John 16 - Part C

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That's connectwithskip.com. She might look at the pictures, tear a few out that she likes. If I were to give her a box of gold that would carry her through the rest of her life, don't worry, I don't have one. But if I did and I gave it to her, too much. She would know what it means. She would know what to do with it. She would know how to invest it.

It's just shiny. I'll play with it. She would much rather have an ice cream from Baskin-Robbins than a box of gold. That's what she can handle right now. Jesus said, I have a lot more to tell you, but you just can't bear it yet. However, He said, if that's going to come, you'll be able to bear it.

Here's when. However, when the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. Now there is a couple of words in that sentence that most translations do not carry in English. Notice it says to you in verse 13, when the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into, what are the next two words? All truth.

There's an article that should be there. All the truth. The truth. It's not just, whatever you feel to be true at the moment, man.

It's a specific, not a generic truth. The truth. It's the truth about the message of Jesus Christ. That's the truth the Holy Spirit leads a person into.

It's the same idea when, in that little book of Jude, that little one chapter book of Jude toward the book of Revelation. When the apostles said that we should contend earnestly for the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints. Not just for faith in general. You have your faith, I have my faith.

Just believe strong enough and long enough and have your best day now. But it's the particular kind of faith and the particular kind of truth that centers on Jesus. It's New Testament truth.

So that's very important. He will guide you into all specifically the truth. And notice He amplifies that. Verse 14, He will glorify me, Jesus said. He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are mine, therefore I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you. Now He is telling us, He's informing us, what it looks like in the life of a believer filled with the Holy Spirit.

Influenced by the Holy Spirit, controlled by the Holy Spirit. Now there's a couple of verses I want you to tie together because remember Jesus introduces the subject, leaves them, comes back to them, leaves them, comes back to them, and He's done that already. So go back with me to chapter 15 and look at verse 25 or verse 26. It says, when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of who?

Me. He'll testify of Jesus, right? Then chapter 16, look at verse 9, He says the Holy Spirit will convince people of sin because they do not believe in Me.

And then in verse 14, He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. So here's the deal, the Holy Spirit, this third person of the Trinity, is like the stage director. He's not going to come out on stage and be center stage, that's Jesus' role. He's going to be the stage director making sure the spotlight shines squarely on the main character, Jesus Christ, and that He holds up the applause sign when Jesus walks out on stage. Think of a stage director, Jesus comes out and the Holy Spirit says, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you Jesus Christ?

And then applause sign, applause, applause, applause. That's what the Holy Spirit's about. Instead of saying, hey, what about me? Focus on me.

Think about me. He says, look at Jesus, focus on Jesus, think about Jesus, that's His role. Think of it, if you don't like the stage director analogy, think of it like lights on a building at night. We have lights around the property and you'll drive down the street and you'll see a well-lit building, but typically a well-lit building, you won't see the lights themselves.

They won't shine in your face, they will shine on the building that they want you to focus on as you're driving down the street. So the Holy Spirit focuses on Jesus because that's the one He wants you to notice. Of sin because they do not believe in me.

Now why am I bringing this up? Because simply, you want to find out if a person's filled with the Holy Spirit? That person makes much of Jesus. That person always talking about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit, he's living in us. He's part of the Godhead, I believe that, he's part of the Trinity, but his role is to direct our attention to Jesus. So if you want to see a church that is filled with the Spirit, they make much of Jesus. Any emphasis on the Holy Spirit that detracts from the person of Jesus Christ is not of the Holy Spirit.

So you want to see a Spirit-led church or a Spirit-led person? It's in a Jesus movement. It's when it's all about coming to Jesus and making Jesus stage center and He's the hero.

That's the role of the Holy Spirit. Verse 16, a little while and you will not see me. And again, a little while and you will see me because I go to the Father. Then some of His disciples said among themselves, What is this that He says to us?

A little while and you will not see me and again, a little while and you will see me and because I go to the Father. What's all that about? This is ironic. They don't understand what Jesus is telling them. They can't figure it out. He just said something, they're going, huh?

He keeps saying stuff like that. I don't get it. What's ironic is Jesus was right there with them. Instead of talking to each other, why didn't they just ask Jesus what He meant? Hey, Jesus, we don't get it.

Right? We're sort of like Thomas going, I don't get it. Or like Philip, I don't get it. Why didn't they just ask Jesus but they didn't? It's interesting, they're talking to each other about it trying to figure out why. I don't know why but I do know that sometimes we try to act like we're spiritual in front of somebody we're trying to impress. Maybe they just don't get it and go, I don't want to let Jesus know that I don't get it because I want Him to think I'm one of the cool apostles.

Right? So I'm just going to walk along on this road and nod my head and go, that's profound, that's good, yeah, amen. Not working because Jesus, He knows stuff, right? He knows what we're thinking. So they said, therefore, what is this that He says? A little while, we do not know what He is saying.

Now, Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him and so He just said to them, are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said? I can see a little smile on His face. He said, a little while and you will not see me.

And again, a little while and you will see me. Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament that the world will rejoice and you will be sorrowful. Literally, you will be plunged into deep sorrow.

But your sorrow will be turned into joy. Now, what is He talking about exactly? Well, He's probably talking about what's going to happen immediately. They're going to kill Him and the world is going to go, He's out of our hair, good. But His disciples are going to be plunged into sorrow. And we know what they do after Jesus dies on a cross. They run away and they hide themselves in that upper room where they had Passover. They lock the doors, it says, for fear of the Jews.

So they'll be in hiding until Jesus appears in their midst. Risen from the dead, it says, peace to you. And it says, they were filled with exceeding joy. Their sorrow will be transformed in that moment into joy. So that's what He probably meant immediately. But then there's a way to look at this, not immediately, but imminently. And that is, He would rise from the dead.

He'd be with them for several weeks. Then He'll ascend to the Father and He'll be gone from them physically, but the Holy Spirit will come in reality. But spiritually, they won't see the Holy Spirit, but the presence of the Holy Spirit. And you can read the book of Acts, the joy that they had when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. Then there's a third way to look at this.

Not immediately, not imminently, but ultimately, eventually. That whether by death or by rapture, we are in the presence of the Lord, our sorrow will also be turned into joy. All three of those are true, but He's probably speaking of the immediate, and that is His crucifixion. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skip's teaching, start 2025 off right, exploring the richness of God's Word with Pastor Skip's book, The Bible from 30,000 Feet, and accompanying workbook. These resources offer an aerial view of Scripture, covering all 66 books of the Bible with a unique flight plan, facts, landmarks, itinerary, gospel, history, and travel tips. They're a perfect tool to help you enrich your Bible study and apply its teachings to your daily life. You'll explore every book of the Bible with Pastor Skip's insightful flight plan, while the workbook provides exercises and questions to guide your reflection. We'll send you The Bible from 30,000 Feet book and workbook, as our thanks for your gift of $50 or more to reach more people with God's love through Connect with Skip Heitzig.

Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copy when you give. Now let's get back to Skip for more of today's teaching. Now he gives an example of the principle he gave you. He says, A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour has come. But as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish for the joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore, you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

Pretty simple analogy, right? What he's saying is having a baby hurts. Women, can you say amen?

I can't talk to you, obviously, from experience. You know, when our wives have babies, us men, we're all stoked, we're happy, we're like, I'm having a baby, I'm having a boy, I'm having a girl, whatever. But that's about the anguish we have. I love what Carol Burnett used to say. She goes, Man, if you want to know what it's like to have a baby, try taking your lower lip and stretching it all the way back over your head, and if you can do that, that's what it feels like. I remember being part of those silly Lamaze classes. I'm sorry.

But for us, it didn't work. You should have just seen the look on my wife's face as I'm going, Breathe, breathe, breathe. Jesus saying it really hurts. Once that baby is born, she forgets the sorrow because the sorrow is eclipsed by ecstasy. The despondency is eclipsed by ecstasy. Sorrow is turned into joy. Therefore, now you have sorrow, but I will see you once again and your heart will rejoice. And your joy, I love this, no one will take from you.

Okay. One of the men that heard this was a guy named Peter. And Peter is going to write 1 and 2 Peter, right? The epistles.

And I love what he says. He says, he has begotten us again, listen to this, to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So think of those fishermen up in Galilee. One day Jesus shows up in their lives and says, follow me, I'll make you fishers of men. They go, I'm in for the ride, let's go. And for three years, they discover who this person, this rabbi is that they are following. And they're so excited, they're elated, they come to believe he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

They make that confession, they're on a, you know, a roll. And then Jesus says, oh, word up, I'm leaving you. I'm going to die on a cross, I'm going to rise again, then I'm going back to heaven, and then I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit.

And they go, oh, great. And then when he died on that cross, even though he announced it in advance, when he died on the cross, all of that hope that they had fell away. Their hope died when he died. That's why the two on the road to Emmaus said concerning Jesus, we hoped, past tense, we hoped he was going to be the one to redeem Israel. So they had hope when he came into their lives, their hope grew, and then their hope was shattered when he died.

But the day that Jesus rose from the dead, you know what happened? Their hope became a living hope. When Jesus became alive again, their hope became alive again. It says a living hope through the resurrection. Now, on the day Jesus rose from the dead, their hope went ballistic. Their hope was turbocharged hope. It was hope at a whole new level.

You know why? Because now all those promises Jesus made about eternal life, now that makes sense. When a dead guy comes back to life again and conquers death, and that guy said, if you believe in me, you'll never die. Now that makes sense. Now all of those promises about life and eternal life and living forever, I get it now.

It just happened. He's begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Verse 23, In that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name.

Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language. But the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I shall pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and believe that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father. I have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and I go to the Father.

Do you understand what he's saying? He's saying, you know, up to this point, whenever you needed something, you asked me for it. When there was a storm on the Sea of Galilee, you cried out to me.

I was there. When you needed lunch that day on that hill in Galilee, I made it. When your relatives got sick, Peter, your mother-in-law, I healed her.

So you've asked me for everything, but now the relationship changes. And I don't need to ask the Father for you. You can go directly to the Father in my name, praying according to my merit and according to my character and wishes.

We covered that last week. You can go directly yourself. You don't need an intermediary. You have direct access to God the Father. You do not have to pray to a saint.

You do not have to pray to the mother of Jesus because you just better not talk to Jesus directly because he's so far above you and you can't talk directly to God. No, you can. I'll tell you how you can.

It's not that you just can. You should do it boldly. Isn't that what Hebrews says? Come boldly before his throne of grace that you might receive grace to help in time of need, his throne of mercy. Come boldly. I'm coming to you, Father, in the name of Jesus. That's very important. It's on his merit, not yours. If you ever said, I'm coming to you in the name of Skip, not a good plan. If you wanted to see the Prime Minister of England and you went over there and you said, I come to you in the name of Skip Heitzig, you will be turned away.

But if you have United States government credentials and you come in the name of the United States and you prove that you have the credentials sent by the Commander in Chief, you will have access. So you come to the Father in the name of Jesus directly, boldly. And then verse 28, I came forth. I just want you to notice something in verse 28. There's a lot of theology in one verse.

Verse 28 could be a sermon series. Notice he says, I came forth from the Father. That's his incarnation. I've come into the world his humiliation. I leave the world his resurrection and ascension and go to the Father his glorification.

He's giving a one sentence summary of what he has done and what he's going to do. This is who I have been and this is where I'm going. His disciples said to him, see, now you are speaking plainly and using no figure of speech. Now we are sure that you know all things and have no need that anyone should question you. By this we believe that you came forth from God. Jesus answered and said, do you now believe? Indeed the hour is coming, yes, now has come that you will be scattered each to his own and will leave me alone.

And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. Now perhaps they have reached a point in their little stroll leaving the upper room going across the Kidron Valley. Maybe right about now they're entering the Garden of Gethsemane. That's what it appears like and perhaps they can even Jesus can lift up his head and see in the distance.

Torches coming his way. Judas leading a band of soldiers coming to arrest Jesus. And he knows what is about to happen and he knows what their reaction is going to be. And so they're all like, yeah, you know what, now we know and now we believe. And Jesus said, yeah, you know what, I do know all things and I know that in a few minutes you're all going to be running away. You're going to scatter in all directions. You're going to be hiding in that upper room. The prophet Zechariah, I believe, predicting this said, smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.

Jesus announces as much. You're going to be scattered. You're going to leave me alone, yet I'm not alone because the Father is with me.

Boy, there's so much there, I wish we had time to develop it. You're never alone. People have forsaken me, but has God? He can't forsake you because Jesus experienced the forsaking on the cross so that you would never have to be forsaken.

He'll never leave you. Now when Jesus said this to his disciples, he wasn't castigating them, he was preparing them. He wasn't saying, you're going to leave me alone. It's like, I want you to know because I don't want you to stumble.

I've told you that. I don't want you to get freaked out by this, but your reaction is not going to be a good one. You're going to leave me alone, you're going to scatter, you're going to hide.

It was all in preparation. These things, verse 33, listen to how he ends it on a high note. These things I have spoken to you that in me you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, agitation, despair, despondency. You will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world. Cheer up. Cheer up. Oh, but the world's getting so bad. The election is not what I thought. What's happening in the Middle East is not what I expected.

My income, whatever. Cheer up. How has he conquered the world? How has he overcome the world? Spiritually by the cross. Ultimately when he comes again. His cross and his coming. Now some of you are going, well, if he's overcome the world and the enemy is defeated, how come he still attacks me? How come I have such a rough time and my temptation and trials, I don't have much peace, I don't have much joy.

I get hounded and hassled a lot. What you are experiencing in the tribulation from this world, the temptation from the enemy, Satan, you know what you're experiencing? The death throes of a defeated enemy. That's what the tribulation in the world is. The death throes of a defeated enemy.

It's like when an animal is mortally wounded, but he'll lash out and he'll try to kill and maim anything he can until it's finally his expiration time. Satan has been dealt a blow at the cross, but he wants to take everyone and everything with him until that time. In the meantime, you have peace. And I'll tell you what, there's something about knowing this in advance that does bring us peace and gives us the ability to endure.

We're glad you joined us today. Before you go, remember that when you give $50 or more to help reach more people with the gospel through Connect with Skip Heitzig, we'll send you Pastor Skip's book, The Bible from 30,000 Feet, and companion workbook to help you dive into scripture in the coming year. This sweeping aerial view of God's word will help you understand the big picture with greater clarity and gain a deeper appreciation for God's timeless truths. To request your copy, call 800-922-1888.

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