You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching we may present everyone mature in Christ. Let's open our study this evening in a word of prayer. Father, we Come into your presence, O Lord, knowing that we, O Lord, enter in not by any merit of our own, but purely upon the merit of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, for his perfect life of obedience, wherein he fulfilled the law where we could not. We thank you, O Lord, for his sacrifice of death, O Lord, and that he has paid the penalty and received the wrath that was due us upon the cross. And oh Lord, that He indeed has justified us. He has saved us from the wrath that would certainly do us because of our sin. Tonight, oh Lord, we approach your throne with a boldness. We ask you, Lord, to open our hearts and minds to the truth of your scripture, that you would indeed speak to us through your word, that you would allow us to see Christ in all of his fullness, and that we would see his promises that he made to his apostles, his disciples, and also, therefore, to us, we pray. Thank you this evening, Lord, for our children and grandchildren. May they be blessed and encouraged and strengthened as they sit under the Word of God. We pray, O Lord, that this time would be profitable for us and bring you glory and honor in Christ's name. Amen. John chapter 16. We're going to be reading chapter 16 verses 25 through 33 this evening. It's very tempting when you come up to the end of a chapter and you want to just run into chapter 17 because that's one of the highlights of the Gospel of John, chapter 17. But I think there's a lot for us, and I do want to spend this evening looking. We won't make it to 17 this evening. I do want to look at John 16, 25 through 33. I think it's a valuable portion of Scripture, as all Scripture is God-breathed and worthy of our study. But we're in this section we call the Upper Room Discourse. It started in John chapter 13. Just flip back there real quick, John chapter 13, and read verse 1 with me. We know that Jesus sent them out to find a room, if you'll recall. They gathered there and it says, now before the feast of Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour, he was on the heavenly timetable, had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And then we see his great love and the message that he shares with his disciples. disciples to tell them of what's going to come up and His love and concern for them. Even though He's on the eve before His crucifixion, His care is for His sheep and how He loves His sheep and He shares with them. Chapter 16 of the Gospel, according to John, let me give you an overview. We've been through it, except for this last section. Chapter 16, verses 1 through 6, Jesus tells the disciples that persecution is in store for them, and as well for all believers. If they hated me, they will hate you. Okay, so we should expect that. One guy I read said if you're not being persecuted, you might want to step back and ask yourself why. Now, we don't want to be offensive to people and seek persecution, but if you are living your life for the glory of God in Christ, I think you will meet some persecution as you go on your business dealings or your work dealings. There will be that sense. that you will, even in our culture, we're not right at this moment being beheaded. Thank the Lord. As some of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, we're still allowed to gather together this evening without fear. We can have our Bibles and carry them in some countries around the world. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord do not share that privilege. So the first six verses deal with the persecution that is in store for believers. And then in chapter 16, 7 through 15, Jesus shares with the disciples the Holy Spirit's coming and His work, His work in 7-11, His work in the world that He will convict, convince, the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We looked at that. And then in verses 12 through 15, we looked at the Holy Spirit's work in the church amongst God's people. Chapter 16, verses 16 through 24, he told of the Son's return. He said, in a little while, and he used that phrase we noted quite a few times in that short section. So in a little while, in other words, it's going to happen. It's right on the verge of occurring. So we come this evening then to John 16, 25 through 33. Our ESV, the title over this section is, I Have Overcome the World. But it's interesting that looking at Hendrickson's commentary on the gospel according to John, he said, he called this section, The Father's Love. and concentrate on the Father's love because of His love and because Jesus has conquered the world, then we also are promised that we will conquer the world. Eight times in this short section from verse 25 through 33, we're going to see what? Five times, no, six times he mentions the Father, and twice he mentions God, meaning God the Father. So eight total times he makes reference to God the Father. So let's read this together. 25. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech. but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. "'I came from the Father and have come into the world, "'and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.' "'His disciples said, "'Ah, now you are speaking plainly "'and not using figurative speech. "'Now we know that you know all things "'and do not need anyone to question you. "'This is why we believe that you came from God.' "'Jesus answered them, "'Do you now believe?' Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world." Amen. Verse 25, continuing on through this section, verse 25, Having shown how the Holy Spirit will convict the world, and guide the church in the beginning verses of this chapter, and how the Son would see them again as a result of His resurrection, and in the Spirit, He will minister through the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit of Christ, and how that would turn their sorrow, that is the disciples' sorrow, to see Jesus crucified, dead, and buried, and how that the resurrection would reveal His great love for them and their sorrow would then turn to joy, He also is going to reveal how the Father loves them. That's part of what we're going to see in this section. He said, I have said these things to you in figures of speech. Now, this figures of speech, let's go back to John 10, verse 6. We've already dealt with this word. This is not the word for parable. He is not speaking to them in parables. Parables are stories that are told that prevent the ungodly from seeing and understanding, and the people of God comprehending. We go all the way back to Isaiah chapter 6. You know what, let's go there. It's free, right? I didn't anticipate going there, but now that I think about it, I brought it up. I should explain it. In Isaiah chapter 6, this is probably One of the, other than Isaiah 53, I would think this is probably one of the most frequently preached or taught on chapters. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. The foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said, behold, This has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. Now listen. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me. And he said, Go. Now watch how this unfolds. Go and say to this people, Keep on hearing, but do not understand. Keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes." So as he's preaching and prophesying to the people of God, this is going to be the result of Isaiah's ministry. lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Then I said, How long, O Lord? In other words, how long is this going to go on? How long do I have to do this? And he said, Until cities lie waste without inhabitants, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste. Now, what ends up happening is in the Gospel of Matthew, in the Synoptics, Jesus picks up these very quotes and uses them. Flip back to Matthew 13. Jesus picks up this very truth from Isaiah, that Isaiah was used, in his preaching, was used as a means of judgment against the unrepentant, unfaithful, idolatrous people of God. God was sending judgment, and he was using the preaching of Isaiah to bring judgment upon the people. In Matthew 13, verse 10, this is the parable of the sower. He gives the parable of the sower and the first nine verses. And he ends nine saying, he who has ears, let him hear. When the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? And he answered them, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, okay, it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who was not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, and here he quotes Isaiah, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, indeed, In their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, you will indeed hear, but never understand, and you will indeed see, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed. Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears for they hear, for truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. It all comes down to the sovereign grace of God. Okay? Now, 10, yeah, forgot the verse six. Chapter 10, verse six of the gospel according to John. So, Jesus has just talked to them about him being the shepherd, having his sheep, his sheep know his voice, he knows his sheep by name, the sheep follow him, right? It's all about sheep in this chapter 10. Then he says, verse six, this figure, okay, it's not parable, this figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. In the Hebrew, the word that we have translated here is perumoman. Yeah, let me see it again. Perumoman or perumuan. I can't read my own writing. It means a figure of speech, an enigmatic story or tale. In the Hebrew, those stories were called Mishals. One of the most famous Mishals was a story that was told by Nathan the prophet to King David when David had sinned with Bathsheba. Do you remember this story? when he told about the man who owned the little sheep. Okay, so these are the stories sometimes that are told. They're not blatantly outright and obvious. There's a hidden meaning in them. So when we read Jesus' words, for example, we see some of the stories that he told, we understand how these figures of speech were used. In, the second chapter, for an example, when he spoke at the wedding feast of Cana, and then immediately he went into the temple area, and he said, you destroy this temple, and three days I will raise it up. Let's go there, chapter two. Just look at one of these examples. Let's go to chapter two. I have to find the verse when I get there. Let's look at 18 and 19. So the Jews said to him, remember he overturned the tables and all, what sign do you show us for doing these things? In other words, where do you get your authority? Who do you think you are? Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. And they're all looking at each other, right? Like, yeah, right. The Jews then said, it has taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days? Listen, he's a Jewish carpenter. with a few guys walking around with him, right? It's not like he's got a construction van and you know, he's got all the tools of the trade. He's a carpenter and you know, destroy this temple in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and will you raise it up in three days? But watch, watch what John says. But he was speaking about the temple of his body when therefore he was raised from the dead. Now notice, when therefore he was raised from the dead, this is important. because he's already told us this in John chapter 16. It was after that he had been raised from the dead, resurrected from the dead, and the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the church in Pentecost. That is when the disciples begin to decipher and understand a lot of these mishals, or these figures of speech that Jesus had taught them. All of a sudden, all of this starts falling into place. Not to mention Luke chapter 24, where he met the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he told who he was from the Old Testament. So there was times, he spent 40 days and 40 nights teaching the disciples during that time. So they came away with a greater understanding, but it was after the resurrection. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the what? The scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. So, When he said, I have said these things to you in figures of speech, the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. He doesn't just say I'm gonna talk to you plainly, he says I'm gonna talk to you plainly about or concerning the Father, and that's our key. He didn't just say, I'm not going to tell you any more stories that are enigmatic. No, I'm going to talk to you plainly about the Father. We're going to see, well, what does He mean, tell us about the Father. Now, go back again to Matthew chapter 13, verse 3. I just want to emphasize that. I'm still there. It says, and he told them many things in parables saying, okay, we see how Jesus then spoke. We've already talked about that in Matthew 13. We already talked about John 2.19. I'm duplicating myself here. My notes, I was talking off of my notes, I came back and looked at my margins where I write all my scripture verses and they're all there. So he says, I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming. How many times throughout the Gospel of John did I call your attention that Jesus is on a divine time schedule? The hour is coming. Okay, so there's going to be a new era. The time is going to, and the way that they relate to the Father is going to change. He said, when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech. Flip over to 1612, should be on the page before, maybe it's higher on your page. As he's describing and instructing them in the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit in the church, he said, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." So they wouldn't have been able to comprehend or understand them. One, because they didn't have the abiding presence of the teacher. the parakletos, the other comforter, the other instructor, the other advocate, dwelling with them in the power after the resurrection, who would then take the words of Jesus and instruct them. So that had to be done. So he said, in other words, you can't handle what I'm about to tell you. Even what he did tell them, a lot of what we've already read, they couldn't comprehend until after the fact. We just read that. Let's go then, says that, I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. Now, eight times, as I said, in this section, he refers to the Father slash God. Let's go over to Luke 24, 45. He's going to tell us plainly about the father. I made a reference to him talking to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24. Probably one of my favorite stories. You know, I have to back up to verse 13 because it's such a good story. This is after the resurrection. Verse 13 of Luke 24, that very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, that's right up the road, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, what is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk? and they stood still looking sad. Then one of them named Cleophas answered him, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? A little ironic, isn't it? And he said to them, what things? And they said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Here you go, verse 24. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see. Oh, I said 45, not 20. What'd I say? Okay, you're right. And He said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses, oh, I love this. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them. And when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And they vanished, and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures? And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed! and has appeared to Simon. Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you. But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet. that it is I myself, touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved, for joy and were marveling, he said to them, have you anything here to eat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things, and behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. Verse 45. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. So, did he talk plainly to them? I'll say he did. But they have to wait until the resurrection. One more look at Acts 1-3. We see another parallel there. Acts chapter 1. He presented, this is speaking of Jesus, He presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. So, for forty days He instructed them from the Word of God, the Old Testament, concerning who the Christ was, what he was to do, his life and his ministry, and showing how that he fulfilled all of those. So he said he would speak to them no longer in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father in that day. Okay? You will ask in my name. And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. Now, there's an enigmatic statement. There's a statement that some people have trouble. What's he saying here? In that day, what day? After he's resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where he sits now to ever live as our high priest and intercessor. Now, What he's saying is, in that day, you will ask in my name. Let's look at chapter 16, go up, verses 23 and 24. No, John, I'm sorry. John 16, 23 and 24. He's telling them, okay, he's going to the Father in a little while, and then he says, in that day you will ask of me, You will ask nothing of me, excuse me. You will ask nothing of me. This is a new way of prayer. Before, if they wanted something from Jesus, the disciples were with them, they walked over and they asked Him, right? And we see that the Lord Himself spent quite a bit of time in prayer. He rose early in the morning. He separated Himself from His disciples. He was praying for them, praying for Himself, praying for His life and ministry, okay, as He walked this earth. In verse 23, he says, in that day, what's that? From the resurrection forward, you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, and there's in my name, we'll discuss that again, He will give it to you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Why? They didn't go to the Father and ask in prayer, they asked Jesus. Well, He's not gonna be there. He's going to the Father. So, until now you have asked nothing in my name, ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. So, as they now walk by faith, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, petitioning the Father in the name of Jesus, all right, the joy that comes from seeing The ministry of prayer fulfilled in our lives is one that is promised to us by Jesus. Now, let's go back. What does he mean when he says, in my name? Let's look up a few of these, okay? Let's go to 1413 in the gospel according to John. How many gospels are there? One, right? Then we have the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but those are according, the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John. There is only one Gospel. Paul says it's his Gospel in Romans, but then he says it's the Gospel of God. I pray tonight it's your Gospel too, okay? I don't know, I've been talking. 14, 13. Listen, 14, 13, 14, and 15. Let's go. 14, 13. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that or in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my love. Commandments, verse 16. What's he say? Oh, 15, 16, I'm sorry. Look at chapter 15 and verse 16. 15, 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide. So listen, so whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. Chapter 16, verse 24, we just read, until now you have asked nothing in my name, ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. And then we just read verse 26, in that day you will ask in my name and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. Okay, why does he say in that day? we're not to pray to Him and ask Him, we're to pray to the Father in His name. What's His name mean? We've talked about this in the past too. But we now address the Father in the name of Jesus, that is in the power, okay, of the Holy Spirit. His disciples will call to bear fruit, okay, this will entail prayers in keeping with the character and mission of Jesus. That is, whatever is in harmony with his redemptive revelation and on the basis of his accomplished atonement. The only reason we can approach the Father is because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We don't approach him in our own works, in our own efforts, in our own worth, but on the person, the worth, the ministry of what Christ has accomplished in our behalf. You with me on that? Okay. So you'll hear people say, I prayed today, but I'm not a Christian. I don't really believe in God. I'm spiritual. I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious, right? But I don't have a relationship with God, but I prayed today. and the universe will, I pray that the universe will act kind, I don't know, you hear this stuff. No, can God answer a non-believer's prayers? I believe he can. But we have the promise from the word of God that our prayers don't fall to the ground, but that the Holy Spirit, we see this in Romans 8, he intercedes for us, We know that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father as our advocate. He intercedes for us. So we have two persons in the Trinity, in the Godhead, that are petitioning the Father in our behalf. We are to address the Father in the name of Jesus in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. Can we pray to Jesus? Yes, Jesus is God. Can we pray to the Holy Spirit? Yes, we can. But when we look at Scripture, when we go to the model of prayer that Jesus gave us in Matthew 6, okay, and also Mark Luke, He said, our Father who art in heaven. So when we pray in Jesus' name, it doesn't mean that at the end of our prayer we say in Jesus' name, amen. You'll hear some people say, for Jesus' sake, okay? What is more important than saying those phrases is that, number one, our heart and mind is right and in accordance with Scripture, and we're asking based upon the person and work and ministry and redemptive revelation that Jesus has given us through His Word, okay? James says we don't have our prayers answered, why? First, because we don't ask, and then when we do ask at times, we ask amiss, we ask incorrectly. We're asking for things that we shouldn't be asking for. I still haven't won the lottery, but I guess I'd have to buy ticket to win the lottery. Maybe not, maybe I could find one on the ground, but I don't pray for that, I'm just joking. But people pray for some crazy things. So. In that day, you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf." Now, some have taken this phrase, I will not ask the Father on your behalf, to mean that Jesus is sitting in heaven and He's not going to have anything to do with it anymore. That's not true. Look over at 14.6, chapter 14 and verse 6 of John. He said, Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Now, that is true in the sense of salvific, in the salvation, but we can't even approach God in prayer unless we come through Jesus. Right? So we have to be in Christ in order to approach the Father. I read quite a few years now, Communion with the Triune God by a Puritan author, John Owen. And in the first third of the book, he spent so much time on showing how much the Father loves us. And I didn't fully grasp and understand it, but the more I read and then I experienced it, that there are some people that preach that God of the Old Testament is this angry, wrathful God. and that Jesus came in, and now Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, and he's the gentler, kinder, meek and mild Jesus, and that he then goes to the Father and settles him down. He, like, you know, quiets and comforts. But see, those people that teach that, they've really never read the book of Revelation. Because in the book of Revelation, you see something very strange. You see an outpouring of the wrath of the Lamb of God, right? It is Christ who comes back as the judge. It is His wrath that is poured out upon those who reject Him and the ungodly. So meek and mild Jesus, never a murmur He made, and you know what I mean? We sing those Christmas carols. No. You don't want to have the wrath of God, whether it's from the Father, the Son, or the Spirit, come upon you. You want to be saved today from the wrath of God by repenting of your sins and believing and trusting in the work that Christ has accomplished for us on the cross. Now, did I read 14.6 or did I talk through it? I'd talk through it, okay. 14.6. No, I did that. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father. Come on, I did that. How about Hebrews chapter seven? Let's go there. Verse 40, 24, I'm sorry. Hebrews 7, 24. What I'm showing you is that Jesus still continues to intercede. He still continues to pray to the Father for us. Hebrews chapter seven, verse 24 and 25. Verse 23, verse 22, What is intercession? Prayer. It's pleading. It's petitioning God in behalf. Tonight, this evening, as we sit here, we have the knowledge that our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, sits at the right hand of the power in all sovereign control and dominion and power, and He is praying and interceding for us in our daily lives and in our walk upon this earth. Amen. Hebrews 13, 15. Go a few more pages over. This is free, there's no charge on this. 1315. Through him, that is through Christ, then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Okay, that acknowledge his name. We don't grasp the importance of names. You know, there's people tonight probably sitting at home that are expecting a child, and they're Googling, you know, baby names, and they're going through the list. That wasn't the way it was done in the, you know, in the Old Testament during the New Testament times. Names had meaning. Sometimes you didn't name your child till he was older. with infant mortality rates, a lot of people just called them baby until they reached two, three, or four years old. And then they gave people the kids' names, and they gave them names based upon their personalities or some quality in their life. So he said, in that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say that you will ask, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. Why? He tells us in the next verse, for the Father himself loves you. This is a beautiful phrase. Agape is the act of the will, right? That's a love of the will. Phileo is brotherly love or familial love. It's a love of affection. So he tells us here, for the Father himself loves you. Look at chapter 14, verse 21. 1421, 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. The Father's love is not based upon your love, right? It's not conditional. When did the Father begin to love you? Before the foundation of the world. There has never been a time when the Father has not loved His elect. There has never been a time when the Father has not loved and known His sheep. Now, let me say this, before He saved you, regenerated you, justified you in time and space from the time you were born until he, by a sovereign act of his will, saved you. You were under his wrath and condemnation. But he knew you. You didn't know him, right? And then by a sovereign, gracious act, he quickened you, made you alive, gave you the dual gifts of faith and repentance. and you responded by faith and you believed and you trusted in the gospel message that you heard. And now you have a relationship with him. We're gonna explain that as we get into John chapter 17 a little more. For the Father himself loves you. Look at chapter 15 and verse 10 of John, 15, 10. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. Go to 1 John 3, verse 24. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him, and by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given to us. Who has given us. Amen? For the Father himself loves you. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." So it wasn't that Jesus' arm wrestling with the Father saying, you've got to cut these people a break. It was God the Father who came up with this plan and sent His Son into the world to redeem us. Okay? So it's not like the Father doesn't know what's going on. For the Father himself, himself loves you emphatically, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from, why was this book written? You don't know, all right. How about John chapter 20, let's go there. What verses, come on. Help me out, 30 and 31. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these signs, referring back to verse 30, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. Now, watch this, okay? The father initiates the love, we saw that in John 3, 16, and let's flip back real quick to 1 John 4, 19. 1 John 4, 19, it is the father who is the initiator. This is a beautiful verse, right? We love because He first loved us. Right? He first loved us. For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. Believe that I came from God. Then look at the next verse, verse 28. This is the, verse 28 I wrote down is the history of redemption in a nutshell. I would just love to preach a sermon on a Sunday morning in a church that very rarely ever has heard the gospel, and I've preached in a few of those churches. And they say how much they enjoyed it. And I'm wondering, were you even listening? Right? Look, look. I came from the Father. Now watch. I came from the Father. How many times has he told us in the Gospel of John up till now that the Father sent him, he came from the Father? First 18 verses of the story of the incarnation, how he came, he was in the beginning with God, right? Face to face with God, okay. Then he says, I came from the Father and have come in to the world. Came from the Father. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, look at 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 on this. from the Father, right? So it shows His divine source. And I passed up 2 Corinthians, right? 2 Corinthians 8, what'd I say, 9? Okay, 2 Corinthians 8, 9. Okay, 8, 9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. What's that mean? It means he was God himself. He is God himself. Not was, he is God. He enjoyed all the prerogatives of deity. But he humbled himself, Philippians chapter two, and became a man. We don't understand. We think we're pretty important, right? Oh, that God would become a man? Come on. This was the mystery of the ages. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Remember, let's go back to chapter one. I can't just let this go. John, I'm sorry, John 1. In the beginning was the word. One, one. And the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And then there's the verse, chapter six, okay? Well, I'll read it. This is John the Baptist. There was a man sent from God whose name was John, meaning gift of God. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him. Listen! He was in the world, and the world was made through Him. Yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own. and His own people, the Jews, did not receive Him. They didn't welcome Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. and we have seen His glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him, John the Baptist, and cried out, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me. For from His Fullness, we have all received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side. He has made Him known. You want to see God the Father? You look to Jesus. Where would you find Jesus today? In the fullest revelation. in the Scriptures, the Word, the very Word of God. Now, let's go back to John 16. I came from the Father and have come into the world. And then he says, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. Okay? I came, notice I, I, I all through here. You don't see it, it's in the Greek. I came from the Father. I have come into the world. I am leaving the world. I am going to the Father. I, it is His free choice. He did not come here under compulsion or force. He came to serve and to be obedient to the Father. He came because He loved us and to glorify the Father. The Father did not compel Him, and the world and Satan can't stop Him. He came of His own initiative. He was sent into the world to fulfill the mission that the triune God had come up with. I came from the Father. I have come into the world, I am now leaving the world, and I am going to Father. How is he gonna go to the Father? With his tail between his legs? No, no, no, no, no. Look at verse 33 at the end. But take heart, I have overcome the world. I've overcome the world. Now, verse 29. His disciples said, ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. They were really mistaken, okay? because he doesn't really fully speak to them plainly until after the resurrection. But I think in their minds, they're starting to pick up the drift of some of what he's saying. A little thick-skulled. You've got to remember, we've heard this and we've read this many, many times. This is all new. They don't have the New Testament. They're reading the Old Testament. Jesus is teaching them and explaining to them from the Old Testament, from the prophets, and a lot of this stuff is pretty difficult for them to grasp. It goes everything against they've ever been taught as to what the Messiah and his role is going to be. Are you going to restore the kingdom now, Jesus? Can I sit at your right hand? Well, my mother will come and argue for both my brother and I. So they have a whole different mindset of what this means. Now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you. This is why we believe you come from God. Well their conclusion then was he must be a man sent from God and who he says he is because he knows what they're going to ask before they even ask it. You remember those scenes? Well, let's look at a couple. Look at verse 19. He said, you do not need anyone to question you. Look at verse 19 of this very chapter, 16, 19. Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, is this what you were asking yourselves what I meant by saying, a little while and you will not see me? And again, a little while and you will see me? Let's go back to chapter two, if you'll remember. How many times have I repeated this since we started the Gospel of John? You know we're coming up on a year in the Gospel of John, by the way. I think we started in October last year. So we're coming. Chapter two, verse 24 and 25. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people, and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man." Why did he know that? Because he's God. Okay? So this reveals both his omniscience, that he knows everything, and his divine character. He knows, okay? So he says, ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative. Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you. This is why we believe that you came from God or come from God. Look at Psalm 139 verse four. Psalm 139 and verse four. Let's go to one. Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Verse four, listen. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you know it altogether. The Lord knows. There is nothing that the Lord does not know and has not known for all eternity. There was never a time when he has not known all things. Right? Wow. Jesus answered them, hmm, do you now believe? It took you this long, guys? You know, everything I've shown you, all the miracles, all the signs, all the wonders, raised Lazarus from the dead. I mean, a few things. Now I tell you a few things here in this upper room, and all of it starts to gel, and now you say, ah, now we get it? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered. This reminds me of when Nicodemus, right? We know that you are a teacher come from God for no man can do the miracles with signs that you do except God be with him. You must be born again, right? So here they're telling him how much they understood. They knew he comes from God. And then Jesus says to them, behold, look, the hour is coming indeed. It has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone. You get it? You think you get it? You believe? Yeah, you're gonna all run. Who's he quoting? He's quoting Zechariah, let's go there. 13.7, one look at the Old Testament here. Zechariah 13.7. It's on page 13.23 in your real Bibles. If you do, you'll get it. 13.7, Zechariah, Waco swore it against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the Lord of hosts, strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. I will turn my hand, excuse me, against the little ones. Okay, and then we read, let's go over to Matthew chapter 26, and let's see how this is quoted. Matthew 26 and verse 31. Verse 30, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. Okay, so Jesus quotes to them the Old Testament scriptures. You see the parallel there in Mark chapter 14, verse seven, and then in John chapter 10, we read in verse 12. John 10, 12, let me read you that. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. So the sheep are going to be scattered in that sense. It says, each to his own home. Think about it. When Mary went to the tomb, and found Jesus not there, where did she go? How did she know where they were? They were home. Close by, so she went wherever they were staying, she knew where they weren't, she went and got them, right? Peter and John. You will leave me alone. Me, emphatically, me alone. Then he says at the end, yet I am not alone. Why? For the Father is with me. Look at chapter eight, verse 29. I'm trying to close down here. Chapter eight, verse 29 of the gospel according to John, 829. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. Okay, so He's always with me. That the Father is with me. Verse 33, I have said these things to you. What things? What He's just told us all the way back from chapter 13 forward. In fact, everything He's told them in the three years that they've been following Him. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace." John chapter 15, we abide in the vine. Apart from me, you can do nothing. So as we abide in Christ, we have peace with God, both objectively and subjectively. Okay, Romans 5, 1 and 2, let's look at the objective. When I say it's outside of us, it is something that was done for us. Chapter 5, 1 and 2, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. What did you do to get yourself put there? Nothing. He did it. Okay? He brought you peace. And then subjectively, let's go to 2 Corinthians. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5.20b. I think this also might be an objective one. I'm forgetting in my mind here. Let's check it out. 2 Corinthians 5.20b. I think this also might be objective, meaning outside of us. 520B, 520, therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled, right? Be at peace, be reconciled. To God and then one last one here. This indeed is the subjective one Romans 8 16 Romans 8 I hope you're reading Romans 8 over the next few weeks on your own in your own private time because as Pastor Barry's teaching through this chapter you want to be familiar with what's going on Romans chapter 8 in verse 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. So the Holy Spirit Himself. And how does the Holy Spirit bear witness? He bears witness through His Word. We do not have a relationship with the Holy Spirit apart from His Word. He is always through the agency of His Word. We should not be sitting in a corner somewhere waiting for the Lord to drop revelation on us. No, He has already given us revelation in His Word. We ask Him then to illuminate it to our minds and to our hearts. He said, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. The word for tribulation is thalipsis. It doesn't mean that your car won't start. It means heavy pressure that has come upon you. We've already talked about this persecution that is going to come against you from the world because you are in Christ. They hated me, they're going to hate you. That's the pressure, the tribulation that he's talking about. So when this persecution, when this all comes upon you, look at the last phrase, but take heart, I have overcome the world. John Hus, famous preacher, was burned at Constance. And he drew very much comfort, we are told, in his last days, before he was burnt at the stake, he drew very much comfort from this passage, okay? That it said, take heart, I have overcome the world, right? There's many verses. I'm not going to read them. We're running over time here. But it's interesting. When I was reading Hendrickson, William Hendrickson did a commentary series on the entire New Testament. He authored some of the books. He did author the Gospel of John. And he also wrote a book later on, after he did this commentary series, on the book of Revelation. And the title of that book is, More Than Conquerors. And he goes through the book of Revelation, and he shows that those who are in Christ are more than conquerors. So, remember throughout the book, overcomers, overcomers, conquerors through Revelation. Father, we thank you for this evening. We thank you for your Word. We thank you, Lord, that the last words that the disciples heard from Jesus in that place where they were together were, take heart, I have overcome the world. Lord, on the verge of his betrayal, on the verge of his scourging, on the verge of all the humiliation that would take place in His ultimate crucifixion and death upon the cross, He said, take heart. I have overcome the world. May we, O Lord, see that we are indeed victors through Christ, that as we are in Christ, we have access to the Father, wherein we might pray in the name of Jesus. And may we see much fruit May we bear much fruit in our lives for the glory of God the Father, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.