John 16:1-15
"More To Come!"

       In the poem "Rabbi Ben Ezra" of Robert Browning there is this bit of verse: "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be! The last of life, for which the first was made." This is not the common idea!  We hear so much about how good the "good old days" were!  Rather this is living with a forward slant toward the better things that "are to be," like Paul.  It is "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 3:13b-14).  This I believe relates to Jesus' words in today's lesson.  Jesus said: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (verse 12).
       From an article in the National Geographic, I read that scientists tell us that they believe that the universe is expanding every hour.  No one can predict when the universe will end; however, we know that God knows when it will end.  I believe that the world of the Holy Spirit is capable of infinite expansion, and I think that Jesus suggests this as well.  God has not told us everything between the covers of the Bible.  He has untold wonders yet to reveal.  In three years of public ministry, Jesus could not reveal everything about our God.  God's love is so creative that it will not ever shoot its last bolt.  Jesus spoke these words soon after the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of John's gospel, which, I believe, contain some of the most wonderful words Jesus ever spoke, including some of his promises.  Could there possibly be any more than what Jesus had revealed?  "Still have many things to say," I believe Jesus is saying this answering that unspoken question of his disciples.
       We saw the Grand Canyon around the middle of the day and noted the delicate colors, and thrilled to the splendor of the view.  We have heard that as the sun sinks further each day, beauty gives way to more spellbinding beauty.  Pink to rose to lavender, lavender to purple.  Every few minutes some new breathtaking beauty.  Is God any less of an artist on spiritual tapestry?  "I still have many things to say to you," says the keeper of the treasures of wonders.  There must be "more to come"!  There is "more to come"!
       Perhaps we need to keep four things in mind:  For one thing, a person's capacity to receive God's further revelations depends upon the measure of that person's faith.  "According to your faith let it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29), says Jesus.  Revelation is not automatic.  Revelation requires a deeper faith to grasp a greater insight, "but you cannot bear them now."  Jesus explains about these wonderful revelations.  These apostles had been with Jesus, and at Jesus' side, for three years or so, but that was not sufficient for the further things God was to reveal.  Therefore, I think that here is a critical question for every believer - for us: "Am I continually growing in my faith?"
       This brings us to a second observation.  Believers need to pray more earnestly for the Holy Spirit to help them for, "when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears" and "he will guide you (us) into all the truth."  I think that these are larger spiritual discoveries.  I believe that the Holy Spirit only guides or leads.  The Holy Spirit does not force.  If Christians are satisfied with the little they already know about things of the spirit, then the door is shut to the "many things to say to you."  Last Sabbath was Pentecost and we are still considering and celebrating the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is in three persons, yet only one God, a master of divine community arrangement so vast that a person could study and study and never really fully understand nor be able to express it.  That is why prayers for the Holy Spirit to deepen and to guide us further and further into truth should be a part of each of our Christian lives.
       Who needs to hear this word, and keep themselves open to further light, further truth?
       I believe that people of faith who end up smug may say: "I've got it!" and mean that they haven't had a new thought about Christ in years.  Furthermore they do not think they need one new thought about Christ.  "Give me that old time religion," and with that the door to a growing faith slams shut.  Here I have to share my favorite story:  It seems that a local church was having its annual "round up the sinners" services - sometimes called "the evangelistic services"!  The call was given for testimony from members of the church.  One elderly deacon stood and shared that some 65 years ago he had "Had his cup filled and that he had not lost a drop in all these years."  He sat down.  A young lad of about six stood up and asked: "May I see your cup and the pollywogs in it?"
       This leads to the third point.  Any further revelations by God will be a continuation of the revelation which is already contained in the Holy Scriptures.  The directions have been set for all time in the Bible.  God will not suddenly veer off in another direction entirely different from what is already revealed to the world in the scriptures.  This does not limit God one bit, I believe.  Rather there are avenues of discovery beyond any human imagination of discovery in the direction already set by God.  One of the commonest experiences of Bible Study and Bible reading, for example, is that, the more one reads, the more one studies, the more one discovers through the guidance of the Holy Spirit meanings and insights he or she never noticed before.  Jesus said, "He will guide you into all truth."  This is said to the disciples about the Holy Spirit.  The ever-enlarging truth will not contradict the scriptures, but rather, I believe, always confirm the truth in the Scriptures.
       One more thing remains to be said.  Jesus Christ will be the center of any and all further revelations by the Holy Spirit.  "He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (verse 14).  Jesus taught that there would never be another redeemer, or another Gospel, or a self-contradicting God.  Further, behind Jesus Christ is the eternal Father, whose truth about love Jesus Christ personified in his life style.  "All that my Father has is mine; for this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it you" (verse 15).  For us, for we Christians, all meanings derive from God the Father's LOVE, personified in Jesus Christ, and conveyed to believers by the Holy Spirit.
       The good old days are filled with rich treasures, but God through Jesus Christ promises vistas in the future through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that are richer spiritual treasures than anything known in the past.  "The best is yet to be," exclaimed Browning.  Our Lord said: "I still have many things to say to you."  I believe that there is "more to come"!  There is a wonderland awaiting those who are and would be Spirit led.  Amen.