WHAT’S THE HOLY SPIRIT TO DO?
John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15; Acts
2:1-21
Prayer: Creator spirit and Giver
of life, pour out your spirit upon the whole creation. Come in rushing wind and
flashing fire to turn the sin and sorrow within us into faith, power and
delight.[1]
“When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will
guide you into all the truth.”
Pentecost, the birth day of the church is not a
one-time event that occurred 2000 years ago. The Holy Spirit did not disappear once
the tongues of flame fizzled out, the violent winds died down, and the dialectally
enhanced crowds sobered up and became confused again. Nope. The Holy Spirit was
just getting started, and thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit is alive and active
today.
We need the Holy
Spirit not just on specials days, but every day because the Christian walk is a
difficult one. We cannot travel this faith journey alone; we are not capable of
saving ourselves; and most of all, the Lord from the very beginning never intended
for us to be alone. Can we give God an Amen for that?
In the Holy
Spirit we have an advocate, a comforter, a helper, a counselor, an intercessor
and teacher. In these roles, the Holy Spirit will dwell within us; bear witness
to Christ; remind us of the miracles and mysteries, the purposes and promises
of our faith; and show us that we can trust God as father, God as Son, and God
as Spirit, three in one and one in three.
This passage
from John is part of Jesus’ farewell discourse. Before he goes to the cross,
Jesus explains to his disciples that he must go away. Their hearts are heavy with sorrow; they’re
practically speechless. They cannot imagine anything that could make this
situation palatable.
This is the
moment when Jesus not only introduces the Holy Spirit but also explains how the
Holy Spirit will be their Helper in building the Church after Jesus ascends to
the Father, when they will see him no more. What’s the Spirit to do?
1)
Prove the world wrong in its beliefs about three
things(16:xx): sin—the greatest sin is not to believe in Jesus;
righteousness—only the righteous will gain heaven; and judgment—we shall all be
judged for the ways we have lived.
2)
Guide us into all truth (John 16:13a)—the Spirit
works day and night to be a holy bridge that transverses the chasm between
those who believe and those who do not (yet) believe.
3)
Declare to believers the things that are to come
(John 16:13b)—the Spirit shows us that all that has gone on before is being
fulfilled day by day.
4)
Glorify Jesus—the Spirit declares to us what
Jesus has already told us; God’s message of love and mercy, reconciliation and
redemption has never changed.
Just as the disciples needed the
Holy Spirit to carry out the call to build Christ’s church, we also need the
Holy Spirit in our lives. Life can be very difficult for Christians. The
“world” (the unbelievers) plots against those who follow Jesus. We see every
day on the news that there is persecution, angst, sadness, fear and death at
the hands and on the lips of rogue nations and evil groups like ISIS and the
Taliban.
They have
declared war on Christians. We need strength, courage, help and comfort to face
all the hardships the world can throw our way.
The Holy Spirit
is the Advocate, the Helper, the Comforter, the Interpreter we need by our side
and in our hearts to stay strong in a hostile world.
·
We can turn to the Counselor for help in staying
the course when we feel defeated.
·
We can count on his leading us in the way of
truth, especially when we feel so lost.
·
We can rely on his proclaiming only Jesus’
teachings and not false truths from phony prophets.
·
We can trust that He interprets the truth heard
from Jesus correctly for life 2000 years after Christ and after Pentecost, and
·
We can dig into the scriptures because he makes
the teachings of Jesus relevant to each new generation. This is what the Holy
Spirit does.
Many of us have had experiences
with the Holy Spirit functioning directly in our lives. Others have questions
like, how will I know it’s the Holy Spirit speaking to me? What does the Holy
Spirit sound like or feel like?
It’s important
to ask these questions, and what I say to you right now is that if you resonate
with these quandaries, then I believe the Holy Spirit is already speaking to
you.
Sometimes there
are no words, instead there’s an unexplainable tugging, a feeling compelled to
go, to do, to say, to soothe; yet, beware: if there’s a leading to the
refrigerator in the middle of the night, that’s not a tugging, that’s a
temptation!
Remember the
functions of the Holy Spirit are to prove, to guide, to declare and to glorify
Jesus Christ. Any other errand is worldly, not heavenly.
I challenge all
of us to increase our awareness of and our willingness to respond to the Holy
Spirit in our everyday lives.
·
People who trust the Holy Spirit recognize his
calling in their lives. They listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and
they obey his leading.
·
People who experience the Holy Spirit in their
lives take risks for Jesus Christ and do not hide their faith from the world.
These folks find comfort when life is hard; find direction when they are lost,
and find peace when everything is falling apart.
·
People who know the Holy Spirit are willing to
receive from the Advocate, respond to the Helper, rejoice in the Comforter, and
re-voice the promises of the Intercessor.
The gift of the
Holy Spirit to the Church is something to get excited about! The Spirit arrived
in the world 2000 years ago on the rush of a violent wind and appeared as
tongues of fire people’s above the disciples’ heads. How we should yearn for
another day like the first Pentecost!
How awesome
would it be if we could hear the rush and see the wind blow in once again and
renew our tired faith.
How electrifying
would it be to feel and see the fire of the Spirit come alive in the Church
today.
Howard Thurman,
great preacher and theologian said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
As yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world
needs is people who have come alive.”
On this
Pentecost Sunday, come alive with the Holy Spirit. Work with him and allow him
to guide and lead, teach and proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and
that Christ is coming back for us someday.
There will be no
more farewells, only joyful hellos. Get fired up, be ready, and give thanks to
God for this brand new day of Pentecost! Amen.
May 24, 2015
First Parish Federated Church of
South Berwick, Maine
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise,
Pastor
