The Triad of Christian Virtues 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Triad of Christian Virtues 2. He will be in John 16:25-33.

faith does not always mean that i got it all figured out but faith is trusting when i don’t understand faith is giving when the budget is tight faith is having confidence that god is working all things together beautifully in his way that he might receive the most glory it’s time for hope worth having and we are delighted that you are tuning in today to be able to hear the hope worth having radio broadcasts we think about hope and that’s really what we’re going to focus on today as we’re learning about the different christian virtues that jesus demonstrated in the gospel of john chapter 16 verse 25 through 33 i want you to get your bible i want you to get a pen pencil maybe a cup of coffee whatever works for you and let’s start studying together but jesus has been over and over emphasizing in the gospel of john that he and the father are one let me give you an example of that in john chapter 14 just back up a little bit john chapter 14 verse 11 he says believe me that i am in the father and father in me or else believe me for the very work’s sake and so jesus’s point is simply this i and the father are one and you see that through the works that i perform because when jesus performed works he always gave glory to the father he gave glory to god the father jump down to verse 23 of chapter 14 jesus answered and said unto him if a man loved me he will keep my words that’s the manifestation that your love is real that you desire and strive to obey god and my father will love him and we will come meaning the father son and spirit will come unto him and make our abode with him so again jesus and the Father are one and their fellowship and their walk and their dwelling is within the believer.

And so when Jesus says in verse 27, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me, He is again making the point because you loved me, the Father sent me, you loved me, you watched, you witnessed my works, you saw and understood my life and you recognize that I was sent from the Father and because you loved me, you loved the Father because they are one and this is what we are called to do is that we are called to receive the love of God and we are called to display the love of God in our lives and that this is a part of the Christian spiritual foundation of our virtues that we express daily in our life again we see the love of the father in Romans 5a the bible says God shows us his love for us in that when we were still sinners Christ died for us you see God didn’t say Mike straighten up Mike get it together Mike get rid of some things in your life and I’ll start loving you but what he did is that he loved me and he loved me where I was at he loved me with all my weaknesses all my sins all my struggles all the things that were wrong with Mike his love was unending unconditional and it was my friends relentless and this is how God has loved us and he demonstrated that in that Christ died for us if you doubt the love of God look to the cross for there is no greater demonstration presentation of his love than when Christ gave his life and it’s not just that Christ loved you but that the father loved you and that because of what Christ did for you you now have a new prayer relationship that is based on a loving relationship with the father this is why when Terry and I were raising our children our only goal was that they would love God and love people I know a lot of you got a bigger list and your list is longer and I understand that we have great aspirations for our children but I’m just convinced if we as parents would just strive that they would love God and love people that the rest would fall in place according to the will of God that this ought to be our ambition because it is this love that he has for us and our love that we have for him that leads us into a prayer relationship with God.

Now Jesus says, I do not say, I say not unto you. He’s not saying that he’s gonna cease to pray for us. That’s not his point. He is simply saying the forgiveness of our sin and the removal of the guilt of our sin is the foundation which this relationship with God is established.

I love him because he first loved me because of what he did on the cross for me. I am able to experience the forgiveness of God’s grace, the forgiveness of my sins, the God’s grace is poured on me. That guilt is gone.

Now I have a loving relationship with the Father and I can come to him any moment, any time and I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to be scared. Oh I live in the fear, the healthy fear and reverence of God.

But my status before God, it simply rests exclusively upon the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now I want you to get this, if you get nothing else, please walk away with this. That your relationship with God has nothing to do with how busy you are in the church.

Can I get an Amen? I’m afraid that Christians think the busier they are, the more God loves them. No, my friends, no matter how busy, now I’m not asking you all to quit tomorrow, but I don’t want you to define your significance and meaningful relationship with Jesus and the Father based upon activity.

I want it to be centrally focused on what Christ did for you, not what you do for Christ. I am not working so that Jesus would smile more. I am not serving so that Jesus would like me more. I am serving and working for the Lord so that people can know more about this loving relationship.

It is not rooted in effort. It is not rooted in activity. And I know this is going to probably mess everything up, but it’s not rooted in your church attendance. I’m not telling you to stay home. I need you to be here, okay?

But Jesus loves you whether you can come to church today, but you can’t be here next Sunday. It’s okay. We have a direct open access to the Father through Christ, and it’s already completed. It’s already finished, and that love is something that we share with the Father, and we love our Father.

Now, some of you are struggling because some of you have not had a good… exemplary father and so sometimes we wrestle with loving the father we wrestle with having a healthy love relationship with the father because of our earthly relationship struggle and I simply say to you that all that you might be lacking in your earthly relationships can and should and will be fulfilled in your relationship with the father so whatever you are lacking you’re looking for affirmation and you’re not getting it from your spouse you’re looking for encouragement and you’re not receiving it from your parents you’re looking for respect and you’re not getting it from your adult children all that you lack on this earth in your relationships is fulfilled in your relationship with the Father.

And so you must meditate on this. You must contemplate this. You must search the Scriptures to understand this. Why? So that you do not walk down the path of anger. That you don’t walk down the path of disappointment and defeat because your earthly relationships fail you.

I tell you this morning that your relationship, your heavenly relationships will never fail you. And I do not say this simply as doctrinal rhetoric to you, but as someone who understands this because I grew up without a father.

But my pastor taught me from the outset that all that I’m missing in my earthly father is fulfilled in my heavenly father. When I open the Bible, it is not an academic book. When I open the Bible, it is not liturgical sayings or religious thoughts.

It is the heavenly father telling his child how to grow in his relationship. It is the father affirming and encouraging and challenging me and yes even correcting me. But it’s all that I desire in a relationship.

It is found in my relationship with the father. If I want to talk to my father, I get on my knees and he is there. When I want to hear from my father, I don’t have to travel to other states. I open the Bible and I hear from mine.

heavenly Father. All that you lack in your earthly relationships is found and fulfilled in your spiritual relationships. For Jesus not only taught us about the virtue of love but the virtue of faith.

And we come to verse 27 again at the end of the verse. And he says to his disciples, you have believed that I came out from God. Verse 28, I came forth from the Father and him come into the world again.

I leave the world and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, lo, now speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverbs. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things and needest not that any man should ask thee by this we believe that thou came is from God and Jesus answers them do you now believe now Jesus was taking time to bolster the disciples sagging faith because their faith often would waver and it would struggle because they could not understand what Jesus was always saying and that’s okay because you and I understand that as we have learned before that as we are maturing in the faith as we are growing in the faith that at the outset we don’t understand all that is involved in this relationship with the father and we don’t grasp it but as we mature as we develop as we walk with him we learn we grow we experience things in our life the disciples were no different than you and I in the sense that they didn’t always understand what Jesus was saying they couldn’t connect the dots but the one thing that really amazed them was his ability Jesus Christ’s ability to know their thoughts and their questions before they ever asked them and that’s why the disciples said in verse 30 we’re sure that you know all things and you don’t even need us to ask you because you already know our questions you already know what we’re thinking and when we see you manifest this type of wisdom and this type of truth into our lives we are drawn to you and we know that you truly are God and that you are were sent from God,

and that’s why Jesus said, do you now believe, do you now believe? Not that they never believed, but he is calling them to a higher faith, a deeper faith, and we must recognize that in this world that our faith is imperfect, that it is a faith that sometimes takes a step forward and two steps back, that it is a faith that sometimes is very courageous and bold and believes all things, and a faith that sometimes is huddled in the corner,

fearful and doubting. This is the true Christian life, and sometimes we may be like the disciples, thinking that we understand far more than we really do, thinking that our maturity of our faith is more sophisticated than it really is.

But this is how God works out our faith, in that Jesus teaches us his truth, and then he says, walk out of here and live it. Walk out of here and live it. And you this morning may join me in affirming what I am teaching.

You may say amen verbally or quietly in your heart, but then when you walk out of here, your faith is tested and you waver and you wobble and you struggle and you fail God. But friends, I want you to know that this faith that we have is a faith that is always being perfected.

It is a faith that is always maturing. It is a faith that is always learning. And perhaps some of your greatest moments of faith lessons have not been in a classroom, but they have been in life’s room.

And perhaps your closest moments to God have not been in the study room, but it has been in the room of suffering. And we must remember that as we are walking this journey of faith, that God is not fearful of our doubts, that God somehow does not back away because you and I do not understand, or that somehow we can’t explain it.

But that God is okay with our questions, that he already knows our questions, right? Okay, many times I have encouraged believers to just vent to God. And you might find that too simplistic or too irreverent.

but certainly not, because God already knows what you’re thinking, right? And you might as well go out there and take that walk and just tell God what you’re really thinking. Because it’s helping you, and God is working in you, and God is doing a special work of grace in you as he is maturing your faith.

And you may not know the what and the why of what you are walking through in this day, in this moment, in this time, in this season of your life. But there is a God who is ready to hear you, and he is ready to support you, and he is ready to bolster you in your faith, and to help you as you move forward for Jesus Christ.

And so faith does not always mean that I got it all figured out, and that I know everything. and that I’m the first to take the lead and the charge of whatever endeavor is before us. But faith is trusting when I don’t understand.

Faith is giving when the budget is tight. Faith is believing when it doesn’t make sense. Faith is having confidence that God is working all things together beautifully in His will and in His way that He might receive the most glory.

The third virtue that I want you to see this morning is hope. For He’s called us to express the virtue of love and faith, but also of hope. We look at verse 33, and the Bible is so wonderfully, beautifully articulate, inspiring us to hope.

Jesus says, these things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation. The role of hope in the Christian life cannot be underestimated. And Jesus, knowing that His crucifixion is imminent and that the disciples would eventually be scattered and that they would abandon Him, as we see in verse 32, behold, the hour cometh, yes, is now come, that you shall be scattered,

every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. That’s a beautiful truth right there. But Jesus, wanting to infuse hope into the hearts of His disciples.

reminds them that they have a responsibility to look at the world from the perspective of Jesus and his triumph. If you and I look at the world based upon Fox News and CNN, we are of all men most miserable.

If you and I look at the world at the perspective of the latest opinionated person who sits at Dunkin’ Donuts drinkin’ coffee and a donut, we are gonna walk away discouraged and defeated. But when you look at the world from the perspective of God and the perspective of what Jesus says, and you and I see that we already know the last chapter and we know who’s on the winning side and we know that God is the victor and we know that God is one day gonna reunite us with all of our family and friends.

and we are gonna forever live in a relationship with God and with our loved ones who love Jesus Christ and will never be separated from them again. Amen, go ahead and clap, church. But I want you to understand this and write this down if you’re taking notes because you have hope and I have hope based upon two things.

We have hope because we have peace. We have hope because we have victory. And that is what our hope is rooted in and that peace comes from Christ and that victory comes from Christ. Jesus said, in this world, you’ll have tribulation.

He warned us. And I know that many times we wonder why the righteous suffer and why there are so many problems that crowd into our lives. But Jesus wants us to know that even if we endure tribulation, that we can have hope, that we don’t have to be a defeated group.

We don’t have to be a despondent people, but rather we can have the joy and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it’s important to be realistic. I said to somebody not too long ago, why are you such a pessimist?

And they said, Pastor Mike, I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist. Okay, but friends, there’s so much to look forward to in Jesus, isn’t there? And undoubtedly, when we confess Christ as our savior, we will face conflict and there will be tribulation.

But did you see that phrase in verse 33? In me, you have peace. This is a powerful phrase in the Bible because it says, in me. you will have peace. You see, peace comes through a relationship with Christ.

Peace does not come because of the absence of conflict in your life, because of the absence of tribulation in your life. Peace is something within your heart that is given to you by a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the greatest provider of peace to every person who believes in him. Jesus said, these things I have spoken. Our sense of inner peace grows from trusting what Jesus has told us. What did Jesus mean when he said by these things?

In the broadest sense, he is saying, we can claim the entirety of the word of God as his word, and certainly in another sense, He is thinking about his disciples, and he is reminding them to hold on to what he has taught them, because what he has taught them, his truths will continue, his teachings will continue to provide them with peace.

Peace. Jesus has been giving this discourse from chapter 13, and eventually through chapter 17. And there’s tremendous tribulation ahead for these disciples. Yet his message was one of peace. That’s why I want every one of you to make sure that every day of your life, that you begin with a promise from the Bible.

I want you to get a Bible promise book, I want you to pull up your apps, and I want you to get all the promises that are in the Bible, and I want you to read that promise. I want you to believe that promise, I want you to claim that promise, I want you to pray that promise, and I want you figuratively to stand on that promise throughout the day.

Because sometimes all I have is a promise from God to hang on to. And so it is that the promises of God provide supernatural peace. Peace, Jesus says. We go in his strength, he is with us in the midst of trouble, and he provides us the triumph of peace over the troubles of life.

Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation. Our peace is based upon our union with Christ. It grows as we trust his word. We will be assaulted by this world. We will be challenged by this world.

world, but the promises of Jesus will help us overcome the problems of the world. There’s gonna be opposition, there’s gonna be persecution, there’s gonna be satanic attacks upon you, misunderstandings in your relationships, hurts and disappointments, heartaches and things that will challenge you and test your faith.

But it’s gonna be the words of Christ that give you peace, a peace that passes all understanding. I said to you that our hope is rooted in peace, our hope is rooted in victory. Jesus reminds us that He has overcome.

He says, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Our hope is found in the victory that Jesus has achieved on the cross, through the resurrection. ascension. Be of good cheer, I have overcome, Jesus said.

It’s the last thing he says before he teaches them about more prayer in chapter 17, which we’ll be studying very soon. But Jesus is telling them, I have come into this world, I’ve lived a sinless life, I have taught you my truth, I have exemplified Christianity.

I have demonstrated the power of God. I have interrupted funerals and raised the dead. I have showed up late and called people out of tombs. I am the one who brings victory to every child. Death will not keep Jesus in the tomb.

He will overcome death. He will overcome the devil. He will overcome disease. He will overcome the demons. He will overcome even our sin. And we have victory in Jesus. And if Jesus Christ has overcome the world, He can overcome the world that you live in.

You don’t have to be anxious. You don’t have to be defeated because you have His peace and you have His victory through a relationship with Him. And the Apostle Paul said, but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus always held out hope. He always infused hope into the hearts of His disciples. And as we come to this passage of Scripture, we’re reminded of the great hope that we find. We know that in this world there’ll be tribulation and in this world there’ll be problems, but we will always have the peace of Christ, the peace of our Lord and Savior.

And that is the hope that is built within us. And you know the world may be in a mess, but praise God for the believer. Our hearts are not a mess because we have faith in Jesus Christ and He has given us the hope.

It is a living hope. So I hope each and every one of you have trusted Christ as your Savior. And if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, make sure you go to our website, HopeWorthHaving .com. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.