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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e us just make sure you keep your children off that nobody then we've got several things coming up the the church directory is almost complete you notice the table is gone we've got photographs almost everyone that's in there if you would like to add the names of your children Bey that information yet because we want to take another photo congregation on the front so that's going to take place this morning right after the service if everyone that's connected to the church in any way wants to come forward we'll take a picture like we did a fews ago here that everyone St connect church church couple of other good announcements and sad announcements for one thing Lor this is her last Sunday Us's back exting news Butler Bo another grandson forca um so next Sunday morning in the 9:30 hour there going to be because of conferen that's happening having pastors andg coming from numerous conations across West Canada even onario there's going to be presentations by several of the key men and pastors of these congregations so we know an introduction to their groups for example the group but also medicine and so for be several of them giving a little presentation that's 93 hour give us a better idea who we're working with and how we also have Dr barcelos here for the conference preaching next Sunday morning Dr will be preaching little bit ofing of things but we're looking forward to a fantastic conference a mini conference because we've got a lot of people coming and it's an exciting time in the life of our church keep praying for those who are coming from a distance thank God for opportunity to out to many different congregations and be a blessing to them as they will be to us know as well I believe have his announcements for this morning so let's move on to worship we're going to start by reading in our Bibles Psalm 63 as our called To Worship Psalm 63 PSAL of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah oh God you are my God early will I Seek You my soul thirsts for you my flesh Longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water so I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory because your loving kindness is better than life my lips shall praise you thus I will bless you while I live I will lift up my hands in your name my soul shall be satisfied as with narrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips when I remember you on my bed I meditate on you in the night watches because you have been my help therefore in the shadow of your wings I Will Rejoice my soul follows close behind you your right hand upholds me but those who seek my life to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth they shall fall by the sword they shall be a portion for Jackal but the king shall rejoice in God everyone who swears by him shall Glory at the M of those who speak lies shall be stopped amen amen for our first H this morning we're going to sing Psalm [Music] 144 S as in from 144 we're just sing the first four St left stand [Music] I my he TR me for my my for my refuge and shield he brings down my [Music] and oh Lord you him the son you areful of him for is his just like a sh [Music] passes on and the great [Music] Mountain from fly for your and SC the out your [Music] Shar your hand from the [Music] heavens has save me from strangers and FL [Music] and [Music] true let's go to the Lord in pray our gracious Heavenly Father we are thankful this morning that we can gather here as your people in this place we thank you that you have called us as a local body to serve you here we thank you that all over the face of the Earth this day the church is gathering and has gathered this morning and will yet gather this day to worship the true and living God the trium god of Heaven and Earth we thank you that we have brothers and sisters all around the globe from every CBE and people and nation and Kindred and tongue Lord we thank you that here in this place your name is exalted we pray that the gospel would go forth powerfully from this P of this day Lord if there are any amongst us that have not yet embraced the truth that I'm not yet tast con seeing that the Lord is good may this indeed be the day of salvation we pray that you bless Pastor Butler as he comes to preach to us we pray that you would anoint him and may your Holy Spirit do it work working our hearts we pray Lord that even now you would prepare our hearts forgive us of our sins and our iniquities Lord we transgress so often your law but as your people we grieve and we we desire that you would forgive us help us on our way and continue to um redeem our souls from all adversity we thank you for our dear brother David in the Psalms that he wrote he faced not only the internal threat of his own heart but many external threats and Lord you have brought him through it all and over and over again he encourages Us in the Psalms and we pray oh God that you would continue the good work that you are doing in our hearts we thank you for the conference that's coming up next week thank you for the Brethren that are traveling from various places thank you for this opportunity to meet and to to also hear good teaching by by our brothers Dr renahan Dr barcelos we pray that you'd be with them as they continue to prepare their hearts and their their lectures we we pray oh God that you would bless them as they come and may they be greatly encouraged by what they see Happening Here in Canada they they have been a part of our work in many ways for many many years and we pray oh God that they would Rejoice to see the fruits of their labors on our behalf as well and Lord we pray that we would have a tremendous time of fellowship and of making connections long-term friendships with people that we have not yet met and Lord we pray that you would be honored and glor ified through that we thank you for blessing Josh and Katie with another healthy birth another baby boy we pray you would continue to bless them in their work in the church out there in dren pray you bless that congregation this day encourage them continue to build them up we pray oh God that that church would be officially constituted and and planted soon Lord we pray that you'd continue to work in the other Church plants that you have graced us to be able to assist we thank you for the church in the North kogen in Armstrong we pray you'd bless them this day bless the work in Suri encourage that congregation and continue to build them up thank you for the good reports we hear from these uh on a regular basis and we pray Lord that we would continue to have wonderful fellowship with them and we pray that you would also allow us and them to see more churches planted we pray Lord that you would raise up a plurality of Elders in each of those congregations as well as here at free Grace Baptist we do thank you for the the great work that you are doing here thank you for all of the young families and the young children that are being reared under the sound of the Gospel here we thank you even for the numerous mothers that are currently pregnant expecting children in our congregation we pray Lord that your blessing would rest upon them that you would keep them and their babies safe and healthy and strong throughout the pregnancy that each of these ones would have a a good birth and that these children would be reared in homes that fear the true and living God we thank you for these blessings Lord we do pray for the church abroad especially those places where the church is being persecuted actively by the government or by religious authorities we pray You' be merciful to your people this day we thank you that the holy spirit is able to comfort and able to strengthen we know nothing of the persecutions that they are going through in North Korea or in the some of the countries of the Middle East and yet Lord we know that you are there with them and you uphold your Saints we pray that you would continue to build your church there even as you are doing it here and we thank you that we can be part of this great uh in gathering of souls be with us this day and continue with us as we worship I pray in Jesus name amen amen for our next hymn we're going to sing number 152 hymn 152 in your Himel stand with me again as we sing together [Music] bless waiting in his for to of all the we the and etal rest we pray for gra to the dear Redeemer take take away our and Sh our Earth we in th presence here my glory we arise while we in th house us for Taste our everting peace may my goel S Saint the of for all all our till we join the church of [Music] for our morning New Testament scripture reading please turn to Matthew chapter 24 which we began last week we will finish the last half of the chapter Matthew chapter 24 we're beginning in verse 29 Matthew 24:29 immediately after the tribulation of those those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light the Stars will fall from Heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the Clouds Of Heaven with power and great glory and he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the Four Winds from one end of Heaven to the other now learn this Parable from the Fig Tree when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near so you also when you see all these things know that it is near at the doors assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place Heaven and Earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away but of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven but my father only but as the days of Noah were so also will the coming of the son of man be for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the Ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away so also will the coming of the son of man be then two men will be in the field one will be taken and the other left two women will be grinding in at the Mill one will be taken and the other left watch therefore for you do not know what hour your lord is coming but know this that if the Master of the House had known what hour the thief would come he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into therefore you also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing assuredly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his Goods but if that evil servant says in his heart my master is delaying his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the Hypocrites there shall be weeping and nashing of teeth amen let us pray gracious Father in heaven we thank you that Christ in his Earthly Ministry gave insight to his disciples when they ask these questions when shall this take place and Lord we thank you that the the admonitions and the warnings that he gave at that time for that generation still hold true you still control all things and and Lord we know that that Kings and nations rise and fall according to your decree we pray oh God that you would help us to be ready and to be accountable and to be Faithful Servants and we ask this in Jesus name amen amen for our last hymn we're going to turn to number 378 in the Himel 378 and stand once again as we sing together [Music] saor from the Victorious to shall him theor Angels Jus in the [Music] of of [Music] kior Saints and Angels around him is my prise [Music] his Jesus the highest Jo him king of kings and well you can turn with me in your Bibles to John's gospel we continue to work our way through John's gospel we're in the upper room discourse we slowed down a little bit in our study as we're looking at the doctrine of the trinity in a bit more detail and basically what we have in the upper room discourse our lord Jesus is preparing his disciples for the mission that they will have after his Ascension on high and one of the things that he sets before them in great detail is who God is the living and the true God that he is one in being three in person even Father Son and Holy Spirit so the Holy Spirit has been mentioned up to this point in John's gospel but as we see here specifically in verse for uh chapter 14 Jesus gives us more information concerning the spirit of Truth again there'll be some technical terminology employed this morning uh I mentioned last week that we need the guard rails that have been set up in the history of the church NAA in 381 Caledon 451 and then of course our second London Confession of 1689 those are helpful guardrails to keep us as a car from flying off the cliff the church has invoked or utilized principles of interpretation to deal with the fact that there is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit in the last generation or two we've seen people destroy those guard rails and as a result the doctrine of the Trinity has fallen on hard times so it is important for us as God's people not to perhaps explain it in the way of John owenwood or an athanasius or an Augustine but we need to have some understanding of who our God is Jesus describes or gives us the sum and substance of eternal life in John 173 in the high Priestly prayer he says this is eternal life that they may Know Thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou has sent so if that that is going to occupy Us in that Heavenly Jerusalem it should uh should certainly occupy us here on Earth and as well we Face a lot of attacks upon the Christian faith it does us no good to not be able to explain the god whom we worship so let's read beginning in chapter 14 at verse one and then our Focus this morning will be verses 17b and 18 I mentioned we were going slowly through this section we've just made it through verse 17A but beginning in verse one let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also and where I go you know in the way you know Thomas said to him Lord we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way Jesus said to him I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me if you had known me you would have known my father also and from now on you know him and have seen him Philip said to him Lord show us the father and it is sufficient for us Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and yet you have not uh known me Phillip he who has seen me has seen the father so how can you say show us the father do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me the words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority but the father who dwells in me does the works believe me that I in the father and the father in me or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves most assuredly 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 my father and whatever you ask in my name that I will do that the father may be glorified in the son if you ask anything in my name I will do it if you love me keep my Commandments and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you I will not leave you orphans I will come to you amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we do confess that you are uh one in being three in person and we glorify your great and awesome uh Power and majesty and Glory we acknowledge your handywork in the created order and in Providence and we rejoice in the Redemptive order we praise you for the sending of the son of your love into this world Sinners to save we thank you for the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit to take that truth and to make it make it alive in our hearts we thank you for that effectual calling drawing us unto yourself and causing us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ all of these things besp a a gracious and a merciful and a glorious God we pray now that your spirit would guide us as we consider this section of Holy scripture we pray that you would be magnified and glorified in this glad hour you would draw out our hearts in worship and praise and adoration and in more love to thee and God may you indeed have mercy upon any and all who are dead in their trespasses and sins we don't appeal to their free will to make good decisions respecting their future but we call upon the god of absolute sovereignty and power we know that you make men willing in the day of that power we pray that for our meeting together here we pray for other churches here in our community throughout this country and to the uttermost parts of the earth we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God so send the spirit to take these things and to make them effectually in the hearts of a great multitude that no man can number forgive us now for all of our sin and unrighteousness and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well i' mentioned a bit ago about these guard rails or these protections that the church has established to keep us from falling prey to heresy on either side with reference to the doctrine of our Triune God and one of them is in our confession second London Confession chapter 2 paragraph 3 when it gets into the triun of God it it reminds us that in this Divine and infinite being there are three subsisten or persons the Father the word or Son and the Holy Spirit of one substance power and Eternity each having the whole Divine Essence yet the essence undivided so when it comes to considering our God we need to make sure we maintain the unity of the godhead we need to make sure we don't see three Gods we need to make sure that we don't see God ink or sorts of div it partialed out to various persons in the Trinity so we need to maintain the unity the infinite and divine being of God but we also need to recognize the distinction of person in the godhead the father is not the son the son is not the Father the Son is not the spirit the spirit is not the father or the son there is distinction and as the confession goes on those distinctions are seen in what we call Eternal relations of origin so the father is unb begotten the son is begotten by the father and the spirit proceeds from the father and the son they are consubstantial they have the same Essence as the confession tells us and yet they are distinct persons again you might say well that's tough for me to understand welcome to the church God is infinite we are finite he has revealed himself in 30 1,000 propositions give or take another 10 or two 102 and we have true knowledge of God but the finite will never be able to exhaust the infinite the Creator will never be able to fully uh the creat uh creature rather will never be able to fully understand the Creator he's in a different chain of being we need to make sure that we're reminded of that God is Not Just man with large it's not the case that you go from the lowest form of creation say the worm and then you move on to the cat and then you move on to the dog and and then you move on to the human and then you move on to the angel and then you move on to God that is a misstep we have more in common with the worm and dare I say it more in common with the cat than we do with God he is Creator we are creature he is in a different category of being altogether so that the Bible teaches our Triune God we confess that we can fully understand every jot and tit no there's a significant amount of mystery in our Christian religion which keeps us worshiping because if we figured out all there was to figure out with reference to God we'd move on to the next puzzle but God is such that he will always take our breath away when we plunder or seek to plunder the depths that he is so remember we need to protect the unity of the divine nature but we also need to recognize distinction among the persons and one of the ways that we see that specifically in John's gospel is what we refer to as the the theologia and economy and basically theologia or theology is how John starts in John 1 1 to18 he begins with theology he goes sort of behind the scenes as it were of redemption or what we call the economy of Salvation and he gives us a bird's eye view into who God is he tells us with reference to the son in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the Word was God and then in verse 14 he says the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth it's not until verse 29 that we see an emphasis on economy or salvation history when the Baptist says Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world so John tells us who the word is relative to the father before telling us what the word do in terms of saving us men and bringing us Redemption well we see the same sort of thing with reference to the Holy Spirit what we see the spirit do in history is reflective of how the spirit relates to the father and the son in eternity you've got theology or who God is in himself the the the Latin for this is AD intra and then you have God as he relates to everything not God everything outside of God we refer to that as add extra or or those uh separate or external works of God so it's add extra what the Holy Spirit and what Jesus do in history show us something about who God is in himself now it doesn't explain everything it doesn't exhaust who God is but when we read the pages of Holy scripture we see the son and we see the spirit doing things coming from the father and we can make conclusions about how the three persons relate to one another in themselves so that's what we need to do as we proceed relative to our understanding of who God is we need to recognize the distinction of persons in the godhead you see that notice in chapter 14 specifically at verse 16 I Jesus will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever so there's three persons Jesus prays to the father and he prays to the father that the father will send another helper the paraclet the comforter the one that will make sure that the children of God are not orphans in this present evil age so there is distinction of peret but as well we need to main maintain the fact that the unity of the godhead it's not that the father is 33 and a 3% God the son is 33 and a 3% and then the spirit is 33 and a third per. they're consubstantial that means they're of one essence or one one substance all that is true of God is true of the father is true of the son is true of the holy spirit yet not three Gods as Sanders says to identify the Holy Spirit as God is to say that whatever God is the holy spirit is God has a nature the Bible speaks of it as God's Divinity Romans 1:20 or deity Colossians 2:9 he says the King James version translated words like these as godhead a thrilling word that is basically an archaic way of saying godhood or godness that's true that's right that's accurate that reflects well on the biblical material by way of reminder we had the fact that the holy spirit is a Divine person he's named with the father and the son 2 Corinthians 13:14 Galatians 4 4- 6 Ephesians 2:8 and 22 Revelation 1 4 uh uh uh 4 to six we see that the spirit is counted with other Divine persons the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit as well the spirit is described in personal ways he has life he has intellect he has will his operations upon men are things outside of God he regenerates he converts he sanctifies as well as a person he's lied to he's grieved and also he can be sinned against not an impersonal active Force but rather the person of the Holy Spirit the third of the Triune God as well the fact that the holy spirit is consubstantial or one in substance or Essence with the father and the son the Divine name spe uh spoken about with reference to the spirit he is referred to his Yahweh he's referred to his God he's referred to his Lord the Divine attributes predicated of the Holy Spirit we know from the scripture that he has eternity he has immensity he has omnis he has omnipotence again anything and everything true of God is true of the Holy Spirit the Divine operations of the Holy Spirit he is active in creation Miracles Resurrection healings Powers tongues all those sorts of things the spirit is operative in as well the Divine worship given to the Holy Spirit Ephesians 2:18 to20 to envisage us coming to the father in corporate worship through the son in the spirit so the spirit is right there the spirit is right there in the baptismal formula go therefore Make Disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name singular with ref uh of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit singular name 3% Unity of the godhead uh distinction among the persons as well the Eternal procession and temporal Mission turn to 1526 for just a moment we see what happens in history or in economy salvation history shows us something about how the spirit relates to the father and the son notice in uh John 15 at: 26 but when the helper comes whom I shall send you from the Father the spirit of Truth who proceeds from the father he will testify of me I take that sending by Christ of the spirit in Salvation history as a reference to the day of Pentecost and what happens at the day of Pentecost in the sending of the spirit in that temporal mission is reflective of or revelatory of the Eternal procession of the spirit from the father and the son again this may be somewhat confusing but we're trying to articulate a Biblical and Orthodox doctrine of the Triune God if you don't get it this first time around don't get discouraged learn read study look at niia look at Caledon read our chapter 2 It's a Wonderful statement concerning of God the holy TR Trinity because Brethren again we can get a lot wrong in our religion we we can't just witness how many things are wrong in our religion and I'm not talking about practically I'm talking about doctrinally you hear a lot of weird stuff coming out of the people of God you hear a lot of weird stuff coming out of pulpits today weird stuff isn't necessarily damnable heresy damnable heresy is at the level of who God is and how does God save other words we should be willing to die on Trinity we should be will willing to die on christology we should be will willing to die on justification by faith beyond that yeah I'm not going to die for eschatology if you're a premillennialist take I think you're wrong you think I'm wrong let's all you know love Jesus together right so when it comes to God though and we've seen this and I've appealed to this several times in John 8 specifically at verse 24 when Jesus says to his his opponents the religious leaders if you don't believe that I am you'll die in your sins well nowhere in the gospel records does he say if you don't believe in postmillennialism or if you don't believe in all millennialism or if you don't believe in premillennialism you will die in your sins again Brethren I think we ought to pursue truth even at the level of eschatology but that's not damnable heresy damnable heresy is rejecting Jesus damnable heresy is not understanding Jesus damnable heresy is twisting up the person and the work of Jesus it's those things that are necessary for us to understand as well the spirit is called the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ the spirit is a gift given by the father and he's given by the son and I think a good summary statement is found in that nyine Creed it says and I believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord and Giver of Life who proceeds from the father and the son and who with the uh who with the father and the son together is worshiped and glorified who spoke by the prophets that is good biblical theology good trinitarianism it's upheld or at least specifically with reference to Jesus at Caledon in 450 uh 451 and then as I said the 17th century confessions now as we move on this is a bit of a review we want to still stick a little bit with this idea of the the the unity of the godhead and the distinction of person there's another tactic that we have seen the church employ in order to explain how the one true and living God isn't made up of three parts it isn't God ink it isn't a conglomeration it's not a corporation and that Doctrine is called Inseparable operations now again no quiz today no test but just throwing this out there it's the doctrine of inseparable operations and all that means is that everything outside of that living and true God everything as I mentioned earlier add extra not in God himself everything external to God comes about by the result of the one living and true God in other words the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three agents accomplishing a particular work they have one power they have one eternity they therefore have one will remember each has the entirety of the Divine Essence so the Father the Son and the spirit do what they do external as the living and true God it's not three participants just sort of agreeing and getting things right in some Cosmic Harmony no it's Inseparable operations everything external to God is done by the living and true God Barrett defines it this way since the persons of the Trinity are indivisible in essence they are also indivisible in their external operations having the one simple will in common they perform a singular act in any external operation now why is this important because if we mess this up we will fall into tritheism or God uh uh three godism the father does some things the son does some things and then the spirit does some things well if they each have the Divine Essence then that must means they're three Gods know everything external to God at extra is done by the living and true God the unity of the god had now as we work our way through scripture we see at times things are said specifically about the Father the Son and the spirit in fact when we look at the scriptures if we ask the question what's usually said about the father creation what's usually said about the son Redemption what's usually said about the spirit sanctification that's what's called the doctrine of Appropriations again no test no quiz throwing it out here so that you'll understand that the church does have successful ways to execute scripture to interpret the Bible to maintain the Integrity of the one living and true God who exists eternally as Father Son and Holy Spirit Inseparable operations guards the unity of the godhead Appropriations highlights the distinction of the person so again when you look at scripture the father is tasked at least in Genesis chapter 1 with creating all things but so is the Son and so is the spirit in Genesis 1 1 and2 Divine commentary Psalm 33 tells us that by the word of the Lord so the uh father through the agency of the son in the spirit the Breath of God created the world so we see Inseparable operations but sometimes the Bible highlights specific things about specific persons to show us more of our wonderful God so the fact that the father is uh uh uh predicated of creating and the Son and the spirit shows us inseparably everything outside but there are things done or shown by scripture to apply specifically to persons to show us more about that so it shows us the relation that obtain between the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit now that everybody is sufficiently confused let's pick up with the rest of the data whether you get all that or not again no quiz no test but let's look at verse 17 again as we move on because we had four points under this second point with reference to the nature of the spirit so in the nature of the spirit 16b to 17 we've seen distinction of persons in the godhead 16b the unity of the godhead 17A Now we move to the ignorance of the godhead 17b and then the knowledge of the godhead in 17c but notice what Jesus says in verse 17 so he sort of amplifies who this helper is in the first part the spirit of Truth Now note what he goes on to say whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him so I think that we ought to appreciate in the first place that what Jesus is primarily concerned about in the upper room is the disciple group he cares about the world in fact that's the bigger context according to chapter 14 specifically look back at verse 12 where it says most assuredly I say to you he who believes in me the uh 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 my father because Jesus ascends on high he leads captivity captive he gives gifts to men and those men are Apostles those men are prophets those men are pastors those men are teachers and evangelists and so he wants them to go out with Mission and tell Sinners about Jesus so that they may be saved so the world is certainly under his consideration but specifically here in verse 17 he makes this contrast between what the world knows and what the disciple group knows he cares about the world in the sense that he wants the disciples to go to the world and he wants them to preach and teach and make disciples and baptize those disciples and found churches and and and worship the Triune God and and engage in all the things that are consistent with churchmen ship Jesus wants all that but in the upper room his focus is primarily on equipping these disciples to go in his name for this particular task so with reference to verse 17 after articulating the the the nature of the spirit he speaks of the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him this is one of those statements like we saw in John 6 in fact you can turn back to John 6 specifically at vers verse 44 Jesus once again underscores the reality that if salvation is to happen in the in the life of a man woman or boy or girl it must come from God Sovereign Grace is absolutely crucial because dead men in sin don't believe on the gospel dead man in sin don't repent from their sin if God doesn't Open Hearts if God doesn't cause the new birth if God doesn't draw effectually Sinners unto himself there will be no salvation so notice in John 6:44 no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up at the last day now before we look at that and say well that means there's no hope for Sinners no there's great hope for Sinners because God is in the purpose of having sent his son into the world Sinners to save these passages on God's sovereignty ought never to be interpreted in a way that brings despair or discouragement on the part of the church no conversely God is about saving go to Revelation CH 7 you have a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation Jesus inaugurates the New Covenant in his blood and he says this blood is shed for what for the remission of the sins of many not just a handful not just a few it is the sovereignty of God that provides the impetus for evangelism it is the sovereignty of God that provides the fuel for Missions it's the sovereignty of God that should get cause us to get up off our our seats and Proclaim that there is salvation to be had in the Lord Jesus Christ this concept of God's sovereignty somehow inhibiting the gospel message is hyper calvinistic and it's Dil it is hogwash it is not consistent with scripture biblical robust Calvinism is about proclamation of Christ and him crucified it's about telling Sinners to believe on him and you will be saved telling Sinners to to relinquish their their their their their opposition and that ax to grind and come to a gracious savior in fact backing up just a bit to verse 37 look at what Jesus says he underscores the beauty of divine sovereignty all that the father gives me will come to me and then he opens his arms and says and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out in Matthew 11 he praises the father for hiding gospel truth from some but revealing it to babes and then he says even so father for thus it was well pleasing in your sight and it's on the heels of that ad uh that sort of uh confession of God's absolute sovereignty that he says come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest so the same emphasis here in the upper room Jesus is telling his disciples something true about the spirit of Truth he says whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him we know from scripture that the righteous walk according to the spirit in Romans chapter 8 but we also know in Romans chapter 8 that the unrighteous do not the the unrighteous walk by a spirit according to Paul in Ephesians 2 1:3 but it's not the holy spirit it's the spirit that works in the sons of Disobedience it's the prince of the power of the air it is God lessness it is wretchedness it is reprobate so the ungodly needs divine grace in order to understand who the spirit is the ungodly needs divine grace to make that good confession I believe in the Son of God who lived for me and who died for me the uh ungodly needs Sovereign Grace to see the father as the F from whom all blessings flow so Jesus acknowledges that he's going to provide for the disciple group another helper that is going to abide with you forever and then he says the spirit of Truth and then he goes on to say whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows it practically I think he's encouraging the disciple group that they need to rely upon the holy spirit the one that the the Lord Jesus is going to give to the disciples is the very one that the disciples are going to need to lean on when they go to a world who doesn't know the spirit of truth they're not going to be able to make changes they're not going to be able to affect salvation they're not going to be able to convert the Sinners to whom they go they stand in need of divine grace they stand in need of divine empowerment in other words the task of the church is not the conversion of the Nations that's the task of our gracious God he calls the church to be faithful to go therefore and to make disciples how do we make them not by gun not by knife not by military might we make them by the proclamation of justification by faith alone we tell Sinners God is Holy you're not and the way of Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus now we cannot affect that change but the spirit of Truth can the spirit whom the world does not know because they haven't received it so in Jesus words here he's encouraging the disciples that the very Spirit he's going to give them is the very spirit that the world doesn't know but the very spirit that the world needs to understand rather come to know through Grace so all that Jesus does in terms of explaining father son and spirit he wants to in inculcate in them a dependence upon God jesus' concern here is with his disciples that they may be equipped to go and effect the gospel preaching in the world but then notice he ends this section in verse 17 see to underscore that they know him so verse 17 the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you why do they know him they're we part of the world because they've tasted God's grace they've had their eyes open they've had their hearts open they've they've come out of darkness in a Marvelous Light notice in John 14 specifically at verse 1 let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me that's to encourage them and to settle them and to help them when when the Earth as it were collapses in on them as they go out into the Empire and they meet opposition and they're going to meet opposition Brethren read the book of Acts who's the first great opposer of the church in the first century it's not the Roman Empire it's the unbelieving Jews it's the unbelieving Jews who can't stand this emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah they can't stand this emphasis that that this Nazarene that this this one who hailed from Galilee this this son of a carpenter that he would somehow be Messiah that was repulsive to them well to use the language of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 it was a scandal to them it was a stumbling block to them so in Acts you see much opposition from unbelieving Jews there is opposition in the background from the Roman Empire especially as the Jews invoked the civil magistrate to bring the pressure upon the people of God but initially the Roman Empire wasn't too antagonistic against the Christian uh Christianity they thought it was a subset of Judaism and for the most part let let let them alone but later on in the Empire that escalation arose that opposition and antagonism arose under Nero it reached a fever pitch and later Emperors as well would be about the murder of a multitude of people who confess saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ so again remember the the disciple group here in the upper room Jesus is about to be die about to die he's going to be ripped away from them and hung upon a cross he's going to be raised again he's going to ascend on high but he gives them this Mission he gives them these objectives and he also wants to calm them so that their hearts are not troubled so 141 is a believe in me also to settle your wayward heart so that you don't panic and lose heart but 14:12 is a reminder of justification by faith they had believed on Jesus for salvation thus they had received the spirit the spirit that the world did not receive the spirit that the world did not know why because they were not born again by the power of the Holy Spirit as Jesus mentions in John chapter 3 but he says you know him notice he goes on to say in verse 17 for he dwells with you and will be in you remember a few sermons back we looked at a another Doctrine called peric Caris and peric Caris simply means Mutual indwelling specifically look back at chapter 14 at around verse 12 again I'm sorry verse 10 do you not believe this is an answer to the question from Phillip let's let's just back up verse 7 if you had known me you would have known my father also and from now on you know him and have seen him Philip said to himl show us the father and it is sufficient for us Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me Phillip he who has seen me has seen the father is that an amazing statement you've seen Jesus you've seen the father you can see why the unbelieving Jews hated him now I'm not saying it was right for them to hate him but when he made himself equal with God if you didn't have eyes to see that if you didn't have faith to receive that if if you just saw this man that looked just like everybody else that was in Israel at that time remember what the Prophet says he had no form no comeliness there was nothing about him that would cause us to gaze admiringly at him he didn't have a Halo he wasn't you know the ripped Jehovah's Witness Jesus with the 18inch guns and the Rippling you know chest muscle he he wasn't anything to look at that's the point with reference to the servant of Yahweh he doesn't come out of Heaven guns blazing he comes from Heaven to assume our Humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin and he lives in that lowly condition he he dies as a criminal on the cross and he's raised again the third day so with reference to this statement he says he who has seen me has seen the father so how can you say show us the father now notice in verse 10 do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me this is peric Caris the mutual indwelling of the Divine persons why because they each have the whole Divine Essence when it comes to the spirit indwelling us that's not peric Caris we don't have the same Essence the spirit indwells Us by God's grace the spirit indwells us because of adoption the spirit indwells us because of that uh the means by which God Saves us and draws him unto himself but notice this blessed reality the spirit indwells his people and notice at the end of verse 16 that he may abide with you forever the concept that a person can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit and then somehow lose their salvation that's not biblical if you receive the Holy Spirit if you're Justified freely by his grace whatever es and flows whatever hardships and afflictions whatever trials and difficulties with David and with Peter you will be at the marriage supper of the lamb David did horrible things as a blood bought child of God Peter did a horrible thing as a blood bought child of God sometimes the blood-bought children of God do horrible things but by God's grace they shall never fall away completely why because the spirit abides in them forever it's not here today and gone tomorrow oh you wise guide yourself out of this salvation so therefore I'm going to take my spirit from you when Jesus uh p uh David rather in his Psalm of repentance prays that take not thine Holy Spirit from me he's a Believer when he prays that prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 he says restore to me the joy of thy salvation because certainly During the gation period and certainly during the the time subsequent to that with reference to his adultery and murder he didn't feel that Joy he wasn't you know living in a fever pitch of of delight in the in the mercies of a covenant God but he was nevertheless a saved man and so when we have this promise from our savior that the spirit abides in us forever that ought to encourage us that ought to make us happy you know not everything is forever right we like to think everything is forever but it's not forever but God's grace to his people is forever and then notice he says uh uh that brings us to the final section here and I feel like I can go and die on a playing to Boston and at least have finished I'm just kidding I'd rather not but but uh I've at least finished a section it would it would just great on me going down if I remembered I hadn't finished that section in John's gospel so I I'm at least finishing a section in John's gospel so I can go to my maker in peace should he decree that as the case and my poor wife is probably Rising now hoping that doesn't happen but notice the last statement in terms of a promise of Jesus we'll close here here and make a few observations and then we'll we'll conclude but notice after having said this verse 17 the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you notice then what Jesus says I will not leave you orphans I will come to you isn't this one of the preeminent blessings of biblical religion the presence of God with his people you all know the Proctors from the Proctors were here he gave me a beanie you call them tokes in Canada and it says I will never walk alone sort of the motto of Liverpool England I will never walk alone do you realize that's our promise brethren we will never walk alone it may feel like it at times it it may appear to be that way at times there are seasons when in God's Providence and God's dealings with his people needs to chasen us or discipline us or take us to the Woodshed and it may seem like he doesn't have that great big smile but as Cooper says behind that frowning Providence he he hides a smiling face the reality is is that our blessed God is always with us isn't this what Joshua needed to hear before the conquest and isn't this precisely what God told Joshua you're going to go into the land you're going to kill people and you're going to break things you're going to dispossess the land of the Canaanites because I've I've given it by way of inheritance to Abraham Isaac and Jacob well what does Joshua need to go on that campaign yeah he needs to make sure his powder's dry needs to make sure his troops are in order needs to make sure that everybody's on on board with strategy for battle he needs the presence of God and that's precisely what God affords him or the Great Commission what are these men that are going to face unbelieving Israel and the Roman Empire what is it that they desperately need do they need self-help do they need you know the ra most recent conference or or or or uh Ted Talk No they need the presence of Jesus when he says go therefore and make disciples baptize those disciples teach those disciples what is he saying lo I Am With You Always even even to the End of the Age so we've got this presence of Christ with his people I would suggest as well when you look at all the covenants of God and there's several historical ones I would argue three uh theological ones Covenant of redemption Covenant of Works Covenant of Grace but in those historical covenants what seems to be the overarching promise that God makes to his people I will be your God and you shall be my people right isn't that beautiful because by nature in Adam we have gone astray all we like sheep have gone astray we don't care about God we don't want God we're not seeking God we like our sin we like to engage in lawlessness we want to rebel and transgress and and engage in those things which are vile and filthy but when God Saves us now he has purposed and promised and covenanted to us that he'll always be with us even to the End of the Age so notice what Jesus says here specifically I will not leave you orphans incidentally I think this is a good way to understand what we find in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 9 at verse 6 you've got those four titles that are predicated of the Messiah one of them being ever ever lasting father well Jesus isn't the father didn't you start off the sermon by saying that the son is not the father the father is not the son he's the Everlasting father in the Redemptive sense to the church he's our head the head of the body Ephesians 1 2223 Colossians 1:18 Christ is Everlasting father in a Redemptive sense to the church that is his so notice I will not leave you orphans that means to be without a parent I will come to you now there's some question as to what coming to you does he mean there right seems to be a good question that I think arises from the text he's referred to his departure from them in a little while look at John 13 and verse 33 little children I shall be with you a little while longer you will seek me and as I said to the Jews where I am going you cannot come so now I say to you I think that's a reference to the Cross notice in 14: 2 and 3 in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also again I think it's a reference to him after the Ascension going into heaven and then promising that he'll come back again to collect his bride and bring them to those several mansions that he has for them he refers to his resurrection when he will be raised from the dead in several contexts and we see that in John 20: 19- 29 after the resurrection he comes to them but I think the specific I will come to you reference is Pentecost again not that the holy spirit is not present prior to Pentecost but that the holy spirit is giving given in a very powerful way on the day of Pentecost for the equipping of the church to make known the glory of Jesus Christ and to do that work that God has entrusted to the bride to go to make disciples and to baptize those disciples so the Lord Jesus notice in chapter 15 again verse 26 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 me turn over to John chapter 20 specifically at verses 22 and 23 well verse 21 so Jesus said to them again peace to you as the father has sent me I also send you and when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them receive the Holy Spirit if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you retain the sins of any they are retained so he breathes on them again it's a symbol an emblem of the procession of the Holy Spirit who comes from the father and the son and so then on the day of Pentecost you can turn to Acts chapter 2 where Peter is preaching to explain the significance of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit remember in verses 1 to 4 the spirit comes in power and the people there start speaking in other tongues we see that there were devout people from various Nations gathered together on that particular day tongue speaking wasn't gibberish it wasn't nonsensical notice specifically in 211 and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God they were foreign languages communicated by the disciples to make known the wonderful works of God then notice in verse 12 so they were all amazed and P perplexed saying to one another whatever could this mean others mocking said they are full of new wine a bunch of drunkards they're out of out of their minds so Peter takes the occasion to stand up and to First say this is what was prophesied by Joel in other words Joel 2 28-32 prophesied the outpouring of the spirit upon a whole group of people at a particular time they would prophesy they would speak tongues they would make known the Glorious God who saves Sinners so Peter says this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel and then he declares the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ that's the significance here on the day of Pentecost and notice specifically in verse 33 he speaks of Jesus true Humanity in verse 22 he speaks of his death on the cross in verse 23 his resurrection in verses 24-32 and then his Ascension in verses 33-36 so notice in verse 33 therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit he poured out this which you now see and hear and then note the crescendo this is where the sermon is going verse 34 for David did not Ascend into the heavens but he says himself the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your foot stol therefore this is what Peter wants them to get this is what Peter wants them to know not the tongu speaking phenomena that he does deal with it's the Fulfillment of Joel It's the power of the spirit but the spirit poured out by the ascended Jesus so notice therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ going back to our text what Jesus promises at the end of verse 18 I will come to you I take as a reference to Pentecost he will come to the church by the spirit and he will abide with them forever and we have the presence of Christ I was thinking about this recently in the marks of the church think about belgic confession article 29 it's good to be in a somewhat Dutch group here where you all know the belgic confession if you're not Dutch belgic confession 29 says what are the marks of the true church preaching the word the administration of the sacraments and the administration of discipline do you know that Jesus attaches promises to each of those three things that he will be there there's a general sense where Jesus is always with us he comes to us by the spirit he dwells in Us by the spirit but with reference to the preaching of the word when Paul comes to exhort Timothy on preach the word he does so in the presence of God most high and the Lord Jesus Christ Christ in Romans chap 10 he ask the question how shall they believe him whom they have not heard so in true and biblical preaching Christ is there but as well in the sacraments First Corinthians chapter 10 and 11 to be sure but the real presence of Christ is seen even more in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 when it comes to the supper Christ is really present by the spirit and then in discipline Matthew chapter 8 tell it to the church and treat him like a tax collector and a heathen and then Jesus says where two or three are gathered together in the exercise of church discipline I will be in their midst so Christ comes to us by the spirit he's not physically present in the supper it's not that the bread becomes his body and the the the wine becomes his blood but he's really present by the spirit just like like he is in preaching just like he is in discipline so the Lord promises that the people of God will never be orphans because Jesus comes to them one final text here Ephesians chapter 3 Ephesians chapter 3 you see this Dynamic at work in the church at Ephesus in Paul's prayer notice in Ephesians chapter 3 specifically at verse 14 for this reason I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named he offers then three petitions or tells them three things he prays for them first that he would Grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inner man that Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith you see that because we have the Holy Spirit we have Christ who has come to us and he will never depart from us and he will keep us unto that great day so that is a great encouragement first to the people of God whatever ever happens to you in this present evil age whatever the government has up its sleeve whatever family or friends may do to you whatever occurs in your workplace whatever hardships and trials you're called upon by God to Bear know this Jesus will never depart from you he will always be with you he will be present in the midst of the Valley of the shadow of death have you ever pondered that in Psalm 23 yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death the first thing to observe is he knows he's going to go through it he's not going to stay there he's not going to end there that's not the final chapter in uh David's life he's going to go through it but he has this constant affirmation thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me remember that scene in Matthew's gospel where the disciples get into the boat and Jesus gets into the boat too and what happens oh perfect glass they just sail like no problem no wind no no problem no Tempest no of course not what's the take-home or at least a take-home implication Christ in the boat doesn't result in the absence of Affliction the absence of Tempest this isn't health wealth moral uh health wealth Prosperity well I've got Jesus so I'm always going to be rich no that's not what the scripture teaches you have Jesus so even though you've got Affliction even though you have hardship even though you have difficulty and and discouragement Jesus is right there in the boat with you he going to see you through it it's rot in his staff they comfort you so in terms of a conclusion of the whole be encouraged church that Christ is with you the spirit abides in you forever once you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good you are his forever this idea that you can fall away when people do fall away it's not that hey he had it and then he lost it they went out from us John says in 1 John 21:19 but they were not of us because if they were of us they wouldn't have gone out from us but this happened that they might be manifest to us so the reality is that your faith may be little your faith may be weak as ma says weak faith will not move mountains but there's one thing that weak faith will do it will bring a sinner into saving Union with our Lord Jesus Christ so Brethren be encouraged and as well if you're not a Christian here this morning look at what we get as Christians we get God's grace we get his Mercy we get the Forgiveness of all of our sins imagine if I stood up here and I preach to you that you could come to Jesus and 80% of your sins would be dealt with that wouldn't be good news would it what am I going to do with the 20% that Still Remains that's a big balance owing or if I even said that 99% of your sins are forgiven again that 1% is a huge balance when it comes to Eternity and when it comes to the fact that I'm supposed to have have performed obedient to the law so that's not good news the good news of the Gospel is when you come to the Lord Jesus Christ the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses you from what from all sin not some sin not a little bit of sin not just the big sins but from all sin so if you're not a Believer here this morning this in my mind is a great enticement as to why you should look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved and not only forgiveness because imagine if we were forgiven but then God says okay from this point on your sins are cleansed your sins are washed now you really need to obey and be faithful and be loyal so that on that final day I will receive you into my kingdom that wouldn't be good news either right think about that your sins are forgiven right now you make this purpose in your mind I'm going to go out and not sin again do you get 30 seconds from that declaration 20 seconds 10 seconds five you immediately obey God with all your heart soul mind and strength and love your your neighbor as yourself no the good news of the Gospel the doctrine of justification by faith alone is not just forgiveness but a righteousness the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us in other words given to us so we are cleansed in his Precious Blood and we're clothed in his glorious righteousness that's what God says to needy Sinners so come to him in faith and you will receive all of these blessings all of these benefits and you will have Christ abiding with you by the person and the work of the Holy Spirit and that for ever well let us pray our gracious God and our Holy Father we thank you for this this passage of scripture and what it shines the light upon in in terms of the Holy Spirit terms of our gracious father and son and yet not three Gods but one living and true God we bless you we praise you we thank you for the gospel of our Salvation we thank you in the life of the church we have the promise of Christ abiding with his people while they engage in those things that he has ordained help us to en en enjoy help us to Delight help us to rejoice in what you have done in and through the cross of our blessed savior and we do pray for many more to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen well let us stand e e e e