Untitled Sermon

Introduction

Last week, we shifted our focus onto the hours leading up to the crucifixion of Our Lord. We began looking at the time of His “Upper Room” discourse - the place where the Last Supper was held, where His disciples found out about the betrayal, and where some of the most profound words of our Savior were spoken.

In John 15, we saw Jesus describe the nature of the true believer as a branch that is connected to a vine. He went on to say that He is the “true vine", the Father is the “vinedresser”, and the souls of people are the “branches”.

We continue our journey w/ Jesus into the 16th chapter of John, and the end of the chapter. (Side note: I would encourage you to read through these chapters, do not miss out on the richness of these moments between Christ and His disciples.)

READ John 16:25-33

In today’s age, we have a very interesting development: AI. You can use this tool to get any answer you want to, and the speed and accuracy used is scary. I used this tool to ask this question, “what are the basic things that a human needs to survive?” Based on Ai, the scientific consensus on this question is this: food, water, and air.

If you were ever in a survival situation, the basic things needed to keep your body alive are food, water, and air.

However, when we use the word “science”, usually what we are describing is the study of things that are natural. (What we can see, smell, taste, and touch.) Material things - so materially, humans must have those three things to survive.

But, we know, as Christians, that the material world is NOT all that there is. Rather, we know that there is a spiritual and supernatural element of the universe that goes far deeper than the physical. And that spirit that resides within all of us shares a characteristic with our physical bodies - it requires three things to survive.

Those three things are found in 1 Cor. 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Science tries to answer for the natural body, and claims that is sufficient. But, the only way people are TRULY going to survive is if they have their spiritual vitals met as well.

People cannot survive without these three things: Faith (something to trust in) Hope (Something to hold out hope for) and Love (Someone to love and care for them)

No matter where you go, people are looking for these three things all over the world. They may not even realize that is what they’re searching for, but just basic observation shows us that is the truth. (In religion, in relationships, in sexual encounters, in drugs, in alcohol, in work, in fame, in glory, in family, etc.)

Yet, the problem is that in the world, we can only find temporary fulfillment of these needs. You may feel some faith in the government, but eventually it'll let you down. You may have hope in the stock market, but it's gonna tank. You may find love in your family and friends, but we are human and we will fail one another.

No, there is only one source of all three of these elements, and it is summed up in one word: Christ. He's the only place where our soul finds satisfaction.

In His parting words to His followers, He tells us how:

Love (v. 25-27)

The first element we see represented in Jesus’s words is love. The special love set on His disciples from God the Father.

For His entire ministry Jesus had used parables and proverbs to convey His message. The Gk. word is “Paroimia” or “figurative language”. This word describes statements that are veiled or symbolic. This is how we describe the parables of Jesus.

For His whole ministry the disciples had received these cryptic teachings from Jesus that He would later on explain further in depth.

However, He now lets them know that time has come to an end. Now, they are going to be receiving the full revelation of who He is, who the Father is, and the purposes of God in the world.

Before the cross, the disciples did not comprehend God’s love for them and by extension, the world. But now, Jesus is telling them “very soon, the veil of God’s love will be lifted.”

He goes on to say in v. 26, “26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God”

This tells us what it truly means to pray in Jesus’s name - its not a tagline for the end of our prayers. It is also not something that we are telling Jesus to go and tell the Father on our behalf. (Does Jesus make intercession for us? Yes, but that is for such deep spiritual things that we do not even have knowledge of to pray for ourselves)

No, to pray in Jesus’s name means we pray directly to the Father, we have access to the Father - unadulterated. Why? Because we love the Son, and if we love the Son, we love the Father.

(Jn 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me)

(Jn. 14:21 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.”)

The tearing of the veil at the time of the crucifixion represents the granting of access to the throne of God Almighty for the believer.

The motive for this access to believers is simply love. The father grants us access because He loves us. He is not some disconnected, disassociated, removed God who lets us pray because He’s compelled to by Jesus or Mary or some Saint. No, God has set His love upon us as His children. THAT is why we have access (cf. Jn. 3:16, Rom. 5:8 “God commendeth His love.., Eph. 2 “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us.”)

Different uses of love in Gk. (Don’t explain just mention phileo and agapao)

God loves (agapaō) sinners (John 3:16), but expresses a special, fatherly affection (phileō) for His children—so much so that He sent His Son to die as the sacrifice for their sins (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9–10). Because of that they can boldly and fearlessly enter His presence in complete confidence, as children for whom He cares deeply (cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).

Faith (27-32)

Faith is necessary for life. Believe it or not, and despite what skeptics try to assert - we all exercise faith every day in our everyday life. For instance, when you sat down on that pew, you had faith it would hold you. When you eat, you have faith that food isn’t poisonous. Et cetera.

But, that is just a small little baby sized faith. A believer’s faith is rooted and grounded in love. The love we just talked about.

It’s also rooted in Scripture and the reliability on the fact that Jesus is who He said He was. (See v. 27-28 “for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”)

In this statement, Jesus is expressing the central doctrine of Christianity. If we miss this, we miss the whole thing: Jesus is the SON of God. Jesus is God.

He is summarizing His entire message: He came from God, to redeem sinners. (Jn. 12:27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.) (Jn. 12:47 “for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world”)

Jesus, God the Son, was sent into the world by the Father to accomplish the work of redemption, and having done so, returned to His place of full glory with the Father.

Now, see v. 29-30 - The disciples begin to get the picture of what is going on. They begin to articulate the truth, what they did not understand is becoming more in view.

Crossway’s Classic Commentaries put it like this, “The disciples certainly did not yet understand fully what Christ had been saying; but although they were not yet capable of this, the mere scent of it refreshed them”

They were getting a sense of what would fully come after the Resurrection on the Day of Pentecost when the work of the Spirit begins in the Church.

However, Jesus clicks them back to reality with v. 31 - the tone shifts immediately when he asks “Do you now believe? Behold an hour is coming when you will be scattered and leave me alone.”

Jesus, who knows all things, is pointing out to them that their faith, genuine as it may be, is still immature and will fail.

Yet, He brings it full circle by saying that The Father will be with Him - what does that prove? That the disciples are foolish for not having faith in Jesus! Look, Jesus has proven Himself over and over again. They have seen it first hand! How foolish for them to run at the first sign of trouble. Stop: Don;t we see ourselves here? Our own shortcomings? Our own faithlessness in the lives of the disciples?

We can have faith in Jesus. Why? Because He is who He said He was. & He has always been faithful to us, we must trust in Him.

Thankfully, we can, and that faith is a gift.

Hope (v. 33)

Listen, this world is hopeless. Suicide is at an all time high, depression is diagnosed in almost every home, anxiety rules the hearts of most people, families are discouraged, divorce is at an all-time high.

This world is a troublesome place, and being a Christian does NOT prevent troubles and trials from visiting your home. It’s not just “IF you have trouble” it is “WHEN you have trouble.” “Man is of few days and full of trouble.”

Yet, understanding God’s love for us in Christ, and placing our faith in Him causes us to have something this world could never have: peace.

PEACE - I leave with you - MY peace I give to you.

We have access to something that could ever have a price tag - peace.

We could list the billionaires of the world, and each one of them give an answer when asked the question, “why do you continue pushing for more wealth?” - all of them say, “because I am NOT satisfied yet, I’m still searching.” i.e They do not have peace.

Because of that peace, in the face of the troubles of life, we can “be of good cheer” “take courage” “take heart” - because of the hope we have in Christ.

Our Hope is: In the Lord (Ps. 7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.)

In His Word (Rom. 15:4 4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”)

In our salvation (Eph. 1:18 “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”)

In Heaven (Col. 1:5 “because of the hope that is laid up for you in Heaven…”)

And the only reason we can have hope is because Christ has “overcome the world. When the world thought it had won, when Caiuphus thought they got Him, after Pilate washed His hands of Him, after Judas had betrayed Him, after Satan had thought He worked it out, after the sun went down on the corpse of our dear Lord on Calvary, after all these things, three days later - OUR LORD OVERCAME.