Not Alone

9.30am Sunday 27 May 2007

Readings: Psalm 104:24,30-31,33, 35b; John 14:6-17, 25-27; Romans 8:14-17

 

Amid all the changes and chances of life it is reassuring to know that we are not alone on planet earth. This brings tremendous comfort, because life is so fickle. An accident, illness, financial crisis, or even what some might call 'a stroke of good fortune' can dramatically change our lives overnight. We have no idea what lies round the corner, and there is no way of finding out. The only thing we can be sure of is right now!

 

Although life is full of uncertainties, God has placed in the very make up of the universe some things that we can be sure of, things that we know will occur no matter what happens. For example, we can be sure that, provided it is a cloudless night, the stars will shine. We can be sure that because of the rotation of our planet earth, day will follow night, springtime will follow winter, there will be seed time and harvest. We know that the sun will shine after rain, and that the rainbow is a sign of God's promise never to flood the earth again. We know that with the passing of one generation, another will follow. We also know that we will reap what we sow, all in its appropriate time. These are some of the things that are certainties in all the unpredictability of life. There is an order in creation that points to a Creator who makes everything beautiful in its time. These are reminders that we are not alone on planet earth.

 

Nor is life without purpose and meaning. Past generations have taught us that we were created to glorify God, and that we do so by loving and caring for one another. This is God's agenda for our lives. We were created to love and be loved. God's wants us to love him with every fibre of our being, and that we love one another as much as he loves us. We know all too well from experience that this is not something we can do ourselves. Humankind has wandered far away from God's ideal. The news headlines make that very clear. We desperately need help, and God has provided that help through his Son, Jesus, and his gift of the Holy Spirit. God knows exactly what we need, for after all it was he who made us. The help God gives is not something superficial that only lasts for a while before we revert back to our original condition. It is something far greater and more wonderful than that. What God does for us through Jesus is exactly what every human being needs. He gives us a new heart. He makes us brand new on the inside because that is where the springs of life flow. God is in the business of heart transplants. He takes our hearts of stone that wilfully rebel against his commands and give us hearts of flesh that want to do his will. God not only makes our hearts new, but he puts his Spirit within us, his global positioning device so that instead of always honing in on our own selfish desires, on what we want from life, we hone in on what God wants. Our lives become aligned to God's agenda for life. There is no greater change that a person can undergo than this. It takes radical, invasive surgery. The old heart must be completely removed and a new heart implanted as only this can re-programme the control centre of our lives. Whatever God does, he does well. It is not a patch-up job. It is a total refit. The Scriptures tell us, "he (that is, God) is able to save completely", or forever, those who come to him through Christ.[1] What he does, lasts for both time and eternity.

 

What is important for us to understand is that without this heart surgery, our condition is terminal. There is no other cure for our human sinfulness. People try other ways to better themselves, but their efforts are futile as they cannot alter the human heart. The good news is, there is no waiting list for this surgery. It can be done without a moments delay. It can happen today. All it requires is a definite decision on your part to turn from your sinful, self-centred ways and to consent to his saving work through Jesus. You can simply ask, "Lord, I have decided to give my life to you, to turn from seeking to live life my way, to live it as you want it to be lived. Forgive my sin, my disobedience to your commands, and give me a new heart, a heart that loves you above all else, and longs to please you." Don't procrastinate about it. Putting it off can be hazardous. If God is calling you to come to him now, if you hear his voice or are aware of his Spirit prompting you to come, do not turn away, for we must "seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."[2] For "now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation."[3]

 

Today according to our Church calendar is Pentecost Sunday, the day when God poured out his Spirit on his infant church, equipped and launched them on a mission that continues to this day. For twenty centuries men and women and children have been part of his work that will see its fulfilment with the return of Christ. His instructions have not changed. We are to continue to proclaim "repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations"[4] in the power of his Spirit. This is the only hope for humankind "for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved."[5] It does not matter if people do not respond. The important thing is that they hear this message. The rest we can leave in God's hands. God is the One who gifts to people repentance and faith. As Jesus told us in his parable of the sower[6] not everyone will heed the message. There will be some for whom the message goes in one ear and out the other, there will be others who start well but will not go the distance, and still others who are so enmeshed in the things of this world that they have no time for the things of God. But he says there will be some who like the seed falling on good soil will respond wholeheartedly and serve God diligently throughout their lives. I read of one only this past week, Doug Sutphen, better known as 'Brother David,' the person who in 1981 master-minded the audacious delivery of one million Bibles into Communist China. He was promoted to glory nineteen days ago. Throughout his life as a Christian he did what he could to share God's word, particularly in China. All who follow Jesus are to make him known. The results of our sharing we must leave with God. Our part is to tell others of his love and show it in our lives.

 

It is supremely for this task that God gave the Holy Spirit. We cannot do this on our own. We must have the dynamic power of God's Spirit to do God's work. This is why Jesus spoke so much about the Holy Spirit in his final words with his disciples before his died. What we have in Scripture is only a small part of all he shared, but it is enough for us understand what a wonderful gift the Holy Spirit is. In the passage we read from John we see all three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, involved in this equipping of God's people for ministry. Jesus refers to God as his Father 12 times in the verses we read, and it is the Father whom he will ask to give the Holy Spirit to us.

 

Let us take a moment to consider what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14. Various translations have sought in different ways to capture the meaning of the word Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit. The CEV does not attempt to provide an English equivalent and so simply translates it as 'Holy Spirit' in each place. But other translations have expressed it in a whole host of ways, from 'Comforter' or 'Counsellor' in the AV and NIV, to 'Advocate,' 'Helper' and 'Friend' in the TNIV, GNB and MSG. The Greek word itself, parakletos, is made up of two Greek words, para from which we get our English word 'parallel,' and kaleo meaning 'to call.' The Holy Spirit is the One God whom calls to be parallel to us, that is, alongside of us, as our Helper, Advocate and Friend, and within us as our Comforter and Counsellor.

 

As our 'Advocate' he will stand up for us, plead for us, before both God and people. Jesus said that we are not to be concerned about what to say when put on trial for our faith as the Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak. We see this clearly in The Acts of the Apostles when Peter and John were brought before the leaders of the land for preaching about Jesus and blaming the leaders for his death. It was on one of those occasions that Peter declared, as I shared a few moments ago, "there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved." The Holy Spirit is also our Advocate before God as he "intercedes for us" when we do not know what to pray for. We need to do this often because his prayers are always "in accordance with the will of God."[7] The Holy Spirit helps us in many other ways. He gives us the power to serve God. Jesus makes an amazing statement in John 14. He said, "All who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."[8] People have interpreted this in a number of ways, but however we understand it, whatever we do for God that is of eternal significance is always the outcome of the Holy Spirit's helping us.

 

In John 14 Jesus says the Holy Spirit will "be with you forever."[9] If you are a Christian, a follower of Jesus, there will never be a moment in all of time and eternity when he will not be with you. You and I need to understand this. It means that the Holy Spirit is with you and within you right now. It means the Holy Spirit is with us not only when we sense his nearness, but also when we feel cut off from God. There will never be a time when we are alone, not even for a fraction of a second. He will always be there because that is what the word 'forever' means. It means exactly what it says, forever! You can imagine what this meant to the disciples. Jesus was going to be leaving them, but he promised not to leave them as orphans but to send them a helper who would always be with them. And it is the same for us. No matter what problem or crisis you are facing, no matter how far you might feel you have wandered away from God, nothing can alter the fact that the Holy Spirit is with you. When you are finding it difficult to speak and live out your faith, remember the Holy Spirit is with you. When you are tempted to do something wrong, or dishonest, or to look at or read things that you know are unhealthy or unwholesome, remember the Holy Spirit is with you to help you. When you are going through rough times and cannot see light at the end of the tunnel, remember the Holy Spirit is with you. God's promise is, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."[10] He is constantly with us in his Spirit. Let us thank God for this wonderful truth.

 

Jesus then describes the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of truth."[11] There is always freedom that comes with knowing the truth. It is liberating. Sometimes the truth is deliberately covered up because people do not want us to know certain things, or may be it is just waiting to be discovered. There are truths that in the past have been deliberately hidden. But now it is recognised that it is better for people, at least in most cases, to know the full story. This was the case for many adopted children. Years ago most were unable, or were prevented, from finding out about their background. Today that is not so, and helps bring closure to an area of their lives that has always been a mystery. The secrets of the universe are truths that humankind is continually discovering. They have been there all the time. It is just that no one has unearthed them. The Holy Spirit brings us true freedom through revealing the timeless truths about creation, about the character and purposes of God, about our human predicament and what God has done for us in Christ. The truth he reveals frees and equips each one of us to be the person God created us to be, and to play our part in God's purposes in the world. He also helps us to be open and honest and loving in all our relationships. We don't have to live a lie, or try and be someone we are not. We can be the unique and special person God created us to be, which is a liberating experience in itself. Jesus said that when we follow his teaching we will know the truth, and "the truth will set you free." [12]

 

The next thing Jesus says is that it is only God's children who can know the Holy Spirit. He said, "The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him."[13] It is when we are given a new heart that our spiritual senses come alive. We begin to see things differently, through new eyes. I love to hear the testimonies of people who come to Christ and share how it is as though blinkers have been removed from their eyes. They see things they have never noticed before. I remember listening to Bill Subritsky sharing how he had never noticed how blue the sky was until he was driving to work the morning after he became a Christian. We are given insight and understanding that doesn't come from learning, but through revelation from God. This is how we come to believe in Christ. When Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him, "Simon, this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven."[14] The Bible tells us, "the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God ... that we may understand what God has freely given us."[15] Only when we become a new creation in Christ can we receive and know God's Holy Spirit and the insights into reality that he gives.

 

Jesus further says that we will know the Holy Spirit because he "lives" with us, and will be "in" us. He takes up residence in our lives. When he does this we become aware of his inner promptings, the thoughts he brings to our minds, the wisdom that we know is not ours, the discernment between good and evil, right and wrong. Because he is within us we know when we have grieved him through something we have said or done or thought that was wrong, because we sense it inside. We experience his presence when we share God's love in an unselfish manner in word or deed. He is the One "who fills our hearts with (God's) love."[16] He is the one who Paul says, "testifies with our spirit that we are God's children,"[17] that we belong to the family of God.

Jesus further says that the Holy Spirit will teach us. In verse 26 we read "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things..."[18] God through his Spirit gives us access to the control centre of the universe. Is not that staggering! It is far more important than the United Nations. It is supranational as well as supernatural. It is mind boggling when you think of it. He is one who can help us line up our lives with God's eternal purpose for the whole of creation. He moves us on to God's agenda.

 

The Holy Spirit also helps our memory. Jesus said he would remind us of everything he has said. Many of us have senior moments, and thoughts of the hereafter. The Spirit will bring to our remembrance the things that really matter in life. This is why it is good to memorise Scripture in our youth, because to remember something it must first be implanted in our minds. We cannot remember things that we have never read or heard. But when we daily immerse our lives in God's Word, or better still commit it to memory, then the Spirit can recall what we have learnt when we need it. It is as the Psalmist said, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."[19].

 

God wants us to be led by the Spirit of God. This is why Paul so often speaks of "walking in the Spirit" or "keeping in step with the Spirit." This is what shows we are God's children. We do what he says. Peter said in Acts that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him.[20] Our obedience is the proof that we love God. If we are children of God, then we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. It may well involve suffering while here on earth to follow Jesus, but in the end it means sharing in his glory. As Charles Gabriel, the hymn writer, puts it, "O that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me. When by his grace I shall look on his face, that will be glory, be glory for me."

 

Let us then thank God for this wonderful gift, and open our lives afresh to the infilling of his love and power.