If you were supposed to preach on John 14:23-29, what would you say?

Aino

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John: 14:23-29 (ESV):
23Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.26But 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 have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

OK, so let's assume you'd get this text and you were supposed to preach about it, what would you say? What specific verse would you concentrate on most? What kind of topics would you choose? Would you want to make use of other texts to explain this further?
 

yeshuaslavejeff

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OK, so let's assume you'd get this text and you were supposed to preach about it, what would you say? What specific verse would you concentrate on most? What kind of topics would you choose? Would you want to make use of other texts to explain this further?
"Unless the Father in heaven grants understanding, no one receives it." (even if it is preached by Jesus or the Apostles , it was not understood (not grasped, i.e. no coprehension) by any man unless the Father in heaven granted it to him.
 
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Mathetes66

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Before one takes on the task of explaining Scripture to make it plain to others & how it may apply to changing our lives, one must appeal to the One who can open the eyes of our heart & mind to understand the Scriptures. Without our Lord's illumination & the Spirit's clarification, we would be lost.

We are foolish & slow of heart to believe. We are ignorant & dull of hearing. We have preconceived ideas that can also cloud our discernment. We truly need help & the Lord desires to help us.

Second, we need to immerse ourselves in the text by understanding the context in which it is found.

The passage above is PART of a larger context that starts at the beginning of John 13 & ends at the end of chapter 16.

John 13:1,2 It was now just before the Passover Feast & Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.

John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken THESE THINGS, He lifted up His eyes to heaven & said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.

I would read this context repeatedly--over & over, immersing myself in the context, seeking to think as God thinks & picture myself back at that time, when John wrote about this.

When one does this, themes & patterns suddenly begin to emerge.

The next step is to make as many observations as one can, asking the reporter's questions: who, what, when, how, where, why this or that, etc. and narrowing those to the passage at hand. Questions open so many doors that you can go through & stimulates your thirst to know more & how it applies to us.

One wants to know WHAT the text actually says before any interpretation is made. This saves us from adding things into the text that are not there (presumption & speculations) and/or taking things away from the text because I wasn't thorough to properly examine it in detail.

Then as you said, we can seek to 'harmonize' this passage with the rest of the counsel of Scripture. Correlation is an important part as well, to keep us from making incorrect interpretations & conclusions.

Remember the often repeated verse throughout Scripture: 'by the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses, let every fact be confirmed.' Let Scripture interpret Scripture.

Take note to get the setting, the cultural issues, the language used (past, present, words used that may need defining, etc.) & whether it be narrative, prophetic, personal, parable, figurative, etc.

Now by the grace of God & the spiritual wisdom from above, we can begin to see what the writer intended us to see & understand. Our hearts should burn within us & humble us when the Lord opens our minds & hearts to see as He would have us see.

One must remember, too, what the Apostle James cautioned us about.

James 3:1-12 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

3When we put bits into the mouths of the horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal. 4Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.

5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come blessing & cursing. My brothers, this should not be! 11Can both fresh water & bitter water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Nehemiah 8:8,12 They read from the Book of the Law of God, distinctly communicating its meaning, so they could understand what was read...Then all the people began to eat & drink, to send out portions & to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

Lastly, how can this passage be applied to our lives, just as it was applied to the disciples that heard it? For them Christ was leaving; for us Christ is returning.

I will leave the details & work to you. LOL. I pray if you are doing it, that the Lord will open your mind & heart to understand & for power by the Holy Spirit to speak with authority & bring people to understand & desire to obey, applying it to their lives.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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Jesus gave out loud thanks and praise to the Father in heaven,

for granting freely understanding of salvation and everything concerning salvation

to little children (i.e. revelation in spirit, generously and freely and accurately given by
the Father to those who trust and rely on Him).

He also thanked God for hiding salvation (yes, hiding salvation) from the educated.
 
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royal priest

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No matter who the audience is, speak as the Father gives words to speak.

If none, then none. (like on the internet, so few ever understand)
Yes, of course. However, the Father was pleased to send Paul to the Gentiles and Peter among the Jews.
The double edged sword will always cut more precisely when its bearer understands where the bone and the marrow are joined. Even so, the Word goes out with greater penetration when the messenger has discerned the thoughts, and intentions of his hearers.
 
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1watchman

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John: 14:23-29 (ESV):
23Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.26But 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 have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

OK, so let's assume you'd get this text and you were supposed to preach about it, what would you say? What specific verse would you concentrate on most? What kind of topics would you choose? Would you want to make use of other texts to explain this further?

I feel confident that John 14 is one of the most important chapters for a seeker after God to read and pray about, and I would encourage ALL SEEKERS to read it and earnestly and honestly ask God to make it clear to them ---He will! The Holy Spirit will make it clear to any Godly seeker who is asking God to teach them and show them His mind and ways. Intellectualism is man's ways and it usually is a tool of Satan to deceive and lead one astray; which often is happening to souls who will not simply surrender their will and simple reasoning to God.
 
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Mathetes66

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So how is the study coming along, Aino? Another question comes to mind on that passage: Jesus knows that He is soon to depart this earth in death, leaving His disciples to grieve & wonder. What is it that He must tell them, to bring comfort to their souls & instruct them for when He goes back to heaven?
 
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