Pentecost: Trusting the Spirit of Truth

Today we recognize, remember, and celebrate Pentecost. It is a wonderful day in the church, but often it is a festival that passes by without much thought. Today I wear a red ribbon because of Pentecost, and we drape the pulpit in red because we remember the time when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples, just like we read in Acts.

Why is this day important? Why should we make much of Pentecost?

Listen to the words of Jesus in John 14: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever—even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

He dwells with you and in you—the Spirit of truth. That is so important, because without that Spirit of truth, we could not truly know Jesus.

Turn with me to Ephesians, chapter 1, beginning at verse 13. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Paul goes on to say that because he has heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and their love toward all the saints, he does not cease to give thanks for them, remembering them in his prayers. He prays that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.”

The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of all truth—is the One who guides us and gives us wisdom, revelation, and knowledge. Without Him interacting with us, we would not know Jesus; we would be like the world that says, “You believe that old fairy tale?” But the Spirit enables us to believe and to know what is true.

In John 15, Jesus says, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” In John 16, starting at verse 7, Jesus continues: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

When He comes, Jesus says, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Jesus; concerning righteousness, because Jesus goes to the Father and we see Him no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. Jesus adds, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Without the Holy Spirit speaking into our hearts and lives, where would we be? He guides us into the truth of Jesus Christ, and I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. It is He who enlightens us to sin and helps us see the truth of the gospel and the truth of Jesus.

But that is not all. If we go over to 1 Corinthians 12, we learn that after the Holy Spirit awakens us to the truth of Jesus, and we come to Jesus and become part of His body, each and every one of us receives gifts. In the body, there is not a single believer who does not have a gift—and along with that gift comes work to be done.

1 Corinthians 12 says, beginning in verse 4: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom; to another the utterance of knowledge; to another faith; to another gifts of healing; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

It is the Holy Spirit who gives the gifts. He is the One who has given some in our congregation a wonderful gift of welcoming new people and those who have been with us for a long time, speaking with them and making them feel at home. Not everyone has that gift, but those who do have it for the benefit of the body and for the glory of God.

Not everyone can go out and witness and win people to the Lord with the boldness and effectiveness that some do, but those individuals have been given that gift to use both within and outside the congregation, for building up the body and for the glory of God. Not everyone has the gift of preaching or teaching, or that precious gift of unwavering faith that can encourage others when they are shaken. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts as He wills, often to people we would not expect.

It is a joy to watch someone grow as they learn to preach or serve in a new way. Many times, they did not feel that this was “their thing” or something they had always had, but the Holy Spirit gave them the ability and the gift.

He gives gifts to all who believe in Jesus Christ. If you are a follower of Jesus, here is what you must understand: the Holy Spirit resides in you. Because He resides in you, you should open yourself up to His leading.

What do I mean by that? When someone says, “This is outside of my nature, but I feel like He’s wanting me to preach,” the call is: trust Him. He will give you the gifts to do what He calls you to do. Someone else might say, “I feel like He’s given me the gift of wisdom and He’s calling me to teach Sunday school, but that’s not me.” Again, trust Him. He will make it possible.

Trust Him when you are somewhere and He draws your attention to a person, and inside you sense that you ought to say something about Jesus, but you think, “That’s not me. I don’t do that. I don’t have that gift. I don’t know what to say.” If He is calling you to it, He has gifted you for it—trust Him.

Some gifts are long-term, things you have for many years. Some gifts are temporary, given just for a specific moment and a specific work that He wants done right then. In all of it, we are called to trust Him.

Jesus said in John 14 that He would not leave us as orphans; it is for our benefit that He goes away, because when He does, He sends the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all things and into all truth, and will bring to our remembrance the things Jesus has said. We can trust the gift of the Holy Spirit—He is very much alive and very much at work.

Without Him, what I do would be in vain; I could not do it without Him. When people ask, “What do you need to know about being a preacher?” the first and foremost answer is: you must love Jesus and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit and without Jesus, you have nothing.

That is true not just for preaching but for all of our Christian walk. The Holy Spirit not only gives gifts; He also comforts. In times of our deepest grief and trials and troubles, He can bring that peace that passes all understanding. He heals; He can bring healing to your soul.

So trust the Holy Spirit. He is with us, in us, and around us. Scripture says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit—He is with you.

We are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. I believe that grieving the Spirit means ignoring Him in your life—ignoring Him when He tugs at your heart to do this or that. Sometimes we say, “I don’t know what it is, preacher, but something inside me is just…”—that is the Holy Spirit nudging you, calling you, gifting you.

Don’t ignore Him. When He is nudging, God is working out His perfect order and plan. Before God spoke the world into being, He set a plan in place; He knows all things, when they will happen, and who will be there. It is never a coincidence when God sets a plan into motion.

When God brings you into a stranger’s life and you start having conversations, build a relationship, and then talk about Jesus—and they come to know Him—it is not a mistake. When God brings someone across your path who has been deeply hurt, and you are able to pray with them and walk with them until they are restored, that is not mere chance. God is guiding His people through His Holy Spirit and gifting them for the need of the moment and the work of the time.

If we ignore the leading, nudging, and gifting of the Holy Spirit, then we ignore God. Jesus said that we would do greater things than He did. Why would He say that? Because He sent the Holy Spirit—the Giver of gifts, the One who can do all things because He is God, and nothing is impossible for God.

If you yield yourself to Him, He can accomplish anything through your hands, your feet, and your mouth. To be the church that Jesus calls us to be, we must trust in the Holy Spirit, lean on the Holy Spirit, and move at the Holy Spirit’s guiding. What a precious gift God has given to those who love Him.

Amen.

“Father, we thank You for the Holy Spirit. We thank You for the incredible way that He operates in and around and through us. We are thankful for the way You love us and call us to engage in Your work. May we always be open, listening, and yielded to the Holy Spirit in our lives. For this we give You thanks, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”