John 14:25-27 * Pentecost 2009 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Can you think of someone in your life who worked behind the scenes to make you who and what you are today? You know; those under-the-radar, beneath-the-surface kind of people who, with little fanfare and no desire for recognition, quietly made a solid contribution to your overall well-being?

We’ve all had them. Who are they? Everyone’s personal list will be different, but some of the more common entries would be parents, teachers, relatives, close friends, maybe an employer who took an interest in us, or maybe someone who gave us encouragement at just the right time along the way. Some of these folks we remember because they’ve always been there; others we’ve lost track of because they made just a cameo appearance in our lives. But all touched us in an important and meaningful way.

What I’m about to say next may seem like a bit of jump, but the Holy Spirit is kind of like that. What I mean is that He is always at work with us and for us; always laboring behind the scenes. First creating faith, then sustaining it, then encouraging us to trust and remember the work of Jesus and the promises of God. And all in the quiet but determined manner of someone who really cares.

Actually, maybe that’s not such jump after all, because in the text before us today that’s pretty close to the way Jesus describes the role and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And that is what we want to talk about on this Pentecost, the single day of the church year dedicated to contemplating the person and work of God the Holy Spirit. So on the basis of Jesus’ words in John 14, let us consider

THE INTENSELY PERSONAL WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. What He does, and 2. What it results in

Our text is just a snippet of an extensive conversation Jesus had with His disciples on Maundy Thursday evening, shortly before His arrest, trials, and crucifixion the next day. The general content of John chapters 13-17 is essentially a farewell address filled with instruction, comfort, and encouragement for His disciples. ²⁵"All this I have spoken while still with you,” Jesus told them.

But He also told them He would soon be gone. How will they retain what Jesus said this night and throughout His three year ministry with them? That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The fact that Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Counselor is both interesting and worth exploring, and we’ll come back to that in just a minute. But first let’s consider the two things Jesus says the Holy Spirit does: He teaches and reminds.

This raises a couple of related questions. Where do we have a record of what Jesus said? Answer: In the Gospels, as well as throughout the Bible. Who reminded the writers of the Bible of what they were to include? God the Holy Spirit. He was the “teacher” and “the reminder.” Behind everything that is written in the Bible, then, is the Holy Spirit.

This brings us to that vitally important doctrine of Scripture we call “verbal inspiration.” Definition: God the Holy Spirit so influenced the writers of the Bible that the words and thoughts they wrote were not their own, but the very words and thoughts of God.

The Apostle Peter put it this way in his second letter: “Above all you must understand that no prophecy [declaration] of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation [prophet = God’s spokesman in either the Old or New Testament]. For prophecy [God’s Word] never had its origin in the will of man, BUT MEN SPOKE FROM GOD AS THEY WERE CARRIED ALONG BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

So it is that we as Christians confess in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in the Holy Spirit who has spoken through the prophets.”

The personal ramifications of this teaching are tremendous and cannot be overstated. First and foremost, verbal inspiration means that every promise of God made in Scripture – for example, the promise to help, forgive, protect, and ultimately save us through the work of Jesus Christ – is 100% trustworthy and reliable.

Here’s another thought. The word “agnostic” comes from two Greek words that mean “not known.” The agnostic says God cannot be known; that He is at best the Great Unknowable One. Verbal inspiration says God can be known. We can and do know of His character, His hatred for sin, His plan to redeem sinners like us, as well as His continued love and care for His children because it has all been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit in the Bible.

One final thought on this. In a culture that says truth is whatever you want it to be depending upon your personal preferences (“that may be true for you but it is not true for me”) verbal inspiration means there is such a thing as true, objective, standardized truth. There is a sieve through which every idea and thought and philosophy can be sifted to see whether it is true or false; that sieve is the Word of God given to us by none less than God the Holy Spirit.

But there is even more. In a sense we’re really getting ahead of ourselves, because before we can be taught or reminded of the truth, it has to be in our possession. That, too, is the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit. We call this the work of conversion, and it is worthy of our review on this Pentecost Sunday…

The Bible tells us that in our natural state (that is, before the Holy Spirit gets His hands on us) we are spiritually blind and dead. On our own we could not choose spiritual life any more than we chose physical life. Like our Old Testament lesson, we are nothing more than dry bones until the Spirit of God breathes life into us.

Luther speaks of this in his Small Catechism with these words of explanation to the Third Article: “I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel [the Gospel in Word and Sacrament = the Means of Grace], enlightened me with His gifts [the greatest of which is faith], sanctified and kept me in the true faith...” In other words, it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to believe. He’s the Faith-Maker.

Now if we go on to reason: Okay, if the work of bringing people to faith is the job of the Holy Spirit, then why doesn’t He do it for everybody? Why some and not others? The answer is: The Bible doesn’t tell us. We leave that up to God

What we do know is that conversion has nothing to do with our personal worthiness (“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Paul tells us), but has everything to do with God’s grace. Rather than spending time pondering the imponderables, we simply rejoice that God has called us to be His Children – and we pray, witness and support mission work with the hope that He will also work faith in the hearts of many others.

So it is that we as Christians confess in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life” – spiritual life.

Put all we’ve said thus far about the Holy Spirit together and we’re ready to go back to the name Jesus attaches to Him in our text. Because He is the Inspirer of Scripture and the Faith-Maker, He is also our “Counselor.” This is indeed an appropriate term.

The word used in the original Greek is “parakletos,” from which we get the English word “paraclete.” We never use this word today, although some of you may remember it from a few Pentecost hymns in our old hymnal. At any rate, the noun “paraclete” comes from a verb which means to urge, encourage, speak words of encouragement, console, comfort, cheer up. Or to put it another way, the Holy Spirit gives us good counsel.

And isn’t that true? Working through the promises that are ours in Word and Sacrament, He counsels us. When we are down, He comforts us with words of encouragement, telling us not to fear because He is there and He loves us with an everlasting love.

When we are saddened, He doesn’t ask us to pretend the pain and heartache we feel doesn’t exist. It does. But He consoles us with the promise that although our troubles are very real, yet from the perspective of eternity they are but light and momentary.

When we are frightened by the challenges that are ahead of us, He urges us and encourages us to fight the good fight of faith and go forward in the strength that He provides. And above all else, He reminds us that through Christ we are forgiven – which means the really big stuff has already been taken care of, so we can be confident that He’ll help us with the little stuff as well.

You get the picture. He is our Divine “Counselor.” He speaks to us, encourages us, comforts us and urges us on in His Word.

How vitally important, then, that we be in the Word, because this is where we find God. And as we find Him and spend time with Him there, the result is: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The world defines peace as the absence of conflict or trouble. In a sinful world that rarely happens, and when it does, it is often short lived. Someone once made the comment that men get sick of peace faster than they get sick of war.

That kind of worldly peace is not what Jesus is talking about here. There is a peace particular only to those who know Christ. It is a strong, lasting and inner kind of peace. It is a confident peace that resides within us regardless of the situation we find ourselves in. As has been said before many times, it is not peace from trouble, but peace in the midst of trouble.

It is the peace of knowing that though we have and will sin, we are forgiven. Though we have not always conducted ourselves worthy of our high calling, we are nonetheless loved unconditionally. It is the peace of God that passes all understanding. It is a peace to be savored and enjoyed; a peace that leads us to be untroubled and unafraid.

Some years ago there was a line of clothing out that was especially popular with grade school and high school aged young people. You could find it emblazoned on T shirts and jeans and jackets. Maybe you remember the two word logo: “No Fear.”

With Jesus, that’s more than just a slogan. It’s a reality. And thanks to the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit who has brought us to faith, such freedom from fear is ours.

As Christians we live daily by the grace of God and in the shadow of Christ’s redeeming cross, but it may have been a while since we’ve contemplated what the Holy Spirit means to us. He means an awful lot. Without Him, we wouldn’t be here. Without Him, we would stumble aimlessly through life without hope and without salvation.

But we have hope and we have salvation. And there is only one reason for that: God the Holy Spirit has called us to faith and in a very real but unknowable way resides within us. Like all those people in our lives who have helped us and shaped us and made us who we are, God the Holy Spirit has done the same in a spiritual sense.

Therefore, in our prayers tonight let us thank God for His grace and Christ for our redemption, as well we should. But especially today, on this Pentecost, let us thank the Holy Spirit for enabling us to be – and to call ourselves – Christians, and everything which that means. Amen.