John Ch14v15-32 - Loving Relationship

John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

And we're looking at a section in John's Gospel which covers chapter 13 through to chapter 17, which is a lot, but is actually a record of the last 24 hours Jesus has with his disciples.

Before he goes to the cross and he's gently preparing the disciples for his departure and what life will be like when Jesus is gone.

So we're going to continue looking through that. We're going to read from John chapter 14 verse 15 to the end of the chapter. John 14 starting in at verse 15.

John 14:15

This is Jesus speaking to his disciples.

If you love me, keep my commands.

And I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.

The Spirit of Truth.

The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him.

But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you.

Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you.

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

The one who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Then Judas, not Judas Iscariot, that's the one who betrayed Jesus, said,

But Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?

Jesus replied,

Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

These words you hear are not my own.

They belong to the Father who sent me.

All this I have spoken while still with you.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you all things

and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled

and do not be afraid.

You heard me say,

I am going away and I am coming back to you.

If you loved me,

you would be glad that I am going to the Father.

For the Father is greater than I.

I have told you now before it happens

so that when it does happen,

you will believe.

I will not say much more to you

for the Prince of this world is coming.

He has no hold over me.

But he comes so that the world may learn

that I love the Father

and do exactly what the Father has commanded me.

Come now, let us leave.

Well, let's pray.

Holy Spirit,

will you be our teacher this morning?

May you take the words

that are written down for us

and speak those words into our hearts

so that we see Jesus

in all his greatness

and all his beauty

that we will see his love for us

so that in response

we love him.

So help us now for our good

and for our blessing.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, growing up,

I had a very close relationship

with my brother, Philip.

Some of you know him.

Although he's six years older,

we were the best of friends

and still are.

We shared the same bedroom together.

We played football.

We went fishing.

And we annoyed our sister.

I couldn't imagine a life

without my brother.

And then came the terrible news.

My brother was leaving

to go to university.

I was devastated.

I was in first year in secondary school

and I remember crying deeply.

Yes, I could talk to him on the phone.

But that was nothing compared

to being with him.

Not having my brother around

was devastating.

Well, the disciples were struggling

with something similar

but much deeper.

They had spent the last three years

with Jesus.

They had left everything

to follow Jesus.

They had gone with him

wherever he went.

They had been learning from him.

They had been watching the miracles.

They had been to weddings with him.

They had been to funerals with him.

They had gone on long walks together.

And then came the devastating news.

I'm leaving.

I'm going back to the Father.

And they were devastated.

So Jesus seeks to reassure them

and comfort them

and to reassure us

and to comfort us as we read

that he is with us forever.

Look at chapter 14, verse 1.

Jesus says to them,

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

He says the same in the end of verse 27.

Do not let your hearts be troubled

and do not be afraid.

You heard me say,

I am going away

and I am coming back to you.

If you loved me,

you would be glad

that I am going to the Father

for the Father is greater

than I.

Or we could imagine

the disciples

thinking to themselves,

Well, that's great for you, Jesus.

You're going to the Father.

But what about us?

What are we going to do?

And how are we going to have

a relationship with you

now that you're going?

You see, from our perspective,

Jesus has already returned

to the Father.

At this point,

in talking to the disciples,

Jesus was yet to die

and rise and ascend.

But we now look back

on a time when Jesus

has died,

has risen,

and is now ascended.

But our question

can still be the same.

How do you and I

relate to Jesus?

Because we can't see him physically.

How do we enjoy

a relationship with Jesus

now?

Well, the answer,

partly,

is reciprocal love.

It will be a relationship

of loving one another.

We can love Jesus

now.

And Jesus loves us

now.

Look at verse 21,

which is really a key verse

in this section.

saying,

whoever has my commands

and keeps them

is the one who

loves me.

And the one who

loves me

will be loved

by my Father.

And I too

will love them

and show myself

to them.

You see,

although we cannot

see Jesus

physically,

although we can't

go out and have

a coffee and a chat

with Jesus,

we can still

enjoy and

experience a deep,

loving relationship

with Jesus.

A relationship

where we

love him

and he

loves us.

So,

two big ideas

from this text

we're going to look at.

first,

we love Jesus

by our

obedience

and second,

Jesus loves us

by his

promise.

So,

first,

we love Jesus

by our

obedience.

Look at verse 15.

If you love me,

keep my

commands.

Now,

in case we

missed the point,

Jesus says it

twice more.

Look at the

beginning of

verse 21.

Whoever has

my commands

and keeps

them

is the one

who loves me.

And Jesus

repeats it

again in

verse 23.

Anyone who

loves me

will obey

my

teaching.

Now,

you might think

that doesn't

sound very much

like a fun

relationship.

It sounds like

a lot of

rules and

obedience.

Well,

obedience

is good

and it's

the mark

of a

healthy,

loving

relationship.

Look at

how Jesus

enjoys

his

relationship

with the

Father.

Look at

verse 30.

I will

not say

much more

to you

for the

prince of

this world

is coming.

The prince

of this

world is

talking about

the devil

or Satan

who would

seek to

derail

Jesus

from going

to the

cross.

But Jesus

says he

has no

power over

me.

But he

comes

that the

world may

learn

that I

love the

Father

and do

exactly

what my

Father has

commanded

me.

Do you

see it

there?

Jesus

demonstrates

his love

for the

father

through

obedience.

Now

parents and

children

can enjoy

a similar

relationship.

Parents

have

commands

and teach

their

children

obedience

but not

to harm

them but

to do

them good.

In the

same way

as children

obey their

parents

they learn

to experience

the love

of the

parent.

So a

parent who

gives a

good command

and a

child who

obeys the

command

enjoys a

healthy

loving

relationship.

Well Jesus

and the

Father love

one another

and the

way Jesus

expresses his

love to

the Father

is look

at the

end of

verse 31

by doing

exactly

what my

Father

has

commanded

me.

You see

there's no

hint that

obedience

to Jesus

and keeping

his

commands

are

bothersome

or tiresome.

It's the

mark of a

healthy

loving

relationship.

Some of

you might

know of

or even

read

the book

called

The Five

Love

Languages.

Anybody

of you

heard that

or read

it?

A few

nods

here.

Well if

you read

it it will

tell you

how to

express

your love

to your

spouse.

So here

are the

five love

languages.

Words of

affirmation,

quality

time,

receiving

gifts,

acts of

service,

and physical

touch.

So each

person

will lean

to one

of these

five.

And so

the more

that we

understand

the love

language of

the other

person,

the more

we will

know how

to love

them and

the deeper

the relationship

goes.

Well the

love

language in

our

relationship

with

Jesus

is

obedience.

It's

through

listening to

his

commands,

by reading

his word

and doing

what Jesus

says,

that we

enjoy a

healthy and

loving

relationship.

So first,

we love

Jesus by

our

obedience.

Second,

Jesus

loves us

by his

promise.

He loves

us by

his promise.

He made

a promise

to his

disciples

that has

now been

fulfilled.

Look with

me,

verse 16.

Jesus

says,

I will

ask the

Father

and he

will give

you another

advocate to

help you

and be

with you

forever,

the Spirit

of Truth.

Jesus is

promising them

the Holy

Spirit.

You see,

as Jesus

goes,

so the

Spirit

comes.

As Jesus

ascends to

the Father,

so the

Spirit will

descend to

his disciples.

Now,

if we're

Christians

today,

that promise

has already

been fulfilled.

Jesus

has returned

to the

Father

and the

Spirit has

now

come.

That's what

Jesus is

referring to

in verse

20.

On that

day,

the day

when the

Spirit

comes,

you will

realize

that I

am in

my Father

and you

are in

me

and I

am in

you.

So what

Jesus

promised to

his

disciples,

we now

get to

experience

if we

are trusting

him.

So what

can we

expect

from the

Holy

Spirit?

What

experience

should we

have?

Well,

there are

four things

we can

experience

that will

lead to

a healthy,

loving

relationship.

four things

that will

lead to

a healthy,

loving

relationship.

First of

all,

we have

the

presence

of

Jesus.

Look

again what

it says,

verse 16.

I will

ask the

Father

and he

will give

you

another

advocate,

a helper.

Some of

your

translations

might say

counselor,

or comforter.

But the

focus here,

I think,

is on

another

advocate.

In other

words,

the Spirit

is not a

replacement

for Jesus,

but another

one just

like

Jesus,

who will

be with

you forever.

So Jesus

says in

verse 18,

I will

not leave

you as

orphans.

I will

come to

you.

But how

can Jesus,

who is

departing and

going to

the Father,

be present

with us

at the

very same

time?

Well,

Jesus is

present with

us by

the person

of the

Holy Spirit.

verse 17.

Jesus

says,

the world

cannot

accept

him,

because it

neither

sees him

nor knows

him.

But you

know him,

for he

lives with

you and

will be

in you.

You see,

the Spirit

is not an

it or

a thing.

The Holy

Spirit is

the presence

of Jesus,

not just

with us,

but,

as it says

at the

end of

verse 17,

he is

in you.

We can't

see Jesus,

we can't

hug Jesus,

we can't

invite him

round for

dinner,

but Jesus

is living

in us,

and therefore

he is

with us

wherever we

go and

whatever we

do.

There is

never a

time when

Jesus is

not with

us.

You see,

being with

us and

in us

is an

expression

of the

deep

love that

he has

for us.

Jesus

is present

in the

disciples,

in the

believer's

life,

by the

Spirit.

And he

is continually

present

with us.

So we

have the

presence

of Jesus.

Second,

actually I

don't have

this,

this was

an added

extra

later in

this morning,

and if

you're using

notes you

don't have

it,

but it's

number two

anyway.

We have

the assurance

of Jesus.

Not just

the presence

of Jesus,

but the

assurance of

Jesus.

Jesus

promises

to keep

us in

relationship

with him.

Look at

verse 19.

before

long

the world

will not

see me

anymore.

They'll

not see

him because

Jesus is

going to

the Father.

But you

will see

me.

Because I

live,

you also

will live.

Jesus is

saying because

I live,

because I

will be

going through

my death

and resurrection,

you also

will live.

And how

will they

live?

Because of

the Spirit

in you.

Yes,

you will

see me

again,

but how

can Jesus

be so

sure that

the disciples

will physically

be with

Jesus and

see him?

Because of

the Holy

Spirit within

us.

Just one

quick cross

reference.

Jump

forward to

Romans 8

Romans 8:11

verse 11.

Romans 8

Romans 8:11

verse 11.

So it's

John

Acts

Romans.

Romans 8

Romans 8:11

verse 11.

So we're

thinking here

of the

assurance

that Jesus

gives to

the believers

because the

Spirit is in

you, you

will live.

So look

what it

says,

chapter 8

verse 11.

And if

the Spirit

of him

who raised

Jesus from

the dead

is living

in you,

he who

raised Christ

from the

dead

will also

give life

to your

mortal bodies

because of

his Spirit

who lives

in

you.

did you

get that?

The Spirit

that raised

Jesus from

the dead

is the

same Spirit

that lives

within the

believer's

life so

that we

too will

rise.

Go back

to John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

You see,

Jesus is

reassuring us

that though

he is gone,

yes,

he is present

with us by

his Spirit,

but there

will come

a day

when we

will rise

and we

will see

him and

physically be

with him.

Because I

live,

you also

will live.

So we

have the

presence of

Jesus,

the assurance

of Jesus,

and third,

that's second

on the screen,

we have

the love

of Jesus.

You see,

Jesus makes

an even

greater promise.

Look down

at verse

23.

Jesus said,

anyone who

loves me

will obey

my teaching,

my Father

will love

them,

and we

will come

to them

and make

our home

with them.

So it's

not just

Jesus who

is going

to be present

with us,

it's

Jesus

and the

Father

who is

in us.

Before

Kirsty and

I got

married,

we lived

in separate

homes.

We loved

each other

and we

enjoyed

spending

time

together,

but when

we got

married,

we moved

in

together.

It would

be a very

strange thing

for someone

to get

married,

but to

remain

apart and

to live

in different

homes.

Well,

when we

believe in

Jesus,

when we

commit

ourselves

to Jesus,

it's like

we enter

into a

marriage

relationship.

God,

by his

spirit,

moves

into

our

lives.

As an

expression

of love,

verse 23,

God the

Father

and God

the Son

make us

their

home.

God

moves

in

to our

life.

Now,

you can't

get closer

than that,

but more

than that,

deeper than

that,

Jesus wants

us to

experience

the love

of the

Father

and the

love of

the Son

that they

enjoy

together.

Look back

at verse

21.

Whoever

has my

commands,

and keeps

them,

is the

one who

loves

me.

The

one who

loves

me

will be

loved

by my

Father

and I

too will

love them

and show

myself

to them.

You see,

before time

begun,

the Father

and the

Son

and the

Spirit

have been

enjoying

a continued

loving

relationship

relationship

with one

another.

Before this

universe came

into existence,

before you

and I

were born,

the Father,

the Son,

and the

Spirit were

relating to

each other

in perfect

love.

So when

God makes

his home

within us

by the

Spirit,

he's inviting

you and I

to share

in that

eternal,

perfect,

loving

relationship.

relationship,

the love

that the

Father has

for the

Son and

the love

the Son

has for

the Father,

we get

to experience

it and

share in

it.

We get

to enjoy

the love

of God

by the

indwelling

person of

the Holy

Spirit.

After a

couple of

years of

our marriage,

we had

two children

and because

Ethan and

Rebecca are

our children,

they get

to share

in the

love that

Kirstie and

I have

for one

another.

They share

in that

love.

To not

love them

would be a

tragedy.

Well, the

amazing thing

about God

is he comes

into our

life by the

Holy Spirit

so that we

may know

and enjoy

his love.

He shares

his love

with his

children.

an eternal

perfect love

that never

fails and

will never

leave us.

His love

is steadfast

and loyal

and faithful

and keeps

on loving

and pursuing

us even

when we

don't do

things that

are unloving.

Jesus

loves us

by enabling

us to

experience

his love

by the

presence

of the

Holy Spirit.

So we

have the

presence of

Jesus,

the assurance

of Jesus,

the love

of Jesus,

and then

we have

fourth

the peace

of Jesus.

Being with

Jesus for

the disciples

was both

comforting

and reassuring.

but now

Jesus is

going and

departing to

the Father,

they're

troubled and

afraid.

So Jesus

makes a

further promise.

Look at

verse 27.

Peace

I leave

you,

my peace

I give

you.

I do

not give

to you

as the

world

gives.

Do not

let your

hearts be

troubled

and do

not be

afraid.

now how

many of

us

experience

fear

in life?

We fear

what's

happening

around us,

what we

see on

the news.

We fear

the future

and wonder

if everything

is going

to be

alright.

Perhaps

we even

fear,

as I

often do,

is my

relationship

with God

going to

continue?

What if

I fail

and it

breaks?

But listen

to what

Jesus is

saying.

End of

verse 27.

Do not

let your

hearts be

troubled

and do

not be

afraid.

Well,

how are

we not

to fear?

Well,

jump back

to verse

26.

Here's

how we

don't

fear.

But the

advocate,

the Holy

Spirit,

whom the

Father will

send in

my name,

will teach

you all

things and

will remind

you of

everything I

have said

to you.

You see,

we experience

the peace

of Jesus

as we

listen to

the words

of Jesus.

The peace

of Jesus

becomes our

experience

as we

listen to

the words

of Jesus.

Now,

how do we

hear the

words of

Jesus?

Jesus,

we pick

up the

Bible

and we

read it.

The

apostles

heard the

word of

Jesus

and they

wrote it

down,

and so

as we

read it,

we hear

the words

of Jesus.

And the

Spirit reminds

us and

brings peace

into our

life.

The peace

that tells

us,

verse 18,

that we

are not

left as

orphans,

but he

is with

us.

Or the

end of

verse 19,

because Jesus

lives,

we will

live.

And verse

23,

because the

Father loves

us,

we know

that he

will stay

with us.

You see,

as we

read the

promises and

assurances of

Jesus,

the Spirit

brings to

our minds

all these

wonderful

truths.

So in

our fears

and in

our

troubles,

the Spirit

brings

peace.

So Jesus

loves us.

He loves

us by

his promise.

We now

have the

Spirit who

enables us

to experience

a loving

relationship

with Jesus.

We have

his presence,

his assurance,

his love,

and his

peace.

Jesus

loves you.

He really

does.

Now the

big question

we need to

ask as we

conclude and

think about

this is

how do I

actually get

to experience

this love

for myself?

How can I

experience this

loving

relationship?

How do we

receive the

Holy Spirit?

Well that

seems to be

the question

Judas is

asking in

verse 22.

Look with

me at

verse 22.

Then Judas

said,

but Lord,

why do you

intend to

show yourself

to us

and not

to the

world?

In other

words,

if you are

promising the

Spirit to

us,

what about

everybody

else?

Can they

experience

him too?

Well look

at how

Jesus

responds,

verse 23.

Jesus

replied,

anyone who

loves me

will obey

my teaching.

My Father

will love

them and

we will

come to

them and

make our

home with

them.

And anyone

who does

not love

me will

not obey

my teaching.

Now we

need to be

crystal clear

about this

or we'll

get very

confused.

Jesus

does not

mean that

through our

obedience

we earn

the Spirit.

So if I

obey all

the commands

of Jesus,

I will

get the

Spirit.

No,

that would

be a

contradiction

to everything

Jesus has

taught.

the gift

of the

Spirit is

given the

moment

someone

believes

and trusts

in Jesus.

So back

in verse

16,

Jesus says,

I will

ask the

Father

and he

will give

you

another

advocate.

It's a

gift.

It's not

something we

earn.

It's a

gift to

those who

believe.

and the

moment we

trust and

believe in

Jesus,

we receive

the Holy

Spirit.

But,

it's

through our

obedience

that we

experience

the Spirit.

Did you

see that in

verse 23?

Anyone who

loves me

will obey

my teaching

and my

Father will

love them

and we

will come

to them

and make

our home

with them.

We don't

earn the

Spirit,

but we

experience the

Spirit through

our

obedience.

As we

love Jesus

by our

obedience,

so we

experience the

love of

Jesus for

us.

Obeying

is

experiencing.

So if we

want to

experience the

Spirit's work

in our

life,

today,

well,

if you

are not

yet a

Christian,

then you

need to

trust him,

to commit

your life

to him,

to ask

him to

change you,

and if you

do,

the Spirit

will enter

your life

at that

very moment,

right now,

and he

will be

present with

you,

and assure

you that he

will be yours

forever,

and you

will have

peace,

and you

will experience

his love.

As we

obey his

commands,

as we

enter into

this loving

relationship,

so we

experience all

that he

has to

give us.

Jesus

welcomes,

he welcomes

you and I,

and invites us

into that

loving,

eternal

relationship,

where we

love Jesus,

and Jesus

loves us,

where we

know his

presence,

his assurance,

his peace,

and his

love.

Let's

keep obeying,

and encouraging

one another

to follow

him.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

thank you,

Jesus,

for your

promise,

that the

Father would

send the

Spirit,

and would

indwell

every single

person

who trusts

you,

and loves

you.

Thank you

that we

can know

the Spirit

today,

living in

us,

never

departing,

helping us

to enjoy

and experience

a loving

relationship

with you.

Would you

help us

as we go

into this

week to

be people

who obey

your word,

not because

we have

to,

but because

we delight

in you,

and to

enjoy you.

Father,

impress upon

us all

that you

have done,

that we

might love

you as

you love

us.

In

Jesus'

name,

Amen.

Well, we're

going to sing

together a

reminder of

the assurance

of God's

great love

for us.

Blessed

assurance,

Jesus is

mine.

Let's stand

together,

and as we

sing,

and if this