The Promised Helper
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called Visible God which is all about seeing God through the life of Jesus. We’re studying a book of the bible called the Gospel of John which records the life and words of Jesus as it was written by an original source, an original follower of Jesus. Next week we’ll be taking a break from this series to start a new 8 wk series called Gospel Revolution, which is about “Understanding the life changing power of the Gospel.” We’ve been calling 2020 A Year of Transformation, and this Gospel Revolution series will be an important part of that transformation. It’s because the gospel is the primary message of Jesus, and it’s a message that has life changing implications. So we’ll be spending the next 8 wks diving deeper in our understanding of the gospel, we’ll give you an 8 wk reading plan to help you read all 4 biblical records of the gospel as we go through this series, and we’ll also have our small group leaders taking you through a workbook that’ll help you better understand the gospel. So we highly encourage you to get connected to a small group over the next 8 wks, and to invite a friend using the RSVP link on our website. It’ll be a great series.
Now as for today, Jesus is gonna teach us something that’s very critical for our lives. It’s something that’s very critical, yet too often neglected. I mean far too many of us wake up going through a daily grind, without tapping into the rich inheritance of joy Jesus has offered us. We’re like a child still trying to squeeze out 50 cents from their parents, when their parents offered them a million dollar inheritance. In the daily grind we’re still trying to squeeze out a little joy in our life, when what Jesus offered us is a rich inheritance of joy...In today’s text Jesus promises to send somebody to help us with our daily grind, so we can enjoy the rich inheritance he’s given us. That somebody, that helper’s name, is the Holy Spirit. So let’s turn to John 14:15-26 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, turn a few books to the right, you’ll find John. We’ll be in John 14:15-26. The title of today’s message is The Promised Helper, and the big idea is to seek the help, of the promised Helper...It’s to seek the help, of the promised Helper.
Context:
Here’s your context. John 14:1-14 is a part of what’s called the Farewell Discourse. Jesus knows he’s about to be crucified, and so he’s saying a few last words to his disciples. He tells them things like don’t be afraid, he’s preparing a place for them, and to trust him. But one of the things he talks about the most in his farewell discourse, is the Holy Spirit. Jesus talks a lot about the Holy Spirit, and today he’ll teach us 6 things about the Holy Spirit. So let’s check it out.
The Word:
John 14:15-26 states, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” Okay so notice Jesus talks about giving us another “Helper,” meaning the Holy Spirit. He’s talking about the Holy Spirit. So the 1st thing we’re learning is...
#1 The Holy Spirit is a Person = The Holy Spirit’s a person. He’s someone not something. Sometimes you’ll hear people refer to the Holy Spirit as an it, like He’s an impersonal force, but Jesus doesn’t do that. In vs 16 he calls the Holy Spirit a Helper, and in vs 17 he says the world doesn’t see him or know him. Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit’s a person.
#2 The Holy Spirit is God = The Holy Spirit isn’t a god, or like a god, the Holy Spirit is God. If you notice in vs. 16 Jesus says the Holy Spirit is another Helper. The Greek word he uses is allos which means another Helper of the same kind. He could’ve used the word hetero which means another Helper of a different kind. But instead he uses the word allos because he wants us to know the Holy Spirit isn’t a different god, another god, or like another god. Instead the Holy Spirit’s the same God as Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s a person, but he’s also the same God as Jesus. Christians call this the Trinity. It’s the belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aren’t 3 different gods, they’re 3 distinct persons, but the same God. Some of you are like “My head hurts! I mean how can God be 3 distinct persons, but the same God? That’s impossible!” But it isn’t impossible considering there’s plenty of things that are 3 in 1. For example water is made up of 2 hydrogen molecules and 1 oxygen molecule, yet it’s still 1 thing, it’s still water...An atom is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, yet it’s still 1 thing, it’s still an atom...
Now both of these are poor examples of the Trinity because you can’t separate the Trinity like you can a water molecule or atom. So these examples, just like any other example, will fail to capture the complexity of who God truly is. But my point is that the Trinity isn’t impossible considering there’s plenty of things that are 3 in 1. Besides, we need to accept that there’s some things we just can’t ever fully grasp about God, because we’re trying to comprehend an infinite God with finite minds. It’s one of the things I love about the doctrine of the Trinity! It’s that there’s a mysterious beauty to God that can’t be exhausted. We want an explanation, but Jesus is giving us a mysteriously beautiful revelation. He’s giving us the Holy Spirit as another Helper, another person, but the same God. This means even though we don’t see Jesus walking with us physically, the Holy Spirit’s here giving us access to the same power, guidance, and joy the disciples had when Jesus walked with them physically. We’ll talk more about that later.
Vs. 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” The reason Jesus says he won’t leave us as orphans is because the Holy Spirit will be with us. It’s because the Holy Spirit will dwell inside the heart of every Christian, of everyone who loves Jesus, which he says next.
Vs. 19, “‘Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ 23 Jesus answered 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 home with him.’” Again this is about God not leaving us as orphans, because the Holy Spirit will be dwelling inside us. God will make a permanent home in our hearts, and here’s what Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do inside us.
Vs. 24, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25 These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper...” Notice Jesus once again describes the Holy Spirit as a “Helper.” It’s one of the first things the Holy Spirit does when He dwells inside us, which leads to #3.
#3 The Holy Spirit becomes our Friendly Advocate = The Holy Spirit becomes our Friendly Advocate. Some translations say helper, others say comforter or counselor, and to some extent they’re all right. I mean the Holy Spirit certainly helps bring us to faith in Jesus and helps to continue growing us in our faith. He also comforts us in times we’re weak, and counsels us, gives us wisdom and guidance in our daily life. So to some extent the Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, and our Counselor. But the reason I’m saying the Holy Spirit’s a Friendly Advocate, is because Jesus uses the Greek word para-kletos. It’s para which means someone who stands ‘alongside’ you, and it’s kletos which means to ‘declare’ or ‘argue.’ So the Holy Spirit’s like a friend who’s always there advocating alongside you, and arguing for your good. It’s what a true friend does! A true friend stands alongside you through the good and bad! A true friend argues for your good, even if it means arguing against you when you’re doing things that aren’t good! The Holy Spirit’s a true friend because He’ll never leave you, and He’ll always argue against the lies in your heart. He’ll tell you not to give into the sinful desires that are harming you and those around you. If you ignore the Holy Spirit, if you give into the sinful desires in your heart, He’ll still be there arguing for you. He’ll argue against the guilt, shame, condemning voices in your head, lead you to repentance, and remind you of the forgiveness Jesus gave you on the cross. 1st John 3:20 says, “Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart.” It’s because the Spirit’s constantly reminding those who love Jesus of the grace we have in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a great Friendly Advocate who will always be by your side. He’ll convict you, but He won’t condemn you. He’ll help you see you’re not okay, but He won’t leave you that way. He’ll help you grow into a more glorious person in the future, than you are in the present.
Again vs. 26 states, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Okay so now Jesus says the Holy Spirit also becomes our teacher, which leads to #4.
#4 The Holy Spirit becomes our Teacher = The Holy Spirit becomes our teacher, and what’s He teach us? He teaches us the truth. In vs 17 Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, meaning everything the Spirit teaches us is true, and in vs 26 Jesus says those truths are found in the bible. He says the Spirit will teach his disciples and help them to remember what he said to them. It was so they could record those truths in the bible. In fact this is why its important for Christians to check their discernment with the bible. It’s because sometimes we miss-discern what we think the Spirit’s telling us to do. So we need to check our discernment with the bible because the Spirit won’t ever contradict what He’s said in the bible. The bible’s the primary way the Spirit teaches and speaks to us. But some people don’t want the Spirit to be their teacher, which the apostle Paul warned his young protégé Timothy about. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth!” This is exactly what we’re seeing happening with a lot of people watching church online. They’re scrolling through churches looking for teachers who will suit their passions. They don’t really want the Spirit of Truth probing at their life and being their teacher.
But others let their cultural climate be their teacher. One of our codes here at City Awakening is “we will read the bible and let the bible read us,” meaning we want the bible to shape and change our beliefs, instead of our beliefs shaping and changing the bible. But there’s some people who let their cultural climate be their teacher instead of the bible. They’ll let what the culture says about things like race, gender, marriage, politics define their beliefs instead of the bible. They’ll even let the culture define what joy is, which Orlando’s all about. We’re all about pursuing “joy.” Some of us are trying to pursue joy in a spouse, in children, in friends with benefits, in getting a new degree, a new job, a nicer car, a bigger house, a new church since the last church didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. It’s all different things the culture tells us will bring us joy, but you know what happens to all of us? We realize the joy we receive from those things doesn’t ever last. It’s because we need the Holy Spirit to teach us what true lasting joy is, not our culture. Jesus didn’t say the culture would teach us truth, he said the Holy Spirit would.
#5 The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus = In fact this is the Holy Spirit’s primary job, it’s to point us to Jesus. John 15:26 says, “When the Helper comes...He will bear witness about Me.” John 16:14 says, “He will glorify me.” The Holy Spirit’s primary job is to point people to Jesus, which is why every message we preach at City Awakening points to Jesus. Some preachers make the mistake of preaching messages that give you a list of things to do. It’s Step 1, do this! Step 2, do this! You know what I call those sermons? Doo doo sermons...They’re called doo doo sermons. It’s because the focus is on things you need to do instead of on what Jesus has already done!...Is there a place in sermons for next steps, applications, things you can do to respond? Yes, of course! But those things are always a secondary response to what Jesus has already done for us on the cross. The job of every pastor and Christian is to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in pointing people to Jesus. Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers in history and he said his goal in every message, is to plow a trough back to the gospel. In one of his sermon Spurgeon said, “I sometimes wonder if you get tired of my preaching, because I do nothing but hammer away at this one nail. That one nail is the glorious news that our glorious Savior paid it all in our place, and in response he is worthy of our highest devotion and greatest service.” The job of every pastor and Christian, the job of the Holy Spirit, is always to point people to Jesus.
#6 The Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry = The Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry, so we can lead others to Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers us not to isolate ourselves from our city, but for great life transforming work in our city. In John 14:12 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do!” What Jesus is talking about is the quantity of his work, not the quality of his work. He’s saying Christians will reach more people living on mission together, than if he would’ve stayed living on mission in Israel. He’s talking about sending the Spirit to continue his mission in the world through us, and it’s what’s been happening for nearly 2000 yrs. For nearly 2000 yrs Jesus has been continuing his mission through his followers, and it’s led to billions of people now following him globally! Are you living like that’s your reality? Are you living as a Holy Spirit empowered follower of Jesus, fulfilling your missional purpose in our city, and leading others to Jesus? This is something our staff is currently planning for 2021. We’re putting together plans to help you recognize where the Spirit’s at work in your life, so you can live as an instrument of grace in our city. We want to help you go from being a recipient of grace, to being an instrument of grace. We want to help you join in the life transforming work of the Holy Spirit, in leading others to Jesus. We’ll have an entire 2021 vision series on this in November.
But how do we receive the power of the Holy Spirit?...How do we receive the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? It starts with believing in the gospel, with believing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. It starts with believing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It starts with believing in Jesus, because the Holy Spirit’s job is to point us to Jesus. So if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then you need to be filled with Jesus...If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then you need to be filled with Jesus.
The Big Idea:
So here’s the big idea. It’s to seek the help, of the promised Helper...It’s seek the help, of the promised Helper, as you go throughout your daily grind...I told you Jesus would teach us something critical today, yet something we too often neglect, and it’s the Holy Spirit. Jesus has given us such a precious gift in the Holy Spirit, yet too often we go through our day neglecting to seek the help of the Holy Spirit. We face problems in our marriages, our parenting, our jobs, life in general, and we’ll seek the guidance of another helper, a hetero helper, a helper of a different kind, instead of the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing wrong with seeking help from others, but the Holy Spirit needs to be the primary help we seek. I’m convinced the reason so many of us feel emptied of joy, is because we aren’t seeking to be filled with the help of the Spirit. We keep trying to squeeze out 50 cents of joy, when Jesus has offered us an entire inheritance of joy.
But the Holy Spirit’s arguing for you...The Holy Spirit’s arguing for you right now, as a friendly advocate...He’s arguing for you to be filled with the joyful love of Jesus. He’s arguing for you, and against the lies in your heart and mind that are robbing you of joy...Are there lies in your heart and mind telling you God doesn’t love you?...Are there lies telling you God won’t forgive you of a sin you committed?...Are there lies telling you that you can find joy in other things rather than Jesus, or that God doesn’t care about you and your daily struggles?...There’s so many lies, so many fears, so many burdens and anxieties in this room right now...They’re being magnified by the uncertainty of the pandemic, and it’s robbing us of the joyful inheritance Jesus has given us. We need to seek the help and guidance of the promised Helper, as we face the struggles of our day. We need to read our bibles and pray for the truth of God’s word, to speak louder than the lies in our heart. So let me leave you with a promise the Spirit’s given us in the bible, then I’ll pray for us. Listen to the Spirit arguing for you this morning.
1 Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you... 8 Be sober-minded, be alert...Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour... 9 Resist him, stand firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world...10 The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you, after you have suffered a little while. 11 To Jesus be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
#1 The Holy Spirit is a Person
#2 The Holy Spirit is God
#3 The Holy Spirit becomes our Friendly Advocate
1st John 3:20 says, “Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart.”
#4 The Holy Spirit becomes our Teacher
2 Timothy 4:3-4, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth!”
#5 The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus
John 15:26 says, “When the Helper comes...He will bear witness about Me.”
John 16:14 says, “He will glorify me.”
Spurgeon said, “I sometimes wonder if you get tired of my preaching, because I do nothing but hammer away at this one nail. That one nail is the glorious news that our glorious Savior paid it all in our place, and in response he is worthy of our highest devotion and greatest service.”
#6 The Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry
John 14:12 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do!”
1 Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you...
8 Be sober-minded, be alert...Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour... 9 Resist him, stand firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world...
10 The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you, after you have suffered a little while. 11 To Jesus be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”