Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 28th November 2021.
Call to worship.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff comfort me”. Ps 23:4
This morning we begin a three part Advent series called ‘God with us.’ This series is a forerunner to Christmas. I want us to see the Christ of Christmas is alive and working in us by the Holy Spirit today.
Today we will be thinking of Christ’s gift to us- the Holy Spirit who is described as a comforter and counsellor. But let’s first praise Him for leaving all the glories of Heaven to come and give himself to us, born in such lowly condition, born to bring salvation
Hymn.
“What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?” MP 749 (Piano)
William Dix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Un5nwlL5w
Opening prayer
O Lord we imagine the angel choirs, the shepherds watching and the kings coming from afar to bring you their gifts. How could it be that all these obvious marks of your hand upon the birth of Your Son should see Him born in such humble conditions- “born in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding” But this speaks powerfully of sacrifice on your part, sacrifice that meant your leaving the wonder of Heaven to be born a vulnerable little baby in straightened circumstances- sharing in our condition, and sacrifice that would ultimately take you to the cross for our sakes: “For sinners here the silent Word is pleading”. What wonderful love and generosity you have shown to us. Please lead us into further understanding and appreciation of all your good gifts to us. Amen
Reading. John 14:15-27
14 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[a] 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.
Think further on that reading later. But for now reflect on the Holy Spirit’s role as comforter. That evokes a tremendous sense of God’s presence and the privilege of intimacy with Him.
Songs
“As we are gathered” MP 38 (Piano)
John Daniels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTyJTJr9PbY
“You laid aside your majesty” MP 795 (Guitar)
Noel Richards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asy9EQSvrZ4
Prayers
Lord God, creator of all things,
For Your love for human beings:
For Your love for each person:
For the great and mysterious opportunity of life:
For the life of your Spirit within us:
For the gifts of Your Spirit:
We praise and worship You through Jesus Christ. Amen
(BU minister’s handbook)
Christ our Immanuel, we joyfully celebrate Your coming among us as a vulnerable baby, to share our sorrows and bear away our sin. We think too of Your second coming, in glory and majesty, when all pain will cease and those who love You will enter eternity.
Lord of the years, we reflect on many months of difficulty, pain and disappointment caused by Covid-19, giving thanks for the mercies and blessings we received in the midst of it. Please continue to help all who are still affected. (Quiet to remember individuals we know so affected and who face other trials at this time).
Strong Deliverer, we pray for people who are besieged by troubles: fear for the future, illness, unemployment, relationship breakdown and other problems. Please help them, with the support of others and through divine provision to face life with resilience and hope.
Loving Saviour, please uphold our Christian brothers and sisters in places where believers are ostracised, rejected, discriminated against, attacked, threatened with imprisonment or worse because they refuse to deny You. Keep them in the peace and grace of Your presence.
Father, we ask for comfort for men, women and children who are grieving a loved one. Hold them close through the pain and sorrow of bereavement, which may go on for many years. Grant to them Your Son’s loving peace, through the Holy Spirit.
Father of compassion and courage, please reveal Your unconditional love for children and adults who live with particular physical, health, social, occupational and emotional needs. Help them to fulfil all that You desire for them.
Redeemer God, thank You for rescuing us from the penalty and power of sin: to bring us through death to share in Your risen glory. We remember all who are struggling to trust in You and ask for fresh hope and help to endure, in Christ’s powerful name. Amen
(Care Prayer Diary, p8)
You have served us Lord, help us, by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit to serve one another and love our neighbours in our community. Amen
Hymn
“From heaven You came” MP 162 (Piano)
Graham Kendrick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuQmfTrlSYY
Sermon
Series “God with us”. Part 1. “Comforter and Counsellor”
This morning we begin a three part Advent series called ‘God with us.’ This series is a forerunner to Christmas. I want us to see the Christ of Christmas is alive and working in us by the Holy Spirit today.
In the Old Testament there are many prophesies that foretell the coming of the Messiah. Here are two of them:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
This Scripture points to the manner in which he will be born, and also to one of the names given to Christ: Immanuel, meaning God with us. This was pointing to both his human birth and his divine nature. This was written over 700 years before Christ was born.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem and this Scripture tells us in advance the place Jesus would be born. This prophecy was written by Micah approximately 800 years before Christ was born.
During our Christmas services we will read again such passages in the light of Christ’s birth. We will understand again the awesome truth that the angel stated to Joseph; this baby in a manger is Immanuel. The truth of the Incarnation.
The Old Testament not only promises the coming of the Messiah.
The Old Testament promises the gift of the Holy Spirit to the people of God:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” Ezekiel 36:26, 27
“I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28, 29
Shortly before our Lord ascended, He promised His disciples the fulfilment of these promises. They and we who have received the Holy Spirit know what it means to have ‘God with us’ since Pentecost.
This leads us to our passage from John 14:15-27 where Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who will be a Counsellor and a Comforter to His people, after Jesus has ascended.
He will give you another Counsellor (14, 16).
The word translated Counsellor is Paraclete. It is a noun that is the result of combining a preposition and a verb. The preposition means ‘by the side of’, and the verb means ‘to call’
The Paraclete then is ‘one called to the side of’. An analogy of this is where a boat goes out and brings another boat into harbour.
Paraclete is sometimes translated ‘Comforter’ because the Holy Spirit does provide both comfort and strength for facing life. In other places the word is translated ‘Counsellor’ because the Holy Spirit is also an advisor and teacher.
The word translated ‘another’ here is also significant. In the language of the New Testament, two different words are translated with our word ‘another.’ One of these words means ‘another of the same kind.’ This is the word used here. The implication is that Jesus was the first Counsellor (1 John 2:1) and the promised Holy Spirit would be the same kind of counsellor. Jesus is promising his disciples the Holy Spirit being to them exactly what He the Lord Jesus had been to them.
So, when Jesus would no longer be with the disciples physically, the Holy Spirit would be. The Spirit would be their constant companion. Doing what Jesus would have done for them; guiding, helping and encouraging them to work for the extension of God’s kingdom.
Jesus also says the Counsellor will be…
“…with you forever” (16)
Perhaps this phrase best brings out the comforting side of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer. Jesus knew His ministry would be brief. Three and a half years at the most. So the disciples were distressed by his speaking of His imminent death and departure. However, the Lord comforts them with this wonderful promise - that the Holy Spirit will in the same way comfort and commit himself to them.
Indeed the Spirit will be committed to them forever.
(Analogy)
I would like to compare the work of the Holy Spirit here with an analogy from marriage:
Christian marriage is an ordinance given to us by God. Essentially it speaks of that same commitment the Spirit has to us. The commitment of husband and wife to one another for as long as they both shall live.
Now a strong marriage isn’t one cocooned from life’s troubles. A strong marriage is where both husband and wife show their faithful committed love to one another- even when they do not feel like it. Even when they face adversity, trials and discouragements.
Think of the promises of commitment, the vows couples make to one another when they marry. The groom is asked about his bride “Will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health, and be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?” Then the groom promises “ I will” The bride is then asked to make this promise about the groom- “Will you love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, as long as you both live?” She says “I will”
In a strong marriage like that both husband and wife are reflecting what God is like to one another. They show the same faithfulness Christ showed his disciples, the same faithfulness the Holy Spirit shows to believers throughout their lives: the love of God- agape love- that gives and sacrifices for the other. This love we see supremely at the cross. Both husband and wife are to learn to increasingly show this kind of love, without thought of what they get in return.
It is only this attitude of unconditional commitment that makes any kind of security and trust possible. That makes joy and affection possible. The being there for one another. The sharing of comfort.
But these will be absent if one or both feel they are having to merit the other’s approval, or ‘jump through hoops’ for them.
So many marriages are breaking up because they do not know this love. They give up when adversity comes. They do not turn to the God of faithfulness who could weave His fruit of the Spirit into their marriage.
It is what we were made for. To know and show this love. The crushing despair and feelings of bereavement that follow marriage break up are testament to the fact that we were made for something better.
But even Christian marriage at its best can only partly satisfy a person’s need for comfort. Human beings are finite. Even in the best marriages our spouse will not always be able to help us or even understand us. But God by His Spirit, knows you inside out and is willing to commit Himself to you. Only in such a relationship will your full need for comfort be satisfied.
If a committed marriage brings comfort and security to the husband and wife concerned, how much more is our comfort and security, joy and security to know that God by his Spirit is committed to us. And if a strong marriage brings comfort for a lifetime, how much more the comfort we have as believers that the Holy Spirit will be with us forever…throughout eternity.
The Holy Spirit as Comforter…He will be with you forever.
Perhaps no phrase best brings out the Spirit’s office as a counsellor and teacher than Jesus description of Him as:
The Spirit of Truth (14, 17, 26)
The Lord Jesus was referred to time and again as Teacher. The Sermon on the Mount is a lecture from a teacher. Jesus taught His disciples about God, about life and eternity.
We are told later in our chapter- verse 26- that the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor, will teach the disciples all things, and would remind them of everything.
So here Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit will continue Jesus’ ministry of teaching. The Holy Spirit never teaches that which is contrary to Jesus teaching. Rather the Holy Spirit uses the Bible/ the Scriptures as the means of communicating God’s truth to us. The apostles remembered and wrote with the help of the Holy Spirit- what Jesus had told them. John’s Gospel, indeed the entire New Testament, would not exist if not for this reminding work of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who also inspired the Old Testament writers too.
In the case of the disciples, the reminding role of the Holy Spirit uniquely guided the recording of the New Testament. The Canon is complete (Isaiah 8:20, Galations 1:8, 9). There are no new Scriptures beyond the Old and New Testaments. This is one of the chief factors that separates orthodox Christianity from Christian cults and other religions like Islam. God has come among us in the Person of the Son, procured a salvation only God can procure for us, and personally inspired His disciples to write revelation of His will in written form. Who else is qualified to do that apart from the Son? (See John 3:31, 32; 5:41-44; 10:7-10). So bear that in mind when some vain/arrogant person writes claiming to know their insights supersede the Bible. Jude’s letter we are studying in the evenings, remind us that such false teachers even find their way into the church. They are anti–Christ, putting themselves in the place of God. Who will you listen to? Finite man or the Son of God and those who come in His name and with His word? (See also John 10:14-16).
The disciples first heard Jesus speak and we believers hear His same in the Scriptures. As we read, study, listen to Scripture taught and preached. As we meditate on, memorise and obey- placing Christ’s teaching firmly within our minds, the Holy Spirit shows us their application as we move through this life.
Next, in verse 17, Jesus states “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.”
Here the Lord explains about who will not know the Holy Spirit, and those who will.
The World cannot accept him (17)
The world cannot accept the Holy Spirit. The unbeliever has a spiritual blindness, a prejudice when it comes to the things of the Spirit. The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit because of its idolatry and rebellion. Instead of being teachable and humbly learning from its Creator and Saviour, worldly people cast down the Lord and His Spirit from their rightful place, and insist on using their own criteria to evaluate God- substandard and limited criteria.
The world is materialistic in its outlook. So instead of recognising the promise of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, many merely attributed the disciples’ joy and boldness to new wine! They evaluated what they saw by their own limited experience. They did not have eyes to see it was the Holy Spirit, or that Pentecost was the Spirit’s confirmation of the Old Testament promises.
It is a source of frustration to many of us that the unbeliever continually insists on trying to explain away the work of the Holy Spirit through materialistic means which cannot possibly explain what the Spirit has done.
So, for example, the atheistic evolutionist insists the amazing variety and astounding intelligence at both macro and micro levels of creation (infinitely greater than anything devised by human intelligence), have all come about by chance and through mutation (genetic mistakes). No empirical evidence can confirm or demonstrate such ideas, and on the face of it they are incredible (nonsensical) statements- simply beyond belief. A purely materialistic theory must provide material evidence to support its claims.
We had a great day here at ABC with Professor Colin Garner- Emeritus Professor of Thermodynamics at Loughborough University- in October. He spoke on these matters ‘Creation & Evolution. Why it matters what you believe.’ He left us some copies of his booklet which provides an excellent over view of how Special Creation fits biblically but also scientifically with known and observable scientific laws, while evolution runs contrary to these. It also explains why evolutionary ideology has been disastrous socially in giving rise to atheistic states of the twentieth century and various moral evils such as racism, eugenics and the undermining of the ordinance of marriage in various ways. If you have not had one, I’m happy to give you a copy. (See also Ken Ham’s ‘Science confirms the Bible’ for a good overview in one visual presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roh7_n5UziI ).
When it comes to Creation, Reason demands more than Philosophical Naturalism can provide. Naturalism is not sufficient to explain the work of the Holy Spirit. Rather it was the Holy Spirit who ‘hovered over the waters’ (Genesis 1:2) as God created the heavens and the earth.
The same attitude lies behind the rather silly attempts to ‘explain away’ other miracles. That the Israelites managed to cross the Red Sea on a raised part of the sea bed, or Jesus’ resurrection was merely a ‘conjuring trick with bones’. But it was by the Holy Spirit Jesus was raised from the dead.
It lies behind the attitude to ‘explain away’ the miracle of Christian conversion. These people think there must be some ‘psychological’ reason why a person becomes a Christian. It can’t be what the Bible says it is- a miracle of spiritual birth wrought by the Holy Spirit (See John 3: 5-7). There must be some ‘naturalistic’ reason- something to do with their family or culture or environment. The very attempt of course is absurd. People of all tribes and nations, temperaments, backgrounds are converted to Christ by God’s Spirit. There is no single, identifiable, natural criteria, or combination of criteria that can account for the miracle of new birth, apart from God’s Spirit.
The world cannot accept the Holy Spirit.
But, the Lord says to His disciples:
“You know him for he lives with you and will be in you (14, 17, 23)
Even at this point, before Pentecost the disciples in moments of spiritual clarity recognise the work of the Spirit. Principally as they see the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus. The Father had given the Spirit ‘without limit’ to Jesus (John 3:34). They were beginning to recognise the Spirit in their own experience when, for example, Jesus sent them out on mission (Mark 6: 7-13)
It was at Pentecost they came to know the Spirit more intimately. The Spirit filled them and entered into the Church, which would become His temple, His permanent dwelling place. (Cf 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:21).
Verse 23 expands the sense of God’s presence available to the believer. Both Father and Son through the Spirit will now ‘make their home’ with the believer. Here again is the wonderful privilege, of the close and intimate relationship each believer has in relation to each member of the Trinity.
Richard Harris’ prayer bring this union out well:
‘O God, Father, moment by moment you hold me in being, on you I depend.
O God, eternal Son, friend and brother beside me, in you I trust
O God, Holy Spirit, life and love within me, from you I live.’
Similarly this observation by C. S. Lewis:
‘You come to the Father, as his child now, the Son is at your side interceding (you come to the Father by Him), but God is also living in you- God the spirit, directing and prompting you. God surround you from within and without.’ (Mere Christianity).
Notice too, the Holy Spirit is to be experienced: ‘You know him.’ This is not merely a creedal statement. There is great assurance in receiving the Spirit and knowing him at work in our lives. So 1 John 4:13 states: “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he (Christ) has given us of his Spirit.”
It is the Christian’s common experience that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, he awakens various desires in us. The desire to pray- to build on that relationship with God through talking to him. To worship the Lord, in song and with our very lives. The spirit draws us into fellowship with other Christians. The Spirit works in us that we might grow in holiness. He gives us his gifts so we can build one another up and reach out into the world. He gives us a desire to feed on Scripture; to meditate on his word, since as we have seen, he is the Spirit who leads us into all truth.
These desires were first awakened in me by the Spirit when I was sixteen years old. And Jesus promise here is open to any sincere seeker, no matter that your past, or how little or how much you know. Whoever humbly comes to the Lord and asks (Luke 11: 9-13), will receive the Holy Spirit, and then you will know God with you, in your experience, and both Father and Son making their home with you through the Spirit- forever.
Praise God!
Final hymn.
“Christ triumphant” MP 77 (Piano)
Michael Saward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPXSILECWm0
Blessing
God the Father bless us
God the Son defend us
God the Spirit keep us
Now and for ever more. Amen
David Barnes 24th November 2021