Ok, we ran out of tape on the other side so we’ll go back and pick up verse 24 again here: “ ‘The one who does not love Me does [will] not keep My words, and the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s, Who sent Me.’ ” And that’s what the New Testament is. And yet the world considers it a collection of folklore and myths.

Verse 25: “ ‘I have spoken these things to you while I am yet present with you. But when the Comforter comes…’ ” That’s the other part of the function of the Holy Spirit – to comfort you. Comfort you in many ways. And we’ll see a little bit later on that it will teach you. So there’s another function of it. But it’s actually the Father Who is teaching you, Christ Who is teaching you through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now in the study paper that we did for this Passover preparation, I’ve got a full section there showing how and why the Holy Spirit is the power of God and why it was translated this way in the translations, so I won’t go through that but I will leave it to you to go ahead and study that section.

Verse 26: “ ‘But when the Comforter comes, even the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in My name…’ ” So they do it together, you see. “We will make Our abode with you.” Follows right along with it. “ ‘…That one shall teach you all things, and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.’ ” Now let’s understand something. You can be ever so intelligent, you can have ever so many credentials that you desire, but you will never understand the Word of God unless the Holy Spirit teaches you. And the Holy Spirit will not teach anyone who does not keep the words of God. Now that’s how God is able to teach His people. And yet with the same book, the same words, without the Holy Spirit, to close the minds of those who consider themselves to be the experts. It’s a phenomenal thing that God has done.

Now this is a promise: “ ‘…That one shall teach you all things…’ ” Now that’s why when you study and you let God speak to you because these are the words from God the Father. That’s why it’s important, you see. That’s why it’s profound. Who’s speaking to you? The Father is. And He gives you the power through the Holy Spirit to be taught.

Now let’s tie this in with another verse from John 6 and it goes right back to one of the very basic Scriptures that we have known and we’ve understood – John 6:44-45, KJV. And then we’ll see that John even repeats this again in I John 2. So this is quite a phenomenal thing, you see. So even though someone can read the words and explain the words and teach them to you, it’s not the operation of a teacher which really teaches you. It’s the operation of God the Father so that anyone who is doing the teaching is teaching the Words of God with the Spirit of God and you are hearing the Words of God, which builds your faith, as we have already covered, you see, and that it’s the Holy Spirit that is actually giving you the teaching. And it is actually God the Father Who is the one who is teaching you. Now that is quite a phenomenal thing. Because if these are His words, which Jesus said they are, aren’t they? And if the Holy Spirit is going to teach you, it’s going to teach you the Father’s words.

Now here, John 6:44: “ ‘No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draws him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.” Now since God is not teaching the whole world yet this applies to all those that God has called. They shall all be taught of God. See, that’s why Paul told Timothy, “Preach the Word,” because that’s going to teach you God’s way. How are you ever going to have the Word of God written in your heart and in your minds unless you’re taught the Word of God? And how is it going to stick there unless you have the Holy Spirit to put it there and put it in you? It isn’t going to be. That’s why the Protestants are forlorn over all of their great evangelistic campaigns and everything that they have. Six months after they have the people come forward and give their heart to the Lord they’re right back out in the world. So in order to retain those that they have, they have to say, “Well, you don’t have to keep the commandments of God,” and that pleases the carnal person, doesn’t it? But Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” It’s just the opposite, see, because they’re not being taught of God.

“Every man therefore that hath heard…” And you can put in there Romans 10:14 (paraphrased): “How can they hear without a preacher,” see, faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God. And the true teacher… You see the key to it is this: it’s not the man who is teaching. It is the one who is teaching using the Spirit of God and the Word of God to convey to you the Word of God so God the Father can likewise teach you. That’s what it’s all about. And that is the covenant that God has make with us through Christ. “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father [not only just information about Him, but learned from the Father], cometh unto Me” (John 6:44-45, KJV). That’s why for those who really want to know about God, and hunger and thirst after God, if they seek they shall find, if they knock it will be opened, Christ will deal with them, Christ will lead them. And you go back in your life and you think this: Why did one day the thing happen to me which brought me into the church of God? Why did that happen? Well, because God chose you. God sent part of the seven Spirits of God to be with you and lead you. God leads you to repentance. God leads you to baptism. God then gives you the begettal of the Holy Spirit from the Father and then you begin to develop the mind of Christ, you are taught of God the Father. That’s a tremendous thing. Now in view of that let’s understand how important Sabbath services really are, and how important the Word of God really is.

Now let’s come back to 1 John 2 and let’s see what John wrote of concerning this very thing when confronted with the antichrist teachers. Now some people misconstrue what he has written here, but it’s all in light of the antichrist who were going out and teaching the things contrary to the Word of God. Now isn’t that amazing? You can take the Word of God and teach things contrary to the Word of God, even use the Word of God in the wrong way and be an antichrist. That’s because they add to and take away from, and give their own interpretation thereof.

Now I John 2:18: “Little children [now I suppose at about 90 years plus of age he was allowed to do that to the rest, right? – little children], it is the last time…” And the last days began when? When Christ came. “…And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists…” And boy are they multiplied over and over again from then. “…Whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction…”, which is an anointing of the Holy Spirit. That’s what he likens to it when you receive the Holy Spirit. “…From the Holy One, and ye know all things” (I John 2:18-19, KJV). Now obviously you don’t know all things that there is to know in the world, but you know all the things concerning the things necessary for salvation. And he’s writing to those who have been in the church for years, and years, and years, and years. So if I could ask you a question: Do you know all the basic things concerning salvation? Yes, you do. Are there still more things to learn? Yes. That’s what he’s talking about here.

And he says: “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” Now when he goes through all of this he explains even more here. Let’s pick it up here, verse 26: “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you [that is deceive you]. But the anointing which ye have received of Him [that is God the Father] abideth in you, and ye need not that any man [meaning of the antichrists] teach you…”, because what will they teach you? They will teach you lies. “…But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things…” That’s what we just read. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. And it’s really God the Father Who’s teaching you through the power of the Holy Spirit, you see. “…And is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him [the Father]. And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (verses 21-22, 26-28). So you see there is a special education that you go through.

Now with that let me ask you a question, if you understand this. Will you have incentive to study? Because if you do the Holy Spirit is going to teach you. Now there is a very interesting ad put out by the SDA’s [LDS’s], which is quite clever, which has a note of truth. It shows starting out a baby, and then they show it growing up into an adult. And they’re advertising the King James Bible but the kicker is they also want to send you the Book of Mormon. So there’s the deception in it. But what it does, it show this person through life and it’s projected. You know how they can do on computers and show the age of the person. So this is what they did to this little baby clear up into the 70’s. And the caption was, “So, you’ve had no time to study My word,” showing a whole wasted life. But if you have the Spirit of God and understand that through the Spirit of God, God the Father is going to teach you, do you not have great incentive to study? Do you not then desire to study? And how silly then are our excuses that we didn’t have time. Now wouldn’t we be upset if God said, “I don’t have time for you”? Well, with God dwelling in us through the power of the Holy Spirit then when we tell God we don’t have time to study your Word, when it’s the most important word possible because it comes from God the Father, see? So this will give us greater incentive.

Ok, now let’s come back to John 14 (FV). We’ll make a little bit of progress here. After we get through about half way on John 15 we’ll make pretty quick progress. But all these things are important, you see, because this is… When we come to the Passover and when we read these words for the covenant of the Passover, it’s good that we understand them in the way that we are now so that we realize the whole meaning of the covenant and being renewed in that covenant on the Passover.

Now we’ll finish off verse 26: “ ‘…And shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.’ ” And that’s how the New Testament was written. Since they’re the words of God, God the Father inspired them to write the words that He wanted. And as John said maybe they could have recorded every miracle that Jesus did and the world wouldn’t be able to contain all the books. So we have everything that’s essential here.

Now let’s continue on, verse 27. Now with this we shift from faith into hope. Now that we have the Holy Spirit of God this gives us hope. Therefore he kind of repeats himself again here being in verse 27: “ ‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it fear.’ ” That’s exactly how he started out in John 14:1: “ ‘Let not your heart be troubled.’ ” God doesn’t want you to have worry, and fret, and stew, even though you have difficulties. Now we need to be concerned enough to do something about it – to pray about it, to study about it, to take action concerning whatever it may be. But He doesn’t want us to be in anxiety and fear and let these things keep bothering us. Because remember, perfect love does what? Casts out fear. Now if the church of God, which it is supposed to be teaching the love of God, which it should, can you now understand how a terrible thing it is in God’s sight if an organization claiming to be the church of God runs it by fear and not by love? Yes, because you’re squelching love.

Ok, let’s continue on, verse 28: “ ‘You have heard Me say to you that I am going away, and that I will come to you again. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I said, “I am going to the Father” because My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you may believe.’ ”

Verse 30 is another big key: “ ‘I will not speak with you much longer because the ruler of this world is coming…’ ” We’re going to see a little bit later on through the Passover and the crucifixion the ruler of this world was judged. Now he’s also called Satan the devil that deceives the whole world, isn’t he (Revelation 12:9)? You can just right these down as notes and put them in later. He’s also called the god of this world, isn’t he? Yes, indeed (II Corinthians 4:4). He’s also called the prince of the power of the air, isn’t he? Yes, that spirit that is inner-working in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2-3).

We have a promise. Though we have to fight and war against the principalities and spirits and wicked spirits in high places, we need not fear. See, because it’s much like what happened to Peter. Let’s come to Luke 22:31. Now this is right during the Passover, see. This is what He told Peter: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat…” Now he did give in to Satan a couple times, didn’t he? Yes, he did. “…But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Now that was not enough. To prove the point that Satan was after him He said, verse 33: “And he [that is Peter] said unto Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison, and to death.” Now could you accomplish any greater work for the Lord than doing that? Is this not willing to give up everything and even your life? Yes. Are we not supposed to be willing to give up our lives? That’s true, yes. But this he was saying of himself, which means this: anyone of his own self or her own self is not going to do anything for God separately from what God desires the person to do. What great work can we do for God? That’s what it gets down to. If you go to prison because you’ve kept the commandments of God, that’s one thing. But if you volunteer from a carnal point of view – “I’m ready to do this. I’m ready to do that. I’m ready to do the other thing.” You know much like the suicide bombers of the Palestinians and the terrorists today. So what did Jesus say, verse 34: “And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me” (Luke 22:31-34, KJV). Did he learn a lesson from it? Yes, he did. Did he do it? Yes, he did. Did he repent of it? Yes, he did.

Now then, even though he did that and even though he gave in to it, this was not a sin unto death because he repented. However, we have a promise back here in I John 5, that if you yield to God and have the Spirit of God, Satan, though he may destroy the body cannot touch you. Remember what Jesus said? Don’t fear him who is able to kill the body but is not able to kill the life. Fear Him Who is able to kill the body and the life in Gehenna. So even though we may go through the trials and troubles and tests and things even as Peter did and was prophesied by Jesus that he would, here’s what we can count on, I John 5:18 (KJV): “We know that whosoever is born [begotten] of God…” He says “begotten” down here in the next sentence and it’s the exact same word. A little different tense of the word, but it means begotten. “…Of God sinneth not [that is he doesn’t practice sin]; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself [that means in the way of the Lord], and that wicked one toucheth him not.” So though we have to fight against Satan, fight against the world, fight against all these things, Satan can never really get to us. He might tempt us, he might try us, he might even get us to do sin, but then if we are truly Christ’s and repent he can’t touch us. In other words God has given this assurance: Satan cannot take you from Him. That’s something to remember. That’s something to really know and understand and consider and realize that that’s the assurance that we have.

Just like Jesus said of Himself back here to John 14:30 now: “…The ruler of this world is coming; but he does not have a single thing in Me.” And I imagine that Satan and all the demons figured, “Man, when Christ died we have foiled God’s plan.” But no, that which looked like utter defeat turned out to be the triumph over them because He was resurrected from the dead, correct? Yes. “Doesn’t have a single thing in Me.” And with Christ and with God the Father and Jesus Christ in us by the power of the Holy Spirit the wicked one doesn’t touch us. And if we are in right standing with God and in covenant with God, he does not have a single thing in us.

Now you remember the account of the children of Israel in the wilderness? How they provoked God? How many times did they provoke God? Now let’s look at an astounding thing here. Let’s come to the book of Numbers with the account of Balaam. And you know that Balak hired Balaam to come and curse Israel. Now I am sure that we can look at the parallels here. And he finally had to tell the truth to Balak. And Balak said, “After all this money I’ve given you, you can’t curse them?” But he did counsel him afterwards. “I can’t curse them but you can send all of your beautiful women over there and entice them to commit adultery and eat things sacrificed to idols, and then God will have to correct them, but I can’t curse them.” You get that rest of the story in the book of Revelation 2.

But here in Numbers 23:20 Balaam says: “Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” And that’s an operation of grace. Now notice verse 21 after all that Israel did in sinning: “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel…” Now you see when God forgives sin that’s the way He forgives it. Isn’t that something? And that’s the way God deals with us in relationship to Satan the devil. Because when we stand in the grace and we are under the grace of God there is no sin that Satan can accuse us of. That’s why people who take grace and go out and make it lawlessness are going so contrary to God. “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel [that’s quite a statement after reading all the troubles that they had up to that point, isn’t it?]: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” Now also we can look at that as a prophecy of the church, can’t we? Yes, indeed. Are we not the true Israel of God? Yes, indeed. “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain” (Num. 23:20-24, KJV). Just makes you wonder with physical Israel, is that what is going to happen in Iraq? Who knows. It also says in another place concerning physical Israel and Joseph in particular, that though the archers have shot sorely at him they weren’t able to get him. See, it sounds like the world is ganging up on us to do that.

Ok, let’s come back here and we’ll finish chapter 14 and we’ll go ahead and end it here for today. So we have protection from Satan. Claim that protection. Ask God for that protection. The question is: How do we have the battle and yet we’re protected at the same time? Very simply – God gives us the spiritual power to overcome it. And see, they will try and get us just like Balaam tried to curse Israel. And yes, we may go through difficulties. Yes, we wrestle against wicked spirits in high places and so forth like that, but they can’t get us. We wrestle and fight back against them through the power and strength of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and that’s how they cannot touch us. Though we wrestle them, though we battle them, they can’t take us. “Touching” doesn’t mean that we don’t wrestle and fight against them in that particular sense. I think that “touching” there has from the point of view to have spiritual power and control over to nullify the Holy Spirit. That’s what that would have to mean, otherwise it would be a contradiction in itself.

Now verse 31, the last verse of John 14: “ ‘Yet he comes…’ ” And why? Now did Satan get to Christ? Yes, he did. Did he kill Him? Yes, he did. Did he use human instrumentalities to do it? Yes, he did. But did he get to Him spiritually? No, he didn’t. So that’s the same example that we look to here, you see. So Satan cannot touch us spiritually. He can physically, but not spiritually. And yes, it may be a great trial to wrestle against wicked spirits in high places. See, but that’s so that we turn to God and look to Him and claim His promises, and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to be with us so that regardless of what Satan may attempt to do, or if people inspired by him may try to do and yea and even in some ways succeed in doing some things, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose and God will see us through it.

So I don’t mean to imply by that or mean by any sense of the word that we are going to live a blissful life of non-combativeness against the wicked spirits of this world. No, we are in a spiritual battle. But as long as God is on our side and fighting for us and we use the tools of God and we use the sword of the Spirit, as it says there in Ephesians 6, which is the Word of God, they will be defeated just as surely as Balaam was when he tried to curse Israel, though Israel had all their sins and difficulties. So we can say likewise Satan is not able to really get to us, though we have our weaknesses and our sins that we lay before the altar of God and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, he is not able to bring accusation against us though he tries. It says he accuses them day and night before the throne of God, but does God listen to him? No. Who does God listen to? To Christ who is advocating, correct? Yes. And if God the Father’s Spirit and Christ be in us we shall overcome. There can be no question, no doubt about that.

Now it may take some time. That’s why we have the experiences that we go through. And that’s why God has given us the time that we have right now to go through the things that we are going through. And many times when we’re fighting these battles and wrestling with these problems and difficulties we don’t see the end. But with trust and faith in Christ and the promises… Now realize this: God does not lie. We can claim His promises. And when you come to a situation that you don’t understand and you can’t comprehend, you have to go to God and ask for understanding, see. You have to ask God to open your mind and give you understanding. “What is the lesson? What am I to learn? How do these things apply in my life?” And that’s an awful lot of my prayer right now personally: “God, where are we? Where are we going? What are we doing? What do you want us to do? How do you want us to do?” Because one of the lessons that we have learned is this: we don’t say, “This is the work of God,” and run down the road and say, “This is the work of God, this is the work of God. And by the way God, since it’s Your work You better bless it.” No, we have to make sure that we’re doing the will of God before we start down a road, and doing the things that please God. So that’s why these things come upon us. So it all fits together. One is not a contradiction of the other and that’s why we go through these things.

Ok, let’s finish the last verse here. “ ‘Yet he comes so that the world may know that I love the Father…’ ” And sometimes you have to prove your love by giving your life. And isn’t that the whole story, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay his life for his friends.”? We’ll see this in chapter 15. “…And that I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me. Arise, let us go out.” So they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Well, we’ll go ahead and end this tape here and see if we can make a little more progress next time.

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Passover Preparation # 3

Scriptural References

1. John 14:18-31

2. Luke 24:36-45

3. I John 1:1

4. John 16:26-27

5. I Corinthians 3:16-18

6. John 3:16

7. I Timothy 3:16

8. Isaiah 66:1-5

9. Romans 8:9-11

10. Philippians 2:1-5

11. Ecclesiastes 12:13

12. Psalm 19:127-128

13. Hebrews 1:8-9

14. John 6:44-45

15. Romans 10:14

16. I John 2:18-22, 26-28

17. Revelation 12:9

18. II Corinthians 4:4

19. Ephesians 2:2-3

20. Luke 22:31-34

21. 21) I John 5:18

22. Numbers 23:20-24