By Pastor Greg
A lonely frog telephoned the Psychic Hotline and asked what his future holds. His Personal Psychic Advisor tells him, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you." The frog is thrilled, "This is great! Will I meet her at a party?" he croaks. "No," says the psychic, "in biology class."
King Solomon once wrote, “He (God) has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We long to know what tomorrow will bring. We long to know the mysteries of the universe. We long to know God. In Solomon’s time apparently this was impossible. But if the promise Jesus made to His Apostles is true, many of these mysteries will be revealed. Many people will finally be able to Know God.
As we’ve been studying scripture in pursuit of a bigger God, Jesus has given us a glimpse into what God the Spirit will do for those who believe. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me” (John 15:26). “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13). “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14).
Looking over this list of things the Spirit will do for a believer, Jesus says that God the Spirit will be our comforter, encourager, and counselor; He will regenerate us because of our faith in Jesus; He will mediate God to believers. He will convict us of sin and of God’s love. He will guide us into all Truth. And to comfort troubled hearts, the Spirit will replace the physical presence of Jesus. We will not be left as orphans. The gift of God the Spirit to each and every believer comforts those who long to know God, to know of God’s love and, according to Paul, those who long to know God’s will. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). In other words, what Solomon said is missing in the hearts of humanity can be found through the Holy Spirit of God poured into the heart of those who believe in the name of Jesus, the Son.
This is significant. This is something that humanity longed for but did not experience. In Old Testament times the Spirit would fill a person in order to complete a specific task. The Spirit dwelt temporarily in a person. Even before Pentecost (Acts 2), the Spirit was only present with the disciples (see John 14:17). But after the Spirit is poured out to believers, He dwells permanently. This is why it is best that Jesus leaves (John 16:7). Because Jesus ascended, the Spirit descended.
I think it’s important we understand that the Holy Spirit is not “second best” when compared to Jesus. Christians today are not given God’s leftovers. It’s wrong to think that those who walked with Jesus in the flesh were better off than those of us alive today. When Christ ascended to heaven, believers were given a tremendous gift; a gift of incredible value. It is by the presence of God the Spirit that the question of eternity can be known. However, what a believer does with this gift is incredibly important as well.
I think one of the often overlooked statements Jesus makes in this section of John’s gospel is the part about how the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth (the Paraclete). People who do not believe in Jesus as Lord are not looking for the Spirit, nor would they recognize the Spirit (John 14:17). But later on Jesus says that it is the Spirit who will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and the coming Judgment (John 16:8). Well, if it is believers who receive the Spirit, how might the world be convicted? I think the answer is given in John 15:27 – “And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry”.
Jesus says that the Apostles were to bear witness to the Truth. And it was because the Spirit worked through the Apostles that the world came to know and hear and see the truth about Jesus.
Although you and I have not been gifted with the same types of gifts given to the Apostles, we are still called and gifted to bear witness to the Truth. You see, Jesus no longer walks among us. He has left the earth, and in His place He has sent us the Holy Spirit; God the Spirit. But not just so believers might be comforted, not so only believers might come to know God, but so that the world might come to know God as well.
As I said a few weeks ago, some people don’t believe because of the way we act. Other might look at the way we act and know that we are believers. But the calling by Jesus is that through us the world might come to believe; not believe that we are saved, but believing in Jesus so they might be saved. Sure, the gifting of the Spirit will help us become more Christ-like; the Holy Spirit can help a believer know God. But Jesus expects those who believe and know to bear witness to those who do not. And often times that witness must be more than living a good and honest life. Sometimes in our preaching we will have to use words.
Consider what happened on Pentecost (Acts 2). The Holy Spirit was poured out into all believers, but it didn’t stop Peter from challenging the rest of the people to believe. “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.
This is the reality facing us as believers. We are living in a time when the work of God is being completed here on earth through the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a place or in a building or in some thing. The Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of those who believe in the name of Jesus. And it is through those who believe that the Spirit works. However, the Spirit is unseen and unknown by the world. And the only way the world might come to know is through those in whom the Spirit dwells. So if we want revival to come; if we want a family member or a coworker or a neighbor to know Christ, the work will happen through believers like you and me.
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