Another Helper

On this day of Pentecost, 1992 years ago, a miraculous event occurred. God's Holy Spirit was poured out on a group of believers who had gathered together in one accord and with one purpose on this high holy day. And this event recorded in Acts 2 marked the beginning of what we call the New Testament Church, the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. God's Holy Spirit was made available beginning on that day in a way that was unique in how it had ever been poured out before. God had up to that point only given His Spirit to a few select individuals, but on this day of Pentecost, then 31 AD, things were different. I want to turn to Acts 2 to begin today. This is where Mr. Oliver began, but this is obviously the logical place to be on this day of Pentecost. Acts 2.

And in verse 1 it says, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, because you're anticipating it, you're counting to it, 50 days, 7 Sabbaths to the morrow after the 7th Sabbath, it has now fully come. They were all gathered with one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The pouring out of God's Holy Spirit on these individuals was a very dramatic event, and the result of it was quite dramatic as well, because then now they're speaking in other tongues, other languages. And honestly, that's not how it is often portrayed as if it's some sort of gibberish. These were known languages that they were speaking. God gave that blessing through His Spirit for the spreading of the Gospel. And on the day of Pentecost, as they spoke, there was a miracle of the speaking as well as the hearing. People said, we hear them in the tongue and the dialect and the region from which we come. And it was an incredible blessing, and it was evidence of God's work at hand. But as you walk through the book here, what you find is that these dramatic events attracted attention from other Jews who were round about, and as some of them saw and heard what was occurring, there were some that said, well, they must be drunk. You know, this is kind of outlandish behavior. There's got to be something else behind it.

But as the story goes on, Peter responds to them in verse 14 by preaching that famous Pentecost sermon, in which he explains, these things are the fulfillment of the prophecy of the book of Joel. Joel chapter 2, to be exact. And as we come forward to our day today, we recognize, you know, this was a partial fulfillment.

The ultimate fullness of that fulfillment is yet to come at the end of the age, but the fulfillment was opened, and it was beginning now on this day of Pentecost, and would progress forward, indeed, up until the time of the return of Jesus Christ. But he said, they're not drunk as you suppose. And in that sermon, he preached Jesus Christ crucified.

And the fact that they had played a part in his death. He preached Jesus Christ resurrected, the fact that he lives again, and that he is ascended. And he's sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that actually what you see in here is a result of what God has given him, and he has poured out in a very miraculous and dramatic way on this day.

Go to verse 37 of Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 verse 37, it says, Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. And they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? We killed him. Right? They came to that recognition. This was the one the Father had sent. This was the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. And we killed him. How can we make this right?

What shall we do? And the response then from Peter was, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You know, the solution is you can't fix what you did, but you can take the gift that was given, and you can restore your life and fix your standing before God, because ultimately that is what God intended from the beginning of all these things.

Verse 39, For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. A very beautiful explanation, a very beautiful summary to a sermon that was given on that day. And as the story continues, 3,000 individuals were added to the faith on that day of Pentecost. And it was so remarkable. You know, never has there been a day, I would say, in the history of the church since that day. There's been some remarkable days in the history of the church, and there will be again, but this was dramatic.

And it was so remarkable, in fact, that we return to this point as a church every year, right? Almost 2,000 years later, we come back to the events of Acts 2. Why? Because we recognize our connection to it. We recognize what God did on that day. He poured out His Spirit, the church began, and we are a continuation of what God began dramatically on that day.

And there's a connection directly to those people, as Mr. Imes mentioned in the sermon yesterday, the laying on of hands and God giving the Holy Spirit. That comes after baptism. Laying on of hands is used for ordination. It's used for setting somebody apart for the purpose of healing. We use it for the blessing of little children. The laying on of hands is setting somebody apart before God for the purpose of His recognition and His action.

And the giving of the Holy Spirit is done, as God gave directive, through the laying on of hands. And it's been an unbroken chain from this day to our day today, as Paul told Timothy, the things you've heard from me, commit these to faithful men who are able to teach others also.

And as a result of those ministries, individuals were called, they were discipled, they received the Spirit, and they went out as well and continued the progression of what God has done since this incredible day. So that's why we come back here. That's why we focus on this each and every year, such as we do. It's an anchor point. While we're here in Acts 2, I want to look at a specific word in verse 39 again, in Acts 2.39, for the promise is to you and to your children and all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

This is a promise that was being fulfilled. And the promise has to do with the Holy Spirit. If we go back to Acts 2 and verse 33, we see that confirmed. Peter, again, giving his expression to the people, he says, Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He, being Jesus Christ, poured out this which you now see and hear. And so the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father through Jesus Christ, and it is a promise.

It's a life-changing promise, and it also says it is a gift. As we heard yesterday as well, we can't do anything to earn this. We do. God gives it to those who obey Him. The Scripture tells us that. So we must obey and do what God has given us to do. But it's not like you finally reached the perfect standard down now like, give this to you. It's part of the grace that comes through, coming under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But it is, brethren, a promise, a promised gift.

So I'm going to follow this thread backwards a little bit from this point, because Acts 2 is telling us about the fulfillment of the promise. Right? The Spirit is given. It's being poured out. It's now being fulfilled. But you see, this is something. It's a promise. It had been made prior to this point. And so we can go backwards and see where it's been previously promised and then look back further in order to see when the promise began to be spoken at least to the disciples of this time and why then the Spirit came, and the circumstances of why it came when it did, at least in their context. So I want to reverse engineer this a little bit. I want to see how it's all put together then now to bring us to this point. We're going to go from kind of front backwards for a little bit here today and rewind the record a little bit. Let's go to Acts 1 and verse 1.

Acts 1 and verse 1, let's look at the basis of the promise going back the other direction. Acts 1 and verse 1, the author is Luke. He says, The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day which he was taken up after he threw the Holy Spirit, have given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. Verse 3, whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. Okay, again, this promise begins with the Father, which he said, You have heard from me. And so Jesus Christ had told them previously about the promise that would come, even prior to this point. It's a reiteration of what you've heard from me.

And I want you to hold on to that for a little bit, because we're going to back up shortly and again back to the genesis of this a little more. But let's notice again that the promise, what it is. Verse 5, Jesus said, For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So clearly, this is the Holy Spirit.

This is what was promised. This is what they would receive that would change their lives dramatically in their service to God, and frankly, in their own development as the people of God. Verse 6, Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, It's not for you to know the times or the seasons which a father has put into his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

That Spirit would empower them to go out with boldness, to do the work God had given them to do. Verse 9, And now when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. So it would appear Jesus' final instruction to his disciples in this passage was, Wait here, right? Tarry in Jerusalem. The promise is coming, and you want to be here when it arrives. And to me, as well, one of the greatest proofs that the church and those who became the church were keeping the Holy Days after Jesus Christ's death, the fact that they weren't done away with his death, was they were here gathered together on the day of Pentecost.

And imagine what they had missed out on, or would have missed out on, if they had not been there. But again, he says, Tarry for that, which indeed was fulfilled on this day. Luke 24 contains a parallel account of this instruction. Luke 24. Again, Luke wrote Acts, but he also wrote a gospel account of the life and the works of Jesus Christ. Luke 24, and picking it up in verse 49, the words of Jesus, he says, Behold, I send... notice again, the promise. This is what this is directly referred to. This is a promise.

It is a promise by God, and it would come. Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem, and you are endued with power from on high. And so again, they had the weight there to receive the Spirit, and we notice again that it is poured out from the Father through Jesus Christ. He said, I send the promise of my Father upon you. And that's just exactly how that event was fulfilled on that day. Verse 50, and he led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

And now it came to pass while he blessed them that he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him. Who's the they? Well, it would have been the, I guess we'll say the eleven at this point, right? There was still one to replace Judas, who had by transgression turned aside, but it says they worshipped him. And then they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.

So let's go back now to the point where Jesus first told them about this event and that it would come, because you see there's actually a transition that is taking place in terms of, shall we say, the source from which the apostles would receive their direction and their inspiration. All right, let's go back to John chapter 14. John chapter 14, because remember we said that this was a promise. And to go back to understand then the reasoning behind when the Holy Spirit would be given and the purpose that it would be given.

Remember the title, or actually I don't think I gave you the title. Excuse me. I'll give you the title now. The title is Another Helper. Another Helper. So John chapter 14, John 14, the context of this chapter is following Jesus' final Passover with his disciples, the events that then take place on that night prior to his arrest and his crucifixion. John chapter 14, verse 12, Jesus said, Jesus said, Notice why?

Because I go to my Father. You know, Jesus Christ had a number of things he wanted to share with the disciples on that night. It was very personal, a very intimate interaction that he had with them. He knew he would be leaving, not just for a short period of time of the crucifixion, but ultimately at the time of his ascension, he would return to his Father not to descend again until his Father sends him, right, at the return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age.

So you can imagine they'd been with him throughout his ministry of three and a half years, side by side, right? joined at the hip, so to speak, and now he's getting ready to depart. He says, I have some very important things that I need to share with you, because they were going to continue forward.

Christ would depart, but the disciples would be here, and they would carry forward with the work God had given, even apart from his physical presence. Verse 13, Jesus says, If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper. Another helper. That's the title of the message today.

I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. We understand, brethren, the Holy Spirit is not a person or a separate entity from God.

Okay, so he is written in our Bibles, but we know we're not talking about a third being of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is the essence of who and what God is. God is holy, is he not? And God is Spirit. God is Holy Spirit. It is his presence. It is his essence that comes and dwells in us. Jesus Christ as well, in his glorified state, is holy, is he not? And he is Spirit in the likeness of God. And as we see, they both dwell in us, in this indwelling presence of God's Spirit. So, I may not always translate he to it as I read through, but we understand what the Holy Spirit is.

Again, it is sometimes described as the power of God, and it is, but even beyond that, it is his essence, who and what he is. I'm physical flesh, and I can't be separated from my physical flesh. Okay, as long as I'm living. God is Holy Spirit, and he cannot be separated. So, God can manifest himself in a way. Frankly, I can't even quite explain to you, because I can't fully comprehend it myself in the flesh.

But he comes and makes his home with us, and dwells in us by his presence, the temple of God, containing the Spirit of God. Verse 16 again, then. Christ is telling his disciples about the promise to come, and the reason, then, that it would need to come.

Verse 16, I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Helper that he may abide with you forever. Jesus Christ was leaving. And he says, there's another Helper that's coming, and what does that tell us about who he was in their midst? Well, it tells us that he had been their Helper. Right? He had been their guide along the way. Jesus Christ was the one who walked with them, and talked with them, and taught them, and guided and directed them all the days of his ministry. That would be departing. But they would still need to be guided, and taught, and directed, and inspired, and know what to do when the decision needed to be made. He said, I will send you, pray the Father, and he will send you another Helper that he may abide with you forever. The word translated here Helper, in the New King James, it says Helper, is the Greek word paracletos, or sometimes it's maybe pronounced paracletos, but paracletos appears to be the correct pronunciation in the Greek. Paracletos, essentially means one who is called by our side, or one who comes alongside. This is a guide that's coming alongside of you. The Helps word study says of this word paracletos, it says it's from para, meaning from close beside, and calo, which means make a call. So, close beside, make a call. And properly, it's a legal advocate who makes the right judgment call, it says because close enough to the situation. So the point is, it's one that comes alongside that is very close to the situation and actually knows the call to make. Okay, well this is God's presence, this is God's mind, this is God's spirit. And if you look at this word as it's translated across multiple Bible translations, you see it's translated Helper in the New King James, it's translated Comforter in the Old King James.

In other translations, you have advocate, counselor, guide, among others, and that's because this Greek word has so much meaning to it that it's hard to just cram it down into a simple English word. You know, what the paracletos, the Spirit of God is, is so dynamic. It's a concept we need to grab hold of and consider as it pertains to God's spirit in us, and what God does in us through His Spirit. I mean, consider the fact that Jesus Christ was with His disciples for three and a half years. He said, follow me, and they dropped their nets. Or Matthew walked away from the tax booth, whatever they were doing, they left all behind and followed Him. And Jesus Christ was the first Helper, the first Comforter that they ever knew. And it was an intimate relationship.

You recall that during His ministry, Jesus healed them of their afflictions. And I'm not just speaking only specifically of the Twelve. You recall when they had to pick a replacement for Judas, they said, we need somebody that's been with us from the beginning. So you had others, you had the Twelve, the Core, but you had others that were kind of along in this process from the beginning as well. And Jesus healed them of their afflictions. He fed them when they were hungry, physically, yes, but so much more even spiritually. He taught them about God and opened their eyes to the truth of God regarding many matters. He was a strong leader to them through good times and through difficult times. He encouraged them.

When they had doubt, He showed them the way. When they were fearful, He stopped the storm, right? He told the wind and the waves of the sea, be still. And He gave them peace. He prayed for them. He guided them in their decisions. He gave them hope and encouragement and the knowledge of the soon-coming kingdom of God. Again, very much so, Jesus Christ was the first Helper, the first Comforter that the disciples knew, but now He would be going away. And again, He said, John 14, verse 16, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

Jesus would be leaving, but the Holy Spirit would come from God and would abide with them forever, never to depart. Right? Christ was departing, but He said, the Spirit will be with you for as long as you live, as long as you never turn aside from this way and forsake the calling of my Father.

The Spirit will be with you forever. And it would be a Helper, a Comforter, a Guide, an Encourager. I think maybe sometimes we struggle a little bit with, you know, we know we have the Holy Spirit, and we can read Scriptures that it's powerful and dynamic, but how does it really work in our day-to-day life? And for me, it kind of helps to go back and say, well, what was Jesus Christ to the disciples?

Right? When they traveled the roads, when they... I mean, that's... the Holy Spirit came as the replacement to them as He left. And it is the same type of guidance that we receive by its indwelling presence in our life.

Verse 18, Christ said, I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. A little while longer, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me, because I live, you will live also. At that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

It's referring to the unity that they would all experience together through the Spirit as an indwelling presence. When they were with Jesus Christ, He told them about the Father. They asked Him about the Father. They said, show us the Father. And they knew of the Father, and they knew that God had called them, and they had this direct face-to-face relationship with Jesus Christ. But Christ said, when the Spirit comes, actually, you're going to have a connection to me and my Father and each other that goes beyond anything you've ever experienced.

And again, it's not of this flesh. But it would be a comfort, and it would be a guide, and it would be a helper to them as they carried forward. Verse 21, He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves me, He who loves me, will be loved by my Father, and I will love Him and manifest myself to Him. Judas, not as scary, it said to Him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not the world?

And Jesus answered and said to Him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him. And notice, we will come to Him and make our home with Him. Again, the giving of the Holy Spirit results in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ residing within a converted believer, that they make their home within you, that they dwell within you, guiding and directing and inspiring, that their Spirit links with your Spirit, the Spirit in man, to give you what it is that you need to move forward in their service.

They will make their home with us. That's a very personal relationship, isn't it? And it even is, as Mr. Oliver was telling us in the first message, it is what connects us together as a body as well. So if God and Christ have made their home with me, and they've made their home with each and every one of you, who have been baptized and entered into this covenant, why wouldn't we make our home with each other?

This is how this all is designed to come together and to be lived. And this is how they would manifest themselves. He said, how will you manifest yourself to us and not the rest of the world? Well, they are manifested in this way to those who have entered this covenant, but not the entire world is called and joined in this relationship at this time.

Verse 25, Jesus' words continuing, These things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives that I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. And so the spiritual help that they would need to carry forward would continue after Jesus Christ's departure, again, through the Holy Spirit, that the Father would send. Actually, the Father gave it to Christ, and Christ shed it then upon His disciples. This is the promise that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, 31 A.D.

You will not be alone. I won't leave you orphans. My Father and I will make our home in you. Indeed, what they would do from there would be dramatic. God's Holy Spirit was sent to be a Helper, a Comforter, a Counselor, a Guide to the people who entered into that covenant relationship with God through baptism. And even though their Master and their friend, and the one that they saw face to face each and every day, even though He was departing, Christ says, I will come to you, and He would indeed live in them through the Spirit, that which proceeds from the Father.

In John 16, Jesus continues discussing further this promise of the Father, John 16, and verse 4, continuing with the words of Jesus on that night, He says, These things I have told you, that when these things come to pass, excuse me, let me back up. These things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them, and these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

I was traveling, I was teaching, and we spent this time together, but now I'm telling you, because I'm going to then now return to my Father. Verse 5, But now I go away to Him who sent me, and none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send Him to you. I mean, sometimes this can almost be a little hard to process. I mean, think about it. How great would it be to have Jesus Christ right here? How great would it be to, you know, give Him your top ten list of questions?

Right? We've all had questions. We've all had things that we said, you know, if I had two minutes of Jesus Christ face to face, the Apostle Paul, I'd have some questions. Actually, ten seconds. I could talk really fast, you know, the bullet points, right? But how great would that be? And Jesus is saying, even greater than that is actually to your advantage that I go away. Because if I don't go away, the Holy Spirit will not come to you.

Why? Again, wasn't it great to have Christ right there in their midst? Wouldn't it have been better for Him to stay there walking and talking? Well, because through the receiving of the Holy Spirit, one can be come than partakers of the divine nature. He says, if I don't leave, the Holy Spirit will not come. So, however the Father and the Son do this, God pours out His Spirit. Jesus Christ, you know, spreads it broad then upon His people.

He says, I'm going to go away before this can then take place. But what is the advantage? The advantage of the Spirit is the indwelling of the Father and the Son. It is to be the partakers of the divine nature, which we understand isn't just head knowledge. This is a change in character that God's Spirit works in our lives. The fact that His Spirit mingles with our spirit and man, and He works with us and as we yield ourselves to Him, there's a change.

And it's a change in character. It's a change of who Paul Moody is by carnal nature. To the image and the likeness of God and Christ. Again, if I'm yielding to that, that's a change, frankly, that cannot come apart from the indwelling of the Spirit, the molding of the character into the likeness of God.

This is the creation that started in the beginning of Genesis of, Let us make man in our image. And it's the next step beyond just the physical birth and the likeness of God. Now, this is the character and the mind of God being developed, ultimately, to be born into the family of God in their likeness at the return of Jesus Christ. But just consider the dramatic change that took place in Peter after he received the Holy Spirit.

Because you can look at the account of the night of Jesus Christ's arrest, and Peter's like, I will follow you to the death. And it didn't take very much happening that suddenly he was denying Him. And they're saying, aren't you one of His disciples? Didn't we see you on the road with Him and this place and that? And he says, I don't know the man. And even so far as to curse, I'm not one of His. Right? So Peter had some work to do. He had some heart change to do. But what did we notice on the day of Pentecost that it was the same Peter filled with the Holy Spirit that stood up boldly in Jerusalem, proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, proclaimed the Spirit as the promise from the Father through Him, and proclaimed His name boldly.

The gospel message, no hesitation, no timidity. He said, I am His. And you have called to be His as well. Again, there was a change, and He was a changed man after fully embracing His apostleship and receiving the Spirit of God. So as great as the external relationship with Jesus Christ was, and it was great, okay, and it served a very important purpose, He said it's actually to your advantage that I go away and the Holy Spirit comes because of what would happen then in the transformation of their very nature and heart by the indwelling of that Spirit.

And Christ would no longer be guiding them externally, but He would be living in them, guiding, directing, inspiring by the Spirit the way that they should go. Verse 8, John chapter 16, and verse 8, and when He comes, okay, referencing the Spirit, when the Spirit comes, it will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin because they do not believe Me, of righteousness because I go to My Father and you see Me no more, of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when it, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak and will tell you things to come. You know, when Jesus Christ walked the earth as their helper, He wasn't some kind of rogue individual, was He? Right? Jesus Christ wasn't, say, taking on His own authority and telling them what He wanted to tell them, what it was that He was thinking, what it was that, you know, He was, He wasn't saying His own thing and doing His own thing.

He was completely subservient to the will of the Father. And in John 12, verse 49, He said, I have not spoken on my own authority. This is Jesus Christ. I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. So Jesus spoke the words of God, not taking on His own authority to do His own thing, and the same would be true with the Helper that would follow Him.

Again, verse 13, when the Spirit of truth is come, it will guide you into all truth, for it will not speak on its own authority. Whatever it hears, it will speak and will tell you the things to come. So the Spirit is guided by God because it is the Spirit of God, and it doesn't act independently of God.

As Dr. Ward likes to say, it's not out freelancing on its own, okay? But it is subjected to the will and purpose of God. It is His presence. It is His Spirit, again, the mind of God. Verse 14, and He will glorify Me, Jesus said, He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me because I go to the Father. You and I don't have Jesus Christ physically living on the earth today, walking and talking and directing our steps, but we do have the Holy Spirit, which helps the guide and teach and lead us, that mind dwelling in us and interacting with our very nature. Don't ever take that blessing for granted. Don't ever neglect it. Don't ever push it aside. Don't ever think that, well, it would somehow be better if God did something different.

No, this is what God has chosen to do and is the greatest thing that He could do in the step along the way to the ultimate salvation He's called us to. It is the promise of the Father that was originally poured out on the church on this day of Pentecost, and it continues down through our lives today.

Each and every one of us who have received the Spirit are connected with these people in Acts chapter 2 who were there in one accord and in one place. Don't ever take it for granted. This promise is to you and your children and to all who are far off. As many as the Lord our God will call. So how are we helped by the Holy Spirit then today? I want to transition a little bit here and just, again, insight. How is this guiding us?

How is this helping us? How is God's Spirit working in our lives? How are we helped by it and comforted by it and directed by it each day? Let's go quickly through some highlights pertaining to what the Holy Spirit does for us. As we consider these points, again, let's consider how it's a helper and a guide and a comforter to us in each and every one of these areas. Point number one, the Holy Spirit leads us to all truth. The Holy Spirit leads us to all truth. That's how it guides and directs and helps. John chapter 15 and verse 26, we haven't read this yet.

John chapter 15 verse 26, but when the helper comes whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, who will testify of me. So again, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. And of course it would be because it's the essence, it's the presence of the God of all truth coming to dwell in you and me, and it will guide us to truth in our lives.

We live in a world that's largely devoid of truth, and even if there is truth out there to be found, the challenge with truth today is, you know what, pick your topic and pick your expert on both sides. Right? We kind of saw that in the last couple years with the virus. There's an expert on both sides. Pick your expert, pick who you're going to believe, and the question of what is truth is somewhat out there.

People are left grasping and forming their own opinions on those things. We live in an age that is largely devoid of truth, an age of deception, an age of emerging AI, an age of deep fakes, an age of don't believe your eyes, don't believe your ears. So what can we rely on? The spirit of truth. That's what we will ultimately have to come back to. As we near the end of the age, we will need to rely more and more on the spirit of truth if we're going to escape the great deception that will grab hold of the whole world.

John chapter 16 and verse 13, however, when he the spirit of truth has come, it will guide you into all truth, for it will not speak on its own authority, but whatever it hears it will speak. Again, it will guide you into all truth. This is what God is doing by his spirit, and as Jesus said, it will even give us insight into the truth of things yet to come in the future.

Not speak on its own authority, but what it hears it will speak and will tell you things to come. We need to be close to God. We need to be relying on his spirit and drinking deeply from what it is he has to offer. Because truth will be critical in surviving the challenges at the end of the age. And ultimately, the spiritual deception will only be unwoven through the truth that you and I depend on through God's Holy Spirit.

Point number two, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the spiritual things of God. First Corinthians chapter two and verse nine. Again, how does this help us daily? Practical application. Holy Spirit reveals to us the spiritual things of God. First Corinthians chapter two and verse nine. The Apostle Paul will stick with him for the rest of the message today. But as it is written, I has not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.

It says, but God has revealed them to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except for the spirit of man which is in him? Can a cow do algebra? The friend of mine once said, how long does the phone and the pasture have to ring before they'll answer it? Hello? There's the spirit in the animal.

The animal does what the animal does. There's a spirit in man, right, which takes you to another level that God has given you. You understand the things of man. Some of you can do algebra, thanks to the spirit of man, right? So the spirit of man, though, cannot come up to the level of the things of the spirit of God apart from the spirit of God. So this is how the separation exists.

Even no one knows, again, verse 11, the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we receive not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

And so again, as God's Holy Spirit, that gives us the ability to rise above our physical limitations as human beings and to receive, to process, and to live the things that come according to his spirit. What an incredible guide, what an incredible comforter and helper that's been given to us along the way to bring us in to obedience and to bring us into living God's way to the fullness that he intends.

It's an incredible, incredible thing to respond to. Point number three, the Holy Spirit helps us to know and practice the love of God. And this has been touched on yesterday and today already, but God is love, isn't he? That's what the Bible tells us. God is love. And everything that God does is motivated by his love. And so when he calls us, when he gives us blessings, it's because he loves us, when he corrects us, it is out of his deep love for us.

Everything he does is according to and motivated by the love of God. Romans chapter five and verse one. Romans five verse one, if we're yielding to the Spirit of God, the point is, we will come to know and understand as well this deep love of God. Romans chapter five and verse one, therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only that, verse three, but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. I would put that at one of those, you know, the natural man can't understand the things at the level of the Spirit of God. Who rejoices in tribulation other than when you recognize what God is able to work as a result of that. It's not hooray for the trial, but it's hooray for, frankly, the miracle that God can work when we look to him in faith. Verse five, now hope does not disappoint.

Notice why. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which was given to us. And so the love of God is what we come to know and practice through the Spirit of God. And he gives us that Spirit so we can live it, so we can understand it. So when we look at the world around us, we don't just say, well, that's the world fully on them. We're the people of God.

No. We look at the world and say, God so loved the world, and so must we. Not the things of the world, but the day will come when the world will have its potential fulfilled as well. But the love of God, evident in our lives, is how we worship, how we treat one another, and how we help where we can to be as our children saying the light to the world. I won't turn there, but Galatians 5, 22 and 23 give us the fruit of the Spirit, and the first fruit listed of the Spirit is love.

Right? You go love, joy, peace, and it goes down from there. But the first is love. You have to have love, and the other spring forward from agape, from the love of God in action. Point 4, the Holy Spirit provides us mental stability. That's a good thing to have, right? 2 Timothy chapter 1.

Verse 6 and 7, it's kind of a crazy world. Maybe we all struggle. Maybe we shouldn't try to be sane in an insane world. Maybe we ought to try to be sane in the things of God. That's what a Spirit guides us to. 2 Timothy 1, 6 and 7. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands, the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Verse 7, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind. A sound mind is a mind of self-discipline.

It's a mind of self-control. It's a mind of good and sound judgment. But again, it's not the carnal nature. It is what God lends us through His Spirit if indeed we are yielded to Him. Point number 5, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. Romans chapter 8 and verse 26. Romans 8 verse 26. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. Paul says, Likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses.

For we do not know what we should pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

If you've ever gone through something that you just like, it was such a deep trial, whatever it was, and you just you can even put it in the words. You just, you cried out to God. And maybe not even in verbal expression, but your Spirit cried out to God. God knows because His Spirit links with your spirit. And He knows indeed what it is you're thinking, you're feeling, what it is you're wanting, what it is you're wanting. You're thinking, you're feeling, what it is you're walking through and enduring, even if you can't put it into words yourself.

Your Spirit of God expresses those things because of the intimate relationship we have. Point 6. Holy Spirit brings unity to the body. I appreciate Mr. Oliver's message on this point. Ephesians 4, verse 1, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you are called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all, and in you all.

God resides in you all if you've come into that covenant with Him by the power of His Spirit, and it's a Spirit of unity. The Spirit is not divided. And to the degree that we as the people of God are divided, the problem isn't with the Spirit, the problem is with us.

But it's one Spirit and one body by which God has joined us together collectively. And it's a collective effort. And it's a collective result as well. Point number seven, the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance the things of God. I'll just reference the Scripture for you. John 14, verse 25 and 26. Christ said to His disciples, you know, it will be brought to your mind to things that have spoken to you by God's Spirit. So, you know, I told the story recently about being in jury duty and having to stand up in the courtroom and give an answer to the judge and the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney, you know, why I believe what I believe and what it is that I stand for.

And I said, I do believe I serve in support of this court outside these walls in what I do. I try to help people not end up in here to begin with, if at all possible. But what are you going to say? You're not going to put it in a script. You may think about those things in advance, but God will give you what you need when you need it. But it has to be there. Christ didn't say, I'll call to remembrance the things I never spoke to you. He says, the things I gave you will call to remembrance. So, study God's words, meditate on them, pray, and the Spirit of God will bring them when you need them.

You will give an answer for the hope that is within you with meekness and fear. There's many other things God's Holy Spirit does for us. You can go through Scriptures every one of these things. God's Spirit brings reconciliation. Right? Because it's one Spirit. One God the Father, one Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, and one Spirit, and one body.

And it brings reconciliation with Him in us. It makes us bold and word indeed, just as it did Peter on the day of Pentecost. God's Spirit comforts us, it strengthens us, it encourages us, it works in us to will and to do God's good pleasure. God's Spirit helps us to overcome in our trials and struggles. You have a habit you're trying to kick or something you're desperately needing to overcome and you've given it the entirety of your human strength. You have more to give because it is what God has given to you.

Tap into that. Utilize that. Ask God for His help to overcome. God's Spirit gives us divine inspiration. It's a spirit of wisdom and revelation. It is a spirit that renews us. It is a spirit that through it God imparts spiritual gifts, again, by His Spirit for the benefit of the body and for the work. It makes us the children of God.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God. Again, you can do an intensive study. If you want to know how God's Spirit affects you day by day by day in practical application, search those things out. The Scriptures are everywhere. And ultimately, brethren, it's by the power of God's Holy Spirit that our change into His glorified likeness will come at the return of Jesus Christ. And I do want to conclude here today.

Let's go to Romans chapter 8 with this point. Romans chapter 8. By the power of God's Holy Spirit that our change into His glorified likeness will come at the return of Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 8 and verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. For those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor deed can be.

So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. It says, but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit, which dwells in you.

Brethren, there's a glorious destiny that awaits the firstfruits who remain faithful in this calling to the end, who are led by the spirit, who yield to the spirit and live according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. By the power of God's Holy Spirit, he will give eternal life to his saints at the return of Jesus Christ. And we will be glorified together, and we will see him as he is.

That's what 1 John 3, right? You will see him as he is. Why? Because we will be as he is. Of the same form, of the same likeness, of the same God essence of that spirit in glorified form as the Father and the Son are in the kingdom of God. Brethren, what a helper! What a guide!

What an encourager and a comforter to see us along the way, to give us what we need as we walk the roads of the world around us, living this way, proclaiming the Gospel, being a light. When Jesus Christ walked the earth, he was a tremendous helper and comforter to his disciples. But when the time of his departure came, he says, it is to your advantage that I go away. And I will pray the Father, and he will send you another helper. It is that spiritual helper that came upon the church on the day of Pentecost on 31 A.D.

And it is that same helper that guides and directs and supports us in our spiritual calling from God today. And so as we go forward from this day of Pentecost, never take lightly the promised blessing. This is the promise. It is to you and to your children, to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God should call. Never take it for granted. Never cast it aside. Never quench it. Stir up the Spirit of God that is in you. Embrace it. Live according to it. It is the power from on high at work in your life today.