Two Year Gospel Study Week 71

2 Year Gospel Study - week 71 (Friday, 05-09-25) Up To Jerusalem - Teaching 13 Scripture: John 16:1-33, John 17:1-2. In today's teaching we continue with Jesus and His disciples having finished the Last Supper, Judas has left and Jesus and the 11 are walking towards the Garden of Gethsemane. God's call is to radical faith - the kind that allows us to stand strong against the enemy - Jesus shares that they hated Him, they will hate them, they persecuted Him, they will also persecute them. Yet, Jesus assures the disciples by telling of the coming of the Advocate - Holy Spirit - who will testify about Jesus and will bring power and strength and truth. This persecution comes but Jesus doesn't want us to live in fear, but rather to trust and depend on Him. Jesus shares that He must leave, remove His physical presence from the world so that the Father can send the Advocate - Holy Spirit - who will be with us. And no matter what we face the Holy Spirit is with us and lives in us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, convicts us of righteousness (right relationship with God offered through faith in Jesus who is our only hope because we are sinners).  Having the Holy Spirit draws us to righteous living through His power. The Holy Spirit also convicts about judgement because Jesus is the Victor through His death and He shows that the judgement of the Holy God has been carried by the Son of God.   The measure of God's love is that: He doesn't give us what we deserve, He gives us Himself.   He doesn't give us what we've earned, He gives us what Jesus has earned.   He doesn't give us what we've achieved, He gives us what Jesus achieved - and that is resurrection through faith in Him! Jesus telling of the coming of the Holy Spirit was a prediction that He said before His ascension, but then at Pentecost after His ascension - it is our present reality!  We are living in the Era of the Spirit. We are called to:  live in the power of the Holy Spirit seek the Holy Spirit listen to the Holy Spirit follow the Holy Spirit rejoice in the Holy Spirit! Pastor shares that the Holy Spirit is not an "it," but rather a Person. The Holy Spirit is God. A real person and we want to seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit and live in relationship with God that the Holy Spirit provides - dynamic and radical faith! Jesus goes on to say that they would see Him for a little while and then see Him no more and that after a little while they would see Him again. The disciples are puzzled but in the days ahead this would all be revealed as truth.  Their faith would blossom and grow! And just like His disciples, we too can always be growing in faith and in relationship with God. Jesus prophecies that there will be grief and sadness ahead but it ends with Joy - that because He suffers and dies and rises everything changes.  We now are able to come to the Father through Jesus and we can ask the Father anything - we are called to be people who are radical - not only radical in our faith but radical in our prayers because God's will is to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Whatever tribulation we face remember: Jesus has overcome the world Jesus has overcome the adversary Jesus has defeated the devil Jesus has won the final victory  And so in Him we have hope and peace. AND the promise of His return. Because of Jesus' victory - we who are followers of Jesus are overcomers, too, through our faith in Him!  Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01 Up to Jerusalem is a study of the final weeks of Jesus' ministry concluding with His resurrection and ascension, using the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John together with material from ancient sources and recent discoveries. Up to Jerusalem is part four of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Up To Jerusalem is the story of the plan of God to redeem the world, and the story of a Savior willing to obey the Father's plan. As we study Jesus' final days, we will be impacted as we discover the Love of God for each one of us.  This study is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time.