In our world people turn to various guides to find their way through life. Some try materialism: more money, more power, more pleasure. They end up feeling abandoned, empty, afraid and lost. You have probably seen those feelings firsthand. Anyone who has dropped their child off for the first time at Day Care, Summer Camp, the first day of School or even a Sunday School class have seen that fear in the eyes of their child. “Have I been abandoned?” the little one thinks as he or she tries to run after mom or dad.

And these feelings are not limited to children. They are felt just as strongly by those who see their marriages fall apart. People who have lived 50 years in one house suddenly find themselves in a nursing home. A person who has never been seriously ill learns he is dying of cancer. The loss of a spouse can be devastating. People feel abandoned, empty, afraid and lost. To whom do they turn for a counselor?

This past Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, when Jesus sent us the counselor we need.

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-11 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.  … I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

This comes from the last discourse Jesus gave to His disciples on Maundy Thursday. This Counselor Jesus promises does not try to glorify material success. Nor does He offer counsel that simply tells you what you want to hear. Instead, this Counselor, the Holy Spirit, comes with a special mission. That mission is to convict or rebuke the world in three areas: sin, righteousness and judgment. You may not feel like you need to be rebuked if you already feel abandoned, empty, lost and afraid. But that is exactly what you do need as sinful, fallen creatures. The Holy Spirit is sent to help you see your sins. He shows you that any righteousness that comes from you is not enough. He lets you see the judgment that is coming because of your sin. He wants you to see that the mindset of this world is in reality the mindset of deadly sin.

The reason the Spirit rebukes you is to lead you, to guide you to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. His guidance tells you that Jesus took care of your deserved penalty by His death. His guidance reminds you that Jesus conquered death through His Resurrection.

Perhaps the best thing about the Counselor Jesus sends is that He is your Guidance Counselor for life. He doesn’t just take you so far and then leave you on our own. He came to guide you through your entire life. He has promised to work through the Word, Baptism and Holy Communion. And you probably know that this Counselor also comes to you through friends, neighbors, pastors, but most of all, through the Word.

On Pentecost, we celebrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send this Guidance Counselor. When He came to those first disciples, they could not stop sharing their faith in Jesus. He gives a mindset that is not of this world, a message that this world desperately needs to hear. God has not abandoned you. You have an Advocate. You have a Counselor. You have a Comforter. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you need not fear. You are now right with the Lord. Through faith in Jesus, you are His forgiven, redeemed and restored children. And He will always be with you.