Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20060507.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XXXIX: Enjoying God's Parenting In An Evil, Perilous World
A. Part I - Possessing Confidence Under God, John 13:33-14:31
3. Rewarding Friendship With God In A World Of Deceit And Distrust
(John 13:33-38; 14:15-27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

A tremendous amount of deceit and resulting distrust in relationships afflicts our world:

(1) Brad Davis' "Talk of Connecticut" radio show last Tuesday on am 610 out of Torrington, Connecticut revealed that Fox news reported what the Associated Press failed to announce regarding the big May 1st nationwide rallies on immigration amnesty. Davis noted the Fox network revealed a major procommunist organization had been a key promoter behind these rallies.

The revelation of that fact can only further aggravate the division in our nation over the sensitive issue of illegal immigration, for many who were disposed to be opposed to granting amnesty for the millions of Latin American illegal aliens in our country now have cause to feel even more distrust about their concerns because they sense they are being deceived by communists to the harm of the nation!

(2) Consider the distrust fomented by high gasoline prices! Though many in the media claim there is no easy solution to getting the prices down, the blossoming profits of oil companies are inexcusable to many Americans. Again, many feel they have been deceived, so a growing number only distrust the oil companies and the government!

(3) Christians face this on a personal level as can be noted by the titles of various books being sold in Christian bookstores:

(a) One book, Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is advertised with the promotion: "Since Eve's first bite of the apple, women have believed lies that leave them feeling confused, rejected, overwhelmed, and fearful . . ."

(b) Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli wrote the book, Falling in Love with Jesus Workbook that is advertised with the promotion: "Despite how others see you, God rejoices over you . . ."

(c) The problem extends to men, too. David Murrow has a book out, Why Men Hate Going To Church with the promotional ad reading: " . . . many churches create a man-hostile environment . . ."



In view of the challenge of deceit and resulting distrust in relationships that afflict our world, what is the answer?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "Deceit and resulting distrust exists in our world, leading to unhealthy alienation in relationships! What is the solution?!"
  1. Jesus knew His disciples faced deceit and distrust in the evil world that ruined relationships, so He revealed God's parental oversight that addressed this need, John 13:33; 14:18:
    1. Jesus knew Satan had entered Judas to lead him to betray Jesus while the other disciples were vulnerably ignorant of it all, John 13:21-30!
    2. Then, when Jesus revealed He would go where His disciples could not go, and Peter expressed dismay at this news (John 13:33, 36-37a), Jesus claimed Peter would soon deceitfully deny Him, John 13:38!
    3. We know from looking ahead to John 18:1-3, 24-27 that this denial by Peter would be fueled by his fear of evil peer pressure in the world!
    4. Thus, Jesus spoke of God's edifying parental oversight of His men that would address the problem of deceit and distrust in them and in the world that tended to ruin healthy human relationships (as follows):
      1. Christ called His disciples "little children" in John 13:33, using the word, teknia, "a diminutive expression [of] . . . affection . . . like a father to his little children;" strikingly, this term appears only here in all of the Gospels, Leon Morris, John (NICNT), p. 632, ftn. 67.
      2. Later in that conversation, Jesus said he would not leave His men "as orphans," ['orphanous] (John 14:18; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 388; Arndt & Ging., Grk.-Engl. Lex. of N. T., 1967, p. 586.
  2. That Divine Parental Oversight is taught in John 13:33-17:26, and we view that PART of this ministry where God GIVES rewarding friendship to the believer though he lives in the evil world:
    1. Jesus explained that IF His disciples truly LOVED Him, they would observe His commandments in their lives, John 14:15.
    2. Yet, in VIEW of the problem of deceit and relationship ruin that had to be addressed for them to love and thus heed Him, Jesus spoke of the great future ministry of God the Holy Spirit Who would parent the disciples to heed Him in love for relationship blessing, 14:16-26:
      1. Jesus said He would ask the Father for another (besides Himself) "Counselor" (NIV), One Who would be with the disciples forever in contrast to the transitory nature of sinful relationships, Jn. 14:16.
      2. Jesus said this Helper would be the Spirit of the truth (tays alaytheias), the truth that is from God that can not lie so that it does not create ruinous distrust, 14:17a! (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.)
      3. This Holy Spirit would supply for Jesus' believing disciples the basis for a lasting, true relationship that existed in the Triune Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, John 14:18-20.
      4. Accordingly, as Jesus' disciples relied on the Holy Spirit to live righteously (Galatians 5:16), and thus willed to do (Phil. 2:13a) and thus carry out Jesus' commands in their lives (Phil. 2:13b with John 14:15), Jesus claimed the believer would see the Father and the Son make their presence visible in their daily experiences:
        1. The word for "manifest" in John 14:21-22 KJV, ESV ("show" NIV) is emphanidzo, meaning "make visible," Ibid.; Arndt & Ging., A Greek-English Lexicon of the N. T. , p. 257.
        2. Jesus explained this "make visible" in verse 23 to mean God would make His "home" (monay = "abode") with one, or show visible evidence of involvement in one's daily experiences, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.; Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 529.
      5. Now, those who do not love God will not keep His words, and will not see Him reveal His involvement in their daily lives, Jn. 14:24.
      6. Jesus revealed the Spirit would counter the world's deceit by reminding the believer of all of God's Word so they would be ever able to heed it to maintain fellowship blessing with God, Jn. 14:26!
    3. Thus, taking advantage of this parental ministry of the Holy Spirit, the believer would know God's great relationship peace in the world of deceit and broken relationships around them, John 14:27.
Application: If hurting from broken relationships due to the effects of deceit and resulting distrust, (1) may we trust in Christ for salvation from sin to become a child of God, John 1:11-13. (2) Then, as this results in our being indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9b), may we (a) rely on Him for the WILL and POWER (Phil. 2:13) to (b) HEED Scripture, (b) and find God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit making their presence visible to us in the events of our daily lives! (c) As other believers do the same, we will enjoy fellowship with them, 1 John 1:3-4!

Lesson: The answer to the deceit and distrust that leads to broken, hurtful relationships in the world is the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit to PARENT the believer: it causes him to be motivated and empowered to HEED God so as to be BLESSED by rewarding, moment-by-moment, VISIBLE involvement by God in the experiences of his everyday life!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 (1) In last Sunday's sermon, I reported its closing illustration had come to mind while I was trying to relax from preparing sermons the previous Monday. I told how unusual it was for an illustration to come to mind on my "day off", concluding it was all God's activity!

Well, the Lord showed Himself again last Monday! After breakfast, I got a call from a believer who asked to meet me. She had struggled with some issues, including a unique kind of temptation!

To my awe, earlier that same morning, I had thought about a temptation I had faced that was akin to hers, the temptation to eat glazed chocolate donuts with a large cup of hot cocoa that is so bad for my health! I agreed to meet with her the next day, Tuesday, May 2nd, and was amazed at what had occurred! The subject matter and the fact that her call aligned with the unusual revelation one week before indicated God had again signaled His involvement, and that I was to gain victory in His power over my "chocoholism" so I could meekly help this fellow believer who faced a similar kind of temptation!

(2) God's signals did not end there, either! Shortly after my time with this believer, another Christian friend called to say he could pick up the scraps of my dismantled rabbit cage! That was a day ahead of the scheduled pick-up, making me glad I'd taken the cage apart on Monday to beat the next day's rain! I then realized that as I had sought to deal with my spiritual problem prior meekly to helping the other believer, God had met a need I had in getting rid of my cage scraps, meaning He had shown I was heading in the right path in all of this!

(3) After writing this up, I recalled Wednesday morning that the days I had been most vulnerable to the temptation of eating junk food was Mondays, so no wonder God had signaled me on those days!

(4) Then, Wednesday evening, the believer who picked up my cage scraps reported he had run out of gas en route to pick them up, but had found that by switching to his reserve gas tank, a move that had not worked for 2 years, his truck was able to run so he could pick up the scraps! God had grandly shown I was "on the beam" in His will! I am awed and grateful for this interaction on God's part in my life, but it is supposed to be the normal Christian life for us all!

So, if we have not done so, may we trust in Christ as Savior and HEED Scripture in ourl lives to see God give priceless displays of His involvement in our lives -- it can't get any better than that!