Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. (John 14:23-31 NIV)
Today is Emily and my anniversary. Here’s one little story from our wedding day: The service was about to start, and the groomsmen and I were in the pastor’s room at the front of the church. Suddenly, my phone rang. These were back in the dark ages when cell phones were a new thing. There were no smart phones or texting, just pay-per-minute plans. Some of you remember way back then. So my phone usually never, ever rang. It really startled me. I looked at it, and do you know what it was? A reminder for my wedding. The service was in 10 minutes. Whew! Just in case I got distracted with other things that day, there was a reminder: Wedding in 10 minutes!
We have so many reminders now days, don’t we? You put all your events in your phone, and it reminds you all the time. You probably still have a calendar on the wall. There are old-fashioned note pads to write notes on. When you drive, a voice even tells you exactly where to go. It makes you wonder how people ever survived way back in the 1900s. All those reminders point to one reality: We are really bad at remembering things! We need reminders in every area of life.
So do you think we need reminders for our souls? Of course. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Today on Pentecost, we focus on the work of God the Holy Spirit. In our lesson, Jesus promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Jesus used a unique name for the Holy Spirit: The Paraclete. Our Bible translates it as “Advocate.” That word means someone who is “called to your side.” It’s also translated “Comforter” or “Helper” or “Counselor.” This is who the Holy Spirit is: He is God himself who has been called to our side. He helps us. He advocates for us.
According to Jesus, here’s exactly what the Holy Spirit would do: “He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” These are really important words when it comes to the Bible. Who wrote the New Testament of the Bible? Jesus’ disciples. How do we know they got it right? A lot of people say they didn’t. They say the Bible is just a bunch of made-up stories. How did Jesus’ disciples know what to write? The Holy Spirit taught them all things. That was Jesus’ promise. I hope you believe that. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
He didn’t just teach them new things. He “will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The Spirit would remind the disciples of Jesus’ words. Can you understand how important that is? I hope you’re paying attention right now, but even if you are, when you go home after church, could you write down this sermon word-for-word? No way. Maybe you could write the gist of the message. I hope you remember something. But how would Jesus’ disciples remember his exact words from the Sermon on the Mount or from any of the times he preached? The Holy Spirit would remind them. This is why we trust in the Bible. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our Reminderer. For some reason, when I type the word “Reminderer” into my computer, it has a red line under it. But what does my computer know anyway? When you think of the Holy Spirit, this is what you can think of: The Holy Spirit is our Reminderer.
Of what? What does the Holy Spirit remind us of? Well, let’s start with Jesus’ first words in our lesson: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” Here is one of the things we most often forget: If we love Jesus, what will we want to do? Keep his commands. Obey his teaching. We need that reminder over and over again. Today we’re told that love means doing whatever you want. Don’t worry about sin anymore, because love means accepting what everybody else does. But our Reminderer—the Holy Spirit—says, “If you love Jesus, you will obey his teaching.”
Jesus adds even more: “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” If we don’t keep Jesus’ commands, what does that mean? We don’t love him. As I hear those words—as you hear those words—the Holy Spirit is working on our hearts. He’s convicting us. You can be here in church. You can call yourself a Christian. But you can still not have Jesus. To a world that loves to live how it wants to, to our sinful natures that think we can have it our way, the Holy Spirit reminds us of Jesus’ words: “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”
If I struggle with anger, my sinful nature has all sorts of excuses. “They deserve it! Everybody gets angry.” But the Holy Spirit reminds me of Jesus’ words, “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:22). Oh. If you’re tempted with sexual sin, your sinful nature has all sorts of excuses. “It feels good. Everybody is doing it.” But the Holy Spirit reminds you of Jesus’ words, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). If we’re tempted to love money, our sinful nature has all sorts of excuses. “Come on, enjoy life!” But the Holy Spirit reminds us of Jesus’ words, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Do you see what the Holy Spirit does? He’s our Reminderer. He convicts us of our sins. He calls us to repent. He reminds us of God’s judgment!
But then our Reminderer reminds us of something else: Jesus’ promises. Do you know Jesus’ promises? I’ve been trying to remember them. In this Gospel of John, Jesus says seven beautiful “I Am” statements. You can remember seven things, can’t you? Let me remind you: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). What a promise! “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). What a promise!
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9). “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). What promises Jesus has given us! To sinners who deserve God’s punishment, Jesus instead tells us that he is the Bread of life and the Light of the world and the Gate and the Good Shepherd and the Resurrection and the Life and the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the Vine.
Isn’t that easy to forget? Isn’t it easy to live life all beaten down and discouraged? Isn’t it easy to think that we’re all alone or that life has no purpose or that there is no hope for us? We need a Reminderer! We need the Holy Spirit to remind us: You are not an accident. You are God’s creation. You’re not here by chance. Your life has purpose and meaning. You are not forgotten. You are loved more than you can ever know. You are not dirty and guilty. You are forgiven through the blood of Christ. You are not hopeless. You have the certain hope of eternal life through faith in Jesus. You are not alone. God is with you wherever you go.
I needed a reminder of that last one. The Holy Spirit gave me one as I was studying for this sermon. Jesus says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” That word “home” caught my attention. Do you know the only other place that word is used in the Bible? Earlier in this chapter, Jesus said, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2). The word “home” is the same word as the word “room.” Think of this: Jesus is preparing a room for us in heaven. That’s great, right? But Jesus also has a room prepared for him. Where is it? In you. That’s what he says: “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” God’s home is in you!
There was a Christian man who understood that. His name was Ignatius. Ignatius was a Christian pastor who lived around the year 105 A.D. At that time, the Roman emperor Trajan commanded that Christians sacrifice to idols or face execution. Ignatius said, “No!” So the Emperor called him an “evil demon” for not sacrificing to idols. Ignatius replied, “No one ought to call Theophorus evil.” The Emperor was confused. “Who is Theophorus?” Ignatius said, “He who has Christ in his chest.” That’s what Theophorus means: “God-bearer” or “God-carrier.”
Do you see what Ignatius understood? Because he believed in Jesus, where did God live? Inside him! So no matter where he went, who went with him? God did! No matter what he faced, who faced it with him? God did! Ignatius was dragged off to Rome where he was executed, but on every stop of the way, he wrote a letter to encourage his fellow Christians, and he signed each letter not with “Ignatius” but with “Theophorus”—“God-bearer.” That became his identity.
That comfort is also there for you in God’s Word. The Holy Spirit isn’t just floating around from here to there. When you were baptized, he came to live in your heart. God has made you into his permanent home. As much as you look forward to your room in heaven, God rejoices to have his room in you. This is what the Holy Spirit constantly uses God’s Word to remind us of. He convicts us of our sins. He leads us to repentance. He fills us with Jesus’ forgiveness. He leads us to trust in God’s grace. He empowers us to show our love for Jesus by obeying his teaching.
Do you know what this leads to? Peace. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The next day—Good Friday—Jesus would die on the cross for the sins of the world. On the night before his death, it was like he was reading his last will and testament. He was reading off what he wanted to bequeath to his children. What was it? Peace. Peace knowing that your sins are forgiven. Peace knowing that you are going to heaven through faith in Jesus. Peace knowing that the Holy Spirit is with you every step of the way. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Do you need reminders of that? I do. I heard of a husband who puts a daily reminder in his phone to think of something to do for his wife each day. I did that once—on my wedding day! Do you think you could use a daily reminder of Jesus’ grace and promises? Absolutely. Whenever your heart is troubled, whenever your heart is anxious, whenever your heart is afraid, you’re forgetting. This is why Jesus blessed us with our Reminderer. Every day, may he remind you of what Jesus has said to you. So that every day you have peace, the peace that only Jesus gives.
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
Upside-Down Savior 