|
When Jesus was about to leave the earth and go back to His father and our father, He re-assured his disciples that no matter what happened they would have all the help, comfort, encouragement and power they needed to continue in the faith and works of God. He let them know that they would have a companion just like himself who would be with them forever. We can see this in the book of John, Chapter 14, verse 16. Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. God has given us a wonderful friend and guide who is with us 24/7 and through this friend we also have 24/7 access to Father God and Jesus. As Jesus promised, another helper, counsellor, and comforter came who was the Holy Spirit. And it's interesting that this comforter who was dwelling with them would then be IN them. And as His followers in this age, this applies to us! Holy Spirit would be dwelling with us like Jesus was, and also be IN us! And that has indeed happened throughout all generations until today. Oddly enough, Jesus said that it was better for us if He should go, rather than stay on earth! We can see this in John, Chapter 16, verse 7. Joh 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. So it is actually better for us that Holy Spirit is with us and in us than if Jesus was to be here with us. That's what Jesus says. This could well be because as a flesh and blood human being Jesus could only be a friend and guide to a limited number of people but Holy Spirit can be in millions, even billions of people at the same time. Jesus also tells us that Holy Spirit will be our guide to all the things of God. He will guide us to all truth. Joh 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. What a wonderful friend, who is our study companion into the truths of God. In the above passage Jesus even tells us that besides guiding us to see existing truth, that He will let us know of things to come. So Holy Spirit will warn us of future things which would be of benefit to us in our walk with God. Not necessarily in terms of being a prophet but telling you of future events in your life that it would be to your benefit to know before-hand. And not only that, He will teach you new things also as we can see by looking back at John 14:26 where Jesus said this... John 14:26 ...and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you. Holy Spirit is also our greatest encourager since He constantly reminds us of our standing with God which enables us to live lives pleasing to Him. We can see what an encourager He is by looking at how He relates to us as mentioned by Jesus if we go back to John, Chapter 16, verses 8 - 11... John 16:8-11 ... when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. Because people could easily put their own conclusions on what Jesus said, and get the wrong idea, he explains in the passage what He meant by these statements. Notice first of all regarding sin. The Holy Spirit reproves us of the sin of 'not believing in Jesus'. He does not reprove us of sins in the plural; but only of the one sin of not putting faith in our Lord and Saviour. Some people think that the Holy Spirit is always reminding us of the individual sins that we commit, but that is what Satan does, not Holy Spirit. It's Satan who is the accuser of the brethren. Holy Spirit points us to Jesus and encourages us to put our faith in Him.
In other words He encourages us to believe in Jesus because that is the
path to a holy life, as we let Jesus live through us to will and to do
according to His good pleasure. Having accepted Jesus as our saviour we
are justified by His blood; and 'the just shall live by faith'.
Next regarding Righteousness. Notice that Holy Spirit reproves us of 'righteousness' not 'unrighteousness'. In other words He tells us that we are the 'righteousness' of Christ and so 'should' walk righteously. He reminds us that we are clothed in righteousness. He points out that we are to give up trying to produce our own righteousness and instead rest in Jesus. Our focus should be on Jesus. In any situation our mind should turn inward to Holy Spirit and ask, "What does Jesus say about this situation?" Too often we do our own thing and then ask, "What should I have done?" Jesus is our righteousness and we should let Him live His life through us. Just as Jesus when on earth only did what He saw His Father illustrate, we should only do what Holy Spirit guides us into seeing! The third thing is judgment. Jesus said Holy Spirit would remind us that it's Satan who has been judged. We are not judged, we have been saved. If we go back to John, Chapter 5 verse 24 we read this... Joh 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. So while encouraging us to see ourselves as God sees us, 'righteous and accepted in the beloved, Jesus Christ', and while guiding us to put faith in Jesus, Holy spirit teaches us to live lives pleasing to God from a position of strength; as people justified before God, not condemned. It's also interesting that Jesus said it's those who believe in him that will do the things (outreach, miracles, signs and wonders) that he did! Joh 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. So it's those who accept Holy Spirit's reproof, build faith in Jesus and remove fear, doubt and unbelief who WILL do the things that Jesus did and even greater. But while saying these things, Jesus also lets us know that in being witnesses of him we will have Holy Spirit as a friend alongside us to help us. We can see this in John 15, verses 26-27. Joh 15:26-26 "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. Now this is being said to believers. Believers don't need the Holy Spirit to bear witness of Jesus toward themselves. But, as we tell others of Jesus, the Holy Spirit also bears witness to the people about Jesus. As we speak the word of God, Holy Spirit goes out in the word to convict our listeners of the love of Jesus and what He has done for them. Remember it's the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. When we tell others of the good news of what Jesus has done we are not trying to convince them with our knowledge. We are giving Holy Spirit opportunity to witness to their heart and spirit. When we face trials, then Holy Spirit is our comforter, Just as Jesus was to the disciples. He is with us as a friend alongside us as well as a support within us. When you face trials, persecution, health problems, or attacks from Satan, talk to Holy Spirit about it. He will show you the way out as you fellowship with Him, as Paul mentioned that we should do. It would be a waste to have a perfect guide and friend with you 24/7, whom you never referred to for advice! He enabled Jesus to do everything that He accomplished. Holy Spirit has been sent to do the same for you. So Holy Spirit is with us in everything we do for the Kingdom. He reminds us of God's love and how we should love God because He loved us first. He reminds us that God is good always. He reminds us of why we are to believe in Jesus. He reminds us that we are the righteousness of god and that we live righteous lives through the grace of Jesus and by faith in him. He reminds us that we are not judged. Through God's grace, Holy Spirit, our perfect guide and friend, trains us in holy living. As a friend He points you to Jesus where your best interests lie! Tit 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age... We have someone in Holy Spirit, who is always there to help us and point us to Jesus who was tortured, beaten with stripes and died for us all. He encourages us so that we build faith in Jesus and so fulfill the calling we have from Father God. We just have to listen to Holy Spirit's promptings and follow where he guides. He doesn't draw attention to himself, but what a 'good' friend we have in Holy Spirit.
Attlee.
The Lord Of Hosts. Click Here.
|