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. 

If we love Jesus, we’ll obey Him

John 14:15-30

“If you love Me, obey My commandments.”

 

“And I will ask the Father; and He will give you another Comforter, Who will never leave you.”

 

“He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world at large cannot receive Him, because isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him.  But you do, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.”

 

“No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you.”

 

“In just a little while the world will not see Me again, but you will.  For I will live again, and you will, too.”

 

“When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.”

 

“Those who love Me, My Father will love them, and I will love them.  And I will reveal Myself to each one of them.”

 

Judas (not Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

 

Jesus replied, “All those who love Me will do what I say, My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them.”

 

“Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not do what I say.  And remember, My words are not My own.  This message is from the Father who sent Me.”

 

“I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.” 

 

“But when the Father sends the Counselor as My representative – and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit – He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I Myself have told you.”

 

“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives.  So don’t  be troubled or afraid.”

 

“Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again.  If you really love Me, you will be very happy for Me, because now I can go to the Father, Who is greater than I am.”

 

“I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do happen.”

 

“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the prince of this world approaches.  He has no power over Me,”

 

“but I will do what the Father requires of Me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.  Come, let’s be going.”

Don’t be troubled, Trust Jesus

John 14:1-14

[Jesus is with His disciples to share the Last Supper before He goes to the cross as the Passover Lamb.  Judas has already left to betray Him and Peter has just declared that he’s ready to die for Him, but Jesus tells him that instead he’ll deny Him three times before the rooster crows. Jesus  encourages and teaches His disciples about their future and the faith and hope they must have in Him.]

“Don’t be troubled.  You trusted God, now trust in Me.”

 

“There are many rooms in My Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you.  If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.”

 

“When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.”

 

“And you know where I am going and how to get there.”

 

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said.  “We haven’t any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 

Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

 

“If you had known who I am, then you would have known who My Father is.  From now on you know Him and have seen Him!”

 

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.”

 

Jesus replied, “Philip, don’t you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!  So why are you asking to see Him?”

 

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?  The words I say are not My own, but My Father who lives in Me does His work through Me.”

 

“Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.  Or at least believe because of what you have seen Me do.”

 

“The truth is, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to the Father.”

 

“You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it,  because the work of the son brings glory to the Father.”

 

“Yes, ask anything in My name, and I will do it!”

 

Again Jesus declares His Deity and His mission on this earth.  His disciples are not thinking about Heaven, but about this earth.  They can’t believe because they aren’t willing to believe that Jesus will die.  They are thinking like mere men with their hopes on what they see. They’re thinking Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth, so for Him to die just can’t be true in their minds. 

But after Jesus’ resurrection, when they see Him alive again after His crucifixion, they will believe Jesus’ words in a new way. They will truly understand that as the Messiah and the Lamb of God He fulfilled all righteousness by obeying the Father and giving Himself for our sins that He may redeem us back to God again.  The disciples will know first hand this deliverance.  Jesus will give them His Holy Spirit so that the work of God will be multiplied through the life of each disciple – even to this very day.  Jesus reassures them that He will always be with them.  Though they may not see Him after His ascension, He instructs them to ask for whatever they need and it will be theirs.  This will strengthen their faith in Him and they will be renewed in their spirits to do the work God has called for them to do.  This is true to this very day.  We’ve been given the spirit of God to teach us and to fill us to do the work of God as God’s instructed each of us to do.  As we draw closer to Him, and allow His word to live in us, we will know what His will for each of our lives.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for the hope You’ve given us in the promises of Your word.  Thank You that Jesus was so patient with His disciples when they just weren’t grasping what He was telling them. Thank You that You’re so patient with us today. Thank You that You’ve given us Your Holy Spirit to help us and to guide us in all truth. Thank You that You have a plan for each of our lives.  Thank You that You want us to know You and to know Your will for our lives.  May we be seeking You and desiring to do Your will everyday.  Please fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit.  Thank You for our pastors who love and serve You faithfully.  Thank You for the power of Your word that changes our hearts and lives.  Thank You for the many people who came to church this Resurrection Morning who don’t usually come.  Thank You that Your Holy Spirit did a might work in the hearts of those who were open to You.  Please continue to help those who struggle with their faith to know that You will help them if they will call out to You.  Please help them to believe in You, Lord Jesus.  Please help us to continue to ask You for those things we may think impossible, and for the faith to believe that You will do whatever we ask according to Your will.  Thank You for the mighty power of Your love that’s changing so many lives.  Please continue that good work You’re doing in Your church.  Be glorified Lord Jesus.  We love You!  In Your name we pray.  Amen.

Jesus was in control over ‘His time’ to give His life for our sins

John 13:21-30

Now Jesus was in great anguish of spirit, and He exclaimed, “The truth is, one of you will betray Me!”

 

The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom He could mean. 

 

One of Jesus’ disciples, the one Jesus loved [John’s referring to himself], was sitting next to Jesus at the table.

 

Simon Peter motioned to him [John] to ask who would do this terrible thing.

 

Leaning toward Jesus, he [John] asked, “Lord, who is it?”

 

Jesus said, “It is the one to whom I give the bread dipped in the sauce,”  And when He had dipped it, He gave it to Judas, son of Iscariot.

 

As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him.  Then Jesus told him, “Hurry.  Do it now.”

 

None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant.

 

Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.

 

So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

Jesus, the Humble Servant

John 13:1-20

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to His Father.  He now showed the disciples the full extent of His love.

 

It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus.

 

Jesus new that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God.

 

So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around  His waist,

 

and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciple’s feet and to wipe them with the towel He had around Him. 

 

When He came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, “Lord, why are You going to wash my feet?”

 

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; someday you will.”

 

“No,” Peter protested, “You will never wash my feet!”  Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.  And you are clean, but that isn’t true of everyone here.”

 

For Jesus knew who would betray Him.  That is what He meant when He said, Not all of you are clean.”

 

After washing their feet, He put on His robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?”

 

“You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because it is true.”

 

“And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.”

 

“I have given you an example to follow.  Do as I have done to you.”

 

“How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master.  Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them.”

 

“You knew these things – now do them!  That is the path of blessing.”

 

“I am not saying these things to all of you; I know so well each one of you I chose.  The Scriptures declare, ‘The one who shares My food has turned against Me,’ [Psalm 41:9] and this will soon come true.”

 

“I tell you this now, so that when it happens you will believe I am the Messiah.”

 

“Truly, anyone who welcomes My messenger is welcoming Me, and anyone who welcomes Me is welcoming My Father who sent Me.”

Seen Jesus, seen the Father!

John 12:44-50

Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust Me, you are really trusting God who sent Me.”

 

“For when you see Me, you are seeing the One who sent Me.”

 

“I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the darkness.”

 

“If anyone hears Me and doesn’t obey Me, I am not his judge – for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.”

 

“But all who reject Me and My message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.”

 

“I don’t speak on My own authority.  The Father who sent Me gave Me His own instructions as to what I should say.”

 

“And I know His instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells Me to say!”

 

Jesus represented and obeyed the Heavenly Father perfectly.  He tells everyone who hears Him how to be delivered from the darkness of this world. He makes it so easy that even a child can receive Him. To trust in Jesus means to hold onto His words with complete confidence that He is able to understand even someone’s heart and know if they trust in Him or not.  To trust in Jesus means that He’s leading them out of darkness and they must take His hand, so to speak, to find their way into the Light.  Holding onto Jesus offers deliverance from the darkness and bondage of sin which leads to eternal life.  Each time Jesus speaks He gives all who hear Him another opportunity to believe in Him and to receive eternal life.  He’s telling all who will hear Him that He is God.  He says that those who reject Him are rejecting God.  He’s proved His authority is from God and that the Father has sent Him.  He corrected all who’ve challenged His authority and told them the truth about what was in their hearts, so that they may repent and receive salvation, though many refuse to believe.  Instead, they hardened their hearts against Him.  He tells them this and they want to kill Him.  But still some do believe and receive Him and He delivers them from the darkness of this world and gives them eternal life.  Our trust in Jesus leads us to eternal life.  The words He spoke then are also to us today.  Jesus is headed toward the cross.  He’s telling everyone who He is and why He’s going to the cross.  He’s offering them eternal life through His death. Jesus is the Messiah who takes upon Himself the sins of the whole world.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for the wonder of Your love for us.  Thank You for deliverance from the darkness of this world and for eternal life in Jesus.  Thank You for Jesus and that we may know You as we know Him.  Thank You for this opportunity to know Life and to have Your Light shine in our lives.  Thank You for Your plan to send Jesus to the cross for our sin.  Thank You that Jesus always perfectly represented You and obeyed You.  Thank You that You call us Your children and give us Your Holy Spirit that we may also obey You and represent Jesus to others.  Thank You that You use the humble in their weakness to reveal Your strength and power.  Thank You that the darkness can never distinguish the Light.  Thank You that Jesus has won victory over the devil and all his efforts to undermine Your plans for redemption of the world, over death and over sin.  Thank You that we are safely kept in Your hands and that You’ve given us Your love.  Please bless our pastors and leaders and guide them in Your ways.  Please fill them with Your Holy Spirit and Your love to accomplish all You have for them to do.  Please strengthen Your church and draw more and more people to Yourself through the outreaches of those who love and serve You.  Please be glorified in Your church.  May Your work be accomplished in and through us.  May we be faithful to You.  May others see Jesus in us.  Please help us to walk in the Light of Your love.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Our love for God must come first

John 12:37-41

But despite all the miraculous signs He had done, most of the people did not believe in Him.

 

This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:  “Lord, who has believed our message?  To whom will the Lord reveal His saving power?”

 

But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

 

“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts – so their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.”

 

Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, because he was given a vision of the Messiah’s glory.

 

Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in Him. But they wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

 

For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

 

“Hear, O Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.  Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”   Deuteronomy 6:4-8  God wanted His people to know how important it is to put God first in their lives and to always remember who He was to them and all He’d done for them in delivering them from pharaoh’s control over them.  “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.  Do not worship any other gods besides Me. Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish.  You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god!”  Deut. 5:6-9  God is teaching us how important it is to love Him with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength.  He will not share our affections with anything we may worship besides Him.  So important is the purity of our heart and our commitment to the Lord.  As we remember all He’s done for us, we will want to put Him first in our lives and to love Him with all our hearts.  Jesus went to the cross for our sin.  He paid for us and redeemed us with His very own blood.  We belong to Him.  All believers are called His church and His bride.  Just as the groom wants his beloved, precious and beautiful bride to love him completely and to be the most important person in her life, so God also wants our full affection and commitment to Him alone.  We must see our relationship with Jesus as the most significant relationship we have.  Our coveneant relationship with Christ must take preeminence over any other relationship we have. Becaue we love Him, do not want to cause Him pain or grief by being unfaithful to Him.  We want to praise and worship Him for who He is and for all He’s done.  God is worthy of all our praise, honor and glory.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for Jesus.  Thank You for Your love and for the life You’ve given us in Christ.  Thank You that we’ve been bought and redeemed by the blood of Christ and that we are precious in Your sight as Your dearly loved children.  May we love You completely and wholeheartedly.  May You be honored in our lives, in our thoughts, and in our praise.  Thank You for setting us free from the bondage of sin and slavery that was pulling us away from life and toward death and hell. Thank You for the hope we have in Jesus.  Thank You for opening our eyes and allowing us to believe in Him that we may have eternal life.  Thank You for the faith to believe and receive Christ.  Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that lives within us and that helps us to always remember Jesus and hear Your voice and follow Your will for our lives.  Thank You that we can know You through what Jesus has done for us on the cross.  I love You, Lord Jesus.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.