Andrew Fountain - What does the Promise of the Spirit of Truth mean for us?

  • Do you wish you could have been there with Jesus, heard him teach and seen the miracles?
  • Jesus says you are actually better off with what you have now:
  • The very Spirit of God living inside you and empowering you.
  • How do we experience this?

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Sermon Outline - What does the Promise of the Spirit of Truth mean for us?

Goal:

To learn how Jesus wants us to receive the Spirit of Truth
and to put this into practice

Plan for today

  1. A bird’s eye view of the passage
  2. The Flow of Jesus’ teaching
  3. Receiving the Spirit of Truth

Structure of John

1–12
”Book of Signs”
13–21
”Book of Glory”

John 13–21 “Book of Glory”

13 A meal with the disciples

14–17 New Teaching
      from Jesus
     
to the disciples
18–20 Arrest
      Crucifixion
      Resurrection

21 A meal with the disciples

Last 5 weeks:

  • Jesus —The God who will Wash your Feet and
    Love you to the End
  • The care, empathy and unselfishness of Jesus, and that
    the Father is just like Jesus
  • An invitation to step into
    the same love as is between Jesus & the Father
  • You can only live this new life
    by being connected with the vine
  • How are we connected?
    by stepping out in obedience to the prompting of Jesus
    which nurtures this new life and lets it grow
  • I came across this superb example last week
    • Story of Corrie Ten Boom

The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom

It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there—the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein.” he said. “To think that, as you say, he has washed my sins away!”

His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.

I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives, along with the command, the love itself.

The Hiding Place © 1971 and 1984 by Corrie ten Boom


1. A bird’s eye view of the passage

View whole passage Let’s see the big picture, don’t focus on the details for now

John 15:26–16:15 The Spirit of Truth is Coming

  1. When the Companion comes, whom I will send you from the Father
    the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father
he will bear witness concerning me,
  1. and you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Chapter 16

  1. These things I have told you so that you will not fall away.
  2. They will put you out of the synagogues,
    Indeed, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God
  3. And these things they will do because they have not known the Father or me.
  4. But these things I have told you so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.
I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you.
  1. But now I am going to the one who sent me,
Not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?
  1. But because these things I have said to you. Sorrow has filled your hearts
  1. But I speak the truth to you, it is to your advantage that I am going away.
For if I do not go away, the Companion will not come to you,
but if I go, I will send him to you.
  1. And when he comes, he will expose the wrong in the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment
  2. concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
  3. concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;
  4. and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
  1. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
  2. But when this one shall come—the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth.
For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come.
  1. He will glorify me, because he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you.
  2. Everything that the Father has is mine;
that is why I said he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you.

Translation by Andrew Fountain


1. A bird’s eye view of the passage

  1. How the Spirit fits in: comes from the Father, will be my supporting witness, and so will you!
  2. I’m telling you the hard stuff in advance so you won’t think the plan has gone wrong
  3. I’m telling you now, because I won’t be with you, which has made you focused on your own sorrow
  4. Be encouraged: this is great news, his words will have huge power
  5. Be encouraged: He will tell you all the things I have not been able to tell you
  6. How the Spirit fits in: He’s actually going to serve me, as I serve the Father

2. The Flow of Jesus’ teaching in the passage

Expandable version Let’s dig down into the text now

Acts 24: Paul speaks with Felix

  1. Some days later, when Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
  2. While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.”

The Spirit in the Trinity

  • Does not bring glory to himself, but to Jesus
  • Just as Jesus brings glory to the Father
  • The father gives to Jesus, (15a) and then Jesus gives to the Spirit, who gives to us
  • Our experience of Jesus today is entirely through the Spirit
  • That is his job, to bring Jesus to us.
    (Sometimes he is actually called “The Spirit of Jesus”)

Plan for today

  1. A bird’s eye view of the passage
  2. The Flow of Jesus’ teaching
  3. Receiving the Spirit of Truth

3. Receiving the Spirit of Truth

  • Open up v. 12–15

3. Receiving the Spirit of Truth

  • How does he speak the truth of Jesus to us?
  1. He gave the disciples the words of the New Testament
  2. He also tells what is to come
  3. He speaks it into our hearts as well as our minds
  4. Ask him to speak the words of Jesus into your heart right now!

Updated on 2020-03-22 by Andrew Fountain