SPEAKER_00: Generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Now, for kids and pro cell students, you can head on out.
SPEAKER_00: Your amazing volunteers are ready for you.
SPEAKER_00: Have a great morning.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone else, please stand with us if you are able, as one of our elders reads today's scripture from the book of John.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning.
SPEAKER_01: This morning we'll be finishing John chapter 14 with verses 15 through 31.
SPEAKER_01: If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
SPEAKER_01: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever.
SPEAKER_01: Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
SPEAKER_01: You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
SPEAKER_01: I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.
SPEAKER_01: Yet a little while longer, and the world will see me no more.
SPEAKER_01: But you will see me, because I live, you also will live.
SPEAKER_01: In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.
SPEAKER_01: And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
SPEAKER_01: Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and I will come to him and make our home with him.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever does not love me, does not keep my word.
SPEAKER_01: And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
SPEAKER_01: These things have I spoken to you while I am still with you.
SPEAKER_01: But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
SPEAKER_01: My peace I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
SPEAKER_01: You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.
SPEAKER_01: If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
SPEAKER_01: And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
SPEAKER_01: I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming.
SPEAKER_01: He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me so that the world may know that I love the Father.
SPEAKER_01: Rise, let us go from here.
SPEAKER_01: This is the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: May he add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word.
SPEAKER_01: And you guys can have a seat.
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Tim.
SPEAKER_02: Appreciate you reading our main text for the day.
SPEAKER_02: Well, welcome to Forward Church.
SPEAKER_02: What a um great crowd to see today.
SPEAKER_02: If uh if one if some of you came today hoping to hear Bob Russell preach, I'm sorry that was last weekend.
SPEAKER_02: Um, but it's good to have you here today.
SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to see you.
SPEAKER_02: Bob did such a great job last weekend.
SPEAKER_02: I knew he would, just such an anointed preacher.
SPEAKER_02: I'm just thankful to have him uh to be here to share in the life of Forward.
SPEAKER_02: Um but seriously, we are glad to have you here with us, and we're continuing verse by verse through the Gospel of John.
SPEAKER_02: And we have spent several weeks studying through the text that is focusing on one single night.
SPEAKER_02: So it's the night before Jesus will be betrayed, and a lot is happening in that upper room.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus has a lot to teach his disciples, and John is taking his time, spending several chapters going through what happened on that one night in the upper room.
SPEAKER_02: So we've established that it was very difficult for the disciples to comprehend that Jesus would be leaving them, and they just didn't understand why they could not follow him, why they couldn't go with him.
SPEAKER_02: But Jesus knew what was about to happen, so he's preparing his disciples with these words as he finishes up this night.
SPEAKER_02: And this is the basic context where we pick up today in John chapter 14, verse 15, where Jesus makes this strong statement.
SPEAKER_02: He says, If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
SPEAKER_02: Now that's a pretty strong statement, and he's just told them that if they believe in him and if they pray according to his will, then he will do whatever they ask.
SPEAKER_02: And then he says that they will be able to do greater works than even he has done.
SPEAKER_02: And that's amazing for us to think that, to wrap our minds around how could we do something greater than what Jesus has done.
SPEAKER_02: And Pastor Bob did a great job last weekend of explaining that.
SPEAKER_02: You can go listen to that sermon from last week.
SPEAKER_02: But he basically explained that when Jesus was here performing miracles, the miracles were temporary.
SPEAKER_02: He raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus would still go on to die again.
SPEAKER_02: He fed the 5,000 with the five loaves and the two fish, but all those people, they would get hungry again.
SPEAKER_02: But those miracles were to point them to the reality that Jesus is the Messiah.
SPEAKER_02: However, when we now share the gospel of Jesus with someone, then eternity is changed for that person when they receive Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And that is the greater miracle, the greater work that he has given us.
SPEAKER_02: And that's what he means by we will be able to do even greater things than he has done, because the work that Jesus has entrusted to us has eternal weight.
SPEAKER_02: So when we share the gospel, when we point people to Jesus, it can eternally change them, not just feed them a meal for a day or even raise somebody from the dead because they will go on to die.
SPEAKER_02: What we are looking at and what Jesus has in view is eternity.
SPEAKER_02: So he says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
SPEAKER_02: Because when we understand the love of Jesus that he has for us, and then we truly love him back, then we understand that there are eternal consequences connected to that love.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, because of his great love for us, we will follow his commands.
SPEAKER_02: And we're going to break that down.
SPEAKER_02: You know, when I was competing for the University of Kentucky, I understood that UK and the NCAA had very specific rules.
SPEAKER_02: They had commands that I had to follow.
SPEAKER_02: If I did not follow those rules, then I could be disqualified from competing.
SPEAKER_02: So I understood the consequences, and that kept me from breaking the rules.
SPEAKER_02: I didn't want to lose my scholarship.
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to be able to continue to compete, and I knew if I broke the rules, then I couldn't compete.
SPEAKER_02: So I did not follow the NCAA and UK's rules because I knew that they loved me.
SPEAKER_02: I didn't follow them because I felt the NCAA loves me so much, therefore I'm going to follow everything that they say.
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't that, it was because I didn't want to be disqualified from competing.
SPEAKER_02: Now, there are consequences to breaking God's commands, and it's important to understand those.
SPEAKER_02: When we break his commands, there are consequences.
SPEAKER_02: However, we don't follow God simply because we fear the consequences.
SPEAKER_02: If we do, that's not a healthy relationship.
SPEAKER_02: If you're in a relationship with God, just trying to follow all the rules because you're afraid of breaking the rules, because there'll be consequences, then you don't understand the love of God.
SPEAKER_02: And that's what Jesus is getting at here, because Jesus says we should follow his commands because we understand his love for us, and therefore we love him in return.
SPEAKER_02: So, in short, our obedience is a result of love, not of fear of worrying about the consequences.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus says, if you love me, here's what you do you follow my commands.
SPEAKER_02: Now, what commands do you think Jesus had in mind?
SPEAKER_02: There are a lot of commands in the Bible.
SPEAKER_02: He's given a lot of commands to them over the three years together, and certainly all of those are in view.
SPEAKER_02: We are to follow all of God's commands.
SPEAKER_02: But I think within the context of this conversation in that upper room, we can see that Jesus has given them some specific commands on how they are to live.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus has told them, um, he said, As I've told you, as I washed your feet, you are then to wash the feet of others, meaning you serve others.
SPEAKER_02: You put others' needs before yourself.
SPEAKER_02: Then he gave them a new way of loving.
SPEAKER_02: And he said, As I have loved you, you love others.
SPEAKER_02: In other words, love others with a sacrificial love like Jesus has shown for us.
SPEAKER_02: Then he commanded them, he said, You believe in the Father by believing in me.
SPEAKER_02: So we are to follow his commands by believing in Jesus, by putting others above ourselves, serving others, and showing love for others, which is a sacrificial love.
SPEAKER_02: He's telling them, if you really love me as my disciple, then you will do these things.
SPEAKER_02: You will believe in him, you will serve others, you will love others as Jesus has loved.
SPEAKER_02: And that's the marks of a true believer.
SPEAKER_02: Now, I cannot judge the motives of someone's heart, whether or not someone truly believes in Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: However, I can look at the fruit of a person's life and I can make a discernment on whether or not I think they really love Jesus or not.
SPEAKER_02: And we can do that when we when we see how people are living their life, does it match what they claim?
SPEAKER_02: Are they doing their best to follow his commands?
SPEAKER_02: Or are they living their life for themselves?
SPEAKER_02: And you know, that's something that should challenge every single one of us.
SPEAKER_02: It challenges me because I need to remember that in those moments when I do fail, because I will fail, I will break his commands, you will break his commands, but we have to understand that our failure is not simply because we let our guard down, or because I got too close to the temptation, or maybe because I didn't try hard enough, or I didn't, I needed more willpower in that situation.
SPEAKER_02: Certainly those things all make a contribution to my sin when we are in those kind of areas and we're we're allowing sin to tempt us.
SPEAKER_02: However, we can't blame those for our sinfulness.
SPEAKER_02: The main reason I fail to be disobedient to God's commands is when I'm in moments that I don't understand his amazing love for me, when I'm not recognizing his incredible sacrificial love and sacrifice on my behalf.
SPEAKER_02: When I don't understand his amazing love, I tend to sin.
SPEAKER_02: Because the main driver for our sinful behavior is this we love the flesh more than we love Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: That's why Jesus says, if you love me, you'll follow my commands.
SPEAKER_02: So when we don't follow his commands, what we are showing is we don't understand his love and we don't love him as much as we love that fleshly thing that has caused us to sin.
SPEAKER_02: So it's a matter of understanding that and recognizing that I'm loving the things of this world more than I love Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: So the question we have to answer is this do I love Jesus as he loves me?
SPEAKER_02: Do I have a sacrificial love?
SPEAKER_02: Am I willing to give up the things of this world for godly things?
SPEAKER_02: Am I willing to sacrifice the flesh, crucify the flesh, my desires, my wants, the things that I think are right, and get in line with what God says, what he wants for me, what he says is right.
SPEAKER_02: Am I willing to sacrifice and crucify those fleshly desires because I love Jesus more than I love the world?
SPEAKER_02: And listen, the only way we can love properly is because Jesus first loved us.
SPEAKER_02: And I love how Scripture tells us this.
SPEAKER_02: 1 John 4.19 says, we love because he first loved us.
SPEAKER_02: So we don't love because we just have this amazing capacity to love.
SPEAKER_02: We love because we have a loving Father in heaven who loves us so much that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and gave his life for our sins.
SPEAKER_02: He loves us immeasurably.
SPEAKER_02: And when we begin to recognize his love for us, then we begin to learn how to properly love.
SPEAKER_02: And the reality is that Jesus could see us in our broken, sinful state, and yet he still loved us sacrificially.
SPEAKER_02: Do we love like that?
SPEAKER_02: And that's something we have to ask ourselves.
SPEAKER_02: Am I loving others sacrificially as Jesus has loved me?
SPEAKER_02: Well, it's a supernatural kind of love.
SPEAKER_02: It's a supernatural kind of love that he would suffer and die for you and me and for everyone who will believe.
SPEAKER_02: And that's supernatural and it's sacrificial.
SPEAKER_02: And when we grasp that, when we wrap our minds around that, then we are able to respond with that same kind of love.
SPEAKER_02: And we're able to love sacrificially because we understand that Jesus first loved us.
SPEAKER_02: So if you desire to be more loving and to be more obedient and to be faithful to the Lord, you're to focus on his sacrifice for you.
SPEAKER_02: That's why Jesus established communion.
SPEAKER_02: Holy communion is a moment where we remember his sacrifice because we tend to forget pretty easily.
SPEAKER_02: So we have to be reminded on a regular basis of what Jesus has done for us and his love for us.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, we live the same way.
SPEAKER_02: And the more you focus on Christ's love for you, the less you desire the things that break his heart.
SPEAKER_02: But you know, there's even better news than that, and I'm so thankful because I know my heart.
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
SPEAKER_02: I know your heart.
SPEAKER_02: You might be sitting there thinking, you don't know my heart.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_02: Because the Bible tells me about your heart.
SPEAKER_02: And the Bible says the heart is wicked above all things, that we cannot trust our heart.
SPEAKER_02: The Bible says, don't follow your heart.
SPEAKER_02: World says follow your heart, right?
SPEAKER_02: Bible says that it's wicked above all things.
SPEAKER_02: It's deceitful.
SPEAKER_02: We cannot trust our heart.
SPEAKER_02: And we are prone to wander.
SPEAKER_02: When we don't stay close in to the word of God and under the word of God and recognizing his sacrifice for us, we tend to wander.
SPEAKER_02: That's why we're called sheep, right?
SPEAKER_02: Sheep wander.
SPEAKER_02: And we do we wander off and we get ourselves in trouble because we begin to sin.
SPEAKER_02: So how is it that Jesus can command us that if we love him, we'll follow his commands?
SPEAKER_02: How are we going to do that when we are so prone to wandering, when our hearts are so wicked above every other thing that we will just stray and we'll follow the desires of our heart?
SPEAKER_02: Well, there's incredible news for us.
SPEAKER_02: He sends us a helper.
SPEAKER_02: And that's where he goes in the next verse, verse 16.
SPEAKER_02: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
SPEAKER_02: You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is so important.
SPEAKER_02: The disciples in this upper room, they're afraid, they're sad, they don't understand.
SPEAKER_02: Why are you leaving us, Jesus?
SPEAKER_02: And he has said that he's leaving them.
SPEAKER_02: He's let them know he's going to die.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus is assuring them that they should not let their hearts be troubled.
SPEAKER_02: Now, that's difficult, right?
SPEAKER_02: Easier said than done.
SPEAKER_02: Hey, I'm about to die, I'm gonna be gone, but don't be troubled.
SPEAKER_02: And he's saying, I'm going to send someone to help you.
SPEAKER_02: He says, If you love me, you will obey me, and that's an impossible task, so I'm going to send you a helper.
SPEAKER_02: You see, God in his amazing grace way, he knew that about us.
SPEAKER_02: He knows that we cannot save ourselves, so he sent us a savior.
SPEAKER_02: He also knows that once we're saved, we can't obey him in our own strength, so he sends us a helper.
SPEAKER_02: You see, God is doing all the work on our behalf, and it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02: This good news of the gospel is that we can't get to heaven on our own, so God made a way.
SPEAKER_02: And through faith in Jesus, we get there.
SPEAKER_02: Now, how do we live out the Christian life here on earth?
SPEAKER_02: Well, we're gonna fail, we're gonna stumble, we're gonna fall, we're gonna sin, we're gonna follow our heart and the flesh instead of the spirit at times.
SPEAKER_02: So we have to have a helper help us be obedient to God, and that's the Holy Spirit that now dwells inside of every believer.
SPEAKER_02: What a beautiful truth that it will dwell inside.
SPEAKER_02: He says the Holy Spirit will be with you and will be in you.
SPEAKER_02: You see, the disciples, they're aware of the Holy Spirit, but they don't have the Holy Spirit in them yet.
SPEAKER_02: Now, it will come, or he will come and be in them.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus says also that this helper, the Holy Spirit, will be with you forever.
SPEAKER_02: Now, the word helper can also be translated as comforter, counselor.
SPEAKER_02: We see teacher, and this is speaking of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit is our comforter in life.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit is our counselor in life, the Holy Spirit is our teacher teaching us the Word of God.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus assures them, I will be with you forever, just in a different way, because the Holy Spirit will now be here.
SPEAKER_02: You see, when you place your faith in Jesus, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: That's what God's Word tells us.
SPEAKER_02: We are assured of that.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus is assuring the disciples here right now.
SPEAKER_02: He's saying, The Holy Spirit will be with you, and he says, forever.
SPEAKER_02: And that is an assurance that once you place your faith in Jesus, you have this seal.
SPEAKER_02: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And that seal cannot be broken.
SPEAKER_02: Why?
SPEAKER_02: Because it's God's seal.
SPEAKER_02: God is placing his Holy Spirit on the heart and the life of every believer who by faith believes in Jesus, and that that seal will be with you forever, he says.
SPEAKER_02: We look at Ephesians 1, 13 through 14.
SPEAKER_02: It says, In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, talking about Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: When you believe in Jesus, it goes on, we're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: Sealed.
SPEAKER_02: And then it says, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory?
SPEAKER_02: Now I want you to see the forever and permanent language there.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit is your guarantee.
SPEAKER_02: You are guaranteed heaven by faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus says will be with you forever.
SPEAKER_02: Once you place your faith in Jesus Christ, this seal of God is put on you and you are sealed.
SPEAKER_02: Your eternity is sealed.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit is with you forever.
SPEAKER_02: The issue is many of us don't tap into the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We squash the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We continue to sin, and that negates or that diminishes the power of the Holy Spirit in our life.
SPEAKER_02: So by faith in Jesus, you have this power of God living inside of you, and it is your guarantee.
SPEAKER_02: So I want to ask you a question.
SPEAKER_02: Do you think you have the power to break God's seal?
SPEAKER_02: You know, I've counseled people over the years that feel like they've sinned too much for God to forgive them.
SPEAKER_02: I've counseled people that have said, you know, I just can't, I just can't place my faith in Jesus yet and get baptized because I just I know I'm going to sin again.
SPEAKER_02: And yes, you are.
SPEAKER_02: All right?
SPEAKER_02: News flash, you will sin again.
SPEAKER_02: But the beauty of the gospel of Jesus is once you place your faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, you are saved.
SPEAKER_02: You are justified before God.
SPEAKER_02: It's just as if you'd never sinned before God Almighty because of Jesus, not because of you.
SPEAKER_02: And when you place your faith in Jesus, the Bible says he gives you his Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And that Holy Spirit is a seal over your life to protect you forever, and that seal cannot be broken.
SPEAKER_02: How is it that we seem to think that we can break this forever seal?
SPEAKER_02: The Bible tells us that we are assured of our salvation by faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, we have this seal and we cannot break his seal.
SPEAKER_02: You know, I had to use about a week ago a plumbing wrench to open a jar of olives.
unknown: Right?
SPEAKER_02: I got the plumbing wrench out, cranked it, and got the olives open, and I was thinking, that's kind of funny that I would think that, you know, my sin could break God's seal when I can't even break the seal on this little jar.
SPEAKER_02: But that's how we tend to sometimes overestimate our sin and our ability.
SPEAKER_02: We think, well, I did it this time.
SPEAKER_02: Surely God can't forgive me for that.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, he can.
SPEAKER_02: You're underestimating the power of the blood of Jesus if you think your sin can keep you from heaven.
SPEAKER_02: God says that your sin will be wiped away, that you will be made new, made righteous in front of God by faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: It's his work and his work alone.
SPEAKER_02: By faith in Jesus, you are sealed, you are saved, and nothing can break that seal.
SPEAKER_02: Now, you will sin.
SPEAKER_02: You will still sin after faith in Jesus, and that will have earthly consequences.
SPEAKER_02: It will damage your closeness with the Father, but it cannot overpower the forgiveness of the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And we have to rest in that.
SPEAKER_02: You cannot break the seal of the Holy Spirit on a believer's life.
SPEAKER_02: The Bible tells us there is an unforgivable sin.
SPEAKER_02: That unforgivable sin is to outright reject Jesus as Lord and Savior, which then means that you've never placed your faith in Jesus to begin with, so you're not breaking the seal because you never had the seal.
SPEAKER_02: But once you've placed your faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, you are assured of your salvation.
SPEAKER_02: Such a beautiful promise.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is giving his disciples this promise the night before he would be betrayed, and he's letting them know there will be help.
SPEAKER_02: It's going to get hard, life will be tough, it's going to be difficult for you, but you can take heart, he's telling them, because the Holy Spirit will always be with you.
SPEAKER_02: And pretty soon the Holy Spirit will be in them.
SPEAKER_02: And the reality is that they could not stand strong on their own.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, what we'll find is very shortly they will all flee, and we'll be getting to that text in the coming weeks.
SPEAKER_02: But once they have the Holy Spirit, all of a sudden we see they are empowered and they stand strong and they preach boldly and they follow the commands of Jesus and they even die for Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: You see, you and I don't have the strength on our own to do what God commands.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus says, Hey, it's okay.
SPEAKER_02: I'm sending a helper on your behalf.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus says, I will ask the Father, and he will send the Holy Spirit not just to be with you, but to dwell inside of you, to help you.
SPEAKER_02: And we often tend to think that it would be awesome to have walked with Jesus as the disciples did, and that would be awesome.
SPEAKER_02: I would I would love to have that opportunity to walk and talk and spend time with him and just be in his presence, but he is telling us it's even greater to have his Holy Spirit living inside of you.
SPEAKER_02: And he's assuring the disciples, hey, I'm here with you, but I'm not going to be, but something greater is coming.
SPEAKER_02: My presence will be inside of you.
SPEAKER_02: Only every believer in Jesus can have that, though.
SPEAKER_02: He's clear there will be some who will not be able to receive the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And that's verse 17 again.
SPEAKER_02: It says, Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes when the Bible says world, it means everybody in the world.
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes it means actually the physical globe, the world.
SPEAKER_02: Here, this means those who have worldly thinking.
SPEAKER_02: Those who cannot receive the Holy Spirit are those who are ungodly, those who are following the ruler of this world.
SPEAKER_02: That's what he means when he's saying here that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: So the worldly simply means those that oppose God, those that choose the ways of the fallen world that we live in.
SPEAKER_02: In short, the worldly cannot receive because they do not believe.
SPEAKER_02: So let me go to verse 17.
SPEAKER_02: Again, it shows us three basic things that are important to know about the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We see in verse 17 that we can know the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: So it's important to know that, that you can know the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We receive the Holy Spirit because he is with us and he's drawing us to himself.
SPEAKER_02: And then by faith in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.
SPEAKER_02: So it's important to know him, receive him, and then live with his presence inside of you.
SPEAKER_02: Now I believe so many Christians struggle to live the faithful Christian life because they don't understand.
SPEAKER_02: They don't know the Holy Spirit well.
SPEAKER_02: They don't understand they can have the fullness of God, the Holy Spirit, living inside of them.
SPEAKER_02: So far too many Christians try to gut out the Christian life and they struggle with doubt and fear and anxiety, or you just can't seem to understand and grasp your identity in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And that is because you simply don't know the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: So you have to get to know the Holy Spirit, and you get to know the Holy Spirit through reading and studying God's Word.
SPEAKER_02: His word teaches us about the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And you get to know the Holy Spirit and understand his presence when you are spending time in prayer and fasting and studying God's Word.
SPEAKER_02: Part of why we're doing this 21 days of prayer as a church together is that we become, by prayerfully joining together every single day, praying over specific things, that we will become more sensitive to God's Spirit speaking in our life and guiding us by his word that we're reading and studying and allowing his word to guide us because his spirit is in his word and his spirit teaches us his word.
SPEAKER_02: And many of us aren't relying on his power that he has available inside of us, but when you know him and when you sense his presence, and when you can be sensitive to when the Holy Spirit is speaking, then you begin to experience his power because he is always with you.
SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 18.
SPEAKER_02: He says, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus uses this term orphans here with the disciples because disciples in that day would look at their rabbi as their spiritual father.
SPEAKER_02: So a statement would be made of those students when a rabbi would die, they would be called orphans of that rabbi.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus is making it very clear he's about to die, but he's saying, But you're not going to be orphans.
SPEAKER_02: Don't worry about that, because I'm coming back to you.
SPEAKER_02: Now he will come back to them because he will resurrect, and then he'll be in their presence for a while, but he's coming back to them forever in the presence of his Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: So he will come to them, and then they can continue to follow him because they will not be orphans.
SPEAKER_02: Verses 19 through 20 says, Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me, because I live, you also will live.
SPEAKER_02: In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
SPEAKER_02: What a beautiful verse.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is speaking here of the great mystery.
SPEAKER_02: He's revealing to his disciples the mystery that when he goes away, he will still live.
SPEAKER_02: And because he still lives, he will send his Holy Spirit to live in us.
SPEAKER_02: And this is the beautiful mystery of the gospel that Jesus is revealing, the reality that Jesus resurrected, and then he ascended into heaven, and he lives at the right hand of God the Father.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, by faith in Jesus as our Savior, we live in him, we live our life in him, trusting in him, and then in return, he lives in us.
SPEAKER_02: It's this beautiful cycle, right?
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is abiding in the Father.
SPEAKER_02: We are abiding in Jesus, therefore his Holy Spirit abides in us and empowers us.
SPEAKER_02: It's the beauty of the gospel, it's the mystery of the gospel.
SPEAKER_02: Charles Spurgeon once said it this way.
SPEAKER_02: He said, A man is saved because Christ died for him.
SPEAKER_02: He continues saved because Christ lives for him.
SPEAKER_02: The sole reason why the spiritual life abides is because Jesus lives.
SPEAKER_02: Again, taking everything off of our efforts, our merit, we can't do it, but Christ living in us can do it, and we abide in him, and we follow him, and we allow his spirit to guide us, and that allows us to have this ability to obey him.
SPEAKER_02: So his spirit abides in us as a believer, empowering us to obey.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.
SPEAKER_02: And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
SPEAKER_02: So talking a whole lot about love, right?
SPEAKER_02: And here he uses that word has.
SPEAKER_02: And it's the word echo, and it means hold fast to.
SPEAKER_02: So he who holds fast to my commandments.
SPEAKER_02: And what's it mean to hold fast to?
SPEAKER_02: When you hold fast to something, you're not letting go of it, right?
SPEAKER_02: So you're holding on to, you're not letting go, you're trusting in God's commandments, and you're displaying that you love him by your actions.
SPEAKER_02: You know, there's an old saying, talk is cheap, but don't tell me what you believe, show me.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus is proclaiming that right here.
SPEAKER_02: You will show your true love for him by holding fast to his commands.
SPEAKER_02: And when you hold fast to his commands by believing in Jesus and following him, by sacrificially serving others, by loving others as Jesus has loved you, then he says Jesus will manifest himself to you in the form of his Holy Spirit that will be very present in your life.
SPEAKER_02: So you want the Holy Spirit to overflow in your life?
SPEAKER_02: There's the answer.
SPEAKER_02: You be obedient, you follow Jesus, you be in his word, you pray, you fast, you spend time with other believers, you love others as Christ loves you, you live sacrificially, you serve others, and the Holy Spirit will be ever present in your life in a way that you've never known before.
SPEAKER_02: This is a promise for here and now as we live this life.
SPEAKER_02: It's not just a future promise in heaven that we'll have the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: We have the Holy Spirit's presence in us in a very real way right now.
SPEAKER_02: When we follow his commands, and I can tell you this is what I've experienced to be true over 30-something years of following Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: I've learned that when I'm reading and applying God's word, when I'm praying fervently, when I spend some regular time in fasting, when I am observing a Sabbath and having a rest, a time of rest, to just rest in the Lord, when I'm in fellowship with other believers and I'm studying God's word together, and when I'm serving others and when I'm loving others as Christ has loved me, then I can know and I can hear and I'm sensitive to and I'm very, very aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.
SPEAKER_02: However, in those times, those seasons when I've been selfish or I've been lazy or I've been disconnected from other believers or my prayer life is kind of lacking and kind of weak and I'm not in God's word regularly, then there is this suppression of the spirit in my life.
SPEAKER_02: And those are those moments where it's like, I just can't hear from God right now.
SPEAKER_02: I just don't feel like I'm getting a sense of what he wants me to do.
SPEAKER_02: I don't feel his spirit speaking to me.
SPEAKER_02: And listen, that is so, so important that we understand that what we feed is what we're going to hear from.
SPEAKER_02: So when I'm feeding worldly desires, I'm going to hear things from the world.
SPEAKER_02: But when I'm feeding the spirit in my life, when I'm feeding spiritual desires and I'm looking towards God and I'm seeking God, then his Holy Spirit's presence in my life grows to overflowing.
SPEAKER_02: My action or my inaction can cause the spirit to be quieted in my life.
SPEAKER_02: And you need to know that.
SPEAKER_02: But you want to hear from the Spirit, you get in God's word, you pray, you spend time studying his word, you be around other believers, you worship God, and you will begin to hear and sense and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
SPEAKER_02: And the Holy Spirit in a believer's life is not bringing condemnation.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit in a believer's life brings conviction.
SPEAKER_02: So if you're feeling conviction, that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_02: That means you have the Holy Spirit in your life nudging you that, hey, that thing you're doing, that's not in line with God's word.
SPEAKER_02: And if you feel that and sense that, you need to listen to that because God has a better way for you.
SPEAKER_02: And he's by his Holy Spirit nudging you and convicting you in that area.
SPEAKER_02: And he teaches us in that way.
SPEAKER_02: So I know I'm still saved.
SPEAKER_02: I know I still have his spirit, but again, sometimes my action or inaction can cause the spirit to be quieted.
SPEAKER_02: And I can tell you from experience, I much prefer to be able to get everything I can from God.
SPEAKER_02: I want to experience him to the full.
SPEAKER_02: And he's given us this very simple way to do that.
SPEAKER_02: We seek him, we love him, we serve others, we get in his word, we worship, and his spirit will be so present in our life.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus says we can have this power in our life.
SPEAKER_02: But the disciples aren't so sure.
SPEAKER_02: So one of them asked him a question.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 22, Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?
SPEAKER_02: So, first of all, right here, I feel like I need to address that there's another disciple named Judas, not Iscariot.
SPEAKER_02: So Judas Iscariot has already decided to betray Jesus, and he's left the room.
SPEAKER_02: He's going to do his thing.
SPEAKER_02: That leaves eleven disciples in this upper room with Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: So we have to ask, who is Judas that is not Iscariot?
SPEAKER_02: And when we look at that, we have to go to Scripture to interpret Scripture.
SPEAKER_02: Other scripture will tell us.
SPEAKER_02: So we look to the other Gospels and we look to Acts and we get some clues.
SPEAKER_02: Luke, the author Luke, mentions Thaddeus as Judas, the son of James, in both Luke 6 and Acts chapter 1.
SPEAKER_02: And what we know about Luke is that he was a doctor.
SPEAKER_02: He researched meticulously.
SPEAKER_02: He was very detailed in his writing.
SPEAKER_02: He was polished.
SPEAKER_02: He was historical.
SPEAKER_02: So it makes sense that Luke, the doctor, would call Thaddeus by his birth name, which was Judas.
SPEAKER_02: So Luke, as a doctor would do, gives him his birth name and he talks about Judas, not Iscariot.
SPEAKER_02: And then it makes sense that the other disciples, since there were two guys named Judas, they commonly called him Thaddeus.
SPEAKER_02: That was kind of a nickname for him.
SPEAKER_02: So that's most likely why Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus.
SPEAKER_02: So this is Thaddeus, who is also Judas, not Iscariot, and he asks the question, and he says, Hey, how are you going to manifest yourself to us, but not to the world?
SPEAKER_02: That makes no sense to them in that moment.
SPEAKER_02: You know, Jesus is standing in front of them, and they're like, How are you going to show yourself to us, but not to the world?
SPEAKER_02: And here's how Jesus answers If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
SPEAKER_02: Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me.
SPEAKER_02: Now, it's actually a great question because to manifest is to literally make known.
SPEAKER_02: So how can Jesus make himself known to someone but not to others?
SPEAKER_02: And it's interesting that Jesus goes straight back to that word love.
SPEAKER_02: He's repeating it, what he said earlier.
SPEAKER_02: He says, if you love me, then you will keep my word.
SPEAKER_02: Let me remind you again.
SPEAKER_02: He we can love because he first loved us.
SPEAKER_02: And because he loved us, he surrendered his life for us and he was raised from the dead for us.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, we can live for him because of his spirit that lives in us.
SPEAKER_02: And when we truly live for him and love him, because he loves us, he comes, he makes his home with us, in us.
SPEAKER_02: That's an amazing truth.
SPEAKER_02: By receiving the love of Jesus Christ, we love him in return, and the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit take up residence in us.
SPEAKER_02: That's incredible.
SPEAKER_02: But if we don't surrender to and receive his love, then we cannot love him, and we fail to obey his word.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, his home is not with us.
SPEAKER_02: And I would propose that every single one of us should hear that and respond with, I want to be at home with Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: I want Jesus to be at home with me.
SPEAKER_02: I want this dwelling place, this body to be the dwelling place of Jesus and his Father and His Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: I want all of them.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus, bring your Father, bring your Spirit, and dwell right here.
SPEAKER_02: And that's what He says.
SPEAKER_02: He will make His home with us.
SPEAKER_02: So is your life a fitting home for Jesus to dwell?
SPEAKER_02: That's a tough question, right?
SPEAKER_02: The things you're doing, the decisions you're making, the places you're going, the things you're watching, what you're putting in your mind, what you're reading, what you're who you're hanging out with, is that a fitting place for God the Father, God the Spirit, and Jesus to call home?
SPEAKER_02: We need to, by the power of the Spirit, do some house cleaning, clean up our homes, and make sure that it is a place that is fitting for Him to dwell and to flourish and to be overflowing out of our life.
SPEAKER_02: And that should challenge every single one of us.
SPEAKER_02: When I was studying this week, I was like, oh man, that hits home, right?
SPEAKER_02: Hits home.
SPEAKER_02: See what it did there?
SPEAKER_02: But it really does.
SPEAKER_02: Because God desires to be at home in you.
SPEAKER_02: And this word comes directly from the Father.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 25, these things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
SPEAKER_02: But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus is making it very clear that he is leaving.
SPEAKER_02: He says, I'm telling you this when I'm still here because I'm about to leave.
SPEAKER_02: But it's okay.
SPEAKER_02: This helper, the Holy Spirit, he's coming, and not only will he be with you, but he will live inside of you and make his home inside of you.
SPEAKER_02: And the beauty of it is this you can't earn it.
SPEAKER_02: It's not by your good life, it's not your great morals that gives you the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: No, it's a gift from the Father that comes in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus says, on your behalf, you place your faith in me, that I'm going to ask the Father, and He's going to send the Spirit to live in you.
SPEAKER_02: And the Spirit will be in you.
SPEAKER_02: That's what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_02: And then look what the Spirit does.
SPEAKER_02: It says he will teach you, and he teaches you from God's word.
SPEAKER_02: He reminds you of everything that Jesus has said.
SPEAKER_02: Now, this is a specific promise for the disciples.
SPEAKER_02: This is one of those texts that has a specific and a general promise.
SPEAKER_02: So this is a specific promise for the disciples.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is giving them because they would share the gospel with others and they would need to remember all that Jesus had said the last three years, what he had taught them.
SPEAKER_02: And some of them would even be writing down this what we now know as the scriptures, and they would need the Holy Spirit to remind them of what Jesus had said.
SPEAKER_02: So it's Holy Spirit inspired.
SPEAKER_02: So this was a specific promise for the disciples.
SPEAKER_02: And they received the fullness of it.
SPEAKER_02: However, it applies as a general promise to every single believer.
SPEAKER_02: The Holy Spirit teaches us from God's Word.
SPEAKER_02: It brings God's word to our mind whenever we need it.
SPEAKER_02: So when we're studying God's word, we should open up the Bible and say, God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to understand.
SPEAKER_02: Teach me from your word as I read it today.
SPEAKER_02: And you will find that the Holy Spirit will reveal what God's Word is saying.
SPEAKER_02: You know, before I was a believer, I would open up the Bible and I would flip through it and I would try to read something, and I would just walk away going, I have no clue what that means, how that applies to my life, what is even important about that.
SPEAKER_02: But once I placed my faith in Jesus, had the Holy Spirit living inside of me, and I began to say, God, by your Holy Spirit, help me understand it, wow, all of a sudden he's illuminating things off the page, and I'm seeing how it connects and what it's saying and how it's speaking and pointing to Jesus and who he is and his love for me and how I can then teach that to others.
SPEAKER_02: It's all the Holy Spirit that is teaching me and guiding me from God's word.
SPEAKER_02: And I can tell you many times in my life when something will happen and God will bring up a comforting word from a verse that I memorized years ago, hadn't really thought about.
SPEAKER_02: There'll be something that'll pop up from his word, and I know that's the Holy Spirit reminding me of something that I need in that moment.
SPEAKER_02: That's what the Holy Spirit does for us.
SPEAKER_02: That's evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life when those things come back to mind.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 27, Jesus continues, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
SPEAKER_02: Not as the world gives, do I give to you.
SPEAKER_02: Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
SPEAKER_02: So we have to remember the disciples are in this upper room and they are afraid because Jesus is saying, I'm leaving.
SPEAKER_02: They thought he was going to take over and be a king there on earth and reign in his kingdom, and he's saying, Nope, gonna go and I'm gonna die, and I'm not, you can't go where I'm going.
SPEAKER_02: So they're kind of scared.
SPEAKER_02: Um, they're upset.
SPEAKER_02: They're going to be even more scared pretty soon.
SPEAKER_02: Um, it's the exact opposite of a peaceful situation, yet Jesus is telling them that they will have peace.
SPEAKER_02: Their rabbi, who they know is the Messiah, sent from God, is about to be betrayed.
SPEAKER_02: He's going to be arrested, falsely accused, beaten horribly, and then crucified on a cross.
SPEAKER_02: And here Jesus is saying, My peace I leave with you, and I give to you.
SPEAKER_02: Don't be troubled.
SPEAKER_02: How is it possible to have peace in the midst of chaos?
SPEAKER_02: How is it possible to have peace when there's so much turmoil going on?
SPEAKER_02: Well, the peace that Jesus gives comes as a gift in the form of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: In the coming days, the disciples will be terrified.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, they will go into hiding.
SPEAKER_02: But the gift of peace from Jesus is coming, and that's his Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: And once they have his Holy Spirit living in them, we see them begin to do incredible things for the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02: They find boldness like they never had before.
SPEAKER_02: They preach the gospel, and they even die for the sake of the gospel in the face of much chaos.
SPEAKER_02: It didn't make things easy, but they had a peace.
SPEAKER_02: Because you see, having peace doesn't mean that all fear goes away.
SPEAKER_02: Having the peace of God means that even in the face of fear, even with this huge decision that I have to make, even with this turmoil going on around me, even though I've got to do this thing that scares me so much, I still have peace.
SPEAKER_02: And that's because I have the Holy Spirit in me, and I know that God will work things out according to his plan for his good and for his purpose.
SPEAKER_02: You know, Jesus in the garden cried out, if there's another way, let this cup pass from me.
SPEAKER_02: Yet he said, Not my will, but yours be done, Lord.
SPEAKER_02: So we see Jesus, even in this moment, he's just like, If there's another way, let it be so.
SPEAKER_02: But not my will, yours be done.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus was at peace because he knew the Father had a plan.
SPEAKER_02: He had to do a very difficult thing, but he was at peace doing it because he trusted in the Father's plan.
SPEAKER_02: You might be facing a very difficult trial.
SPEAKER_02: You might be facing a situation where you're thinking, I just can't have peace in this.
SPEAKER_02: God says you can have peace by the power of his Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: When you're reminded of God's promises and you look to him, he will give you peace even in the midst of turmoil.
SPEAKER_02: You can find peace because you have the Holy Spirit, who is from the Prince of Peace, that will give you peace in every situation.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus says, Don't be troubled, don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_02: Then in verses 28 through 29, you heard me say to you, I am going away and I will come to you.
SPEAKER_02: If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I'm going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
SPEAKER_02: And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.
SPEAKER_02: So Jesus is preparing, he's preparing them for his departure.
SPEAKER_02: And he says, If you understood everything, you would be happy for me because I'm going to be with the Father.
SPEAKER_02: So terrible things are about to happen, but if you knew the end result, you would be happy for Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: We can look back on the cross, and it's horrific whenever we really focus on the details and the betrayal and the death that he suffered.
SPEAKER_02: But we can look back and we can rejoice over it, right?
SPEAKER_02: We celebrate Easter because it's a beautiful reality of the risen king.
SPEAKER_02: But in the moment, Jesus is saying terrible things are about to happen, but you can still have peace.
SPEAKER_02: You would be rejoicing for me because you would know, hey, I'm going to be with the Father, and that's a far greater thing than being here.
SPEAKER_02: And he says, Hey, I'm with you now, and I know you don't understand this, but I'm telling you this now, so that when it does happen, you will believe.
SPEAKER_02: Then in verse 30, I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming.
SPEAKER_02: He has no claim on me.
SPEAKER_02: Now Jesus knew that Judas was making his deal to turn him over, that the hour was quickly approaching.
SPEAKER_02: So he says, I don't have much more to say because Satan is coming for me.
SPEAKER_02: However, this is so important.
SPEAKER_02: I circled it in my Bible, you might want to circle it in your Bible.
SPEAKER_02: I love this phrase.
SPEAKER_02: Jesus says, He has no claim on me.
SPEAKER_02: That is so important.
SPEAKER_02: Satan has no claim on Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: In that moment to the disciples, it would have looked like Satan was winning the day.
SPEAKER_02: It would have looked like Satan was getting his way and taking the king out.
SPEAKER_02: But Jesus makes it clear, he has no claim on me.
SPEAKER_02: He's proclaiming that truth.
SPEAKER_02: And I think every believer in the world should know that and proclaim that over your life as well.
SPEAKER_02: Because as we learned earlier, Jesus is with the Father in heaven, abiding in the Father.
SPEAKER_02: We, when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we choose to abide in Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus sends the gift of the Holy Spirit to abide in us, to make his home inside of us.
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, with the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you, you can make the claim that Satan has no claim on me.
SPEAKER_02: And that should set some of you free today, because I know far too many people that are living with the chains of regret.
SPEAKER_02: Far too many people are living with seeds of shame.
SPEAKER_02: Far too many Christians are living in this way where the enemy is claiming to have a hold on you, and you think, I just can't conquer this sin.
SPEAKER_02: I just can't get over this thing.
SPEAKER_02: I just can't stop being anxious, I can't stop being fearful.
SPEAKER_02: And what you have to recognize is that you have the very power of God living inside of you.
SPEAKER_02: He's taken up residence in your heart.
SPEAKER_02: And what you need to do is say, Satan, get away from