Sermon

Imagine it – you’re one of the disciples, sitting in the Upper Room during the yearly Passover celebration. Jesus is telling you about what will happen in the future – that He will be denied, that He will be betrayed. How do you think you’d feel? Of course, you’d be troubled! But no more so than when Jesus tells you that He is going to leave you and be with you no more. That would most definitely cause a great deal of distress. After all, this is your teacher, your master, your rabbi, the man you’ve followed for three years. And now He tells you that He’s going to leave you? What are you going to do?

But, then He tells you: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me” (John 14:1, NIV). And then He follows that up with: “. . . I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17, NIV). He tells you that He’s not going to leave you alone, that He will not leave you as an orphan. In one breath, Jesus manages to be both mysterious and comforting. God will send Another Counselor, just as Jesus has been a Counselor – and this Counselor will be with you and in you forever. Jesus says that you will know this Counselor in a way that the world will not know Him; He says that there will be a kind of union and communion with Him. He says that this Counselor will bring enlightenment and life-change: “On that day, you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in Me and I am in you . . . But 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” (John 14:20, 26, NIV). And the end result of this mysterious but powerful blessing will be peace: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27, NIV).

That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? I’m quite sure the disciples didn’t really understand what Jesus was trying to tell them. But perhaps they did take some comfort from His words – a knowledge that, while things were going to look bad for some time, all would indeed be well, that God could still be trusted. But now, flash forward in your mind to a time fifty days later. Jesus had been crucified; He was dead and was buried. On the third day, He rose again and stayed with His disciples for forty days, appearing to them in the flesh. He ascended into heaven, telling His disciples: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5, NIV).

And then, on the Day of Pentecost, as thousands gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:2-4, NIV). Just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit came – not upon a select few as He had in the Old Testament, but upon all who believed. He came in wind and fire, opening ears and minds to hear and understand. He opened hearts and minds to receive the Word that Peter preached that day. We’re told that about three thousand believed and were added to their number that day. It was amazing, powerful and mysterious – one of the true high points in all of Scripture. For here, God did a new thing; here, God formed a new body of believers in the power of His Spirit. God gave birth to the Church through this Spirit-baptism. The new covenant, which had been sealed in Christ’s shed blood, was here confirmed and extended on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came to earth, with power divine.

And if you continue reading in the book of Acts, you’ll see that the Holy Spirit continues to be at work. The key word you’ll see repeated again and again is dunamis, usually translated as “power”. But it’s an explosive kind of power, my friends; we get our English words “dynamite” and “dynamic” from dunamis. Our Wednesday Evening Bible Study has been studying the book of Acts for the past few months, and they can tell you of the amazing things the Holy Spirit did in the life of the early Church. We’ve read about miraculous healings, of conversions and of changed lives. Saul the Pharisee, the one who oversaw the death of Stephen and persecuted the early Church, in the power of the Spirit became Paul the apostle. We’ve read of Paul’s missionary journeys, of how the Spirit guided him in his travels and protected him from danger. We’ve read of the Gospel being extended to all peoples – peoples who had been excluded from the covenant before because of their race or social status. We’ve read of new churches started in the most unlikely places. In short, we’ve read of a dynamic, unharnessed, explosive power that God gave, allowing His new Church to transform the world and to spread even unto the ends of the earth.

And friends, that’s the Good News that we have before us today! For that same dynamic, unharnessed, explosive power that the early Church had is also ours today! Friends, we are part of that same Church; we have been given that same gift – the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, God Himself, dwelling in and with us in His dunamis. With Jesus’ disciples, and indeed with all believers around the world and throughout all time, we have a union and communion with God and with each other. Through the Spirit, we realize that Christ is in His Father, that we are in Him and He is in us (John 14:20). In the Spirit, we are taught all things and are reminded of all that Jesus has said to us (John 14:26). And therefore, we have the same peace that Jesus gave to His disciples – a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that makes no sense considering the circumstances, a peace that comes from God in the dynamic power of the Spirit. Therefore, we have the same protection that was given to the early Church – a protection that kept them safe from the work of the enemy and allowed them to flourish, even amidst persecutions and hardships. Indeed, friends, we have all the same gifts that were given to the believers on that first Pentecost – the power that changes lives and hearts, the power that connects us to God Himself, the power that guides us into the way of all truth.

And the evidence of this is found in the love and obedience we have for our God. One commentator I read as I was preparing for this sermon had this to say: “A person does not show that the Holy Spirit lives in him by bizarre behavior or belief, but by knowing and obeying the commands of Jesus”.[1] Indeed, this is what Jesus kept telling the disciples during His Upper Room Discourse: “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15, NIV). After all, the Holy Spirit kindles within us a love of the Lord. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us in our life-long quest for holiness. The Holy Spirit dwells with us and in us, leading us to grow in faith and knowledge of God. The Spirit works with us, allowing us to produce the His fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The Spirit speaks to us, opening our minds to understand the Word of God and praying through us with groans we cannot understand. The Spirit works through the sacraments and brings unity into Christ’s Church. In short, with Him all things are possible. In the power of the Spirit, promised to you, promised to me, promised to the whole Church, all things are possible! For in the Holy Spirit, given to us on this day two thousand years ago, we have power divine! Hallelujah!

So my friends, this is indeed a joyful day! On this day, God gave us an amazing gift – the gift of Himself, poured out to us in divine wind and fire. On this day, He formed His Church in the power of His Holy Spirit – the Spirit who is still here today, empowering us to love and obey Him, to live for Him, to serve Him in ways we could not even imagine. On this day, He gave to us His power, His dunamis, uniting us unto Himself in a mysterious and comforting way. On this day, the Church was baptized and commissioned to go out in that power, proclaiming the good news, changing lives in Jesus’ Name and for His sake. So let us continue to obey that command, my friends. Let us continue to love and serve our Lord God, who has given us this indescribable gift. Let us live in the power of the Spirit, producing fruits of righteousness that bring glory to God. For indeed, to Him and to Him alone belong all glory and honor. Amen!

[1] Kenneth O. Gangel. John. Holman New Testament Commentary. (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000), 269.