Pentecost (B) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 16:13
Theme: The Guide of Truth

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The Holy Spirt has one goal: To reveal Jesus Christ. Pentecost is not simply a notable episode in biblical history. It is an on-going reality. We are in a continual season of Pentecost. That’s true even during the liturgical seasons of advent, Christmas, lent and Easter. The Holy Spirit is never idle. He doesn’t exist in some restful state, conserving energy until called upon to spring into action. The Spirit is dynamically at work, tirelessly occupied with advancing the fruits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Think of how Luther explains the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come.”1 “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”2

The Holy Spirit is distinguishable from the other members of the Trinity; but is inseparable. Acting always in concert and with united purpose the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit seek to bring forgiveness and life to a world mired in sin and subject to the penalty of death. You are baptized into the Spirit’s name just as certainly as you are baptized into the name of the Farther and the Son. Jesus said, “All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.”3

The word of God is the weapon of the Holy Spirit. St Paul calls it the “sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 4 says this, “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” With the word the Spirit kindles the light of faith in dark and unbelieving hearts. With the word He sets forth the truth to minds blinded by falsehood. With the word He guides lost souls out of the labyrinth of self-absorption and sets them on the narrow road to eternal life. With the word the Spirit strengthens the weak, calms the anxious, brings joy to the sorrowful, and frees souls trapped in guilt with the forgiveness secured at the cross. Everything the Holy Spirit does brings glory to Christ, and through Him, to the Father.

Jesus says today that when the Holy Spirit comes “He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.”4 Here we see the Holy Spirit wields the word of God’s law to bring people to repentance. He has impeccable accuracy. In a criminal line-up of suspected culprits God makes the correct identification 100% of the time. Not that identifying sinners is a difficult thing! The Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”5 And again, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”6 Yet, God’s discernment goes beyond just a general knowledge that we are all sinners. He knows precisely what makes us tick. He knows our hidden jealousies, our secret lusts, our thinly veiled vanities. He knows which expressions of idolatry we are particularly drawn to. He also leads us in our daily struggle against temptation. It is not possible to resist temptation apart from the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not possible to have a single, pure, selfless motivation apart from the Spirit of truth. But the will of a believer seeks to cooperate with the will of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Faith denotes a real change in a person’s heart and attitude, otherwise it proves to be hollow.

The miracle of Pentecost is claimed by some skeptics to be an embellishment. But, dear friends, if God could create the entire universe by speaking only a single word, is it too great a thing for Him to gift the apostles with the ability to speak in other languages so that the gospel might be heard? If He could speak light into the cold darkness of space, is it too hard of a thing for Him to kindle the light of faith in darkened hearts? The Bible says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”7 And that’s the be all and end all of His agenda.

Jesus Christ went to the cross so that you might be freed from death’s power. Your guilt, your shame, your liability- rightly charged to you because of your sin- has been completely wiped away by His atoning sacrifice. The Scripture says, “He forgave us our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”8 The cross was God’s altar of sacrifice on which the pure Lamb had His own blood shed for the transgressions of the world. There at the cross evil exhausted the full measure of its strength, Satan emptied His entire bag of tricks, and hell unleashed its pent-up fury. The Son of God hung there listless and limp. But it wasn’t enough! On the third day He rose again from the grave. Death could not hold Him. Satan was served notice. The war was won. Jesus Christ lives and rules eternally. That truth will never be altered regardless of the direction the world goes.

In Luther’s day God worked a mighty reformation in the church. It was understood then that the church is always in need of reforming. Our age is no different. Only the Holy Spirit can fan into flame the passion of the faithful. He does this in the dynamic of our fellowship together and in context of our personal lives. The Holy Spirit is your comforter. He is your helper. He is your advocate. He is your intercessor. Nothing lies beyond His ability because He comes with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father Himself.

Maybe you need strength to make it through the next hour, wisdom to consider your next decision, encouragement to make it through the next week. The Spirit possesses all of these gifts and gives of them freely. He does it publicly in this place when we are blessed with the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ, are fed with His body and blood, and are strengthened by our communion with one another. The Spirit continues to speak faith into our hearts and hope into our lives. The greatest miracle of Pentecost wasn’t that the apostles could suddenly speak in languages foreign to them. The greatest miracle was that people who were foreign (estranged from) to the love of God in Christ had the gospel implanted in their hearts. The same miracle still happens today. Thanks be to God!

+ In nomine Jesu +

Day of Pentecost
20 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Matthew 6:10 2 Luther’s Small Catechism
3 John 16:15 4 John 16:8-9
5 Romans 3:10-11 6 Romans 3:23
7 2 Corinthians 4:6 8 Colossians 2:13-14