Holy Spirit Help and Comfort

John 15:18-26

“When the world hates you, remember it hated Me before it hated you.”

 

“The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t.  I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.”

 

“Do you remember what I told you?  ‘A servant is not greater than the master.’  Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you.  And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you!”

 

“The people of the world will hate you because you belong to Me, for they don’t know God who sent Me.”

 

“They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them.  But now they have no excuse for their sin.”

 

“Anyone who hates Me hates My Father, too.”

 

“If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be counted guilty.  But as it is, they saw all that I did and yet hated both of us – Me and My Father.”

 

“This has fulfilled what the Scriptures said: ‘They hated Me without cause.’ [Psalms 35:19; 69:4]

 

“But I will send you the Comforter – the Spirit of Truth.  He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about Me.”

 

“And you must also tell others about Me because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

 

These passages teach us more about the Holy Spirit which Jesus promises to all who will receive Him by faith, showing that we belong to Him.  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Tri-Unity God. He can be everywhere at once.  He can fill each believer and bring us all into unity with one another.  He is a person and He is holy.

The spiritual battles we face as believers in Christ are three fold:  We struggle against our own sin nature inherited from Adam which opposes God ; we struggle against with this world’s system which opposes God, and we struggle against the temptations of the devil and his demons, who oppose God. Though the devil was defeated by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, he still tempts believers to sin, and he is the influencing power behind this world’s system who promotes  hatred toward Jesus and all who follow Him. This is why we need the Holy Spirit to walk with Jesus.

We beed the Holy Spirit to give us God’s power to stand in Christ and to walk obediently with Him.  We need the Holy Spirit to teach us God’s Truth.  We need the Holy Spirit’s power to help to resist the  temptation to sin.  We need the Holy Spirit’s power to remind us of God’s Promises.  We need the Holy Spirit to help us grow in our Covenant Relationship with our Loving Heavenly Father.  We need the Holy Spirit to convict us when we sin and to point us back to God when our vision is clouded by the darkness of sin’s consequences.  We need the Holy Spirit to comfort us during the trials and persecution we will face as followers of Jesus and we need the Holy Spirit to teach us about Jesus. 

The Holy Spirit has a very important role in the life of every believer.  We must chose to yield our will to His and to learn to follow His leading in our life.  The Holy Spirit will always lead us in God’s will for our lives and He will always remind us of God’s truths in His word.  He will always help us to walk closer to Jesus.  He will help us to walk in unity with Jesus and with other believers in Christ.  He is very important in the church and will always point to Jesus, never to Himself.  We don’t worship the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we worship God and give Him glory through the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to us.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit should also point to God and never to the individual person exercising the gifts.  God is always glorified in our lives and in the church when we are walking in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives in us and who teaches us about You and helps us to walk with You.  Thank You for all You’ve done for us in Christ.  Thank You for Your love that is expressed in so many ways.  Thank You for the life we have in Christ.  Thank You that Your mercies which are new every morning.  Thank You that You are for us and not against us.  Thank You for Your wonderful love that gives us so much that we may be blessed and renewed in our lives.

Please help us to listen to the Holy Spirit and to always remember Your promises and Your purposes for our lives that we may bring You glory and share Your love with others.  Please help us to stand strong against the persecution we will receive for belonging to Jesus.  Please help us to continue to grow in You that we may not forget all You’re done for us and who we are in You. 

Please help our pastors and guide them by Your Holy Spirit.  Please help them to yield to Your Holy Spirit and to always serve You in Spirit and in truth. 

Please help all who call upon the name of Jesus to love Him more and more and to love one another more and more.  Please be glorified in our lives and help us to shine our lights for You in this dark world. 

Thank You for all the opportunities You give us to know You and to make You known to others.  May we not be distracted from all You’ve called each of us to do.  May we know Your will and the power of Your Holy Spirit in our lives.  Thank You, again, for Jesus and all He means to us:  Jesus is our Life,  He is our Hope,  He is our Light, He is our Sustenance, He is our Saviour, our Friend, Our Lord, Our Master, He is our Eternal Life and He is the Love of our lives.  Thank You!  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Holy Spirit Joy

John 15:1-17

[Jesus said], “I am the Vine, and My Father is the Gardener.”

 

“He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”

 

“You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you.”

 

“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from Me.”

 

“Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from Me you can do nothing.”

 

“Anyone who parts from Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.  Such branches are gathered into a pile and burned.”

 

“But if you stay joined to Me and My words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!”

 

“My true disciples produce much fruit.  This brings great glory to My Father.”

 

I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love.”

 

“When you obey Me, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father and remain in His love.”

 

“I have told you this so that you will be filled with My joy.  Yes, your joy will overflow!”

 

I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you.”

 

“And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.”

 

“You are My friends if you obey Me.”

 

“I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn’t confide in His servants.  Now you are My friends, since I have told you everything the Father told Me.”

 

“You didn’t choose Me.  I chose you.  I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using My name.”

 

“I command you to love each other.”

 

Jesus’ words to His disciples are so plain.  He speaks in such a way that even a child can understand.  Jesus desires even for all to come to Him, even the children can know eternal life through Jesus.  The relationship we can have with Jesus frees us from the guilt and shame of our sin.  This gives us a deep joy.  We are free to love by the love God gives to us.  We want to obey God and extend His love to others because of the love He’s given us.  The greatest relationship we can ever have is to be one with Jesus and the Father.  This is the greatest friendship ever known to man.  It’s well worth what we must give up to follow Jesus.  There is nothing more valuable that this world offers that can compare to knowing Jesus and to be forgiven of our sin.  Jesus offers us life, but abundantly here and eternally in Heaven.  When we walk with Jesus we are changed from the inside out.  The fruit our lives produces come from being with Him.  The deep, abiding joy we have in Christ is one example of the fruit we will experience.  Other fruit is found in Galatians 5:22-23 – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Self Control.  We will see more of the attributes of Christ in us as we walk with Him.  We will be humble and obedient to the Father like Jesus. We will hate sin and be bold against it.  We will not be controlled by our feelings, by fear or by doubt, but by His word, by love for God and others by the power of the Holy Spirit.  These are all gifts of grace and mercy extended to all who will walk with Jesus.  Though we will sin, we will hate to sin and we will sin less and less, as we come to God for His help to change in those areas where we used to sin without care.  In Christ we will not want to sin, and we will follow  the principles of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sin to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  This is not just a one-time event, but a life-long practice as we learn to walk with Christ in obedience. 

Living Water for all who believe in Jesus!

John 7:32-52

Previously, Jesus had taught in the Temple on the Festival of Shelters and exposed the plot of the Religious leaders to kill Him.  He confronted them and spoke openly of  their hypocritical accusations toward Him.  After Jesus had spoken, many in the crowds believed in Him because they remembered the miraculous signs He had done and concluded He must be who He says He is. All of this enraged the Pharisees and they hated Jesus even more. 

 

“When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were murmuring such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus.

 

But Jesus told them, “I will be here a little longer.  Then I will return to the One who sent Me.”

 

“You will search for me but not find me. And you won’t be able to come where I am.”

 

The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement.  “Where is He planning to go?” they asked.  “Maybe He is thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands, or maybe even to the Gentiles!”

 

“What does He mean when He says, ‘You will search for Me but not find Me,’ and ‘You won’t be able to come where I am’?

 

On the last day, [the 7^th day of the Festival of Shelters] Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come to Me!”

 

“If you believe in Me, come and drink!  For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within.”

 

(When He said “living water,” He was speaking of the Spirit, Who would be given to everyone believing in Him.  But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into His glory.)

 

When the crowds heard Him say this, some of them declared, “This man surely is the Prophet.” 

 

Others said, “He is the Messiah,”  Still others said, “But He can’t be!  Will the Messiah come from Galilee?”

 

“For Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”

 

So the crowd was divided in their opinions about Him.

 

And some wanted Him arrested, but no one touched Him.

 

The Temple guards who had been sent to arrest Him returned to the leading priests and Pharisees.  “Why didn’t you bring Him in? they demanded.

 

“We have never heard anyone talk like this!” The guards responded.

 

“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked.

 

“Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in Him?”

 

“These ignorant crowds do, but what do they know about it?”  A curse on them anyway!”

 

Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, then spoke up.

 

“Is it legal to convict a man before He is given a hearing?” he asked.

 

They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too?  Search the Scriptures and see for yourself – no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”

 

This is such an amazing revelation of the love of God and His love for all people.  Those who disbelieved in Jesus were hardened even more when they heard Him speak.  Those who had hearts of faith, did believe, some doubted because they knew what the Scriptures taught about where the Messiah was to be born, yet didn’t know that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem to fulfill that prophesy of Him. Even the Temple guards were amazed when they heard Him speak and could not arrest Him as they were ordered by the Religious leaders who hated Jesus and the Gentlies and all people who didn’t think like they thought. Yet in all the conversations and murmurings going on amongst the people concerning Jesus, He calls out to all to give them another opportunity to receive Him and eternal life.  He speaks of the Holy Spirit that gives living water to all who will believe in Him. 

Jesus boldly continued to tell everyone who He was and that God had sent Him.  If we imagine yourselves in the place of those among the crowds who heard Jesus speak, what would we think?  Would we have faith, would we have doubt because what we understand from Scripture doesn’t line up with what we see or hear?  Will we fall victim to the lies of the Religious leaders who think they represent God but openly hate Jesus? Will we follow Jesus or will we follow the crowd and popular opinion?

Heavenly Father;

Please help us to have hearts of faith to follow Jesus completely.  Please help us love people the way He does.  Please give us more opportunities to share the hope of the ‘living water’ that Jesus promises to all who will believe in Him.  Please fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit that Your Living Water will flow out from within us. Please help us to serve You with power and love and make disciples for Jesus.

 

Please bless our pastors and give them wisdom as they direct their fellowships to know and serve Jesus.  Please do a mighty work in their fellowships that others may come to know and love Jesus by the witness of the church.  Please equip the church with gifts to serve You through the Holy Spirit’s power and love.  Please add to Your church those from the world who want Jesus, and cause those who don’t want Him to leave Your church so as not stumble the new believers, nor cause division in Your Body like the Religious leader did and still do.   In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Now We Believe

John 4:39-42

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”

 

When they came out to see Him, they begged Him to stay at their village.  So He stayed for two days,

 

long enough for many of them to hear His message and believe.

 

Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe because we have heard Him ourselves, not just because of what you told us.  He is indeed the Savior of the world!”

 

When the Samaritan woman who lived as a harlot met Jesus at the well, He offered her Living Water and told her that He was the Messiah. She believed and immediately went back to her village to tell the people about Jesus.  Then she brought them back with her to hear Jesus for themselves. They came with her and begged Jesus to stay with them.  Jesus did stay and after they heard Him, they also believed He was the Messiah, the Savior of the world!   

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for Jesus.  Thank You He came to all the people everywhere who wanted Him and even begged Him to stay with them so they might hear His messages.  Thank You for the Good News of Living Water, of Salvation which Jesus spread to all who would hear and believe in Him.  Thank You for Salvation through Him!  Thank You Jesus is the Savior of the world! 

Please help our pastor and fill him afresh with Your Holy Spirit.  Please guide him and give him Your wisdom to lead our fellowship in these difficult times.  Please speak through him as he seeks to give us Your Word.  Please help our hearts to be opened to hear from You that we may be refreshed.  Please fill us also with Your Holy Spirit that we may tell others about the wonderful things You are doing in our own lives, that we may bring them to Jesus, too, that they may hear from Him and believe in Him also.  Please help us to serve You and be used for Your glory and purposes.  Please help us to follow Jesus closely.  In Jesus’ Name – Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Food from God’s Harvest

Just then the disciples arrived.  They were astonished to find Him talking to a woman, but none of them asked Him why He was doing it or what they had been discussing. 

 

The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone,

 

“Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did!  Can this be the Messiah?”

 

So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.

 

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat.

 

“No.”  He said, “I have food don’t know about.”

 

“Who brought it to Him?” the disciples asked each other.

 

Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent Me, and from finishing His work.”

 

“Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now?  Look around you!  Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest.”

Drawing From the Well of Living Water

DRAWING FROM THE WELL OF  LIVING WATER

JOHN 4:1-26

Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard; “Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John,”

 

(though Jesus Himself didn’t baptize them – His disciples did). 

 

So He left Judea to return to Galilee. 

 

He had to go through Samaria on the way. 

 

Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 

 

Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 

 

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give Me a drink.” 

 

He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 

 

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman.  Why are You asking me for a drink?”

 

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask Me, and I would give you Living Water.”

 

“But Sir, You don’t have a rope or a bucket,”  she said, “and this is a very deep well.  Where would You get this living water?”

 

“And besides, are You greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well?   How can You offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?”

 

Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.”

 

“But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

 

“Please Sir,” the woman said, “give me some of that water!  Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to haul water.”

 

“Go and get your husband,”  Jesus told her.

 

“I don’t have a husband,”  the woman replied.  Jesus said, “You’re right!  You don’t have a husband” –

 

“for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now.” 

 

“Sir,” the woman said, “You must be a Prophet.”

 

“So tell me, why is it that You Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancerstors worshiped?”

 

Jesus replied, “Believe Me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.”

 

“You Samaritans know so little about the One you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews.”

 

“But the time is coming and is already here when true worshpers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.”

 

The woman said, “I know the Messiah will come – the One who is called Christ.  When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

 

Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”

 

This is such an awesome and eye-opening revelation Jesus is explaining to this Samaritan woman.  She was looking for the Christ, the Messiah.  She asked Jesus for the Living Water He said He would give to her so that she would never thirst again.  Just as John the Baptist had declared to the people that they must repent and be baptized to prepare the way for the Lord, so Jesus is drawing out from this woman the confession of her sin so she may repent and receive the Living Water He has for her –  God’s Gift of salvation – So Jesus askes her about her husband and she tells Him the truth that she’s not married. Jesus takes it further and exposes the fact that she’s not married to the man she’s living with and has had five husbands. This would make her a harlot and worthy of death. Agreeing with Jesus could mean her death if Jesus exposed her to the Religious Leaders.  Her desire for the Living Water was greater than her fear for her own life. 

Seeking God with all our heart in humility and truth always preceeds our conversion.  True repentance is proven when we ‘come clean’ from unrighteousness and sin and turn to God for His forgiveness, cleansing and the filling of His Holy Spirit –

Jesus wanted the Samaritan woman to  receive the Gift of God in Spirit and in Truth.  Jesus wants the same for us, today.  May we humble ourself, draw close to God in repentance, and drink deeply from His Living Water to be refreshed and renewed in our faith as we follow Jesus.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for coming to those who are looking for You.  Thank You that You will find anyone, regardless of their social status or lack of it, who wants to know You.  Thank You for the hope we have in Jesus and that He takes time to come to each person who wants the Living Water He offers and will dialog and draw them out so that they may repent and turn to Him with all their hearts.  Thank You for Your word that speaks to us of  Jesus.  Thank You for our pastor who opens up Your word and teaches us about Jesus that we may walk with Him and drink deeply of His Living Water.  Thank You that You know all about everyone and You speak into our hearts and lives as Your Word is taught through the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Please fill our pastor afresh with Your Holy Spirit.  Please help him and protect him.  Please help him to trust eveyone You’ve placed under his care in his fellowship to You through prayer.  Please also fill those leading along side of him with Your Holy Spirit so that there is unity in You and You are glorified in our fellowhship and our lives are strengthened in You.  In Jesus’ Name – Amen.