Promise of the Holy Spirit

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group. 
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)

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8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family. I want to give you a little update on our staff: you may have noticed that Pastor Paul and our Tech Director, Brandon, are not around. The reason is that they are both on six-week sabbaticals. Paul and Brandon both play vital roles, and they work really hard, so this is a well-deserved break. They’ll be spending time with their respective families; traveling and learning from other churches; receiving some ministry coaching; and just taking some time to be refreshed and re-energized. So, please pray for them—pray that they’ll use this time well and that when they return in mid-July, they will come back stronger than ever. 

So…we’re continuing our study in the Gospel of John, and we’re in that super-important section called the Upper Room Discourse. It’s Thursday night—the night before Good Friday. Jesus is gathered with the eleven remaining disciples in the Upper Room; in just a few hours he’ll be arrested. So he’s preparing his followers for what comes next.

Over the previous three years, this group of men has become accustomed to being with Jesus. They’ve shared meals with him. They’ve sat around campfires and listened to him teach. They’ve watched him heal people and feed people and confront people. If they’d been wearing smart watches they would have recorded millions of steps with him, walking around Galilee, and between Galilee and Judea. It’s safe to say that Jesus had become the center of their world. But all that was about to change. Because in the upper room that night, he made it clear that he would soon be leaving, and where he was going, they could not follow. 

And Jesus realizes how hard that’s going to be for his friends. Not having him there is going to feel like a gaping hole, which could demoralize them. So Jesus decides: now is the time to tell them something that he’s only hinted at before—but now it’s time to lay it out. In order to handle the fact that he’s leaving, they need to know the Holy Spirit is coming. 

If you have ever wondered why God seems absent, you need to know about the Holy Spirit. 

If you have ever felt the shock of having someone that you thought would always been with you suddenly taken away from you, you need to know about the Holy Spirit.

If you have felt the ache of grief and loss—like a piece of your heart is missing—you need to know about the Holy Spirit. 

Today as you listen to Jesus teaching his disciples, open your heart and let him teach you. John 14, starting in verse 15. Let’s hear God’s Word…

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.This is the Word of the Lord.

Let’s talk first about Why we Need the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew why his disciples needed the Holy Spirit: because he was about to leave them. They would no longer have Jesus physically with them. And it’s the same for us: we don’t have Jesus physically with us. So we’re in the same boat they were in—we have the same need they had.

But let me ask a deeper question: why do we need any divine presence with us? Why can’t we just be independent and self-reliant and live life on our own? And the answer is: because that’s not how God created us. We have been designed as relational beings, and the relationship we need the most is a relationship with our Creator. Saint Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” So when we feel any kind of loneliness or emptiness—whether it’s from a breakup or a death or the isolation caused by technology—it’s a reminder that we’re looking for something this world can’t provide.

Last week I was speaking with Frank Mattiace, who runs our addiction recovery ministry, Recovery Life. And we were talking about this passage—how we have this emptiness—this ache in our hearts that only the Holy Spirit can fill. And Frank said, “You know what addiction does? Addiction answers that need with a false god. A false god that promises comfort—that promises to fill the void and take away the loneliness—but it never delivers.” I thought that was so insightful. The very need that Jesus was speaking to in this passage, the enemy comes in and tries to fill it with alcohol or heroin or porn. But it never works. 

Now: this is not the first time the Holy Spirit has been mentioned in the Gospel of John. Look what Jesus said in John 7:38—38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”And then John explains: 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.So Jesus was pointing forward to a time when the Holy Spirit would fill people and overflow from people. But that’s all he said about it. Until now. 

So look what he says here in John 14:16—…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate. That word “advocate” is translating the Greek word parakletos. And it’s hard to translate into English—which is why you see so many different words in different translations. The New International Version uses the word “advocate.” Some translations say “helper”; others say “counselor.” If you break down the components of the Greek word, it literally means “someone who is called alongside.” So the Holy Spirit is called by God to come alongside believers. Jesus is basically saying, “I’ve been walking alongside you, and now I’m leaving…but it’s okay, because the parakletos—the “called alongside one” is going to take my place. He’ll come alongside you.”

In his book Healing the Masculine Soul, Gordon Dalbey says that Greek term, parakletos, was an ancient warrior's term. Because Greek soldiers would enter battle in pairs, so when the enemy attacked, they could draw together back-to-back, and cover each other's blind side (think scenes from Gladiator). So your battle partner was your parakletos. So Dalbety says, “God doesn’t send us to fight…alone. The Holy Spirit is our battle partner who covers our blind side and fights for our well being.” I love that. 

So because we were designed for relationship with God, and because Jesus is not here physically to meet that need, we need the Holy Spirit. We feel the ache of his absence; sometimes we try to fill that void with false gods; but only God can fill it through the parakletos—the Holy Spirit.

And if we are wise enough to open our hearts to what Jesus offers, good thing begin to happen. So let’s talk about that…

What We Receive from the Holy Spirit. Let me give you three words here: presence, power, and peace. Presence, power, and peace.

First, Presence. Did you notice, when the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t use the pronoun “it.” What does it say? “He.” And this is really important—the Holy Spirit is not an energy, the Holy Spirit is not “God’s active force,” like the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. The Spirit is a personal being. Just like Jesus is a personal being. And just as Jesus had been their advocate/helper/counselor, the Holy Spirit would be their advocate/helper/counselor. In fact, the Spirit is so aligned with Jesus, look what Jesus says in verse 18: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” In other words, “having the Holy Spirit in you will be just like having me with you.” 

Back in the 1600s there was a Carmelite monk named Brother Lawrence, who served as a cook in a monastery. He knew God’s presence was in him, but it was hard to experience that reality. So he learned to train himself to live in the conscious awareness of God. After his death, they compiled his teachings into a little book called The Practice of the Presence of God.Right after I learned that  concept, I found myself stuck in traffic. And the radio in my car was broken. So I’m sitting there, stopped in traffic, in silence, getting antsy. And then this thought came to me: How can I practice God’s presence right here? So I started talking to God—just very conversationally, out loud. Ithanked him for things in my life; I asked him for help with some hard things I had to do that day. And I started getting animated, and using my hands, and this was before cell phones, so there were people in the other lanes looking at me, like This guy needs help. That was about 30 years ago. My radio works fine now, but honestly a lot of times I don’t turn it on, because those conversations have become so important to me. (And it’s less embarrassing, because everybody just assumes I’m talking on my cell phone).

Listen: we are not alone. As believers, God himself is with us through the Holy Spirit. What would it look like this week for you to practice his presence?

The Spirit also gives us Power. And that’s true in three distinct ways. First, the Spirit give us Power to remember Jesus’ words.Verse 25 and 26: 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Have you ever wondered how the writers of the Gospels were able to record the words of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus so accurately? There were no phones or tape recorders to record what he was saying; there’s no evidence that they were taking notes. So how did they remember it so well? Because the Holy Spirit reminded them of everything Jesus had said. Things they could have easily forgotten, or could have become foggy over time, the Holy Spirit brought those words back with crystal clarity so they could record them accurately. So I believe this is primarily a promise to the Apostles, who would be writing the words of Scripture. 

But it’s also for us. Do we need to be reminded of the things Jesus said? I do. There are so many voices trying to get our attention, and we spend so much time on our phones and social media and news and podcasts. And the Holy Spirit is that calm, quiet voice that calls us back to Jesus, and reminds us of the voice of our true Shepherd. 

Secondly, the Spirit gives us power to keep Jesus’ commands. Did you notice how many times Jesus talks about this? Verse 15: “If you love me, keep my commands. Verse 21: Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. Verse 23: Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. This is so important, because look: Jesus is not promising the Holy Spirit to everyone—this is not a blanket promise for all of humanity. He’s promising the Holy Spirit to those who love him. And three times in this passage, he says the way you can tell if someone loves Jesus is if they…what? Obey his teaching. Keep his commands. Of course no one can do that perfectly, but he’s talking about a heart that surrenders to Jesus as the Lord of their life, and earnestly desires to do what he says. “If Jesus says to forgive people who hurt me, I’m going to resist my tendency to hold a grudge, and I’m going to forgive.” “If Jesus says to give generously to the poor, I’m going to resist my tendency to make excuses, and I’m going to give.” 

If you don’t have that kind of heart, Jesus makes it really clear what that means—verse 24: Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.It’s as simple as that. If you don’t have a passion to live out the teaching of Jesus, it means you’re playing a religious game. You don’t really love him.

If you do have that heart, here’s the amazing thing: the Holy Spirit takes your heart of obedience—your desire to keep the commandments—and empowers you to actually do it. The first time I ever rode an electric bike, it was a pedal-assist eBike. Which means it had no throttle; the only way to get power is to…what? Start pedaling. And as soon as you start pedaling, the motor kicks in, and you’ve got this superpower propelling you down the road. It’s so much fun. But if you don’t start pedaling, you’re not going anywhere. And it’s like that with the Holy Spirit. Choose to obey—to forgive; to give to the poor; follow his commands, and the Holy Spirit will empower you to actually do it.

And then finally, the Spirit gives us power to continue Jesus’ mission. Look what Jesus said just a few verses earlier—John 14:12…Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, listen…because I am going to the Father.Think about that: because I’m leaving you, and you’re going to get the Holy Spirit in my place, you’re going to have power to do supernatural things. Things that you have been unable to do in the past. Things that you have stopped trying, because you’re intimidated and defeated. Greater things than these!

After the resurrection, when Jesus was just about to leave his disciples, here’s what he said in Acts 1:8…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.The promise of the Holy Spirit is a promise of power. Maybe not the kind of power we normally think of: domineering, authoritarian, boastful. But the kind of power that Jesus lived with: a humble, inner strength that was not intimidated by anything or anybody. The power to be his witnesses: meaning to point people to Jesus in a secular world by the way that we live and by the words we say. 

The Holy Spirit gives us power to remember Jesus’ words, and keep his commands, and continue Jesus’ mission. 

I’m holding in my hand a glove. Do you see this glove? Now, do you want to see what this glove can do? (put it down on lectern). Nothing. It’s powerless and useless. It just sits there. But now watch this: (put hand in glove). Now, what can this glove do? Lots of things! This glove can wave; this glove can point; this glove can pound the pulpit; this glove can give you thumbs-up or tell you to come here or back off. This glove can carry things or throw things. This glove is capable of all kinds of things! But is it actually the glove doing those things? What’s actually doing the things? My hand. Listen: we are gloves. We are gloves. And the Holy Spirit is the hand who fills us and empowers us to do all kinds of things—the kinds of things that Jesus would do if he were here. The Holy Spirit enters into the glove of our lives and makes us capable of things we never thought we could do. So we need to make room for the hand, and allow the hand to fill every finger, and give us power.

Almost every morning, I close my prayer time with hands open, and I pray something like this: God, fill me with your Holy Spirit, and empower me to do what you’re calling me to do today. I cannot do this without you! Give me the power I need. 

The Spirit gives us presence—the presence of God coming alongside us! And the Spirit gives us power. 

And then finally, the Holy Spirit gives us Peace. Verse 27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.If those last words sound familiar, it’s because Jesus said those same words in last week’s passage—the beginning of John 14: do not let your hearts be troubled. And we pictured that trouble like an agitator in a washing machine that twists and churns in our stomach, because hard things happen, and when you follow Jesus there’s a whole other set of hard things that you have to face. So last week, he said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled, because my Father’s house has many rooms, and I’m going there to prepare a place for you.” And this week he’s saying, “Don’t let your heart be troubled—tell the agitator to be still—because the Holy Spirit will bring you peace.”

The biblical concept of peace is so rich. It was a common greeting to say to someone, “Shalom.” Peace. But we tend to have a shallow view of what that means. When we hear the word “peace,” we think, “no fighting.” “No conflict.” “No war.” Which is true—that’s part of shalom. But it’s much more! You could have a family that doesn’t fight, but they also don’t communicate with each other or support each other or care about each other. But they don’t fight! That’s not shalom. It’s not just an absence of something; it’s the presence of something. Shalom means flourishing and health and right relationships and that things are functioning the way they should function. 

So Jesus says, “Instead of fear and trouble in your heart, the Holy Spirit is going to bring you peace.”

You know what’s amazing? When Jesus says this, he knows he’s about to get arrested, and falsely accused, and spit on, and mocked, and beat up, and nailed to a cross. In other words, life is about to get really hard for Jesus. And he tells the disciples that if they follow him, life’s going to be hard for them—they’re going to face trouble and persecution just like he did. So when he talks about giving them peace, he obviously doesn’t mean: “I’m going to make you exempt from problems and pain. I’m going to make your life really easy.” He clearly doesn’t mean that. 

Not only that, but he’s clearly not promising them exemption from the attacks of Satan. Look at verses 30 and 31: 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. Who’s the prince of this world? That’s Satan. For reasons that are bigger than we can understand, Satan has been given some measure of authority in this world. Back in chapter 13, it says Satan entered into Judas. So Judas’ act of betraying Jesus was energized by Satan. And so when Jesus says, “The prince of this world is coming,” he’s talking about the fact that this Satanic scheme—led by Judas, along with Roman soldiers—but energized by Satan himself—is about to come and arrest him and put him on a cross. The prince of this world is coming for me. 

But then look what he says. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.Satan thinks he’s got the upper hand. He thinks he’s going to stop the work of God. But he’s just playing right into God’s hand. He thinks the cross means defeat! Little does he know the cross is going to bring victory and show the world exactly who Jesus is. 

So when Jesus talks about peace, he’s not talking about exemption from troubles; he’s not talking about exemption from spiritual warfare. So what kind of peace is he talking about? Peace that’s in here. Peace that enables you to walk through those hard things—and peace that enables you to walk through the attacks of Satan—just like he was about to do—without giving up and without being overcome by fear. That’s the best kind of peace. The peace that can survive the storm. 

And Jesus says, “You’re not going to get that kind of peace from the world.” Did you see that? He says, “I don’t give you as the world gives.” The secular world gives you stress and anxiety and confusion. The world magnifies the agitator that’s churning in your stomach. And Jesus says, “That’s not what I give you. I give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes alongside you and quiets your troubled heart.” 

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

One of the guys in my men’s group told me a story about a hard thing his wife experienced. She lost her father years ago, and after that, her relationship with her mother became very important. And then her mother got sick and passed away. The reality that both her parents were gone struck her so hard, and one night she said to her husband, “I’m an orphan.” She felt alone in the world, and she went into a time of deep grief. But he said as the months went by, something started happening. She had been a believer, but now suddenly her faith became so much more real. She started to treasure her relationship with Jesus, and she started feeling the Holy Spirit’s presence with her in ways that she never had before. 

Listen: if you feel an emptiness that nothing in this world seems to fill, let that ache drive you to Jesus. Put your trust in him. Open your eyes to the Holy Spirit, and you will never be alone.