Equipping
| "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." ... "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." (John14:15-31) |
Living the Christian life is not easy:
-We feel disconnected from God at times
-We don't always know what the right choice is.
-We go back to our old ways (we forget God's ways)
-We are bullied by our circumstances
The Good News is that the Holy Spirit comes to our aid:
- He comes from the Father in the name of the Son. He is the presence of God in our lives and when we quiet down, we will experience His presence and love.
- He will teach us all things. He will help us apply Biblical Truth to our modern circumstances and guide us in the right direction. We call this wisdom and the Spirit will help us discern the right way to go.
- He will remind us of what we have learned. He'll keep us from drifting away. It's amazing how often a long-forgotten verse, a phrase from a sermon we heard long ago or a line from an old hymn comes to mind just when we need to hear it.
- When our circumstances and the voices around us attempt to bully and intimidate us, the Spirit will give us deep and lasting peace. Not earthly peace (which is really just the absence of trouble) but peace that carries us in the storm.
