There
was once a teacher who was teaching first grade in a large elementary school.
One morning all of the teachers were called to the staff room for an emergency
meeting, and they hurried over, leaving their classes unsupervised. All of the
teachers were worried, but none more so than this particular teacher, because
her class was especially mischievous and unruly.
The
Holy Spirit is the force that gives us energy, but it comes to a group and not
to individuals. All we have to do is remember the story of Pentecost that we
heard last week, where the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples with tongues of
fire and gave them the ability to speak in different languages to see that this
is the case. The only way we can get the same energy other than by studying
God’s Word in the Bible is by associating with fellow believers. The energy
that we get from fellow believers is actually the Holy Spirit coming to us. In
his Pentecost letter to the Anglican Communion this year, the Archbishop of
Canterbury encourages Anglicans to pray for renewal in the Spirit and focus on
the priority of mission, so that “we may indeed do what God asks of us and let
all people know that new and forgiven life in Christ is possible”.
2. Dr. Henry Clarence Thiessen, “Introduction to the New Testament”. (Jan. 2002, Peabody, MA. Hendrickson Publishers Inc., pp. 162-176)
3.
Matthew Henry
Concise Commentary. Part of Wordsearch software package.
16. Charles F. Stanley, “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Salvation”. Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com
When
they got to the staff room, the teacher decided to listen in and find out what
was going on in her classroom. She turned on the intercom, and sure enough her
room was in chaos. Children were yelling, jumping and throwing things. But one
little voice stood out above the others. The teacher recognized the voice. She
picked up the intercom and in her sternest voice said, “Elizabeth, sit
down!!!!!!!!”
Immediately, the room fell silent. After a few
seconds, a small humble voice answered meekly, “Okay, God”
I’d
like to jog your memories for a few moments. Most of you, especially the older
members of this congregation, may remember the TV series “Perry Mason” or
perhaps you’ve read some of the Perry Mason novels that were written by Erle
Stanley Gardner. If you are closer to my age, you may remember the Perry Mason
made-for-TV movies that came out in the 1980s. In any event, from September of
1957 to October of 1966, Perry Mason tried 270 murder cases on television, and
more in the novels and made-for-TV movies, and only lost two of them AT FIRST
GLANCE. In both of those cases, he came through with new information and at the
last moment reversed the verdict and cleared his client. The mere mention of
his name struck the fear of God into the hearts of any prosecutor. Well folks,
there IS one prosecutor that even Perry Mason cannot beat, and that is the Holy
Spirit.[1]
Today,
as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we can think of the Trinity as a courtroom. God
is the judge, the Holy Spirit is the prosecutor, and Jesus is our defense
lawyer. When the prosecutor, the Holy Spirit, presents his case, no one will
have any defense on their own; however, everyone can have a defense because
Jesus Christ has offered to take any case for free if he is allowed to, because
he has already paid the ultimate price for our defense. If he is not allowed to
take our case, and the verdict of “guilty” rings out for all eternity, every
defendant will acknowledge it is true, and the entire world will know it. To
me, this analogy is accurate but harsh. I prefer to think of the Trinity in
terms of mediation in a dispute. God is the mediator/arbiter, Jesus represents
our side of the dispute, and the Holy Spirit represents the other side.
The
concept of the Trinity is a difficult concept for us to grasp, and part of this
problem lies in how it is presented in John’s Gospel. John wrote his Gospel for
an audience that was primarily Greek. The Greeks were leaders in science,
thought and philosophy. In other words, Greek society was very intelligent and
highly sophisticated, especially in terms of understanding abstract concepts.
This is one reason why John’s Gospel is very theological in nature.
Trinitarian
Theology is complicated for a reason. The very complications of the Trinity are
designed to bring us closer to God. There is something we need to know. We
don’t know everything about God, but we know everything about Him that we need
to know. The Scriptures assure us of that. We do not have to understand
everything, spiritual or non-spiritual the minute we become adults and that
includes the Trinity. We know enough to save us. God pours out grace upon us,
in abundance and consistently, whether we realize it or not. The Holy Spirit
helps us and the Church to understand all of what Jesus said, especially what
he said about God.
The
Trinity is one of the most fascinating aspects of Christian theology, but it is
also one of the most controversial. It is a mystery to us because it is a
reality that is above our human ability to understand things. We can begin to
grasp it on our own, but we must really discover it through worship, symbol and
faith. In essence, the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence, but
distinct in person. In other words, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are
somehow distinct from one another, yet at the same time they are completely
united in essence, will and tasks.
The
Trinity is a mystery, but this does not mean a riddle. Instead, the Trinity is
a reality above our human comprehension that we may begin to grasp, but
ultimately must know through worship, symbol and faith. In order to understand
it, we must live in the light of its implications for our human lives. The
relationship that exists among the three divine persons suggests to us that we
can know God through our relationships---not only in God’s relationship to us,
but to the entire created world.
In
spite of its abstract, theological nature, John’s Gospel has an ordinary,
down-to-earth purpose; namely, to lead people to Christ. John did not believe
that “truth’ consisted of what he had written or that it could be found only in
the Scriptures. He was speaking of spiritual truth rather than the
philosophical, historical or scientific truth which has enveloped the world
since the Age of Enlightenment over three hundred years ago. He gave us a
method of determining what is spiritually true and what is not. The fundamental
criterion of truth for the church is that it must always witness to Christ and
reveal God’s purpose that love shall be of first importance in all
relationships throughout the whole of creation.
In
today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is setting the stage for his upcoming death,
resurrection and ascension. The disciples are understandably quite terrified.
Their lives are about to take a dramatic turn. They are quite concerned about
the future. How would they continue to do his work without his presence and
guidance?
That
was a valid question, and it is the same question many Christians have today.
How are we going to do Christ’s work in our society? How are we to care for the
less fortunate and spread the Good News? Fortunately for both us and the disciples,
Jesus had an answer. He promised to send another advocate or helper-the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit would not be bound by Jesus’ limitations of time and space.
Whereas Jesus could only travel slowly and teach those within the sound of his
voice, the Holy Spirit could be present anywhere and everywhere-throughout the
world and throughout history.
Jesus
knew that his disciples could not face the reality of his death and
resurrection or the reality of their own persecutions for doing his work. They
were too weak at that time to face that reality. It would be the job of the
Holy Spirit to guide them and strengthen them for the challenges they would
face. Many of us face the same concerns today. We often feel that we are too
weak to do God’s work on our own, and in fact we ARE weak. We cannot do it alone. We need the teachings and the
strengthening power that the Holy Spirit provides.
The
Spirit will guide us in our life’s journey. It will be the still, small voice
inside of us that says either “Don’t do that!!!!!!!!!!!” or “Go for it! “ He
will guide us in the right direction like a built-in compass. How many
coincidences in life are eventually understood to be considerably beyond the
level of chance in the long run? Perhaps there have been times in our lives
when, for just a fleeting moment, we have been overtaken in some circumstance
by the urge to acknowledge “something”-something which had caused an impossible
situation to take a turn for a better…just when our finely laid calculations
and finely made plans were at the point of collapse. Something happened. A new
direction, a difference perspective, another alternative emerged from the
confusion. Some call it intuition or inspired genius or coincidence. Others
call it the promise Jesus made to us; namely, the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
tells us that the Spirit will lead us into the truth. The Spirit will speak
with the authority of God, telling us what God is thinking. The Spirit will
give Jesus glory because he will translate what Jesus has to say to us. He will
tell us what to do and what to say when we are doing God’s work. The Spirit can
do this because it is not an “it”. He is a person with knowledge, a will, a
mind and affections. You can lie to him, insult him and grieve him. He is not
an impersonal force. He is not Popeye’s spinach or a surfer’s wave. He is God
within you to help you. In fact, John calls him the Helper. He never leaves us.
He comforts the saved, convicts the lost and conveys the truth.
The
great evangelist D.L. Moody once planned to have a campaign in England. An
elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated,
inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a
monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, “No,
but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody”.
In
every area of our inadequacy, the Holy Spirit encourages us to meet our needs
in a way that honours God. He leads us to salvation, regenerates us, convicts
us of our sinfulness, teaches us to live for Christ, and seals us for
redemption. The Holy Spirit does not deal with the symptoms of a problem. He
deals with the cause, just like a doctor treats the cause of human illnesses
and not just the symptoms. Sins are just the symptoms. Sin is the problem. Sins
are the fruit of our problem; sin is the root of the problem. The Spirit equips
us and empowers us to accomplish everything that God calls us to do. The Holy
Spirit’s role is to glorify Christ not in his own person, in the view of
estimation of men. He serves as an intermediary between Jesus and the church.
He is also the continuing presence of Jesus, who brings the power and word of
Jesus to bear on our lives.
The
Spirit breathes upon our lives in many ways. It is the Spirit who calls us to
various Christian ministries, whether it be ordained ministry, lay ministry,
reading Scripture during worship services, or even just the way we lead our
lives. The Spirit even leads us to teach others in our lives about Christ.
Our
world can be confusing. That’s why John 16:13 attracts believers. “But when he,
the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…” If there is one
thing we need today, it is to be led by the Spirit of truth. The Spirit will
guide us to remember the truth, reproduce the truth and receive the truth. It
will help us to find the truth, act upon the truth, and speak the truth. In
order to do so, we have to find him. We find him by:
1. Acknowledging his leadership.
2. Asking for his leadership.
3. Accepting his leadership.
The
Spirit works with us to guide us closer to God in faith and helps us to do his
work in the world. In this way, the Holy Spirit acts as our helper. He lives
inside us and knows us even better than we know ourselves. He works 24 hours a
day 7 days a week to enable us to be the person God wants us to be AND to help
us grow in the likeness of Christ. There is no problem that he can’t handle. He
will help us get through our troubles and will also use our burdens to teach us
about God’s love, power and wisdom.
The
Spirit will also guide the church as it wrestles with issues such as
homosexuals in the church, abortion, war, and capital punishment. Jesus did not
speak directly on these issues, so we need the Spirit’s guidance. He does this by giving us the answer to these
two questions:
1. What would Jesus do in these circumstances?
2. What would Jesus want us to do?
If
it points to the need for change, the Spirit will help us to facilitate change
and flow with change. It uses our experiences and those of others to teach us,
and it reveals to us the truth we need to live our lives.
Bibliography
2. Dr. Henry Clarence Thiessen, “Introduction to the New Testament”. (Jan. 2002, Peabody, MA. Hendrickson Publishers Inc., pp. 162-176)
4.
Charles F.
Stanley Life Principles Bible, New American Standard Version
12. James Merritt, “The Prosecutor Perry Mason Can’t Beat”
Retrieved on May 3, 2010 from www.esermons.com
14. Today in the Word, September, 1991,
p. 30 as quoted in “3 Simple Reasons You Need the Holy Spirit”, written by
Eddie Lawrence.
16. Charles F. Stanley, “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Salvation”. Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com
17. R.A. Torrey, “God’s Power in Your
Life” (1982, New Kensington, PA, USA. Whitaker House. Pgs. 51-86). Special
Printing for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
18. Fr. David McLean, O.P., “Searching
the Mystery of Love”. Retrieved from www.torch.op.org
19. Fr. John Boll, “First Impressions,
Trinity Sunday, Year C, May 30, 2010” Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
20. John Shearman’s Lectionary, “First
Sunday After Pentecost-Trinity Sunday-May 30, 2010” Retrieved from www.seemslikegod.org/lectionary/archives
21. Max Lucado, “Music for the Dance”.
Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
22. The Most Rev. Rowan Williams,
“Archbishop of Canterbury’s Pentecost Letter to the Anglican Communion”.
Retrieved from www.anglicancommunion.org
23. Dr. Lanie LeBlanc, OP, “Volume 2:
Trinity Sunday 2010”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
Great sermon
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