Year C - Pentecost John 14:8-17 - 3 sermons follow the readings
John 14.8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.“ 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” 15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Acts 2:1-21 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine. "
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 " `In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Today is the Birthday of the church. Sing Happy Birthday?
A birthday celebrates the giving of life to someone and we celebrate the giving of new life to the church by the coming of the Spirit. Just as a Birthday present is free, undeserved and not-earned, so God gave and gives His Spirit freely and undeservedly.
Today, I would like us to consider that the Holy Spirit brings new life, Gestation, Transformation, and Proclamation
New Life/Gestation.
The Holy Spirit is in the business of giving life. Before the start of creation, in Genesis 1.2, it says, 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. God the Father, Son ( Col.1.15f) and the Holy Spirit were all involved in creation.
Before the start of the new creation, that is someone coming to trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is also involved. Jesus told Nicodemus about being born again or born from above. He said this is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit. John 3.5 Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
We can observe the Spirit working in the lives of the disciples in our gospel reading, John 14.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
The Holy Spirit had been working alongside the disciples, "with them". The Spirit had given them insight into Jesus person and teaching, the will to follow Him, an awareness of their own sin in comparison to Him. Yet, there was much more to come.
An advocate, literally paraclete, is one called to the side of another to help, to speak up for, encourage and inspire. Jesus could only be in one place at one time during his earthly ministry that lasted for about three years. This other advocate, is like Jesus, but will dwell in all believers for all time. From the first Pentecost, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Father will live in the hearts of believers through the work of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Pentecost and came into the hearts of Jesus' followers and those who responded in faith to Peter's sermon.
The Holy Spirit gave life to Jesus' dead body and gives life to believers. Romans 8.11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
How do you test a ten pound note to see if it is genuine? There are seven markers. Raised print. The metallic thread. A watermark on each side. Good pint quality. Micro-lettering. An ultraviolet hologram
The Holy Spirit is the only marker of what it means to be a true Christian. Romans 8.9 You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God’s Spirit, who lives in you. People who don’t have the Spirit of Christ in them don’t belong to him. One of the major themes of the Acts of the apostles is the wok of the Holy Spirit in the early church.
God the Holy Spirit brings new life, gestation. He also brings Transformation.
Obeying Jesus' command, up to 120 followers of Jesus had been meeting and praying together in Jerusalem (Acts 1.14f) between Jesus Ascension and the Day of Pentecost. He promised them baptism, literally immersion, with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1.4).
This immediately transformed them. They received the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was the Jewish Harvest Festival. It was one of the major religious festivals and would have been attended by Jews living around the Mediterranean and North Africa. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples, who had been frightened of the authorities and were hiding from them, the boldness to speak out for Jesus fearlessly. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak to these fellow Jews about the wonders of God in the languages that they were familiar with. This was especially miraculous because the disciples were mainly from the North of the country. With the way they spoke it was particularly difficult to speak foreign languages.
This was the start of the proclamation I mentioned that was followed by Peter's first ever sermon, that resulted in the transformation of over 3,000 from spiritual death to life by the life-giving work of the Spirit. This was a different type of harvest. The Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin, enabled them to understand their position before God, what Jesus had done for them and to respond by trusting in Him.
The Holy Spirit also transforms believers by the fruit of the Spirit. In our gospel reading Jesus speaks of love and peace. The other seven fruit that should be slowly growing in the believer's life are joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Our Ephesians 4.2 reading also speaks of being completely humble and gentle; being patient, bearing with one another in love.
One of the transformations the Holy Spirit brought was to bring non-Jews, Gentiles, into God's people. Just as a human family is linked through blood, so the world-wide church family is linked by the Holy Spirit living with us. We each have God within us by His Spirit. Therefore, we are united through His indwelling.
The Holy Spirit also gives gifts, equipping God's people to serve Him in the church and community. Shortly after our Ephesians 4 reading we had earlier, Paul continues...
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The purpose of the gifting by God through His Spirit is to enable the body of Christ to be built up, numerically. This is the greater work that Jesus said his followers would do in John 14.12. But there should also be a building up in maturity. In the gospel Jesus mentions the importance of loving Him and obeying his commands. In Ephesians Paul sounds the rest of the letter telling believers how to act.
In Ephesians 5 Paul wrote, 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled and go on being filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as a car needs topping up with fuel regularly. So we need to be topped up with God's Spirit to enable us to have the power to trust in Jesus, to live for Him, to be more like Him, to speak of Him in word and action, to be united with fellow believers, and to transform the church and the world. As you are invited to come forward later in the service to be prayed for and hands placed on you, can I ask you to do so asking for a filling with God's Spirit, so that God may transform you and enable you to be equipped to transform your church and community. Then can I encourage you to make music in your heart to God and thanking Him for everything.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus had just told his disciples he was going to be betrayed and die the next day.
We can not fully realize what a bombshell this was. They had hopes Jesus would be the one to defeat the Romans and establish a prosperous Israel like that of King David. Perhaps they had hopes that they would be involved in governing the country and be rich and famous.
After the crucifixion they would feel isolated, afraid, impotent. Within eight weeks they were united, bold, powerful. What changed them? Two things. The resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In today’s gospel Jesus promised them “another counsellor”.
The word “another” refers to one who is like Jesus.
Counsellor translates the Greek word paracletos which may be best understood as “one called alongside to help”. The word had a number of connotations. The paraclate was used for someone who was on your side in a law court, such as a solicitor. Someone who would speak out for you, plead for you, to comfort or console. One who would teach and assist.
The Holy Spirit would come and take the place of Jesus by being the way that God is present in the world. In verses 9-11 Phillip is told that the revelation of God is found in Jesus because God the Father and God the Son are in one another. After Jesus had ascended God needed to be present in another way. From Pentecost God the Father is revealed by the Spirit through the God the Son.
Jesus could only be with so many people at one time in one location. Since Pentecost the Spirit of Jesus is with and inside every believer! Because he is in every believer he unites us with other believers as well as with God.
He gave boldness to the disciples to speak out for Jesus. People need to hear the good news of Jesus to respond. Jesus expected his followers to speak, saying that the Holy Spirit will even give them the right words to say, Matt.10:20. “For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Soon after this the disciples would be telling the Jewish leaders that they had crucified Jesus but God had raised him from the dead. They changed from being timid and hiding from the authorities to praising God when they were persecuted, unafraid of death.
The Holy Spirit gave them boldness and the power to live and minister for God. He helps believers to obey Jesus. A mark of a true disciple that Jesus mentions in verse 15.
1] The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian.
He unites us with other believers. The Bible says that we grieve the Holy Spirit if we are angry or bitter to another believer or if we speak wrongly against them [ Ephes 4:30-1 ]. Therefore we are to reject the way of the world and be united. Something Jesus prayed for later that night, John 17.
We are all part of God world wide, eternal family. Earlier that night Jesus had told his disciples to love one another 13.34
2] The Holy Spirit gives the power and boldness to live for Jesus and to speak out for him. We do not have to do anything in our own strength. We just have to rely on God! This is easy, but scary. We like to do things in our own strength but this is not the way of Jesus. We are to do things in the strength of the Spirit.
3] The Holy Spirit lives in and with every Christian, forever, v16f.
The Holy Spirit is described as a deposit Ephesains 1: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit will be with us forever, and is a guarantee that there is more to come! This is gives a certain hope and deep joy.
Through Pentecost we can rejoice in our unity, rely on the Holy Spirit, and regard the future with assurance.
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Jesus was to leave his disciples the next day when he died in the cross. 40 days after his resurrection he ascended to heaven. 10 days later His Spirit is poured out at Pentecost.
In today’s gospel Jesus refers to “another counsellor”.
The word another refers to one who is like Jesus.
Counsellor translates the Greek word paracletos which may be best understood as “one called alongside to help”. The word had a number of connotations. The paraclate was used for someone who was on your side in a law court, such as a solicitor. Someone who would speak out for you, plead for you, to comfort or console. One who would teach and assist.
The Holy Spirit would come and take the place of Jesus by being the way that God is present in the world. In verses 9-11 Phillip is told that the revelation of God is found in Jesus because God the Father and God the Son, Jesus are in one another. After Jesus had ascended God needed to be present in another way. From Pentecost God the Father is revealed by the Spirit through the God the Son.
Jesus could only be with so many people at one time in one location. Since Pentecost the Spirit of Jesus is with and inside every believer!
During the earthly ministry of Jesus He could only teach and set an example. Since Pentecost the Spirit:
convicts people of their sin 16.8;
Only the Holy Spirit can bring someone to turn away from living life their own way to follow the way of God. Therefore, we should pray that God’s Spirit will work in the lives of those who do not yet know Jesus to bring them to trust in Him.
teaches them the way to follow, “the truth” v.17, v26;
The way to follow in the context of this passage is to love one another, 13;34, and serve one another 13:15.
It also involves proclamation. People need to hear the good news of Jesus to respond. Jesus expected his followers to speak, the Holy Spirit will even give the right words to say, Matt.10:20. “For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
The day of Pentecost, Acts 2, shows how God gave the gift of tongues to break down the language barrier so people could hear the wonders of God in their own language.
and gives the power to obey God, v.15.
The Old Testament law was good in expressing the will of God but it could not give the motivational power needed. The Holy Spirit gives the power to follow God’s perfect will. There will be ( many ) times when we fail but we should be growing more like Jesus. Producing fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control Gal 5:22-3.
The Holy Spirit lives with and inside believers, v16f. He is with us forever, v.16! The Holy Spirit is the mark of what it means to be a true believer. The Holy Spirit is described as a deposit Ephesains 1: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit will be with us forever, and is a guarantee that there is more to come. This is gives a certain hope and deep joy.
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin?
Are we praying for Him to convict others of sin and bring them into God’s kingdom?
Are we open to being taught by the Spirit?
Are we relying upon the Spirit to give us the things we need to obey God and to be more like Jesus?
