WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.400 I had a couple of conversations this week with non-Christian friends who asked me about what they called the current celebrity fascination with Jesus. 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:24.480 ! We mentioned last week about the personality Russell Brand getting baptized and I noticed this week that he posted a video of what we might describe as his testimony describing how he had come to believe in Jesus. 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:32.140 But he's not alone. There are lots of people who are opening up conversations about these things. 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:40.560 Joe Rogan, no less, recently said that the answer to the problems that he saw around him in the world could only be fixed by Jesus. 00:00:41.120 --> 00:00:45.140 He said, we need Jesus, I think, for real. 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:47.140 End quote. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:51.219 What did I think about this, these people asked me? 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:54.280 Well, one of the conversations focused on the question of truth. 00:00:54.420 --> 00:01:01.539 This was because in an interview with Kid Rock, Joe Rogan said, quote, I want to believe Jesus was real. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:02.960 I really want to believe that. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.099 So we discussed the historical question. 00:01:06.180 --> 00:01:14.400 That was the direction that the conversation went around the historicity of Jesus and the significance of who he was if the history was credible. 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.420 The other conversation went in a very different direction. 00:01:19.600 --> 00:01:27.160 My friend asked basically, through various different ways, the question really came down to, what's in it for me? 00:01:27.820 --> 00:01:31.360 If I believe all of this, what's in it for me? 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:32.880 It is a common desire. 00:01:33.600 --> 00:01:35.540 The call of Christ is all-encompassing. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:41.900 He calls us to lay down our lives, to die to our old selves in order to give ourselves to him. 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:48.880 And the question is, if we are prepared to do that, if we trust ourselves to him, what will he give us in return? 00:01:50.440 --> 00:01:52.200 And it's not just unbelievers. 00:01:52.360 --> 00:02:00.540 It's not just skeptics that ask that question because I think it's a question that lies deep down in the hearts of lots of professing Christians as well. 00:02:00.939 --> 00:02:03.320 It's a version of the same question. 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:05.320 What's in it for me? 00:02:05.860 --> 00:02:07.140 Is it really worth it? 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:16.120 But I wonder, teenagers, this morning, as you look around and you see the lives that your friends are living and your parents have been bringing you along to church, 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:23.020 you've been raised in a Christian home, and you wonder, is Jesus really worth it? 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:32.920 Well, this passage in John 14 this morning, back in the upper room, in this intimate gathering with the Lord Jesus, speaks directly to those questions. 00:02:33.040 --> 00:02:36.500 The question of truth and the question of what's in it for me. 00:02:37.100 --> 00:02:38.040 Is it worth it? 00:02:38.640 --> 00:02:48.280 And what I want us to see is the answers that it provides, the answers that this passage provides, are jaw-dropping in their magnitude. 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:58.860 Now, we saw last week, it's the night before Jesus' death, and he is explaining the significance of all that lies ahead, the significance for him and also for his disciples. 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:04.259 Judas, we finished up last time, has just gone out to action his betrayal. 00:03:04.920 --> 00:03:11.479 And if you look, verse 31 of chapter 13, Jesus says, right, it's now time to go. 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:15.560 Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:21.120 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. 00:03:21.399 --> 00:03:25.699 Jesus is saying, my hour has come, it's time now for me to be glorified. 00:03:25.839 --> 00:03:28.359 I'm going to be exalted on the cross. 00:03:28.679 --> 00:03:34.439 And in that event, the Father will be glorified, and the Father will in turn give glory to his Son. 00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:37.899 Jesus clarifies that he's leaving his disciples. 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:41.879 They can't come with him yet, chapter 13, verse 33. 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:50.020 But as they continue serving him on earth, the mark of their discipleship will be love, 34 and 35. 00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:58.060 The love that Jesus has shown to the world during his earthly ministry is to be continued through the love of his disciples. 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:01.060 This is how the world will know that the church is the church. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:05.599 This is how our culture will know that we follow and love the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.400 It is as we love one another. 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:18.500 Now, as Jesus says these things, it is shocking and unsettling for the disciples who still haven't grasped what this hour that has now come, what his departure will mean. 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:21.660 So the questions start to flood in. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.220 Chapter 13, verse 36. 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:25.899 Simon Peter. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.360 Then Thomas 14, verse 5. 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:29.959 Philip joins in. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:31.120 14, verse 8. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.819 And then the other Judas, verse 22, completes the job. 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:38.319 Peter, Thomas, Philip, the other Judas. 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:42.560 Jesus is saying, I'm leaving and you can't come. 00:04:43.099 --> 00:04:46.980 And they say, wait, where, how, what? 00:04:47.459 --> 00:04:48.079 Are you sure? 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:50.480 Their heads are spinning. 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:59.920 But what happens in this back and forth in this chapter as Jesus answers them is that his departure will actually be better for them. 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:02.360 And he promises them. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:05.939 He promises every Christian four things. 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:08.480 They're not really things, as you'll see, but he promises them. 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:09.780 He makes four promises. 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:12.060 Here's the first one. 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:15.040 He promises them future glory. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:16.040 Verse 2. 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:22.000 Now, it's probably not a surprise at this point, but Peter is the first one to jump in. 00:05:22.260 --> 00:05:22.960 Verse 36. 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:23.900 Lord, where are you going? 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:25.980 Jesus answered him, where I'm going. 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:28.560 You cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. 00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:32.080 Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:33.800 I'll lay down my life for you. 00:05:34.460 --> 00:05:37.379 Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:42.680 Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:45.120 Let not your hearts be troubled. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:45.899 Believe in God. 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:47.139 Believe also in me. 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:49.800 In my Father's house are many rooms. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:53.159 If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 00:05:53.699 --> 00:06:00.540 And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:02.620 Where are you going, Jesus? 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:06.779 Well, he repeats that the disciples can't follow him now. 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:09.879 There's a delay between his going and the disciples following. 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:17.819 But he is going via the cross, as we heard last week, to his Father in order to prepare a place for his followers. 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:22.419 There is, verse 2, plenty of room in the Father's house. 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:24.979 And the Son is going to get things ready. 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:28.459 He will come later for the disciples and bring them to where he is. 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:35.339 But because his route to glory requires him to go through the cross, he has to go ahead. 00:06:35.339 --> 00:06:41.099 Only he can do what is needed to secure this future home, this future glory. 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:43.159 That's what Peter doesn't get. 00:06:44.459 --> 00:06:45.779 Why can't I go with you now? 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:47.259 I'd lay down my life for you. 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:49.659 I'll go to battle with the Roman authorities for you, Jesus. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:50.839 Don't you worry about that. 00:06:51.419 --> 00:06:52.339 You can trust me. 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:55.739 He's still missing the point of the foot washing. 00:06:57.099 --> 00:07:02.459 He doesn't understand where Jesus is going or why he is going or why he needs to go. 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:05.519 Peter can't atone for sins. 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:14.000 Peter can't bring the cleansing that was demonstrated to the disciples so vividly moments earlier when Jesus washed their feet. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:17.939 Jesus must go ahead. 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:20.319 And he must go alone. 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.160 Jesus promises his disciples future glory. 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:27.720 A new home for eternity in the presence of God. 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:33.300 He is promising us a transformed future where everything sad will come untrue. 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.500 But we have to wait. 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:37.920 We have to wait. 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:40.660 And we can't bring it in on our terms. 00:07:40.780 --> 00:07:42.160 That's what Peter was trying to do. 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:46.660 We must beware the impatience and the self-reliance of Peter. 00:07:47.520 --> 00:07:49.160 He doesn't know what he's saying. 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:52.540 Augustine said this, 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:58.000 The weak man boasted of his willingness, but the physician has an eye on the state of his health. 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:00.420 The ignorant was bold. 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:04.380 He that foreknew all condescended to teach. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:08.760 None of us can bring about our own salvation. 00:08:08.940 --> 00:08:09.280 Not Peter. 00:08:09.400 --> 00:08:10.220 Not any of us. 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:15.780 And none of us are strong enough to endure temptation every step of the way, all the way to glory. 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:20.079 Jesus tells Peter what we must do. 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:22.639 Not, I'll go with you. 00:08:23.059 --> 00:08:24.539 Not, leave it to me. 00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:26.839 Not, let's get this job done quickly. 00:08:28.479 --> 00:08:29.859 None of us can do that. 00:08:29.939 --> 00:08:30.919 What does Jesus say? 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:32.480 Verse 1, chapter 14. 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:34.039 Don't be anxious while you wait. 00:08:34.699 --> 00:08:35.419 Believe in God. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:40.199 Trust the God who has made himself known in Jesus Christ. 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:43.360 What's in it for you? 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:46.340 What's in Christianity for you? 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.120 A glorious future. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:52.419 Future glory. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:58.639 And the effect of knowing what lies ahead works its way back into the present. 00:08:59.300 --> 00:09:02.220 In that it floods your life with hope. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:08.440 If this life is all there is, we have no grounds for hope in anything. 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:20.440 If there's no hell below us, if above us is only sky, if there's no one to answer to, and the world is random, we have no grounds to believe that anything we do ultimately matters. 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:23.540 We just have here and now. 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.040 We just have make the best of it while we can. 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.220 We just have grit your teeth and grin and bear it. 00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:33.080 We don't have any hope. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.360 If our life is good, it'll all come to an end and there'll be nothing. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.879 If life is bad, well tough. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:43.040 But Jesus says something else. 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:45.080 He says there is a Father. 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.560 There is a God to whom we will all one day give an account. 00:09:49.560 --> 00:09:50.700 And he has a house. 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:53.800 He doesn't have a house, but that's the imagery. 00:09:53.799 --> 00:10:00.599 He has a place where we will go and rest in glory. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.979 That reality that lies in the future reframes everything for us now. 00:10:06.839 --> 00:10:08.639 Completely reorders our priorities. 00:10:09.719 --> 00:10:12.939 It means that the best experience we have now is only the start. 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:17.699 And it means that the worst experience we have now is always on the timer. 00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:23.980 However, it will one day give way to peace and joy in the presence of the living God. 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:29.540 He promises future glory. 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:31.640 Well, Thomas asked the next question, verse 5. 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:32.160 Can you see? 00:10:33.520 --> 00:10:37.740 Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. 00:10:38.300 --> 00:10:39.680 How can we know the way? 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.360 You say, you know where we're going, but we don't. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:45.759 How can we know the way? 00:10:46.020 --> 00:10:47.400 Here's the second promise. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:49.280 He promises us Christ. 00:10:50.680 --> 00:10:52.100 He promises us Christ. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:52.660 Verse 6. 00:10:52.780 --> 00:10:54.100 Jesus promises himself. 00:10:54.660 --> 00:10:57.759 I am the way and the truth and the life. 00:10:58.140 --> 00:11:00.820 No one comes to the Father except through me. 00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:03.160 Jesus is the way. 00:11:04.020 --> 00:11:08.840 By dying on the cross, by fulfilling his hour, by being glorified, 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:12.500 he is the way through which sinful humanity can have their sins forgiven 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:15.240 and are granted access to God. 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:17.899 How do we get to the Father's house? 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:19.799 How do we get to our future rest? 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:21.220 How do we get to glory? 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:22.899 Christ is the way. 00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:24.899 There isn't another way. 00:11:25.700 --> 00:11:30.019 If you're trying another way, stop it and get back onto this track. 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:31.019 This is the only track. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:32.240 Jesus is the way. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:34.340 Jesus is the truth. 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:37.679 His words are the Father's words. 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:39.860 His actions are the Father's actions. 00:11:40.079 --> 00:11:45.559 He's made that point already in John's Gospel, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 7, 16, and 8, 29. 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.759 But have a look further down, verse 10. 00:11:48.119 --> 00:11:50.059 We'll come to this again in a moment, but have a look. 00:11:50.479 --> 00:11:53.179 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 00:11:53.339 --> 00:11:56.639 The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, 00:11:56.959 --> 00:11:59.679 but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 00:12:02.959 --> 00:12:06.000 Here is the answer to the question about truth, actually. 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:09.000 Jesus is not only real. 00:12:09.739 --> 00:12:11.479 He didn't only exist. 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.580 Almost all sane people know that the history about Jesus is sound, 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:18.759 but he is the definition of truth itself. 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:22.639 There is no truth apart from Jesus, 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.940 because he is the exact representation of the Father. 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:28.920 You could say that he defines reality itself. 00:12:29.680 --> 00:12:32.960 If you're asking the, is Christianity true question, 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:34.580 here's where you need to go. 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:35.600 Look at Jesus. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:37.300 Listen to Jesus' words. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:39.000 Look at how he acts. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.960 And what you see there, what you hear there, is the embodiment. 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:44.000 It is truth enfleshed. 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:48.580 And you will see that in his ministry, 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:50.779 he reveals the truth about God's rescue. 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:53.440 He tells us how it is. 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:56.519 He reveals how it is that we can be put right with God. 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:58.460 He knows the way to the cross, 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:00.980 and he knows the way out of the empty tomb, 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.779 out of the tomb in order that it would become empty. 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:05.559 And he knows the way into the Father's presence, 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:09.519 where he prepares a place for all and any who believe. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:14.539 And Jesus is the life. 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:16.959 Again, it's another thread. 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:19.179 John's gospel has thread upon thread, 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:21.399 that just keep being pulled along the way. 00:13:22.199 --> 00:13:23.159 John has followed this one. 00:13:23.319 --> 00:13:26.199 In him was life, right back in chapter 1, verse 4. 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:30.820 He has life in himself, chapter 5, verse 26. 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:33.200 He is the resurrection and the life. 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:36.800 You remember he said that at Lazarus' tomb in 1125. 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:40.720 And this is the life that he lays down for his sheep 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:41.920 in his glorification, 00:13:42.180 --> 00:13:44.600 only to take it up again in the resurrection. 00:13:45.800 --> 00:13:50.480 All of this means that eternal life has its source in him. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:56.080 There is nothing of value anywhere in the world, 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:59.879 nothing that does not come from or find its significance in Christ. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.000 Apart from Jesus, there is no way to God, 00:14:04.300 --> 00:14:06.460 there is no truth, and there's no life. 00:14:07.180 --> 00:14:08.539 Apart from Jesus, there's nothing. 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:12.080 We can create our own truth, 00:14:12.300 --> 00:14:14.779 we can describe what we have now as life, 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:17.399 but we're just pretending because we don't have the authority 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:18.480 to define these things. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:21.080 There's no such thing as my personal truth. 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:23.639 Truth is objective or it's not truth. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.200 But when you put your faith in the Lord Jesus, 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:29.480 you have the way to God. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:31.620 You have the truth about reality. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.159 And the life that is truly life is yours. 00:14:35.420 --> 00:14:38.639 And you have these things because you have Christ. 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.399 You have these things because you have Christ 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:44.940 who embodies these things. 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:47.899 What's in it for you? 00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:48.679 You get Christ. 00:14:50.819 --> 00:14:52.199 Well, that's not enough for Philip. 00:14:52.319 --> 00:14:54.459 He wants to see the Father. 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:55.480 Just show us God. 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:56.799 That'll be enough, Philip says. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:58.159 Look, it's simple. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.259 If God appeared and showed himself to me, 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:01.019 then I'd believe. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:02.279 We hear that a lot, don't we? 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:05.279 If your God turned up and revealed himself to me, 00:15:05.319 --> 00:15:06.459 well, then I would believe. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:08.720 Well, this is Jesus' third promise. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:11.040 He promises the Father. 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:12.060 Verse 9. 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:15.040 Promises the Father. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:17.459 Oh, Philip. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:18.779 Philip, Philip, Philip. 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:19.959 Jesus said to him, 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:21.759 Have I been with you so long 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:23.539 and you still do not know me, Philip? 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:26.899 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 00:15:28.319 --> 00:15:29.000 How can you say, 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:29.919 Show us the Father? 00:15:30.299 --> 00:15:32.199 Do you not believe that I am in the Father 00:15:32.199 --> 00:15:33.240 and the Father is in me? 00:15:33.319 --> 00:15:34.480 The words that I say to you, 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.439 I do not speak on my own authority, 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:38.780 but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:44.960 Was Philip asking for a vision of divine glory 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.940 like the one that Moses had in Exodus 33? 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.360 Oh, show us your glory. 00:15:50.560 --> 00:15:51.400 Show me your glory. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:52.680 Maybe. 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:55.980 But it's clear that he's misguided. 00:15:57.460 --> 00:15:59.960 He has been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry 00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:01.820 and the way that Jesus responds to him 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:04.140 presupposes that he should have recognized him. 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:06.720 He should have understood him for who he was. 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:09.699 He should have known that he is the one 00:16:09.699 --> 00:16:11.220 who makes the Father known. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.319 And Jesus goes on to explain exactly why that is the case. 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:16.159 He says he is in the Father 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.360 and the Father is in him. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:25.100 If you were at Andrew's adult Sunday school class this morning, 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:26.039 you'll be all over this. 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:28.500 But as much as there is a distinction 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:30.460 between the persons of the Father and the Son, 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.679 there is a clear and essential overlap 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:34.419 and unity. 00:16:35.699 --> 00:16:38.319 It's what theologians call mutual indwelling. 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:41.419 Now that is true of the Trinitarian persons 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.779 in the divine essence, 00:16:42.979 --> 00:16:44.239 in God and himself. 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:47.739 But it's also true in the way that the incarnate Son 00:16:47.739 --> 00:16:50.379 reveals the words and the works, 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:51.019 verse 10, 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:52.139 of the Father. 00:16:53.219 --> 00:16:54.799 Everything Jesus is, 00:16:55.339 --> 00:16:57.019 everything he has said and done, 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:57.759 is an expression, 00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:59.620 not only of the Father, 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:01.000 but by the Father. 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:05.599 We can and we must differentiate 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:07.200 the persons of Father and Son, 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:09.720 but we cannot and we must not 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:10.879 separate their operations. 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:13.660 Whoever has seen the Lord Jesus 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:14.819 has seen the Father. 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:17.279 The Lord Jesus' works are the Father's works, 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:19.519 and his words are the Father's words. 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:21.059 And what that means is, 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:22.759 when you get Christ, 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:23.980 you get the Father. 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:26.779 You get drawn into a relationship 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:28.579 with the God who made heaven and earth, 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:31.079 and you become the recipient 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:32.339 and the beneficiary 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:35.420 of this astonishing fatherly care. 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:40.640 The truth is, 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:41.200 by nature, 00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:42.980 because of our rebellion 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:44.000 and sin, 00:17:44.100 --> 00:17:45.880 we are under the anger of God. 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:51.920 His anger is entirely just and right 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:53.360 for our rebellion against him 00:17:53.360 --> 00:17:54.460 in the world that he has made. 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:56.019 And yet, 00:17:56.060 --> 00:17:57.039 when we come to Christ, 00:17:58.259 --> 00:17:59.960 that anger is turned away 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.360 because it fell on Jesus at the cross 00:18:02.360 --> 00:18:03.340 at his glorification. 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:08.180 And when it fell on him, 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:09.519 it meant that the floodgates 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.980 of God's mercy 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:13.100 were flung wide open, 00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:16.019 and the love of a perfect Father 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:18.560 flows down like waves 00:18:18.560 --> 00:18:20.480 in our direction. 00:18:24.660 --> 00:18:28.080 He promises his disciples future rest. 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:31.160 He promises his disciples himself Christ. 00:18:31.800 --> 00:18:33.580 He promises them in getting Christ, 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:34.360 they get the Father. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:38.420 But he doesn't just promise those things. 00:18:39.080 --> 00:18:41.880 We're actually even more privileged than that. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:44.100 Fourthly, 00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:45.440 we also get the Spirit. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:48.200 He promises the Spirit. 00:18:49.560 --> 00:18:50.340 Verse 15, 00:18:50.339 --> 00:18:51.220 If you love me, 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:52.220 you'll keep my commandments, 00:18:52.459 --> 00:18:53.599 and I will ask the Father, 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.059 and he will give you another helper 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:56.699 to be with you forever, 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:57.859 even the Spirit of truth, 00:18:58.379 --> 00:18:59.619 whom the world cannot receive 00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:01.299 because it neither sees him nor knows him. 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:02.459 You know him, 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:04.079 for he dwells with you and will be in you. 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:06.319 I will not leave you as orphans. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:08.480 I will come to you. 00:19:09.899 --> 00:19:10.639 The Spirit, 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:11.759 the helper, 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:13.899 he is the gift of the Father. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:14.699 Verse 16, 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:18.500 He is only given to those who are in Christ, 00:19:18.580 --> 00:19:20.660 and he dwells with and in his followers. 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:21.400 Verse 17, 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:25.259 And the Spirit 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:27.600 isn't just the gift of the Father, 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:28.680 but look at verse 18. 00:19:28.780 --> 00:19:30.080 Do you see how Jesus says, 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:32.240 I will come to you. 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:35.660 In the coming of the Spirit, 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.680 Christ comes to the believer. 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:43.440 The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.700 He is Christ in you. 00:19:47.860 --> 00:19:50.560 The Christ who is physically present with the disciples 00:19:50.560 --> 00:19:53.980 can only be present in one place at one time. 00:19:54.060 --> 00:19:55.700 That's what having a physical body means. 00:19:56.060 --> 00:19:57.519 You can't be in two places at once 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:59.060 if you have a body, a physical body. 00:20:00.320 --> 00:20:02.120 But when the Spirit is poured out, 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:04.660 and that will happen after the events of his hour, 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:06.920 he will come at Pentecost later. 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:09.960 Christ, by his Spirit, 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:10.940 can be present, 00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:11.860 verse 17, 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:13.980 with them and in them, 00:20:14.320 --> 00:20:15.400 wherever they are. 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:19.380 This is the blessing 00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:22.000 that comes solely to those who follow Jesus, 00:20:22.120 --> 00:20:23.440 who love him and keep his commandments, 00:20:23.600 --> 00:20:24.140 verse 21. 00:20:25.360 --> 00:20:26.019 And Judas, 00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:28.340 verse 22, 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:30.460 not the betrayer. 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:32.840 Can you imagine this poor bloke 00:20:32.840 --> 00:20:33.779 the rest of his life? 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:34.539 What's your name? 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:35.019 Judas, 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:35.900 not that one. 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:40.039 He wants to know how this works, 00:20:40.120 --> 00:20:40.740 verse 22. 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:42.840 So he asks, 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.700 how will Christ be made known to his followers 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:45.799 and not to other people? 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:46.420 And the answer, 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:47.180 verse 23, 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.900 is by the presence of the Spirit. 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:51.620 If anyone loves me, 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:52.640 he will keep my word, 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:54.700 and my Father will love him, 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.060 and we will come to him 00:20:57.060 --> 00:20:59.220 and make our home with him. 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:01.920 Whoever does not love me 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:03.019 does not keep my words, 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:03.920 and the word that you hear 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:04.440 is not mine, 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:06.339 but the Father's who sent me. 00:21:06.819 --> 00:21:07.119 Again, 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:07.900 Father and Son, 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:08.740 mutual indwelling. 00:21:09.639 --> 00:21:11.480 These things I have spoken to you 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:12.639 while I am still with you. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:13.440 But the Helper, 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:15.039 the Holy Spirit, 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:17.740 whom the Father will send in my name, 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:19.559 he will teach you all things 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:20.660 and bring you to remembrance. 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:22.059 Bring to your remembrance 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:24.059 all that I have said to you. 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:28.759 Anyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.819 receives the Spirit, 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:31.559 and he, 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.119 and it's personal, 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:34.480 he, 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:35.759 not an impersonal force, 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:37.240 he is the third person of the Trinity. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:39.599 He will open your eyes and your heart 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:40.359 to see Christ 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:41.460 and understand his word. 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:44.019 That is the reason why 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:45.619 people change their minds about God. 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:49.140 That is why lives are turned on their heads. 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:51.359 That is why once hardened enemies of the Lord 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:53.079 are brought to repent and believe in Christ. 00:21:54.140 --> 00:21:56.700 If Russell Brand has been genuinely converted, 00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:59.960 if Joe Rogan genuinely does see his need for Jesus, 00:22:00.340 --> 00:22:01.500 this is why 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:04.480 the Holy Spirit has transformed them on the inside. 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:09.120 But what Jesus is saying here 00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:10.220 is about the Spirit's work 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:11.740 and these anxious believers. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.259 He is making promises to them as believers. 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:16.480 He's saying, 00:22:16.600 --> 00:22:17.299 I'm leaving you. 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:19.000 I'm going to go and be glorified. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:20.920 I'm going to rise from the dead 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.559 and I'm going to return to the Father 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:25.220 in order to prepare a place for you. 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:26.860 And then I'm going to come back for you. 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:27.980 But I'm leaving. 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.120 But you have no need to fear 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:33.120 because the Spirit 00:22:33.120 --> 00:22:35.480 will be present with you. 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:37.019 And look, 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:38.860 look what the Spirit will do. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:39.640 The Spirit's coming, 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:40.200 verse 12, 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:41.559 will mean greater works. 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:44.759 The powerful work of the Father 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:46.039 through the Exalted Son 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:47.980 will now be carried out in the world 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:48.799 by the disciples 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.660 in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:54.540 The gospel will now go farther and wider 00:22:54.540 --> 00:22:56.279 than Jesus was ever able to take it 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:57.300 in His earthly ministry. 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:00.640 The gospel will go to the ends of the earth 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:02.240 in the power of the Holy Spirit 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.080 in a way that wasn't possible 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:07.080 when Jesus was on earth. 00:23:09.340 --> 00:23:10.320 Greater Communion, 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:11.660 verses 13 and 14. 00:23:12.019 --> 00:23:13.360 In the same breath as talking about 00:23:13.360 --> 00:23:14.180 the works of God, 00:23:14.300 --> 00:23:15.320 Jesus includes a prayer. 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:16.980 Ask anything in my name 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:17.620 and I will do it. 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:18.779 It's not a blank check 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:19.819 for whatever we want. 00:23:19.919 --> 00:23:21.319 Those that rip that verse 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:22.739 bleeding out of its context 00:23:22.739 --> 00:23:25.059 are doing an injustice. 00:23:25.219 --> 00:23:26.139 It's not a blank check 00:23:26.139 --> 00:23:26.919 for what we want. 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:28.000 It is a recognition 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:29.579 that when we are captured 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:30.579 by the Holy Spirit, 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:32.500 we want to do God's work 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.859 in dependence on Him, 00:23:35.139 --> 00:23:36.519 in communion with Him. 00:23:36.719 --> 00:23:37.619 And the Spirit enables 00:23:38.139 --> 00:23:39.259 that deeper communion. 00:23:40.639 --> 00:23:42.579 He enables that closeness with God 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:44.519 and that empowering by God 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:45.799 to do His work in the world. 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.079 Greater works, 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:48.740 greater communion. 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:50.259 And then look at verse 27. 00:23:52.139 --> 00:23:53.960 Peace I leave with you. 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:57.119 My peace I give to you. 00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:59.279 Not as the world gives 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:00.139 do I give to you. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:02.839 Let not your hearts be troubled, 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:05.099 neither let them be afraid. 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:07.220 The Spirit gives us a greater peace. 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:10.960 The Spirit of God 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:12.059 brings the believer 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:13.559 the peace of Christ. 00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:17.779 Restless souls find rest 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:20.259 in Him and Him alone. 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:24.220 A restless heart only finds rest 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:24.759 in Christ. 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:25.839 How is that possible 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:28.000 in the power of the Holy Spirit? 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:33.119 So what's in Christianity 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:33.900 for you? 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:36.019 Taken together? 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:37.859 You get God. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.720 You get God. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:43.920 When you come to Jesus, 00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:44.900 you get drawn 00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:46.359 into 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.559 the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:50.859 You get reality. 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:52.359 You get truth 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:53.019 and beauty 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:53.660 and goodness. 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:54.579 You get security 00:24:54.579 --> 00:24:55.420 for the future 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:56.220 and a certain hope. 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:58.100 You get a new transformed life 00:24:58.100 --> 00:24:58.700 and the power 00:24:58.700 --> 00:24:59.640 to enable you 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:00.700 to live to please God. 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:01.519 But all of these things 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:02.279 are consequences. 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:04.579 At the most fundamental level, 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.100 when you come to Christ, 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:06.920 you get God. 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:08.779 And when you get God, 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:09.839 you get everything. 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:12.980 So, yes, Joe Rogan, 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:14.759 we do need Jesus 00:25:14.759 --> 00:25:15.559 for real. 00:25:16.259 --> 00:25:16.740 But, 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:18.600 it's not just the celebrities 00:25:18.600 --> 00:25:19.839 who need to grasp this. 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:21.620 It's not just unbelievers 00:25:21.620 --> 00:25:22.900 who need to grasp this. 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:23.700 If you're a Christian, 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:24.940 this is what you possess. 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:26.559 You have God. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:32.259 Why would we want 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:33.539 anything else? 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:36.640 Let's pray. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:36.640