Helping Others Grow

Introduction:

• TEACHERS: The main point of this study is to see how the Wonderful Counselor helped the disciples to grow, and we should be thankful because that is what He has done for us – because of what He did for the disciples and us, we should also be challenged to help others grow!
• This fits into Sunday October 4^th message about fruit/more fruit/much fruit
• This could very well fit into the category of the “One Another” commands throughout the NT
• If we can grasp this, individual lives will be stronger, families will be stronger, our friendships will be stronger, and our CHRUCH BODY will be stronger!

- We’re into our 8^th week of our series: Finding Hope in the Wonderful Counselor

- we all need hope, and we’re all going to go somewhere to get it!

- what better place than from the Wonderful Counselor –Jesus Christ/Son of God/God the Son

[REVIEW] Q: Who can give me the definition of hope?

• Hope = the anxious anticipation of good – (biblical perspective) vs. the world’s definition more as ‘an uncertainty of the outcome’

Q: And that definition is base on what passage? [Romans 8:18-25; esp. v. 24-25]

• Romans 8:24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

> we have HOPE because of Who God is, what He can do, and what He promised to do

Q: What have we studied so far that lays a firm foundation for our hope?

#1: Find Hope in the Questions He Asked (He gathered the facts and told the truth)

#2: Find Hope in Defining Problems (the way He did)

#3: Find Hope in the Relationships HeBuilt (He loved, served, and died for people!)

#4: Find Hope in Giving Hope (but you have to have hope before you can give hope!

#5: Find Hope in the Instruction He Gave (the truth He proclaimed – what He wanted certain people, in certain situations, to KNOW

#6: Find Hope in the Expectations He Gave (in short, Jesus gave some homework assignments – He expects us to DO something with the truth He proclaimed)

#7: Find Hope in the Disciples He Chose (it should give us a lot of hope that if Jesus could pick the men He picked to accomplish His goal(s) – then surely He can use us!)

Point: Thank the Lord for His grace, mercy, and patience with us as we all grow!

- Our study this week takes us back to John 15 [open Bible]– the study we did on Sunday (Oct. 4)

- Our topic this morning is: Finding Hope in Helping Others to Grow (that’s what Jesus did)

- as I said in the message that morning:

> these words in John 15 were spoken by Jesus just after the Lord’s Supper in the Upper Room and on His way to the Garden of Gethsemane (with His disciples – the men He chose)

> and just prior to His betrayal and crucifixion

> these were some of His last words to the Disciple before He went to the cross to “become sin for us Who knew no sin that WE might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21)

- He had lived a life that modeled EXACTLY what He was expecting from them (and US!)

- Key Verse: Luke 2:52 says this about the life of Christ:

• Luke 2:52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.

increasing = to proceed, to advance, to grow

- and that is exactly what God wants to be true of our lives (that we are growing – that’s the point of the fruit …more fruit … much fruit emphasis in the vs. 1-11

- the ONLY way that is going to happen is if we “ABIDE IN CHRIST”

> The idea of abide covers the 2 aspects of our relationship with Christ:

#1: Our salvation in Christ (we can’t be saved apart from Him – cf. John 14:6)

• John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

- it also includes:

#2: Our dependence upon Christ (i.e. v. 5 ‘without Me, you can do nothing’)

Point: He wants us to be in a position where we are growing, and we are helping others to grow

[READ John 15:12-27

- this passage gives us at least 5 ways that Jesus helped His disciples to grow (and reveals to us how we can grow and help others to grow!)

I. Jesus Loved the Disciples – v. 12-13

- it’s interesting that Jesus would bring up this subject in the context of “abiding in Him’ and producing ‘fruit, more fruit, and much fruit’

Q: Would you agree or disagree with this statement?

“People don’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care!”

- that is a basic truth about people [ I would agree w/the statement]

* The key to helping people grow is the love you have for them!

- if you don’t love people very much, it’s not likely you are going to have any significant impact on that person’s life and/or ministry

- of course, all that flows out of our love for God – the 1^st and greatest commandment

> your love for people is really a reflection of your love for God

> loving people is the 2^nd greatest commandment

> if you don’t love God much, you’re probably not going to love people much

Q: How will people KNOW that you really love them?

- Jesus answers that question in v. 13

A: You will demonstrate it!

• John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

> that’s not TALK … about love, that WALK - -it’s putting your love into ACTION – and growing in the process

* Sacrifice is a ‘fruit’ of love for someone![ Note: It could be MORE fruit, or MUCH fruit in a person’s life if they are willing to ‘lay down’ their life for their friend!]

- Pastor Goode used to ask us the question: Do you spell sacrifice with a BIG “S” or a little ‘s’?

- it’s a good Q – many want to spell it w/the little ‘s’ but want the benefits of the BIG “S”

- Jesus made it very clear that He spells it w/a BIG S: The key phrase in v. 12 is ‘just as I have loved you’

Input : What are some of the ways that He had already demonstrated His love for them?

- go back to John 1

1) He created us! – John 1:1-3

• John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.² He was in the beginning with God.³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

- knowing that Adam would sin, and know the price of Redemption, He still created man

- that’s a God full of GRACE and a God full of LOVE (Gen. 3:15)

• Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

2) He brought light to a dark world (to reveal the truth and need of redemption) – John 1:4-13

• John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. [READ v. 7-13]

- another act of love – knowing that He would be rejected

3) He became flesh and dwelt among us and revealed the glory of God – John 1:14

• John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

- He did that by His miracles (mention a few – feeding 5,000; raising the dead, blind to see; lame to walk, deaf to hear!!]

POINT: And the BIGGEST and most GRAND way to show love was right around the corner

> He is going to do the very thing that He told them was ‘greater love’

> He was about to LAY DOWN His life for His friends!

- another way that Jesus helped His disciple to grow (and helps us to grow) is:

II. Jesus Spoke the Truth to the Disciples – v. 14-15

• John 15:14"You are My friends if you do what I command you.¹⁵ "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

- Everything they needed to know, Jesus revealed it to them

- it wasn’t EVERYTHING He knew, but it was all they needed to know to bring glory to God

- let’s put it like this:

* Jesus practiced full-disclosure!

- He had nothing to hide – and He had the TRUTH and He helped them grow by telling them the truth

Q: How often do you practice full disclosure?

Q: Are you helping others grow because of your honest communication? OR…

Q: Are you hindering the growth of others because you don’t tell them the truth? [OR you tell them, but you don’t speak the truth in love – as Paul said in Eph. 4:15]

* Friends communicate . . . and help each other GROW – ARE YOU A FRIEND LIKE JESUS?

III. Jesus Expected Them to Grow – v. 16-17

- sometimes we don’t see any growth in our friends, church body, families, etc because we don’t’ expect each other to grow

- we ought to expect each other grow because Jesus expects US to grow (& the disciples)

A. To bear ‘fruit’

- to show evidence of ‘abiding’ in the TRUE VINE

- it natural, and NORMAL to produce ‘fruit’

- we ought to expect each other to grow and do all we can to help each other

> but if you don’t EXPECT anything, you’ll never PRODUCE anything

B. In a specific area: Love one another!

- this being the 2^nd greatest commandment – demonstrating our love for God

Input: What will be the result if we don’t expect each other to grow in this area?

[various answers] – apply this to the church, marriage, family, spreading the gospel,

- the most powerful way to help a person grow is to MODEL what a godly life looks like

IV. Jesus Modeled the Right Response to Life Situations – v. 18-25

- one of the greatest demonstration of Jesus love for us is this:

A. How to respond to rejection and persecution – v. 18-21 [READ]

- to whatever degree we face ‘hatred’ or rejection, it’s ultimately against HIM, not us

- a slave is not greater than the Master, so whatever He faced, it’s not uncommon for the slave to face as well

- but notice what He said in v. 20 ‘if they kept My word, they will keep yours also’

> that’s our job/responsibility: to sow the seed of God’s word – how people respond is not our responsibility

B. A pure life that glorified the Father – v. 22-25

- notice Jesus’ words in v. 25 “they hated Me without a cause’ – they had NO REASON to hate Christ – in fact, they had every reason to LOVE Him and ACCEPT Him

> but instead, they rejected Him because He revealed their sin (v. 22)

C. Others ways that Jesus modeled ways to help others grow?

1) He dwelt among us – a process of relationship building

- remember where He came from – the right hand of the throne of God

- to come to an earth (cursed by sin) and to face the very sinners for which He came to redeem

Point: If we are going to REACH people and help them grow, we are going to have to ‘dwell among them’

- one of the most ‘dwelling’ statements made about Christ was this:

• Matthew 11:19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

Q: How are you doing at ‘dwelling’ with others? [Hospitality – Serving one another]

* If you don’t dwell among others, you’re not likely to impact their life or help them grow!

2) He cared for their physical needs

- feeding the 5,000 (and had some left-over baskets – one for each disciple!)

- when in the boat and the storm hit, He calmed the sea when the storm hit

3) He prayed for them

Q: How often do you pray for others?

Q: What are you asking for when you do pray for them?

- one of the best steps of discipleship is this:

4) He prepared them for the next step!

- that is good discipleship and really helping people grow

- to prepare them for the next step:

> to help them get ready for the process of ‘fruit’ to ‘more fruit’ and from ‘more fruit’ to ‘much fruit’

Q: What was about to happen?

- He was about to die, be buried, raised from the dead, and ascend back to heaven

- trusting them with the ministry of spreading the Gospel

- finally, one of the most HELPFUL things…

V. Jesus Sent the Holy Spirit to Help Them

- we can’t do that (obvious)

- but we can pray to the Father through the Holy Spirit

- we can sow the seed of God’s Word inspired by the Holy Spirit

* We can’t BE the Holy Spirit, but we can WALK in the Spirit and produce the FRUIT of the Spirit so God can be glorified.

[READ John 16:1-15 – all the Holy Spirit was sent to do – PTL!!!!!]

Conclusion:

Q: Are you willing to BE whatever God wants you to be?

Q: What needs to CHANGE in order for you to help others to grow?

Q: Do you tend to want the benefits of growth or a good friendship without being and doing what Jesus modeled for us as He helped the disciples grow?

Finding Hope in the Wonderful Counselor

Finding Hope in Helping Others to Grow

Introduction:

Key Verse:

• Luke 2:52And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.

increasing = to proceed, to advance, to grow

> The idea of abide covers the 2 aspects of our relationship with Christ:

#1: Our _____________ in Christ

• John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

#2: Our _______________ upon Christ

I. Jesus ____________ the Disciples – v. 12-13

“People don’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care!”

* The key to helping people grow is the ________ you have for them!

• John 15:13"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

* ________________ is a ‘fruit’ of love for someone!

Input : What are some of the ways that He had already demonstrated His love for them?

1) He ___________ us! – John 1:1-3

2) He brought ____________ to a _________ world – John 1:4-13

3) He became ____________ and dwelt among us and revealed the __________ of God
– John 1:14

• John 1:14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

II. Jesus ____________ the ___________ to the Disciples – v. 14-15

* Jesus practiced ________-_____________!

* Friends communicate . . . and help each other GROW

III. Jesus _____________ Them to Grow – v. 16-17

A. To bear ‘__________

B. In a specific area: ___________ one another!

Input: What will be the result if we don’t expect each other to grow in this area?

IV. Jesus ______________ the Right Response to Life Situations – v. 18-25

A. How to respond to ______________ and _____________ – v. 18-21 [READ]

B. A pure life that ______________ the Father – v. 22-25

C. Others ways that Jesus modeled ways to help others grow?

1) He dwelt among us – a process of ______________ building

• Matthew 11:19"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

2) He cared for their ______________ needs

3) He ______________ for them

4) He ________________ them for the next step!

V. Jesus Sent the __________ ___________ to Help Them

* We can’t _____ the Holy Spirit, but we can ___________ in the Spirit and produce the _____________ of the Spirit so God can be glorified.

Conclusion:

Q: Are you willing to _______ whatever God wants you to be?

Q: What needs to __________ in order for you to help others to grow?

Q: Do you tend to want the benefits of ____________ or a good ______________ without being and doing what Jesus modeled for us as He helped the disciples grow?