Well, happy Pentecost, everyone. We.
Are. Celebrating the gift of the Holy
Spirit and the. Birth of the Church today this
is a. Watershed moment in redemption
and the significance of Pentecost is so enormous we
could do a year long class talking about all that it means.
For us, I would love. If there were time to talk.
About the old. Testament lesson and the New
Testament lesson how the. Curse.
Of multiple languages of Babel. Is reversed.
By the coming of the. Holy Spirit.
And so the. Gospel goes out as.
Is being demonstrated with the languages proclaiming God's word
in our. Services today.
We've talked. About that before.
There's not enough time. Let me sum up.
The word that. We're going to talk about today
is from John 14. We've just heard it and I invite
you to turn there in the church Bible, John 14.
You'll find it on page 847 and we'll be looking at.
This small passage. Almost.
Word by word. Working through it.
What I hope to show. You is how Pentecost
transformed. The world, particularly.
In terms of knowing and showing God, in terms of knowing and
showing God, let's pray. We thank you Almighty God.
For your spirit. Come, Holy Spirit.
Fill this place. Fill.
Our minds. And hearts that we would.
Know God and we would. Show God as we.
Go from this place and this we ask in Jesus name, Amen.
So John 14 the scene. Is the upper room where Jesus?
And the. Apostles are gathered for the
Last Supper. The apostles have a.
Growing sense of unease, even alarm by what is unfolding in
the room. Where they're gathered, they're
first of all their Lord their. King Jesus Undress wrapped
himself with a towel and got down on his hands and knees and.
Washed their feet. Then during the traditional
Passover meal, with the traditional liturgy, he started
adding stuff. To it saying this bread.
Is my body broken for you taking the wine saying?
This cup. Is my.
Blood shed for you. Do this in remembrance of me
then. He says to the group.
One of you will betray me. To Judas, whatever.
You're going to do go. Do it quickly to Peter before
cock crow. You will betray me three times.
You can imagine. How the disciples?
Were feeling shaken. By all.
That has happened. So far so.
Thank. God for Philip.
Philip, the pragmatist who begins our passage.
Today with verse 8. John 14 verse 8.
Grasping for clarity and greater assurance, he blurts.
Out Lord show. Us the Father, and that will be
enough for us. Everyone else is thinking this.
But Philip has the courage to ask.
It and Bible readers down through the centuries.
Are so grateful to Philip for. Asking because we're all
wondering the same thing we want to see.
God, yes. Lord help our unbelief, can you?
Show us the God. Who made?
All of this. Can you show?
Us, the God. Who came down on Mount Sinai?
Who filled the? Temple with his Shekinah.
Glory we. Want to see him?
If you will show us the Father. Then.
We will believe. Verse 9 Jesus response is a
gentle rebuke, but an important 1A profoundly important lesson
about knowing and showing God. He says, have I been with you so
long and you still do not know me?
Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
Now we need to wrestle. With this because it highlights.
One of the great. Obstacles today to.
Faith and that. Is the so-called.
Absence of God. It's a modern problem.
It was not a problem in the ancient world, it's just
something that moderns. Deal with the so-called.
Absence of. God for Philip.
And for many of us. As well, we expect God to show.
Up in spectacular ways. If he doesn't, well, maybe all
of this that we're doing even today.
It's just nonsense. Jesus wants us to re examine our
expectations in light. Of who he is.
And what he does see, Jesus is not just.
Like God, he is God, Jesus is. God.
For generations after the Babylonian exile, Israel yearned
for God to return and be among them, dwelling with them as he
had done in the days of Solomon's temple.
But the temple, for all of its glory, was just a shadow.
Of the living temple that was yet to come, namely Jesus.
He came in person, John says at the beginning of his gospel in
chapter 1. God.
Pitched. His tent, Same word as the
Tabernacle. God pitched his tent among us in
human flesh, and he became The Walking, talking, healing,
teaching temple. Of God, so the hope of Israel,
God. Dwelling with his people became
fully realized in Jesus. And like Father, like Son, Jesus
wants us to recognize. God the.
Father not only in who he. Is but also what he does.
So verse 11, Jesus. Says to Philip.
Believe me that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me.
Or else believe. On account of the works.
Themselves the works that Jesus did so when Jesus.
Calms the storm. He's the same God who?
Parted the red. Sea when Jesus?
Feeds. 5000 He's the same God who reigned manna down from
heaven. For the Israelites.
When? Jesus heals the sick.
He. Is the same God who made
creation and who is now restoring creation to the way?
That it should be. The works Jesus does are
miracles, but. They're not just miracles,
they're also signs. They're also proof that God has.
Come in the flesh. So, Philip.
You want to see God the. Father, first look at Jesus.
He's the. First step in knowing and
showing God. Listen to Jesus's words.
Marvel. At his works.
John also says in the 1st chapter no one has ever seen God
but the only begotten Son of God.
Who is at the father's side has. Made him known His name is Jesus
Emmanuel. God with us.
And Jesus in the. Flesh shows God the Father.
The invisible maker of heaven and earth.
So that's the first step. But Jesus.
Doesn't stop with merely showing us the Father himself he takes.
It a step further by. Involving us by implicating us
in knowing and showing God. Look at verse 12.
It's an astonishing promise that Jesus makes.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever.
Believes in me. Will also do the works that I
do. In fact, greater works than
these will He do, because I am going to the Father.
Now how is this? Possible how?
Can we mere mortals do the things?
That Jesus did Jesus. Rebukes storms he.
Heals the sick, he raises the dead.
Will Will. We do these things.
Will we do even greater than these things?
Jesus isn't promising in these. Words that we.
Will do more spectacular miracles than him.
Though that's. Possible.
God does sometimes, and in many occasions through church
history, do wonderfully miraculous things, but that's
not what Jesus is talking about. Here, here he's.
Talking about the scope and the reach of his Kingdom come,
during his first advent, Jesus was limited.
He was limited geographically in terms of being present in the
Holy Land and surrounding region, but not everywhere.
He was also limited in time temporarily.
Because he was. With us for only a few.
Short years, but after. Jesus's ascension and
enthronement, his apostles then go forth in his name and within
a. Couple of weeks there are
already. 3000 Christians and over time.
They cover. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and
the ends of the Earth and the gospel goes.
Forth through history. Down through the ages, the
number continues to grow. So by greater works.
Jesus means the cumulative effect of the expansion of his
Kingdom proclaiming the Gospel. To every tribe.
And tongue planting churches, establishing justice and healing
the nations. As he says in verse 12, whoever
believes in Him multiplies His presence in our broken world,
not just. Out there, but.
Also in there in the. Greater works that we do as we
gather. And we proclaim the story.
Of God with our liturgy as. We bring new people into the
Kingdom doing a greater work than John the Baptist with our
own baptism here, with eating the bread and drinking the wine.
We share in the greater work proclaiming the coming marriage
supper of the Lamb. And that's just.
How it ought to be, because we, the Church, are the.
Bride of Christ and the Bride. Is the glory of the.
Groom the. Bride is the glory of the.
Groom our greater works. Don't steal glory from Jesus.
Rather, our greater glory as his bride reflects well.
On him that's. The way God.
Made things from the very beginning.
See verses. 13 and 14 though Jesus links his promise.
To our prayers. And this is very important.
He says. Whatever you ask in my name,
this I will. Do.
That the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus isn't teaching. Wizardry here this.
Isn't Hogwarts. He's not teaching us a new
spell, rather it's a shorthand. For.
Asking as. Jesus would ask that's.
What in Jesus name means asking as?
Jesus would ask. In alignment with his will and
his. Purposes.
So our prayers. Then become more than just a
shopping list. They.
Are the primary means. By which we.
Join Jesus in the work of knowing and showing God.
So in terms of knowing and showing God, Jesus is the
vanguard. He's the 1st.
Step He comes first, showing the Father as the Incarnate Son of
God. But it's not.
Good for the. Son of Man to be alone, just
like in Genesis. Chapter 2.
It's not good for the Son of Man to be alone so.
Like the first. Adam, God made a.
Bride for his. Son, He tore him into and from
Jesus's broken body, from the blood flow flowing from His.
Side his church. Continues to spring to life to
do even. Greater works than.
Jesus. It's amazing, isn't it?
But here's a question for you. Now that Jesus has ascended, how
does the Church know? What to do?
How does the? Church even know.
What to pray? The answer is found in verses 15
through 17 and. It's why this passage is read
everywhere. Around the world on Pentecost
Sunday. Jesus says if.
You love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the
Father and he will give you another helper.
To be with you forever. Even the Spirit.
Of truth, the gift of the Spirit.
On Pentecost is not the gift of a new God, but a permanent
improvement of what? Started with Jesus.
Incarnation, the Holy Spirit comes to us as the imminent.
Presence of God. Because at Pentecost.
Every church. Can now live.
As a. Colony of the Kingdom of Jesus.
With the spirit of. The living God dwelling in our
midst, present among us, furthering the work of knowing
and showing God we can learn a lot about.
Who the? Holy Spirit is and what the Holy
Spirit does from reading these. Verses carefully verses. 1516
and 17 look at verse 15. We love Jesus because he's the.
Bridegroom and His Spirit dwells within us.
His bride. And it's that bond of love that
compels. Us to.
Keep his commandments. Keeping his commandments is just
another way of describing marital faithfulness between.
Jesus the the. Groom and us the.
Bride. Sin is cheating on the Lord, and
cheating is a relationship. Killer.
So the Spirit nurtures and. Grows our love.
And our faithfulness to him verse 16 the.
Spirit is also. Another helper, a paraclete in
Greek, meaning a legal counselor, a legal advocate or
intercessor. Just as Jesus was the disciples.
Counselor in the In the flesh. The Spirit.
Is another person. Just like Jesus.
Providing continuity in the mission of knowing and showing
God and the Holy Spirit verse 17 is the.
Spirit of Truth. Protecting Jesus's bride from
the. Lies of the.
Serpent and empowering us to understand God's Word.
In a world swirling with misinformation out there all the
time, it is hard to know. What is true?
And what? Is false the Spirit at.
Work in US gives us confidence to know right from wrong, good
from bad, truth from error. What to do?
How to pray? And so.
Because God's Spirit is here. And at work among us there is a.
Stark. Difference between US and the
world. Look again at verse 17 where
Jesus. Speaks of the spirit of truth.
Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor
knows him, but you know him. He says where he dwells with
you. And will be in you.
The world cannot receive. The Holy Spirit because it.
Refuses to acknowledge. Jesus as Lord, but for those.
Who make Jesus their King? Who bend the knee before him,
the Spirit comes. As a deposit.
As a guarantee of the Kingdom that is coming, the Kingdom.
That is already. In our midst, but not yet.
Completed. The Spirit works as that.
Down payment towards the Kingdom come.
One more thing I'll say about this.
All that Jesus says. In.
These verses is. Second person plural.
He's talking y'all, he's saying this.
Corporately to all. Of us again and again and again.
Which means that we are in this. Together.
And Pentecost transforms us. Together we the gathered.
Church, the indwelling spirit among us, are now the true
temple. Together, we're the living
sanctuary. Together where the.
Invisible Almighty God is among us and reigning over us and
receiving our. Worship God fulfills the.
Deepest longings of humanity here among us when we gather.
Together we are Beit Yahweh, the House of God, the House of the
Lord. That mountaintop experience
with. God that.
Everyone longs for all around. All nations, tribes and tongues
can come together and encounter. God through.
Our corporate presence with Him. The Spirit in our midst.
So, Philip. Thank you for.
Your question. Thank you so much and on behalf
of all of. Us, we appreciate you.
Asking. Here's what Jesus.
In Psalm is saying to us, you want to see God the Father.
Look at Jesus, he's the 1st. Step in knowing and showing God.
Listen to His. Words.
Marvel at his. Works.
And then look at the. Church, the Bride of Christ.
Doing even greater. Works for the glory.
And honor of her bridegroom and be filled.
With the Holy Spirit. Who comforts and convicts and
protects and empowers and. Guides us as Jesus bride the.
Spirit is the one who? Makes our greater works
possible. In all that we do, binding us
together in love, keeping us faithful to the Lord, and
empowering us as Jesus ambassadors to the ends of the
earth. Through the power of the Spirit
it is possible. For us to know and show the God
who made us and has redeemed us. Good news eh?
We pray with me. Thank you Almighty God.
For the gift of your spirit, pour out your.
Spirit upon us. That we will go.
From this place. With.
Courage and faithfulness to you according to the.
Word of Jesus, our Lord. In His name we pray.
Amen.