Jesus Delivers as Promised!

Pentecost, 5/15/16
John 15:26-27


Jesus Delivers as Promised!
I. He sends us his Holy Spirit
II. So that we can be his witnesses



Abraham Lincoln once said, “We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called upon to perform what we cannot.” An easier way of saying the same thing is, “Be careful what you promise. You might not be able to deliver.

And that’s sage advice. I’m sure every one of us tries to be careful about making promises for fear that we won’t be able to keep them. And when we don’t deliver on our promises, people rightly label us as unreliable, or worse yet, untrustworthy. And that’s not all. When we make a promise to a loved one that we find unable to keep, we run the risk of causing that loved one heartache and despair. They thought they could count on us, but they were wrong. We let them down.

In the closing months of Jesus’ life on this earth, he made a string of promises to his disciples. He told them he was going to be crucified but promised to rise again in three days. He told them that he was ascending to heaven and promised to prepare a place there for his believers. But even though he was visibly leaving them, he promised to send them someone to take his place. That person was none other than God the Holy Spirit.

It’s been said that Christians don’t spend enough time contemplating and appreciating the work of God the Holy Spirit. And that’s probably true. But our celebration today—Pentecost—gives us an excellent opportunity to do just that. In the words before us this morning from John 15, Jesus promised to send the Counselor to his disciples. You and I know him better as the Holy Spirit. Fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead, he delivered on that promise. And he does the same with you and me. Jesus delivers as promised. He always does. Let’s see what that means for us and for the entire Christian Church on earth.

Part I.

In any operation that involves teamwork and the reliance on others to do their job and to do it well, there often are team members whose participation is irreplaceable. Even though you make the effort to cross-train and to know what your co-workers are doing and how to do it, it happens that the most critical portion of the operation is in the hands of one person and, if that person goes down, the entire project either will suffer or come to a screeching halt. Some people are indispensable.

The only God-man in all of history was just a few hours away from declaring, “It is finished.” His work as the world’s only redeemer was would thus be completed and then attested as completed by his resurrection three days later. Soon after that, the second part of the divine plan of salvation would commence, but without Jesus. Jesus was going to take all that he accomplished—the salvation of every sinful soul—and entrust the spread of that salvation to some rather unlikely prospects—his disciples. Certainly there were moments when these disciples showed flashes of brilliance, such as when they returned from a short mission trip and relayed to Jesus the wondrous things that had accomplished, even miracles themselves. But for every one of those bright moments there were far too many dark days, such as Peter trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross, or the all too common argument among the disciples as to which of them was the greatest. And those weaknesses occurred with Jesus standing among them. What would happen after he removed his visible presence from them?

Not to worry. Jesus had a plan. He stated, “But when the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” Jesus calls the Holy Spirit by an interesting name—Counselor. In the Greek it’s Paraclete—literally, one who has been called to stand beside someone else in order to help him. On the Day of Pentecost the Lord Jesus kept his promise. He poured out the Holy Spirit in special measure on his followers who were gathered in a room in Jerusalem. From that day on the Holy Spirit filled them in a special way so that they could carry out the work that Jesus had called them to do—spreading his saving good news to the ends of the earth. But how would they know what to say? How would they remember exactly what Jesus said 10, 20, 30 years from that day? The Holy Spirit would give them the words to speak. He would remind them of what Jesus said. Jesus delivered on his promise.

He has kept that very same promise to us as well. The same Holy Spirit that brought the disciples to faith in Jesus has brought you and me to faith in Jesus. The same Holy Spirit who brought the gifts of forgiveness, new life and salvation to these disciples has brought forgiveness, new life and salvation to you and me. The same Holy Spirit who empowered the disciples in their Christian life empowers you and me. He works in us through his word and sacraments—creating Christian faith or strengthening Christian faith—just as Jesus promised.

Jesus delivers as promised—he sends us the Holy Spirit.

It’s part of our sinful human nature to whine and pine over what we don’t have, rather than rejoice and appreciate what we do have. And that happens even in our relationship with Jesus. Which of us hasn’t desperately prayed to Jesus over some important—even critical—issue in our lives? There’s nothing wrong with that. If it’s on our hearts and minds, then Jesus loves to hear about it from us. But when we speak those prayers from the mindset that Jesus should grant what we’re praying for because we have so little to look forward to, so few successes, that we’re so meagerly blessed, we forget that Jesus has already delivered on the most important promise of all—to send us his Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit has made us God’s dear children. He has brought us to saving faith in Jesus. He brings us daily forgiveness of sins and will lead us home to heaven. So, what else is it that we think we can’t do without? What else are we really missing in life? What other gifts do we truly need from Jesus? He has already delivered as promised. Praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Part II.

There have been times when I wonder what it would be like if Jesus were carrying out his ministry today instead of 2,000 years ago. Have you ever wondered the same thing? Think of all the advantages. Instead of walking from town to town in the Holy Land, he could fly to every major city around the world. Instead of preaching before a few thousand people, he could reach millions with modern technology. Instead of crowds coming to see him do miracles, he could stream these miraculous events live to the world’s billions of people. Can you imagine that? Imagine the entire world having the ability to watch him crucified on a Friday and risen from the dead on a Sunday. The world would have to believe in him as the promised Savior.

Don’t kid yourself. People did witness his miracles with their own eyes. He fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and some fish and they turned away from him. He showed himself alive from the dead and they still wouldn’t believe him. Hard hearts refuse to do the only rational thing: to believe the evidence before their eyes. It happened then. It would happen today.

But don’t despair. You see, the word of God works. It worked in the hearts of 3,000 people on the day of Pentecost. It has worked to bring millions and millions of people to faith in Jesus since that day. It has worked to bring you to faith in Jesus as your Savior. That saving word has gathered us as God’s people here at Resurrection. We’re joined as Christians here with every other Christian around the world. That’s what God’s word has accomplished.

That means we’re part of God’s saving plan for our world. Jesus said it like this, “You also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” Yes, Jesus spoke these words to the disciples gathered around him that evening. But when you consider that Jesus gave all of us the command to take his saving good news to the ends of the earth, then he was also speaking these words to us. Our Lord Jesus has given us the command to testify about Jesus. Testify. Tell what you know to be true. You don’t have to convince someone that what you say is true. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. The testifying which other people have done before you will do the same when you testify about Jesus to others. What opportunities to testify do you have? Do you have a friend or acquaintance who is going through a difficult time, perhaps needs some advice, or who simply wants to know what keeps you going from day to day? There’s your opportunity to testify. You don’t have to unload all sorts of Bible truths on them. Just tell them what your faith means to you. Just testify. Speak the word of God. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. Jesus promises it.

And he always delivers. He sends us the Holy Spirit so that we can be his witnesses.

The Spirit was poured out on Pentecost and the world hasn’t been the same since. His goal is to kindle in every sinful person the fire of his love. To accomplish that goal, he enlists you and me. He never said it would be easy. In fact, at times the odds against success may seem insurmountable. But the success isn’t up to us. He only enlists us to testify about Jesus. Sure, it’s a godless world out there. But rather then see that as an impediment, view it as an opportunity. The people of our world need us now more than ever. The market is ripe! There have never been more tools to reach others. Realize as well that no one has ever been a perfect witness of Christ. I’ve failed as well as you. But that’s what makes us perfect for the task. We know the forgiving love of Jesus. We know his death for all our sins. We know the power of his resurrection as well. You are a witness of his life, death and resurrection. Jesus has promised to bless your witness to others. And Jesus always delivers as promised! Amen.