Would you look back at John chapter
7 with me? Verse 39. John chapter 7, verse
39. But this spake he of the Spirit,
the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. God is one God
in three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. And the Lord Jesus at this time
is speaking of God the Holy Spirit. But this spake he of the Spirit
Which they that believe on him should receive when he gives him, you receive
him. The reason you receive him is
he gave him for the Holy ghost was not yet. That's what I've entitled this
message. The Holy Ghost was not yet. And here's why. Because that Jesus was not yet
glorified. The Holy Ghost was not yet. Because
Jesus was not yet glorified. Now look back up in verse 38. He that believeth on me. I want to be one of those people,
don't you? To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Let me tell you something. that you cannot do both. You can't work and believe. If you're working, you're not
believing. If you're believing, you're not
working. He that believeth on me, verse
38, as the scripture hath said out of his belly, shall flow
rivers of living water. You believe out of your belly,
your innermost being, the work done on the inside, out of your
belly shall flow continuously, never ceasing, rivers of living
water. Turn back to John chapter 4 for
a moment. The Lord says to the woman at
the well in verse 10, John chapter 4, Jesus answered and said unto
her, If thou knewest The gift of God. Don't miss that word
gift. No strings attached. Free gift. And who it is that saith to thee,
give me to drink. Thou would have asked of him. And he would have given thee
living water. That's what we just read about
in John chapter seven, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water. The woman saith unto him, sir,
thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep. From whence
then hast thou that living water? She didn't know what he was talking
about. Are thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave
us this well and drank thereof himself and his children and
his cattle? She demonstrates from that. She doesn't know who
she's talking to, does she? Are you greater than Jacob? Yeah. Jesus answered and said unto
her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. You can say that with regard
to everything in this world. You shall thirst again. You may
find some temporary satisfaction, but it won't last very long at
all. And you shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst But the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, just like
the Lord said in John chapter seven, a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. Now, what is it to not thirst? It's to be satisfied. When you're
thirsty, you drink, your thirst is quenched. But this is a continual
satisfaction. It's being satisfied with being
saved by Christ. You're not looking for anything
else. Nothing can be compared to him.
You're satisfied to have his righteousness as your only righteousness
before God. You're satisfied with his sin
payment. You know sin's paid for. I stand before God without guilt.
You're not looking for something else. I don't know how many times
I've said this. I don't know how many times,
but I've, I've heard people say, there's got to be something more.
Well, you haven't seen it in the first place. Then there is
nothing more. He's made into us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption. Are you satisfied with that?
Are you satisfied with being accepted in the beloved? Now,
I know you're not satisfied with yourself. I'm not satisfied with
myself either. As long as we're still seeing, we're never going
to be satisfied in that sense. But oh, how satisfied we are
with Jesus Christ being saved by him. I'm not looking for anything
else. I got it. With regard to everything else. The only thing I'm satisfied
with is that all things work together for good. To them that
love God, to them who are called according to his purpose, everything. You meant it for evil, but God
meant it for good. I'm satisfied with that. I'm
satisfied with knowing that everything that takes place in my life and
yours He's working it together for my good and his glory. Now, with regard to everything,
I'm satisfied to be saved by Christ. And the only thing that
gives me any relief with regard to everything else is that I
don't have anything to worry about. God is in control of everything
and is causing everything. And that means all things to
work together for my good and his glory. You're satisfied when
you find satisfaction in what God is satisfied with, the person
and work of his son. You're satisfied. Are you? Is this a well of water springing
up in you? You're satisfied with Christ.
You're not satisfied with yourself. You're not satisfied really with
anybody else in a sense, but you're satisfied with Jesus Christ. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down. And He sat down for this one
singular reason. The Father was completely satisfied
with what He did. That's why He raised Him from
the dead. He was completely satisfied with what He did. Back to our text in John chapter
seven. Verse 38, he that believeth on
me, he trusts me as everything in his salvation. I am relying
only on Jesus Christ. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. And that's talking about the
continual satisfaction we have with Christ. But. This spake he of the Spirit,
God the Holy Spirit. The reason you have flowing out
of your belly rivers of living water is this, His Spirit. His Spirit in you. This spake he of the Spirit,
which they which believe on him should receive. Now, do I remember
in my experience consciously receiving the Holy Spirit? No.
He was given to me. And when God gives, you receive. If you don't receive, He never
gave. But when He gives, you receive. Now, who is the Holy
Spirit? Well, He's the third person Of
the one God in three persons, God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit. When the Lord taught his disciples
to baptize, he said, baptizing them in the name. Every time
I baptize someone, you'll notice I say this, I baptize you in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's what
the Lord said to do. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Spirit. God is one God in three distinct
persons. God the Holy Spirit is God the
Holy Spirit. When Ananias lied, Peter said to him, why
hath Satan filled your heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost? Thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. God the Holy Spirit. He's just as much God as God
the Father and God the Son. And he's just as much a person
as God the Father and God the Son. Now, he doesn't have a physical
body, but he's a person. He's spiritual. He's omnipresent. He's here right now. He's everywhere. He's God, the Holy Spirit, and
he dwells in his people. If any man have not the spirit
of Christ, he's none of his. He's called in the scripture,
the Holy Spirit. Holy. Other. There's no one like him. He's
called the spirit of truth, the spirit of grace, the eternal
spirit, the spirit of promise, the spirit of Christ, the spirit
of adoption, the comforter. Don't you love his name as the
comforter? I need comforted, don't you? He is the creator. He is the author of scripture. Peter tells us that holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Every word
in this book is inspired by the Spirit of God. He that can create
the universe can inspire men to write a book and keep it preserved. He is the one who conceived Christ
in the womb of the virgin. Scripture tells us that conceived
by the Holy ghost. He is the author of the new birth. That which is born of the spirit.
If you're born again, it's because God the Holy Spirit birthed you
and gave you life, born from above. He inhabits the preaching
of the gospel. Peter speaks of they which have
preached the gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven
and all of our experience of the gospel of Jesus Christ is
through the Holy Spirit. When you believe the gospel,
you know why you do? Because of God, the Holy Spirit. His work in salvation is just
as essential as the work of the father and the work of the son. The work of the father electing
who would be saved before time began. I love the God of election. The
work of the Son in redeeming His people and putting away their
sins. I love the work of the Son in
redemption, don't you? And the work of God, the Holy
Spirit, giving you a new nature and indwelling in you, causing
you to believe the gospel. Now what is meant when he says
in verse 39, For the Holy Ghost was not yet. The Holy Ghost was not yet. He's eternal God. So that certainly
does not mean he had not yet come into existence. That's even
blasphemous to think of that. He's the eternal spirit. It does
not mean Old Testament believers were not born again. They were
spiritually dead and had to be given life by the Spirit, not
by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. David said, take not thy Holy
Spirit from me. When the Lord was speaking to
Nicodemus and told him he must be born again and born of the
Spirit, Nicodemus said, how can these things be? And the Lord
replied, Are thou a master in Israel and knowest not these
things? This is what the Old Testament has always taught. Ezekiel 36, 26, a new heart will
I give thee and a new spirit will I put within you. I'll put
my spirit within you. Now he is obviously not saying
Old Testament saints didn't have the Holy Spirit and he didn't
begin into the New Testament. But before the coming of Christ,
his life and his death, salvation was primarily for that little
tiny nation Israel, wasn't it? Did the Amorites have a tabernacle?
Did the Hittites have a written revelation from God? Now there
were some Gentiles saved and it was always God's purpose to
save Gentiles. But at first, it was just for
the Jews. The atonement wasn't for anybody
but for Israel. And it was a very small scale.
I mean, you think of the nations that had no revelation from God.
And this is scriptural. Salvation was of the Jews. It
wasn't for the rest of the world. But notice this word. The Holy Ghost was not yet. He
was not yet in his fullness speaking to the world because that Jesus
was not yet glorified. That's why it was not yet. Jesus
was not yet glorified. Now, what does that mean? Turn
to John chapter 12. Verse 23, and Jesus answered them saying,
the hour is come. And he's talking about the hour
of his death, the time for him to be nailed to a cross. The hour of his death. The hour is coming. He said, what shall I say, Father,
save me from this hour? But for this cause came I into
this hour, this time of being nailed to a cross. Father, the
hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Now that's talking about the
hour of His death. His death on the cross is him
being glorified. The Lord Jesus on the cross is
not an object of pity. You remember when he said to
the daughters of Jerusalem, daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me,
but weep for yourselves. Understand that he was in complete
control at this time. When those men lifted up the
hammer to drive the nails into his hands and feet, guess who
gave him strength to do it? He did it. When they come to
arrest him, I love this. Whom seek ye, Jesus of Nazareth?
I am. And they fall back, driven back
by invincible power, laying there on the ground. He was letting them know, you're
in my hands at this time. My will is being done. I'm in control of you. You're
not in control of me. I am controlling this event,
the time of my glorification. The death of Christ on the cross
is the eternal purpose of God. He's called the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. This is God's eternal purpose
to glorify his son. The cross of Christ was not God's
response to the fall of Adam. Well, Adam messed this up. Therefore,
I'm going to come up with the cross. No, the fall of Adam was
specifically for the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 17 verse 4, the
Lord said, I've glorified thee on the earth. I have finished
the work thou gavest me to do. Now, when I think of the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ, let me give you four or five You
know, when I talk about the cross, I said, let me give you this.
I think, what? I can't give you anything. Only
the Lord can speak to us. And I pray that the Lord speaks
through this, but the cross of Christ is the greatest act of
obedience that this world has ever seen. Son. Go be nailed to a cross. Yes, Father. It was the greatest act of trust
this world has ever seen. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. He trusted his father completely
even when he was being nailed to the cross. Somebody had to
believe God perfectly. And guess what? It ain't me and
you. It's him. He believed God perfectly. It's the greatest act of love
this world will ever know. He loved his father so supremely
that he was willing to die rather than let his father's honor and
his father's law be dishonored. What an act of love to his father. What an act of love to his people
that he would love me so much and so much as a It's not a good
way. I mean, we're to describe this
because we're just fighting for words, but that he would love
me so much that he would go to the cross for me. Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. As the father hath loved me,
listen, as the father hath loved me, So have I loved you. The cross magnified every attribute
of God. Magnified as justice. He's not
going to let sin go unpunished. Magnified his grace that he'd
be so gracious and magnified his wisdom that he in his infinite
wisdom made a way to be absolutely just and justify somebody like
me. So I stand before God without
guilt, sinless, having never sinned. That's what that means.
What wisdom, what power. in putting away my sin? What
power in making me just like Christ? But every attribute of
God, all who God is, is displayed in the cross of Christ. That's
why Christ was glorified in the cross. We don't feel sorry for
him. We feel pained at the thought of him being made sin. We feel
pained at the thought of his physical pain. I realize all
that. The cross of Christ is his greatest glory. It's the
very glory of God. This is what the Holy Ghost bears
witness to. Let me show you this in Hebrews 10. Hold your finger
there in John 12 and turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Now, if the Holy Spirit is bearing
witness to my spirit and your spirit right now, this is what
he's bearing witness to. Look in Hebrews chapter 10, verse
14. For by one offering, his death
on the cross, he hath perfected forever. Them that are sanctified,
whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. This is what the Holy Spirit
bears witness to. Believer troubled over your sin. We ought to be, but listen to
this. You're perfected forever. Right
now, you are perfected forever through his one offering on the
cross. And that is what the Holy Spirit
bears witness to. John chapter 16. Now the Lord expands on what
was meant by saying the Holy Ghost was not yet. This passage
of scripture will tell us exactly what that means. The Holy Ghost
was not yet. It doesn't mean he didn't begin
to exist until then, nor does it mean that he didn't work in
the lives of every one of God's elect until then. But this is
talking about when the gospel comes to the Gentiles. It had
been limited to that tiny Jewish nation for many centuries. And you can't read the scriptures
and conclude anything else. That's what the scriptures teach.
But now the gospel is wide open to all men. If any man, don't
you love that? If any man, if any man thirst,
let him come to me and drink. John chapter 16, verse five. But now I go my way to him that
sent me. I love that phrase, him that
sent me, the father sent him. I came down from heaven, not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And now he's going back to the
one who sent him. And none of you ask me whether
goest thou, they might've been thinking it, but they didn't
ask it. But because I've said these things
unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. He tells him he's
leaving him. Sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless, verse 17, I tell
you the truth. It's expedient for you that I
go away. This is what you need. This is
necessary for you. You have to have this. It's expedient
for you that I go away, for if I go not away, Comforter will
not come unto you. That's talking about God, the
Holy Spirit. You see his coming to me is totally tied to the
death and the glorification of Christ. You know why the Holy
Spirit comes to me? Because Christ died for me. If Christ didn't
die for me and go back to the father, he wouldn't come to me. I wouldn't have any experience
of God, the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away,
the comforter. What a name for the Holy Spirit,
the comforter. When you're enabled to rest in
Christ and have comfort that all God requires of you, you
have in Christ. That's called the Holy Spirit
speaking to your heart. He's in you. He dwells in you. He comforts every believer is
a God bearer. God, the Holy Spirit dwells in
you. Every thought you have of love
for Christ, that's God, the Holy Spirit in you. That's him giving
you this birth that causes you to be that way. But if I depart, he's talking
about going back to the father after he, after his resurrection,
his ascension back to the Father, I'll send him unto you. Now, this is a promise to every
believer. I'll send him unto you. And when he has come, he will
reprove or convict or convince the world, no longer just the
Jews, the world. The same world that God so loved
that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now obviously
the world doesn't mean every individual in the world, because
every individual in the world, without exception, does not have
God the Holy Spirit. But he's just talking about the
world, Jews, Gentiles. Americans, British, Russians,
whoever he saves, everybody, the world. He's the savior of
the world. I love his name. He's the savior
of the world. And when he has come, he will
convince the world of these three things, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now here is the work of the Holy
Spirit. If he works in you, if he works
in me, this is what he's gonna convince us of. First, sin. Sin. And he tells us what that means,
verse nine, of sin, Because they believe not on me. Sin causes so many problems. Sin is such a horrible thing,
what it does to men. But you have not been convicted
by the Holy Spirit of sin. until you've been convicted of
this fact. You don't believe on Christ,
and you can't believe on Christ unless he gives you the grace
to. As long as you believe in free will, that you can just,
whenever you decide you can believe, you've never been convicted of
sin, you're clueless. You've been convicted of sin
when you see you can't believe. And it's only when you see you
can't believe that you ask the Lord to give you faith, and he
gives it to you. That's the way it works. You don't decide to
believe. You believe when He causes you
to believe. And you ask Him. You ask Him. You have not because you ask
not. He that asketh receiveth. You're going to ask Him for faith
and He's going to give it to you. You're going to see that
faith is beyond your grasp, that you just can't up and believe,
that you're unable to do anything. That's when you're convicted
of sin. When you're convicted of this
thing that you can't believe. And I tell you what, everybody
that's convicted that they can't believe, those are the only people
who believe. God gives them faith. They understand that faith is
the gift of God. It's not the product of the flesh. It's not the product of their
free will. It's the gift of God. Salvation's by grace. By grace
are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. Not of works. lest any man should
boast. You're convinced of sin when
you find out you can't believe. And beloved, everybody finds
out they can't believe, God gives them faith. Why is it that you
know you can't believe? God the Holy Spirit. God the
Holy Spirit, he's convicted you. He's taught you something. Secondly,
of righteousness, look in verse 10. Remember, he'll convince
the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, of righteousness,
because I go to my father and you see me no more. Now you become
convinced that the only righteousness there is, is the righteousness
that he brings to the father. You can't see your righteousness
right now because he's seated at the right hand of the father,
but you know, he's your righteousness. He goes to the father, you know
that your righteousness is as filthy rags. You know that? You
are sure that the only righteousness you have is the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. The one that he brings to the
father. You're convinced. You're convinced. And then he
says in verse 11 of judgment. because the prince of this world
is judged. You are convinced that all judgment
took place on the cross. You know, Satan was defeated
on the cross. Well, he was defeated before
the foundation of the world. There's never, you know, I hate
it when people talk about almost like God and the devil are in
this fight. No, no, the devil's under his
thumb. The devil's God's devil. He's
under his complete, he's doing it, he's working out his purpose. But he was judged, he was destroyed
on the cross. And I love thinking about this.
Can you imagine me thinking, I won, I won. He thought, I've won. He didn't
know he was being destroyed and his head was crushed and his
power was broken. Satan was judged, but you know
what else? I was too. My sin was judged and put away
on the cross. All judgment took place on the
cross. If God the Holy Spirit has been
my teacher, if God the Holy Spirit has been your teacher, You're
taught these three things, and this is what he teaches the world.
Everybody that he teaches, not Jews only, but Gentiles, wherever
he teaches them, these three things, sin, righteousness, and
judgment. Verse 12. He says, I have yet many things
to say unto you, but you can't 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. Now, let
me stop. You hear preachers talking about
the Holy Spirit. They don't have the Holy Spirit.
Preachers are always speaking of the speaking in tongues and
the Holy Spirit and all the stuff they, you know, the Holy Spirit.
Spirit doesn't speak of himself. He speaks of Christ. His office
is to glorify Christ. He shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. And he'll
show you things to come. You know, I know the future. Judgment day, all the elect will
be justified and everybody else will be condemned. He, verse 14, shall glorify me. For he shall receive of mine
and shall show 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. Now, when the Lord said he's
not yet, the Holy Ghost is not yet, because the Son of Man was
not yet glorified. But he has died and the Holy
Spirit is, and may he work saving faith in the heart of each person
here. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
spirit of Christ. How we thank you for who you
are, how we thank you for who your son is, how we thank you
for who your spirit is. Lord, we bow before the one God
and three distinct persons, and we thank you, Lord, for your
grace. And we pray that you would convince
us by your spirit. Lord, only you are able to do
this and you do do this. We pray that you would convince
each man, woman, boy, and girl in this room of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. Bless this message for your glory.
In Christ's name we pray. Amen.