This
past Sunday I preached and led worship at the United Church in Bridgewater.
During the children’s talk I mentioned that Jesus told his disciples that he
would be returning to the Father, but that they would receive the Holy Spirit.
I compared the Holy Spirit to the batteries in a flashlight.
Light
is amazing. Without it, we would not be able to read and discover the world
around us. Just like we need physical light to see the world around us, we need
spiritual light to see and understand God. Jesus is that spiritual light, and
we see in Luke 24:44-53 how he shined a spiritual light on the disciples before
his ascension. He helped the disciples to see that shining a light on sin helps
those who have lost their way to see him, and he helps us to see the same thing
today. He also shined a light on the Old Testament prophecies about his death
and resurrection. Luke reminds us that Jesus came to satisfy all of the
prophecies made about him in the Old Testament.
The
disciples heard the Lord preach many times. They watched him perform miracles
for at least three years. They saw him crucified and now they stood in his
resurrected presence, but until the Lord opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures they did not truly understand everything. Spiritual understanding comes through the Holy
Spirit, or it doesn’t come at all. True understanding of the Scriptures is a
gift from God. It allows us to understand how all of the parts of God’s plan of
salvation fit together. Part of that plan includes Jesus’ death and
resurrection. The disciples and other followers, including modern-day followers,
would gain further understanding through the work of the Holy Spirit. In
return, they would be able to fulfill their commission as Jesus’ witnesses.
In
order for the Holy Spirit to come and continue Christ’s work, Jesus had to
leave and return to the Father. Jesus in human form could only be in one place
at a time, but the Holy Spirit can be everywhere all of the time. When Jesus
blessed the disciples before his ascension, he probably showed gratitude to
those who chose to walk with him. If we walk with him today, we will hear the
Holy Spirit use similar words.
The
Holy Spirit reminds us of how much Christ loves us and the sacrifice he made so
that we could regain fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit guides and
strengthens us. It steers us away from danger and toward truth. When the Holy
Spirit lives in us, we are healed, changed, freed and sent on missions because
God lives in us. It opens our minds to receive God’s truth. It enables us to
withstand all of life’s challenges. Without it, we will be defeated by the
world.
Even
after the disciples believed that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, they
did not become effective witnesses until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.
Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit came and filled
them with his power and authority. Knowledge and conviction aren’t enough. The
Christian mission depends on the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit for its
success.
The
disciples learned that it takes time and prayer to find one’s mission. Mission
is based on taking time to assess the needs and what our strengths are. God wants
us to have a heart for him and a vision for the world. He wants us to know,
obey and share him. God entrusts us to live and teach the Gospel in spite of
our faults and failures.
Luke
makes it clear that the message of Christ must include a focus on repentance
and remission of sins. One without the other is incomplete. Jesus shone the
light on the need to repent. The same light allows us to take in the Scriptures
and feast on the Word. In return, we are to preach repentance and remission of
sins in Jesus’ name to all nations.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1436)
2.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
6.
Larsen, B.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983,
pp. 356-357)
7.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New
American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
19.
Craig Condon, “The Light of the Holy Spirit.”
Children’s Talk delivered during the weekly Worship Service at Bridgewater
United Church, Bridgewater, NS on Sun., May 1, 2016. Sermon available from the
author’s personal library or online at http://sermonsfrommyheart.blogspot.ca/2016/04/john-1423-29-light-of-holy-spirit.html
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