Lititz United Methodist Church Sermon Archive

This is the third sermon in a series on the Holy Spirit. In the last sermon I talked about how the Holy Spirit gives life, and leads us. Today we will look at sections of the Gospel according to John where Jesus uses a special word to describe the Holy Spirit. It is found in chapters 14,15 and 16.

These words of Jesus are recorded in John 14:15-17: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth.”

This reading, which is from the New Revised Standard Version, uses the term “Advocate”. Other translations use the words “Counselor” or “Helper”. The Greek word is parakletos. It is a word difficult to translate into English. Basically, it means “someone called in to help”. It is used of somebody called into a law court to testify on one’s behalf, or an expert called in to give advice in a difficult situation, or a person called in to give new courage to a group that is disheartened. That’s the role of the Holy Spirit!

Jesus promised that when He went back to the Father, the parakletos, the Spirit, would be called in to help. In verse 16, notice Jesus says He will ask the Father and the Father will give them another Advocate. The Greek word for “another”, allon, means another of the same kind.

Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for the time when He will no longer be with them. Try to imagine how they felt as they anticipated the days ahead without Him. He always knew exactly what to do. He always spoke Truth, straight from God. When their faith was weak, He made it stronger. When they were afraid, He gave them courage. They would feel sad and lost without him. In John 16:6 Jesus says, “Because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts”.

We’re talking about feelings of abandonment and loss. Haven’t you ever had that empty feeling of losing someone upon whom you have depended? Perhaps you lose a parent, or a spouse upon whom you leaned gets critically ill or dies, or a friend with whom you were very close moves away, or no longer bothers much with you. Jesus had been their mainstay, their helper. How would they get by without him?

Jesus is telling them, “The Holy Spirit will be Me, still with you. “To be with you forever” (John 14:16). Jesus also says to them, “I will not leave you orphaned (the Greek word is orphanous); I am coming to you” (John 14:18). Isn’t this a tremendous promise today for the church, and for believers! The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Helper! He is for us what Jesus was for His disciples!

In John 14:17 Jesus refers to the Spirit as the Spirit of truth. I will say more about this in a moment. Jesus says the world can’t receive Him, because the world neither sees him nor knows Him. As long as a person is unconverted, until a person surrenders his or her life to Christ, that person cannot have the Spirit nor understand His work. The Bible makes the distinction between those who have the Holy Spirit and those who don’t have the Spirit.

Let’s move on to the next section of Scripture where Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit as our parakletos, our Advocate or Helper. Turn to John 14:25-26 Jesus says, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Jesus told them that the Spirit “will teach you everything” (verse 26). How were the disciples to continue to learn when their Teacher Jesus was gone? Well, Jesus would send another Teacher – the Holy Spirit!

One of the great works of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the things of God. He wants to teach us the truth found in the Scriptures. He wants to reveal the spiritual realities of life. This is why it’s important, for example, when we study the Bible, to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal its truths to us. We can also ask the Spirit to give us a deeper understanding of the spiritual realm, and He will do that.

All of this can remind us that we cannot comprehend spiritual truths by human intellect alone. The Apostle Paul knew this. He wrote to the Corinthians, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’ – these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:9-14). This is why, until we are born again and get the Spirit living inside us, we will never understand the Bible and the deeper truths of the Christian message.

In John 14:26 it also relates that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus has said. Everything Jesus had told that little group of followers, the Holy Spirit would help them to remember. This is one of the reasons why we have the New Testament! There weren’t any tape recorders or video cameras capturing Jesus’ words and actions. In fact, people didn’t even write down what He said and did, because the first Christians believed that Jesus would return at any moment. It wasn’t until a number of years went by that they began writing down the words of Jesus and stories about Him. Now, people in those days were very skilled at memorizing writings word for word, but I also believe that the Holy Spirit brought Jesus’ words to their mind as they later wrote about Him.

There is another way the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance what Jesus said. Perhaps in a moment of temptation, or when we are trying to talk to someone about our faith, or maybe in a time of discouragement or crisis, some word of Jesus, some promise, something from the Bible pops into our mind and helps us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing Jesus’ words to mind.

In the 15th chapter of John Jesus tells us more about the parakletos, the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Helper. “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, He will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). Jesus says that the Spirit will testify on His behalf, or bear witness of Christ. In a way, the Holy Spirit is an unselfish Gentleman! He does not draw attention to Himself! He points people to the person and work of Jesus. He is ever at work making Jesus known and pointing people to Jesus.

But Jesus also says here, “You also are to testify” (John 15:27). We have to do our part in being a vessel God can use to proclaim Christ. Most of the time, the Holy Spirit points people to the Savior by testifying through another person. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit wants to point people to Jesus through you! However, the good news is that God doesn’t ask us to share our faith, then leave us dependent on ourselves to do it! The Holy Spirit helps us!

Prior to ascending back to the Father Jesus said, “And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). The Lord once told His disciples not to fear if they are brought before hostile authorities on account of their faith, because the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19-20). Some of you may be able to point to a situation where you were trying to share your faith, and you felt timid or uncertain, and suddenly the words were there. The Spirit is our divine Helper so we can bear witness of Jesus to others.

Another passage where Jesus talks of the Spirit as the parakletos, the Advocate, is John 16: 7-11. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when he has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Jesus says it is for their benefit and advantage that He leaves them. Why? How often I have wishes Jesus were right here in the flesh to help me out. If I could just have two minutes to sit down with Jesus and say, “Here’s something I don’t understand, Lord. Will you please explain it to me?” “Jesus, I just don’t know what’s the best thing to do about this problem. What do you think I should do?” Those disciples were so fortunate to have Jesus right there! Now he’s saying they’re better off that he leave and send the Spirit. What’s this about?

When Jesus was here physically, His availability was limited: He may never have passed through your village, so you would have missed Him. Or, you may have been privileged enough to hear him preach or teach, but then he had to move on, and you might never see Him again. We really don’t have this problem now! If I’m a believer, He’s within me – always! And He’s in other believers. He’s at work in the world, free of limitations of time and space!

When the Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment (verse 8). What is it that makes us recognize our sins, grieve over them, and want to change? Why do some look at Jesus, executed as a common criminal, and realize that He is the only righteous person who ever lived, and the only one who can make us right with God? How do some people come to realize that there is a judgment, and that Christ will finally judge and overcome evil? All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit!

This has implications as we try to communicate the gospel. I cannot make anyone aware of his sins and make him repent; only the Spirit can do that. You and I can’t lead anyone to Christ – no one but the Holy Spirit can accomplish that. Attempts to preach a sermon, teach a Sunday School class, lead a Bible study, or share our faith will fall flat unless the Holy Spirit convicts the hearers of sin, righteousness, and judgment. For instance, some of my sermons that I have liked the most have produced little fruit, as far as I can tell. There are other times when I have preached a sermon that comes off miserably – when I doubt that anyone has been touched – that God-things happen as a result, because I have had to rely solely on the Holy Spirit, not on my own accomplishment. Now, it is important to do our best and be as skilled as we can be in teaching, preaching and sharing our faith with others in a personal way, but ultimately we should trust the Spirit to move. He is the one who brings people to Christ – not us.

One of the most important things we can do if we want to touch others for Christ is to pray and pray and pray that the Holy Spirit will be preparing hearts and minds to receive the gospel. We ought to be praying in advance for Sunday School classes each week, for our weekend worship services, our small group meetings, and so forth – that the Spirit prepare people to be receptive to the gospel message.

One more section in John’s gospel where Jesus tells us about the Spirit as the parakletos, the One called in to help us, is John 16:12-15. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide the church and believers into all the truth. There is a Peanuts cartoon, where Charlie Brown is visiting Lucy, who’s at her psychiatric stand, offering her help for a nickel. Charlie says, “I need help – tell me a great truth. Tell me something about living that will help me.” Lucy asks, “Do you ever wake up at night and want a drink of water?” “Sure,” Charlie Brown responds. “quite often.” Lucy says, “When you’re getting a drink of water in the dark, always rinse out the glass because there might be a bug in it. Five cents, please.” Charlie walks away saying, “Great truths are even more simple than I thought they were.”

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide the church and believers into the truth! Now where does this truth come from? It comes from Jesus, and is conveyed through the Spirit!

Jesus proclaims, “He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit will never guide any person or group to do anything which is contrary to what Jesus taught or how Jesus lived! John Calvin, the great Reformer, said, “The Holy Spirit brings no new doctrine, but teaches that which was uttered by Christ’s own mouth, and imprints it in our minds.”

Jesus says, the Spirit “will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). The idea here seems to be that the Spirit will lead us to experience a deeper understanding of the truth already revealed in Jesus. So, when a couple of Christians sit down to talk about their faith, when a group meets at church or in a home to study the Bible, the Holy Spirit longs to lead those persons to a fuller grasp of how the truths of Jesus can affect and impact our daily lives. We can pray and ask the Spirit to do that!

Isn’t it marvelous what the Holy Spirit wants to do to help us as believers and the church! He is the “parakletos”, the one Jesus sent to be our Advocate, Counselor and Helper! We are not alone!

“The Holy Spirit”

“How the Holy Spirit Is Our Divine Helper”