A Visible Presence
John 16:12-15
Ray Pritchard tells of doing a TV interview with David Mains about his book, “Names of the Holy Spirit.” Everything had gone well until David caught him off guard with this question: “If you had to grade your congregation on their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, what grade would you give them?” I didn't see that one coming. Suddenly I was at a loss for words. But the one thing you can’t do on TV is say nothing. The camera hates dead air. So I blurted out my answer: I would give my congregation a C+ on the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.” It seemed safe to me, not too high, not too low. Evidently I sounded like the proverbial hard-nosed teacher because David looked at me with a frown. So I quickly said: “Look, if you graded my congregation on their knowledge of God the Father, I would give them an A, and on Jesus Christ, I would give them an A+. But I don’t think we know as much about the Holy Spirit as we do about the Father and the Son.” David Mains smiled and said, “That’s fair,” so I knew I was off the hook. Sort of. As I did other interviews for that book, I discovered that the first question was always the same. "Why don't we know more about the Holy Spirit?...He’s the God we hardly know. We know about the Trinity even if we can’t explain it. But most of us would be hard pressed to pass a mid-term exam on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.”
Our Scripture today falls in Jesus’ Last Discourse. It marks a decided shift in Jesus’ ministry from teaching and ministering to the masses to a focus on Jesus’ inner circle of disciples as Jesus realizes the cross is fast approaching. Thus, he turns to the disciples to prepare them to for his departure and to carry on his ministry. In this teaching time, Jesus announces his coming crucifixion to the disciples, teaches them about servanthood through the washing of the their feet, speaks about the intimacy and relationship Jesus has to the Father and through him, the disciples will have as well. And finally, Jesus teaches about the key to ministry: the Holy Spirit.
So what do we learn from Jesus about the Holy Spirit today? First, the Holy Spirit reveals the Truth. Almost 2,000 years ago, a Roman governor chose to ask a profound question of a man who was about to be executed. "What is truth?" he asked. Most people ponder that question at some time in their lives, especially at critical points when they are struggling with the meaning of life. After all, the need for meaning is a basic human need, and there can be no meaning without some ultimate truth. It is in the midst of this search that God reveals the Truth through His Holy Spirit. The first is through His Word, the Bible, which is God's message to us. Phrases like "And God said..." occur about 3800 times in the Old Testament alone. The Bible defines itself as the Word of God and consistently claims divine authorship. It claims to be the authoritative, inspired Word of God and presentation of ultimate truth. The Bible doesn't just talk about God, in its pages God speaks Himself and reveals the Truth about himself.
The Truth was also revealed through Jesus. In response to Pilate, Jesus said, “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the Truth. Everyone on the side of Truth listens to me.” Jesus demonstrated the power of God through many "signs and wonders,” fulfilled more than 300 prophecies and through his life, death, and the resurrection revealed the Truth about God and the depth of His love forever that had not ever been seen before. As Jesus leaves this world, he promises that the Truth will continue to be revealed to us through the Holy Spirit and His work in the world and as we read God’s Word and as we come to an understanding of Jesus’ identity and commitment to Him. But our Scripture today also says the Spirit will help us to know and understand what is to come as well as we seek to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s Truth for our lives, and it’s available to us. Jesus had proclaimed "You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free," This is the freedom that the Holy Spirit offers to all those who continually seek Him. For Jesus said, "Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you." Matthew 7:7
Second, the Holy Spirit comes for God’s glory. In the earliest historical reference to the glory of God, Moses asks God, “show me Your glory!” Exodus 33:18. What is God’s glory? The Hebrew word for glory is kabod, meaning “heavy in weight or stature.” The glory of someone or something is what sets them apart in a special and inimitable way, in the same way the glory of a Zebra is its stripes; the Cheetah’s it’s speed; or the peacock’s it’s plumage. When you glorify someone, you recognize their importance, or their “stature” or some desirable quality they possesses. For God, it refers to His power, majesty, and splendor. When the psalmists give glory to the Lord, they’re pointing out God’s attributes that set Him apart from everything and everyone else and make Him worthy of worship. In the New Testament, the Greek word for glory is doxazo, and its usage is meant to convey a sense of brilliance, or radiance of those who share, or participate, in heavenly glory. James Packer in his book, “Your Father Loves You” tells the story of walking to church one winter evening to preach on the words, "He will glorify me" (John 16:14), seeing the building floodlit as he turned a corner. When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. The Spirit's message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me", but always, "Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace." This is where the gift of the Holy Spirit comes in. It is the Spirit of God which sets us apart, makes us unique and empowers us like nothing else. So when the Spirit comes, it is through those who receive it and do great things in the name of Jesus that gives glory to God whose power, majesty and beauty it reveals, reminding us it’s not about us. It’s about His glory!
Third, the Holy Spirit enables us to see God. In the Bible, the glory of the Lord is the physical presence of God in our midst. There is a phrase repeated in the Bible, “The glory of the Lord.” Anytime you see that phrase, “The glory of the Lord,” it is a physical representation of God’s presence. When the Israelites were travelling in the wilderness from Egypt to the promised land, the glory of the Lord or God’s presence was a column of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night. These enabled them to see what they otherwise would not be able to see. Fast forward to the book of Isaiah; Isaiah is 800 years before the birth of Christ. Isaiah talks about the coming of a Messiah who would be the physical representation of God’s presence on Earth. We read in Isaiah 40, “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. And all people will see it together.” And when the Holy Spirit comes on us, our lives become the lens through which God’s presence is visible to the world around us. It is through us that people can see and experience God. The Holy Spirit possesses us, it enables us to be the visible representation of God which allows people to see, to witness, what they otherwise would not be able to see. Dr. A. J. Gordon tells of a Welsh preacher who, having been scheduled to preach one night, asked to be allowed to withdraw for a time before the service. He remained in seclusion so long that the good man of the house sent his servant to request him to come and meet the waiting congregation. As she came near the room she heard what seemed to be an indication of conversation between two parties, and though in subdued tone of voice, she caught the words, "I will not go unless You go with me." Without interfering, she returned and reported, "He will come all right, and the Other will come, too." And sure enough, when he came, the Other One came along, and with such power that it proved a wonderful service in which many found newness of life.
Fourth, the Spirit empowers us to live as Jesus. Notice that Jesus taught with an authority in his teaching and lived a life like no other. The Gospel of Mark says, “The people were overwhelmed with amazement. He has done everything well.” He lived the perfect life. We are called to be holy, to be like Jesus and to demonstrate Christ-like character. In 1 Peter 1:16, God says, "Be holy, because I am holy." And Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How in the world can we ever do that? Through the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For that to happen though, we have to be transformed. It starts with us seeking God and surrendering to Him. Paul called us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” You are called to live a Jesus-like life!
For many of us that means we need to be transformed. We see this type of transformation in the disciples on Pentecost. Before the disciples received the Holy Spirit, they were hiding behind closed doors in fear for their lives. After they receive the Holy Spirit, they’re out in the streets, boldly proclaiming that Jesus has been resurrected from the grave, throwing caution into the wind and putting the Good News, God’s will, Jesus’ mission and the kingdom of God ahead of their own safety. All of the apostles were beaten, thrown into prison and executed for their faith. Alot of people in the world today look at Christians as hypocrites because they say one thing but do another, and many times, they are right. Why? We’re not living in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not active in many Christian’s lives. There are a whole lot of people that have gone out in the world with the book, the law, to judge but not the Spirit and not with Christ-like love. This is why Jesus said, “I am going to send the advocate, the Holy Spirit,” so that we’re not going out with head knowledge, but we’re going out with transformed hearts with the glory of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, who lives and dwells in us. We are meant to be people of the Spirit and that Spirit transforms us and empowers us to live like Jesus. You can’t follow Jesus and live like Him apart from the Holy Spirit. That’s why Jesus told the disciples to wait. Don’t go out there without the Spirit. You can’t live the life of Jesus alone. 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through….Him.” God’s lives in us. We’re the temple of the Holy Spirit and that empowers us to live like Jesus.
Fifth, the Holy Spirit enables to have an intimate relationship and connection with God. Jesus says in verse 14, “The Spirit of truth, what is mine, will come from me, will make known to you.” That word “known” is an important word. It’s not cognitive knowledge. Too many times, Christians think knowing information is enough. The word the Bible uses for ‘known’ literally means intercourse. So it means intimate experience and connection to God. Jesus says the intimate relationship and unity I have with Father, you will have as well through the Holy Spirit. Jesus puts it this way: “So now I will be in you. You will be in me as I am in the Father.” That relationship allows you to know the heart of God, to experience the presence of God in your midst, and to receive the guidance and power of God for your life.
Jim Cymbala, Pastor of the Brooklyn Tabenacle, tells the story reading a newspaper in a Long Island café and a story about Gorja, Pakistan where Christians had been killed and their homes looted and destroyed by a mob of Muslims who were angry that Christians in a neighboring village had burned the Koran. His heart was moved. At his church’s Tuesday night prayer meeting, which regularly is standing room only with 1500 people, he was praying out loud with five other men in the front row and began asking God if there was something else he was supposed to do. It was then that the Spirit spoke and encouraged him to commit part of a part of the offering to Gorja, Pakistan. But Lord, I don’t know anyone in Pakistan. Yet he relented to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and announced it to the congregation. As they were seated, one of the ushers came to him and shared that there was a woman from Pakistan in the congregation. He told the usher to bring her up to speak with Jim and when he did, he learned that this woman was visiting from Pakistan, a first time guest to Brooklyn Tabernacle and a pastor’s wife whose husband was one of the first to go into Gorja after the attack. Jim writes, “Just imagine, at the very moment, her husband was in the town we were praying for…to bring aid to the families who had lost loved ones and homes.” I shared what she said with the people in the church. There was an audible gasp and the room filled with a sense of holy wonder and awe as people began to thank God for this woman, her husband and her ministry. I was in shock. The church was in shock. The woman was in shock. We had called out to God for some way to comfort and aid those involved in this catastrophe and within minutes, we had found that the Lord was ahead of us.” In that moment, they experienced an intimate relationship and connection with God and the Holy Spirit. But it didn’t stop there, later that week, another church member delivered a check to $10,000 to help the Christians in Gorja. Amen and Amen.
