John 14:25-27; Luke 6:46-49

John 14:25-27; Luke 6:46-49

Right Guidance

I.                    Jesus promises to guide us rightly in life through His Lordship, so we must be taught by the Spirit of Truth (John 14:25-27)

a.       As Jesus seeks to comfort His disciples who are troubled over His proclaimed departure, He promises to always give them guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit. He describes how He accomplishes this guidance by describing what the Holy Spirit will do, how He’ll do it, and what impact that will have on the lives of His disciples. He turns their minds back to the things they heard Him say, and seen Him do over the course of their three years alongside Him. They were many things they didn’t understand, but He promises to teach them all things, and remind them of all that He said to them while He was with them, and He says He’ll accomplish this promise through the Person of the Holy Spirit. He’ll guide the disciples in understanding the gospel, in gaining perspective for how it shapes their view of life and the world, give them a perspective which transcends their circumstances and the pressures of life, and remind them of the unchanging and continually applicable nature of the gospel to all of life’s constantly changing circumstances and situations. In this way, the Holy Spirit will strengthen, fortify, and building up the disciples to withstand the circumstances, trials, temptations, and difficulties which they’ll face, and accomplish the peace of Christ in their lives. So  what does this mean for us today? The Holy Spirit’s role as Comforter and Teacher explained, reminded, and pointed the disciples towards Jesus and the perfect sufficiency of His grace. He also inspired them to record these remembrances of Jesus, and the understanding of life which they were granted through Him in the New Testament. Now Jesus guides us in remembrance, understanding, and fresh perspective of life in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word. So today, those of us who belong to Christ, are guided by Him in His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit into His peace, especially in the worst circumstances. No matter what we face, feel, or experience in life, Jesus is faithful to His promise to always guide us, but we must be taught by the Spirit of truth to continually refocus on Christ. (John 14:25-27; Ps. 29:11; Isa. 9:6-7; 52:7; 54:13; John 14:6, 15-24; 15:25-27; 16:12-15, 33; Acts 1:15-2:41; 1 Cor. 2:6-16; Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 3:15; 2 Tim. 1:15; 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)  

II.                 Jesus promises to guide us rightly in life through His Lordship, so we must submit to Him, seek Him in His Word, and make obedience to His Word the foundation of our lives (Luke 6:46-49)

a.       Now Jesus illustrates the reality that hearing, and learning alone are inadequate for following His guidance. This parable contrasts two men who both heard His Word, desired to build a sturdy life represented by their houses, and both faced the same challenges to their structure, but only one was successful in building a sturdy life. One man heard the Word and acted obediently on it, which resulted in an unshakeable structure in the face of life’s torrent because of its deep foundation on the Solid Rock. The other man heard the Word and didn’t obey it, so when the torrent burst against his house, it suffered immediate collapse and permanent ruin because it was built without a dugout foundation. Jesus proclaims that the moral of the story is that everyone who comes to Him, hears His Words, and acts on them will have a life on a solid and unshakeable foundation which stand solidly against the trials, tribulations, challenges, and difficult circumstances which are certain to impact us. The difference in standing or falling isn’t in hearing, but in acting on what is heard; and the difference between acting and not acting on God’s Word is coming to Him, or submitting to His Lordship. Further, the mark of those who love Him, and have truly submitted themselves to His Lordship, is obedience to His Word, which produces a peaceful and unshakeable reaction to the storms of life. That means that Jesus’ promise to guide us in life, which is facilitated by the Holy Spirit, is only a practical reality and possibility through His Lordship over our lives. We all face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual deluges which feel as though they’re certain to wash us away. If we stubbornly resist Jesus’ Lordship, they’ll overtake us now, and if we reject His Lordship completely, the ruin will be eternal. But if we submit to His Lordship over our lives now, and act on His Word, the floods and storms will come, and they’ll be unpleasant, but our foundation of peace in Him won’t be shaken. (Luke 6:46-49; Matt. 12:50; 15:7-14; Luke 9:23-25; 11:28 John 3:36; 8:30-36; 13:17; 14:15, 21, 24, 15:10, 14; Rom. 2:4-10; 6:16; 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; Gal. 6:6-10; Eph. 2:8-10; Col. 2:6-7; Tit. 1:15-16; Jas. 1:21-25; 1 John 2:3-6; 5:1-5)