Pastor
Steve Geiger Second
Sunday after Pentecost
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John 16:12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can
now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into
all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and
he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking
from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 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.
The
Triune God Talks to Humans John
16:12-15
1.
Jesus is gentle in our weakness
2.
The Spirit guides us in the truth
Our
float was waiting in line. The Dakota
Days parade in Vermillion. I had candy
in one hand, brochures in the other. As
the wait still looked long, I began to walk down the row of floats, handing out
candy and information to those also waiting.
One
of those waiting, a politician. With
some I’ve already shared these details.
Of how I had the chance to introduce myself to John Thune, offer him
candy, give him a brochure. For a few
moments we spoke, and then I headed to our float.
At
the end of the parade I saw him again.
Would he take a picture with me?
“Mr. Thune, would you mind having your picture taken?” “Sure, Steve.”
My
name. From a brief conversation over
candy and a brochure, he remembered a name and posed for a picture.
As
words of good-bye separated us, this sense of, “Wow. That person talked to me.
Remembered something about me.
Spoke to me, the representative of the entire state of South Dakota to a
lowly citizen. A great one to a small
one.
Have
you ever had an experience like that?
Someone powerful interested in, speaking to you?
You
have. God has spoken to you. Who of us deserves to have him notice
us? Who of us deserves to have him pay
attention? Who of us deserves to have
God choose to share with us all of the truth that we need to know?
Yet
he’s done it. The triune God has spoken
to humans.
We
see it happening on the night before Jesus died. A conversation between Jesus and his disciples. Between God and humans. A conversation so gentle.
When
you think of how great God is, just to hear one word from his mouth should
terrify. The children of Israel at the
foot of Mt. Sinai . . . that’s what happened.
They heard the voice of God. “I
am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery. You shall have no other gods
before me.” They trembled with fear. They said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself
and we will listen. But do not have God
speak to us or we will die.
When
you think of how great God is, to hear just one word from his mouth should
terrify. But when the great God speaks
to lowly humans, his intention is not to hurt.
Even with the Israelites at the base of Mt. Sinai, Moses said in reply,
“Do not be afraid. God has come to test
you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” God revealed his power to show his people
love, that they would have a lasting memory of one they should respect and love
and obey.
When
Jesus spoke to his disciples only hours before his arrest, he had a similar
purpose. His words were intended to
show love.
Sometimes
God’s words must be forceful and shocking to show us love. But sometimes, as with the disciples, God’s
words are dispensed a little bit at a time because God knows our weakness and
he knows when we can’t handle any more truth.
How
strange is that? That we can’t handle
any more truth? If something is true,
shouldn’t we always be able to handle it?
Isn’t that our ultimate aim, to speak and to know and to believe the
truth? If what we are going to say is
true, isn’t it right always to say it?
Or are there times when we pass out the truth in little bites so that
the one who is hearing can chew and swallow before taking the next into his mouth?
A
hungry infant does not wish to wait for another bite. Perhaps you’ve seen a five-month old child, totally into blended
pears and broccoli and cereal. They
hardly take time to breathe. Spoon
after spoon after spoon after spoon.
The one holding the spoon has a responsibility important. To back off when the mouth is full. To make sure the food has been
swallowed. To make sure that the food
that is intended to help prolong life doesn’t play a part in a child’s early
choking death.
The
Lord Jesus was spooning food into the mouths of his disciples at a very
disciplined, well-thought-out pace.
“Still many things I have to be saying to you, but you are not able to
be carrying them now.” The Lord knew
that if he piled on their backs all he knew to be true at this one moment,
they’d collapse. If he tried to stuff
into their mouths all the things he knew to be coming, they’d choke.
They’d
choke on what was true? How can that
be? Shouldn’t we able to handle the
truth? Yet we know that like the disciples
there are times when we don’t understand what we’ve learned so far, so that
we’re not really ready to learn a truth that is built on that first one. We hear something from the Bible and we
don’t get it. The disciples, right
after our reading for today, were saying to one another, “What does he mean by
saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little
while you will see me?’” They were
confused. Maybe it was the trauma. Maybe it was the certainty that in just a
few hours, they’d lose their best friend.
Maybe it’s just human weakness, where at times we just can’t seem to
understand. A teaching that you’ve
heard about and you know it must be true but you just don’t know how to deal
with it, how to feel about it, how to act based on.
It’s
weakness. But Jesus is patient with
weakness. “I’ve got a lot to say to
you, but you’re not ready.” So he
waits.
Human
weakness.
On
the other hand, sometimes our difficulty with God’s truth can come from more
than just a simple struggle to understand.
Like the disciples there are times when our sinful nature view of things
can cloud a proper spiritual view of things.
Just before the words of our reading Jesus says, “Because I have said
these things, you are filled with grief.” Jesus had told his disciples that he was going to his Father, yet
instead of being excited that Jesus’ saving work was finished—time to go
home—they consider his absence and the persecutions that were coming and could
only feel sad.
Does
our flesh sometimes lead us down paths where we are drawing a conclusion
opposite of that which God wants us to draw?
We are suffering in some way.
God encourages us to rejoice in our sufferings, because he uses them to
discipline us and to increase our expectation for heaven. But we are afraid. We’re losing patience.
Sometimes
we just don’t understand the truth.
Sometimes our sinful flesh blinds us to the joy found in the truth. Either way, our human weakness gets in the
way of us appreciating God’s truth.
You
would think that Jesus would just get frustrated. How many times have I told you?
You disciples just don’t get it.
Ugghhh, I get so upset with you.
I’m sick and tired of having to pace myself based on your weakness.
Such
a natural reaction for us. When people
are struggling with a sin and we know it, do you ever feel this anger rising
inside . . . ughh, why don’t you get it?
Instead of patiently working through what they are struggling with, with
your mind you call them a fool and with your mouth you are telling them all the
stuff they should be doing differently.
We aren’t always patient, are we, when we notice the sinful weakness of
those around us.
How
patient is Jesus. “Still many things I
have to be saying to you, but you are not being able to be carrying them now.”
Jesus
dealt with his disciples at a speed they were able to keep up with. Even though he may have been disappointed
that they didn’t learn more quickly, still he was patient.
This
he did for all the times you and I have gotten frustrated. We have shown to those around us love less
than God has shown to us. That should
make God so angry.
Have
you parents ever given a gift to a child, only to find that child being selfish
and unwilling to share that gift? Do
you ever find yourself thinking, “Wait a second. I gave that to you. And
this is what you’re doing, being selfish with it?”
How
God could say the same in connection with the patient love he has shown to us,
yet instead Jesus, true God, faced the temptation to frustration as our
substitute and said “no,” that you might never need to know the eternal
judgment that comes to all who love others less than they themselves have been
loved by God. Do you long for a washing
of your record? Do you wish that you
never had fallen for impatience? Were
you baptized? In your baptism you were
dressed in the robe of righteousness.
Jesus’ perfect patience with his disciples has been placed over
you. That’s why he came. That’s why he lived. That’s why he died. To be your substitute in every respect, then
to suffer the hell that we had every right to expect.
He
has paid the penalty for every one of your sins of impatience. Forgiveness.
He
had forgiven his weak disciples. This
is the power behind his patience. He
truly loved them. He’d wait. He’d wait until they were ready.
Isn’t
that wonderful? Jesus works with you
over time, bringing growth bit by bit as you are ready. He knows your moments of weakness. He’s especially gentle when you are
struggling.
Just
like you and your children. How easily
you may be tempted, when a child is struggling with a math assignment, to say
to him, “You foolish child. I can do
this perfectly. Watch.” You may be tempted, but what joy in the end
to go back to the beginning and work through the most basic elements so that
some day your child will understand.
In
that moment where you just don’t get something, a new teaching that you
struggle with, hang to words of Paul, who after introducing something
challenging truths said, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of
things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. Only let us
live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:14).
Act
based on what you understand. But know
too that Jesus doesn’t give up working to give you all the truth you need. He wants maturity. He wants you to be experts.
For the disciples, he’d wait, but he promised to send the Holy Spirit,
who would guide them into all truth.
In
the disciples’ case, this promise was the guarantee of miraculous memory of all
the things Jesus had said, as well as new revelation about the things to
come. The disciples weren’t ready on
the night before Jesus died for all the teachings found in Romans,
Thessalonians, Revelation and Acts, but the day would come when they would be,
and the Spirit would give them the very words God wanted written on paper. “Holy men of God spoke as they were carried
along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
The
words they wrote focused first on Jesus.
The Spirit would glorify Jesus through them. The apostles wrote great things about Jesus. That “God made him who had no sin to be sin
for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Co
5:21). Apostles who resolved to know
nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Co 2:2).
Apostles
who, through the Spirit, spoke about the future. How the Lord will come again on the clouds. All that is evil will be destroyed, and
Christians will be caught up on the last day with the Lord in the air.
Apostles
who became mouthpieces of the Holy Spirit, who in the Scriptures has told us
everything that God wants us to know.
“As many things as he hears, he will speak” (John 16:13).
Jesus
was patient with the disciples. In
their moment of weakness he held back.
But he did not want them to remain weak. He would send the Holy Spirit, who would take their hand and
guide them into all truth.
Do
you at moments feel weak? Know that
Lord will be gentle with you. Know also
that the Lord does not intend for you to remain weak in this way for your
life. He sends the Holy Spirit to you
too, as you read the words the Spirit wrote in the Scripture. See his hand taking yours. Grab his hand. Open your Bible.
Read. Read. Read.