that are found among the four Gospels which present before us the divine nature of Yeshua, Jesus, our Lord and our Messiah. We are studying in this ministry meeting the 16th chapter and the first 15 verses of John chapter 16. Please follow me as I am reading these 15 verses beginning with verse 1. These things have I am reading these 15 verses 1. These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues. Yea, yet the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think, that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor me.

But these things have I said unto you, but these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now, I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you ask me whither goest thou. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has 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 judged. 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. 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.

Well, beloved brothers and sisters, John chapter 16 is a continuation of the upper room discourse, which our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, continue as he share with his disciples at the upper room, and on the way to the garden of Gatshmanim, Gatshmanim, namely the place where the olive is pressed, and oil is acquired, there in the garden of the olive press of Gatshmanim, Yeshua the Messiah will have a special time of communication with his Father. But here we learn, dear brothers and sisters and dear friends, that our Lord is now in the upper room, and perhaps just on the way up, as we have already noticed in chapter 14, at the end of the chapter where Yeshua said, Arise, let us go, hence that perhaps chapter 15 as well as chapter 16 were shared with the disciples on the way to the garden of Gatshmanim.

And so the conclusion of chapter 15 was that Jesus the Messiah had emphasized that the comforter will come. And he said in verse 26 and 27 of chapter 15, When the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you for my Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me, and he also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. In other words, Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua Hamashir, promised to his disciples that he will send God the Holy Spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit of God, and when he will come, he will testify concerning the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

So the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is to present before God's people and to work in this world and lead others to the person of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. So as we're continuing on into the 16th chapter of the Gospel of John, these first 15 verses, we learn from that passage of the instructions that Yeshua, that Jesus gives to his disciples, and he's telling them now, what will the Holy Spirit of God do when he will come? Already in verses 26 and 27 of chapter 15, he did mention that when the Comforter, the Helper, is come, which I will send unto you, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.

And here in the next verses, in the chapter 16, verses 1 to 15, there are four more thoughts and points that the Lord is seeking to teach the disciples. Number 1, verses 1 to 4, Jesus the Messiah warning his disciples that there will be persecution. And that's why the Holy Spirit of God is called the Comforter, the Helper, the Perakletos, one that will come to aid the people of God. And therefore, once the Messiah returns back to the Father, to God the Father, there will be persecution that the believers will experience, especially in the early days of the assembly, the church that will just about to begin when the Holy Spirit of God will come.

Secondly, in verses 5, 6, and 7, Yeshua explained the importance of his departure back to the Father. There is a reason why he must go, because if he doesn't go back to God, back to heaven where he came from, then the Holy Spirit cannot come from heaven down to earth to form the body of Messiah, the body of Christ, and to indwell every true believer. And therefore, it is expedient, it is important that he will return back to heaven. Thirdly, in verse 8, 9, 10, and 11, Yeshua, Jesus explained the ministry of the Holy Spirit here in this world. You see, there is a divine person who became a man, namely the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

Now he, this divine person, as man, returning back to heaven, but another divine person, God the Holy Spirit, will come down to earth, and he will have a ministry here. He still have a ministry here for the last 2,000 years. The Holy Spirit of God, here is upon the face of this earth, indwelling all believers, and he is ministering here upon the face of this earth. And then, verses 12, 13, and 14, Yeshua explained about the work of the Holy Spirit, even among the disciples, among the believers. So, the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is not only in the world, convicting the world, but also ministering to God's people, to all those that belong to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

So, let's go over these verses, because it's tremendous to see these beautiful lessons that we have here in John chapter 16. Let me just remind you that the situation with the disciples, these Hebrew disciples that they had followed the Lord doing His ministry, a service here on earth, they followed Him, and now He's just about to return back to heaven, so they were troubled, they were discouraged. So, if you remember John 14, 1, He said, Let not your heart be troubled. And then later on, John 14, 27, He said in the middle of the verse, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So, they were afraid, they were troubled, because they knew that when Yeshua is going to be returning back to God, when He will depart back to their Father, they felt, without Him, they felt insecure, they felt troubled, they felt discouraged, they felt afraid.

Therefore, the reason that Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, is instructing them here, is to encourage them to recognize that they will have another helper that will come to their aid here when they are remaining here on earth. So, notice that. In the first four verses of John 16, there is that warning that the disciples will experience persecution. Persecution will come. Notice it says in verse 1, These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended. And he continues in verse 2, They shall put you out of the synagogue, yet a time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. Now, imagine, my dear friends, imagine that sometime people think that they do God a favor when they follow their religious views and opposing the believers in Yeshua, the Messiah.

And imagine that they think, they assume that they are doing God a favor. And this was initially really the way in which the Pharisees felt when they were opposing the early Hebrew Christians, the early Messianic Jewish people who follow Yeshua, the Messiah. they thought they are doing God a favor. In fact, if you remember, it was Shaul of Tarsus who was a Pharisee of the Pharisees from among our people of Israel who loved the God of Israel who felt that he does God a favor by threatening the believers in Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. You remember what we read in Acts chapter 8 and verse 3? For Saul had made havoc of the church.

This is the assembly, the Jewish assembly in the land of Israel. Entering into every house and hauling men and women, committing them to prison. You see, the assembly, the Kehillah, the congregation in the land of Israel, his own brethren, his own Jewish brethren, he was making havoc among the believers in Yeshua, the Messiah in the first century. And he felt that he was helping God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel. But he didn't know better. He didn't know that Yeshua, Jesus, is indeed the promised Messiah. He didn't know that he need forgiveness of sins on the basis of the Messiah, death and resurrection.

He didn't know that doesn't matter what accomplishment he had in his religious life, he still came short of the glory of God. He needed to be alerted to this. Sadly, in a world in which we live in, in every circle of religious systems of the day, many feel that they are doing God a favor by harming others. But this is wrong. And so, Shaul, according to Acts chapter 8 and verse 3, made havoc of the kehilah, of the assembly. In chapter 9, we read in verse 1 of Acts, And saw yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and he desired from them letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, the Beit HaKneset.

In other words, he went to the spiritual leaders in Jerusalem to take letters that will allow him to go all the way to synagogues, to the Jewish community, everywhere else in Asia Minor, in the context of Acts chapter 9 to Damascus. And bring those early Hebrew Christians, early Messianic Jewish people back to Jerusalem to punish them. Because he was breathing out threatening and slaughter against the Talmudim, the disciples of the Lord. And you remember it was on the way to Damascus that the light came shone from heaven. And then the voice of the Lord Yeshua said to him, Shaul, Shaul, why persecutest thou me? And you remember what Shaul was convicted by the Spirit of God.

And he said to the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, what will thou have me to do? Lord, Adon, Adoni. He was broken right there. And then in the revelation of the Holy Spirit of God touched his heart when he heard the voice of the Lord. And he was convicted, calling Yeshua, Lord, Adon. And you remember he said, I am Yeshua. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Amazing how the Lord spoke to him and saved him gloriously. Redeemed him, showed him that he is indeed that promised Mashiach. That's why Shaul Paul was so burdened later on.

Wherever he had gone, he went always to the synagogue first to share the message of the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. And he never forgot how he persecuted the early believers, his own Jewish brethren, who already trusted that Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah. So here, there is a warning that the Lord is giving to them. And it surely did happen later on after he had been taken to heaven. John chapter 16, verse 1 and 2. He said to them, these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended or stumbled or lose faith. Because they shall put you out of the synagogue. Yeah, the time will come that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service.

See, that's what happens when one is really blinded to who Jesus is. And so what do they do? They persecute those who do follow Yeshua. He continues in verse 4 and he's saying to the disciples, But these things have I told you that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was with you. In other words, he said, listen, earlier when you were following after me, I didn't tell you that you will be persecuted and they will chase you out of the synagogues. And then some would even think that he does God's service.

Service for God. How amazing it is. And when you think about church history, how sad to see in church history how much persecution the believers have experienced. Think about the apostle John who was persecuted. The very same John who gave us the gospel of John. He was banished to the island of Patmos where he received the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah that we have in the scripture. And how many have suffered for the name of the Lord from those who claim to be religious. Religion is often time the cause of much persecution in the world in which we live in. How sad, isn't it? Beloved friend, when you think that the things of God should only drive us to love people, to care for people.

And yet, often time because of religion, man-made religion, mixing all sort of things, not having the mind of the Lord, being led by the Spirit of God, causing, brought about persecution against humanity, against God's people, against, whether it is against the people of Israel historically, or against the church later on, or against any group of people. How sad it is. And when someone does not want to follow the truth, then the other thing to do is to harm those who do so, claiming that they are doing it for their own God. Sad, isn't it? This is so sad, beloved friend. And therefore, the Lord is already, Yeshua is already preparing the disciples, that this is exactly what will happen after He will depart.

And if you look at the record of the time in which we are aware in the history of the early church, and later on, the things that happened to the believers throughout the church age. Sad, isn't it? Really sad. Remind me of the verses in Matthew chapter 24, and there in verses 9 and 10, we read, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations, for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. This was in Matthew chapter 24, verses 9, 10, and 11.

And of course, Matthew chapter 24 takes the disciples all the way down to the tribulation period. And in that time also, and in the context, of course, of Matthew chapter 24, during the tribulation period, is the Jewish believers of the tribulation days who will experience persecution. The church will not be here, because before the tribulation began, the church will be raptured to be in heaven. Matthew chapter 24 takes us all the way to the tribulation days in which the disciples will experience persecution. And here, of course, it's reminding us in John chapter 16, in reference to the first century, where the early believers will experience persecution. Let me just read you just a few verses that are found in the book of Acts in relationship to the persecution.

To remind you that in Acts chapter 5, we read in verse 12, And by the apostles were many signs and wonders, wrote among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest, there is no man join himself to them, but the people magnify them. But you notice, if you continue on with the text before us, my dear friend, as you go further, the church, the assembly was growing, more believers came to know Yeshua the Messiah. But then you notice, they took Peter, they took John, they brought them before the council. And we read here in the same fifth chapter, we read that the council gathered itself together.

This is their son, and when they had brought them, and they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straightly commended you that ye should not teach in this name? And behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us? You remember what Shimon Petro said? Simon Peter, we read in verse 29, Then Peter and the other apostles answered, And they said, we are to obey God rather than men. And you see, what happened? They placed them in prison. We read in verse 18 of Acts chapter 5, By the time we read to a little bit later on, to the end of the chapter, we find out that they were not ashamed to preach the message of the gospel.

They were let go from prison, and they departed from the presence of the council. This is the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for this name, the name of Yeshua, the name of Jesus. But they have experienced persecution. In fact, even earlier, in chapter 4, verses 3 to 22, we have the earlier persecution of the believers in the Lord, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. They said, but the Lord already warned them that the rulers, the elders, the scribes, and others, they will go against them, and will bring upon them persecution. We read in chapter 6 and verse 8 that Stephen was full of faith and power. He did great wonders and miracles among the people.

But by the time we end chapter 7, my dear friend Stephen was stoned because of his faith in Yeshua, the Messiah. He became the first martyred. We read in Acts chapter 7, and we read, they stoned Stephen, verse 59, calling upon God and saying, Lord Yeshua, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Amazing, amazing. And in fact, chapter 8 and verse 1, And Saul was consenting unto his death, and at that time there was a great persecution against the assembly, the congregation, the Kehillah, the Ecclesia, which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered abroad, throughout the regions of Judea, Samaria, except the apostles.

And imagine, my dear brothers and sisters and dear friends, the persecution that the early Hebrew believers have experienced. And throughout these last 2,000 years of the assembly, many, many, many true believers have experienced persecution by others, from all nations, who rejected the fact that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Anointed One, the Mashiach. Well, so here in John chapter 16, verses 1 to 4, the Lord Jesus is warning the disciples to understand that there will be persecution because they followed after him. But then he continues in verses 5, 6, and 7, and he is emphasizing why it is so necessary for him to depart back to God. In verse 5 he says, But I go my way to him that sent me.

And none of you ask me, whither go is that? But because I have said these things unto you sorrow, notice here again, we see the sorrow that filled your heart, Yeshua said. Verse 7, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. Why? For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. In other words, in verses 5, 6, and 7, of John chapter 16, Jesus the Messiah emphasizes the importance of his departure back to the Father. You see why? Because he must go back to glory as it is written, Sit thou at my right hand until, until, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Psalm 110. And that the Holy Spirit of God, the person of the Holy Spirit of God, can now come and form the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach, and indwell every believer and the church age will begin. And so we read, Nevertheless, I tell you, he's saying to them in verse 7, that it is expedient for you that I go away. You see, in verse 5, we have already said, But now I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you ask me whither goeth thou, but because I have said these things unto you, sorrow had filled your heart. So, when, when the Lord told them that he has to go back to heaven, they were sorrowing.

They felt very, very sad. You see, earlier, already they did ask him in John 13, in verse 36, they did ask him, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? A little bit later, in chapter 14, in verse 5, Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way? But you see, now, when we arrive to the 16th chapter, and verse 5, Yeshua said, I go away to him that sent me, and none of you ask me whither goeth thou. You see, because by now they understood that he has to return back to God the Father. You've already told them that he's, he will send the Holy Spirit of God to be their Perakletos, one to aid them.

And so now, he said, none of you ask, whither I go? Verse 6, but because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has filled your heart. In other words, they stop asking him, whither I go? Because they have already told them, and he knew very well that as he speak with them about his departure, they feel sad and sorrowed. And so now, in verse 7, he emphasizes the importance of his departure. You see, my dear friend, we live in a very unique age called Ekklesia age, the church age, the assembly age. In Hebrew, it is the Kehillah, Guf HaMashiach, the body of Christ. What's unique about this age is simply that the Messiah as man, Yeshua, went to heaven.

So we have a man in heaven. And secondly, what we do have in this present day of the church age, we have a divine person, namely the Holy Spirit of God, here on earth for the last 2,000 years indwelling every true believer. Indwelling among the gather saints of God. everyone that is born again is born of the Holy Spirit of God. We live really in a unique age. The age of the rejection of Christ, the rejection of the Mashiach who is now as man in heaven and the age where the Spirit of God is here upon the face of this earth working in this world even though you and I do not see it at the time, do not even sense it, but this divine person, God, the Holy Spirit, Elohim Haruach, He is here upon this earth working, wooing people to God, teaching us, instructing us, leading us, seeking us to live for the Lord, directing the attention of the people of God to the person of Jesus the Messiah.

And so, nevertheless, it is expedient for you that I will go away because if I do not go away, the paracletos, the comforter will not come unto you. He said, if I depart, I will send him unto you. So, the assembly, the church that will be formed later on, after the death, the burial, resurrection of the Messiah, after he will be upon the face of this earth for 40 more days after his resurrection, and then he will depart back to heaven and 10 days later on the feast of weeks, Shavuot in Hebrew, 50, Pentecost in the Greek, the Messiah will send the Holy Spirit of God and the church will be born in the city of Jerusalem.

So, here, in anticipation of sending the Holy Spirit, Yeshua is telling the disciples, nevertheless, I tell you the truth that it is expedient for you, it's for your benefit that I will 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 so, beloved brothers and sisters, it is amazing to learn these lessons as we enjoy the study of the Gospel of John and just to remind you dear brothers and sisters that the Holy Spirit of God is a divine person and because he is a divine person, he is the one that the Godhead will use to form what is known to us the body of Christ, the body of Messiah.

And so, it's wonderful to realize this, that the Holy Spirit of God will come. And you see, the Holy Spirit of God is the one that was working and still working in the life of all of us. To remind you it according to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 13 we read, for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, are we all placed into one body, this body of Christ, the body of Mashiach, is a body of all true believers who were put into this body of Messiah by the Spirit of God. And in this body, this body of believers is a composition of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free.

All of us who have come to know the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we were placed into this body of Christ, the church, the assembly, by the person of the Holy Spirit of God, who came some 2,000 years, to form that body of Messiah. Well, we continue and notice here, the third point that Yeshua is sharing with his disciples here, not only that he warned them that there will be persecution when he will depart, not only that he explained to them the importance of his departure to go back to heaven, because otherwise the Holy Spirit of God will not come, and now verses 8 to 15, Yeshua Jesus the Messiah explained the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God.

Number one, in verses 8, 9, 10, and 11, the ministry of the Spirit of God in the world among the unbelievers, and number two, verses 12, 13, 14, and 15, the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God among the people of God, among the redeemed. And so notice, in verses 8 to 11, we read that when the Spirit of God will come, notice what the Spirit of God will do in his ministry here in this world. The ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is to convict, to reprove, to expose, to bring to light. in Hebrew we call it to prove, to bring to light in this dark world men's sin, and to expose the reality that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

So verse 8 tells us, and when he come, when the Holy Spirit of God will come, he will reprove, he will reprove, this is very interesting word in Hebrew, the word reprove, is Yochiach. Yochiach, he will reprove, we read here in this verse 8 of our chapter. In Greek word, the word reprove is elegeho, elegeho, E-L-E-G-C-H-O, it has, the Greek is simply to reprove, to convict, to refute, and so men need to be convicted, refuted, reproved, and sin has to be brought to light to show us that we are not right with God by nature, that's why we need to trust in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, for salvation.

So, when he cometh, he will reprove the world, number one, of sin, number two, of righteousness, and number three, of judgment, very interesting word, here in verse 8, he will prove of sin, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, then of righteousness, and then of judgment, that there will be judgment that will fall upon an unrighteous world. And you see, in verses 9, 10, and 11, Yeshua is explaining this to the disciples by saying of sin, because they believe not on me, on the Lord Jesus. Notice that verse 9, of sin, because they believe not on me. Why? God one day will have to judge this world by but the Spirit of God will reprove, convict the world of the fact that they should have believed that Jesus is the Messiah, but they did not believe on him.

And that's why every person who will leave this world without forgiveness of sin, without faith in Jesus the Messiah, he or she will have to be judged because of their own sin. Secondly, in verse 10, not only that the Spirit of God will reprove the world of sin because they did not believe on the Lord Jesus the Messiah, but also of righteousness because I go unto my Father and ye see me no more. And you see, beloved friend, of righteousness because I go unto my Father and the thought that the Lord is seeking to teach them is that while the whole world is in a condition of sin and unrighteousness, there was one that lived upon the face of this earth who was a righteous man.

and the Holy Spirit of God will convict, will reprove, will point to the truth that not only man is a sinner by nature, but that man, when he rejects the righteous one, who go back to the Father after he died for the sin of this world, the righteous, holy, harmless, undefined one, the one who is that righteous one. And sadly, for the world to reject this righteous person. And finally, of judgment, notice that in verse 11, because the prince of the world is judge. In other words, Satan, who is a god with a small g, the god of this world, that blinded the mind of them that believe not, he will ultimately will be judged, but he has already been judged when the Messiah died on the cross.

According to John chapter 12, in verse 31, we read, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of the world be cast out. If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me. In other words, when the Lord Jesus the Messiah will go to the Roman cross, when he will be lifted up from this earth, Satan will be defeated. The prince of this world will be cast out because now he will no longer have any power over those that have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. this is a challenge. Have we all accepted Yeshua? Did you turn your heart to the Lord Jesus?

Have you realized that you are a sinner? Do you realize that he died for your sins? Do you realize that he loved you so much that he was willing to give his life for you, for me, for us, for the human race? Have you turned your heart to him? Well, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit of God is doing today. When he will come, he will reprove, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin because we have all sinned. Of righteousness is because there is only one who was a righteous man who sinned not. And then of judgment, this is because one rejects the righteous one, he or she who rejects the righteous man will end up to bear the consequence of their sin nature.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. See, that's we read in John 3 verses 16, 17, and 18, and here we learn in verses 8 to 11 that the person of Ruach HaKodesh, the person of the Holy Spirit of God is the one that convicts mankind.

To remind you that later on, of course, in Acts chapter 2, we do read concerning those that were convicted. It says in verse 37, when they heard this, they were hearing the preaching of the gospel by Shimon Petros, who called them men and brethren. This Jesus God had raised up, well, for we are witnesses. Then in verse 37 of Acts chapter 2, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, well, by the Spirit of God, God, the Holy Spirit of God, touching the hearts of those that listen to the message, and submit to the message. And they said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, watch, shall we do.

Remember what Peter said, he said unto them, repent, and be baptized, be immersed, every one of you in the name of Yeshua Hamashiach, for the remission of sins, and ye, notice it, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That's what the Spirit of God does. He is convicting people in the world today. And you know, my dear brothers and sisters, this will be a wonderful day in the future of our people of Israel, when the same Holy Spirit of God will convict the people of Israel in a future day, at the end of the tribulation, when Israel will recognize by the Spirit of God that Yeshua is indeed a promised Messiah, and they will become a redeemed nation, according to Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 10.

As we read in this wonderful chapter, that I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, listen to this, the Spirit, here is the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one that mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Amazing how the Holy Spirit of God will convict in a future day the nation of Israel, and Israel as a nation will become a born again nation. What an amazing future is awaiting, my dear friends, for the nation of Israel, according to a book of Ezekiel, we find out when Israel will be regenerated, a new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgment, and do them.

You see, the work of the spirit of God in the lives of mankind, whether it is today in the church age, or whether it is in a future day during the tribulation, the person of the Holy Spirit of God will work. He has worked, he is working, and he will continue to work, and he's working today in many hearts who come to faith in him. wonderful to know the fact that he will convict. And so, John 16 verse 8 to 11, Yeshua explained to the disciples the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God here in this world. When he come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

But then notice, the Holy Spirit of God will not only work in the world, in the unregenerated world, to bring many to come to know that Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah, and to bring them into the body of Christ, to be part of the church, of the assembly, but also within the church, within the assembly, he is working, he is ministering. And so in verses 12, 13, 14, and 15, we have the ministry, the work of the Holy Spirit of God, among God's people, the disciples. And so we read, listen to this, and I'm reading verse 12, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now, how bit or however, and I know the verse 13, 14, and 15, we have the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit of God among the believers.

Notice that. And we read them one by one. It says here, how bit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, number one, he will guide you into all truth. Number two, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever, number three, he shall hear, he shall speak. Number four, he shall show you things to come. Number five, he shall glorify me, verse 14. Number six, verse 14b, he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. And number seven, verse 15, all things that the Father hath are mine, therefore saith I, that he, this is the Holy Spirit, number seven, shall take of mine, and show it unto you.

And so beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends, you see, the Holy Spirit of God is working in the world, convicting the world, speaking to the world, directing to the world, to the person of the Lord Jesus, to the righteous one, convicting the world of sin, and showing to the world that sin will bring judgment, and they need to turn to the righteous one, to the Messiah, Yeshua, and be saved, be forgiven, and receive eternal life. But once they come in and become part of the church of the assembly, they will need to be led by the very same Holy Spirit of God, that have convicted them.

That's what happened to you and I. We were lost in trespasses and sins, we were far away from God, we didn't believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, we rejected the scripture, the word of God, and by the Spirit of God, we have heard the message of the gospel, the Holy Spirit of God have touched our eyes and our hearts, shows us that we are sinners. Like David, by the Spirit was convicted, even before the Holy Spirit of God came to indwell believers, in the history of our people of Israel, the Holy Spirit of God worked in the life of Israel also, even though he never came to indwell the people of Israel, but he still guided them and controlled them and convicted them.

as David who was convicted to say I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Like Isaiah who says, woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. See, the Spirit of God is convicting He does today in a unique way because now, beloved brothers and sisters, the Messiah, Jesus, is going to go to die on that shameful Roman cross to become a substitute to fulfill that which the Torah, the law is spoken about, that in the fullness of the time that the Mashiach will come and he will pay for the sin of this world and he surely came and now as he is anticipating to go to the cross, he is instructing his disciples, his Talmidim.

And so you notice as we read together the seven-fold ministry of the Spirit of God among the Talmidim, the disciples, the followers. In verses 13, 14, and 15 of John chapter 16, number one, he shall guide you into all truth. number two, he shall not speak of himself. Number three, he shall hear that which he will speak. Number four, verse 13 still, he shall show you things to come. Number five and six, found in verse 14, he shall glorify me. again, number six, in verse 14, he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. And number seven, verse 15, all things that the Father hath are mine, therefore said I that he shall take of mine and show it unto you.

Now let me just mention something that is very, very important. How do we know if the Spirit of God truly ministering among the people of God? You see, my dear friend, as Yeshua said, in this very 16th chapter, he did say a few times that the person of the Spirit of God will direct the attention of God's people to the person of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. He will guide you into all truth. That's the first thing. Secondly, notice verse 13b, he shall not speak of himself. You notice, beloved friend, the Spirit of God is not speaking of himself, but he's speaking of Jesus the Messiah.

He's directing the attention to the eternal Son of God. Again, I'm repeating verse 13b, he shall not speak of himself. And then notice that we continue to read that he will hear verse 13, what he will speak, he will hear it. In other words, there will be the hearing in the persons of the Godhead, the counsel of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit of God in harmony with the Father and the Son, will share with the believers concerning the person of the Messiah. Again, verse 14, we read, he shall glorify me. See, the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is not to glorify men, not to even glorify himself, although he is God, he is the glorious God, the Holy Spirit, yes, but here we learn from Yeshua that he teaching the disciples that the purpose of the ministry of the Spirit of God among God's people is to glorify the Son.

Sometimes I'm amazed how there are certain groups in the world in which we live in who do not want to exalt Yeshua the Messiah, who deny his divine nature, who deny that he is the Messiah, who deny that he is one of the persons of the Godhead, who deny the fact that he was born to the virgin Miriam, who deny the validity of the word of God, who deny the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, deny this, deny, and yet the ministry of the Spirit of God through the Word of God is to glorify Yeshua the Messiah. How wonderful as we read here in these verses.

So, in these verses 12, 13, 14, and 15, we learn of the ministry of the Spirit of God among the disciples, among God's people, among every true believer. And I trust, my dear friend, that you have come to know the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, your Lord and Savior, and it is such a wonderful lesson to learn that we have a Mashiach that that have finished the work of redemption, that fulfill all that which was written of the Messiah in the Hebrew Scripture, and that he sent the Spirit of God to form the body of believers and to minister among the saints of God directing each and every one to the person of Jesus the Messiah, he shall glorify me, he shall receive of mine, verse 14, and shall show it unto you, and then verse 15, notice the triunity of the Godhead, all things that the Father have, this is God the Father, are mine, this is God the Son, therefore said I that he, this is God the Holy Spirit, shall take of mine and show it unto you.

Amazing, wonderful passage here in John 16, and here as we have here verses 1 to 15. There are many other passages that we can read, and these are beautiful, beautiful passages that shows us how the person of the Holy Spirit of God, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth is ministering among God's people even today, beloved friend, dear brothers and sisters. So, when we conclude right now with this, I just wanted to mention that whatever belonged to the Father, belonged to the Son, you can see the co-equal, the equality in the Godhead. You notice what we read in chapter 5 and verse 20 to 23 of the very same Gospel of John, we read in verse 20, verse 20.

Son, even as they honor the Father, he that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. And so, God desired that we will honor the Son, and therefore God, the Holy Spirit, who will come according to what Yeshua is saying here, he shall glorify me, Jesus the Messiah said to his disciples. Wonderful. Beloved brothers and sisters, may the Lord encourage our hearts as we continue to follow our blessed Lord Jesus the Messiah. And in the next ministry meeting we continue in John chapter 16 from verse 16 to the end of the chapter. Well, until the next time, God bless you my dear friend.

God will encourage you and help you to be led on to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah. God bless you. Shalom, Shalom. Shalom. Shalom. Shalom.