Scripture: Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10 – 22:5
John 14: 23-29
A HOLY CALL A HOLY CITY A HOLY COUNSELOR
In scripture God is referred to as HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.
He is God in three persons, the Holy trinity.
When I looked at the scripture passages for today in preparation for writing this sermon, I saw that we also have a connection to this idea of three times Holy.
Let’s look at the Holy call, the Holy city, and the Holy Counselor in these passages.
Paul knew he was called by God to preach the gospel and he depended upon God to open or close doors of opportunity for him. We know according to Psalm 37:23 that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, but have you ever thought about that the “stops” are, too? In just a few verses previous to this one, Paul had felt “forbidden” by the Holy Spirit to speak in Asia. Now he feels led by the Holy Spirit to go to Macedonia, Greece.
In his conscious waking moments Paul had prayed for guidance and he expected to hear from God. He was prepared for God to speak to him or make His will known to him in a number of ways. So when Paul had a vision of a man calling to him to come, then he concluded God was opening a door for him there.
So, what happened as a result of Paul’s obedience this time? He went to Macedonia and stayed a few days and on the Sabbath he went to the riverside where he expected to meet with other worshippers.
(I was intrigued when I read some commentaries that said the word “synagogue” originally meant riverside!) Imagine Paul’s surprise when it turned out to be just a few women there that day! In the vision it was a man extending the call. Was this obviously the wrong place? No, it was a Holy Spirit setup… perfectly orchestrated by God.
Lydia was there. She was already a worshipper of God….a seeker, or god-fearer as they were called, and just needed to hear the word proclaimed so that she could be saved. The scripture says when Paul preached, God “opened her heart” to pay attention and she was baptized and her household as well.
Lydia was a business woman, a dealer in purple. The dye for purple was made from a juice found in very minute quantities in shellfish. It took thousands of crustaceans to make a yard or two of purple cloth. So it was very expensive, worth its weight in silver. Lydia had become wealthy from her sales in purple cloth. And as my Baptist pastor used to say, when folks are baptized their pocketbooks get wet, too. Lydia felt a Holy call to serve God with her finances and because of that, God’s word spread.
You see, she opened her home to Paul’s group to show her gratitude, and from this small beginning grew the church at Philippi, the strongest and most generous of all Paul’s churches.
Suppose Paul had not followed the Holy call in his vision? Suppose he had been so disappointed at the small congregation made up of “just a few women” that he had not gone ahead and preached the gospel to them that day?
God had a plan and God called a man and a woman to complete the plan. Many were blessed because they both obeyed their Holy Call.
There is a divine call on our lives, too. Are we sensitive enough to hear God’s Holy “No” as well as his Holy “Go”? (Don’t worry if sometimes you get it wrong, the providence of God is flexible enough to include our free choice, but forceful enough to prevent the ultimate failure of His will.) The thing God is looking for is our action and obedience to what we perceive as His will.
Now we go over to the second passage of scripture and see God speaking to John in a vision, too. This time it is to encourage an exiled preacher (and us), that this is not the final home for God’s servants.
Whatever culture you stumble across, whatever time period of history, you will find some sort of belief in the afterlife. God has set eternity in our hearts.
Like the little boy flying his kite and the kite was out of sight and someone asked him where it was and he pointed up to the sky. They asked him how he knew it was there if he couldn't see it and he said, "I know it is there because I can feel it tug." We can know in a similar way that there is a Heaven, because we can feel the tug of it in our souls.
John sees the Holy City, that Louise sang about this morning. The hymn writer used this scripture passage to describe the perfect city and its perfect provision and perfect population. Its splendor is compared to jewels. But the gold and precious stones are being used as just beautiful and serviceable building materials for its walls and streets.
There is a joke told about someone who actually managed to take his gold with him to heaven’s door and St Peter was confused when he saw him and said, “Why in the world would you bring pavement here?”
The true riches are found in the fellowship of believers with Christ. Lydia got a taste of that fellowship with Paul and that is why she begged him to come home and stay with her a while so she could continue to enjoy getting to know the Jesus she had just heard about.
The Holy City doesn’t have sun or moon or stars because its light is Christ himself. It has open gates and perpetual light. It is the dwelling place of God with men.
The city is measured as a perfect cube. This was exactly as portrayed in the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament tabernacle where God resided.
Amazingly the Holy City has no temple, no church building. The idea of a temple was always central to a city they built in their day. Now there is no need to build a place for sacrifice. But there is a river….so the worshippers can meet down by the riverside! It is the perfect place to feel refreshed and have your needs met by the water of life and the tree of life. There is a continuous supply of water running from the throne of God who is the fountain of living waters.
There is no sin or evil in this city so we may freely eat from the tree of life which constantly produces fruit as we live eternally with God. That is why Adam and Eve were driven from the garden after they sinned because God did not want them to eat of the tree of life and then live eternally without God.
In the Holy City there will be no tears or mourning, only endless joy because evil has been utterly destroyed.
Life began in a garden. Paradise lost is now paradise regained in a garden city, whose builder and maker is God. And He shall reign forever and ever! (Don’t you want to join that Hallelujah chorus?)
Paul felt a Holy call to establish a church.
John saw a Holy city calling him home.
Now as we look at our third passage we will see that we have been given a Holy Counselor to call us to our duty and to remind us of our rich inheritance with the saints.
If we had backed up just one verse to John 14:22, we would have read that someone asked Jesus, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Spiritual insight is for the spiritually sighted! Some things we know only through the discernment given to us in our hearts. Verse 17 tells us that the world doesn’t see him, but we see him because he is with us and in us.
In verse 23 God says, “We will come to him and make our abode with him.” I believe that “we” means we get all three!
Jesus said if I go away it will be better for me to be with the Father and better for you to have the Holy Spirit as your counselor to teach you and bring to remembrance all I have said to you. He is trying to teach them that love is stronger than death. He will die and be resurrected and then he will ascend into heaven but he will never be gone from them. God is Spirit and when we have the Spirit we have the Holy trinity abiding with us.
I like to think the writer of the hymn, “He Lives” had this relationship in mind when he wrote, “He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way….and just the time I need him, he’s always near!
We have a teacher and a reminder.
That is God in the person of the Holy Spirit teaching us and being our moral compass.
And He brings us peace. Not the absence of trouble, but a certainty that whatever happens, God is with us.
The believer who is truly following the Lord has a peace that is sustained by grace throughout all situations and circumstances. It gives us confidence that God is always working …He works in it, He works it out and He works it together… for our good.
To quote the words of another hymn….
“Peace peace, God’s wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above. Sweep over my spirit forever I pray, in fathomless billows of love.”
We have peace because Christ’s sacrifice for sin fully satisfies the justice of God. We stand before God in Jesus fully pardoned. The rebellion of Adam has been reversed; we are no longer banished from the Tree of Life, and the original relationship of perfection, peace and fellowship has been restored through the righteousness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Truly as we follow Christ we have peace, and our hearts are no longer troubled or afraid.
So ….
God has a place where you can be your best for Him. Are you ready to answer the Holy Call?
We are going to the Holy City to live eternally with him. Will others be going too, because of you?
And we have the presence of the Holy Comforter to guide us on our way. Go in the peace He provides.
Amen
