2017.08.06                                 JOHN 14: 15- 31

                   I will not leave you Orphans

                The Promise of the Holy Spirit

                                      Part 2

Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus…

Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God… Jesus has been warning the Disciples of the very difficult hard times that are coming... Jesus is spending His last day…. His last evening… With His disciples… It is a very intense time…

What is going on here? This is the last time that Jesus is with the disciples before being arrested and going to the cross… Jesus is speaking to the hearts of the disciples…   He is preparing and comforting them…  

Their world is going to be shaken apart…

 We are down to the wire now… Because of His unfailing love… Jesus is warning the disciples of the desperate hard times that will burst into their lives in just a few hours now… He is offering the disciples comfort from their fear and anxiety…

Jesus is speaking to the hearts of the disciples…

1 Jesus is Warning them… He has told them over and over that he is going to the cross… They will be scattered…. They will run away… Peter will even deny Him…

2 Jesus is calling them to follow His example… He is calling them to loving obedience…

3 Jesus is comforting Them… He is promising the Holy Spirit to come along side of them to help and comfort them moment by moment and day by day… He is saying… I will never leave you and I will never forsake you…  This section is very Theological… We are learning about the work and ministry of the HS in these verses…. But it is also very practical… Because His Word and His promises… Will be used by the Holy Spirit to comfort and encourage us… No matter what happens in our lives… 

look with me at John 14… beginning at v15…

John 14: 15- 24                         NLT   Neues Leben

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.

v15… If you love me… Keep my Commandments

v16… another helper… He will be with you forever…

v17… The Spirit of truth… you know Him… He is with you and He will be in you…

v18… These Disciples are very confused and afraid… They need comfort and encouragement because Jesus is going away… He promises that He will not abandon them as if they were orphans…

v19… Soon The world will see me no more… But you will!... I will rise from the dead…

v20… Then you will know… After my Resurrection… You will be totally assured of all that I have told you… And because of my death and resurrection… You will live also…

v21… Then again in Jesus says… Love me and obey me… In fact 4 times in this chapter… Jesus says… Love and Obey me… v15,v21,v23,v24… Now Jesus knows that every one of them is going to fail to love and obey him this very night… What does this mean? I think it means at least two things… But First let me talk about what it does not mean… It does not mean that our Love for Jesus will be measured by the level of our obedience… Jesus is saying that our obedience should flow out of our love for him… It is not that we loved God…. But that He first loved us… 1 John 4:10-19… He is also saying that without the active work of the HS we will fail to love and obey Him… After the Resurrection of Jesus…. The HS which has been with us…. Will be in us as a continuous and abiding presence… Transforming us day by day… This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36: 27… It is the promise of the new birth… We would never Love or obey God unless He had begun this work in us…. And In fact… We will never love or Obey Jesus perfectly until our transformation into His image is complete… That will be when we see Jesus face to face… 1 Cor 13:11,12…

Here is what I believe he is saying…

1 Jesus is saying that our obedience will flow out of grateful and thankful hearts as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him… Since we cannot do this for ourselves…

2 The Holy Spirit will continue the transformation that began when we were born again by the Spirit of God at our conversion…

Paul wrote wonderfully about this miracle of growing in grace… In his letter to the Philippians he said… He who began a good work in you… ch 1v6…  This is the Sanctification process that he has already began in us… It will produce growing trust and love for the Lord Jesus… Which will produce increasing knowledge and discernment… And we will be filled with the fruits of Righteousness… All to and for the Glory and Praise of God… Phil 1: 3-11… That is the summary… We will read it later if we have time…

look with me at v23,24…

v24… Remember everything that I tell you comes from the Father… They are not merely my words… We see echos of the Trinity in these verses as the Holy Spirit is promised… next section… v25-31…

John 14: 25-31                     NKJV   slt 2000

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 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 things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. 29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

look with me at v26… This is  very important… Jesus is going away…. He has promised that He will not abandon them as orphans… He is promising the Holy Spirit… He is being sent by the Father in place of Jesus… The greek word is “Paraclete” It can be translated as advocate… as counselor and as comforter… The Holy Spirit is The advocate… The Comforter… He is saying… You guys are works in progress… You will all abandon me tonight…. But I will not abandon you… Until now… I have been your teacher… I am going away and The Father is sending the Holy Spirit in my place… Jesus is beginning to teach them about the ministry of the Holy Spirit…  

Look at v26a…

v26a… 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.” v26a… He will teach you all things… The HS will continue to teach you and help you…Through the coming active work of the Holy Spirit in their lives… Jesus Himself is promising to continue to be there for them… He is comforting them by sending “The Comforter” to them to take His Place as Teacher… That is the first thing…. Then… Look at v26b… scroll down…

v26b… and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Here… Jesus is not only promising that they will understand through the Ministry of the HS… He is also promising them the Inspiration and direction of the HS as they recall and record all that Jesus Began to say and do…

In this promise we understand that Jesus Himself promised the inspiration of the New Testament… It will be accomplished by the Holy Spirit´s work in their hearts and minds… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17… Paul and all of the Apostles understood this… Look with me at 1 Corinthians 2:12,13…

1 Corinthians 2: 12,13                    NKJV   slt 2000

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

12 Wir aber haben nicht den Geist der Welt empfangen, sondern den Geist, der aus Gott ist, sodass wir wissen können, was uns von Gott geschenkt ist; 13 und davon reden wir auch, nicht in Worten, die von menschlicher Weisheit gelehrt sind, sondern in solchen, die vom Heiligen Geist gelehrt sind, indem wir Geistliches geistlich erklären.

Paul in this ch is saying these things that we teach are from the Holy Spirit… Through the Holy Spirit… We have the mind of Christ…v16… That’s what Jesus promised… The Father will send the Holy Spirit… He will bring to your memory what he wants the church to know…   They were eyewitnesses… He will help them to remember and record everything that God wants them to… back to John 14 Ch 14…v26… scroll down please…

v26a… He will teach you all things” What things?... Everything necessary to give a true account of what Jesus said and did… And to reveal exactly who He is…

This is exactly what is happening in John´s Gospel… Years later John is remembering and recording the Words of Life and the miracles that Jesus did… He is teaching new generations of Genuine believers... And he is doing it so that we will believe that Jesus is the Christ…. And so that believing… we will have Life through Him…  John 20:31…

Now look with me at verses 27–29… Jesus is not only promising the Holy Spirit… He is giving them powerful words of encouragement… He is promising to replace their fear and anxiety with His peace… He is promising to replace their growing sorrow with His Joy… And of course… The goal is to replace their faithlessness with a strong and deeply rooted faith and trust and hope in Him… verse 27…

v27… “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Jesus is saying I got this… It will be very hard for you… But there will be no disasters tonight…. I lay down my life so that I can take it up again… John 10:18… Jesus is not focused on Himself and the terrible pain that awaits Him… He has the deepest needs of our hearts in view… He wants his disciples and all of us…  to be free from fear and anxiety… No matter what happens to us or our loved ones…

 Look at the middle of verse 27… “Not as the world gives do I give to you.”

His peace is not based on our circumstances… Look ahead with me at John 16: 33…

John 16: 33                                    NKJV   slt 2000

33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

33 Dies habe ich zu euch geredet, damit ihr in mir Frieden habt. In der Welt habt ihr Bedrängnis; aber seid getrost, ich habe die Welt überwunden!

Jesus is saying…. Look I know that it will not be easy…You will indeed have tribulation…. But don´t be afraid… I have overcome the world… Our peace in the middle of disaster will make no sense to the world...  Look with me at  Philippians 4: 6,7…

Philippians 4: 6,7          NKJV slt 2000

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

6 Sorgt euch um nichts; sondern in allem lasst durch Gebet und Flehen mit Danksagung eure Anliegen vor Gott kundwerden. 7 Und der Friede Gottes, der allen Verstand übersteigt, wird eure Herzen und eure Gedanken bewahren in Christus Jesus!

Paul says… Don´t worry about anything… Pray about everything… Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding… We protect and keep your hearts and minds… Human understanding cannot produce it…   It is God’s peace… It is ours because we are in Christ…

 Back to John 14…  v 27…

v27a: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” I am sharing with you my peace… I am not afraid…. I do not want you to be afraid at all… I am bringing you into my peace… They are about to kill Him… What kind of peace Does He have?  Perfect peace…  The peace of God the Father Himself… He says…  Tomorrow I will go to the cross…   I will purchase your forgiveness… and I will provide your righteousness… And I will bring you into the very peace that I enjoy with my Father… look with at verse 28…

Verse 28: “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Now He says…. If you really love me you will rejoice with Me… I am going back to the Father…!

V28… “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father”… So our joy is not the joy of the world…. It is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His relationship with the Father…  God give his people joy…  Not as the world gives… He is faithful and full of unfailing… Never going to stop loving you love… Our joy has infinite roots… It is Rooted in the very nature of God…. He is by Nature a Savoir… 1 Timothy 4:10…

 Look with me at John 14…v29…

v29… “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

Jesus has given many prophesies about the events that would occur during His Ministry and arrest and betrayal…

Jesus is pointing to the Sovereign plan of God in every event that unfolds… Jesus is making clear who is in control of every event... It isn’t Pilate… It isn’t Herod... It is not the Jews… It isn’t the soldiers… It isn’t even Satan… My Father is in charge… Acts 4:27-28... And by his command, I am in charge… John 3:35; 13:3... Nobody takes my life from me… I lay it down… John 10:18...

Jesus says…. It is going to get crazy tonight… Trust me… Believe in me… The Father and I are in control… Do not be afraid… Evil does not have the upper hand… My unfailing love will see you through… I will not abandon you as orphans… The holy Spirit will teach you in my place… The work that I have began in you will be completed… You will survive this disastrous night…  And since that was true at history’s darkest hour… It will be true in our darkest hours as well… If we just trust in Him…  The Lord Jesus gave the disciples many promises during this last night with the disciples… We will see more as we continue in Ch 15 and 16…

Today we saw the Promise of His continued presence with them in the Promise of the Holy Spirit…

Questions?

Are we… Am I demonstrating the Peace and joy and trust that the Holy Spirit offers me…? Am I hanging on to Jesus in every storm?... Does the world see the transformed life that Knowing Jesus brings? No so much… Why not…

Is my pride and self-righteousness preventing others from wanting the transformed Life that Jesus has given me..?  Can they even see it? Or does my representation of Jesus stink to them… Not salty and not shining with the Love of Jesus… That is the big question for us today…

Will others see God´s Love and grace in us and flowing out of us… Will others see Jesus in us… Will others see Jesus in Me? Speaking for myself…. Not much to see most days… We need to hide His Word in our hearts… We need to love and care for each other… We need to Abide in Him… That is what we will look at next week… John 15…

The Good news is that we have an Amazing Savior… And we have received a great salvation… We have been born again by the Spirit of God… And He is continuing the work that He has began in us… We can all take great comfort in this truth… He started the work and He will finish it in us…

Let´s pray…