You Have an Advocate

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14

Have you ever felt isolated and alone? Stupid question, right? Each of us could easily provide examples of times when we have felt all by ourselves. Those who serve in our nation's armed forces, along with their families, are often well acquainted with the pain of separation and all the uncertainties that come with it.

In 1999, Air Force Brigadier General Mark Welsh shared his combat experiences from "Desert Storm" in an address to Air Force Academy Cadets. On the night before they flew their first mission, he said, each member of the wing was asked to write a letter to his loved ones—a letter that could be mailed in case they did not return. He reflected on that time in his life with these words:

Now, if you haven't had the pleasure of sitting down and thinking about your family the night before you think you might die; if you haven't tried to tell your children that you're sorry you won't be there to see their next ballet recital or watch them play baseball; or high school football; or graduate from college; or meet their spouse; or get to know your grandkids; or if you haven't had the pleasure of telling your parents and brothers and sisters what they mean to you; or tried to tell your wife how the sun rises and sets in her eyes; and tried to do it all on a piece of paper, at midnight, 9,000 miles away from home, then you haven't lived.

Being separated from your loved ones in this or any other way makes how much they mean to us painfully obvious. It is just this type of difficult realization that Jesus is talking about when he says, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

Jesus said these words to a group of people who had come to depend on him. They learned so much form his teaching and his parables. They felt secure and confident when Jesus was around, because time and again he proved to be bigger than their problems. When demons were encountered, he cast them out; when hunger was experienced, he multiplied loaves; when sickness threatened, he healed; when death overwhelmed, he gave life; when self-centered leaders tried to deceive, he brought the truth. Living with Jesus was amazing.

But now, Jesus was talking about leaving, and the disciples felt their hearts sink. It couldn't be! Is he leaving for good? What are we going to do?

Jesus knew the impact his leaving would have on his followers, and so he made them a promise: "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth." Jesus promises to send them a counselor. When we think of a counselor, we usually think of someone who sits and listens to you and provides a word of advice now and then. But Jesus is talking about a counselor in the sense of legal counsel. The Spirit of truth is described as an advocate, who takes your side and represents you and looks out for your well-being. That's who you want on your side. That's who Jesus said He would send when the time came for Him to go. That's who Jesus sent to the disciples at Pentecost, making good on his promise. Now listen to this. That's who Jesus sent to you when you were baptized. That's who was sent to you when you first believed the good news of a God who sent his Son to die so that he could be your Father. Same Spirit. Same Counselor. Same Advocate. Do you see? You are never alone in your faith! The Spirit of truth is always working behind the scenes to sharpen your focus on Jesus. In a paradox that only faith can grasp, Jesus had to leave in order to get closer to His loved ones.

Here's what I mean: Jesus said, "When I leave, I will send you a counselor, the Spirit of truth, who will stay with you forever." And then he adds, and do not miss this, because this is the whole thing, "When that day comes, you will know that I am in my Father, and that you are in me, just as I am in you."

Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, who will bring Him into the closest possible relationship with His followers. Just as Jesus is in the Father; he draws his life and identity from the Father; there is no Jesus without the Father(!); just as that relationship flows, so Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus. We draw our life and identity from Jesus. We're nothing without Him! Jesus is in you thanks to the Holy Spirit.

I'm not just talking about imitating Jesus here. This is far deeper, far closer, far more mysterious than that. I'm talking about Jesus coming so close to you that he gets into your heart. And He gets into your heart so much that you begin to think and love and live like Him.

You can see the power of this union in the experience a missionary had while traveling through China some years ago. During one of his stops, the members of a nearby village gathered around him, and he began to tell them the story of Jesus for the first time. When he was done, one of the villagers said, "Oh yes, we know that man. He used to live here." The missionary was puzzled. "No—I'm talking about someone who lived many centuries ago." "But we did know him," the villagers insisted. "He lived in this village." Finally they took the missionary to the local cemetery, and pointed him to the grave of a medical missionary who had lived and worked and died among the people of that tiny town. You see, those people hadn't just been told about Jesus. They felt that they knew Him, because a Christian had carried Christ in Himself and carried Christ to them.

Now please don't hear that story and say, "Oh my goodness—how inspiring—I'm sure glad there are people like that out there, because I could never be one." Please don't say that. If you believe in Jesus, then the Spirit of truth has worked in you, and Jesus is in you. That's just the way it is, by Jesus' own reckoning. You can be that missionary. People can know that Jesus is real because you walked among them. Why? Because the same Christ that missionary carried in him is the same Christ you carry in you. Just let Him out once in a while. Preach a sermon every day—if necessary, use words. Do you understand what I'm saying? You are not alone in this. The Holy Spirit has gifted you with reliance on Jesus, and if you rely on Jesus, then He comes to live in you. He is making a home in your heart and mind. You really can think and love and live like Him. He's there. He's in you. Let Him out. Amen.