[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:15] Amen. How many of you stand redeemed and say amen? Amen. That was fantastic. Thank you. God bless you guys. Take your Bibles if you would and turn with me to John chapter 14. I am excited when I see them sing and then I see the joy in their face and see how God's using them.
[0:31] It's an exciting thing to know how great our God is and that we recognize that. And so praise the Lord for that. Take your Bibles, go to John 14. Now, if you take notes, I want to give you five things tonight.
[0:42] You can go ahead and I'm going to give them all to you right here at the beginning before I even read the Bible. There are five things. He's the comforter. He's sending the comforter. And I've got five things I want to show you in the passage of Scripture that we're going to do that he does to comfort us.
[0:55] The Holy Spirit's doing five things that are going to be promised right here in this passage. And you might write them down if you'd like. The first thing is I'll never be left alone. How many of you have ever felt like you were alone?
[1:07] How many of you have ever wondered if God even left you? How many of you have ever thought, I just don't know. I don't know that God really cares. I don't know if he knows where I am. Sometimes I feel like he kind of left me.
[1:18] Number one promise, the comforter will never leave you. Never leave you. I'll show you that tonight in this passage of Scripture. I hope you'll write that one down. Number two, I will get to know him and God intimately.
[1:30] I will get to know him, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, and God intimately. That's a fantastic thing. Nobody in any other religion anywhere in the world has the opportunity to know God.
[1:41] We can know God, but we don't just know him. He lives in us, dwells in us. The third thing is he's going to teach me great spiritual truths.
[1:51] I will learn great spiritual truths. I will know great spiritual truths because of him and his comfort. The comforter is going to teach me some things that are also going to comfort me. I want you to know you have a teacher.
[2:03] You have a teacher tonight. When you go home and you go to open your Bible, you ever heard anybody say it? I can't understand the Bible. I read the Bible and it's all Greek to me. I just don't get it.
[2:14] And the truth of the matter is, you won't get it unless you have somebody to help you. But if you're born again, you do have somebody to help you. How many of you are born again say amen?
[2:24] Did you know you can sit down with your Bible and say, Lord, I don't understand this. This is hard for me. And if you'll just take your time and study, if you'll keep attending the church, you and listening to preaching and get involved in discipleship with the Holy Spirit himself will teach you great spiritual truths.
[2:42] Then he will show me more of himself. He will make me be obedient. He will work obedience into my life. And the more obedient I become, the more he will show me of himself.
[2:55] He's going to show me himself. And then the last one you might write down is this. He will help me to remember his word and to teach it. He'll teach me what he said. He will help me to remember his word.
[3:06] Did you know that the Holy Spirit wants you to know this book? He wants you to know this book and he wants it in your heart. Before I'm through tonight, I hope you'll be able to take that home. Jesus is leaving.
[3:18] The 12, the 11 that are left, got to be thinking, what in the world? We've given our lives up. We gave up our businesses. We walked away from our boats.
[3:28] We walked away from our businesses. And we thought God was going to do something great with us. And we thought that Jesus had big plans for us. And he's leaving. He's leaving.
[3:39] And here we are, dumped. These guys were not very old men. These guys didn't have their lives made for them. And they burned all the bridges. They've walked away from everything. And he's leaving them.
[3:50] And he says, I'm not leaving you. I am going to send you a comforter. And I've got five promises right here in this passage of what he's going to be doing in your lives. Read with me, if you would, John 14. Starting verse 16.
[4:01] Watch for the truths I just gave you as we go through here. Because you can find them just as easily as I can. Look at it. John 14, 16. I will pray the Father. And he shall give you another comforter.
[4:13] There's another one like me coming. There's another one like me coming. And he's going to do the kind of stuff I've been doing. And he's going to teach you and train you and work in your life. There's another comforter. That he may abide with you forever.
[4:26] He may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive. Because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But you know him. And he dwelleth with you and shall be in you.
[4:39] I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Yet a little while the world sees me no more. But you shall see me. Because I live, ye shall live also.
[4:50] And at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father. And you in me. And I in you. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them. He it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father.
[5:03] And I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Jesus said unto him, Not as scary yet. Lord, how is it that thou would manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world? And Jesus had to say unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words.
[5:17] And my Father will love him. And we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me, he that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings. And the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
[5:31] These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance.
[5:43] And whatsoever I have said unto you. Father, I pray now that you would bring the scripture alive. I pray that our people would go home tonight. Your people, Lord, not vision people.
[5:54] Not our church, but your church. Your people would go home comforted tonight. And excited about the relationship with the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells in us.
[6:05] And I pray, God, that you would strengthen us and encourage us. And comfort your church. And I'll give you great honor and great glory and great praise in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, when you're a preacher, you spend a lot more time with the text than you do when you're a listener.
[6:18] I mean, you get in 30, 40 minutes what took me 6, 8, 10 hours that I spent time with it. And I can promise you that as I've studied this, I've realized so much about the Holy Spirit.
[6:28] So much about what he's doing in my life. And I've just thought about him and thinking about him and looking to him. And I just want you to know you are blessed tonight. We have the Holy Spirit of God, the comforter living in us.
[6:39] And these are fantastic truths that ought to just challenge you and excite you. He not only left the comforter with us, but he told us what he would do. And here's what I really want.
[6:50] We're going to focus on this first. We are not alone. We are not alone. It is not our job to hang on until he gets here. He is here now. Tonight in this room, in this service, the Holy Spirit is here.
[7:04] The God of all heaven is here. And he is with us tonight. We live because he lives. We'll see that a little bit later in the scripture. You know, we have abundant life because we understand what he's doing and he has done in our lives.
[7:18] Our love is shown by our actions. We do what he wants because we love him. The Father loves us and the God here comes to dwell in us. Number one, I hope you wrote it down. I will never, ever be left alone.
[7:30] I will never, ever be left alone. Look if you would at John 14, 16. John 14, 16. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.
[7:43] I will send you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. I'm leaving, but I'm sending another one. And this one will never, ever leave you. He will always be with you and he will abide in you.
[7:55] In my darkest night when I have the greatest need, I will not be alone. In my darkest night when I have the greatest need. And this is truth. The devil may come and tell you something different.
[8:07] The devil may whisper in your ear that God is not there with you. But according to the word of God, you will never, ever be alone. This is what he said in Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13, 5 and 6.
[8:19] Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
[8:30] So we can boldly say, we can boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me. I can boldly stand right here. I thought it was pretty fun watching Ed sing.
[8:43] I stand redeemed and put his hand on his chest. I stand redeemed in the presence of the great I am. Well, I can stand here today and tell you I will never be alone and God is my helper.
[8:54] I have the right to say that. The word of God says I can say that. He said, right. He said, you will boldly proclaim the Lord is my helper. Second thing is he will not just be here with me, but he'll comfort me.
[9:07] I'll not be left alone, but he's going to comfort me. In 2 Corinthians, I want you to look this up with me. Look it up in your Bible. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 through 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 through 5.
[9:19] The Bible says, blessed be God, even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. The God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all of our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
[9:39] For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. Watch this, would you? Did you know? How many of you have been through rough stuff?
[9:51] You've had some major tragedies, major problems, major hurts. Maybe they weren't major to anybody else, but they certainly were to you. You've been through those things. Do you know? Can you look back now and say, God did comfort me?
[10:04] God did get me through that? God did. How many of you can say that? Say amen. God did get us through it. And here's what he said. He says in his passage of scripture, he's the God of all comfort.
[10:14] He said he comforts us that we can be able to comfort others. God is a comforting God. He was there when I needed him. He has worked in my life so I can be used to work in other people's lives and to make a difference.
[10:26] Now listen to this. He says he will abide. Did you read the verse? He says in 14, 16. I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.
[10:38] So I just looked up the word abide in a dictionary. Let's just get a little more meaning here. I just want you to think with me what it means when he says he'll abide. It means he will wait for us. He will wait for us.
[10:50] He will wait. I am often hardheaded and hard hearted, yet he will endure without giving up on me. That's a pretty powerful thought, isn't it? Did you know the Holy Spirit moved into my heart on May the 6th, 1962?
[11:04] He moved in and took up residence in my life. Did you know I have not been what I ought to be? Did you know I have messed up a whole lot of times? If I were him, I would have moved out. If I were him, I would have gone somewhere else.
[11:15] But he moved in. He said, Austin, I will abide with you forever. I will stay forever. I'm not leaving. No matter how hardheaded you've been, no matter how stupid you've been, no matter how bad things you've done, no matter how you messed up, I came to stay.
[11:29] That ought to be an exciting, comforting truth. Can you say amen right there? That ought to be exciting. He will patiently put up with me as he forms me into the image of Christ. He will patiently put up with me to abide.
[11:42] It's the idea that he was patient. Do you realize what he does? Do you realize he's been working? Can you look back on your life and see when you were off in that place where you shouldn't have been? When you moved into a spot, you did things you knew were wrong.
[11:54] You were involved in sin and you fooled the church and you fooled everybody else and you thought you got away with it. But the Holy Spirit knew all about it. But you know what he was doing? Patiently abiding, patiently working, patiently moving in your life because you are the child of God.
[12:11] And when you got saved, he moved in. He moved in. He has moved in to stay. He will stay and continue right through it all. What confidence I can have, I'm accepted.
[12:23] And I will not be rejected. Ever. Would you just look this way just one second? Think about it. How many friends you had that said they'd always be your friend? How many people you had that said, I'm there with you through thick and thin, through good and bad.
[12:37] I will never ever leave you. How many people even get married and say those kind of words to each other and now they're alone? But you know, sometimes you kind of get burned enough that you're like nobody's ever for real and nobody ever means it and nobody ever sticks.
[12:50] I got one who does and his name is the Holy Spirit. In fact, as you got enough evidence to see that's been true in your life already. You already messed up. You already went places where you shouldn't have gone and he was there.
[13:02] And he has been abiding in you. You ought to be able to go home right now and say, man, that is great. Do you know tonight, tonight you can know this. I don't care. David, David, David can lose the joy of his salvation, but not his salvation.
[13:16] Peter can deny Jesus. Peter can deny Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is still right there. You can mess up. What a wonderful God. He's with me forever. If anything ought to make me want to serve him more than I ever have before.
[13:29] What a wonderful, wonderful savior. Second thing. Look, if you would number two, chapter 14 and verse 17, I'll be able to get to know him intimately. Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it sees him not.
[13:43] Neither knoweth him, but you know him for he dwelleth with you and he shall be in you. He dwelleth with you and he shall be in you. The lost world will never know anything about this special relationship.
[13:57] They'll never understand what's going on. But tonight, when you go home, you won't leave the house of God. You'll take it with you because you are the house of God and the Holy Spirit will go home with you.
[14:11] They can't understand that. I'm not really, I didn't come here to talk to God. I didn't come here to see God and got it in this room. He lives in my heart. In 1 Corinthians 2, 14, the Bible says, the natural man receives not the things of God.
[14:23] They are foolishness to him. I get to know him. He came to dwell in my house. I get to know him because he is in me and he dwells or stays with me.
[14:33] I understand more and more about him. I thought this week as I studied the Holy Spirit, I thought about my own life. I thought of how many times I've used him, how many times I've allowed him to be a blessing to me so I can feel good and look good and take advantage of him.
[14:47] I thought of the number of times I've had to be very disappointing to him. I've thought of the number of times I've ignored him. And I thought about the fact he lives with me and yet I don't even pay attention to him. If you moved into my house and I treated you like I've treated the Holy Spirit, you'd be mad at me and you'd probably pack your bags and leave.
[15:04] But the Holy Spirit said, I came to stay. I'm not leaving. I love you. I dwell with you. And I get to know him and I get free access to him.
[15:15] And he was working to conform me into his image. He is working to conform me into his image. I'm getting to know him. I would just say this to you. This is something the Lord really dealt my own heart about.
[15:27] How open are you for his work in your life? How often do you recognize him? Do we only kind of open up on Sunday mornings and then we just kind of open up a little bit? You know, we kind of open the door.
[15:37] You know, see, when Betty and I are at home by ourselves, we don't shut any doors in the house. I mean, they're all open. We don't shut the bedroom door at night. But you let our daughter came and spent the other night when she moves in.
[15:48] Hey, two doors are shut. Door into her room, door into our room. Everybody's in their section. And you stay in yours and I'll stay in mine. But you see, you know, the Holy Spirit, sometimes you kind of got him over in his corner and you got the door shut.
[15:59] You don't want him in your room. Do you realize he's moved in? You can get to know him intimately. You can spend great time with him. Then you get to learn great spiritual truths.
[16:10] The third thing, great spiritual truths. Look, if you would, at chapter 14, verses 18 through 20 again. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Yet a little while this world sees me no more.
[16:23] But you see me because I live. You shall live also. And at that day you shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you. You know what he said? I'll not leave you comfortless.
[16:35] You know what he's saying? I'm not abandoning you like you were some orphan. I'm not just dumping you out here on the side of the road to let you live your life. I am going to come to you. When Jesus left, he said, I'm leaving, but I'm sending another comforter.
[16:48] I will not leave you without comfort. I will not leave you without being there to bless you. I will not be neglected and forced to wander in the darkness. I don't have to wonder what's going to happen.
[16:59] I don't have to wonder where I'm going to go. I don't have to wonder if God loves me. I don't have to wonder if God's going to work in my life. The Holy Spirit moved in and took up residence. I don't have to fend for myself.
[17:10] I don't have to wonder what's going to happen. And you remember that first night you moved away from home? You went off to college or wherever you went to and you were there by yourself for that first night.
[17:20] It was a tad strange because you always had mom. You always had dad. You always had family. You always knew where to go. And that first night you didn't have a friend yet maybe. And you were by yourself. I can still remember that very first night.
[17:32] I was praying God help me to get to know somebody. Help me to fit in. You know what God's saying right here, don't you? He's saying, hey, I don't leave you comfortless. I don't leave you on the side of the road. I don't leave you like an orphan. I don't leave you abandoned.
[17:42] I don't leave you to fend for yourself. I'm going to heaven, but I send a comforter and he will be with you. He will be with you. He might be leaving this world. He might be leaving this world, but he is not leaving his disciples.
[17:56] First Corinthians chapter 2 verses 12 through 13. If you'd read those with me, look at that. First Corinthians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God that we might know.
[18:13] That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak not in words which man wisdom speaks, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
[18:28] I'm going to know great truths. He is working in my life. You know what one of the great truths is that I'm going to know? Did you look at verse 20? John 14, 20. Look at it. Look at it.
[18:38] It says, and that day ye shall know. And that apostles, I've been with you three and a half years. And you might not really understand everything that's about to happen. And they didn't seem to catch it.
[18:49] They didn't really understand. Peter didn't want Jesus to go get crucified. After Jesus gets crucified and is dead and buried, they almost give up like they think it's over. They don't really know what's happening.
[19:00] But hey, the Holy Spirit's coming. The Holy Spirit's going to teach them. And by the time you get to the book of Acts, I mean, from going from discouraged, they were encouraged and on the top of the mountain and flying through history doing great things.
[19:12] Because God showed them some stuff. And look what he showed them. Look what he showed them. You shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you. That's better than they ever had it.
[19:24] That's better than they ever had it. That's better than they had it when Jesus was here. They would know that Jesus is in the Father. They would know that they were in Jesus. And they would know that Jesus was in them.
[19:37] The Holy Spirit of God says, I'm leaving. I'm leaving. Let me just tell you, you are enveloped in God. He's in you and you're inside. And do you realize that we're born again?
[19:48] Do you realize what a wonderful relationship and position that we have with Jesus Christ? Do you realize what? With God? We are not alone. We are not without comfort.
[19:59] We're not without God working in our lives. John 14, 21. As he directs me into more and more obedience and Christlikeness, God shows me more of himself.
[20:10] More of himself. Verse 21. He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father.
[20:22] And I will love him and will manifest myself to him. I don't know. Would you check those verses out with me? Look what he said. He said, he that hath my commandments and keeps them, he loves me.
[20:34] Can I show you something? Guess why I keep commandments? You know why I keep commandments? Because he saved me. You know why I'm able to keep commandments? Because he works in my life. You know why I have the ability to do right?
[20:46] Because he's at work in me. And he says, hey, if you got my word and you keep my word, the Father's going to love you and he's going to show more of himself to you. He's going to manifest himself to you. And do you realize that the reason, hey, why do you think you changed?
[21:00] Can you think back to when you first got saved? Can you see that God abruptly changed you? Can you see that God's been moving you and changing you and bringing you along? That's the Holy Spirit of God doing a work in us.
[21:11] I am who I am today because of his work in my life. Not me. It wasn't because I quit smoking, cussing, drinking, dancing, going with him to do. It wasn't that I made a lot of changes.
[21:22] Those changes have been taking place, but God's been working in me. The Holy Spirit has been working in me and bringing me into more and more obedience. Look with me at Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.
[21:34] Colossians 3. I really wish you'd look this up. Wish you'd mark this in your Bible. Look at Colossians 3. You understand you got saved. You understand that when you got saved, you were put into Christ.
[21:45] You understand that Christ was put into you. You understand that Jesus is in God. I mean, this is like everything is all wrapped up. But look what it says in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1. If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
[22:02] Here's what's going on. He says, hey guys, you realize what's happened. God's done great work. If we were back in chapter 2, we'd find out, boy, the whole Godhead dwells in Christ. He's made us complete in Christ.
[22:14] He's done a great work in us. And since that's happened in our lives, and since he's at work in our lives, then we seek those things which are above. Because we are risen with Christ. How many of you are risen with Christ?
[22:24] Say amen. How many of you realize, I got saved. God made a change in me. I'm not the same man I used to be. I'm not the same woman I used to be. There's been a change made in me. If you then be risen with Christ, since that's happened to you, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
[22:42] Set your affection on things above and not on things on the earth. I had the privilege just recently of preaching in a church. This is the wildest thing in the world to me. And there were probably two-thirds of the audience was Spanish.
[22:55] And the message that's preached in that church every week on this service is in English. And they don't understand English. And they come. And they come.
[23:07] And they try to pick up what they can. So when I was there, I just preached in both of them. Took David once to preach and translate for me. But you realize they come. You know why? Something happened in them.
[23:19] Something changed them. Something made new creatures out of them. And though they don't even understand what's going on to a full degree, they want to be in God's house. And buddy, the sweetest spirit in the world, they want to be there.
[23:32] If you're risen with Christ, seek the things which are above. He said, seek the things. Verse 2. Set your affection on the things that are above, not on the things on the earth. For you are dead.
[23:43] And your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. You have your Bible open. Put a circle around this. Seek. Seek.
[23:54] When I met Betty. When I met Betty that first time, way back in 1972, when I met her the first time, I decided I liked her. I liked the way she looked. I liked the way she acted. I liked everything I saw about her.
[24:05] And I decided that I was going to find ways to get to this girl. And she had no interest in me because I was the redneck from Tennessee. And she had no interest in me. But I said that I would set my affection.
[24:18] I would seek her out. And I would go for it because something of love for her was born in my heart. Towards you realize that's what he's saying here. How many of you got born again? Why are you wanting to read your Bible?
[24:28] Well, you know, you know, the fact is on days when you don't read your Bible or weeks when you don't read your Bible and time passes, something inside of you says, hey, you need to reread the word of God. You know how when you, you, you, you could easily skip church.
[24:40] You could easily walk away. You do skip church on occasion. But every so often the Holy Spirit just says, you need to be in church. And there's something inside of you that says, love Jesus. Seek Jesus.
[24:51] Do right. Serve God. That's what's going on in this passage of scripture. Look what he says. He says, he says, your life is here with Christ in God. You are not in you.
[25:02] I am here with Christ. As I keep, as I keep his commandments, I manifest how I love him and how I feel for him. As I show my love for him, he shows his love for me. As you love God and seek to please him, he shows you more of himself.
[25:16] You will understand him better. He will allow us to know him intimately and to be understood and for us to understand him. He's working in your life. He's changing you. He's letting you get to know him.
[25:29] If you look back over your life and say, how did I know him? How much of him did I know? How much did I understand? Have you seen a growing knowledge? Have you seen God bringing that into you and teaching you about him?
[25:41] Philippians chapter three, verses seven and 12, seven through 12. Philippians chapter three, verse seven through 12, if you would. Knowing God's not an academic exercise.
[25:53] It's not an academic exercise, but it's an exercise in love and obedience. It's an exercise in love and obedience. No good personal intimate relationship is based on head knowledge.
[26:06] It's based on heart knowledge. You don't take notes to learn how to be a good wife. You don't take notes to learn how to be a good husband. The fact is, if you're very much in love with your partner, you want to be all of those things because you're in love.
[26:20] And because I'm saved, I want to know him. The apostle Paul was Saul and he's on his way to Damascus. As he's going to Damascus, the Holy Spirit or Jesus speaks to him.
[26:32] He falls off the horse. The light knocks him off the horse. The sound, whatever. He's knocked off his horse. But he knows he's saved. He knows God's done a work in him. You realize what he says in Philippians chapter three?
[26:42] He said, I want to know God. I want to know him. That's what he told us. I want to know him. I want to become his friend. I want to be intimate with him. I want to understand him.
[26:54] And look how far Paul takes it. And I hope it's in you. I don't know if it is, but I hope it's in you. There ought to be a desire in you to know God. There ought to be a desire in you to say, man, he's the God of all glory.
[27:06] He's the God of heaven. He's the supreme God, the creator God, the judge God. But I want to know him. I want to know him. I want a relationship with him. Here's what Paul said. Paul says in Philippians chapter three, verse seven, what things were gained to me, those I counted, but loss for Christ.
[27:23] Paul said, I have nothing that is of enough value for me that it would put, it would substitute Jesus. He said, I would rather throw everything I have away. I'd rather throw my past away.
[27:35] I'd rather throw all my money away. I throw all my position away. None of it's of any value. If it hinders me in getting to know Jesus. Verse eight, yeah, doubtless. And I count all things, but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, from I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them, but done that I may win Christ.
[27:55] Paul said, man, I want to know him. Would you underline in verse eight, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord? He said, man, I want to know him. I want to know him.
[28:06] I want to know him. When you want to know somebody, when you want to know something, you study it. You think about it. You discuss it. It's the biggest thing on your heart.
[28:16] He says, I want to win Christ. I want to develop that. You know, I saw Betty and I liked her. She was dating my best friend. Here I was without her. But you know what? You know what you do when you really like somebody?
[28:28] You go after them and you win. Amen. I did. 30 some years ago. You win. And so if you love Jesus, if you love Jesus, there ought to be a hunger in you tonight.
[28:40] And the Holy Spirit said, I'll teach you. And I'll guide you. And I'll show you. And Paul said, nothing is of as much value. Verse 10, that I may know him. That I may know him.
[28:52] That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering and even being made conformable to his dead. You know what Paul said? I want to know him.
[29:04] I want to know him. If it means I suffer with him, I want to know him. I want to die with him. He is more important to me than life itself. I love him.
[29:15] I want him. And the Holy Spirit said, the Holy Spirit is working in his life and God showing more of himself. How much do you know God tonight?
[29:28] I'm not asking you how moral you are. I'm not asking you how many good things you do and how many bad things you do. I'm not fussing at you about anything. I'm not saying you're doing wrong. I just want to listen. Do you know him?
[29:39] Are you hungry to know him? Do you want to learn more about him? Do you want his word to speak to you? Do you want God working in your life? Paul wanted that more than he wanted anything.
[29:50] Paul wanted that. Last thing. Fit number five. Go to verse 26. John 14, 26. The comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name.
[30:01] He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I've told you. I want you to look at this. Check out that verse. That is a life-changing verse.
[30:13] That verse, every one of these verses, primary application was to the apostles. And he told the apostles, hey guys, I will help you. Soon you're going to be writing the gospels. Soon you're going to be writing books of the Bible.
[30:24] Don't worry. I'll teach you and I'll bring to your remembrance. And how's John going to remember what to write? Holy Spirit's going to bring it to his mind. How they're going to want to do it? The Holy Spirit's going to do it. But that same promise works for me.
[30:35] I want to know him. Maybe, and maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Maybe I'm talking to the wrong group of people. But I tell you, I want to know. I've wanted to know him since I was a kid. I want to know him.
[30:46] I want to walk with him. I want to think he hears me when I pray. I want to think he loves me. I want to love him. I want to know him. We're not any other thing in this world. The most important thing. Just guess what a promise you got.
[30:57] You got a promise. I want, man, every time. I can remember when I was a kid. And some preacher could rattle off Bible verses. I used to say, man, I want to know the Bible like that. When guys knew things about God, I want to know that.
[31:08] Do you? It's like, I want to know Jesus. I want to know him. I want to know what he's doing in my life. Look what he says here. He will teach you all things. You can know God.
[31:21] The Holy Spirit lives in you. You can understand the Bible. He will teach you his word. You don't have to be a preacher. You don't have to be an apostle.
[31:32] He loves you. And he has a, he wants a personal, intimate relationship with you. And he'll teach you. I love this. And he brings all things to your remembrance. Obviously, sometimes you're witnessing him.
[31:44] Verses will come to your mind. And sometimes you're talking to somebody. Verses will come to your mind. Sometimes you're sinning and verses will come to your mind. Sometimes you're doing something wrong. And all of a sudden it's like, wow, I just remembered.
[31:56] Wow. I just thought of, wow, God's doing a work in me. I can tell you this. You know, I've read my Bible before. And I've searched everywhere to try to figure stuff out.
[32:07] And I've looked it up in books and commentaries and tried to figure out what was going on. And I read that passage. I still don't get it. And literally, everybody in this room has ever tried to seek him. You know this is true. All of a sudden, one day you're talking to somebody.
[32:20] And somebody speaks. And you say, that's it. Or you're reading it. Or you're just by yourself. And you've been praying. All of a sudden, it's like, hey, it's starting to make sense. It's there's something the Holy Spirit of God does in our lives.
[32:32] So today, tonight, just could you go home with this? Go home with this. Never alone. Never alone. John Bunyan's thrown into prison for preaching God's word.
[32:45] Stays there 12, 13 years. Less than 15 years. But in that time, God gives him stuff no one would have ever dreamed of. People have suffered. People have been places. And the Holy Spirit of God has moved in and done a great work.
[32:57] I am never alone. The next time you're in a hospital room. The next time your family members are in trouble. You're in trouble. You are never alone. You can always know that God is there.
[33:08] You can boldly say he's your helper. You can know that he will teach you his word. You can know that he will show you more of himself. Do you want to know God? Do you want to know? You know what he said?
[33:18] You know what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13? In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says this. We see through a glass darkly now. But someday soon I'll see him and I will know him.
[33:30] 1 John it says, and I will be known as I am. We will know him. Tremendous promise. I challenge you to go home with this. You have the Holy Spirit living in you.
[33:44] Maybe you haven't even paid attention to that. Maybe you haven't realized it. Maybe you're at home all by yourself and you're wondering, you know, what's going on? Let me explain something to you. He lives in you.
[33:54] He came in to stay. And he's at work in your life. So, seek him. Seek him. Seek to know God.
[34:06] Seek to know his truths. Search for God. Obey him. Listen to him. He is at work. He is at work. And if you don't listen when he speaks quietly, you'll miss great things he's wanting to do in your life.
[34:21] Father, I pray that your name will be glorified and magnified. God, I pray that you would show yourself in great power. God, I pray you'd help us all to realize that you live in us.
[34:31] And you're at work in us. And you're an all-powerful, amazing God who has taken up residence in my heart. I pray, God, that you'd help your people to go home tonight trusting you and looking to you.
[34:43] Believing in you and knowing that you're at work. Show your power. Work in our lives. Holy Spirit, make us. Save people. Grow us.
[34:53] Mature us. Correct us. Convict us. Conform us to your image. And we will give you great honor and great glory and great praise. You have been listening to Austin Gardner, pastor of Vision Baptist Church.
[35:11] For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.
[35:21] Love you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Guysiful Church can be here. Going please. God bless you. God bless you.