Jesus explains to his disciples that their union with him is essential for bearing fruit, comparing it to the vine and its branches. He details five key unions between Christ and believers: foundation and superstructure, head and body, bridegroom and bride, shepherd and sheep, and vine and branches. These unions are indissoluble and sustained by the Holy Spirit, providing support, life, affection, guardianship, and sustenance. The sermon emphasizes that the world will hate and persecute those united with Christ, as seen in historical examples like Saul's persecution of the early church. Ultimately, Jesus' departure to the Father is presented not as a loss but as a necessary step for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will indwell believers and empower them to live out their union with Christ.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 1.71 → restored 4.03
My Bible says, Psalm chapter sixteen. Psalm chapter sixteen. And verse one. Sixteen and one. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be a sin. They shall put you out to the synagogue, the excommunicator, Yea, the time cometh when whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service. I notice these words again. These things, you notice it in verse one, then in verse three, and these things will they do unto you because they know not the Father nor me.
They don't know God, they don't know Christ. Now again these two words. But these things, as I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember, that I told you of them. And these things, or such, these things I said not unto you at the beginning, that is, when he called them of a three and a half years prior to this, he didn't tell them these things. He's waiting till the end of a three and a half years before he's going to have them. So he said, I am not, I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. I was with you, but now I am going to leave you.
But now I go to my, go my way to him that set me. And none of you ask of me where they're going from. But because I have said these things, there they are again, those two words. Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow, have filled, your heart. That's all we'll read this morning. Thinking up these studies in John, especially when you get into the upper room, chapter thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventy, seventeen, is a very noticeable thing, and that is unity. He had that in chapter fifteen, the unity of the vine with the branches and the branches with the vine.
Bobby was speaking last night, Sunday night on some of the metaphors in the church. Very good. There are two others. I want to include also the ones you mentioned. That is the union of support, such as the foundation and the superstructure. Now the foundation by itself is of little value. When you build a foundation, you have in mind a superstructure. And that superstructure really becomes, whether you use water or something else or lumber, that superstructure becomes part of the foundation. If you had the foundation in one place and the superstructure in another place, you wouldn't have union, you'd have separation.
And the Lord pointed out in chapter seventeen, or seven of Matthew, he speaks about the man who built the house upon the sand. The other built his house upon the rock, and of course the house upon the rock, it stood because it became part of that rock. But the house on the sand, it disintegrated because the sand was a very poor, shifty foundation. Now sand is something clean. You can play all day in sand, and you'll be all right. You play in mud, it'll be something else, let alone park. In other words, there are some people and they're building their hope for heaven on a clean life just like that.
You'll never make unless you build your hope for heaven on a solid rock and you become part of that rock. The Lord Jesus said, upon this rock I will build my church. And so sure are those that are on that rock, he says, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So you have the union of the foundation and the superstructure. We're spoken of as living stones in a spiritual heart. Isn't that a wonderful thing that you're part of that foundation? other foundations can no man lay, say that which is made, which is Christ Jesus.
Christ is the foundation. Unless you are rested, fully, completely, entirely, absolute, on that foundation, you're not going to go to heaven. Now that's the plain teaching of the scripture. When they built the tower, when... power of Babel over in Genesis eleven, they had bricks, man-made bricks, and that's what they had, but they had more slime for mortar, some kind of slime to hold the bricks together. Well, I don't know today there are a lot of bricks, but the difference between bricks and stone is quite the man-made bricks, but God makes stones.
And what holds these stones together, these living stones, is not the slimy water that men may use of a denominational name or sources and things like that to try to hold the Christians together, or non-Christians, in many cases, but the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who holds these members together, and they are also to the rock, and so you can't lose. You are part of the rock. The very same nature of the rock is in the superstructure, when you speak of the church.
The same nature that's in Christ the foundation is in the superstructure. It's nice to know you're on that solid foundation, Jesus Christ. Then you have the second union spoken of, and that's the body, the union between the head and the body. Now, if you had a head over here and a body over there kind of rules them, there'd be no union, and there'd be no light. But when the head and the body are united, you have light and you have knowledge. Now the foundation is our support from beneath, but when you come to the body, our support is from above.
Christ is the head of the body, the church. And there can be no church unless there's a head. And that head is in heaven. And Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. Here is a wonderful union. This union of life. It's nice for them to know that Christ is our life, and we obtain this life from Christ, and he himself maintains this life, this wonderful union between the head and the body. That's exactly what the church is.
We're supported from above. He is the one. that has wisdom, knowledge, power, understanding, and is willing to impart all this to his body. And that's why the body should function in unison, because of the one head that's in heaven. The church is not a monstrosity of a number of heads. The church has but one head. Jesus Christ. Here you have the unity of the body. Christ the head in heaven and the church, the body which is on earth. Then you have also the beauty of affection about the bride and the bridegroom you have in Ephesians chapter five.
Affection doesn't mean a thing unless it has an object. You've got to have an object. And it's a sad man who all his affections are of one himself. Affection is something that you ought to share and spend on others. And think of the affection of Christ, the bride. For it is bride, the church. What a union of affection. We love him because he first loves us. Grand to have and know and enjoy that union of affection.
It's possible sometimes the affection, if speaking in human terms, of white may wane toward the other, for the other than toward the right, but never that the affection of Christ ever wane or who toward the church. Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. A wonderful thing. I wouldn't want to compare for a minute my love for Christ with His love for me. It's a grand thing to know and enjoy this union of affection.
That's what the Lord wants from us. Out of affection. Out of affection. But the only thing that's satisfying is not all that we do. The Lord doesn't want a housekeeper. Of course, he wants a wife. He wants a bride. As for there's been any interruption. Some lines of marriages end on you. In the church, and twice and the church, five women decide it should be a lifetime affair. Christ loves me just as much today.
Today I trust him, in fact, he loved me before that. But what about my love for him? Do I love him as much today as I did today? He saved it. I know a lot more about him. I think I know a little more about him now than I did today. And the older I get, the more I appreciate what he did for me. And I find... a little more loved in my heart. So it quite a lot is good, good then, exciting, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, I shouldn't have forgiven. Oh, yes, a lot of things.
What about that big, solid connection for the Lord Jesus Christ? This is it that helps you to face the storm in the ups and downs of Christ. entering in to the affection Christ has for you, and he appreciating the affection you have for him. He's first the union of affection. Then you have the union of guardianship, the shepherd and the sheep. They go together. They're compatible. You don't find in the Bible about a shepherd and a shepherd.
And dogs are a shepherd and wolves, or a shepherd and hogs. They just don't go together, but shepherds and the sheep too. And he always speaks of his own. Those were born again as sheep. She's the great shepherd of the sheep. And this is a union of guardianship. He watches over. The sheep are the most stupid animal that ever lived. And so they need to be guarded. They need to be led. They're the right to be in the happy enjoyment of this relationship. The Lord is my shepherd, I'm not walking.
And we know he's guarding us from harm and danger. There are plenty of those individuals and those things in life. And the sheep are coming between the sheep and the sheep. They devour them, destroy their testimonies. And the best thing for the sheep to do is keep close to the shepherd. Because he's watching the sheep and he knows everyone. And as a grand thing to know, the Lord is watching over me. He's guarding and he's protecting me. I don't know how many things the Lord has delivered me from. If all, things are seen and unseen in my life.
As I'm here, you've left up the knee, I'd like you wounded me. But that guardianship, the Lord watching over his sheep, that's the lovely union of Israel. And then again you have the union of hostages. Here's the vine in the friendship. Now you couldn't put an ivy vine into a grapevine. It wouldn't work. nor could it put even a rose vine into a great vine, a rose vine, into a vine, a great vine. It wouldn't work. But the great vine and the great branches, they're for each other, the same life's in them, and therefore they're so equal.
There you have the union of justice, the vine and the branch. What the vine is for the branches, so Christ is for the church. eternal life, abiding truth. And only this, abiding in Christ will enable us to bring forth truth of any reason. You may bring forth truth thirtyfold. You can be a wonderful servant and do a lot of things, but all the time your truth is just thirtyfold. You know who is bringing forth? under cold fruit, the art that is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants our devotion towards an engineer. Here you have the union of Satan. He sustains us. You know this five-fold union between Christ and his church is eternally dissolved. You cannot separate. foundation from the supernatural. You cannot separate this life ahead from the body. You cannot separate this dryness, dryness. You cannot separate this shepherd from the sheep, from the sheep from the shepherd. You cannot separate this blanket from this life.
It's indissoluble. God may allow He says, I give unto my sheep, because on the light days shall never be. How safe, how secure the child of God is. All I can ask you this morning, are you on the rock? Are you in the body of Christ? Are you in the dry? Wonderful in the Old Testament. Christ has spoken our will at the revelation as the bridegroom. The bridegroom comes. That fresh, vigorous lover, he's not seen at the age of the day when it comes to the bride.
Jesus now, fresh, dismayed. Everything concerning Christ is correct, not saved. Old Testament, how bad is it was. That'll be so. But with Heaven's capacity, we'll enter into the full enjoyment of it then. We have limitations to it. And over the rest, it must not have never changed. Then we have the sustenance of this moment. It can never, never be suffered by violence and events. Indissolvable. In turn, eternal life.
I thought you'd enjoy these things. Now, coming to chapter sixteen, all the things we've been talking about, these five phases of our union, this Jesus Christ, is brought about by the Holy Spirit. And that's the subject of chapter sixteen. Without the Holy Spirit, these unions we've been talking about, this is the absolute The Holy Spirit is the one who brings about and maintains and sustains this view. Chapter fifteen, we were noticing two things last week. Hate and persecution.
The world hating and persecuting those who are united to Jesus Christ. Now you come to excommunication and murder. He knows that new opening verses. What does it say in verse two? They shall put you out of the synagogue. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever shall it you will think he doeth for good. In this phrase, here are a group of people. And as we've been speaking about, they're on the walk, they're in the body, they're part of the bridegroom, The sheep of the shepherd and the branches in the vine.
They're not doing anybody any harm. They're doing all the good they can. They're wrong. They're imposter. Lives are clean. Try to be a good citizen. And yet the world hates you. Isn't that great? And the world would even kill them of evil. Part of the world. And that's what the wonder of these... these things when I revert them. I want you to know that there are ten of them all together. You've got two in the Bible. You've got there are ten these things all together. You have one in chapter fifteen and verse eleven. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be fulfilled.
These things he abiding in him. That is perfect. But then you also have another one in verse seventeen of chapter fifteen. These things I command you that ye love one another. There's the affection for the people of God. Then in verse one of the chapter we read, chapter sixteen, you have these words, these things. Have I spoken unto you that ye should not be offended? In other words, ye need to accept. the principle that he's given us in the things he's been saying, accepting the principle that he has given us.
And then you have in verse four the assurance of his power. He's with us. When you've got him with us, while you're all upon your knees. But these things have I told you that when the time shall come, he may remember that I told you of them. And these things, I said unto you at the beginning, because I'll read you what you're going to have just as much power when I'm gone. You're going to do just as much. Jesus is happy when I'm gone. Why? You're going to have the Holy Spirit. And so he's given us this assurance. Then again you have in chapter twenty-five, twenty-three and twenty-five of chapter sixteen he tells us And this is the subject of prayer.
These things I have spoken unto you in Proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall show you plainly of the Father. And then the next one is in verse thirty-three. These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have stipulation that be of good cheer I have overcome the Lord. So we have all these things. These things, these things, these things. Why should the world take people who believe and take the practice of these things? I will tell you, the expert of the acting of the earth, in whom is all my delight, that's what they want to say.
But the world doesn't seem to like true Christians. And they'll try and persecutive and even exterminate them. Is that what the Apostle Paul did? Yes. Over, you'll find in Acts nine twelve, listen to this. And for Saul he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and hailing men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad were everywhere, preaching the word. Do that word havoc, he made havoc of the church, lethal ravage, the devastating, like a wild boar that grows in and he plows up a garden, is hardly recognized of what it was.
Paul says, I am going to do the same with the church. I am going to exterminate the church. Get everyone I stand to serve you, and they say, every house. No, that's another verse, no root. in chapter nine, and Saul, yet breathing out threatening some swagger against the disciples of the Lord, went on to the high priest and desire that him leavened to Damascus, to the synagogue, that if he found any of this way, any Christian, whether they were men or women, he might bring them upon them through. It is a strange thing. A man of perfect nine comes into this world. He heals the sick, he opens the eyes of the blind, he raises the dead, he feeds the hungry.
All that he's done is good. And that's the evil part. Now, because it's true, there's people predatory on the same day. The world wants to kill men. Persecute them. Hate them. Even extremism. Recommunication. And even truth. And they're being killed today, some part of their business, born like dead Christians, the strangers. You mentioned last week about the Pope being in this country and the love that they've got. Probably isn't a nice personality.
But I'll tell you one thing, if he had to use the language that the Lord Jesus used, he wouldn't have got such a wealth. Fold John, he called the people that he was talking to, the children of God, and he spoke, how he loved them, all that. Well, if he'd have used the language of the Lord Jesus, he wouldn't have got back with that. If you want to know what the Lord did over in Matthew, up into this point of view, he's talking to that bunch of white-nosed parrots, they got it out of me, and he said, Whoa, thirteen times. And this is what he said about it.
He said, you're white and sepulchre. Outwardly, if you're beautiful on an end, but then you're full of dead men. Oh, perhaps. And then he said, you're a bunch of generation of white. Seven times, he says, you're hypocrites. He said, you're blind guys. You're serpents. You're fools. You come for sea and land to make one ponder, and when you've made him, you've made him two whole more, the child of hell than yourself. And studies were going to have that damnation in heaven. Now, if old John had sold his proud old things, the new year had hopped all over him. What's the difference?
Hope John didn't know the hearts of the people he was addressing to the Lord Jesus. And the Lord knows exactly what's in your heart. And no need to acknowledge a man. The Lord knows it's in your heart. He knows what you're thinking. Right now, he knows what your response and your reaction is to what I'm saying. That's why they hated the Lord Jesus. They called and opposed what was in your heart. He saw beyond the glad handshake and the smile and the clapping and all that. He saw the end of it.
He was a human heart. You know, the human heart hates truth. It hates holiness. It hates practice. That's what he did with the heart is. It hates the truth. There are a couple of remarkable texts in the Bible. Little old verse. In Matthew, when once the master of the house is this enough, and a shut through the door, and you begin to stand through the mouth, and the door, say, Lord, Lord, open unto us, he shall answer and say, I know you, not when she hath. Then shall you begin to say, Do you eat the ground, him like her, and not a thorn, and not a tree?
But he shall say, I will tell you, I know not when she hath he fought for me. You work with him. You think? And he says, Also, many will say to me in that day, Lord, O have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils in thy names on many wonderful works? Then will I profess unto them I never knew you. Depart from thee, thee that works done me. And with all these these sects will find this. And there are lots on the broad road, and we spoke about their feet, and we will preach. creates around the broad road, born to him, yes. He says, he prophesied.
On what about miracle, was her death? This is in thy name. You cast out demons. Sermon and takers. You see them hugged in my friend. They took the communion. Half-tied church members. Simon was one of the older and active chiefs. But a lot of people from among the charismatic today were beyond the broad. There's never been a movement in the history of the church that it didn't have in its ranks a lot of faiths. Some are genuine, but I can give you literature where in even lands that have even heard the name Jesus Christ may have even come to their God.
And so you find in the Bible, I'll tell you it's a broad way from an awful lot of people in the extreme right to the extreme left. He says, the way to heaven is now, I'm going to choose our person. These are things for us. And, sir, I am going from the broadway. They hate those on the night. But as soon as he was at view on the narrow way, going to heaven and on the broadway, going to heaven. This is what the Bible says, it's not what I say. Now he comes to something very precious.
He's been among them for thirty-three years, and I want you to notice this in verse six. Verse four. But these things have I told you that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them, and these things I said unto you, at the beginning they thought I was with you. But now, I go to my way, to him that sent me, none of you ask it's going to go about. But because I've said to you, came from you, shall I have come to heart. Now you come to something strange. He has been with them like a poor missionary. For thirty-three years, been with them in Bethlehem.
For thirty-three years, he's been a missionary away from home. Now he says, I'm going home. I'm going back to the one to the temple. Well, they should have rejoiced. I think that lovely verse goes in chapter four and seven, rather over in chapter fourteen and twenty eight. He have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you. If he loved me, he would rejoice because I said I go unto the Father for my Father this day. The Lord Jesus, having seen the priming swamps of sin, also the smut and the smoke of living in a world of unbelief was rare.
He says, now I'm going back. Where I came from? I'm going back to my heart. Going back to the Father's Prayer. that the angels praise my Father, and all the angelic people around me. It's like you were going to happen when we knew you were going back. Going home, going home. Sometimes when our loved ones pass through deep waters and imagine, we have a living. out of this cool, thick, sad world.
The Lord gave this anticipation for you. Boy, it says you would rejoice if you knew what I left or what I'm now going through. You know, in that capacity, in the... I have the capacity now when it's going back to the Lord, to enjoy something that you never had in eternity. in becoming what he became he never ceased to be what he was in becoming man in becoming what he became man he never ceased to be what he was not as God he listened existed forever eternity back as man he began with Bethlehem that's where his man was He lived here for thirty-three years, and that body received some scars.
Now he says, I am going back to that fellow man, and I'm going into the presence of God, and I'm going to do things, and I'm going to destroy things from this man that I never saw before. That's right. He says, you would rejoice when I go back. You know, among all the myriads of glory, there will only be one man in heaven. One deed, visible, tangible, deed, that will have the mark of sin, all of the deeds are going to have move on.
Like unto him, Finland, Finland, Asia, except this, he will be the only one who will strive. He'll be the only one who has a star in his sight, a star to his feet, a star to his body. All the redeemed ones. Many of God's people have been named, people of full reward. Many of them have been named and exposed beyond recognition. But when Jesus comes, all the redeemed will have quickly gone. perfect walk.
One that has a mark of the Lord is that the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going back. He didn't have a father to tell you what he had. He was ripped upon. He had had an experience on earth. He became so closely acquainted with mankind. He entered into the scholars and the people. He didn't have that experience when they first knew that. He suffered for sin down below, and he slipped in the rain. And he carried back to them, the head of the scar of Christ paid for man below.
He said, wait, did that for a while. Although as God, he knows what it meant to be, he said, you are mature. And he says, Saul will fill me in the heart. You know you're going to do that. That's important. Jesus rejoiced that. He said, I'm the first thief. I'm the forerunner. All those are going to fall. You ought to rejoice that I'm going back in my life. Back into the presence of God. Because when I come again, you change into my life. Move on. There's no problem.
end of life. And just that it would be a wonderful revelation for you. It would have been what you did on earth knowing and seeing on earth why you miss you. It was wonderful for him to do that. Because he was going back not only a son of God, but son of man, he said he walked the river. Another thing he said, I dropped the rope on the compass of the earth. I stay here only a few of you locally are going to join my company. For I'm going back to heaven so all my people in all the world can join my company.
I understand the truth. And you read this remarkable verse in John seven, thirty-nine. He that believeth on me as the scripture has said out of this valley or into the park shall flow rivers of living water. But this state he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive For the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet born. The Holy Spirit could not be given until Jesus Christ was glory-bossed. That was when he went up. He took his place at the cross right now. When he went up, humanity went into the presence of deity, and when the Spirit came down, deity came down to a finding humanity in the hearts of the redeemed.
And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came out. He said, I'm there now. This is my return. And have you not wrong? Yesterday would return. He says, you ought to rejoice on you. I'm going to send you the Spirit. And that pain spread. Maha wonderful. You enjoy all the things you've enjoyed in my personal life. You enjoy. will accrue to this church as God's voice, these long-suffering vessels we consider upon this place. And if he doesn't go, there can be no church on earth.
There's not going to be a church ahead in heaven before there can be a body on earth. And so he says, I'm not going to go. I'm the head. My body is going to be on earth. But there'll be fellowship and communion between the head and the body through this book. and by the Holy Spirit. He says, one, it was, and it was. And he said, Saul filling your heart. He's trying to get a copy. It was essential that he go back to the Father. What he did. And that he was going to replace himself by the Holy Spirit, who had either accompanied their guide, their counsel, and the teacher, their instruction.
We'll say more about that next year. How wonderful we are today. A hand within our heart. Instead of a believing doctrine. In him we know our sins are forgiven. We know we have peace with God. We know we have everlasting life. We know he shall never have anything. There can be no salvation without those. As we know this in this chapter, when he has come, he will convict the world of sin. Righteousness. When the Spirit came down, the day of Pentecost, he not only baptized those hundred and twenty into one body, but he began his work of convicting men of sin.
And what is that sin? Unbelievable. Of sin, because they believe not in God. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father. The Spirit will tell you where righteousness is, and God might have. righteousness is in Christ. And he says, that spirit will carry me as judgment becomes. Because the prince of this world has already come. The spirit has a wonderful ministry. I want to ask you this morning, do you know what it is? He's saying, is he in Christ? I know you're in Christ. Many, you know, put the soul of the very high value.
I'll tell you how valuable and precious your soul is. It's so valuable that God gave the life of his son the release of you. You conceive of your soul being equal in value in the person and life of Jesus Christ. God gives the end. But I gave myself to try to lay down his life soulness. That's the tag, the price tag, God put on your soul, his own son. Seeing that's the case, how awful that you reject.
You know the meaning of the word come. Come unto me all even at labor and a heavy laden high, we'll give you that. You know the people, that's very simple. Child. Do you know the meaning of depart? If you reject Jesus Christ, you'll know the full meaning and portion of that depart. In the same stages, the days they come, as they depart, and we all will go through things. And the same pace, the smile of the day, getting the sinner come, will crown in that day when the world will be full, the resentment will call upon the lots and the lots to hide from the faint of guilt. and sit at home this day.
Why don't you come as you did me from, smiling to walk with you to come, with a loft, earthly, and with your... And we say, and have the wonderful fertility of God shall lead me in all its aspects, the Holy Spirit within, that takes for all the rest of the way at home the glory. But it's a matter of... see that cloud and experience that pure, that foundation, God helps you to receive Christ in walk. Those among us today may we enjoy more each day the wonderful treasures we have in this book and in Christ and communicate into us through the Holy Spirit.
Our Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are from Bethlehem, Almighty God, be kindly born. May we as