Sermon
delivered on January 28th, 2018
Morning Service
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Scripture Texts: John 14:15; 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16: And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide
with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18: I will not leave
you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet
present with you. 26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto
you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth
from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27: And ye also shall bear witness,
because ye have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for
you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8: And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9: Of sin,
because they believe not on me; 10: Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more; 11: Of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged. 12: I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now. 13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come. 14: He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and
shall shew it unto you. 15: All things that the
Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Introduction
When
the first disciples were called by Christ, they all dropped everything and
followed Him. They quit their jobs. They left their homes and their families.
They had given all for Christ's sake. But now after three and a half years of
walking daily with the Saviour, hearing His words,
seeing His work, Jesus has told them He is going away to return to where He
came from. They have been with Jesus for three and a half years and now He is
leaving them. Upon receiving this news, the disciples' hearts were filled with
sorrow. They were deflated, scared, and feeling abandoned by the One whom they
had given all of themselves to.
Our
Lord is very aware of the fears of the disciples, and so He knows exactly what
they need to hear. Here is what our Lord says to His disciples,
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
The
Lord loved His disciples so much to leave them comfortless. The word "Comfortless"
in Greek in "orphanous" from which we get our word orphans. I will not leave you
as orphans. I will not leave you parentless. Orphans are not only
parentless but also many times are desolate, helpless, and comfortless. Orphans
many times have no one to protect them and no one to
provide for them. They have no one to stand up for their
rights. There is no one to intercede for them. There is no
one to speak up on their behalf. They are defenseless in this world.
They have no teacher to show them what's right from wrong.
It
would be this way for the disciples if the Lord Jesus leaves them by themselves
and on their own. And so it would also be with us.
But
it was not the Lord Jesus' purpose to leave His disciples orphans in the world.
The comfort the Saviour gave to His sorrowing
disciples was the promise of another Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you.
To
the disciples, Jesus Christ leaving them seemed to be a great lost and a total
disaster. What could they possibly do without Christ alongside them? They had
given up everything for Him and now He is leaving them. How could they ever
personally overcome such loss? What good can come out of Christ departure?
But
listen to what our Lord said to His disciples regarding His departure,
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Instead
of losing out they will actually gain. It was to their advantage that He goes
away. Jesus Christ going away meant the coming of another Comforter, the Holy
Spirit.
The
word "Comforter"
in Greek is "Parakletos". Parakletos is composed of two
words, namely, para and kletos.
"Para" means to be beside and "kletos"
comes for the root word "kaleo" which means to call. Combining the two words "prakletos" means "the one who
is called to be beside". The Holy
Spirit is our "Parkletos or Paraclete". He is the One who
is called alongside of the children of God as their Comforter, Helper and
Advocate.
This
morning consider with me the believer's "Parakletos" - our Comforter.
Our Comforter
I
will not leave you comfortless. I will send you another Comforter. We live in a
world in which we certainly need comfort. Many times God's people are suffering
people.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution.
Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting
them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
So
here the Lord Jesus is promising His downhearted disciples the Holy Spirit of
God to give them God's comfort. One of the greatest aims of the Gospel is the
comfort of the people of God.
Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2 Corinthians 1: 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
4: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be
able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we
ourselves are comforted of God. 5: For as the sufferings of Christ
abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by
Christ.
Are
you sorrowing today? Let me tell you, there is a Comforter whose special
ministry is to come and comfort.
The
word "comfort" comes from two words namely, "Com"
with and "Forte" strength. The Holy is One who comes and
brings with Him strength for the need. He comes beside you to strengthen and to
encourage.
Notice
in John
14:16, our Lord calls the Holy Spirt "Another Comforter". The Greek word
is "allos" which means "another of
the same kind." As Jesus is a divine person who
comforts and helps His disciples, so also is the Spirit.
What
Christ is saying is that He is sending One of exactly the same essence
as Himself. He was not sending them just any other Comforter, but He
is sending One exactly like Himself. As Jesus had been their Paraclete for three years who had helped them, comforted
them, and walked alongside them. Now they would have another ComforterOne
exactly like Jesusto minister to them as Jesus Christ had when He was here on
earth.
What
kind of Comforter is Holy Spirit?
1. He is a Holy Comforter
John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet
present with you. 26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
He
is called the Holy Ghost. His name indicates His work. There can be no comfort
apart from goodness and holiness.
Isaiah 48:2 There is no peace, saith
the LORD, unto the wicked.
2. He is a loving Comforter
We
don't normally talk about the Holy Spirit's love but the Bible speaks of the
love of the Spirit.
Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus
Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive
together with me in your prayers to God for me;
Do
you know how much the Holy Spirit loves you? Can you measure the love of the
Spirit?
3. He is a faithful Comforter
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16: And I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the
world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18: I will not
leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
He
is faithful: trust Him; He will never deceive you; trust Him; He will never
leave you.
"The
Comforter, as a faithful guide, in places of difficulty takes the traveller by the hand, and in addition to words of counsel,
restrains him when he would step into danger, and kindly compels him to proceed
when through fear or thoughtlessness he hesitates and may be overtaken by storm
or darkness." Newman Hall
4. He is a wise Comforter
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him. 10: But God hath revealed them unto us by
his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea,
the deep things of God. 11: For what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12: Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Sometimes,
when we visit hurting people we don't know exactly what they need, we want to
comfort them but we don't know how.
But
oh! How wise the Holy Spirit is! He comes and He knows exactly what the person
needs. He knows how and when to comfort.
5. He is an active Comforter
He
does not comfort by words, but by deeds. Some comfort by "Be ye warmed and be ye filled, giving nothing." But the Holy Ghost gives, He intercedes; He gives us
promises, He gives us grace, and so He comforts us.
6. He is a powerful Comforter
He
never attempts what He cannot accomplish.
By
revealing Jesus to the soul the Holy Spirit produces that love which is the
strongest motive to holiness, and which is the fulfilling of the law. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." And "the love of Christ constraineth us to live not to ourselves, but to Him who
died for us and rose again."
7. He is an ever-present Comforter
He
is always near you, and specially when you need
comfort in your distress and discouragement.
"The Holy
Ghost is in you; He goes where you go; He dwells with you; He makes your bodies
temples of the Holy Ghost; He makes your souls wells of living water; He is the
glory in the midst, in the heart, of each of you." John Milne
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble.
Closing Thoughts
Brothers
and sisters in Christ, you and I are not alone. Our Lord has not
left us orphans. He has sent us another Comforter whose ministry is, among
others, to teach, to guide and comfort. This is the wonderful gift that the
Father, because of His love, gave to those who believe in His Son and His
resurrection from the dead. Jesus is not somewhere far away from you. He is
very close to you. Jesus, through the Comforter, is in you!
Colossians 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27: To whom God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
If
you are a child of God, Christ is in you. The Comforter is in you! What a
wonderful gift and reality!
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
May
we abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. All joy and peace and
hope can only be experience through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. It's
not by might or power of man, but by that same divine power which first began
the good work in us.
AMEN!