“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me ; 27. And you shall bear witness (testify), because you have been with me from the beginning.”
In these verses, Jesus was preparing His disciples for His ascension. This is His promise of the sending of the Holy Spirit. The word “comforter” is the translation of the Greek word Paraclete. There are three applications of this word that can describe the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. First, it can be translated “Counselor.” The Holy Spirit is our counselor, which means He is our source of wisdom. When we serve the Lord, we do not serve in the wisdom of the flesh; rather we serve in the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not innately have the wisdom that we will need in our service, but He will furnish us with the wisdom of God. Also, as our counselor, He will give us our direction. This means directions of how we should serve Him, based on the gifts that the Spirit gives. He also gives us the direction of where we should serve. There are many different ways, and many different places to serve the Lord. Seek His counsel for your life so that you will do the right thing in the right place in your service for the Lord. Second, it can be translated “Intercessor.” This is our source of comfort in our service for the Lord. Here is what Paul told us this intercessory ministry in Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: But the Spirit makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. 27. And He searches the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints (all believers) according to the will of God.” Again, we are reminded that we are not in this service alone, for we have been given the wisdom, power and accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. Third, it can be translated “Helper.” This is our source of victory. Just before He ascended back to the Father, Jesus gave them this promise in Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." He told them in John 15:27 that they would testify for Him under the power of the Holy Spirit. This did not end with Jesus’ original followers. It is also a promise to us. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is your counselor, your intercessor and your helper. Rejoice! And pause now and thank Jesus for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Bro. Joe
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“Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work will be rewarded.”
Our text was the advice given to Asa, the king of Judah, by Azariah when the “Spirit of God came upon him.” The occasion was Asa’s accession to the throne of Judah in a time of spiritual drought. Asa heeded this challenge, took courage and was “fully committed to the Lord all his life.” (NIV) We can apply this text to our lives. If we will commit ourselves to the Lord our “work will be rewarded.” In Ephesians 2:10 we are promised that when we are saved we will become “His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” If we will commit ourselves to serve God, we will be effective in what we do. This is what it means to be “His workmanship…” This is a promise borne out in the Bible and in Christian history. I want you to get this down: GOD WILL USE YOU!!! Understand, you do not always need to know when God uses you, but take it on faith that He will. I believe that when I preach in the power of the Spirit, someone is touched whether I know it or not. I believe the same thing about my writing. He will use you in what you do for Him. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, will use us in our daily lives. He will use us as His witnesses at home, in our workplaces, at school, and at play. He can use our conversations with people to make a spiritual impression on them. He can use us by the way we act around people. We are Christ's witnesses wherever we are, not just by what we say but also how we act. I don't want to be insipid, but we are more likely to show Christ to people with a smile than with a frown. We are more likely to show Christ to people by a kind word than by an unkind word. Repeat after me: "CHRIST WILL USE ME!" Christ, through the Holy Spirit can use you in your work in the church where you attend and serve. The Holy Spirit has gifted you to serve. If your gift is to be an usher, be the best usher that your church has ever had, and ask God to use you to touch people by the way you usher. If your spiritual gift is teaching, teach under the power of the Spirit, know that what you do can, and will, touch people’s lives. If your spiritual gift is singing, sing to the glory of the Lord, and people will be touched by what you sing. Whatever your spiritual gift is, use it prayerfully and the Lord will reward what you do. TRY IT!!! God wants to use you! Bro. Joe “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Verse one portrays the Christian life as a foot race. Like the racer, we are to rid ourselves of anything that will hinder us from running as effectively as possible. Verse two tells us Who the goal is. A race has a finish line, a goal for the runner to reach. As we endeavor to lead a Christian life, serving Jesus, we are to keep our eyes on Jesus, for He is our goal. Why? The first reason is that Jesus is the “author…of our faith.” The fact is that without Jesus there would not be a race. He is the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It was intrinsically woven into the fabric of the biblical narrative, and of the world, that Jesus would be the “author” of our faith. If we are to run the race of the Christian life effectively, we must keep our eyes of Jesus, knowing that He is with us every step of the way. Jesus will be there for us at the end of the race; then we will be with Him throughout the ages. The second reason is that Jesus is the “finisher of our faith.” At the moment just before His death, Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) “The lamb slain from the foundation of the world” had accomplished what was in the heart of God from the beginning, i.e., that people would be saved by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. What had been prophesied throughout Old Testament prophecy and typology, came to fruition in Christ. Our goal is the One who made salvation possible. When we lose sight of Jesus, we stumble and the race becomes meaningless to us. We become tired and irritable, doing “church work” for its own sake and not for Jesus’ sake. We are not effective in our service for Jesus when the ultimate reason for the race is blurred. The third reason is that Jesus is “at the right hand of the throne of God.” When Jesus “endured the cross,” He became the finisher of our faith. Crucifixion was the most painful form of capital punishment ever devised by man. In order to be our goal, Jesus had to endure the pain and anguish of the cross. We should never forget the price that was paid to get us into the race in the first place. Paul was right when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20: “For ye are bought with a price…” Jesus also “despised the shame of the cross, because He knew that the outcome would be our salvation. He was willing to make Himself a public spectacle, and to endure the taunts of the hostile crowd, in order to do for us what needed to be done for our salvation. For this reason, we should never be ashamed of belonging to Jesus and serving Him. The drama ended in glory, however, for Jesus arose from the grave and ascended to “the right hand of the throne of God.” Our goal is not on this earth but in heaven. Our ultimate goal is to believe in Jesus and be saved, then to serve and please Him here and to finally be with Him in heaven. Whatever our spiritual gifts for Christian service are, our goal for using them is Jesus. What or who is your goal? Why do you continue to “run”? Why do you continue to serve? If the reason is not Jesus, you need to change your goal and look to Him. No one other than Jesus could be the “author and finisher of our faith.” No other goal could be “at the right hand of the throne of God.” No other goal is worthy of our effort. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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