Amen. If you would remain standing and take your Bible together with me, open the pages of the scripture together with me to Psalm 119, our Old Testament reading. Psalm 119, verses 103 to 105. If you are using the church Bible, you will find it on page 653. Psalm 119, verses 103 to 105. How sweet are your words to my test, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamb to my feet. and a light to my path. Amen. Now turn to the New Testament, the Gospel of John chapter 14. Those of you who are here for the first time every Sunday morning, we have been going through the Gospel of John verse by verse to understand the whole counsel of God. So John chapter 14, this morning we'll be looking at verses 25 to 35. This is the concluding part of chapter 14. These things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you. 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. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father. For the Father is greater than I. 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 this world is coming. He has no claim on me. but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know what I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. Amen. Let's pray. Father in our God, as we now come to the reading and the exposition of your word, Lord, We ask you to use now your Holy Spirit, who is our teacher, even as you have promised us in a word, to teach us your word, to give us understanding, and to bring remembrance to all the things that you have already told us. And all this for your glory and for the good of our souls. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen. You may be seated. What does the world need right now? You know, in 1965, very, very long time ago, I was not even born then, maybe some of you were born, there was a popular song titled, What the World Need Now. It was first sung by Jackie D. Shannon, and the song gives at least tries to give an answer to the real need of the world. And the words of the song says, this is what the world needs now. What the world needs now is love, sweet love, not just for some, but for everyone. Lord, we don't need another mountain. There are enough mountains to climb, enough ocean to cross until the end of time. Oh, listen, Lord, if you want to know." Basically, the song claims that the author knows what the world needs. And we need to tell God what we need. Very interesting words, especially the concluding statement, Oh, listen, Lord, if you want to know, you know, we will tell you what we need. What a foolish statement and attitude toward the God who really, really knows what our world really needs right now. But my friends, isn't that the tendency of many people today? We know what we need, we will tell God what we need. He should listen to us. There is much talk in our day about what the world needs. Some people say, oh, what the world needs is the right man or woman in a political office. that will take care of all our needs. We have never seen the coming of anyone to power taking care of all our needs. Some say what the world needs today is to get rid of all religions. All religions to be gone, then all things will be great. That's the world that you and I live in. That's the sentiment and the attitude of many people who are outside of Christ about the need of our world today. Sadly, many today claim to know what exactly they and the world needs. They don't give God and His Word, the Word of God, any value in their life. And listen to this carefully. And then when they face trials, when they are in trouble, do you know what happens? They have no ground to stand on, and they have no confidence for any kind of peace in their life. It is only until they encounter trials and sorrow and sadness in this life, then the end result of them is anger toward God and no peace at all. No confidence and no peace. What we see in our text this morning is very different. The disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ They were in trouble. The disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ were going through a very depressing and heartbreaking time. Their caregiver and the only protector, the Lord Jesus Christ, told the disciples He was going to leave them. He told them He was going to the cross to die by crucifixion. Imagine, these are Jewish men. What they know about anyone dying on a tree is terrible. It is a place of thieves and murders. He also told them that he will go to his father. So you can imagine how troubled they were. You can imagine how they were feeling last Sunday. We considered how they felt. They felt as if they were orphans. In fact, in verse 18, He told them, I will not leave you as orphans. Jesus is God. He saw their hearts and how they were responding to their situation. And He told them, listen, I'm not going to leave you as orphans. I will send you the Holy Spirit, the Helper, He told them. In chapter 16, He told them, it is even better if I go, because the Holy Spirit, the Helper who will come to you, He will dwell in you and live in you forever. He saw them. And they were still troubled and shaken, even after Jesus gave them those remarkable, comforting promises. Don't worry, I will return to you. I will return from the grave. I will return from the glory. Don't worry, I will send you the Holy Spirit. He will dwell in you forever. And still they were shaken. still they were troubled. That's the reason you see why Jesus told them, these things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you. I'm here, the Son of God, God in the flesh, giving you all these comforting promises, and you're still troubled. You're still shaken. And beloved, He's about to go to the cross to die. He's about to leave them. His physical presence will not be with them. Then this is what Jesus did. He gave them three amazing and timely gifts. to be with them forever. The first one, beloved, is a teacher, verse 25 and 26. And then peace, verse 27. And then knowledge and understanding of the benefit of Christ's departure from them, verse 28 to 31. Let me ask you this. When you are confused, when you are troubled, when you are, you know, in loss, What do you need? You need someone to teach you, someone to help you to understand what Jesus has already told you, someone to give you insight, someone to enlighten your mind and your understanding. because nothing was lacking from Jesus. He told them what He has prepared for them. I am coming back to you, man. I will raise up from the dead. I will come back to you. I'll come back to you in the Spirit. The Spirit will dwell with you forever. I will go to heaven, prepare a place for you. I come back and take you to be with me where I am forever. But still, they were broken. They were troubled. And Jesus told them, OK, I have a solution for you. I'm going to give you a teacher. The helper, the Holy Spirit, listen to Jesus. These things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you. But you're not getting it. You're troubled. You're down. 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." What a gift! And at the right time. It was a timely gift at the time where they were confused. Jesus told them, here's my gift, the Holy Spirit. He's not a fire, he's not a wind, he's not a dove, he's a person. And he is going to be your teacher. That's the purpose why I am giving you the Holy Spirit, to minister to you as a teacher. I see the condition of your hearts, how troubled you are. I already gave you comforting promises, but you are still confused and lost. So I'm going to give you a teacher who will teach you and remind you. A teacher and a reminder. Why a reminder? Because we are forgetful people. We're prone to forget who Jesus is and all the promises that God gave us in Christ Jesus. We're prone to forget them. So we need a teacher. To teach us what? To teach us first the truth. To teach us the truth. The truth about the word of God. to teach us the truth about the Word of God. Listen to Jesus in chapter 15. 16 verse 12. has is mine, therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. He's going to use the Word of God, the Word of Truths, to teach you about the truths. You all remember what we have been saying in John chapter 14, where Jesus speaks about the Father, Him, the Son, and then Him being in the Father, and the Father being in Him, and Jesus being in us, and you and I being in Jesus. Confusing statements! How could you understand all these things? The Holy Spirit. My feeble mind, your feeble mind, will not understand these things. Our union with Jesus Christ, by faith, Christ in us, we in Christ, who can understand that mystical union between us and Jesus except through the teaching of the Holy Spirit? That's why, you see, Jesus is saying, He will teach you the truth. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, Paul says, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. And he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. both unbelievers for conversion, for understanding, conviction, and even the believers for understanding. Even after we are saved, even after we embrace the gospel, believe in Christ, repent of our sin, we still misunderstand things. We still don't grasp spiritual things fully. Unless the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, teach us. Unless the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, reveal to us the truths of the Scripture. Paul, writing to the church, to the Colossians, in chapter 1 verse 9, he told them this, And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. You see, Paul was telling them, I am glad that you people are converted. I am glad you believe in Christ now, but I'm also praying. I haven't yet ceased praying for you, for you to have knowledge, wisdom, and understanding through the work of the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher. That is my role, you see. The Holy Spirit is in us. The Father and the Son gave us as a gift to be our teacher. And how does the Holy Spirit teach us all the truths about God and about ourselves? Through God's Word. Did you hear the psalmist in Psalm 119? Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You will experience this, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, when you are in a difficult time in your life. You will understand this when you are in loss, when you are grieving. The only hope, the only comfort The only reminder, the only teacher that you have is the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path. In Ephesians 6, 16, Paul calls the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God. I'm always amazed about Philip and Ethiopian eunuch. You remember the Ethiopian eunuch was traveling. He was traveling on his chariot. And the Holy Spirit told Philip, Philip, I want you to go over to the Ethiopian eunuch and explain to him the gospel. And Philip comes to the Ethiopian eunuch and he asked him, I see you reading the scriptures. And the Ethiopian eunuch said, yes, sir, I'm teaching the scriptures. Are you understanding them? No. I have no idea what Isaiah is talking about in this chapter, Isaiah 53. Who is this suffering Messiah? Philip took him through all the teaching of the gospel. The Holy Spirit told him, go and teach him. Go and explain the gospel to him. And the gospel became so clear, so convincing to the Ethiopian eunuch. He believed in Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 53, in the prophecy about the Messiah, he believed in Jesus. And he told to Philip, I believe in the Son of God. What prevents me now not to be baptized? Philip said, nothing. I'll go ahead and baptize you. You are the child of God. You are a believer. Where did the understanding come for the Ethiopian eunuch? The Holy Spirit through the Word of God. So, the Holy Spirit teaches, and then He reminds. You see, Jesus said here, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I have said to you." Your problem, my problem, as believers, as I said earlier, we're always prone to forget who we are in Christ, the promises that have been given to us. by God through Christ, like the disciples here. They had all the promises from Christ. They saw all the miracles. They saw Jesus performing all kinds of miracles as God, as the Son of God. He gave them true teachings. He kept promising them. I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving you. I'll be with you forever. The Holy Spirit will dwell in you to live with you forever." But they forgot what they heard. They forgot what they had. The Israelites, you know, the same, read the book of Exodus where I've been preaching through the book of Exodus. You would be really shocked. by how forgetful people the Israelites were. They say, water, water here, and God turns the bitter water into a sweet water. They say, food, food here, He gives them manna, and then they grumble. They forget who He is. They forget all His gifts to them. So we need the Holy Spirit to remind us about our blessings in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Psalm 78, Psalm 78. Listen to the psalmist in Psalm 78, 42, 42, Psalm 78, 42, 42, where the psalmist tells us about God's comfort for us here, Psalm 78. 42, 42. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert. They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the fall. They forgot it, what He has done for them. Then verse 10 and 11, the same psalm, 10 and 11. They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to His law. They forgot His works and the wonders that He has shown to them. Paul in Romans 8 said, Jesus, God, will give you the Holy Spirit to help you in your weaknesses. You see, forgetfulness is a weakness. It's not only a weakness, it is sin. To grumble, to murmur against God is a sin. But God gave us the Holy Spirit to remind us. Secondly, peace. Verse 27, Jesus gave them another gift. Peace, I live with you. My peace, I give to you. Not that the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. What is this peace? Now, I want you all to see the connection here. You see, this peace is not coming to them or to us in an abstract. That's connected. What you hear from the Holy Spirit through the Word of God brings peace into your heart. That's what Jesus is saying here. He's not saying, I'll give you the teacher here, and then I'll give you the peace here. No, they are together. It is in the Word. It is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, that I give peace to you. First, peace with God. You have been enemies of God. Now, through Christ, you have been reconciled with God. Romans 5, 1, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through Christ. Peace with God. Can you imagine a person living his life as God's enemy? You and I might not grasp the weightiness of that misery because we are in Christ, because we are no more enemies of God, but imagine a family member, imagine a friend who is God's enemy not being reconciled with God. But here I give you peace. Peace between me and you will come through the shedding blood of my Son. He will die on the cross and He will reconcile us. We will be friends. God called Abraham, my friend, because he believed in His promise. You are God's friend. If you are in Christ, you're not His enemy. He's your friend. So in time of trouble, how can you and I think he's not doing things for our own interest, our own good? Because he's God. He knows better. He knows what we need. He knows what we don't need. It is the peace. through reconciliation. And then the second nature of this peace is peace in the midst of storm. I want you to hear that clearly today. It's not only peace with God, but peace in the midst of the storm. You're leaving us? We're becoming orphans? Who is going to take care of us? Peace! I give you my peace. Peace in the midst of the storm. We have a wonderful hymn in the train team now. In our hymn book 476, it is well with my soul. When peace like a river attends my way. You know, the father who composed that song lost four daughters in the Atlantic Ocean. He got a message from his wife, four of our children are gone. And he took his pen and he said, it is well with my soul. Satan is attacking me, he's pushing me, he's telling me God doesn't love me, God doesn't care about me. But he said, it is well with my soul. storm, grief, sorrow, but in the midst of all, peace. Do you have that peace? We prayed for the family of our brother, Joel Fick, the pastor in Florida who lost his son. I sent him an email yesterday. just to share his grief on behalf of the church, to assure him that we'll be praying for him and his family. I got a response from a brother that I want to read it to all of you. And it came at the right time. Thank you, brother, for weeping with us in our sorrows. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. We picked our psalms casket last night. We are looking at plots today. It does not feel at all like a momentary light of affliction, but I trust one day, in the light of the weight of the eternal glory, we will see that it is. And though our son, his child's name, Although our Son did not rise today, the eternal Son of God is risen, and we look for the day when He will come again to raise the dead, to wipe every tear from our eyes, and to make all things new. Until then, Christ Himself is sufficient. and we are leaning on him as we limp our way through the veil of tears. Christ is sufficient. That's the peace that Jesus is talking about here. Peace in the midst of storms. And we have that peace in Jesus Christ, our Savior. In Isaiah 26, verse 3, it says, Psalm 461, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Paul in Philippians 4 said, the peace of Christ, which transcends all understanding, will fill your hearts with peace. Peace that transcends all understanding. At the time that we ask, why Lord? Why me? Why in this way? Why my perfect, you know, possession, my perfect gift? Why? And then peace. Peace. Jesus said, my peace is not like, you know, the kind of peace that the world gives you, temporal for the time being. You rejoice now and then you cry tomorrow. No, no, it's real peace. It's true peace. Peace from above. Lastly, You see, Jesus gave them a teacher, he gave them peace, and then briefly understanding that his departure is better for them. Listen to Jesus. He told them this. 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 this world is coming. He has no claim on me. Jesus also said, you heard me say to you, I'm going away. I will come to you. If you love in me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the father for the father is greater than I." What is Jesus saying here? For the Father is greater than I. You're supposed to rejoice because I'm going to my Father. What is Jesus saying here? First, you, my fellows, you, my people, should rejoice in my glorification. I have been humiliated for your sake. I died on the cross for you. Now it's time for me to be glorified by my Father. So rejoice in my glorification, because it is good for you. If I'm not glorified, you will not be glorified. If I'm not glorified, I will not go to my Father, prepare a place for you, come back, and then take you to where I am. It is good that I am going. Rejoice! Have this knowledge in your hearts and in your minds. It is good that I depart. Good for me, good for you, rejoice. Why are you sorrowful? It is for better. Rejoice. And then he said, the ruler of the world is coming, but he has no claim on me. This is a reference to Judas, being the instrument of Satan. He's coming, he's going to betray me, but he has no claim on me because I'm sinless. I'm sinless. Satan and death has been defeated. So rejoice. Rejoice in what you have in me. Romans 15, 13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of By the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. May the gather of hope fill you with all joy and peace through the Holy Spirit. Beloved, let me ask you this. Are you Learning as a Christian, are you learning, are you understanding the truths of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit? If your answer is yes, then you're telling me, you're telling God, you are in the Word. You are in His Word. You have become a student of His Word. The Holy Spirit is teaching you. Is that the case in your life? Are you a student of the Word and the Spirit at home and in the church? How often do you sit under the preaching and the teaching of His Word with this longing? I will go sit under the preaching of the Word of God. Not because I want Pastor Zaki to preach to me, but I want the Holy Spirit to teach me through his Word. It goes beyond the preacher. It goes beyond the pastor who stands in the pulpit. This is the Holy Spirit teaching your hearts. through the Word of God. This is your communion with Him. Yes, fellowship among one another, but it goes beyond that. This is your communion with your Heavenly Father, teaching your hearts by the Holy Spirit. Oh, beloved, we don't need to neglect this means of grace. Every time it presents to us, come, come. He will be under your teacher, the Holy Spirit, giving you peace, giving you understanding, giving you hope, joy, and peace in the midst of the storm. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, would you humble our hearts, especially after hearing a word to love you, to love your word, to love the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, and to rest in him, in his peace in the midst of the storm. Lord, We ask you to help us now to realize these gifts in our own life, the gift of a teacher, the gift of peace, the gift of the knowledge of the benefit of your departure to heaven. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.