Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text for this blessed day is the Gospel Lesson just read, from John 14. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We rejoice to celebrate two “Confirmations” this Sunday morning. I know that everyone here wants only the best for these young Christians. And how thankful we are that God assures us that He also wants only the best for them as well. In fact, God assures us that He wants only the best for each of us!
- We learn this in our text, in the Words of Jesus spoke to His disciples, Words intended also for us! He gives us promises, assurances, and through them wisdom, peace, safety, and joy. Jesus assures us that He and the Father will send us the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all deeply concerned about our welfare, our good and our blessedness. Of this we can be sure and certain!
- There are instructions Jesus gives to us about keeping and maintaining this blessedness – so that we can orient and direct our lives to His blessings, the instructions which the Holy Spirit is constantly reiterating in the hearts and minds of God’s dear people of faith. We do well to heed them this morning, and throughout our lives in this world! And we want this for you, our dear Confirmands – and we want this for all of us!
- Jesus assures us that:
I. The Holy Spirit Is Our Comforter And Helper – For All Those Who Love Jesus And Keep His Word
Text: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. . . . But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things.”
Statement: This great promise is not made to every human being, but to those whom the Holy Spirit has brought to faith in Jesus Christ – through baptism and through the Word of God. Those who know and believe the love that God has for us also love God and the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. How could it be otherwise, considering how great this love of God is, how Jesus laid down His life for our sin and guilt, to save us? And the first and foremost way that we demonstrate our love for Jesus is by “keeping” His Word – holding His Word to be precious, holy, our primary source of faith, wisdom, instruction, and safety, and the ultimate authority for our faith and life.
Application: There are those who do not love Jesus. Jesus acknowledges this. And He indicates the key to identifying them – they do not keep His Words. There are many like this in the world today – and some even within the “visible church,” the Christian institutions. They do not keep Jesus’ Word, therefore they show that they do not love Him, and hence do not have His Holy Spirit. They are miserable, having no godly peace, no wisdom, and no love. We pray that this never be the case in your life, dear Confirmands! And we pray the same for everyone here present!
Transition: And I want you to remember, dear Confirmands that:
II. The Helper, The Holy Spirit, Is Given To Us By The Father And The Son
Text: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name.”
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.”
Statement: So the Father and the Son both want us to have the Holy Spirit, the Divine Helper, and we can be sure that the Holy Spirit is also eager to do this, for He is One with the Father and the Son. So we have assurance that God wills only the best for us, and that we will be instructed inwardly by the Holy Spirit, so that we grasp God’s great love for us, that we be growing in our love for God, and that we grow in eagerness to “keep” Jesus’ Word, the Holy Scripture.
Application: Often, as we go through difficult times and bitter experiences, we wonder about the love of God, whether or not He really is on our side and “for” us. If we keep Jesus’ Word we will remember His perfect love for us, how He laid down His life for us, that we might have forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. And so we will not judge Him by what we are currently experiencing, but rather by what He has promised to us, what is sure to come to us! The Holy Spirit will instruct us in this way, for:
III. The Holy Spirit Is Given To Us To Teach Us All Things – By Means Of Christ’s Word, Holy Scripture
Text: “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
2 Tim. 3:14-17 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Statement: It has been the Holy Spirit all along Who has been teaching you in Confirmation – on the basis of Jesus’ Word, the Bible. Just as it was the Holy Spirit Who gave you new birth in the water of Holy Baptism, and has been nurturing you in faith all these years. And He will continue to do so, so that you grow in the knowledge of God’s great love for you!
Application: But remember, His principle tool and instrument by which He blesses us is God’s Word, the Word of Jesus, the Holy Scripture. So you, and all of us, need to continue hearing, reading, and studying God’s Word, the Bible! It is the greatest waste in life, that even when God’s Word is being preached and taught there are people who choose not to attend, or not to learn. Yet it is through the Word, and by the Word alone, that we are kept and strengthened in our faith and knowledge of God’s great love for us! In your Confirmation this morning you are committing yourselves to “keep” Jesus’ Word, to continue in your study and learning of God’s Word! May God Himself grant you integrity in this – and greater integrity to all of us in keeping our own Confirmation vows!
Transition: In this you will be richly blessed, for Jesus promises us that:
IV. In So Blessing Us With The Gift Of His Holy Spirit, He Will Grant Us His Peace
Text: “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid!”
John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Statement: Those of us who are older have a better idea of the tribulation you also will have “in the world.” Hopefully, we also have a much greater understanding and experience of the peace that Jesus gives to us in Himself. All of this peace that “overcomes” the trials, troubles, and tribulations of life in this sorrowful world of sin is given to us by the Holy Spirit of God through the Words of Jesus, what He has said to us! We want this peace for you as well, dear friends in Christ Jesus. And it comes to us only by God’s Word and the power of His Spirit working within us!
Application: So your commitment which you will make soon in your Confirmation vows is a commitment to your own great blessedness, peace, and joy – and is in perfect conformity to God’s own will for you! Do not let your sinful heart – which will come up with hundreds of excuses – keep you from continuing in your hearing and your study of God’s Word! The blessedness and joy that God wills for you to have depends upon this!
Conclusion: We want the best for you, just as God wants the best for you. Let all of us remember this – how God has promised to bless us through His Word, by the power of His Holy Spirit, our Helper!
May He grant that we continue to will for ourselves the same goodness and blessedness that He wills for us! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.