Final Preparations

Jonathan Bradley

Hopewell Baptist Church

The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

John 14:15–31

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Final Preparations

Hopewell Baptist Church

March 29, 2020

Opening Illustration – In the new movie “Overcomer” (spoiler alert!!) the main young lady’s father, whom she meets for the first time at 16, becomes an important part of her life as his own life is slowly coming to an end. He makes strong efforts to be with her, and is even there helping her, coaching her along in her final race through a digital recording. And after his death, he continues to be with her through those recordings, given to her each year on her birthday.

This is similar to how Jesus goes to extraordinary lengths to make sure that His own are never alone after He dies.

Pray

I. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit –

a. Love – v.15 – If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

i. Obedience to Christ is a natural product of loving Him.

1. – Faith without works is dead.

ii. Jesus spent many previous versus displaying His love for the disciples, now He talks of their love for Him and how that plays out.

b. God in you! – v.16-17 –

i. Jesus, who has the Holy Spirit in Him, will send His disciples the very same Holy Spirit.

ii. Only Jesus’s own can receive the Holy Spirit; the world cannot.

II. Jesus will always reveal Himself to His disciples –

a. v.18 - Jesus tells His disciples that He will never leave them alone, that they will never be without the Father, i.e., they will never be left as orphans.

i. – Never leave us nor forsake us

b. v.18 - “I will come to you”

i. Here, Jesus is speaking of the arrival of the Holy Spirit in

c. v.19 - In a little while, the world will no longer see Jesus

i. Jesus, in just a few hours, will die, and then after His resurrection, He is very careful and purposeful on who sees Him again (“but you will see me”).

d. v.19 - We will live because He lives. We have life in His name because He is alive.

i. This emphasizes the truth spoken in .

ii. Life is only found in Christ (, )

e. v.20 - In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

i. The mutual dwelling of God in us is through the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, which comes at the direction of the Father after the Son requests it (v.16)

f. v.21 – Whoever has my commandment and keeps them, he it is who loves me….

i. Believing is not just mental assent. Relation to Jesus is not something believed, but done through the act of obedience.

1. Just as Jesus was obedient to the Father, we must also be obedience.

ii. Obedience to God is an outpouring of saving faith ( – Faith without works is dead).

iii. If obedience is an outpouring of salvation, then God’s love for us is an outpouring of His love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

1. We do nothing to earn God’s love or favor. In fact, we do everything that points us to the exact opposite of God’s favor.

2. God’s love is graciously given to us by God through Jesus. Love.

g. v.22 – Judas asks the “How” question

h. v.23 – If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him….

i. – We love because He first loved us

ii. God the Father and God the Son dwell within us, believers, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

i. v.24 – The world cannot love Jesus (), and therefore cannot obey.

i. We must remember that Jesus’ Words are God’s Words ().

III. The Holy Spirit: The Helper sent from God –

a. v.25 – These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.

i. Jesus is preparing them for His departure and the Spirit’s arrival.

b. The Teacher – v.26

i. The Holy Spirit will be our teacher, for He opens our eyes to the words and truths of God (, “I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”)

ii. The Holy Spirit will also bring to memory verses and passages and things of God for when we need them!

1. , “For I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

2. Fill us with strength and courage when we need them.

c. The Peace – v.27

i. The Holy Spirit will be our peace –

ii. The Holy Spirit will be our Comforter – (paraklete)

d. The Trinity – v.28

i. Jesus talks greatly of The Trinity here in this passage, that we may see and know and experience the Trinity at work in our lives.

e. In summation, regarding the Holy Spirit, God will manifest Himself and His Son, Jesus, in our lives through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So when Jesus tells us that He will never leave us alone, that He will neve leave us nor forsake us, this is what He is talking about.

IV. Jesus’ Testimony –

a. Here, in these verses, Jesus pivots everything to God and to the disciples believing.

b. v.29 – And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.

i. – the purpose of the Gospel of John

c. v.30-31 – Jesus is transitioning from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He (they) arrive in

i. Ruler of this world – the Jewish religious rulers who have conspired with Judas to have Jesus arrested

1. They have no claim on Jesus, i.e. no real evidence

ii. Jesus only goes with them, the rulers, out of love and obedience to the Father.

V. Application

a. If you feel alone and isolated, reach out to God.

i. Right now, there are many who are feeling just this right now. We are living in a time when we are all but forced to keep our “social distance” from those we love and care about the most.

Final Preparations

Final Preparations

I. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit –

II. Jesus will always reveal Himself to His disciples –

III. The Holy Spirit: The Helper sent from God –

IV. Jesus’ Testimony –

V. Application

a. If you feel alone and isolated, reach out to God.

i. Right now, there are many who are feeling just this right now. We are living in a time when we are all but forced to keep our “social distance” from those we love and care about the most.

b. Be the hands and feet of God

i. Despite the current mode of isolation, we can still reach out and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

1. Phone calls to your friends

2. Offer to pick up something for an elderly neighbor, like groceries, etc.

c. Rest in the peace that only comes from God

i. God has promised us the Holy Spirit as our peace and comfort, trust in that

ii. , knowing that God is going to make good come out of this difficult time.

d. Remember, that Jesus loves you!

VI. Invitation

a. Repent and Believe

b. Be Baptized

c. Surrender to the call of Ministry