John 16:1-15 What Do We Do Now?

Objectives

• Congregants will practice spiritual responses to persecution so that the spiritual response become the natural response.
• Congregants will recognize the departure of Christ means we are no longer in basic training, we are not on the battle field and must ... and arrival of the Holy Spirit
• Congregants will determine to meditate on Scripture in order to learn the truth offered by the Holy Spirit.

Materials

• During point 3 it will be beneficial to have some examples of manuals, the thicker the better. If you have access to aircraft flight manuals or any heavy equipment manuals that are long these will demonstrate the point well.

Introduction

On September 6, 2006 Corporal Mark Wright earned a George Cross, the second highest award in the United Kingdom's honor system. Wright was working in the Kajaki Dam region of Afghanistan when a radio call came in. A fellow soldier, Lance Corporal Stuart Hale had jumped over what appeared to be a dry riverbed but turned out to be a mine field. Corporal Hale set off the landmine and suffered significant injuries.

Wright, together with eight fellow soldiers, headed in the direction of the injured soldier. They cleared a path to Hale, applied a tourniquet, and provided morphine. Little did they know that the events of the day were just beginning. Waiting for a Blackhawk helicopter to provide medical evacuation, the team began searching for more landmines. A BlackHawk is a big helicopter and they wanted to find a big enough mine-free area that the helicopter could safely land.

The situation went from bad to worse as the soldiers accidentally set-off more mines. In one blast Wright was hit in the face, arms, neck, and chest. Despite being badly injured, Wright continued his work, providing first aid to those around him. After three hours, the Blackhawks arrived and began using winches to lift the soldiers to safety.

Minefields represent a significant threat on any battle field. All over the world, soldiers know that if they enter a minefield they are in significant danger. If a soldier knowingly enters a minefield extreme caution is used. Similarly, we must exercise extreme caution as we operate in this world.

Main Body

Setting The Stage

As we dig into John 16 we must take note of the larger context. This entire section of scripture takes place in-between the washing of the disciples feet and the arrest of Jesus. These are parting words, in some sense this is almost like a last-will and testament but this is different because Jesus knew he would rise. Instead of a last will and testament I like to think of this as a graduation speech. The disciples had just spent 3 years in spiritual bootcamp at the Judean-Gallilee Academy of Christian Service. Now disciples were graduating and would directly enter the conflict. The disciples were about to engage the enemy on the frontline and needed the parting wisdom of their commander.

Main Proposition

 As Christians we are on the frontline of a battle and the fields are filled with landmines but also those who long for redemption.  We must recognize the danger, remember our training, and call upon the Holy Spirit to help us navigate this battlefield.

Point 1, We are Operating in a minefield (V. 1-4 )

We must realize that trials and persecution are part of our walk, we are in a minefield. We cannot allow trials and persecution to cause us to stumble but rather we must carefully move through the battlefield.

Don't Stumble (V. 1)

Verse 1

• What does it mean to stumble?
  • The connotation of the word is that of setting a trap. The hatred of the world has the ability to trap us. Picture a soldier walking through a minefield. The soldier is careful about his steps, meticulous. One false step and the solider knows the results could be catastrophic. What is the soldier's saving grace? Knowing that he is in a minefield. Similarly, we must recognize that the world is set to trap us and make us stumble.

Don't Underestimate the Persecution (V. 2-3)

Verse 2

• The word that is translated as service actually means priestly service. It is not that the world merely hates Christians, but that they think they are doing right when they persecute Christians. A few weeks back I overheard a conversation regarding morality. The individual very clearly saw a particular issue of morality different than I did, but what struck me was when the individual stated "do they not have any sense of morality?"

• The Apostle Paul is the perfect example of a individual who thought he was doing God a favor by persecuting Christians. In Acts 22:4-5 he states: I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

• The battlefield is very real and the consequences are real. We must not become complacent in our walk but walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). We must Be sober, be vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Verse 3

• As we are careful not to underestimate the persecution, we also must be careful not to hate the persecutor.
• The persecution arises because the persecutor does not know God.
• The enemy is sin and we have the alternative to sin. As we enter the battlefield we cannot forget that what we offer those who oppose us is freedom.

Don't Forget (V. 4)

• We must recognize that in the heat of spiritual battle we are likely to forget. We must rehearse spiritual responses until it becomes so natural that temptation to stumble is met with a near automatic response. (Note: I do not mean purely automatic or seek to reduce the spiritual to a bunch of rote actions, that is not the point. The point is that having the right spiritual response to persecution should be something that comes naturally to us.)

Point 2 The Battlefield Longs for Redemption (V. 5-11 )

As Christians we must recognize the sinful, unrighteous, and judged battlefield's longing for redemption.

Our Focus (V. 5-6)

• It is easy to lose focus. Christ told his disciples that he was going away. On two previous occasions the disciples had asked "Where are you going?"
  • John 13:36
    • Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”
  • John 14:5
    • Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
• Here the disciples didn't ask where he was going. Do you suppose it was because they understood? No, not at all. Nothing from the text or the disciples previous actions indicates that the disciples got it. Instead, the disciples wallow in self-pity. The disciples should have been excited about their graduation, instead they sarrow as they leave behind their old way of life not realizing the superiority of the new life.

Our Advantage (V. 7)

• What the disciples missed was their own graduation from a three year basic training course run by Christ to the actual battlefield. The disciples should have not been sorrowful at Christ's departure but excited to move into the battle field. In fact, Christ was not sending them alone into battle but sending them with the Paraclete. The one who would come along side them and provide direct guidance.

Our Manual (V. 8-11)

• In verses 8-11 Christ explains to His disciples that the Holy Spirit is coming and will play several roles.

V 8

• The word convict carries two different meaning. In one meaning the word refers to judicial actions. In the other meaning the word refers to convincing. In verse 8 the word convict has to do with convincing. "It means to show someone his sin and to summon him him to repentance (TDNT, 1973, II.474)."

• It is interesting that In John 5:22,27 and 30 Christ identified Himself as the judge. The Holy Spirit is not convicting in the legal sense but rather convicting the hearts of men.

V 9

• Notice the singular of the word sin in verse 9. That is the spirit convicts the world of a specific sin, not believing in Jesus as savior.

V 10

• In and of ourselves all our works are as filthy rags. It is only through the redeeming work of Christ that we can accomplish anything. Notice the change in pronouns based on surrounding text I would have expected to read "I go to my Father and they will see me no more." However, I read, "I go to My Father and you will see Me no more." Christ came to show the world righteousness, the Paraclete works through us to show the world righteousness.

V 11

As we operate in the battlefield we must also recognize that victory is assured.

Point 3 The Chain of Command (V. 12-15 )

We must choose to depend on the Holy Spirit's guidance as we operate on the battlefield.

Our Ignorance (V. 12)

• Just like a soldier, there are details that we don't know. We may wish we knew more but God has chosen not to reveal everything to us.
  • Even in the US government nobody knows everything. We have what is known as Top Secret-Secret Compartmentalized Information. The idea is that no one individual can give away all the secrets. In spiritual warfare there is information that we do not get.

Our Tutor (V. 13-15)

• However, we have access to the information we need through the superintending of Holy Spirit in the inspiration of scripture.
  • In basic training the soldier learns the basics of combat duty. As Christians, we may know the basics, but that does not mean we don't have more to learn. There is still a lot of scripture after the gospels.
• (Displaying one of the manuals - flight manual will be the example in the notes) A flight manual gives a pilot the details necessary to operate an aircraft safely. In fact, the FAA requires that a Pilot Operating Handbook be present in all aircraft when in operations. That means that even with a certified pilot in the aircraft and flight manual is still required.
• 2 Peter 1:21 teaches that
  • for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
• The Spirit has provided us with that which is true.

Conclusion

• Are there areas of your life in which you are apt to stumble?
• Are you engaging the battlefield as liberating force or are you pursuing your own conquest?
• Are you in regular contact with the chain of command or are you running around the battlefield out of control?

As Christians we are on the frontline of a battle and the fields are filled with landmines but also those who long for redemption. We must recognize the danger, remember our training, and call upon the Holy Spirit to help us navigate this battlefield.