St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost – June 8^th, 2003

Dear Children of God:

Jesus spoke the words of our text for today on the night he was betrayed. That night in a room, somewhere in Jerusalem, Jesus was together with His disciples for the last time. The hour of darkness — when he must bleed and die on the cross for the sin of the world was now at hand. In a little while he would physically leave these very men who had given up everything to follow Him. Listen as we hear Jesus encouraging and uplifting these men and us..

The disciples were listening to Jesus’ disturbing farewell words with great attention and I’m sure a growing sense of fear. But the words of Jesus are reassuring: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.... I am going there to prepare a place for you.... you know the way to the place where I am going" (vv. 1-4).

"Lord," Thomas says, "we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus patiently explains, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me. . . ." (v. 5-6).

"Lord" — now it is the puzzled Philip — "show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Patiently and lovingly Jesus explains His oneness with the Father and promises to reveal that oneness to them in all its glory (vv. 8-21).

"Lord" — now it is Judas (not Iscariot) who asks — "why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world.?" The Lord’s reply is beautiful: "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and he will come to him and make our home with him." (v.23).

Yes, there was so much those disciples were eager to know; and there was so much more Jesus wanted them to know. Now His earthly mission was nearing its close, but he gives them this glorious promise which is found in the words of our text for today: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things."

Friends in Christ, on this Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day after Easter, we celebrate the fulfillment of that rich promise of our Lord to His disciples on that night in the Upper Room. The Epistle for the day has given us the account of the miraculous occurrences of that first Pentecost -- the strange sound as of a rushing mighty wind; the tongues of fire resting over the heads of the disciples; their sudden ability to speak in many current languages of their day. Yet these extraordinary occurrences were just outward things which draw our attention to the real blessing of Pentecost; namely, the coming of the Holy Spirit in a fuller measure into the hearts and lives of the Apostles. Today we wish to dwell on the

In order to appreciate these blessings more, we first must ask ourselves, Who is the Holy Spirit of Pentecost? Two thousand years ago St. Paul asked some new disciples in Ephesus this question: "Did you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?" To which they replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit" (Acts 19:2). Among Christians today the Holy Spirit is, so to speak, the least known Person of the Holy Trinity. But there is no need for anyone to be ignorant of the true nature of the Holy Spirit. The Bible has much to say about him. Briefly, it tells you that the Holy Spirit is not just an impersonal force or influence, as some believe and teach. The Bible tells you that the Spirit is a Person and speaks of him as such. Thus Jesus Himself says of the Spirit that He "comes" and "teaches" and "guides." St. Paul says that the Spirit "prays" and "helps" and "loves," etc.

Also, the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as a divine Person, calling Him God. It tells you that the Holy Spirit is eternal, all-knowing, present everywhere. It speaks of Him as performing works, which only God can perform, such as taking part in the creation of the world and inspiring the writers of the Bible.

Again, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is equal with himself and the Father when he commanded His disciples to baptize all nations "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit, then, is one of the Persons of the Godhead, distinct from the Father and the Son, yet equal with them in power and majesty. This is the Holy Spirit, who, according to the Savior’s promise, came from him and the Father upon the disciples on that first Pentecost day.

However, the work of the Holy Spirit is just as remarkable as who the Holy Spirit is. According to Scripture, it is the special work of the Holy Spirit to bring men to saving faith in Christ through the Gospel. When Christ broke the darkness of Calvary with His triumphant cry "It is finished!" He wanted the world to know that he had made a perfect and complete atonement for the sins of all mankind. Let there be no mistake about that! There is forgiveness for all in Christ! As Paul writes, "God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4). But this very truth —that man is a lost sinner and that he must be saved by the blood of Christ — is, as Paul puts it, "a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (1 Cor. 1:23). By nature no man likes to be called a sinner, a "lost and condemned sinner." He prefers to believe that he has within himself the stuff to get into heaven!

The Holy Spirit alone can break down this sinful pride of man, convict him of his sin and work repentance and faith in his heart. That is why when an unbeliever, after hearing the Word, stops bowing down before his idols and trusts the true Savior; or when the intellectual is convinced by the Word that Jesus of Nazareth is not a mere ethical teacher, in a class with Confucius or Aristotle, but the Son of God and his only Savior; or when anyone is convinced by the Scriptures that he is by nature spiritually helpless and lost and then is led to turn to the crucified and risen Christ — such a change of heart in each case has been worked completely and only by the Holy Spirit. We are not believers because of our great character or any wonderful and perfect conduct or any prayers on our part, but only because the Holy Spirit has kindled faith in our once unbelieving heart. How do we know all this to be true? The Word tells us: "No man can say that Jesus is Lord but except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor 12:3) And again, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:11.)

But the text reminds us that the Holy Spirit not only calls men to faith; He also preserves them in the faith by further strengthening their faith. Jesus calls the Spirit by an interesting and meaningful name: the Counselor. Originally the word meant "one called in" for support; therefore, a helper. This Counselor, then, promised by Jesus, would help the disciples spiritually, and that by doing two things: 1) by increasing their knowledge of the things of God and 2) by bringing Jesus’ peace to their hearts.

Jesus said to His disciples, "The Counselor .... will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." We know what these "all things" were mainly the facts pertaining to Jesus’ suffering and death, his resurrection, his ascension, and his return in glory. Many of these truths the disciples did not at that time understand — some of them had perhaps faded from their memory — and there was also so much more about Jesus they would need to know. The Counselor would take care of all this. He would give them all the needed enlightenment; He would also show them how all the things which then puzzled them were like so many pieces of a beautiful pattern which when put together revealed the glorious plan of God’s redeeming love. That this promise was fulfilled to the disciples we can see from what took place on that first Pentecost day. See the once confused Peter now stand boldly before the many people of Jerusalem and preach that wonderful sermon of sin and grace, by which the Spirit brought nearly 3,000 souls to faith.

What a wonderful experience, you might say to yourselves. I wish I was there on that first Pentecost. But Jesus’ promise of the Counselor is also given to us believers today. The Lord continues to send the Counselor to His disciples through His Word. The Bible is that Word. The Bible is the Word of God. Repeat that slowly and thoughtfully to yourself — the Word of God. It is the only Book given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In it God shows his loving heart to us undeserving sinners. Take all the books in the world, the volumes on science, history, economy, philosophy, religion — they cannot do for you what your Bible does. It is the one and only Book of Life. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It is the tool of the Holy Spirit!

I once saw a cartoon, which shows two students at their desks. One of the young men is occupied with a mountain of books labeled "Books to prepare for life." The other youth is engrossed in just one Book, labeled "The Book to prepare for eternal life." And this is the thought-provoking caption of the cartoon: "Student, how wise are you?"

In the swift tempo of modern living, just when the Christian most needs the Spirit’s help, there is bound to be a strong temptation to set aside Bible reading and meditation. Too busy! Yet we are happiest when we are reading and studying our Bible; for through the tool of the Word the Holy Spirit presents to us the living truths of God and thus strengthens our faith. Are you depressed by your failings as a Christian? Are you at a loss at times as to how to pray? Turn to your Bible! Is there a doubt in your mind as to whether God really cares? Turn to your Bible! In the Scripture the Holy Spirit helps us to see the guiding hand of a wise and loving God in our lives; equips us to stand firm during the time of temptation; keeps us in the saving faith. Let Pentecost remind us that it is through the Word — and the Sacraments — that the Holy Spirit teaches us all things which are necessary for bringing us to faith and keeping us in faith; those things which are necessary for our eternal and also our physical welfare.

The other specific gift of the Spirit, according to our Lord, is peace. Said He to His disciples, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you; I do not give to you as the world gives." Millions of hearts are looking for the blessing of earthly peace. However, there is a peace which is above all earthly peace, which exists even in the midst of all turmoil and war: an inner, spiritual peace. This is a peace not primarily between man and man, but between God and man. It rests upon the knowledge that Jesus took our punishment and brought us eternal peace. This is the peace Jesus gives to all that are His. It is his to give because he has won it for men. This peace is not as the world gives. Again and again earthly peace treaties have been torn to shreds. But the peace of Jesus is the only peace that will keep in this world and in the next. This peace he gives us through the Holy Spirit, the Counselor.

Growth in the knowledge of God and the gift of peace — these, then, are the two specific blessings of the Spirit promised by our Lord. Note, however, that the Counselor did not impart these blessings for a simple enjoyment on the part of the disciples. No, these blessings were meant to be a vital part of their equipment for the work, which God called them to do. To the eyes of men these gifts of the Spirit might at first seem to be pretty small tools for so a large task. But what the disciples had received was the power of the almighty Spirit of God! And with that power they overcame the world. We, too, have received the same spiritual equipment. We, too, have been appointed to the same task, namely, to make the Savior known to our fellow people. Now, these are troubled times, to be sure. Still, wherever we may go, we can never get away from reaching out with God’s Word. Let each of us think of the world as divided up into our own individual areas of mission work. All this we can accomplish through the wonderful blessings of the Spirit sent to work people’s hearts. Amen