Amen.
Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to John chapter 14.
John chapter 14. We did the first half last week and we'll close it out this week.
Our passage will be John 14 verses 15 through 31.
I do ask that you have a Bible open. This will help you to follow along.
If you don't have your own Bible, if you didn't bring a Bible with you,
we have Bibles in the seat backs there in front of you.
If you don't have a Bible at all that you can call your own, you can take that one home with you.
It's our gift to you.
So we want you to have a copy of God's Word.
We don't think that there's any better way for you to grow in your knowledge and love for the Lord
than to have a Bible open and to hear from His Word.
So John chapter 14 verses 15 through 31.
When you've found that, I ask that you please stand in honor of the Word of God as I read.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father and He will give you another helper to be with you forever.
Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.
You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans.
I will come to you.
Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live.
In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.
And he who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Judas, not Iscariot, said to him,
Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?
Jesus answered him,
If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.
And my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you,
I am going away and I will come to you.
If you loved me, you would have rejoiced,
because I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you,
before it takes place,
so that when it does take place,
you may believe.
I will no longer talk much with you,
for the ruler of this world is coming.
He has no claim on me,
but I do as the Father has commanded me,
so that the world may know that I love the Father.
Father, arise, let us go from here.
This is God's holy word.
You would be seated, and let's pray once more.
Lord, we thank you for this word that we've just heard,
and we believe the promise that you've given us,
that it does not ever return to you empty,
but as often as it goes out,
it always accomplishes the purposes for which you send it.
So we pray now, Lord,
that your word would come with power,
and conviction in the Spirit.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, we are focusing on four gifts this Christmas season.
Last week, we saw the peculiar gift of Jesus' departure.
As we anticipate his coming this Christmas season,
during the Advent season,
we talk a lot about the coming of Christ.
Well, last week, we saw that we should be just as excited
about his departure.
His leaving is no disadvantage to us.
Why?
Because his leaving secures our coming to be with him.
His leaving, it strengthens our believing in him.
His leaving supercharges our working in him.
That was last week, gift number one.
Here, this morning, in John 14, 15 through 31,
Jesus tells us that with his departure comes another incredible gift.
It's the gift of the Holy Spirit.
When I was growing up, one of my family members,
and I have to be careful because you never know who is listening online to these sermons,
every year without fail,
one of my family members would gift myself and my siblings coins for Christmas.
Now, some of you may collect coins.
You may give coins out as a gift, and so I want to be clear.
Coins are great.
They can be an excellent gift.
But for me as a kid,
I had no earthly idea what in the world I was supposed to do with a bunch of coins.
And I knew that my parents had told me very clearly I was not to open the coins.
I was not to play with the coins.
I was not to touch the coins.
And so in my mind, what good are the coins anyways?
It was a wonderful, generous, valuable gift that I simply did not understand.
Well, in a similar way, believer,
all of us have been given a wonderful, generous, valuable gift in the Holy Spirit.
But I'm afraid that if we're honest,
many of us would say,
well, we don't know exactly what to do with this gift of the Holy Spirit.
Well, here in John chapter 14,
Jesus, he teaches us four aspects of this gift.
This will be our outline this morning if you're taking notes.
Four aspects of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Hopefully this will help us understand this gift that we've been given.
First, we see that the Holy Spirit is a powerful gift.
The Holy Spirit is a powerful gift.
You know, I think it's necessary here just to remind us briefly of what we saw last week
in the first half of this chapter.
If you were here last week,
and if you were paying attention to everything that we said,
all of these benefits of Jesus' departure,
I hope that you were on the edge of your seat
waiting for me to say,
all of this is only possible through the Holy Spirit.
I didn't say it last week.
I had some self-control.
I held it for us for this week.
But we need to realize that all of the benefits of Christ leaving
come to us by way of the Holy Spirit.
Our security,
our assurance that we will go to the place prepared for us in the Father's house,
that is a work of the Holy Spirit.
Our faith,
the gift of faith,
our believing,
that is a work of God through the Holy Spirit.
And our working,
it is the Holy Spirit that empowers the work of the church.
As we live in between the two comings of Christ,
we live and we walk and we work in the power of the Holy Spirit.
You remember last week from chapter 14, verse 12,
Jesus makes this incredible promise to us,
the astounding truth that we,
the people of God,
now do greater works than Christ
because of His departure.
Greater in scope,
greater in clarity,
greater in power to save.
Do you remember that from last week?
How is that even possible?
It's only possible through the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers the work of the church.
You know,
if you're still on track with our reading plan for the month of December,
I won't ask you to raise your hands.
We gave out a reading plan to take us through the month of December.
If you're on track today,
you will read Acts chapter 1 through 8.
And in that,
you'll read Acts 1, verse 8,
which says this promise from Jesus.
You will receive what?
Power.
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in Judea,
and in Samaria,
to the ends of the earth.
Church, we should realize that that is our mission.
We're promised God's power
for God's work,
for God's glory.
You know, last Sunday evening,
we had what I think was probably
the most encouraging members meeting
I've ever been a part of.
If you were there,
it was just a sweet time.
Everybody got to share.
Just recapping the year,
what the Lord has done
in and through us
in the year 2023.
Just about everybody in the room
went around and shared something
of what God has done.
It was so deeply encouraging,
but one part left me a little frustrated.
I asked you,
Church,
what is our mission?
We've had a whole year
to get this down.
What is our mission?
And we fumbled,
and we bumbled our way through it.
We got there in the end,
but I wanted to make sure
we are crystal clear
what our mission is,
Church.
Our mission
is to magnify
the glory of God
in the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
That's our mission.
to magnify
the glory of God
in the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
That's our mission
because we are convinced
that that is God's mission.
And the way that we plan
to go about
that grand mission
is with God's power
through God's appointed means.
And so we're not reinventing
the wheel here.
We want to enjoy God
as we gather
and worship Him,
as we worship Him,
as we scatter,
as we worship His families.
We want to enjoy Him.
We want to equip
the saints,
one another,
through discipleship,
through encouragement,
as we build one another
up in love.
And we want to evangelize
the lost
as we take the gospel
from this gathering place
and scatter it out
throughout this community.
And Lord,
what we want to see,
Church,
what we want to see
the Lord do
as we go about this mission,
we want to see lives
transformed by the gospel.
We want to see sin
put to death
in one another's life.
We want to see faith
strengthened in one another.
We want to see God's glory
magnified in us
and in our community.
But Church,
let me be clear.
None of this is possible
apart from the power
of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit
is God's power
for God's work,
for God's glory.
God's glory.
Everyone
should want this gift.
Amen?
But as we see,
second,
in our passage
this morning,
starting in verse 15,
as we see,
the Holy Spirit
is a particular gift.
The Holy Spirit
is a particular gift.
Meaning,
not everyone
receives the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
not everyone
in the world
has this gift.
It's very possible
that you're here
this morning
listening to this sermon,
listening to this text,
and you do not
have this gift.
So the question
we have to ask is,
well,
how do we know?
How do we know
who it is
that has the Spirit
and who it is
who doesn't?
Well,
look there with me
to verse 15.
Jesus,
He helps us out.
He says,
if you love me,
you will keep
my commandments
and I will ask
the Father
and He will give you
another helper
to be with you forever,
even the Spirit
of truth.
Listen to this.
Whom the world
cannot receive
because it neither
sees Him
nor knows Him.
You know Him
for He dwells with you
and will be in you.
See,
Jesus here,
He makes a distinction
between
His people
who all of them
will have the Spirit
and the rest of the world
who none of them
will have the Spirit.
Very clear distinction here.
Jesus says that
all of His people
know Him,
see Him,
love Him,
obey Him.
Do you see that there
in the text?
All of God's people
know Him,
see Him,
love Him,
and obey Him.
Those are all
spiritual functions.
That's what sets
God's people apart
from the rest of the world.
The rest of the world
does not know God.
The world in general
does not see God.
The world certainly
does not love God.
The world certainly
does not obey God.
So Jesus says
the world cannot receive Him
because it neither
sees Him
nor knows Him.
This is a distinction
that Jesus makes
between those
who are spiritual
and those
who are natural.
Paul tells us
in 1 Corinthians 2,
verse 14,
he says,
the natural person
does not accept
the things
of the Spirit of God
for they are
folly to Him.
He is not able
to understand them
because they are
spiritually discerned.
It's a bit
paradoxical,
isn't it?
He says
the natural person
cannot accept
the things of the Spirit,
only the spiritual person
can accept
the things of the Spirit.
But how is somebody
made a spiritual person?
It's by the work
of the Spirit.
Apart from the work
of the Holy Spirit,
no one can accept
the things of the Spirit.
But when the Father
sends the Spirit
in power to save,
you know what happens?
The Spirit changes you
from being a natural person
who is naturally blind,
naturally ignorant
to the glory of Christ,
naturally rebellious,
naturally hard-hearted
towards God,
changes you
from a natural person
into something
categorically different.
A new creation.
A spiritual person
who now sees
and knows the Lord.
The Spirit belongs
to those who see
and know the Lord Jesus Christ.
But it goes deeper
than that,
doesn't it?
The Spirit belongs
to those who love
and obey
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said
in verse 23,
If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word,
and my Father
will love him,
and we will come to him
and make our home
with him.
Whoever does not love me
does not keep my words.
Now we have to be careful
here, don't we?
Because at first glance,
this looks a little bit
like God's love for us
is a response
to our love for him.
Right?
Is that how it reads to you?
He says,
If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word,
and my Father
will love him.
But we know better,
I hope by now,
that we know better.
This isn't an order
of operations.
These are
inseparable truths.
If you love the Lord,
that genuine love
will necessarily
be worked out
in a life of obedience.
Not perfection,
of course not.
Not perfect obedience,
but genuine love
will result,
will bear the fruit
of obedience.
And we can be sure
that any who love the Lord
and serve him
and obey him
truly are loved by God
because if we're going
to talk about
order of operations here,
we love
because he first
loved us.
We were dead
in our trespasses
and sins,
Ephesians 2 tells us.
But God
made us alive
together with Christ.
God demonstrates
his love for us
in this,
that while we were
still sinners,
God,
Christ died for us,
Romans chapter 5.
And Jesus is telling us
that one of the
defining marks
of those who have
the Spirit
of the Lord
in them
is love.
The natural person,
he does not
love the Lord.
He's rebellious,
hard-hearted
towards the things
of God.
One of the primary
works of the Holy Spirit
is to take a heart
that is cold
towards God
and replace it
with a new heart
that now
loves God.
God.
That's the difference
between those
who have this gift
and those
who do not.
Friend,
if you want to know
what category
you're in,
if you want to know
whether or not
you have the Spirit
or whether you
belong to the world,
ask yourself,
honestly,
do I love
the Lord?
Do you
love
God?
Do you
love
the Lord
Jesus Christ?
Do you
love
His Word?
Do you
desire
communion
and fellowship
with Him?
Do you
love the things
that He loves?
Is your life
marked by the things
that He is marked by?
Are you
obeying
His Word?
If so,
praise God,
that's a miracle
of God's Spirit
in you.
This is what we read
this morning
from Ezekiel 36.
I will give you
a new heart
and a new spirit
I will put
within you
and I will remove
the heart of stone
from your flesh
and give you
a heart of flesh
and I will put
my spirit
within you
and I will cause
you to walk
in my statutes
and be careful
to obey
my rules.
If anyone loves
me,
Jesus said,
he will keep
my word.
Church,
you ask the
holiest person
that you know.
Get them in your mind.
God,
ask the holiest
person that you know.
Why do you
read your Bible
so regularly,
so faithfully?
Why do you pray?
Why do you live
the way that you do?
An honest,
good answer
shouldn't be
just compliance.
He said so,
although that's
a valid answer.
The answer ought to be
because I love Him.
Because I love Him.
Because I've seen
His love for me
on the cross.
Because I've seen
His power
in the resurrection.
Because the Spirit
has given me eyes
to see and a heart
to love Him.
That's why I live
the way I do.
The Spirit is a
powerful gift.
He is a
particular gift.
And third,
we see the Holy Spirit.
Church,
He is a personal
gift.
A personal
gift.
Look at the promise
Jesus makes
to His people.
He promises here
in verses 15 and 16.
He says,
If you love me,
you will keep
my commandments
and I will ask
the Father
and He will give you
another helper
to be with you forever.
Even the Spirit
of truth.
That's an incredible
promise.
But He goes
a step further
than that.
He says,
this Spirit
will not only
be with you
walking alongside you,
He won't only
be with you,
He will be
within you.
He says,
I will not leave
you as orphans.
I will come to you
in that day,
verse 20.
In that day,
you will know
that I am in my Father
and you in me
and I in you.
Now Judas,
John is careful
to say,
not Iscariot.
Judas,
he asked a good question
here in verse 22.
Do you see that?
He said,
Lord,
how is it
that you will
manifest yourself
to us,
your disciples,
and not to the rest
of the world?
Do you still hear
that distinction
that's being made?
How is it
that we will see you,
know you,
love you,
obey you,
and the rest of the world
will not?
He says in verse 23,
if anyone loves me,
verse 23,
he will keep my word
and my Father
will love him
and we will come
to him
and make our home
with him.
This is a promise
of the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit
of God,
not just with you,
alongside you,
church,
but within you.
I hope you realize
that this is the greater
fulfillment of everything
we celebrate
at Christmas time.
We celebrate
at Christmas time
the birth
of Emmanuel,
which means,
what?
God with us.
Galatians tells us
when the fullness
of time had come,
God sent forth
his Son,
born of a woman,
born under the law
to redeem those
who are under the law
so that we might
receive adoption
as sons.
And because you
are sons,
God has sent
the Spirit
of his Son
into your hearts,
crying,
Abba,
Father.
So you are no longer
a slave,
but a son,
and if a son,
then an heir
through God.
What we celebrate
at Christmas
is that God
sent Jesus down
to be born
as a man
so that we
might rise
and be born
of God.
And if we are
born of God,
we can be certain
that we are sons
and heirs
through God.
What a hope
that is.
The Spirit
himself bears
witness with our
spirit that we are
sons of God,
children of God.
And if children,
then heirs,
heirs of God
and fellow heirs
with Christ,
provided we suffer
with him,
that we may also
be glorified
with him.
You see,
the whole story
of the Bible,
from beginning
to end,
from Genesis
to Revelation,
the entire story
of the Bible,
66 individual books,
is one overarching
story of God
making a way
to be with
his people.
You know,
the book of Genesis
as it begins,
this is what was lost
in the Garden of Eden.
God made Adam
and Eve
a perfect creation,
God with his people,
perfect relationship,
perfect community,
perfect intimacy
with God,
their creator,
and sin entered
into the creation
and caused division.
That's what it continues
to do today.
Our sin is what
separates us
from God.
We cannot dwell
with a holy God
if we are still
guilty in our sin.
That sin issue
must be dealt with.
And so all through
the pages of the Old Testament,
God is putting
systems in place.
He's reaching down
to us
to be with his people.
He's putting systems
of sacrifice
in place
to atone for sin.
He's putting
the tabernacle
in place
so he can dwell
amongst his people.
He puts the temple
in place
so he has a more
permanent dwelling
to be with his people.
But none of it
is lasting.
The sin issue
still remains.
So in the fullness
of time
I'd come.
Jesus Christ
came.
This is what we celebrate
at Christmas
that Christ
came to put
an end
to our sin
once and for all.
So that all
who know him
by faith,
all who love him,
all who see him,
all who obey him
receive the Holy Spirit
and are made new
or adopted
into the family
of God.
As children,
our sin is atoned for.
It is finished
on the cross.
1 Peter 3.18
says,
Christ also suffered
once for sins,
the righteous
for the unrighteous,
that he might bring
us to God.
So now,
church,
if you have received
the finished work
of Christ
through faith
in what he has done,
we have the certain
hope ahead of us.
At the end of the book
in Revelation,
chapter 21,
which says,
I heard a loud
voice from the throne
saying,
Behold,
the dwelling place
of God
is with man.
He will dwell
with them
and they will be
his people
and God himself
will be with them
as their God.
That's the great hope
that every page
of this book
is leaning towards
that God
would be
with us.
No sin,
no suffering,
no guilt,
no pain,
no loss,
no death,
no grief.
He will wipe away
every tear
from our eyes
at his return.
But church,
the good news
that we celebrate today,
we don't have to wait
till then
to be with the Lord.
Through his spirit,
he has come
to be
within us.
What should that truth
do for us,
church?
If we truly understood
the glorious gift
that Jesus tells us
that his spirit
now lives
within us,
he says,
at least one effect
of that truth,
at least one effect
of that gift,
and this is my prayer
for us this Christmas,
is that we would have
peace.
Fourth,
the Holy Spirit
is a peaceful gift.
Look there,
beginning in verse 25,
he says,
these things
I have spoken to you
while I am still with you,
but the helper,
the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father
will send in my name,
he will teach you
all things
and bring to your remembrance
all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you.
My peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give to you.
Let not your hearts
be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you,
I am going away
and I will come to you.
If you loved me,
you would have rejoiced
because I am going
to the Father,
for the Father
is greater than I.
And now I have told you
before it takes place,
so that when it does
take place,
you may believe.
I will no longer
talk much with you
for the ruler
of this world is coming.
He has no claim on me,
but I do as my Father
has commanded me,
so that the world
may know
that I love the Father.
Rise,
let us go from here.
Church,
the Holy Spirit
is a gift
of peace
to any
who receive Him.
And don't you long
for peace?
Everybody
longs
for peace.
peace.
What Jesus tells us here,
what kind of peace
this is that He gives
to His people,
it's peace that is
rooted in the truth.
See what He says,
the Helper,
the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father
will send in My name,
what will He do?
He will teach you
all things,
and He will bring
to our remembrance
all that I have said
to you.
Do you ever wonder
how this bumbling
group of disciples
who can't seem
to get their head
on straight
all through the Gospels,
all of a sudden
in the book of Acts
and throughout the rest
of the New Testament,
they are filled
with boldness
to proclaim
the Word of Christ.
Do you ever wonder
how Peter can go
from denying the Lord
three times,
I don't know him,
I don't know that man,
I don't know him,
you got somebody else,
to now being a pillar
and a foundational member
of the early church.
Well, they witnessed
the resurrected Jesus
and they received
the promised Holy Spirit.
The Spirit,
He taught them
and He reminded them
of the words of Jesus.
It was the Spirit
through the Word of God
that comforted them
and sustained them
and empowered them
to endure all sorts
of horrible afflictions
and persecutions.
Their lives were not
peaceful, church,
but they were at peace.
We share the same Spirit
with them.
We share the same Word
with them.
Do we share the same peace
with them?
The Bible that we hold
in our hands,
that we read
as we gather together,
the Bible that we're preaching
from this morning
is a product of this promise
fulfilled.
The Spirit inspired
the pages of this book
so that He might call
to mind
all the things,
all the words of God
as we hide His Word
in our heart.
One of the primary ways
that the Spirit
helps us
is by illuminating
the Word of God
in our hearts
so that
when we leave here,
when we go out
in the midst
of the chaos
of this world,
we are of all people
at peace
through His Spirit
in us.
True peace
is found
as the Spirit of God
teaches us
the Word of God
so that we believe it
and live it.
Friend,
if you want to see
the Spirit move
in your life,
open up the Word of God
and read.
Open up the Word of God
and pray,
Lord,
give me the grace
to see Your glory
in these pages.
Lord,
give me the grace
to obey
where I once rebelled.
Lord,
give me the grace
to love You
where I once hated You.
If you're seeking peace,
church,
do it with an open Bible.
And whatever you do,
do not seek it
in the world.
Jesus says,
Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give to you,
not as the world gives
do I give to you.
Well,
you think about
what the world gives you.
Where can you go
to find peace in the world?
The world is nothing
but anxiety
and stress
and anger
and division
and frustration
and turmoil.
Jesus says,
not as the world gives
do I give to you.
Receive my peace.
You remember
the announcement
of the angels
that Jesus is coming.
Glory to God
in the highest
and on earth
peace
among those
with whom
He is pleased.
Friend,
are you at peace
this Christmas season?
Is your heart
and your soul
at rest?
Honest answers.
Are you resting
in the Lord
or is your heart
and your life
marked
by the chaos
and frustration
of the world?
disciples here
were likely
experiencing
a mix of emotions.
Jesus is telling them
the enemy is coming.
The enemy is at hand.
He's coming.
I'm leaving.
I'm going to the Father.
They thought
they were losing Jesus.
And yet here
He is promising them
this is good.
This is good.
This is in the Father's hand.
Be at peace.
This is okay.
I will not leave you
as orphans.
You will have peace.
I'm certain
that as much
as they wanted
to believe
what Jesus
was offering
them here
they probably
were frustrated,
anxious,
fearful.
How could this be good?
How can we have peace?
I'd be willing
to bet
that some of you
find yourself
in a similar situation
this Christmas.
I know that
for many of us
the holidays,
Christmas season
is a time
of great joy
and happiness
and excitement
and delight.
It's an exciting time.
We celebrate
the coming of Christ
but I know
that for many of us
the holiday season,
Christmas,
is a time
when many of us
are struggling
with tremendous grief.
Tremendous loss.
As we grieve
the loss of loved ones,
I look around here
I see others
that are missing
who I know
are grieving
the loss
of those that they loved.
The holidays
can be a terribly
painful time
for many.
So my encouragement
to you church
as we close
this morning
lean in
to the peace
that we're given
through the promised
Holy Spirit.
You will not find it
in this world
but you will find it
in the Spirit of God
through the Word
of Christ.
Church,
as we consider
the miracle of Christ
coming this Christmas season,
the miracle of God
becoming man
coming to dwell
among us,
don't miss the beauty
of an even greater gift
that God became man
to dwell within us
through faith in Christ.
Let's pray.
Lord, what a gift.
What a gift.
Lord, we pray,
Father,
that we would,
if we have not
to this point,
God,
receive the Holy Spirit
that if there's any here
who don't know you,
Father,
send your Spirit
forth in power
now to save.
And Father,
we ask that
as we walk
through this Christmas season
and anticipate
the coming of Christ,
fill our hearts
with peace
through believing
in the Holy Spirit.
We love you,
Lord.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.