John 16:5-33

Just as God sent Jesus into the world, so Jesus sent His disciples into the world to redeem people from its power and from the power of its prince. They, and we, are called to overcome the world through the witness of the Holy Spirit, the witness of their own transformed lives, and the witness of their words. And God will continue to call out from the world a people for Himself. And that’s the theme for this next section.

John 16:5-15 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Holy Spirit has a threefold ministry.

1. To comfort the disciples after the Ascension of Jesus. They were depressed because He told them He was leaving them. He tells them here they will be much better off. And the Holy Spirit couldn’t come unless Christ left. While Jesus was on earth He was confined to His human body and could only help people He was near. But as the Holy Spirit He would fulfill His promise from Matthew 28:20 which says, “And surely, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The Holy Spirit would also help them understand Jesus’ Glory and who He is.

2. To empower the disciples to witness to the world. Jesus told them that in themselves they could neither convict the world of its sin as sin, nor could they hope to convince the intellectual (as well as the ordinary man) that the Man Jesus is the unique Son of God and that to reject Him as the Lord results in judgment. Therefore, Jesus deliberately told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem to witness of Him until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Under this part there are 3 points to notice about the Holy Spirit’s work toward the world when He indwells believers. He convicts the world of sin (in people), of righteousness (in Jesus) and of the fact of God’s judgment of the world and its prince.

A. He convicts the world of sin –

When the world (the Jews and the Romans) crucified Jesus, the Jews refused to believe they were sinning. Instead, they rationalized that they served God by seeking to eliminate the people’s delusion (that He was the Son of God) by eliminating Jesus Himself. However, after Jesus ascended into Heaven and the disciples prayerfully had waited God’s appointed time, the promised Holy Spirit came. When He indwelt Peter, he was transformed. From denying Christ to a little servant girl to boldly preaching to the Jewish leaders. He accused them of crucifying Jesus, the Messiah! And he did it so powerfully that over 3000 were saved that day. They were cut to the quick with guilt when they heard him speak. And it is only the Holy Spirit that can convict us about what we believe about Jesus and that God holds us personally responsible for our attitude toward His Son whom God sent into the world for the sinner’s sake.

B. He convinces the world of righteousness –

He convicts the world also on the grounds of the complete righteousness of Christ because Jesus is no longer where we can see Him. Jesus lived the perfect life that God intended for all of us to live. However, the proof of His perfect righteousness is seen in His resurrection, ascension, and exaltation at God’s right hand. This means if He is perfectly righteous and died for my sins as the unique Son of God and is now exalted by God to power, this means that God accepted His sacrifice made on Calvary on our behalf. This means that God counts us as righteous by His sacrifice. Because He bore our sins on His body on the cross means we can be delivered from both the guilt and the power of them. It’s the Holy Spirit who also convicts us that our good works and any attempt at our own righteousness are like filthy rags in comparison with the spotless linen of God’s required righteousness.

C. He convicts the world of judgment –

The judgment of the prince of this world is also the judgment of the person who chooses to follow his directions and opinions. Satan is called the prince of this world because the world of fallen humanity is under his control. We can’t be neutral. We are either governed by the prince of this world or by Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Satan was judged at the cross and because he was judged we are free from his power. And then the Holy Spirit begins to transform believers into the image of the Son. And the Holy Spirit witnesses to the world by the personal honesty, business integrity and loving family life of the believer. He witnesses to the world when the believer loses his life for the sake of the needy, the socially rejected. It’s the poured-out life that convicts the world of its selfishness of what true righteousness is and of God’s judgment upon social indifference and selfishness.

3. To teach the disciples –

This refers to verses 12 and 13 - “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Jesus was pointing to the future, when the disciples would need to explain the meaning of many of His words that could only be understood in the light of His death, resurrection, ascension and exaltation to supreme power as the Son of Man, as well as the Son of God.

Only when the Holy Spirit is free to work in us to illumine our minds with God’s thoughts and move our emotions to desire His truth do we truly understand God’s truth, delight in this truth and receive it as from God with power to communicate it to others. The Bible becomes clearer to us! We wonder why we never saw these things before!

The Holy Spirit also showed the disciples and Paul the future. Paul wrote about the rapture for one thing! John the book of Revelation.

John 16:16-33 16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

There are many symbolic expressions in this last conversation of Jesus with His disciples as He speaks of going and coming, of grief and joy, or asking and receiving, of parables and open speech, of faith and unbelief and of tribulation and peace.

He talks about both immediate fulfillment and later more complete fulfillment. Immediate being the brief time Jesus was buried and the disciples didn’t see Him. This was followed by His resurrection and seeing Him and great joy.

But later during His ascension “a cloud hid Him from their sight”. Then at the day of Pentecost they saw Him, by means of the Holy Spirit.

Even later a “little while” is also descriptive of the present age. Jesus is up in Heaven right now, but soon the day will come when we see Him face to face.

The disciples told Him they believed. And Jesus accepted their belief. However, He knew that they did not realize the horror of the fire in which that faith was to be tried. Therefore, His last words were a mixture of warning, prophecy, encouragement and a promise of victory.

“You will be scattered…and will leave me alone.”

Their boasted faith in Him would fail at the test of the Cross, but it would be reborn at the Resurrection.

“I am not alone, for my Father is with me..”

This is a comfort for them and us. So long as we have Christ we are never alone. God is with us.
“In me you will have peace.”

In spite of tribulation, in spite of world upheavals, nothing can touch the peace that Christ gives His own.

“But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To be in Christ is to overcome as He overcame. Later John would write in 1 John “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one wo is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Love One Another

John 15: 12-17 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

We are commanded to love! And love like Jesus loved US! Sacrificially! To lay down our lives for others. Meaning to put them first and give up our rights and plans and wishes.

Then Jesus changed the status of His disciples from servants to friends. We are His friends! And He promises eternal fruit to His own who remain in Him. “I chose you…to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

John 15:18-25 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.”

That last part is from Psalms 69:4 Those who hate me without reason
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
    those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

John uses the word “world” 77 times in his Gospel. And a lot in his letters. Because Scripture uses this word in several different ways, you have to determine its meaning based on the context it’s used in. So, in this verse it has four aspects: fallen humanity as a whole, the system of life as it is lived by the majority of people who ignore God, the short term as opposed to what lasts forever and the sphere in which fallen humanity finds its satisfaction apart from God.

The people who choose to reject Christ also reject His followers. We’re different then they are. They don’t want to be like us. His words and works condemn the world’s manner of life. And if we are like HIM, OUR lives condemn them too. So, take it as a compliment! 😊 The closer we are to Him, the more we are like Him, the more they will reject us.

Jesus also tells us we are CHOSEN by God.

And we’re not to retreat from the world. Jesus sent us into the world to make disciples. Invite them into your homes so they see you saying grace. Live a holy life so they can see what one looks like! Show them what it’s like to have joy in trials because of God.

John 15:26- 16:4  “When the Advocate 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. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,

Jesus didn’t leave them unwarned or unprepared. The Holy Spirit would be with them and they would have Jesus’ words.

If we continually come to the Bible the Holy Spirit will apply God’s Word to our changing life experiences.

Christ promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 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."

After He promised answered prayer, Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” He spoke of the motive for obedience, not the method of salvation. If you are a believer, your salvation is secure in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Our obedience can not make us more justified, but it does make us more like Jesus. It was His obedience, even to death on the cross, that saved us from our sins.

In this passage Jesus begins to speak of the Holy Spirit, the One whose indwelling presence gives believers a new ability to love and obey. Jesus said He would “ask the Father and He will give you” ….so the Spirit is the Father’s gift through His Son. This is a good place to show the complete union of the three, but also the distinction. Jesus asked the Father who gave the Spirit.

They are not three gods, with different wills and qualities. They are one God in three persons, with one mind and will, determined to save and restore broken people and a broken world.

And Christ says the Spirit is ANOTHER advocate. Just like Himself. As Jesus lived with, counseled and helped the disciples, the Spirit does the same for us.
And Jesus said this Spirit would be with us forever.

And the Spirit would help the disciples understand what Jesus had been telling them. The deeper meanings.

After His resurrection Jesus showed the disciples how the Old Testament and its sacrifices pointed to Him. The Holy Spirit would teach them the full significance of Jesus’ life, words and ministry. To understand the difference, we just look at the Gospels and the Epistles.

The Gospels show us Jesus and the Epistles develop the spiritual significance of gospel truth.

For us today, the Spirit takes God’s revelation in Scripture and makes it alive and personally meaningful to believers. The Spirit assures us we are God’s children and gives us hearts that cry out to Him.

Jesus also said, “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.” Just like the world didn’t accept Jesus. “The world did not recognize Him.”
Once we believe in and accept Christ, we begin to understand.

John 14:18-20 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

So, He promised He wouldn’t leave them as orphans. He’d send the Holy Spirit. He promised that while the world wouldn’t see Him anymore they would. And for 40 days between His resurrection and when He ascended into Heaven, the disciples and 500 people physically saw Jesus.

John 14:21-26 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, 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.

To have and keep Jesus’ commands means to hold on to them, treasure them and make them a part of your life. It means you do not change or soften or add on to His Word, trying to make your life easier. It means you accept all Scripture as truth.

No one who neglects a personal and private daily reading of God’s words can fully keep God’s Word.

Review of Living the Spirit-Formed Life

This book, 'Living the Spirit-Formed Life' is so practical!

The author, Jack Hayford, says that living the Spirit-formed life is when we allow the Holy Spirit to set the structure for our lives and get our lives organized, under control and disciplined. To bring fullness to ourselves. To get maturity under Christ's Lordship by linking our souls to timeless practices and principles set forth in Scripture and proven valid.

He says we are to learn God's grace, but live Christ's laws.

And to do this he says first we have to have faith. And it doesn't have to be a lot of faith; only a basic, foundational trust in Jesus. Faith in who He is and confidence in what He has done for us as man-kind's only Savior.

We are to be a strong support to others also. A faithful church worker, a dependable employee, loving spouse, wise parent, good pastor, considerate boss, helpful neighbor, etc. When we put our faith in Jesus, HE makes us dependable disciples who work for the Kingdom.

Next we are to spend time in God's Word. And every time we read it we are to listen. Listen to what He wants us to do. And then do it! God's Word has been given to increase growth, fruitfulness and blessing both in and through our lives. So we should listen with a heart ready to be taught and to obey. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and they FOLLOW me."

God's Word is essential to everything in our lives. Every issue is covered by the truth and wisdom contained in His Book. And simply giving the Word a place in your life every day is taking the oath of allegiance. This invites His direction.  "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." He is a lamp today and a light for tomorrow. Details for today, discernment for tomorrow. Daily reading keeps us pure.

I liked what the author said about communion too: "Communion is a celebration of victory won! Our salvation is complete, our sins are forgiven and we are justified by His death. So we give thanks! We are proclaiming His coming back!

These are just a few of the golden nuggets in the book. I recommend it highly.

Two Power Sources for Christians

God’s Word and the Holy Spirit are the two most important power sources for Christians. The Bible gives us the power to know God, defend our faith and reap countless benefits. The Holy Spirit gives the power to share our faith with other people and meet their needs.

Again - Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The spirit was upon Him – it filled Him. And it came upon Him for a very specific reason – to share the gospel and do the harvest work. We need to be filled too. And for a specific reason. There are people with needs. People to serve. People to save.

Jesus in His human body needed the spirit.

In the book of Acts it was the Holy Spirit who gave the Apostles boldness. When we read Acts we can see what our life might be like as a Christian if we completely yield to, fully receive and totally obey the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave the disciples the great commission in Matthew 28:16 – 20, but in Acts 1:4-8 He told them to wait for the promise of the Father before they began His work. That they be baptized with the Holy Spirit first. He told them they would receive power to be His witnesses. 10 days later the Holy Spirit came and Peter preached and saved 3000 people. The same Peter who a month or so earlier had denied Christ three times.

Peter was a simple man, but he studied under Jesus and he knew his Bible and relied on the Holy Spirit to help him share what he knew. It’s the Word in us that the Spirit will enliven, embolden and enflame.

In Acts 2:37-38 it says when the people heard Peter they were cut to the heart. They asked, “What shall we do?” Peter told them “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It’s exactly what Peter had done, so people couldn’t refute it. People can argue all kinds of things. But not your personal experience. Your changed life.

Tell people how Jesus saved you, forgave you and how the Holy Spirit is daily renewing and making you more like Jesus. We’re not responsible for the outcome of our sharing, the Holy Spirit is, but we have to stand up and speak up to people who need to hear it.

But here’s a warning. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Grieving the Holy Spirit is doing what he says not to. It’s walking in disobedience. When we grieve him we diminish his power to transform us. An example of this is Samson. Several times it’s written that the Holy Spirit came mightily on him, but left him as he persisted in sin. King Saul was disobedient and the Holy Spirit departed from him. When the Holy Spirit leaves we are left on our own to try to work things out and that’s not the way Kingdom work is done.

Paul also wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.

Quenching is putting out His fire. It’s not doing what he says to do. So we lose him when we do what he says not to and also when we don’t do what he says to do! In other words – obey him!

We need to constantly invite him into our lives and hearts. It’s not a one time event like being saved.

The Holy Spirit works to make us holy

This next part from my lesson from the book The Pursuit of Holiness talks about the Holy Spirit's role.

The Holy Spirit's work is to make us holy. One step at a time. He shows us our need of holiness. He shows us God’s standard of holiness. He shows us our specific areas of sin. We begin to notice our unforgiving nature. Our critical spirit, our tendency to judge others, our pride. Where before we never thought about it.

David was like this when he committed adultery and had Bathsheba’s husband killed. He was spiritually blind to what he had done, until Nathan the profit came to him and told him. Then David repented.

The Holy Spirit comes to us, like Nathan did to David. And pointing our sin out is the beginning of the ministry to make us holy.

Seeing that our sins are really against God, makes us sorry. Makes us repent. Makes us want to do better. Makes us hate sin and desire holiness. And we’ll never get there without the strong desire to do so. Our old habits and the attacks of Satan are strong.

One of the ways the Holy Spirit stimulates our desire for holiness is using scripture, so we need to be in God’s Word a lot! And we need to study it humbly, with a teachable spirit.

We also need to pray for the Holy Spirit. Paul prayed continually for the working of God’s Spirit in the lives of those to whom he was writing:

Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Colossians 1:9-10 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Clearly Paul knew we depend on the Holy Spirit for holiness and he expressed this dependence through prayer! And by the way; these last 4 verses are GREAT prayers to pray for other people!

New Christians think they just need to read the Bible to see what God wants them to do and then do it. Mature Christians know better.

Galatians 5:22-26

Galatians 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

My application Bible said a very reassuring thing about this passage. It said if you desire to have the qualities listed here, then you know the Holy Spirit is leading you.

I find this reassuring because so often people judge a person by their actions: that person’s not kind – he must not be a Christian.

CS Lewis wrote in “Mere Christianity” that sometimes people have something in their personality or in the way they were brought up that makes it nearly impossible to act a certain way and that even a small act of kindness on their part will speak volumes to God. If you live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit then the words of Christ will be in your mind, the love of Christ will be behind your actions and the power of Christ will help you control your selfish desires.

The character traits listed here are found in the very nature of Christ. We can’t get these things on our own even though we try. They are gifts of the spirit.

And that’s a hard idea to take in. There are hundreds of books, thousands of magazine articles that tell us how to get peace, how to have joy and we read them and we try, but the Bible tells us these are things the Holy Spirit gives us.

He must be in us, we must know Him and we must love Him and we must imitate Him. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God’s control. And moment by moment draw on the Spirit’s power to overcome them.

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1st John 5:6-8

1 John 5:6-8 “This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

There are three witnesses telling us (besides Christ saying it Himself), that Jesus is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit in us, God at Jesus’ baptism, (Matthew 3:16-17) and at His death, which God really spoke at the Transfiguration before Jesus’ death. (Matthew 17:5)

1st John 4:13-21

1 John 4:13-21 “We know that we belong to him and he belongs to us. He has given us his Holy Spirit. The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We have seen it. We give witness to it. God lives in anyone who agrees that Jesus is the Son of God. That kind of person remains joined to God. So we know that God loves us. We depend on it. God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love shows that he is joined to God. And God is joined to him. So love is made complete among us.

We will be bold on the day God judges us. That's because in this world we love as Jesus did. There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives fear away. Fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love.

We love because he loved us first. Anyone who says he loves God but in fact hates his brother or sister is a liar. He doesn't love his brother or sister, whom he has seen. So he can't love God, whom he has not seen. Here is the command God has given us. Anyone who loves God must also love his brothers and sisters.”

God has given us His Holy Spirit. It is the spirit that in the beginning makes us seek God at all. It is the work of the spirit, which makes us aware of the presence of God and it is the work of the spirit, which gives us the certainty we are at peace with God. It is the spirit, which lets us dare to address God as Father. (Romans 8:15-16)

The reason we don’t need to fear God when we stand before Him is because Christ took our punishment and God loves us perfectly. (Romans 8:38-39)

My application Bible says it’s easy to say we love God when that love doesn’t cost us anything more then weekly attendance at church. But, the real test of our love is how we treat the people in front of us: family members, fellow believers, etc. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image.

“When Jesus decided He was Messiah”

I was asked to do a lesson on a comment made in a film from the Discovery Channel about Jesus where the narrator apparently said, “then Jesus decided He was Messiah.”

It bothered a lot of people, me included.

And I think the only way to answer that is to go to (John 1:1)(When a Bible verse is in parenthesis you should look it up and read it yourself.)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who existed from the ages of eternity, created all things and became flesh in order to reveal the person of God to us.

The Greek translation of the word Word, in the way it was used here, is Logos. It was used in Greek philosophy to indicate the “First Cause.” The great unknown intelligent reason, will and power behind the universe, which the pagan philosophies of that day called “God.”

John purposely chose this word and gave it to Jesus in the beginning of his gospel. The beginning of John is a lot like the beginning of Genesis. Genesis starts with the creation of the world. John places Jesus right there as it happened and even before.

In the beginning WAS the Word. Not IS – WAS. Before the world was created or time began, Jesus Christ, the Word was there already. Jesus Himself made similar statements concerning His eternal pre-existence. (John 8:58)

The Word was WITH God. In the Greek text even more than the English text, the word “with” suggests a dynamic co-relationship and communion of 2 distinct personalities: Jesus the Son and God the Father. (Gen.1:26) (Ps.110:1) (Matthew 22:41-45)

“And the Word was God” Christ has the same nature as God Himself. All the attributes of God are also attributes of Christ. (Hebrews 1:3) The very stamp – the exact replication of God.

The deity of Christ is absolutely basic to Christian faith. He is not just our Savior. He is our Lord and “Lord” in Biblical usage implies deity. In most cases when used in the New Testament it is the Greek substitute for the Hebrew Old Testament word Yahweh or Jehovah – the name of God.

John the Baptist’s purpose was to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah. And he was very effective. Because of his preaching Jews were being baptized for their sins. In John 1:31 he stated, “I myself did not know him” – This probably meant that he didn’t know until then Jesus was the Messiah. They were cousins, so he would have at least known whom Jesus the man was. But, it wasn’t until then that God revealed the Messiah to John with the sign of the spirit coming down on him. (John 1:32-33)

When that happened Jesus would be publicly proclaimed as Messiah, the Lamb of God and the Son of God. And His ministery would begin.

I read in a study of Matthew that when Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him in the form of a dove and God’s voice said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” That it was not only the dividing line between Jesus’ private and public life, but until that point Jesus had been living a “human” life without supernatural powers – but, He had still managed to live sin-free – giving us an example of how to do it. Then the Holy Spirit coming down was a kind of an anointing of Him from God for His work as our High Priest.

Now He could use His power for the miracles we see in the New Testament. Now He could show His deity. Jesus studied the Old Testament His whole life. He would have read the prophecies about Himself – especially: (Isaiah 2:11) (Isaiah 53) and (Isaiah 55). But, He only did what God told Him to and when God told Him to, which is why He waited until He was 30 and baptized by John the Baptist. That was God’s timing for His ministry to start.

Faith is a gift from God. It comes through an internal working of the Holy Spirit. The natural person “does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for the are foolishness to him.” That’s from 1 Cor.2:14.

But, 1 Cor. 2:12 says “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

When Jesus asked Peter who He was and Peter said, “You are Christ the Son of the Living God” what was Jesus answer? (Matthew 16:17)

Romans 10:17 also tells us that faith comes by hearing and reading God’s Word. Faith is also a choice. We either choose to believe Scripture or we choose to believe the doubters.

The Jews missed out on Salvation because although they had been given the Old Testament and knew it, they believed what they chose to believe – that their Messiah would be an earthly king who would get them out of Roman control.

Satan just needs a tiny crack to get into our minds.

Devotion for a Luau themed event

I was asked to give the opening remarks at a luau themed event at our church and this is what I came up with. I am sharing it because I believe churches need to be reaching out in love more then they do. And we need to do that because God wants us to, not for any social, political or feel good reason.

Did you know that The Aloha Spirit Law is an ACTUAL law, "on the books" in Hawaii?

All citizens and government officials of Hawaii are obligated by law to conduct themselves in accordance with this law, while performing their duties and obligations, as well as in their day-to-day living. Likewise, those visiting the fair islands are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this Hawaiian law
Here’s what their government says about it.

“The Aloha Spirit elevates, empowers and ennobles its people, and KEEPS Hawaii the uniquely special place that it is. The Aloha Spirit Law deserves our unmitigated support and compliance. As a model law for the world, it can serve the greatest number for its greatest good.

Together, we can make The Aloha Spirit as vibrant and REAL as it was for those who came before us. Those who have experienced The Aloha Spirit have an obligation to make it real for those who follow. An individual, conscious effort is required. Let it begin with you.”

Full Text of
THE ALOHA SPIRIT LAW

(a) The Aloha Spirit is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the Self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, Aloha, the following translation may be used:
· Akahai, meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
· Lôkahi, meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;
· `Olu`olu, meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
· Ha`aha`a, meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;
· Ahonui, meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii's people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii.

· Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation.
· Aloha means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return.
· Aloha is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.
· Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.

(b) In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to The Aloha Spirit

I’m not particularly fond of words like “life force” – it sounds a little new age to me. But, what if we as members of the Christian Church had a “law on our books” like this! What if we change The Aloha Spirit to The Holy Spirit? It would read like this:

The Holy Spirit is a gift to the followers of Christ and therefore members of (fill in your church’s name).
All members are obligated by law to conduct themselves in accordance with this law, while performing their duties and obligations, as well as in their day-to-day living. Likewise, those visiting our church are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this law.
The Holy Spirit elevates, empowers and ennobles us, and KEEPS our church the uniquely special place that it is. The Holy Spirit Law deserves our unmitigated support and compliance. As a model law for the world, it can serve the greatest number for its greatest good.
Together, we can help make The Holy Spirit as vibrant and REAL to others as it was for those who came before us. Those who have experienced The Holy Spirit have an obligation to make Him real for those who follow. An individual, conscious effort is required. Let it begin with you.

Here might be the Holy Spirit Law:

(a) The Holy Spirit is in the heart of every believer. Each person must remember this and show Him to others -
H – for Holy – we are set apart by God and for God. Let us act that way.
O – Christ is the only way – let us never suggest to anyone anything else
L – Love – let us love our neighbors as ourselves and God above all else.
Y – You – you are loved by God so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

When we, individually and together, remember these things and act upon them our church will express the charm, warmth and sincerity of true Christians.

You know, we actually do have this law. God has called us to become like Christ. To love and serve, to spread the gospel and to welcome the sinners and the outcasts. Rick Warren in his book A Purpose Driven Life said if churches would show Christ to people and a sincere interest and love for them – they would have to lock the doors to keep people out! Look how people flock to Hawaii!

It’s something to think about!

Let’s pray- Lord, we ask you to fill us to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. And we ask that those coming into our church feel His presence too. Help us each to live our lives for your glory and our church to do Your work with love. And now please bless this food, the people who prepared it and those it was prepared for. In Your Son’s Holy and Precious Name. Amen.

Quiet Time

Questions we should ask ourselves and then listen for the Holy Spirit’s response:

1. Is there an action or behavior in my life God wants me to stop?
2. Is there an action or behavior God wants me to begin?
3. Is there a person I have wronged? If so how should I approach this person and ask forgiveness?
4. Is there a person who has wronged me whom I have not yet forgiven?
5. Is there a person God wants me to care for, to serve, or to show love to? What would He have me do?
6. Is there a sin in my life that I need to confess and change my actions?