I’m going to invite you to John 14. John 14 is where we’re going to be together today. Beautiful section of scripture I told you, I hate to pick favorites in the Bible because it’s all good. But for me, John 13-17, that’s like the pinnacle for me. And the reason for that is because of what’s happening in the life of Jesus and how He’s treating this moment with His disciples. This is the final moments of Jesus’ life. The last six hours of his life. He’s choosing to spend these last six hours in an upper room with His closest followers, His 12 disciples. And He’s teaching them some of the most intimate forms of teaching I think Jesus gave His instruction on this earth as it relates to following after Him.
And you would understand in these moments, this is the midnight hour Jesus’ life. He’s told his disciples He’s about to die. And they’re kind of seeing the writing on the wall for their life. “If we’ve given up everything, we’ve followed up to Jesus and He’s gone now, what are we going to do? And now, because we’ve been associated with Jesus and Jesus is about to die, what’s going to happen to us.” There’s a tremendous concern in their life and the state of their wellbeing and where they are in their pursuit of Jesus to the point that one person has already given up Judas, and he’s turned Jesus in. And now you have the rest of these disciples that are following after Jesus, but wondering what their future holds. And in John 14, you get this beautiful section of scripture where Jesus starts off in chapter 14. He says, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Let not your heart be troubled and He gives us a reason for that basis. And we saw that in the first six verses last week.
But in verse 27, I just want you to see that Jesus has continued on that thread and verse 27 He says this “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you, do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful.” Now you see Jesus’ concern in this passage is for the wellbeing of the disciples. And they’re in this state of feeling troubled. And I think in our lives, we tend to experience a similar thing as people. And so we come to a passage like this that we may not fully relate to what Jesus is going through. We come to a passage like this, we can find a reason in our own pursuit of Christ to find strength. They say in life in a very general sense. I know this what I’m about to say isn’t always specifically true, but in a general way, it often is that when we tend to get anxious, our anxiety is dealt much with the future. And we tend to get depressed, our depression deals a lot with the past.
But when we think about Jesus, it relates to those circumstances. In life, we tend to feel turmoil within our soul, but when we come to walk in that turmoil with Jesus, we understand that God holds the future in His hand and God has taken care of the past. And so He comes to this moment realizing that the disciples are in this terminal in their own life. But He is the God that holds all things in His hand. And He wants the disciples to understand as He is about to go to the cross, they see this as the end of everything they’ve been pursuing over the last three years. And Jesus has explained as the very purpose for His coming. That he holds all of this in His hands. And because God is following exactly as He prophetically declared long before He arrived, that there is a way and a place for us to find peace in Him. Because everything is happening according to His plan in these moments.
And the same is true for you. The same is true for you. That God, as He was the God of yesterday, today and forever in the first century is still the same God. And He sees exactly where you are and He knows exactly what you’re going through. And He cares. And the reason we know He cares is because He came in the flesh for you. And so it’s on this basis that Jesus is now teaching His disciples about the circumstances. And I don’t have this on the screen, but in verse six, He taught us something very important. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Very powerful phrase. And what Jesus is saying is “Look disciples when you feel like the world is falling apart, when you think you followed after me for three years, given up everything to pursue me, you think things are changing. I don’t want you to run away from me. What I actually want is for you to lean further into me because of who I am.”
And so when you look in verse seven to 12, this is the basis that Jesus continues on the thread of that idea. Look at in verse seven into really verse 10. There’s a word Jesus emphasizes here. And give me a click, Caleb. Oh, there we go. Verse seven to 10. Jesus often talks about in this phrase, He talks about believing. “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.” And Jesus said, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to me, Philip. He who has seen me, has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Do you not look, believe that I am the Father? And the Father is in me. The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding me does not His works.” And verse 11, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
Caleb is there a slide right before this? You go back up from just a minute. There you go. That’s that works. Jesus emphasizes the idea of believing, trusting in Him. Trusting in the identity of who He is. So we think about the word believe we talked a little bit about this last week. There’s a couple of ways we associate with belief. There’s a thought that we can say, “I believe in George Washington. I mean, I believe he was in a historical figure. I believe he existed.” And some people, when they talk about believing in Jesus, that’s word they mean. They have this understanding that Jesus existed, that He was this historical figure that existed at some point in life.
And that is a type of belief, but it’s not the type of belief that Jesus is talking about here. What Jesus is identifying here is believing in. Taking all that you are and trusting in everything that He is. So this idea of believe is not simply this intellectual ascent to the idea that Jesus existed, but to understand the foundation of Jesus is everything your life should lean into. So it’s this trusting Him. And go ahead and click the next slide, Caleb.
And when you say, “Okay, if I’m going to believe in Jesus, why should I believe in Jesus? Why should I lean into Christ like that?” The disciples would be asking the same question in this story. They’re thinking, “Jesus, you’ve just said that you’re going to die. We thought you were the Messiah coming to deliver this kingdom. Now all of a sudden you’re dying, how are we going to pursue this king and his kingdom when you’re dead? Seems like it becomes worthless to us at this point.” And Jesus is saying, “When you feel like everything is falling apart, that’s when you need to lean further into me to believe in to me.” Here’s why, “Because of the identity of who I am.”
That’s what verse seven to 12 explains to us. Back up for me, Caleb. “Because of the identity of who I am.” This is what He’s teaching His disciples in these moments. “If you had known me, you would have known the Father also.” So He’s saying, “Look, you want to understand what I am about, who I am, the very foundation why I’m telling you to even trust in me? Is because of my nature. My nature is the same as the Father’s nature.” In fact, Philip asks the question in verse 18, he says to Him, “Show us if we can see you, show us the Father?” Is a very elementary question, but all we know as Christians, we believe something unique about the Trinity of God. We see Jesus told us, we’ve talked about this together in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
And we want to explain in verses 31 to 33, Jesus explains to us what that means. Not just simply one in purpose, but one in being, the same nature in the Father’s the same nature in Jesus. It wasn’t until in John 1, that we discover that out of the God had Father, Son and Spirit that the Son takes on flesh. The God had has no flesh. Jesus then takes on flesh so that He can die for you in the flesh, so that Jesus can be a sufficient sacrifice for your sin. Jesus becomes the flesh and Christianity, we have no belief that the Father has any flesh. In fact, in John 4:24, it tells us “God is Spirit.” And in Luke 24:39 “As Spirit has no flesh and bones.”
But what you discover in Jesus is Jesus becomes the personification of the Father and the flesh. And what I mean is this. It tells us in John 1:18, that He is the image of the Father, that He is the pronunciation, the exposition of God, meaning He is the walking sermon of the Father. If you want to see what the Father is like? Look at Jesus. That’s what it says in John 1:18 or in 1 Timothy 6:16. It tells us no one has ever seen the Father. No one will ever see the Father. But Jesus has explained Him.
In fact, in Colossians 1:15, it tells us, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Colossians 2:9, He is the fullness of God in bodily form. So while Philip asks this question, Jesus goes on to explain “You not understand. No one has seen the Father, no one can see the Father.” But Jesus has taken on flesh and live precisely as God would live so that we could see in the flesh that God Himself has become flesh. And we could see what the Father is like by looking at Jesus. So why would we believe in Him? Because of the very nature He possesses. He is God in the flesh, the power of our belief is not found in the size of your belief. The power of your belief is found in the magnitude of the God, for which you express that belief in. Does that make sense?
What I’m saying is Jesus is saying “Believe.” and the power of that statement is not found in that you believe, but it’s what you’re believing in. And so Jesus is saying to us, “Look, lean harder into me, you want this piece? Here’s why you can have this piece, one because you can believe in me. And second, because of the identity of who I am.” And then he gives this crazy thought, in verse 12. In these moments, the disciples are wondering what is left? And Jesus is saying, “While you think I’m dying and you think this is over rather than retreat, what I want you to do is think about the future.”
Disciples be looking at thinking that “What future?” And Jesus is saying, “No, I want you to understand just how incredible what’s about to happen is going to be for your lives.” And He says this in verse 12, “Truly, truly.” This means this is very true. Listen, in fact, if anything you listen to what Jesus saying, listen to this. “This is a true statement. I say to you, he who believes in me the works that I do, he will do also and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father.”
Now that seems a bit crazy. How in the world can you do greater works than Jesus? That’s exactly what Jesus is saying here. “Not only do you not need to retreat in this moment, but when you lean further into me, I want you to consider what great things you’re going to do in this life for His kingdom and for your king. That feels a bit blasphemous. We’re going to do greater things than Jesus, right? But what does that mean? And how, if this is possible, how do we it? Well, let me explain first what it means very quickly. And then I want to talk for the rest of the time. How do we do this? Because I think it’s good we talk about what it means first. So that way, if we do lean into blasphemy by asking that question, we can unblasphemy ourselves.
So what does it mean? Well, when Jesus says greater works than these He’s off, He’s obviously doesn’t mean greater in the sense of a specific work, meaning the quality I would say, but rather the extent of the work, more of the quantity. So what I mean is you’re not ever going to do a greater work than Jesus has accomplished on the cross for us, right? That great work is the work that sets up all other work that God’s people will do in history for His name. So we’re not going to exceed that work because that work is the salvation for mankind, as they put their faith in Jesus. So the quality of the work, we will not exceed Christ. But what Jesus is referencing here is the quantity.
If I gave it to you another way, you read Jesus’s life and you see different accounts of Jesus, resurrecting people from the grave. And so you think about, “Wow, greater works than I will do then Jesus,” Jesus resurrected people from the grave. And you’d be like in an erroneous way, you could be like, “Well, that was great. But Jesus just resurrected a few people, Monday’s just resurrection day for me, I wake up and everyday I raise one person from there gave.” So like, that’s not what this is saying. What this is saying is, but as God’s people got a hold of this, it’s not the quality we want to exceed Jesus. But the quantity of all of God’s people living for this, for His great name throughout the world. It’s going to be powerful, it’s going to be incredible. And you think as the disciples in this moment, they’re just 11 people in an upper room.
And right now it feels like the world’s kind of fall apart. How can that happen? How is this possible? How is this possible? This morning if you’ve got notes, I want to give you, if you picked up the notes that at information counter, just three answers to the question, how can we do greater works as Jesus is describing in this passage description? I’m going to tell you the first answer is the most important answer. And if you walk into this, as the disciples are, remember, they’re thinking world falling apart. We need to figure out how to hide because if Jesus is getting killed. We could get killed too. And Jesus saying, “No, don’t do that at all. Lean further into me. And don’t worry about what awaits you. Look, I want you to pursue in this world with great anticipation and hope for all that God has called you to.” Going through a rough time? Jesus is greater.
And so how can we do greater works than these? Answer one, the most powerful answer out of all three, but let me say it like this, trust brings relationship. Trust brings relationship. When we talk about relationship, we’re talking about His powerful presence in relationship. In verse 13, Jesus starts to show us then why is it possible for us to be able to do greater works than these? And look at this. He says, “Whatever you ask in my name that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We’ll talk about verse 15 in a minute. And if some of us read verse 13 and 14. And if someone would be like, “I have been waiting in this first, my whole life. Asked God, whatever I want, God gives it. Let’s let’s all gather around the alter here. And let’s pray for mansions and Ferraris, that’s what this versus say.”
I ask God and he gives you whatever you want whenever you want i. It’s like the candy store that never ends. That’s obviously not what Jesus is saying here. But let me just demonstrate for us what Jesus means. We think in terms of greater works that we will do in Jesus. What’s important to recognize is that we have the opportunity in whatever we do in this life to always connect to God. You have access to God in the form of prayer. Your prayer, no more special than my prayer, but all prayer equally special and being able to communicate with God. I’m a pastor. There’s not my words before God, no better than your words before God, because God promises all of us can communicate with Him. And it’s a beautiful privilege to think. No matter where you are in life, Jesus knows what you’re going through. Jesus knows where you’ve been. And Jesus wants to hear from you. Ask anything He says in my name.
Now we consider what Jesus is saying as it relates to prayer, what His name identifies for us, is both His authority and His desire or His will. Meaning when we’re praying, our hearts desires to connect with our King, to accomplish our King’s purpose in this world, according to His authority and power. So we come to God, we come not by our strength. We don’t say “Lord, I’m praying to you,” and then the Father asks “Under what authority?” And you say, “Because I’m awesome.” That’s not, what He’s saying is when you come before God, you can pray before the Lord. Not because you’re great, but because Jesus is great. And because of what Jesus has done for you and because of what Jesus has done for you, Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Anytime, anywhere you can come before God.
Connecting to Him in the power of His name and His name also representing His will. Meaning when we’re seeking after God, our heart’s desire is what Jesus wants to accomplish in this world. God help me to do and live for the very purpose for which you have created me, that people would be blessed, and that your name would be glorified. Prayer is not about getting what I want, prayer is about accomplishing or prayers is not about accomplishing I should say my will. But seeking Him in order to accomplish His will. It’s not about what I want, but about what He wants. Now, sometimes what I want is very connected to what God wants or desires because God cares about where I am. But Jesus desires to accomplish His will in this world, through his people who would desire to accomplish His will as well.
And so we come before God, we pray according to His authority in his name, by His will. 1 John 3 and 5. If you want to look up those later, say the same thing, whatever we ask according to His will we receive in Him. One of my favorite historical prayers if I gave you an example is a man by the name of William Tyndale in the 15 hundreds, William Tyndale’s desire was to see the Bible in English, in the hands of people. He said, William, Tyndale’s on record of saying he wants a plow boy to know God’s word more than even the ministers of the day. Because during William Tyndale’s day, everyone that could read Latin. If you read God’s word, it had to be in Latin, which was very few people. And so Tyndale’s desire was to print the Bible in English so people could read it in English. Unfortunately in Tyndale’s day, it was illegal to own a Bible in English.
And so it led William Tyndale to a point of being found guilty of violating the law. And because of that, he was strangled and burned at a stake and said, give me a picture there. He was strangled and then burnt at the stake in 1536. But as he dies as a martyr, his prayer written there off to the side as “Lord open the king of England’s eyes.” His heart was God’s word go forth. And three years after his martyrdom in 1539, the king passed a wall that every church in England have a copy of God’s word in English. He carried God’s desire, God’s will that His word would go forth. And God answered that prayer. And so we think about what it means to pray according to the God’s will, it’s praying with God’s heart for the things in this world.
And when we think of trust brings relationship in terms with God, according to prayer. The second half of this verse verses 16 to 19, the section of the verse also highlights for us that we think about trust bringing relationship that also brings with us relationship in the Spirit. And so look at this, it says, verse 16, “I will ask the Father.” Jesus is saying this, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another helper.” I’ll talk about what that means in just a minute. “That he maybe with you forever,” that is the Spirit of truth. In verse 26, He’s going to tell us that that’s the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit of truth is the way it’s referred to here. But it’s also the Holy Spirit.
“That’s the Spirit of truth and the world cannot receive because it does not, he him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you after a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me because I live. You will live also in that day. You will know that I am in my Father and you and me and I in you.” So here He is talking about us relationship with the Lord. And the reason we have that, the reason we can do these great works. The reason we have this relationship with God is because of the presence of God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit and His people. I mean, He says it in this passage. “I will not leave you as an orphan. I will be with you and the Spirit will be in you.”
It’s the beautiful thing for us as God’s people. It’s the reason God’s church today does not build temples. It’s the reason after 78D when the temple was destroyed, Jerusalem temple was destroyed in Jerusalem, that the church didn’t go and rebuild temples. It’s because in the temple, the Spirit of God dwell there. But when Jesus came and Jesus died on the cross, Jesus tore the veil of the temple. And it was to symbolize that the Spirit of God, no longer dwell in the temple, the presence of God no longer dwelt in temple, but now rather the Spirit of God’s dwells in God’s people. Making you the temple of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that. In Ephesians 1:13, you are sealed in the Spirit 4:30. You are sealed in the Spirit. God’s Spirit dwells in you. You are the walking temple of God. God’s presence with you. And when Jesus describes this, this is the power of God wherever you go to do the will of God in this world, as you can connect to God in prayer, and as you live for God in this world.
So we think about the greater works that Jesus is talking about in a very isolated way, Jesus dwells in Jerusalem to accomplish God’s work in this world in first century. This is Jesus doing this and this passage of scripture. But now He’s going to say, “You want to do you want to know what’s going to happen?” Greater works than these are about to take place. And here’s how. God’s Spirit is going to indwell God’s people all over this world. So the quality of work in Christ, no one will beat that. I mean, Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind. You can’t beat that, but the quantity as God’s people embrace Jesus and the power of God’s Spirit in dwelling God’s people to accomplish God’s will in this world? It is a powerful force.
And that’s what Jesus wants us to begin to see. He’s communicating. “Look, you want me to leave?” He’ll say that at the very end of this chapter, “You want me to leave because when I leave, this is what’s about to happen.” And this is going to be a powerful force that moves into this world against the forces of darkness that the light of God be made known into the hearts of men. The thing right now this morning, connecting to God in prayer, what a gift? I mean, most religions see God as this deistic figure who sort of wound up this world and He’s off in the distance away from us. And here we are. But Christianity shows a God who comes near in the flesh, who gives His life for you personally, and places his Spirit in you, that he may walk with you all of your days. Wherever you are, God, His power, His strength, His presence.
When Jesus refers to this counselor was important to see as one He’s the Spirit of truth. And truth is the highest virtue in life. The way that the spirit wants to lead you as in truth, very important thought. And at the same time, He’s another helper. This idea of another. And we’re talking about another for a minute. We’ll talk about helper, but this idea of another very important. In 1 John 2:12, Jesus is referred to as an advocate or a helper or a counselor. Some translations will say, so Jesus has the same title as the Spirit. In 1 John 2.
And then He gets the Spirit and now He refers to the Spirit as another, what Jesus is saying in this passage, this word, another means of the same likeness as me. So what Jesus is saying is like, “Look, disciples, don’t be concerned that I’m leaving, because I’m going to talk to the Father. The Father is going to send His Spirit and the Spirit’s going to continue in the work for which I was doing. The same thing I was doing on this earth. The spirit of God is going to do it now. And he’s going to do it in you, not just with you as I did, but in you. So when I leave, don’t fret over the thought that I’m gone, because God’s Spirit will be with you and God’s Spirit will be in you accomplishing the same thing.”
The spirit Jesus is saying by calling him another helper is just like me. And that’s a very powerful thought because what He is saying to us is remember Jesus is saying, “Just as I said, I am equal with the Father. One in nature, I’m sending another helper who is equal to me in nature. Father, Son, and Spirit. The same power you’ve seen in me is the same power he’s going to possess. And he’s going to possess it in you.” So this idea of another is just not something different, but it’s equal to the fact that Jesus was a helper and an advocate. And He’s sending one just like Him. Which is why as Christians, we talk about baptism and we baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy spirit. It’s a Trinitarian benediction to the baptism of the life of someone dedicated to God. It’s why we hold to the Trinitarian thought because Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in their authority in power.
And Jesus is sending him as a helper. Now if you’re looking at the English translation for this passage of scripture, not the Greek, I don’t know how many people bring a Greek to church, but you’ll find the English translations. There’s a lot of different ways. They translate this word helper. Some say helper, some say comforter, some say counselors, some say advocate. Helper is almost so broad. It’s unhelpful. Comforter, comforter is an old English word that in modern English, we’ve really transitioned the definition of what it means to be a comforter. We typically think of, you need a comforter because you call what booboo and you’re sad.
he’s like, “Let me comfort. You feel a little sicky, let’s cover you up.” That’s like, typically think of comfort. But in old English, the word comforter, when they saw it as more of a fortitude, a strengthening, a building of a fortress to accomplish and to withstand and to hold. And so when we think of the word comforter, a great definition for old English, modernized, not so much. Councilor, it carries more of a therapeutic idea in modern times today. I think the best word here we could use as an advocate. And the reason is because this term in Greek literature deals with, it’s a legal term, and it deals with someone who shows up to your aid to offer you counsel in defense. And that’s what it’s saying here about the Holy Spirit. You know what the Holy Spirit is going to do in your life? He is your great defender and counselor and all that you go through in this world.
It’s kind of like saying it like this. I hope in your life. You never have to hire a lawyer for anything, but let’s say you do. If you’re a lawyer, I’m not trying to be offensive to you. If we can avoid those things, I would prefer, but I know that times of life they’re necessary. Okay? But let’s say you have to hire a lawyer. What He’s saying is this about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit in a spiritual sense is your lawyer. But when you hire a lawyer, you want to hire the best lawyer. You don’t want to hire a lawyer that’s going to lead you to a loss. You want to hire a lawyer that’s going to lead you to victory. You want to hire the kind of lawyer that when he walks into a room, everyone else pees their pants, right? That’s the kind of lawyer you want to get. When he walks in everyone else so intimidated by his presence, that he’s just got the victory silt up.
And so when you think about the Holy Spirit, that’s what He’s saying about your life. That’s who He is, the power of his presence, not to be undermined. So why is it possible for us to do greater works than these? Because trust in Jesus or believing in Jesus, His authority brings relationship. And in that relationship, we have this connection to God and the power of His presence made known through a Spirit. Number two, these last two I’ll do quickly. Trust brings obedience. Trust brings obedience. And when I say obedience, what I’m saying is not just this religious performance, but rather walking with Jesus in unity. I want to know Jesus, I want to walk with Jesus, because I understand what Jesus has given to me is the power of his presence, and the ability to communicate to him anytime, anywhere in whatever I’m going through in this world.
I want that Jesus. And so, as I believe in Him, as in trusting in Him, it leads me to this path of obedience, where I’m walking in unity with Him. And it says to us in verse 21, he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and will disclose myself to him. Judas, not Iscariot said to him, “Lord, what then has happened that you were going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world?” And Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. And my Father will love him. And we will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love me, does not keep my words. And the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father who sent me.”
What He’s saying is this verse 24, you don’t want Jesus? Don’t take Jesus. You won’t have the relationship with Jesus. And there you go. If you don’t want Jesus, you don’t have to have relationship with Jesus. But if you want Jesus and you walk with Jesus in unity, you have this intimacy with God. And that trust leads you down a certain path, because you understand that what God is calling you to in this world, is the best thing for what you could live for, because you were created by Him and for Him.
And God knows better for you than you even know yourself, because you didn’t make you. And so trust leads you down this particular path of following after Him to know Him more and to walk in unity with Him. I understand it leads us to this, maybe this idea that just because you say you believe in Jesus, doesn’t necessarily determine that it’s true, because if you really believe in Jesus, you would follow Jesus because you would understand what Jesus wants for you is best. After all, Jesus gave His life for you. Why not trust in the one who has loved you to that depth? Who became flashed to pursue, who became the servants of servants and went through the worst torture ever experienced in this world on the darkest day of history, just so that you could have the freedom that you could find in Christ. What you truly believe you obey. What your heart is really given to is reflected in your behavior.
So I know sometimes we say we believe in Jesus, but the reality is you should be able to look at your life and see that your life believes in Jesus. If you say you believe in Jesus. When people look at you, do they see Jesus? What do they see? Because the true belief in Jesus should start to mimic a life that looks like Jesus. Because you understand the best thing for what you could live for in this world is Jesus. Because you were created for Jesus and saved and rescued by Jesus. Trust brings obedience. And that’s why we can accomplish greater works in this world.
And number three, trust brings growth, and see in the next few verses here. He talks about the Holy Spirit again, “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit and the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance. All that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you, do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” What He’s saying is, look, as you continue on this path of trusting fully in Jesus, believing in Jesus, because of the authority of who Jesus is. It’s not the impressiveness of your belief, but the greatness of your God.
When you’ve trusted in Christ like that. And you’re following after Christ like that, you grow, you grow. In fact, He identifies what the Spirit does for us, right? “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembers all that I said to you.” And let me just say this about the Spirit. Some people get weird about the idea of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in this passage is not saying he’s going to come into your life and give you new revelation. What He’s saying in this passage is the Holy Spirit is going to certainly teach you, but you know he’s going to teach you? The things that Jesus already taught. In fact, we’re going to see in chapter 16, that the goal of the Holy Spirit is to magnify Jesus. You want to know if the Spirit of God’s working in a church? It makes much of Jesus. It’s not about the church’s glory. It’s not about your personal glory. It’s about Christ glory made known through you. The emphasis is on Jesus. The glory is made known in Jesus.
The worship is about Jesus. What the Holy Spirit wants to do is teach you about Jesus. And it’s not these new revelations because Jesus has already come. He wants to bring into remembrance, the beautiful teaching about Jesus, that your life could look like Jesus. And in it, you grow, you will never lead someone else in Christ further than you yourself have been led. And that’s a very powerful thought and an important thought. You think as a parent, you want to teach your children godly thoughts. You want to teach your children godly ways of living. And so therefore you should seek after the Lord. Because you’re not going to lead them any further than you’ve been led. It doesn’t mean you have to get miles and miles ahead of them. What it means is you just need to be able to take the next step before them.
You can guide their hearts before the Lord as well. Seeking Jesus becomes important to let the Lord minister to your heart, that you may minister to others. Greater works than these you do. As God grows you in His Spirit. Let me end with this last section of this chapter. To believe, to connect, to obey, to grow. How do we know that we’re not going to end up bankrupt? We’ll look at this in verse 28. How this section of scripture ends. “You heard that I said to you, I go away and I’ll come to you. If you love me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father for the Father is greater than I. Let me say this real quick for a read any further.
I just said, the Father and Son are equal. And now Jesus is saying, the Father is greater, what in the world does that mean? What Jesus is saying here is not in personhood, but in position. Positionally, the Father is greater than the Son because the Son came as a servant to serve the will of the Father. So positionally. Yes, Jesus is as a servant, the Father determining the will, that He desires for the son to live out. So positionally in this moment. Yes. But as far as personhood goes, it’s the same nature. 100% God and the Father, 100% God and the Son.
So Jesus is saying, “Look, Father’s greater than I, I’ve come to do His will, but He’s going back to the Father.” And so he goes on verse 29. “Now I have told you before it happens when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you for the ruler of this world is coming. And He has nothing in me, but so that the world may know that I love the Father. I do exactly as the Father commanded me.” See He’s serving the will of the Father. And then he says this, “Get up, let us go from here.” I love that. I love the end of this chapter. Here are the disciples going through some adversity. They’re looking at the writing on the wall, right in front of it. It seems like the world is caving in. And Jesus’ mind is not on stopping, it’s not on sulking, it’s not on quitting.
It’s on understanding. No, this is working out exactly as it’s been orchestrated, exactly as it’s been planned, as it’s been prophetically declared that the Son will come and give his life it’s happening precisely as God has said. And so this is not a moment to relent. This is not a moment to let down from the glory of Christ and proclaiming the goodness of Him in this world. This is a moment to lean harder into Jesus because of who he is and what He has done. And the opportunity He has given for your life.
And the same is true for us today. Go through adversity. Things feel hard, don’t quit. Don’t quit on Jesus, it’s not a surprise that people live. It’s not a surprise that Jesus had Judas quit. Thinking your own Christian life you might think of other people around you that claim to follow Jesus no longer following Jesus and not as surprise to Jesus. Keep following Jesus, not because of what others do, but because of who He is. That what I think of Alpine Bible Church. I will tell you personally, the last six weeks have been a very, very hard six weeks. But in the middle of that hard, it’s also been beautiful. We’ve gone through a lot of several things last few weeks, but I got the opportunity to just within the last couple of weeks, just see some beautiful things happen.
We had some people volunteer camp, the summer and then vacation Bible school and our food pantry where you do here as a church. And what I’m seeing in those circumstances is God bringing teams of people together that really connect with each other and want to glorify the Lord. It is a beautiful thing, greater works than these you will do. And not only do I have the joy of being able to see that as a church, those things take place in the way God brings a community together and how He’s forming a team to accomplish great things for Him. I also, as a pastor, get the opportunity to see how the Lord is leading our church a little bit in the frontline. And I feel like part of the reason was the last six weeks have been a little hard. I think it’s because Satan knows how this church is poised to continue to do great things for God.
I mean, I don’t think it’s just a physical thing. I think it’s also a spiritual thing. And I think it’s the same thing true in this upper room during this day, a lot of physical heart things happening, but there were some spiritual things that the disciples did not see in Jesus in these moments is pulling back the curtain to say, “Open your eyes to the power of what God wants to do in you.” And for us, how do we do it? How do these greater works happen? Trusting in the relationship which we have in the Lord, seeking Him in prayer, relying on the Spirit. Trusting in obedience and trusting as God grows us. And Jesus continues to do a great work.