The Holy Spirit (John 14:15-20; 16:7-15)

 Sermon for Milledgeville & Whitestown UMC...

The Holy Spirit (John 14:15-20; 16:7-15)

Pentecost celebrates the empowerment of the Church
to continue the ministry of Jesus 

  

Today, we celebrate the gift of the Spirit to the Church. Some call Pentecost the birthday of the Church. I hold that Easter is the birth of the Church. Pentecost is baby’s first steps. For it is at Pentecost that the Church begins its ministry now empowered by the Spirit of Jesus.

 

Let’s explore three questions:

 

Who is the Holy Spirit?

What does the Holy Spirit do?

What does the Holy Spirit mean for our lives?

 

“Who is the Holy Spirit?” There are some who write off any talk of the Holy Spirit as mystical nonsense. I have a Christan friend who calls such talk moogie foogie. He feels talk of the Spirit is intangible. The Holy isn’t some nebulous thing. We don’t ask, “What is the Holy Spirit?” The Spirit is a person.

 

Jesus said, “…the world cannot receive the Spirit because it neither sees him nor knows him.” (John 14:17) Those who cannot see or know the Spirit are, perhaps, more worldly minded than heavenly minded. A worldly mind says, “I only believe in things I can see and touch with my hands!” Jesus promised that we know the Spirit because He lives in us.

 

During the Last Supper, Jesus encouraged his disciples. Knowing His crucifixion is coming, He didn’t want to leave them like orphans. He promised to send the Advocate. The Greek (par-ak’-lay-toss) means one who comes along side. Think of a tugboat guiding a cargo ship into port. The Spirit is a person sent by Jesus to help us in our daily walk and ministry.

 

Christianity has many ways of speaking of the Holy Spirit. We call Him The Advocate, which sounds like a defense lawyer, the Helper, and The Holy Ghost.

I’ve heard some use the name, Paraclete. The Spirit is called living water. Other gospels depict the Spirit as a dove. Acts 2 depicts the Spirit as a mighty wind and tongues of fire. The Spirit is power from on high, the promise of the Father. John 14 refers to Him as The Spirit of Truth.

 

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at a well, he told her that the Father was seeking those who worship in spirit and truth. To worship in spirit is to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit. Some of my most powerful worship experiences have been in stadiums filled with tens of thousands. The presence of God feels amplified when many gather in Christ. To worship in the Spirit is to feel the Spirit’s joy, to be touched by the love of Christ, to be amazed at the glory of God. The Spirit helps us to pray, sing with thanksgiving, give with gratitude, and worship in holy reverence.

 

Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” The irony of his question is that Truth is standing right in front of him. Jesus is the Truth, the one sent by the Father to save the world. The Spirit of Truth, then is the Spirit of Jesus.

 

Christianity holds that God is known to us in three distinct persons, The Father, the transcendent creator of all, The Son, Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit. Each person in the trinity is of the same origin, substance and divine character. All are one and one are all. Some have tried to rebrand the trinity as the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. I’ve heard the Love, Lover and Loving. God is Love. Jesus is our Lover, the One who laid down His life for us. The Spirit is the loving, God’s love that works in and through us. But I find it simple enough to think of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus living in me, empowering me to love like Jesus.

 

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Spirit of Jesus empowering the Church with God’s love.

 

What does the Holy Spirit do? We have already said that the Spirit empowers the Church to worship, pray and love like Jesus. John 14 tells us the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. I have studied this passage many times, and I’m never sure that I truly understand what Jesus is saying about the Holy Spirit’s ministry.

 

He will prove the world wrong about sin. To sin is to miss the mark, to fail to behave as God’s law directs. To sin is to break covenant with God. To sin is to be unfaithful to Jesus.

 

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” His command is to love. Love God. Have love for yourself, gratefully accepting the love and mercy of God. Love others, love your enemies, love one another.

 

The chief sin in the gospel of John is unbelief. The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because of its unbelief. The world cannot see the Spirit because they look with worldly eyes. They cannot know the Spirit because their minds are conditioned by worldly attitudes. The Spirit works to give convincing proof of the truth of the gospel. He is working to free minds, so the world may come to know Christ. John 17:3 says, eternal life is knowing God and His Son Jesus Christ.

 

The Spirit will convict the world about righteousness because Jesus is returning to the Father in heaven. This is righteous vindication. The world meant to end Jesus, but God turned the cross of Christ into victory. Far from defeat, Jesus rose from the grave and ascended to glory. This tells us that the Jesus way is the right way. Jesus said, “If any would be my disciple… you must also pick up your cross, daily, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

 

The Holy Spirit will give convincing proof that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Faith in Jesus is the way to the Father. Because of the saving work of Jesus, we can approach God’s throne in time of need.

If the chief sin is unbelief, then the chief righteousness is faith in Christ, following Jesus into a life of ministry and service.

 

The Holy Spirit will convict the world about judgment because the prince of this world is judged or sentenced to condemnation. The Greek word translated as prince can also read as leader, commander or chief. The one leading us in worldly attitudes and blinding us to the truth is the devil, Satan, the accuser. The Spirit will give the world convincing proof that Satan is condemned. His hour shall come to pass.

 

Revelation 12:10-12 says,

 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming,

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God
    and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down,
    who accuses them day and night before our God.
¹¹ But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
¹² Rejoice then, you heavens
    and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
    for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath
    because he knows that his time is short!”

 

We battle in our hearts with the power of darkness. We see evidence of evil at work in our world. The devil doesn’t take a break, but we trust the good news from the battlefield. Christ is victorious. The battle belongs to the Lord. We need only to stand firm in faithfulness to share in His victory. The war will end soon and our great enemy, Satan, will be destroyed.

 

Right now, unbelief is at an all time high. Only 62% of Americans identify as Christian. 29% are religiously unaffiliated. Of that group 5% are atheist and 6% are agnostic, 19% don’t even bother. The religiously unaffiliated, also known as “the nons,” has grown from 16% in 2007 to near 30% today. If the trend continues, half of Americans will be secular unbelievers by 2065.

 

That night in the upper room, Jesus was preparing his Church for the future, a future in which Jesus will walk with them, through the Holy Spirit, empowering the Church’s witness. The Church’s witness is love. When we love, the world will know that God truly sent Jesus. When our congregation shows love to others in the community, the Spirit convicts hearts that Christ is real. When we serve others, the Spirit does His work of convincing, calling unbelievers to the light. The world has troubles abounding. But Jesus told his disciples, “Take heart (be of good courage). I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)

 

What does the Holy Spirit mean for our lives? He means Jesus with us, abiding in Him and Him in us. He means power for living in God’s right ways. He means assistance in every service and every trial. He helps us worship, pray and serve. And He helps us grow in faith. Jesus promised,

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, from Jesus, who is at the right hand of the Father. (Jn 16:13-14) Truth goes from Jesus to the Spirit to our hearts.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His disciples that they would be His witnesses, first in Jerusalem, then throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8) But first they needed to go into the city and wait for the promise of the Father. (Luke 24:49)

They fasted and prayed for 10 days and the Spirit filled the Church. Filled with the power of Christ, Peter proclaimed the gospel. 3,000 religious pilgrims came to faith in Jesus that very day. As the witness of the church continued, their numbers swelled. The Spirit works with the faithful witnesses of the Church to grow the Church. Our witness is in our words and deeds. When you love people, it opens them to the Spirit of Jesus at work in you and in them. When you serve people with the compassion of Jesus, they meet Jesus in you, and you experience Christ in them. For when you serve the least of this world, you are serving Jesus.

Who is the Spirit? He is the Spirit of Jesus and of God living in you.

What does the Spirit do? He helps you to advance the ministry of Jesus in all that you say and do.

What does the Holy Spirit mean for our lives? He means the constant presence of Christ’s love in our hearts. He intercedes for us at the very throne of God. He empowers everything we do.

William L. Thompson composed Jesus is All The World To Me (1904)

Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without him I would fall:

 

What does Spirit of Jesus mean for us? Everything!