 John chapter 16, we're going to be looking at verses 12 through 15. We're looking at a section in John's gospel that relates to the working of the Holy Spirit, and that's what we'll be seeing today as we look at these verses. And so let's begin reading together here in John 16 at verse 12. I'll read to verse 15 and we'll get into our study. Jesus said, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the spirit of truth has come, 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 tell you things to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. Therefore, I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you. So Jesus has been speaking concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. I want to refresh your memory as we've gone through this recently. Remember how he had said that the Holy Spirit, he had said it in verse 8 of chapter 16, he said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. So he says the Holy Spirit convicts, that word convicts, as I mentioned to you last time, is a word that can be translated, exposes, or corrects. It can be used to describe how the Spirit reveals a fault. And so the Spirit is convicting the world of sin, exposing the sin of the world. And so as I was sharing with you, the work of the Holy Spirit is to expose sin. The Spirit, in other words, awakens us to our own moral imperfections. It takes the work of the Spirit to convince us that we're wrong, that we are wrong in our relationship with God and with others that we actually have sin. It takes the Holy Spirit to expose us of that. It takes the Holy Spirit to expose us to the need of Jesus Christ as our Savior, as is declared in Scripture. And so in the ministry of the Spirit, he convicts the world of sin. Whenever the Word of God is being presented and portions of Scripture are being opened up and our eyes are beginning to see those things, the Holy Spirit is working within us or working towards us. Before we saved, he's working too, cause us to see our sinfulness. After we're saved, the Holy Spirit still brings conviction, but not in the same way that prior to coming to Christ the way he worked. Because prior to coming to Christ, I didn't know him. I needed the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin. After I'm saved, he still works to remind me of the ways of the Lord through the Word of God and still brings conviction. He still corrects me. And so the work of the Spirit is to awaken us to our own moral imperfection. He also convicts the world of righteousness. I mentioned to you that he reveals God's standards of entrance into heaven, which is perfection. He reveals to us God's perfection at the same time while revealing to us our own imperfection, because there's no one righteous. According to Romans 3, 10, there's none righteous. No, not one. And in 1 John chapter 1, verse 10, John said, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his Word is not in us. So the Holy Spirit awakens us to God's standard of entrance into the kingdom of God, which is righteousness. He's already exposed to us that we're sinners, and then he's proven to us, he's demonstrated to us that we can't enter into the kingdom in our own righteousness. And then he reveals us of the coming judgment or the reality of judgment. The Spirit, in other words, is the one who reveals that God is the judge. The work of redemption became the completion, if you will, of Satan's judgment. It's interesting how he said it. Notice verse 11, when he says he convicts the world of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. So when Jesus died on the cross, he was judging him. He was bringing judgment, completing his judgment. And he is finally, and he is forever condemned. Now, he's already condemned as guilty. He's already as good as judged. But the sentence will be completed in the future. All the way in the book of Revelation in chapter 20 verse 10, the Scripture says, the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. So his judgment is sure. The Holy Spirit has convinced us of the reality of that. One of the commentators that I use in preparation for my studies is, goes by the name of Alacot. His last name is Alacot. And he said, the power of the prince of this world is overcome by the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The king of righteousness is in victory seated upon his throne and claims mankind, whose nature he has assumed and whom he has redeemed to be free from the bondage of sin and servants of righteousness. So the work of the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross when he completed the work of redemption. And the Spirit reveals to us who Jesus is and how to escape the approaching judgment we would experience. In the book of Acts in chapter 17, the apostle Paul was ministering. He was teaching the word of God, preaching the word of God to a group of Athenians. And he said this to them in Acts 17 31. He said, he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. And so Satan is as good as judged, but Jesus Christ also will bring judgment on those who reject the offer of salvation. It takes the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. So as we see, Jesus is now continuing teaching about the work of the Spirit and he's making his teaching very personal. Notice how he says in verse 12, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear now. You cannot bear with them now. You're not able to receive it. So he has things that he wants to teach them, but they're not ready to receive what he has to say. He's prepared to teach them, but they need to be ready to receive it. So what he's about to teach them is greater revelation than they already have experienced. And that's how it works. You have to be prepared to receive. There are some people, and some of you have seen this, who seem to be very satisfied knowing very little. They don't go deeper than things that Lord, they don't have a desire to go much deeper than they already are. They'll say, well, I'm saved. That's all that matters. I don't mind if I enter into heaven smoking as long as I enter in. They don't want to really draw closer. So they remain immature in their understanding of the ways of the Lord. Paul speaks about that later on in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Paul made it very clear that you can only feed people when they're spiritually able to receive it, and some are not. He said in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 2 and 3, he said, brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly, mere infants in Christ. He goes on to say, I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. There are a lot of people who seem to love to live in spiritual infancy. They don't desire to go any deeper. I can still remember an individual I was speaking to one time. He was actually on a board I served on when I was in another Calvary Chapel. He was an older gentleman, and I at that time was about 27 years old, and he was in his 50s. And to me, he was a very ancient man. And I can remember as we were in a particular meeting how he had said, my spiritual needs are very small, and I don't really need much. I just need a little taste of the Word of God on occasion, and I'm satisfied. And I remember sharing with him and saying to him, again, I didn't realize how this could have been experienced by him. I didn't realize that he could have been insulted, which he was. But I said, you know, Jesus said that in matters of malice that were to be children, but in understanding, were to be men. And that's what actually, that's what Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. And I said, we're to be in understanding men. In other words, we're to mature and to grow. And you're saying that that you can just eat a little of the milk of the Word and you're fine. You're spiritually not maturing. He got very insulted, called me some super theologian, and he was a board member. And I didn't I didn't understand why he got so upset. Isn't that what we're all supposed to do grow up? Isn't that what we're supposed to do growing the knowledge and the grace of Jesus Christ, grace and knowledge of Jesus? Isn't that what it's all about guys? Grow instead of staying like this, staying immature? I thought that's what Christianity is. I thought we wanted to progress from being children to adults. I thought that's what it's supposed to be. A lot of people don't seem to be interested in that. Paul saw that very clearly. You said you're still children. He said you're still acting carnal. You're acting worldly. Well, Jesus is saying something to them, not in the same in the same context, but it's simply saying to them, you're not ready. I've got things that I want to teach you that you are not ready to learn. I've got things to say to you that you are not in the place yet to accept. You can't receive these things because you haven't, well, one, they hadn't received the power of the Spirit yet who helps them to understand, but two, they were still in their formation of their spirituality and understanding. So Jesus wants to teach them, but the things that he wants to share with them are beyond their ability at that time to understand. And again, that is going to emphasize their need for the help of the Spirit. And it emphasizes our need for God's help also. Now we're going to be looking at some of the things the Holy Spirit does guys. And so I chose to do this at this time. What I want to do is I want to share briefly with you some basics about the person of the Holy Spirit. You see, there are those who are in the world today who speak of the Spirit, but don't speak correctly concerning him. And there are people who have actually redefined him. And I'll share some things with you in just a moment about that. But I want to look at some of the basics about the person of the Spirit. I want you to notice something even as we begin that Jesus has made it clear that the Holy Spirit is a person. And he has a personal work that he does. You see, the person of the Holy Spirit is an essential of the Christian faith. As mentioned a moment ago, some religions and some cults do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a person. An example would be Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witness organization teaches that the Holy Spirit is energy. They have a booklet it's called Let God Be True. And in that booklet it says the Holy Spirit is the invisible active force of Almighty God. So the Jehovah's Witnesses deny the person of the Holy Spirit. And there are many who do. But Scripture makes it very clear that the Spirit is a person and not an energy. Scripture speaks concerning his deity. Remember with me in the book of Acts in chapter 5 verses 3 and 4 how that there was a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira. And they had stated that they had sold a parcel of land for a certain amount and given these things to the Lord. And they had been lying. And so the Apostle Peter confronted them. It's recorded in Acts 5, 3 and 4 where Peter said Ananias. Now notice what he said. Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained was it not your own? And after it was sold was it not in your own control? Then he says this. Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. A moment before he said you lied to the Holy Spirit. But he went on further to say you didn't lie to men. You lied to God. And in saying that is making it clear that God the Holy Spirit a person was lied to. You can't lie to a wall. You can't lie to a bench or chair or a car. But you can lie to a person. And that's what he did. He lied to God. In 2 Corinthians 3, 317 it says the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. God the Holy Spirit. You see when you look at the Holy Spirit as God the Spirit you see the attributes of God revealed in him. For example he is omnipresent. He is all places at one time. In Psalm 139 verses 7 and 8 it reads where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven you are there. If I make my bed in hell behold you are there. Where can I flee from your Spirit? Flee from your presence. He is omnipresent. He is also eternal. In Hebrews 9 14 the writer says how much more than will the blood of Christ do through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God. The Spirit is called the eternal Spirit. He is also omniscient in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 11 for what man knows the things of a man except the Spirit of the man which is in him. Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. So he has the attributes of God. He is not just a force or energy. He is a person with God's attributes. He is God the Spirit. Now as a person we see things stated about him that demonstrates that he is a person. For example he loves in Romans 15 verse 30 I beg you brethren through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. The Holy Spirit loves and it's by the way it's the Holy Spirit who makes us to love one another too. Meeting together the way we're going to be doing beginning this upcoming Sunday and then when we gather together on Wednesday following week for a live service here in the sanctuary it's going to be kind of tough for some people because they're going to want to be hugging on everybody and they're going to be tears and there's going to be joy and all of this is provoked by God's Holy Spirit. You know what's interesting to me guys is that you know people that you would have normally had nothing to do with you would have hung around with them or cared about them or spent time with them people you would have never even known you came to know when you came to faith in Christ and then you came to be introduced to them here at this church and these people who at one time would not have been somebody even spoke to at the store became so important to you that you miss them and then when you see them you cry and you're going to want to hold on to them. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. That's how God works and that's because the Holy Spirit provokes us to love. He is the Holy Spirit who is personal in that way and so it's the love of the Holy Spirit. It's not just love that we have it's a deeper thing than just the love a man can have for a friend. It's a deeper thing it's the love that God's Holy Spirit places in your heart for somebody else. You see in the Bible that he's personal he sends people out. He appoints ministers. He does that personally. The Bible says that he speaks when he does that for example in Acts 8 verse 29 a passage that says the Spirit said to Philip go near and overtake this chariot. The Spirit said he speaks and he leads in that way in Acts 13 verse 2 as they minister to the Lord and fast that the Holy Spirit said now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit will speak to your heart. Some of you are very familiar with this others are not. Some of you are young and are just becoming acquainted with the things of the Lord and how he leads. There are times in the Holy Spirit is there's a sense that you know God is saying this is what you need to do and that's what I've been waiting for by the way with the reopening of the the church for life services. I've been waiting to hear not just from men but I wanted to hear God speaking away that would cause me to have a sense of this is the Lord and and I have come to that place and it requires more than people writing writing things on on Facebook and and the internet or being reported on the news. It has to be deeper than that and it's the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart and he will lead you according to his word what to do. When you look at the Holy Spirit again thinking of how the Jehovah's Witnesses say that he's just an energy. Well the Holy Spirit expresses emotion. You can actually sadden the Holy Spirit. You cannot sadden the battery in your car. You cannot sadden the electricity that's causing the lights right now to run in this room. You can say things to the energy and it nothing happens but the Holy Spirit actually can be saddened. Ephesians 4 verse 30 says do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You actually can sadden him, grieve him. It's a Holy Spirit according to John chapter 14 verse 26. I believe it is. It's a Holy Spirit who teaches. Jesus said the helper of the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. The Holy Spirit works within you and he teaches you. He takes what the word of God presents to you and he actually instructs you on its meaning. It takes the Holy Spirit. It's a Holy Spirit who intercedes on your behalf. In Romans 8, 26 Paul said the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. We do not know what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. So these are all attributes. I wanted to show you these things. I didn't want to run past these things. I wanted you to see that the Holy Spirit is a person and that he leads us. He teaches us. You can grieve him. He's not simply an energy. He is an actual person, the third person of what is called a trinity. And he does all of these things. Now as we've been looking in John's Gospel, let me remind you of a few things that Jesus has already taught. John 14, 16 says that he abides with believers. John 14, 17 says he dwells with and in believers. John 14, 26 he teaches and brings to memory what Jesus said. John 15, 26 he testifies of Jesus. And John 16, 8 through 11 he convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. But here Jesus is teaching concerning the Spirit's work in the life of a believer. And so with that as a backdrop, verse 12, I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. He desires to disclose to them things that will bless their lives. And as their friend, he wants to communicate to them on a personal level. It reminds me of Exodus 33 verse 11 where the Scripture says the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. And so Jesus wants to speak to them. And he's telling them that. He's saying in verse 12, I still have many things to say to you. And he's speaking in a personal way face to face but you cannot bear them now. Now I want to speak to you face to face for a reason. I have chosen you to take this message to the world. And it was Jesus's desire to continue pouring into them the things of his kingdom. Remember in the Gospel of Mark chapter 4 verse 11, he told them the secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. It's not that he had nothing to say. It's just that they could not receive what he had for them. Their capacity to understand was limited by the frailty of their flesh. That's how it is by the way in a natural way of life. If you're a parent you'll understand this. There are things you want your children to know but they're not ready to receive them yet. There are things that they don't understand. And when you try to force upon them things by telling them to memorize certain things they're just memorizing information. But later on perhaps God will take that information they memorize and he will reveal to them what he intended them to know. Because we normally know more than we do and we normally know more than we understand. And very often knowledge comes through the experience of putting it into practice what we've been taught. We're not supposed to be concerned for tomorrow because tomorrow has enough concerns for itself Jesus says right? And yet what do we do? We worry about tomorrow. And when this pandemic hits what is it that people are concerned about? All kinds of interesting things but a lot of it had to do with what they're going to eat and what they're going to drink. And isn't that what Jesus said the pagans are concerned about? What will I eat? What will I drink? What will I put on? And then what do you say? He said to us your father's going to take care of you. He will. See that's where faith comes in. One of the things about faith that I was just seated there just prior to coming up to teach that I was thinking about my mind is tracking with that this moment is that we're in a place right now to exercise real faith and a lot of the church doesn't want to. We're in that place right now to exercise real faith. I've said this before. Let me repeat it. You know when you read your scriptures does it seem to be an easy thing for a David to come out and fight a Goliath? I mean we hear stories like that don't we? David fought Goliath. Or we hear of how the apostle Peter stepped out of a boat and walked on water. We see these incredible stories and you can go on and on and on and you can read story after story after story. And we're just kind of like people watching it on TV or watching a movie or a DVD or whatever you want. We're kind of outsiders just saying yeah that's great. You mean Samson actually killed people with a jawbone of a donkey that actually took place and you read these stories these fantastic things and you're drawn to them. But what happens when we're putting a position to actually have to exercise faith ourselves? What happens? At that point we actually understand why the 11 stayed in the boat when Peter walked on water. Jesus said come and the apostle Peter climbed out and he came. But what did the other 11 do? They stayed in a boat. And I think that that's true for the church today where God says I want to do a work. But people say oh no you shouldn't do that. Oh you don't love people. How come you're opening the church? How come you're doing these things? Oh you don't understand. No it's just you're couching your fear in spiritual words. That's all you're doing. I believe the Holy Spirit has to move us to do the right thing and yeah they're taking chances sometimes when you do it. Absolutely. That's what faith is. If I didn't need faith then I wouldn't hesitate to move. It's me. I've been waking up early every day thinking God what are we to do? God what are we to do? And somebody who never even thinks about the church is saying you shouldn't do that. How do you know what I'm supposed to do? How would you know what I'm supposed to do? How? You don't pray about it. You're not in the word. You're not seeking God. You're just hiding. Now I'm not knocking you and it sounds like I am. Forgive me for that sounding the way it sounds. I'm simply saying that faith requires us to take a step out of the boat. That's all I'm saying. That we need to trust the Lord. You need to be in the place that you can. Now these men could not receive. They're not being condemned. He says there are many things to say to you. You're just not ready and some of us are just not ready. That's just a fact. Some of us are just not ready. And you know what? I feel strongly about this because I really believe God is with us. I really do. And I really believe that presumption is not faith. I do not want to be presumptuous in what I'm doing. But at the same time I didn't just wake up one morning and say it's time to get back to church. And anybody would think that doesn't know me at all and doesn't know faith at all. Because that's not how it's gone down. It's been an every day seeking God. What should we do? And I believe the Holy Spirit moves us to do what we should do. And I'm going to trust him this Sunday. I'll be here this Sunday. And many will because we do believe that God is moving us right now. I really do. And it's not a presumption. God knows that because I'm concerned not for myself so much as I am for others. And that's a fact too. Believe it or not. I'm more concerned for others than I am for myself. I'm not afraid for myself. But I do have concern for others. What God wants to do requires us to step out in faith. Now if a person and right now I'm talking to you who are listening online or maybe you're not anymore. No one's forcing you to come. But pray for us and pray for those who do please. And don't judge those who are stepping out of the boat right now saying God I want to trust you. Don't judge them. And please don't judge yourself for not stepping out of that boat. You have to do what you can do. And what you trust the Lord for for yourself. I will be here because I believe the Spirit of the Lord told me climb out of the boat. It's time to walk. I believe that. And those who are here I'm going to assume are thinking the same way. But if it takes you another week, two weeks, three weeks. Don't be judging those of us who came. And be careful not to judge yourself. Just allow the Holy Spirit to do his work. And if he leads you to be here. Love to see you. But if you choose to stay home, we're online. Receive the word. And when things are ready for you, when you're ready to come, we'll welcome you back and love you for it. Don't forget that. You know, Jesus knew their limitations. He knows ours too. In Psalm 103 verse 14, it reads, he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. See, they had willing spirits. But they weren't able to bear what he had to say. And there are many things that the Lord wants to teach them. Many things he wants to reveal to them. But at that moment, they're not able to receive what he has. They will enter into this understanding though after the Holy Spirit is sent from heaven. Notice how he says in verse 13, when he the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. Now, he's already referred to the Spirit in that way in chapter 15 verse 26. It speaks of a further unfolding of the truth, truth incarnated in Jesus, if you will, further unfolding of his words and his works. And it's the Holy Spirit who internally will guide us as we follow the Lord. As we seek God in his word and prayer, the Spirit enlightens our understanding. In Romans 8 14, Paul said, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. In 1 Corinthians 2 verse 12, now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. The psalmist said it beautifully in Psalm 25 verses 4 and 5 where he said, show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your path, lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. On you I wait all the day and the Spirit will guide you. He's not going to speak up on his own authority, notice, but whatever he hears, he will speak. His revelation is not something original or independent of God the Father or Jesus. He works in unity with what has already been revealed in Scripture and Jesus' teaching. In John 7 16, Jesus said, my doctrine isn't mine, but his who sent me. So he works in unity with what has been revealed in Old Testament Scripture as well as the doctrinal teachings of Christ. And Jesus is saying that the Spirit will speak of things to come. Now how does that happen? Well one, the guidance of the Holy Spirit is revealed as the apostles were inspired to write the New Testament. The New Testament writers were guided by the Spirit as they wrote. In 2 Peter 1 verse 21 it reads, prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the by the Holy Spirit. And within these Scriptures he gave prophecies, and these prophecies of things to come were speaking of the things that would occur in the last days. And when you read your Bible you'll see the inspired writings that give to us insight concerning last days things in Matthew chapter 24 and 25, or 1 Timothy, the whole book, or 2 Timothy, the whole book, or Titus, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, the book of Jude in Revelation. They all contain prophecy. Now he speaks also in the gifts of prophecy in the ministry of New Testament prophets. You see that taking place in the New Testament also because there's the gift of prophecy or prophesying. In Acts 11-28 it says, one of them named Agabus stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. And so he speaks of those things that are coming. He will speak, not on his own authority, he says in verse 13, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you things to come. In verse 14, he will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. Now this is very important. He will glorify me when the Holy Spirit is moving. Here's a very important point. He draws attention to Jesus Christ. Never forget that. That is so important. When the Holy Spirit is moving, the glory and attention goes to Christ, not the prophet, not the singer, not the teacher. The glory goes to Christ. When God is moving he draws attention to Jesus. It is not to the one who is utilizing the gifts and often these people are utilizing gifts to their own prophet. The glory goes to Jesus Christ. There are people, and I see this quite often, I've been in the church for a long time now, there are people who utilize gifts who become the heroes of the people in the congregation. They'll say, I wish I could speak like that. I wish I could do that. I wish I could go there. I wish I could have, and some people will actually feed their own egos and use their own egos, and I'm going to say this honestly. Some people again may be offended, but this is just true. They're always the heroes of their own stories. They're always the center of the attention of everything. They are. If they put pictures of themselves, that's always with a crowd of people around them or them speaking to thousands. Why? Because they want attention, and they use the things of God to draw attention to themselves. Anytime you stand up and speak in the name of God, you're in danger and you just don't know it, because you can take the glory that is given to God, and you can still it for yourself. And it's been said that the most beautiful sound in anyone's ears is the sound of their own name on somebody else's lips. People like to be spoken of. They like to boast of the things that they've done, and they like people to speak and boast of them to be very careful. When it's the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gets all the glory. I began to learn that as a young believer, because I would go to what were called marinata concerts, and I would listen to the singers and I'd watch the musicians play so skillfully and sing so beautifully. And I can still remember saying, oh, I wish I could sing like that or play like that. As a young believer, I was less than a year old. I can still remember this lesson. And I remember walking out one time, we were at the tent at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa back in 72. And I remember walking out. I still remember this lesson. And I was saying, boy, the group that sang was called Love Song. And I remember walking out saying, boy, I wish I could sing like them and play like that. And the Spirit of God, and I was about a year old in Christ. The Spirit of the Lord said to me that I was admiring man and not glorifying Christ. Because when you want to walk out and sing like somebody or play like somebody or speak like somebody, that simply means that you're replacing Jesus with that person who's singing, speaking, or playing. And when it hit me there, and again, I was a year old in Christ, when I walked out, I thought I'm wanting attention. And I didn't even realize that, Lord. See, the best place you can be, if God gives you the opportunities to stand before people, the best place you can be is on your knees, even if you're standing. The best place you can be is on your knees. God may I not be seen, and may everything go to you. Everything, Lord. Everything. That's what the Spirit of God wants to do. And when you're placed in a position of being given attention, that's a dangerous place. You know, we are to take, Jesus said, the lower seat. Not vying for a position where people can see us, but taking a lower seat. Because ultimately it doesn't matter if people said, well done. What really matters is if he says well done, right? That's how it works. Not me hearing the well done from man, because from man I get my reward. It's when I hear him say, well done, my good and faithful servant. That's the key guys. And that's the work of the Holy Spirit. And that'll give you some insight. I'm speaking to you, my staff, but it's going over the air right now to others. Because that's the thing that concerns me the most in church today, is we give glory to the wrong people. We give attention to the wrong people. You know, the woman who comes early on a Sunday morning and cleans through the, goes to the pews and straightens things out and fixes the Bibles, she's never noticed. The person on the stage is noticed, or the person who's standing there with a bullet rather with a badge that says usher, they're noticed. But the woman who came and vacuumed the man who cleansed the windows on the door, like we have people who come here to this church and I'll walk through the doors when they were able to assemble with us. And they'll be washing doors and cleaning things and vacuuming. These are the people that are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. They never get a thank you. They never get noticed. Because we have too many superstars, celebrities in the body of Christ today. And we're forgetting that when Jesus' spirit is working, the one who gets the glory is Jesus himself. We need to understand that in these last days, because when the spirit is moving, people are drawn to Jesus Christ. It's the spirit who draws people to him. And it's the spirit who causes us to glorify him. In Revelation 19 verse 10, it says, I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, see that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is a spirit of prophecy. Don't worship me. I'm a fellow servant. Worship God. And finally, verse 15, all things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you. You see, the Father and Son work together, work in harmony with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not excluding his Father in disclosing the Son. He's also disclosing the Father who sent him. And this tells us that the Son is the revealer of the Father. And he gives divine truth. A writer by the name of E. M. Bounds said, what the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws us to Jesus Christ. And it is the Holy Spirit who causes us to say, may God be praised through Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit who will sometimes prompt your eyes to tear up at a worship song, because it isn't the beauty of the vocalists, or it isn't the beauty of the way that those instruments are being played. It's because you've got a glimpse of the glory of God, as you're saying, worshipped. That's how it works, guys. That's how it works. The Holy Spirit draws people to Christ. And not the tool, but the one who created that tool. Don't forget that. We don't give honor that belongs to Jesus. We don't give that honor to man. We give it to him, because it belongs to him. Father, we ask that that would be true in this church. We ask that that would be true in your church. May we give honor to you, Lord, and remember the work of your spirit. And even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed for this moment, there may be some right now who need to get right with the Lord. And your sin is ever before you. You're not able to deal with it. And you need to get right with God. You need your sin forgiven. You need to be washed. You need to be cleansed. And you need to be new. You may be a backslider or a person who at one time went to church, but never committed yourself to Christ. And you're watching tonight. And you need to get right with the Lord. I want to pray with you. And if you need to get right with Jesus Christ, get your life in order with Him. You can do so with a simple, faith-filled prayer of repentance and asking God for help. And if you need to get right with Him right now, I want to pray with you. And if your heart is open to receive Him as your Savior, not simply to rededicate, but to offer yourself to Him and that He might be your Savior, then I would ask you right now, if you need to get saved, if you need to get right with God, I would ask you right now as I pray to repeat after me and open your heart up and say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And after you prayed with me, I would ask you to connect with us. Let us know so we can minister personally to you. But if you need to get right with God right now, would you repeat from your heart with me right now this prayer? Father, I'm a sinner. Jesus died on the cross to save sinners. Jesus died to save me. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me. Give me a new life. I will follow you every day from this day forward in Jesus' name. Amen. And if you prayed that, please contact us and let us follow up, share with you and minister to you. Please do that. And now we'll just close. Father, I ask that you would take this study and help us to be able to work through it to hear the things that you would have us to know. And Lord, I ask that you would be with us this Sunday. And for those who come, Lord, may they be safe and protected. May we do the very best we can in the midst of all of this to help people and help them, Lord, to be not only at peace, but to hear from you. We ask these things now in Jesus' name.