I'd like you to turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 14.
!
And an activity in which there are more people engaged in its outcome than we may think.
Generally, we think, well, the preacher is up front and my responsibilities kind of sit there and listen and whatever.
I want to appeal to you that the Scriptures make it clear that one of the duties you have is to be actively engaged in the preaching of the Word by prayer.
And I trust you're doing that.
And I pray that in the flow of the sermon in those moments where you sense it is appropriate and necessary that you freely ask the Lord to help me and help you.
Because we are both mutually dependent upon having the Word make a difference in the way we think.
If I could, over the years of ministry, 35 plus now, if there were one thing, one thing, that I could give to believers.
I'm not involved in salvation.
That's the work of God.
And I don't save people.
I love talking to people that don't know Jesus about the only one who can make a difference in their lives.
But when I am ministering to those who do know Christ,
and a large part of my life ministry has been with people who at least profess to know Christ,
if there is one thing that I could give to them, it would be this,
an understanding of the love of Christ for them.
And we spend far too much time thinking about things that really don't connect to that truth.
And I introduced that here at the very beginning because what we are actually engaged in doing
is working our way through a passage in which we find the love of Christ displayed to us
in undeniable terms against the backdrop of the cross.
Now, you and I, if we were going into a suffering like the cross,
probably we'd be obsessed with our self.
And I can tell you this from personal experience.
Spending time thinking too much about Tim Knoyer is not only destructive and toxic for me,
it's invariably harmful to other people.
How many of you would agree with me?
I mean, thinking about Tim Knoyer, right?
But kind of play it over.
Here's Jesus in the shadow of the cross with one particular interest,
and that is the 11 who he's going to leave behind.
And he knows their hearts.
He knows what they're thinking.
Can you imagine the mess of the disciples' hearts?
On the one hand, they were bickering with each other.
Their usual intramural team sport was arguing about who was going to be what?
Number one.
That's what they were all about.
But on the other hand, there's this certain level of anxiety, uncertainty about,
well, what is going to happen?
We've been following him for three years, and he's cutting out of here.
He said it over and over again.
And they're all worried.
In John chapter 14, let not your hearts be troubled.
I've got to tell you something.
It is a conscious and deliberate choice
that people who know Christ can make
to have troubled hearts or not have troubled hearts.
If we do believe that the same one who grants us salvation through faith
can be trusted for other truths as well,
then there is something to be said
for taking control of the way we think
and framing our thought life in the picture of Scriptures.
So here is Jesus saying,
let not your hearts be troubled, fact,
but then he plays it out and gives us good reasons
not to be overwhelmed and troubled.
And so in a broader look at the passage
before we get into the details,
I want you to understand that in the early part of chapter 14,
he deals with the fact that the disciples
can look forward to a certain eternity.
Hey, I'm going to prepare a place for you.
And if it weren't so, I wouldn't have told you.
And I'm going there so you can what?
You can be with me.
Does it get any better than that?
Huh?
I know how my story ends.
I love Revelation chapter 4 and chapter 5.
I mean, that is a blast, isn't it?
You get into those two chapters
and it kind of lifts your heart up.
That's how the story ends.
I am going to enjoy the presence of Christ forever.
And you who know Christ are going to have the same delight.
This morning as I was in prayer,
I was looking forward to the time of worship with you.
And here's what I thought.
My wife says I'm a little maudlin
and a little bit too pessimistic.
I'm the glass half three quarters empty guy.
That's my nature.
But there's a time that it fits.
And here I was.
I was in prayer and I was thinking,
Lord, I am going to enjoy worship
with other broken vessels like me.
And I thought, and it's going to be good.
And I'm going to delight in it.
And it is going to give me a taste
of what heaven's going to be like.
And I'm looking forward to it.
Are you?
And here's Jesus saying,
Hey, guys, don't be bent out of shape.
You've got a certain eternity.
The second thing he says is,
Hey, listen, understand.
I'm with you.
Okay?
I'm with you.
And his actual understanding
that he eventually is going to help
the disciples find is that
this business of him being with them
is referring to the indwelling ministry
of the Holy Spirit.
He says, listen,
you're going to have union with me.
Third thing he says is that,
and you are going to be involved
in doing a great work.
You're going to be involved
in doing a great work.
Now, how could that be comforting
to the disciples?
Do you understand that at the heart of it,
we all have a sense,
we all have a sense
that we've been created
and we're here for some reason
and we ought to be doing
something of significance.
What am I doing?
Why am I here?
What's this all about?
And here is Jesus speaking
to his disciples
and what we're really going to look here
in the passage that we study this morning
is that there's something going on
that we are engaged in a great work
and we have comfort in knowing
that we are at that task for his glory.
And so as we look at this passage,
I'm going to pick back up there in verse 12.
It says,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever believes in me
will also do the works that I do
and greater works than these
will he do.
Have you ever been in a home
where you looked around
and you realized
that someone had invested
a great amount of emotion
and energy
and resources
in putting it a particular way
and it had all now collapsed into chaos?
I'll never forget.
How many of you know Mount Everest?
You've heard Mount Everest.
I'll never forget
when on a camping trip
in Missouri,
in India,
about five of us spent three days
on Lord Everest's
dilapidated,
decaying,
ruined estate
in India.
He was the
Lord's surveyor
for all of
the empire
in India
and he had a
palatial,
gargantuan home
built
on the very
crest
of a mountain
where from there
on a clear day
he could see
Mount Everest.
And before,
of lasers
and all those other
kinds of things,
he was able to compute
within feet
the height
of that mountain.
You can Google it
to check on me.
And here,
we slept
in these
large,
some of the rooms
were probably
half this size.
They were huge.
And I
slept in a
sleeping bag
in a
building
that had
belonged at one time
to a man
who was
unbelievably
respected
in the empire.
And he built
this wonderful
mansion.
And there
I slept
and looked around
on the walls
and I saw
the plaster
falling off
and there was
still some
furniture sitting
there.
Amazing.
And the
place,
the ceiling
was falling
in in some
places
and the
plaster had
fallen off
the walls
because of
water damage
and the
entire
place
was just
goats.
Inside
the home
were little
deposits
that goats
had left.
And I'm not
talking about
pairings
from their
hooves.
You know,
it's all
over the place.
And I thought
to myself,
you know,
this was
somebody's
dream.
and it was
gone and
done.
And here
is Jesus
saying to
his disciples,
now listen,
you're going
to do
bigger things
than I
did.
How is
that?
One,
it will
come about
through the
work of the
intercession
of Christ.
It is really
stunning when
you stop and
read what we
do there in
verse 12
and he says
this,
he says,
you're going
to do
greater works
than I
do.
And he
wasn't talking
about raising
the dead.
He wasn't
talking about
feeding the
5,000 or
walking on
water.
He was
really speaking
primarily about
the part that
you and I
play and
will play in
Christ's great
work of
redemption.
Now listen
to me
carefully.
If in
your life
you cannot
look back
and see
the part
that you
have played
in Christ's
work of
redemption,
there will
be sorrow
and loss
and disappointment.
Do you
believe that?
Do you
believe that?
The truth
of the matter
is when
Jesus said
you are going
to do
greater works
than I
have done,
he was
speaking about
the blessing
of being part
of his
ministry of
reconciliation
and leading
people to
the cross.
And as we
think about
that responsibility
I trust that
one of the
things that you
and I take
delight in
is ministering
to people
and helping
them know
that through
the gospel,
through the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
ruined and
destroyed lives
may be
transformed by
the power
of the cross.
Isn't that
right?
Last Monday
I had the
opportunity of
talking with
an individual
and in the
flow of
conversation
one of my
favorite lines
is this,
I know the
only person
who can
turn a mess
around.
And I
can say
and I
know why
I believe
that,
it's because
of what he's
done in my
life.
He brings
salvation,
light and
peace and
blessing and
transformation.
And so here
we are,
you and I
are engaged
in that
work.
And I
want you to
understand that
at the
heart of
what really
helps us
as his
witness is
the fact that
Jesus has
gone before
us, he has
dealt with the
issues of
salvation on
the cross,
he has
satisfied the
wrath of
God, he
has brought
to us not
only forgiveness
but he has
absolutely made
the matter and
the way of
salvation secure
and I trust
that one of the
things that you
take pleasure
in is knowing
that those he
saves, he saves
to the uttermost,
isn't that right?
There's no
question, there's
no doubt.
The fact is also
that we're on
the victor's
side.
I love what
Peter said in
his sermon on
the day of
Pentecost and I
want you to turn
there just for a
moment, keep your
finger there in
John because we're
coming back to
it but go to
Acts chapter 22
verse 22
through 24.
Acts chapter 2
verse 22.
Remember how
the sermon
starts out
and Peter
makes it clear,
you know, you
guys crucified
the Lord Jesus
but
Moses
in verse
22 it says,
Moses said,
the Lord God
will raise up
for you a
prophet like me
from your
brothers and
you shall
listen to him
in whatever
he tells you.
I'm sorry,
I'm in verse
3, chapter 3.
Verse 22.
Men of Israel,
hear these words,
Jesus of Nazareth,
a man attested
to you by God
with mighty works
and wonders
and signs that
God did through
him in your midst
as you yourselves
know.
This Jesus
delivered up
according to the
definite plan
and foreknowledge
of God.
You crucified
and killed
by the hands
of lawless men.
God raised
him up,
loosing the
pangs of death
because it was
not possible
for him to be
held by it.
And over there
in verse 34
we read this.
For David
did not ascend
into heavens
but he himself
says,
the Lord said
to my Lord,
sit at my right
hand till I
make your enemies
your footstool.
Now here's the
point.
I want you to
understand the
fact of the
matter is we
know how the
story ends and
Jesus wins.
I have to
confess that I
had a grossly
inaccurate view
of what would
happen after the
elections were
over.
I thought
everything kind
of calmed
down,
everybody go
back to their
corners and
it is worse.
Truthfully,
I am so glad
that I know
how the story
ends.
And it is not
going to be
solved in
Washington.
It is going to
be solved when
the Lord Jesus
returns.
And I had to
stop and think
to myself,
you know,
I would imagine
100 years ago,
200 years ago,
whatever the time
was, it was just
as messy ultimately
because you have
sinners in conflict
with one another
in every situation.
And so I want you
to stop and
recognize that the
day is coming,
that Jesus is
coming back and
we are on the
victor's side and
that is a comfort
and an encouragement
to us.
In addition to
that, I want you
to recognize,
going back to the
passage in John
chapter 14,
that what is
going on today
is Jesus is
interceding for
us.
You look there
and here's what
he says.
He says,
I'm going to the
Father, the last
part of verse 12,
whatever you ask
in my name,
this I will do
that the Father
may be glorified
in the Son.
If you ask me
anything in my
name, I will do
it.
Who's going to
do it?
Jesus.
Who's going to
do it?
The Father.
Why is he going
to have it done?
It is because he
is interceding
for us.
He is our
advocate.
He is our
mediator.
He is our
judge.
And if you
are sitting
here this
morning feeling
a little
overwhelmed by
your life and
the baggage that
you have, I
would, listen to
me carefully,
write this down
because you can
hold on to it.
I want you to
memorize two
different passages
of scripture that
will help inform
your thinking and
draw you out of
the swamp.
Romans chapter
8, verse 31
through 38.
And Ephesians
chapter 3, verse
14 through 19.
Whenever you
find yourself
consumed by
things that are
not productive
and healthful, I
want to encourage
you to get your
hands and your
head around these
two passages.
It reminds us of
this fact.
Jesus loves us and
he is on our
side.
The fact of the
matter is, Jesus
stands today before
the Father and he
intercedes for us.
And that's what we
find here.
Jesus says, you're
going to do great
works.
How am I going to
do them?
I'm going to be
praying for you.
I'm going to be
interceding for you.
I'm going to be
helping you.
And you can have
confidence in how
the story ends.
Now there's another
truth that I want you
to get your hands
around this morning.
Look at verse 15.
If you love me, you
will keep my
commandments.
Great works not only
come through the
intercession of
Christ, great works
also come through our
loving obedience.
Let me try that
again.
Great works come
through our loving
obedience.
Now in order to
help you think this
through, I want you
to recognize that it
is important for us to
put together several
different thoughts that
flow here.
You look there in
verse 15.
If you love me, you'll
keep my commandments.
Verse 21.
Whoever has my
commandments and keeps
them, he it is who
loves me.
Verse 23.
Jesus answered him,
if anyone loves me, he
will keep my word.
Verse 24.
Whoever does not love
me does not keep my
word.
So do you get the
picture?
If you love me, what
happens?
You keep my
commandments.
Now incidentally, when
we think about his
commandments, we can
sometimes think about
his commandments as
being burdensome,
difficult,
obligations that we
kind of have to
perform if we want
the story to end
well.
Right?
And there's an
aspect to that which
is true.
Several years ago, I
found out that having
the brakes done on my
car would cost me
about $450.
Have the pads
changed?
And just being a little
perverse, I thought that
I would check and see
what brake pads cost.
Does anybody know that
they're reasonably
inexpensive?
They're really kind of
almost close to dirt
cheap.
And I thought to
myself, why am I
paying somebody else
about $100 plus to do
brake pads?
I'd never done them
before.
But I am of the mind
that if you can watch
YouTube, you can do
brain surgery.
Not entirely true.
Don't quote me.
But, first of all, I got
Dwayne Covert to coach me
because I didn't want to
take a dry run and end up
in the ditch, you know.
And so he kind of watched
me through this.
But I actually have tools
now for doing brake pads
and I do them for
entire family.
You know, it's like,
is this hard to do?
No.
Just follow directions.
Got to say that again
slowly.
Just follow directions.
Do you know that
directions are actually
good for you?
And as we get older,
we actually can learn
some things.
I am at the stage where
before I decide I'm going
to put a kit together
or build, you know,
whatever.
I actually read the
directions.
Yeah, it's like, oh,
you can teach an old dog
new tricks, you know.
Well, I've had so many
times where I've had the
parts over on the side
that I didn't use and I
didn't know what they were
for until I discovered
that it just didn't fit.
So now here's the point.
We look at this statement.
Okay, if you love me, you
keep my commandments.
And we tend to think about
this and say, well, what is
Christ doing here?
Is he pointing to his
disciples and saying, if
you're really one of mine,
you'll obey.
And that has a ring of truth
to it.
But remember, when Jesus
said this, he was not
challenging his 11 remaining
disciples as to the question
of whether or not they
were saved.
What was he trying to do?
He was trying to encourage
them.
He was trying to lift their
spirits up.
He was trying to say, if
you just follow the YouTube
directions, your breaks
will work.
It'll work.
Trust me.
The things that I want, I'm
not going to use the fancy
Greek terms here, but you
can take two little thoughts
and if you want to write in
your Bible, you can put
condition and consequence.
Condition goes over if you
love me.
Consequence goes over keep my
commandments.
Condition, consequence.
And what we find in this
passage is Jesus is driving
home the logic that the fact
of love in our lives will
bring us to obedience and
obedience will help us do
great things.
Let me have you see this in a
very similar pattern over in
John chapter 21.
Turn there, if you will, just
for a moment.
John chapter 21, not very far
away.
Can I tell you that in John
chapter 21, verse 15 through
18, we have a passage where I
am convinced that Jesus is not
testing Peter's love.
When they'd finished breakfast,
Jesus said to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of John, do you love
me more than these?
He said, yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.
Did Jesus know that he actually
loved him?
What's the answer?
He did.
Jesus knew.
And he says, well, okay, feed
my lambs.
He said to him a second time,
Simon, son of John, do you love
me?
He said, yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.
He said, tend my sheep.
He said to him a third time,
Simon, son of John, do you love
me?
Peter was grieved because he
said to him a third time, do you
love me?
And he said to him, Lord, you know
everything, right?
You got it.
Yes, you do.
You know that I love you.
Jesus said, feed my sheep.
Condition.
I love him.
Consequence.
I obey him.
Let me drive that home for you
because sometimes this morning I
think we get lost in the facts
that, you know, the truth of the
matter is, is I have a tendency
to sometimes think that the
commandments he gives are
burdensome.
They kind of, they interfere with
what I want.
But it goes back to doing breaks.
If you don't follow his
instructions and all of them are
good.
Would you agree with that in
theory?
Just say with me.
Yeah, in theory.
In theory, what God tells me is
actually, now don't anybody send
me an email because I'm using a
little bit of sarcasm here.
So just get this point, okay?
When God tells us to do
something, it's good.
Why is it good?
Because he's good.
So when it says, if you love me,
keep my commandments, the purpose
of that instruction is this.
So that as we obey him, we will do
good works.
We'll accomplish great things.
We'll be involved in doing things
that in the rear view mirror we look
back and say, wow, how did that
happen?
It was me following his counsel,
obeying him, and enjoying the outcome
as the result of that.
So let's kind of work this through to
place it in our mind.
Our love produces obedience.
And that's how he is glorified and
how we do great things.
Great works on our part, let me have
you understand this, never happen
apart from obeying him.
Great works on our part never happen
apart from obeying him.
You know, sometimes we're all cut up
and fantasizing what it would be like
to do great things for God.
Oh, I would like to see drug addicts
saved.
I'd like to be involved in bringing the
gospel to people whose lives are really
messy.
I'd like to help draw homeless people
out from under the bridge.
Those are all good things.
They really are.
But you're not going to make it out of
kindergarten if you're not willing to
obey in the things he's already put on
the plate in front of you right now.
You're a little bit like the farmer who
loved the idea of a good harvest, but he
really didn't like the idea of getting
out in the morning and doing the fields
and caring for the responsibilities that
go with it.
I got to make this point clear.
There is a connection between the seeds
of obedience that we sow and the fruit
of blessings that we reap.
On the face of it, obedience is actually
harder than we'd like to admit.
Wouldn't you agree with that?
I mean, truth of the matter is, is every
one of us here, we have a problem on a
regular basis with obedience in our
life.
How many of you have kind of struggled
with something that the Lord's been
drawing to your attention?
Well, not right now.
I don't want to do it because so-and-so,
you know, we've got all kinds of reasons.
I come to the third point.
Great works happen through the enabling
of the Spirit of God.
Remember, Jesus is encouraging his
disciples, I'm leaving.
Don't be worried because the story ends
well and you're going to be with me.
And by the way, in the intermediate time,
you're going to do some phenomenal
things, you're going to be involved in
something unbelievable.
How's that?
Well, you're going to obey my word.
And how's that?
Through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
Look at verse 16.
And I will ask the Father and he will
give you another helper to be with you
forever.
Now remember, the disciples were pretty
troubled because they were beginning to get
the idea that Jesus was going to be
crucified and he was leaving them.
And here is Jesus saying, listen, I'm
going to be going away.
And you can understand their anxiety and
their uncertainty and their concern for
what their future was going to be like.
And here is Jesus saying to them, you're
going to have another helper.
Now the word another is a word in the
Greek, I'm not going to dive into it, but
there's a couple different words that are
used in Greek.
Another can be like different.
Or another can be just the same.
And here is Jesus saying that you're
going to have another helper just like
me who is going to be with you and his
role is going to be to be your helper.
Now it's very interesting and we'll get to
this later in our preaching through the
book of John.
I don't know if Pastor Shearer gets to
do this or I do.
Well, it's John chapter 16 verse 7.
Look at it just for a moment.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is
for your advantage that I go away.
For if I do not go away, the helper will
not come to you.
Hey, try that.
It's actually going to be better for you
if I'm out of here.
What?
Here's Jesus back in 14.
He says, I want you to understand that the
Father is going to give you the helper to be
with you forever.
Even the spirit of truth, verse 17, whom
the world cannot receive because it neither
sees him or knows him.
You know him for he dwells with you and
will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans.
I will come to you.
Now, I want you to understand that what Jesus
was encouraging the disciples to recognize
is that after he left, we would receive the
Holy Spirit and the indwelling spirit is
profoundly significant to the spiritual life.
Would you agree with me?
Let me put it this way.
The amount of attention to you that you give to
living a spiritual life
is paired, is coupled to your sensitivity to the need
of the Holy Spirit.
Does that make sense?
Do you follow what I'm saying?
You cannot live a spiritually productive life apart
from the enabling of the Spirit of God.
And my sensitivity to living a spiritual life leads me
to have a desperate dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
And here is Jesus saying to his disciples, you guys are
going to knock it out of the park.
I mean, you guys are going to be involved in witnessing
and sharing the gospel.
In fact, later in the book of Acts, it says,
the men who have turned the world upside down are here?
Huh?
I got to tell you.
The best news in the world
is not material.
It's spiritual.
No amount of money can solve the problem of the darkness of a person's heart.
Do you understand that?
And apart from the enabling of the Spirit of God,
nothing can change a man.
And here's Jesus saying, you know,
your great works are going to flow out through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now, in relationship to that,
Jesus makes that statement in verse 18.
He says,
And I'm not going to leave you as orphans.
I'm not going to leave you as orphans.
The fact of the matter is,
is that he is going to be in us
and he is going to make his home with us.
Look at verse 20.
In that day, you will know that I am in the Father
and you in me and I in you.
So, where's the Holy Spirit today?
He's in me.
That is a great blessing
and an undeniable truth.
Now,
does that mean that I kind of just walk around
under the Holy Spirit's control constantly?
No.
Because I can be disobedient to the Holy Spirit
and I can what?
I can grieve him.
He is there to prompt,
to encourage me.
One of the passages that I love
is in Galatians 5, verse 16.
Walk by the Spirit.
Can anybody finish it for me?
And you will,
what?
Not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
So, when you're struggling with covetousness
or you're struggling with lust
or you're struggling with anger,
does anybody have anger issues?
Does anybody struggle with lust?
Everybody pops their hands up all over the place.
I saw that.
You know, it's like,
does anybody struggle with covetousness?
Everybody's raising their hands.
You know,
yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm one of those.
Listen to me.
Walk by the Spirit
and you,
you have a shot.
Maybe you can pull it off.
You will not
fulfill
the lusts of the flesh.
One of the reasons
many Christians live such ineffective
and unhappy lives
is because they do not appreciate
and appropriate the blessing
of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Here's Jesus
saying,
listen,
I want you to understand
that the indwelling Holy Spirit
is there for you
and He stays in the New Testament believer
and He's not going to leave us.
He will be with you forever.
So,
in the face of carrying on
the challenge of ministry
in the face of Christ's crucifixion
and His return to the Father,
what Jesus says to His disciples
is this,
I want you to be of good comfort.
I want you to know this.
It's going to work out well.
Why?
Because you have the indwelling ministry
of the Holy Spirit.
He is in you
to help you.
Now,
there are some essential questions
that linger in the back of our minds
from time to time.
You know,
we ask ourselves the question,
where am I going?
And the answer for the believer is,
what?
I'm going to heaven.
You betcha.
I remember talking with a neighbor
and strangely enough,
we got on this conversation
about how the story ends
and I said,
I'm going to heaven.
What?
How can you be sure?
I said,
well,
it has nothing to do with me.
I am not the hero in my story,
right?
It has to do with Jesus.
He died and forgave all of my sins.
I'm going to heaven.
So you ask yourself,
how's the story end?
Where am I going?
I'm going to heaven.
And who really cares about me?
I mean,
you know,
we don't want to admit that publicly,
but we really do
have a concern
for who cares about us.
I mean,
am I right?
Come on.
Anybody out there
want to nod their head
just make me feel a little better?
Yeah.
There's this better song
than the one,
Jesus loves me,
this I know.
Right?
Because Romans tells me so.
Well,
you can add Ephesians
to that one too
and you can add John.
but you know,
how can I do
what I should?
He answered all those questions
for his disciples.
I will never leave you
or forsake you.
I will be with you always.
And you will have the blessing
of the Holy Spirit
who indwells you,
who will enable you
to do the things
that he calls you
to do.
So,
let me have you recognize
several truths
to hold on to.
You can know
where you will spend eternity.
I know where I'm going
when I die.
I wonder if you do.
It's a concern.
I have to tell you
that over the years
I've seen people
who have sat
under the faithful teaching
of the word of God
for decades,
who've had something happen
and just turned
their heart off
and hardened themselves
to the point
of being an absolute
embittered,
angry,
unhappy individual
whose life is trashed.
I've got to tell you
that's not the general pattern
for a person
who knows Christ.
And if you are here
this morning
and you do not know Christ,
let me tell you,
the issue of the gospel
is this,
is you can know
for certain
where you're going
to spend eternity
and that's an answer
you need to reconcile.
Second thing is this,
you can be assured
of his presence.
You can be assured
of his presence.
How many of you know
that we do better
when other people
are around us
that have leverage
and a little bit of teeth?
Do you follow that?
Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
We can count on Christ
to be there.
I know he is with me
in this journey of life.
He will never leave me
nor forsake me.
And then finally,
you can be assured
of his help.
You can be assured
of his help.
Can I tell you
that one of the difficulties
in evangelism
is that people
have a tendency
of getting the cart
before the horse.
What do I mean by that?
I mean, it's like,
I don't know.
I don't know
how I'm ever going
to stop being
an obsessive,
self-centered,
unhappy,
angry,
embittered person.
That's all I know.
How can I solve
that problem?
Well,
if you're a believer,
you have the enabling
of the Holy Spirit
who is in you.
I love to say,
and you who know me
have heard me say it
so many times,
you don't have to stay
the way you are.
That's pretty good news,
isn't it?
You don't have to stay
the way you are.
Well,
no.
What did Jesus say?
He will give you
another helper
who will be with you
forever.
So let me push it together.
If Jesus loved
his 11 little disciples
who were huddled
in that upper room
and were very anxious
about their certain future,
and he gave them
this great comfort,
and it was good enough
for them, right,
to live victorious,
profitable lives.
And by the way,
how'd they all end up?
They had retirement homes
in Florida.
They got a motor home.
They spent the rest
of their life driving around.
How'd they die?
Only one of them
died of old age.
The rest of them,
they went out in glory.
Isn't that right?
If you're here this morning,
Jesus loves you,
and he has called you
to be engaged
in a great work
of eternal significance,
obedience.
And you don't have
to do it
by yourself.
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father God,
this morning,
as we think about
the Lord Jesus Christ,
our Savior,
and our Master,
the one who someday
we will see
and someday
enjoy forever
in heaven,
we recognize
that the enemy
of our souls
so often diverts
our attention
from the glory
and the sufficiency
of Christ
to get locked up
on petty
and different things
and ends up
causing us
who know Christ
to be unhappy
and uncertain
and anxious
and fretful.
and you call out
to us
in your tenderness
and you say,
come unto me
and I will give you rest.
And Father God,
this morning,
I would plead with you
that you would work
in the lives
of your people
that they would
allow these truths
to bear fruit
in their lives.
that the ministry
of the indwelling spirit
would be very real
in strengthening us
to be productive,
growing Christians
for the glory
of the cross.
Help us this morning
to be humble enough
to admit
where there are some needs
that we can't care for
that only a contrite
and a humble heart
can bring about
the change
that is necessary
when we call out
and ask you to work.
And I think this morning
of those that are here
that may not know
the Lord Jesus Christ,
even though they have sat
maybe for years
under the teaching
of the gospel,
that this morning
your spirit
would convict them
of the empty
hardness of their heart
and they would cry out
to Jesus
to be their Savior.
We ask this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.