Title: Jesus Physically Left This World
Bible Book: John 14 : 25-31
Author: Jared Moore
Subject: Ascension; Holy Spirit
Objective:
Introduction
I’ve been at Union Fork for about a year and a half now. Since I’ve been here, I’ve heard an awful lot about how things used to be. What I hope to show you today is that we serve the same God today that you served back when this church was running 350. The only thing that has changed is the people, not who we serve. Today, my main goal is to call all of us in here to repentance who believe that there’s something better than knowing and enjoying God through His Word alone.
I. He Left To Send the Holy Spirit to Teach Us All Things
II. He Left To Send the Holy Spirit to Divinely Inspire His Apostles
Jesus left this world to send God the Holy Spirit to divinely inspire His apostles. Look at verse 25 - These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
These words Jesus was speaking while He was physically on earth. However, Christ wasn’t always going to be on earth physically with His disciples and the rest of His children. Note verse 26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, God the Holy Spirit is another comforter. He is God the Holy Spirit.
“Whom the Father will send in my name,”
When Jesus physically left this world, His Father was going to send God the Holy Spirit to His people because of the authority of Christ. Through His blood, we have access to God. It’s also through His blood we are indwelled by God the Holy Spirit.
“He shall teach you all things,”
God the Holy Spirit is the teacher of divine truth. He was going to teach the disciples all things concerning what they needed in order to be faithful to the Lord.
God the Holy Spirit shines light on the Word of God. Since He is the Author of it all, He never operates against it or in place of it. God the Holy Spirit will teach you all things through His Word; He will never lead you away from the Word. This is His ministry; He is called “the Spirit of Truth”.
The Word says that the Holy Spirit will, “…bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Not only was God the Holy Spirit going to teach His disciples all things, He was also going to bring everything to their remembrance. This is why we can trust the Word of God. God the Holy Spirit authored it. The Bible isn’t a divine/human product… with errors. It’s literally God-breathed. Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Peter, in 2 Peter 1:19-21 said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
III. He Left To Send The Holy Spirit to Give Us Peace
Jesus left this world to send God the Holy Spirit to give us peace.
Note verse 27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:…” Jesus was comforting His disciples. Even though Jesus was going to physically leave them, His peace wasn’t going to leave them. He said, “Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” The world cannot give us peace. It’s amazing how everyone talks about peace, and everyone has been seeking peace, but even if we get along with other countries, there’s still going to be unrest in this country. There will still be evil here until Christ comes.
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Christ wanted to comfort His friends. The disciples were “alarmed” over Jesus leaving them. What they didn’t realize was that He was going to continue being with them through God the Holy Spirit.
Church, this is the same Spirit, which Christ calls another Comforter, like Himself. God the Holy Spirit is still with His church, comforting and interceding for it. Here are some important questions, are we satisfied with the spiritual presence of God the Holy Spirit indwelling us, or do we beg for the physical? Are you satisfied with the Word of God, or do you search for a feeling? Are you satisfied with knowing God the Holy Spirit indwells you? Or, are you seeking a feeling? Feelings come and go, but God’s Word is forever. The apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:24, 25 – “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
As your pastor, there are 2 major things that concern me. I realize there have been hardships here. It concerns me that some of you are searching for a feeling. There are some of you who have experienced the hardships that happened here, and Union Fork Baptist Church doesn’t feel like “home” anymore to you. It doesn’t feel like home because you’re searching for a feeling. Jesus Christ literally indwells you through God the Holy Spirit, and this God indwelling us, isn’t enough for us?
Do we need something more than the truth? If Jesus was physically here, would you be fired up? Because, He is already spiritually here, and He has here promised His disciples peace through God the Holy Spirit. And, we preach the truth here; so, if you’re lacking peace, joy, etc., it’s not because something is wrong with this church, it’s because you have previously been excited for the wrong reasons! I want to begin asking you, those who were here at Union Fork Baptist Church whenever you believe it was the best days of UFBC; were you fired up then? And, if you were, why were you? Was it because of the truth, or was it something else? After all, the only thing that has changed at Union Fork Baptist Church is the people, not the truth. So, if you were excited about the truth in the past, shouldn’t you be excited about the truth today? Every problem UFBC faces today stems from us doubting the truth. If you really want UFBC to be on fire for Christ, then quit searching for a feeling, and be satisfied with His truth, submit to it, don’t doubt it, and I promise you that you will be on fire!
We’ve got to quit saying, “Oh, if there was just something physical, some miracle, or sign, or if Jesus was physically with us, etc.”—to make these statements is to doubt all that He’s already provided! We have God and His book of truth; and these will endure forever!
Not only does it concern me that you’re searching for a feeling, it concerns me even more that you may find that feeling. Because if anything other than the truth is producing the feeling then it’s “false fire”. There’s one fact about false fire: it never lasts! So, if our church gets on fire based on anything other than the truth, the forever enduring truth, the everlasting, unfading truth of God, then it’s false fire, and we’ll eventually be back where we were again. It may be 6 months, it may be 3 years, 10 years, but false fire always goes out. And often times, when it goes out, people try to conjure up more false fire through whatever they can do. So, it’s an endless cycle. Church, we must listen to Christ’s words here; He tells His disciples to not be troubled or afraid because He is with them through God the Holy Spirit. And, Christ here in us comforts us through the giving of God the Holy Spirit; not through feeling God the Holy Spirit, but through God the Holy Spirit magnifying and bringing to memory the TRUTH!
Church, if we’ll all simply submit to the Truth, I promise you the feelings and emotions will come, and Christ will be the One producing them! Christ did not want the disciples, His Church, to be afraid. He didn’t want them to fear the world or Satan because He wasn’t physically with them. -After all, God the Holy Spirit was coming to them. Not only should we be satisfied with God the Holy Spirit indwelling us, but we actually have more fellowship with Christ now; and His disciples did as well after His ascension, than while He was physically on earth. After all, if Christ were physically here, you would have to get in line in order to have the fellowship with Him which you have 24/7 if need be through God the Holy Spirit.
IV. He Left To Show This World He Loves His Father
Jesus left this world to show this world He loves His Father.
Look at verse 28 - Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Previously, Jesus had told them of Him leaving and returning to them through God the Holy Spirit. NOTE: Jesus indwells us through God the Holy Spirit still today. Even though He is physically with God the Father. “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father:” These disciples didn’t fully love Christ at this point. They were sinning because they were questioning Christ. If He indeed is God the Son, the Lord of all, the name above all other names, He knows better than us in every situation. This is where true peace comes from; it’s through acknowledging that He’s in control of all things.
“…for my Father is greater than I.”
God the Father is “greater” than Christ because of Jesus’ submission to His Father. Jesus, in the incarnation, being born to a woman, was made 100% human; though He kept His divine nature. The author of Hebrews said it this way in Hebrews 2:7-9, “Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
Jesus had been made a little lower than the angels. Jesus refers to His Father as “greater” because He is in authority over Christ; however, Jesus is still God the Son, 100% man and 100% God.
Look at verse 29, And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
All of these things Jesus has been predicting haven’t happened yet. He’s telling them of future things. He’s encouraging them concerning the fact that He is God in the flesh. Jesus is telling His disciples of the future in order to comfort them. Whenever these things came to pass, it would cause His disciples to believe in Him even more. The truth of God coming to fruition always brings about encouragement.
Now, note verse 30, Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
After Christ left, He didn’t physically talk with His disciples much. Here Christ refers to Satan coming to deceive all. Satan was the one behind the crucifixion of Christ. Satan is here called the “prince of this world” not because he and God are equal in power, authority, etc. on opposite ends, for Satan is merely a created being; he’s not even close in power to God. With God’s permission, Satan runs to and fro on this earth deceiving as many as possible. Also, notice that Satan is referred to here as “the prince of this ‘world”’. This means that those who don’t serve God are servants of Satan, whether they know it or not.
Satan has nothing to do with Christ. He is pure evil. Not only this, but even though Satan was persuading men to crucify Christ, he still had no power over Jesus to take His life.
Jesus, in John 10:17-18 said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
Satan did not take Jesus’ life from Him, neither did man; but, Jesus Christ freely laid down His life in obedience to His Father out of love for His friends. If Jesus didn’t lay down His life, He would still be hanging on that cross today, because no man or created being could take His life from Him.
Verse 31 states, But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
All that Jesus did on earth, He did to show all His love for His Father. God the Father commanded Christ in everything He did. Jesus was and is fully obedient to His Father in all things. The apostle Paul in Philippians 2:8-11 wrote, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Jesus was and is 100% obedient to His Father. He did this so the world would know that He perfectly loved His Father. So, they get up from supper and leave.
Conclusion
Church, what are you going to do with this message? The only way this church can move forward is if we forget about what happened here in the past, both good and bad, and be satisfied with the fact that as Christians, we have God the Holy Spirit literally indwelling us, and thus we have perfect, continual fellowship with God the Son and God the Father.
If knowing this fact doesn’t fire us up, and we “want” something more than GOD HIMSELF, then we are sinning, and we will never be truly on fire; and everything else that fires us up will come and go because it’s false fire.
How will you respond to the Word of God today?
