John 14:15-31 "Promises, Promises & More Promises" - Dr. Steven J. Lawson

well we are so glad that steve lawson is back with us this morning most of you know that steve's ministry is one passion ministries flies around teaches seminars teaches preachers how to preach verse by verse he is we're glad that he's in this morning um i haven't i've missed steve the last couple times that he preached steve you look well this morning glad to have you and so i'm not going to take any more of his i'm not going to take any more of his time i like the color of your suit and the tie [Laughter] but steve would you please come and read the scriptures and pray for us well thank you mark that's probably the most unusual introduction that i that i've ever had so um so you like my suit and you like my ties that would have to understand oh okay all right i'm looking rather stained back in actually today so that's actually a confession of sin so [Laughter] confession's good for the soul so well uh let me just make one footnote on the announcement was made this coming next friday this coming friday the men's bible study is october 30th and the next day is october 31st which i think many of you will recognize as reformation day it was on that day 1517 october 31st that an augustinian monk by the name of martin luther who had become professor of bible posted his 95 theses to the front door of the church and there struck the blow from which the entire reformation came and so in many years i've brought a special message at that time of the year and i think it'd be very appropriate for our men's bible study just for this one time to step out of the book of romans which i so dearly love in fact it was the book of romans that brought martin luther to faith in christ romans 1 17 for in it the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith and so i want to bring a message for those of you men who come and for any who can watch that would be entitled something like this the reformers colon who were they and what did they believe and so i want to give you an overview of the reformation on friday morning who were these reformers because they were not just in germany but they were in england and they were in switzerland and they were in france and they were in scotland and the impact that they exerted upon the world is still being felt to this very day in fact many have argued that the founding fathers of america were in reality the reformers because it was their ideology ideologies and their convictions out of the bible that really gave the dominant world view that led to the establishment of this country the way it has been so uniquely established so we'll be looking at the reformers who were they and what did they believe and i hope that you can be here with us on friday morning well the passage of scripture that has been assigned to me is an enormous passage of scripture not only in what they have to say but in the number of verses that they that they cover this is more than a small epistle uh unto itself so john 14 if you would take your bible and turn with me to john 14 this will take quite a while to read these verses beginning in verse 15 and it will we will extend to the to the end of the chapter if you're taking notes the title of this message is promises promises and more promises beginning in verse 15 if you love me you will keep my commandments i will ask the father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever this is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you i will not leave you as orphans i will come to you after a little while the world will no longer see me but you will see me because i live you will live also in that day you will know that i am in my father and you and me and i in you he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father and i will love him and will disclose myself to him judas not iscariot said to him lord what then has happened that you are going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world jesus answered and said to him if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him he who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine but the father fathers who sent me these things i have spoken to you while abiding with you but the helper the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that i said to you peace i leave with you my peace i give to you not as the world gives do i give to you do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful you heard that i said to you i go away and i will come to you if you loved me you would have rejoiced because i go to the father for the father is greater than i now i have told you before it happens so that when it happens you may believe i will not speak much more with you for the ruler of the world is coming and he has nothing in me and so that the world may know that i love the father i do exactly as the father commanded me get up and let us go from here this is the reading of god's inspired inerrant and infallible word let us go to the lord in prayer father every time we approach your word we know that we should remove the sandals from our feet for we step onto holy ground and as we approach your word we pray that you would instill a deeper spirit of reverence within our own hearts a sense of awe that we are hearing the very words that jesus christ himself spoke in the upper room 2000 years ago father bring these words home to our hearts encourage us strengthen us many of us all of us are weak here today and are in need of supernatural strength that can come only from you so infuse the truth of these words into our soul so that we may live in such a way as to glorify you and father with this upcoming election right around the corner we do want to cast our anchor at your throne of grace and appeal to you to do that which would most glorify you and honor you and extend the work of your kingdom here upon the earth give us rulers who fear you give us rulers who know justice and mercy give us rulers who do not want to kill babies give us rulers who want to protect the innocent and to protect personal property give us rulers who want to punish evil doers so that we may live a peaceful and tranquil life give us rulers who truly want to serve the common good lord withhold from us evil men who want to who want to use this for their own ends and for their own purposes lord we are helpless we take this matter up with you remembering daniel chapter 2 that you are the one who raise up rulers and lower rulers we remember daniel 4 that you have established dominion and authority in heaven over all the rulers of this world and so we lay this matter before you and ask that you would do what only you can do do this even for the good of the church and for the good of your people that america continued to be could continue to be ascending station of missionaries to the world father we pray this in christ's name amen in these verses which i have just read we are privileged to be drawn into one of the most intimate scenes in all the bible as the lord jesus huddles up with his disciples in the very night in which he will be arrested and will be subjected to six trials it is the night before his crucifixion timing is everything last words should be lasting words and these are the final instructions that the lord has to give to his disciples he has already told them that he will be leaving after three years of providing everything for them the time of his departure is now at hand and he will be returning to the father and they are stunned they are shocked that they are confused and they are troubled and so in order to encourage them so that they don't just completely collapse jesus issues these promises to them and not just to them but to you and me today these are promises that have never been rescinded these are promises that have a very long shelf life these are promises that are still in effect and directly apply to each and every one of us as we peer into this upper room scene you would think that the disciples would be the ones seeking to encourage the one who was about to die but it is the other way around it is the one who is about to die who will encourage the disciples and it really reflects his heart of love that he's more concerned for them than he is for himself that his thoughts are upon them as he seeks to bolster them in their in in their following him and so these promises are are given they are certain they are sure and not only is he the giver of these promises he is the guarantor of these promises he is the one who ensures the successful fulfillment of these promises these are not words that are spoken just into thin air this isn't like a politician overselling and under delivering this is not jesus just putting out this so as to salve their troubled hearts but not be able to come in behind this and fulfill this every word of what he has to say is rock solid and fixed and certain you and i can hang our hats on this you and i can build our life upon this you and i can lean heavy upon this so as we walk through this passage which is a continent unto itself um part of the challenge is how do you slice the pie how do you divide this up john calvin said an expositor must be like a father who sits at a dining room table and the little children are gathered around the table there's a large stake in the middle and if the father gave the whole stake to the little children at once they would choke to death so the father cuts it up into little pieces and feeds them one at a time so this is a filet [Laughter] and i am your father so [Laughter] small f of course um so let me cut this up into some small pieces that hopefully will be digestible so everything revolves around promises verses 15-31 these are promises verse 15 it can be argued really should have been given last week in the division as it no doubt is in your bible but i i have it this week so here's how the outline will go i want you to note first the promise of assurance that's what verse 15 is it is the promise of assurance if you love me you will keep my commandments you may say so where is the assurance in that and the answer is with the defection of jesus of judas from the upper room there remained uncertainty to his previous statement one of you will betray me they don't know who it is and jesus had said with such a muffled voice it is the one to whom i will hand the piece of bread they didn't hear that they didn't understand that and so as jesus handed the bread to judas and said what you do do quickly the rest did not hear that and he slipped out and so they're still wondering is it me who is the betrayer and so jesus speaks here in verse 15 here is the acid test to discern to determine who is a true disciple of jesus christ this is the separation from the wheat and the tares and so in verse 15 he says if you love me that is a statement of saving faith that's what saving faith is it is to love the lord jesus christ it is to love jesus more than anything in this world more than anyone in this world that jesus is your supreme affection and that you have given to him supreme devotion and allegiance and loyalty that that's what it is to exercise saving faith in jesus christ it is to love the lord your god and as jesus says if you love me he is in essence defining true saving faith it's not just an intellectual cognitive decision that you just check boxes yeah i know that i know that i know that i affirm that i acknowledge that i i believe that no it goes much deeper than just the the mind in fact james 2 19 says even the demons believe and they shudder no truth saving faith goes down deeper than just the mind there is in the heart the strongest love and fidelity for the lord jesus christ that you love christ more than life itself that paul said in philippians 1 21 for me to live is is christ i mean your whole life is christ that's what it is to be a christian if you love me matthew 10 37 jesus said these strong words to to really ferret out what true saving faith is what it is to be a true disciple of christ he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me you'll say later in luke 14 25 that you cannot follow me and can you cannot come after me unless i am your number one supreme priority and passion in your life jesus will not ride in anyone's back seat or in the trunk he is only in the front seat and he is behind the steering wheel or he's not along for the ride at all he will not play second fiddle in anyone's life that's what it is to be a disciple of christ and to be a disciple of christ is to be a true believer of christ but it's even more personal in that that you love christ more than your own life more than your own comforts more than your own pleasures more than your own desires that your love for jesus christ rises above everything about your little tiny life in luke 14 26 jesus said if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own life he cannot be my disciple he's a jealous savior he is a jealous god and supreme love for christ marks true saving faith you remember romans 8 28 and we know that god causes all things to work together for good for those who love god and who are called according to his purpose that's synonymous with being a true believer is that you love god but not just that you have a little place for god in your life and you love him in that little place but that that the love that you have for jesus christ far surpasses anything and everything else in your life it just dwarfs everything in your life he must increase i must decrease and if you love me jesus said you will keep my commandments here's the evidence or the proof of genuine love for christ here is the the certain evidence that you have exercised saving faith the end of verse 15 you will keep my commandments please note the certainty of this you will keep my commandments not you should could would might you will and why will you keep my commandments because he's given you a new heart in the new birth he's giving you a new heart that that loves christ a new heart that loves his word and your strongest impulse is to please him and to follow him and do that which is pleasing in his sight and what is pleasing in his sight is that you keep his commandments the word keep is is really a military word it pictures someone who's posted on watch and he is to keep an eye out for any encroaching danger to keep a sharp eagle eye out and with any movement to to quickly respond to to to guard uh the safety of others by by keeping your watch it's synonymous with to give strictest attention to and it is synonymous with obey he says you will keep or obey my commandments please note commandments is in the plural refers to the full counsel of god it refers to all of the of the the commandments that have been given by christ and they're not suggestions they're not options they are the distinguishing and defining marks of the narrow path that lead us actually into the fullness of god's blessing every step of obedience leads you into the very epicenter of the will of god it leads you into the fullness of his blessing even if it leads you into difficulty and trials better to be in the trial in obedience to christ than out of the trial in disobedience to christ so he says you will keep my commandments that this is the promise of assurance that you will be able to look at your own life and determine whether or not you have an authentic faith in christ is there this god-given desire within your soul to keep his commandments it ultimately is what what made the difference between peter and judas it doesn't mean that we don't ever fail to keep a commandment it's just that when we do fail to keep a commandment we weep and we confess and we repent and we're brokenhearted if you're judas and you break a commandment you go out and hang yourself and go to hell that's the difference jesus said not everyone who says to me lord lord will inherit the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father will inherit it will enter it so the first promise that jesus makes here to these disciples is a promise of assurance that they may know that they truly love jesus christ not by their fickle feelings and emotions that can be a roller coaster but is there this steady habitual lifestyle direction and pursuit of obeying his commandments that is the mark of do you have a heart for jesus christ now second there's the promise of help in verses 16 and 17 in light of jesus's announcement that he's leaving them that they are greatly troubled in fact the first verse of chapter 14 do not let your heart be troubled why would he say that because their heart is troubled and so he must assure them the promise of help in his absence so verse 16 i will ask the father and this is when he returns to the right hand of god the father in heaven after the resurrection and and after the ascension when i am seated on my throne at the right hand of the father i will ask the father and he will give you another helper that is very significant he will give meaning there's nothing to earn it will be a grace gift another helper in the word another do you see it there in your bible there are different words that are used in the original language for another one of those is another of a different kind heteros this is a greek word alos that means another of exactly the same kind i will give you a helper who is exactly like i am that's that's what jesus is saying and only the the reality of the trinity could make a statement like this be true another helper means another one who is co-equal with me who possesses all of the divine attributes that i possess who who is equal with me in wisdom and in power and in knowledge and in love and and in grace i will give you another helper who will be exactly like me in fact jesus will go on to say and kent will look at this passage in a couple of of weeks that it will be to your advantage that i go away because if i do not go away i cannot send the helper how could it be possibly sorry kent but how could it possibly be to our advantage for the for jesus to leave so that the helper can come because jesus was restricted to one physical body he could only be in one place at one time and if he leaves and goes to the right hand of the father and the helper comes the helper is not confined to a physical corporal body the helper can be everywhere at the same time so when this church service is over the lord goes home with you he goes home with you he goes home with you he goes home with me if it was only jesus in his physical incarnation body he would have to pick and choose which one of us he would go home with so he says i will give you another helper who will be exactly like me he's not the junior member of the trinity he's all that i am he is in a sense another jesus though he is not jesus in other word helper it's it's a greek word that's impossible to translate into the english language with one word it's it's an omelette that has so much in it the word literally means one called alongside to help it's it's a compound word in the original greek and it means one who's called alongside to help and synonyms and your translation may even have one of these synonyms guide counselor encourager teacher comforter strengthener and and the word helper is is so broad and generic it's kind of our default word that that we use just to encompass any need that you have is that big enough for you any need that you have you don't have to look to the right or to the left you just need to look inward i will give you another helper that he please notice he not it he he he he is a person the holy spirit is as much a person as you are a person he has a mind he has emotions he has will that he may be with you forever it's quite a promise with you meaning to be in closest partnership with you he could not be any closer to us he is with us and as we will see in the next verse he is in us that wherever we go for the rest of our lives he is with us with the fullness of all that he is ready to supply every need that you have this is stunning it would be impossible to exaggerate this promise it would be impossible for me to overstate this that he will never leave them this permanent relationship note verse 17. jesus now gives further clarification unless there be any misunderstanding who the helper is that is the spirit of truth he is the source of all truth he is the revealer of all truth he is the teacher of all truth he is the interpreter of all truth he has a monopoly on the truth because he is the truth he is the spirit of truth you remember jesus said i am the way the truth and the life all that jesus is the holy spirit is whom the world cannot receive the the world has no relationship with the holy spirit the world has no partnership with the holy spirit the the world has no help the world has no teaching the world has no guidance the world has no counseling the the world or counselor the the world has nothing the world is abandoned and is on its own it has no spirit of truth therefore the world our the world is made up of merchants of lies and deceptions the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him it has has no experiential relationship with the holy spirit whatsoever that's why the world's always wrong you don't want to stand with the majority you want to stand with the minority said but you know him you know him because he abides with you i want to pause here just for a moment abides but he you know him because he abides with you it's a present tense verb sometimes we think the holy spirit didn't come until the day of pentecost that's a pretty wacky position because the holy spirit is omnipresent the holy spirit is in the world everywhere before the coming of christ before pentecost during the ministry of jesus at pentecost after pentecost there's no place where the holy spirit is not and there's no way these disciples could have been born again except by the holy spirit there's no way they could have followed jesus except by the holy spirit there's no way they could have known the teaching that he was giving except by the holy spirit there's no way they could have persevered with him except by the holy spirit the holy spirit was already abiding with them they couldn't have taken one step of the christian life without the holy spirit do you think their flesh was suddenly somehow stimulated with something that that you and i don't have no it was only by the holy spirit that they could have lived the life that they lived even to this point even jesus and his humanity had to be anointed with the holy spirit how about that so what happened on the day of pentecost well it wasn't the entrance of the holy spirit into the world for the first time i can tell you that and it wasn't the first time the holy spirit abided with the disciples i can tell you that it was a greater measure and greater manifestation of the power and the might of the holy spirit it was a fifth gear if you will but jesus says you know him already he abides with you right now and will be in you listen the christian life is not hard it's impossible maybe you found that out a little bit the only way that we can possibly live the life that god has called us to live is by the indwelling internal presence and power and grace of the holy spirit within us so they needed to hear this promise because they were in for the challenge of their life they were going to take on dead apostate judaism they were going to take on the dominance of the roman empire they were just a handful of fishermen and a tax collector and a bunch of nobodies how in the world are they going to pull this off it would be greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world first john 4 verse 4. oh they need more promise and jesus knows that so not only promise of help and promise of assurance he now gives them promise of of closeness that this help has got to be close and and and available and so he says in verse 18 i will not leave you as orphans what does that mean that's a veiled illusion a figure of speech a literary device indicating his death and departure i'm leaving but i am not leaving you as as orphans meaning unattended uncared for unprovided for uh you're going to have to raise yourself you're going to provide for yourself no i'm not going to leave you as orphans i will come to you wow that's another veiled illusion to the resurrection that he will come back from the dead and there will be multiple post-resurrection appearances in which he will make further deposits into their life in fact we will read later in john chapter 20 that he will breathe on them the holy spirit and give them even a greater measure of the spirit just to even get them to pentecost and verse 19 after a while the world will no longer see me and that is a reference to the fact that after his death no unbeliever ever saw him alive if i had been jesus i would have walked down main street in jerusalem and showed myself to all of the pharisees and the scribes and and the sadducees and provided evidence but jesus did not make himself known to one single unbeliever he only appeared to his own and there is a sense in that of urgency that when you hear the truth you better act upon the truth now so he says in verse 19 but you will see me he made many post-resurrection appearances in fact at one time he appeared he appeared to 500 people at one time first corinthians 15 tells us because i live he's referring to coming back from the dead you will live also meaning the power that will raise me from the dead will be the very power that the holy spirit will impart to your life to enable you to be a dynamic force in this world in that day verse 20 in that day referring to after his resurrection you will know that i am in my father after the resurrection and after his ascension back to the right hand of god the father there will be this restored relationship and fellowship with the father no longer the breach and separation upon the cross my god my god why have you forsaken me there will now be the the restoration of this broken relationship as the father and the son will be rejoined in heaven then you will know that i am in my father now watch this and you and me and i and you this speaks to the even closer relationship that they will have to jesus after his death burial resurrection and ascension because instead of having jesus beside them they will now have jesus inside of them they will no longer have him merely at their side they will now have him in their heart and they will have him there by the indwelling presence of the holy spirit sometimes we may think oh if i could have just lived 2 000 years ago if i could have just seen the 5 000 fed with the bread and the fish if i could have just seen him walk on water if i could have just been there in the garden and and heard him pray then i would be so much closer to the lord jesus christ no you wouldn't no you wouldn't it is so much better now because jesus says that that you and me and i and you you can't be any closer than that do you realize that you have this intimate personal relationship with jesus christ that he has moved into your life and will never move out it's not just a a takeover of your life it's a makeover of your life this is ex what a promise jesus is is making to them and this will be more fully developed which we will look at next week in john 15 when jesus says i am the true vine and you are the branches abide in me and i in you that that will be a fuller uh development of what he just said i in you and you and me i will abide in you and you will abide in me i will live in you and you will live in me this is what it is to be a christian you're not on your own you you may be a widow or a widower he's not left you as orphans you may be a single adult and and not yet married you may be divorced you're not an orphan you've got not just a roommate you've got a heartmate you've got one who's living inside of you who's everything that god is to enable you to live the christian life any fault or failure is at our feet not his this leads to the fourth promise the promise of love in verses 21 to 24 lest they feel further abandoned by this announcement of his departure jesus now assures them of his love for them i mean in any broken relationship the one who is left often feels what's wrong with me i'm i feel rejected what was there missing in me that this other one would leave me and jesus can understand human nature and could understand that that's how they could feel that i guess he doesn't love us so please note beginning in verse 21 in verse 21 he reaffirms verse 15 he says he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me i don't need to comment on that any further but notice at the end of verse 21 and he who loves me that means he who has saving faith in me will be loved by my father you see there is a special saving love that god has only for his own children there is a broad general common grace love that god has for the whole world i mean he even loves animals he feeds them but for this verse to be true you must understand jacob i loved esau i hated there is a distinction in the love of god it's not a one-size-fits-all and those who love jesus are loved by the father i've got a son sitting right over here you love my son i'm gonna love you you you be nice to my son i'm gonna be nice to you you mess with my son i'll have sin to confess we're going to have a come to jesus meeting so we understand he who loves me will be loved by my father there is a tight circle of the love of god that is a redeeming reconciling saving forgiving pardoning providing supplying guiding guarding preserving love that he has it's a tight circle and it's reserved exclusively for those who love his son do you love his son then the father has great love for you and he goes on to say jesus said and i will love him well see jesus and the father are one in purpose and one in will and one in focus and one in direction and one in labor of course they are one in love jesus says if you love me then the father will love you and therefore i will love you and he goes on further at the end of verse 21 and will disclose myself to him i i will make myself known to you now i understand this in any relationship in which you are meeting someone who is i'll just put it this way above you you may only know that person to the extent that they allow themselves to be known by you and you may only know that person to the extent they choose to make themself known to you it's a top-down relationship i've had the privilege of knowing many people in fact the whole world's above me but many people that is an honor to know and it's only to the extent that they have chosen to disclose themselves to me we're not surprised to see jesus say and i will disclose myself to him it's by his initiative if you want jesus to be real to you if you want jesus to disclose himself to you obey his commandments the distance that you may seem or perceive in the relationship is created by disobedience you don't need to go to another concert you need to start obeying which you already know to be true in the word and jesus will disclose himself to those who already know him in a fuller way so verse 22 judas not as scary it said to him lord what then has happened that you are going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world this disciple is thaddeus and he wrongly assumed that jesus is referring to a second coming now when he says i will come to you and we could we can understand how thaddeus would have misunderstood it's been difficult for me to keep my eye on the ball in this but here's what's going on in that is his mind when you come back how in the world is it that we'll see you but the world won't see you when you come back how will we observe you but the world will not observe you and so in verse 23 jesus now is thinking spiritually not physically and jesus answered and said to him if anyone loves me he will keep my word that's the third time he has said this obviously hugely important and my father will love him we will come to him and make our abode with him that is to say if you will live in obedience to me out of a heart of love for me then we're going to move into your life in ways like you've never seen before and we're going to make our abode with you and i'm going to disclose myself to you in ways that you will know me with a depth and an intimacy that you have not yet experienced and we will make our abode with him it says you see that at the end of verse 23 the only other time in the entire new testament where that word is used was used in this very chapter in verse 2 where he says in my father's house are many dwelling places do you see that your heart is going to become our dwelling place and we are going to unpack and move in in deeper and fuller ways and make ourselves known to you you see ultimately the lord's not after a performance he's after a relationship and he wants he wants you to know him but the path to knowing him you're going to have to obey his word now verse 24 he who does not love me and as he says this he has in mind judas there is uh a clarification that he is making here so that they are not going to be thrown for a loop about so how do we explain judas and he will explain judas more fully we'll look at it next week in john 15 the branch that does not bear fruit and is cast into the fire that's judas and here's judas right here in verse 24 he who does not love me does not keep my words no he does his own thing he goes his own way he just uses jesus to advance his own ends he he uses jesus to get what he wants but to keep jesus's words that's not on the radar he who does not love me does not keep my words that's judas and the word which you hear is not mine but the fathers who sent me it underscores the seriousness of not obeying the word of christ because every word that christ has spoken has been given to him by the father and so to disobey the words of christ is actually rebellion against heaven again and against the father it is to go awol against god the father to disobey the lord jesus christ that's how serious it is and so jesus is underscoring for them but you do love me and you keep my words and because of this the father loves you and i love you and i will disclose myself to you if any of us here today doubt the love of god in christ for you and you're a believer in jesus christ i simply point you to the cross the greatest demonstration for god demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners christ died for us you are so deeply loved and nothing has been held back from the father's provision for you now i've got to wrap this up quick you're gonna have to listen quicker okay all right fifth number five the promise of truth in verses 25 and 26 the promise of truth these things i've spoken to you while abiding with you now these things refer to everything that he ever said to them in the entire three years of his of his public and personal ministry with them these things i've spoken to the emphasis on the truth and how important the truth is to them to live a dynamic christian life while abiding with you that they have received the greatest theological education that anyone has ever received on planet earth so great in fact they called him rabbi which means teacher and he called them disciple which means student or learner so how are they going to remember everything he taught them in three years i mean you can't even remember everything i've said to this point today over the last three hours so how how are they going to remember the last three years everything that was said there's no tape recorders and whatever could be written down would be so antiquated that it couldn't even be carried around so the next verse as as they're scrambling how are we going to how are we going to remember all this after he's gone he's leaving the teacher is leaving how are we going to remember this verse 26 with the helper ah here he is again the holy spirit and the father will send in my name meaning enter in perfect agreement with me he will teach you all things now there's been many a college student who has claimed this verse the night before an exam so i know what you're thinking um that's not the meaning of this he will teach you all things continue to read and bring to your remembrance all that i said to you he's not going to teach you everything about biochemics and astrology and astronomy and all the rest he's going to teach you and bring to your remembrance everything that jesus taught you and said to you it will be a super natural bringing back to the forefront of your mind and actually the very first fulfillment of this would be for them to give the apostles teachings in acts 2 42 and would be for them to write books in the new testament and to be able to remember everything that jesus had taught them so that they everything that they write in these new testament epistles the gospel of john first second and third john the book of revelation first peter ii peter and everything that peter will say to mark as mark will write the the gospel of of mark and as luke will research and interview the disciples the holy spirit will bring back with perfection everything that jesus said to them and not only bring back to the remembrance but jesus the holy spirit will then teach them accurately and correctly with precision exactly what jesus had taught them because the spirit and the son are one in mind and one in truth and one in doctrine and one in wisdom it is the same holy spirit who lives inside of you and when you hear false teaching on television there is a smoke alarm that goes off inside of you and you know that's a damnable lie in first john 2 20 and 20 8 27 says you have an anointing from him on high which is the holy spirit who will teach you all things now god has given gifted men to the church to give teaching we are simply secondary teachers small t and you need secondary teachers small t but there's only one primary teacher capital t and that is the holy spirit and he will take the teaching of gifted men and he will take the truth of god's word and he will guide you he will thread the needle through a through a through a through a a tiny what am i trying to say needle eye i have a needle mark has a mask on and can't talk at the moment i just thought of three funny things to say i won't say [Laughter] so in john 6 45 jesus said everyone whom the father draws to faith in christ is taught by the father i say this with all humility i have been taught by god and if you are a believer you may say with all humility you have been taught by god now notice the promise of peace in verse 27 and following jesus said peace i leave with you i mean how loving how caring of jesus for these disciples he's going back to glory it's going to be great for him they're all going to be martyred except john and he will end up on the island of patmos and doing hard time in solitary confinement i mean the worst is ahead for them he's out of here soon but jesus is so concerned for them he knows they're already troubled and so he says peace i leave with you what is peace this is not objective peace with god the result of justification by faith this is subjective peace of god this is an inner calmness of heart in the midst of the storms of life in the midst of the raging turbulent storms of life he gives an inexplicable inner tranquility and placidness of soul that cannot be explained apart from this he has to and he says my peace i give to you it's not just a peace like his that he gives to us no it's the very peace that was in his own heart and soul as the god man is the very peace that he gives to you and me now just remember the context of this he knows he will be crucified tomorrow he is at peace the storm is raging on the outside judas is in the active but the betrayal and on the inside he has peace it was my peace i give to you listen the peace that he gives to you has been tested and tried and it will bear up under your tiny little circumstance and i don't mean to belittle it because major surgery is when it's your surgery and a major problem is when it's your problem but it's nothing compared to what the valley of the shadow of death that jesus had to walk and he had real peace in an argument from the greater to the lesser he has peace for you he can come walking on the water and speak to your troubled heart and say peace be still he says not as the world gives meaning the world gives such a cheap imitation of peace i don't have time to comment on that do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful that's repetition of verse one you heard that i said to you i go away that's a repetition of verse two i will come to you that's a repetition of verse three if you love me you would have rejoiced because i go to the father i mean you would want the very best for me and you would know that my return to the father means all authority in heaven and earth will be given unto me now i do need to comment on the in verse 28 for the father is greater than i the cults take this abuse this corrupt this twist this what this means for the father is greater than i does not mean greater in attributes nor greater in essence nor greater in personhood not greater in deity but greater in office and greater in role as jesus is in submission to the greater authority of his father i do my father's business i always do those things that are pleasing to him i only speak the words that he has given me to say when you pray pray to the father jesus is in submission insubordinate he is in subordination to the father now i've told you before it happens so that when it happens you may believe and even that will bring peace to them as they will see the fulfillment of everything that jesus had told them come to pass when they will look back upon the cross burial and resurrection and the sending of the holy spirit they will look at each other and say it was exactly like he said what a confirmation and what peace that will bring to them last thing i want you to see is the promise of control and thank you for hanging in here with me this is an enormous chunk of of verses that demand careful explanation but the last thing that jesus wants them to know and that he wants you to know is that everything is under control i mean i need to know that today as this entire world is about to blow up they needed to know that as the son of man the son of god would be taken from them in the garden of gethsemane and led off like a criminal would be condemned to death and would die as a common criminal upon a cross they needed to know they needed to know that everything's under control so in verse 30 he says i will not speak much more to you in other words the curtain is closing the time of the end is now here for the ruler of this world is coming none of this is taking jesus by surprise jesus understands this is a part of the plan that god created the devil for this moment he is fulfilling his reason for existence that god is using the devil to carry out his own eternal purposes to bring the greatest good that will ever come to your spiritual life which will be the death of jesus christ upon the cross the ruler of this world is is coming and please note he doesn't say judas is coming he understands the power behind judas is the evil one it is the devil and he the devil has nothing in me he he he has no toe hold in me he has not established any beachhead in me he he he has he has no foothold in me he has not pried through the the armor of god and and sent a flaming missile into me that would pro cause me to take one step away from perfect holiness he has nothing in me it is a statement of his perfect sinless humanity and absolute holiness he is flawless but so that the world may know that i love the father i do exactly as the father commanded me which is to proceed forward to the cross it was for this hour that he came into this world he was born to die he came on a mission of salvation that would require the price of his own blood to be shed upon calvary's cross as he would bear the sins of his people it was his father who had commanded him from all eternity past to assume this role and the son in eternity passed in obedience accepted this commandment and entered this world through the portals of a virgin's womb lived a sinless and perfect life and set his face like a flint towards jerusalem where he would there go and be lifted up upon the cross to bear the sins of many the time has now come for the son of man to now move forward to gethsemane there to be arrested by the betrayer which would be simply one link in the chain that would take him to the cross where he would die the world may know that i love the father because i do exactly as the father commanded me and the father had commanded him to lay down his life for you and for me it was the act of supreme obedience to go all the way unto death on a cross jesus is not whimpering or crying jesus is not reluctant jesus now says get up and let us go from here knowing exactly what awaits him the most ignominious death the most horrific public execution ever designed by man but the physical would be nothing as the sins of you and me would be laid upon him and him who knew no sin god made to be sin for us and even further than that as he bore our sins the full weight of the law of god the curse of the law came down heavy upon the lord jesus christ and he was crushed by the omnipotent hand of the father as he died in our place he bore our suffering he suffered our judgment for us upon that cross and even more than that god the father who is perfectly holy could no longer have this place of intimacy with his son who now has become sin and god the father now turns his back upon god the son in his humanity and jesus cries out the words of psalm 22 verse 1. my god my god why have you forsaken me knowing that this dark separation and suffering and sin bearing and wrath bearing awaits him this heroic jesus nevertheless said get up and let us go from here he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and yet he was so determined to die for us so that we would be with him forever it will take all eternity for us to even begin to express one iota of the gratitude that we owe to him for this enormous sacrifice that he paid for rebels and spiritual anarchists and sinners like you and me if you have never called upon his name the bible says behold now is the accepted time behold today is the day of salvation i would plead with you do not let this moment go as the word is still in your ear and the word is still in your heart as the word is still so near to you do not let this moment pass without stopping and in your heart saying lord jesus save me lord jesus i'm a sinner you are a savior i throw myself upon your mercy have mercy upon me the sinner and jesus says him who comes unto me i will in no wise cast out hallelujah what a savior let us pray father this is this has been an adult portion of your word this has been a full serving this has been a tall drink help us to digest help us to take in what all jesus said cause it to be more valuable to us than silver or gold cause these words to be sweeter to us than honey cause us to long for these words like a newborn baby belongs for milk may we drink in these truths and may we truly make them our own holy spirit teach us and we will be taught in jesus name we pray amen

Channel: Trinity Bible

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Id: 2jXzJg9sPH8

Length: 77min 24sec (4644 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 25 2020