WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.439 Of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:08.160 In this way, Jesus answers an important question that surely was in the minds of the disciples. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:13.679 How will his disciples continue to know him and follow him even after he's gone? 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.839 His answer is not merely a promise, it is a person. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:21.839 Jesus does not leave his disciples empty-handed. 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:28.640 He gives them this great gift, this great, greatest departing gift, the person of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:42.240 And in our text this morning, we see Jesus not only promised to give his disciples this Holy Spirit, but he also highlights seven realities the Holy Spirit brings into the believer's life. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:46.320 So let us see what those realities are as we look at our text. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:52.079 Our text this morning is John chapter 14, verse 15 through 31. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:01:00.719 We will look at specific parts of it as we go through the text and look for these seven realities instead of reading it right now. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.599 But please turn there in God's word if you have your copy with you. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:16.480 Before speaking of the Spirit, Jesus reminds his disciples in verse 15, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:23.200 Remember this as we go through this text, for this theme frames the entire passage. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.560 We see this in several verses in the text. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:33.920 In verse 15, verse 21, verses 23 through 24, and again in verse 31, in a way. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:45.920 In this, we see the Spirit of Christ, that is the Holy Spirit, is God's gift to his obedient people, that is, those who trust him. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.959 Now, Jesus, after this, gives his first great promise. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:57.280 He points out the first reality to us, or the first abiding assurance. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:07.680 Remember that phrase, abiding assurance, because I've entitled this message, The Abiding Assurance of Life, Love, and Peace. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:20.560 Because God says, I mean, Christ says to his disciples that they will have these assurances, these blessings, these realities in their life because of the Holy Spirit, and that these things will be abiding. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.360 They will be theirs permanently. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:27.919 Jesus' first great promise is found in verse 16. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:35.280 He says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may be with you forever. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:45.360 This is reality number one, the abiding assurance of the indwelling permanent presence of God in our hearts, or rather, souls. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:50.240 Now, the word for another helper in the original language is perikletos. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.879 It means another of the same kind. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:04.159 Jesus was telling the disciples that as he was being taken away from them, another would come who was just like him. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:07.759 And the Holy Spirit did come. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:13.199 And he comes to us as Christ's divine representative. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:19.919 He's our helper, our advocate, our teacher, our comforter, and our guide. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.800 You know, I love movies more than I should. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.520 And I went and saw Odyssey the other night with my son. 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:27.360 I thought it was great. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:36.479 And in it, there's a blind servant who was faithful to Odysseus, the king who has gone off to war. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:41.599 And he, along with a guy named Mentor, teaching the king's son things. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.159 This is what God has sent us. 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:51.680 He has sent us a combination of that blind servant who was very faithful to his master and the swordsman who could teach his son how to fight. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:59.680 Their dedication to their king made them want to instill in the king's son all the king's son needed to succeed. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.719 This is what the Holy Spirit does for us. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:12.080 He is invested in seeing us have all we need from our Father, the King. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.079 He is Christ's divine representative in our lives. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:20.319 He is another helper like unto Christ Himself, who helps us in our weakness. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.920 For we are human and we have many. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.000 Weaknesses, that is. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:32.079 Do not miss the part that the Spirit is not a magical potion you drink. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:37.279 Do not miss the part that the Spirit is not merely some power source. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:43.839 The text tells us that the Spirit is a person sent by God and his ministry is personal. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.240 Jesus did not come and walk this earth as a power source. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.079 Jesus did not come as a drink bottled up to drink down. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:59.040 He came as a person in the flesh to point us to God. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.759 And the Holy Spirit is a person and his ministry is personal. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.480 Unlike Christ's earthly ministry, the Spirit's ministry, however, is permanent. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:15.199 Once the disciples received the Holy Spirit, there would never be a time that they would need to get him back. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:22.800 Once we trust in Christ and we receive the Holy Spirit upon conversion, there's never a time in which he's not in our lives. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:29.439 He does not merely visit believers, he dwells within them forever. 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:35.680 The unbelieving world neither knows nor receives him, Jesus says that in verse 17. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.959 But every true believer receives the Spirit at conversion through him. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:49.360 Christ's presence is no longer merely beside us or in front of us, but it is with us. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:50.959 It is within us. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:59.360 The Holy Spirit assures believers that Christ's presence is now internal, permanent, and personal. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:01.120 Praise the Lord. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:06.240 Now the reality of Christ's abiding presence immediately raises another question. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.839 What does his presence actually accomplish within us? 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.439 Well, Jesus answers that in the next promise. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:21.920 And no, we won't be able to fully unpack it, because Jesus has more in store for those who trust in him than we can possibly imagine. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:25.120 But what does he say in verse 18? 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:31.279 He says this as he points out or highlights the next reality or promise. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:35.759 He says, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:39.439 Because I live, you also will live. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.360 What wonderful words we find here. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:47.040 Jesus refuses to abandon his people. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:55.839 Although he is about to leave them physically, although he's been with them for three years, and now all of a sudden they're going to be separated. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.959 And he's told them they can't go where he's going. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:00.480 No, not yet. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:06.000 He refuses to let them think they're abandoned. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:12.319 Although he is about to leave physically, he will remain with them through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:17.680 And he's trying to help them wrap their minds around this mystery. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:29.439 This is reality number two, the abiding assurance of the revelation of the nature of our spiritual life in union with Christ. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.759 I know that's a mouthful, so how about we just say the assurance of his life in us? 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.879 His spirit connects his disciples with his resurrection life. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:45.759 And in turn, his resurrection guarantees their spiritual and eternal life. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:51.120 Jesus reveals one of the deepest mysteries in all of Scripture here. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:08:00.639 Christ is in the Father, believers are in Christ, and Christ is in believers. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.439 What a mystery to be embraced. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.000 Where do we see this in the text? 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:10.399 We see this in verse 20. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:16.079 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:17.040 On what day? 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.519 On the day that he comes back to them. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.879 On the day that they see him again. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.199 And they would see him again just after his resurrection. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:30.879 And they would receive his Holy Spirit shortly thereafter. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:39.039 The Holy Spirit unites us to the risen Christ and continually communicates his resurrection life to us who believe. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:44.879 That is, the Spirit Himself mediates the risen life of Christ to believers. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:53.759 This same Spirit is the one who hovered over the waters at creation, the same Spirit who empowered Christ's earthly ministry. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:01.600 And now this same Spirit is meant to dwell within every believer and does dwell within every believer. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:06.159 Through the Spirit's ministry, Christ continues his work in us. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.559 Christ reveals himself to us. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:17.200 Christ transforms us into his likeness, as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18 of Romans 8, 29. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:31.200 It was the gifting of this Spirit, accompanied by signs and wonders, that in God's perfect plan united the early church, Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan alike. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:41.200 Furthermore, because Christ lives, believers possess something else, and that is eternal life. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.840 Not just in the hereafter, but now. 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:50.480 Christ's living presence literally guarantees our life. 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:52.799 And he tells us so. 00:09:54.159 --> 00:10:01.039 He says in verse 19, at the latter part, because I live you will live also. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:10.480 Yes, this is yet another mysterious blessing and truth that he introduces to the disciples on this night before he goes to the cross. 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:23.360 This idea that his life would be in them and the Christ's life in them would give them life indeed, life eternal, a life which cannot be taken away. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:41.039 As Jesus declared earlier in the Gospel of John, which we've been walking through this year, in John 5, 24, he says these words He who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has what? 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:42.639 Eternal life. 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:46.159 And has passed out of death into life. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:47.519 Past tense. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:53.120 When we trust in Christ, we leave death behind and we welcome life. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.879 Sure, we will cease to live in this life and we will go to be with God. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.639 But the second death, the more painful death, we will not face. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:16.000 The Holy Spirit does not only assure believers of his presence, but he assures them of his very life within them. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:22.879 He assures believers that the risen Christ lives in them, unites them to himself, and guarantees their eternal life. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:27.279 That is the second reality, the assurance of his life in us. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:35.120 But now, if Christ truly lives within his people, his life will inevitably produce visible fruit in them. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:41.039 As one youth pastor once told me, you don't get run over by an 18-wheeler and look the same. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:47.759 That fruit is noted in this next reality that Christ reveals. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:53.600 If Christ's risen life truly dwells within us, then his life will inevitably bear fruit in us. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:12:07.759 The first and greatest evidence of that life is a growing love for Christ, a growing trust in Christ that is expressed through willing obedience. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:22.000 Those of us who were once rebels, those of us who had no concern for God or the things that he thought in our lives, he takes, and by his miraculous work in us through the Spirit, he makes us interested in him all of a sudden. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:27.919 He makes us rejoice in a love we could never have thought of, that we don't deserve and we can't earn. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:29.679 God does this. 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:31.039 We don't do it. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:34.960 The first and greatest evidence of that life is this growing love. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:41.840 We see this when Jesus says, He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.399 He said something like that in verse 15. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.480 He's saying it again here in verse 21. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.600 You see, loving Christ produces obedient lives. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:55.600 That is, our trust in Christ and our submission to him prove our love for him. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:00.159 And let me give you this encouragement, by the way. 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:05.039 I'm speaking of evidence that God is alive and well in you. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.240 How much evidence is enough evidence? 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:10.320 Any evidence. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:16.559 Even recognizing that you don't trust him like you want to. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:24.320 The fact that you want to, that's enough evidence of his work in your life. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.759 This is reality number three. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.559 The abiding assurance of a power for loving obedience. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.559 It's an assurance of our love for him. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:38.960 How do we know we love him? 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:41.279 Because we want to know him. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:43.200 How do we know we love him? 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:44.240 Because we want to follow him. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:45.679 How do we know we love him? 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.759 Because we learn to trust him, take him at his word. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:56.080 Notice how this entire passage is framed by this truth. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:06.480 Jesus repeats it in verses 15, verse 21, verses 23 through 24, and demonstrates in action in his own life in verse 31. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:16.639 Loving God is not merely an emotion or a profession, it is an action and a choice demonstrated through trusting obedience. 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.759 Loving Christ produces obedient lives. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.240 Yet we must be careful to understand what Jesus is saying here. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.879 He is not teaching that obedience earns salvation or merits it. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.440 If obedience could save us, Christ would not have needed to die upon the cross. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:39.120 He could have just given us another book that told us how to measure up, stuck it in the Bible. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:44.320 He could have come down and given lectures on how to be good enough for God, but he didn't do that. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:49.440 He came and said, unless your righteousness is greater than the Pharisees, you ain't got no hope. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.399 And guess what? 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.000 It will never be. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.679 Only his righteousness was greater than the Pharisees. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:10.240 And he came not merely to give us better instruction and to tell us to suck it up, but he came to accomplish the redemption we could never accomplish on our own. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:18.000 He came to say, if you've seen me, seen the Father, and if you've looked at me once, don't ever stop looking. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.919 So then obedience is what then? 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:28.000 It's the evidence of genuine faith, not the basis of our acceptance before God. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:33.039 Grace saves, faith receives, and obedience reveals. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.639 Every act of obedience says, Lord, I trust you. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:39.200 Yes, Lord, your servant is listening. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:42.720 Your wisdom is greater than mine, your will is better than my own. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:47.919 Lord, I don't know a lot, but I know you of you. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:50.159 I know you arose. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:58.879 I know you love me so, and I know that you will see me through if I distrust in you. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.759 Lord, I entrust myself to you, I am yours. 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:04.159 That's what obedience says. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:10.559 This is why repentance and obedience are never the root of our justification. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:12.320 They are but its fruit. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:19.440 Our spiritual life, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is its source and its stability. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:24.159 It is he who sustains us in following after Christ. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:32.399 John's gospel tells us it's the Holy Spirit that helps us be born again. 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:36.320 He tells us that it's the Holy Spirit that brings conviction into our lives. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:46.559 And then he tells us again and again and again of blessings such as those that we're looking at this morning, of things, realities, blessed assurances that the Holy Spirit works in our lives. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:49.360 We'll look at a few more of those as we continue. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:56.639 The point is this that the Christian life, our salvation, is not sustained by human determination. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:06.079 It is sustained by the continual ministry of the Holy Spirit, who fixes our hearts upon Christ, strengthens our faith, and enables us to persevere. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:14.000 Oh, how that must have encouraged Peter, who stood up among the eleven and said, I'm not going to desert you, Lord, not me. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:19.519 And Jesus looked him in the face and said, Before the rooster crows three times, you're going to deny me tonight. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:34.319 When that rooster crowed, when he looked on Christ and felt that pain, that misery, the spirit inside him strengthened what little faith he had and enabled him to persevere. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:40.480 Our hope rests, brothers and sisters, not in our performance, but in Christ's continuing work within us. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.839 The same spirit who gives us life also sustains our life. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.039 He preserves us through the trials. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:18:01.920 He seals us for the day of redemption, as the apostle Paul also notes in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13 through 14, Ephesians 4, verse 30, and 2 Corinthians 1, 22 and 5, verse 5. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:05.839 He guarantees our future resurrection. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:14.000 Therefore, the evidence of genuine conversion is not perfect obedience, but it is a life growing in trusting obedience. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:21.119 A growing love for Christ expressed through increasingly trusting obedience. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:27.039 Yes, a growing desire to obey Christ is the mark of a heart transformed by God. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:33.920 The Holy Spirit enables a relationship where obedience flows from affection. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:38.079 And it is the Holy Spirit that unites us with the Lord we love. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:47.200 The Holy Spirit assures believers that genuine love for Christ expresses itself through willing, spirit-empowered obedience. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:57.200 And I feel the need here to pause for a minute, brothers and sisters, because every believer should honestly ask this question. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:03.440 Is my love for Christ becoming increasingly evident in the way I trust him? 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:05.519 Obey him and follow him? 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:15.119 The fact of the matter is, you and I must examine our lives and ask ourselves, is my love for Christ evidenced in my life? 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.920 Is my love for Christ evidenced in the way I live? 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:19.279 Do I trust him? 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:23.759 If so, there will be some evidence of it. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:29.359 Brothers and sisters, to know him is to love him. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:34.559 And to love him is to trust him. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:37.119 And entrust your life to him. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:52.160 At this point, we've seen three of the seven realities, but let us go on, for Jesus doesn't stop. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.440 See now, loving obedience naturally leads to a deeper question. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:00.880 What is the reward of a life that loves Christ? 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.680 Yes, we're not saved by merit, and it's not about rewards. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:10.240 That's not the main point, but the scriptures reveal that there are rewards. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:14.480 There are blessings in trusting God and doing his will. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:23.200 Jesus answers this question, what is the reward of a life that loves Christ, with one of the most astonishing promises in all of Scripture. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.559 And he says it this way in verse 23. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:42.000 We will come to him and make our abode with him or our home with him. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:44.079 Did you catch that? 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:54.240 This is the reality that through the Spirit of Christ we are provided the assurance of his lasting love and fellowship. 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:58.720 The Father and the Son make their dwelling with the believer. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.759 Earlier in this chapter, Jesus revealed the mystery of his union with the Father. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:10.960 He said in John 14, verses 9 through 11, I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:15.200 He even said, He who has seen me has seen the Father. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:27.839 Now, here in verse 23, he extends that wonderful truth to his people in a way, because believers are united to Christ through the Holy Spirit. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.079 They are brought into living fellowship with both the Father and the Son. 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:37.119 Our text this morning tells us that the Spirit will abide with us and he will be in us. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:43.920 It tells us that in that day, verse 20, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.319 This is not merely a promise of future heaven. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:52.079 It is a present reality. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:59.680 When Judas, not Iscariot, one of the twelve, asks why Jesus will reveal himself to his disciples and not to the world in verse 22, Jesus explains. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:05.839 That his continued self-disclosure comes through covenant fellowship with those who love him. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:10.319 The Father loves them. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.960 The Son reveals himself to them. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:16.480 And through the Holy Spirit, they make their dwelling within them. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.599 We sing hymns about how God lives within our heart. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:25.519 He is seated high on the throne in heaven, and he's at work and present all around the world. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.920 And yet, he lives within our hearts through the Holy Spirit. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:35.839 This is the mysterious truth of Scripture. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:42.880 This is the reality of the abiding assurance of covenant fellowship with the Father and the Son. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.240 Salvation, therefore, is far more than forgiveness. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:49.279 It is daily communion with the living God. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:59.759 It is the Spirit of life, the Holy Spirit of God, who is one with the Father and the Son that indwells us and makes us one with them. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.880 Of course, God is still God, and we are not God. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.240 We'll never be God. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:13.279 But we have been united with God through the Spirit in a way we can't understand, but in a way that we can certainly rejoice in. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:19.039 Through the Spirit, Christ's presence becomes a personal, he becomes personally real to us. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:22.799 The Holy Spirit reveals Christ intimately to believers. 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:30.160 Through the Holy Spirit, Christ becomes more than our hero, more than our master, but our very treasure. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:33.680 His life continually dwells within us through the Spirit. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:36.079 He never leaves us nor forsakes us. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:47.039 And our fellowship with Him, His love, the love of Almighty God, is poured into our hearts through the Spirit, Romans chapter 5, verse 5. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.920 His fellowship becomes the believer's daily joy. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:53.680 Salvation is not merely forgiveness, again, or cleansing. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:24:08.880 It is not merely reconciliation, but it is restoration to daily fellowship and eternal communion with God, such as Adam and Eve enjoyed before the fall, where they daily walked in the garden with the Father. 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:14.960 The God who once dwelt among his people, now dwells within his people. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:30.799 The fact is, brothers and sisters, that the Holy Spirit makes the presence of Christ real to his people in a way that his presence with us now would not be possible without him. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:36.799 This is one of the greatest privileges of the New Covenant. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:39.680 This is Christ's gift to us. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:50.480 The Holy Spirit assures believers that the Father and Son make their home with those who love Christ, granting continual, uninterrupted fellowship and communion with God. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:59.359 The Holy Spirit assures believers that God Himself reveals himself to those who love Christ, and he makes his home with those who love Christ. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:03.599 Verse 22, Jesus says, You are going. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.160 Sorry. 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:18.240 In verse 21, Jesus says, My Father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.960 But that's not all. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:26.640 The God who dwells with his people does not leave them to discover his will, all by their lonesome. 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:32.400 Having made his home within us, he also fellowships with us. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:38.799 He also becomes something very special to us, something we desperately need. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:40.559 He becomes our divine teacher. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.880 And that is the fifth abiding assurance. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.440 The assurance of his instruction. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:53.839 This is the reality of the abiding assurance of the Spirit's divine teaching and remembrance ministry. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.599 That last two words that sound a little weird to me, but that's what he does. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.640 He reminds us of the truth of God. 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:08.000 He was the spirit of the prophets that reminded the Israelites of the truth of God. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:21.759 And here Christ points out he will be the spirit of prophecy in the apostles, and that he will specifically remind them of God's truth, but beloved, he also reminds us of God's truth. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:41.599 If God has made his home with his people, and he will not leave us without guidance, the God who dwells within us not only gives us his preserved word in Scripture, he gives us a continual teacher. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:51.200 Jesus says in verse 26, 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 said to you. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:53.839 What an encouraging promise. 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:57.200 Jesus was about to depart physically. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:04.480 Remember, he's about to leave and go to the cross, but his disciples would not lose his teaching ministry. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:07.440 The Holy Spirit would continue it. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:16.720 First, this promise, as already briefly noted, uniquely established the ministry of the apostles in a unique way. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:28.720 The Spirit would bring Christ's word to their remembrance and guide them into all truth, providing the divine foundation for the apostolic witness and the reliability of the Holy Scripture. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:47.599 And we see elsewhere in Scripture, although we're not covering it this morning, see Galatians 1, verses 17 through 18 and some other scriptures, he did something similar, a similar miracle in the Apostle Paul's life, who also God used to give us scripture. 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:55.359 But this ministry was not just a ministry to them to remind them of the truth of God's word. 00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.799 It was a ministry that continues in the lives of believers today. 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:08.400 The same Holy Spirit who inspired the scriptures now illumines or opens up the scriptures for us who believe so that we might understand them. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:14.559 Just as Jesus opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures in his earthly ministry. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:27.119 And then again, at the very end of his ministry in Luke chapter 24, verse 45, he showed them how all of the law and the prophets, all of Scripture, pointed to Him. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:33.119 So the Spirit opens our minds to behold the glory of Christ within them. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:48.000 In fact, I submit to you, brothers and brothers and sisters, this this morning, that there will never be a moment in this life, or in the life to come for that matter, where any one of us will ever stop learning from Christ. 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:50.160 I'm going to say that one more time. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:55.839 There will never be a moment in this life where any one of us ever stop learning from Christ. 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.000 Now, to be sure, he does not reveal new truth apart from God's word. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:06.880 He might be doing a new thing, but it's in line with what he's always done. 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.119 He faithfully directs us back to Christ. 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:19.039 He glorifies and magnifies Christ through his word, as he has already done time and time again in the past. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:20.880 This is what the Holy Spirit does. 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:35.039 He is the Spirit of truth, our divine teacher, who continually reminds us of Christ's promises, strengthens our understanding, and anchors our hearts in the unchanging truth of God's word. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:41.200 Moreover, through the Spirit Christ discloses, or rather intimately reveals himself to us personally. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:46.960 That is, through their truth, we come to know Christ as he truly is. 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:49.680 That there I'm speaking of are the scriptures. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:55.200 Without the Spirit's ministry in this manner, the Bible would remain merely words on a page. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.960 But through his ministry, those words become the living voice of our shepherd. 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:05.599 Remember a couple chapters back, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.160 Are you listening? 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:24.880 The Holy Spirit assures believers that they will never be left without divine instruction, for he has promised to continually teach them through his spirit and the truth of his holy word. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:34.400 Now, of course, sound doctrine is never intended to remain merely in the mind, but to come and dwell within the heart, the soul. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:42.400 As the Spirit teaches God's truth, he also steadies God's people and calls them to worship the one true God through Jesus Christ. 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:46.559 And knowledge of Christ produces something else in us, confidence in Christ. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:51.119 And that confidence gives birth to something we all long for. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:55.680 And it is revealed in verse 27. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:01.759 Here we see the reality of the abiding assurance of Christ peace. 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:05.759 Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit gives us Christ's peace. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.480 He makes Christ's peace ours. 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:15.279 He helps the peace of God that passes understanding to settle into our souls. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:21.279 Verse 27, Jesus says, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:23.920 Not as the world gives do I give to you. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.240 Therefore, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:36.799 If you grabbed a note sheet, there are verses after each of these assurances or promises that aren't in John. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:37.920 Why did I put them there? 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:42.480 Because these are other places in Scripture we see this same blessing or assurance. 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:45.039 Just for future reference. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.480 And in relationship to peace, two come readily to mind. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:53.759 Peter's words, where he says, Cast all your cares upon God because he cares for you. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:56.319 Every care, all care. 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:00.720 And Philippians, where it says, Be anxious for nothing. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:06.240 But in prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests be known to God. 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:09.359 In other words, you should tell God everything. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:14.079 There's nothing God can't handle, nothing God can't help you with. 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:17.440 Jesus left his peace with them. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:19.359 He gave it to them. 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:21.039 He didn't just show it to them. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:26.640 He didn't just win it for them, but he said he'd leave it with them. 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:30.319 Notice what Jesus leaves behind here. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:33.279 He doesn't leave wealth. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:41.519 There's not some hidden treasure, right, of money that we're going to help the disciples continue his mission. 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:45.279 He doesn't leave them political influence. 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:47.359 In fact, they're going to get run out of town. 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:53.279 In fact, very soon, one of them will, like Stephen, be the first of the twelve to be martyred. 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:57.039 James, the brother of John, I'll get his head cut off. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:06.319 So it's not wealth, it's not political influence, it's influence, it's not some earthly power, not a special secret for only a special few. 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:17.680 But rather his peace, his hard-fought and one peace, that he wins upon the cross and when he reconciles us to God. 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:26.559 It's that peace and the message that accompanies it, the message of reconciliation and restoration to him to be freely shared with all. 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:36.640 He leaves us this peace, his own peace, the peace he provides through his perfect life and works. 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:40.640 This peace is unlike anything the world can offer. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.079 The world's peace depends upon favorable circumstances. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:48.319 It depends on health and finances and security and strength or comfort. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:51.359 But Christ's peace rests on greater things. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:58.480 Christ's peace rests upon something far greater, God's sovereign rule. 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:08.880 Christ's finished atonement, our completed reconciliation with God, his everlasting covenant love. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:19.840 Because of these realities, which never change, neither does the peace Christ leaves his people and gives to them. 00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:32.400 You see, on this night, as he's getting ready to leave, Jesus wants them to understand he's not getting kidnapped and taken where he doesn't want to go. 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:36.320 Jesus willingly goes to the cross. 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:42.480 The soldiers show up with Judas and they say, We're looking for Jesus. 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.760 And Jesus says, I'm him. 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:47.519 And he goes with them. 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:49.760 He tells Peter to put up a sword. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:35:01.519 One of the gospel writers tells us, when Peter tries to defend him, Jesus willingly went to the cross, not as a helpless victim, but as a the victorious redeemer. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:05.199 As he goes, he knows the Father's plan will be accomplished. 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:08.320 He knows he will return to the Father in triumph. 00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:09.679 He knows what's coming. 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:11.440 He sweats blood in the garden. 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:15.280 He says, if there's any way that there's another way to do this, Father, let that happen. 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:17.840 But not my will, but your will be done. 00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:26.000 He goes to the cross, knowing that he will return to the Father in triumph, but through tragedy. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.840 He knows he will redeem his sheep. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:49.199 This is the joy set before him that Paul speaks of in one of his letters, the joy that he had in going to the cross, and he approaches it wholeheartedly, despite the terrest he must endure and overcome to get there. 00:35:51.119 --> 00:36:04.639 He knows because he is certain to accomplish his mission, that the Holy Spirit will soon come to permanently dwell within his people and grant them all these blessed assurances. 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:08.159 Furthermore, he knows that Satan has no claim on him. 00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:16.880 And he has nothing in me. 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:20.079 Therefore the disciples need not fear. 00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:26.159 They need have no worry for what is going to take place because it is all part of God's plan. 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:40.480 The same Spirit who sustained Christ in perfect peace as he approached the cross to be perfectly obedient, now ministers that same peace to his people. 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:46.880 Yes, the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me, he says. 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:52.320 Satan was indeed approaching through the events that led up to the cross. 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.280 Satan was making ready to make an end of Christ upon the cross. 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:03.840 But in Christ there was no sin, no guilt, no accusation, no foothold for him for in and of himself. 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.679 Yes, he became sin on our behalf, but he was a spotless lamb. 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:14.239 He was the perfect one who offered the perfect sacrifice in the perfect way, according to God's perfect plan. 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:18.480 And because of his obedience unto death, Satan had no hope. 00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:20.159 He just didn't know it yet. 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:31.599 Jesus goes to the cross, not as a defeated victim, but as the obedient son who willingly lays down his life in perfect submission to the Father. 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:40.960 Jesus says in verse 31, but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded me. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:43.280 Get up, let us go from here. 00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:58.000 At Calvary, Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities and triumphed over them, as Paul reminds believers in Colossians 2, verse 15. 00:37:58.239 --> 00:37:59.920 He conquered sin and death. 00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:07.760 And he secured everlasting victory for all who belong to him. 00:38:08.239 --> 00:38:13.360 Because believers are united to Christ through the Holy Spirit, his victory becomes our victory. 00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:15.360 This is a certainty. 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:19.360 This is the seventh blessed assurance. 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:22.639 The assurance of his victory. 00:38:24.559 --> 00:38:27.920 We no longer fight for victory, we fight from victory. 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:32.960 We no longer have to work for acceptance, we operate from a place of acceptance. 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:36.559 The enemy we face is already defeated. 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:38.480 His doom is sure. 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:49.039 Therefore, we can courageously obey Christ, persevere through suffering, resist temptation, proclaim the gospel without fear, and confidently await his return. 00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:55.599 But it doesn't always feel like that, does it? 00:38:56.960 --> 00:39:02.000 And it certainly didn't feel like that for the disciples that night. 00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:07.440 They're listening to Christ, they're hanging on as every word, they want to believe everything he's saying. 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:12.000 And a couple of days later, when the women come and tell them he rose from the dead, they're still trembling. 00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:14.800