Pentecost Sunday

A tattered group of soldiers huddle together in a small room. They are low on supplies, strength, and courage. Surrounding them is the enemy: an ominous host of evil warriors besieging them pumped high on the adrenaline of anticipated victory. An overwhelming enemy force. Their evil leader is assuring them of victory and inciting them to pride. Things look dark for the besieged little group. There’s no way out. No escape. They are no match, it would seem.

If it wouldn’t be for their leader. The warrior leading them is a hero among heroes. And simply because he is with them, they feel safe. But then he shocks them with an announcement: He volunteers to go out alone in an attempt to bring back help to save them. No, they say! You can’t leave us! It’s the only way, he assures them. As much help as I am to you here, I promise that the help I will bring back will be much more helpful. In fact, it’s the only way. I have to go.

There is a tearful farewell. Admist their protests, he leaves the shelter and surrenders himself to the enemy forces. He risks his life to penetrate the enemy lines and return with rescuers. His comrades stare wide-eyed as their fearless Leader is captured and taken to certain death. And that’s the last thing they see. They are certain that their own death is sure to follow.

What they don’t see is what happens next. Even though he forfeits his own life, this brave leader of theirs, in a most dramatic battle, slays the evil leader of the enemy forces. He wins the ultimate victory – which gives him new life. Then he sounds the victory trumpet and multitudes of the good army come to rescue their little battered and besieged group. Their presence makes some things very clear. The evil army is in trouble and its leader has been defeated. And – the group of soldiers hiding in the little room are safe. They’re victorious!

Friends, let me take you to another little room. A small group of disciples sits around their leader Jesus. They felt safe as long as he was with them. But now he tells them that He has to go away. He assures them that it will be for their good. Only if He goes away will he be able to send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit to them. And that would actually be better for them!

Think about what that must have sounded like to the disciples! I mean, think of the advantages Jesus’ bodily presence offered! Consider what that meant for the disciples! What could be better for the disciples than the physical presence of their God and Savior? I mean, you haven’t seen the risen Christ. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Him here physically with you, too? Well, the bodily departure of Jesus was a necessary condition for his universal and abiding presence through the Holy Spirit! The presence and power of the Holy Spirit offer even more advantages to the disciples than the physical presence of Jesus!

The Holy Spirit whom Jesus was going to send into the world is called the Counselor. The Greek word is paraclete. It means Advocate, Comforter, Helper. A person called in to help; summoned to give assistance. A helper in court. Someone who’ll convince others of your case. And this Counselor’s job would be to CONVINCE the world of the victory Jesus won for us! You see, without the visible presence of Jesus, once He ascended into heaven, the disciples have no evidence to prove their case to the world. That is why the Holy Spirit will be such a blessing to them. He will help the disciples prove their case to an unbelieving world. He will be like the “good army” coming in to prove to everyone there that the battle has been won!

This Counselor is a bit different than a loud lawyer in a courtroom. He is quiet. He works silently but powerfully through one tool: The Word of God. The message of God’s Law. And the Good News of Jesus’ victory – the Gospel. Through the Law and Gospel witness of people who believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit works on hearts to convince people about three things: Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment. And He does it quietly.

Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to break it, but all had failed. “I’ll master it,” said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but every blow only made the axe’s edge more blunt, until it finally gave up in frustration. “Leave it to me,” said the saw… and it worked back and forth on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then in despair, the saw quit trying and fell to the side. “Ah!” said the hammer, “I knew you two wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you how to do this!” But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged.

“Shall I try?” asked the small soft flame. “Forget it,” everyone else said. “What can you do? You’re too small and you have no strength.” But the small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it… and never left it until it melted under its powerful influence. The Holy Spirit’s way is not to break hearts but to melt them. And in this way, convince them!

1. This Quiet Counselor Convinces People about Sin. What about you? You’ve heard that quiet whispering, haven’t you? When you aren’t living as you should be. When your heart isn’t right before God. When you act as you do when you think no one is watching. The Holy Spirit is there – working through the word in your heart, to help you see the danger in your ways.

And He is also working for us in the hearts of people across the world – to convince them of the sin of their unbelief. To convince them that without God, they will be forever lost. If we didn’t have the Holy Spirit working through the Law of God to convince people of this, we would have no hope of ever sharing the good news about Jesus with them. They wouldn’t see any need for it! But when the Holy Spirit is convincing them of sin, it is a whole new story!

A salesman had been stealing from his company. He knew it was wrong, but he kept trying to block out what his conscience was saying. He would seek pleasure nightly, going to bars and drinking and gambling and being with several women. One night, in a motel room, he was sharpening an old-fashioned razor blade. He couldn’t find a piece of paper to wipe the edge off, so he tore a page out of a Gideon Bible. His eye caught these words on that piece of scripture: “For the wages of sin is death…” Conviction struck his heart and after reading the Bible for two hours, the Holy Spirit convinced him he was a sinner who had disappointed God, but that Jesus was his Savior! He was forgiven! He made a full confession, but was not prosecuted. He made arrangements to repay all the money he had stolen.

2. The Holy Spirit convinces People about Righteousness. Here’s the good news. Working through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit convinces us that Jesus lived the righteous life that we had failed! Jesus was perfect here, and that is what enabled Him to make us right with God, and return to his Father victorious. God is pleased with his perfection. And when the Holy Spirit convinces you of that, then God sees Jesus’ perfection in your life too! The Holy Spirit’s greatest job is convincing you that God sees you as perfectly righteous because of Jesus!

Oscar Cervantes is a dramatic example of the Spirit's power to transform lives. As a child, Oscar began to get into trouble. Then as he got older, he was jailed 17 times for brutal crimes. Prison psychiatrists said he was beyond help. But they were wrong! During a brief interval of freedom, Oscar met an elderly man who told him about Jesus. About how Jesus had been righteous for him! How God could now see him, Oscar, as righteous because of Jesus! So, with the Holy Spirit’s convincing, Oscar trusted in Jesus’ forgiveness and was changed into a kind, caring man. Shortly afterward he started a prison ministry. Inmates now come to hear Oscar share Jesus with them and see the Holy Spirit’s work in him. What professionals had failed to do for Oscar in years of counseling, the Quiet Counselor did in a moment of conversion!

3. The Holy Spirit Convinces People about Judgment. Through the Law and Gospel witnessing of Christ’s followers, through the message of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit works to convince the world that the victory has been won by Jesus Christ! Through his sacrificial death and resurrection, He has crushed the head of his enemy – Satan! He has conquered sin, death, and the devil. Sin and death hold no more terror for us! We don’t need to fear them because Satan, the Prince of this world, has been condemned! Beaten! Jesus won! And so we win too!

Just like in our opening story. The brave warrior who offered to go out himself and meet the enemy has brought us victory. And the way those frightened few found out that he had in fact won, was when their own Force arrived on the scene, sent by their leader, to convince them that they had indeed been rescued. That they indeed had nothing to fear. The Holy Spirit, our Counselor, does the same for us. Jesus sent Him to assure us of the gift of his victory!

In his book Who's Coming To Dinner? Bob Morgan tells a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who got into big trouble with the Nazis during WWII. They had been hiding Jewish people in their home to keep them safe from Hitler's forces. They were eventually found out. And one night, they heard the sound of heavy boots and the loud impatient knocking on the door. They were arrested and loaded into a cattle car to be taken to one of the notorious death camps. All night long the Dutch pastor and his family rode along in heart-breaking anguish, jostling against the other prisoners who were jammed into the train cattle car. They were stripped of any form of dignity and absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler's extermination centers. Would it be Auschwitz, Buchenwald, or Dachau?

Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately killed. But in the midst of their gloom, they discovered some amazing good news. Good news beyond belief! They discovered in the bright morning sunlight that they were not in a death camp at all, not in Germany at all. They were in Switzerland!

During the night, someone through personal courage and daring had tripped a switch and sent the train to Switzerland. And to freedom! And those now who came to them were not their captors at all, but rather their liberators! Instead of being marched to death, they were welcomed to new life! In his joy and relief, the Dutch pastor said, "What do you do with such a gift?"

Something like that happened to the disciples at Pentecost. They were afraid, confused, unsure, overwhelmed. Then came this incredible gift. The gift of the Holy Spirit! It turned their lives around. And empowered by this amazing gift, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they went out and turned the world upside down! Friends, Jesus might not be physically with us today. But He had to go and “trip that switch” so that we could be free and so that the Holy Spirit could come to comfort us, convince us of God’s love, and help us convince the world of Jesus’ victory! We have been given an amazing gift! What do you do with such a gift? Amen.

Back to the Pentecost page
Back to the Pastor's Messages page