Jesus Gives Us Peace In Him

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:06.879 Beloved. Let's turn in God's word. Now to John Chapter Sixteen. John 2 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:37.409 Sixteen, Twenty five through thirty three. Some of our younger members in our 3 00:00:37.530 --> 00:00:42.890 church have been asking me to take a little more time before reading the scriptures 4 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:47.090 after announcing the verses, and so if it seems like I'm taking a little 5 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:51.560 more time before reading the scriptures after announcing the verses, it's because I am. 6 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:56.920 It's for them and for their sake, and of course we want to 7 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.679 accommodate that. The Lord tells us to bring the little children to me. 8 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:07.510 We are not to hinder them. So, little children, take your time, 9 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:14.790 find your words and we will all read together. All Right, John 10 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:19.739 Chapter Sixteen, Verse Twenty Five through Thirty Three. Let's hear the words of 11 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:26.739 our Lord. I have said these things to you and figures of speech. 12 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:30.900 The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of 13 00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:34.890 speech, but I will tell you plainly about the father. In that day 14 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:40.489 you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that 15 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:44.609 I will ask the father on your behalf, for the father himself loves you, 16 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:48.920 because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 17 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:53.359 I came from the father. I have caught and have come into the world, 18 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:57.560 and now I am leaving the world and going to the father. His 19 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:01.750 disciple said, AH, now you are speaking plainly and do not and not 20 00:02:01.909 --> 00:02:07.349 using figurative speech. Now we know that you now we know that you know 21 00:02:07.789 --> 00:02:12.509 all things and do not need anyone to question you. This is why we 22 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:17.419 believe that you came from God. Jesus answered them. Do you now believe? 23 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:23.180 Behold, the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come. Would 24 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:27.139 you will be scattered, each to his own home and will leave me alone. 25 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:31.569 Yet I am not alone, for the father is with me. I've 26 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:36.729 said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the 27 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:42.889 world, you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the 28 00:02:43.050 --> 00:03:00.389 world. I'men. Well, if you are like me, as I've mentioned 29 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:06.189 this morning, it's difficult to not be anxious, to not be worried and 30 00:03:06.349 --> 00:03:09.629 as we've been spending some time here in John Sixteen, we've seen the disciples 31 00:03:10.629 --> 00:03:15.259 filled with their hearts, filled with sorrow. The scripture said about hearing this 32 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:23.259 word, about Jesus leaving them, and Jesus says here that when in short 33 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:25.780 order, here the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come, he 34 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:29.810 says, when you will be scattered, each to his home and will leave 35 00:03:29.889 --> 00:03:35.969 me alone. Why will they do this? Because they're afraid, they're worried. 36 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:38.770 What will the world do to them? How will they be able to 37 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:45.719 withstand of the tribulation? The Times are changing. Jesus is leaving, but 38 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:51.439 he doesn't leave them alone and he doesn't leave them without a plan. Here 39 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.479 in our passage, he gives them three simple truths, which I want to 40 00:03:54.639 --> 00:04:00.870 preach to you this morning, things that are impossible to hear and to follow 41 00:04:00.949 --> 00:04:03.710 without Christ. But for those who hear the words of the spirit, who 42 00:04:03.750 --> 00:04:10.180 those who do follow Christ, these words bring great peace to us. They 43 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:15.500 steady us in the midst of trials and difficulties. So what are these? 44 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:21.500 The first thing is that Jesus tells them, and he tells us that we 45 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:28.810 can hear his voice even after he's gone. That we can hear his voice 46 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:32.050 even after he's gone. He means both in the old and New Testament, 47 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:38.089 but here particularly, our focuses on the New Testament. How do we see 48 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:43.480 this? Well, Jesus says in Verse Twenty Five, I have said these 49 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.600 things to you and figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will 50 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.560 no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but I will tell you 51 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:56.470 plainly about the father. I'll tell you plainly about the father. And that 52 00:04:56.629 --> 00:05:00.589 happened Jesus's mission. All the all along re remember that Jesus is not revealing 53 00:05:00.670 --> 00:05:06.620 a special word that is any different from the father. He's revealing what God 54 00:05:06.779 --> 00:05:12.500 has spoken to Him. And so what he's telling his disciples here, which 55 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:16.259 continues on into our own age, is that he's not leaving us without his 56 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:23.410 word, without his guidance, without his voice to lead us. You remember, 57 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:27.889 earlier in John He described himself as the good shepherd and he said my 58 00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:33.290 sheep hear my voice and they follow me. When somebody goes away, a 59 00:05:33.370 --> 00:05:39.720 family member, a friend, one of the things we wonder is will lie 60 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:43.920 hear from you again? We know that, because they're not physically present, 61 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:47.480 that will be difficult, and so we wonder. Will we message one another? 62 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:53.149 Will I see you online? Will you write me a letter? Well, 63 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:58.069 we hear from them even though they are gone. A similar issue is 64 00:05:58.149 --> 00:06:00.949 here with Jesus. He is saying, I am leaving you, but you 65 00:06:01.029 --> 00:06:04.459 will still hear from me. He says the hour is coming when I will 66 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:08.420 speak to you in some ways, he says, in a way that's even 67 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:13.019 better than what I have spoken to you previously. Before I have spoken to 68 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:15.740 you in figures of speech, but now the hour is coming when I will 69 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:20.329 speak to you plainly about the father. He is going to reveal God to 70 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:30.009 us in a more plain way. Now nobody says about this plainness and you 71 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:34.480 might ask yourselves how could he have told them more plainly than the words that 72 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:41.079 we have right here? But remember this, that the words that we have 73 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:45.439 right here, the words and John and Matthew and mark and Luke and all 74 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.910 the New Testament, these revealed words of God, are the words that were 75 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:57.430 revealed after his ascension. In other words, these are the words that he 76 00:06:57.550 --> 00:07:03.620 has revealed plainly about the father. You might say, but don't we have 77 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:08.579 the words of Christ recorded before he ascended? Well, yes, of course, 78 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.660 we're reading them right here in the Bible. I've just read them to 79 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:16.370 you. But remember that after the Lord's ascension, the Holy Spirit took those 80 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:23.769 words that Jesus had previously spoken and he brought them to the remembrance of his 81 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:30.759 disciples and put them in a very plain context and form that we all might 82 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:35.800 understand. No words, what Jesus is talking about, about speaking plainly. 83 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:42.360 He's talking about the New Testament. He's talking about this word that he has 84 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:46.470 a revealed, that he would reveal to the disciples and did reveal to them 85 00:07:46.990 --> 00:07:51.750 and that we now have. This helps us explain a question that you may 86 00:07:51.750 --> 00:07:57.589 have had in reading the Gospels. Why are the disciples always so confused when 87 00:07:57.629 --> 00:08:03.100 I'm not? One answer to that is they were hearing something different than what 88 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:07.699 you hear, not a different message, but the message in a more hidden 89 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:13.930 form. Why do I say that? Because that's what Jesus says. I 90 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:18.490 have spoken these things to you in a figurative way, parables and sayings and 91 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:26.170 things that they didn't understand how they all fit together. But after he ascended, 92 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:30.759 after the cross, after he went and fulfilled all of these things that 93 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:35.320 they were being taught, then the Lord revealed them all in a context that 94 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:41.360 was plain and he gave them to us. So what we hear then, 95 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:46.629 are the disciples speaking to us or when we hear the disciple speak to me, 96 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:50.470 speaking to us, for example in the gospel of John, we are 97 00:08:50.509 --> 00:08:54.629 hearing the words of the spirit. We are hearing the words of Jesus. 98 00:08:54.669 --> 00:09:00.580 Jesus is speaking plainly to us. Though he's leaving, he continues talking, 99 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:05.500 and we have that word right here. Remember what John says at the end 100 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:11.330 of Chapter Twenty. He says this. Now, Jesus did many other signs 101 00:09:11.409 --> 00:09:15.370 in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, 102 00:09:16.409 --> 00:09:20.970 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, 103 00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:24.879 the son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in 104 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:30.600 his name. What this means, then, is that whenever you hear or 105 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:35.200 call to your mind the words of the Bible, whether that's the Old Testament 106 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.070 of Christ's word or the New Testament of Christ's word, when you hear the 107 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:45.230 Bible, you are hearing the voice of the father in the son by the 108 00:09:45.309 --> 00:09:50.629 power of the spirit. You are hearing the words of Jesus. You're hearing 109 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:56.259 your shepherd calling. You hear it that way. What is Jesus saying? 110 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:03.820 And listen and follow and obey. This brings us be peace because, remember, 111 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:07.929 it's our job in this world to follow him, and it's good news 112 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:13.769 that he's not stopped leading US where we ought to go. Jesus, yes, 113 00:10:13.889 --> 00:10:18.529 he is leaving from this world. His his human body, is ascending 114 00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:22.200 up into heaven, but he's not leaving us alone. He will continue, 115 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:28.240 and has continued, to speak to us, and for those who want to 116 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:33.440 follow him, it's very good news. The second thing Jesus says is that 117 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:41.429 just as he is speaking, so also we can speak and be heard by 118 00:10:41.830 --> 00:10:46.029 the father. This is the second thing Jesus tells us. He talks to 119 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:52.340 us about prayer. Notice what he says. He says in that day you 120 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:56.659 will ask in my name, and I do not say that you will ask 121 00:10:56.740 --> 00:11:01.419 the father or that I will ask the father on your behalf, for the 122 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:05.649 father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came 123 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:11.210 from God. Remember, previously Jesus spoke to us and told us, in 124 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:16.529 the last passes, that there's coming a time when we will not need to 125 00:11:16.610 --> 00:11:18.559 ask anything else, that there won't be anything to ask for. We will 126 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:24.879 have all things. But for now he desires us to pray and he will 127 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.720 God, he says, will hear us. To put this in other way, 128 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:33.669 Jesus is putting our minds and our hearts at ease by telling us the 129 00:11:33.830 --> 00:11:37.190 God will hear us. And in doing this, in the saying that the 130 00:11:37.269 --> 00:11:43.110 father will hear us, in doing this, Jesus is correcting a common error. 131 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:46.299 Perhaps you've thought this or have known somebody who has thought this. Some 132 00:11:46.539 --> 00:11:50.940 people think that because Jesus, the son, is the one who took on 133 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:54.139 flesh, because Jesus is the one who died on the cross, because Jesus 134 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:58.340 is the one who's interceding for us every day, that the there is sort 135 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:05.570 of standing there in the background, kind of tolerating at all or, even 136 00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:11.330 worse, unwilling but frustrated somehow by the work of his son, that somehow, 137 00:12:11.409 --> 00:12:15.009 in some way, the work of the father and the son is at 138 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:20.200 odds. And Oy is it good that Jesus loves US and stands in place 139 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:26.159 and and protects us from the hateful father? Well, this is not true, 140 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:30.470 and Jesus says it himself here in this way to correct this error. 141 00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:35.110 He says the father himself will hear you. And there's a lot of reasons 142 00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:39.230 why this error is false, but let's stick to the one that Jesus gives 143 00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:46.779 us here. What does he say? He says the father himself loves us. 144 00:12:48.659 --> 00:12:52.299 That's how we know that the father hears us because the father himself loves 145 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:58.889 us. He doesn't love you because has he has to, because of Jesus. 146 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:05.289 No, he himself loves you. There's a distinction between the persons here 147 00:13:05.409 --> 00:13:09.370 that Jesus is making. And why does he love us? He loves us 148 00:13:11.009 --> 00:13:16.639 because of our love and faith. In the Sun. Notice, though there 149 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:20.559 are distinctions between the persons, we also see the Union of of God here, 150 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:26.039 of the Godhood, and this is very profound. There's no way that 151 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.830 we can exhaust the truth of this even in a lifetime, but let me 152 00:13:28.870 --> 00:13:39.830 say simply this. The father loves, loves faith and loves love in his 153 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:48.100 son because he loves his son. Notice how this all starts. It starts 154 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:52.779 with this union of love between the father and the son. Remember other passages 155 00:13:52.860 --> 00:14:00.049 in scripture that teach us that we have been chosen by God in the Sun, 156 00:14:01.289 --> 00:14:05.850 that he has given this people, us to his son, he has 157 00:14:05.009 --> 00:14:09.919 elected us in the sun. He has done all this because he wants to 158 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:15.240 make us more like him. In other words, he wants to make us 159 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.679 like sons. He wants to make us children of the heavenly father that we 160 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:26.950 might become more and more like him. Remember that God, the Father Himself, 161 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:31.190 initiates these things, John tells us in chapter six. He's the one 162 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:33.909 who makes it possible, and it's all because of that l word again, 163 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:41.179 love. When you consider the love of God, then know that the three 164 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:45.580 persons, a father, son and the Holy Spirit, are not divided against 165 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:52.580 each other, fighting against one another. No, they love perfectly one another 166 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:56.490 in such a way that there is one God in all love, and this 167 00:14:56.690 --> 00:15:01.970 communion of love that is between the persons is exactly what we have been brought 168 00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:09.320 into. This fellowship we have been brought into that. Why? Because the 169 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:16.759 father loves US IN THE SON and calls us by the spirit. All this 170 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:22.230 to say, this is the the all us to say that when we pray 171 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:30.629 and ask our father, who are in heaven to hear our prayers, there 172 00:15:30.750 --> 00:15:39.860 is this infinitely deep and rich knowledge, a revelation of God that he is 173 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:45.940 given to us to ground our faith, to know that we are not walking 174 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:50.570 into the presence of the Lord nervously wondering if we might get tossed out, 175 00:15:52.409 --> 00:15:56.289 but we are there because he has called us to be there, because he, 176 00:15:56.210 --> 00:16:06.360 the father himself, loves us even as he loves the son. This 177 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:11.279 brings us peace, because it means that we're not left with out of set 178 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:14.639 of instructions. First of all, we have a teacher to help us and 179 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.960 save us, but in addition to that, as we go along in this 180 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.750 world, he continues to hear US along the way. In other words, 181 00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:26.590 Jesus doesn't drop the Bible off and say, have a good day. I 182 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:30.909 hope you figure it out now. He stands with US each and every step 183 00:16:30.990 --> 00:16:34.419 of the way, ready to hear our prayers, saying to us, when 184 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:37.899 you pray, pray like this. Our Father, who are in heaven, 185 00:16:38.059 --> 00:16:47.490 how would be our name? This is good news. We are not left 186 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:51.049 alone. In other words, will he hear me? Will he guide me 187 00:16:51.490 --> 00:16:55.570 when I make mistakes? Will hear my prayers when i Sin Against Him and 188 00:16:55.769 --> 00:16:59.009 fall away? Will he bring me back? Will he listen to me? 189 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:04.200 Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes, he will answer us, 190 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:08.319 because we pray in the name of Jesus, because we're following Jesus when 191 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:11.960 we want the things that Jesus wants, and everything that Jesus has is what 192 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:19.069 the father has given him. We are in union with God and, if 193 00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:25.109 I'll say this as a warning, there's a way to test your heart. 194 00:17:26.390 --> 00:17:30.140 If it doesn't give you peace to know that God is speaking to you and 195 00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:34.859 listening to you so that you might be wrapped up in his love and become 196 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:38.619 more and more like him. If that doesn't give you peace, knowing that 197 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:44.059 God walks with you in that way, then you ought to examine your hearts. 198 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:48.569 Then you ought to see what kind of pride lives within you, what 199 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:52.809 idols you're still clinging to, what, heavenly hopes, you are actively leaving 200 00:17:52.849 --> 00:18:02.559 behind because you are a desiring a life without God. A warning, but 201 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:07.880 also an encouragement. When you hear these things, that God is standing beside 202 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:10.519 you, that God is with you, that God hears your prayers and he 203 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:14.630 is speaking to you, let it give you the peace that Jesus promises we 204 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:18.470 have in him. Let it calm your anxious hearts and remind you of who 205 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:23.630 God is and what he's doing for us. Well, the final thing that 206 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:27.259 Jesus says to us. The first is that he will continue to speak to 207 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:30.619 us, and even in a better way, a plainer way. The second 208 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:36.180 is that we are prayers will be heard and that God will answer our prayers 209 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:41.970 when we pray in Jesus name. The third is a wonderful as well, 210 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:49.329 and it's this. He will stand by us, even when we temporarily don't 211 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:53.769 stand by him. In this path in which we are going, Jesus has 212 00:18:53.769 --> 00:18:57.640 left us with instructions. He has promised to guide us, he has promised 213 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:02.759 to hear US along the way and he has promised to stand by us even 214 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:07.640 when we fall away, even in the ups and uns. And why? 215 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.230 Even in the ups and downs of life, he will be there with us. 216 00:19:11.630 --> 00:19:17.109 Like his disciples. We will have times in our life when we will 217 00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:22.269 let sin overtake us, when we will let tribulation give us down and we 218 00:19:22.349 --> 00:19:26.539 will despair, when the trials will become so great that we will give in 219 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:34.220 and wander away from the Lord, running hiding, bringing sin and shame into 220 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:41.210 our lives. But Jesus promises US this. Even though we do, Christ 221 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:47.529 will stand beside us. You remember, of course, what happened to the 222 00:19:47.569 --> 00:19:52.170 disciples. They make all kinds of promises, even here, even here in 223 00:19:52.609 --> 00:19:56.319 John Sixteen, notice what they say. Jesus says, I will speak to 224 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:00.240 you plainly about the father, and they say, AH, now you're speaking 225 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.119 plainly, now, you're not using figurative speech. Now we know everything. 226 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:11.549 And and then that's when he says, don't get ahead of yourselves. There's 227 00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:15.029 coming a day, he says, do you now believe? Oh Really, 228 00:20:15.549 --> 00:20:18.349 Oh really, do you now believe? Behold, hour is coming, indeed 229 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:22.619 it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home 230 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:33.579 and will leave me alone, the disciples, before this night is over, 231 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:40.049 even after receiving some of the best teaching the world has ever received in person 232 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:48.450 by Jesus himself, even after receiving that some, indeed all, would run 233 00:20:48.730 --> 00:20:55.559 and hide. Some, even like Thomas, wouldn't even believe until they stuck 234 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:00.079 in her hand into his resurrected side of his body. What a shame. 235 00:21:03.950 --> 00:21:11.269 But what does Jesus say? He says, knows what he says. He 236 00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:15.710 says you will leave me alone. Yet I will not be alone, for 237 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:18.109 the father is with me. And then he says, in Verse Thirty Three, 238 00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:21.700 I have said these things to you, that you that in me you 239 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:25.900 may have peace. Sort of an odd thing to say, isn't it right? 240 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:29.660 You are going to scatter and leave me alone. You're filled with pride 241 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:32.579 and saying that you now believe me. I tell you this, that you 242 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:37.650 may have peace. Right, maybe a little bit of a disconnect there at 243 00:21:37.730 --> 00:21:41.049 first, because if our confidence is in ourselves, if our confidence is in 244 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:45.490 our faithfulness, yes, I am going to be strong, I will keep 245 00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:51.000 the Lord's I will keep the faith to the end, because I now believe 246 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:59.119 well, very quickly the ground will fall out from under you. But why 247 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:02.309 does Jesus say this? He says because our peace is in him. It's 248 00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:07.069 not in ourselves. He's telling these disciples, on the night in which he 249 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:14.269 will be betrayed, of their betrayal, so that in the coming days, 250 00:22:14.390 --> 00:22:18.579 when they see the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and they stand 251 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:22.339 firm and they move forward, they will be able to say, just like 252 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:30.329 we do, by God's grace alone, they will be able to say, 253 00:22:30.970 --> 00:22:34.690 and they will say and do say, even in this very passage, which 254 00:22:34.690 --> 00:22:44.960 is written by a disciple, that peace is in Jesus, that the reminder 255 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:51.559 of our failings is good news if we keep in mind that he has overcome 256 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:56.799 the world, that he is our rock, that he is our salvation. 257 00:23:00.869 --> 00:23:03.230 Remember what I said about at the beginning and mentioned just now, about who 258 00:23:03.230 --> 00:23:07.430 wrote this book and the other writings of the New Testament. It's these varied 259 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:14.299 disciples and you UN and usually directly. How do we know that Jesus has 260 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:18.940 overcome the world? Because these disciples, instead of hiding the fact and saying 261 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:22.900 to themselves, well, I guess that's over. I failed the test. 262 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:29.769 I didn't follow Jesus to the end and then living in Shame and obscurity, 263 00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:36.849 remembering the good old days when I once followed Jesus. Know, instead, 264 00:23:37.890 --> 00:23:42.839 they wrote down some of the most shocking betrayals in the history of the world 265 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:49.079 that they themselves did. They don't downplay it, they don't reduce it, 266 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:59.549 they confess it openly for all the world to hear, knowing that the Holy 267 00:23:59.670 --> 00:24:04.789 Spirit would send this word out into all the world for all the world to 268 00:24:04.950 --> 00:24:17.420 hear. This is pre Internet too, because they came to realize that, 269 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:23.259 by the Holy Spirit, what Jesus was saying was true and it was what 270 00:24:23.329 --> 00:24:29.369 he was telling them all along, that our kingdom, the kingdom that we 271 00:24:29.569 --> 00:24:34.130 receive from God, is not dependent on us but dependent on him, and 272 00:24:34.329 --> 00:24:38.799 this ought to be a great encouragement and peace to every heart that is ever 273 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:44.559 wondered am I following the Lord? Or I know I'm not following the Lord, 274 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:51.319 as I ought that when we see ourselves stopping to love the things of 275 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:56.150 God, desiring to do as will be hungry for his righteousness. And this 276 00:24:56.309 --> 00:25:00.670 happens to us all that we when we wander, when we lose our paths, 277 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:08.259 that the Lord is still there and that we can return to him and 278 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:18.420 that he will receive us, that God is stable and his mission does not 279 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:25.690 change because we get distracted, because we wander away from the truth. Notice, 280 00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:29.849 he says in the past tense, even I have overcome the world. 281 00:25:29.890 --> 00:25:34.130 Jesus is not waiting for us to overcome the world for him so that then 282 00:25:34.210 --> 00:25:41.160 he can finally get to be king. Jesus has overcome the world and is 283 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:49.190 now inviting us to join in that victory with him. You know that you 284 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:56.349 can't depend on yourselves, so rejoice in the Lord, that you can depend 285 00:25:56.710 --> 00:26:00.950 on him. So to some things up. As Jesus departs, he speaks 286 00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:06.819 to his disciples, who in turn deliver his words to us, and the 287 00:26:06.859 --> 00:26:11.059 words that he tells us is that, though times are changing and will be 288 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:17.059 full of tribulation, when we listen for God's voice in the Bible, when 289 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:21.450 we use our voices to pray in Jesus Name and trust him to keep his 290 00:26:21.690 --> 00:26:26.369 word. We will remain in his will, in his love, and with 291 00:26:26.529 --> 00:26:33.119 him we will have overcome the world. He says these things to us for 292 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:37.160 the reason that he gives, so that in him we would have peace. 293 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:41.519 Of course, there's no peace if you don't follow the plan. There's no 294 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:45.319 peace if you walk in your own way and you do things as you wish, 295 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:49.750 if you desire to be alone and separated from God, he will give 296 00:26:49.789 --> 00:26:53.589 you the desire of your heart and you will be alone and you will be 297 00:26:53.630 --> 00:26:59.029 separated from God. But to those who desire not to be alone, who 298 00:26:59.029 --> 00:27:03.339 desire not to be separated from God, but who desire to live in his 299 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:07.380 light, to lean on him and prayer, to follow his words and to 300 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:15.619 have his peace, the Lord promises to guide you all the way to heaven 301 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:22.730 and the these truths will steady. A Christian lean on them, lean on 302 00:27:22.809 --> 00:27:29.490 him. Let us pray. Our heavenly father, we now go to you 303 00:27:29.650 --> 00:27:33.079 and we ask that you would hear our prayers, that you would hear them 304 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:38.440 in Jesus name, who is sacrificed himself on our behalf so that our sins 305 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.440 would not fall down upon our own heads and would not separate us from you 306 00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:48.470 forever. In love, he came into the world to overcome the world, 307 00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:56.829 and we praise you and thank you for overcoming our hearts, for subduing and 308 00:27:56.269 --> 00:28:00.980 conquering the sin within us, so that it might not have any power over 309 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:07.940 us, so that the devil and all his the evil that follows his name 310 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:14.490 and his will would be set aside would no longer be a threat to us, 311 00:28:15.289 --> 00:28:19.529 to undo us and to shake us and to ruin us. Lord, 312 00:28:19.650 --> 00:28:23.769 we ask that you would help us to walk and stability and strength and calm, 313 00:28:25.170 --> 00:28:30.559 confidence and in peace, knowing that you are the Great God, all 314 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:37.279 mighty, and that in you we have, we have all the promises and 315 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:42.829 hope and joy of Heaven. We asked, Lord, that you would us 316 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:52.829 in still on these truths into our minds and into our hearts. We asked 317 00:28:52.869 --> 00:28:57.539 that you would put these seeds deep within ground that is ready to spring forth 318 00:28:57.740 --> 00:29:06.660 fruit, and that we would experience the the closeness of your dwelling with us, 319 00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:11.009 that we would know what it means to walk before you, to have 320 00:29:11.250 --> 00:29:17.089 peace with you. We pray for those who do not know you, who 321 00:29:17.130 --> 00:29:22.410 yet remain away and separated. We asked that you would grant them to hear 322 00:29:22.529 --> 00:29:29.839 these words and to find the faith, to find faith in Jesus, who 323 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:37.039 is the son of God and who gives us eternal life. Beloved, let 324 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:40.910 us pray now, as the Lord has taught us to pray, saying our 325 00:29:40.990 --> 00:29:45.109 father in heaven, how would be your name? Your kingdom come, your 326 00:29:45.190 --> 00:29:49.789 will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us, this 327 00:29:49.950 --> 00:29:56.420 day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven 328 00:29:56.460 --> 00:30:00.900 our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, 329 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:07.049 for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever on man. 330 -->