Text: John 14:22-29
Focus: the Spirit
Function:
22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.25“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.
Good morning to God’s beloved children!
Today we are going to see part of the reason why God loves us so much.
I want to make sure that we understand at the end of the message this morning that since God created everything and permeates everything, God’s love is universal and extends to everyone.
I get a little bit nervous when I read that if we love God we will keep their word and then the Father will love them as if the Father didn’t love them before.
The idea that the author, John, is trying to express here is that the one who is doing God’s word is the one who is actively working to show God’s love to others and when we abide in love, we feel it more and more and it increases, seemingly exponentially as we live the Spirit filled life.
Kids raised in the church sometimes leave the faith for a while as they decide for themselves what it is they believe. It is an important part of our spiritual development and although parents may be afraid of the consequences, God isn’t because God is faithful to them.
God promises to keep us in God’s love.
And oftentimes, those children come back to some sort of faith, maybe not a regular church attendance, but an heartfelt desire to live in a way that promotes love between others in their own way.
Sometime they are back in church. One of my children has recently came back to Church and I was talking to them about spirituality and they were telling me the amazing revelation they had about how when they started praying again and looking for God in their lives, they found them right there with them all along. God is faithful and will never abandon us.
The point is that as we walk in love and in God, more and more, we sense and see God at work and the Spirit’s presence becomes more real to us.
We stress this point a lot to our Kairos brothers in the prison. The spiritual disciplines of prayer, study about God, and love through action, along with forgiveness, rely on the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives and as we allow the Spirit to work on us, we grow more and more in love.
And that is the point John is making here about Jesus’ teaching when he says that God will love the one who obeys, or is walking in love. When we walk in love, more and more love is evident and available to us.
So, the first point is that when we walk in love, God’s love increases in us and flows to others. Our reaction to that point? We make the choice to love.
The one who loves God walks in God’s love and it becomes evident to those around them.
This story takes place on Maundy Thursday and it is Jesus’ final words to the disciples before his death and resurrection. In today’s story, Jesus explains why he is telling them this so that they to aren’t shocked by the events of next couple of days.
He knows what they need to continue to have faith in him and he assures them that he will supply it.
And he explains to them a little bit about one of my favorite subjects: the Holy Spirit.
He explains that he is leaving them and the reason that is good is because the Spirit of God will replace him and be with them always.
He gives us a name for the Spirit. The text says The Advocate. If you go to Bible Hub on the web, you will see that the word for Advocate translates in several different but similar ways. It is also called the helper, the counselor, and the comforter.
We can get an idea about the meaning of the word from those different translations. The Greek word is ParaClete. “Para” like Parallel means to come along side and Clete means to speak.
So, the Holy Spirit comes beside us and speaks both to us and for us. The Spirit is there to guide us.
And Jesus wants us to rest in the Spirit’s leading and guidance. He tells them this so that they will not be afraid in times of crisis.
By the way, I really feel the prayers of everyone during this time of crisis with Philip Jr. and I do hear the Holy Spirit continue to tell me that he has my son in his hands and that through this he is healing him beyond his heart and kidney conditions.
So: Pray and then rest in God is the counsel that Jesus gives to the disciples and to us.
After he explains a little bit about the Spirit who lives inside of us, he gives them a spiritual gift: Peace.
He gives his peace to us. And he says that it isn’t a conditional gift, based on performance, but it is divine and permanent.
This is another blessing that is given to us by the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives. We can have peace and confidence in the midst of trials.
And it isn’t because of our great character, strength or will power, it is a divine gift, a grace given to us by God that empowers us to rest in God’s care for us.
God wants the church to grow. God wants out church to grow. I believe we grow by showing God’s love to others. God’s love is revealed in our love.
God is revealing their love to the world through us, the Church, as we learn to walk in God and in God’’s love.
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