Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the second in our series on the whole Holy Spirit. We’re turning this evening in God’s Word to Luke’s Gospel, chapter 4. I’m going to read a relatively short passage from verse 14 through to 21. These seven verses will form the basis of our initial thinking, but we’ll also refer to them as we move through our study tonight.

(0:36 – 1:02)

Luke writes in chapter 4, verse 14 of his Gospel, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom, and he stood up to read.

(1:05 – 1:37)

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

(1:39 – 2:12)

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. This is God’s Word.

(2:16 – 3:22)

As we continue in our series on the Holy Spirit, we come this evening to the challenging topic of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus, and I wonder if even the nature of that topic as it lands on you tonight exposes a blind spot for many of us in how we think about the Holy Spirit. For we know that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. We know the Holy Spirit indwells the life of every believer, but why would Jesus, the eternal Son of God, perfect, sinless, fully divine, why would he need the Holy Spirit? And yet the Gospels repeatedly insist that Jesus’ whole life from conception to resurrection to ascension is Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-empowered.

(3:24 – 6:05)

You see, Jesus does not live his life on earth by occasional bursts of divine power plugging in when he needs to as though his battery is somehow discharged. He lives as the true man, the last Adam, humanity as humanity was meant to be, living completely, totally, and utterly dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit of God. And of the four Gospels, Luke especially wants us to see this.

Luke is a gospel saturated with the Holy Spirit. And the first hint of that comes in these very first public words that Jesus speaks at the beginning of his mission, his public ministry, as we often call it. We read that Luke enters the synagogue in Nazareth.

He is handed randomly, I don’t think so, but he’s handed at that time of the year that scroll from Isaiah 61. He finds the place in the scroll, and then he describes, he reads Isaiah’s description of the coming Messiah, because that’s what’s in Isaiah 61. It’s a description of Israel’s great hope, the hope of the nation, the one who would come to be their deliverer.

And he reads, he finds deliberately the passage that says, the Spirit of the Lord is on me. And then he ends the passage by saying, today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me.

Do you see? Right at the beginning of his ministry, he is acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit upon him in an exclusively messianic way. And everything Jesus does from this point forward is done in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. So tonight I want to look at three aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of Jesus.

(6:06 – 6:29)

Firstly, we’ll look at the Holy Spirit’s presence in Jesus’ formation. Strange word, but bear with me. The Holy Spirit’s presence in Jesus’ formation, the Holy Spirit’s power in Jesus’ mission, and the Holy Spirit’s purpose in Jesus’ passion.

(6:30 – 9:49)

So let’s look firstly then at the Holy Spirit’s presence in Jesus’ formation. And what we need to do here is to realise that the presence of Jesus in human flesh was not an accident. And our first word here is anticipation.

Because before Jesus was born, we know that the Old Testament is already preparing us for a Spirit-anointed Messiah. Isaiah, particularly through his great prophecy in the Old Testament, links the coming King, Israel’s hero rescuer, with the Holy Spirit and the presence of the Spirit. And unlike the prophets, priests, and kings in the Old Testament who received temporary anointings of the Spirit, will we call them, experiences of the Holy Spirit that they needed for a particular task at a particular time, this coming servant was going to be promised something far greater.

The prophets, the priests, and the kings who were empowered by the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament—and we’ll look at this in a future study on a Sunday evening as part of this series—they were all anxious that the Holy Spirit might be taken from them. In fact, the Holy Spirit was taken from Israel’s first king. Do you remember King Saul? The Holy Spirit departed from him.

And David, when he comes along after Saul as king—do you remember?—he makes a mess of his life morally, and he’s terrified when he realises the horror of what he’s done. In Psalm 51, you can read it there, he pleads with God, Do not take your Holy Spirit from me because of the mistakes and the sins that I have committed. But the true Messiah is promised something more than that.

In Isaiah 11-2, the prophecy comes about Messiah saying, The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. This Spirit will rest on Messiah permanently. Not visit him, not empower him, but rest on him fully and perfectly.

And so God’s servant, the Messiah, will be the first permanently Spirit-filled man ever to walk on this earth. So that’s the anticipation of the formation of Jesus. But then we must think about the incarnation itself, because in the incarnation, that promise of this Spirit-filled man becomes a reality.

(9:50 – 11:14)

Again, we’re back in Luke chapter 1v35. If you’re following in your Bibles, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the angel says to Mary. And the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

To what end? To conceive the Lord Jesus Christ in human form. The same Holy Spirit who hovered over the waters of creation now overshadows the waters in Mary’s womb. The incarnation is a new creation event.

The birth of Jesus is the literal embryo of a new creation. But Jesus, unlike Adam, enters the world already filled with the Holy Spirit. Already the Spirit-filled man, ready to succeed where Adam failed.

But the Holy Spirit wasn’t just present in the looking forward to the coming of Jesus, and he wasn’t just present and surrounding all the events of the incarnation itself. The Holy Spirit remains on Jesus as he grows up through childhood and as he matures. So our third word is maturation.

(11:16 – 11:55)

Luke again tells us—are you seeing the pattern in Luke, by the way? Luke again tells us in chapter 2 verse 40, the child Jesus grew strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was upon him. Jesus didn’t bypass human development. The Holy Spirit taught him.

The Holy Spirit shaped him. The Holy Spirit sustained him. And again in Isaiah, do you see again the link? Luke, Isaiah, two big pillars here in our understanding of the work of the Spirit in the life of Messiah.

(11:55 – 14:01)

Isaiah 50 gives us a glimpse of Jesus in our life as he grows up. In verses 4 and 5 of chapter 50, Isaiah says these words, morning by morning, speaking about the messianic king, morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. Do you see? So as Jesus learns through his maturing as a child in those invisible years, here he is as the true spirit-filled human being, learning the Word, listening to his Father, obeying perfectly, not using his divine power like a cheat on a computer game, by the way.

He’s not accessing his divinity here when he needs it, at all the big moments. He is living every single second of his life as a perfect human being in total and constant dependence on the Holy Spirit. Every second.

Now, you may say, well, that’s great theology, David, and praise the Lord for that. What does that mean for me here on the south side of Glasgow on a cold November evening? Well, listen, the Spirit who formed Jesus in the womb of Mary is the same Spirit who forms the life of Christ in you. Jesus says in John 3 to Nicodemus, you’ll know this passage well, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

(14:03 – 14:34)

And if you have been born of the Spirit of God, the life of Jesus lives in you. The Christian life, doesn’t it, begins with the creative work of the Holy Spirit? It begins with that creative work, but it continues by the sustaining power of the Spirit, and it’s completed one day through the resurrecting power of the Spirit. We’ll see that in a moment.

(14:35 – 14:49)

Do you see, your Christian growth is not mechanical. It’s not like a slot machine where you put some money in, you pull the lever, and you get some money out. That’s not how it works.

(14:50 – 16:35)

It’s relational. Think of this. What’s the difference between you and your non-Christian friends or neighbours or family members? You all look the same, you do the same things, you go to the same type of jobs, you have the same hobbies, you enjoy the same sports, you watch the same programmes.

What’s the difference? Well, every single time you respond to an impulse to pray, you ever had those? Or an impulse to read the Word of God, or to come here on a Sunday evening to hear His Word and be with God’s people. Every time you resist temptation, every time you serve someone with joy, the Holy Spirit’s at work in you. That’s the Holy Spirit right there.

Because your friends, neighbours, family, and others don’t have that prompt. It’s not there. It may look the same, they may look like they’re doing the same things as you are, but they’re not being prompted by the Holy Spirit the way you are.

Do you see? We own all these promptings, all of them, to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it’s such a tragedy that we don’t acknowledge that. There’s a hymn, an old hymn in the Believer’s Hymnbook. I must be getting old because I’m quoting hymns from the Believer’s Hymnbook nearly every time I’m preaching these days.

(16:36 – 17:23)

But I couldn’t not quote this one. You’ll see why. Number 436 it is, and it’s about the fourth verse I think.

It’s a hymn about the Holy Spirit. And here’s what it says, and these words are really powerful. Listen to this.

And every virtue we possess, and every victory won, and every thought of holiness are His alone. They’re His alone, the Holy Spirit’s. So be encouraged, friend, if you sometimes wonder if it doesn’t really feel very exciting in my life.

(17:23 – 17:42)

Do I really have the Holy Spirit? Every prompting, all these things that we’ve thought about, they’re evidence of His work in your life. Thank God for that. So the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ formation.

(17:43 – 18:07)

Let’s think now about the Holy Spirit’s power in Jesus’ mission. In Jesus’ public ministry, which we’ve read the beginning of here, we see the Spirit’s power in three key moments. Firstly, His baptism, then His temptation, and then His ministry.

(18:08 – 18:25)

Let’s think firstly then about His baptism. At His baptism, Jesus is publicly anointed by the Holy Spirit. Again, we’re in Luke chapter 3, just a chapter before where we read.

(18:27 – 19:16)

And down at verse 21, you’ll read these words. As Jesus was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.

Here is Jesus’ public commissioning as Messiah. Messiah simply means the anointed one, the one on whom the Holy Spirit is poured out and dwells. The crowned king, because the kings in the Old Testament were anointed, even our king is anointed, and that’s where it comes from, that idea of the king being anointed.

(19:17 – 20:04)

But here the true king is not crowned with oil, but with the Holy Spirit Himself. And Jesus’ baptism is a coming together of two great Old Testament passages about Messiah. On the one hand, it’s Psalm 2, and on the other hand, it’s Isaiah 42.

In Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42, God makes two great declarations about Messiah, each of which make an appearance at the baptism of Jesus. In Psalm 2, God says, You are my Son, a great Messianic Psalm. You are my Son.

(20:04 – 22:41)

And in Isaiah 42, Jesus is described as God’s servant. My servant will come and I will put my Spirit on him. So the Son and the servant, Spirit anointed servant, come together here at Jesus’ baptism, do you see? The beloved Son of Psalm 2 is also the anointed servant king of Isaiah 42.

And He’s declared to be that, to fulfil all the Messianic expectations of the Old Testament. But look at what happens immediately after this anointing. Luke 4 verse 1, temptation.

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There’s something significant going on here, isn’t there? We would naturally expect that the fully empowered, Spirit-filled man, the anointed king, would be straight out the traps and into the battle, taking on the enemy, the Romans, no less, and any other enemy. But notice, the Holy Spirit’s power doesn’t lead Jesus as Messiah to a public battle with the forces of Rome.

It leads Jesus to a private battle with the forces of darkness. And what the Holy Spirit is doing here, right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, because the text is clear, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. So the Holy Spirit is directing the mission of Jesus and the nature of Jesus’ Messiahship right here.

And He’s telling us something significant. The nature of Jesus’ Messiahship is not going to be sociopolitical. It’s going to be a battle with the forces of darkness that are unseen.

Do you see? The nature of His Messiahship is spiritual. That’s the work of the Spirit in the life of Jesus, right at the beginning of His ministry. So here we have the anointed Messiah, full of the Holy Spirit, being led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He’s tempted for 40 days.

(22:42 – 23:20)

Now, two great contrasts here to notice. The first contrast is between Jesus and Adam. Adam was tempted and failed.

Jesus is tempted and triumphs. What made the difference? Well, Jesus, we know, trusted the Spirit-breathed Word of God in a way that Adam did not. Adam questioned the Word of God together with his wife Eve.

(23:22 – 24:38)

But three times Jesus answers Satan when he’s tempted, it is written, it is written, it is said. Who inspired those words? Who wrote them in the first place? Well, the Old Testament writers, but who inspired them? The Holy Spirit Himself. Peter tells us men and prophets were carried along by the Holy Spirit, and they wrote down God’s Word.

So Jesus takes the Spirit-breathed Word of God, and He uses it to overcome darkness and evil. That’s the nature of the battle. Jesus, the true Spirit-filled man, succeeding as the obedient Son, the dependent Son on the Word of God, where Adam failed.

So that’s Jesus versus Adam. But there’s another analogy, Jesus versus Israel. That’s the significance of the 40 days.

(24:40 – 25:48)

Israel was tested for 40 years in the wilderness, where every physical need they had was provided for, and yet they failed miserably. They failed to trust God, they grumbled, they doubted, they did not believe God, and because of that, not one of them, bar a couple, entered the promised land. In a very emotive phrase, we’re told in 1 Corinthians, their carcasses were spread across the wilderness.

Jesus is tested for 40 days, one day for every one of Israel’s years. And His only provision, because He had no food, and He didn’t grumble about it the way they did, His only provision was the Word of God. And He was fulfilling that messianic promise, that great desire in the Psalms, I have valued and esteemed your Word more than my necessary food.

(25:50 – 27:43)

I’m living on your Word, Lord. And He triumphs on the basis of that Word alone, do you see? Not on the basis of natural bread, or food, or resources, or anything of that nature. He defeats the evil one on the basis of the Word of God alone.

Here is the true spirit-filled Israel, Jesus as the true spirit-filled Israel, succeeding as the faithful servant of God, where the nation of Israel had failed, do you see? So we’ve looked at baptism, we’ve looked at temptation, what about the work of the Spirit in Jesus’ ministry? So Luke takes us on in 4v14, and he says that Jesus returns from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit, and He’s now ready to begin His ministry. And He does so by quoting that passage that we read earlier, this time it’s from, the passage is from Isaiah 61, as we saw earlier, the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because He has anointed me, do you see? Jesus’ miracles weren’t just random displays of power overriding human weakness, He’s living as a man fully empowered by the Holy Spirit. In John 5, as we’ve seen in our studies in John, He says He can only do what He sees the Father doing.

How can He see what the Father’s doing? He sees what the Father’s doing through the eyes of the Spirit, the illumination of the Spirit. But not only does He see His ministry by the power of the Spirit, He discharges it and carries it out by the power of the Spirit. In Matthew 12v28, He tellingly says that He casts out demons by the Spirit of God.

(27:48 – 28:48)

So we mustn’t make the mistake of thinking that Jesus’ total dependence on the Holy Spirit in some way diminishes His deity. What it does is it rather defines His humanity, okay? So it doesn’t diminish His deity in any way, it doesn’t make Him any less God because He needed and depended on the power of the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t diminish His deity.

What it does is it defines His humanity as the perfect man. In Philippians 2v6-8, Paul tells us that He emptied Himself as He became a man. Jesus emptied Himself not by becoming less than God, but by becoming fully man, choosing to live in utter dependence on the Holy Spirit.

(28:49 – 30:25)

A man at last living on earth as God intended, at last. Now how does this impact on us? Well, the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus is exactly the same Holy Spirit given to the church at Pentecost. In John 14, Jesus says, as we saw last week, I will send another advocate, another advocate of exactly the same kind as me.

And in Acts 1v8, we read again, recorded by Luke, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses. Our work, our mission is to be Holy Spirit dependent in exactly the same way as Jesus was. Isn’t there a danger sometimes, and I’m all in favour of doing everything decently and in order, those of you who know me well will know that, but isn’t there a danger that we may sometimes replace the Spirit’s power with human strategies and programmes and personalities and performance? Yet God’s work, when it is achieving anything, is always done in God’s way.

(30:28 – 32:37)

Remember that passage in Zechariah 4, where Zerubbabel was really struggling with the task of rebuilding the temple. And I’m sure in his head, he’s thinking, what other things can I do here? Who else can I get to help? Can we bring some other folk in? Can we use some unregenerate somewhere? Can we do this? Can we do that? Should we have some fundraising events or some such thing? And God speaks to him and tells him that the work he’s been called to do is not going to be done by might, and it’s not going to be done by human power. Do you remember the next bit? It’s going to be done by my Spirit, says the Lord.

God’s work is done by the power of God’s Spirit. So where do we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us in how to do God’s work? How does that happen? Well, every time we open this book, we should feel the breath of God hitting us. Every time we open the Bible.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. These are His words. They are inspired.

They are breathed out by God through the power of the Spirit. That verse I read or I mentioned earlier from 2 Peter 1v21, prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So every time we open God’s Word, we’re hearing the Holy Spirit speaking to us.

The Holy Spirit wasn’t given to Jesus to turn them into a circus act, some kind of spectacle. No. The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus for faithfulness for proclamation, for compassion, for personal holiness, and for long-term endurance.

(32:40 – 34:29)

And that’s the same kind of work He wants to do in us. So if you’re in it for the long haul, which we are, because it’s a life commitment we made, we’re going to need the Holy Spirit to help us endure to the end. If we’re called to work for God, which we are, we’re going to need the Holy Spirit to give us the motivation to keep going in that work.

Because even young men grow weary that those who wait on the Lord and hear His voice through His Word will rise up like eagles and keep going. As we come to our final consideration, let’s think now about the Holy Spirit’s purpose in Jesus’ passion, because we must finally look at and understand the Spirit’s work as Jesus walks the road to the cross. And the first thing I want you to notice in that journey is the Spirit’s presence in the perseverance of Jesus.

Again, we’re back in Isaiah 42 here, where there’s a prophetic statement made about the Spirit-filled servant. And Isaiah describes the Spirit-filled servant, the Messianic King, like this, I have put my Spirit on him, and one of the marks of that indwelling Spirit will be, he will not grow faint or be discouraged. Now think about the Lord Jesus and His passion.

(34:32 – 35:49)

Think about Him on the night He was betrayed. Think about Him, as we will shortly, in Gethsemane. Where did Jesus find the strength to persevere through Gethsemane? When He’s faced with the horror of that cup, and He’s looking mentally to pass on it, where does He find the strength to persevere? Where does He find the strength to pray, not my will but yours be done? How does He persevere through the mockery, the hitting about the head with sticks, the spittle, the thorns, the nails, the whips, the cross, the darkness? Where does He find the strength to persevere? He perseveres by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(35:49 – 36:30)

I have put my Spirit upon Him, and He will not grow faint, and He will not be discouraged, even unto death, even unto death on a cross, even unto death on a cross to pay the price for human sin. Jesus’ passion is the ultimate display of Spirit-empowered endurance. And so He perseveres to the cross, and then we consider His sacrifice, the cross itself.

(36:32 – 37:52)

And as we come to think about the actual act of His sacrifice, His offering, we have to go to this verse in Hebrews, one of the most astonishing verses in the New Testament. Listen to this from Hebrews 9v14. Christ, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God.

There’s the Trinity involved in the cross. The cross is a Trinitarian event. Yes, we focus on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

Of course we do, and it’s right that we should do that. But the Son makes His offering, and the Father receives that offering through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, who empowers Jesus’ obedience to make that offering of Himself. Jesus makes that sacrifice as the perfect man of faith, casting Himself into death, trusting His Father to raise Him by the power of the Spirit.

(37:53 – 38:54)

He casts Himself into death. He offers tearful prayers, Hebrews tells us. He offered tearful prayers, and He was heard.

He was heard. And so we consider resurrection as our third element of Jesus’ passion. He trusted His Father to raise Him by the power of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does just that.

In 1 Peter 3v18, Peter tells us He was put to death in the flesh, but He was made alive in the Spirit. The same Spirit who descended on Him at the Jordan at the beginning of His ministry now raises Him on the third day at the end of His ministry. Jesus’ ministry is bookended by two great demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s work.

(38:55 – 39:25)

One at the beginning anointing Him for all that had to be done, and one at the end putting a seal of approval on all that had been done. But it doesn’t stop there, because finally Jesus ascends, and so we need to think about His exaltation. From His exalted position, He pours out the Spirit on His people now.

(39:27 – 41:09)

He’s exalted at the right hand of God. Acts tells us in chapter 2v33, and from that exalted position, He has poured out all this that you see and hear, all that activity of the Spirit, as God’s message goes out to people in their own language, and they are converted in their thousands. The Spirit who anointed Jesus now flows from Him to His people.

Pentecost is the overflow of the cross, the resurrection, and so the Holy Spirit who rests fully and permanently on Jesus now rests fully and permanently on us as His church. Now, how does this affect us? What’s the application here? Well, if the Spirit sustained Jesus through the greatest suffering that a human being has ever experienced, then He’ll sustain you through your lesser suffering. It’s an argument from the greater to the lesser, isn’t it? If the Holy Spirit sustained the Lord Jesus through His suffering for your sin and mine, then He can sustain you.

And remember, your perseverance as a Christian to this point is one of the greatest evidences of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. I feel like giving up every day and twice on Sundays. I don’t know how you feel.

(41:10 – 41:36)

Do you know what I mean? I don’t mean that literally, by the way. Those of you who take every word literally, it’s a figure of speech. Every day and twice on Sundays, we often feel like giving up, right? We often wonder if it’s worth it.

Sometimes it would be easier just to go with the flow. Sometimes it would be easier just to enter into that non-Christian relationship. Sometimes it would just be easier if it were other than it is now.

(41:37 – 43:59)

It’s so difficult at times. But as we were reminded this morning by Scott, we come to the Lord Jesus and He knows. He knows.

And He’s with us by His Spirit. And you being here tonight persevering as a Christian after how many months, years, or however long you’ve been a believer, that’s evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. He’s preserving you.

Do you see? One of my favourite verses in the Bible, if you’re allowed to have such things, is Philippians 1v6. Being confident of this. He who began a good work in you. Who began the good work in you? The Holy Spirit, right? Conceived the birth of Christ in your life, the life of God in your life.

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Keep on keeping on. And you can do it because of the Holy Spirit.

And finally, just as the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead on that first resurrection morning, so one day, on the last resurrection morning, He will raise you. Listen to these words from Paul, Romans 8. Unbelievable words from a human perspective. And we’re so familiar with them that we fail often to just engage with them.

Just listen to these words as though you’ve never heard them before. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. That’s words of one syllable, isn’t it? If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, and he does by the power of his spirit and by the new birth, he who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.

(44:01 – 45:02)

So, brothers and sisters, Jesus doesn’t call us this evening simply to live the Christian life for him. What he calls us to do is more infinitely amazing and wonderful than that. He calls us to live the Christian life with him, and he calls us to live the Christian life in him, sustained and empowered by the very same Holy Spirit who formed, filled, empowered, and raised Jesus.

And that in the end is the Holy Spirit’s ultimate goal described by Paul in Colossians 1v27. His purpose ultimately is to form Christ in you, which is the hope of glory. Amen.

The post The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus – Luke 4v14–21 appeared first on Greenview Church.

And let me say again good morning and let me express my gratitude to each and every single one of you for coming along this morning to the ‘Try Church’ gathering here at Greenview. Over these past few days I’ve seen the south side of Glasgow take a number of very significant steps towards celebrating Christmas. So as I’ve said already my parents are in Clarkston, they were in Stamperland before they were in Clarkston, I’m in Eaglesham so I’m regularly running that route up and down Waterford Road to get down there to see them.

(0:31 – 1:19)

I’m already seeing lights being stretched across town centres and across front and back gardens. I saw adverts for the first time yesterday advertising supermarket chains and soft drink companies. We seem to be on a collision course already with Christmas, it has snuck up on us once more, it’s that time of year already.

And it is a time of year that I think causes some of us, perhaps even most of us, to stop and to reflect on the past 12 months or so. Now we might do that on a bigger scale, thinking about our world, thinking about our country, and we might also do it on a personal scale. I do both, I imagine you do too.

(1:20 – 2:20)

We think about our own lives, our own circumstances, our own relationships, and much much more besides. Now there will be examples of times this year when we’ve seen real positive progress as a country. I’m sure some of us can think of science, medicine, other things that we’ve seen in our world and we’ve thought that’s good news, it’s great that that has happened.

And there will be examples of times this year I’m sure where we see positive progress in our own lives as individuals, either through employment, relationships, other endeavours, we think to ourselves it’s good that that has happened. But whether there are many of those examples or few that are flickering through our brains right now, it’s unavoidably true that we inhabit a world where there is suffering. And that suffering produces a degree of uncertainty.

(2:22 – 5:45)

So there will be examples of times this year when we’ve watched our screens, not in delight, but in horror, disgust, perhaps even fear. There will be examples of times this year when we’ve sat at home on our own with others and what we see on our screens and what we feel in our hearts brings us an anxiety. Anxiety for our own circumstances, anxiety for the circumstances of those close to us.

And at times it feels like life has a way of not really giving us much of a breather. It feels like one wave seems to hit us after the other and we don’t have time to find our feet between these moments. We live in a world where suffering is real and it produces uncertainty, questions, concerns.

And when it comes to Christianity we might feel a degree of scepticism. Scepticism that there is a good God out there or that there could ever be a good God out there given what we see and given what we experience, given the way that we suffer and given the way that the world suffers as it does. So if there is a God it seems like he either could do something about suffering but he chooses not to.

Or maybe he’d love to do something about suffering but he lacks the ability to do things. So perhaps he is actually in total control of everything as a God ought to be. But for whatever reason he leaves us to suffer.

He leaves us in our suffering perhaps in the way that we deserve or perhaps in a vindictive way. Alternatively perhaps he really wants to help and he tries to do what he can but he just seems to fall asleep on the job at times. Things seem to slip through the net when he’s not looking.

Is that the God of Christianity? Well let me pause and say two things at this stage. Firstly as somebody who himself is a persuaded follower of Jesus, if God were either unwilling or unable to do anything with our suffering, if he was unwilling or unable to deal with suffering, he is not a God that I would want to follow. No human being, least of all me, would be interested in following a God who enjoys evil, who enjoys injustice, or he’s too weak to put a stop to these things.

And I’m sure we would all agree with that as we gather here this morning. Secondly I begin this way to show that this is something that we as Christians, we as those who follow Jesus, this is something that we have done a lot of thinking about over the months and over the years of our own lives. We have thought a lot about the way, we are very aware of the way in which we individually and corporately struggle.

(5:47 – 8:04)

See throughout the years some have suggested that Christianity stands as a means of sugarcoating the worst parts of our world, that Christianity is a fairy story for those who are afraid of the dark. Now there’s loads that we could say about that. I hope it suffices at this stage to say that I don’t believe that’s true.

I don’t think there are many Christians out there who would believe that that was true. If you were to ask the Christian friends and family that you have, I think they would tell you of moments of real difficulty, real hardship, real struggle, real suffering. I don’t think I’ve suffered any less as I’ve grown older as a Christian.

I think perhaps if anything I’ve suffered more. It’s been the opposite. So what answers could Christianity possibly have to the suffering that you face, to the suffering that I face, to the suffering that we face in this world? What certainty amidst the suffering could Jesus provide for someone like you, someone like me, as we gather here this morning? Well just for the next 15 minutes or so, as we spend a bit of time looking at those verses that Lucy read out for us, let me just make two hopefully fairly simple, fairly straightforward observations.

The first one is that God sympathises with us in our suffering. God sympathises with us in our suffering. When I was an undergraduate student, I had a part-time job at a local pizza delivery service.

I won’t say which one because I know we all have our favourites. I don’t want to lose half the room. We at this pizzeria would, I can’t call it a pizzeria, it wasn’t a pizzeria, we would occasionally have visits from our area managers.

Now from memory, our area managers were our boss’s boss’s boss. That was kind of where they sat in the hierarchy and when they came to do an inspection, they always decided to come during the busiest parts of the week. Now I assume that was deliberate.

(8:05 – 14:03)

It certainly didn’t help to keep everybody calm, least of all our managers. Now there were two very distinct styles that our area managers would take when they came to do a store inspection. One manager would come in with a clipboard, pen in hand, he would stand in the corner of the kitchen area, he would watch us at a distance, he would tut and shake his head whenever we got something wrong and he never had anything positive to say about anything that we did.

And then there was another who would come along and this manager had a very very different style. See this area manager would put on his apron, he would roll up his sleeves, he would sanitise his hands and he would help us out in whatever way we needed. And see some of us I imagine might think that God, if there is one, is much much more like the former of those two approaches.

As he looks at a chaotic world like the one in which we live, he doesn’t want to get too close if he’s being honest with you. And so he keeps his distance, he hangs back and he shouts instructions at us from afar as to how we might get better, as to how we might improve. But actually the God that we meet in the Bible is so much closer to the second of those two approaches that I mentioned earlier.

We read of a God who, if you like, rolls up his sleeves, steps into our mess, comes into our world, steps into our brokenness, steps into our suffering and sympathises with us. These verses that we read earlier, they’re written around 2,600 years ago and they speak of the arrival of somebody who matches and meets a really really specific description. So we read in verse 2 of a man who had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

We read in verse 3 of a man who was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, someone who is familiar with pain. And we read again in verse 4 of a man who took up our pain, bore our suffering. And then 600 years later, after these verses are written, a man walks on the earth in the area of Judea and Samaria.

And this is a man who claims to be the son of God. He claims that he is truly God stepping into our world, born as a baby, born to experience the aches and pains of this world, born to know what it is to live in a broken world, to be betrayed by those closest to him, to suffer the greatest injustice imaginable as he dies as an innocent man executed on a Roman cross. Now these are all things that humanity would naturally howl at, betrayal, injustice, the death of the innocent.

And yet this man, Jesus, experienced them all. God the Son becomes a man and steps into our world to sympathise with us in our suffering, knowing a degree and a depth of pain that I most likely will never know. Now if that is true, let me suggest two really quick observations here.

Firstly, if Jesus really is the son of God as he claims to be, if he really did suffer in the way that history tells us that he did, then suffering in our world is not a direct consequence of what someone deserves. So I’ve heard one or two people express in moments of difficulty over the years, and maybe you’ve felt this as you sit here this morning, you feel like karma has finally caught up with you, that you’re finally being punished for something that you have done historically. I know one or two people who have spoken to you about this very subject who have suggested that.

Can I say with clarity that is not the message of the Bible, that is not the gospel that Christians believe, that is not what Jesus came to share. See if Jesus is truly God, he is perfectly pure, perfectly good, perfectly holy, and yet he knows and suffers some of the most horrible ways of suffering imaginable. He is breathing the air of a broken reality throughout his entire life, as you are and as I am.

He has plunged into an imperfect world as you are, as I am, but his suffering is not because of something he did or didn’t do. We mustn’t think for a minute that our God is out to get us, and that is why we suffer as we do. Our God is not out to get us, our God is out to help us.

(14:04 – 14:37)

Which leads me on to our second quick observation. See if Jesus really was the son of God as he claimed to be, if Jesus really did suffer in the way that he did as history tells us, then God knows firsthand how hard our world is. God knows firsthand how hard our lives can be, and God offers us firsthand support and strength in these moments of difficulty.

(14:38 – 16:01)

It means that a Christian can turn to Jesus in the midst of whatever he or she is going through and say to Jesus, I find this really, really hard. This is really difficult for me. I don’t know if I can bear this or not.

And rather than our God standing at a distance, shooting us a quizzical look, not quite understanding what we’re going through, instead we meet a Jesus who is gentle, who is caring, and who says, I know, I know what that is like. I experienced that for myself. I know how hard that can be.

I know what it is you’re going through, and I’m here to help. See, as a Christian, I can draw a tremendous amount of comfort from what stands as the objective reality that Jesus identifies with me in my struggles. So I can safely dismiss the idea that God doesn’t care that we were thinking about earlier on.

(16:01 – 18:21)

I cannot read the accounts of Jesus’ life as he is born, as he grows to become a man, as he goes about his earthly work. I cannot conclude that he is indifferent to the aches and pains of this world, not when he experienced them himself, willingly, in order to sympathise with us, his people. Instead, I can draw a tremendous amount of comfort from the objective reality that Jesus knows every single intricate detail of what every single one of us is going through.

And he offers you strength this morning. He offers you comfort, often through a community of other battered and bruised believers, often through the company of other flawed followers of Jesus. He helps us, directly sustains us through all the ups and downs that our world throws at us.

But that’s not all that our God offers, and that leads me on to the second heading this morning. And with this, I’ll begin to draw things to a close. So not only does God sympathise with us in our suffering, he also saves us from a world of suffering.

So over the coming Christmas period, I imagine there will be a number of attempts made to build something out of a box for a child, a grandchild, a niece or a nephew. I’m sure you know the sort of thing I’m talking about, a Lego model, a Duplo model, a kid’s kitchen. I’m sure at some point there will be instruction manuals littered across a carpet somewhere, and just bits and pieces all around, some getting knocked under the sofa where they will remain for a number of months.

And every year for me, there’s that soul-crushing moment when you look at the blueprint for how something should look, and then you see what it is that you have standing in front of you in reality. Now, I’d like to say that my attempts to build these sorts of things are often fairly good. My father was an engineer, and I like to think I have some sort of engineering blood residually pumping its way through my veins.

(18:21 – 22:15)

But with an alarming regularity, when I look at the Lego model or the kid’s kitchen, it tends to just lean slightly one way or the other. Now, I’ve tried to explain multiple times that that’s exactly how it’s supposed to look. I’ve taken the box and tilted it slightly so people can see that that’s how it’s supposed to look.

I’ve taken the instruction manual and just tilted it slightly so that people see that that’s how it’s supposed to look. Nobody’s ever fooled. They know that the final product that they have in front of them is not how it’s supposed to be.

And I think we feel that same innate sense as human beings when we look at our lives, when we look at our world. We get little flickers at what the world could be. We see little glimpses as to what the world could look like.

We might even have a sense of what we think the world is supposed to look like, but the reality is very, very different. And the God of the Bible agrees with that. He agrees with that sense in us that something is wrong.

See, in his original design for the world, there was no suffering. It’s not something God ever wanted for us to experience. It’s not something that God ever intended for us to experience.

We read at the start of the Bible story of a perfect world where there is beauty, where there is plenty, where there is complete harmony between humanity, complete harmony between God and humanity. And the world is then broken. The world is then marred.

It’s scarred when humanity decides that we want to become like God, that we want to reject his laws, push him away from our hearts, and we decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil. Somebody once described it to me as if you complete a jigsaw puzzle on a table, and someone comes along and smacks the side of the table, and the jigsaw ruptures into different bits and pieces, you can still see a glimpse of what it should look like, but it’s now broken and needs to be fixed. And that is the world in which we live.

And the cause is the human rebellion against the God who made us. And these are actions that carry continuous consequences for our world, for our lives, that so often leads to the suffering that we experience in our day-to-day lives. We’re separated from the God of life, and so we know a world where there is death.

We’re separated from the God of love, and so we now know a world where there is hatred. We’re separated from the God of truth, and so we now know a world full of lies and deceit. We’re separated from the God who is good, who cannot have anything to do with evil and sin, and so we now know a world that contains both, as do our hearts.

And so what is God’s response to this? Well, he diagnoses the problem, and he offers us a solution. So verse 6 of chapter 53, he says there, we all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way.

(22:17 – 23:08)

That’s true of you as you sit here this morning. It’s certainly true of me as I stand here this morning. There is that tendency in each and every single one of our hearts to shy away from the God who made us, to push him away from us, perhaps because we want autonomy, perhaps because we don’t want him to interfere in our lives, perhaps because we think we’re good enough without him.

And yet we see from our own lives, we see from our world, and we hear Jesus saying to us that we are not better off without him, but actually we really desperately need him. And so he offers us a solution. Verse 6 again, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(23:10 – 24:20)

And then again in verse 8, by oppression and judgement he was taken away, yet who of his generation protested? He was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression of my people, he was punished. See, we deserve to be separated from our God.

That would be right. But God sent his son Jesus to suffer so that we can be made right with him again. God sent his son Jesus to suffer to take the consequences for our sin upon himself so that we can be made right again, so that we can know our God again, so that we can be restored to the relationship that we were made for.

Again in verse 5, look down with me, it says there that he was pierced for our transgressions on that cross. He was crushed for our iniquities on that cross. The punishment that brought us peace was on him instead.

(24:20 – 25:22)

And by his wounds, we are healed. See, 2,000 years ago, Jesus offers every single human being a swap. He offers to take our sins and the consequences for our sins, the times when we’ve rejected God, rejected his laws upon himself.

And instead he offers us peace, peace with God, peace with God’s people. He promises us healing, a solution to our suffering, a world where there is no more evil, no more estrangement, no more dying, no more death, no more disease, no more suffering, no more sickness, no more struggles. See, Jesus promises that he is coming back one day, and he is going to make everything new again.

(25:25 – 25:37)

And as you read the accounts of his life, you’ll see that there is plenty of reason to trust him. There are plenty of reasons to trust his words. There are plenty of reasons to trust his promises.

(25:38 – 26:20)

We see the miracles that he shows his people again and again, as you read through one of the accounts of his life, as he heals those who have sickness, as he forgives those who have sinned, as he raises people from death to life. All of these things are just little windows, just little glimpses of the world that is to come, the world that he is working on, the world that he will one day come back to share with everybody who trusts in him. See, I said earlier on that we can’t read these accounts of Jesus’ life and conclude that he doesn’t care about us, because he’s willing to step into our world to sympathise with us in our suffering.

(26:22 – 29:31)

Well, nor can I read the accounts of Jesus’ life and conclude that he can’t do anything about it, because he does, time and time again, the biggest evidence of which is an empty tomb three days after he died, where Jesus has come back to life. And so the big question that I end with is, well, why hasn’t he done something about it yet? If we believe that Jesus is coming back to remake the world, to be free from all of these things that haunt us in our heads and in our hearts, why hasn’t he done something? Well, in order to do what he is going to do, Jesus is going to make everything new again. He is coming to put sin and evil to an end once and for all.

And if there is sin and evil in our hearts, we don’t deserve a spot in that new creation, not if we have turned away from God, as we all have. And so that swap that we mentioned earlier on, Jesus hasn’t returned yet because he is waiting. He is waiting for you, and he is waiting for me to turn to him and to ask him for a place in that brand new creation that he offers, a place that he is so willing and so able to give you.

I’m getting married this coming summer, and we’re at the stage now where we’re just beginning to send out invitations and put pictures on the invitations and come up with a wedding registry and a gift list, which always feels like a really horrifically awkward thing to do, to just ask a group of people to buy you things because you love someone. Now, Ashton and I, we could get married tomorrow. We could get married on Monday the 17th of November.

Let me tell you, nobody would be there. What we want to do instead is to wait, send out the invites, wait for people to accept so that they’re there. And that is why God waits for us now.

He has sent out the invites through Jesus. He sends out the invites as every single Christian turns to someone and says, hey, do you want to find out more about Jesus? He is giving you and giving me a chance to turn to him and to ask him to be a part of that eternal project that he is working on, a world free from suffering where we will be with him forever. And so his patience for now is an opportunity for you to turn to him and to ask him for a new life.

(29:32 – 29:52)

For forgiveness. That gives me as a Christian so much hope for the present, that in the midst of everything that I face, in the midst of everything that we face, this world is not the final chapter of my story. And it doesn’t need to be the final chapter of your story either.

(29:53 – 30:14)

That this world, full of suffering as it is, is as bad as it gets. And actually there is the promise of a brand new world that is coming. Now if that is even perhaps possibly true, that is an offer that I have to take very, very seriously.

(30:16 – 31:13)

If that’s perhaps possibly true, I need to respond. And so this Christmas, as we celebrate the Christmas lights, we’ll probably at one point hear and see the words Emmanuel come up, perhaps on the Christmas card, perhaps we’ll sing it in a Christmas carol at some point. That word Emmanuel simply means God’s with us.

Jesus was born as a baby and God stepped into our world to sympathise with us in our suffering. He came and died on a cross so that we would have an invitation to one day go to a world that is free from suffering, a world that he will remake. And in the meantime, he waits so that as many of us as possible accept his invitation.

(31:15 – 32:16)

And so my plea to you this morning is to ask him, ask him for forgiveness, trust in him to give you what you need as he sustains you through a life where we do suffer, a suffering that he knows, and then gives you all that he promises for the future, a brand new world where these things will be no more. I’m going to stop there and I’m going to pray. I’m going to pray a very, very simple prayer in response to everything that we’ve looked at this morning and then I’ll hand over to Zach.

Let me pray. Father, we thank you that Jesus knows what it is to suffer and in him we have somebody who has suffered in the ways that we have and so many more ways besides. Thank you, Father, that you’re not indifferent to our suffering and thank you, Father, for the promise of a world one day which is free from all these things.

(32:17 – 32:33)

Help us to understand how important it is that we are there and help us to understand how important it is that we are forgiven by you so that we can be there one day. Give us everything we need to understand this for ourselves, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The post Certainty Amidst Our Suffering – Isaiah 53v1–12 appeared first on Greenview Church.

For a significant time, they often try to soften the blow, soften the goodbye. Parent going away for a week’s holiday, tells the kids left behind, Grandma’s coming, and she’s going to take them to the cinema. Or a close friend moving to another city with work.

(0:19 – 0:32)

They might give you a photo of you together. It’s a small reminder, a token that says, we’re not going to forget each other. And why don’t you come and visit? My flat has a spare room.

(0:33 – 0:41)

Or a dad going on a work trip. He gives his son his watch. Keep this safe, I’ll be back.

(0:42 – 1:02)

It doesn’t stop the wee boys’ ache, but that small gift reminds him, don’t worry, I’ll be back. It’s a way of softening the blow, of staying present even while absent. And that’s what’s happening here in John chapter 14.

(1:03 – 1:15)

Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure. He’s already told them, where I’m going, you cannot follow now. He’s going to the cross to die.

(1:16 – 1:32)

Then back to his Father, and all this to prepare a place for them. But for these disciples, the thought of losing him was crushing. Their teacher, their leader, their friend, the one who calms storms, leaving.

(1:34 – 1:48)

But he said, don’t let your hearts be troubled. What we’re going to see this morning is that yes, Jesus is going. But he leaves something far better than a keepsake.

(1:49 – 2:05)

He leaves his presence and help. While Jesus goes to prepare a place for them, another comes to help them prepare for that place. So let’s think about Jesus who promises help.

(2:07 – 2:18)

Probably the worst fear for a child whose parents are going away is that they will never come back. That’s how the disciples felt. Their hearts were anxious and afraid.

(2:19 – 2:35)

But into that fear, Jesus speaks a promise that changes everything. So he says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. He says, I’ll not leave you as orphans.

(2:36 – 2:48)

I will come to you. This advocate, as we read, thank you, Elspeth, in verse 26 is the Holy Spirit. And we’ve been meeting him before throughout John’s gospel.

(2:50 – 3:05)

And over these coming chapters in particular, Jesus will speak more of who he is and what he does. The Spirit is not some force or energy. He is a person, divine and distinct, just like the father and the son.

(3:06 – 3:27)

He’s the living presence of God who gives life. From creation’s first breath to every new believer’s heart, the Spirit brings life where there was none. And as David was mentioning earlier, in our Sunday evening, we started this series called The Whole Spirit.

(3:27 – 3:42)

And we’re exploring even more of the story of the Holy Spirit through scripture. But let’s find out what Jesus is saying in this particular passage. Well, he’s the Spirit who comes alongside.

(3:43 – 3:53)

See that in verse 16, he’s, Jesus calls him the advocate. And the word used is paraclete. That’s a Greek word from para.

(3:53 – 4:09)

We know that word in parachute and others. And it means to come alongside. So, along with the word kaleo, it means to call, literally as he is one who is called alongside to help.

(4:11 – 4:23)

But there’s another, there’s a different word, an additional word that Jesus uses, another. There’s two types of words for another. One means another of the same kind.

(4:24 – 4:36)

And a different one that says another of a different kind. But the word Jesus uses here is another of the same kind. Jesus is saying he’s another like me.

(4:37 – 4:58)

Just as I’ve been with you, so the Spirit will come to you and be like me. And one particular way that he will be alike is in advocacy. What we’re to understand here, you see, is that Jesus, as he goes to the cross, will become the Lamb of God that John the Baptist promised.

(4:58 – 5:13)

He would take away the sins of the world by his death on behalf of sinners. The first advocate would be Jesus himself. All sinful people stand before God’s perfect justice.

(5:14 – 5:33)

And Jesus stands alongside those who believe in him and trust in him. He pleads their case. He argues for justice because his death, impending death, and for us today as we look back, his death on the cross will mean all debt to sin has been paid in full.

(5:35 – 5:46)

And Jesus’ defence as the first advocate will be unshakeable. He will say to the Father then, I have paid for these sins in full. He’s the first advocate.

(5:47 – 6:08)

But when Jesus tells his disciples, when I’m gone, the Father is going to send another advocate, one just like Jesus, then he’s saying he too will do a work of advocacy. He too will stand alongside the believer to help. And the second advocate is going to do a number of things to help these disciples.

(6:09 – 6:24)

He’s the Spirit who stays. See that also in verse 16, that the Spirit’s presence is permanent. In the past, the Spirit came at certain times and for certain people to carry out certain tasks.

(6:25 – 6:56)

But a time is coming soon, Jesus is saying, at a place and a time called Pentecost where the presence of the Holy Spirit would be given permanently and never withdrawn. And from that day until the day Jesus returns, the Holy Spirit would be at work in the life of every believer and in the church of Jesus Christ. So the work of the Spirit in the lives of these disciples would also be available for all believers, you and me today.

(6:58 – 7:08)

In effect, Jesus is saying, I’m not walking away. The Spirit is here. And he continues with his people.

(7:09 – 7:26)

But Jesus also says he’s the Spirit of truth. Look at that in verse 17. The help these disciples would need is being taught the truth because soon there would be so much opposition it would be hard for them.

(7:28 – 7:40)

And among that opposition would be deception and lies. And Jesus is gonna unpack that even more when he says the Spirit will teach you all things and remind you all things. So we’ll come back to that.

(7:41 – 7:56)

But also Jesus says the Spirit, the world cannot see him. The world cannot accept him, he says, because it neither sees him nor knows him. That’s why Jesus’ followers will face resistance.

(7:56 – 8:09)

But remember, when Jesus came, many didn’t recognise him. That’s what John writes about in the early chapters of John’s gospel. And they won’t recognise the Spirit’s work either.

(8:10 – 8:30)

Because you see, spiritual work or spiritual truth can’t be grasped by mere human intellect. By reason alone, the world doesn’t see and doesn’t want to because it prefers its own way. Yet the Spirit opens blind eyes.

(8:32 – 8:47)

We can explain the gospel and clear obstacles and remove distractions, but we can’t change hearts. Only the Spirit can shape desires and change wills to embrace Jesus. New life is his work, not ours.

(8:49 – 8:58)

And so we’re called to depend on God’s Spirit. But also he’s the Spirit who lives within. Look at that also in verse 17.

(8:59 – 9:20)

Jesus explains to these disciples, but you will know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. As I said, the disciples would receive the Spirit at Pentecost. And for every believer since, it happens the moment we trust Jesus.

(9:21 – 9:36)

And the Spirit isn’t distant, he’s a living presence. Not to be left alone. We’re never left to figure out lives for ourselves.

(9:37 – 9:56)

We’re never to be without help because the Spirit lives with us and is in us. That’s how Jesus speaks and guides and comforts and makes himself known through the Spirit’s work in our hearts, as he is with us and in us. That’s how we face anxiety and fears and sadness and such like.

(9:56 – 10:07)

How we endure trouble and opposition. Jesus, by his Spirit, is with us and in us. And so said Jesus in verse 18, you are not orphans.

(10:09 – 10:22)

Jesus is speaking, remember, to fearful, uncertain people. Like children, really, who need protection and care. I’m sure we all know what an orphan is.

(10:23 – 10:39)

A child who’s lost one or more parents. Perhaps an untimely death. Or their parents are simply unable to look after them and so give them up to care and be raised by others.

(10:40 – 10:49)

But that’s not your situation, says Jesus. You will not be left without provision or protection. You will be cared for.

(10:50 – 11:07)

You will be helped to grow and flourish because that’s Jesus’ purpose for his followers. Maturity, fullness of life, now and hope to come. How does this happen? I will not leave you as orphans.

(11:07 – 11:26)

I will come to you. Jesus is promising his Spirit, another like him, to help us to face even hard and difficult times, whatever they may be. Sure, as Christian believers, we can feel under-resourced for life.

(11:27 – 11:39)

And sure, we can be tempted to think that Jesus hasn’t given us what we need. But that’s not the reality. The Spirit does not merely visit.

(11:40 – 11:56)

He lives with and in the believers and he is resident and personal and intimate. And we’ll see this just a little bit later, but he says he makes his home with them. And because of him, we can have the life that Jesus calls us to.

(11:57 – 12:12)

We can follow Jesus in the ups and downs of life. We can endure life in a troubling world. So let’s think about what that obedient life looks like when the Spirit is at work, helping and preparing.

(12:15 – 12:32)

Well, Jesus says in verse 19, before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. The world will soon believe Jesus is gone, crucified, buried, forgotten. But his followers will know differently.

(12:34 – 12:50)

Because I live, Jesus says, you will also live. You see, after his death, Jesus won’t remain in the tomb. He will rise to life and because he lives, his life will now flow into those who trust him and it’s not a distant faith.

(12:50 – 13:07)

It’s a real living union with the risen Jesus, the Father and the Spirit. Through the Spirit, we share his life. When Jesus came, when Jesus said he came to give us life, he meant more than physical life.

(13:08 – 13:24)

It’s more than bread. And he said to the people asking for food, it’s the kind of life that comes from God himself. Every person here and since in the past has been born physically alive but spiritually dead.

(13:25 – 13:49)

But we can truly become alive through belief and faith in Jesus. That’s why John wrote back in chapter one, to all who received him, to receive Jesus, he gave the right to become children of God and that’s why Jesus told Nicodemus, you must be born again. The Spirit is the giver of new life and he awakens dead hearts.

(13:50 – 14:12)

He makes Jesus real to us, come alive to us and begins God’s new creation within us. Without the Spirit, there is no true life but with him, we become part of his family. So Jesus says, on that day, you will know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.

(14:13 – 14:35)

That day that Jesus is referring to is this period of time of Jesus’ resurrection and then ascension into heaven and the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost. And in that season, in that time, the very life of God is shared with his people. And Jesus is saying, you’re gonna be part of my family.

(14:36 – 14:58)

My life and my Father’s life are gonna flow into you and the Spirit is the bond that makes this real. Joining the disciples with Jesus, bringing his presence so, so close that Jesus says, I am in you. And when the world cannot see Jesus, his people will.

(15:00 – 15:13)

Yet notice how Jesus will be shown to them. Cast down your eyes to verse 21. Jesus says, the one who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love them and show myself to them.

(15:14 – 15:37)

It’s through love. God’s love looks like this, writes John, back in chapter three. He gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him won’t die without hope but will have life full and eternal and we’re caught up in that love when we trust the Son who gave his life for us.

(15:38 – 15:55)

And Jesus calls his disciples to love him. It’s more than knowing about him. Many people would admire Jesus as a teacher or prophet but Jesus says, if you love me, something far deeper.

(15:56 – 16:20)

And Jesus has been showing them over these years as together that being his disciple is not about religion and rules but relationship. As God is bringing them into his family, as spiritual eyes are opened, Jesus isn’t a mere teacher or miracle worker or good man. He’s their Lord.

(16:24 – 16:50)

Admiration turns to adoration, to love. And Jesus has been showing them how to display this love by being servants, humble, not lording over people, not seeking selfish ambitions. Remember, Jesus had been showing the disciples exactly what this love looks like.

(16:50 – 16:58)

In chapter 13, the previous chapter, he washed the disciples’ feet. He says, I’ve set you an example. Go and do the same.

(17:00 – 17:21)

And so Jesus is saying, if you love me, you will obey my commands. It might sound as if Jesus is giving us a checklist, do this and I’ll know you love me, but that’s not his tone. He’s describing this relationship where love leads to obedience.

(17:23 – 17:38)

Jesus’ command begins with a call to repent and believe. Yes, to turn from sin and trust him completely. Loving Jesus starts with trusting him, resting in what he’s done.

(17:39 – 17:48)

But out of that, from that, obedience grows. It’s not forced. It’s not legalistic.

(17:52 – 18:09)

Jesus adds, by this, everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another. Love is to mark his followers as they love one another. It’s, the world is meant to see Jesus through the loving obedience of his people.

(18:11 – 18:42)

Did you notice Judas’ question? He says, Lord, why show yourself to us and not the world? Jesus doesn’t answer this question directly. Certainly he doesn’t answer the why, but he does answer the how. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching, says Jesus, because Jesus will be seen through those who love and live out his teaching.

(18:43 – 19:04)

It’s not about dramatic miracles. The greater things Jesus promised the disciples would do, earlier in the verses we looked at last week, it’s lives transformed by loving action, forgiving, serving, caring. When believers live like that, the spirit is moving, and Jesus is shown to the world.

(19:06 – 19:27)

So Judas’ question gets turned around, really. Jesus is saying, the world will see me through you, and that’s true today. Whereas people love and obey with humility and grace, the world glimpses Jesus in a world full of rage and hate and confusion.

(19:28 – 19:50)

Does not that love for one another speak powerfully into that? But the opposite’s also true. Anyone who doesn’t love me, says Jesus, will not obey my teaching. Without love, obedience fades, and Jesus remains unseen.

(19:52 – 20:07)

You know, Jesus isn’t looking for love shown in emotion and tears, but love shown in obedience. If you love me, keep my commands. That’s how real devotion shows up.

(20:09 – 20:27)

And that’s where the challenge would land for the disciples, and for us too. What happens to a life or a church that doesn’t walk in spirit-filled obedience? Well, we begin to live like we’re spiritually fatherless. We’re spiritual orphans.

(20:29 – 20:58)

We say we believe and trust Jesus, but we rely on ourselves and our own strength and abilities, and we don’t trust God at all. And we lose interest in Jesus’ priorities and drift into serving ourselves. So the test is not how we feel on any given day, it’s commitment, it’s faithfulness, it’s endurance, it’s choosing obedience because we belong to him.

(20:59 – 21:08)

And through that, Jesus is made visible to the world. It’s through love, but it’s also from the inside out. Look at verse 23.

(21:09 – 21:30)

One more thing about this life of obedience. He says, my Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them. They’re not going to be left as orphans. They’re not being placed, as it were, in foster care or placed in a children’s home, and the difference is significant.

(21:31 – 21:53)

The Father and the Son and the Spirit choose to make their home with them, not in temples, not in palaces, but to live in ordinary lives. And as children of God, we’re at home with God. It’s not a place to stay.

(21:54 – 22:19)

It’s a place of belonging. And the Spirit is the divine homemaker. What Jesus prepares for his people in heaven, going to the cross and in heaven, the Spirit begins shaping in them now, and this unseen work in the life of the believers, the world can’t see it, but it’s real nevertheless.

(22:20 – 22:44)

His life fills his people, and the Spirit works within, and it’s displayed in and through the lives of those who believe, and it’s a quiet, transforming work, and it starts from the inside out as God makes his home in us. And what does that look like in practise? Well, it’s shaped by two things. We see that in verse 25 and 26.

(22:46 – 23:14)

Remember earlier, Jesus called the Spirit the Spirit of truth? Well, firstly, Jesus said, the Spirit will teach you all things, and the disciples needed teaching. There was so much they didn’t yet know or understand, and they’re going to become witnesses to Jesus across the world and set up churches and disciple and pastor and face all sorts of opposition and dangers and lies and deceptions. They had to keep on learning.

(23:18 – 23:38)

This morning, someone texted me a word of encouragement, but they also said, I’m looking forward to learn. You see, that attitude of learning should be the same for us, too. If we follow Jesus, we must be teachable.

(23:39 – 23:47)

We are to learn. We don’t know it all. We open ourselves up humbly, ready to learn God’s ways and purposes for our lives.

(23:47 – 24:00)

The Spirit is our teacher, correcting, rebuking, reshaping. It’s not simply about facts and doctrine, important as that is, but it’s about reformation. We’re being reshaped.

(24:00 – 24:12)

It’s about growing that wisdom and maturity. God changes our thinking and shapes our desires in the good and the hard times. We are always to be learners.

(24:14 – 24:25)

But also, secondly, the disciple needed reminding. We know how much we are prone to forget, and the disciples were the same. Jesus said, He will remind you of everything I have said to you.

(24:27 – 24:50)

You see, people would listen but reject the message the disciples were taking. They would reject Jesus, the one that they had lived with and seen, and they would not understand why. And as they faced the hardships and the ups and downs of life, they would need to be reminded of all that Jesus had promised them so that they would endure and persevere.

(24:52 – 24:55)

And so do we, too. We forget. Our thoughts wander.

(24:56 – 25:02)

Fears rise. Disappointments and stresses weigh us down. In church life ministry, too, we can feel let down.

(25:03 – 25:14)

We can be overwhelmed. We need His Spirit to remind us of His truth and His promises to us. By His Spirit, God whispers to us that He is with us.

(25:14 – 25:34)

His love is for us, that He will never forsake us or fulfil us. He leads us to Jesus, never away from Jesus. So as followers of Jesus, we open His Bible looking to hear from Him, to be encouraged, to be disciplined, to be built up, and that’s the Spirit’s work.

(25:35 – 25:55)

When we’re reminded of Jesus’ words in the moment of need, that’s the Spirit’s work. When conviction of sin comes with grace and hope, that’s the Spirit at work. We were talking in our community group this week, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

(25:55 – 26:05)

We often think about that’s for people who don’t know Jesus, and yes it is, but it’s also for us who do believe. We need to be reminded that Jesus is the way. He is the truth.

(26:06 – 26:10)

He is the life. It’s not just a message for people who don’t know Him. It’s for us too.

(26:12 – 26:23)

When we’re deceived, we need to know He is true. When we’re lost, we need to know He is the way. And it’s all underpinned by Jesus.

(26:25 – 26:50)

This one final aspect of Jesus’ comfort to His disciples, as part of their preparation, He wants them to experience real peace and security. So in verse 27 to 31, remember how this chapter started? Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Jesus promised a place, and He’s promised His presence, but now He promises peace.

(26:51 – 27:23)

Jesus says, peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. It’s not the world’s peace, fragile and temporary. The world’s peace depends on calm circumstances, on things being right or sorted, but that’s not often the case, is it? Jesus gives a peace that holds in the storm, a peace that begins with by being forgiven and being right with God, that whatever happens, those who belong to Jesus are at peace with God.

(27:23 – 27:35)

That’s the foundation we need. And this peace runs deep, Jesus said. He calls it my peace, the very calm He carried through fears and sorrows and suffering.

(27:36 – 28:01)

He knows trouble’s coming, opposition, hatred, loss, but His peace will strengthen as they face it with God, not apart from Him. And it’s the fruit the Spirit brings living within them, a peace that settles the heart when everything else is shaken. But He also wants them to experience real security.

(28:01 – 28:14)

He says, I’m going away. There’s so much about to happen that’s going to shake them, turn them upside down, it seems, evils closing in. Jesus said, the prince of this world is coming.

(28:17 – 28:28)

Judas is about to betray Him. The authorities about to condemn Him and torture Him, allow Him to be tortured and then nailed to the cross. All part of Satan’s scheme.

(28:30 – 28:42)

When Judas left to betray Jesus, John writes, it was night. Darkness seemed to win. But Jesus said, He has no hold over me.

(28:43 – 28:54)

He would not be overpowered. Jesus was giving His life willingly. Jesus knew what He was doing was fulfilling the Father’s plan.

(28:54 – 29:14)

He says, the world must learn that I love the Father and do exactly what He commands. What is about to take place at the crucifixion of Jesus will reveal the love that the Father and the Son had for us. The Son’s obedience to the Father’s saving will.

(29:15 – 29:24)

The innocent, perfect Son of God willingly laying down His life for the guilty. The willing Saviour redeeming slaves to sin. But it’s not the end.

(29:24 – 29:34)

He says, I am coming back. That’s the Gospel. Jesus is going, but He’s coming back.

(29:34 – 29:47)

The power of death is unravelling. And that’s real security. For those who know and trust that physical death is not the end.

(29:49 – 30:25)

C.S. Lewis, he writes a story, a series of stories of Aslan in ‘The lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ and it captures this truth so beautifully. When Aslan rises from the dead and he explains to the little girl, Lucy, though the witch knew deep magic, there’s a magic deeper still. When a willing victim who’s committed no treachery is killed in a traitor’s stead, the table would crack and death itself would start working backwards.

(30:28 – 30:42)

Jesus’ death would not mean defeat. His resurrection would prove victory over sin and over death. When they saw Him alive, they would know it was all part of the Father’s plan.

(30:43 – 30:50)

And that’s the goal. That their faith in Jesus would be strengthened, not shaken. That’s real security.

(30:52 – 31:41)

So Jesus is going to prepare a place for them, but another comes, the Holy Spirit, to prepare them for that place. Do you believe Jesus went to prepare a place for you? I’m going to ask you all a personal question. Have you been born again by His Spirit so that you can be in that place? And if you have, do you know the presence of His Spirit in your life? Do you know His living in you, working in you, through you, helping you, reminding you, teaching you? And are you resting and at peace with Jesus because of His death and resurrection? A peace and a security that the world cannot bring.

(31:46 – 32:15)

Well, maybe as we think about these things, we’re going to sing a couple of songs in response, if it’s okay. The first one directs us to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And as we sing this, focus and ask God to clear the things that are perhaps in front of you and let the Spirit speak to you, help you, teach you, remind you as we sing these words, or perhaps allow others to sing them to you.

(32:17 – 32:36)

And the second song is, I’m sure a song that many in the room will know, even if we’ve not sung it together before. It enables us to be involved in a conversation together as it asks questions and answers are given. And I hope you can find your place in that too as we sing that together.

(32:37 – 33:03)

But more than that, I want the truth of Jesus and who He is and what He’s done and what He will do to be central. And Jesus is able and therefore worthy to be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His going to His death and resurrection brings forgiveness, peace with God and secure salvation for all who believe.

(33:04 – 33:29)

This is God’s plan, God’s forever plan to gather His people to Himself and to live with Him. And the Spirit is coming to prepare His people for that. Even as we live in all brokenness and darkness and difficulties and troubles in this world, so as we sing, we declare Jesus is worthy because He is.

The post Another advocate – John 14v15–31 appeared first on Greenview Church.

Just a brief prayer as we start. Father, help us to open up your words and open up our minds and our hearts to what you want to teach us tonight, that your Holy Spirit indeed will lead us and teach us. And it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

(0:24 – 0:43)

As we start our series on the Holy Spirit, I’d like you to turn to Acts chapter five. It’s on page 1,096, if you’re using the church Bible. And it’s a fascinating and fearful passage, Acts five.

(0:46 – 1:09)

The reason I want to read this passage, however, is because of what it says about the Spirit. So do have your radar on for what it says about the Holy Spirit, Acts five, verse one. Now, a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

(1:10 – 2:04)

With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings, but to God. When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died, and great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

(2:04 – 2:26)

Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, that is the price.

(2:27 – 2:54)

Peter said to her, how could you conspire to test the spirit of the Lord? Listen, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. At that moment, she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in, and finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

(2:55 – 3:22)

Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. This is God’s words, and it teaches us an enormous amount about the Holy Spirit. But before we get to the passage, I don’t know how many of you like art history.

(3:24 – 3:49)

I’m not really a fan of art history, but something I do find interesting about art history are the unfinished works of art. Turns out that many great painters started a potential masterpiece, but didn’t finish it. Maybe this is why I’ve never painted a masterpiece, I just haven’t finished it yet.

(3:50 – 4:24)

But from Leonardo da Vinci to Michelangelo, Rembrandt, hopefully we’ve maybe got some pictures coming up, Benjamin West, who painted this painting. All of them have paintings that are wonderful and yet incomplete. And I start with that because it seems to me that many Christians have a similarly incomplete picture of the Holy Spirit.

(4:26 – 5:05)

Some of the detail is there and much of the detail is good, but there are, if you like, some blank bits here and there on the canvas. So it might be, for instance, that their understanding of the person of the Spirit is a bit sketchy. Or it may be that they have a huge blank section on the mural because they haven’t grasped that the Holy Spirit was actually operational in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

(5:05 – 5:38)

And so they’ve got this big blank patch on the wall. And it’s not just that there are some bits that are incomplete, but maybe even, if we’re going to be humble about it, there may even be some places on the portrait where we’ve drawn in a few things that are actually incorrect or not quite right. And maybe there’s a few bits here and there where we need to rub something out that’s not quite biblical, not quite really what the Bible is saying.

(5:40 – 5:58)

And so as we move through this series, which is kind of like overviewing the biblical mural of the Spirit, we’re gonna kind of overview what the Bible teaches on the Spirit. As we go through this, I want you to be prepared for a few things. Number one, be ready to see a little more of the Spirit than you have already seen.

(6:00 – 6:31)

And number two, be ready occasionally to rub out something that isn’t quite right. Or it may be, in fact, that your mural’s kind of wonderful and perfect already, and in which case, just rejoice in what you are reminded of about God the Spirit. But my prayer for this series is that as we learn more about the Spirit, we will love Him more and be led by Him more gladly.

(6:32 – 6:57)

So this is not just some theoretical thing, but we want, in fact, to grow in our love for the Spirit and in our daily being led by the Spirit. So with that way of introduction, let’s begin with some basics, some fundamentals tonight. And I say basic, but actually, not everyone gets what we are about to cover.

(6:58 – 7:32)

And it makes an enormous difference to how we view the Holy Spirit. So let’s ask two basic questions tonight. Number one, is the Holy Spirit God? And number two, is the Holy Spirit a person? Or just some kind of powerful force of God? So a couple of things that are, they should be right at the centre of your understanding of the Spirit.

(7:33 – 7:50)

But let’s just check whether these things are there on your wall. On your wall, so to speak. And for each of these, we’re not just gonna look at the biblical passages, but we’re also gonna think about what difference this would actually make in your attitude to the Spirit.

(7:52 – 8:26)

So let’s start with the question, is the Holy Spirit God? And of course, outside Orthodox Christianity, many people’s answer is no. There are lots of people who are queuing up to say that the Spirit is not divine. Whether it’s the cults, or Judaism, or Islam, there are many different groups outside Orthodox Christianity who deny the Spirit’s deity.

(8:28 – 8:59)

And so if your answer is yes, I believe that the Holy Spirit is God, do you understand the biblical support for your position? Does the Bible make it clear that the Spirit is God? Well, the answer is yes. And I want to look with you at three lines of evidence briefly. So for one thing, the Bible gives the Spirit divine titles.

(8:59 – 9:18)

Divine titles. The Holy Spirit is called God in the Bible. This was one of the reasons that I read from Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira have lied to the apostles.

(9:19 – 9:41)

They’ve lied about the amount of money that they’ve given to the church. The issue isn’t that they’ve held back money, the issue is that they’ve lied about how much money they’ve actually given. But in verse three, Peter says, the bigger issue is that you have lied to the Holy Spirit.

(9:42 – 10:08)

And why is that such a big deal? Well, it’s such a big deal because of the end of verse four, the next verse. Peter says, you have not lied just to human beings, but to God. You see the link that Peter makes? To lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God.

(10:09 – 10:27)

There’s a parallel between these two things. So Acts 5, verses three and four sticks the divine title God on the Holy Spirit. And this is not the only place in the New Testament that this happens.

(10:28 – 10:48)

Let me give you one other example, which I hate to say on the 2nd of November is Christmassy, contextually. But in Luke chapter one, Mary is being told that she will give birth to the Son of God. And this is what the angel says to her.

(10:48 – 11:10)

The Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Now the Most High, put capitals on the M and the H, Most High is a title from the very earliest part of the Bible. It comes from Genesis 14.

(11:11 – 11:38)

And so we’re being told clearly in Luke one that the Holy Spirit is the God of the whole Bible. The Spirit is given divine titles and the Spirit has divine attributes, second thing. Now attributes are qualities and abilities someone possesses.

(11:40 – 11:59)

And the Spirit is said to have attributes that only God possesses. So just to offer one illustration. In Hebrews chapter nine, verse 14, the Holy Spirit is called the Eternal Spirit.

(12:00 – 12:18)

Now if you just think about that, only God is eternal in Himself. And so if the Holy Spirit is the Eternal Spirit, the Spirit must be God. And there’s lots of things like that in Scripture.

(12:19 – 12:28)

The Spirit is present everywhere. It’s only true of God. The Spirit knows all things.

(12:28 – 12:36)

That’s only true of God. The Spirit is all powerful. That’s only true of God.

(12:37 – 13:06)

And so the Spirit isn’t just given the titles of God, but the Spirit also has the attributes of God. And then if that isn’t categorical enough, just to cap it off, thirdly we have the Trinitarian formulations of the Bible. The New Testament has a number of passages where the Father, Son, and Spirit are presented together as equals.

(13:07 – 13:34)

Equals. So think about Matthew chapter 28 and the famous Great Commission. What’s the Great Commission? Go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of who? The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

(13:36 – 13:48)

And by the way, it is not the name of the Father and the name of the Son and the name of the Holy Spirit. There’s only one name in that verse, singular. The name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit.

(13:51 – 14:18)

I don’t know how much clearer it can be from that, that the Holy Spirit is on an absolute par with the Father and the Son. He shares the same name as the Father and the Son. In the New Testament, the Spirit is called God, acts like God, and is God, sharing the name and honour of God.

(14:19 – 14:38)

And down the centuries, all Orthodox Christians have believed this. In fact, one of the dividing lines between a biblical view of the Spirit and one that’s not biblical is just this. Now, a little bit of church history, because it’s good to do a little bit of church history occasionally.

(14:40 – 15:14)

In 325 AD, there was an early church council in a place called Nicaea, which is in Turkey today. And at Nicaea, a few hundred church leaders got together for a conference, and they studied the Bible, and they produced a statement about the Trinity, what the church believes about the Trinity. And this creed, don’t worry if you can’t read it, but what you possibly can see on the screen there is that it has three sections.

(15:14 – 15:23)

Section one was about God the Father. We believe in God the Father. Section two, we believe in God the Son.

(15:24 – 15:43)

And section three, we believe in the Holy Spirit. What is really intriguing about that statement is how short the third section is. The Holy Spirit only got a single line in the Nicaean Creed.

(15:43 – 15:56)

Simply says, we believe in the Holy Spirit. Now, the fact that the Spirit is in the creed at all shows that he’s viewed as God at this point. He has his own paragraph.

(15:57 – 16:24)

But why was he given just a line? Well, the reason is that at that time, the big debate of the day was about God the Son. The big debate was, is Jesus fully divine? And so because of that, they wrote this huge, big, long section defending the deity of Jesus. What happened was that after Nicaea, people then began to debate about the person of the Holy Spirit.

(16:24 – 16:55)

Well, what about the Holy Spirit? And there were some people who popped up who said that while the Holy Spirit was part of God and in some ways, maybe divine, they said the Spirit is a notch or two below the Father and the Son. He’s somewhat divine, but he’s not fully equal with the Father and the Son. And so you know what they did? They called another council.

(16:55 – 17:22)

That’s what you did whenever there was a bit of controversy. And in 381 at the Council of Constantinople, they added a much longer section to the Nicaean Creed about the Holy Spirit, which said amongst other things that the Holy Spirit is the Lord God. Now, this is not just a bit of theology or history.

(17:23 – 18:08)

This influences our attitude towards the Spirit because if the Holy Spirit is God, then we should honour him as God. Have a listen to how the Council of Constantinople put it. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, that’s a divine title, the giver of life, that’s a divine attribute, who proceeds from the Father and who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified and who has spoken through the prophets.

(18:10 – 18:39)

So the early church grasped that if the Spirit is God, then like the Father and Son, the Spirit should be worshipped as God and glorified as God. To put it another way, we shouldn’t honour the Spirit one iota less than we do the Father and Son. The Spirit is not the inferior member of the Trinity.

(18:41 – 19:13)

Now, there is a caveat to this. It’s a caveat and it’s not a contradiction that we are to honour and glorify the Spirit in the way that the Bible encourages us to honour him. It’s interesting when you read the New Testament, you find, or I should say you don’t find, isolated worship directed to the Holy Spirit alone.

(19:14 – 20:00)

There are passages where the Son is just directly praised and glorified. There’s most passages where the Father is praised and honoured. But the overwhelming presentation is that the Holy Spirit is honoured according to his role within the Trinity, which is not usually to be in the direct spotlight of isolated praise, but to be that member of the Trinity who enables our prayers and enables our praise and who loves, the Holy Spirit loves to shine the spotlight on the Father and the Son.

(20:02 – 20:40)

To use a human illustration, you know what you see sometimes at these Oscar ceremonies and there’s maybe like a film production and the film producers have won an award and there’s maybe seven or eight people come up to the front. And there’s always those people that come to the microphone, but there’s always one or two people that stand at the back, you know, and they’re pushing everyone else forward and giving them the spotlight, giving them the applause. Well, it’s not that the Holy Spirit is any less worthy of honour, but the Spirit loves to play the role of putting the Father and the Son to the front.

(20:43 – 21:16)

And so for instance, in New Testament passages like Ephesians 1, you’ll see there that God the Father is the one who is praised directly. And then there’s a very significant section where God the Son is honoured as the agent of redemption through his death on the cross. And then the Holy Spirit comes at the end as the one who is working behind the scenes and in the hearts of people to make all of this happen.

(21:19 – 21:53)

To put it another way, we honour the Holy Spirit with the emphasis of the New Testament, which is normally to be the one through whom we praise and through whom we pray. So what does this look like in the church? Well, it looks like speaking of the Holy Spirit with reverence. You know, one of the things I regret is that sometimes whenever I speak of the Holy Spirit, it seems like it’s always in the context of controversy.

(21:57 – 22:08)

And the Holy Spirit is not just a person who’s involved. We’re the ones that create the controversies about the Spirit, not the Spirit. And so we need to speak of him even with reverence.

(22:10 – 22:36)

It also is something about our thinking, isn’t it? That we don’t think any less of the Spirit than the Father and the Son. And it also looks like praise that is often Trinitarian in its structure. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? That hymn that we sang together, it honoured the whole Trinity as the Godhead works together for our salvation.

(22:38 – 23:10)

And another way also that we honour the Spirit is by recognising the Spirit’s distinctive contributions to our salvation. Nigel was pointing this out this morning, that while within the one God, all the members of the Godhead are united in all that they’re doing, and yet the Bible does teach distinct roles, you could say. Things that the Father does particularly, things that the Son does particularly, things that the Spirit does particularly.

(23:11 – 23:46)

What does the Spirit do particularly? Well, the Spirit’s involved in things like creation and new creation in the hearts of those who are spiritually dead. And the Spirit’s involved in things like the inspiration of the Bible and the illumination in people’s minds so they can understand the Bible and agree with it. And as we see the Spirit’s roles in these areas and recognise these things, we worship and glorify the Spirit.

(23:48 – 23:57)

So that is the first fundamental. Is the Holy Spirit God? Yes. And that sets the tone for the whole way we view the Spirit.

(23:58 – 24:29)

But so does our second question, which is just as fundamental. And the second question is, is the Holy Spirit personal? Is the Holy Spirit a person? Ligonier Ministries, which is a ministry connected with the late R.C. Sproul, they carried out a survey in the UK to ask about people’s beliefs. This was in 2018.

(24:30 – 25:03)

And they asked people that weren’t Christians, but also people who were Christians, lots of biblical questions. And I think one of the most shocking results of that report was they discovered about half of UK evangelicals said they believed that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but a force. Only 39% said that they disagreed with the statement, the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person.

(25:04 – 25:22)

6% said they didn’t know. And about 50% thought the Spirit was just a force. Now, I’m actually not that surprised by that, because this does seem to be one of the more sketchy parts of the mural as I listen to Christians.

(25:26 – 25:48)

Many Christians are clear on the deity of the Spirit, but they’re less clear on the person of the Spirit. And I think even there might be some reasons for this, if you think about it. One of the reasons might simply be that the very name of the Spirit might appear to people to be impersonal.

(25:49 – 26:04)

The most common title for the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. But the titles, the Father and the Son, are very obviously personal, aren’t they? You relate to, you have a relationship with the Father. You associate with a Father and a Son in human terms.

(26:05 – 26:26)

But it’s a little less obvious that the Holy Spirit is necessarily a person. And then maybe added to that is the fact that the Bible often describes the Spirit in terms of his actions and his power. I mean, even think of the most popular images for the Spirit in the Bible.

(26:27 – 26:44)

Images like a powerful wind, a raging fire, powerful rushing water. These are highly powerful things. Wind, fire, water.

(26:44 – 27:02)

And so maybe it’s as people read these things, they then make the wrong deduction that the Spirit is just a force, not a person. But this is where we need the whole Bible to keep us right. And so Acts 5 again is really helpful.

(27:02 – 27:16)

Acts 5 not only proves that the Holy Spirit is God, but it also proves that the Holy Spirit is a person. Look again at verse three. You have lied to the Holy Spirit.

(27:18 – 27:32)

Well, you can’t lie to something that’s impersonal. You can lie to your friend, but you can’t lie to a lamppost, unless you’re particularly foolish. And it’s the same in verse nine.

(27:33 – 28:11)

How can you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? You can’t test the patience of mere fire, wind, or water, but you can test the patience of a person who has these powerful characteristics. And these personal characteristics are everywhere in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit knows things, teaches people, leads the church, He testifies, He makes decisions, and has a will.

(28:12 – 28:27)

You can insult the Holy Spirit, although you shouldn’t, and you can grieve the Holy Spirit. You even, as we see here, can lie to the Holy Spirit, and therefore the Spirit is Personal.

(28:30 – 28:53)

Now, John Owen, who was one of the great minds of church history, he wrote a book on the Holy Spirit. Interesting that in his day, I think it was the 1700s, John Owen felt there was a big neglect on the Holy Spirit in the church of his day, that people didn’t know much about him. So he wrote this massive, long book that you can try and read, it’s pretty hard to read.

(28:53 – 29:46)

But anyway, he’s got a really good illustration in it, and he says, he said, imagine you hear of a far-off country that is flourishing, and there’s reports coming out of this country that this place is amazing, that it’s full of life and flourishing, it’s full of justice for all of the citizens, and it’s full of people who are well-taught and well-educated, and it’s a place where evil is kept in check. And Owen says, wouldn’t it be obvious that such a country must have a governor, some sort of wise ruler who is making all of this happen? Because for there to be justice, someone has to administer justice. And for everyone to be well-educated, there must be someone there to teach.

(29:47 – 30:28)

And so Owen says, it’s obvious from what the Spirit does that the Spirit must be personal. I think Owen would have agreed with the writer who says, the Holy Spirit is not only an action, but an actor. So what difference does this make? What difference does it make that we use the right pronoun when it comes to the Holy Spirit? Everyone’s on about pronouns today, aren’t they? We need to use the right pronoun when it comes to the Holy Spirit.

(30:28 – 30:51)

What is the right pronoun when it comes to the Spirit? The right pronoun is not it. The Holy Spirit is not an it. But in the accommodating language of the Bible, the Spirit has given the pronoun He to tell us that the Spirit is personal.

(30:52 – 31:10)

Now what difference does it make to grasp that? And I’m assuming that this is gonna make a bigger difference because as we’ve said, this is a more sketchy part of the mural for many people. So here’s a few things. First of all, let’s just start with how you speak about the Holy Spirit.

(31:11 – 31:31)

I think that’s important. Let’s stop talking about this Holy Spirit as if the Spirit is the Christian version of the force in Star Wars. Have you come across Christians that kind of seem to speak of the Spirit in that way, right? So it’s this force that’s kind of flying around and that you can manipulate and pray into.

(31:32 – 31:46)

You know, it’s like it’s just this thing that you can tap into. Let’s stop doing that. If the Holy Spirit is personal, then you should engage with the Holy Spirit as a person.

(31:48 – 32:15)

And I thought about giving you a kind of a checklist to do this, and then I thought that’s not the right way to come at this, is it? What I want you to simply see is that you will give much greater attention to the Spirit when you realise the Spirit is a person. Silly illustration. In our house, we have a small number of people and a very large amount of stuff.

(32:16 – 32:32)

Now, the stuff in our house matters. It’s not inconsequential. If, for example, a light stops working or something in the house isn’t functioning, it will get attention at some point.

(32:34 – 32:59)

But what gets most attention in our house are the people in our house. If a person in the house is upset about something or a person in the house has something to say to everybody, we all stop and we all listen. There is a different level of attention given to a person than there is to the power unit that isn’t functioning in the kitchen.

(33:01 – 33:34)

And my heart behind this series is not to try and make us go in any kind of weird direction with the Holy Spirit, but actually to get us to grapple with who the Holy Spirit actually is. Because when we view the Spirit as God and when we view the Spirit as personal, He therefore becomes someone who demands our daily concern and attention. We will expect to engage with the Spirit each day that we live our lives.

(33:36 – 34:08)

How do we engage with Him? Well, we see, don’t we, in the Bible that it is chiefly through the word that He inspired, as He teaches us and comforts us and leads us through His word. And above all, as He leads us to worship the Father and to worship the Son. When we see the Spirit as personal, we will stop seeking to use the Spirit as just a means to our ends.

(34:09 – 34:35)

And we will start to have affections for the Spirit, an attitude that cares about what He thinks and that makes us sensitive to sin and sensitive to His leading. Much more about that in weeks to come. But as we begin this series, let’s fill in two sections of the canvas.

(34:37 – 34:43)

The Spirit is God. Honour Him. Glorify Him.

(34:44 – 35:08)

Don’t see the Spirit as in any way beneath the Father and Son, even though He plays a very particular role. And the Spirit is personal. Know Him, love Him, give Him your consideration so that by knowing the Spirit more, you will be led by Him more gladly.

(35:09 – 35:46)

Let us pray. Our Father, there has been a lot to think about this evening, and we pray that this will change us and that this will encourage us to see the Godhead in the way that the Bible describes it. We want to honour you for who you are, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(35:47 – 36:12)

We want to praise you tonight, Father, through your Son and in the power of your Spirit. And we also want to recognise the distinctive role of the Spirit in our salvation and in our lives. May we be more sensitive to His leading, to His convicting, to His teaching, to His guiding as He points us to you and as He points us to Christ.

(36:13 – 36:16)

And it’s in His name we pray, amen.

The post The Person of the Spirit – Acts 5v1–11 appeared first on Greenview Church.

I’ve heard just what we might call a couple of rookie mistake questions from two of the disciples, Thomas and Philip, but they actually reveal not only where they were in relation to their understanding of Jesus and his mission, and by extension of where some of us might be this morning, but they also produced some of the most amazing truths ever to pass from the lips of the Lord Jesus that any of us could ever hear. Well, this section which Emily read for us contains what must surely be one of the greatest and most famous verses in the whole Bible, verse 6, where Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Well, we’ll be looking at that verse in a bit more detail later, but to start with, let’s remember the key verse at the start of chapter 14 that we considered last week. It was the title of Colin’s message, don’t let your hearts be troubled. And it kind of bookends chapter 14 because we find it again near the end in verse 27, where Jesus says, do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

It shows just how significant and troubling this moment was for the disciples. In the previous chapter, Judas had left to betray Jesus, and although we read that the other 11 hadn’t worked out yet that he was the betrayer, Jesus says first that he is going to be leaving them and then that the disciples won’t be able to follow him there. And then he immediately follows that by predicting that Peter, who was the lead disciple, was going to deny him.

(2:01 – 5:06)

So with that triple whammy, the disciples are stunned. Jesus was in some way going to leave them that they didn’t quite understand, but where was that going to leave them? They had left everything for him. How were they going to continue without him? But we need to remember that not only were the disciples’ hearts troubled, Jesus was troubled too, as we read in chapter 12 verse 27, where he says, now my soul is troubled.

It’s the same word. And what shall I say? Father save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. But the incredible thing that we see about this farewell discourse is how selfless Jesus is in his dealings with his disciples.

His focus is all on them and their needs and not on himself. His patience and long suffering with them, as we’ll see, are truly astonishing. So let’s go through the passage where we start with Thomas.

Now we’ve not heard too much about him in John so far, but he does feature a lot later on in the final chapters. There’s really just one reference in chapter 11 where I think J.C. Ryle in his commentary is correct to say about Thomas’s statement about Lazarus, let us also go that we may die with him, that it’s an expression of despondency and unbelief. But here in verse 5, given what Peter has said a few verses earlier, Thomas does appear to be speaking on behalf of all the disciples when he says, Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? In effect, there’s an implicit request there for Jesus to show them the way, although Jesus has just said that they do know the way already.

So why did Thomas deny this? Well, Jesus here, I think, is challenging the disciples’ understanding, as he had already predicted his death in chapter 12. So what is the reason behind this request? Well, there’s clearly confusion on the part of the disciples, quite possibly, in part at least, as a result of their hearts being so troubled at the news that Jesus is going to leave them. Often we can be gripped with grief or fear and worry about different things in our lives, and that often leads us to not thinking straight and perhaps even becoming irrational in our thinking, because what we know in our heads often hasn’t reached our hearts, and in times of trouble or crisis, our faith can appear to vanish.

(5:08 – 9:20)

This is a really important point, because the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10 verse 10 that it is with our heart that we believe and are justified, put right with God. And it’s important for us really to ask that question of ourselves this morning. Do we really believe in our heart what Jesus’ mission was? Is this where we find true comfort, or is it simply head knowledge? But let’s look at the response that Jesus gives.

He is the root to the Father. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Thomas wanted directions, but Jesus offers relationship. The root here isn’t a line on a sat-nav or a map as they would have had in those days. Instead, it’s a person who bridges a divide, none other than the Lord Jesus himself.

And the barrier is not geographical, but it is moral and spiritual. The way, the truth, and the life are not three separate paths. They are one unified reality found in the person of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus is the way because he is the very truth of God as the incarnate word of God, because he is the life of God. And it’s not as if this is something brand new that the disciples were hearing. No, Jesus has been building up to this climax of his teaching about himself throughout his ministry.

Let’s have a quick overview of what we’ve seen already over the past few months. Jesus is the fulfilment of Jacob’s ladder, the way to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on him. We read about that at the end of chapter one, making reference to Jacob’s dream with the ladder to heaven back in the book of Genesis.

And then in chapter three, Jesus says that being born again through his spirit is the way that we enter the kingdom of God. In chapter 10, he says that he is the gate for the sheep, and whoever enters through him will be saved. So Jesus has already been teaching that he is the way to God.

But John has also been telling us that Jesus is the truth of God. In chapter one, verse 14, we read that the word, that’s Jesus, became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. We’re also told that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ.

And in chapter eight, Jesus promises that his disciples will know the truth, and that truth will set them free. And we’ve also seen that Jesus is the source of all life. Again, chapter one, in him was life, and that life was the light of men.

And in chapter six, he said that just as the living father sent him and he lives because of the father, so the one who feeds on the Lord Jesus will live because of him. And most memorably in chapter 11 that we were just considering just a few weeks ago, we heard Jesus say that he is the resurrection and the life. So this glorious sentence, I am the way and the truth and the life, is the climax to so much of what we have been told already.

But let’s unpack that a bit. What is this way? Well, it’s not merely a way to live, although certainly what Jesus tells us in his ethical commands, what we read in the Sermon on the Mount and other parts of the Gospels, certainly is the way that he calls us to live. But that’s not what he’s speaking about here.

(9:20 – 16:46)

No, the way to God is the way of the cross, Jesus impending death and resurrection. And we read about this explained later in the New Testament, in particular in Hebrews chapter 10, where we read that we have confidence to enter the most holy place. That’s making reference to the sacrificial system under the Old Testament where the high priest was only able to go into the most holy place once a year.

But what the writer to Hebrews says that every single Christian is able to enter that spiritual most holy place, the presence of God in glory, by what he says is the new and living way. Exactly the same word opened up for us through the curtain. That was the curtain that closed off the most holy place.

And it’s described here as Jesus’ body. And of course, if you know the Gospel accounts that the temple curtain was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross, showing in that most graphic of, I guess, pictures there that the way to God was now wide open because Jesus had died on the cross as the final fulfilment of all the Old Testament sacrifices because he is the only one that was able to take away our sins by bearing the punishment for them on that cross. And Peter speaks of this in his first letter where he says that Jesus died for our sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God.

Jesus alone is the way. No one comes to the Father except through him because no one else has died for our sins and risen from the dead to put us right with God. Only Jesus could do this as fully God and fully man without any sin and only Jesus has done this because we know as we’ll be hearing in a few weeks time that he has risen from the dead.

But because no one comes to God the Father except through Jesus, this is why it is so crucial that every single one of us here today grasps how much we all need Jesus. I was thinking of the corollary of the opposite of why Jesus is the way. What does that say about us? Jesus is the truth.

What does that say about us? Jesus is the life. What does that say about us? Well, if Jesus is the way, that means that every one of us is directionless. We don’t know where we’re going in life.

We may think we are, but as we read in Proverbs, there’s a way that seems right to people, but its end leads to death. Each one of us, the Bible tells us, is lost and Jesus alone is the way to God that each of us must take. Then secondly, we are all deceived.

We have wrong thinking by nature because our minds are darkened because of our sin. We have wrong thinking about God. We have wrong thinking about ourselves.

We are deceived about salvation. We think either that we don’t need it or that somehow we are good enough to be accepted by God. But all that wrong thinking and being deceived by the devil means that we are heading for a lost eternity.

Jesus alone is the truth, the truth of God that we need to hear and heed. Although we may think if our lives are going well that we really are living life to the full, that we are fully alive, the verdict of the Bible is that we are completely deceived if we think that. Actually we are spiritually dead. What that means ultimately is that we are separated from God, unresponsive to him by nature, that great chasm between God and us.

And Jesus alone is the life that each of us desperately needs that bridges that separation between God and ourselves and brings us into fellowship with him. So like Lazarus, we need a spiritual resurrection, raising us from our spiritual death to life with God in Christ. And again I need to ask each one of you this morning, have you experienced that yet? Because it’s something that you’re not going to miss.

You’re going to realise that something has happened in your life. You were once in darkness, now you’re in the light. You were once spiritually dead, now you’re spiritually alive.

Because that’s what happens with every single individual who becomes a Christian. We pass from death to life. And there is no other way to God.

This was a shocking claim in the first century and it’s still as shocking today in 2025. And it’s hugely important that we do not compromise on this key truth of the Bible. Because as Peter would go on to say in Acts chapter 4 verse 12, salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.

I do hope that each one of you takes that to heart this morning. Please do speak with Colin or someone that you know who is a Christian afterwards to explain things further. But we need to move on to Philip that we read of next in verse 8. Now he was from Bethsaida in Galilee like Andrew and his brother Simon Peter.

And he’s only mentioned again before this incident in chapter 12 when he along with Andrew go and tell Jesus about some Greeks who want to see him. Pointing there to the gospel being not just for the Jews but for Greeks or Gentiles. And that would include ourselves today as those outside of the Jewish people that the gospel is for us as much as for them.

But Philip has an explicit request this time where he says show us the father and that will be enough for us. Now while in the face of it it seems to be a sincere request that seems to display a heartfelt longing for God. It’s clear that the reason if we dig a little bit beneath the surface the reason that Philip makes this request isn’t a good one.

(16:48 – 17:10)

Because he is expecting something that was independent of Jesus. A kind of epiphany, a revelation of the glory of God similar to what Abraham experienced in Genesis 18. What Moses experienced with the burning bush in Exodus 3. Elijah in First Kings chapter 19.

(17:11 – 19:13)

And Isaiah in chapter 6 of that great prophecy. I wonder if when Philip said this if Jesus possibly paused before giving that response. Because I think there’s no escaping that what Jesus is saying here don’t you know me Philip even after I’ve been among you such a long time? How can you say show us the father? Surely there’s at least disappointment perhaps even frustration in Jesus’ voice.

And please do note then that disappointment and frustration are not inherently sinful feelings because Jesus clearly felt disappointment here. That there’s an odd teaching going around just now saying God’s never disappointed in you if you’re a Christian. Well if you know the book of Revelation that there’s letters to the seven churches there and five of them we read Jesus saying the risen exalted Jesus saying to churches but I have this against you.

So rather than Jesus never being disappointed I would say that probably five times out of seven if we’re going to take that as a as a benchmark. There are things in our lives that he is disappointed with and therefore we need to repent of them we need to seek his forgiveness and we need to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. So Thomas and Philip and indeed the other disciples clearly still haven’t got it and this is why Jesus is disappointed.

They didn’t believe that Jesus himself was enough. Instead they wanted a spectacular manifestation of God the father. And there’s still sadly many today who want that.

(19:13 – 19:54)

They want something spectacular but they don’t want Jesus. And there will be a clear rebuke from the Lord Jesus for those who have that attitude just as there was a clear rebuke from him to Philip that he and the others because the word you hear is plural still really didn’t know him even though they had been with him for three years day in and day out. Now like the disciples most of us here will know lots about Jesus and if we’ve been coming to Greenview for any length of time that’s certainly going to be the case.

(19:55 – 20:25)

But let’s ask ourselves do we really know him? In a mysterious way what Jesus’ response tells us here is that he expects us to know him if we know about him because we all have a responsibility to respond to what we’ve heard. And in a real sense he is disappointed if we don’t. But how gracious he is to Philip.

(20:26 – 21:47)

And he goes on to tell him that he is the revelation of the father. We’ve seen here that he’s the first of all he’s the route to the father. Now we see that he is the revelation of the father in verses 8 to 11.

To see Jesus is to see the father not because they are the same person they are distinct and I’ll say a bit more about that later but because they share the same nature. Jesus is not simply a messenger from God he is the very manifestation of God in the flesh. He doesn’t the son doesn’t merely represent the father he reveals him perfectly.

As the hymn says true image of the infinite whose essence is concealed brightness of uncreated light the heart of God revealed in the Lord Jesus. If you want to know what God is like John has already shown us look at Jesus touching the leper look at Jesus forgiving the woman caught in adultery look at Jesus washing his disciples feet even the feet of Judas who was going to betray him. That’s the father’s character on display.

(21:49 – 22:50)

And once again Jesus calls upon his disciples to believe in him look at verse 10 don’t you believe that I am in the father and that the father is in me. But even if they don’t take his word for it he says let the sign miracles that they’ve seen the signs of life speak for themselves because they all point to the divinity of Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh.

Now while Thomas’s request was implicit and Phillips was explicit there’s an unspoken question that you’re not going to find in the text here but I do believe that the last three verses throw it up because all believers are included here. If you look there whoever believes in me. So if you’re a Christian this morning these verses are very much for you.

(22:54 – 23:35)

And since Jesus was happy to take questions from his 11 disciples I believe that we can ask questions of the text ourselves and here they are. Lord show us what this means for us because this verse sounds impossible and your statements don’t seem to reflect our experience. How could anyone do the same works as you Lord far less greater things turning water into wine, stilling the storm, walking on water, feeding the thousands, raising someone like Lazarus who’d been dead for four days.

(23:35 – 29:17)

Even the apostles didn’t do any of these things in the book of Acts. So what is it that you’re referring to Lord and what kind of prayers should we pray that you promise you will answer personally? Well Jesus says that all of these things are gloriously possible because he is returning to the Father. We see that in verses 12 to 14 and his purpose in doing so is to enable his people to continue his work.

That’s what we read in the book of Acts. You may remember if you were here a few years ago that that series was called Jesus Acts because Luke himself says that that he’d written his gospel to recount everything that Jesus began to do and the implication is clear that Jesus has continued to act through his people as they spread the gospel in the book of Acts. Well the works that Jesus did don’t necessarily mean performing the miracles that we’ve mentioned because not only as I say did the even the apostles do these things.

In first Corinthians chapter 12 Paul asks a number of rhetorical questions including, “Do all work miracles?”, with the expected answer, “No, not everyone does that”. So that can’t be what Jesus is referring to here. The works that he did were works of compassion and mercy and kindness.

The selflessness and long-suffering that he shows here that we’ve just been seeing and each one of us who are Christians are called to walk just as Jesus walked as John says in his first letter. But what of the greater things then? Well greater doesn’t mean more spectacular it means greater in scope depth and significance. Jesus earthly ministry was limited just to one region and time but after his resurrection and ascension his Spirit empowered church, with every single believer filled and empowered with that Holy Spirit, would take the gospel to the nations first in Jerusalem then in Judea then Samaria then to the ends of the earth.

And also if you think about it the gospel and the Christian life would be explained far more fully in the rest of the new testament. If you think about most Christian doctrines we will look at the writings of Paul or Peter or John or the book of Hebrews or other parts of the new testament to unpack more fully what Jesus taught in the gospel. Surely these are the greater things that were to be done.

But also if you think about what the preaching of the gospel how that reflects Jesus’ own ministry and in all sorts of ways. In chapter nine Jesus opened the physical eyes of a blind man. In chapter eight he said that those who believed in him would not walk in darkness but have the light of life.

In the same chapter he told the pharisees that they were of their father the devil yet even Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, both of them pharisees, turned from that satanic deception that power of satan to God as we read as we’ll be reading later on in John’s gospel. Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery in that same chapter. And in chapter 10 he spoke of the one flock with the one shepherd speaking there of the global church made up of believing Jew and believing Gentile.

And he spoke of people being saved simply by putting their faith in him in chapters three five and six. Well why do I mention all these things? Well in Acts chapter 26 verse 18 the apostle Paul tells King Agrippa that the risen Lord Jesus whom he had met on the Damascus road commissioned Paul to do all these things to open the eyes of the spiritually blind Jews and Gentiles turning them from darkness to light from the power of satan to God that they like the woman caught in adultery might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among that one flock those sanctified by faith in Christ. And through the preaching of the gospel ever since whether it be by those called to full-time ministry or simply Christians sharing the gospel one-to-one with their family friends and neighbours people are actually raised from spiritual death to eternal life.

Surely those are the greater things that Jesus speaks of here not physical miracles but spiritual ones regeneration the new birth and transformation of our lives on a global scale. And notice what Jesus says here the reason for this is because I am going to the father. It was his departure his death resurrection and ascension that triggered the coming of the spirit the birth of the church and the worldwide mission until his glorious return at the end of the age.

(29:19 – 31:44)

So the pattern of the passage is this Jesus goes home to the father so that we might come home to the father and through us others might find their home in God the father. Jesus is the route he’s the guide and he is the destination. And the key to being a part of all of this as we read in verses 13 and 14 is dependent prayer.

Because of the work of the gospel and spreading it isn’t ultimately our work it’s the work of Jesus. Twice he promises this in these verses to answer our prayers. So what kind of prayers will Jesus answer for us? Well not selfish ones for a start.

As Christians we continue the work that he began the work of spreading the gospel and making disciples. So our prayers should be shaped by that. They should be prayers that as we read in verse 14 will lead to the father being glorified in the son.

So it’s all caught up in what Christ’s purposes are for us. And if we’re thinking well what are his purposes? Well come back over the next few weeks because in these amazing chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 we see unfolding in a fuller way than I think anywhere else in the gospels exactly what Jesus has in store for his people and in particular the things he prays most for us. As we’ll see in chapter 17 really big prayers.

Now praying in Jesus’ name isn’t some kind of magic way to get our prayers answered because remember the rest of the verse is so that the father may be glorified in the son. We must pray in accordance with what we know of Jesus’ character, his purposes and his will. We pray the way that he taught us in the Sermon on the Mount which is our father in heaven generally addressing the father but as we see here this is one of the few instances and that’s perhaps significant that we can pray to Jesus as well and ask Jesus anything in his name.

(31:47 – 34:44)

But let’s not conflate the two in our prayers father and son. If we want our prayer to be addressing Jesus we shouldn’t start it with heavenly father and then thank the father for doing what Jesus did and then finish in your name. I hear this everywhere because we are never told to pray in the name of the father we are to pray in Jesus’ name and if we mix and match the father and son in our prayers willy-nilly we are denying the great truths of the trinity that we’ll see unpacked in these coming chapters and what we’re doing is we’re telling God that they really don’t matter.

Well if that’s our attitude are we any different from Philip? Do we really know Christ? Do we have a real understanding of the trinity? One God in three distinct persons father son and holy spirit? Or are we perhaps confused like Thomas? Do we maybe think that people in other religions will be in heaven so long as they are sincere that there actually is another way to God apart from Jesus? These are really really serious matters because God hasn’t changed, his word hasn’t changed and we are to worship him in spirit and in truth through Christ here and now. Well it’s interesting in this section that Jesus speaks of himself as going to the father but in verse six of us coming to the father and it reminded me of what happens when you receive a wedding invitation. Usually it’s the the bride’s parents who invite guests hoping that they’ll be able to come and when the day arrives the guests get ready to go to the wedding because they’ve been invited.

Well it’s the same with the gospel isn’t it? God the father invites us to come to the marriage supper of the lamb. Jesus has gone ahead of us and awaits that great day when all those who have responded to his father’s gracious invitation will come because they have come to know him through Christ in this life and have been a part of his great plan of redemption to invite others to attend too. It’s once been said of verse six being a Christian isn’t just about going to heaven when you die, it’s about coming to the father while you live.

(34:46 – 35:44)

Well have you responded to this invitation? Have you thanked the father for it? Are you getting to know him and his son Jesus better and better here and now each and every day? Well let’s pray together. Heavenly father how we thank you that the Lord Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and without the way there is no going, without the truth there is no knowing, without the life there is no living. Help each of us Lord to put our faith not only in you but in the Lord Jesus as he calls each of us to do and that as we put our faith in him we will know that life eternal.

(35:45 – 35:48)

In his name we ask it. Amen.

The post Jesus is the Way – John 14v5–14 appeared first on Greenview Church.

Good evening. Obituaries are often very poignant, as they are the last word on someone’s life. These are rarely negative and almost a hundred percent positive and affirming, as they are communicating what the deceased person meant to us.

(0:21 – 0:37)

We actually chatted about this in our community group a couple of weeks ago, when David Wilie challenged those of us in our community group to say nice things to people now. Rather than waiting until it’s their funeral. Last words are important.

(0:38 – 1:03)

Even more so when it’s the last words of the person themselves before they die. In Acts chapter 7, Stephen’s last words, as he was stoned to death, were Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

(1:05 – 1:45)

In 1944, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an anti-Nazi theologian, who was hanged four days before the prisoner of war camp that he was held in was to be liberated, said these famous words, This is the end for me, the beginning of life. In 2020, when Christian author and pastor Tim Keller died at the age of 72 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he said two days before his death to his family, I can’t wait to see Jesus. Send me home.

(1:46 – 2:15)

I think you will agree that these are inspiring words from Stephen, Bonhoeffer, and Keller, men who had a clear sight of their eternal destination. So why do I start with this tonight? Well, over the last three months, we’ve been looking at 2 Timothy together. In 2 Timothy, we have the last recorded words of the apostle Paul, the apostle who wrote a significant part of our Bibles.

(2:16 – 2:43)

He is the fifth largest contributor of the Bible. Paul wrote 13 letters to the early churches, if you put the next slide up, please, Alison. Paul wrote 13 letters to the early churches, to church leaders, and it probably gives us the most insight of how churches should work and what doctrine churches should be following.

(2:46 – 3:02)

In 1 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy to stay in Ephesus. Colin highlighted that Timothy was struggling up the hill of church ministry in chapter 1 of 2 Timothy, when Colin introduced this topic to us. He’s struggling up the hill.

(3:03 – 3:34)

You might remember it was Colin struggling up the hill of the park run and just needing that wee bit of a hand. Then Colin was highlighting, that’s Timothy, struggling up the hill of church ministry in danger of leaving completely, and this is why Paul writes to Timothy. Paul is shouting, don’t stop, keep going, and we will see this tonight as he urges Timothy to come to Rome to encourage Paul himself, but also so that Paul can strengthen Timothy.

(3:35 – 3:59)

These are Paul’s last words, and as such we should sit up and take notice. As we have studied 2 Timothy together, I wonder if you’ve noticed a desertion theme coming through. Chapter 1 verse 15 says this, you know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me.

(4:00 – 4:17)

And as we’ll see tonight, chapter 4 verse 10 says, for Demas, because he loved the world, has deserted me. So we have desertion at either end of this book. Andy Gemmell from Cornhill describes the letter as a rescue package.

(4:17 – 4:33)

We have seen that as we’ve gone through our series. Chapter 1, Timothy, fan the flame. Timothy, guard the deposit.

Chapter 2, Timothy, be a good soldier. Don’t be like the athlete who cheats. Timothy, be like the hard-working farmer.

(4:33 – 4:47)

Chapter 3, Timothy, keep the knowledge of truth. Timothy, continue in the Word. And as we saw last week, Timothy, preach the Word and be prepared in season and out of season.

(4:48 – 5:26)

Paul is seeking to look out for and look after his man in the field. This is like saving Private Ryan, only with eternal consequences, not pulling out the last son as the rest have died, as we saw in that film, so a mother is left with no sons, but pulling out the gospel worker to strengthen them for further ministry and expansion of the kingdom after Paul himself has died. This is frontline gospel strategy and battling right here in these pages.

(5:27 – 5:53)

Why do I give such a long introduction? Well, for two reasons. As we draw this series to a close, it’s important to pick up on all the threads that have been running through this letter, but also the NIV’s title of personal remarks and final instructions is so uninspiring. And I can say that because titles are not the inspired Word of God, but they’re mere headers and summaries of what’s coming.

(5:54 – 6:14)

Now, to see clearly how verses 9 and 22 fit in part of the wider section, it is important we read the whole chapter tonight. So we’ll start at verse 1. And I say it’s important because at the end of verse 1, Paul says to Timothy, I give you this charge. And in verse 18, he says, Amen.

(6:14 – 6:42)

So it’s one massive section altogether. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, in the view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge. Preach the word and be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction, for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

(6:42 – 6:55)

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths. But you keep your head.

(6:56 – 7:10)

In all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight.

(7:10 – 7:21)

I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.

(7:22 – 7:38)

And not only me, but to all those who have longed for his appearing. Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia.

(7:38 – 7:49)

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

(7:49 – 8:03)

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas and my scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander, the metal worker, did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.

(8:03 – 8:16)

You too should be on your guard against him because he is strongly opposed to our message. At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against him.

(8:16 – 8:37)

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to this heavenly kingdom.

(8:37 – 8:48)

To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.

(8:49 – 9:05)

Erastus stayed in Corinth and I left Trophimus ill in Miletus. Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you and so do Pudens, Linus and Claudia and the other brothers and sisters.

(9:06 – 9:13)

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all. Amen.

(9:13 – 9:26)

And this is the word of the Lord. In the time that we have remaining, I would like to look at four brief points. Exit gate, equipped ministry, evangelistic courage and eternal perspective.

(9:27 – 9:36)

So firstly, Paul is standing at the exit gate. So I’m going back a couple of verses here. Or he’s sitting in the departure lounge of his life.

(9:37 – 9:57)

Paul is imprisoned in Rome and he understands that although he’s been released from prison before, it’s unlikely it’s going to happen this time and he’s anticipating his execution. This is like getting a terminal cancer diagnosis. Something that focusses the mind.

(9:58 – 10:14)

We probably all know someone who’s been taken from us in an instant when no one really expected it. However, equally, we probably all know someone who knew that their end was near. And they were standing at the exit gate of life here on this mortal earth.

(10:15 – 10:32)

I spoke to my cousin’s husband last night and he was describing his neighbour who had had a terminal cancer diagnosis. And he was sitting in his garden and he was saying, I can’t believe that these flowers will be here next year and I won’t. That sharpens the mind.

(10:34 – 10:41)

Paul is at this exit gate. Paul knows that he has fought the good fight. He has finished the race.

(10:41 – 10:48)

He has kept the faith. There is no murkiness for Paul. Absolute clarity.

(10:49 – 11:02)

His journey of faith that started when the ascended Jesus appeared to him in a bright light on a road to Damascus. This journey has been tough. Disciples not exactly trusting him at first.

(11:02 – 11:21)

Dangerous missionary journeys, church planting, preaching, disagreements, imprisonment, riots, arrest, shipwreck. But Paul has persevered in the faith and Paul has been bold with the gospel. I’ve run a marathon.

(11:21 – 11:29)

I’ve run a number of marathons. I’ve even run the West Highland Way Race. The last miles are always the hardest.

(11:30 – 11:40)

I remember in the West Highland Way Race having to go downhill backwards. Such was the pain in my shins. Here is Paul in his last few miles.

(11:41 – 11:49)

Imprisoned in Rome. These are tough last miles for Paul. But he has real clarity about his future.

(11:50 – 12:51)

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award me on that day. How are you doing in your fight? How are you doing in your race? Are you a ministry worker? Flagging on the hill that Colin described to Timothy in chapter one? Are you struggling to hold on to your faith when the world seems to have so much more to offer? Are you tired and weary? Tempted by the comfort of a so-called better life? Hopefully we can all be encouraged by and inspired by Paul’s last words this evening. In the last few recorded words, even in this moment with death looming on the horizon, we see Paul still demonstrating his love for people.

(12:53 – 13:13)

Friends, co-workers, and laser focused on the gospel and the expansion of God’s kingdom. So to our biggest point tonight, equipped ministry. It was really team ministry, but I needed another E so you get an equipped ministry tonight.

(13:14 – 13:26)

But there is no I in team. A quote from Helen Keller who’s not related to Tim Keller. She was a blind and deaf political activist, activist and author in the early 20th century.

(13:26 – 13:45)

So the 1900s, blind and deaf. And she says, alone we can do so little and together we can do so much. Ecclesiastes chapter four, verse 12 says, a cord with three strands is not quickly broken.

(13:46 – 14:11)

The Bible’s wisdom literature highlighting that plurality is better than being alone. Throughout this section, Paul is talking about people, people he works with as he knows the power of team ministry compared to solo working. We’re gonna whiz through this, so keep your Bibles open and look at all these names as we go.

(14:12 – 14:22)

Second Timothy chapter four, verse nine, do your best to come to me quickly. This request is multi-layered. Paul is alone, deserted and facing death.

(14:22 – 14:41)

Timothy is a trusted fellow worker who will encourage Paul. But more than this, Timothy is struggling on that ministry hill and Paul knows that he might give up. So this letter is a rescue mission for the almost completely washed up and rinsed out mission worker.

(14:42 – 15:14)

Come quickly, feel the urgency both to encourage Paul and to protect Timothy. But what about the work in Ephesus? Is Paul going to abandon the church in Ephesus in order to rescue his man in the field? No, verse 12, I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. It is most likely that he takes this letter to Timothy and was sent to replace Timothy in Ephesus.

(15:14 – 15:36)

Tychicus is a key part of the rescue mission as it was his job to carry on the work in Ephesus, freeing up Timothy to go to Rome. Come quickly, real urgency as this is a matter of life and death. Yes, Paul is facing death and might not even be around for the length of time it takes for Timothy to get to him.

(15:37 – 15:59)

Hence he talks to him about come before winter. But also, Timothy is in danger of giving up which would have potentially eternal consequences just like Demas, the deserter. Verse 10, for Demas, because he loved this world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

(16:00 – 16:16)

Demas is mentioned twice previously in our Bibles. Paul and Timothy co-wrote the letter to the church in Colossae. They finished saying in Colossians 4, verse 14, our dear friend Luke, the doctor and Demas send greetings.

(16:17 – 16:46)

And Paul and Timothy also wrote to Philemon who lived in Colossae at a similar time. And they finished their letter in verse 24, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. So Demas is clearly a fellow worker with the great apostle Paul, but deserted Paul in his time of greatest need because he loved the world.

(16:47 – 17:08)

Jesus himself taught that no one can serve two masters. Either you’ll hate one and love the other, or you’ll be devoted to one and despise the other, Matthew 6, verse 24. So when using the word for Demas, loved the world, I believe that Paul is highlighting that Demas has not only deserted Paul, but he’s deserted Jesus too.

(17:09 – 18:02)

As, if he loved the world, he must hate Jesus. If it was anything less, I think Paul would have said, straight after this, Paul mentions Crescens and has gone to Galatia and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. What is not clear is have they deserted like Demas or have they been sent like Tychicus? Although immediately following Demas, but because it doesn’t mention desertion in the same way, I think we have to err on the side of Crescens and Titus having been sent or at least choosing to support and serve churches in Galatia, which is Turkey, and Dalmatia, which is Croatia, at this time of first century church expansion and Christianity going across the world.

(18:03 – 18:15)

Continue to read on. Another person, only Luke is with me. This is Dr. Luke, the author of Luke’s gospel, personal doctor, friend, and coworker to Paul.

(18:15 – 18:39)

We’ve already seen Luke mentioned in Colossians and Philemon by Paul and Timothy. Luke is very much a close friend of Paul’s, one of his inner circle, trusted, helpful, sharing Paul’s burden for taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul tells Timothy, another person, get Mark and bring him with you.

(18:41 – 18:59)

Now, this is a great picture, folks, of ministry reconciliation. As only a few years ago, Barnabas and Paul had had a disagreement over Mark. Acts chapter 15, verse 27, Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them.

(19:00 – 19:25)

But Paul did not think it was wise to take him because he had deserted them when in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. On Paul’s first mission in Acts chapter 13, verse 13, we have this small detail from Paphos. Paul and his companions set sail for Perga in Pamphylia, where John, that is Mark, left them to return to Jerusalem.

(19:26 – 19:36)

Mark had clearly been an issue for Paul. His commitment had been called into question and Paul was not happy to have him as part of his team. Trust was broken.

(19:36 – 19:58)

Acts chapter 15, verse 39 continues, they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark, who was his cousin, and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left. Commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord, he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

(19:59 – 20:16)

And here we have, just a few years later, Paul saying to Timothy, bring who? Bring Mark. Mark, who is mentioned in Colossians and Philemon, alongside Demas and Luke. So by this point, they clearly must have been reconciled.

(20:17 – 20:34)

And this is perhaps why the church in Colossae needed extra instructions. Having heard about Paul not taking Mark to Syria, the church in Colossae might have been minded to, well, we’ll just leave Mark on the side. Paul does not get on with him.

(20:35 – 20:51)

Hence, Colossians chapter four, verse 10, it says, my fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you this greeting, as does Mark, cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him.

(20:52 – 21:02)

That’s in brackets. It’s like Paul saying, by the way, Mark’s a good guy, look after him. So Paul is reconciled to Mark, but he’s needing to convince the church too.

(21:03 – 21:20)

Paul says to Timothy, get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Now that’s not helpful to him in his prison cell, not bringing him food and water. That’s helpful to him in his gospel ministry.

(21:22 – 21:49)

Paul knows the value of Mark. Paul, writer of 13 New Testament letters, Timothy, his coworker and friend, Luke, personal doctor, coworker, friend, author of Luke’s gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Mark, reconciled coworker, helpful in gospel ministry, author of Mark’s gospel.

(21:49 – 22:08)

This is the first century church equivalent of the Avengers Assemble. Paul is getting the band back together. Paul is assembling a team in Rome, the very heart of the Roman, indeed, the Gentile world.

(22:08 – 22:32)

And it is really important not to underestimate what is going on in these verses that are mentioned as personal remarks. This is big stuff happening here. Can you imagine these four heavyweights of the early church, four sumo wrestlers for the gospel? Just imagine their conversations.

(22:32 – 23:17)

Sometimes you can watch online, Gospel Coalition, you see some of the big theologians having a conversation and it’s great to watch. Can you imagine being in this room and seeing these guys? The encouragement it would have been to Paul in prison facing death and Timothy and Luke and Mark come alongside. But also, can you imagine the strategising of how they’re going to take the gospel to more cities and more countries, building up more churches, making Jesus fully known to the world, the Gentile world, the Roman Empire, God at work, building His kingdom using Roman roads for the expansion.

(23:19 – 23:57)

And what an encouragement to us too. Perhaps we’ve let someone down in ministry previously, but Paul and Mark’s reconciliation should encourage us that God can reconcile and that God can still use us, even if we’ve let someone down. I’ve already mentioned that Tychicus was most likely taking this letter to Timothy and he was his relief in Ephesus so that Timothy can get a break and can be rescued in this frontline ministry.

(23:58 – 24:18)

But note here that Paul also says to Timothy, bring my cloak. I love these small details, bring my cloak, as clearly his Roman cell was not a comfortable experience and with winter coming, the warm coat would have been practically beneficial. He also asked for his scrolls and his parchments.

(24:19 – 24:37)

Now again, we don’t know exactly what these were. Christopher Green in his commentary refers to it as Timothy, Paul is asking for his library and his study. And I thought that’s probably the best way of describing it.

(24:38 – 25:08)

We can reasonably speculate that Paul is familiar with scriptures and the scrolls probably include Old Testament scriptures, his library. We know that Paul is a keen letter writer to the churches that he’s visited and needed his study brought to so that he could continue in his writing. What is wonderful to take is despite knowing that Paul in his own words, I have finished the race.

(25:09 – 25:24)

Paul is still keen to read and to write. Probably keen too, to pass on to his avengers important scrolls and parchments too. Perhaps Luke’s, Luke and Mark’s gospels were discussed, we don’t know.

(25:26 – 25:34)

But there’s every chance that it was. Perhaps Paul was encouraging him to write these gospels. The reality is we don’t know.

(25:36 – 25:55)

But there were certainly opportunities for these discussions and encouragements. And Paul is showing a commitment to reading and studying even in these last days, bring me my scrolls, bring me my parchments. So whether building the team, getting the library and study brought to him, even bringing his cloak, this was all about equipped ministry.

(25:55 – 26:09)

All about team ministry. And it doesn’t finish the team ministry at that point in verse 13. Paul goes on to warn Timothy about Alexander the metal worker who has done him a great deal of harm, who is strongly opposed to their message.

(26:10 – 26:22)

Paul is pulling out Timothy out of the heat in order to recover, recharge and rebuild. And Paul is giving Timothy warnings about those who are opposed to their work. Be on your guard.

(26:23 – 26:41)

Forewarned is forearmed. Paul has fought the good fight and he wants Timothy to be strong enough to do the same. Have you had people in your life who have done this for you? Have you been able to do this for others? Being that support when you have most needed it.

(26:42 – 26:56)

Provided warnings against threats or even disciplined when against unwholesome practises. The provision of regular meals when going through cancer treatment. Someone phoning you once a week to chat and to pray.

(26:57 – 27:21)

Providing direct financial support when needed. Taking the pastor out for coffee. Not to unload on all your personal problems, but to say, how are you doing Colin? How can I as a church member help you and serve God? Even into the final greetings we see Paul’s pastoral heart.

(27:22 – 27:44)

Names and more names. Was Paul someone who never had others round to his house? Never popped round to see his friends and co-workers? No, Paul is a moving towards you kind of a person. Who are we moving towards? Who are we looking to support and help? Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned just at verse 19.

(27:44 – 28:16)

In Acts 18, we learn that they are a Jewish Christian married couple who travelled with Paul to Ephesus, where they were able to teach and mentor Apollos. They held a church or a community group in their house. They risked their lives for Paul in Romans chapter 16, verse 3. Are you an older couple in this church helping out others? Last week, we had Jeremy Rose, the lead pastor from Axis Church, Nashville, and he highlighted that Ray and Jannie Ortlin put him up for nine months when he arrived in Nashville to plant a church.

(28:17 – 28:43)

Are you a Priscilla and Aquila? Are you helping others? The household of Onesiphorus, indicating that Onesiphorus himself might be dead. But Paul still spends time with that family. Are you involved in someone’s life enough that you can regularly visit even after someone has passed away? You maintain that connection.

(28:45 – 29:05)

It’s important to do. Erastus and Trophimus are two Christians who may have journeyed with part of the way with Paul to Rome. Further names, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

(29:06 – 30:03)

The importance of team ministry to the main pastor. Are you a backbench MP for Colin? Are you willing to help out whenever required, encouraging through works and being united in the gospel? Yes, there are a lot of names in this section, but I hope that you can see the importance of not being a solo worker for Christ, but to be connected with your brothers and sisters here at Greenview, attending your community groups, encouraging one another, serving alongside one another, coming to things like warm spaces, having the opportunity to go shoulder to shoulder with others who are seeking to share the gospel from our church. I have two further points, but both of them you’ll be glad to hear are a good bit shorter.

(30:04 – 30:14)

Evangelistic courage, verses 16 and 17. At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.

(30:14 – 30:37)

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. Here was Paul at the heart of the Gentile world, the centre of the Roman empire, potentially in front of the Roman emperor himself, and all have deserted his side.

(30:39 – 30:49)

He has no character witnesses willing to speak up for him. He is alone in the dock. Does he speak up for Jesus? Does he proclaim the gospel? Yes.

(30:50 – 31:03)

Paul has big evangelistic courage. He’s not going to miss this opportunity, even if it means his death sentence. Many martyrs have been faced with this conundrum over the centuries.

(31:03 – 31:16)

Stand up for Jesus and proclaim the gospel and face death. Yes. Where do I sign up? It would be amazing if we had a record of what Paul actually said.

(31:19 – 31:52)

But having said it, he was able to proclaim that he’d fought the good fight, that he’d finished the race and that he’d taken the gospel to the centre of the Roman empire, to the heart of the Gentile world, just as Jesus called him. So we know that he will have shared the gospel. Acts chapter 21, verse 37 into chapter 22 gives us a really good insight as to what Paul may have said in the court in Rome at his first defence.

(31:53 – 32:16)

Here in Acts, Paul silences the crowd and from the steps of the army barracks in chains, he addresses the crowd with his testimony, how he was just as zealous for God as anyone in the crowd. He was persecuting Christians when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, how he lost his sight and how Ananias had healed him, how he was called to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. What a powerful testimony.

(32:17 – 32:30)

In Acts 22, the crowd cause a riot. So who knows what the Roman court and the Roman emperor would have thought to what Paul was sharing. But Paul didn’t miss the opportunity.

(32:31 – 33:01)

Let me ask you, are you praying for opportunities to share your faith? Are you moving towards others so that you’re in position to ask them to the next three to one course? One of my colleagues said, no on this occasion, but I pray that I will get further opportunities, perhaps one to one with him. None of us are likely to lose our life standing up for Jesus here in the UK. However, as we know it does happen from America to Africa.

(33:02 – 33:28)

Faced with that decision, what would your choice be? Stand up for the gospel or desert the gospel because we love the world too much. The reality is, that our lives are rarely at stake, but the eternal destiny of our friends, colleagues, neighbours depends on our evangelistic courage. And finally, we are to be bold because we have an eternal perspective.

(33:30 – 33:54)

Using verses 16 and 17 into verse 18, where it says, the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom to him be glory forever. Amen. Paul in verses 16 and 17 felt that Jesus was standing beside him, whether physically like Daniel in the fiery furnace or like Jesus with Paul in the barracks.

(33:54 – 34:11)

Acts 23 verse 11. When the Lord stood near Paul and said, take courage or as a Christian with the Holy Spirit in his heart, as we all have. Paul was able to boldly claim the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.

(34:11 – 34:46)

Many of us who have had moments in our lives where we know we only achieved what we have achieved because we have Jesus in our lives. Like the footballers who score a goal and the crowd go wild and they indicate not me, God. Or the eternal perspective of whether scoring a goal or to die in a prisoner of war camp like Bonhoeffer when his last recorded words were, this is the end for me, the beginning of life.

(34:48 – 35:11)

So when living life, do it with an eternal perspective. Eilidh my wife was chatting to me this week about uncertainty over her job and having that assurance in Christ, not that she will keep her job, but that God is in control. An eternal perspective.

(35:13 – 35:43)

Or nearing the end of life, keep your eyes fixed firmly on Jesus and keep the eternal perspective, not the end, but the beginning of life. Paul had this eternal perspective. We remind ourselves of this eternal perspective every week as we come to communion and as we think about the cross, but also as we look to the future when Christ in heaven, when we will be with Christ in heaven or when Christ will return.

(35:45 – 36:06)

And so to the last word, the Lord be with your spirit, grace be with you all. Paul is speaking to Timothy, the Lord be with your spirit is singular, the your is singular. This letter is for Timothy who Paul is seeking to rescue and help.

(36:07 – 36:18)

He’s exhorting the Lord to strengthen Timothy through the Holy Spirit. The Lord be with you, Timothy. And to those ministry leaders in our churches, this should be an encouragement to you as well.

(36:21 – 37:07)

Acts chapter 20 verse 24, Paul says to the elders at Ephesus, I consider my life nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race, complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying the good news of God’s grace. With Paul’s last written words, remind the church reading this letter, remind us 2000 years later reading this letter about the gracious gift from God, unchanging love, forgiveness and undeserved favour, which was Paul’s only aim to share.

(37:08 – 37:24)

Grace be with you all. Let’s take time to sing through number 99 from our books. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within.

The post The Last Word – 2 Timothy 4v9–22 appeared first on Greenview Church.

Just keep your passage open there at the end of John 13. On the night when Jesus died, he gave the world’s greatest ever seminar. We find it in our Bibles in John 13, verse 31, and it runs all the way through to the end of chapter 16.

This seminar sits between Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ prayer. And it’s sometimes called the farewell discourse, because this is the last time before the cross that Jesus gets to teach the disciples. And as we edge our way into this, and we’re going to be in this for quite a number of weeks, I want you to notice two characteristics up front, two features that’s true of the whole of this teaching.

The first one is that the style of this is interactive. I like how one author puts it, he says, the farewell discourse is like an extended Q&A. It is mostly Jesus answering the disciples’ questions.

So, we’ll see in our passage today, for instance, Peter asks a question and Jesus gives an amazing answer. And as we progress, we’ll hear Thomas and Philip and Judas, the not-Judas Iscariot, Judas, asking questions. At one point in the middle of chapter 16, the seminar gets a bit unruly, and the disciples are just asking one another a question in the middle of the class, and Jesus then answers that question.

So, Jesus is not so much giving a preset lecture, He is responding to the questions and fears of His troubled disciples. And that leads me to the second feature, the second feature of this discourse is that the purpose is pastoral. The purpose is pastoral.

(2:31 – 3:15)

And that’s really clear, isn’t it? Right from the beginning of the teaching, chapter 14, verse 1, do not let your hearts be troubled. Their hearts were troubled. And why were they troubled? Well, for a number of reasons.

They were troubled primarily because Jesus was leaving them. And they were also troubled because of some grim predictions Jesus had made, predictions of betrayal and of denial. And so, Jesus says, don’t be troubled.

(3:16 – 4:16)

There is a pastoral purpose in this teaching. Indeed, if you skip all the way to the end of the discourse, if you flip over to chapter 16, verse 33, you will see Jesus underlining this. I have told you these things so that in Me you will have peace.

In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. So, this farewell seminar is not some theoretical, irrelevant theology, and it is not given in an impersonal manner. This is not like the university lecturer who’s just trying to get through the curriculum for the day, who in the worst cases may not care a stitch about the class.

(4:17 – 4:26)

No, this is deeply personal. It is highly responsive. It is a seminar to shepherd them.

(4:27 – 4:55)

Here is truth for troubled men to calm their troubled hearts. And speaking to the troubled, Jesus begins by giving four reasons not to be troubled. Four reasons that still hold true for troubled people today.

Four reasons that we can be comforted. So, here’s the first of them. Number one, Jesus’ death will bring immense glory.

(4:56 – 6:14)

Jesus’ death will bring immense glory. See, that’s what’s looming in these chapters. It’s the disciples’ underlying fear because of some of what Jesus is saying, that something tragic will happen to Jesus.

And so, Jesus wants to explain that what they view as tragedy, they should be viewing as glory. When He had gone, verse 31, that’s Judas, when the betrayer had left the meal, kind of cleaned of the unclean now, we’ve just got the true believers here, Jesus said, now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And in the context, it’s another prediction of Jesus’ death.

Jesus says something’s about to happen at once, verse 32. What’s happening at once? Well, we see from the context, it’s the death of Jesus. But what is the true nature of His death? Not tragedy, but glory.

(6:15 – 8:41)

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Jesus describes the cross, this now moment, as glorious. And that’s so counterintuitive, isn’t it? I remember one time having a chat with a man, he was a Muslim, and we had a great conversation. I discovered that we had a lot in common when we started talking about what we believed.

He believed in one God, and so did I. And he had a respect for Jesus, and so did I. And we had many similar moral values. And the conversation was going so well until we started to talk about the cross. And that was a major sticking point for him.

Because you see, in his mind, it would be impossible for someone so revered as Jesus, and certainly for someone claiming to be God, to be beaten, and spat upon, and nailed to a cross. This was to him utterly impossible. But actually, Jesus Himself told us, not only that the cross would happen, but that His cross was not a tragedy, but a display of glory.

And why would the cross be glorious? Well, because it displays God’s amazing character. God’s love, grace, humility, self-giving are all displayed on the cross in a most supreme way. And the cross is also glorious because of what the cross achieves.

It brings forgiveness to the sinner. It cancels the debt of the debtor. It cleanses the filthiest soul, and it secures, as we’ll see today, our future with God.

And this is why it brings God glory. Glory to God the Father, and glory to God the Son. And notice here that it’s not just that the Father and Son are glorified, but they are glorified in one another.

(8:42 – 9:58)

God is glorified in the Son, and the Son is glorified in the Father. It’s a very hard thing to illustrate. But let me give you a lesser human example.

Think about an earthly Father and Son, a dad and his son. And think of a son who maybe achieves something very great, and they win an award. And you can imagine the son getting up at the awards ceremony, and he’s receiving it, and you can imagine him there telling those who are present that the reason he’s achieved this is because of his dad and his father’s influence.

And in that moment, he’s receiving the glory himself, but he’s also honouring the father, and he’s saying something of who his father is. You can also think of that same dad maybe going to his work the next day and kind of having a little boast to his colleagues of what his son had achieved and what his son had done. And at a greater level, something like that is going on here.

(9:59 – 10:52)

The greatest display of the Father’s glory is seen on earth in his son when he dies on the cross. And for all eternity, what will the Father be saying to the hosts of heaven? In the presence of the angels, he’ll be saying, do you know what my son achieved? This is the greatest display of glory, and therefore it is the greatest comfort that we could ever know. And I think Jesus is saying this as a comfort, so that when we, like the disciples, see in our lives darkness and tragedy and things that we cannot make sense of or understand, so that in those moments, we will lift our eyes to the glory of the cross.

(10:55 – 11:26)

Don Carson says, for troubled Christians, there is little genuine comfort that is divorced from the significance of the events that one weekend in Jerusalem and its environs 2,000 years ago. There is no comfort that you can separate from the cross. It is our ultimate and in the end, our only real source of comfort as we go through the difficult experiences of life.

(11:27 – 12:42)

So, that’s comfort number one, for them, for us. But secondly, and more briefly, second comfort is that Jesus’ disciples will love like him. His disciples will love like him.

Now, notice how Jesus starts in verse 33. He calls the disciples, my children. It’s a very tender way of speaking.

He knows his disciples are very fragile at this moment. And so, he tells his children that he will only be with them a little while longer. He is going somewhere they cannot come.

With hindsight, we know that he’s speaking there of the cross. But that cross will not be the end. It will be the showcase of God’s glory, and part of that showcasing of God’s glory will be the result of it in verses 34 and 5. Jesus says, I am giving you a new commandment, which is to love one another.

(12:43 – 13:35)

Now, that is a bit curious, isn’t it? Because it doesn’t seem like that’s a new command, does it? From Old Testament times, from Leviticus 19 onwards, God’s people were commanded to love their neighbour. So, why is Jesus saying that this is a new command? In what sense is it new? Well, the key to the answer is the second part of verse 34, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. What’s new is not the act itself, but a new motivation and a new example, indeed, the supreme example of how to do it.

(13:36 – 17:36)

Think of this. All of the Old Testament believers, although they saw God’s love on display, never had a clear glimpse of the cross like we do. They had glimpses of it prophetically, some of them.

They saw a little glimpse of it in the future, but we see the full reality of the cross. And so, Jesus says to them, as I have loved you, humbly, graciously, sacrificially, so you are to love one another. This is not minimal acts of kindness, incidentally.

This is loving with Calvary love in all of its self-giving sacrifice. As I have loved you on the cross, He’s saying, so love each other. When you read how this is played out in the book of Acts, you see the kind of way they apply this, because at the end of Acts 2, the early disciples sold off their extra possessions and their extra property, and they used the money to help feed hungry mouthes and provide a roof over some of the Christians’ heads.

They didn’t apply this just by helping an older lady across the street. That is something that all decent people should do. But how many people today, even in our culture, would sell off their property and give the proceeds to people that are not even in their family? There was a radical outworking of this, and it is a command.

But in another sense, it is also a promise. Verse 35, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples. This will happen, not always perfectly or consistently.

Why, even the New Testament churches needed to be called back to love and rebuked at times for lovelessness. Paul could pray that the church would increase in its love. So, it’s not always perfect or consistent, but it is a Christian characteristic.

The world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples because we have a love that is distinctive and unusual. Minor side note. Actually, it’s a major side note.

Jesus doesn’t say, by this, all people will be converted and be saved. Because we still need to tell people the good news about Jesus. No one gets saved because you give them a house.

No one comes to Christ because you wash the dishes. But you will be marked out as Jesus’ disciple if you do such things for lost people and especially for the people of God. And it might be part of your testimony that leads them then to listen to the gospel message.

So, this was a comforting preview of the future. And yet, Jesus keeps going. He keeps adding to their comfort.

Thirdly, he says to these troubled men that Jesus’ disciples will keep following despite failure. They will keep following despite failure. Peter is so good, isn’t he? You just got to love Peter.

(17:36 – 17:45)

Jesus, in verse 33, he says, I’m going away soon. And you can’t come. You can’t follow.

(17:46 – 18:09)

Then Jesus talks about the love bits. But as Peter responds to Jesus, Peter isn’t really interested in the love thing. That’s what he’s just said last.

Peter circles back to verse 33. He wants to know where Jesus is going. And Jesus doesn’t directly tell him.

(18:11 – 18:59)

He just reiterates to Peter, Peter, wherever I’m going, you can’t follow now. There’s a really interesting detail here. Back in chapter 8, Jesus says virtually the same thing to a group of unbelieving Jews.

Back in chapter 8, he says to the Jews that he’s about to go away and they won’t be able to follow. Exactly the same as he says here. But in chapter 8, Jesus also adds something.

He says to the unbelieving Jews, he says, and you will die in your sins. Why? Because they weren’t believing in him. But you will notice here in John 13 that Jesus doesn’t add that last bit.

(19:00 – 19:23)

Because Jesus’ disciples won’t die in their sins. And more than that, Jesus also adds something that’s not in the previous passage. Because even though they can’t follow him now, because Jesus must die on the cross, Jesus says, you will follow later.

(19:26 – 19:56)

That’s a wonderful promise, isn’t it? That’s going to become very precious to Peter in just a few moments, that promise. Well, Peter isn’t happy. He wants to know why he can’t follow now.

He says, look, Jesus, wherever you’re going, I’m willing to come with you. And not only that, I’m willing to die with you. Because he knows that Jesus is going into some kind of deadly danger.

(19:57 – 21:59)

Now, listen, we give Peter a hard time. But as I’ve been rereading this, I’ve been thinking to myself, I wonder whether Peter really was the strongest of all the disciples, not the weakest. Because actually, Peter gets pretty close to dying for Jesus.

In chapter 18, when it comes for the time of Jesus’ arrest, only Peter draws his sword and puts his life in danger and is willing to defend Jesus. And yet in the end, despite his courage, Peter’s bold pledge finally crumbles. And Jesus already knows this.

Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times. I’m not going to say too much about the detail of that. We will learn much more about the detail when we get to, I think it’s chapter 18.

Again, Don Carson so helpfully says, who after all will die for who? Peter won’t die for Jesus, but Jesus will die for Peter. And let me just say that that is the good news of the gospel. If you’re looking into the Christian faith right now, the message isn’t give your life for God, give your life for Jesus, but accept the fact that He has given His life for you.

That’s where it all begins. Yes, of course, then we do in response to that grace, we give our lives to Christ in another sense. But in the end, bottom line is this, Jesus does the dying for us, not the other way around.

(22:00 – 22:35)

That’s what grace is. It means that Jesus dies for all of my failures. And then He restores me to follow Him all the days of my life.

I’m sure that Peter winced inwardly when Jesus said this. And yet, again, notice here that this prediction is surrounded by grace. I mean, look at it, just before the prediction, you will follow later.

(22:36 – 24:00)

And then what comes immediately afterwards, ignore the chapter divisions. They’re not always that helpful. Immediately after, do not let your hearts be troubled.

This is surrounded, even the failure is surrounded with promises of grace. I wonder if you realise that the biggest issue that you’re wrestling with in your life is yourself and your own need to be restored with God. I was listening recently to a clip with Alistair Begg.

He’s a Scottish pastor living in America, and he’s recently retired. I think he’s been in ministry something like 40 years. And the interviewer was asking him, what’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in 40 years of ministry, 40 years of ups and downs and problems and challenges? And without hesitation, he said, the biggest problem I faced is myself, is myself.

And that is the biggest problem all of us face. It’s always our biggest problem. It is not the world around us.

It is not our circumstances. It is not even what other people do to us. Those can certainly be hard things.

(24:00 – 26:09)

But let me tell you, even if the world was perfect and your environment was ideal, and even if people were lovely to you all the time, you would still have this major problem because of the fallenness in our own hearts and minds. The hardest thing to deal with of all is our own sins and our own hearts. Paul talks about it in Romans 7. It’s knowing what we want to do, but we can’t keep doing it.

It’s the pledging that we will do this and we don’t follow through. Paul wrestles with this. And as he comes to the end of it, he says, who will rescue me from this body of death? And his answer, Jesus Christ.

If you feel you keep messing up, if you know that more times than you can count, you’ve fallen into those moments of denial, then Jesus is a gracious Saviour. And he restores you after failure, and he picks you up from your falls, and he gets you back on your feet, and he calls you to follow again. Our sins, we sang it together, our sins, they are many.

His mercy is more. Do you believe that? Do you believe it? Well, so much comfort here, but we’re not quite finished. I suppose their hearts are so troubled that they need a large dose of comfort.

And so Jesus keeps adding on the comfort. And there’s one more thing. The fourth thing is that Jesus going will prepare a place with him and the Father.

Jesus going will prepare a place with him and the Father. He starts by saying, don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

(26:10 – 27:38)

Have faith in me as one who is co-equal with the Father, and trust in me and in the Father because of what I’m about to do. And now he explains what he’s about to do. Here’s one way of him explaining what’s about to happen.

In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I not have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? The Father’s house here clearly is heaven. It’s not the temple in Jerusalem.

Sometimes that was called the Father’s house, but I think it’s clear this is heaven itself. And Jesus says that in his Father’s house, there are many rooms. In the Authorised Version, very famously, I think it translates it, many mansions, which got an awful lot of people excited back in the day.

Probably that’s not a good translation. It’s probably better, rooms. But the point here is not that we are to work out the exact architecture of heaven.

The point is that there is a space and place for every disciple. Right? That’s the point. There is a room, a space for each of them and all of them.

(27:39 – 32:02)

And Jesus is going to prepare that room for each of them. In the flow of John, the going is the going to the cross, being raised from the dead and ascending back into glory. That’s what he means by going.

And the point here is that it is the going that prepares the place in heaven. If I could put this quite crassly, it’s not that Jesus has been spending the last 2,000 years making up bedrooms in heaven. Right? That’s not what he’s saying.

He’s not saying it’s taken Jesus a long time to fix this. That’s not what this means. The point is that it is the act of going that prepares the place.

The death of Jesus for our sins and his resurrection to give us eternal life is the means of preparing the place in heaven for us. This is why Jesus needed to die on the cross. The disciples didn’t want it.

But if they want to have a relationship with God and they want to live in the presence of the Father, then Jesus has to go. And if I go, verse 3, and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am. Notice again that it’s not the layout of heaven that’s the focus.

The point is that the disciples will be with Jesus again and they will once again be in his presence. Jesus is the joy of heaven. Christians sometimes say things about heaven that are speculative and beside the point.

Someone told me that they were asking a question of their pastor one day, and their pastor told them that he reckoned in heaven people will be travelling around on hoverboards. I don’t know what kind of… Maybe they’d be watching Back to the Future or some kind of Sky-Fi film before that particular Sunday. Now, I have no idea what the physics of the new heaven and earth will be like, and neither do you, because the Bible doesn’t give us all that kind of information.

And I’m not saying that the place won’t be part of it and won’t be part of the wonder of it all, because Jesus is making a new creation. But I think there is a real danger of painting a picture of a Christless heaven where the highest joy will be all of the fun stuff we get to do without God in the equation. The disciples in this sense have an advantage over us.

They knew the joy of being with Jesus day after day. They were gutted when he was going. And so this promise of his presence in heaven was the greatest picture of heaven imaginable to them.

And so on this night of nights, when the disciples can’t contemplate Jesus leaving, he says, don’t be afraid that I’m going, because I’m going to do something glorious. I’m about to do the greatest display of glory you’ve ever seen at the cross. Because secondly, my dying will set a new example and unleash a new impulse of love that you will carry on in the church.

And thirdly, don’t be afraid I’m going, because even though you fail, that very work on the cross will give you the grace to get up and follow again. And don’t be troubled, because by my going to the cross and by my going back to heaven, I am making the way by which you can be with me forever. We live in a troubled world.

(32:04 – 33:56)

And God knows that our lives can be troubled and our hearts can be troubled. And maybe some of you are here today, and you’re particularly feeling that today. But whatever the trouble around us or within us, Jesus points us to the gospel and to the cross, and he points us to the place he is making for us.

And he says, don’t let your hearts be troubled. With Jesus, this is not just a platitude or a meaningless statement. It’s something you can trust today and every day.

Father, we thank you today that you are glorified in your son, that your glory was put on display at the cross. We thank you that even today your glory in heaven is your son. Father, we thank you so much that the cross is glorious because it means forgiveness and reconciliation for us.

So help us to glory in the cross. Help us to live our lives dependent on the grace that flows from it. And help us to be those who live with love and expectation.

Love now for your people and for the lost too, that will show that we’re your disciples. But Lord, also that confidence that Jesus is coming to take us where he is. So we ask these things in his name.

Amen.

The post Don’t let your hearts be troubled – John 13V31–14V4 appeared first on Greenview Church.

to the seminar through reading this book. There are approximately five weeks of personal homework to do in this book to enrich and deepen your prayer life. Prayer is the greatest thing and the most noble task we do for God, for others and ourselves, is to pray.

So this is back to basics, back to God, how to enrich and deepen your prayer life. There’s another subject, sometimes we don’t talk too much about it, available for God, a biblical and practical approach to fasting. There are approximately 70 verses in the Bible about fasting.

Someone said, okay Ian, tell us about fasting, teach about fasting, but don’t make a meal of it. Fasting in the Old Testament, fasting in the New Testament, fasting in other religions, also some advice from a doctor about how to fast, who should not fast, and never fast unless you’ve got a good biblical foundation, and at least three reasons that you know, biblical reasons, that explain why you’re fasting. So let me encourage you to take a copy of my book, Available for God.

There’s a man that was available for God, it’s Peter Madden, International Director of Operation Mobilisation, who passed away a few years ago, he’s a great friend of mine, he was also the pastor of Downing Carlyle, and I think he’s been to this church before, I reckon, and when Peter discovered he had cancer, he began to write this book. This book is going to make you cry. If you want to have a good greet, do you know what that means Americans, a good greet, and we cry, huh, in Scottish.

If you want to have a good greet, you get a copy of this book. I’ve read this book several times, and I cried, because he just looks back in his own life, and I thank God for the different people that encouraged him. I’d like you to do the same after this meeting, take time before you go to bed, to thank God for all the people who have encouraged you, because you’ve become a Christian, because someone has prayed for you, and his theme is radical gratitude.

Wonderful book. Methodology, this is George Verwer, I think, how many Americans know George Verwer? You don’t know, well we know George Verwer over here. He’s a revolutionary.

He is the director of Operation Mobilisation. He too has passed away with the Lord, and he has written a book called Messiology, the mystery of how God works even when things are in a mess. This is a great book.

Sometimes my life is in a mess, but it’s going to encourage you, get at least three copies for yourself. And George, this is another book. I bought all the purchase of this book myself for you.

They’re not free, by the way. Out of the Comfort Zone, this is a book that’s going to encourage you. No one has bought this book since yesterday and this morning presented, so that means they all want to stay in their comfort zone, so get out of your comfort zone and get a copy of this book.

All my books are like sweets. Some of you, the sweets you’ve got to chew, others why some of them you’ve got to chew. Some of them you’ve got to sook, and of course all of my books you’ve got to swallow, and you’ve got to buy my books.

So God bless you. Now we’re going to have the presentation of France. I went to France for a week in a state for 52 years.

(3:36 – 3:58)

France, because of her culture, history, and scientific genius, is one of the most influential countries in the entire world. France is famous because of its cheeses, and Charles de Gaulle said there are as many political parties as there are cheeses. How many different cheeses are there in France? 365 different cheeses.

(3:59 – 5:19)

So welcome to France. Next. My story is a lovely story about a lovely woman.

That’s my grandmother. My grandmother, she lived in Scotstoun, 22 Birksville Drive in Scotstoun, and she was a radiant Christian. She had a lovely round face like a football and a banana smile, and she was a lovely Christian, especially when she prayed.

She would get on her knees and Kenneth, my brother, myself, my sister, we’d go to her house for a holiday during the summer. I know grandmothers are great people. Are there any grandmothers here? Put up your hand, we’d like to see you.

You can be proud. Lift up your hand. You know, grandmothers, they’re loaded with affection, and they’re loaded also with time, because they’ve got a lot of time, and they’re loaded with money.

Did you know that? Grandmothers are loaded with money, because in their purse, they’ve always got money to ask to buy sweets for their grandchildren. Our grandmother, she gave us all that we asked for. A tent in the garden, what would you like to eat? No problem, I’ll do that for you.

But every morning, we got on our knees. I was only five years of age, six years of age, and every year, I went to our grandmother, and it was the same programme. Every morning after breakfast, let’s get on our knees.

(5:19 – 5:36)

That woman put into my heart the flame of prayer. Later on, I was a carpenter and joiner, and I started a prayer group in our church, because my grandmother would pray and then say, okay, over to you, Ian. Just say this prayer after me, and she put the flame of prayer in my heart.

(5:37 – 5:51)

Then I started a prayer group. My father was a fishmonger, and above his shop, he gave us a room, and every Monday evening, I gathered young people. I was only 19 years of age, and we prayed for Scotland, we prayed for China, we prayed for the Americans, believe it or not.

(5:54 – 6:27)

We prayed for Tibet, and we prayed for France. One day, I received a cassette, and it was a missionary asking us to pray that God would send six young people to France. There were six in our group.

We prayed, and then I said, let’s go. They said, don’t speak French. That’s no problem.

We’ll learn French. They sent me a phrase sheet. I didn’t even do French at school, and I learned 32 phrases by heart.

I know them even today, and I use them on door-to-door. I learned French doing door-to-door. Here is the first phrase.

(6:27 – 6:54)

Bonjour, madame, nous faisons partie d’un groupe international. Nous ne sommes pas les Témoins de Jehovah, ni les Mormons. That means, hello, we’re a group of Christians, and we’re not Jehovah’s Witnesses, nor Mormons.

That was the first phrase, and then we gave them a Bible. That’s how I learned French, and I went to France for one week, and I stayed for 52 years. I spent four years with Operation Mobilisation, and then you’ll see Francoise on the screen.

(6:56 – 8:25)

We spent four years with Operation Mobilisation, three years in Bible school in Switzerland, and 53 years in church planting in France. That’s a big chunk out of your life, but I am the happiest man in the world, because God works when we pray. Next slide.

I’m involved in three things. Involved in church planting. The Frenchman is a controversialist.

He likes to debate. If you say black, he will say white. If you say white, he will say black.

He loves politics, and he loves conversation, and that’s a great way to get the gospel across, even though people don’t agree with you. I’ve been involved in church planting. I’ve also been involved over 40 years for teaching seminars on prayer.

Of course, all this is taking place in France. I’m also involved in publishing business, encouraging people to read good Christian books. Young Christians, there are so many books that are too complicated for young Christians, so we need good books, simple books, practical books to help young people to grow.

So these are the books we have published and distributed approximately 70,000 of these books like Christianity Today that you have over here in this country. France, of course, next please. France is nominally Catholic.

(8:26 – 8:42)

Here you have the figure 65 million people approximately in France. Seven million people from different countries. Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.

(8:46 – 10:31)

Next slide. God is building his church in France. How does he do that? I’d like to answer that question.

God does his work through your prayers, through God working, and God working through us and in us and with us. Next slide, please. Bonjour, les amis.

Who understands that? Bonjour. I think everyone understands that. This is Frances, my wife.

She’s coped with me for over 30, almost 40 years. Next slide, please. So she says hello to everybody.

I’d like to ask the question, how does God work? That’s an interesting question. God works with us, God works in you, and God works without you. That’s the message for tonight.

God works with you, God works in you, God works without you. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 9. If we’ve got time, we’ll look at that at the end. But how does God work? Next, please.

God works with people ordinary people. Can you imagine God using a joiner from Lark Hall to build churches in France? It’s unbelievable. Who can’t even spell sometimes.

But God uses ordinary people. God wants to use you where you are. You don’t need to come to France to be a missionary.

Everyone is a missionary. Some people say you need a call. No, you have all been called by God to evangelise the people around you.

All of us have been called. And I’ve been very fortunate in that my home church in Larkhall has supported me and prayed for me for 52 years. And they still continue to pray for me.

(10:31 – 10:54)

Is that not wonderful? And I have 300 prayer partners who are praying for our ministry in France. So that is the key. God’s people.

God uses ordinary people. Next, please. Our goal is to build churches in France.

Living stones. It’s not the bricks. It’s not the building.

(10:54 – 11:01)

It’s the people. The beautiful people of God who are not perfect. Put that in inverted commas.

(11:01 – 11:44)

They’re not perfect. Have you noticed? Have a look in the mirror. How does God work? You water, we plant, but it’s God who gives the increase.

It’s in that same chapter. You water, we plant, but God gives the increase. God works when we pray.

Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence. That’s John Stott. Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence.

Every time you pray, you’re expressing your weakness to God but depending on His power. More has been done through prayer than the world has ever dreamed of.

(11:45 – 11:52)

Why? Because we’re leaning on the promises of God. Prayer opens doors. Prayer softens hearts.

(11:52 – 12:08)

Prayer releases workers. Prayer releases power. And prayer releases blessing.

Do you believe that? That’s why we’re here tonight. Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence. Next slide, please.

(12:10 – 12:49)

Don’t know how good your geography is, but these are all the churches that have been planted in the past 50 years in France. I’m going to give you the big picture. What has God done the past 50 years? God is at work in France.

And you see the areas where there are very, very few churches in the centre of France, in the north of France, and also in the northwest of France. Sometimes you’ve got to travel 100 miles to find an evangelical church. There are still 38,000 towns and villages where there is no evangelical witness.

So that’s a big challenge for us to pray. So we have been working in the south of France. Next slide, please.

(12:50 – 13:21)

In Pierrelatte, in the south of France, in Montpellier, because there are lovely beaches there. Because there’s lovely weather. It’s approximately 27 degrees.

I called my wife. It’s approximately 27 degrees in France, and it’s pouring rain here in Glasgow. I’m looking forward to getting back home.

So how do you start a church? You move into a town where there’s no witness, not even a reformed church. There’s no church whatsoever. And we moved into Pierre Latte.

(13:21 – 15:30)

It’s a small town, about 15,000 to 20,000 people. And where do you start? And we in the Brethren movement, we know the secret. Children.

If you get the children, you’ll get the parents. Is that true? McDonald’s, they’ve understood that too, haven’t they? But we need to come back to this. Let’s invest in the children.

Let’s invest in the family. If you get the children, you’ll get the parents. So Francoise and another person, we started the church with another couple, just four of us around the table.

We broke bread, just four of us for the first time, several years ago. And we started to evangelise. We started with the children.

Then we started the youth group. Next slide, please. And then, of course, the key is reaching the children, adapting our approach to children.

We invited a ventriloquist, and he was great. He wasn’t a speaker, but the guy that he brought with him was wonderful. Next slide.

Friendships. Friendships. That’s how it’s done.

Building bridges with ordinary people who are not Christians. How many non-Christian friends do you have? How much time do you spend with them to build bridges with them? That’s so important. People, ordinary people, witnessing through what God and Jesus has done in your life.

Next, please. I had a bookstore in the market selling Bibles, only Bibles, for 25 years, from half past six in the morning to 12 o’clock, over a period of 25 years. That’s a lot of Bibles.

I sold one Bible per week. I’ll let you make the calculation you’ll tell me after. If you get it right, I’ll give you a free book.

A Scotsman who gives something free is a miracle. Of course, there are many people. At the time to count, how many people passed my bookstore per minute? 45 people per minute because I was right in the centre of the town.

(15:30 – 16:52)

All kinds of people. Next slide. People from the Muslim faith.

There are over 4 million Muslims in France. Of course, it’s important to have contact with the local authorities who went to see the mayor of the town. Next, please.

Asked him if he could help us. How can I help you? Well, we don’t have a church. We don’t have a building.

Well, he says, I’ve got four churches. I’ve got four buildings that are empty. They’re not used.

You can have them. I’ll pay the electricity as well. Praise the Lord.

We had a lovely church that we used thanks to the mayor of the town. Credibility with the local authorities, that’s important. Of course, next, Jesus film.

We use that a lot, the Jesus film. Friendships with ordinary people. Concerts, music.

Music’s a powerful thing. Everyone loves music, Christian or non-Christian. That attracts people.

If you get good music, then they’ll come. If you ask a preacher, they probably won’t come. If you get good music, people will come.

Good food, especially in France. So, concerts and often, we had different kinds of concerts that attracted sometimes 300 people in Pierrelatte.

The mayor of the town helped us to publicise that. Different kinds of concerts. Next, please.

(16:54 – 20:03)

Of course, we saw people come to the Lord. Young people come to the Lord and be baptised. Not just being baptised, not just being converted, but being baptised and becoming a pillar in the church.

That is the goal. We must invest time with new converts. Let me encourage you to invest quality time with new converts and to help them to grow.

The greatest joy that anyone can have is to see your own family come to the Lord. We have two children, Michael, who’s a Christian, but the greatest joy you can have is to see them being baptised. Here is our daughter, Caria. Next slide, please.

It’s after that, I think. Here she is giving her testimony. I think it’s probably next slide, you’ll see her baptism.

She is our adopted daughter from Thailand and she is a radiant Christian. She has four children and her husband is actively involved in the church. Seeing people come to the Lord, asking for baptism, and we baptised also different kinds of people.

There was Johan, the next slide, and his wife who came to the Lord. He was a Latin teacher and he became a Christian and also assumed the responsibility in the church. So, the church is the beautiful people of God, but they’re not perfect.

Next slide, please. People from different cultures, from different backgrounds. Let’s never forget the church is not the building, but the beautiful people of God.

Next slide, please. In our church, we had people from South America with people also from Korea. Next slide, please.

And we had, thanks to the Lord, some French people. Next slide. And we all work together.

That’s wonderful. And here is the story of the first convert in Pierrelatte, when we built the church. Next slide, please.

His name is Michael and we were putting literature in letterboxes. And this was in the street where we built the church and he received the letterbox and he came to the church and asked for a Bible. He came to the Bible study.

He was a professional painter and that he was really sent by the Lord. He wasn’t a Christian, but he proposed to paint the church at his own expense. So we’re very happy about that.

And he became a Christian and was baptised. And so our church began to grow. The growth was very slow.

We started with four people, 12 people, 20 people, 30 people, 40 people. Then the growth stopped for several years, but we pressed on and we made great steps of faith and decided to buy a piece of ground. Next slide, please.

And we decided to build a church with our own hands over a period of four years because I was a joiner. Of course, I was very proud to show how to walk on the roof that you’re constructing yourself. And the first day I fell off the roof.

(20:05 – 20:09)

So that was an answer. I didn’t pray. I didn’t fall on my head or break my neck.

(20:09 – 20:15)

However, these were wonderful experiences. So here you have a photograph. Next photograph, please.

(20:16 – 21:36)

You’ve probably noticed we did the building in two stages. One was for the main hall, approximately the same size of this. And he said, what we’ll do is we’ll also, by faith, we’ll lay the foundations for a second phase.

We don’t have the cash to do that, but by faith, we’re going to move forward. And we covered that with grass until the money come in. It’s George Verwer

who says, someone said, ah, you know that Christians don’t have money. And George said, that’s a lie. Some Christians are loaded with money.

Let’s pray for transfer. If you know someone who’s got a bit of money, pray there’ll be a transfer from their account onto our account. And let’s pray for that.

So we had times of prayer, we had nights of prayer, and God provided the money to finish the second phase of the building. You’ll see just in a minute. Next.

Next. Well, it’s after that. Next one.

Here we go. You see the plans for a second phase. And you’re going to see completed here in the French style, because it was near a lot of posh bungalows.

And this was a great joy to see that God had provided. Hudson Taylor said that God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies. That’s a good one.

(21:37 – 21:42)

You may say, that’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. Is there any opposition? Next slide, please.

(21:43 – 23:27)

Of course, there are times of doubt, hard ground, spiritual dryness, negative criticism, lack of faith. There are some of the tools that devil uses to hinder and slow down the growth of his church. Not only in France, but also here.

So be very careful. But he who is in us is greater than he who’s in the world. 1 John 4,4 “He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

So other forms of opposition, doubt, rationalism, scepticism, materialism, the occult activity. There are more mediums in France than there are medical doctors today. And the Apostle Paul could call it principalities and powers of darkness and spiritual strongholds that blind the minds and hinder people from knowing and grasping the truth and experiencing the liberating power of the gospel.

Islam. A lot of people coming from North Africa to France, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. In France, listen carefully, there are 2,450 places of prayer in France and mosques and places of prayer.

500 imams who are being trained to Islamise France. In Lyon, the town of Lyon, there are 57 mosques and places of prayer. But Jesus said, next slide, I will build my church.

(23:28 – 23:34)

Move on, please. Next one. I will build the church and the gates of hell shall not overcome it.

(23:36 – 26:00)

So God has done great things for us in the past. Next slide, please. Here’s the church building and it’s completed.

Next slide, please. And all of this must renew our confidence for today and for tomorrow. It is not our strategy, not our ability, but our faith and hope in the promises of God and rooted in God himself that’s going to make the difference.

Let’s move on. Next slide. Next slide.

As Hudson Taylor said, the missionary is like the scaffolding around the building under construction. As soon as the building can stand on its own two feet, get the scaffolding down out of the way so we can see the real church. That means missionaries get out the road.

So we moved on from Pierrelatte so that people could see the real church. Next slide. We’ve passed on to another French couple who are responsible for the church and the church is growing.

Today there are between 80 and 90 people in that church. Isn’t that wonderful? And I said to my wife, now see if I move from Pierrelatte, this church is going to collapse. She says, no, we’ve got to move by faith.

It took us more faith to move than it was to actually start the church and we moved and God did a great work. Next slide, please. And here you see John Eve and his wife who are responsible for the church.

So here’s the pastor with his wife there in France. Next slide. Here you see the areas of France where there are very, very few churches in the centre of France and the west of France and also in the north.

I won’t go into that because I’m coming to the end of my presentation. How many minutes have I left? Four? My official time. Sorry.

No, I’ve got four minutes. Next slide, please. In 1970, there were 769 evangelical churches.

Today there are 2,689 evangelical churches in France. 2,689. That means every 10 days in France, new churches have been planted.

Every 10 days, a new church has been planted somewhere in France. So praise the Lord. Let’s move on.

(26:01 – 27:29)

And we can be very grateful because God is at work. God is doing great things. How does it work? Next slide.

What is the key? People who have been trained to do the job. That’s important. Good, solid theological training to lead the church.

Next slide, please. We plant privilege. You water prayer.

God makes his seed grow. God makes his seed grow. Do you believe that? That’s why we’re here tonight.

So we are also… Next slide, please. Pray also for our book ministry as we try to encourage. These books have been translated into Arabic and also into Malagasy and into other languages.

So pray for these books as they go. Pray also for the seminars on prayer. Pray that God will raise up… Next slide.

I’m training seven French people to teach my seminars, seven pastors, and I’m looking for a Scottish person who’d like to teach my seminar, or even an American, or a Scotsman and American. That’s maybe why God’s brought you here tonight. So pray that God will raise up an English-speaking person to teach my seminar.

Next slide. I’ve been teaching these seminars for several years. Approximately 90,000 people who’ve been through the seminar number one on how to deepen your prayer life.

(27:30 – 28:18)

And in the month of… Next slide. Next slide. In the month of November last year, I was in the Caribbean on the OM ship, Logos Hope, with 450 people on that ship.

And every year, one million people are reached with the gospel thanks to this ship. They go into different ports, and there are approximately 25 vehicles on this ship, and they go and evangelise. And on this ship, there’s a concert hall, all sorts of things.

And I was on there to train people on prayer. Next slide, please. Right now, the ship is in the Caribbean.

It’s being repaired, repaired and being repainted. So that’s something also we can pray about. Next slide.

(28:20 – 28:31)

I was also training people to teach my seminar. I trained 30 people to teach my seminar on prayer. Next slide.

You have here. And we can pray. Next slide, please.

(28:32 – 29:58)

Next slide. Here are the people I trained on the ship who are teaching, who are going to be teaching my seminar to people that come on to the ship and also in different churches. So pray for safety, wisdom and protection for this ship, the OM ship.

Pray for a qualified crew. Pray also for finance and that God will provide the leaders that are necessary. So to finish, here’s a photograph of my family.

Michael, he is a pastor with his wife, you see on the right here. This is us just this year by the beach with our family. Michael is a pastor in Paris.

There are 600 people in his church with four pastors, and they have planted two satellite churches. That’s in Paris. It’s not in Scotland.

I think the Americans know that Paris is in France. I think you all know that. So that’s wonderful to see how the church, and this church was started approximately 30 years ago.

So the growth in churches in France is just incredible. God is doing great things. And you see also on the left, our daughter Caria, who’s married.

Yes, let’s put the prayer subjects. Pray that God will raise up French Christians of calibre to lead new churches being planted in France. Pray for the seven French people who are being trained to teach my seminar, and pray that God would raise up an English-speaking person to teach my seminars.

(29:58 – 30:19)

I’m going to finish with a verse on the screen. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than can ask or think or imagine according to his power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

The post Mission Report – France appeared first on Greenview Church.

Let’s bow our heads in prayer once again. Lord, author of light, wisdom and power, by the power of your spirit and through your holy word, feed our minds, enlighten our intelligence, widen our hearts, transform our attitudes, open our ears and hearts to receive your words with humility sobriety and reverence, help us to understand and apply and obey your word. This we ask in the precious name of our Lord Jesus.

Amen. Well, what a privilege and joy and honour it is to be in your church. Someone said I was here 30 years ago.

Does anyone, can anyone go back 30 years ago? I’m not sure if I was in the church before, but someone said I was here. So yes, I was here and you were here too. Well, praise the Lord.

(1:10 – 3:17)

It is great indeed to, to be with you. Our theme this morning is motivation for mission. Let’s go.

Are you ready? Let’s go. I’m going to just read one verse. If I had to select passage from scripture, I’d begin it in Genesis and I’d end up in Revelation and I’d read the whole Bible because the whole Bible, the entire Bible is about mission.

So I’ve just selected one verse from the gospel of John chapter 20, verse 21. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He’s speaking to each one of us this morning, speaking to me.

Then said Jesus to his disciples, peace be unto you as my father has sent me even so I send you. That’s Jesus. He’s saying the father has sent me so I am sending you.

Motivation for mission. What picture comes into your mind when we speak about motivation? I hope you’re motivated to get out of your bed in the morning. Sometimes I had problems getting my children out of bed to go to school.

What springs to your mind when you use the word motivation, a driving force, an impulse persuasion? It’s the power behind the boxer’s punches. That’s what motivation is. All these boxers are motivated.

I’m not sure they’ve got the right motivation, but they’re motivated by something. Is it not true that all of us need to be motivated? Is that true? To do everything, to wash your car, to do the dishes, to prepare an examination, to prepare to come to church. The Collins Dictionary puts it very simply.

(3:19 – 4:51)

It’s the power that causes you to do something. The power that causes you to do something. That’s motivation.

It’s the driving force and I’m going to try and answer a question. What is the driving force behind missionary enterprise? What is the power that thrusts us into the great Harvest Field? When I speak of the great Harvest Field, I’m speaking about Pollokshaws. I’m speaking about Glasgow.

I’m speaking about Scotland. I’m not speaking just about people who go abroad. I’m speaking at each person.

It’s got to go somewhere. All of us have been called. So that is the question.

That is the issue. What is the driving force behind the missionary enterprise? What is it that makes us go? When I was a wee boy, I was fascinated by springboards. You’ve got different types of apparatus that makes you go places, that gives you a lift, that gives you a thrill too.

I remember when I was a wee boy, my dream was to have a trampoline. You know, that’s perhaps the best one. You’ve got here a diving board or a springboard that might be in a sports hall or you’ve got a trampoline.

(4:52 – 5:08)

It’s undoubtedly one of the best because it makes you go high. Is that true? In our house in France, we have a back garden and you can eat there in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. Often we have our meals outside.

(5:10 – 5:59)

And there are two walls that separate us from our neighbours on the left and the right. Our house touches two other, it’s a semi-detached house and there’s a wall on each side. And we thought, we had privacy until we discovered that on the right and on the left, our neighbours, both of them had trampolines.

And that the children and also our neighbours got on the trampoline and they can also see what’s on our plate when we eat outside. They hear our conversations, they can also see on our plate what we’re having at lunchtime or evening. So I would like to propose to you four biblical springs of motivation that create momentum, driving force and catapult us into missionary enterprise, no matter where you are in the world.

(6:02 – 7:17)

It would be wrong and naive to ignore and dismiss the different monsters that raise their ugly head to oppose missionary enterprise, that hinder and jeopardise missionary enterprise. Opposition on one of them is an un-churchy mission is as much a monstrosity as an un-missionary church. The church must be involved in mission and mission must be involved in the church.

That’s in David Watson’s book on mission. I listened to John Stott on the subject to get some good material and in his introduction he says we must be very, very careful to be aware of the different kinds of opposition. And he mentions syncretism, that’s a mixture of religions.

If you’ve got a religion then you’re okay for eternity, that’s rubbish. Pluralism, that means a refusal to accept Christ as the only way, the only truth, the only life. Pluralism says there are several ways, there are several truths, there are different authors and givers of eternal life, that’s rubbish too.

(7:19 – 8:05)

And of course John Stott speaks about another kind of opposition, that’s Satan himself. 2 Corinthians 4:4, the God of this world has blinded the minds of those that believe not. And G.B. Phillips translates, he’s made their minds dull, 2 Corinthians 3.14, that prevents them from receiving the glorious light of the gospel to shine in their hearts, the opposition from Satan himself.

So spring number one, I’ll give you four springs. Spring number one, the triune God is a missionary God. The main motive for mission is theological.

(8:07 – 8:54)

Mission finds its roots in God. It’s the DNA of the Trinity. God in history and in the Bible is a missionary God.

It’s God’s business. He’s the boss. He invented it.

And God in the history of the Bible and the history of the world is a missionary God who is constantly on the move, turning to others to speak, to deliver, to save. God is a missionary God, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is a God who sends Abraham, Genesis 12, verse 1 to 3, into another country to leave your town and go into another country.

(8:54 – 9:50)

Then he sends Joseph into Egypt, Genesis 45, 5. And then he sends Moses, Exodus 3. And then he sends the prophets. But the people didn’t listen to the prophets. Their hearts were hardened.

Their hearts were as hard as a diamond. And they shut up their ears and we’re told in Jeremiah, but God continued to send his prophets. God continued to send his prophets.

He sent, of course, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and the rest of the team. You know them all by heart. I learned them all when I was a wee boy.

So you get the right page in your Bible. God continued to send them even when the people had hearts as hard as diamond. God didn’t stop.

(9:50 – 9:59)

And he continues to send people today. God, the triune God, is a missionary. He sends his prophets.

(10:00 – 10:23)

And from the time of our forefathers until today, God again and again is sending his prophets. We’ll move on to the next slide. God sends his son.

This is the climax in history. God sends his son. But when the appointed time had come, had fully come, God sent his son.

(10:23 – 13:11)

That’s Galatians 4. Verse 4, he sent his son to redeem, to become the children of God. So God sends his son. And then Jesus, he sends you.

And in the Gospel of John, 30 times, Jesus makes reference to the father who sent him. And Jesus said, so send I you as the father has sent me. That’s the verse I read in John 20 verse 21.

And the authority behind Jesus’ mission and our mission is God himself. Jesus is not simply making a parallel or similarities between his mission and our mission. No, he’s precise, deliberate emphasis here.

Our standing of mission must be, it springs from Jesus and it finds its origin in God himself. So God sends, Jesus sends, and of course the Holy Spirit sends. He’s active.

He’s at work. But you shall receive a power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be by witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1 verse 8. And the purpose and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life today and in your heart is to communicate power, quality of life, enabling to radiate the love of Christ to shine in the darkness.

The Holy Spirit is there in your heart. He’s want to transform you from inside, from inside and equip you. It’s a Holy Spirit that calls and equips and sends out and thrusts out.

In the book of Acts 13 verse 2, the Holy Spirit speaks to the church and I hope you’re aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your church. Who’s speaking, who’s calling, who’s asking you to move, not particularly to France, to get on the move and take the light somewhere to someone. It’s a Holy Spirit who gives us the energy.

Michael Green in his book on the Holy Spirit, he says that the Holy Spirit takes initiative for mission, who drives and who energises the church and also equips them to get the job done. So John Stott puts it all in a nutshell with a lovely phrase from one of his books. Mission arises from the heart of God himself and is communicated from his heart to ours.

(13:12 – 15:42)

Mission is the global outreach of the global people of God of a global God. That’s lovely, isn’t it? But what does that mean? How do we apply that to our life today? Here I have an envelope that represents your life. If you want to send this letter to Fort William, to Bombay, to Sydney, to Marrakesh, to Bangkok or Ouagadougou or Rutherglen, all you need to do is, look carefully, put a stamp on it.

Otherwise it’s going to end up at the bottom of a drawer. And it’s this stamp that gives it authority and power that changes the purpose and the essence of this envelope. You’ve got the message, haven’t you? It’s God who’s chosen you.

It’s God who’s given you authority and the power to get the job done. So I’m asking you the question, where are you going? You say, well, I’m staying in Glasgow. That’s fine.

If you’ve got conviction for that, that’s fine. Perhaps we should all be praying and asking the Lord, well, am I in the right place today? So God is a missionary God, Jesus is a missionary, and the Holy Spirit, He is also operating and working in our lives.

God might be sending you across the street, that’s fine with me. But one thing is sure, He has called all of us and sending all of us somewhere. Spring number two.

So spring number one, God, the triune God is a missionary God. Spring number two, is it not true that we all need fresh compassion for people, for the lost? I need fresh compassion for people. I’ll give you an illustration just in a few minutes.

Sometimes my heart is hard. Sometimes I’m very selfish. I don’t want to reach out to others.

I prefer doing my own thing. I love music. I’m a fan of music.

I try to play the piano an hour a day just to heal me inwardly. There’s a healing power in music. Is that true, Fiona? And it’s also a gift from God.

(15:43 – 16:25)

But Jesus, when He saw the crowd in Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, He was moved with compassion because the multitude was bewildered, harassed, distressed, helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd. The next time you go into Glasgow, next time you go to a big football match or a big concert, close your eyes and say, God, give me a fresh compassion for people. That’s what it’s all about.

We might have the theory, but if we don’t have the practise, then we’re not in the will of God. Pray that God will give you a fresh compassion for people. Compassion is the heart and engine room of intercessory prayer.

(16:26 – 18:34)

Compassion in Hebrew means a motherly affection. It’s almost like a physical link to someone. There are three dimensions or four dimensions in Hebrew of this word compassion.

It’s almost a physical link, a heart link. It’s an internal attitude that produces external implications and demonstrations. It’s not just a thought.

It’s being moved and then doing something about it. Does anyone here wear Nike shoes? Any older people? See, you’ve got some lovely white shoes. Is anyone got a pair of white shoes or Nike shoes? Because it’s not very good theology, but here it assumes it all.

Just do it. That’s it. Compassion is about that.

Just do it. It’s not just seeing, it’s not just crying, but it’s moving and doing something about it. It’s having a compassion for people, being touched.

That’s why you buy a sympathy card, isn’t it? I lost my sister when she was 35 years of age, and we received hundreds of sympathy cards. Wilma was only 35, and that soothed us, that helped us, that encouraged us. Empathy, putting yourself in other shoes.

God had compassion. I’ve seen their misery, I’ve heard their cries. I have come down, as God says in the Old Testament.

And Jesus, he saw the crowd. He was moved. And Jesus, in the gospel, he stops, he stoops, he listens, he touches, he feels, he hears, he prays, he weeps, and he dies.

That’s compassion. Jesus, in his parables, expresses concern for those who are eternally lost. He speaks about the prodigal son.

He speaks about those who are invited for a meal, who decided to stay outside. Referring, of course, to the place where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Perhaps we should have a new vision of the lost.

(18:35 – 20:33)

Pray that God will give you compassion for the lost. When I was young, I used to be very enthusiastic when I was travelling for my seminars. I would take a box of tracts, and I was travelling in Paris, and I’d do the entire station.

I don’t know if you’re allowed to do that, but French people, they do the job, and then ask for permission afterwards. However, I gave out tracts to people in the station. I jumped into my train, and I said, I’m going to give out a tract to everyone on the train.

And I was sitting in the train. There were six in a compartment, and two of the people were blind. And I’d done the whole train.

I was absolutely exhausted. I’d done a seminar six hours. I’d evangelised Paris.

I said, okay, you can have a wee rest, son. You’ve done a good job. Don’t worry about the people.

You’ve got a good excuse to be. You don’t give tracts to blind people, do you? So I went for a wee sleep, and I wakened up just before the train arrives, about 15 minutes before it arrives. And the Holy Spirit said, what about the people that are in front of you? What about the blind people? What about the other people? Speak to them.

I said, Lord, I’ve no compassion, but the Holy Spirit moved me, and I gave them a tract. Three months later, I received a telephone call. Thanks for the tract.

Thanks for your telephone number. Both my wife and myself, the two blind people, have come to the Lord. We’re going to be baptised in three weeks.

Would you like to come to our baptism? Isn’t that wonderful? Because we responded to the Holy Spirit who’s working. William Booth, in 1885, the founder of the Salvation Army in London, gave a sermon to a large congregation, International Congress of the Salvationists, and he spoke about compassion. And at the beginning of his sermon, he threw out a question to the audience.

(20:35 – 21:01)

Who can tell me the circumference of the world today? Are there any geography teachers here? Who can give me an idea of the circumference of the entire world, approximately? Have a wild guess. If you’re wrong, it’s no problem. No one? Just as well I came here, eh? Approximately 25,000 miles.

(21:05 – 21:32)

And William Booth, he went on, he said, now we must pray that the arms of every Salvationist, the heart of every Salvationist will grow, grow, grow, and embrace the ends of the earth. Isn’t that lovely? Embrace the ends of the earth. Spring number three, a sense of gratitude.

(21:33 – 21:48)

A fresh understanding and appreciation of the consequences of the work of Jesus on the cross. What happened on the cross? It’s God moving towards you. God stooping down towards you.

(21:49 – 23:51)

You must hear God’s feet moving towards you. It’s lovely when you go to church when something comes up and speaks to you, isn’t it? Sometimes I do a wee test. I put myself in the corners to see if people are going to come and speak to me.

I won’t tell you the results. Sometimes it’s not very good. Let me encourage you to go and speak to other people you don’t know.

But God, he came to us and the way was through the cross. God is coming to us this morning to remind us. This is the really fundamental stuff.

A sense of gratitude to understand and to respond to what happened on the cross. God is making steps towards you to remind you. He gave his son to die for you.

That is a spring for mission. Michael Green in his lovely book, Evangelism in the Early Church, in the chapter under Motives for Mission, said the work of Christ on the cross is the supreme impulse for mission on unquestionably the greatest single element in keeping the zeal of the Christian at its fever pitch. That’s lovely, isn’t it? Jesus did not come as a visitor or a tourist.

He came to die to express God’s love for us. It’s not that we love God, but that God who loved us. G.B. Phillips in 1 John 4 10 says, the greatest demonstration of God’s love for us has been seen in sending his son into the world who gave his life through Jesus.

And here we see real love, not the fact that we love God, but that God loves you. God loves you and gave his son for you. The best illustration of this, of course, is Zinzendorf.

I mentioned him yesterday. One of the greatest missionaries that has ever lived. It’s the greatest missionary society that has ever been created.

(23:54 – 24:27)

Zinzendorf, he sent missionaries. He sent out and supported, listen carefully, 2,158 missionaries who have supported financially in prayer by the Mooravs and by the churches of Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf, he said to his missionaries, the pagans know that God exists, but they need to know that Jesus died on the cross for them.

Tell them the message of the Lamb of God who died on the cross. Tell them the simple message of the cross until you’re blue in the face. I like that.

(24:28 – 26:45)

Tell them the message of Christ on the cross until you’re blue in the face. And where did he get this compassion from? He sent missionaries to North America, South America, Greenland, the West Indies, Australia, Europe, and Tibet. When he was only 19 years of age, he went to an art gallery in Dusseldorf, and there he contemplated this picture of Christ on the cross by a famous artist, Italian artist, Domenico Fetti.

Underneath the painting were these words, I gave my life for you, and you, what have you done for me? And he stayed on his knees for almost an hour, and he cried, and then he got on his feet and evangelised the world. A sense of gratitude. Back to John Stott, I love a quotation from John Stott, we must allow the work of the cross to disturb our security, shake our complacency, and overthrow our thought patterns and behaviour.

Lord, give me a fresh understanding of your love, its depth, its width, its height, its length. Help me to respond to this morning, like the New Testament Christians who were mobilised by the love and joy of the Lord. They turned the world upside down.

Turned the world upside down. One of my favourite hymns when I was in Hebron Hall, I’m 75 today, so as from the age of five, that’s about 70 years ago. Imagine I can go back 70 years, but I still know by heart all the verses of the lovely hymn that you know too by heart.

We’re not going to sing it, I would love to sing it, because I know you’re great singers here. It’s when I surveyed the wondrous cross, and the last verse goes, “Were the whole realm of nature mine …”, and they go to the tune ‘Deep Harmony’, you probably know that, it’s lovely. “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small, love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my all”.

(26:45 – 27:41)

And it’s Jim Elliot, who was speared to death because he wanted to take the gospel to a tribe. He was speared to death along with other four missionaries. He said in his book, in his diary, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.

What privilege we have to take the gospel to others. What a privilege and responsibility to express our gratitude. Get involved in praying for mission.

Go and visit a missionary. I went to France for a week, and I stayed for 52 years. So come and visit in France.

I’ll encourage you to give at least one year of your life to Bible, to be trained in theology, and get prepared for mission. Make contact with the missionary. Visit them, pray for them.

Get your hand on good books. Look at my bookstall. If you don’t want to buy a book, buy a book for somebody else.

(27:43 – 27:51)

They might end up in the mission field. Give up your small ambitions. Get out of the comfort zone.

(27:51 – 28:47)

All these books are available for you. Invest time and money in theological training, Bible school, Towsley College, Motherwell, London Bible College, or whatever. This could be an excellent investment and springboard for missionary enterprise.

So my last point, the most important point, always keep the last point, the best point for the end. Get the big picture. Get the big picture.

What is the big picture? The big picture is that every tongue, every people, and every nation will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and they’ll all come together. The redeemed by the blood shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit in the kingdom of God. This verse is in the Old Testament, and three times in the New Testament.

(28:48 – 29:30)

Is that not encouraging? That they’ll come from the east and the west, every tongue, every people, and every nation. And Revelation gives us an insight into the invisible that’s going to happen. Can you imagine? La Grande Finale, say it in French, it’s even better.

The big final, it’s like a final match of football, you know, the final. Everybody’s there. The multitude is there, from Bangkok, from Brussels, from Bearsden, from Newton Mairns, from the Gorbals, from Japan, from Australia, from China, Tibet, from Turkey, Afghanistan, all those who’ve responded to God as the missionary God, coming together and sitting down in the kingdom of God.

(29:30 – 30:09)

Are you not thrilled? Are you not excited? Revelation gives us an insight into that time, a lovely concert with heavenly music. The chorus, it’s Revelation 19, 6. The chorus was large and loud, a great multitude, like a great voice of many waters, and the voice of many thunderings, singing “Hallelujah for the Lord omnipotent reigneth”. Let us rejoice.

What a perspective. Finishing with a wee story. I read this in a book, I think it’s a true story.

(30:10 – 30:28)

Happened in Euston station. It’s a boy, maybe in his teens, he’s lost his train ticket. Often I was in Euston station, I’d go from there and I’d take the train and then take the boat to go to France, or I was in Euston station to come back up to Glasgow.

(30:31 – 31:29)

And the wee boy is in tears, he’s lost, like many people today are lost around us. But that day there was a gentleman who saw the wee boy and took an interest, he took compassion on the wee boy, and he moved towards him to console him, to encourage him, and to take care of him. Just as God has done for us in the person of Jesus Christ, he left the heavens and came down to meet us.

Point number one, authentic love. The triune God, the missionary God, coming down in the person of Jesus Christ. From heaven he came down to meet us personally in our misery.

And the gentleman, he comes to the wee boy, he says, what’s wrong son? I’ve lost my ticket. He’s in panic stations. So the gentleman said, listen carefully, I’m going to do something for you, but you must promise me something.

(31:30 – 31:45)

If ever you see a wee boy in a station who’s lost, or even a wee girl, will you take care of her? Yes, sir. Okay. Authentic love, moving towards others.

(31:47 – 32:05)

Secondly, practical love. The gentleman, he goes to the ticket office, he puts his hand in his pocket, and he buys the ticket for the wee boy, just as Christ has done. He didn’t just come down, but he went to the cross, and he paid the price so that we could go to others.

(32:05 – 33:04)

Jesus has done exactly the same thing for us. From heaven he came and paid the price with his precious blood, 1 Peter 1, 19. He comes back to the boy, straight after, so he says to him, what’s the condition? He says, I’ve got to take care of other children, sir.

She says, yes, you’ve got it, here you are. The wee boy takes the ticket. And the train comes in.

It’s an old train, by the way. If you’re interested in trains, by the way, it’s a very old train, where you can take the window down. The wee boy jumps into the train, pulls down the window.

And this is revolutionary, because as the train moves out of the station, the wee boy puts his head out the window, and he looks for the eyes of the gentleman who gave the ticket. As the train moves out, the wee boy shouts at the pitch of his voice, thank you, sir. I will do for others what you have done for me.

(33:09 – 34:17)

And then the story is, the wee boy spent the rest of his life working in train stations, taking care of lost children. Jesus is saying, I have given my life for you. And you, what have you done for me? My conclusion, four practical applications.

Spring number four, the big picture, every tongue in every nation. They’ll come from the east and the west. Spring number three, a sense of gratitude, the price has been paid.

Practical application. Spring number three, fresh passion for the lost. Spring number one, God, our God, the triune God is a missionary God.

So let me finish with a quote from Jesus himself. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son, of the Holy Spirit. And lo I am with you always, even until the ends of the world”.

(34:19 – 34:44)

Let’s get ready, get set, go. Let’s pray. Lord, what we know not, teach us.

(34:46 – 34:55)

What we have not, give us. What we are not, make us. We ask this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

The post Motivation For Mission – John 20v21 appeared first on Greenview Church.

One thing that makes exams a lot easier is studying. Now, I don’t know, there’s lots of different methods of studying. For me, what works best is repetition.

(0:11 – 0:31)

Simply just read it over and over again or have someone else go over everything with you. Paul seems to agree with me that that’s an excellent method of study. In the passage today, we’re going to see that most of what he’s saying, he’s actually already said earlier in the book.

(0:33 – 0:51)

But when Paul tends to repeat things, he repeats them because they’re important. So I’m going to start by reading the passage. If you could return in your Bibles with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 8. It’s page 1197 in the chapel Bibles.

(0:54 – 1:21)

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge, preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

(1:22 – 1:38)

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.

(1:39 – 2:01)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. So, as I said, most of this has already been looked at earlier in Timothy.

(2:02 – 2:25)

But he’s bringing out a few things for Timothy. And obviously this book is written to Timothy, who was a church leader, and much of it is primarily applicable to the church leaders, to the elders, the pastors. But it’s something that we all need to be aware of as well, both because at any point in our lives, we may be teaching someone else scriptures.

(2:25 – 2:46)

And also, to hold our elders accountable. So, we’re going to start in with Paul giving Timothy an instruction. Now he starts off in that verse by saying, with God and Jesus as my witness.

(2:47 – 2:59)

So, this is a very legalistic term. It gives the impression, this isn’t just Paul telling Timothy something offhand. He’s saying, God is watching me as I tell you this.

(2:59 – 3:17)

If you don’t follow through with it, he’s been witness that I’ve told you. And what does he say? Preach the word. This is one of the most important things, if not the most important thing for an elder and a pastor to do.

(3:17 – 3:23)

Preach the word. And we’re going to see why a little bit later. He says, be prepared at all times.

(3:24 – 3:39)

Now, as I just said, this is primarily written to elders. But the being prepared at all times, we can see from Romans, is applicable to everyone. Sorry, not from Romans, from Peter.

(3:39 – 3:56)

1 Peter 3.15 says, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. So all of us are encouraged to be prepared to share the gospel. It’s something that is an instruction given to all of us.

(3:59 – 4:20)

He also says, correct, rebuke, and encourage. In the previous passage, we are told, as Rory was preaching a couple weeks ago, that the thing to use for this is Scripture. For all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

(4:21 – 4:44)

So he’s not just telling Timothy what to do, but he’s also already given the instructions of how to do it. And then he adds, with great patience and careful instruction. Now, why would he add that, with great patience and careful instruction? Now, I’ve been to many churches in my life.

(4:45 – 5:12)

My parents were missionaries, so I was visiting churches all the time. And something that I witnessed in a few of them was the leaders always being ready to move on to the next thing. It’s, what is the current big thing that I can talk about? But Paul is telling Timothy, take a step back, be patient in the way you teach it.

(5:12 – 5:38)

Make sure you have firm foundations. Make sure the people you’re teaching understand the basics of the gospel. Now, why would he want Timothy to be so certain and so careful to teach the basics and to take his time and be patient in this? This comes right before he’s giving Timothy a warning.

(5:41 – 6:00)

He tells Timothy that a time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. And I find it interesting in this passage that quite often we’re told that wolves are going to come into the church, that false preachers will appear. But in this passage, it’s not even necessarily talking about those.

(6:01 – 6:21)

It says that people will gather teachers to themselves to hear what they want to hear. So the congregation itself, members of the congregation, they’re not just being led astray by false teachers, but they are actively potentially seeking them out. They are looking for something that makes them feel a little bit more comfortable.

(6:21 – 6:37)

A little bit more, less convicted. Now, it’s very easy to find these sorts of things. It’s very easy to hear messages.

(6:37 – 7:19)

If you’re looking for them, there are messages everywhere. And many of them start with the original nice message. Did God really say, as the serpent said to Eve before the fall? So today that might look like, did God really say that it’s wrong to live with someone before you’re married to them? Did God really say that marriage is only between a man and a woman? Did God really say male and female? These are all issues that we see rampant in our society.

(7:20 – 8:10)

Douglas mentioned a few weeks ago about a video that I’d actually seen as well of a preacher, a female preacher, who was talking about a passage that she thought that the way Jesus had treated the woman who’d come to him about even the dogs get the scraps, she was blinded by her feminist views that, well, I know better than God, so is that really what the Bible teaches? And we see this everywhere. Many places, it’s the prosperity gospel. People listening to preachers say, well, if you give us the church lots of money, then God’s going to bless you financially.

(8:11 – 8:41)

And if you’re from a very poverty-stricken area, that sounds great, but it’s not what the Bible teaches. So you have all these dangers of people who are seeking out messages that they want to hear. Perhaps the biggest one of those is, do I really need to change in order to follow Jesus? And most of those other ones fall under that.

(8:45 – 9:15)

Now, this is something that we should all look for in the preaching that we are given. If you sit in your church week after week and you never feel convicted or uncomfortable listening to the preaching, it could be a sign that something is wrong, either with the preaching or with you. It could be that you’re not listening to the preaching, but it could also be that the preacher is just giving you nice messages, things that you want to hear, things that are comfortable.

(9:18 – 9:40)

Now, this is nothing new. These, as I said, one of the first things that the devil said to Eve in the garden was, did God really say? But also in Paul’s time, we read in Romans, what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means. We are those who have died to sin.

(9:40 – 10:00)

How can we live in it any longer? So there were people who were going around the churches saying, well, if God saved us by his grace, then we don’t really need to change the way we live. So these aren’t new. They’re just dressed up a little differently to suit the modern audience.

(10:04 – 10:35)

So if this is something that Timothy’s told to watch out for, how is he supposed to respond? We see in verse five, but you keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. He’s saying, don’t let this prevent you from doing God’s work, because the way to counter these falsehoods is to preach the truth. He says, be diligent in your work.

(10:36 – 11:08)

So for our elders, for Colin, it’s be diligent in your work as the elder, as the leader, the pastor. This is a vital duty of church leadership, diligence in preaching the word, because the best way to combat falsehood is with the truth. Now, Paul hasn’t just told Timothy what to do and how to do it, but he’s also given an example of how it can be done.

(11:10 – 11:27)

In verse six, he starts talking about himself. And in the previous passage where Rory’s teaching, he also said, told Timothy, you know all about my teaching. Timothy had spent time with Paul, and Paul is pointing to himself as an example.

(11:28 – 11:43)

So he says he is poured out as a drink offering. Now, I did some looking into the drink offering. The drink offering is often paired with other offerings.

(11:43 – 12:19)

Quite often, grain offerings, which reminded me a little bit of the bread and the wine. So you would, often you would offer your bull or your sheep as a sacrifice, but along with that, there would be a small grain offering, which was usually ground flour, and then they’d pour out a wine offering, which that reminds me of what we’re gonna be celebrating later in communion. The blood of Christ poured out and his body broken.

(12:20 – 12:37)

Now, Paul is using the drink offering intentionally. He is reminding people, even in his, he is telling Timothy, I am going to be killed for my faith. But in that, he’s not talking about himself.

(12:37 – 13:09)

He’s pointing to Christ and reminding Timothy of the sacrifice that has already been paid. Also, as I said, drink offerings were often paired with another offering. So if Paul dying for Christ is the drink offering, what is the grain offering in this situation? He says, I have fought the good fight.

(13:09 – 13:14)

I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Paul isn’t just dying for Christ.

(13:15 – 13:34)

He’s dying for Christ at the end of a life that he lived for Christ. So the being poured out as a drink offering is the final sacrifice he’s making after a life lived in service to God. He is able to tell Timothy to follow my example.

(13:35 – 13:50)

I have spent my, not whole life, because obviously before he was Paul, he was Saul. But ever since his encounter with Jesus, he has dedicated his life to God and suffered immensely for it. He was beaten.

(13:50 – 14:03)

He was imprisoned. And all of that is his life offered to Christ. And to me, that’s actually even more impressive than dying for him.

(14:05 – 14:24)

Dying for Christ is a choice that we can only make once. But living for him is a choice we must make each and every day. But Paul isn’t giving us an instruction that is impossible to follow because he’s given us himself as an example.

(14:28 – 14:54)

So he has run the race and he is telling Timothy all of this in preparation for his death. Now, as Colin told us at the start of the series, he is expecting to see Timothy again. However, I think it quite likely that he is going to repeat everything he has said in this book in person.

(15:00 – 15:19)

Now, in the final verse, it says, there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Now, the word crown used in this passage is not a royal crown, but rather a victor’s crown.

(15:20 – 15:43)

It was the term that was used for the laurel leaves that they would put on the victors in the Olympics, in the original Olympics, in ancient Greece. It was the crown that you’d put on whoever won the race. So we don’t simply have to live for Christ for nothing.

(15:44 – 16:04)

A reward is awaiting us on that day. That day being the coming of Christ and us joining him for all eternity. And an encouragement from that as well is this is not a crown that is limited to Paul.

(16:05 – 16:18)

It is also to all who have longed for his appearing. We are all able to take part in this. We all have our own race to run.

(16:19 – 16:37)

And Paul has written all of this to Timothy in preparation for Timothy’s race. But it’s also been written down for us in our own race. If you are in Christ, then there is a crown of righteousness awaiting you in heaven on that day.

(16:41 – 16:54)

And I also, I like the way he’s written the end of that, of all who long for his appearing. We should be longing for the return of Christ. It is something to look forward to.

(16:54 – 17:06)

It is something beautiful. It is a reward for all of us. And we will have, all of those who are in Christ will have an inheritance on that day.

(17:12 – 17:34)

So with this, there’s in the spirit of Paul, I would like to repeat a few of the key points of the sermon. For the elders and teachers, preach the word. Do it unashamedly and courageously.

(17:36 – 17:50)

And beware false doctrines. Beware that members of your congregation may be deceived by false teachers, but they may also turn aside on their own. And it is your job to correct them.

(17:51 – 18:00)

It’s not a fun job. In fact, it’s probably the hardest part of your job. But correcting false doctrine is your job.

(18:00 – 18:21)

And calling out those turning to it is also up to you. For those in the congregation, for the flock of a church, hold your leaders accountable. Listen to what they preach each week.

(18:22 – 19:07)

Are they preaching the truth? Or are they simply giving you nice messages that they think you want to hear? Also, make sure that you listen to these words because you never know on the days when someone might ask you about your faith, and when you become the preacher, when you become the teacher, because we are all called to share the gospel. And for everyone else, for all of us leaders, teachers, congregation, look forward to his coming with longing in your heart. I’m going to close in prayer.

(19:10 – 19:29)

Dear Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for Paul’s example to us, for a life lived not for himself but for you, and for a life poured out for you. May we give our lives and our hearts equally to you.

(19:29 – 19:43)

May we use him as an example of Christian living. And may we always turn to you and strive to follow after Christ. And may we look with excitement upon his return.

(19:44 – 19:45)

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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