what he says verse number 27 peace I leave with you This is important because it's about to say you're gonna you know, some of you're gonna die for my name's sake But he says peace. I live with you my peace. I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you Let not your heart be troubled neither. Let it be afraid You see when you tap into the holy spirit the comforter you will have a peace that this world cannot give you You know when you get offended you're gonna have a great peace about it You're gonna be like, yeah. Well, so what? Right. I have a clear conscience. I'm serving my lord Everyone has an opinion and you know what? I can't please everyone and so be it I can please the lord. Let me focus on pleasing the lord Instead of pleasing everybody that great peace will give you great comfort But it comes from the holy ghost and it comes by bringing all things to your remembrance. It comes by you knowing god's word intimately Knowing it more as you continue to learn and grow in the word of god I promise you this the more you read your bible the more you meditate on his word Or memorize it if you need to memorize it Okay, the more you spend in god's word. I promise you if you're doing it the right way with the help of the holy spirit That you will find yourself being offended less and less and less Say why? Because you know when you read god's words, you know what god wants from you Okay, and with that clear conscience you do what god wants and you're going to care less For what men think of you you're going to have more care about what god thinks of you than what men think of you And if men think of you poorly who cares i'm pleasing jesus i'm pleasing god Why should I get offended at what man has to say? I'd rather think about the great peace that god gives me and the clear conscience that he gives me by following his word In fact the old testament scriptures Uh touch upon this if you can please turn with me to psalm 119 Go to psalm 119 this same truth is illustrated here in the old testament in psalm 119 Psalm 119 and verse number 165 I'll give you a moment to turn there. I want you to see this psalm 119 And verse 165 What does it say? great peace Have they which love thy law? And nothing shall offend them You know why you get easily offended Because you don't love the law of god or you don't love it the way you ought to You don't spend enough time in the words of god. That's why you don't have the peace and you get easily offended All right, brethren great. Peace. Have they which love thy law? This is this is a guarantee You spend more time in god's word. You learn to love god's word. You have peace Peace with god doesn't matter what man thinks and nothing shall offend them Number one Nothing that you read in the bible will offend you People get offended just because of what bible says you start to love it What people find offensive you'll be like, I love that You know, you know what god commands for same-sex people the death penalty that's in the law of god So how can you say that i'm not offended I love god's law I think it's perfect The law of the lord is perfect converting the soul But the world gets offended at that But if someone gets offended at that and go pastor. Oh that pastor, you know, he's such a wicked man He's full of hate. Should I get offended by that? Like bring it on who cares? I know what god says So i'm not gonna get offended by anything in god's word, but secondly i'm not gonna get offended by the opinions of man I'm gonna have great. Peace And again, it's the comforter's job to teach you god's word Okay, you've got to open the bible give the holy spirit the time to teach and to guide you Again i'm thankful that you're in church But i'm telling you more important than church is that you read your bible yourself You know, I want to teach you I want to guide you and teach you but i'm you have more time You get one hour sermon out of me, maybe Okay a week or maybe three hours of sermons if you come every service But you've got a lot more time in your hands to spend time with god in his word You know, please don't neglect reading the bible allowing the holy spirit to give you his great. Peace and nothing will offend you Back to john 16. John 16 and verse number eight, please. John 16 verse number eight He says and when he is come that's the comfort of the holy spirit He will reprove the word of sin and of righteousness and of judgment So we see another responsibility of the holy spirit here to reprove means to rebuke or to correct Okay So he will reprove the word of sin All right. So what is the job of the holy spirit? Yes for the world to realize that they are in sin You say what sin in particular? Well, we don't have to wonder if you keep going there verse number nine. It says of sin. What's in particular in particular? Because they believe not on me Brethren what sin is the holy spirit going to work in the hearts of the lost? The sin of rejecting christ or of not being Being non-believers of jesus christ and brethren as the holy spirit uses us to be a witness Okay, that is yes. We're all sinners, but the sin that we're we're really targeting To the lost is that they've not trusted christ They've not believed on christ and with the help of the holy spirit We'll be able to help them see the truth of god's word and for them to place their faith Holy on the finished work of christ Then he says of righteousness What's the next thing that the whole spirit was working on righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more All right christ is saying there's coming a time when you're not going to see me anymore Like we're used to that because we've never seen christ physically walking this earth like for us It's like oh, yeah, but for them it's not that easy. They've been walking with the lord for free that for three years now Okay, they're used to seeing the physical presence of jesus Okay, but he's saying look he's going to teach you righteousness he's going to correct the holy spirit That's his job to guide you to direct you into righteousness You know, you don't have to go to a physical man. You can tap into the holy spirit Okay through the word of god and know what is righteous Then he says in verse number 11 of judgment You know because the prince of the world is judged The ability to pass correct judgment, you know deciding what is right and what is wrong Okay, the holy spirit is going to help you make those decisions Again in line with god's word I think it's usually because the prince of the world is judged. I think what that is talking about I'll just give you my opinion. I could be wrong I believe it's just saying that you know by passing by helping us with judgments, you know It's helping us to overcome the confusion that satan has brought into this world. I mean, isn't this world confused? I mean this world doesn't even know what a man is anymore or what a woman is anymore All right, and I feel like I don't even need the holy spirit to tell me that but Like really, you know, um, the world is getting so so weird How can you not know what a woman is? How can you not know what a man is? So I mean, this is like Someone not knowing what one plus one is that's that's how What's all i'm looking for? That's how depraved the world is getting They can't even tell the basic things That's why listen we don't go to society to society to know what is right and wrong The holy spirit is the one that teaches us Yeah And so satan confuses things but the holy spirit comes and makes it black and white Man is a man woman is a woman. Okay, if things are black and white according to god's word verse number 12 Christ says I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now Howbeit when he the spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth For he shall not speak of himself But whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come All right. So the holy spirit is not going to teach anything new Okay, he's going to teach the same things that the holy spirit has heard Okay, so who did he hear from? obviously the father because given christ has many times the things that he says are the things that the father has taught him to To to not just teach but also to do the holy spirit is doing the same thing Okay, and i've covered this before but just one more time If you come to me partly say pastor the holy spirit has told me x y and z Okay, but if it's contrary to the bible, it's not the holy spirit that told you that It's your own selfish desires or Like many in the charismatic world. It's some devil that told you those things No, the holy spirit will tell you the things that you've already heard in god's word that's the job of the holy spirit And he will show you things to come I I what I think this is talking about is obviously the new testament scriptures were not Yet fulfilled. All right, and the bible says in second peter 120 knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private Interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man By the will of man, but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost And so it may very well be the things to come future events might be the fact that the holy ghost is going to utilize Men to complete the writings of the new testament but again, everything Is aligned with the teachings of christ like there are no contradictions in scripture is what i'm trying to say You know some people teach well jesus christ, you know the teachers of christ That's for the jews the teachings of paul that's for the gentiles And you need to always maintain a separation of these things no Okay, everything is consistent everything the holy ghost teaches will be the same thing that christ taught And what they taught are the same things that the father taught them to teach Verse number 14 About the holy spirit he shall glorify me and by the way the spirit of the charismatic and the pentecostal churches What I find from the testimonies that i've heard is the whole their spirit glorifies themselves It's all about them. It's all about what they've been able to achieve and how how you know, no the holy spirit. He shall glorify me The holy spirit points you to christ It's not about man and the glorification of man Now he shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and show it unto you Again, it takes what christ has taught and shows it verse number 15 all things that the father hath are mine Therefore said I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you He says look I got what i'm teaching I got from the father And the holy spirit is going to take what I taught and show it to you and it's all coming from the father again Showing us the triune nature of god Showing us the trinity how it operates The father is the one that has the highest authority And then he passes that on to the son, which he did as he walked the earth 2000 years and then as christ left Okay, well, you see him no more He gave us the holy spirit to continue teaching us the same things that christ taught the same things that the father wanted his people to know verse number 16, please Now it gets a little tricky here. We're going to read all of it verses 16 to 20 Thank you for that brother This all gets kind of in fact the disciples start saying why are you talking to us in parables? Because it is it's not very clear and you know as we read this if you kind of get confused I want you to understand why it is a little bit confusing, okay? But i'll give you what I believe and if you have a different thought well, you know, that's all right But verse number 16 a little while And you shall not see me And again a little while and you shall see me Because I go to the father Okay, so I believe that's the same. Look he's he's about to be arrested and we're coming to that point Okay, a little while not long. He's going to be arrested and you shall not see me He's going to be taken away from them and again a little while After the resurrection of christ you shall see me because I go to the father Then said some of his disciples among themselves What is this that he say fun to us a little while and you shall not see me and again a little while And you shall see me and because I go to the father By the way, um, they're not saying this, uh verbally they're saying this just Within themselves, but christ knows what they're saying Like they're like what are you saying? Well a little while a little while You know What he's referring to here jesus, you know verse number 18 They said therefore what is this that he saith a little while? We cannot tell what he saith But look at this verse number 19 now jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him and said unto him so He knows they want to ask this like we're confused, you know christ just realized, you know He can tell obviously within themselves that they're confused and said unto them Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said a little while and you shall not see me and again a little while and you shall See me Verily verily I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament But the world shall rejoice. I mean just think about that for a minute his disciples will weep and lament But the world will rejoice shall rejoice And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy You again what time frame is christ speaking about here where the disciples are going to be sorrowful, but the world's going to be rejoicing The only thing is the death of christ I mean, it's the only thing that fits in fact, it's about to happen We know that, you know, obviously what's going to take place in in the ministry of christ. Yeah Obviously seeing your leader seeing your savior being taken by the hands of the enemy and puts death the way that he did You know, of course It's going to bring sorrow and sadness to the his friends that loved him and disciples that were following him but notice the world rejoiced We got rid of this, you know And again not long because we said we saw earlier in verse number 11 the prince of the world speaking of satan Yeah, you know the world the wickedness of the world, you know, you know satan and his minions they rejoiced They thought they put an end to christ by killing him an end to his ministry But I love what he says at the end of verse number 20, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy Because it's going to be resurrected Right, they're going to see him again. He's going to be resurrected from the dead and then christ uses and again It's all a bit, you know a little while here a little bit while I get if it's a bit confusing But then christ uses this illustration. He says in verse number 21 a woman when she is in travail have sorrow Because her hour is come It's talking about the labor pains And ladies for you that have had children obviously it's a lot of work a lot of pain because her hour is come and But then I love this but as soon as she's delivered of the child Now ladies, I mean i'm not a mother i've never had to give birth in that sense so I mean i've given spiritual birth, you know, I give the gospel to someone they trust the christ Yeah in that sense. They've been born again spiritually speaking It does require a bit of travail doesn't it, you know pretty given the gospel it can be you know It can be time consuming. It can be difficult sometimes it can be tiring But i've never had to you know, push a baby out But as soon as our ladies, I don't know you tell me if this is correct I mean it has to be these are the words of christ, but as soon as she is delivered of the child She remembereth no more the anguish For joy that a man is born into the world That's what christ says about ladies. I don't know i've had to experience many Births, right just watching my wife travail and go through the pain and even after the baby's born i'm still Traumatized I've seen my wife having to go for that pain and when the baby's born. Yes, I have tears my eyes But i'm not sure if i'm tearing because of the new life. I'm just like it's finally over for my wife But apparently for the ladies as soon as that period is over and you set your eyes on that little baby The joy comes the rejoicing and you know, the pain is quickly forgotten and the focus is put on the birth of that baby Well jesus using that example that you know, yes, you're going to be full of sorrow during his death They're going to be fearful and troubled but as soon as christ is resurrected from the dead, you know, they're going to be full of joy And it's really interesting that christ decides to use the illustration of a birth Okay And I want to show you just a few interesting things in the bible If you can keep your finger there and come with me to acts chapter 13. Come with me to acts chapter 13 acts chapter 13, please And verse number 29 Acts chapter 13 and verse number 29 So, yeah, I think the illustration that christ is is really interesting because His resurrection in some ways is like a birth Okay in acts chapter 13 verse number 29 And i'll give you some context here and then we'll get to the verse that I want to show you but acts 13 29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree That's the cross obviously and laid him in a sepulchre But god raised him from the dead And he was seen many days that's what he told him right once this happens you'll see me again All right, and you'll see many days of them Which came up with him from galilee to jerusalem who are his witnesses unto the people and we declare unto you glad tidings How that the promise which was made unto the fathers? So again, this is talking about the resurrection and notice that you know, these are glad tidings. This is good news We're excited about christ being raised from the dead But then he says in verse number 33. This is what I want to show you God have fulfilled the same unto us their children in that he have raised up jesus again As it is also written in the second psalm Thou art my son This day have I begotten thee Let me ask you what day was christ begotten? Well, god says this day have I begotten thee which day the day of the resurrection Resurrection That's what it means to be the begotten son to be to be raised from the dead Like when you think of being begotten we think of a birth, don't we? Well, you can see that there is some level of similarities here that christ's resurrection is the day that the father begat the son I'm, not saying that this is when christ became the son christ has been the son for all eternity Okay from everlasting that's the very nature of god, but there is something unique and something special about the resurrection of christ In fact, if you can turn one more passage with me come to revelation chapter one come to revelation chapter one Verse number five revelation chapter one verse number five. Just look at these words again revelation chapter one verse number five It says and from jesus christ who is the faithful witness the first begotten of the dead The first to rise from the dead in glorified body is christ And the prince of the kings of the earth Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood So being the begotten or you know, we can see that this is the first begotten of the dead Christ is the first to rise in a glorified body Now for christ, it was the same body that he died with don't get me wrong Okay, but for us who have a sinful nature we're going to be given bodies like christ, you know He's the first begotten but one day we're going to be begotten as well Okay, one day we're going to be resurrected and given new bodies as well and so I can see the the link between a child's birth Like like this nature being begotten or to be brought forth out of and christ was brought forth out of death in this process Anyway back to john 16 verse 22 It says and ye now therefore have sorrow like this is now happening for you, but I will see you again And your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you Okay, so christ saying look when you see me again, you're going to be full of joy and that joy will Will remain so this is point number three overcome offense And I've I had this point in the last chapter. I know but overcome offense with the joy of christ overcome offense with the joy of christ Okay, if you're easily offended you got thin skin You know you get asked something Well You know what i'm talking about It's it's epidemic It's a real epidemic. I wish it was a vaccination against being offended so easily But you need to just rejoice in christ You get a little bit offended you get a little something didn't go your way Something didn't go the way you prefer, you know, someone said something to you You know Listen just rejoice in christ. You're saved You're saved you're god's people you're god's children You're going to heaven You're going to rule forever with christ Or his thousand years and then we'll be serving the lord god for all eternity How do we get so bothered about little things that happen in this vapor of life? Rejoice in christ, let me encourage you to rejoice you've got so much to look forward to I mean you got so much to enjoy even today You know If you're saved, you know, you have no doubts, you know what christ has done for you Doesn't matter if your life ended tomorrow. You're right with the lord You know god sees you in the righteousness of christ. There's so much to rejoice about I mean you're going to get someone said something about me. Oh All your sins were dumped on christ And he did it willingly and lovingly lay down his life for you So we'll actually just appreciate what christ has done and then you'll realize the little things that you go through are nothing in comparison Even if you lost your life for the cause of christ It's nothing to the comparison of christ was in his life bearing the sins of the entire world in his body At least when you die you go righteously to the lord god for eternity You're redeemed brother You don't have to face the wrath and the curse of god upon you You So overcome offense with the joy of christ find joy find happiness in life and find it in christ John 16 verse number 23. John 16 verse 23 And in that day Now this is again sounds cryptic, but I think once I explain it to you, it's it's pretty obvious in that day You shall ask me nothing Verily verily I sent you whatsoever you shall ask the father in my name. He will give you Here the two have you asked nothing in my name ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full All right. So in that day what they were talking about his resurrection again talking about their joy the joy to come He's going to see them again at that day. So after the resurrection is this point He's saying that you're not going to ask they're not going to ask jesus for anything anymore Again, put yourself in their shoes They've been going these last three years of ministry walk in with the physical presence of christ Everything they needed anything they wanted they could just turn to christ's physical presence and ask him You know if they were without food christ can perform miracles and feed the five thousand Okay Christ is telling them there is coming a day when you're not going to be able to ask of him anymore Yes, he he's resurrected from the dead. Yes, they see him, but we know eventually he ascends to the father Okay, and this is the reality for us you and I we don't have the physical presence of jesus on this earth right now Christ is telling them you need to learn to ask of the father in my name you know, um the disciples they even you know, um In fact, i'll just read it to you. I've got it here luke 11 verse 1 It says and it can't and it came to pass that as he was praying as jesus was praying a certain place When he ceased one of his disciples said unto him lord teach us to pray And john as john also taught his disciples and he said unto them when you pray say Our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done as in heaven So enough christ saying look when you learn to pray you pray to the father And then obviously in the name of christ in the power of the name of christ and he's telling them look You can't just depend on a physical presence of a person you need to start applying your faith Directly to the father in prayer you ask the father in prayer As we keep going through this you'll see that christ is trying to get them to stop relying on that physical presence and to act on faith And this is how we operate today You know, we haven't had to deal with the physical presence of christ, but we act on faith, right? As we go and we pray to the lord, you know, we by faith believe that he hears us We by faith believe he's going to answer those prayers and give us what is best for us But this is not what these disciples are used to you know, because they're so used to having christ physically in their presence verse number 25 He says, uh, sorry, john 16 25 these things have I spoken unto you in proverbs? So christ acknowledges what he's saying is kind of you know, not very clear He goes but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs But I will show you plainly of the father I'm going to show you something that is very plain from the of the father all right now Let's keep going there verse number 26 At that day You shall ask in my name And I say not unto you that I will pray the father for you He goes you're going to ask in my name, but i'm not going to go to the father for you Like you're going to be able to talk to the father directly you can go to the father directly in prayer Okay, they don't need to rely on again the physical presence of jesus at this time He says for the father himself love of you Because you have loved me And I have believed so and have believed that I came out from god I came forth from the father and i'm coming to the world Again, I leave the world and go to the father Christ is now teaching a different period of time here. He says, uh I leave the world and go to the father and I personally believe this is about his ascension Uh sitting at the right hand of the father where he literally just leaves the world Now let's keep reading now. I'll explain to you all in a moment verse number 29. His disciples said unto him lo Now speak us out plainly and speak us no proverb now we're getting what you're saying. All right Now are we sure that they are knowest all things look at this and need us not that any man should ask thee Now we get why we don't have to ask you anymore By this we believe that thou came us forth from god Jesus answered them. Do you now believe? Is they've always believed christ has already told them they believe and he's already acknowledged that they believe they believe that christ has come from the father but This is a change of process for them Again, they're so dependent on the physical presence of christ to fulfill all their needs Now they're learning by faith to call upon the father in the name of jesus And when they see that the father answers their prayer They're going to be shown the love of the father toward them. Remember christ is going to show them of the father He's going to show them the love of the father that the father answers their prayers They don't need the physical presence of christ they can act on faith alone that god will answer those prayers Now, why do I believe this is about the ascension to christ at the right hand? Just because of the words that he says there in verse number If you look at verse number 26 He says at that day say what day again look at verse number 23 at And it says in that day. You should ask me nothing Okay, so again the whole thing that has led up to this is his resurrection that they're going to see him again Okay, and when they see him again, he's going to give them the comforter. He's going to give them the holy spirit So we're talking now a period after the resurrection of christ when he's going to leave the world As he has okay, and he's sitting at the right hand of the father and we as the disciples can pray directly to god The father and ask of all our needs and when we see the father answer prayers We know that the father loves us Have you ever had your prayers answered? That's your proof that the father god the father loves you that's that's the proof that he hears you We don't need to rely on the physical presence of jesus Okay, we act on faith You know we are in christ and christ is in us You know and we can ask the father all things by the name of our lord and savior. Jesus christ Um In fact, I just want to prove this a little bit further if you can go back to john 14 again a bit of repetition But I just want to show you that it's all connected Okay, it's all connected go to john 14 verse 18 john 14 verse 18 It says jesus christ says I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you again He's going to give the comfort up. We know this is after the resurrection Yet a little while and the world seeeth me no more But you see me because I live you shall live also So the little wild thing is there again then he says these words again verse 20 at that day Going to continue this is chapter 16 is a continuation of what we've seen in chapter 15 to the 14 at that day You shall know that I am in the uh that I am in my father and ye in me and I in you Okay, so they're going to have this sort of full realization That they can act upon faith You know, yes that christ resurrected from the dead at that day after the resurrection They can just directly send their prayers to god and god alone and they can have the faith those prayers will be answered And so I think I think this is really important because like for us I know I'm kind of like I don't know. I hope i'm being clear with what i'm trying to teach I'm trying to teach the difference between us and them like since we've been born we've always acted on faith You know by faith and of course they had faith in christ as well But they were helped by the physical presence of jesus, you know at his teachings at his works, you know And and and his answered prayers to god, but we've never seen christ. We've never seen The holy spirit we've never seen the father And yet I feel like i'm not trying to say that i'm this great guy, but I feel like I know god More than I know a human being that I can see face to face Like i've never seen jesus, but I believe a hundred percent That he walked this earth and that he died on the cross and he arose from the dead And that he did that to pay for my sins. Like I feel like I know jesus I don't know. Is that how you feel, you know You know, i'm not saying that just because i'm a pastor even before I was a pastor. I felt that way Did I know who jesus is i've never seen him Like I don't think of a painting with blonde hair and blue eyes or something like that and so i've seen jesus some statue I've seen him in faith Like I feel like I know jesus I feel like he's my friend and he loves me and he takes care of me And again, i've never seen the father, but I feel like I know the father Because how many times have I prayed to my father in heaven and i've had those prayers answered And that shows me that he loves me and that he loves you You know that he cares about me that he's not just his being somewhere far away. He really cares about my every day life My every need I feel like I know that love. I know that that walk with the father I feel like I know the holy spirit You know as I read my bible and things that may have been confusing. I now read it again and go wow now I understand You know the things sometimes that I prepare for church on a saturday night and i'm like, I don't know what that's saying I don't know. What is that talking about a little while in a little while or yeah creates a problem whatever I'm just giving an example, right And then i'm like lord and i'm gonna sleep my my head's tied here I'm gonna go to sleep and then I wake up in the morning. I say lord. Can you show me? Can you help me? You know I may not I don't necessarily know every verse of the bible, but sometimes I just what lord Can you just tell me you know and I wake up sunday morning and as soon as I wake up. Oh, yeah, that's the answer Is it because i'm such a smart man? No, it's the holy spirit He's the kind he teaches you all things Have you ever had that have you ever, you know, you know open the bible? Then you spent time you ask god to help you and now it all makes it That's the holy spirit. That's the holy ghost teaching you I feel like I know god You know, I like like I know I feel like I know god more than even Okay, my family know them pretty well, but even my church members Because I spend time with you a few hours a week and we can talk They don't really know the deepest things in your heart. Maybe I don't want to know But I know the lord because his word reveals everything there is to know about him like he wants us to know him I'm not some mysterious god that can't be related to he knows when I go through pain. He knows when I fail He knows my weaknesses He helps me in life I've seen his hand You know his helping hand his guidance So I understand what christ is trying to teach them here Stop relying on me my physical presence. I'm gonna go and I want to be full of comfort I want you to be full of joy I don't want you to get offended because the father loves you and the holy spirit's going to teach you everything I taught you anyway Like you're not worse off by having christ like having have gone God's going to reveal himself in even a greater measure You know through the power of the holy spirit and by the answered prayers from the father So I hope that kind of clarifies what jesus christ is teaching his disciples there verse number 32 Is that what i'm up to verse number 32 Uh, yeah verse number 32 behold the hour cometh. Yea is now come that ye shall be scattered Every man to his own like he's been trying to prepare them this whole time Every man to his own and shall leave me alone and yet i'm not alone because the father is with me These things have I these things I have spoken unto you That in me you might have peace remember don't get offended be at peace Be at peace in the world ye shall have tribulation But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world What a way to end that chapter? Okay I want to notice how verse number 33 Um how the chapter ends these things have I spoken unto you That in me you might have peace, right? Look how verse number one starts in the same chapter these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended So we understand when christ says don't be offended what he really means is that you have great peace That's the opposite, you know from god's from christ perspective that you're at peace When things bother you when you get thin-skinned when you get offended Okay, you're not at peace You're not at peace with god Okay, and it's a peace that christ can give you Reverend if you find that peace And god wants to give it to you Okay, then you'll find that you'll you won't have thin skin you'll have thick skin You'll find that you can read the bible not get offended by god who gets angry A god who is angry at the wicked every day the bible says Some pastors teach you being angry is a sin. Don't be angry. God is not angry God is angry at the wicked every day the bible says Oh get offended don't get offended because that's who god is Is We should get angry at the things that god gets angry about we should hate the things that god hates And we should love the things that god loves Instead of getting offended learn to be learn to submit your will to god's will And then you won't get offended You'll be at peace Even better than not being offended. It's having that great peace that jesus christ can give you so brethren in summary Let me just tell you that just the three points that I had for you under don't be offended number one Don't be offended if you lose your life for christ And you haven't lost your life for christ. So you've got no reason to get offended Number two when offended the holy spirit is your comforter run to the holy spirit lives right here right in you And number three overcome offense with the joy of christ. Okay, let's pray heavenly father lord I want to thank you so much for your word. I want to thank you Lord for revealing yourself um So clearly lord through your word and lord the words that I spoke to the church This afternoon is true. Lord. I thank you that I can know you for your word lord. I thank you for loving me Lord, I thank you for loving each one of us and for being a god that answers prayer Lord, I thank you for sending your son the lord jesus christ And as much as I wish I could be on the earth when christ walked this earth. I realized that lord We're not worse off at all lord by faith. We've given us your holy spirit lord. You teach us your word Lord you you answer our prayers And lord we can ask all things in the name of your son the lord jesus christ Lord, I thank you for revealing a god that we can know not like the not like the muslims that say god is unknowable Lord. No, you are a god that can be known And help us all to know you more help us not to be offended help us to love your word Help us to love thy law and nothing shall offend us. We pray these things in jesus name. Amen All right hymn number 355 hymn number 355 What a friend we have in jesus 355 what a friend we have in jesus Oh Oh Trials and temptations We should never hear this Is Take it to the lord Heavy This Is