Our Helper

"Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father".

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And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

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If you love Me, you will keep my commandments. And 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, who the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you". (John 14: 11-17)

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Look at all the words connected with the way the Holy Spirit works. He reveals who Jesus is, and the mysteries of God, He draws men and women to encounter the Christ, and He convicts the conscience, bringing to us awareness of our sin and weaknesses. He brings Christ's healing to the body, soul and spirit. He is the power that descerns the intent of men's hearts and the presence of evil spirits, providing power as well for deliverance from evil spirits, and from all things that bind us. And He gives us scripture as a sword to fight the evil one. He creates out of nothing, moving and changing our understanding of time and space and physics, in ways we call miracles. He comforts those who are hurting. He restores both the body and the soul, and builds up the individual. He unites those in the larger body of the church to honor and serve the Father for a common purpose. He explains things to us, and directs us in the way that God desires us to go. He teaches and interperts, He exhorts and inspires, He excites and enables.

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In doing all of those things the Holy Spirit never seeks to draw attention to Himself, but instead He always brings the focus toward Jesus, and ultimately toward the Father. The Son, in obedience to the Father, sent the Holy Spirit. The Spirit draws man to the Son, and then brings the Spirit of Christ to man to unite with man's dead spirit, bringing about a rebirth of our spirit. The Holy Spirit then works in man to conform him to the image of the Son, so that the kingdom of God may be proclaimed and established on the earth. One day we will be with the Son in the presence of the Father. And the Son, by the power of the Spirit, will one day complete the restoration of all creation. Sin, sickness and death will be no more. And He will give this all to the Father.

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There is a word found in scripture that describes Jesus, but can also be applied to the Holy Spirit, and that is "advocate". An advocate is a witness, or someone who will go to court to testify for you. "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for those of the whole world". (1Jn. 2: 1-2) "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high". (Job 16: 19) When Jesus told His disciples that He would send them another Helper, the Greek word for "Helper" is "Paraclete", and it is the same word that is translated "Advocate" in 1 John. The Spirit testifies to us concerning the truth of who Jesus is, and in doing so He also gives us the power to testify to the world. And the Son gave us the Spirit not just to testify in word, but also through the "greater works".

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The Holy Spirit as described in the words above has already been given. It already is the will of the Father that we have the Holy Spirit, and that He will work in power in our lives, so that we may grow in spiritual maturity, having as evidence the fruit of the Spirit. It is already the will of the Father that the Holy Spirit will flow through us in power to minister to others, so that the "greater works" will be evident in our lives and in our ministry to others. What do we accommplish when by singing or praying we ask God to send more of His Holy Spirit, or to send the Spirit in power, or to fill the place where we meet? The best way to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, and to have the power ot the Holy Spirit evident, is to focus our prayer, our praise and our worship on the Father. When we surrender our voice, in understanding and in the Spirit, when we cry out to God to exult and to glorify Him, when our focus is not on what we can get or what we can feel, but is instead directed to surrender to the Father, we are doing what we were created to do.

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Our tendency is to focus on what we see, or what we feel, and that distracts us from seeing the Truth in faith. But praise God, we have been given a Helper.