The Advocate | What's in a Name

All right, we continue our sermon series, What's

in a Name? Jesus, Our Advocate. And so, like

I said in the beginning of service, I want to

ask, when you think of the word advocate or advocacy,

what comes to mind? Yes, Randy. A defense attorney.

All right, that's actually in my sermon. Very

good. Yeah, right here. A guardian. Absolutely.

Right? Not the baseball team. We don't like them,

but the guardian nonetheless. Absolutely. Others.

Someone who speaks. You guys are just all up

in my sermon. I appreciate that. Anyone else?

Someone from the balcony. A go -between. Okay.

Very good. Someone who walks beside you. Thank

you, new member Doug Coy. Thank you for that.

That's great. Anyone else? An advocate. An agent

or an agency, absolutely. We actually saw one

on stage last week. No, it wasn't me. No, it

wasn't. It was Cheyenne, right? We had 5 '2",

right? Wonderful advocate in Cheyenne because

what she is doing, what the mentors are doing,

what the entire ministry of TMC, Teen Mother

Choices, is doing is advocating for those teen

moms. You heard her. In the update that she gave,

helping her navigate a daycare that was trying

to take advantage of a young girl. Advocating,

giving her, didn't do all the work, but helped

her along the way. And we know that we know that

we know if Cheyenne got unleashed on that daycare

center, that that would have been figured out

as well, right? And so that, Colin, can I get

an amen? Amen, very good. They did not want that

mess. But understand what you heard. You heard

someone that was working outside of herself,

working outside of what she thought even years

ago she'd be doing, advocating for those that

need advocacy. And whether we know it or not,

that that is the call of every believer, because

that is a role and a distinctive that Jesus has.

And not only Jesus will get there. But Jesus

as advocate, we're going to be in 1 John, so

this a little later in the New Testament toward

the end, and then John 14. But before we dive

into God's word, a couple things about the advocator's

role. So Jesus' role as the advocate. The first,

he is an advocate as a defender. So we already

heard that, defense attorney, that he is a defender.

What does that mean? In ancient times, the advocate

in Greek, parakletos, right, that's going to

come back, was someone who stood beside another

to defend, to counsel, or to intercede. Isn't

that funny? Jesus is our defense, Jesus is our

wise counsel, and Jesus is our intercessor. So

everything you guys said, that is part of Jesus'

role in our life, that Jesus defends on your

behalf. Now that is really, really exciting.

And that should be really, really convicting.

Because really the question then is begged, what

do you need defense for in your life? I think

the answer is everything. That when we sin, when

we mess up, when we fall short, right, God isn't

saying it's okay. No, he's defending first in

us, trying to figure out why we do that, finding

out where the root of that sin nature is. And

then those in Christ, his righteousness covers

over us to the Father. We'll get to that in a

second. The Old Testament often depicts advocacy

in a legal sense. Job longed for an advocate

in Job 16, 19. Proverbs 31, 8 and 9 calls God's

people to defend the rights of the needy. That

Jesus makes it very clear that our role should

be to come to the aid of those who need it. The

least of these. So my first challenge for you

this morning, right in the beginning, who are

the least of these in your community? And how

are you seeing them? How are you uplifting them?

How are you meeting their needs? If you want

to know how to do that more, read Matthew 25.

Read the entire book of James. It'll take you

20 minutes at best. James very much depicts how

we should be the defender because Jesus is our

defender. Jesus, not only defender, but also

mediator. The high priest in the Old Testament

served as mediators between God and his people,

Leviticus 16. The Belgian Confession, Article

26, declares, we have no access to God except

through the one and only mediator and advocate,

Jesus Christ, the righteous. I want you to remember

those two words, the righteous, because that

plays a big part at the end. Unlike earthly advocates

who will fail us, Jesus is both our mediator

and the atoning sacrifice for sin. So he is the

mediator, the defender that went to the mat to

prove who he was in our life. No other world

religion, no other worshipped deity can say that

piece. That's what makes Jesus, in my opinion,

and biblically stand alone from anything else.

Whether world religion, foreign power, domestic

power, authority, it doesn't matter. Because

nowhere else in all of the world and all of creation

where every knee will bow and every tongue will

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord because he's

doubled down on all of these things. So I know

that sounds very legalistic. Sometimes at times

as a pastor I get called in to be a mediator,

whether it's between two groups of people, or

a husband and a wife, or a father and a son,

or an elder and an elder, or an elder and a deacon.

Part of my job is to be a mediator. There's a

part of me that really enjoys it, because it's

watching two people work through the road of

reconciliation, but if we were all doing our

part, I wouldn't be needed in that job. Because

we would all be able to get there, one and another,

but we know that that doesn't happen. We know

that pride gets in the way. Wanting that pound

of flesh gets in the way. And so sitting with

someone is just something we will not do. To

that I say, check your heart and your relationship

with Jesus. Because he is also the advocate as

comforter. The Greek word parakletos also means

helper and comforter, as we see in John 14. Now,

I just, because I'm a visual person, when you

think of the word comforter, what do you think

of? Let's all say it together. A blanket or a

comforter, right? That you can just wrap yourself

up in it. That's a very cozy place to be. It

should bring you a lot of comfort. This word

is used not only for Jesus, but like I said,

somebody else. The Holy Spirit. That the Holy

Spirit is called in the latter parts of John,

the paracletos, the advocate. Whom Jesus sends

as another advocate to guide and sanctify us.

I think that's so amazing. That Jesus has in

the plan, God, Father, Son, Spirit. Jesus says,

I must go up so the comforter, the paracletos,

can come down and guide you in truth. That the

reason we've grown in our faith, we've started

faith, is the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is our comforter today. He is

our advocate today. Jesus, in his early ministry,

could only be physically present in one place

at a time. Fully God, fully man. And what we

see is through the work of the Holy Spirit, he

is with all believers, always and everywhere.

The visual representations of faith in our life

is because of the Holy Spirit. That the Holy

Spirit is in you. The Holy Spirit is one of the

most misunderstood aspects of the Christian faith.

But wait, we're going to get through a really

cool sermon series after Easter in the minor

prophet Zephaniah, right? 75 % of you just think

I made up that word. No, it's in there. Or that

person, minor prophet. We're going to do that.

We're going to go into the Summer of Psalms,

and then we're going to start our epic sermon

series in the book of Acts, Earth, Wind, and

Fire, the start of the church. And guess how

the church starts? What? You can't just repeat

what I just said, Al. How does the church start?

It starts with a big visit from the Holy Spirit.

Well, good. Seven of you are excited about it.

That's awesome. Heidelberg Catechism, question

answer 53, teaches this about the Holy Spirit.

It teaches us, what do we believe concerning

the Holy Spirit? First, he is together with the

Father and the Son, true and eternal God. Second,

he has given me personally so that by true faith,

which is a knowledge and a conviction, he makes

me share in Christ and all his blessings, comforts

me, remains with me forever. The Holy Spirit's

presence means you are never, ever alone. When

Jesus says, and I will be with you always to

the very end of the age, that is the presence

of the Holy Spirit. So in those corners of life

when the bank account is running dry and you

seem like you have no hope, the Holy Spirit is

there. Now, the Holy Spirit is not going to make

it rain with cash just to make you feel better,

but he's going to remind you and give you perspective

that you are a part of something bigger, that

God loves you and his presence never leaves you.

So that is Jesus, and that is the role of the

advocate. But as we dive into 1 John 2, this

is going to flesh out for us what Jesus as our

advocate actually means. So 1 John 2, 1 through

6, says this. My little children, I am writing

these things to you so that you may not sin.

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with

the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is

the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours

only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And we know that we have come to know him if

we keep his commandments. Whoever says, I know

him, but does not keep his commandments is a

liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever

keeps his word, in him truly the love of God

is perfected. By this we may know that we are

in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to

walk in the same way in which he walked. Now,

if your body's tensing up because you just had

insta -conviction, you're in good company. There

is no way to really read that. Claire, can you

go to the second slide of that? There is no way

to read this section. Whoever says I know him

but does not keep his commandments is a liar.

So we are a church of liars. We are a church

of broken people. We are a church that we see

the light, yet we want to step into the darkness.

Where other parts of 1 John says, if we do that,

the light does then not know us. Walk in the

light as he is in the light. It makes total sense

why we need an advocate. Because Jesus pleads

for us before the Father. Randy brought up a

defense attorney, and that is really where the

conversation goes. It goes to a courtroom setting.

Jesus stands before the Father on our behalf.

Unlike a human lawyer who argues based on merit,

Jesus' advocacy is based on his own perfect righteousness

and atoning work. You've heard me say it before,

I'll say it again. This is the gospel according

to Jim, and this is something that I really...

came to believe, but also just was the comfort

for me when we lost my sister years ago. That

I saw my sister up there in glory, Jesus coming

around her, putting his arm around her and says,

Dad, she's with me and is ushered into glory.

That is Jesus as our advocate. Heart of Her Catechism

question answer 60 affirms that though we are

sinners, God grants and credits me the perfect

satisfaction. righteousness, and holiness of

Christ as if I never sinned. Time out. But I

do sin. But you sin. But we sin. But when we

get up there, if we get up there and throw our

badge on and go, I've made it because I've done

all these things. I've taught in Lighthouse.

I served on council. I gave money. I helped this

and that. The father's going to say, I never

knew you. Until Jesus is a part of the discussion

and you have submitted your life to the king,

after that, his righteousness covers you and

God looks at you and sees his son. Because Jesus'

advocacy is rooted in his atoning work. It's

about Christ's work on the cross because our

work on a cross means absolutely nothing. I've

said it before, I'll keep saying it. If I died

on the cross for your sins, nothing would be

accomplished. But Jesus' death on the cross for

you and for me, his righteousness, his propitiation

of our sins. was taken on him on the cross. Not

just our sins, but the sins of the whole world.

Jesus is not only our defense, but the very reason

we are declared righteous. That's why I get so

frustrated when people just go through the season

of Lent and then try to not eat meat on Fridays,

or they give something up, or whatever. That

we need to take the season of Lent to really

ponder the work of the cross, because the work

of the cross means everything for you and for

me and for the church. Without the cross, there

is no church. Without the cross, there is no

salvation. Without the cross, there is no resurrection,

and therefore we have no hope. So Jesus is advocating

for us, and he advocates for those who walk in

obedience. 1 John 2, 6 says, Whoever says he

abides in him ought to walk in the same way in

which he walked. And this hit me like square

in the face. And I'm just going to read it how

I wrote it on Wednesday. His advocacy is not

an excuse to continue to sin or to continue in

sin, but is a call of holiness. So I could ask

the question, how many of you were holy this

week? And we might get some answers, we might

get someone chuckled, we might get someone leave.

But God's, Christ's advocacy for us is a call

to holiness. And holiness according to the word

of God. Not holiness according to your interpretation

of it. That Jesus tells us how to live holy lives.

Jesus tells us how we are to walk out what it

means to be a Christ follower. The Heidelberg

Catechism question and answer 86 states that

because Christ has redeemed us, we are called

to live in gratitude. Let's sit on that one for

a second. That we are called to live thankful

lives. We are called to live lives of gratitude.

Where it's not the I have to, but the I get to.

I've done that and we'll do that again at some

point. Ah, it's Sunday, I have to go to church.

Oh, my word, it's Communion Sunday. We have to

be here 15 minutes after we normally get out.

I had to sit through two sermons last week. No,

you get to. And here's the thing. Length of service,

a lot of you like to tell me about it and complain

about it. Please understand, it goes in one ear,

I pray for you, and then it goes out the other.

Because I think we do a pretty good job. Because

you know that if you double down on it, I'm going

to double down and go, so we can't give Jesus

90 minutes, huh? And then I get to run away.

And I would never do that to you, to your face.

But understand that our have -tos get to be I

get -tos. I have to do my one Sunday that I signed

up for nursery. I guarantee you it will be a

better experience if you take the have -to out

and go to I get -to. Because that changes things.

Elders, deacons, I have to come to a meeting

we now have because we don't have a congregational

meeting tomorrow. That's right, none of you but

Mark had Houston in the championship game anyway,

so it doesn't matter. Understand that it's a

perspective shift. Jesus' advocacy for our lives

means he doubled down and said, I am the be -all,

end -all. There is nothing... In your life, better

than me. We buy into that. Our perspective should

shift. Because not only is he advocating for

us to the Father, he is advocating for us today.

So this is where we're going to jump to John

14. John 14, 16 and 17 says this. I will ask

the Father and he will give you another helper

to be with you forever. Even the spirit of truth.

Whom the world cannot receive because it neither

sees him nor knows him. You know him for he dwells

with you and will be in you. Leave that up. There's

a paradox here, friends. That if we are in Christ,

then we get to see the work of the Holy Spirit

in your life, in my life, in the life of the

church, in the life of Christian community. Who

doesn't see it? The worldly powers, the worldly

authorities. A non -believer cannot claim the

work of the Holy Spirit because a non -believer

is denying the power of the Holy Spirit, which

we find out, right, is that kind of sin of sins,

if you will, is the denial of the Holy Spirit.

A believer that says or puts forth the words

from their mouth that they deny the work of the

Holy Spirit. That's a problem. Denying the work

of the Holy Spirit means you deny the power of

the Lord, which means you are at odds with the

word of God, the word of life. And to all of

my analytics, to all of my ones that like to

analyze and need C equals MC Jesus in your life,

this is where faith plays the biggest role. Though

we may not get to figure out all of the mysteries

and all of the things that God's word tells us,

we take it on faith. It's called the sovereignty

of God. You either walk in it or you don't. You

can't say, oh, God is sovereign until something

bad happens and now God's not anymore. It doesn't

work that way. God has been sovereign. God is

sovereign. God will be sovereign. And how does

he show us that sovereignty? By giving us new

life in him because of the death and resurrection

of his son, Jesus Christ. The sending of the

Holy Spirit, our advocate, our paracletos. Jesus'

advocacy does not end with his earthly ministry.

He continues to intercede for us at the Father's

right hand. We get from Romans chapter 8. He

Romans 8 · chapter mention

has sent his Holy Spirit as our advocate on earth.

So what does it mean that Jesus is advocating

for you and for me in heaven? That even now,

Jesus pleads for his people. He gives us assurances.

When Satan accuses us, Jesus defends us, Revelation

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. Jesus' ongoing work in the heavenly

courtroom, picture this. Think of a courtroom

scene. Satan is the accuser, Revelation 12 .10,

bringing up our sins before God as God allows.

Jesus is our defense attorney advocating on our

behalf. But here's the thing. His argument is

not over how good Jim was. Or, you know what,

if we just do a pros -cons list of Jim's life,

that the pros outweigh the cons by like two.

So, you know what, it's just a numbers game.

That is not what Jesus is defending. His argument

is not on our own goodness, but on his finished

work on the cross. John 1, 2 says this. If anyone

does sin, we have an advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ. And here it is, the righteous.

I love you. You tolerate me. We can't say that

about each other. I can't look at you and say,

insert person here, the righteous. Jesus, the

righteous, is the only one that gets that headship.

Why? Because we submit to that. He doesn't share

his righteousness with us to erase all the bad.

His righteousness is draped over us. And that

is what the Father sees. Jesus does not ignore

our sin. He acknowledges it. But then he presents

his righteousness in place of our guilt. Our

good friend, the Canons of Dort, helps us understand

and head to Article 8, affirms this truth. Christ's

death was of such great value and worth. because

the person who submitted to it was not only truly

human, but perfectly holy, but also the only

begotten Son of God. We already talked about

that one. This means that his advocacy cannot

fail. It is based on his divine nature and perfect

sacrifice. So if all that work is going on in

heaven for you and for me to be set apart when

we get up there, whenever that is, our only comfort

in life and in death, then it begs the question

from Romans 8, who is to condemn? Spoiler alert,

it's not us. Unfortunately, we do a good job

of condemning one another, not usually in public.

It's usually private or on the internet. But

who is to condemn? Jesus Christ is the one who

died. More than that, who was raised, who is

at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding

for us. This should give us deep reassurance

and comfort of faith. That when we have faith

in Christ, when we feel unworthy, Jesus pleads

our case. When we struggle with sin, Jesus intercedes

for our sanctification. And maybe you need to

hear this today, but when you feel abandoned,

Jesus is always the Father, ensuring that we

are never forgotten. And unlike every power of

the world, throughout history, Up to today, continuing

to tomorrow and forever until we're all called

home, or the new heavens and new earth as Evan

brought up, Jesus' advocacy is not temporary.

Everything on this earth is temporary, but Jesus'

advocacy. It is eternal. It is ongoing. So while

Jesus is advocating in heaven on our behalf,

the Holy Spirit advocates on earth. The Spirit

works in us. to convict us of sin, to guide us

into truth, and to seal us in Christ. So how

do we respond? We walk out as assured as we can

in who Jesus is. And friend, I know that's not

easy. I know there's going to be days of doubt

and questions. But just like Kara and I try to

do for our boys, even on those days when they

don't say they love us back when we drop them

off at school, we know they do, and they know

we do. Even when they drive us crazy and they've

done at least 30 laps around the house, because

that is a corporal punishment we have at the

Holland Donor House, I yell out to them I love

them every time they go around the front door

and I'm sitting with my feet up. Just kidding,

I don't do that. Carrie does. But we say we love

them and understand because I'm out there running

too. So not only does he love us, but he sees

us. He does not abandon us. He continues to intercede

for us and sanctify us. Friend, we burn our hand

on that hot stove of sin daily. That whole conviction

thing, that whole annoying voice in your head

when you get, don't go there. That's going to

hurt. That's going to hurt. It may sound like

a parent. Guess what it is? It's Jesus advocating.

It's the Holy Spirit sanctifying us, calling

us to trust in his advocacy and to live in, half

of you hate this word, but it's what we need

to do. We need to live in obedience. So what

does that obedience look like in your life? What

does that look like in my life? What trip -ups,

what stumbling blocks do we have that we need

to seek ways, not only around them, but to obliterate

them, to give us new eyes and a new head, to

see how we can work through those sins, those

temptations, before we fall? Resting in his advocacy

is the... One of the greatest things we can do

to have assurance of faith, to know that we're

on the right path. But pastor, there are days

I don't feel like it because of this, that, and

the other thing. Guess what? Those things are

all temporary. Finances, political power, struggles,

even your job, your role in your family, all

of those are temporary. Jesus' advocacy and his

love for you is continual, is constant, is forever.

So where do we go from here? For our head, for

our knowledge. Know the advocate. Do you see

Jesus as actively advocating for you before the

Father? And what is he advocating for? Confess

your sins, for he is faithful and just, will

forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all

unrighteousness. David cries out, create in me

a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit

within me. Cast me not away from my transgressions,

but uphold me by your loving spirit. Do you see

Jesus actively advocating for you before the

Father? So know the advocate, for the heart rests

in his advocacy. Are you living in the assurance

of Christ's ongoing intercession? And friends,

stop giving him reasons to do it. So many times

we can live a Christian life of, yeah, I got

it all out on Sunday. I got the juice. I got

the bread. I'm good. But, oh, Friday's coming.

That can't be the mature believer's way of life.

That is cheap grace in trying to take advantage

of Jesus' advocacy. We cannot be a church that

does that. We cannot be a people that does that.

So how do we do this tangibly? We need to, for

our hands, live as a witness. Just as Jesus in

the Spirit advocated for us, we are called to

advocate for others, to speak truth, to defend

the weak, to share the gospel. So that final

reflection, who in your life needs to hear about

the hope of Jesus, our advocate? So I'm going

to pause for a minute as we go into Holy Week

next week. It's a sacred week for the life of

the church. One thing I want you to know is all

that goes on through next week, understand this

truth. Jesus is not a distant Savior. He is active,

present, and the constant advocate for us before

the Father. As we go into the despair of next

week, as we walk through the gates of Jerusalem,

as we sit at the table in the upper room, as

we see the darkness of that Good Friday, the

death on the cross in the tomb, know three things.

That Jesus comforts us through the Holy Spirit.

He pleads for us in heaven. And he secures our

salvation, not just for today, but for eternity.

And that's why we throw a giant celebration called

Resurrection Sunday or Easter.