[0:00] Let's turn again for a wee while to John's Gospel, the chapter we read, John 14, and let us read at verse 25. John 14, reading from verse 25. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 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. 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. Now, I'm sure rightly we've often wished that we had been in the upper room with Jesus. And that's understandable because it must have been wonderful to be there in the presence, in the physical presence of our Lord and to share with Him, to actually physically share at the table and have Jesus actually pass the cup and the broken bread to us. It would have been an amazing experience. And to have heard the words that we have in John, these verses, these words in 14 and 15 and 16, these chapters, glorious truths would say to ourselves, well, it must have been wonderful. But you know, yes, at one level, what I'm saying is absolutely true, and it would have been wonderful to have been in the physical presence of Christ. But I don't think the disciples had anything that we don't have. And in fact, we could almost suggest that we have more than the disciples had at that particular time. Because there were many things the disciples hadn't yet understood. In fact, they were still confused about Jesus going away. In fact, they weren't very sure where He was going or the way He was going. Thomas asked that very question. Because Thomas says, he asked that question, and he says,
[2:28] Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? And indeed, as we read elsewhere, around the table, the disciples were actually arguing or discussing amongst themselves which one of them was the greatest. So while we read about these wonderful moments of the institution of the Lord's Supper, and we read about that great time in the upper room, we've got to remember that to a certain extent, a lot of it was lost upon the disciples. It was later on, as Jesus said to them in verse 25, these things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you. And then He says, 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.
[3:26] So you see, at this particular point, although these disciples loved Jesus, they loved being with Him, yet their hearts were dimmed. We understand, and that's not by way of boasting, it is simply because we are living at an age of greater enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. And that's what Jesus says, that when the Holy Spirit comes. And we live in the age of the Spirit. It's not that the Holy Spirit wasn't in the hearts of all God's people before. He was. It wasn't as if the Holy Spirit had no ministry in this world prior to Pentecost. He did. The Holy Spirit was in the heart and the life of every believer from the very dawn of history down. But the Holy Spirit has come in greater power, with greater influence from the time of Pentecost on. So that is why Jesus is often talking in terms of greater days coming than the actual days in which He was with them in the flesh. He was saying to them, greater days are coming. They couldn't understand that because they thought to themselves, surely, surely these are the greatest days. Here we are with Jesus. Can't get greater than that. And Jesus said, yes, even greater days will come. And Peter and John and these disciples were able to look back, and they were able to say, yes, these were wonderful days with Jesus. But they were also able to testify that the days after His death and resurrection and after the coming of the Holy Spirit in power were even greater days. And so we must be thankful that we live in a day where we have so much light and so much understanding. Now, of course, Jesus is telling here about the coming of the Holy Spirit.
[5:33] And we've always got to remember that the Holy Spirit is the third person. We must never talk about the Holy Spirit in terms of it. Sometimes you'll hear people talking about its power. It's not it. It's a masculine pronoun, He. And the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, of that glorious Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Distinct person, but equal, as we know, in power and in glory. The Holy Spirit was going to be sent by the Father, but the Holy Spirit was to come in the name of Christ. And just as the Lord Jesus Christ revealed the Father, so the Holy Spirit was to reveal the things of Christ. And just as the great aim of the Son was to glorify the Father, so the aim of the Spirit really is to glorify Christ. And there's a wonderful order and a wonderful structure within the Godhead. And so Jesus tells us here that the Holy Spirit, that He is to come, and He will teach you all things. Now, of course, when Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. That doesn't mean that the disciples were going to become almost like God and know everything. It doesn't mean that they were going to know everything that everybody, the lifespan of people, or what everybody was thinking, or all these things. It was simply with regard to salvation, with regard to all that was necessary for salvation, and necessary for their own growth in grace.
[7:24] And we must never forget that, that the Holy Spirit is the great teacher. And that's why the psalmist so often would be praying, show me your ways, O Lord, teach me. So often you'll find that the psalmist using the actual word, teach me, teach me, Lord. And I hope that we also pray to the Lord in the exact same way. We're saying to the Lord, Lord, teach me. Because there are many things in the Bible we don't understand. And sometimes we read over something and we say, I wish I could really grasp what that is saying. And sometimes if you have books on the Bible or commentaries, you might go to them. And sometimes they satisfy you, but sometimes they don't. And sometimes you say, you know, this is not really getting into the heart of what I'm just not quite, I would love to know. Well, that's why we go to the Lord and say, Lord, I really, really want to understand what this is saying.
[8:28] Teach me. And you know, that is why you will sometimes find in the realms of grace, and I don't mean, I'm not in any way putting down, please don't get me wrong here, but people who will openly admit that they might not be the most intelligent people in the world.
[8:49] Say people who in school really, really, really struggled in any way academically. And yet, in terms of the kingdom, they will often outshine people of great intellect.
[9:06] And sometimes you're baffled and you say, you know, it's amazing the insight this person has and the way what they're able to understand. Why? Because of the teaching of the Holy Spirit opens people's minds to understand. So, a person's IQ has got nothing to do with regard, in many ways, with regard to spiritual growth and spiritual development. Because we've got to go to the Lord and say to the Lord, Lord, teach me, show me. Because here, this is what exactly what Jesus is saying. These things I've spoken to you while I'm with you here, 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.
[9:57] And you know, that's one of the wonderful things that the Holy Spirit does. Because the Holy Spirit is indeed, He's teaching us. Now, we spoke this morning about the conscience. And one of the things we've got to remember about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit, that He's very sensitive.
[10:19] Because we're told in the Scripture not to grieve the Spirit, not to quench the Spirit. And I'm sure we're all aware of times when maybe we've been saying things that aren't right.
[10:36] Where, say, for instance, we are involved in slagging somebody, of putting somebody down, of being pretty not very careful with our tongue, what we're saying. You get convicted, don't you?
[10:51] There is that sense of saying, this is not right. We have to respond to that. If we don't, then our hearts will become hardened, and we will grieve the Spirit, we'll quench the Spirit.
[11:07] It's the same if we are doing things that we know aren't right, and we're convicted of them. So, we can, we either respond or we don't. And if we don't, we will become harder to these things.
[11:23] So, the Holy Spirit ministers to us in this way in convicting us about these things. But the Holy Spirit, of course, teaches us little by little. We don't learn everything at once.
[11:37] And we've always got to remember that with young Christians. We mustn't look for full Christian development and maturity in young Christians. They have to be allowed to learn, to develop, and to grow. You would never look in the natural world at a little child who has just learned to walk. And when that little child falls or doesn't speak properly, you say, that's ridiculous.
[12:05] You would try to encourage them and help them and lead them and show them in the right way, lovingly, caring, in a caring way. And so, it should be in the realms of grace.
[12:19] Because the Holy Spirit is teaching us to walk the walk of the kingdom, to talk the talk of the kingdom, so that our speech will be, as the Bible says, seasoned with grace. Isn't that beautiful?
[12:33] Just in the way as we put seasoning, you're going to put your salt and your pepper and see if it went onto your food to season it. So, the Holy Spirit seasons, as it were, our tongue, so that we speak in a way that is fitting for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we're taught, we're not taught everything at once, but little by little. There should be, year by year, there should be growth, there should be development. And again, the Holy Spirit teaches us clearly, not just little by little, but teaches us clearly. Because I'm sure if we go back ourselves and we think of our school days, sometimes when we were being taught, we got it, and other times we didn't. Sometimes, as our teachers taught us, we're saying, you were saying to yourself, I just don't get this. Maybe it's in the realms of maths, and you're saying, I just, it just doesn't, I just don't get it. Well, in the realms of grace, the Holy Spirit teaches us patiently. Because often we have to learn the same things over and over and over again. And as we said, little by little and clearly, it all begins to come into focus. Just like when you get a pair of binoculars, set of binoculars, and you look at something, and if somebody else has been looking at it with a different sort of vision to your shelf, it might, when you look, it's all fuzzy. So you've got to adjust. And gradually, the fuzziness becomes clearer and clearer until it's really sharp. And in many ways, that's how the Holy Spirit is working within us. So that we're aware of things, but gradually, bit by bit, it becomes clearer and clearer and clearer to us. And I'm sure so many of you are able to say that with regard, A, to the way of salvation, and B, to your growth and grace. Because there was, even when you were converted, when you became a
[14:50] Christian, there were many things that you didn't understand, and you weren't able to explain to people. But as time has gone on, things are becoming clearer and clearer and clearer to you. Well, that's exactly the very thing that Jesus said was going to happen. And He's going to bring to your remembrance, the Holy Spirit, all I said to you. So that's what the Holy Spirit does. He refreshes our memory. In John chapter 2, it tells us that when He was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered that He had said this, that very thing. He was talking about, back in chapter 2, He was talking about the temple being destroyed. Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. And of course, the Jews thought He was talking literally about the actual temple, but He was talking about the temple of His body. And He was talking about how He would be three days under the power of death, but He would rise again. This is back in John chapter 2. And it says then in verse 22, when therefore, it's like John has put it all together, when therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. This is an example of exactly what Jesus is saying to them. That He, the Holy Spirit, will bring to your members all these things. All these things I've taught you. It's all going to come together. You're going to remember it, things you'd forgotten. And you know, that's what the Holy Spirit, He still does that with us.
[16:39] You know, sometimes things the older people will remember way back. Sometimes things that have gone completely, you thought, out of your memory and will come flooding back. Some of the old people, when they were wee, who learned the shorter catechism, you know, years and years go down the line. And then it comes, they're converted. And some of the Scripture they learned, some of the Psalms they learned, these things, these things come flooding back. And it's, you see, it's all there, all within, even although sometimes we don't remember. Sometimes you hear of, and I know of one man, or I heard of him, and he had gone away from, he had been brought up in a Christian home. He turned his back on everything. He'd gone abroad and spent his life there. And never even opened the Bible that had been given to him as he went away. And years and years and years later, came flooding back into his mind. Truths, Scripture truths he'd been taught when he was young. And the Lord blessed that to him.
[17:50] You see, it was all there. And here's the Holy Spirit bringing to remembrance. So this is one of the wonderful things that he does. And then Jesus goes on to say that he will bring, teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Then Jesus goes on and he says, 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. Now Jesus is talking here about going away. Talking about leaving them alone. And yet the wonderful thing is that here are two words that you don't normally put together.
[18:35] You don't normally put the word peace with separation. Because separation usually brings anxiety, turmoil, turmoil, sadness, sorrow, pain. But Jesus is here talking about peace. And he's showing that it is necessary for him to go away, for them to discover even this greater peace, just as we were showing how the Father was going to send the Holy Spirit. Now, in the New Testament, peace is spoken about in kind of in two different ways. There is, first of all, the peace that we receive, or the peace that comes through Christ's work with the Father. It was told in Romans, therefore, since being justified by faith, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, by nature, we are at enmity with God.
[19:38] By nature, we are on the run from God. God and man are not one. And irrespective of what a person may think or not think. The fact of the matter is there is separation. There is unrest. But you know, this is what Jesus did. He brought man and God together. He broke the enmity because he took the enmity upon himself. He took the sin which was building this great wall between ourselves and God the Father. And so, everything that brought unrest has been removed. And so, there is now peace.
[20:25] And that's the thing when a person becomes a Christian. I've said this often enough before. It's one of the wonderful blessings that the saved soul receives. Peace.
[20:39] I remember it so well myself. Although I said this, I'm sure, often enough before. Before I was converted, there were periods in my life I was quite happy. But the one thing I never, ever, ever really had was peace. Waking up in the night, and there was this, you knew there was something wrong.
[21:06] There was this distinct lack of peace. When you came to peace with God in Christ, then that peace was real. And you can waken up in the night, and it's different. You're at one.
[21:27] It's wonderful. And so, there is, there's this peace. This is what, this is what Jesus has brought in. But there's also peace that we have as opposed to anxiety, as opposed to distress, as opposed to these things which might be brought about through difficult providences within our lives.
[21:47] And again, Jesus brings this, this peace into our life. It's called the peace of God that passes all understanding. And Jesus says, you know, I'm going away, and I'm going to leave you something.
[22:03] I think it was Matthew Henry, and I think we've quoted that often enough before. But Matthew Henry was saying that when he left, Jesus left this world, he gave his soul to his father. He gave his clothes to the soldiers. He gave his mother to John. He gave his body to Joseph. But what was he going to give his disciples who had left all to follow him? Well, he didn't have silver or gold to give them. But what he gave them was peace. It's like here Jesus is giving a legacy. And he's saying, this is your inheritance.
[22:48] And this is what I am leaving you, peace. And it's not that he takes something and he says, there you are, the peace is himself. Because he is the Prince of Peace. It's not something separate from himself. It is himself, where he has given himself to us. You today, if you have Jesus, you have himself and his peace. And it's wonderful, this peace that passes all understanding. It's a peace that's beyond description. You cannot explain it to anybody. And that is why even when people are going through heartache, I have heard it so often from the lips of people who their faith is clinging to Christ in their pain and in their sorrow, and yet are able to say, the peace that I have is really, remarkable. I cannot understand it. That's exactly true. That is the peace of God that passes all understanding. That is what is spoken of here. Not as the world gives, says Jesus. You see, anything the world gives, it takes back. It only gives it to you for our loan, for our wee while.
[24:18] And the world sometimes does give us peace. But the world's peace tends to be tied into the circumstances of life. When everything is going well, and everything has fallen into place, and you have health and strength and body and in your mind, and everything in your life is going all right, then you'll enjoy peace, but change the circumstances. And the peace goes. It's like it evaporates.
[24:45] But Jesus says, my peace doesn't work like that, because things can go, become chaotic around and about you, but I'm still in you. I am still your rock, your anchor. I am still the foundation of your life. I am in you. I don't change, says Jesus. You keep your mind focused upon me. And that is why it is very important that side by side with enjoying this peace, that we ourselves have our own responsibility towards that peace. And that is why we must indeed focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us this, you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you. Isn't that wonderful?
[25:39] whose mind is fixed on you. So that when we do have our problems and we do have our trials and our troubles, it's important to look at them through Jesus, because that takes on a different perspective.
[25:54] We've got to keep our eyes focused upon the Lord Jesus. And we're to depend upon him in everything. Remember what it says in everything? By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. What's the result? And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep, shall guard, shall garrison your mind. Isn't that wonderful? Your heart is like putting a sentry round it, so that the troubles and the disquiet and the anxieties are kept away. There you are, garrisoned.
[26:35] And to have this continued peace, not only are we to look to the Lord, but we're to listen to the Lord. We're to hear his voice. The psalm, we're just going to sing Psalm 85, says that very thing.
[26:49] I'll hear what God the Lord will speak. To his folk, he'll speak peace. So, in order to continue to enjoy this peace, it's imperative for us to be listening to what he says. And that means that we must be constantly in the Word. The believer who is seldom speaking to the Lord and seldom in the Word will not enjoy the peace of God that passes all understanding. We have to have our hearts fixed upon him. We must be listening to him in his Word to hear what he says as he speaks to us.
[27:33] And again, if we want to enjoy this peace, then I believe our words must be words of peace. I don't think we can enjoy the peace of God that passes all understanding.
[27:45] If our speech is angry, if our speech is bitter, if our speech is vicious, if we're gossipy, any of these things, we cannot enjoy that peace. There has to be a balancing up.
[28:03] And again, I would stress the importance of enjoying this peace by coming to God's house. The psalm we began with, Psalm 122, it says, I joyed when to the house of God. Go up, they said to me. But it finishes with the great theme of peace and prosperity. See, they're tied together. And there's something wonderful about coming to God's house. Wonderful to begin the week in this way. Because this is the place above all where our vision is restored, where we will meet with the Lord, where we will hear the Word of God.
[28:44] And it's a wonderful way that God speaks into our heart. We've often used the example of Asaph, who was in distress and anxiety and perplexed and riddled with all kinds of troubles until he came to God's house. And then he saw things as they really were. And he says, Whom have I in the heavens high?
[29:09] But thee, O Lord, alone. And in the earth whom I desire, besides thee there is none. The change is dramatic because he got back to where he should be in the presence of God, with his focus upon the Lord and hearing what God has to say to him. May we enjoy that peace in our lives. And we should.
[29:33] Because if Jesus is your Lord, remember he is a prince of peace. And if he as prince rules in your life, and you're not enjoying that peace, then you have to ask yourself, why? Because there must be something fundamentally wrong with your approach. And as we said, there are these things we've got to examine.
[29:58] If you're not enjoying that peace, are you listening to the prince of peace? If you're not enjoying that peace, are you focused upon the prince of peace? Are you speaking to the prince of peace? Is your life a life of peace, seeking to bring peace? Are you gathering together in the place where his peace is known most? All these things are important. And today, may I say to you, if you're without Jesus, then you cannot enjoy peace in this life. You may today, and it's quite possible that you might be here today. And you say to yourself, well, you know, I've never come to faith in Jesus Christ. I believe the Word. There's so much I believe, but I have not come to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. But right now, I believe I'm as content as any person in this church. Well, that might be true. That might be where somebody is today. But let me tell you this. If you are here without Jesus, and everything today is going well for you, and you feel good, well, that's great. But let me tell you, it won't remain like that. It cannot. Because it is imperative to have Jesus. There will come a day when that peace will go. Whatever contentment you're enjoying in life. Things will change. You see, the world that we've been born into is a fallen world. There was a day before man fell where Adam would be able to cultivate the ground, and the ground would bring forth where it wouldn't be by the sweat of his brow.
[31:58] Everything was working in harmony. Everything was working beautifully. From the time of the fall, it changed. And it is by the sweat of our brow. Nature is often working against us. That's the world we live in.
[32:20] People break, relationships break up. We live in a world that's in conflict, and it's tough often. And let me say to you, if things are going really well with you today, that's good. But it won't stay like that. I'm not here as a prophet of doom. This is just reality. And that is why it's so important that we have Jesus. The Jesus who walks across the storms. The Jesus who can calm the storm.
[32:52] For he alone can do that. And the Jesus who alone can take you and will take you through all the storms of life and even the storm of death to bring you to be with himself forever. We all need Jesus. Let's pray.
[33:11] Amen. Oh Lord, our God, we pray that this word that we've heard today will be blessed to our souls. We ask that we might know that peace within our own heart. And even although we live in a world rich with blessings, we also live in a world that is full of trouble. But we pray that we might fix our eyes upon Jesus and that we might discover more and more the wonder of that peace.
[33:42] Bless us, we pray, and take us all to our homes in safety. Bless the cup of tea and time of fellowship in the hall afterwards and watch over us all, taking away our sin in Jesus' name. Amen.