Torre Roberts (7:56)
You need is me. I'm about to go. I love it. Because what Jesus does is he takes. He evolves their relationship. He evolves how it is. They are now going to have to experience peace. And he does it in a way where now they are about to experience an abundance of peace. They could not possibly have understood because in their minds, peace meant Jesus was going to stay with us forever. We're just gonna walk with Jesus, just like this. We have plenty more suppers with Jesus, just like this. We have more encounters. There's more places to go to make his name famous. Just like this. And Jesus said, I've got a different kind of peace I need to give you in order for you to develop from disciples to apostles. I wanna go through this one piece at a time. This word advocate, otherwise known as helper. It's an intercessor, someone who brings consoling. It's the comforter, verse 26 John 14. The advocate. So the helper, the consoler, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. I've studied this passage and I Know that we're very comfortable with calling the Holy Spirit the comforter because we know the Holy Spirit can come. And regardless of what is happening around us, just the presence of the Holy Spirit comforts us. I love him for that. We also know of the Holy Spirit as the advocate. The Holy Spirit is the one who is speaking to God on our behalf. That is Jesus. That's what he's doing now as our advocate. Advocate. The advocate speaks on our behalf. So we know of the Holy Spirit as the advocate. We know of the Holy Spirit as the helper. We know of the Holy Spirit as the comforter. But if we're going to really engage a season of abundance, the Holy Spirit has to be our teacher. I don't know that we really experience the Holy Spirit as our teacher. I don't know that we go into our prayer closet enough because we have all of the issues and the cares. And the Word says, cast your cares upon him. So we go into our prayer closet and we just start casting. We casting right handed, we're casting left handed, we casting both handed. We got all them cares going. And we say, advocate on my behalf. Talk to the Father, speak on my behalf. Jesus, I thank you for interceding on my behalf. It's one of my favorite parts of my prayer. And then I read this passage and I'm challenged in a new way, much like the disciples were challenged in a new way. If I'm going to receive an abundance of peace, not a momentary peace, an abundance of peace that matches the abundance age that I'm in, I now have to embrace the Holy Spirit as my teacher. And so I love how this is set up. Because teacher is what the disciples called Jesus. So when Jesus leaves, he says, listen, you called me teacher. I understand that, but I am leaving. But that doesn't mean you graduated. Just because our relationship is about to evolve and change don't mean you all that. I'm going to send another teacher because there's still more for you to learn. Instead of me bringing the classroom to you, I'm putting the classroom in you. And so your teacher will no longer be me. Jesus is saying to the disciples, your teacher is not going to be me in the way you're used to me being. I'm not going to teach you the same way I taught you. I'm not going to teach you the same lessons I taught you because I've already taught those lessons you. I'm going to send another teacher. And whereas this world can do things to Jesus as they did to him, because he was in human form. This teacher that I'm sending you cannot be touched by the world. I'm sending you the Holy Spirit who will advocate and comfort, but he will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. So the Holy Spirit, as we look at this word advocate, I want to look at this definition as well. It's the Holy Spirit designed to take the place of Christ with the apostles after Christ's ascension to the Father, to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom. This was what the Holy Spirit was called to do in us as our teacher. A deeper knowledge of the gospel truth and the divine strength to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom. Let me boil this down. Stuff out there still gonna be raw. We ask for peace and we think peace means make everything out there pretty and safe. Jesus didn't promise that. The Holy Spirit did not promise that. The Holy Spirit said, I will be your teacher on the inside. So everything you see out there that does not make sense, you go into the classroom that is on the inside, and the teacher that's on the inside is going to teach you that so that what you see on the outside does not dysregulate you on the inside. It's still gonna be raw. There's still gonna be things you do not understand. Just as the disciples were asking Jesus questions, right up until he left, they were still trying to figure it out. If you look at the chapters Before John 14, once Jesus said he was leaving, they had all kind of questions. Where you going? Why can't I come with you? How do I know I can follow you? How are we going to do this? He said, listen, I'm the way, the truth and life, just follow me. Where are we going? When do we know if we go? Are we there yet? They have all the questions, just like we have all the questions. God, how long am I going to have to be in this position? God, I'm declaring abundance, but I'm not seeing it yet. How long is this going to take? What am I going to have to do? Meanwhile, we have the Teacher on the inside of us. And because we have the teacher on the inside of us, we are walking with the possibility of. I said possibility of an abundance of peace. Not momentary peace, not Netflix binge peace. Not your favorite peace slice of sweet potato pie peace. Because then when the pie is gone, you mad and Then you got to go to the store to get another pie so that you could keep feeling better. We're talking about an abundant peace that comes from within that does not rely on the world. I love verse 27 so much because he says, I do not give you as the world gives, because when the world gives, the world wants something in response. Whatever the world gives you, the world wants some sort of compensation. Ain't nothing free. Meanwhile, Jesus is saying the teacher, that I'm giving you, that I'm sending you, that's going to take my place as long as you stay in the classroom. This teacher is going to teach you, not some things, not a few things, all things, and is going to remind you of the things bring to your remembrance, the things I taught you. Now, this is significant for us. I don't want to miss that line, because John 1 tells us that Jesus is the word wrapped in flesh. So what Jesus is saying is, not only is the Holy Spirit going to teach you all things, he's going to bring to remembrance what I have said to you. So for us, how does this translate? Not only are we going to have the access to knowledge of all things, but the Holy Spirit, the good teacher, great teacher that the Holy Spirit is, is going to bring to remembrance what the Word has said to us. Here's the thing. I love having a great teacher, but it also means I've got to be a great student. So if the Holy Spirit's job is to bring things to my remembrance, things that are going to allow me to have an abundant peace, because I now have insight and knowledge on a supernatural level that allows me to exist peacefully in natural chaos, in order for me to be able to do that, not only does the Holy Spirit have to teach me all things, but since the Holy Spirit has to bring things to my remembrance, has to remind me. But in order for the Holy Spirit to remind me, there has to be something in my mind first. And now it's on me. Because as a student, you cannot enter into a classroom and have a teacher say, as they're teaching you a new lesson, hey, remember chapter five when we talked about rocks and lava? And you're like, what? Chapter five. Now the teacher can't teach because while the teacher is ready to remind you, there's a lesson that you never learned. And then we start to have encounters in our classroom where we think the teacher is silent. It's not that the teacher is silent, the Holy Spirit is not silent, but there was a lesson that we were supposed to bring into the classroom. That the Holy Spirit was going to bring to our remembrance, that was going to allow us to have an encounter and be changed and bring an abundant peace to our circumstance. But because we didn't put the Word in our mind, there's nothing for the Holy Spirit to remind us of. So everybody wants abundant peace. I'm with you. I want it too. But I got work to do. I can't show up to class empty handed. So as the disciples spent intimate time with Jesus as the word wrapped in flesh, today, the people of God, the children of God, we need to spend intimate time with his word so that when we go into our time with the Holy Spirit, we are giving the Holy Spirit things to remind us of in addition to what the Holy Spirit is going to teach us. And this is peace. I know I'm speaking to a room full of geniuses. Have y' all ever or do you remember some of you may already be in this position now, you ever have your midterm exam that you studied for and you know all up and down, you know how the questions are going to come, you know the answers, you know the possible other questions, you know the answers to them. Do you know how you walk into a classroom with when you know that you have studied yourself, approved. You walk different. When you know you're about to enter into your experience and you have taken your time as well, it doesn't mean you know everything. It just means you did what you needed to do just to show up. You walk different. You have a different kind of anticipation for what's going to happen in your classroom. Watch this. You're at peace, global family. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You walk in a classroom chilling, it doesn't mean you know everything the teacher's gonna teach you. You just know you're actually ready to learn because you're not stressed out and worried about what you don't know, what you didn't study, what you knew you were supposed to study, but you didn't give the time to study. You know that you've taken the time. Just as the disciples took their time with Jesus, we're taking our time with our word. So when the disciples were read to learn from their teacher, just as they were, we are ready to learn from our teacher. And this exchange where we come into our classroom and we listen to our teacher. Can I give a word for you in terms of what we call that prayer? We call that prayer. Some of us are coming into the prayer closet with a whole list of what we know and we're just telling the teacher what we know. I know this, I know that. I declare this, I declare that. And we're talking. We are the students in the classroom, and we're doing more talking than the teacher. And then we leave the classroom anxious. Why? Because the exchange was supposed to be the student learning from the teacher. And when an exchange doesn't go the way it was ordained to go, it leaves an unrest, it leaves an angst. Because you walked in smart and you left smart, but you didn't walk out different. Every encounter we have in prayer, otherwise known as our classroom, is one where you walk in and the teacher teaches. The Holy Spirit reveals. The Holy Spirit gives you knowledge you didn't have. The Holy Spirit begins to teach you on all things and then bring forth scripture that you studied five years ago that you thought was buried. But he brings that thing back up in your spirit. And you come out of the classroom smarter than you went in. And when you have that exchange over and over, you have peace. And knowing that you can have that exchange anytime you want, you ain't got to wait till 5am 6am doesn't have to be the only time you got a teacher who has classroom hours all day long. Lunch. I don't know what this is, Lord. Go ahead, take you a timeout. Excuse me, sir, I need five minutes. I'm going to go into my classroom because my teacher needs to show me something about what is happening right now. This is why Jesus was talking about this not only as peace that he was given to you, but understand this is how Jesus walked. Jesus walked in constant communication with His Father. And there was nothing about the land that Jesus was in or the time that Jesus was in that was peaceful. But Jesus was at peace because he was in alignment with his mission. And knowing he was in alignment with his mission, he could talk to His Father at all times. What allowed him to be the teacher is that he was always a student. So we watch how Jesus does it. Jesus does it. And I said, that's why Jesus walked with such power. And this is why there was such peace and abundance of peace. So much so that when the waves came, he said, what? Peace, peace, be still. He was speaking from the overflow of what was on the inside of him. So when we look at this with now an understanding, this is what we're called to have. We spoke of last week, the abundant life, the Zoe, the pouring force, the overflow that we're supposed to be experiencing. Walking into, not pulling from. I love that so much. Not pulling from A well, but walking into because it's all already pouring forth. Do you know what allows us to have the direction so we always know where God is pouring? Abundant peace. The classroom. The teacher in the classroom will point you towards where the pouring, the outpour, the pouring forth is happening. And the teacher will give you instruction for where to step, where not to step, what to listen to, what not to listen to. The teacher will teach all things that will keep us in alignment with the Zoe that is pouring over us. We have to show up to class because the teacher's always teaching. One people, eight people, 150 million people, doesn't matter. The teacher does not stop teaching. But we have to show up and be present. Roll call. I love this. When teachers call out a name and you expect somebody to be there, you listen where they go. I don't want the Holy Spirit to be like where Pastor Ebenezer Holy Spirit called evil. A present. Present. I'm here and I'm ready to take notes. I'm ready to talk less. I'm ready to listen more. Because the more I listen to my teacher, the more I listen to the Holy Spirit, the more I allow the Holy Spirit to teach me more about all things. The more I allow the Holy Spirit to bring scripture to my remembrance, to change me, the more abundant my peace is. So now, regardless of the situation I am in, regardless of the environment I'm in, there are people who say this about me and they think I'm a little strange. I tend to walk in a lot of environments, really chill, and people think it's because I'm a nice guy. Pastor Eb's so calm. He doesn't seem to get ruffled. He seems to just be so chill. Do you know why I'm so chill? It's not a pill. It's not a food. It's my time in the classroom. I know my teacher. I love my time in the classroom. And I know that after I've come out of my time in the classroom, I'm at peace. Some people might not be at peace. That's fine for them, but theirs has nothing to do with my peace. I learned a very long time ago not to allow others who. Who have been absent from their classroom. To affect my attendance. Or for those who came into the classroom and you know that, listen, everybody's experienced that person in the classroom who knows all of the answers, but they are answering the answers before the teacher even asks the question. I am determined to leave every encounter I have with my teacher smarter than when I came in. And the only way I can do that is to let the teacher teach. I am a recovering prayer monologuer. Some of y' all know what I'm talking about. I used to come in woo. I mean, a long monologue. Lord, I bless you, I praise you. Go through all the names of God. Go back through them again. I'm blessing this person. I'm blessing that person. I'm blessing strangers. I'm blessing people I met, people I haven't met yet. I'm blessing. I'm declaring, I'm decreeing. I mean, it looks pretty on paper, but my teacher hasn't said anything, and I started to get very tired. Like, why am I so. Why am I. Why do I feel so depleted? I feel like I worked so hard. Meanwhile, my encounter with my teacher is one where I should not be depleted. I should be refreshed. I should be strengthened by my time in my classroom. I should come out of my classroom. Like, I didn't know that that is my goal or my personal favorite. I never saw that passage in scripture that way. Because it's evidence that the living word is living. I want us to have a different idea of what an abundant peace looks like, because it starts and it ends in here. An abundant peace is also not a peace that remains static. You don't go to the same place at the same time to get the same peace over and over and over. This was why Jesus shaking up the disciples really got me excited, because they had become accustomed to how they were going to have what they experienced as peace. And for some of us, we have to be mindful that as sure as the God we serve is on the move, where his peace is being poured out on is on the move as well. No good teacher stays on the same chapter week after week after week after week. At some point, you have to move forward in what you're teaching. You have to move forward in the curriculum, otherwise the students will not grow. And so my challenge for us is to understand that peace is always moving. Peace is not always. I'm still because some of us are still, but God is telling you to move. And if you're still because we are comfortable, but God is trying to tell us to move, where his peace is going to be. We have to be willing to risk being uncomfortable in moving, even though we want to be still, because the peace is where he is ahead of us and not where we're willing to be to stay comfortable. Are we willing to move? Are we willing, global family, to allow God to change the parameters of Our relationship with him so that the Holy Spirit can teach us something different? Are we willing to move so that God can teach us all things? The stuff we don't know, the stuff that we're not comfortable with. Are we willing to really engage abundant peace? Because the peace that you secure is not just for you. You have a kingdom assignment. And getting through that kingdom assignment requires walking in an abundance. Abundant peace. Not a convenient peace, not a it comes and goes peace. Not a peace that is governed by what I see. It has to be a peace that is governed by what I am learning from the teacher that resides on the inside of me, the Holy Spirit. This is abundant peace. It's not just sitting in the quiet. It's not just chanting. It's Holy Spirit. What did I learn in my encounter from you today? My prayer is now this. Three words, three phrases. Holy Spirit, lead me, teach me, change me. That's it for the season I'm in now. I freely give you that. Some of you, what do I do when I get in the classroom? This is how you know, Holy Spirit, lead me, teach me, change me. And the rest is me listening to whatever he does, whatever he says, whatever direction he gives. Those are the three things I want from my experience and prayerfully that you will have from your experience with him as well. I leave you with Philippians 4, 6 and 7, and we're done. It says, be anxious for nothing. That sounds like abundant peace, but in everything by prayer and supplication. Get in your classroom with thanksgiving and be grateful you have a classroom to go to. Be grateful. When you pull up in your classroom, there's still a seat. Let your requests be made known to God. Here's three quick requests that I just gave you. Lead me, teach me, change me. And the peace God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus family. This peace that I'm talking about comes through a very specific path. It comes by the Holy Spirit, through Christ Jesus. So I need to start with my time in Jesus. And when I accept Jesus for who he is, for how he walked, for how he molded and shaped and taught the disciples and say, hey, I'm capable of doing the same as the disciples did. Now when I say Jesus, me and you, then I have the Holy Spirit. Now I've got a teacher, but the teacher's on the inside of me. I learn from the teacher in front of me, and then I get the teacher in me and I continue to go from there because the one in me is going to stay with me and teach me if I am ready to be present, if I'm ready to show up to the classroom, if I'm ready to learn, if I've got my number two pencil with an eraser. Some of y' all like to write an ink because you think you already know. I like an eraser just in case I write something. Oh, my bad. Got that one. Okay. Holy Spirit. Come on, Teacher, teach me. When we are ready to walk and have our teacher on the inside of us, then we have abundant peace. Peace beyond all understanding. Other people don't understand it. Guess what? Sometimes you don't understand it neither. Some of us have experienced that. We have a situation that really should be rocking our world. It don't make no sense what's happening around us. And it doesn't mean the situation is easy, and it doesn't mean the tears aren't coming down your face. And it doesn't mean that it's. That it's not hard. It doesn't mean that it isn't challenging you. You just know. You've been in the classroom so often, you're like, oh, I'm learning a lesson. Oh, okay, all right. I didn't know that, Lord. Okay, let me save all loud in the classroom. Me, me, me, me, me. Let me sit down. Let me just be silent and let the teacher teach. And the peace that comes with receiving that is abundant, let. Now, I spoke of the one who introduces this peace to the disciples, who gives his peace. I want someone in this room, Global family. It may be you as well, to take the opportunity to receive the one who gave the pathway to abundant peace. His name is Jesus. If you're here in this house and what you have heard, or if you're here out there, Global family and what just reached you on whatever corner, corner of the globe you're in, if you know you want access to that teacher on the inside of you, I'm telling you, there's only one way to get the teacher inside of you, and that's through Jesus. So if you want that classroom inside, instead of having to have to sign up for masterclass and watch 75 videos on how to woodwork and fix cars, if you want knowledge of all things, if you want to enter into the classroom with the master teacher, who is your helper and your comforter and your advocate while he's teaching you and challenging you and growing you, if you want access to the Master, you gotta receive Jesus. If you want to receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, raise your hand. I've Done it. I see you. I see you. Global family put a hand up in the chat. We got people for you, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's what we want to do. For anybody who decided today was the day, I want access to that master teacher. I'm going to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Please keep your hand up. We're going to pray with you right now where you are.
