WORD TREASURES 7/16/23
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (Jn.15:26-27 ESV)
One of the most important functions of the Helper, the Spirit of truth that the Father sends, is to bear witness of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished in His death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit, the unseen Presence of God living in each believer, is there to convince, testify, and persuade those outside of Christ of God’s true mission in Christ! Helping believers testify in power about who Jesus is and what He has done in and for them isn’t the only reason the Holy Spirit takes up His residence in believers, but it is a crucial part of God’s intent. How else does a sinner come to saving knowledge of Jesus? How does anyone become a believer, a Christian, a child of God, adopted into His family? How did this happen to us? The Holy Spirit living in another believer worked through them on our hearts and minds that we might believe – that’s how! We Christians simply cannot do the work we are called to do unless the Spirit lives in us to perform His part of that work.
The power of this 2 is unstoppable = Jesus living within the Christian. Since the Gospel outreach to all who need Jesus (that’s everybody) has always been God’s plan, we Christians were not only adopted into God’s family, we have also been enlisted into His army and are under His Gospel assignment. That assignment is to be included into God’s rescue mission toward all those we meet who need Jesus, which is everybody! To be a real Christian is to enter into this mission wholeheartedly, but we cannot accomplish this on our own! So, God has sent the Helper = the Holy Spirit = Spirit of truth = to do for us what we are not capable of doing by ourselves! This power of 2, the Spirit in us, is unstoppable! There is no other power like it on earth! That is NOT hyperbole or exaggeration, but it is uniquely and wonderfully true. There is not a human or institution or force on earth that can successfully stand against a Christian following the leading of the Holy Spirit.
In Jn.15:26-27, this power of 2 is here simply proclaimed. Jesus tells His disciples that another helper was being sent to testify of Jesus and His mission. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who intends to use us and come to our aid! God is with you, Christian! Jesus calls Him the Spirit of truth, truly God, truly pointing to Jesus and
God’s Gospel cause. The Holy Spirit will be the central witness for Jesus. How does this happen? In what way? When one hears the good news of the story of Jesus (or anything related to that) and considers this account, it will seem believable, credible, and true. This is an inner conviction (persuasion/certainty) that God, Jesus, and His Gospel are all true, and it comes from God! They are powerfully influenced in their heart and mind that this is not only true, but it's true for them. Let no one blow this off! This is how it actually functions, whatever we may think we see. Regardless of their immediate reaction, though all may not surrender to Christ, this power of conviction works on all people who hear the witness of the Christian. Christian - they not only hear you, they are hearing the Spirit who is with you!
This witnessing mission of the Holy Spirit mentioned here includes all disciples everywhere as His witnesses. We believers are favored and chosen to be eye witnesses of all Jesus began to do and teach. But who are we to testify to? The people who live in our world = our sphere of influence. What do I mean by this phrase? It is the circle (group) of people we know in our lives - our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and acquaintances in our pathways. These would have at least some measure of trust in us. Believe this - God has arranged all this. And we thought we were in control of our life and plans. Silly us! We don’t have to go anywhere amazing – do anything outlandish – place ourselves in freakish or ridiculously unnatural situations. God will give us tons of opportunities with the people we know in our "sphere of influence." Hear this Christian – God has arranged all this and will move their hearts to listen to us favorably. This is SO TRUE, but will we Christians actually believe it? Since God is with us, we have the unstoppable power of 2 (nothing to match it)! Christian – see your world that way – the HELPER, the Holy Spirit does! He will be with you as you reach for and share God’s love for them!
Pastor Mike
