Well, keep your Bibles open.
We're going to do something a little different as we open up God's Word today.
I want you to get out your phone.
And I want you to check.
You connected?
How many bars you got?
Are you using our Wi-Fi?
I hope not, because we're live streaming.
We need the bandwidth.
You see, we depend on these unseen connections all the time.
Have you ever had no connection on your phone?
Just inexplicably, just no reception.
Maybe for a whole day.
Well, I can tell you, that will make me afraid.
Through that little device, that's how we keep our connections with people.
I was at a training day for church staff a couple of years ago.
It's a little loud, Jase.
Can you just drop the volume of this down?
I will only get louder.
So I was at a training day for church staff, and they asked us all to turn off our phones.
It was to experience two hours of disconnected time.
And the goal was to help us both feel the anxiety of not having our phone on, not being connected,
to feel what we might miss out on,
but to also encourage us to reflect and talk about self-care.
And so we were talking about self-care for a couple of hours, and we were one hour in.
And it was great.
My phone was off.
Everyone was relaxed.
And then this appeared on the screen.
Nick Freestone, please call senior minister.
Urgent.
And everyone laughed.
They thought it was part of the training.
But I knew it wasn't, and I ran outside because I was terrified.
I turned on my phone, and I called Steve.
My eldest daughter, Isla, had broken her arm at preschool.
My wife, Sam, who's leading the service today, had also had her phone off,
happened to have her phone off at the same time, and we'd both miss calls to be able to be there with Isla,
to be there in the ambulance with her, but also we met her at the hospital.
That's how disconnected we were.
Disconnecting from people is a fearful thought.
So when I had the idea to leave Facebook, I was worried.
I contacted everyone on Facebook who I connected there with to say,
hey, I'm going, message me or call me from now on.
And then it came to actually switching it off.
And I felt afraid.
I feared disconnection.
What might I miss from not being here?
And how would I be known by people if I wasn't on Facebook?
It actually, I'm ashamed to say, took me weeks to finally do it.
Because disconnecting from people makes me afraid.
I'm someone who wrestles with social isolation.
According to studies, social isolation is the fastest-growing negative contributor
to mental health issues in our city.
It can develop into illnesses like chronic anxiety and depression and more.
And COVID-19 contributed to this rise.
We're all disconnected from each other and isolated physically.
But social isolation was a problem before 2020.
And it hasn't stopped being a problem after COVID.
And while online tools like social media can connect people in a way that,
when they can't be connected,
just like those live streaming at home today unable to be here,
when online relationships replace the real-world ones,
it contributes to building social isolation.
I can tell you that in Chatswood, where we are,
the high number of us living in high-rise,
our multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nature as a community,
those things also restrict our natural opportunity for building relationships.
So, suburbs like ours in Sydney have high rates of social isolation.
One in seven people in our city are socially isolated physically,
or they feel socially isolated no matter what.
Chatswood is poor, not in food or water,
but in life-giving relationships that we were created for.
Our busyness and our closeness packed into our skyline
hides a disconnectedness that needs a solution.
These studies suggest joining special interest groups or sports teams or clubs
in person or even online, or go get a pet.
But those things alone can't curb the rise of social isolation.
What we actually need are tangible relationships of love.
Many of us are fearful that we'll never find those.
Or if we have them, we're desperately afraid that we might lose them.
All people in Chatswood need help staying connected in an unbreaking way
to at least one life-giving relationship of love.
And in today's part of the Bible, that Mel just read,
Jesus was speaking to his disciples in a moment where they were grieving
because they feared disconnection from Jesus,
who loved them and who they loved in return.
He had been telling his disciples that this very hour,
he would disconnect from them.
One of them would betray him.
Another would disown him.
They grieve losing connection with Jesus
and their safety and their identity together with him.
So look at your Bibles.
Put your phone down.
It's all right if you're still looking at it,
checking to see what Nick's going to do with your phone.
Pick up your Bible.
We're going to look at chapter 15.
If you scan back just to the paragraph before from verse 18,
there Jesus describes how the hate and violence against him
and his message, when he's gone,
that's going to shift and pull towards the disciples.
They don't just fear losing their best friend,
they fear the hatred of the world turning against them
when Jesus is gone.
If you flick back even further to chapter 13,
how will these men be known when Jesus goes?
I imagine them wondering,
we can't follow him where he's going.
Who are we if Jesus is gone?
Jesus is redefining their identity,
no longer through the proximity to Jesus,
not even friendship with him,
but defined in their relationships of love with one another.
Jesus understands their fears,
losing his protection,
losing their identity as his disciple,
and losing his love.
One way you can see their fear is more than just grief,
is in verse 5 of our passage today.
So have a look, verse 5 of chapter 16.
Jesus says there,
none of you asked me where are you going?
If you've been with this in the last few weeks,
you might remember that Peter actually did ask exactly that,
word for word,
Jesus, where are you going?
Did Jesus forget?
Is there an error in the gospel?
Imagine a little child wakes up one morning
and sees their parent already dressed
and walking out the door going to work.
The little child yells out,
where are you going?
What the child is feeling is,
why are you leaving me?
They don't care where the parent is going.
They fear disconnection from their loved one.
This is how Jesus can say that no one asks where he is going,
because Jesus hears Peter's grieving heart cry out,
why are you leaving?
So, Jesus promises that he will give them someone
to keep them and all his followers to come,
a connection with him when he is gone,
of love, security, and identity.
So, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will come.
He's already promised this in previous chapters.
Dan, two weeks ago, when he preached,
he described it as God's ongoing presence with us.
Jesus' ongoing presence with his disciples.
But here, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit by a new name,
three times, the Spirit of Truth.
And this is crucial,
because the Spirit of Truth
is how our isolated humanity need,
what our isolated humanity need.
Because the Spirit of Truth connects us to Jesus
through the Bible.
Jesus promises that this connection will come,
but only if he gets up from this meal
with his disciples and goes to the cross.
So, here is how this Spirit of Truth,
how Jesus says the Holy Spirit
will connect us to him
in a life-giving relationship of love.
When he comes,
the Spirit of Truth will do three things.
Convict the world,
witness to all the truth about Jesus,
and glorify Jesus.
So, first,
the Spirit of Truth comes
to convict the world.
Securing convictions
is the role of the prosecutor.
You've probably seen it on TV.
You might have even been in a courtroom,
and you've seen a prosecutor at work.
In that moment,
they're not an advocate
or a helper,
as we've heard the Holy Spirit described so far,
even in our passage today in verse 7.
So, how does the Holy Spirit also act,
not just as a helper or an advocate,
but also as a prosecutor?
Have a look at verse 8.
When he, the Holy Spirit, comes,
he will prove the world
to be in the wrong
about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
It's a nice sunny day today,
so it's easy to imagine.
But imagine
someone going out for a swim at a beach.
It's calm.
It's warm.
The sun is,
but that great balance of
warming you up,
but not beating you down.
And a swimmer goes out
just past the little waves
and swims out easily.
He's having a great time.
But then a lifeguard blows the whistle,
calls out in the megaphone,
not safe!
The swimmer hears
and tries to swim back,
but there's this outgoing current
against them.
They thrash against it,
but they're too weak to fight it.
They become afraid.
They begin to panic.
They accept their fate,
and...
I'm just going to leave it there.
You have to wait
to find out what happens.
The Holy Spirit is a helper
and a prosecutor
who warns all people,
all sinful people,
of their error,
like a lifeguard
alerting a swimmer.
See, people in Chatswood
don't know that they're drowning.
An abundant life
that they need,
they're not going to get
in the mall.
They're not going to find it
on their screen.
Not even in their deepest relationships
with those around them.
They need a relationship
with the God
who created them.
And the whole reason
that Jesus came to earth
was to offer that connection
to all people,
those same people
who don't know
they need that connection.
Jesus calls out to the swimmer
through the Holy Spirit
with a message of conviction.
You're not safe!
The Spirit needs to warn us
in the first place
because all people
get their response
to sin and unrighteousness
and judgment
completely wrong
without Jesus.
I read this week
that Tim Keller,
when he had little kids at home,
was watching them
watch cheesy Bible cartoons
on TV.
I don't know if you've seen
the kind of cartoons
I'm talking about,
but they're oversimplified
children's stories.
And he overheard
this teaching
in those cartoons.
They summarized the Bible
like this.
man's attempt
to find
and connect
with God.
And Tim Keller says,
that's the Bible
backwards.
Instead,
the Bible is
man's constant
running from God,
away from his love
and authority.
And it's God's
constant pursuit
of people
to show them
his love.
Do you hear the difference?
many of us
Christians
hear the warning
of our sin
against God,
our need to be righteous
before him,
and the coming judgment
of sin
that leads to death
and hell,
and we try to avoid it
by our strength
of mind
and will
on our own.
A follower of Jesus
is not
like a swimmer
who can beat
the current.
but one
who feels
sin's power
over them
and calls out
to the lifeguard
for help.
Jesus says
in our passage
today
that we cannot,
in verse 12,
bear this truth
alone.
The warning call
of the Holy Spirit
calls out
our inability
to swim
against the
undertow
of sin,
trusting in our
own good behavior
our own power
to change
ourselves,
our own ability
to prove
ourselves
worthy of life
beyond judgment
day.
And the Holy Spirit
reveals
how Jesus
meets
those needs
for purity,
for righteousness,
and to be pleasing
before God.
Even before
we've asked
to be saved.
Even before
we know
we are drowning.
and if you've
ever wrestled
against God,
if you've heard
about God
in the Bible
or you've heard
about Jesus
somewhere along
in your journey
or maybe even
right now
today,
you're discovering
sinfulness,
your unrighteousness,
your fear
of judgment,
your worry
about disconnection
from God,
that is a sign
that the Spirit
of truth
is at work
in your life
right now
through conviction.
And it will happen,
the Spirit
will work
even before
you know
Jesus yet,
even before
you are
His follower.
What an amazing
power.
you don't
receive the
Holy Spirit
and a connection
with God
of life-giving
love
by sorting
out your life,
making better
choices,
measuring up
to the way
that would
please God
enough.
Instead,
the Spirit
acts before
we know
we need Him
and convicts
us,
the world
and all people
of their
desperate need
to connect
with God.
Jesus shows
us
that
when the
Spirit of
truth
comes
into our
lives,
it will
warn us
of our
need for
connection
with God
and
guide us
into what
is true,
into all
the truth,
where we
will find
ourselves
lifted
safely
out of
the water,
having done
nothing
to save
ourselves.
The Spirit
of truth
will guide
us to
Jesus
loved,
secure
and His
through
truth.
So,
look at
this verse
that I
believe
shows us
why Jesus
gave the
Holy Spirit
a new
name
in our
passage
today,
the Spirit
of truth.
Look at
verse 13.
But when
He,
the Spirit
of truth
comes,
He will
guide you
into
all the
truth.
truth,
the truth
Himself,
Jesus,
the way,
the truth
and the
life.
Jesus
is showing
us how
the Spirit
of truth
connects us
to Him
through truth,
through all
the truth
and all
the truth
about Him.
for those
who don't
like hearing
the same
word over
and over
again,
truth,
truth.
This might
be hard
on your
ears,
but bear
with me.
Because truth
is a thing.
Babies
yearn to
eat
because food
exists.
Before
ducklings
have ever
heard,
seen,
or been
told about
the water,
they yearn
to swim.
So many
true things
exist
to fulfill
the created
yearnings
in people.
A yearning
for truth
pulls
on everyone.
Truth
from God,
our Creator,
would meet
our created
yearning
for truth
in a way
that truth
found within
ourselves,
or even
truth found
out there
in the
world,
cannot.
And this
is the
kind of
truth
that the
spirit of
truth
guides us
toward.
So what
kind of
truth is
it?
The
spirit of
truth
will reveal
all
the
truth.
Many
English
translations
like the
New
Living
Translation,
you might
have that
translation
in front
of you
from the
Greek,
NLT,
they miss
one word
in this
passage.
See if you
can spot
it.
I've put
it on the
screen for
us.
The
spirit will
come and
guide you
into
all truth.
The
word that's
missing
is the
the.
Doesn't
seem that
important,
does it?
The
Greek
that this
is translated
from
literally
says all
the
truth,
not all
truth.
And here's
why it's
dangerous to
miss this
word.
The spirit
of truth
does not
guide us
into all
truth about
everything.
There is a
collection of
truth, that
is the truth
that we need.
And this
means that
studying the
world and
people,
whether it be
science,
whether it be
some other
pursuit,
we can
find truth
in the
world that
isn't written
down in
the Bible,
that isn't
what Jesus
is talking
about here.
Instead,
this passage
is talking
about a
specific
collection of
truth that
creates
connection
with God.
Also,
the spirit
of truth
does not
guide us
into all
truth in
an ongoing,
evolving sense,
where the
adding to
or the
taking away
from the
truth is
expected or
acceptable.
To add
to the
truth
is to
read all
truth in
our Bibles
and then hear
Jesus saying,
2,000 years
from now,
someone will
get special
information from
me,
some new
truth that
will change
the meaning
of my words
in the Bible.
No,
that's not
what Jesus
is saying.
Anyone who
adds to
the Bible
is trying
to gain
power over
us rather
than yielding
to all
the truth.
This is not
all the truth
as the spirit
reveals,
but their
truth.
And an
invasive
movement in
our city
and its
suburbs,
in its
churches,
is to
read all
truth and
then decide
for themselves
what that
is and
subtract
from the
truth.
Take the
Bible's
teaching on
gender and
sexuality,
for example.
How do
modern minds
in our city
think about
those topics?
There are so
many more
as well.
But consider
this,
100 years
ago in
our city,
and you
can,
sadly,
you can look
this up,
the thought
in our city
was that
there were
people groups
who were
less evolved
than others.
That was
what people
thought.
That's
unthinkable
today.
That's not
the truth.
truth.
But in
another
hundred
years,
what will
our society
be laughing
about or
embarrassed by
that we
think is
all truth
in our
city right
now?
If your
modern mind
looks at the
Bible and
sees fit to
reject bits
of it,
then you're
rejecting the
all-the-truth
nature of it.
all-the-truth
is instead
referring to
a body of
truth that
Jesus will
give to
his followers
that will
detail all
humanity needs
to connect
with him.
So what is
this all-the-truth?
It's really
simple,
actually.
It's all-the-truth
about Jesus.
All-the-truth
that the
Spirit would
provide was
not new
truth,
but all
that Jesus
had said
and done
already
and would
say and
do
before
leaving.
Illuminated
by the
Spirit of
Truth.
So have a
look at
verse 26.
The Spirit
of Truth,
He will
testify about
me,
and you
must also
testify,
for you
have been
with me
from the
beginning.
The Spirit
of Truth
worked
uniquely
through the
apostles.
That is,
the disciples,
plus Paul,
who Jesus
met with,
as they
taught and
wrote down
all Jesus
said and
did.
And when the
apostles had
all died,
the new
church,
the followers
of Jesus,
gathered up
all of their
teachings and
writings,
even some by
others who
referred to
their teachings
and writings,
gathered them
into a book
that we
call the
New Testament.
Our Bible
contains all
the truth
that Jesus
promises here.
That's what
Jesus has in
mind the
whole time.
Eyewitness,
testimony,
remembered,
recorded,
and shared,
empowered by
the Spirit
of Truth.
There is truth,
there is a
collection of
truth,
that is all
the truth
we need to
connect with
God,
and it's
all about
Jesus,
because all
the truth
in the Bible
reveals Jesus,
and in it we
find a
connection to
Him and a
life-giving
relationship of
love.
And when the
Spirit of Truth
comes,
number three,
He will glorify
Jesus.
Or another
way to say
that is He
will help us
see the
glory of
Jesus.
have you
ever fallen
in love
with someone?
Maybe you'd
like to,
maybe you
haven't yet.
Let me
describe what
happens in
that moment.
When we
fall in love,
we see the
glory of
that person.
The word
glory here
means weight.
weight.
And it's
more than
just like
their quality
or their
beauty out
of ten.
It is
their
importance
and their
significance.
Seeing glory
leads
to love.
The Spirit
of Truth
reveals Jesus'
weight in
the Bible.
importance,
His
significance,
and His
beauty.
The Spirit
does this
so we
would fall
in love
with Jesus.
So,
I point
this out
to ask
the question,
do you
love
Jesus?
Is He
the greatest
love in
your life?
That's
what the
Spirit of
Truth
does.
The
disciples
saw
face-to-face
Jesus'
glory.
His
love
toward
them
was
astounding.
His
works
were
incredible.
He
spoke
and they
heard
and felt
God
and they
loved
Him
back.
But with
Jesus
leaving,
it's now
the Holy
Spirit's
role.
The
Spirit
of
Truth
helps
us see
what the
disciples
got to
see in
person.
Glory
that makes
us love
Jesus.
Look
with me
at
16
verse 1.
All
this I
have told
you,
says
Jesus,
so that
you will
not
fall
away.
Jesus
is
promising
that
this
spirit
of
truth
will
keep
us
connected
to
Him.
And the
more literal
translation
of
fall
away
here
is an
abrupt,
shocking
disconnection,
not a
slow slide
away from
faith.
Jesus
had already
said
Judas
would
betray
him.
Judas
is already
gone
at this
point.
He
also
predicted
that
Peter
would
deny
him
three
times.
Tonight!
That
night!
And
sadly,
he predicts
one more
final fall
away that
includes all
the disciples.
Look right
down to the
end of the
chapter there,
verse 32.
A time
is coming
and in
fact has
come
when you
will be
scattered
each to
your own
home,
you will
leave me
all
alone.
Jesus
leaving
his
disciples
will
begin
with
them
leaving
him.
Everything
the disciples
were afraid
of,
their
disconnection
with
Jesus,
no longer
being safe
with him,
losing
their
identity
as his
followers,
starts
with their
choice to
leave Jesus
all alone,
to face
the mob
and the
trial and
the slaughter
of tomorrow.
What
love
Jesus
has.
Knowing
that his
leaving will
start with
our and
their unbelief
in him.
He
willingly
promised
them a
life
life-giving
relationship
of love
to be
forever
connected
and present
with them
through the
spirit of
truth,
on the
night
they will
all break
relationship
with him.
Jesus
leaving
was to be
left alone,
submitting
to execution
on a
cross,
with all the
sin and
unrighteousness
on his
shoulders,
dying and
facing all
the judgment
of all
who have
abandoned
him and
given up
their connection
with God
and he
did it all
to pursue
a connection
with us.
all who
don't even
want that
connection
with him
yet.
He
yielded
his right
to life,
to offer
it to us,
uncondemned,
pure and
pleasing to
God,
and rose to
life to
restore the
connection to
all who
would believe
in him.
And the
fact that
Jesus,
spoiler alert,
rose from
the dead
and restored
his relationship
with his
disciples face
to face,
even Peter
shows just
how far he
will go to
pursue those
who fall
away,
to provide
an eternal
life-giving
relationship of
love with
him.
Friends,
Jesus is the
relationship you
need to break
out of any
social isolation
that you feel.
It's the
connection you
need that
resolves your
social need
through spiritual
means.
No matter
where you're
at on your
journey of
receiving the
Spirit's truth
in your life,
whether it's
convicting you
of your need
with sin,
unrighteousness,
and judgment,
breaking your
hope of connecting
to God your
own way,
or as the
Spirit witnesses
to Jesus,
his works,
words,
and love
toward you
in the
Bible,
building up
your love
for him,
even when
you fail
him,
he will
never break
off connection
with you.
If you have
received the
Spirit of
Truth through
believing in
him as the
Spirit of
Truth reveals
all the
truth in
the Bible.
when the
Bible is
open to
you,
and there
might be
every day,
it might be
every week,
it might be
not very
often yet,
but ask the
Spirit of
Truth to
show you
Jesus,
and trust
the Spirit
of Truth,
not yourself,
to keep and
enjoy your
connection with
God,
a life-giving
relationship of
love that
can start
even today.
In him you
are never
isolated,
always in
love,
and eternally
connected to
the God who
pursues you,
even through
your seasons of
sorrow and
grief,
through the
Spirit of
Truth.
See,
Jesus knows
you need
connection,
Chatswood.
He is where
you will find
what you need.
You can't
find him your
own way,
only through
the Spirit
of Truth.
So explore
the Bible,
find Jesus,
and the
Spirit of
Truth will
connect you
to Jesus.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
thank you for
promising and
sending the
Spirit of
Truth to
guide us as
we read and
explore the
Bible.
convict us,
guide us,
and help us
to fall in
love with
you as we
see your
glory.
Amen.