 Oh, yes, let's assume our class So before the break we were talking about How Jesus urges us to abide in him in the same way the branches abide in the wine and Only as long as the branches stay attached to the wine. They are able to bear fruit and in fact Jesus says I think it was in worse Five he says without me you can do nothing so You know in case we are thinking that we can live Godly lives or be able to achieve something for the kingdom Or in fact, you know Gather any kind of merit? No, it can simply not be done without him. It's only through his enabling it's only through his grace that we are able to do anything for the Lord and That becomes possible as long as we are abiding in him and you know, allowing his word to To become alive in us in line our choices in our lifestyle then out of that fruit comes So Jesus talks about us abiding in him and he again links it to this concept of loving one another so in Verses 9 to 11 he again brings up this Commandment about our having to love one another you will notice that from this chapter 15 onwards, there's a lot of repetition Where again and again Jesus says that you must love one another he stresses this more than anything else Why because God is love I mean that is, you know one of the vital Aspects of who he is and so if we wish to call ourselves his disciples then we need to We too need to be moving in love just like him And we really cannot even have any relationship with him if we do not have love in our hearts And if you're not operating in love So it it's like very vital and maybe that's the reason why Jesus felt the need To repeat this again and again to his disciples in this last day's why you know of his time on earth Because this is one teaching that he wanted Imprinted on their hearts and so later when John writes those three epistles of his you know first John second John and third John first John is again all about loving one another I mean so that that team gets emphasized so much Here Jesus makes a very interesting point in our verses 9 to 11 and Maybe we can actually read out verses 12 to 15 because in verses 9 to 11 he again urges the disciples and says you know remain in love in my love if you keep my commandments You will remain in my love So he talks about how if we abide in him we will stay in his love and immediately after that he he again I know rate rates the point and says my command is this love each other as I have loved you If you can have someone read out for us from chapter 15 verses 12 to 17 12 to 17 West well, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life for his friends You are my friends if you do whatever I come on to No longer do I call you servants or a servant does not know what his master is doing But I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my father I have made known to you. You did not Oh, no, no, yeah, we will come to that later So this this so Jesus first says you know keep my commandments by doing that You will remain in my love. You will be able to enjoy the benefits of you know being loved by me So stay in me see keep my commandments and while you're doing that The main command which I'm giving you, you know when I say he said in verse 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love and what are the commands that I want you to keep? He again says the same thing here verse 12 my command is this love each other as I have loved you And so he says the greatest love would be where you are willing to lay down your life for others, okay, so That is the kind of love that he is expecting us to Show towards one another and then he makes this statement. He says You are my friends if you do what I command I no longer call you servants because a servant doesn't know his master's business Instead, I have called you friends for everything that I learned from my father. I have made known to you Jesus treats the disciples and his Followers as friends are not just people that he's just imparting some teaching to but rather as Like-minded people, you know He believes that they will be interested in the things that he is interested in and they will catch what he's trying to say And they will follow the same values and principles that you know, he is Demonstrating in his own life. So he says to them, you know, if you were servants I would talk to you very differently. I would give you a series of orders I would expect you to obey them and that would be that but I have been everything that the father has taught me I've been sharing that with you Why because I regard you as friends I believe that you care about the same things that I care about, you know It's what Jesus is conveying over here And so he says this reason the reason I'm asked giving you this command to love one another Is because you are not servants because a servant does not know his master's business Why does the servant work? Why does the servant obey the orders being given by the master because he's going to get paid for it? He doesn't really care why the master is asking him to do that the master says, you know I wanted to take all of these logs and you know, put them over there in the in the in the in that storehouse He doesn't care why the master is asking him to carry those logs and put them over there. He'll just do his job He's not interested in finding out why and what he doesn't interest him. He just wants his pay but When you're asking a friend to do that your friend understands your heart Oh, okay fine those logs are going to be used for this particular purpose That's why he's asking my help. He wants me to you know, assist him in taking them over there So you care about what is being told you you reflect on why it is being told and you work towards it So Jesus is basically saying over here You know, if you're going to be abiding in me and I abide in you and we are going to be having this relationship It's going to work only if you're going to be operating in love You can't be full of hatred and unforgiveness and grudges and all of that and say I'm abiding in the Lord It just doesn't work that way in the same way that the Lord operates in love I too would need to have the same attitude and operate in love Because only then would I truly be abiding in him and I would be doing this not as a servant Just obeying an order. I would be doing this because I truly understand his heart. I understand What he is all about, you know, it says over here so clearly a servant does not know his master's business He doesn't care what his master's business is. He's just doing the job given to him He wants to get paid and that's the end of it But if we are friends, we understand why the Lord is doing all the things that he is and Why he has given us the mission that you know, he has given to each one of us He wants us to accomplish certain things in our life. He has a purpose for us And so we are actively involved in his business Because we care about the things that he cares about and we are partnering with him in all of this and For us to be able to do that. We need to have the same heart that he does So only if we are operating in love the way he does Then we can truly say that we are abiding in him and this is a very difficult teaching I mean, I find it very very difficult because I whenever I read these passages I think oh am I really walking in love to the extent that Christ did? Am I really fulfilling this commandment because you know, it is so it is so easy on so many occasions for us to become a little Self-centered to focus more on our own interests than on the interests of others So this is something that we have to constantly keep reminding ourselves off and we need to constantly express our Dependence and cry out and say Lord, this is going to take place only through the enabling of the Holy Spirit So oh Lord, you help me you Renew me or Lord on the inside so that I can I know give up my selfish attitudes my worldly priorities and Walk in love. So this is something that we constantly have to learn to do So it is possible for us to abide in the wine and have this kind of a heart of love only through the Enabling of the Lord and this is something that the Lord wants us to consciously pursue So we talked about abiding in the wine We talked about how abiding in the wine means that you submit to him that you obey him because you know You're cleansed by his word. He imparts his word to us on a daily basis We choose to trust it obey it submit to it and by doing that we get pruned we get cleansed and So even as we are doing that we also choose to Live in love towards one another so that we have the right attitude now that all that is one aspect of being in the wine When you're abiding in the wine something else also happens you will encounter persecution So Jesus goes on to talk about that aspect now So he says to them you did not choose me But I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain But whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give you so The fruit that you're going to be bearing it will not just be some temporary fruit With just temporary results the fruit that you bear will be eternal in the sense Whatever you have done for the kingdom. What do you have done for the Lord will last It will have lasting value. It will bring about change and transformation in people's lives So that is the kind of fruit that you will be able to bear and even as you're going out going forth and bearing fruit for the father Even as you're going about the master's business or rather in this case the father's business because you know You're not just regarding him as a master You know, I have a personal relationship with him and you're interested in what he is interested in So even as you are pursuing his Interests and bearing fruit there are going to be many many things many challenges that you will face So all you need to do is go to the father and say Lord help me I am trying to live for you. I'm trying to accomplish things for you There are people that I'm trying to share the gospel with but Lord there are all these challenges You help me your Lord you make a way the Lord says whatever you ask the father in my name He will grant it to you so that you will be able to bear more and more fruit So over here actually it's not really a promise that is being made You know where you just keep asking things for yourself for your own self interest. It's all lump at least over here And no very very very way this verse is being mentioned. It's being mentioned in the context of fruit bearing So we all have this desire inside us to do something for the Lord to to to bear fruit Which remains, you know, which has got eternal value not just some temporary thing Which will really not accomplish anything much, but something that is of lasting value And to be able to accomplish something like that, you know Takes a lot of effort Challenges come in our way Satan tries to stop us from accomplishing those things He does not want us to bear fruit. So I mean we are going through those times of difficulty We have complete permission from Jesus to go to the father in the name of Jesus and say Lord I am trying to bear fruit for you for your kingdom Help me your Lord These are the challenges that I'm facing and these are the ways in which Satan is attacking me and my family He wants me to get distracted and feel, you know Low and burdened so that I know I will no longer focus and run the race Not all these things are taking place. Please Lord. I want to bear fruit you know It talks about people who will reap a hundred fold. So we want to be like that, right? So That is what I want. Oh Lord So you enable me you help me you make the way you strengthen me You give me the right scriptures to stand on, you know We have we have the freedom to cry out to him regarding these things and he will help us So even as we start doing this even as we start bearing much fruit a position will come I mean, there'll be persecution which will come the world instead of being grateful for the blessing that we are being to it You know the world will instead, you know spew hatred against us and So Jesus says when you're abiding in the wine when you start bearing much fruit and fruit Which lasts eternal fruit which has caught, you know it Eternal value and repercussions when the world starts seeing you operate like that and they can see you being so Christ like They're not going to praise you. They're gonna hate you No, which is not the kind of response which we would expect No, we would think that people would applaud us and say wow You know what you're doing is good. What you're doing is noble But no the world which is driven by the prince of the air Will instead hate us and that is why Jesus says they're going to respond in this way because you don't belong to the world He says that in verse 19 He says you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world That is why the world hates you, you know, he said that in verse 16. He said I chose you I came to you I picked you up to the same way he picked up Saul on the road to Damascus and appointed him in the same way We all have been picked up and been appointed to be really fruit bearing to To reap a hundred fold That is the way that's what he has appointed us for and when we start doing that The world is not going to like us. It's going to Persecute us and so Jesus says when that happens, you know, do not be discouraged He says in verse 20 a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me They will persecute you also So he says do not be shocked when these things happen to you It is actually an outcome a natural result of abiding in me. You will draw at least some Persecution and you know some kind of a position So then Jesus goes on to say They will treat you this way because of my name that would be verse 21 Chapter 15 verse 21 for they do not know the one who sent me And Then Jesus in fact quotes an Old Testament scripture Maybe we can read out verses 23 and 24 if someone could read out for us, please verses 23 and 24 Hates me hates my father also if I had not done among them the works which no one else did They would have no sin, but now they have seen and also hated both me and my father But this but this happened that the word might be fulfilled, which was which is written in their law They hated me without a cause All right So Jesus is saying this is actually something that was already prophesied in the Old Testament that people who see miracles people who see lives being restored people who see dead the dead coming back to life and being Restored to their families instead of rejoicing instead of being happy instead of being glad What is going to be the response? They will hate me without reason. No, that's what it was already prophesied in the Old Testament and This phrase actually they hated me without reason is actually mentioned in two places in the Old Testament Psalm 35 19 and also Psalm 69 4 Most probably Jesus is not referring to Psalm 69 because over there it talks about the psalmist's guilt and all of that Jesus of course had nothing to be guilty about So most probably Jesus was quoting Psalm 35 19 where it talks about how the enemies are Attacking him without any reason And it says in Psalm 35 verse 20 They devise false accusation accusations, you know, so even though This psalmist has not has not done anything evil. They are devising false accusations against him And so what he's experiencing what the psalmist is experiencing is Pointing towards what Jesus also will experience in the future. So it's a kind of messianic Some which is pointing towards something that even Jesus will undergo So here Jesus says this law has been fulfilled. What was said What was what was prophesied in the law? It has been fulfilled. They are hating me without reason So in the same way that will be done even to you even though what you are doing is good Even though what you're doing is benefiting people Without reason, they will hate you. Why because they do not know the one who sent me Whom did they know they know the prince of the air because they are under the under the slavery of the prince of the air So they are blinded. So they follow the instincts, you know, which the evil one is planting inside them And so even when they see good rather than appreciating the good which they are seeing there is a chance that they will Persecute you so having talked about these things, you know, Jesus moves into the last portion of chapter 15 Where he says, you know in the middle of all of this, don't worry the helper is going to be there He's going to come to you. He will testify of me and Even as he's testifying of me to you you will go out and testify to other people about, you know about me So in the first place, he speaks to us in our heart The Holy Spirit speaks to us in our heart and testifies about Jesus He gives us the ability to continue to trust in Jesus through trials through hardships through persecution Constantly the Holy Spirit is reminding us of the truth of who Jesus is so that we can stay strong in him And even as he testifies to us we go out and we testify to other people about who this Jesus is so So Having said that Jesus moves into chapter 16 and the conversation is still continuing and he says all this I have told you so that you will not fall away Because when the persecution hits You will wonder has the Lord abandoned me, you know Have I been left all alone by myself and so Jesus is saying, you know The reason I'm telling you all this is because you people, you disciples are going to actually obey what I have told you You will abide in me and you will bear much fruit and when that happens Instead of applause, you're going to get persecution And so at that time you should not be shocked because bad things are going to happen to you and he goes on to explain in verse 2 He says anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God You know, I'm in fact, they will which is what happened in the case of you know, Stephen. I mean, there was Stephen Speaking about Jesus He was having this debates with all these scholars and he was proving to them from the Old Testament that Jesus is truly the Messiah and rather than being grateful that someone is explaining Explaining the scriptures to them so beautifully. They choose to stone him instead And in fact, they all feel very very noble and godly in doing it Including Saul because you know Saul is over there completely approving of what's going on and he thinks that he's doing God a service by Participating and supporting the people who are stoning Stephen So Jesus says these are the kind of things that are going to happen to you and when these things happen Do not fall away because the Holy Spirit is going to be there. He's going to help you to you know to bear these things and You will be able to continue abiding you will be able to hold on so the Holy Spirit has not been given to us Just for pleasant times Just for times when everything is going well and our spiritual walk is Flourishing and we feel we are feeling very good about ourselves When you're down when you feel that you're just literally clinging on to your faith and you are And you have so many negative thoughts going through your head and you're wondering my is the Lord there Is it worth it? Is it worth it pursuing this Christian walk? Should I continue working for the Lord and so when you're down and you're you know feeling like giving up At that time the Holy Spirit is not displeased with you and he doesn't know Turner He's turn his face away and say oh look at this person having all these negative thoughts No, the Holy Spirit has been given to us four times like that He will testify with inside your inner man and say no, this is the truth hold on to it There's hope if you hold on now tomorrow you will rejoice today You will be you will be reaping in tears, but tomorrow when the harvest comes in they'll be great Rejoicing and you will be glorified So the Holy Spirit constantly testifies to us on the inside. He strengthens us so When you're feeling down and out and you're feeling very discouraged and you look at other believers who are like on fire and going strong And you think look at me. I'm so weak. I'm so much down and I don't seem to have the enthusiasm and passion that I did earlier when you're feeling that way Remember the Holy Spirit has been placed inside you for times like that as well. He is there I Like the wording that is there, you know in the APC notes for this particular portion it It says over there The Holy Spirit he comes to assist people caught up in the thick of battle and who are being tried beyond their strength So if you are going through, you know Situations where you are being tried beyond your strength and your ability and you feel weak And you feel like giving up and you have these negative thoughts going through your head The Holy Spirit is not displeased with you and he's not going to move away He's in fact there for you for such situations and if you just reach out to him He will give you, you know, he will remind you of the scriptures He will remind you of all that Jesus taught he will strengthen you He will impart to you his enabling grace. So you will be able to go on and So these things are you know being told to the disciples because they're going to go through a lot of hardships When they start abiding in the wine and bearing fruit Now this would have made a lot of sense to the First-time readers of this gospel because those were believers who were going through a lot of persecution Their neighbors their family members, you know people whom they had who had respected them in society Now those people are spitting on them. They're saying what you you've given up your Jewish faith You're going after this Jesus. I mean now have you lost your mind? Don't you at least care about the honor of your family? Why are you living like this? Why are you doing these things? You see they're going through a lot of hardship. They're being thrown out of the synagogue You know and those days if you're thrown out of the synagogue It's like not just that you're you know being barred from worship You are basically losing your social status because nobody's going to be one wanting to even associate with you And if you're going to be looking for any job Nobody's going to offer your offer a job to you because you know now you're like an outcast so these Believers were going through tough times and this gospel was written for them to assure them that they have taken the right step and so, you know These words which Jesus speaks and says they will think that they are doing God a service when they kill you That would have made sense to them because they are you know Undergoing a lot of persecution and in the midst of all of that they are being told Listen to the Holy Spirit inside you even as he testifies about me These people are going to say oh you have lost the faith. Oh, you have you know You have turned your back on the Old Testament scriptures. That's what the the synagogue leaders are going to say but Listen to the testimony of the Holy Spirit inside you He is testifying the truth about Jesus and so hold on to not give in So for them the disciples are the fall the first time followers the believers of that time in the early church They were being opposed by all the religious leaders whom they had respected and looked up to You know, they would go on a Saturday and sit over there in the synagogue And the leader would come and stand in front of them with a scroll and explain those scriptures to them These are their leaders. These are the people who were mentoring them and now those leaders are saying What have you done with yourself? I mean, why are you following this Jesus? You you turned your back on the entire Old Testament. It's what they are saying so These people are being told by Jesus to listen to the Holy Spirit who is going to be inside them Talking to them teaching them Advising them guiding them They're going to be needing this inner witness of the Holy Spirit to hold on to their faith Even as they go through this through these hardships Okay, so so which is why Jesus, you know takes the effort to speak to them about these things and then Jesus says in chapter 16 Maybe you if someone could read out verses five six and seven John chapter 16 verses five six and seven But now I go away to him has sent me and none of you ask me Where are you going? But because I have said these things to you sorrow has killed your heart Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away For if I do not go away the helpers will not come to you But if I but if I depart I will send him to you Okay, so They are so Heartbroken about how Jesus is going to be leaving them soon They are not asking for details. They're not asking. Where are you going and so Jesus says in verse six You are filled with grief because I have said these things but very truly I'm telling you he says, you know, it is for your good that I'm going away because then the Helper will be able to come to you. Jesus can only be there with them physically on the outside But the advocate will be inside them, you know 24 7 If Jesus were to go to the next village, then you know, they would no longer have Jesus help Because physically there's only so much that he can do but if he goes away and he sends the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will be inside them 24 7 Always there to help them always there to encourage them To help them to know walk in Christ and bear fruit and be able to accomplish great things So it's in fact to their advantage that he goes away And so he says, you know, you people are now going to be bearing fruit. You're gonna go out and talk about me You're gonna start bringing people into the kingdom. So the Holy Spirit is going to help you in doing this Ministry work. So he explains to them in what way the Holy Spirit will assist these Disciples when they go out and start doing their ministry now that is explained in verses 8 to 10 now, so if we can have someone read out for us verses 8 to 10 And when he has come he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of Sin because they do not believe in me of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more of Judgment because the ruler of this world is judged Okay, we're very very familiar with this You know passage we talk about how the Holy Spirit convicts of sin righteousness and judgment But we generally do not understand what those phrases mean. So, you know here Jesus actually explains it He says first the Holy Spirit, you know, even as you share the gospel even as to talk about me Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict these people of Sin that word convict that is used over there. I know and I be tries to use another way of phrasing it says The Holy Spirit will prove to the world. Okay, so he's going to give evidence. He will give proof. He will show them Certain things about sin about righteousness and about judgment. What exactly will the Holy Spirit show them that? If they reject Jesus it is sin Apart from him, they can have no eternal life. There can be no salvation So the Holy Spirit convicts them on the inside and shows them that if they continue as they are there is only death Eternal death awaiting them. So they need to accept Jesus So as long as they continue rejecting him It is sin and they are in sin and they have no future no hope The Holy Spirit also convicts of okay, the word convict over here is basically, you know, the word the Greek word elix or something like that So anyway that word basically saying proof. He gives proof So the next thing that he proves the Holy Spirit proves to the people is that In Jesus Christ, there is righteousness. So Jesus Christ has gone to the father the sacrifice that he Presented before the father of himself, you know as the lamb it was acceptable to God So now he's standing over there in God's presence as our intercessor. So in him His righteousness has been imparted to us. So if we reject him, there is only sin and death on the other hand If we accept him because he is now our advocate in front of the father There will be righteousness. So that is why, you know, that's the the first part is talking about people who do not believe in me Who reject him that is sin then verse 10 talks about the righteousness part of it where it says because I'm going to the father So when he goes to the father there, he will be Ever present as our intercessor and his righteousness is imparted to us The third thing or the proof that the Holy Spirit will give people Regarding these spiritual things. It's about judgment. So what is the thing that Jesus says about judgment? Because the Prince of this world now stands condemned. Okay, so Jesus Christ has finished Passing judgment upon the sprints of the world He thought he was defeating Jesus Christ on the cross, but he was unable to do that Jesus Christ rose from the dead victorious and So now the Prince of this world stands defeated and condemned Anyone who chooses to continue following this Prince of this world will have to share in that judgment and condemnation with Satan so The Holy Spirit even as we try to minister to people in our own way with the help of the Holy Spirit We talk to them. We share truths with them You know, we show them acts of love so that they will experience what Jesus Christ is like No, they will experience his love through us Even as we do all of these things the Holy Spirit starts working in those people's lives to give them Spiritual proof deep in their you know being where he they will start Developing an awareness of how dangerous it is to reject Christ He was the he the Holy Spirit will start revealing to them the righteousness that they can have as a result of which They'll be able to enter heaven one day. You know, so he starts imparting that to them So the Holy Spirit starts opening their spiritual eyes so that they can see these Truths and so that they can escape from the coming judgment and they won't have to share that judgment with the Prince of this world So these are the these are the things which the Holy Spirit will do through us When we go and minister to people so we don't go in our own strength We just pray and we say Lord. I'm preparing the best I know how and so sincerely I'm gonna try and do this but Lord You're going to you're going to come along with me because you are in me the Holy Spirit is in us And he will guide us he will show us what to say when the time comes So The Lord enables us to minister All right Maybe we can Maybe we can look at John chapter 16 Verses 19 222 If you look at the earlier portion, you know John 16 versus 16 to 18 We've kind of dwelt on that already You know because they ask him in a little while you're going away So so he says that he's going away in a little while So they want to know exactly what he means by in a little while So we've already kind of dwelt upon that Let's look at this portion Verses 19 to 22 of chapter 16. Yeah Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask him and he said to them Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said a little while and you will not see me And again a little while and you will see me Most assuredly I say to you that you will reap and lament But the world will rejoice and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy Yeah, so here Jesus says that When I go away, you know, he's basically talking about his crucifixion in verse 20 He says very truly I tell you you will reap and mourn while the world rejoices So when the crucifixion takes place, they will be in deep mourning But the people of the world who have done the the crucifying, you know, they will rejoice So all of that will happen But In verse 21 Jesus says it will be like a woman giving birth She goes through the pain of Giving birth But once the child is born the joy is so great That she doesn't even dwell on the pain that she went through because now the child has come forth and you know Now there is some there's a new chapter beginning in her life. And so in the same way Jesus says What's going to happen in the near future is going to be very painful So in verse 22 he says now is your time of grief But I will see you again and you will rejoice So in that context he speaks in verse 23 he says In that day, you will no longer ask me anything Very truly I tell you my father will give you whatever you ask in my name Jesus is basically saying there are very Wonderful great things coming. Of course, there's going to be this time of deep grief You know where it will be very painful for you while the world is rejoicing You will be completely broken But I will see you again You know because after the resurrection Jesus comes back to visit them and he explains many many more things to them at that time So he says once these This new chapter comes through In that day, you don't have to come to me and ask for things, you know the last three years That's basically what the disciples were doing. I mean they they would go to him for every little thing You know, they would they were completely dependent on him And so they're probably thinking in their heads. My goodness if Jesus goes away, whom are we going to turn to? Who's going to help us? So Jesus tells them You will not even need to ask me anything You know what you'll straight away go to the father directly And you'll ask him in my name and whatever you require, he'll give you The direct access to him now, you know, you're coming to me and you're asking me and you seek my help and all that At that time you can just go directly to him. So these are really amazing words of promise that Jesus is giving them And he says until now you have not asked for anything in my name You you would come to me physically and ask for something But you never went to the father in my name and asked for big big things But you know, you do it Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete And then he goes on to say Um in verse 26, sorry verse 26 he says in that day You will ask in my name. I am not saying that you will ask the father um On your behalf Uh, I'm not saying that I will ask the father on your behalf So the point that he's making over here is that It's not like I have to go to an angry god and somehow, you know, uh, persuade him To do something good for you. Okay. So he says, um I am not saying that I will ask the father on your behalf. You will not need my intercession You can directly go to him because it's here the father himself loves you Because you have loved me and have believed that I came from god So if you have placed your faith in me, if you believe that I am the son of god And that you have salvation and eternal life in me if you believe in me Then the father loves you and he's no longer an angry god that you're approaching fearfully You can just directly go into his presence and directly ask him in my name And whatever is required, he will grant it to you and it says your joy will be complete So, uh, this would have been a very great revelation for them Because up to now their entire dependence was on the physical jesus the one, you know, who's been walking with them and Sharing with them But now when jesus is going to be removed from the picture They don't have to be distressed because they are going to have direct access to the father And he's not going to be an angry god where some intercessor has to come in between and say please Could you do something for these people? No, he says that is why he says I'm not saying that I will ask I'm not going to do any interceding You can directly go to the father yourself And in case you're thinking of roman's chapter eight where it talks about jesus who is um, you know Romans 8 34 where it says that jesus is Standing in god's presence as intercessor over there It's talking about a different kind of intercession It's talking about how as long as he's standing over there in god's presence It is a reminder to the father that he has finished paying the sacrifice And so now Righteousness has been imparted to us and so a right relationship has been established and therefore nothing can separate us from the love of god Why because constantly jesus is standing over there as proof that the sacrifice has been Made and so nothing can separate us from the love of god is to know what that roman's eight talks about So intercession in that sense where he is standing over there having finished The work of atoning and so the right relationship between the father and us has been established Here is saying I don't need to intercede for you with regard to prayer requests, you know because um Sometimes when prayers are not being answered we say oh if only jesus was here Then I think my answer by prayer would be answered Ah, that's a very wrong theology So even though jesus is not physically present over here In his name just in his name if you approach the father Will hear you he has heard you he will answer in his time He knows better than you his brain is bigger. You know, he knows yes greater wisdom So he will do it. So just because there's some silence over there Don't make assumptions Because that jesus has made very very clear over here. He says I don't need to be physically present over here to be helping you Because I'm not going to be here physically present. I am going to be physically present in front of the throne Romans 8 34 and as long as I'm standing over there Every time the father looks at me. It's clearly understood the transaction has been completed The right relationship between god the father and us has been completely totally report So yes, when we go to him and ask Uh, what will be the result our joy will be complete So we can have this deep assurance that our prayers will be answered In his time that is one condition. Okay that we need to accept jesus does not follow our timetable He does it according to his divine timetable. He knows what is best for us And so uh, sometimes it helps for us to wait Upon his timetable and allow him allow him to do things his way So having said all of these things Finally at the end of chapter 16 in verse 33. He says I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world So all these things that jesus said to his disciples it was basically to bring them peace So that they no longer have to feel troubled So that they no longer have to be anxious that jesus is leaving In me you will have peace is what jesus assures So even though jesus is not physically present over here among us We have the holy spirit within us who testifies of jesus And so in that sense, you know, the father and son have come and made their home in us. Um that um We will Oh, I think that's already we didn't touch upon that in John chapter 14 Yeah, so, you know, it says the father and I will come and make our home uh with you So so we already have the lord with us in us So even though there's going to be much trouble in the world um We can have peace because The lord who is inside us has finished overcoming the world He already has a solution for every problem you're ever you're ever going to have Okay, so you on your own May not know how to overcome those things But the one who is in you the one who is greater than he who is in the world He has already out schemed satan whatever scheme satan may have been trying to you know, uh bring upon you He has already been out schemed out strategized The one who is in you already knows how to take care of this Now all you need to do is just trust in him and you know Wait upon him by the power of the holy spirit and you can have peace Knowing fully the lord will cause everything to work out in his perfect timing. Okay, so that's the assurance that we have in the lord. Um, so, um Let's just close with a word of prayer Yeah Lord, we just thank you so much for the very encouraging teachings of lord that you Imparted to us in these three chapters Oh lord We really want to abide in the wine so that we can enjoy all of these things that you have promised us So we pray oh lord that even as we spend time in your presence every day Even as we have our devotions even as we read your word and cleanse our hearts and minds with it Even as we go through all of these processes and procedures Oh lord, I pray that you would make it all Um Meaningful and real for us through your holy spirit. So that oh lord Um, we are able to bear much fruit in every area of our lives Oh lord And so that we will be able to bring glory to your name because of the lifestyles that we are leading And we thank you for your promise that we can just come in jesus name to the father And you will grant us whatever we require. You will cause our joy to be complete Yes, we will have trouble in the world But you have promised that in you we can have peace because you have overcome the world oh lord You have a solution for every problem that comes our way So we thank you oh lord for all of these privileges which we have in you Thank you oh lord in jesus name Amen Thank you. Thank you