John chapter 16 now remember
what James said Let every man be slow to what? Quick to what though here here
Now having said that I will say that God Almighty has put me
here to speak So that's what I intend on doing right now And
I want you to listen God the Spirit, and I say it exactly
that way because that's who He is. He is God the Spirit. God
the Spirit is the Spirit of truth. According to our Lord Jesus Christ
in John chapter 16 verse 14. He's called the Spirit of truth.
And you'll be turning to John 16. The Spirit of God prepares
the elect for gospel hearing and truth believing. 2 Thessalonians
2, 13 and 14. And he must do that first. No
one will ever truly hear the gospel and believe unless the
Spirit of God first prepares them for it. Because by nature our minds are
blinded to the gospel of Christ. So the Spirit of God prepares
the elect for gospel hearing and truth believing. According
to Paul in Romans 8 verse 14, the Spirit of God leads us. According
to Paul in Romans 8 verse 4, the Spirit of God directs our
walk. And according to Paul in Romans
8 verse 9, He dwells in us. That's a profound thing. That
the Spirit of God Himself dwells in me. I don't, I don't, I should not,
I'm not going to say we, I don't think I grasp the gravity of
that very often. It's hard to. You're right. It is, you're right, it's hard
to. Hard to. But he's also said to bear witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. Amen. Right?
And you don't have to turn to it, but just listen, let me read
this to you. That's found in Romans chapter 8, I mean if you
wish to. But listen to what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8, verse
15, 16, and 17. For we have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby ye cry, Papa, Abba, Father. We cry out unto the Father as
our Papa. Mason, that's a close, intimate
relationship. Like a little child, you remember
what Earl used to say, it's like a little child could say, Papa.
It doesn't take much ability of speech just to say, Papa,
Father. But look, the spirit itself bears
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, that's
what it says. I said that's what it says. And
look, and if children, then heirs. heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may also be glorified together. And what is one of
the chief ways in which we suffer with him? Go back to John chapter
16. Now John chapter 16, we're coming
into the middle of the conversation, or I should say the middle of
Christ's message. And he says in John 16, these things have
I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. Offended how? He said, if the world hated me,
it's going to hate you. And no person in the normal processes
of our human thought relishes that idea. We don't relish it. We may rejoice
in the truth of it, Because we know it, he said, if it hates
me, it did hate him. They murdered him. The world
murdered Jesus Christ. Now God had his sovereign purpose
being carried out, but the world murdered Jesus Christ. As a matter
of fact, Joe, they tortured him before they murdered him. more
so than they did the other two, those two thieves, I should rather
say, those two thieves that were hanging on either side. Mason,
they tortured him before they hung him on that tree. And he
turns to his disciples and said, the world hates you. If the world
hated me, it's going to hate you too. And he's also indicated
to them, I'm leaving. Can you imagine how they felt?
And yet, when you read Paul, it says, the Spirit itself bears
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and
if children, then we're heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him. Men hate us without a cause.
Because the reason they hate us is not truly because of our
sins. Our sins are no greater than
theirs. Their sins are no greater than ours. We're all of the same
lump. We're all sinners in Adam. We're
just like they are. They hate us because of who we're
connected to. That's where it's all at. If
you just, now some people's not gonna like it, of course. If
you just get up and tell somebody, well, you're a sinner, and this
one's a sinner, and that one's a sinner, most people say, well, I know
we've all sinned to come short of the glory of God. They can
quote that verse, right? But when you begin to preach
Jesus Christ, it changes. Yes, sir. It changes. Now, think
of Romans 8 and think of this. It's almost like a song, Joe,
a tune of comfort. And the Spirit itself bears witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. Well, what I
now want to do is read the words of this song. Okay, and I'm going
to John 16 these things have I spoken unto you that you should
not be offended They shall put you out of the synagogues And
while we know that had a literal fulfillment in the Apostles and
many of the believing Jews They'll put you out of churches today
if you stand for the truth of the person of work of Jesus Christ
Some of us have experienced that we had to leave for fear People
will threaten you They shall put you out of the synagogue.
Yea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he
doeth 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 them. These things I said not
unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go
my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me, whither
goest thou? But because I've said these things unto you, sorrow
hath filled your heart." And let me tell you. when you begin
to experience the hatred of this world for believers, it hurts. Because oft times, as sad as
it is, but it's true, oft times some of the most vitriolic hatred
comes from those you care about the most. People who don't know
you very well don't give a flimp. They don't care, but those closest
to you will be the ones that turn on you when you try to exalt
the personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sorrow fills your
heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It is expedient for you that
I go away. Now think about that. It is expedient
for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. And do not think, well, is Christ
saying that there was a possibility that maybe this wouldn't happen?
No. This is the problem with the human mind. We read the word
if, and we think of possibilities. He's talking about cause and
effect here. That's what he's talking about. But if I depart I will
send him unto you and when he has come He will reprove the
world of sin and of righteousness and a judgment now This is what
he said just after he calls him the comforter If you ever read this and just
if you ever read this it's like I don't seem to see the connection
Huh? He's called the comforter and
the next thing he says and when he's come he'll reprove the world
of sin righteousness and judgment Of sin and then he actually defines
it for us. Here's the words of this song
of comfort 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. But when he's
come, he'll show them to you." Is that what he goes on to say?
Yes, sir. When he's come, he will show these things to you.
Here we are told, by the very promise of Jesus Christ that
the Comforter would come when he went away. He would personally
see to it that the Comforter would come, right? This is a
promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know who this Comforter is.
He already said in John chapter 14, verse 26, the Comforter is
the Holy Ghost. So that's settled. You know,
that settled us to who the Comforter is. But here we are told by the
promise of Christ of this three-fold or three-faceted comfort. And I have read this for years.
And it just, like this. It just went right over. What does it say? And if, but if I
depart, I will send him unto you. And when he has come, he's
still talking about the same thing, Joe, the same person,
the spirit of God, the comfort of the spirit of truth. And when
he has come, he will approve the world of sin of righteousness
and of judgment. Let me tell you something. It's
a good thing to be reproved of seeing righteousness and judgment. It's a comfort once you're on
the other side of it. You hear what I say? Once you're
on the other side of it, once it begins, now when it first
starts, it'll feel like, or it will be, and you'll feel like
the spirit of bondage. You know why? Because that's
what you'll first begin to feel. Exactly. Is the spirit of bondage. God, first by His Spirit, will
show you the bondage you were in. But then there is liberation. where it's not the spirit of
bondage again to fear, but it's the spirit of adoption whereby
we begin to cry, what? Papa, God Almighty is my father. And I have the right, because
I'm a joint heir with Christ, to call him my papa. But the
only way I know this is true of me is if I have been reproved
of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Oh, we know there's an election.
He just spoke of that. John chapter 15, right? But how
does anyone ever know they're one of the elect? Only after
they've been reproved of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
And this truly is consoling. That's what the word comforter
means. To console. To make intercession
for. And that's my title, the comforter.
Because that's the context. The comforter. You see, if I
partake of this threefold comfort, then my heart is assured before
God. And even more, let me put it
another way, as I partake of this threefold work of the Spirit
of God, as I am a recipient of this threefold work of the Spirit
of God, it assures my heart God is at work in me. Because You can't imagine this. You don't imagine it. It either
happens to you, and is happening to you, or it's never happened
to you. And that's just the way it is.
So again, I say if I am a partaker of this threefold comfort, then
my heart is assured before God. God the Spirit Think about it. God the Spirit places us in the
body as and where he pleases. That's 1 Corinthians 12 verse
1. He puts us in the body where he pleases, right? You're in
the body of Christ where God, if you're a foot, God made you
to be a foot. If you're an eye, God made you to be an eye. If
you're an ear, God made you to be ear. And that's the illustrations
he uses, right? And in this place in the body,
there by the sovereign act of a sovereign God, we have differing
gifts. different places and different
workings. Go back and read it again sometime.
First Corinthians 12, three through 10. So we're not all in the same
place in the body, but we all are in the same body. Right? And the reason your experience
overall is not the same as mine is because we're not all the
same part of the body. We're different parts, different
members, members in particular. But we all have experience and
are experiencing this threefold work of the Spirit. Yes, sir.
You see it? Yes, sir. If I'm afoot and you're
at eye, my gifts, my workings, that ministration is different
from yours. But all of us, all of us together have been brought
by this threefold work into this body of faith and worship in
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're not experiencing this
threefold work, you got no right to claim any part in the body
of Jesus Christ. And this work is defined. It's
defined. When he's come, this is his primary
thing. You will approve the word of
sin, righteousness, and judgment. And then he defines all three
of these. And I also believe this to be
a continual work. According to the very truth Paul
recorded in Ephesians 1, mainly 12 through 14, the Spirit is
the seal. You know what he calls it? The
guarantee. But Joe, it's not just some static thing to where
he does something and then just leaves us alone. This is an ongoing,
continual work of God. Now, that being said, let me
say this. There is a primary or a beginning
to this work. But that's not what I'm going
to deal with this morning. In other words, there's a time when
God Almighty originally and in the beginning, the beginning
of your experience, He converts you to the worship and faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But this does not cease. Now
you all are aware, but we've not been plagued by this here. But years ago, I was always taught
this passage is just how God saves sinners. And once he saves
a sinner, then Mason, this work's over. He's done this threefold
work, and it's all over with. And then on top of that, I was
also taught that this work of the Spirit depends upon you. Right? That's what's normally
taught. And this work of the Spirit,
he's trying to do this for everybody. and those who give in to it,
or whatever words you want to use, then they're the ones who
are actually saved. But then it's kind of done. I'm
once saved. I'm saved forever. That experience
is already gone. It's over with. But let me tell
you, as a child of God, as one of the elect of God, when God
Almighty converts you, when He changes you, that change will
continue until you awake in the likeness of Christ, either in
death or at the rapture. Some people don't want to say
that word, but it's the truth. When that trump shall, we sang
it, when that trump shall resound and the dead in Christ will be
raised first and whoever's alive and remain in Christ, they're
going to be changed and we're going to be caught up together.
That's when it'll end. That's when it'll finally be
finalized. But this work continues from the start all the way to
that end. First of all, verse eight, and
when he has come, he will reprove. Do you see that? He will. This lets me know two things.
One, the spirit of God is designed, his purpose, his design is to
do this. Right? It's his will to do this. He will. And it lets me also
know this, it is absolute. He will. He's not going to try
to do this, but he will. He will reprove the world. The
world, the world, yeah. Look, David Wright, a black man
and a white man both, right? Male and female, both, right? Some of us a little better off
monetarily than others are, right? Young, old, he's reproving the
world, is he not? to where it'll be summed up,
and it is summed up in Revelations chapter 5, that thou, speaking
to Christ, these people cry out, thou hast redeemed us to God
by the blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, kindred. That's
the world. That's the world. Now the fact is, Joe, if he just
saved one of us, he saved the world of mankind. If he just
saved one, he'd have saved the world of mankind. Mankind would
have been spared even if it had just been one. Oh, but the scripture
says it's a number which no man can number. And the people think
when we talk about election and free reign and grace, they think,
well, you're talking about just a little bitty, itty handful.
And we look at our group, and even after all these years, and
it feels like a little bitty handful. But you remember the
prophet felt that way too. He said, I'm left alone. It's
just me, Lord. And God said, no, there's 7,000
more. You don't even know about it,
but they're there. Isn't that what he said? They're there!
And Joe, when God gathers us all up together, and John the
apostle was allowed to see it, he said it was a number that
no man could number. Mm-hmm Has God and is God reproving me? That's the question. Yes Because
I'll tell you there is a sense now I don't think this is what
Christ talking about here. There is a sense in which many
are reproved You know that there's a sense
in which many men and women are reproved but they are as the
As Solomon said, he that being often reproved and hardeneth
his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Remedy. Isn't that what it says? Ah,
but there is a world that shall be reproved of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. They're going to actually be
corrected. That's the meaning of the word.
They're going to actually be convicted. And here's the best
one I like. They're going to actually have
some things exposed. That's what the word reprove
means. And when he has come, he will reprove the world. Of
what? I'm going to have sin exposed
to me. I'm going to have righteousness exposed to me. I'm going to have
judgment exposed to me. The very meaning of the word
lets us know that we're in a sad, pitiful state and something has
to be done for us first before we'll ever recognize even the
error of our way or any other way. and the righteousness that
God Almighty demands. Think about it. Turn to Ecclesiastes, and listen to these words. Ecclesiastes,
let's find it, chapter seven, and just verse five. It is better
to hear the rebuke of the wise. Now, who do you think that the
writer of Ecclesiastes, Solomon's really talking about? Who's he
really talking about? He's talking about God Almighty.
That's the main. Now granted, God uses individuals,
people, to sometimes bring this to our attention, but he's truly
the wise one that reproves. Now he'll do it through his word.
He'll do it through circumstance, but never apart from the word.
He'll do it through providential actions, but never apart from
circumstances, and the word. But here it is, it is better
to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song
of fools. And all around us, what is the
singing we hear? It's the singing of fools. But
there are a few voices that God's ordained, a few places where
God is ordained, where God speaks. where God Almighty is speaking
to men, the wise one, and it's good. What is it? It's better
to hear the what? The rebuke. It's good to be rebuked. Is it not? It's good to be rebuked. And yet the world outside, the
world, the unregenerate world, let me put it that way, when
they hear rebuke, they become angry. Who are you to tell me
that you're just a sinner like I am? But I ain't talking about
my word. I'm not talking about my opinion.
If you're proclaiming the truth of God, God is speaking. Amen. Is he not? Yes, sir. God is speaking. But yet there are two types of
men in this world, regenerate and unregenerate. We can talk
about elect and reprobate, and that's certainly valid. But here's
the thing. There are two kinds of people
in this world, and that includes both elect and reprobate, and
that is regenerate and unregenerate. And when an unregenerate man
is rebuked, he'll stiffen his neck even more. And if God leaves
him or her there, they will suddenly perish, and that without remedy.
But if God Almighty's Spirit is pleased to move in sovereign,
free, reigning grace, they will be reproved of what? Of sin.
Yeah. Of righteousness. Yeah. And of
judgment. All three. Listen to what? Another turn to Proverbs. Let's
turn back a few pages. Proverbs chapter nine. I love
this passage here. I do hope I wrote down the right
one. Let's look here. Yes. Proverbs nine. Look at,
look at verse eight. Reprove not a scorner lest he
hate thee. But haven't we? Haven't you people
got really, somebody get really mad at you because you said that
ain't right. And here's why it ain't right, because God's book
says so. And they become perturbed at you, angry at you, hateful
towards you. But look, reprove not a scorner
lest he hate thee. Rebuke a wise man for what he'll
do. You rebuke a wise man, what will
he do? He'll love you. Now, granted, he might not write
it first. He might not write it first because
even in the wise, that's God's people. You know, they all say
that wise men do seek the Lord Jesus Christ. We're coming into
that time of year when they talk about the wise men seeking. Well,
wise men do seek Him. Those that are made wise by an
act of a sovereign God. But you tell a wise man, you
tell a man that God has breathed life, spiritual life into, yes,
his flesh will revolt. But there is something else within
that person now that says, I need that. That's helpful to me. It's helpful to me to be rebuked,
reproved, corrected, to have things exposed to me. Give instructions
to a wise man, he will be yet wiser. Do you see it? Teach a
just man, he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy. is
understanding. Oh, thank God that when He came,
He reproves the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment,
isn't it? And that's the first thing. When He must come, He
will. And He'll reprove the world. When this is all wound up, the
world's going to be saved. Right? Not all in the world,
but the world will be saved. There's going to be some of all
of us We'll be standing around that throne giving glory to God
in the face of Jesus Christ. Rich, poor, young, old, male,
female, whatever it might be. There is none of us that stands
above another when we compare ourselves to God's holy word.
Now we may stand head and shoulders above another just like Saul
did when we look at it with the eyes of the flesh. But God sees
the heart. And that's my problem. by nature
is my heart. My problem ain't your heart. My problem ain't you. I know
you think I think you're my problem, but you're not my problem. That's
a little tongue-in-cheek, folks. Didn't really mean that. No, my problem is me. If I were truly perfect, if I
were truly holy, all you could do would be vex me. But you could
not intrinsically affect me. And how do I know that? Look
at Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He was vexed. But he was not
intrinsically corrupted or anything. He said the devil, he ain't got
nothing in me. You know? And when he was tempted
of the devil, devil, I said devil, didn't I? Tempted of the devil,
it wasn't to see if he would fall, it was to prove that he
could not. Amen. That's right. That's right. Even
when Satan would resort to his trickery of lying about God's
word. Yes, sir. Our Lord Jesus Christ
stood where? On the word of God. Amen. Now
Mason, he had a right to stand on his own merits. He had right
to stand on his own merits. And at some times he spoke of
his own merit and rightfully so. I do always those things
that please my father. But he also said, I didn't come
to do my will, but the will of him to send me. What a glory. And God, as I said,
has God and is God reproving me? Is he actually proving to
me? Is he convicting me? Is he exposing
to me these things? You remember Psalm 23? Of course
you do. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. All right,
we'll turn back to it. Turn to the 23rd Psalm. And let's
read somewhat of all that it says. Psalm 23, the Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want. Now, in other words, I will be
in no want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of
righteousness. Why? For his name's sake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Now look, thy rod and thy staff
shall what? They what? What's that next word? They comfort me. Both. Well, here's just a little tidbit
from me. We're always corrected before
we're directed. Thy rod, it's always that order,
thy rod and thy staff. The rod was there and usually
Joe would have a hook on it in a lot of cases. And that's where
the shepherd could reach out and grab a halt, Mason, and pull
that sheep where he wanted that sheep to go. That starts first,
then the staff leads. Now here's the thing, I must
always be corrected before I'm ever directed. The reason is,
I'm still so corrupt. You know, if God withdrew his
providential restraint, I ain't gonna say take his hand off me.
He never takes his hand off his people. But if he withdrew his
providential restraint, but for a moment, I would be denying
him before the world, just like Peter did. I would be looking
across the buildings and seeing a Bathsheba somewhere on a housetop
somewhere, would I not? Go through all, I'd be just like
a Jonah. God says go here and I said no,
I'm going that way. Right? Because that's where we
go, that's what, all we like sheep have gone where? Astray. Australia so is he doing these
things to me and Paul says go back and read it sometime 2nd
Corinthians 1 1 through 10 Paul said we had the sentence of death
in ourselves Why what's the chief reason so we wouldn't trust in
ourselves? but in the one who did deliver
us and is delivering us and will yet deliver us. That's why I'm
saying it's an ongoing work, Mason. It's not just why I saved
about 30, 40, 30, 35 years ago and now I'm just making the best
way I can. That ain't the way it works. Thank God that ain't
the way it works. God, it's not. But verse 9, let's
look at the details now. And when He's come, He'll reprove
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. First of all
in verse 9, of sin, And then he defines it. In other words,
he narrows it down. Now, there's a lot more to sin
than just this. And there's a lot more to unbelief
than just this. But this is where you can narrow
it right down to a head. Of sin, why? Because they believe
not on me. You see it? Now all sin is unbelief
of some sort or another. And all unbelief is rebellion
against God in some sort or another. But our major problem is believing
Christ. Now listen to me. Some, and I
know some people will turn this around, some of God's people
have trouble with anger. Right? But not everybody. Not all of God's people do, do
they? Some people are meek and lowly, but not all of us are. Some of God's people got a little
trouble with this. But not everybody. But I tell
you, we all have trouble with the sin of unbelief. All of us
do. Some of us may have trouble with
sticky fingers. Trying to get the boss of a few
extra dollars at work that maybe he really didn't work for. And
other people have no real trouble with that. But we all got trouble
with unbelief. And specifically, we have trouble
with believing Christ. You see, if I believe Christ
like he deserves to be believed, If I believed Christ like He
ought to be believed, all these other things would be nil to
me. They wouldn't matter, would they? They wouldn't affect me
if I believed God in the person of His Son as He ought to be
believed. And that wasn't just true when
I was originally converted, Penny. That's true of me right now today. He still has to daily, David
Wright, reprove me of sin. You know why? Because I don't
believe on Him like I should. Is that not true? Now, granted,
it was definitely true when I was in an earned converted state,
but even after he converts me, we still have a constant fall.
Fall. Aren't you glad that though the
righteous fall, he shall not be utterly cast down? Why? Because the Lord upholds him.
My sin, and I'm saying my sin of unbelief, not your unbelief
ain't my problem. My unbelief is my problem. Your
unbelief is your problem. Your unbelief may affect you.
My unbelief may affect you. But that's not your problem.
Mine's not. My problem is that person I look
at just about every morning when I get ready to shave my face
and get ready to go to work. That's the person I got the most problem
with, right here. My sin of unbelief, and it's
specific unbelief, is the lack of belief in Christ. You see,
when I did not believe Christ, And here's the question, does
God expose that to me? If you're what he is, he does.
Now, won't he? You might not, Mac, recognize
it right at first. Peter didn't, I'm sure when Peter
kneeled, but first said, I don't know that man. And he backed
up and said, all right, that's, you know, I can just see him
in his mind. Okay, that's enough. Then what happens? Somebody else
gets confronted again. What's it say? I don't know that
man. And I could see him begin to say, what is going on with
me? You ever been there? Huh? And
they go, all right, that's it. I'm done with this. It's not
going to happen anymore. Or was it? Yeah, it's going to
happen at least one more time. And that third time, it says
he cursed and swore. You think of that old fisherman. Sometimes, I know this is shocking
to people, but when he fished, he fished without clothes on.
Took his clothes off while he was fishing, Mason, and ran a
bunch of other men in his boat. And he cursed. I can just hear
that old sailor, fisherman language, can't you? Cursed and swore I
don't know the man. You know? And even then, it wasn't
quite done with. He wasn't going to die no more,
but it was not, it says that Christ came out of that building.
They let him out. And he looked at Peter. And that
stopped it right there. That's what stopped it. Just
a look from him is enough, Neil, to stop us in our tracks. And
what does it say? He went out and wept bitterly.
Ain't it good to be reproved of your unbelief? It's a good
thing. That's a comforting thing. That's not a bad thing. Well,
God's going to get me. You better hope he gets you.
and gets you like this and squeezes a hold of you and won't let you
go. That's what I'm talking about. You better hope he'll get you.
To expose my unbelief. This is the one sin that we all
have to do battle with. Now don't we? Some sins, some
of us, you know, some things bother, some things don't. But
this is the one that always gets us. So much so that we have at
least one example of it where the man actually told the Lord,
he said, Lord, I believe. Help thou. Do you see it? You do it for me, Lord. Ain't
that amazing? Thou help, help thou my unbelief. The first way he starts that
is by exposing it to you. Convicting you of it, right?
You've got to be rebuked of it, convicted of it, have it exposed
to you before you ever begin to back away from it. Right? See, that's a comforting thing,
is it not? It may not feel good, Neil, but it's still comforting. Especially when you're on, as
I said, on this side of it. Especially on this, or whichever
side, you know. Especially on the other side
of it. Let's move on. Verse 10, of righteousness. But
look, because I go to my Father and ye see me no more. Have you
ever read that and thought, what? I've read that before and it
just didn't dawn on me. But you know what I'm saying?
There's only one place you're ever going to see true righteousness.
You look to the law. You will see legal righteousness,
but you'll see how far you are from it if God's ever opened
your eyes. But I don't care how sinful you are, how corrupt you
are, how much unbelief you struggle with, if he's already convicted
you of sin, you know what? There's only one place you're
gonna see true righteousness. That's in the person of Jesus
Christ. And he's telling these disciples, these 12, you've been
looking at real righteousness for all these couple, two or
three years now, right? True righteousness is gonna leave.
You ain't gonna see it no more. The spirit of God's gonna have
to convict you of this. Your righteousness is up in glory
now. That's what he's talking about. And that's a comfort. It's comforting when God exposes
my unrighteousness to me, but then exposes, Joe, the righteousness
of Christ to me. So much so that Paul puts it
this way, and you know the verse, 1 Corinthians 1, He is made unto
us wisdom. Remember, that's the first thing.
rebuke a wise man he'll love you for it you rebuke an unwise
man he's going to get mad at you Somebody's unregenerate,
they're gonna get mad, and they'll stay that way. Unless and until
God Almighty gives them life. But once he does, you rebuke
them, they might be a few, first thought, oh, but then after a
while, Mason, it begins to fade into the dust of nastiness and
corruption. And God exposes your unrighteousness
and exposes Christ as the only righteousness God accepts. And
he says, Christ is that to you. Is that not a comfort? Yes, sir.
A comfort. See, God must prove to me, and
He does if I'm one of His. He must prove to me Christ's
righteousness to me. Not just that He is righteous,
but that He's my righteousness. He's my righteousness. Why do I have reason to think
that? Because He's exposed my unbelief. He exposes to me yet today how
unbelieving I truly am. I would hate to think if belief
and unbelief were put on a scale if it weighs like that. That's
why he says of righteousness, well because you'll believe me
good enough for righteousness. Uh-uh. No. Our primary problem
is unbelief. We have to have that constantly
exposed to us. But thank God the second thing
is what? Of righteousness. Because I go to my father and
you don't see me anymore. The righteousness is going to
be hid from your physical eyes. You will have to believe me by
faith. Receive, just rest in me. As I've said before, just
rest in Him. Rest in Him. God must prove this
to me. God proves to me my total lack
of righteousness. The more I live in this world,
the more unrighteous I feel. I don't feel like I'm getting
better. It's been 31, 32 years. I don't feel like I'm getting
better. I feel like personally I'm getting worse. Oh, but thank God. He enables
me to see, Joe, that He's perfect righteousness. And He is that
to me. He's proving that to me. Rebuking
me of it when I don't see it. See, God is at work in me exposing
my unbelief and proving to me Christ my righteousness. But
there's one more facet, verse 11. God also does what? Reproves
the word of judgment. And then what do most people
do? They run to the end, the great white throne. Right? About going to hell or not going
to hell. being cast into the lake of fire, not being cast
into the lake of fire. But that's not the way he puts
it, is it? Now I'm not saying that's not true. That is a judgment,
Mason. But if If John's already seen
that group of people standing there at that great white throne,
yes or no? He's already seen it. Every one
of them's gonna be there. And ain't a thing in this world
could be done to change that number. Not a thing in this world
to change that. But look at what he actually
says. Of judgment, he's gonna reprove the world of what? Sin,
because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go
my father, you see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince
of this world, what's that next word? Not will be judged. Is. Is. Is. Granted, there are much
more to this judgment than just this, but this is what he's dealing
with. Here's the primary work. He is judged. How did he judge
him? Now turn back just a few pages to John chapter 8, and
we will see how the prince of this world was judged by Christ.
John chapter 8, verse 38. And we're coming in the middle
of a conversation again. But go back and look at the context.
I speak that which I have seen with my father. This is Christ
speaking here. And you do that which you have seen with your
father. And they, like most good religious people, they answered
and said unto him, Abraham's our father, or I'm a Baptist.
You know? I'm a Baptist. Remember, what
was it, the guy that helped, one of the original founders
was a Baptist, you know, come up with a lot of, some of the
constant, oh, I'm a Baptist, or I'm a Methodist, or my daddy
was this, or my mommy was that. Jesus saith unto them, look at
it, if ye were Abraham's children, you'd do the works of Abraham.
A lot of people say they believe in grace, but they don't want
to hear this part of the message of grace. If you're one of Abraham's
children, you'll do what Abraham did. Here's the chief thing. But now you seek to kill me,
a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God. Abraham
didn't do that. Did he? Now Abraham had a lot
of troubles. Had a lot of problems. Mason,
he struggled with unbelief. But he was reproved of all of
that. Was he not? But look, ye do the deeds of
your father. He ain't let it go yet. He grabbed
a hold of this rope and he just tugging on it and that rope's
around their neck and they don't even know it. And the person
tugging on it ain't them, it's Christ. He's keeping them in
this converse, won't let it go. Now does he? Look, ye do the
deeds of your father. Then they said unto him, we be
not born of fornication. And I think maybe that was a
slur against him. Who's your daddy? Who's really your daddy? I'm sure words circulated that
here's this woman that was pregnant. She was pregnant for about nine
months and y'all wasn't even married yet. Right? You think
that was not known in the community at all? We be not born of vornication. We have one Father, even God.
Jesus said to them, if God were your Father, you'd love me. See
where it all pulls back to him. For I proceeded forth and came
from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not
understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear
my words. Now he comes right out. Now, Mason, he pulls the
noose up. Ye are of your father, the devil. He will expose Satan for who
and what he really is, right here. He will judge him, right
here. You see it? You're of your father the devil
and the lust of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from
the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
his own for he is a liar and the father of it. And because
I tell you the truth, that's why you don't believe me. Which of you convinces me of
sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He
that is of God, what will he do? He'll hear God's words. Isn't
it? Ye therefore hear them not. Why?
Because you're not of God. And what did they say? He's a
madman. Right? He got a devil in him. All to be reproved of what sin,
righteousness, and what judgment? Why? Because there's a judgment.
It's a judgment against the lie of the devil. Right? You see, now go back. I'm not
going to read it. You know the passage. 2 Thessalonians 2. The
whole chapter. Go back and read it. What's man's
primary problem, the very reason for which God will send some
men strong delusion? They should believe a lie. Why?
Because they received not the love of the truth that they might
be saved. That's what it says. I'm not
here to try to doctrinally make that all fit. That's what it
says. They didn't receive the love of the truth that they might
be saved. And Paul writes and says, and because of this, wherefore
God will send them strong delusion. And what are they going to do?
They will believe the devil's lie. But But God hath from the beginning,
I give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
what? Sanctification of the comforter. This work of the comforter. Sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you
by our gospel. There's the proof that you're
one of God's right there. Do you believe the lie or do
you love the truth? It's that simple. but that profound. It takes the work of God to get
you there. It takes the work of God to keep you there. And
it's going to take the work of God to make it wind up with you
there in Christ's presence, accepted of God the Father. The question I must ask myself
this morning is, is this my experience? Now granted, I think every one
of us, apart from some kind of mental losing time, but there's
a time when this started, this being reproved of sin, righteousness,
and judgment. Did it not? When this work of
the Spirit began in us, and you couldn't stop it even though
you may have tried. I tried to stop it. You know what, Mason?
I couldn't. Couldn't stop it. Now, little did I know I couldn't
stop it. But it doesn't make a difference whether you know
that or not. Plus, when he comes, he will reprove the world of
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Is this my experience? But I'll tell you what, he's
still reproving me of these things. Sin, righteousness, and judgment. If not, if this is not my experience,
I'm run regenerate no matter what I profess. Now, I didn't
say I was reprobate. I don't know about that part
when it comes to who was chosen before the foundation of the
world. But I'll tell you this, those who were chosen before
the foundation of the world shall in time be set apart by the Spirit
to believe the truth that will be called to it by the gospel.
The Spirit of God is doing this work, reproving them of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment. Ah, but if it is true of me,
then Christ's words to me as this is the Spirit of God's work
in you, You didn't bring yourself to this. That's right. Did you?
Exactly. We don't reprove ourselves of
sin, righteousness, and judgment. That's the work of the Spirit
of God. As a matter of fact, wasn't it Stephen? I think he
ended up getting stoned. He said, you always resist the
Holy Ghost. And unregenerate men will always
resist. It takes a regenerating act of
the Spirit of God before you'll ever even be reproved of sin,
righteousness, and judgment. As long as you're unregenerate,
you're going to kick and fight and buck and murmur against God. Oh, but once he breathes life
into you and you begin to hear the gospel, that gospel will
conquer your heart and your mind and your soul. And you know what?
It'll continue to do that. You may stiffen up your neck
at times, but God will break that stiffness. You know that? Mason, he broke it one time.
He'll continue to break it until finally it's broke one last time,
the final time, and I awaken his likeness. Huh? Because we
still kick, don't we? We still kick. This is the comforter's work.
That is comfort. Now granted, if you tell this
to someone that's unregenerate, they won't have any idea what
you're talking about. And when you reprove, if you
try to tell them, here's what sin is. Here's where righteousness
really is. And God has judged the lie. You
know what? This will get mad at you. Who
do you think you are? Who do you think you are? I've seen
you. I know how you live. I know what you are. We ain't
talking about me. We're talking about Him. Because when He's
come, how be it, and then read the rest, now close. How be it
when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into
all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He
shall hear of that shall He speak. He will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me. for he shall receive of mine
and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath
are mine, therefore said I that he shall take of mine and show
it unto you. As he opened your heart, your
mind, your ears to where you know the rebuke of God, the reproof
of God, the exposing of God, that's a comforting thing, isn't
it? That comforts me. Father, teach
us these things, not just in doctrine. Oh, teach us the proper
doctrine. But Lord, teach us the experience
of these doctrines, the truth of these things, the reality
of them, the joy of them. The joy of them. I thank you
in Christ's name. Amen.