June 8 – Sermon
Dear Heavenly Father, on this day we humbly give You thanks for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, poured out upon the church that it might empower us to proclaim the good news of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Kindle in us the fire of Your love and strengthen our lives for service in Your kingdom; through Your Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Jesus’ farewell to his disciples at the Last Supper continues in today’s gospel. Jesus says,” If anyone loves me they will obey me…” Obeying Jesus can also be translated to “keep my word.” Jesus wants us to keep his word, obey his teachings, remember what he has told us, and most importantly to live it! This means we must be rooted in God’s word …in the Bible. We should be reading the Bible every single day of our lives. In doing this we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in obedience and in love to Christ. If anyone needs a Bible, just ask me and I will make sure you receive one.
Many Christians in the Northern hemisphere really do not hold the Bible as the authority in their lives. As a result many churches are dying. On the other hand, Christians in the Southern hemisphere, (Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia) do trust and believe in the Bible. In these places miracles are happening all the time and the churches are growing very rapidly. Here at St. Luke’s we trust and believe in the Bible to be the authority for our lives.
Jesus wants us to show our love for Him by remaining in His word and obeying Him.
Jesus continues by saying,” Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them.” By loving and obeying Christ, God himself will come and live in us! Almighty God wants to live in us and with us.
A young woman named Sally was going away to college. Her mother had worked two jobs so her daughter could go to college. Sally was nervous and afraid about leaving home and living so far away. She was also afraid of not having her mother’s guidance. Before Sally left, her mother said,” You are going to see and do things you never heard of…and you won’t know which way to turn sometimes. Do you remember when you use to tug on my apron strings when you wanted to get my attention? Do you remember when you were driving too close to the white line and I shouted at you? Well, I am not going to be with you in person but hopefully you’ll remember what I’ve taught you. I can’t kiss your hurts when you fall down or hold you when the storms of life come. But when you need me –when you are afraid, I’ll always be as close as a peanut in your pocket. I’ll never forsake you. And if you are hurting…you can feel me close to your heart. And when you make a mistake and make the wrong choice, I’ll whisper the truth to you to correct you, so you won’t do it again.”
They both cried and then hugged each other. Her mother gave Sally a handkerchief and then Sally left. When Sally arrived at school, she pulled out the handkerchief and discovered a peanut, & remembered the words her mother told her: I’ll be as close to you as a peanut in your pocket.
God is like that. Jesus is always with us loving and caring for us and telling us the truth when we do wrong.
Jesus then says: “But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place.” The Holy Spirit given to us in Holy Baptism lives in us and guides us. He strengthens us in our trials and helps us to remember the promises we have in Jesus Christ.
We need to intentionally pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and protect us and to draw us ever closer to God the Father.
Finally, Jesus says,” I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give.” Jesus promises us and gives us peace if we simply trust Him.
A woman was on a jet plane flying to Cleveland. She looked out her window and only saw dark clouds and an approaching storm. She looked out the window on the other side of the plane where she saw the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen in her life. The woman thought to herself, it doesn’t matter what window I look through… the plane is going to arrive at the same destination. In the same way, in life, our final destination is not influenced by what we see or hear along the way. For us as Christians, our plane is Jesus Christ and our destination is heaven. What’s happening in our lives does not change the arrival at our final destination. My friends completely trust Jesus with your life… and you will never be afraid.
Treasure His word, for those who do, live with God. Treasure the word that tells you of the Holy Spirit’s work, that instead of receiving punishment, He gives us peace. Our homecoming is guaranteed, because Jesus is at the right hand of the Father pleading for us.
Treasure the word, that tells you – it was for love, that Christ died, to save us.
Rejoice and be glad, for we celebrate how God is making us His people!
