The Rev. Thomas Nibbe — Sunday, May 22, 2022.
“Greater love has no one than this, that a person lay down his life for his friends… you are my friends.” — John 15:13
THE MESSAGE
Grace and peace to you in the Lord Jesus.
Today I’ve been reflecting on the fourteenth
chapter of John’s Gospel, as I often do, in the
attempt to come to terms with John’s reflection
and remembrance of what Jesus had said to
him and the other apostles gathered on one of
the last teaching opportunities just prior to His
“passion” and consequent glorious resurrection
and ascension. This was obviously a key time
to give His disciples information that would
eventually transform their lives and revolutionize
their efforts to pass on great news to all who
would eventually hear about Jesus through them.
In one sense, and this is my opinion, they were a
motley crew, a group of undisciplined, uneducated,
well-wishing, fearful men, who often needed to
note the discipleship of the women who followed
Jesus, to get some hint to what Jesus was trying so
hard to pass on to them. They were ordinary men,
in fact, to the extreme. Unfortunately, they were a
lot like me, and a lot like a sufficient number of you.
In selecting those He selected, He was sending a
message to you and me. If these guys eventually
were able to get their program together, there’d
be hope for you and me.
…just a thought…
The notion that Jesus selected them for their obvious
personal gifts does not impress me. Jesus selected
ordinary human beings to give those who would follow
later the idea that even ordinary, undisciplined people
can become extraordinary followers through openness
of heart and, yes, one other agent of transformation.
That transformative agent is the Holy Spirit. Through
the years I’ve been going back to this passage in
the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, and in addition,
essential passages in John 15:26-16:15…
I am reminded of what Saint Paul had to say in
1 Corinthians 12:3b:
“…no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’
except by the Holy Spirit…”
Something seemed to be missing from my
walk with the Savior I adored. My formal
education experience wasn’t helping…
I continued to investigate, to read, to converse,
to inquire…I guess I’d always been that way…
when something seemed to be missing…
Along the way, I was fortunate to connect up
with the writings of the Rev. Larry Christianson.
How did I know that the son of my Dad’s good
friend, Coach Ade Christianson, of Saint Olaf
College, would provide an open door for my
understanding of the Holy Spirit. Also, on a
Saturday trip to Emeryville, our church group
heard the Rev. Harald Bredesen speak. We
were mightily impressed and filled with joy.
I consequently invited both men to come to
our church to spend a weekend…to preach and
teach about the position of Holy Spirit in our lives…
how to honor the Third Person of the Holy Trinity
and, in turn, begin to understand Jesus’ teaching
in regard to the superlative teaching in regard to
the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus answered: ‘…I tell you the truth, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless that person is born
of water and the Spirit…'” (John 3:5)
The experience was life-changing.
Transformative.
Something remarkable happened which opened our
congregation up to the full spectrum of the Holy Trinity.
The first thing we discovered was (1 John 4:18):
“…(God’s) perfect love casts out fear…”
Our great enemy is the kind of fear that paralyses
us and causes us to be absent from meeting needs
set before us. Under the Holy Spirit, don’t plan to
complete projects for the church based upon your
resources. Plan according to what you think and
know Jesus would want. John reminds us:
“…the one who fears is not made perfect in love…”
(same verse)
We discovered in the Word essential gifts
of the Holy Spirit upon those believers willing
to receive them, notably John 14:25-27…
…the Holy Spirit will teach us all we need to know…
…the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything Jesus
said when He taught His disciples…and when we
need it most…
…the Holy Spirit will cast out fear as He
gives us a supernatural sense of inner peace…
…we need not be troubled or afraid…
There is additional instruction summarized
in seven main points, in John 16:7-15…
I’ve chosen the number “seven” because it
is the number often used to denote God’s
“perfect action”…
…the Holy Spirit must come, because Jesus’
task within “Incarnation” has been completed…
…the Holy Spirit will come to minister to
us directly, just as if Jesus Himself were
physically present…
…the Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt
in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment…
…the Holy Spirit will guide us into the fullness
of truth…we will be able to discern issues…
[We will be spared of this: “…if then the light
within you is darkness, how profound is that
darkness…” (Matthew 6:23b)]
…the Holy Spirit will give us a spirit of prophesy
to determine what is…and what is yet to come…
…the Holy Spirit will bring glory to the Lord
by using what belongs to Jesus in our lives
and making it known to us…
…the Holy Spirit will turn our grief into joy…
in fact (Jn. 17:13), “the full measure of my
joy within them…”
The method for receiving what has been
promised is:
“…ask and you will receive and your joy
will be complete…” (John 16:24b)
Sounds like a great idea!
May the Good Lord continue to uplift and
encourage you with abundant daily blessing
and good cheer. Remember, the Lord is a
gentleman. He’s not going to force religion
upon you. You must ask to receive. He wants
to let you know He is generous in answering
prayer. After all these years and experiences
in the Lord, I still cannot fully fathom His amazing
grace for those who believe. Blessings to you!
Cordially,
Tom
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