The Unfailing Promises of God, Part 2 (Selected Scriptures) | John MacArthur | GTYtv

To me, life is all about the truth. We've been  moving phrase by phrase, verse by [music] verse,   paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter  through these great truths. [music] Open your Bibles with me. So, as I was thinking about how we  might be thankful, I wanted to find   a a location in the scripture where we could  pull together some amazing realities for which   we must be thankful. And that drew me to  John 13, the Gospel of John in chapter 13.   And I I want to do a kind of a um fly over of  John 13-16 with some some landings along the way.   And I'm going to give you 10 promises that our  Lord gives here to his own. Chapter 13 verse   one. before the feast of Passover. Jesus knowing  that his hour had come, that's his hour of death, and that he would depart out of the world to the  father, having loved his own who are in the world.   He loved them to the end. A departure like this  could lead to the question, "Do you love me?  

If you leave me, do you love me?" That would  be true in any relationship, wouldn't it?   If you're leaving me, do you love me? The first  thing we know here is that he loves them and he   loves them to the end. It's a a verb, which is the  strongest kind of relational love. And to the end,   as I tell us, it means to the end of everything,  to the to whatever end you you want to take it,   to the end of time, to the end of history. It also  can mean to the maximum capacity of God to love.   He loves them completely. He loves them totally.  This is no indication that he lacks love.   This is the first promise that the Lord  gives to all who follow him. I love you   to death and then I love you to life. To the end.  to the end of everything to the max of my capacity   and it can't be a greater love than to be  innocent and give your life for the guilty.   So the first promise that the Lord gives these  brokenhearted disciples is and it extends to all   who will belong to him the promise that he loves  them with a sacrificial love that will never end.   The second promise he gives them is in chapter  14 and verse one. This is the goal of that love.  

Do not let your heart be troubled.  Believe in God, believe also in me.   This is a claim to equality with  God. Obviously, you believe in God   as God, believe in me also as God. And then  this amazing promise. In my father's house   are many dwelling places, literally rooms.  If it were not so, I would have told you.   But I go to prepare a place for you. If I go  and prepare a place for you, I will come again   and receive you to myself that  where I am, there you may be also.   He loves his own all the way into heaven. Stop.  Literally, stop letting your hearts be troubled.   I love you and I'll love you all the way  to heaven. You trust God, trust me equally   in my father's house. What's that? That's heaven.  Sometimes I think we think of heaven as um   a palace in a neighborhood. No, it's just a  massive palace. We're all in the father's house.   So what is the Lord saying? He is  giving to his disciples the promise   of eternal fellowship with  him in the heaven of heavens.   That would do something for your  disappointment, wouldn't it? should  

if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ,  you are loved with an eternal love and you're   going to be loved all the way into heaven where  you will be loved forever in the father's house.   The third promise that Jesus gives is the promise  of spiritual influence. Spiritual influence.   For that we look at chapter 14  11. This whole section 13- 16   is all in the upper room and Jesus is making  these promises. We're just hitting the highlights. Verse 11 of chapter 14. Believe me that I  am in the father and the father is in me.   Otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who  believes in me, the works that I do,   he will do also, and greater works than these, he  will do because I go to the Father. This has been   confusing to some people who ask, "How could  anybody do greater works than our Lord did   when he banished illness from the land  of Israel?" How could anybody do that?   Well, they they couldn't   do miracles that were more powerful. They  couldn't do miracles that were more supernatural.  

It's not talking about the character or nature  of the miracles. It's talking about the volume.   because I go to the father  greater amounts of spiritual works you will do. You know that that might  seem strange but think about it this way.   Jesus at his ascension met in the  upper room with 120 disciples. 120 One chapter later, after the preaching of  Peter, one sermon, there were 3,000 people   added to the church and baptized.  Immediately, this prophecy was fulfilled.   Don't be discouraged because I'm going because I  go to my father. The powerful influence of heaven   will extend through the apostles and through  believers to follow even down to this day.   We are the force that the Lord uses to bring  about the greatest miracle regeneration.   And it requires the gospel. How will  they believe if they haven't heard?   How will they hear without a preacher? The  fourth promise our Lord makes love, heaven   and spiritual influence. The fourth  fourth promise is provision. Provision  

in chapter there's really two places. Chapter 14  chapter 14 verse 13. Whatever you ask in my name   that will I do so that the father may be glorified  in the son. If you ask me anything in my name,   I will do it. That's a blank check, right?  With one provision that you ask in his name.   Whatever you ask. And he repeats it  over in chapter 16 toward the end of his   teaching that night in the upper room. Verse 23  of chapter 16. In that day, you will not question   me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you,  if you ask the Father for anything in my name,   he will give it to you. Until now, you have asked  for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive   so that your joy may be made full. This is a an  incredible promise. Anything, anything in my name.   What does in my name mean? Well, sometimes we  pray our own requests obviously and then say   for Jesus' sake, amen. We throw that  in as if that necessarily applies.   To pray in his name is to pray  consistent with kingdom purposes.   To pray on the basis of understanding his divine  nature. In other words, something that would be   consistent with his purpose, consistent with his  nature, and thirdly, contribute to his glory.  

In other words, your prayer is this is to fulfill  the purpose for which Christ ordained ministry.   This is consistent with his divine nature  and perfections. and it is for his glory.   If those three things are true, you have  heaven's response. You will receive what you ask.   Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply  all your need according to his riches in glory   in Christ Jesus." And that means he doesn't  give a skimp skimpy amount but a lavish amount.   You have everything you need that is  consistent with the purpose, the nature   and the will of Christ. So if you're praying in  his will, the floodgates of heaven open to you.   Number five, this is really the most  important thing in one sense is the promise   of the Holy Spirit. Go over  to chapter 14 and verse 16.

I will ask the father and he'll give you  another helper that he may be with you forever.   That is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot  receive because not does not see him or know him.   But you know him because he abides with you and  will be in you. Literally, I will send the Holy   Spirit to dwell with in you. The supernatural  divine comforter, that's the word paracleas   in Greek, to come alongside to help. And notice he  says another comforter, another paracleas. That's   very important because the word another  is there are two words in Greek. One is   heteros, another of a different kind.  This is alos, another of the same kind.   That's why the holy spirit is called the spirit  of Christ because he is a member of the trinity.   So what do you get? Because I'm going to my  father, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit.   He will abide with you forever and he will be  in you. Acts 18 says, "After you've received the   Holy Spirit, his power will come upon you  and you'll be my witnesses across the earth."

This is the gift that makes  all other promises possible. All other promises possible. In verse 17, the spirit of truth  whom the world cannot receive.   We have a supernatural indwelling member of the  Trinity. The world knows nothing about that. He is   with us. He is in us. And verse 18 even ties it to  Christ himself. I will not leave you as orphans.   I will come to you. He comes in the form of the  Holy Spirit who is the spirit of Christ himself.   In chapter 16, look at verse 8. When he comes, the  helper is mentioned in verse 7. The Holy Spirit,   if I go, he says, I'll send him to you. If I  when I go, I'm going to send him. When he comes,   he will convict the world concerning sin and  righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin because   they do not believe in me. And concerning  righteousness because I go to the father  

and you no longer see me. And concerning judgment  because the ruler of this world has been judged.   This is an amazing promise. Not only am I  going to send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you,   we have the record of that in Acts chapter 2. And  every subsequent believer is a temple of the Holy   Spirit. But the Holy Spirit comes to work on the  very people that we are commissioned to reach.   He comes to convict the world concerning  the sin of not believing in Christ,   concerning a faulty view of  righteousness, and concerning judgment.   So the the power of this sending  of the Holy Spirit is on both sides   of the divine commission. He lives  in us and he convicts the world. He promises to love us forever,   to take us to heaven, to make our lives  high impact of spiritual influence.

He promises to supply everything we ask  him for that's consistent with his will   and to give us the Holy Spirit and send  the Holy Spirit to work on the hearts   of non-believers that we endeavor  to reach. There's a sixth promise   in this upper room discourse and it is also  in chapter 14 and 16. Chapter 14 verse 17.   Speaking of the helper of the Holy  Spirit in verse 16, I just read this.   He is called the spirit of truth. The spirit of  truth. The sixth promise is the promise of truth.   Down to verse 26. 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 said to you. This is the   promise given to the apostles that when they when  they went to writing the scripture, they would be   guided by the Holy Spirit. And because that was  true for them, we have received an inherent Bible.   We have the truth. In chapter 16 and verse 13  again, when he, the spirit of truth, comes,   he will guide you into all the truth.  He will not speak on his own initiative,   but whatever he hears, he will speak, and  he will disclose to you what is to come.  

He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and  disclose it to you. The Holy Spirit is the agent   that reveals scripture and reveals in revealing  scripture the true God and Christ as well. The fruit of that is an inherent scripture.   Men were moved by the spirit of God to write  the word of God. This is biblical revelation. So these promises are massively significant, but maybe none more so than right at the  middle of this, the Holy Spirit and the word.   But there's more. The promise of peace. Promise of peace. 14:27 just to touch that verse. Peace I  live with you. My peace I give to you.   Not as the world gives.  Not based on circumstances.

Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not  let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful. And then then the final statement chapter  16:33. These things I have spoken to you.   All of them really in this upper room  discourse so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but  take courage. I've overcome the world.   This is not only objective peace with God  because we're no longer at war with him. We   are now his children. But this is subjective  peace. The peace that passes understanding.   The peace that tranquilizes your heart in the  midst of this severest trial. Number eight,   the promise of fruit. Chapter 15, the Lord is  talking about fruit. In verse five, I am the vine,   you are the branches. He who abides in  me and I am in him. He bears much fruit.   For apart from me, you can do nothing. Just  to remind you, biblical fruit is attitude.  

fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness,  goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, and action or behavior,   the fruit of giving, the fruit of fruit of  righteousness, many kinds of behavioral fruit.   So he says,"I promise in giving you the word  and the spirit that you will produce fruit."   Verse 8, "My father is glorified by this that you  bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." There's a little shift in number nine   going back to that same chapter verse 18 chapter  15. This is a promise. If the world hates you,   you know that it has hated me for it hated  you. Let's say this is the promise of refining.   Refining. If you're of the world, the world would  love its own. But because you're not of the world,   but I chose you out of the world.  Because of this, the world hates you.   Remember the word that I said to you,  a slave is not greater than his master.   If they persecuted me, they will also  persecute you. If they kept my word,   they will keep yours also. But all these  things they shall do to you for my name's sake  

because they do not know the one who sent me. This  is refining. Count it all joy when you fall into   various trials because they have a perfecting  work. You're not greater than your master. He was   persecuted. You will be persecuted. He was hated.  You will be hated. Some of you will even die.   Verse 25, Jesus says, "They hated me without a  cause." This is part of your spiritual development   and something to be thankful for because  it yields the fruit of righteousness. And then a final promise that sums it up back in  chapter 15 verse 10. If you keep my commandments,   you will abide in my love just as I have kept  my father's commandments and abide in his love.   These things I have spoken to  you so that my joy may be in you   and your joy may be made full. Number 10, the  promise of joy. [snorts] The promise of joy   that even takes us into chapter 16. This  the kind of the last one we'll look at here.   Chapter 16 verse 20. Truly, truly I  say unto you, you will weep and lament.  

You'll suffer and the world will rejoice. You will  grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.   Whenever a woman is in labor, he has she  has pain because her hour has come. But when   she gives birth to the child, she no  longer remembers the anguish because   of the joy that a child has been born into  the world. Therefore, you two have grief now,   but I will see you again, and your heart will  rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you, everlasting joy. When you think about what to be  thankful for, think about the promises of Christ.   Astonishing promises. All of them are   the property, the privilege and  the promise of true believers.

This is why no matter how challenging  life is, we must be thankful. Summing it up, Colossians 2, listen to this. that their hearts, verse two, may  be encouraged, having been knit together in love,   and attaining to all the wealth that comes  from a full assurance of understanding,   resulting in a true knowledge of God's  mysteries, that is Christ himself,   in whom are hidden all the  treasures of wisdom and knowledge. These things are ours because Christ is ours. In him are hidden. All the treasures of wisdom  and knowledge. Everything comes to us in him.   Having Christ is having all these promises to encourage us. Let's bow in prayer.

Father, you know that we could dig deeply into  each of these, but sometimes just the sweeping elements of divine grace  granted to unworthy sinners is more powerful than any one single grace. for all these gifts, all these promises.  We thank you. And they're not something   that we will receive other than heaven. They are  something we have received. It's all ours already.   The only thing awaiting us is  that final heaven of heavens.   But life for us in Christ and with Christ  in us is certainly a heaven on earth.   We thank you for the love that granted  us such great and precious promises.   We offer you our thanks in Christ's name. Amen.

I can still remember hearing John MacArthur  preach as a 15-year-old boy and it changing   the categories in my mind of what preaching  was [music] all about. I had no access to John   MacArthur other than these sermons that were  delivered to me by friends. I was absolutely   fascinated, drawn to what John MacArthur was  doing. I didn't know who he was, but the way   he walked through a text, the way he preached  the word of God, it was absolutely infectious.   I wanted more. I think John MacArthur gave an  example for everybody for what expositional   preaching meant. John was a steady presence decade  after decade working through books of the Bible.   He's had a determinative impact on a vast segment  of American evangelicalism. And that's where   you're going to find doctrinal clarity. That's  where you're going to find expositional preaching.   That's where you're going to find a real boldness  and Christian conviction and a passion for the   gospel. There is no doubt that the work we come  across most frequently around the world that to us   seems solid and useful is the work that the  Lord did through John and Grace to You. John   was a wonderful co-laborer in ministry and an  amazing encouragement just an incredible gift.