Our Savior Promises The Holy Spirit Series

OUR SAVIOR PROMISES THE HOLY SPIRIT

June 8, 2003 - PENTECOST

Today (June 8, 2003) is Pentecost. Pentecost is a festival of the church year, which recalls the fact that on this day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church, and the church grew by great numbers.

JOHN 15:26,27; 16:5-11

26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?’ 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Dearest Friends in our Savior’s name:

Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John is about the vine and the branches. There the Lord Jesus reminds His disciples of their close connection with each other. Jesus reminds the disciples of this close connection because as He finishes up this chapter, Jesus also tells them that He is going to leave them. He will be gone from their presence, and He is trying to prepare them before that time. Even though Jesus would physically leave, there are greater things yet to come. Paul wrote in Galatians reminding us of the Savior’s work in the Holy Spirit’s work: "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit"(GALATIANS 3:14). This verse is actually speaking about God redeeming us through His Son by his promised Holy Spirit.

The Lord leaves His disciples, but doesn’t leave them alone. Instead we are told our Savior promises the Holy Spirit in our text. This is the theme for today—

OUR SAVIOR PROMISES THE HOLY SPIRIT

I. We see that the Holy Spirit convicts.

II. We see how our Holy Spirit comforts.

Now, our text told us about the concern that Jesus had for His disciples. He says, 5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?’ In a sense, it seems strange to Jesus at this time that when He told the disciples that He was leaving, they did not ask where He was going. Generally, they usually did. He says, 6"Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief." They were saddened that Jesus was going to leave yet they did not ask where He was going. Now Jesus goes on to tell them the purpose of His leaving is that the Holy Spirit would come.

Jesus goes on to say, 7"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away." Yes, they have been saddened. They may have been so sad that they did not want to ask where He was going, but He reminds them that it is for their good. He explains, "Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." The Counselor, or as the King James Version says "Comforter," is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus leaves the Holy Spirit would come. We know that forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. He went back to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Ten days after the Ascension or fifty days after Easter, the Holy Spirit was poured out on His disciples. Pentecost means "fifty."

Jesus tells them what the Holy Spirit is going to do. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me." There are those who fail to believe; they would be convicted of their guilt. You may recall on that Pentecost Sunday (in today’s second lesson -- Acts 2:1-21) that when the disciples were speaking in different tongues, many of the crowd made fun of the disciples. The leaders said that they had too much wine. They were convicted in their unbelief, weren’t they?

It also reminds us of the time when Peter preached to the crowd soon after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. He reminded the crowd that the Savior of the world had been born and lived among them. They were also the ones who had put the Author of creation to death. They were convicted of their sin. "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ’Brothers, what shall we do?’"(ACTS 2:17). Their guilt convicted them of their sin of putting Jesus, the Author of life, to death. "What shall we do?"