Pastor Steve Bauer

This is the sermon for The Coming of the Holy Spirit–The Day of Pentecost. The sermon text is: John 14:25-27. The sermon theme is: The Holy Spirit Destroys Doubt. Here is the Written Sermon.

The Holy Spirit Destroys Doubt

A couple of months ago, a reporter published a book. His name was William Lobdell. Now, the fact that a reporter published a book isn’t that worthy of note. But the content of his book was. William Lobdell spent much of his life as and atheist. Then, he went away for a weekend on a retreat with friend. And, by the end of the weekend, to use his words, he had “given in”. He made his decision for Christ. And for a number of years after that he was a Christian. But, after eight years of following Jesus, he found that he had lost that faith. He didn’t feel Jesus inside of him anymore. And he couldn’t find any proof of Jesus out there in the world. In the end, doubt is what destroyed his faith. Today, he wonders if there is a god. And he wonders if he ever had faith to begin with.

It is important for us to speak about this man. Because in our lives we go through the same things he has gone through. There are time when we ask: “Is there really a God? Do I really have faith?”. We are creatures with two sides. We have a new, living person inside of us, who knows who Jesus is and follows him. But we also have this part of us who is always in doubt. He doubts if there is a God. He doubts that Jesus is good. And, even if he is good, he doubts that he is good to me.

It is at those times when we appreciate the Holy Spirit. It is at those times when this silent, third person of the Trinity means a great deal to us. In the words we look at this morning, we see that the Holy Spirit meant a great deal to Jesus’ disciples. Jesus told his disciples: “John 14:25    “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, 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.”

Jesus promised to send to them the Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit would destroy the doubt that afflicted them. And just how would he do that? Jesus promised that that this Spirit would teach them all things. They were filled with doubts: Where was Jesus going? Would we be alone? What would happen to us? Who is this Holy Spirit? They had so many questions and so many doubts. Like them, we too carry around with us doubts. We doubt that there is a god. Where’s the proof? You can look through all the statistics and you will never find enough proof to convince you that there is a god. You can’t find proof in the statistics. And you can’t find proof in good, solid reason. For, by whatever way you prove that there is a god, someone comes along and uses your logic against you. You can’t find proof for god in your feelings either. For, when you feel good, how do you know that that is the Holy Spirit?

We doubt that there is a god. And even when we know there is a god, our sinful natures come along and tell us that there indeed is a god. But, he’s not on our side. Our sinful natures tell us that if God truly were on our side, then we would have some proof that his kingdom was conquering out there in the world. If he were truly on our side, we would have irrefutable proof that he was on our side. If he was on our side, then we would at least feel some confirmation of that.

But, at the end of the day, we have none of that. We have no proof. We have no proof we can find out there in the world. And we have no proof we can find in ourselves. What do we have? Jesus tells us: “the Counselor, 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.”

We do not have the stats. We do not have the unbreakable logic. We do not have feelings on our side. What do we have? We have God’s word. We have the promise that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. The Spirit promises to lead you into all truth. Now, when Jesus says this, I need to clarify a conclusion we might come to. The Holy Spirit gives to us all the truth we need, not all the truth we might want. God will not tell you how he put the universe together. He will not tell you what the next powerball number is. Those are not details you need.

What do you need? You need the Holy Spirit to destroy your doubts and fears. The Holy Spirit does this through God’s word, the gospel. He gives to you the truth, not changing rules. I remember having a teacher in school, who whenever I would figure out how to get a decent grade in his class would change everything so that I had to relearn how to learn. God isn’t like that. His word is true. And he doesn’t change or contradict himself.

And even more comforting than this, the Holy Spirit gives us the truth, but he also gives us all of the truth. The Spirit does not treat us like Satan treated Eve in the garden. Do you remember what Satan said to Eve? ‘You will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ Satan spoke the truth, didn’t he? But he used it for evil. Eve wanted to know what it was like to know evil along with the good. And it destroyed her life and the lives of all after her. For we too know what it is like to know evil. We know what it is like to lie and have the shame of those lies catch up with us. We know what it is to be angry and have that anger turn us into evil people. We know that truth all too well. And that’s exactly what Satan does. He tells us the truth. But, he twists it and uses it for evil.

The Holy Spirit does just the opposite. He tells us everything we need to know. And he uses it for our good. And even more comforting than that, he reminds us of what Jesus said. Hear again verse 26: “26 But the Counselor, 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.”

How many of you have sinned. Then you have seen how evil your sins were and how much you deserved Hell instead of heaven. And, when you were on the brink of despair, you remembered God’s word. You remembered the passage where it said “1 Pet. 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” You remembered where it said: “1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” You remember where it said: “John 3:16    “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. “

The Spirit of God reminds us of all of the truth we need to hear. And so, the Holy Spirit destroys our doubt with all of God’s truth. But the Holy Spirit destroys our doubt with another powerful weapon: “27 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 Holy Spirit drives away our doubt by giving us peace. And notice what sort of peace this is. It is not the sort of peace the world has or gives. How many people were there out there who thought that they would have peace in owning their own home, only to lose it last year? How many people were there who thought they would find their peace in their pension and 401k, only to have it vanish last year? How many people were there out there who sought to find peace in the fact that, at least they still had their jobs. But, they live in fear of losing them even now? That is the sort of peace the world has and gives. It tells you that you don’t need Jesus. To feel good, there’s movies and games. To feel secure there’s money. And then, God pulls the rug out and shows you what you really have if you follow the world: nothing.

The peace the Holy Spirit gives to us is not like that. It is real, true, genuine peace. It the peace of knowing that I have forgiveness in heaven and forgiveness now. It is the peace of knowing that I have heaven when I die and even now. It is the peace of knowing that I have the full life in heaven, but even also now amid all my doubts, all my pains and all my anxiety.

That is the sort of peace we have. And that is the sort of peace the saints who have gone before us had. Do you remember the faith of the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:21-28)? She came to Jesus, begging that Jesus would drive a demon out of her daughter. And what did Jesus say in response? Nothing. She kept crying out to him. Then he told her: ““It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”” She told him: ““Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” “ Jesus answered her: ““Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” “

This woman had peace from the Holy Spirit. And she didn’t just have peace after Jesus answered her prayer. She had peace before too. She knew that Jesus was good and gracious. And she clung to the words of God even when God, himself seemed as if he hated her. That was the sort of peace she had. And that is the sort of peace the Holy Spirit gives to you.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when it seems as if God doesn’t make sense, or even worse: when it seems as God is your enemy; When it seems like all the doubts pile up in your heart like a flood rolling across Iowa, cling to God’s word. For in his word, the Holy Spirit gives to you all of God’s truth. And in his word, he gives you peace, peace this world does not know and cannot give, peace which gives you faith even amid all your doubts. Amen.

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 Pentecost 2009: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The sermon text is: Acts 7:54-60. The sermon theme is Christians, Take Your Stand. Here is the Written Sermon

Christians, Take Your Stand

One of the summers when I was at the Seminary I went from congregation to congregation preaching the one sermon I knew. It was a great experience for me to gain confidence preaching God’s word. It was also a great opportunity for me to meet many different people from different congregations. At one of those congregations, after I had finished everything for that Sunday and was getting my stuff ready to go, there was a guy who came up and introduced himself to me. He invited me out to Brunch. And, if you know me at all, it shouldn’t surprise you that I accepted his invitation. He was a very interesting man. He had fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. We talked about a number of things. And finally, I asked him what gave him the courage to stand up against the enemy, day after day. His answer surprised me. He said that he saw men who were under cover and should have been protected—and yet, they were killed. He saw other men whose whole platoon was killed, and yet, they survived. Then he said. Jesus is going to call you home when he calls you home—not one second before, not one second after.

What made that man able to take his stand against the enemy was the knowledge that whether he lived or died, he belonged to the Lord, and would be with the Lord. This morning we meet a man who had to take his stand—not against the Nazi’s or Imperial Japan. No, he had to take his stand against people who hated the truth and hated especially the truth about Jesus. In the book of Acts, Luke tells us: “Acts 7:54    When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:57    At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. “

Jesus called on Stephen to take his stand. And, I invite you to read the rest of chapter 7 in the books of Acts. Stephen preaches an amazing sermon. He walks through the history of the Hebrews. He recounts for them how the Lord was continually good to his people. And his people were continually bad to him. They refused to listen to him. They refused to listen to his prophets. They killed his prophets. And they even killed the Messiah, Jesus himself. Stephen boldly tells the Jewish officials: “Acts 7:51    “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— “.

When Stephen said these words, that was the time when they had had enough. That was the time when they gnashed their teeth at him. That was the time when their hatred for Jesus moved them to action. They threw him out of the city. And then they stoned him. Now, I have to admit, all the times I have read these words, I thought, that after there were a couple of big stones thrown at him, that Stephen died rather quickly. Not so. In the greek, it says that they kept throwing stones at him. That was how great their anger was. They continued to stone him until he was dead.

At this point we are forced to ask the question: how could he do it? How could he endure such hatred and such pain? How could he endure all of that and not give in and beg for mercy? How could he not abandon his Savior to save his life? How could he ask Jesus to forgive them, even while they were killing him? We find the answer in these words: “55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” “

Stephen endured all of that evil because he saw Jesus, standing. Elsewhere in scripture, it says it even more forcefully. Jesus isn’t just standing. He’s also sitting. In our second lesson, the writer to the Hebrews told us: “Heb. 7:26    Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. “

In our bible study in the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings we have been talking about this point in great detail. Jesus is better. Jesus is better than the Old Testament High priests. Why? He is better because he made one sacrifice. And that one sacrifice paid for all sins. As a result, Jesus could stand around. He could even sit. Because the work of paying for our sins was completed when Jesus lived and died for all of us.

That is what Stephen saw. He saw Jesus standing there, not offering any more sacrifices. That’s what gave him the courage to stand up against all the evil poured out against him. For, just like the other disciples, Stephen had abandoned Jesus. But, seeing Jesus there in heaven standing there, done with his work of saving the world from its sins, gave him strength. It gave him hope. It let him know that his sins were forgiven. It let him know that he was enduring this pain not as punishment because of his sins. No, instead, he was enduring it because the world hates the sheep just as much as it hates the Good Shepherd.

Stephen took his stand. And he was able to take his stand because he saw his Savior standing, not sacrificing or suffering anymore. He knew his sins were forgiven. But as we read these words there was another, very important reason Stephen could take his stand. Stephen cried out to the Jews around him: ” 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” “

Stephen saw Jesus standing. But where was he standing? He was standing at the right hand of God. Now, what does that phrase mean? What does it mean to be at the ‘right hand’ of someone? First of all, let me tell you what it is not. This is not a literal statement. It’s a useful figure of speech. How do we know this. Literally, it says that Jesus stands at the right hands of God. Note the plural. God is spirit. He doesn’t even have one hand, let alone two.

What then does this phrase mean? The right hand was the powerful one. That was the sword hand. That was the hand that did the lifting, the cutting, the hammering. The right hand was the hand of strength and power. In Psalm 118:16, it says: “Psa. 118:16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” “

So, when it says that Jesus is standing at his Father’s right hands, it is the Hebrew way of saying that Jesus has complete, absolute power and control. And Stephen knew that since Jesus had all the power in the universe, he would see what Stephen was going through. He would give him the courage to stand up against those gnashing teeth and hurled stones. And finally, he would use that power to usher him into heaven.

Stephen took his stand against the evil in his time. What about you? Are you ready to take your stand? For there will be a time when you will be forced to make a choice. Will you stand up for your Savior? Or will you be silent? In fact, no doubt, there have been many times in you life when Jesus called on you take your stand. And, no doubt, there have been many times when you abandoned Jesus, as did Stephen and the twelve. As we think of those times, we look through the eyes of Stephen and we see what he saw. And it gives us so much comfort and hope. We see a High Priest who is done sacrificing. The sins of the entire world are paid for. So then, my sins are paid for. Your sins are paid for—even those sins you committed when Jesus called on you to take a stand for him and you were a coward.

And, as we consider this fact, our hearts yearn as Stephen’s did to have an opportunity to speak the truth. Our hearts yearn for an opportunity to take our stand. And as you look forward to that day and time when Jesus will call on you again to stand for him, I would like you to remember two, very important truths.

In order to have strength for Jesus, you need to have strength from Jesus. How will you be able to speak the truth against the lies if you don’t exactly remember the truth like you used to? This is why I continue to invite and encourage you to come to bible study where you learn in detail what God’s word says, so that you will be able to stand with confidence against the lies in this world.

Take your stand, knowing God’s word. And, finally, take your stand knowing Jesus’ power. When you are persecuted because you follow Jesus, when you are ridiculed because you struggle to do what is right, when you will hear the lies against God’s word and zealously and jealously stand up for him, remember this: You are not alone. Just as Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Stephen, he will also send the Spirit to you.

So then, my brothers and sisters, take your stand. Take your stand, knowing that Jesus sits. And since he sits your sins are forgiven. Take your stand knowing where Jesus sits. He sits at the right hand of his Father. He uses all his power for you. Amen.

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 Easter 7: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the festival of the Ascension of Jesus. The sermon text is: Ephesians 4:7-16. The sermon theme is Jesus Is Our Gracious King. Here is the Written Sermon.

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 Ascension: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the sermon for the sixth Sunday of Easter. The sermon text is: John 15:9-17. The sermon theme is: Love Is Work. Here is the Written Sermon

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 Easter 6: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download