Your Helper

YOUR HELPER
JOHN 16:5-15

5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the 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. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he would take what is mine and declare it to you.

In the name of Jesus:
This little card provides some peace of mind to my family and me when we are traveling. This little AAA card guarantees that whenever my car is disabled, I will receive roadside assistance. If I need a tow truck, one will be made available, within certain parameters and limitations, of course, but if I need help from a tow truck, help will be on the way. If I need a jump for a car battery, or have a flat tire, this little card provides access whereby I can get the help that my family and I need when on the road. This isn’t a commercial for AAA; it is, though, one common example available to many of us that we have within our reach a helper when we need assistance.
Spiritually we are in need of God’s help. Lost and condemned because of sin, God sent help to sinners in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection salvation has been secured forever for sinners. When Jesus spoke to His disciples in the context of the lesson for today, Jesus was preparing to depart from earth to return to heaven. His mission had been accomplished. There was nothing else left for Jesus to do. So Jesus speaks to His disciples and tells them of His impending departure. Their hearts sink when they hear this news. Their beloved Savior is about to leave them, and their hearts are filled with grief. Their lives are obsessed with grief; it would be accurate to say that they were overcome with grief. The Gospel writer John tells us: “5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.”
How is it to the disciples and our advantage that Jesus departs and goes to heaven? Jesus answers that question by telling us that if He does not go away to the Father, the Helper, the Holy Spirit will not come to help us. Why does Jesus need to go away? Because His mission is complete, He returns from whence He came. Much like a solider who in victory returns home to a hero’s welcome, so too Jesus ascends to heaven, to receive heaven’s accolades on His victory over sin, Satan, and death for sinners. But Jesus, in love for sinners, promises to send help in the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, who is called the Comforter or the Helper. Jesus says that it is to our advantage, to the sinner’s advantage, that He goes to heaven so that He will send the Holy Spirit.
What an understatement by our Lord! The Holy Spirit will come to help us in our salvation. Why do we need help? Because we can’t help ourselves! We are by nature sinful; we are spiritually dead and enemies of God! We have not spark, no energy, to love for God. We are spiritually dead, lifeless before God. So the Spirit comes to give us life! He comes to give us faith! He comes to bring us Jesus in a way, which comfort and help us today.
Jesus says: “. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The Helper comes to help the sinful world AND to help those who belong to God. He has a two-fold task. The Helper comes first of all to convict the world of sinners, which include each and everyone of us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Helper convicts us of sin, because no one believes in Jesus of his or her own volition. By our very nature we reject God, His word, and the work of Jesus Christ. Each of us is by nature unbelievers. The sin of sins is unbelief, for in unbelief you reject Jesus. And so the work of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is to convict us of our sin, to show us our utter sinfulness and hopelessness in the light of God’s Law. We are hopeless without God. We truly need a Savior. The Spirit works through the Law to show us that great need.
The Spirit convicts us of righteousness. He helps us in our righteousness, in that first of all, He shows us how unrighteous we are in God’s sight. Our righteousness is like filthy garments; hence the Spirit helps us by showing us and revealing to us another righteousness outside of ourselves, the righteousness of Christ, which we all need. God made sinners right with Him on account of Jesus. Even as all have sinned, all also have been made right with God on account of Jesus! The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin and by faith Jesus becomes our Righteousness. God exchanges your sinfulness and gives you Jesus’ right standing before the Father. The Spirit not only shows you this, but also actually GIVES you this. This is why He is our Helper.
The Spirit finally convicts us of judgment, by revealing that the ruler of this world, Christ has judged Satan. Even though the world lies in the tight clutches of Satan, Christ has crushed Satan’s head, and this judgment is for now and forever. It has happened and it has lasting results. The work of the Spirit bears witness to what Jesus has done and now shows us and now GIVES to all who believe in Jesus.
This is the absolute truth that Christ came to save sinners. The Spirit is our Helper to reveal to us our sinfulness and also to give us the faith we need to believe in Jesus, thereby making what Jesus has accomplished our very own possession. This is not a new truth. It is, though, divine truth. It is God’s truth. It is a truth that people do not want to hear. This is why Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the “Spirit of Truth” for He tells the truth about Jesus, about the world, and about Satan.
Note what the Scriptures say about Satan. He is called a liar, the father of lies, and that by his very nature no truth resides in him. And so, the Spirit, our Helper, shows Satan for what he is, and exposes his lies to us. And yet, the message of the Spirit is not to expound on the lies of Satan, but to reveal to sinners their only Hope for salvation, Jesus Christ. The Spirit’s sole message is all about Jesus. The Spirit does not point to Himself, He does not seek glory in and of Himself, and the Spirit does not speak what separately apart from the Father and the Son. No, instead the Spirit works with the Father and the Son and the Spirit point’s sinners to Jesus, who died and rose for our salvation. The Spirit only speaks what the Father and the Son tells Him to say. The Father points to His Son and says: This is my beloved Son; listen to Him, for there is salvation in no one else. The Spirit also points us to the Son and tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, and that Jesus alone is the Way, Truth, and Life, that no one can come to the Father except through faith in Jesus. The Spirit is our Guide, our Helper, leading us into the truth of Jesus as our Savior and our Lord.
But how does this happen? How does the Spirit help us in this way? He does so by giving us the very faith we need. He does so by working through definite means. He uses things in our existence whereby we may know for certain that God is at work to give us His gifts.
God’s good and gracious Gifts are given to us in His Holy Word and Sacraments. Here we know and receive God’s truth, and THIS TRUTH AND THESE GIFTS ARE NOT TO BE DESPISED!!! We despise these gifts when we take them for granted, when we deem not going to church as important, when we minimize and trivialize God’s gifts to us. Here we need to hear once again God’s command: Remember the Sabbath Day! Luther explains that this means that we should fear and love God that we do NOT despise preaching and His Word, but rather we are called to GLADLY HEAR AND LEARN IT.
God desires that we gladly receive His gifts and gladly hear and learn His truth, the Word of God. God tells us all we need to know and we have all that we need from God in the Bible. God hides nothing from us regarding our eternal salvation, it is all revealed in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation for the Spirit speaks to us in and through the Word to tell us God’s truth concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us in the Scriptures what we need to know concerning the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God so that we might be forewarned and forearmed in our daily battles with the Devil.
So how can we be armed for this battle with Satan? All we need is Jesus. Jesus has defeated Satan for you and all who believe. In Baptism, God places you in Christ for the Bible says that if anyone is baptized in Christ he or she becomes a new creation, the old things have passed away and all things have now become new. Christ’s victory becomes your victory for He gives you that victory in Baptism.
Christ also speaks to you in His Word, to not only announce to you the forgiveness of your sins but also to GIVE to you that forgiveness that you need. The Spirit speaks in His Word, so we can say that Christ speaks because the Spirit speaks only words, which have been given to Him to speak through the Father and the Son, and these words give Jesus to us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper because He receives from Jesus so that He can lead us to the Father.
One of the great times we have as a family is remembering. Sitting around the dinner table after a meal, someone will recall a certain event in our lives that caused laughter. Soon there is much joy around the table, as one of the family will share their family recollection. And whenever we forget the details of the story, someone is there to help us remember, to fill in the blanks, not only so that the story is told correctly, but also to spread the joy. The Holy Spirit has been sent from God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, to help us remember Jesus. There are trials and difficulties in our lives, which get in the way of our remembering what Jesus has done. And so Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit, who points us to Jesus, that even in our trials we might have joy. The Spirit is Jesus’ gift to you, to point us to Jesus, who is our ever-present Help in our times of need. Amen