John 15: 26-27; 16: 4b-15
“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
“I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.
“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: In regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
“I have much to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
A Thought
In 1973 there was a great move of God’s Holy Spirit in my life when the Spirit entered my body and overflowed with great joy and praise. Every sermon was seemingly preached directly to me and time after time to the altar to pray and confess my sins before God I had to go. With tears and weeping, the Spirit would reveal where my life had to be changed. The Scriptures of God’s word opened up to me with a new understanding that God was working his will in my life. In this Scripture today, Jesus tells his disciples that there was much more he had to teach them, but they could not bear it. That is where the Holy Spirit or the Counselor came to work in the world after Christ returned to his Father. If we will permit the Spirit that was received on Pentecost to work, he will continue the work that Jesus the Christ made possible: He will convict us of sin; he will bring glory to Christ by making Christ known to us; he will reveal what is yet to come; and he will guide us into all truth. Let’s let the Spirit do his perfect work within us!
Our Prayer
Father thank you for your perfect plan for our lives. We ask for you to fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may grow in the likeness of Christ as your word of truth is revealed by your Spirit. Reveal by your Spirit any sin or unforgiveness that has separated us from you. We ask that you fill us with your joy that we might show the world who you are in Jesus’ name, amen.
