I invite you to take your Bibles to turn with me to Romans chapter 8. We'll read verses 9 through 11. We'll study verse 9. Romans chapter 8, reading verses 9 through 11, studying chapter 9. We'll not have much of an introduction this week for the sake of giving our attention for the fullest amount of time, specifically to the text. And so, let us hear the reading of God's holy, inerrant, and inspired word. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If, in fact, the spirit of God dwells in you, Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. The word of the Lord, our God. Let us pray. Heavenly father, you are the king of all creation and you are seated on your throne and you have a scepter in your hands. and you rule over all things and all persons. And we ask that this morning you would rule over us and in us. Lord, we have heard your word. Give us understanding and subdue us by the power of its grace. We pray this all in Jesus name. Amen. So we come again to Paul's letter to the church in Rome. We're studying just one verse this morning. This is the first portion of a section that ought to be understood as really one long sermon that will come in two successive weeks. This morning specifically we're studying one verse because of all of the charismatic craziness and false teaching that is then spread about the Holy Spirit. And so we're going to spend our time specifically considering who the Holy Spirit is, how he relates to Christians, how we experience his ministry this morning. And so the three points of this sermon is this. They're all from verse nine. Firstly, you are in the spirit. Secondly, the spirit is dwelling in you. And then in the third portion, the ministry of the indwelling spirit to you. The ministry of the indwelling spirit to you. Last week as we studied in this chapter, Paul's letter to the church in Rome, with the great theme of the book of Romans, Doctrine for Life, We learned about, as Paul taught, two sorts of people. The only two sorts of people that there are in creation. There are those who are of the flesh, and then there are those who are of the spirit. And Paul told us that to set the mind on the flesh is death. He also told us that to set the mind on the flesh, that it is hostile to God. that the mindset on the flesh is insubmissive to God. It doesn't obey him. We also were told that the person who is in the flesh, that they cannot please God. And that was a hard sermon and it was a heavy sermon and it was one where as we studied it last week, I called you to self-examination. I hope you do that every Lord's Day. And as we studied it, if you're anything like me, even as I was preaching, there was some hard news carried to my ears and then communicated to my heart. And they're struggling with that kind of news. And it hits and it chips away at the things in which we ourselves want to take security in. Things that aren't Christ, things that aren't the Spirit, things that are performative religion that ought to be evidence of a redeemed heart, but not the works of redemption. And as you left last week, you may have been in one of two categories. You may have been very encouraged. Some people enjoy hard and heavy sermons. And then some of you may have been a little bit unsettled and maybe some of you come back this morning and you feel a little bit unsettled and you're asking yourself the question, I believe in Jesus but I still sin and I do fight with the flesh. Am I hostile to God? Am I insubmissive? Is it possible for me to please God? Well, I want to encourage you that the Apostle Paul, in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, gave us verse 9 right after verse 8. And he addresses you, Christians, specifically. And he's speaking to you who have proclaimed the name of Jesus, who have experienced the grace of salvation, And it's very specifically speaking to you who may now even be struggling with the question that was produced by the truth of last week's sermon. And so friends, I want to tell you that for me, this was the best news I've read all week. And I believe that likewise, it will be the best news you hear all week. So look there, verse nine, you however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit." That's a bold statement. And if ever anyone needed to get your attention, it is better to say you than to speak of all people universally, but rather to literarily point the finger right at your heart. And after you, we have this conjunction there in the Greek. It may be translated in your Bible as however or but. And he's saying there's a different circumstance for you, Christian. I've said that the mindset on the flesh is hostile to God. It doesn't submit to God's will. Indeed, it cannot. And not only that, but they can't please God. But Christian, that's not who you are. You have a different circumstance. You have a different standing before the Lord. You are not in the flesh. That's what he's saying to you, Christian. You are not in the flesh. And that's an important piece of news for you to hear and for me to hear because as I review my heart, I'm unsettled not by what the word says, but about who I am. I'm unsettled about what happens Sunday evening and Monday morning and Monday evening and all through the week. When I'm sitting in traffic, when I'm dealing with fussy kids, when I'm receiving emails, some happy, some not, some difficult, some not, when I'm dealing with the stresses and strains of life and the wickedness of the sinfulness of my nature. And I deal with it. And I'm worried about it. And I ask myself the question as a Christian who absolutely believes that the Holy Spirit is communicating the grace of Jesus to me, the terrible painful question that distracts worshipers every single Lord's Day, and that is this, has my sin undone my hope in Jesus? Am I really a believer if I've done these sort of things? Can he still love me? And Paul is saying to you and he's saying to me with loud proclamation, you are not in the flesh. He's been speaking about identity. Those who are of the flesh and those who are of the spirit, the two are not the same. You don't have a mixed confusion of personhood. You live in a day and an age which encourages you to anticipate and engage in all sorts identity acrobatics and to take yourself into every other category other than that which God has told you you are and here in revealed scripture Christian you are clearly wonderfully told that you are not in the flesh. That's not who you are if you're a Christian. And last week we talked about being in the flesh, what does that mean? Well you've heard three attributes of the mind that is set on the flesh but I shared with you a very brief description of what being in the flesh actually is and that is a life under the dominion of sin. A life under the dominion of sin where the mind The body, the will, the affections, even the way you like to taste things. Even the things that you like the feel of. All of those things, apart from the spirit of God, are directed and look to sin as their authority. That's what it is to be in the flesh. And Paul says to you, Christian, that's not who you are. Furthermore, he tells you the good news of who you actually are. No, you're not in the flesh. Rather, you are in the spirit. That's what he says. You are in the spirit. One commentator puts it in this way. He says, you are spiritual people. You are spiritual people. And I want to confront one thing this morning because I told you we're going to dig into confusion regarding the spirit. And it's this, that the Bible does not mean saying that you are in the spirit, that you are spiritual people like the world would call spirituality. What do I mean? Well, it's this. Observationally, I found that rarely whenever I have a religious or spiritual conversation with somebody, rarely do I meet an outright atheist. Sometimes I do. I have met them. Absolutely. But more often than not, I meet people that will say something along these lines. I'm not a Christian. I don't go to church. However, I'm spiritual. Right? Have you ever met anybody like that? Maybe you're like that this morning. I'm not a religious person. I don't go to church. I don't do the works of religion or have practical religion. I'm not doing those things, experiencing those things, part of an organized expression of some sort of faith. Usually it's said very broadly, not just to regard Christianity, but everything, but I'm spiritual. Usually people, I think, I assume, if I may do that, they mean something like fuzzy feelings. Sort of the inner feelings of the heart, that they like the idea of invisible ministries of something. That could mean communion with a tree. That could mean yoga. That can mean lighting incense in your house and placing a crystal next to it with an oil diffuser right by its side. And if that fits any of you this morning, I'm sorry, no offense. I'm just speaking in general broad spirituality. For others, it may mean a whole variety of things that they're sort of on this buffet line of spirituality and they go to this church, that church, this other thing, that other thing. They've been to cults, they've been to churches, they've been to mosques. They've been on Hindu retreats and Buddhist retreats. They're all sorts of things and they're not any one thing. They believe in a disembodied silent spirit that says nothing and only lets you know they're there because you feel something rumbling in the pit of your being. Some kind of holy flirtatiousness. That's not what the Bible is talking about. That is not what the commentator means whenever he says that you are spiritual people if you are in the spirit. The Bible tells you what it means very specifically and it's clear, profoundly clear, at least so far as you can understand it. It says that if you are in the spirit, That it means that the Spirit is dwelling in you. And you have this thing in this verse, in verse 9, if you take notice of it, it's going to be informative to you. You're told in the first portion that you are in the Spirit and then in the second portion that the Spirit dwells in you. You are in the Spirit, the Spirit dwells in you, and the experience of the Christian with the Spirit is two-direction. It's all tied up, tangled up, like roots entwined. And whenever it talks about the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, we're going to get to that at great length in a moment, it literally means presence, living. and abiding of the Holy Spirit. Not simply that the Holy Spirit is 10 miles, 30 kilometers, 800 leagues under the sea but rather present, abiding, living, dwelling, residing in you and then you in the Holy Spirit. That's what it's talking about. And this is wonderful because it's not at a distance. It's not behind curtains. It's not in a tent or in a temple. It's not at the risk of the flight of the spirit away from an unfaithful people but rather it's persistent and it's constant. And furthermore it's something that the spirit is doing. And something I want to point to you as well is we're under this point that you are in the spirit if you are a Christian. is that there is a specific reality that is very similar to what we saw last week. And it is this. You are either in the spirit as a Christian or you are not. Again, two sorts of people. People of the flesh and people of the spirit. And you can see this in verse nine. He says, But you are in the Spirit if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you." And then he goes on at the end of verse 9 to say, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. There's no fence in between. There's no halfway Christian. There's no place for you as a person here this morning to come and play spiritual, yet not be daily confronted with the person of God dwelling in you. And let me say this to you, attender, brother and sister in Christ, that ought to make you a little bit afraid. Because every ounce of your life, if you are a Christian, It's not just beheld through a transcendent God whose eye sees through time and space and clouds and earth and matter that sees you from way out there, somewhere else, a disembodied, distant deity. But it means right now, right now, there is God in you who reviews everything you are presently doing and will ever do. You're accountable. But you receive so much more than accountability. And so let's press on in the text. Secondly, the spirit is dwelling in you. The spirit is dwelling in you, and that sounds strange. And you know, I mentioned a moment ago that we would get down to what it really means, or at least as best we can, about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What are we talking about? How does this happen? And one of the things I want to point you to is in the text, once again, look at that middle section of verse nine, this conditional clause Paul brings towards you, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, or maybe your translation says is dwelling in you. And what I want to point you to, and this may be very clear to my German brothers and sisters, but to you English speakers, The word there dwell or dwelling is a verb, it's not a noun. He's not just a dweller. He doesn't just have a house or a tent pitched up within you. It's something he's doing, he's living, he's residing. That's really what we're talking about. I mentioned this a moment ago, but I didn't look at it face forward, that the Holy Spirit is actively residing within believers. It's his doing. That's one of the things I want you to see because it's a verb. It's an act. It's something he's carrying out and for believers has carried out. And that is his dwelling. And that means a number of things. And if I ask you the question of what does it mean to be dwelling in a place or to go dwell somewhere in the verbal sense and not just a noun sort of sense of the word, you might say, that means you go, you buy a piece of property, you develop the property, you put down a good foundation, you begin to build on the foundation. Once the walls are up, you put a roof on it. Before you move in, you go in, you paint the walls and you put up the decoration, maybe you put a few pictures, cute kids or maybe if you're the type of person that likes inspirational posters, you put those on the wall, you get on with it and you make it comfortable in a place where you belong, in a place where there's security, in a place where there is natural dwelling. So what am I pointing at? Well, it's the progressive reality of the Holy Spirit's work as he is dwelling. He has objectively indwelt, moved into, and is residing in the Christian, but he is at work painting the walls with the colors of Jesus Christ. He is at work changing and renovating the house that was once dark and made of cold dead stone, but now is warm with the life and fervor of the cross. There are changes going on. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit, if indeed we are in the Spirit, is His work and He is constantly about doing this in you and in me and he is the one that accomplishes this and why am I insisting upon this and making a big point out of it and it's this. It's because false teachers want to commit to you that you can do something to make the spirit move in. that somebody may be able to do something to then give you the Holy Spirit. We see in the Bible laying on of hands, the giving of gifts and stuff like that. However, this is testifying to the Spirit's work. One of the things that bothers me is that whether I'm at home in the United States or at home here, or whether I'm on mission in Nepal or India, or in Haiti, almost every time I've been active around the world and travel wherever it is, I've noticed false teachers promising if you send $8.80, $550, 5,000 or 5 million, that they will give to you and impart to you some blessedness or blessing of the Holy Spirit. And there are two massive issues with that. And the first one of them is this, is they are saying that you can be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit. You get it? That's one of the things they're saying. You still need something as a Christian that you don't already have from the work of the Holy Spirit. But listen to Paul, verse nine, inspired scripture, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. There is no such thing as a spiritless Christian. There has never and will never be any real Christian, any person who is in Christ that does not have what he calls the spirit of Christ. And you see the intertwined and agreeable nature of the persons of the Godhead. There will never be a Christian without the Holy Spirit living in them. Ever. That's the first wrong thing that he's saying. that there's a Christian that doesn't have the Holy Spirit and the second wrong thing is going to be along the lines of this, that it's something that happens later and that they can give you. Some second blessing, some further action and I just want to call this exactly what it is and in ancient terminology tell you this is Gnosticism. This is a false religion that tells you there are wonderful secrets that only a few people know and only a few people have received and they've got it in their back pocket and they're storing it up in their own giftedness and you need something from them rather than the thing you are freely given from God by faith in Jesus Christ and that's the Holy Spirit. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Not biblical, not according to what God has said, not the words produced by the Holy Spirit who inspired holy men to write the scriptures. I want to tell you that this morning. And then I want to ask you a question. How is it that we get the indwelling of the Spirit? We've already established that every Christian has this and that you don't get it from some marketer or some charlatan. Well, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14. And Paul explains himself very well. Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. How? In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. He just told us how. Paul's showing you his theology. Firstly, how do you get the Holy Spirit? Well, you first hear the Bible preached. You heard the word of truth. It's not enough to just hear. That is the first thing. How can a person believe if they have not heard? And how can they hear if there's no one preaching to them? Romans 10, Paul doubling down again in Ephesians. You hear the word of truth. And so what you're doing here this morning For those of you who are in the spirit is only going to further firm that up and further establish that in your mind and in your heart. It's not only hearing while you did hear the word of truth and the gospel that Jesus Christ died to save sinners and believed in him. Faith hearing and believing Hearing and believing are the things the Lord uses for the sake of our salvation and for the sake of filling us with the Holy Spirit. Believing in Jesus, the Savior of sinners. Believing in the Jesus who took on the cross. The one who's told of in the gospel of salvation. There's substance to faith, not just a disembodied potential spirituality, but a direct faith in a real Christ who hung on an absolutely horrific cross and was raised from a stone tomb in a physical body. Belief in Him, hearing and believing. And Paul says, hearing and believing, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. That's how you get the Holy Spirit. Hearing and believing, there is no other way and it is also a work that the Holy Spirit does. It's not just magic, it's not just I come, I preach, it's 50% preacher and then you hear and you believe, 50% you. No, this is how the Lord works. He works through these things and in spite of us. I'm gonna put this in a sense and Also to explain this in a little bit more clarity, let me use the Bible's own illustration. It calls Jesus Christ the bridegroom, the husband. It calls the church his bride. And here, after hearing and believing, it describes the Holy Spirit as one who seals the work of Christ to us. Christ is the bridegroom, the church is the bride, and the Holy Spirit is kind of like a wedding band. This magnificent symbol that's not just something you put on, but something that indwells, that you have as a constant evidence, just as if you look down on your hand, of to whom you belong, This wonderful thing that tells you the significance that by the Holy Spirit you are united to the one who is your Lord, married to Him to receive every blessing from Him. And so the Holy Spirit, that we are sealed in, is constant evidence of our being united to Christ. He speaks loudly. and clearly to our hearts. And he tells us what Christ has done for us, for you. And he tells you how much Jesus loves you daily. And it is magnificent. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you if you are in Christ Christian. The third point I want to consider, yes from the passage but also from a few more, is the question of the ministry of the indwelling spirit. He told me kind of what this means, how we get it, who I'm not, who I am, but what does it all mean? Is this just an abstract fact? Because you know, pastor, It's even in the catechism. God is a spirit and he has not a body like men. Can't see this. Pastor, you said it's like a wedding ring, but also you said he lives in you and I don't see the things that are on my insides and I certainly don't see the spirit who is without a body. He blows wherever he wills. He's like the wind. I don't see the wind. I see the effects of the wind. I don't see the wind. What's this mean? What's this ministry? Well, I first want to point you back to the example of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the people of God in the Old Testament. And this idea of the tabernacle or the tent or the tabernacling as the Holy Spirit camped out in the midst of the people of Israel. And why is that? What's the whole theme, the whole purpose of the Spirit tabernacling with Israel? Well, it's that they have access to God. That's a first principle. Access to God. We read that the Holy Spirit hovered in the Holy of Holies with Shekinah glory over the ark. And this place that is so significant to the people of God, there's their veils and curtains keeping other people out. In fact, only one person, the high priest, gets to go in once a year and the purpose of the Dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the people of God was threefold, at least. I'm going to propose three to you. First off, it's to deal with sin. You have access to God to deal with sin. A high priest, he goes into the Holy of Holies, and what does he take with him? A basin of blood. And it is an offering for the atonement of sin that something has suffered on behalf of sinners. The wrath of God poured out on a thing. So for the people of Israel, it was for them to go and to deal with the problem of their hearts the problem of their sin to go to the Lord and to take their sin before him and to seek some sort of justice and reconciliation. First thing deal with sin. Second thing it was to seek help in time of need. The Holy Spirit is with the people of God. We have loads of evidences of the person of the Holy Spirit with the people of God leading them by a column a fire and a pillar of smoke and all of this sort of thing. We also have this evidence of the presence of the spirit to help the people in the time of need where they take the ark and the spirit goes out over a field of battle saving the people. But also the ready and regular giving of miraculous food for the people whether it's birds or manna from heaven or rain that falls upon the fields all sorts of things that the spirit in his presence tabernacling with Israel is that he has ears to hear because he's near them. they have access to him in time of need. And then thirdly, at least a third use of the Holy Spirit's tabernacling or his presence was the spiritual nurture of the people of God. It's like wonderful, this idea that God would be with you and near you spend time with you and bless you and open the word to you and send prophets to the people of Israel to speak and to lead and to guide those rulers who were placed over the people of Israel. He's not powerless but he is caring and he has the hands of one who's like a father in the midst of Israel and he is nurturing them and hearing their psalms of praise and blessing them. because they have access to him. He's not foreign. He's a God that dwells in heavenly bliss beyond the clouds and in his spirit dwells in the midst of Israel. See the point. But in the Old Testament, we read about something that's really disturbing, really terrifying, that whenever the people of Israel had so far walked from the Lord that even as they had been in the kingdom and had many kings and set up a temple and lots of praise, but their hearts had gone far from him, they worshiped false gods, they had wicked rulers and wicked priests, what happened? The Holy Spirit departed from the temple and went ahead of them into exile. That's a significant thing. And don't forget about it because as Paul describes the Holy Spirit here, he's not just telling us that the Holy Spirit is dwelling with us, but rather in us. Not in a tent, not in a temple, but in every Christian. The access is direct. It's not even through a regular human. through the order of priests or through altars with perpetual blood, but rather through Jesus Christ, the high priest who has made a sacrifice for sinners and he was sat down and who has sent the Holy Spirit to you, Christian, to be with you forever. There's no division, there's no curtain. The curtain has been torn top to bottom in the temple and now God dwells not with, but rather in the people of God to deal with our sin. help us in time of need and to nourish our souls as we're his people. That's what the Spirit does. It's not just all of these spiritual affections, though those can and very well are real for the Christian. It's not fuzzy feelings in the pit of the stomach. It's not ecstatic tongues or visions or revelations, but rather the constant ministry of God the Holy Spirit to Christians. Some years ago, whenever I was an even younger pastor, if I may say that, there was a lady in our church. After a lady's study, I'd been teaching, she came and we were talking. I have no idea the context of why this came up, but somehow it was said, if I could time travel, and you say, hang on a second. But she said, if I could time travel, I'll tell you where I'd love to go. She said, I'd love to go see inside the Holy of Holies. see what it looked like, see what it, could you see the hovering of the Spirit? Could you see the ark and the mercy seat? I'd love to see that, and I thought to myself, yeah, that would be awesome. It'd be magnificent. And then, as soon as I thought that, the brakes got put on, and I thought, actually, no. If I could time travel, I would go nowhere near the temple, and especially nowhere near the Holy of Holies, because of what? Well, it's because of Exodus 28 and some description of what happens to random people who go into the Holy of Holies without the sacrifice of Jesus. You can tell a little bit about this. Exodus 28, don't turn there unless you want. 31 through 35, you can tell a little bit about it, the seriousness of it, about the place where God dwelled with Israel through how the priest dress. You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it with a woven binding around the opening like the opening in a garment so that it may not tear. On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns around its hem with bells of gold between them. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, when he comes out, so that he does not die. Okay, hang on a second. We were going good. It sounded like lots of fashion. I can see it in my head. It sounded really grand. I'm never gonna put pomegranates around the hem of my garment and probably won't put on bells, but there's a purpose here and maybe you've caught it. It's so he doesn't die. We have another piece of history that the Bible reflects in other places but it's generally known and certainly believed amongst Jewish scholars and that is that there was an ankle rope put on the high priest that whenever he went into the holy place, the holy of holies, wearing those bells and somebody standing on the other side and he's carrying this basin of blood and he's coming before the Lord, the God of heaven, that he might not stay too long or not touch something do something be impure in his heart. And so the Lord strike him down and why are the bells there so you can hear that he's still moving and alive. Why is the rope on his ankle. So the other guy doesn't have to go in and take his body out. The dwelling of God in the midst of God's people is significant. And it's profoundly dangerous, if not for Christ. We studied only a few weeks ago about Christ's death on the cross. We read the account in this congregation of the torn curtain top to bottom. No more will the holy place not be in the midst of the whole of the temple. There is no dividing line. There has been a sacrifice for sin. And there is absolute access and blessing to God through Jesus Christ who has given us the Holy Spirit and Jesus goes on to describe his indwelling ministry in John 16 verses 4 through 15. Turn there with me. John 16 4 through 15. Jesus said, I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you, but now I'm going to him who sent me and none of you asked me, where are you going? You see that gentle rebuke about the disciples not knowing what to ask. Verse six, he goes on, but because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Verse seven, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away Or if I do not go away the helper will not come to you. But if I go I will send him to you. Let's stop for a second. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit to us the one who it is better for us to have than even being in his presence personally and physically. That's what he says. It is better for us. It is to our advantage that he goes away. because of the one whom he calls, in this translation, the helper. In the Greek, the paraclete, the advocate, the comforter, the friend, the one who will be for us from Christ, a heavenly companion. Jesus says, it's to your advantage because if I go, that's who I'm sending to you. I'm sending you the Holy Spirit, your advocate, your helper, your comforter, your friend. He's sent by Christ. And then we have these two kind of bracketed expressions of the ministry of the Spirit. Verses 8 through 11, we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the world. Jesus describes, and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Holy Spirit's ministry to the world, that would be to you before you were saved, and to the whole world indifferent of if they are saved, is threefold, and it is a ministry of conviction where people are being confronted, affronted, and offended. Yes, and I do mean it in those terms. So, conviction of sin, righteousness, judgment and then Jesus tells you exactly what he means. Sin, why? Because they don't believe. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost of sin so that they could see their need for Jesus, the one in whom to believe, the one who did die for those who have offended God. Secondly, he convicts of righteousness. Why? Because Christ goes to the Father. Do you get what he's saying here? He convicts of righteousness. He's teaching the world how to be holy. Why? Because Jesus is going to be absent from the earth and you need a new teacher. The Holy Spirit becomes a teacher of what righteousness is, what goodness is, the things that reflect the character of God. And then thirdly, the third portion of his convictive work is of judgment. Because of judgment you look Concerning judgment, why? Because the ruler of this world is judged. What is he saying? Well, he's saying the Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment because judgment's coming. There's a day where, yes, Satan will be shown to have already been judged and where judgment is coming. This is the judgment day and the Holy Spirit testifies to the reality that all of us are going to face this. And it's absolutely sure because it's already begun in the judgment of Satan. Holy Spirit has another ministry to the believer versus 12 through 14. I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. When the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me. or he will take what is mine and declare it to you. The ministry to you, the believer, he's speaking directly to the disciples, those who are his closest friends, those who have ministered in the spirit and those who will receive the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Firstly, verse 13, he will guide them into all truth. He will guide you into all truth. The Holy Spirit testifies to the truth of God where? In the scriptures. And that's directly related to the second part of verse 13, that he will speak not the things of his own account, but he will speak what he hears. It's not like the Holy Spirit has a different ministry from the Son or from the Holy Spirit, but rather he's going to speak as the mouthpiece of God. He's done that in 66 books, Christians. 66 books he's done that in. He teaches you and he teaches me truth through which the conviction comes, but also through which all the comfort of heaven is brought to your hearts and minds. All the truth of Christ is brought to your heart. It goes on in verse 14. We read another thing that the Holy Spirit does. He glorifies Christ. Verse 14 he glorifies Christ. He will glorify me. I was thinking of this. I read a professor and a friend who gave an illustration. I like the theme of it. It makes a whole lot of sense to me. And so here's an adaptation of it for you. Years ago, I was a missionary in Nepal, way high up in the Himalayas. We hiked and we arrived in a tiny village called Changba and it was after dark. And you're in the Himalayas, largest mountain range, at least tallest on the earth. And it's significant and it is magnificent. And in the dark, you don't see any of it. It could be Vaihingen, with lots of dogs barking. Simple. And I get there, I go to bed on the hard cot that I had, and the whole time I'm laying in bed, I'm just excited for the next day. Because who knows what's around me? And I got up in the next morning, and what did I do? I went out, and I looked directly out over the Solukumbu Valley, and what do you see? Well, poking up high above it, you see the Himalayas. On a clear day, you see Everest. And it's magnificent. And it's breathtaking. And the whole time you're looking at the mountains and you're saying, those are glorious. They are wonderful. But not for a second do you stop and you praise what? The magnificent light that has allowed you to see it. Oh, what light. Oh, what light. No, you just say, look at that wonderful, wonderful sight. And that's something like the Holy Spirit. He holds Jesus before your eyes as if a lights been cast on him and never does he intend for you to simply think on the source of light, but rather the focal in the subject of what he is glorifying the crucified and risen Christ. That is his ministry and that is his ministry specifically to you. So that you see Jesus. And love Jesus. and worship Jesus. And in that, the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. And then in verse 14, the second portion, he will take what is mine and declare it to you. What does that mean? Well, it means that the Holy Spirit takes all the benefits and all the blessings and all the glory and everything that belongs to Jesus, all the love of the Father. all the robes of a prince of the Most High God and he places them on you and he accounts all the forgiveness of sin to you and all the righteousness of Christ to you. It is better for you that Christ ascend and that he send the Holy Spirit, the giver of every good gift in Christ Jesus in whom we are seated. and in whom the Lord is blessing us through the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It's not abstract. It's not charismatic confusion. It is God dwelling in you with all the blessings of the love of Christ. Let us pray together. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the mercy that we have in Jesus Christ. the multitude of all the blessings of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The deposit, the guarantee of our salvation. Oh, Father, we pray that you would be at work in us. Through that spirit, through that magnificent third person of the Godhead. And that you would help us to be stronger every day to hate sin, to be a people who know we're not of the flesh and a people who are in the spirit and in Christ. A people blessed and a people attended by God. Heavenly Father, we plead and pray for this in Jesus name. Amen.