Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Well, good morning. Welcome again to Living Hope Church. My name is Gerald Shearman. I am the youth director here. So I deal with high school and junior high kids, and they're rabunctious and so are the little ones. So if you are age 3 to 5, you are welcome to go to your own Bible study. Some adults will be in the back, heading back there to meet up with you.
[00:00:20] So I went to.
[00:00:24] I went to a show the other day at the theater. It was a show about puns.
[00:00:29] It was a play on words.
[00:00:40] A lamb, a drum, and a snake fell off a cliff.
[00:00:50] Lamb, drum.
[00:00:53] Sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry.
[00:00:56] No.
[00:00:58] There are three things in life that we all must understand are truly difficult to say.
[00:01:05] One of the first ones is simply to say that I'm sorry.
[00:01:09] The next one that's difficult to say is, I need help.
[00:01:16] The third one is Worcestershire sauce.
[00:01:21] Worcestershire, Worshire or sestire? I don't know. I can't say.
[00:01:30] I've done. I promise. Words are hard, though, aren't they? Words are difficult. And conversations with people are also.
[00:01:40] Are so difficult.
[00:01:42] For those of you who don't know, I work in a grocery store and I work with a lot of people, and we speak often. It's, you know, it's part of the gig. And there are some conversations that are super easy, lighthearted, lots of fun. I really enjoy having them with these individuals.
[00:01:58] And there are others that are not so easy.
[00:02:03] And I have caught myself multiple times walking into a conversation going, God, I have no idea what's gonna happen, man. God, I need you right now.
[00:02:15] And I'll walk into a conversation, and I would really like for us to just sit down and have a conversation in prayer. Okay. Before we do anything else, why don't we just sit down and pray for a minute?
[00:02:27] But I'm still employed, so I haven't done that yet.
[00:02:30] But doesn't mean I don't have the opportunity to pray. So I do. And I get there and I'm not sure what to say. I'm at a loss for words. And I just cry out, God help me.
[00:02:44] And when I do, I find that the conversation normally goes well and it ends. And I'm like, yes, this was awesome. And then I also have to double check myself and go, that's not because of me. It's not because of some pretty words that I used, not some pretty thing that I said that made it work out. Rather, it's because of what God did for me at the time.
[00:03:06] Because if I had the opportunity to use Words. My words would probably be aiming at putting them in their place, correcting them the way that I want to, being harsh towards them so they understand the severity of how I feel about the situation.
[00:03:22] And as I'm ready to do that after already saying, God, please help me, verses like Proverbs come to mind. Gracious words are like honeycomb sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
[00:03:36] And I stop and go, why is that the verse that comes to mind?
[00:03:42] Fine, I'll be nice.
[00:03:48] Words are hard.
[00:03:53] Jesus also says words.
[00:03:58] A lot of them. Jesus also had conversations. He had a lot of them.
[00:04:05] And as we continue in Scripture, as we're going through some of the conversations and discussions that Jesus was having on his last day, we see him telling the disciples some really hard things.
[00:04:18] But in the midst of these hard things he's telling, we also get to see him give us something amazing, some wonderful gifts that we see even today.
[00:04:30] So we're going to jump to John, chapter 14, verse 25 through 31 today.
[00:04:41] These things. All right, stop.
[00:04:44] That's as far as we're going to get. These things.
[00:04:48] These things implies something that we need to backtrack and double check on. We'll read the rest in just a minute, so don't worry about it. But we have to understand that John 13:14 are a combined conversation and events that have been going around the Last Supper.
[00:05:05] What we have taken weeks, months to go through, they have been discussing for a while now, one after the other. And this is an important concept for us to understand before going further. Because when things are repeated, when there is a conversation, of discussion, of words and phrases that are reused or touched on again, they are designed to be very specifically for them, to help them remember, to go back and think about and to move forward from there.
[00:05:41] Things like in verse one when he says, let not your hearts be troubled. Things like in verse 12 when he says, because I am going to the Father, and things like in 16, and I will ask the Father and. And he will give you another helper. These phrases and verses beforehand imply that these things is simply a continuation of this discussion and vital for us to know today as we are reading this.
[00:06:09] So with that in mind, let's go past just the first two words.
[00:06:15] Chapter 14, verse 25. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
[00:06:23] But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
[00:06:34] Peace, I leave with you.
[00:06:37] My peace, I Give to you.
[00:06:40] Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
[00:06:49] You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you.
[00:06:55] If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
[00:07:03] And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe I will no longer talk much with you. For the ruler of the world is coming.
[00:07:17] He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.
[00:07:28] Rise. Let us go from here.
[00:07:32] Let's pray. God, your word is profound and your promises are many.
[00:07:42] And as we go through these verses today, God, I just pray that you speak through me. Allow me to say the words to truly represent who you are. And the gift, this powerful gift that you've given us is.
[00:07:58] It is not something to be taken lightly, but rather something to hold firm onto. Because your words are not just words that we hear out in this world, but your words are so much more from the Creator of the universe, and that means something.
[00:08:16] So bless our time today. As we dig into your words, you don't have an outline, so you don't know how many points I have.
[00:08:31] But like most outlines, start with point one.
[00:08:36] There is comfort in his promises. And we see this in verse 25 and 26. These things I've spoken to you while I am still with you. You know, the nice thing about that is He, Jesus literally leaves hints for the disciples the entire time, whether they got them or not.
[00:08:57] But he would say these things. Remember, these men were spending all of their time with Jesus. That was all that they were doing. So they've heard him talk each and every day.
[00:09:09] And remember the shock of what it is that they just recently heard about him saying he's gonna go when they can't go with him. So they're still in that moment of shock, trying to get through everything. And Jesus is trying to comfort them while still telling them how things are going to go down, while still reminding them, I'm still going to go, but it's okay.
[00:09:35] And then here's where the comfort really starts.
[00:09:38] But the helper. Oh, yeah, the Holy Spirit.
[00:09:43] See, this is fantastic news. And it's so great that he's willing to repeat it for them again so they understand the Holy Spirit is a big deal. The Holy Spirit is not to be taken lightly. The Holy Spirit is to not be forgotten about back in verse 16 where it says, and I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper. See, the cool thing about this is that another helper isn't just a different one, but rather it is someone that has the same characteristics of Christ given to them.
[00:10:13] When Jesus goes, so they're losing Jesus and they're getting another that has the same characteristics, the same styles, the same essence of Jesus that they're now going to have to go through their life.
[00:10:33] And whom the Father will send in my name. Whose name?
[00:10:39] Whose name?
[00:10:41] Jesus name?
[00:10:44] Jesus name is going to be sent from the Father in the name of Jesus.
[00:10:50] Why?
[00:10:52] Why would that matter?
[00:10:55] Why does it matter that Jesus is the one saying, no, no, in my name God's going to send it?
[00:11:03] See, the cool thing about this is it means it's not reliant on me.
[00:11:10] It's not reliant on my ness, my kindness, my meekness, my righteousness, my worthiness.
[00:11:23] See, the Holy Spirit being sent in the merit of Christ means that the only ness that matters is my oneness with Christ.
[00:11:37] That means is my connection with Jesus that allows me the opportunity to know who this Spirit is. And we learn this back in verse 17, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
[00:11:53] But the disciples are going to have this spirit sent to them by Jesus or by the Father through the merit of Jesus. And this is something that we get too. He tells the disciples, no, no, no, you have to realize you've seen me, so you've seen the Father because you know me. You know the Father because we know Christ. We know the Father and the Spirit knows us.
[00:12:22] And so in our connection with Christ, we now have this helper, this Holy Spirit.
[00:12:31] And he is here for a very specific reason. We see in the verses he's going to teach us things. He's here to help us remember all the things that Jesus said.
[00:12:44] Now, Jesus was the rabbi for these disciples for three years and they probably wanted to have another 30.
[00:12:53] But that wasn't going to happen. So I look at this and I go, how compassionate of God to be so giving in this moment of darkness for them.
[00:13:06] I don't get to be side by side with Jesus anymore.
[00:13:09] Well, what am I going to do as I go out in life so designed for comfort? Christ says, but you have this Spirit and with the Spirit, that is how you're going to go out. This is how you are going to remember the things that we have talked about and in the process, like being led by the Spirit help during hard Times, help provide wisdom, help stand against temptation. These are important aspects that we have to look at and go, I need to rely on the Spirit more than.
[00:13:46] And I wouldn't skip this opportunity for my youth, kids. So I'm not gonna skip this opportunity now.
[00:13:55] The disciples were constantly spending their time with Jesus.
[00:14:00] That means that as they were living their life, they heard his words all the time.
[00:14:09] Especially for the disciples that wrote the Gospels, that Spirit was vital.
[00:14:15] They had to be able to remember those words, remember the teachings of Jesus, remember what it was that he spoke about. But if the Spirit is there to bring remembrance, it implies that there's something to remember.
[00:14:35] If we were to remember things, it means that we've been in a situation, that we knew it, that we had heard it.
[00:14:42] How many of you ever crammed for a test last minute?
[00:14:47] That was not nearly enough hands?
[00:14:51] How many have a friend who's crammed last minute for, okay, there we go.
[00:14:58] How many of you crammed for a test, took the test, maybe even got an A on the test or C depending.
[00:15:07] And then two weeks later, hey, do you remember anything from that test?
[00:15:13] Nah, but I got the grade on it. Isn't that great?
[00:15:19] This is kind of the same way.
[00:15:23] I can't recall verses if I don't know them.
[00:15:27] I can't recall the promises of Jesus if I never read them.
[00:15:33] I can't recall the things I've been blessed with if I never looked at them.
[00:15:39] The Holy Spirit is there to call to remembrance, which means that we have to know what it is first. But in the details of doing the remembrance part, it also means that we've been spending time with God in reading and in knowing and in seeing these things and have been blessed by them as we live our life.
[00:15:58] It means it's twofold.
[00:16:01] Hey, Gerald, get in the word. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need to. I need to be here more. What happens when I'm here more? I see God more.
[00:16:10] When I see God more, I see the Spirit more. And the Spirit's gonna say, hey, remember that verse that you read? Yeah, I remember that.
[00:16:17] We'll be more like Christ. Okay, yeah, I can do that.
[00:16:21] And so it helps guide us and direct us in that way, because we are now convicted by the Holy Spirit that has been gifted to us, which is also helpful.
[00:16:32] As difficult as it is sometimes to do.
[00:16:35] I don't like conviction.
[00:16:38] I don't like being told I'm doing the wrong thing. But when the Holy Spirit does it, it's out of the love of God, through Christ, saying, hey, guess What? You're convicted because you're doing the wrong thing. You need to shift.
[00:16:54] Because when I shift and I go the direction that God told me to in His Word, my life is smoother.
[00:17:05] I'm going to use my life as easier, and we're going to get back to that here shortly.
[00:17:11] If it stopped here, I want to point out that that would be enough.
[00:17:18] If it stopped, that Jesus said, hey, don't worry about it. I'm giving you a comforter. I'm giving you a helper. That would be amazing on its own. We could be done. We can walk away. But Jesus in his abundance says, no, that's not all.
[00:17:35] Point two is peace in his giving. He gives us peace with the things that he gives us.
[00:17:42] Verse 27, Peace, I leave with you.
[00:17:50] All right, so anyone know what the word for peace is? That we always get thrown out there? Shalom. Okay. And it's a common. It's okay. Goodbye. How many of you say goodbye?
[00:18:04] I was bored. That's not true. I was looking at it because I was curious. Does anyone know the entomology of the word goodbye?
[00:18:13] Anyone?
[00:18:16] All right, well, I'll say it.
[00:18:19] You know, goodbye is a shortened. It's a contraction for the phrase God be with. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Isn't that kind of cool? I want to say goodbye more often now.
[00:18:32] But the word goodbye, when you say goodbye to somebody, is that what they hear?
[00:18:38] Not usually. Especially not now. You say goodbye to someone and they're like, okay, it was a farewell. It's a goodbye. It's your leaving. It's just a normal word that is said just to be said.
[00:18:50] Which is why I like how Jesus breaks this down. Peace, I leave with you.
[00:18:55] My peace I give you.
[00:19:01] Oh, he just took that way further than it was a second ago.
[00:19:05] This is no longer just Jesus saying, hey, disciples, bye now. This is, hey, goodbye.
[00:19:15] But that peace that I say when I say shalom is real.
[00:19:23] It's legit. It's okay. I want you to understand that I'm leaving, but I'm giving you my peace. Think of all the times that you've lived where you're like, man, I would relax in peace right now.
[00:19:37] Now multiply that and think about the times that you've lived and go, man, I really wish I had the peace of Christ right now.
[00:19:44] Doesn't that sound different? Isn't the peace of Christ different than just the peace that we have that we carry with us?
[00:19:51] When he goes even further than that, it turns into not as the world does, not as the world Gives? Do I give to you? Well, what kind of peace did this world give?
[00:20:04] Well, if we're at peace, it means we're not at war.
[00:20:09] Yeah, but then we do things like create frenemies.
[00:20:13] Are you friend or enemy? That's a frenemy. That's not a thing.
[00:20:17] But that's what the world interprets as peace. Oh, we're not feuding right now, so it's okay.
[00:20:24] That's not peace.
[00:20:27] That just means that we're waiting till you pick a fight.
[00:20:30] Anyone have siblings?
[00:20:36] When Christ is giving this peace not as the world gives it, this changes and is no longer just some hollow goodbye that Jesus is giving them, but rather this is a heartfelt, sincere, permanent, complete peace that he gives them.
[00:20:55] It is whole.
[00:20:57] And it does things like tells them to let their hearts not be troubled. It does things like tell them to neither let it be afraid. It tells them things like understand that this kind of peace is far better than anything this world will ever have to offer you.
[00:21:22] When we see him give them his peace, it's tied in with his spirit and they could do great things with that just as we can, because the peace that he gave them is the same peace that he gives us now.
[00:21:40] It is a.
[00:21:43] I had to look this up too. It's a present active indicative verb that's really fancy for saying it's right now because he's telling the disciples, hey, I'm promising you the Holy Spirit, but I'm giving you actively peace.
[00:22:01] That means we have it now. That means we already have that peace.
[00:22:09] Well, if that's the case, Mr. Gerald said by invisible child, why don't I feel at peace if that's the case, why is my heart troubled?
[00:22:29] Why is it that I allow this world to fill me with fear and with dread?
[00:22:37] And maybe it's as simple as I'm prideful and it's about me, so I don't look to Christ's peace.
[00:22:45] Maybe it's because I'm stubborn and I say I can do all these things on my own, I don't need Christ's peace.
[00:22:52] Maybe it's because I'm not trying to actually hear from God. I spit out my prayer and I ask for my things and then I walk away and go, God didn't answer me, man. Alright, well, I'll just give up the do it myself then I'm all alone.
[00:23:05] That's not true.
[00:23:10] Maybe, maybe life is just really hard right now.
[00:23:15] Maybe money's tight or there's a strained relationship somewhere. Maybe there's sickness and Death that we're dealing with.
[00:23:28] When we put our trust into Jesus and we're actually able to be in a position where we can have this, it doesn't make hard things go away.
[00:23:38] We're still going to struggle. There's still gonna be problems, there's still gonna be issues, because Earth is sinful and we are sinful.
[00:23:50] But I guarantee when you go through life and you say, God, I want the peace that you've promised me and I wanna live that way.
[00:23:59] I promise you, it's easier. Not because the things go away, but because you have someone right by your side. You are no longer having to travel that road alone. You no longer have to be in a position where you feel abandoned. You realize that you are loved, that you are cared for, and your heart and life can have a peace this world will never, ever be able to offer you in a way that is known to those who, who followed Christ. And that's it.
[00:24:28] That peace, that peace comes only from Jesus.
[00:24:35] And this peace brings a hope that sets our eyes not just on the now, but on the future. Which brings us to point three, and that is victory in his return.
[00:24:47] I like this one because I've read the end of the book and I always get excited about that.
[00:24:55] You heard me say to you, actually, we'll stop there for a second.
[00:25:03] So he's going to repeat himself again.
[00:25:06] They've been going through a whole lot right now.
[00:25:09] Did they really hear him say this before?
[00:25:12] Maybe, or they caught a part of it and so out of love, he's going to say, I'm going to say it again, guys, this is happening. I am going away and I will come to you now as a disciple. This had to have been hard to hear because their rabbi said he's going to go away, and that can't be easy for them.
[00:25:40] But as a follower of Christ today, it's really hard to see that knowing all the different things and not get excited by it.
[00:25:50] Because as we learned last week, there's a plan and there's a purpose.
[00:25:55] And what's cool about it is that we're part of that plan.
[00:26:03] Christ has never lied before and never will.
[00:26:08] So we know that he's not starting here.
[00:26:12] Time after time, his promises are fulfilled. So shouldn't we expect the same from this one?
[00:26:20] He carries on and says, if you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father. Remember this from back in verse three. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself. And where I am, you may be also.
[00:26:38] We are to rejoice like a bride who is waiting for her groom to finish their house.
[00:26:43] I love that that is the analogy that is used for all of this. Cause that was culturally, what would happen of that excitement.
[00:26:53] It's like, all right, I'm sad to see you go, but I'm really looking forward to what's gonna happen next.
[00:27:00] If we were to be like that bride and rejoicing in that moment, the excitement level becomes very, very different.
[00:27:10] There's a part of me that wants to look at this and condemn the disciples for not understanding this discussion that Jesus is having with them about his coming back.
[00:27:20] But how many times have I lost hope and peace because I forget the fact that he's coming back?
[00:27:29] Why is it that I lose sight that Jesus realized it would be better for him to go and give me the Spirit?
[00:27:38] Because then more people get to know who Jesus is.
[00:27:43] Am I in a position to question Christ in knowing all the different plans? I'm not. And I can't condemn the disciples for where they were either. But rather, I can use this and see this framework and go because of these things, I need to make sure that I check myself on where it is I'm looking for how I live my life.
[00:28:04] Am I living like Christ is coming back?
[00:28:08] Am I being excited about those things?
[00:28:16] If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father.
[00:28:28] Have you thought about how Jesus felt saying that?
[00:28:32] I hadn't until I started looking at this and I realized, Jesus is going to go to the Father.
[00:28:44] How excited must Jesus be that he gets to be with the Father again?
[00:28:49] How excited is he knowing how all things are going to go?
[00:28:57] I look at that and I say, how much joy would I have if I knew I was going to see the Father soon?
[00:29:07] And then I rephrase it.
[00:29:10] How much joy should I have knowing that I get to go to the Father soon?
[00:29:18] God willing, that's not going to be for another 40, 50, 60 years, maybe.
[00:29:25] I don't know. There's a point somewhere in there where it's like, God, take me home.
[00:29:29] We're not there yet.
[00:29:31] But the anticipation and excitement for what's to come, we can see. Even Jesus at this point is having that because he's going to go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Hold that thought. We'll come back. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. Now I understand that hindsight is 20 20. But how many times have we been going through something and we get upset because God wasn't doing something? Or maybe it wasn't something that I wanted him to be doing. Rather, he was doing his plan and I got upset about it.
[00:30:08] Maybe I don't want that to happen.
[00:30:12] Maybe it'd be better if those things didn't happen again. I'm not in a position to question Christ. And as he says these things, I wonder how fast the Spirit hit the mind of the disciples when Jesus rose from the grave.
[00:30:30] Yeah, I'm jumping ahead, but there was that moment when Christ rose from the grave like he said he was going to. I wonder if this came flooding back to them with the spirit. Oh, yeah, Jesus did say that.
[00:30:44] Yeah, I remember those things now.
[00:30:48] Yeah. Because of that, I believe the purpose of the Book of John we see well written in 2031. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the.
[00:31:02] The Son of God and that by believing, you may have life in his name. It was purposeful. It was for a reason. Our loving God says these things so that we could look back what has happened and go, I saw God here, and I saw God here, and I saw God here.
[00:31:28] And we see him reach out his hand and we see him give us the opportunity to be with him in his victories, in these promises, in these things that will be fulfilled.
[00:31:43] But until that day comes, he did one more thing for us.
[00:31:49] Point four is he gave us an example, his obedience.
[00:31:57] I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming.
[00:32:02] At this point, Judas had already gone and prepared the things for the arrest of Jesus. Literally. Time was short.
[00:32:13] Satan was getting all the things ready.
[00:32:19] And then Jesus says, he has no claim on me.
[00:32:27] That was my reaction at first, too.
[00:32:31] Let me read this again. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.
[00:32:40] That is exciting, folks. I want you to understand and feel the power of Christ's words in this moment. The NASB says it this way. He has nothing in regard to me. There is no grounds for accusation. The NIV says he has no hold over me. This is Jesus saying as he tells the disciples, hey, guys, I'm in control.
[00:33:04] The events that are gonna go down the way that things are gonna take place is only because of the fact that I allow them to happen. Satan is setting all this stuff up. He's got nothing on me.
[00:33:18] I wonder if when he said this, if it was that whole majestic Wisdomist, like just standing there and just straight face saying it. Or if it was almost a snicker.
[00:33:28] I like to think it was a snicker.
[00:33:30] I like the idea of being like, yeah, this is all going down.
[00:33:34] It doesn't matter.
[00:33:36] Why? Well, because I'm in control. Why? Well, because the fact that everything that's going to happen was by design. It was Jesus entire reasoning for being here. But I do as the Father has commanded me so that the world may know that I love the Father. Back in verse 28, that one verse, I said, oh, we'll get there. For the Father is greater than. I remember that well, the Father is still God.
[00:34:04] The Father is greater than I was simply in role, not in essence greater in glory and exultation because of the fact that Jesus is here on earth, lowered himself down to be with us. In Hebrews, it puts it this way, but we see him for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus. But then he goes crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone, for us, we're part of the everyone, those who follow him. That's why he went to the cross. And in this instance, in this moment, as he's saying these things, he knows what, what's going to happen.
[00:34:42] He is simply following the commands of the Father for the purpose of the world. We know that Jesus, the Son of God, loved the Father so that we too can see that example set, so that we too can look at the world and be like, hey, I'm following the commands of God because I love the Father.
[00:35:13] In the last few hours he has with the disciples, he is still setting examples that he wants us to follow.
[00:35:24] Finally he says, rise, let us go from here.
[00:35:35] Yes, it's me possibly reading into this, but I want bear with me for just a moment and just feel the emotion that Jesus would have at this time.
[00:35:46] He has spent the last hours with these people and he's telling them of all the things that are coming up to make sure that they understand who he, he is.
[00:36:00] To make sure that they understand that they're not going forward alone, to make sure that they understand that this is all by plan.
[00:36:11] And he looks at them as he says these things.
[00:36:15] And I picture him sitting there looking around at the men.
[00:36:23] All right, time to go.
[00:36:27] And I hear so much sadness in that moment and so much joy of expectation.
[00:36:37] And as they go up, probably still in shock of all the things that he's saying as he's still Going through, trying to make sure they understand so they're prepared. He gives them comfort. He gives them peace. He gives them hope.
[00:36:51] There's sadness about leaving the disciples, but there's joy about seeing the Father. There's reassurance about who is in control. As chapter 14 ends, we see Jesus loving these people.
[00:37:06] He knew what his future was.
[00:37:10] And I want to share with you that he knew their future, too.
[00:37:16] He knew their arrests, he knew their beatings. He knew their deaths.
[00:37:25] But he also knew how much better everything was going to be.
[00:37:32] And he knows that for each and every one of us.
[00:37:38] These are not empty words that he spoke with empty meanings.
[00:37:43] These are the words of a God that loves us, the words of someone who wants the best for us. These are fulfilled promises of a helper. They're powerful words that give peace and bravery to those who follow them. These are future hopes that speak of a king, our King, who will come back one day in victory.
[00:38:06] These are proven examples of how we can show this world who the one true king is.
[00:38:13] And I make no promises. I have no qualms saying it ain't easy, it's just not. But I can.
[00:38:25] I can guarantee that it's better.
[00:38:29] I can't say that all the good things that I've spoken of in the last 20 minutes are going to be all the things that happen to you. Living is hard, and Satan is really good at what he does.
[00:38:42] Distractions that take us away from God are everywhere.
[00:38:48] But regardless of all of that, the truth, his words are still the truth.
[00:39:02] It is still unchanged by anything that Satan tries.
[00:39:09] And together, as followers of Christ, we have the unique ability to encourage one another with the promises from Christ and show this world that we too love the Father.
[00:39:22] And we do this so that they too, hopefully can see that and believe.
[00:39:33] Pray God, your words, they're so powerful and you clearly love us more than words can say.
[00:39:49] We thank you for your spirit, for your comforter that you've given us, the helper. We thank you for the future hopes that we get to rely on to you having for us. We thank you for the peace that you actively give us now. And I pray that we fully utilize that peace to lean on you when times are hard, to look to you, when we are in need of that peace, when we need that joy or that hope because you are willing to give it.
[00:40:18] And I pray that we do take the time, as a church, as fellow followers of Christ, to be alongside one another to help lift each other up and in this area so that we can continue to follow you better. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
