You have your Bibles with you. We're turning to John's Gospel. John's Gospel and the chapter 16. John chapter 16. And while you turn to that portion of God's Word, I publicly thank you all for your financial prayerful support. And I do ask you to continue, as our brothers indicated, to pray on, pray the more, and pray some more, that the Lord will help at this time as we further enter into more examinations. And we thank both our sister, our brother, for accompanying those pieces in song to the glory and praise of God our Savior. John's Gospel, and the chapter 16, and we're breaking in our reading at verse 5 of John's Gospel, chapter 16, commencing our reading at verse 5. Let us hear God's Word. But now I go my way to him that sent me, And none of you asketh me whether goest thou. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judge. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you, all things that the Father hath for mine. Therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you a little while, and ye shall not see me. again and again a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." Amen. We'll end the reading there at verse 16, knowing that the Lord will bless this, the public reading of His Word, as He's promised and revealed to do so. Let us bow with God's Word open before us at this portion of God's Word. And so, with God's Word open before us, let us bow reverently, quietly before the Lord, instilling ourselves before him, asking him for that needed grace, grace for grace, and for that fresh infilling of God the Holy Ghost, that he would illuminate the pages before us and speak to each and every individual. Lord, our most gracious and heavenly Father, we continue on in thy presence. We thank thee from the bottom of our hearts for all that is went before. We thank thee for the praise of thy name. We thank thee for the blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We thank thee for the one who we have sang of. And we ask of thee for that continual help From whence cometh our help? Our help cometh from the Lord. We pray that you'll empty us now of self and of sin, and that you'll fill us full of the Holy Ghost and with power. We cry unto thee that thou wilt hide us behind the cross, and that none will be seen save Jesus only. We pray that thou wilt bless the words of thy mouth, As our faces differ, so do our needs. And yet we thank thee that we come to the one who is able to meet that need. And therefore we ask of thee that thou wilt shut us in with thyself, that thou wilt bless thy truth to our hearts and souls, that thou wilt bread over this gathering, even now, in this our time of need. For it's in Christ's precious name we pray, and for his eternal glory, and for his eternal praise. For I must decrease, and he must increase. For it's in Christ's precious name we ask it. Amen. Amen. John chapter 16 and the verse 14. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. We have one God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. One in three and three in one. And that blessed Trinity in unity gives himself to sinners that they may be saved. He shall glorify me. in the ministration of the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit of God, and declares Christ to be God over all, and to have all that the Father hath, and to be possessed of all divine perfections, to have the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him, ascribes the same works and worship to him as to the Father, and as in a glass, holds him forth to be beheld as the brightness of his glory, and his glory to be seen in it as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. You see, the Holy Ghost, the third person of God's trinity, does not work independently, but he reveals the mind of the Godhead. He declares Christ and Christ alone to be the only Savior and Redeemer. of lost sinners. Justification is solely by his righteousness, that is, Christ's righteousness, pardoned by his precious blood, and atonement by his sacrifice. And so this ministration, the Spirit, that is the person of God the Holy Ghost, makes effectual to the bringing of many souls to Christ, to believe in him, to profess his name and expect life and salvation from him, by all which Christ is glorified. Furthermore, the Spirit of the living God glorifies Christ in the experiences of the people of God. That is, in the experiences of the saints of God by leading them to him for righteousness, for peace and pardon, for grace and fresh supplies of it, for wisdom and strength, for food and rest, for life and happiness, and by enabling them to live by faith in Him, on whom He has encouraged them to submit, and to whom they have committed their all. And so, by instructing them to glory in Him, that is the Lord Jesus Christ as their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, and by ascribing the glory of our salvation to Him and to Him alone, and by making continual application to Him under His direction. by leaning on him and expecting every good thing from him, both for time and for eternity. And so it is most certainly appropriate to ask the question whether the Holy Ghost, whether the Holy Ghost has begun a good work in his or her heart. For without a clear discovery of our guilt and danger, we shall never understand the value of Christ's salvation. He being salvation. And so, when brought to see ourselves aright, we begin to see the value of the blessed Redeemer. And therefore, we as the people of God, we should have greater views of the Redeemer and more lively affections to him if we pray the more and are dependent on the third person of God's trinity, that is, the Holy Ghost. As such, it is He who reveals and glorifies Christ. And so, the Holy Spirit and His mission, the Holy Spirit and his mission. You see, it is he, the Holy Ghost, who convinces men of sin. It is he who regenerates, which is the sole and special work of God the Holy Ghost. He embraces those whom he regenerates into the body of Christ. He indwells all believers. That is, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. He owns every believer for glory. He is the author of sanctification. He is the author of prayer and the child of God. He is the comforter, the blessed paraclete that draws alongside of the Lord's people. He reveals to believers what they are and what they have in Jesus Christ. And so the Holy Spirit's mission is to reveal and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. You see, before we deal with his mission, we must consider his person. And so, firstly, the Spirit's personality, He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. You see, everything He does, everything He does, is to magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is a person. He, that is the Holy Spirit, is a divine person. He is not a mere influence. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. He shall glorify me, said the Saviour. He shall glorify me. He shall glorify Christ. You see, if you turn back to a previous, well, two previous chapters, to chapter 14, turn with me, please, to chapter 14, John's Gospel, chapter 14, and we find in the first 16 of this chapter, We find here clearly the Spirit's personality. We read the following, and I will pray the Father. Verse 16 of chapter 14, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. And so we find the word another, another comforter, simply means in the original language, that is in the Greek text, another of the same kind. And so he is a distinct person, another of the same kind. and distinguishable from the Father and from the Son, and therefore the Holy Spirit is another of the same kind as Christ. For Jesus Christ is a divine person, and so likewise the Holy Ghost, and hence this is His aim. His aim. to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall glorify me. And so, in this, at first, verse 16 of chapter 14, the Lord Jesus Christ He promises this great and unspeakable blessing to his disciples. As we read earlier in the context, they shall have another comforter, another advocate, another of the same kind, who that one is a person, and a divine person to be Christ's advocate with them and with others. And so, to plead Christ's cause and take care of Christ's concerns on earth. And so, as it is His aim, as it is His aim, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, He shall glorify me. It must be right for us as God's dear blood-bought children to emulate Him, to emulate the Holy Ghost in glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ, something that the Holy Ghost, the third person of God's trinity, devotes Himself to. He shall glorify me. And so, therefore, child of God, let this be your constant cry, blessed Spirit of the living God, help me as an individual in society. Help me as an individual in my home. Help me as an individual in my church to ever glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether it be in the home, whether it be in the school, whether it be at university, whether it be in Bible college, whether it be at work. And so he is a blessed person. A blessed person. He is not a mere influence, but a divine person. Very God of very God. He is the spirit of holiness to be reverenced. He is the author of holiness in the people of God. He is to be spoken of with delight. and yet with trembling. For remember, there is a sin against the Holy Ghost, a sin against his person. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. We find here the Lord Jesus Christ. He's speaking here, the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew chapter 12 and the first 31, speaking to the religious of his day. And he says this in first 31, Matthew 12 and the first 31 to 32, wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." And so, this is a sin, a sin that exposes the sinner. both to temporal and eternal judgment. For it says, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. And so a word spoken against the Son of Man, a word spoken against the Son of Man may be forgiven. But blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is put down as a sin beyond the line of divine forgiveness. Therefore, reverence Him. Honor Him. Worship God the Holy Ghost in whom lies the only hope that any of us can ever have of seeing Jesus Christ and of seeing God the Father. Listen, He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. And therefore, dear sinner outside of Jesus Christ, Here's the gospel. Dear sinner, conscious of your sin, it is possible for Christ to be glorified by his being revealed to you, if you but look to him. if you see him to be a suitable Savior, an all-sufficient Savior, and that if you embrace his grace as it's freely offered to you, if you, well, if he is but effectually shown to you, shown to you by the person of God, the Holy Ghost. Therefore, He, that is the Saviour, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, is thereby glorified. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. and shall show it unto you. And therefore, as C. H. Spurgeon, that great prince of preachers, stated, you shall never see anything so glorious as the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If your eyes are but once favored to gaze upon him, and your heads but once permitted to lean upon his loving bosom. For the moon in the sky is but a blot, and the sun a burnt-out coal, compared to your Emmanuel. And therefore I ask the question, has the Holy Ghost shown you Christ, shown you his person, revealed to you his person and his work, the sin bearer. the one sacrifice for sin, exalted on high to give repentance and remission. If so, then the Holy Ghost has glorified Christ even in you. If so, then the Holy Ghost has glorified Christ even in you. And therefore, we see clearly the Spirit's personality, and not the personal pronoun, is used of Him. He, He shall glorify me. Secondly, there's the Spirit's possession. And the Spirit's possession, yes, we're still dealing with that word, he. That is the Holy Ghost. He shall glorify me. That is the Holy Ghost. As to his possession within the Godhead, he. He is commonly referred to as the third person of the Trinity, and so the Spirit's possession and title within the Godhead does not in any way signify a lower rank. That is a lower rank to the second person. That is a lower rank to the first person. No. As our shorter catechism teaches, And as the Word of God clearly reveals, there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And these three persons are one God. Listen, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. And thus, the need for this is real and pressing. For ignorance of the third person of the Godhead is most dishonoring to him and highly harmful to ourselves. As George Smiton, that great theologian, stated, whenever Christianity has been a living power, the doctrine that is the teaching of the Holy Spirit has uniformly been regarded equally with the atonement with the atonement and with justification by faith as the article of a standing or falling church. And therefore, until the Holy Spirit is given his rightful possession, his rightful place even in our hearts, There is no improvement. No matter how busy we are in God's work, there will be no improvement. No taking ground until it is recognized that we are absolutely and are entirely dependent upon His operations for all spiritual blessing, and that we recognize as is revealed in Zechariah chapter four and the first six. What does it say? Not by might, nor by power, But by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. And so what is needed in our day and generation is that we, the people of God, we truly fall down before God the Father. and cry unto him in the name of Christ to work again, and that which has grieved the Holy Ghost would be put away, and that God would be pleased in spite of us to open the windows of heaven with a fresh outpouring of God the Holy Ghost. O believer, you're indwelt by the Holy Ghost, indwelt by his person, but there is not one of us in this meeting, not one of us, that doesn't need the continual infelling. from the pulpit to the pew, constantly, continually filled with the Holy Ghost for service among the people in our nation, among the people with whom we are acquainted with in life's journey. Thirdly, well, there is the Spirit's purpose. The Spirit's purpose. We've looked briefly at His personality, at His possession, but there is the Spirit's purpose. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. You see, the Holy Spirit's purpose is that he shall glorify Christ. He shall continually teach and lead and guide his own blood-bought children to make much of Jesus Christ. And therefore, wherever it is, whoever they say they are, whatever they are in life, If they fail to mention the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Spirit of God is absent. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. Do you see the certainty? Do you see the confidence? He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. And so it is the Holy Ghost that testifies to the soul of the suitability and sufficiency of Christ to meet its desperate need. For here is but a branch of the Spirit's teaching to open the gospel to those whom he has quickened, enlightened, and confected, and to open their understanding and affections, to take in the precious contents of the gospel. He shall glorify me, said the Savior, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. And so this is his prime purpose, to testify, to bear witness, to magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in the esteem of his own. And so the Holy Ghost teaches the believer many things, but his supreme purpose and subject is the Lord Jesus Christ, to emphasize his claims, to exalt his person, to reveal his perfections, to show him supremely attractive. You see, there are many things in nature. Many things in nature that are beautiful, but when the sun, as we've saw throughout the weeks, it is when the sun casts its ray upon them, it is then that we do appreciate them the more. When the sun bursts forth its rays upon nature. And so I was out in the garden with a believer, And there was a buzzer just, well, he was just overhead, circling over, against the blue sky. It was then I did appreciate it the more, seeing its details, seeing the magnificent whale picture upon its wings. It was then I did appreciate it the more against the sky, as the rays of light did come forth against it. And so it is when we are enabled to view Christ in the light of the Spirit's witness. Wasn't it David who cried out, a regenerate man, a saved man? In Psalm 119, verse 18. Open now mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. And so the Spirit of God puts nothing new into the Bible. He simply enlightens and strengthens our faculties that then we can discern and admire what is already there. And so the buzzard wasn't any different. It wasn't any different on a dull day than on a bright day. And so do you see it? Therefore, child of God, let us open this book with this, our prayer. Open thou mine eyes. that we may see Christ more and more, because it's the Spirit's purpose to glorify Christ. He shall glorify me. For the Holy Spirit continues to reveal to the child of God throughout the remainder of our lives. He gives us a fuller and deeper realization of our own depravity, convincing us that in the flesh that is, in and of ourselves, dwelleth no good thing. And gradually winning us from all expectation of improving the same, He reveals to us the beauty of holiness and causes us to pimp and, well, pimp after and strive for the same. for an increasing measure. And so, the Holy Ghost is not here to glorify Himself, but rather the Lord Jesus Christ, whose figure and advocate He is, furthering His cause on earth. And so, in the fulfillment of the Spirit's mission, the Holy Ghost glorifies the Son. Turn back to chapter 15. Chapter 15 and the first 26. Chapter 15 and the first 26. And what does it say in the latter of that verse? He shall testify of me. He shall testify of me, a witness for Jesus Christ. Though the Spirit testifies, we, as God's dear children, also must bear witness, bear testimony to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, child of God, cry unto for the infallible daily, constantly, to bear witness, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. You see, he glorifies Christ. by showing the things of Christ to us. And therefore, we ought to stand in awe. We ought to marvel at the fact that there should be any glory given to Christ by showing him to such poor creatures as we are, to make us see Christ. And so we ask the question, does this glorify him? Does this glorify Him? Our weak eyes to behold Him. Our trembling hearts to know and love Him. Does this glorify the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes. Because the Spirit chooses this as His principal way, His principal purpose of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. For He takes the things of Christ, not to show them to angels. but to show them to us. And so, within a little temple of a sanctified heart, Christ is glorified by what we do, by where we go, by what we say, by what we think, and also by what we say. And therefore, this puts great emphasis, great value on meditation and the study of God's word. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it on to you. O, to have such deep-feathered impressions of his person, of his work, of his glory, that we might with heart and soul cry out to his praise. For where there's a heart, where there's a heart enriched by the Holy Ghost's teaching, there'll be a Savior glorified. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. We'll ask Mr. Greer to come and close our meeting in prayer. We all bow together, please, and let us unite our hearts as we come to an end of our time around the Word today. O gracious God and our Father in heaven, we bow before Thee this day and we thank Thee for Thy Word, and we bless Thee for the revelation that Christ has given in this great passage about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And we pray today that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon our hearts, upon our souls, that He will fulfill His great purpose of revealing Christ unto sinners, that there will be those among us whose hearts will be opened up to see the sufficiency of the Savior and the work that he did as the only ground of hope before a holy God. We pray that believers will have their understanding enlarged and their souls deepened in experiences of Christ, of the Spirit. O Lord, take us on with Thee and bless us, we pray. We pray, Lord, that Thou wilt help in days to come. Bless Thy servant as he continues to preach in the pulpits of our churches. And we pray, Lord, that Thou wilt guide him and Thou wilt anoint him and give him that grace that he needs to serve the Lord Christ. Lord, come upon us in these days by the Holy Ghost. May there be that awakening that is greatly needed. May sinners be brought to a sense of their sin and of their need of the Savior. May they be drawn to the Christ of God powerfully. We pray that thou wilt abide with us, therefore. Thou wilt keep us this day. Bless as we come to a close at this time. Remember the time around the table. Remember our evening gatherings. O Lord, move in power and pour out thy Spirit from on high. and may there be a work done for the praise and the glory of thy great name. Here is now, we pray, and part us with thy blessing at this time, we ask in Jesus' name and for his sake.