[0:00] Bible to John chapter 15, John chapter 15. So in a couple of weeks, we are going to be running into Easter.
[0:13] And what precedes Easter is Good Friday. So what I've been hoping to do, and we're almost there, we're just timing it perfectly with where Jesus is right now.
[0:26] So today what I want to do is I want to deal with the text of chapter 15 going from verse 12 to the end and all of chapter 16. It's a big chunk of text.
[0:39] So what I want to do is I want to kind of highlight the highlights of the text, the teachings of Jesus Christ, because I believe it will perfectly melt into what's going to happen before the crucifixion.
[0:58] For those upcoming sermons, just pray, because what I'm, if you could pray for me as I put them together. So we're going to, like Good Friday is going to be almost like a two-part series. We're going to start next week and go in.
[1:09] And what I want to do is I want to kind of get into the background of everything that's kind of going around Jesus at that time. We're going to go into a little bit of why the details that the scriptures give us about the trials, why those trials, why those trials happen at that time.
[1:28] And we're going to look at just, it's actually quite fascinating how Jesus perfectly put it together for him, if I cannot say this, to be perfectly crucified.
[1:42] It's such a horrible way to think of it, but that how he designed everything and even in what was going on in the capital of Rome was affecting the decision making that was going on on the ground in Jerusalem the day Jesus was presented before Pilate and obviously given up for crucifixion.
[2:12] It's just, it's astounding. It's amazing. And I'm hoping to just weave the gospel text into some of those details. So if you could just be, if you're thinking about me, just please pray for me during that week as I kind of put it together because there's a lot of stuff there, but I really, my goal is that you'll be in awe of all the things that God was doing during that time, which he did it for us.
[2:40] He did it to free us. So anyway, getting back to this text, as you, if you were here last week, we dealt with the first part of John 15, which was Jesus's command to abide in him.
[2:58] What does it mean to be abiding in the vine? And Jesus Christ used this, this parable. And the analogy was God is the gardener. He is the vine. And he, and he made a very specific statement.
[3:10] I am the true vine. I am the only vine that gives life. And to be a part of that vine is what brings eternal life. Now the timing of this teaching is actually no small thing.
[3:26] He's been in the upper room. He's been having the last supper. He announces that one of them is going to betray him. So Judas takes off.
[3:37] And what Judas has got to do, he's got to leave. And next week, we're going to look at the map and how, where Judas has got to go to get to the high priest to say, I know where we can find Jesus.
[3:48] So then when he gets the high priest, the high priest has to talk to the Roman soldiers. He needs to get the guards in place and they're going to come and arrest him. So in that meantime, Jesus being wise as God is, says, hey, listen, I think it's time we get out of here.
[4:05] So he actually leaves the upper room and he leaves through a specific gate and he's making his way to the garden of Gethsemane. And the garden of Gethsemane is almost Jesus's, for lack of a better word, prayer closet.
[4:20] It is that place where he finds peace, where he can pray before God the Father. And he wants to get there. And before he does, he's got to prepare these, he's got this last shot at preparing these 11 men for what's about to happen.
[4:40] They still don't understand, like they know he's got to die, but they don't really understand he's going to be crucified. They don't understand that Jesus is going to be tried.
[4:51] And the trials that they use break all the laws of Jewish laws just to be able to rush Jesus to that cross.
[5:03] So they're both, they're shattered, they're confused, they're perplexed, they're distraught. So these 11 guys are just following Jesus. And he explains to them, hey, I need you to dwell with me, right?
[5:18] I need you to abide. And that was the purpose of John 15. If you don't remember, I read a quote. And I'm going to read you the quote. And it talks about what does it mean to abide in Christ.
[5:32] J.C. Ryle, a great preacher from the 1800s, simply writes, To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communication with him, to be always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring out our hearts to him, using him as our fountain of life and strength, as our chief companion and best friend.
[6:01] To have his words abiding in us is to keep his sayings and precepts, which are his teachings, continually before our minds and to make them the guide of our actions and the rule of our daily conduct and behavior.
[6:22] Remember that? It's to place your affections in God, to let him to be the captain of your life, so to speak. So this morning, I want to highlight from Jesus' final words that if you are abiding in Christ, there's going to be fruits of abiding in Christ.
[6:46] There's going to be certain results of your life that if you abide in Christ, you do the things that he's telling you, four things are going to happen. There's actually more. These texts are incredibly rich, but I'm going to highlight the four big ones.
[7:01] The first fruit of abiding in Christ is that you will love one another. You will love one another, and I will cover that. The second one, the fruit of abiding in Christ is you will suffer persecution and hatred.
[7:16] You will suffer persecution and hatred as the second point. The third point is if you abide in Christ, you will have help.
[7:27] You will not be left on your own. You will have help in the person of the Holy Spirit. And the final point, fruit of abiding in Jesus Christ, is you will have joy and you shall overcome.
[7:42] These are the fruits, dare I say, promises that Jesus Christ makes in these texts. So this morning, please take a look at verse 12 of chapter 15 of John.
[7:58] I'm just going to read different segments of the text as we go through. Remember, the first fruit of abiding in Christ is you will love one another. Verse 12, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
[8:16] When you're wondering, what does Jesus want of you? Bing, bang, boom, right? It's right there. This is my commandment. This isn't my suggestion.
[8:27] This isn't my opinion. This isn't something that will make life nicer for you. No, no. This is my commandment. As you abide in me, it's that you love one another.
[8:38] And now he models it as I have loved you. And what we see in this text is this beautiful portrayal of the Trinity.
[8:50] You have God the Father. Jesus Christ is doing this to bring glory to God the Father. And as we listen to Jesus, we are blessing Jesus and bring glory to God the Father as we love others.
[9:05] Notice verse 13 says, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Even in that Greco-Roman empire, one of the highest acclaims of demonstrating your friendship is to give your life for someone.
[9:29] Verse 14, You are my friends if you do what I command you.
[9:40] No longer do I call you servants, but the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends for all that I have heard from my Father.
[9:52] I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.
[10:05] So that whatever you ask in the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
[10:21] If you are well versed in biblical text, you know that there's actually three Greek words that talk about love. This is the word agape.
[10:31] This is a love that means to esteem, to direct your will in finding joy in someone. It's not that fluttery feeling kind of love that we see in movies today or romance novels.
[10:48] But I know no one's reading those here. But anyway, you know, there's just that attraction to that. That's not what he's talking about. He's not talking about a feelings-based love. But it's a love to care for, to demonstrate, to be loyal, and to have affections for someone.
[11:06] This love is not what makes you a part of the vine. But when you are a part of the vine, the son who loves the father, guess what?
[11:17] You're that one who loves others, right? It's a natural outflowing of who you are. It's not the command that you love, therefore I will love you back.
[11:29] You're already being in love. You're a part of the branch. And that is demonstrating that you are a part of the life of Jesus. And I want you to pay attention to this very interesting word that I believe Jesus uses here.
[11:44] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Then he just simply states, you are my friends.
[11:59] Like just the foreshadowing that is going on for less than 24 hours. Because God, Jesus Christ, the son of God, is going to die to demonstrate his love for his friends.
[12:14] Now have you ever asked yourself, how can this be so? How can God be friends with us?
[12:29] Truly. He's a very powerful man. His dominion covers the whole world.
[12:41] I think if you even look at whatever station of life you are in, your friends tend to be of the same socioeconomic background as you.
[12:54] Did you know that? Your friends are usually in the same part of life that you are. Those are the people that you relate to, you can be friends with. And I'm not talking about many of you who you might be on friendly terms with someone that is far off, extremely wealthy or extremely powerful.
[13:17] Like how many of us chum around with ambassadors? Or government ministers? Now I've had the opportunity to meet them when I was in my last employ.
[13:30] I'd go out for lunch. But we're not hanging out on weekends, right? They're not inviting me out to meet the kids and stuff like that.
[13:40] The relationship stays in this professional area. It's kind of funny. One of my buddies from high school, we went to university together. We used to always do lunch. We used to play sports.
[13:51] We used to hang out together. But then he started measuring his monthly income in millions in opposed to me a couple of thousands, right? You know, nothing's really changed between us, but he just lives in this other dynamic lifestyle.
[14:08] When I got married to Daniela, he sent a very wonderful gift with a note that said it's about time. You know, and once in a while he sends me a friendly text, but I don't get the invites to go to Tuscany for the weekend with him, right?
[14:23] You know, even though we're the same guys, he's just in a whole different spectrum of life. So how much more amazing is it that Jesus, so far above us in every way, in his majesty, in his knowledge, let's be honest, sometimes we don't even want to hang out with someone who's really smart, right?
[14:52] Because it reflects how little we know, right? How great Jesus is in authority, has power. You see, what he offers us is not normal.
[15:07] In fact, what he offers us is truly beyond comprehension. You see, what's interesting about his friendship that Jesus has with his apostles is that it's not actually based on their affinity for him, but it's based on what he can do for them.
[15:34] Now, lay down one life. Let's be honest, we hear stories. There are people who lay down their lives to help people. You go to war, you're going to hear a war story. Someone gave up his life to save his brothers in arms.
[15:45] Every year, we hear a story. There's sad stories. Someone fell into a river or a cold pond, and there's a grandfather or a father or uncle who jumps in, and they even do it for their dog, right?
[16:00] They jump in, they save their friend. So we know those stories. We know stories of fathers who go into these buildings that are burning to get their children out before they die.
[16:13] And of course, you have firemen and policemen who do all those things as well. But this isn't the kind of death that Jesus is talking about.
[16:26] You see, Jesus is very different, and I'm going to give you three reasons why. One, Jesus is eternal. Do you understand what that means?
[16:38] Jesus is never going to die. He was never going to die. He was never supposed to die. So when he makes that choice to go on that cross, he's not doing something that would have happened anyway.
[16:53] You with me on that one? It's not like he would have gone old. You know what? I'm going out in a big way at 33, right? The heck with the kids and the grandkids.
[17:04] My family will talk about it for decades. No, it's not like that. He was never going to die. But he made that conscious choice to die.
[17:20] He made the conscious choice to save us from the rightful wrath of his father towards sin that we deserved. The second aspect that differentiates Jesus from other people going to die is Jesus knew he was going to die.
[17:40] There was 100% certainty. The person who runs into that river to save their loved one, they're hoping they're going to cheat death. They don't go in there like, it's not like a life exchange, my life for theirs.
[17:53] I know they're thinking about that. But there's still hope. And the fireman who goes into that burning building, he's going up all masked up prepared.
[18:06] He's not preparing to die that day. Jesus is preparing to die. But this is the big thing that differentiates Jesus' death and his friendship for us than anything we can offer is that when Jesus died on the cross, he did it when we weren't friends.
[18:30] We weren't friends when he died on the cross. Jesus died on the cross when we were enemies, when we hated him, we despised him.
[18:48] You see, it was the death of Jesus that makes us friends. Paul writes in Romans 5.8, God shows his love for us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[19:07] Not only that, Jesus died for you knowing the details of every wicked thing you have done.
[19:19] Jesus died for you knowing every sinful thought you've had. Jesus died for you knowing every single corrupt, twisted thought that has existed in your heart.
[19:40] And yet, Jesus died for you. You see, this is the friendship that Jesus offers. This is an unchangeable friendship.
[19:55] My friend, if I could say there was one single greatest possession to have, it's to have Jesus as your friend. See, what Jesus is getting at here is that through these epistles, we read that those who followed Jesus said, we were slaves of Christ, we were bond servants of Christ.
[20:22] You know, they don't really say they're friends of Christ, but Jesus explains what being that friend is. And what he means by friend is it's to denote intimacy, to invite into the secrets of life, to enter into his confidence.
[20:39] Jesus does that with us. He invites us into the inner sanctum. I used to have a friend when I was younger, and they used to always have family meetings, and it always happened to be when I was there at the house.
[20:56] And they would always go over to the other room to have this family meeting and totally ignore me, right? We've got to have a family meeting. And I'm like, are they deciding whether they're feeding me dinner tonight? Like, I just never knew what it was.
[21:09] And I wasn't even allowed into the sacred study of the Father. It was just weird. But anyway, but how did that make me feel? It made me feel like an outsider.
[21:19] Like, you know what? I don't really think I want these people as friends. That's not God. That's not Jesus. Come on in. We just talked about singing before the throne of God.
[21:32] As a Christian, we're invited to the throne of God. You know that? When you are redeemed, when you are a friend of Jesus, you come to the throne of God. So that's the first fruit of abiding in Christ.
[21:48] The second fruit of abiding in Christ is that you will be hated. Or to put it in another word, you will be persecuted. As we abide in Christ, as branches of the vine, we will bear fruit.
[22:04] fruit. This fruit brings glory to God, the Father. Fruit that blesses Jesus. But it comes with a cost. That cost is, you will be hated, and you will be persecuted.
[22:21] It's not an option. It's a promise. Verse 18. Let's look at the text. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
[22:37] If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
[22:48] Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
[22:58] If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
[23:10] If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my father also.
[23:22] If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my father.
[23:34] But the word that is written in the law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause. Listen. Listen. There are those of us that call ourselves Christians who believe we can walk the fine line in this world.
[23:54] That we can be accepted, we can be respected, we can be admired. Whether it be personally, relationally, or even perhaps in business.
[24:07] Some of you believe that you can have a strong testimony that people will flock to you like a moth comes to a flame. And you might believe that great things will happen.
[24:22] And you know what? It's true. It can happen. But it's only going to happen so long. And why do we know this?
[24:35] Because Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect, loving life, who led a perfect, loving ministry.
[24:47] Can anyone here of us say we could do it better than Jesus? Jesus didn't try to take away their throne. He did not try to take away their power.
[25:00] Even when we study human history, the Bible is abhorred. Communists tries to crush it. They don't want you to have it. Just a couple of weeks ago, I shared with you I was visiting friends, missionary, a couple of weeks, about a month from now, one of my friends, Rob, is going to be coming.
[25:19] He's going to be speaking. Incredible man. He was able to run ministry into Albania, which was considered the most communistic, most unfriendly, hatred country towards Christianity in the world.
[25:36] In that old capital that exists in Albania, I think it's in Tirana, if I remember correctly, that is where the headquarters of his ministry is now set up.
[25:48] In a place where they persecuted, hated Christians. God does good work. Amen? And he does things, but the world hates Christians.
[25:59] Why? Not because of us, but because of who we represent. They hated Jesus. They killed him.
[26:12] Verse 22, he says, if I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
[26:26] You see, as we live this life, and we live this Christ-honoring life that is loving, it does reflect on other people who are with you who have different priorities. If you're not running into this, chances are you're not loving as Christ has called you to love.
[26:53] You're not being perfectly clear on who you love and why you worship God. Listen, don't get me wrong. Everyone likes a nice guy or a nice woman, but someone who convicts others of their sin and how they live, that is another thing.
[27:14] Now, I'm not advocating you going to your workplace, setting up a soapbox, and going up and preaching to everybody. I know a guy who thought that killed his business. His dad had a 42-year business doing dry cleaning in his city.
[27:28] Great testimony. The sons, three sons, thought dad wasn't doing it enough. Because they had the idea everybody had to know who Jesus was by 6 o'clock on Tuesday.
[27:40] So they just got so aggressive, so rude, so unfriendly, pushy, that within three years that business went kaput. Right?
[27:51] That's not what he's calling for. He's not saying, don't allow the world to hate you because of you. Let them hate you because of Christ. And you understand the difference?
[28:03] Don't be rude. Don't be pushy. Love them. And it happens. I can think back to university. I remember being in a study group, and a woman pointed out in the study group, I didn't hang out with them outside of studying, and she knew I never swore.
[28:23] Never just swore. And all of a sudden, it just bothered her to the point of, I feel really uncomfortable with you here. And I'm like, well, what am I doing wrong? You know?
[28:35] Well, you're not swearing. You know, and I told you this story when I worked with CSIS. When we'd go out, a lot of the guys wanted to go to the gentlemen's clubs later on.
[28:50] And I would not go. And a lot of them would say is, how can I trust you with my life if I can't trust you with my perversion? I took a hit for that.
[29:03] I was like on the low deck when it came to choosing partners. Many of you know, if you overwork in the workplace and it makes your other employees look bad, they will ostracize you.
[29:20] They will treat you differently. They will not be welcoming. It doesn't matter how super chill you might be as a man or woman, but when you're working for God's glory, yes, you should be your employer's dream employee.
[29:35] but it will affect others. This is God's wisdom according to Paul in 2 Timothy 3.12. It says, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
[29:52] While evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as you know, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
[30:21] Persecution can take on the form of many things. It could be people wanting to blaspheme or swear in your presence. Unfair harassment, social ostracization, slandered, mocked.
[30:36] It's ironic in that much of the abuse that I experienced was people who once called themselves Christians or were churchgoers. What's interesting is the 11 men that Jesus is speaking to on this day would all become exceptionally bold men for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[31:00] every single one of those 11 men would be beaten, stoned, intimidated, arrested, killed, all for the sake of the gospel.
[31:15] Let me ask you a question. What would you give up for the gospel? Would you be willing to give up your high school friends?
[31:26] Would you be willing to give up your business partner? would you be willing to die for Christ?
[31:38] If you find yourself in the workplace with your friends or family that you shrink at public shaming, you shrink at unfair harassment or being teased, and that was true.
[31:52] There was some, guys did some pretty funny things against me that I had to laugh with them when they would tease me. But if you shrink away from that, how much more would you think shrink against true persecution?
[32:10] Matthew 10, 32 says, So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
[32:28] If any of you run facing that persecution, let me give you two words of encouragement. Philippians 1, 29 says, For it is granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
[32:44] in Acts 5, 4 he says, And when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.
[32:56] Then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Possibly, if you have not suffered any resistance for your faith, maybe it's because you haven't demonstrated your faith.
[33:19] Now, if that's not discouraging enough for those 11 guys that are following Jesus at that time, do they say, you know, all of a sudden are they lagging behind him?
[33:32] Hey, Jesus, I know you're going to the garden. I'm going to hit 7-11, right? I need a chicken fajita or something, you know, and kind of drift away. Maybe this wasn't the best thing.
[33:43] Maybe I can get that fishing business back from my dad. Before too much discouragement sets in, let's look at verse 26.
[33:56] But when the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
[34:14] And you will also bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. But they will put you out of the synagogues indeed.
[34:26] The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. So not only that, the people that are killing you aren't doing it to be mean and hateful.
[34:37] they're doing it because they think they're loving their God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me.
[34:52] But I have said these things to you that when the hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you. You see, we talk a lot about the gospel but we don't really talk a lot about the cost.
[35:12] You see, these people who are about to crucify Jesus, Jesus is telling them there's a pretty good chance they're going to treat you the same way and it's heartbreaking.
[35:25] But here is the good news. you will not be on your own. In fact, it's better I leave so that the Holy Spirit can come. Verse 7, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
[35:41] We're in chapter 16 now. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
[35:52] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin because they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.
[36:08] Concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. I'm going to go really quickly. Remember, Jesus is saying if I stay here, you've got to stick with me in the physical presence to be helped.
[36:19] If I go, Holy Spirit comes and he will indwell every single one of the believers. At that time, we would have guessed that there might have been around 70 to 100 true followers of Jesus Christ.
[36:32] So there's this encouragement. But I want you to pay attention to the threefold work of the Spirit here. And it's different than when I taught about it in John 14. It says he's going to convict the world concerning sin.
[36:44] It's going to teach concerning righteousness. And he's going to teach concerning judgment. Now, the reason I need you to pay attention is that there's two ways to look at this. When we read that thing, it's going, convict the world concerning sin.
[36:59] We sometimes believe that this is a negative thing. That the Holy Spirit is going to convict of sin, which means, oh my goodness, I'm aware of my sin.
[37:09] I'm going to be judged to hell and eternal torment. But Jesus Christ is not mentioning that there's a judge here. So there's a different purpose that he's telling the apostles about this conviction of sin.
[37:25] What he's simply telling him, there's a sense when he uses this word, it's that when you preach or teach or share the truth of the gospel with people, it's not my job to convict you of sin.
[37:43] Did you know that? I don't need to sit here, get a biography, and listen, I've known Joey Lock since he was 14. I can get a big, long, just kidding, Joey.
[37:54] You know, we're going to list out Joey's sins and we're going to make him feel tormented and shamed. That's not what it's about. What it is, is that when my role is to bring truth, but the Holy Spirit's work is in your hearts.
[38:12] And when I talk about you being distant from God and that you are broken, the Holy Spirit starts working in your head and saying, yeah, you're pretty messed up.
[38:23] Right? Yeah, you are broken. That relationship that you have at home with your spouse, that is a cold, frigid relationship. And you don't want anybody to hear about that.
[38:36] Right? It starts working in your heart. Wow, there's shame. And what it means by this is I don't have to provide evidence of your sin or demonstrate your shame or the judgment.
[38:53] The Holy Spirit already does that. But the way he's doing it, he's bringing to you to a point that you start to understand, I need Jesus.
[39:04] like, I am, this alcohol that I'm relying on every day to dull my mind so I can get through my kids and through the evening to prepare me for work, it's just not working.
[39:25] You see, when the Holy Spirit starts working in your heart and convicting your sins, they will start to believe that they need something.
[39:39] See, the basis of the power of my preaching does not come from the words that I speak. The power comes from the Spirit within your hearts and we all have a Spirit and it attests.
[39:54] It's the Holy Spirit working within you that empowers my words. It is the Holy Spirit that uses the conviction of your heart that leads you to the truth that you are not right before the Holy God.
[40:08] Anybody who lives on this earth sees the majesty is around them. They know there's someone greater than Him. We know in Romans it says we try to suppress the truth. Hey, I'm going to be agnostic.
[40:19] I'm going to be atheist. There is no such thing. They have purposely seen that there's someone for their life that they are accountable to.
[40:33] What do I do? What do I do? How do I rid myself of this guilt? How do I rid myself of this shame?
[40:46] What must I do to receive forgiveness? How do I stop from being so lost? Just even as I was talking to some of my friends and some of the situations that they're dealing with in their churches, some of the most successful people that they have ever met have now come to one of my friends who's a pastor and says, I have succeeded in every aspect of my life, but why do I feel so lost?
[41:21] That's why I am on the day of Pentecost when the disciples preached the gospel and this was after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came down.
[41:35] Acts 2 says that when they heard the truth of the gospel, they were cut to the heart. They knew it was true. You didn't have to convince them that it was true, that they were lost, that they were far from God.
[41:54] And see, what happens is Jesus' death on the cross accomplishes our salvation. Did you know that? It pays the price. But that cross, the work on the cross, needs to be applied to my life.
[42:09] And the reason why it's applied to my life is when I put my faith in Jesus Christ and He applies it to my life. You see, without the Holy Spirit, salvation is impossible because no one would ever see their need for God.
[42:30] Notice when Jesus Christ said, before I showed up, they didn't even know they were sinning. You know, I got a friend, friend, it's a person I knew many, many years ago and they were a psychiatrist and they had to deal with far-reaching people and some of these places where they lived, the whole, it was just messed up sin going on and they didn't know it until they actually presented the truth that called them to the repentance and to leave that whole tribal life that was wrong.
[43:10] So that's one of the first work that the Holy Spirit does. but it doesn't truly bring salvation. That's what it means regarding righteousness that John is talking about.
[43:21] There's two types of righteousness in life and I'm going to go quickly. There's false righteousness which is found in your works and there's true righteousness that is found in Jesus Christ.
[43:33] So when all of a sudden I discovered I'm sinful and I'm separated from God because God is holy, God is perfect and we know that God cannot have sin in his life.
[43:45] There's no matter amount of scrubbing or works I can do and that's the way most people think. Remember I talked to you about that video that went viral about the woman had all the reasons she is good and she really believes in it and one of her points was I had an abortion too.
[44:01] Oh yeah, I'm good. Right? There's nothing she could do to make her truly good. So when Jesus Christ died on the cross he then says to us take my life.
[44:16] The righteousness and he lived perfectly he was the son of God you take it it's yours and we take it by faith God now looks at us wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and he sees us as perfect creatures.
[44:39] You see that's why Jesus needed to not only die to take the wrath of our sins he needed to rise from the dead because that was God accepting the sacrifice and now his righteousness can be our righteousness.
[44:58] You see our conviction of sin leads us to the conclusion that we cannot fix our relationship with God we need help. And finally verse 11 it says concerning judgment.
[45:16] See here again the Holy Spirit helps you in giving us an understanding that once we have faith in Jesus Christ Satan's rule in our lives is gone.
[45:28] there is no judgment for those there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus not for a little while not for as long as you do good works not for a long time if you're able to really keep up the good works no no no it's eternal the good news starts now Satan has no say over you there is no judgment it is forever Satan is thrown out of your life he has no rightful rule to you and we are no longer under condemnation that's what happens when we go from being enemies of Jesus to friends of Jesus amen that friendship is eternal that friendship is real we now have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who reigns in our lives and we are no longer bound to sin we are free in Christ so finally the Holy Spirit leads us in truth and there's three points I want to make it's going to be really briefly on truth truth separates itself from error when there's information truth separates it right it's like the sun that comes in and disinfects all
[46:47] I was once a part of a church that valued unity over truth so what they would do is we're going to do away with certain biblical teachings so we don't concentrate so much in the Bible we could all be together no no no we're to be right before God we're to be God centered not man centered see truth of Jesus Christ protects against false worship it present it it protects against worshiping a false Jesus and finally truth draws us closer to Jesus as you grow in your faith you want to know him more you want to know his word now what happens is there's two things that generally happen in a Christian's life you guys have heard me say this Luther was quoted as saying living the Christian life is trying to be drunk riding a horse right you either fall off on one side or the other one is the side of legalism where you start to think your righteousness puts you in a good place with
[47:55] God the other side is you start to think well God saved me I can live any which way I want what corrects both is understanding what the Bible truly says that if you love me you will follow my commands it's not a work it's a blessing and I want you to turn to the last verses here guys verse 19 and I'm just going to read the text which demonstrate the final fruits of abiding in Christ is that he turns his sorrow into joy and it demonstrates that he has overcome the world let's look at verse 19 says Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him so he said to them is this what you're asking yourselves what I meant by saying a little while and you will not see me and again a little while and you will not see me truly truly I say to you you will weep and lament what did they do when Jesus was crucified they wept and lamented they ran but the world will rejoice you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn to joy the world is going to rejoice
[49:18] Satan is going to rejoice ha I killed the son of God that party didn't last too long verse 22 so also you have sorrow now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you in that day you will ask nothing of me truly truly I say to you whatever you ask of the father in my name he will give it to you until now you have asked nothing in my name ask and you will receive that your joy may be full verse 32 behold the hour is coming and we know at this time the Roman soldiers are making their way to Jesus indeed it has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone even
[50:20] Peter who said I will never deny you yet I am not alone for the father is with me I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world let's pray father what a call what a call to these 11 men who within hours would see you taken away these men who said they will never leave you will scatter they did not have the strength or the ability to save you and even when the Roman soldiers come and Peter cuts off the ear of the servant and you replace that ear I wonder what all the soldiers would have thought at that moment great is your peace oh father lord you are on the mission to come to this cross and die and yes when we think of good friday we should weep and be sad we should be sad because our sin was wicked enough to put you on that cross that even if there was only one of us in this world you would still do the same so father we we take hold of the joy and the knowledge that you have overcome that you now rule over all things in this world right now in the chaos that it is it will come to an end and you will declare your rulership once and once for all time yet during this time you seek out those who will follow you those who will place their faith in you and you will give each and every one of these people a helper the
[52:36] Holy Spirit who will dwell within them who will lead them in truth will open their eyes to a greater reality in this world father if there's anyone here in this room if anything I pray they would use the Holy Spirit to convict them of their eternal reality with you may you exasperate them of trying to live a life of their own goodness and trying to replace your perfect life which was meant for them God may may may may take our anger and replace it with grace may you take our calls for justice and replace them with calls for mercy father I pray that you bless every single family here no matter what stage they are at may you give them an understanding that you are truly real and that they are loved by you so much so that you sent your only begotten son to die for them we ask these things in your most gracious powerful and everlasting name amen