Pentecost

Sermon Notes, Pentecost 2022 John 14:16,17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. In these two verses Jesus lays before his disciples both the goodness the Holy Spirit promises, and the difficulty many have in receiving that goodness from Him. Both of those attributes of the Holy Spirit, his goodness and his invisibility, continue to perplex us today. Who is he? Where is he? How can we see Him? Jesus names him as our Helper, another helper, which places him in a succession of helpers God has given us to better understand his ways. The prophets of the Old Testament come readily to mind. The priests in the line of Aaron. But also the righteous kings and gifted leaders. The judges appointed by God to help Israel through specific crises. David, certainly, but also Nehemiah who rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem and the skilled craftsmen who built and adorned the Tent of Meeting and the ark of the Testimony in the wilderness. In Exodus 31: 1-5, the Lord appoints Bezalel with these words. "I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri. Of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship." Then he appoints Oholiab to help him. The Helper Jesus promises stands in this line. But he is also distinct from everyone in this line. These all did their part and when their role was ended, their gifts departed with them. But the Helper Jesus promises will be with us forever. Jesus names him as the Spirit of Truth. Truth endures. Truth does not change. Truth resides beyond human understanding. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." The Spirit of Truth helps us as only God helps us. He is Spirit. He is not a man gifted with a spiritual grace. Just as Jesus was not a man gifted for God's purpose but God himself in human form. The Spirit is God himself not in human form, but helping us as if he were. He is a Person because that is how he chooses to be known by us. Persons make their presence known. Jesus made his presence known in Bethlehem to a gaggle of shepherds on a cold night. The Holy Spirit made his presence known with fanfare: first to Jesus' disciples with tongues as of fire descending upon them, then to a multitude in a cacophony of voices understood by each in his own language. Now that is an entrance fitting the coming of God. Babel reversed. Fire from heaven not seen since the days of Elijah. Then Peter glosses everything with the words of the Prophet Joel, "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh..." When Jesus came into the world, hardly anyone knew or noticed. But when the Holy Spirit came, the whole world was put on notice. Knowing is not understanding. We have the very problem Jesus warned us of, the world neither knows nor sees Him. To us who believe, he is the Helper Jesus promised. He helps us understand God. He helps us worship God. He helps us love our neighbors. He shines in us so that others see God through us, impossible as that may seem. But to those who don't believe, he is invisible. There is always some other explanation for the goodness he brings. And his warning of what awaits the wicked falls on deaf ears. John Stott observed that the Holy Spirit never calls attention to himself. If he did, then maybe he wouldn't be so invisible. But he doesn't because he is the Helper, and helpers, the best helpers, help from the sidelines. A good number of years ago there was a movie made called "The Dresser." It was about a Shakespearean actor and the person who worked backstage to dress him for his part. The actor was famous and honored. The dresser known by no one except the actor. But the actor was completely dependent on the dresser not only for his costumes, but for the courage and inspiration to play his role. I think of the Holy Spirit as somewhat like that dresser, equipping and challenging us to be the people Christ calls us to be. When he helps you, you know him well. The other thing John Stott proclaims about the Holy Spirit is that he always points us to Jesus. He doesn't help us so that we can be all that we can be. He helps us connect with Jesus. Peter's address on Pentecost was to proclaim Jesus as Lord. The verses from Joel are the introduction to Peter's message of salvation through Jesus Christ. This is important to realize because it is easy to mistake the signs of the Spirit, or the gifts of the Spirit as we read them today in 1st Corinthians, as the Spirit himself. They are precious reminders of the presence of the Holy Spirit. But we truly honor the Holy Spirit when we follow his lead and meet in Christ. We truly cannot know the Holy Spirit apart from the Holy Trinity. That's why Trinity Sunday follows the week after Pentecost. As we prepare to look at the Three-in-one and One-in-three, we should take to heart the words of the Athanasian Creed: And in this Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) none is afore, or after each other, none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved must think thus of the trinity. For those of us who see the Holy Spirit, we see all of God, not a part of Him. For those who don't see Him, He is yet at work directing seekers to Jesus in whom the fullness of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, waits to be revealed. How will we know the Holy Spirit? Jesus gives the answer, "You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." Isn't that what John also said about Jesus? And isn't that also what Jesus said about the Father? Our three-fold God in one place at one time. That should not surprise us. But the place, in us, should bring us to our knees. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.