The Counselor Will Teach You Everything

John 14:25-27 All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The Counselor Will Teach You All Things

I. Reminding you of Christ’s words

II. Giving you heavenly peace

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen (Revelation 1:5b-6).

E-BOMB OF SIN: Ever heard of the E-bomb (from EMP - Electro-magnetic pusle)? Any electronic devices that are not shielded from this specific type of attack are lost. Communications equipment, radios, computers would be wiped out. It would effectively disconnect people. It is especially effective when it cuts off an enemy from communications with their leader. Military advantage: Isolation Compare that to sin! Man was created morally good, desiring the will of God. But then sin came along. The disconnect from God was so powerful that man hid from him. Man is so messed up inside that even though he has the basic understanding of right and wrong, and he recognizes the benefits of doing the right thing, yet he still does what is wrong.

PENTECOST RECONNECTION / JESUS’ PROMISE: How completely opposite is the effect of Pentecost! Like a bomb dropped in the middle of Jerusalem, the arrival of the Holy Spirit as Counselor reconnected the people with their Father in heaven, through their Savior Jesus Christ. Our Gospel today anticipates the day of Pentecost. Jesus gives the promise of Pentecost on Maundy Thursday. Christ has warned his disciples that he will be leaving soon. He has predicted his betrayal. He’s warned that Peter will deny him. Soon they will be disconnected from him – first by their enemies, then by death, and just when they think that he is back, he will ascend into heaven. The promise of Pentecost is a promise of comfort, one of those links that will remain between the disciples and their Lord, even though he will not be with them bodily anymore.

E-BOMBS WIPE OUT INFORMATION: E-Bombs not only take out communications, but they fry computers (hard drives, floppy disks, cassettes and VCR tapes and custom-recorded CDs.). Victims of the E-bomb will lose the information that they have stored electronically. Imagine all of your emails GONE. If you keep your finances and tax information on your computer… What a loss! As Jesus was about to leave his disciples – and they were going to graduate from Christ’s seminary, he didn’t want them to worry about forgetting any of his lessons: “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

DYNAMIC ACTIVITIES NOT PROMISED: What makes Pentecost stick out are the dynamic activities of the Holy Spirit: sound of wind, tongues of flame, the speaking in tongues, the miraculous growth of the church through one sermon; but do you see any of those signs in the promise of Christ to his disciples? What were the important tasks of the Holy Spirit, for which the Father was sending him? “But the Counselor… will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” TEACHING & REMINDING you of EVERYTHING. That’s the important work of the Spirit! It happens to be the same work that he is still doing today. It’s what he is doing right now! Sure it would be impressive if every sermon began with the sound of rushing wind and a flame floating over my head to assure you that the Holy Spirit is present and speaking to you. But that isn’t what Christ promised.

HOLY SPIRIT FOR HIROSHIMA: Christ promised a Teacher and a Reminder. If we want to enjoy the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must then be students and listeners. If we aren’t, can we claim to have a living faith? As a pastor, I hear it all of the time. I have faith. I don’t need to go to church. I pray. Such people should visit the valley of bones from Ezekiel. It looked like Hiroshima… dead, dry bones. What brought them life? The Holy Spirit. How did God send the Holy Spirit? He told his prophet, “Prophesy!” Without the help of the Holy Spirit, without God’s Word, we are nothing but dry bones. What good is a Counselor, if we aren’t seeking his advice, listening to what he has to say?