1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,866 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior 2 00:00:04,866 --> 00:00:13,100 Jesus Christ. Amen. Twenty men sit in a room and they're realizing the weight of 3 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:19,233 the moment upon them. The reality is beginning to set in. Soon, very soon, they 4 00:00:19,233 --> 00:00:23,566 are going to walk through that locker room door and take the ice in front of 5 00:00:23,566 --> 00:00:29,766 the whole world. Their opponent couldn't be any more terrifying. These 20 men are 6 00:00:29,766 --> 00:00:34,333 about to take on the greatest hockey players in the world, the Soviet hockey 7 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:41,033 team. These 20 men, they're closer to boys. They're all very young. They don't 8 00:00:41,033 --> 00:00:46,333 have nearly the same kind of experience as their opponent. So these young men 9 00:00:46,333 --> 00:00:50,933 with the United States of America written across their chests, they sit in 10 00:00:50,933 --> 00:00:56,933 their locker room waiting to hear what their coach has to say. The coach walks 11 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:05,433 over to them, paces for a moment, and he says to them, great moments are born 12 00:01:05,433 --> 00:01:10,533 from great opportunity. And that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what 13 00:01:10,533 --> 00:01:16,033 you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played against him 10 times, they 14 00:01:16,033 --> 00:01:22,800 might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we are the greatest 15 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:30,866 hockey team in the world. This is your time. Now go out there and take it. And 16 00:01:30,866 --> 00:01:35,600 with their hearts on fire, this young, nervous, scared hockey team goes out and 17 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,333 they take the ice. Tonight, they do believe that they are the greatest 18 00:01:39,333 --> 00:01:52,766 hockey team in the world. Tonight, they can take on the world. 11 men sit in a 19 00:01:52,766 --> 00:01:58,133 weight of the moment in front of them. The reality is beginning to set in. Soon, 20 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,966 very soon, they are going to walk to a garden. And their opponent couldn't be 21 00:02:03,966 --> 00:02:10,333 any more terrifying. These 11 men are about to watch as the greatest military 22 00:02:10,333 --> 00:02:16,100 threat in the world arrests, tries in a monkey court, and crucifies their rabbi. 23 00:02:17,466 --> 00:02:21,866 These 11 men, they aren't professional preachers. They're from all sorts of 24 00:02:21,866 --> 00:02:26,000 professions. They don't have nearly the same kind of experience as their 25 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:32,466 opponents. And so these disciples, with the promise of Jesus spoken over them, 26 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:39,933 listen to what Jesus has to say. Jesus says these words that we just heard from 27 00:02:39,933 --> 00:02:45,866 our reading. Jesus has the disciples in this locker room, this upper room, and 28 00:02:45,866 --> 00:02:51,133 they're hanging on to every word that he has to say. They're terrified of what is 29 00:02:51,133 --> 00:02:57,033 happening next. There's sorrow in their hearts. No one dares ask Jesus where he's 30 00:02:57,033 --> 00:03:03,100 about to go because the reality is setting in. Peter and Thomas, at times 31 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:08,500 past, they've been bold enough to ask where Jesus might be going, but not today. 32 00:03:09,533 --> 00:03:14,400 Not tonight. No one dares ask Jesus where he's going because they all know. 33 00:03:15,633 --> 00:03:22,566 Jesus is going to be a dead man. He's about to die. And dead men historically 34 00:03:22,566 --> 00:03:29,666 have a strong track record of staying dead. Jesus is going to leave. All of this 35 00:03:29,666 --> 00:03:34,500 teaching, all of these miracles, what does it mean for the disciples now? What are 36 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:40,800 they supposed to do next? Jesus is giving this locker room speech, and he's playing 37 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,566 with bigger stakes than the Soviet hockey team. He's playing with bigger 38 00:03:44,566 --> 00:03:50,433 stakes than the greatest military threat of Rome. Jesus is playing with the 39 00:03:50,433 --> 00:03:57,366 biggest stakes, Satan, death, and hell. The salvation of the whole world is on the 40 00:03:57,366 --> 00:04:02,066 line. The moment is here. The judgment of the world is now, and the hour has come. 41 00:04:02,833 --> 00:04:08,833 These disciples are going to have to carry on their witness. They've seen and heard it all. 42 00:04:09,533 --> 00:04:13,366 They are going to have to testify to the truth that they have seen. 43 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:22,366 Jesus has chosen them to be his witnesses, and now it's game time. But the disciples have sorrow 44 00:04:22,366 --> 00:04:30,433 in their heart, and it's no wonder Jesus is leaving. What are the disciples supposed to do 45 00:04:30,433 --> 00:04:34,633 when Jesus leaves? How are they supposed to continue this work? 46 00:04:36,333 --> 00:04:42,866 Jesus reminds the disciples it's not on them. Yes, they are his witnesses, but they do not speak alone. 47 00:04:43,333 --> 00:04:49,366 Jesus promises to send them the Holy Spirit, and it will be this same Holy Spirit living within 48 00:04:49,366 --> 00:04:57,366 them that makes them bold to speak the witness of Jesus. The Spirit is the comforter. The Spirit 49 00:04:57,366 --> 00:05:05,066 brings ne'chum. Ne'chum means comfort, and these words for the disciples are comfort. 50 00:05:06,133 --> 00:05:13,566 But the Holy Spirit is also the convictor, and these words are conviction for the world. 51 00:05:15,033 --> 00:05:21,166 One of our symbols for the Holy Spirit is fire, and you can see it helpfully shown below the 52 00:05:21,166 --> 00:05:26,866 pulpit right here. Fire is a very useful symbol because a fire can be comfort. 53 00:05:28,066 --> 00:05:34,966 How many times have we gathered as a seminary community around a fire? How many times have those 54 00:05:34,966 --> 00:05:39,800 of us who've lived in ISO gathered in front of the fire pit out there and shared conversation 55 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:45,366 with one another? How many times have those of us in married housing gathered around a bonfire pit, 56 00:05:46,300 --> 00:05:48,000 gathered around its gentle light? 57 00:05:49,666 --> 00:05:58,433 The campfire brings warmth on a cold night. It brings comfort. But a fire can also ravage and 58 00:05:58,433 --> 00:06:05,033 desolate a forest. It can bring destruction and ruin on a city. God uses fire to convict the 59 00:06:05,033 --> 00:06:12,133 wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, and fire brings darkness into light. It illuminates the darkness. 60 00:06:12,133 --> 00:06:19,666 Nothing can hide in the light of a fire. All these are true of the Holy Spirit. These are all things 61 00:06:19,666 --> 00:06:27,033 the Holy Spirit does. He is the fire that will convict or expose or illuminate the world's 62 00:06:27,033 --> 00:06:33,766 darkness. Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world concerning sin because they do 63 00:06:33,766 --> 00:06:41,166 not believe in me. This is the world's problem. Unbelief. Jesus, the light of the world, comes 64 00:06:41,166 --> 00:06:47,566 into the darkness of the world, and the world has rejected his light. Early in his ministry, 65 00:06:47,566 --> 00:06:53,633 Jesus tells Nicodemus, this is the judgment. The light has come into the world, and the people love 66 00:06:53,633 --> 00:06:59,100 the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked 67 00:06:59,100 --> 00:07:06,600 things hates the light. It does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed, lest his works be 68 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:16,333 convicted, illumined. The Holy Spirit continues this work of Jesus. He exposes the darkness. He 69 00:07:16,333 --> 00:07:21,766 convicts the world's unbelief. He calls a thing what it is, and he empowers the disciples to speak 70 00:07:21,766 --> 00:07:27,966 these words of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the fire that convicts the world concerning righteousness 71 00:07:27,966 --> 00:07:32,266 because Jesus goes to the Father, and the disciples will see Him no longer. 72 00:07:33,733 --> 00:07:42,533 Jesus is about to prove every word spoken about him to be true. Yes, Jesus is going to die. 73 00:07:43,433 --> 00:07:49,166 The reality of the situation sits in. He will die just as he has said from the beginning. 74 00:07:50,066 --> 00:07:56,466 Yes, Jesus is God just as he has said, just as the scriptures have said from the beginning. 75 00:07:57,333 --> 00:08:03,133 Yes, Jesus will bear the sins of the world and will pay the debt that man could never fill, 76 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:11,066 just as he has said. Yes, Jesus will rise from the dead, and he will prove every word spoken 77 00:08:11,066 --> 00:08:18,366 about him to be true. Yes, Jesus will return to the Father, and he will sit at his right hand in glory, 78 00:08:18,366 --> 00:08:25,866 and the disciples will see all of these words about Jesus to be true. This is the righteousness 79 00:08:25,866 --> 00:08:32,500 of Jesus, that he proves every scripture spoken about him to be true. This is the witness that 80 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:40,400 the disciples will bear, and the Holy Spirit will empower them to proclaim this. The Holy Spirit 81 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:47,466 is the fire who will judge the world because the ruler of this world is judged. In the arrest, 82 00:08:47,933 --> 00:08:54,866 trial, and death of Jesus, it is not Jesus who is defeated, but Satan. Jesus takes the eternal 83 00:08:54,866 --> 00:09:02,533 victory. Jesus wins the salvation of the world. Jesus wins on the cross, and Jesus wins when he 84 00:09:02,533 --> 00:09:09,266 rises from the dead. Jesus wins today. I like to say Jesus takes dubs. 85 00:09:11,433 --> 00:09:19,633 Jesus takes dubs every single day. Jesus continues to take dubs day by day as the Holy Spirit works 86 00:09:19,633 --> 00:09:26,533 through his people. Jesus wins. Jesus takes dubs as his word is proclaimed. Jesus wins. 87 00:09:26,766 --> 00:09:32,266 Jesus takes dubs when hearts are changed from unbelief to hearts that believe. 88 00:09:34,833 --> 00:09:41,233 This word of Jesus, this locker room speech, is for all of us gathered here today, too. 89 00:09:42,466 --> 00:09:48,233 We come to the end of this semester, and many of us are going from this place on 90 00:09:48,233 --> 00:09:54,833 to the Vicarage Assignments and Deaconess Internships. We're going on calls and assignments and placements. 91 00:09:55,766 --> 00:10:02,066 And looking at the world, there's darkness out there, just as Jesus has said. 92 00:10:03,033 --> 00:10:11,033 And there's sorrow in our hearts. What might the world think of us? Now, Jesus has proclaimed us to 93 00:10:11,033 --> 00:10:18,866 be his witnesses, too. The unbelief of the world is great. It feels all alone out there. 94 00:10:19,866 --> 00:10:28,066 Where is Jesus on this side of the Ascension? Jesus is in you. As we might say in the South, 95 00:10:28,333 --> 00:10:41,000 Jesus is in all y'all. Jesus is in all y'all through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the 96 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:46,033 Lord. All y'all are in Christ. All y'all have been called by Christ to share this message for you. 97 00:10:46,433 --> 00:10:50,933 This is a message of nehum. This is a message of comfort. 98 00:10:54,433 --> 00:11:01,533 All y'all have been called to share this message, and this message is a fire. It is this fire that 99 00:11:01,533 --> 00:11:06,933 fills Peter on Pentecost to stand in front of the crowds and proclaim the righteousness of Jesus. 100 00:11:06,933 --> 00:11:13,033 It is this fire that fills James and John and all the apostles as they leave the early church. 101 00:11:13,133 --> 00:11:21,166 It is this fire that erupts over the whole world, leading to us here today. It is this same fire 102 00:11:21,166 --> 00:11:30,166 that has been given to you. Do not have sorrow in your hearts. The Holy Spirit is within you. 103 00:11:30,166 --> 00:11:32,066 He is the fire within you. 104 00:11:34,300 --> 00:11:40,233 Because great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what we have here today, 105 00:11:40,366 --> 00:11:47,966 boys. That's what Jesus has won for us here today. One day, if you preach to them 10 times, 106 00:11:47,966 --> 00:11:56,133 they might not listen nine. But not this day, not today. Today, you preach to them. Today, 107 00:11:56,133 --> 00:12:02,066 you proclaim to them, and you declare the whole word of God because the Holy Spirit is in you. 108 00:12:02,933 --> 00:12:09,666 Today, you are witnesses of these things. You were chosen to be preachers and teachers, 109 00:12:10,066 --> 00:12:16,933 every one of you, and you were called to be here today. This is your time. This world's prince, 110 00:12:17,866 --> 00:12:23,566 his time is over. It's done. I'm sick and tired about hearing about what great truth the world 111 00:12:23,566 --> 00:12:32,300 has. Preach to them. This is your time. Now go out there and take it. Amen.