Sermon Tone Analysis

Announcements

Let me remind you that with New Years and Christmas behind us, we’re back to our normal worship schedule, which means that we’re back to having our weekly Bible Study & Prayer times on Wednesdays at 7pm.

Join us as we continue our series through the book of Psalms.

Please note that there is a light dinner provided every Wednesday at 6pm as well in the Activity Room, we’d love to have you with us.

Don’t forget, that there is a quarterly business meeting right after this service.

It should only last about 10-15 minutes and I’d encourage everyone to stick around if they’re able, even if you aren’t a member, you’re more than welcome to stick around, all our business meetings are open to the public.

At the front of the room, there is a new sign-up sheet for snacks for this next few months, if you’re willing and able, please feel free to sign up for a week as you leave this morning.

In two weeks, on January 21st, which is a Friday, we’re going to show the movie American Gospel: Christ Alone in the auditorium at 7pm.

It is a mini-documentary which looks at a significant issue in what could be considered popularized Americanized Christianity with a heavy emphasis on the Prosperity Gospel.

I highly suggest that if you can be here, that you do so.

There is no cost to attend and of course, we’ll also have free popcorn and drinks for anyone who comes.

If you stick around after the business meeting for a few minutes, I’ll have Natalie play the trailer on the screens so you can see what it is all about.

Next week, we do plan on partaking in the Lord’s Supper together, so please come prepared to do so.

Let me remind you to continue worshiping the Lord through your giving.

To help you give, we have three ways for you to do so: (1) in-person giving can be done at the offering box at the front of the room.

If you give a check, please write it to Grace & Peace; and if you give cash and you’d like a receipt, please place it in an envelope with your name on it.

If you’d prefer to give via debit, credit, or ACH transfer, please (2) text 84321 with your $[amount] and follow the text prompts or (3) visit us online at gapb.church and select giving in the menu bar.

Every thing that you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Adoration and Repentance

Call to Worship (Psalm 38:13-22)

Our call to worship this morning is Psalm 38:13-22, which is the second half of Psalm 38.

In the first half, we saw almost a lament by David concerning the discipline that he was facing from the LORD concerning sins that David had committed.

Last week’s passage actually left us with a sense of dread or fear; this week’s passage continues the text and places David’s hope completely on God despite the discipline that he’s facing from God himself.

Note the petition of David in vss.

21-22 as we read Psalm 38:13-22 responsively.

Please stand and read Psalm 38 with me, I’ll read the odd-numbered verses; please join me in reading the even-numbered verses.

Congregational Singing

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

God, the Uncreated One

Yet Not I But Through Christ in me

Scripture Reading (1 John 2:7-17)

Our Scripture reading this morning is 1 John 2:7-17.

I’ve asked Stacey to read it and as she comes forward, let me just give a few introductory remarks. 1 John is another book written by the author of the text that we’ve been working through, the Gospel according to John.

In 1 John, the author has a significant focus on the incarnation, which is something that false teachers during the latter half of the first century doubted.

And he utilizes the incarnation as a reaffirmation of true doctrine that compels genuine believers to exhibit sound doctrine, obedience, and love.

Or put another way, he insists that genuine believers will have sound doctrine, they will obey, and they will love; and if they don’t, they aren’t true believers.

The verses that we’re reading focuses on the idea of love.

Stacey please read 1 John 2:7-17 for us.

Sermon

Introduction

If you have a Bible with you this morning, we’re in John 14:15-31.

This morning’s sermon continues in this conversation that Jesus has with his disciples and in fact, this section is linked or connected to the previous section of Scripture because the idea in vs. 1-14 can only be accomplished through what vs. 15-31 teaches.

Or in other words, Vs. 15-31 moves the conversation forward based on Jesus’ statement that they shouldn’t be troubled in heart.

So, Vs. 1-14 tells the disciples to not be troubled and the first reason for them not being troubled is that Jesus is preparing a place for them to dwell with him eternally.

Jesus calls his disciples to believe in him, not just from the initial standing of justification by faith alone, but also to the extent that they trust in what Jesus has said because of whom he is.

Vs. 12-14, end that section by telling the disciples that they will do greater works than he has done—and we spent quite a bit of time talking about that last week.

I explained that this is a quantitative or qualitative remark—they aren’t going to do more or better works; what Jesus means by greater works is qualified by another statement, that they will do greater works, “because [Jesus is] going to the Father.”

Or in other words, the only reason their works are going to be greater is because they now can proclaim and teach the full Gospel because they’re going to witness Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

This morning’s part of the conversation continues with the mindset that the disciples shouldn’t be troubled, the difference being that whereas vs. 1-14 focused more on the future result of what Jesus was doing, vs. 15-31 focuses more on the now and what enables them to do these greater works; as well as teaching the disciples that if they truly love him, they’ll obey him.

What I’m most excited about concerning this message is its high emphasis on the Holy Spirit.

Many of us come from evangelical backgrounds in which the Holy Spirit exists and does something, but we didn’t necessarily talk about it a lot.

I think part of the reason for that is because most evangelical churches are trying to distance themselves from the hyper-charasmatic groups of churches.

The problem is that to prevent association with those groups, many churches found themselves rarely, if ever, teaching about or speaking about the Holy Spirit; and that’s a problem because the Holy Spirit is God and the Holy Spirit is definitely in Scripture—so to refuse teaching about or speaking about the Holy Spirit is to refuse teaching and talking about God and Scripture.

Now, this message isn’t a comprehensive study of the Holy Spirit, but what it is, is an exposition of some roles that the Holy Spirit fulfills according to Jesus.

And I want us to see very clearly what the Holy Spirit does according to Jesus before we jump into the text, so let me just give them to you at the start of the message before we dig into Scripture.

According to Jesus in John 14:15-31, the Holy Spirit enables obedience, the Spirit teaches us, and, the Spirit comforts us.

Again, that’s not comprehensive, that’s just what Jesus is emphasizing here; and you’ll notice as we continue in John, this isn’t all that the Holy Spirit does for God’s people; Jesus will return to talking about the Spirit later.

He’s emphasizing these three roles of the Spirit, to enable obedience, to teach us, and to comfort us as a second reason for the disciples not to be troubled at his leaving them—Jesus tells them not to be troubled at his leaving them because (1) he’s preparing a place for them and (2) he’s sending the Holy Spirit to them.

Let’s read together John 14:15-31.

As we study this passage together this morning, we’re going to break it up into two parts based on the Promise of the Holy Spirit.

(1) Vs. 15-24, The Promise of the Holy Spirit for Obedience, speaks of the necessity of those who truly believe and claim to love Jesus, actually obeying him.

It starts with the simple sentence, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” and it expounds on what enables them to actually keep God’s commandments, which is the Holy Spirit.

(2) Vs.

25-31, The Promise of the Holy Spirit for Teaching and Comfort, then tells the disciples some of the other purposes of the Holy Spirit—the Holy Spirit enables true obedience of God’s commands, the Spirit teaches, and the Spirit comforts.

Now, that isn’t an exhaustive list of all the Holy Spirit does, but in this passage, it emphasizes these roles of the Holy Spirit to continue in that mindset of not being troubled at heart.

Or in other words, Jesus is emphasizing these to continue the conversation of the disciples not be troubled, because Jesus is preparing a place for them and because Jesus is sending the Spirit to them.

Likewise, the promise of the Holy Spirit is given to all that genuinely believe, we see that in Acts 2 and its reiterated throughout the New Testament, which means that the Spirit helps us to obey Jesus, the Spirit teaches us, and the Spirit comforts us.

Prayer for Illumination

The Promise of the Holy Spirit for Obedience (15-24)

Jesus continues this conversation with the disciples in a way that might seem unusual, but we have to remember the context of all that is happening.

This is Jesus’ last week on earth and he knows that it is his last week on earth.

We just read about him telling his disciples that he is about to leave them, but they don’t need to be troubled because he is going to prepare a place for them to dwell with him.

We just saw Jesus exhort his disciples to believe in him wholeheartedly and to do greater works that glorify the Father.

And then its almost as if he completely changes gears in vs. 15, but in reality he’s introducing what’s going to enable the disciples to do greater works than he has done.

And he introduces this, by stating “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Now, of course, the first question that you have to ask after reading that statement, is “what commandments is Jesus referring to?”

Is he talking about the Ten Commandments?

Or is he talking about all of the Old Testament law?

At the very least, it definitely means all of what Jesus had taught and all that Jesus had revealed to them—including his most recent command to them to love one another just like he loves them.

How do I know this?

By interpreting Scripture with Scripture.

This morning for Scripture reading, we read 1 John 2:7-17, and I chose that passage intentionally because it gives us a rather plain understanding of what Jesus meant as John emphasizes what it means to follow Jesus.

John writes that the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

And then he makes this statement, “whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness” and then if you skip ahead just a few verses, he says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

To obey Jesus’ commands means to walk in the Spirit.

To walk in the Spirit means to reject sin and follow truth.

Jesus’ statement in John 14:15, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” means that if they truly love him like he loves them, then they will walk in the Spirit, they will reject sin, and they will follow truth.

Colin Kruse, “Love for Jesus is not sentimental, but is expressed by keeping his commands, i.e. by responding to all he taught, with faith and obedience.

In other passages Jesus’ teaching is described as his word, referring to his teaching as a whole, which people need to accept and obey.”

Conversely, what this means is if you claim to love Jesus, but you don’t actually obey what he’s said through his Word, then the reality is that you don’t actually love Jesus.

Just like John says in 1 John, if you claim to love Jesus but you refuse to obey him, then you’re still in darkness.

Which should cause serious reflection on your own heart.

Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

And then he continues that qualification by stating what will happen if they love Jesus and keep his commandments.

Vs. 16, “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.