Passion Week: Holy Spirit

Good Morning AGC Family!

Today we are going to focus on John 14:15-17. Jesus has just taught the disciples that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He has also shared with them about believing that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Now He is going to introduce them to the greatest gift in the world next to our Salvation - The Holy Spirit!

In John 14:16-18 Jesus begins with,

“And I will pray, the Father, and He will give you another Helper, That He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” 

Just imagine being the disciples at this time. They had never heard anything like this before. I bet their biggest concern was something like, “What are we going to do without Jesus? How are we supposed to do what He has asked us to do without His help?” And His answer to their thought is found in verse 18.  “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” He was coming to them in the form of the Holy Spirit. We have to remember that The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. He is not the sixth man on the basketball team! He is part of the starting line-up. He is just as much of God as Jesus is. The trinity is the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Once we get a greater understanding of that, John 14:16-17 becomes a pretty powerful message.

He begins to tell them (and us!) about this “new player” that we will have on our team. The Holy Spirit is another Helper that will come alongside us and help us through life. Not only that, this Helper will abide with us forever; and His name is the Spirit of Truth. He will guide us into all truth according to God’s will and His Word. He will never lead us away from the things of God but will always have the answers to every one of life’s questions according to God’s will. If you have a question about spiritual things in your life, the Spirit of Truth has the answer. If you have questions about dealing with everyday life situations, the Spirit of Truth has the answer. This great gift from God is the gift that keeps on giving every day of our lives! Kind of like the jelly of the month club, BUT, so much greater. Glory to God!

Jesus then goes on to tell us that we will KNOW Him because He dwells in us. That is our guarantee!  If we don’t know Him, that means we have not taken the time to get to know Him by spending time in prayer or study of the Word. As we get to know Him, we hear His voice more clearly and He is able to guide us into the truth for our situation.

So, family, I encourage you today to get to know the Spirit of Truth on a greater level. Spend time with Him in the Word and prayer. Ask Him today to guide you in all areas of your life. 

I truly believe that 2021 will be a year of increased knowledge for every situation in your life, as you press into the helper that Jesus sent you, trusting in the Truth - the Holy Spirit in you!

-Pastor Candace