Sunday am – 8 October 2017 – Sam Festus

John 1:1-5, 12-18; John 14:15-19; Heb. 4:12; (Heb. 13:5); (Deut. 31:6); (Matt. 28:20); (John 8:38); Gal. 5:22-23; (John 16:8, 13, 15); (Jer. 17:9); (2 Cor. 5:16)

God is the one acting on our behalf. We go through things where we feel we are all alone. We feel disempowered and we do not have control over what is happening in our lives. Before Jesus left He said, “I will not leave you orphaned” (John 14:18). We need to know that when Jesus left He sent the Holy Spirit as the One who would walk with us, counsel us and take us to wherever we should be. We need to collaborate with the Holy Spirit.

The Word was with God in the beginning. And through Him all things were made. He spoke things into being and they happened. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that flesh part is Jesus (John 1:1, 14). He came to do specific tasks. 1) To show us how to live. 2) He came to sacrifice Himself and pay the price so we do not have to pay the price. 3) He left, but He never really left (John 14:15-19).

There may be people who have been serving God for many years. Some may feel they have not achieved what they want to achieve. God has not left us as orphans; God has not left us alone even though our feelings are suggesting that we are alone. He sent His Holy Spirit. Remember that the Word is alive from the beginning; it is active.

The Holy Spirit comes and teaches us who we are, and He is our counsellor, someone who walks alongside us. He is somebody who can interpret what you are going through, gives you some wisdom and insight, someone who can guide you. You are not coming into the presence of God; you are in the presence of God. He said, “I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5; Deut. 31:6; Matt. 28:20). You do not come and go out of the presence of God. He is with you 24/7.

Jesus said, “I only do what I see my Father do” (John 8:38). He said the Holy Spirit will tell you whatever He sees. He will take of Mine and declare it to you (John 16:15). Your kids do what they see you do, not what you preach to them. The Holy Spirit picks up the entire nature of God. Jesus saw what the Father did and perfected it on earth. The world cannot accept the Holy Spirit because the function of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin (John 16:8).

The Word was from the beginning. The Holy Spirit is helping us understand this Word and the Word is alive and active. The Holy Spirit helps and guides us and takes us to the next level. To those who believe in His name He gave the right to become children of God. You need to see yourself as children of God; you have been empowered to become a child of God (John 1:14). But you do not remain children, you need to mature and grow up into the things of God. That is what the Holy Spirit does. He takes you from your infancy stages in the kingdom of God and matures you. In that maturity comes the strength to deal with life. With the Holy Spirit comes grace.

Jesus came to fulfil the law. The terms and conditions according to the law have been met in Jesus Christ. We do not have to meet those terms and conditions. So we need the Holy Spirit to keep us on track. Spend some time understanding grace.

The Holy Spirit judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb. 4:12). The Word has a very important function. We sometimes do not allow the Holy Spirit to get to the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. The word ‘judging’ does not mean ‘condemning’. It means to assess the thoughts and attitudes. This is a gracious moment for the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to come in and actively look at those areas in your life that need judgement, that need change, that need grace applied to it. Thoughts can be very destructive. He is judging the attitude of the heart. The heart is deceitful (Jer. 17:9) and He is judging (assessing) those attitudes. Your heart is important to God. For you to receive the best, you have to be receptive to the best. It is not what you have but what is going on in your whole being. Allow the Holy Spirit and the living Word to penetrate into those areas. God wants to take you further and mature you but God has to deal with those things first. First things first!

The Holy Spirit is here and is providing us with God’s presence. We are not fatherless; we are not orphans because the Holy Spirit represents God. He is helping us mature and be the sons God wants us to be.

We are to know no man after the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16). You and I are spirit beings. The soul is not pleased with that fact. The soul is going to be countering all of those things the Spirit wants to do. This is where free-will comes in. From day one you fed the soul. At some point you came to Christ, God has touched your spirit, it is awakened; it is alive. Grace is important for the soul. The spirit is made stronger the more time you spend with God. Then you will find the soul will start co-operating with your spirit because the spirit will become the dominant force. The Word comes and separates soul from spirit because the spirit is what God is taking to the next level. From which position are you looking at your life? Where is your position? Are you on ground zero looking up or are you in an elevated position so that you can see what God is doing? The Holy Spirit has the ability to take you up and give you a bird’s-eye view of your life, but you must allow Him to do that. Jesus approached His walk on earth from an elevated position. He saw the bigger picture. That is what empowered Him because He knew where we were going with this. It is the same with our walk with God. The Holy Spirit is very close and dear to us, helping us to mature as sons in the earth.

God is busy preparing His people. We do not know the time when God is going to come, but that is not your and my concern. Our concern should be changing this earth to be ready for when God comes because He has already come in us. God is not going to come one day, He is already here; He is amongst us by His Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Gal 5:22-23). The world needs this fruit that God has been talking about for centuries. It comes through our relationship with the Holy Spirit. There are no restrictions as to how much you can love. There is no restriction as to how much joy you should put out into the world. There is no restriction as to how kind you should be. We need to produce this fruit in the earth, and you can only get this by your relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is working with us so that we can go out there and make a difference in the earth.

There is a sound of many waters in the earth and if you are walking outside of a relationship with the Holy Spirit, you are not going to hear that sound. You are going to miss it completely. God is with us, His Word is alive and active. Because of our relationship with Him we are participants and partakers of that Word. Be encouraged this morning. You are not an orphan. God is with you and He is with you through the Holy Spirit. Comply and collaborate with the Holy Spirit. He is the One who will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).