WEBVTT 00:00:08.932 --> 00:00:11.699 Well, good morning Valley View. 00:00:11.699 --> 00:00:12.599 It's great to be with you. 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:16.500 Don't pay any attention to the man walking back and forth across the stage. 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:18.000 You can ignore him. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:20.300 He's working on something We're going to show you later. 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.565 And he really doesn't like attention drawn to himself. 00:00:22.565 --> 00:00:24.265 So too late. 00:00:24.265 --> 00:00:25.932 But listen, it's great to be with you today. 00:00:25.932 --> 00:00:28.365 We're working through the book of John . We’re continuing... 00:00:28.365 --> 00:00:31.600 We're in John chapter 14. 00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:37.000 And as I prepared this message, I thought back to when I first started in full time ministry. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:41.365 So my wife and I both were serving college students at U of L. 00:00:41.365 --> 00:00:48.265 And our goal there was to try to evangelize the campus, try to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the campus. 00:00:48.265 --> 00:01:00.533 But before we started in full time work, we had both done that volunteer and in college, the first step was to raise all the funds to cover the cost of us doing that. 00:01:00.533 --> 00:01:05.365 So, you know, yes, please come be a part of our mission and find all the money to do that as well. 00:01:05.365 --> 00:01:07.632 It was just interesting. 00:01:07.632 --> 00:01:21.500 Maybe how do you say it when someone tries the recruitment strategy, it's not necessarily the one you think that would work, but Campus Crusade for Christ, who we serve with, became the largest mission organization in the world. 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:24.533 So the first step was, though, to go around, meet with people and share with them. 00:01:24.533 --> 00:01:25.799 Here's what we will be doing. 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.299 Here's what we have feel God has called us to do in ministry. 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:31.865 Will you partner with us? 00:01:31.865 --> 00:01:34.933 And so I would call people and say, Hey, can you be available to me? 00:01:34.933 --> 00:01:36.665 I'd like to share with you how God is stirring. 00:01:36.665 --> 00:01:40.700 In fact, I, if we meet, I will ask you about partnering with us financially. 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:42.665 I wanted to be very clear about that on the front end. 00:01:42.665 --> 00:01:44.599 I don't want there to be any confusion. 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.000 I will ask for money. 00:01:47.099 --> 00:01:49.832 And people said, yes, we'd love to meet. 00:01:49.832 --> 00:01:50.865 It was so encouraging. 00:01:50.865 --> 00:01:59.700 In fact, there's I could look around the room and see faces of those I'd met with to share this vision, to see what God would do, to see how you might be a part of that. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:08.265 But what was crazy about this for me was on-- probably every single time I've called someone, I've told them about serving in ministry. 00:02:08.265 --> 00:02:08.966 Will you meet? 00:02:08.966 --> 00:02:11.032 Yes, They've already said, yes, I'm coming to the house. 00:02:11.032 --> 00:02:17.966 They know I'm coming and I've come to the door and I go to knock on the door-- the door I know they're waiting for me to come. 00:02:17.966 --> 00:02:20.233 They want to talk. 00:02:20.233 --> 00:02:31.032 Every single time, right before I go to knock, there was this overwhelming fear and dread and just this inner sense of turn around and run. 00:02:31.133 --> 00:02:36.000 Even though this is the very thing I feel like God has called us to do. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:37.300 It's what I've been working toward. 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:41.699 I know the people inside actually want to talk about this. 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:46.699 There's still this moment of God use me, but God not right now. 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:50.400 Let me run away from this moment. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.633 Isn't that interesting? 00:02:52.633 --> 00:02:55.900 I'm sure we could go around the room and you could share experiences like that. 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:58.866 God, use me, do something great in my life. 00:02:58.866 --> 00:03:00.832 Do something through me. 00:03:00.832 --> 00:03:01.199 But wait. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:01.800 Not right now. 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:03.900 It's kind of scary. 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:09.233 In fact, maybe there are disappointments in my life, as Andrew mentioned. 00:03:09.233 --> 00:03:11.765 Maybe there are fears. 00:03:11.765 --> 00:03:13.733 Maybe it's the fear of what that might mean. 00:03:13.733 --> 00:03:15.133 A sacrifice I might have to make. 00:03:15.133 --> 00:03:19.066 Maybe that I'm not quite ready to take that step of faith. 00:03:19.066 --> 00:03:25.800 We want to see him work, and yet sometimes we want to run from that as well. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.599 Today's passage is going to talk about that. 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:34.866 How do we move from running from him wanting to work and wanting him to work? 00:03:34.866 --> 00:03:45.165 How do we move towards this place of seeing him work, trusting him to work, depending on him to work through us, around us? 00:03:45.165 --> 00:03:46.900 We're going to look at that in today's passage. 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.366 In fact, we're going to be in John chapter 14. 00:03:49.366 --> 00:03:58.900 And if you have a church Bible, one of those I mentioned earlier that's going to be on page 847 that passage is on the screen and I'm going to read through all these verses to start. 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:01.000 We'll just get a survey of the whole thing. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:05.699 Kind of need to get the big picture before we dive into the particulars. 00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:17.865 We're going to look at John 14, 12 through 21, and I'll say on the front end as I go through this passage, as we teach through it, I'm going to highlight four ways we can see God work to see Him do greater works. 00:04:17.865 --> 00:04:19.632 We're going to talk about that phrase in particular. 00:04:19.632 --> 00:04:22.899 I'm going to point out four ways along the way as we go through this passage. 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:24.300 But first, let's just read the passage. 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:28.932 John, Chapter 14, verse 12. 00:04:29.033 --> 00:04:40.699 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the father. 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:47.665 Whatever you ask in my name, this, I will do, that the father may be glorified in the son. 00:04:47.665 --> 00:04:51.000 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:05:00.300 If you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever. 00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:06.932 Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. 00:05:06.932 --> 00:05:11.333 You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 00:05:11.333 --> 00:05:12.766 I'll not leave you as orphans. 00:05:12.766 --> 00:05:17.300 I'll come to you yet a little while and the world will see me no more. 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:19.165 But you will see me. 00:05:19.165 --> 00:05:22.466 Because I live, you also will live. 00:05:22.466 --> 00:05:29.899 In that day., you will know that I am in my father, and you in me and I in you. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.333 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them. 00:05:33.333 --> 00:05:35.199 He it is who loves me. 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.766 And he who loves me will be loved by my father. 00:05:38.766 --> 00:05:40.865 And I will love him. 00:05:40.865 --> 00:05:48.000 And I will manifest or reveal or show myself to him. 00:05:48.065 --> 00:05:50.800 So, John Chapter 14. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:52.432 There's a lot here to unpack. 00:05:52.432 --> 00:05:58.533 We're going to see four ways that we can be a part of seeing God work, seeing Him do greater things. 00:05:58.533 --> 00:06:03.632 And that's the first phrase we need to understand to get our minds around, to understand what that means. 00:06:03.632 --> 00:06:08.432 Look back at verse 12, the very first, very first verse of our passage today. 00:06:08.432 --> 00:06:18.899 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these he will do. 00:06:18.966 --> 00:06:25.932 So first thing we have to do, if we are asking God, yes, we want to be a part of seeing you do greater works, seeing you do great things, seeing you work in amazing ways. 00:06:25.932 --> 00:06:28.300 What does that mean? 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:32.966 What was he talking about when he said greater works right here? 00:06:32.966 --> 00:06:46.100 The first thing just studying the immediate context is to look back one verse, because we're breaking up the whole book of John into small chunks, but especially this long discourse or lecture by Jesus. 00:06:46.100 --> 00:06:53.266 It's called The Farewell or the Upper Room Discourse that goes across Chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. 00:06:53.333 --> 00:06:58.300 We're breaking it up over weeks and maybe months, probably. 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:00.000 But this would have been in a few minutes. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.065 He would have said all this. 00:07:02.065 --> 00:07:04.565 I don't know if you just sit down and read through it out loud. 00:07:04.565 --> 00:07:07.665 15, 20 minutes. 00:07:07.766 --> 00:07:10.699 And so all these thoughts are very closely connected. 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:15.733 We can't forget that there's a close connection to what we said last week with what we looked at last week. 00:07:15.733 --> 00:07:20.033 And in verse 11, he said, Believe me that I am in the father, the father is in me. 00:07:20.033 --> 00:07:29.065 And if you don't believe that, not that else believe on account of the works themselves. 00:07:29.132 --> 00:07:32.665 So maybe you don't fully believe in me, but think back to what I've done. 00:07:32.665 --> 00:07:36.432 Jesus says, Think back to the miracles I performed. 00:07:36.432 --> 00:07:38.733 Think back to those works. 00:07:38.733 --> 00:07:43.932 And maybe that'll point you to just a glimpse of who I am. 00:07:43.932 --> 00:07:48.800 So when he says you're going to do greater works than those, what does he mean? 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:50.533 Does greater mean? 00:07:50.533 --> 00:07:52.466 Because greater can mean a lot of different things. 00:07:52.466 --> 00:07:54.632 Does it mean bigger? 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:56.300 Larger? 00:07:56.300 --> 00:07:58.733 I think of a magician. 00:07:58.733 --> 00:08:00.632 In fact, I met a lady this week. 00:08:00.632 --> 00:08:05.932 She said she and her husband have a kind of traveling couple's magic routine. 00:08:05.932 --> 00:08:06.733 And she said, You know what? 00:08:06.733 --> 00:08:09.233 We've also met David Copperfield. 00:08:09.233 --> 00:08:15.565 And, you know, for those younger in the audience may not know that name, he was real big in the eighties and nineties. 00:08:15.565 --> 00:08:20.365 He would do these big, big illusions on TV, on live TV. 00:08:20.365 --> 00:08:27.899 In fact, probably the first one that really put him on the map was he made a Learjet disappear right there on live TV. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:29.100 How do you top that? 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:33.932 What he did next Does anybody remember what did he make disappear after that? 00:08:33.932 --> 00:08:36.365 Statue of Liberty right there on live TV. 00:08:36.365 --> 00:08:36.899 Don't worry. 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:38.399 It's still there. It's back. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.100 I don't know where he put it, but it's okay. 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:43.133 You can still go to New York and see it. 00:08:43.133 --> 00:08:43.500 Okay. 00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:44.399 Is that what he's talking about? 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:45.832 My last trip was great. 00:08:45.832 --> 00:08:48.399 Let's go. Even bigger. 00:08:48.466 --> 00:08:54.232 Well, when we look at the disciples, we don't see them topping Jesus’s miracles. 00:08:54.232 --> 00:08:57.600 We see him doing a lot of the same miracles. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.066 But, you know, Jesus walked on water. 00:08:59.066 --> 00:09:02.332 We don't see them flying through the air. 00:09:02.332 --> 00:09:03.566 Jesus calmed the storm. 00:09:03.566 --> 00:09:08.399 We don't see them creating tornadoes or hurricanes. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.799 There's not greater works in that regard. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:19.000 So if it's not bigger, maybe it's more, greater in amount. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.000 Okay, Maybe he did a few miracles. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.600 Maybe they do just unending amounts of miracles. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:35.865 But again, when you read through all the New Testament, yeah, the disciples and his apostles and followers, they do miracles. 00:09:35.865 --> 00:09:38.865 But it's not the bulk of their ministry. 00:09:38.865 --> 00:09:40.666 It's definitely part of it. 00:09:40.666 --> 00:09:44.365 But it's not like they just turn into a miracle performing ministry. 00:09:44.432 --> 00:09:51.666 And so if it's not greater in scale and if it's not greater in amount, what is it then? 00:09:51.666 --> 00:09:53.500 I heard one commentator say it this way. 00:09:53.500 --> 00:10:09.166 In fact, you can throw that quote up on the screen,“Not greater in scale, not greater in amount, but greater in kind.” This is important to remember because the miracles weren't miracles just for miracles sake. 00:10:09.265 --> 00:10:11.899 It's not like David Copperfield and his tricks. 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:15.765 The enjoyment was in the illusion in and of itself. 00:10:15.765 --> 00:10:19.432 The works point to something else. 00:10:19.633 --> 00:10:28.732 In fact, the first thing we're going to see in terms of the ways that we partake in his greater works is right here in verse 12. 00:10:28.732 --> 00:10:30.365 Look again at verse 12. 00:10:30.365 --> 00:10:39.000 Truly, I say to you, Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these he will do. 00:10:39.066 --> 00:10:45.832 The first step in being a part of his greater works is to believe. 00:10:45.832 --> 00:10:47.299 Belief. 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:55.732 Now, this refers to our own belief, but the greater work in and of itself is also the belief of others. 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:59.899 And we know that because the context here speaks to belief. 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:14.765 Remember last week we just got three questions from the disciples we had Peter in verse 36, we had Philip in verse eight, we had Thomas in verse five, and they were asking Jesus, we've seen all the miracles. 00:11:14.765 --> 00:11:16.232 You're talking crazy. 00:11:16.232 --> 00:11:17.832 We don't know exactly what you mean. 00:11:17.832 --> 00:11:20.500 Tell us, where are you going? 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:22.566 How do we follow you? 00:11:22.566 --> 00:11:25.566 How do we see the father? 00:11:25.666 --> 00:11:28.033 How can we believe what you're saying? 00:11:28.033 --> 00:11:31.033 Help us to believe. 00:11:31.133 --> 00:11:31.799 I believe. 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:33.633 Help my unbelief. 00:11:33.633 --> 00:11:37.200 This is the very thing they're asking for. 00:11:37.265 --> 00:11:43.066 And the greater work at the end of the day is belief. 00:11:43.066 --> 00:11:55.000 That's the first step in being a part of seeing him do greater works is to believe, to trust, to lean on him, to depend on him. 00:11:55.100 --> 00:12:09.832 The second one comes in the next couple of verses Look at verse 12 and 13 or 13 and 14, whatever you ask in my name this I will do that the father may be glorified in the son. 00:12:09.832 --> 00:12:16.732 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.533 That's a difficult verse to encounter. 00:12:19.533 --> 00:12:22.399 Again, we have to ask, What does it mean? 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:26.232 What does he mean by ask in my name? 00:12:26.232 --> 00:12:28.200 Because it can mean that can mean a lot of different things. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:38.000 In fact, I'm sure you've heard there's some churches that would say this means that whatever you pray, you pray it, you believe it. 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:42.732 Add on the end of it in the name of Jesus, and he has to do it. 00:12:42.732 --> 00:12:46.932 He is honor bound to do it because he said, I will do it. 00:12:46.932 --> 00:12:49.365 Is that what that means? 00:12:49.365 --> 00:12:55.500 I think part of us intuitively knows that's not what that means. 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:59.365 I mean, Jesus didn't somehow trick himself into doing whatever you ask. Oops. 00:12:59.365 --> 00:13:02.765 I didn't realize what I was doing when I said that. 00:13:02.765 --> 00:13:05.100 No, he's got something else in mind. 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:05.432 In fact. 00:13:05.432 --> 00:13:08.365 So here's what I did, and I encourage you to do this. 00:13:08.365 --> 00:13:14.533 Any time you want to know what something in the Bible means, look up every place else it exists. 00:13:14.533 --> 00:13:19.033 And so I looked up every use of that phrase in my name. 00:13:19.033 --> 00:13:24.732 I looked at the Greek construction, looked up every place-- 27 times It shows up in the New Testament. 00:13:24.732 --> 00:13:27.865 About half of those are in the book of John, the book we're in. 00:13:27.865 --> 00:13:29.232 That's the first place to start. 00:13:29.232 --> 00:13:37.200 If you want to know what something means and you're in a particular book, look at how else it's used in that book first, then look out beyond that. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.700 So I looked up all those. 00:13:39.765 --> 00:13:42.466 I also looked up all the prayers of Paul. 00:13:42.466 --> 00:13:49.000 There's about 40, depending on how you slice them and see, Did Paul use that phrase? 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:57.666 Did he tack on at the end of all his prayers in the name of Jesus, Amen, to see that it happened? 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:01.932 Interesting thing is, he didn't he doesn't once do that. 00:14:01.932 --> 00:14:04.832 Now, he... he uses the name of Jesus in his prayers. 00:14:04.832 --> 00:14:07.500 He invokes the name of Jesus in his prayers. 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:13.899 He's he prays to Jesus because the name of Jesus has power. 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:26.200 We sang that in our last song, There is Power in the Name of Jesus, but he also knew it's not some formulaic thing where you just tack it on to whatever, and he has to do it. 00:14:26.265 --> 00:14:34.432 As I looked at all the uses of the phrase in the name of Jesus, here's four observations I just want to quickly give you in terms of what does it mean? 00:14:34.432 --> 00:14:35.600 And these are on the screen. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:45.932 Number one, Jesus is deeply concerned about bringing glory to the Father in all prayer, in everything he does. 00:14:45.932 --> 00:14:56.732 In fact, most of the times that he says to pray in my name, the father shows up in those verses in John, almost all of them, 75% of them. 00:14:56.732 --> 00:14:58.299 He's also referring to the father. 00:14:58.299 --> 00:14:59.700 Great example of that we just read. 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:12.600 Looking back at verse 13, whatever you ask in my name this I will do so that, in order that, for the purpose of the father being glorified. 00:15:12.666 --> 00:15:29.432 He is deeply concerned that whatever he does and as a result, whatever we do, that behind it is bringing glory to the Father, not just as our famous Kevin Hamm would say, Gimme, gimme, my name is Jimmy. 00:15:29.432 --> 00:15:30.865 That sounds like something he would say doesn’t it? 00:15:30.865 --> 00:15:33.966 Whether he did or not, sure does. 00:15:33.966 --> 00:15:36.299 It's not that. 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:39.232 God, how can you be honored in what I pray? 00:15:39.232 --> 00:15:41.600 How can you be glorified in what I pray? 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.100 So that's the first one. 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:43.732 The second here. 00:15:43.732 --> 00:15:52.033 I've already made mention of the context of here is the prayer of belief all around this. 00:15:52.033 --> 00:15:55.432 Help me to believe Jesus starts in verse 12. 00:15:55.432 --> 00:15:58.765 Believe, believe in me. 00:15:58.832 --> 00:16:06.765 And as we pray, we are asking for him to stir up belief in ourselves and in others That’s the context of this whole praying in his name. 00:16:06.765 --> 00:16:11.000 We're praying for belief primarily above all else. 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:20.765 Number three, it's really interesting that they are not yet-- If you look here, he says to them later-- they are not yet praying in his name. 00:16:20.765 --> 00:16:22.033 It's really interesting. 00:16:22.033 --> 00:16:23.100 Look at chapter 16. 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:29.100 Just flip over one page, verse 24. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:34.533 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:40.033 So whatever they've been asking up to this point, it's not been in his name. 00:16:40.033 --> 00:16:49.100 You know, most of the time we see them asking Jesus some-- There are some good spiritual questions, but there's also, hey, will you make us the two most important people in your kingdom in the future? 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:53.100 Can I be on your right and you be-- and the other on your left? 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:58.799 And most of the time they're arguing about who's the greatest here among the disciples. 00:16:58.865 --> 00:17:03.033 But no, you haven't really understood yet what it means to pray in my name. 00:17:03.033 --> 00:17:06.032 It's not just gimme, gimme. 00:17:06.133 --> 00:17:10.766 But then number four, That'll help us understand what it means to say pray in Jesus name. 00:17:10.766 --> 00:17:16.165 Number four is we've got to understand the importance of a name in that culture. 00:17:16.165 --> 00:17:20.700 A name wasn't just a label that someone handed down to you. 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:29.599 A name referred to your character, your reputation, your standing in the community. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:34.299 1, What's greater than Riches? 00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:46.232 A good name is to be sought after far more than that good reputation, a good standing, a person who is known as a person who depends on Christ. 00:17:46.465 --> 00:17:47.799 So what does all that mean? 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:49.799 How do we stack all that up to understand? 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.799 What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.400 There's a quote by Wayne Grudem that I found real helpful. 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:56.066 I'm going to toss it up 00:17:56.066 --> 00:18:07.299 To come In the name of someone means that another person has authorized us to come on his authority, not on our own. 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:18.000 But when I pray to the father in the name of Jesus, I'm a coming on Jesus's authority and hopefully representing him well, not myself but him. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:25.865 Second part of this quote It also means praying in a way that is consistent with his character. 00:18:25.865 --> 00:18:33.200 And I thought about this and I was reminded of when I-- we served with Campus Crusade for Christ here in Louisville on U of L's campus, spreading the gospel there. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.500 That led to us transitioning to marriage and family ministry. 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:48.000 And so it took us to Little Rock, Arkansas, and I served there with the president over that organization of Family Life, Dennis Rainey. Started out as his personal ministry assistant, which meant just a lot of grunt work. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.032 Really. 00:18:49.032 --> 00:18:49.932 John, run and do this. 00:18:49.932 --> 00:18:50.965 John, talk to this person. 00:18:50.965 --> 00:18:51.732 John, get this done. 00:18:51.732 --> 00:18:52.900 John... 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:54.633 And it was really interesting. 00:18:54.633 --> 00:19:03.299 I learned very quickly that when I came to people and asked them for something, I was asking on his behalf, not mine. 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:10.333 And they knew that by the way, they knew when I came, when they saw me, that it was really Dennis coming to ask for this. 00:19:10.333 --> 00:19:19.665 And I had to be very careful and very wise to represent him well, because how I asked, they would take that as coming from him, not just for me. 00:19:19.665 --> 00:19:25.665 So if I was rude, they would see him as being rude. 00:19:25.665 --> 00:19:26.900 I needed to be kind. 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:28.000 I needed to ask with wisdom. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:34.566 I needed to ask in a way that honored him and his wishes that sometimes going back to him, I'm not sure this is exactly what you want after talking to him. 00:19:34.566 --> 00:19:36.365 Can we work on this? 00:19:36.432 --> 00:19:41.333 It meant being mindful that I wasn't representing myself. 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:43.032 I wasn't just asking for me. 00:19:43.032 --> 00:19:48.200 And what I get out of it ultimately was to honor him. 00:19:48.299 --> 00:20:00.099 Practically speaking, I think a verse that often comes to mind, one that has summed up so much of truly beginning to understand what it means to follow Christ 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:12.165 4,“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” It's not let me go to Jesus and ask whatever I can get out of Him. 00:20:12.165 --> 00:20:22.432 The first step is to delight yourself in the Lord, to delight in Him, to follow Him, to get to know him to the fullest. 00:20:22.432 --> 00:20:36.099 And as you get to know him and understand what it means to have true joy in him, he changes your desires to the point to where when you begin to pray to him, it's the very thing he would have prayed for you. 00:20:36.099 --> 00:20:39.532 He changes your desires over the course. 00:20:39.532 --> 00:20:41.532 And it doesn't mean that I just pray whatever I want. 00:20:41.532 --> 00:20:45.266 But it means that my prayers changed to the very thing that he wants. 00:20:45.266 --> 00:20:49.400 Delight yourself in him. 00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:52.032 So that's part of what it means to pray in his name. 00:20:52.032 --> 00:20:54.099 And that's what he is saying. 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:54.865 Pray in his name. 00:20:54.865 --> 00:20:58.266 Pray according to his will, pray for his will to be done. 00:20:58.266 --> 00:21:02.965 Pray in a way that honors him in the pursuit of seeing him do greater things. 00:21:02.965 --> 00:21:04.165 So that's number two. 00:21:04.165 --> 00:21:17.532 Number three, when we look at the passage, is in the next couple of verses, we're going to look at verse 15 here, and here's how I'll say it. 00:21:17.532 --> 00:21:22.133 Love to keep his commands to love. 00:21:22.133 --> 00:21:24.066 Number three, love to keep his commands to love. 00:21:24.066 --> 00:21:27.099 In fact, what I want to do is show you something. 00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:30.432 We're going to try something a little different today. 00:21:30.432 --> 00:21:36.066 This is the passage that you're looking at in one big chunk, verses 15 through 21. 00:21:36.066 --> 00:21:48.965 I want to mark up a couple of things in real time here for you to see, because there's an interesting connection, a bookend on this passage that shows us how we can love. 00:21:48.965 --> 00:21:49.200 All right. 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:51.133 First thing to note here, look at verse 15. 00:21:51.133 --> 00:21:53.232 He says, He gives us a command. 00:21:53.232 --> 00:21:58.865 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:21:58.865 --> 00:22:02.200 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:02.400 All right. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:09.066 So the first thing to just highlight here is that there's a connection between love and commands. 00:22:09.066 --> 00:22:12.766 We know that you've experienced that in relationships. 00:22:12.766 --> 00:22:17.200 There's a connection between love and commands,--making sure that showed up on screen. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:18.599 It's a new thing for us to try here. 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:24.299 For me, at least.-- And part of what this means also is that love comes first. 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:32.599 If you love me, the overflow of that is to keep my commands, is to do the things that please me. 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:34.200 It's not the other way around. We don't. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:35.200 We don't get it backwards. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:39.965 We don't start by let me do enough stuff that I hope pleases God and eventually that'll outweigh the bad. 00:22:39.965 --> 00:22:42.066 And maybe he'll love me as well. 00:22:42.066 --> 00:22:45.400 And I'll prove to him how much I love him, and then he'll accept me. 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.032 No, no, no. 00:22:47.032 --> 00:22:49.500 It starts with love. 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:52.200 It's out of the overflow of love. 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:58.000 Then I'll follow him and seek to honor him and seek to do the things that please him. 00:22:58.066 --> 00:23:00.599 This is true in other relationships as well. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:12.400 When a couple comes to me and says, Hey, we're, we're thinking of getting married and we want to talk to you about that, I'm going to ask him pretty early on, Tell me why. 00:23:12.465 --> 00:23:13.432 Why are you getting married? 00:23:13.432 --> 00:23:14.400 Why this person? 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:16.500 Why now? 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:26.333 What I don't want to hear when I ask that is, well, let me tell you, she's got a great job and I really need help with rent. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:32.932 Or, I don't want to hear, you know, my car is not working and he's a great mechanic. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:34.599 Now, those things may be true. 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:39.333 That may be part of the deal, but it better start with love. 00:23:39.333 --> 00:23:42.333 It better begin there. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:49.732 And when we see what Jesus is saying here, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:23:49.732 --> 00:23:53.400 The commandments come from the overflow of the joy of the relationship. 00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:56.000 It's not the other way around. 00:23:56.099 --> 00:24:04.299 But what is interesting and I'll tell you what is often maddening about Scripture is the way that this passage is bookended. 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:06.465 So look at the last verse. 00:24:06.465 --> 00:24:08.900 Verse 15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:18.599 Verse 21, it's the same verse, but flip it around, whoever has my commandments and keeps them. 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:20.700 He it is who loves me. 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:21.732 All right. So check this out. 00:24:21.732 --> 00:24:27.700 We have these bookended verses verse 15, verse 21. 00:24:27.766 --> 00:24:29.766 They are both talking about love. 00:24:29.766 --> 00:24:31.500 They're both talking about commands. 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:40.700 And by the way, I forgot to mention, I said wherever he is talking all throughout in John in my name, we also see the father showing up all over the place. 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:42.232 The father, the father, the father. 00:24:42.232 --> 00:24:46.732 Jesus can't stop talking about the father, but he's bookending this section. 00:24:46.732 --> 00:24:48.566 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:24:48.566 --> 00:24:53.266 However, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, here it is who loves me. 00:24:53.365 --> 00:24:55.700 And we know that's not contradicting the first verse. 00:24:55.700 --> 00:24:58.932 We know that because of all the rest of Scripture, Ephesians 00:24:58.932 --> 00:25:02.365 8-9, it's not by works that you are saved. 00:25:02.365 --> 00:25:06.200 It's by grace through faith, not a result of what you've done so that no one will boast. 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:09.200 It's what he's done. 00:25:09.232 --> 00:25:25.432 And what this second part of this verse on commands and love is just pointing to the reality that when we follow him, the overflow of love is our actions. 00:25:25.432 --> 00:25:30.232 And our actions often reveal what it is going on in our heart. 00:25:30.232 --> 00:25:38.365 Your actions will often reveal what you love, what you follow, what you believe. 00:25:38.365 --> 00:25:44.500 We say we believe some things and we act differently, our actions will often reveal. 00:25:44.566 --> 00:25:54.833 And so the balance here is love me, keep my commandments and love my commandments and keep keeping my commandments and keep loving to keep them. 00:25:54.833 --> 00:25:55.799 There's an interplay. 00:25:55.799 --> 00:26:04.066 In fact, the main point of all this, what this all is driving at is obedience and love. 00:26:04.066 --> 00:26:07.799 They are intrinsically connected. 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:10.500 We can't separate those from one another. 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.932 Sometimes we want to do that. 00:26:11.932 --> 00:26:15.900 And if I’ve got to follow his commands, that's legalism, right? 00:26:15.900 --> 00:26:17.932 You're just trying to say, do this, do that. 00:26:17.932 --> 00:26:20.432 You turn it all into actions. 00:26:20.432 --> 00:26:21.532 That's one extreme we run to. 00:26:21.532 --> 00:26:23.833 The other is, well, love it's just, it's just a feeling. 00:26:23.833 --> 00:26:24.566 Love is love. 00:26:24.566 --> 00:26:25.799 You can't really define it. 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:27.865 Just love, be loving. 00:26:27.865 --> 00:26:30.700 It doesn't really matter what you do. Just love. 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:31.465 But no, no, no. 00:26:31.465 --> 00:26:35.165 Jesus won't let that false dichotomy stand. 00:26:35.165 --> 00:26:44.400 No, love and actions are intimately, intrinsically, inherently connected, deeply. 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:48.232 You can't have one without the other. 00:26:48.465 --> 00:26:51.432 So that's number three. 00:26:51.432 --> 00:26:52.766 Love. 00:26:52.766 --> 00:26:54.599 Love his commands. 00:26:54.599 --> 00:26:58.465 Keep loving his commands and love to keep them. 00:26:58.532 --> 00:27:07.465 But now number four, because that's not easy to do, by the way, is it loving, following? 00:27:07.465 --> 00:27:09.000 There are times where that's a challenge. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:09.932 How do we do that? 00:27:09.932 --> 00:27:14.333 What's the source of our ability to do that? 00:27:14.333 --> 00:27:15.532 Look back at this passage. 00:27:15.532 --> 00:27:25.133 I'm going to mark one more thing and show you that in between these bookends of love right in the middle, which is our source, our ability, our power to love. 00:27:25.133 --> 00:27:26.365 Look at verse 16. 00:27:26.365 --> 00:27:38.500 I will ask the father and he will give you another helper-- Circle that word helper-- to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth. 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:45.400 Sandwiched in the middle of the commands to love is the power to love. 00:27:45.465 --> 00:27:49.232 It's the Holy Spirit, the helper. 00:27:49.232 --> 00:28:00.799 In fact, it's interesting that he that word there is helper because that word can be translated a variety of ways and really this sets up our fourth point that four ways to see him do greater works. 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:04.000 All of this is driving at how do we see him do greater works? 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:09.099 The Holy Spirit, number four, is the one who gives us that power to love and obey. 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:10.133 That's who we lean on. 00:28:10.133 --> 00:28:12.432 It's not just let me try harder. 00:28:12.432 --> 00:28:15.000 Let me see if I can follow these commands better. 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:22.700 Now, let me just depend on the Holy Spirit more and more, and Him working through me will give me that ability. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:29.032 But it's interesting that that word in this verse, verse 16, is translated helper. 00:28:29.232 --> 00:28:31.232 Let me give you another Bible study tip. 00:28:31.232 --> 00:28:33.432 This is something that I love to do. 00:28:33.432 --> 00:28:35.700 So I preach from the ESV. 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:36.633 That's... 00:28:36.633 --> 00:28:38.200 I use it for a variety of reasons. 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:40.766 I've talked about that at length on some Wednesday night services. 00:28:40.766 --> 00:28:44.500 Doesn't mean it's my favorite translation, doesn't even mean it's the best. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:51.900 I think what the best approach is to Bible study is to read across a variety of translations because there's no perfect translation. 00:28:51.965 --> 00:28:55.799 You've got to go back to the original languages if you want perfection. 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:58.599 And even then, how do we move it over to our language? 00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:00.400 That's the challenge. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:13.665 One of the ways you see when there is a word that is particularly hard to bring over into English, you'll see this if you compare translations because you'll see them each translator use a different word because they're all struggling with How do we convey this in the English? 00:29:13.665 --> 00:29:16.200 I'll just give you example that word helper here in this verse. 00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:17.599 Put up just a few 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:20.665 ESV- He will give you another helper. 00:29:21.833 --> 00:29:25.232 He will give you another counselor. 00:29:26.133 --> 00:29:29.633 He will give you another advocate. 00:29:29.665 --> 00:29:33.865 he will give you another comforter. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:37.566 He’ll provide you another friend. 00:29:37.566 --> 00:29:42.932 And, you know, in this each of those took that word and said, How do we convey this? 00:29:42.932 --> 00:29:43.900 Not sure. 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.532 Let's try this word. 00:29:45.532 --> 00:29:49.932 Right next to it all of them say give you another. 00:29:49.932 --> 00:29:51.266 There's no question. 00:29:51.266 --> 00:29:55.000 The Message gets a little loose, provide you another at least with those two words. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.333 There's no question about those. 00:29:56.333 --> 00:29:58.732 Everyone conveys it the same. 00:29:58.732 --> 00:30:00.400 How do we wrestle with these? 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:02.766 How do we get this idea over into English? 00:30:02.766 --> 00:30:05.133 Is he our helper? 00:30:05.133 --> 00:30:09.400 That's helpful at one level, but also it conveys, well, maybe the Holy Spirit's you can keep that up for a second. 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:11.066 It's subordinate. 00:30:11.066 --> 00:30:13.266 Maybe he's not the same as Jesus. 00:30:13.266 --> 00:30:16.032 No, they are the same. 00:30:16.032 --> 00:30:17.365 Bring that image back up, if you will. 00:30:17.365 --> 00:30:19.099 Is he our counselor? 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:21.599 That's a powerful word, but that can be confusing. 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:23.633 Is he our marriage counselor or camp counselor? 00:30:23.633 --> 00:30:25.165 What do I mean by counselor? 00:30:25.165 --> 00:30:27.333 That has, arrange a meeting? 00:30:27.333 --> 00:30:29.665 Is he our advocate? 00:30:29.732 --> 00:30:30.900 Well, yes, definitely. 00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:34.500 But also that has a kind of a legal sense. 00:30:34.500 --> 00:30:37.000 Maybe makes it too formal at times. 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:39.400 But yeah, he definitely goes to bat for us. 00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:41.700 Is he our comforter? 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:45.932 Well, yeah, but also, sometimes that might seem kind of weak. 00:30:45.932 --> 00:30:49.865 Just like some old man patting you on the shoulder at a funeral. 00:30:49.865 --> 00:30:53.665 Or maybe it conveys, like a blanket, a comforter in that sense. 00:30:53.665 --> 00:30:57.066 So that didn't you know, originally it meant with strength. 00:30:57.066 --> 00:31:00.599 And if someone truly comforts you, they do give you strength. 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:03.566 They help you get through a hard time. 00:31:03.566 --> 00:31:04.200 And then a friend. 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:06.066 Is he a friend? For sure. 00:31:06.066 --> 00:31:07.833 But is he only that familiar? 00:31:07.833 --> 00:31:10.465 No. 00:31:10.465 --> 00:31:17.766 Part of the challenge with this is that word only shows up in John just five times. 00:31:17.833 --> 00:31:18.900 Also First John. 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:27.599 But when it refers to Jesus, when it refers to the Holy Spirit only shows up five times and it's used in a variety of ways. 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:32.365 And when a word is used in a variety of ways, it's trying to convey a lot of ideas. 00:31:32.365 --> 00:31:40.099 And so quickly look at all the different ways it's used in John. Throw that up on the screen as well. 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:46.165 First, we've seen in our passage today, he's a helper who communicates truth and indwells. 00:31:46.165 --> 00:31:48.799 But in verse 26, he's a teacher. 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:51.599 In chapter 15, he testifies, the Holy Spirit testifies. 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:57.500 In chapter eight he convicts. In chapter 13 he’s a guide. 00:31:57.532 --> 00:32:02.732 The Holy Spirit works in our lives in a variety of ways. 00:32:02.732 --> 00:32:08.133 And if you've walked as a believer for any amount of time, you've experienced this. 00:32:08.133 --> 00:32:12.599 You've seen him move in your life, You've seen him teach you, you've seen him help you. 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:14.833 You've seen him point to Jesus. 00:32:14.833 --> 00:32:22.400 You've seen him convict you of sin, whether you wanted him to or not. 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:42.099 And you've seen him as a guide who points you to Christ, who takes you along the way, who walks with you, even through the horrendous decisions and mistakes you make, Even the times when we step away from him, he still comes back and guides. 00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:48.500 All of this is pointing us to a place of seeing him do greater works. 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:50.700 That's what everyone here wants. 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:59.032 That's why you're here today, even though maybe part of you goes maybe, but not yet, but maybe please, but I'm not quite ready. 00:32:59.032 --> 00:33:00.099 But this is what we want. 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:01.799 We want to see him do greater works. 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:05.932 That's what we're here for. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:18.465 You know, I mentioned in this week's newsletter, if you get the mid-week update, it's all there that we have the chili cook off coming up next Sunday, right after the service, it's going to be a great time together. 00:33:18.465 --> 00:33:24.599 And just one of the encouragements I put in there was invite someone. 00:33:24.665 --> 00:33:26.700 Just invite someone. 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:29.032 That's going to be low pressure. 00:33:29.032 --> 00:33:33.000 That's going to be a great time for someone to just make some connections. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:34.799 They'll come and see that we're regular people. 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:36.465 We're not weird. 00:33:36.465 --> 00:33:38.032 Well, maybe some of us. 00:33:38.032 --> 00:33:44.200 I won't say names, but at least we're friendly, ha, I saw someone raise their hand in the back. 00:33:44.200 --> 00:33:45.165 Okay, we are owning it. 00:33:45.165 --> 00:33:48.766 Maybe we are weird, but we try to be friendly. 00:33:48.766 --> 00:33:49.400 It's. 00:33:49.400 --> 00:33:53.000 We're not going to freak you out. 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:59.099 And you can come to know real life by learning about Christ here. 00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:02.732 You never know how just a simple invitation will work in someone's life. 00:34:02.732 --> 00:34:10.000 I sent that out and a guy responded to me, and I'm going to read to you what he wrote. 00:34:10.065 --> 00:34:12.000 He said, John ... 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:14.233 this was Mark Singleton. 00:34:14.233 --> 00:34:18.932 Some of you may know Mark John, I really found your letter encouraging. 00:34:18.932 --> 00:34:19.733 Thanks so much. 00:34:19.733 --> 00:34:25.565 Let me tell you about my own experience with inviting the church. 00:34:25.565 --> 00:34:29.800 When I was 11 years old, Gail Albro invited me to church. 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:31.465 Some of you know Gail. 00:34:31.465 --> 00:34:41.000 She lives across the street from Mark- Mark's family still lives in the same house, lives over real close to us. 00:34:41.099 --> 00:34:45.965 When I was 11 years old, Gail Albro invited me to church. 00:34:45.965 --> 00:34:53.000 I began going, gave my life to Christ, and was baptized. 00:34:53.099 --> 00:34:55.166 She invited my brother. 00:34:55.166 --> 00:34:57.199 He starts going. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:01.965 A couple of years later, my parents began going. 00:35:02.065 --> 00:35:19.233 Today, I am a full time missionary in West Louisville, sharing Jesus because a lady across the street invited me to Valley View 28 years ago. 00:35:19.300 --> 00:35:31.733 You look across the street and you see that snot nose, 11 year old boy, but you don't see the guy giving up so much to serve in a really difficult area. 00:35:31.865 --> 00:35:38.699 And by the way, our church, when you give to church, when you give to missions, we're a part of that work. 00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:41.632 We give to that work he's doing. 00:35:41.632 --> 00:35:47.666 What a beautiful picture of a guy who didn't even know what future God had for him. 00:35:47.666 --> 00:36:00.300 And through one simple invitation, God changed his life, changed his brother's life, changed his parents life, and is changing who knows how many people's lives in the west end of Louisville? 00:36:00.300 --> 00:36:05.199 So my encouragement would be to you, whether it's the chili cook off or not, I don't know. 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:07.000 But we need to be thinking and praying. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:08.300 God, what is it you're doing? 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:10.432 How can we be a part of what you're doing? 00:36:10.432 --> 00:36:13.965 Open doors for us to see you do greater works. 00:36:13.965 --> 00:36:17.432 That's the phrase I'm going to be praying all week long, greater works. 00:36:17.432 --> 00:36:20.865 We want to see greater works than we've ever seen before from you. 00:36:20.865 --> 00:36:28.432 And he can do it in our lives. 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:29.833 God, we love you. 00:36:29.833 --> 00:36:35.532 We do want to see you do great works, greater works than we've experienced. 00:36:35.532 --> 00:36:37.766 We believe in you. 00:36:37.766 --> 00:36:44.699 But help our unbelief or to help our beliefs to grow or help us to take steps of faith. 00:36:44.699 --> 00:36:51.900 And when we're ready to knock on that door and we want to run in fear, help us to speak truth to ourselves. You are true. 00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:52.465 You have. 00:36:52.465 --> 00:36:57.199 You are the spirit of truth in our lives. 00:36:57.300 --> 00:36:59.733 We want to see You do greater works here. 00:36:59.733 --> 00:37:08.166 We want this year to be about watching you move, to reach our community, to stretch out your hands all across the hurting lives. 00:37:08.166 --> 00:37:14.166 The people we know, family, friends, neighbors. 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:16.266 Would you move? 00:37:16.266 --> 00:37:20.900 Would you move and use us. 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:22.500 We love you, Jesus. 00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:22.965 Amen.