Helped!

Helped!

John 16:13 KJV

[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Jesus, at the end of his earthly ministry, took time out to teach His disciples about the principles, practices and priorities of His own kingdom. The crowd was no longer relevant here, and only those who had made up their minds to follow Him were being addressed in the verse above. Jesus had spent quite some time with the disciples; they had heard Him teach, preach and heal; they knew what He could do, but here was He, telling them He would soon be leaving. That would have been enough to cause some distress for these men, but thank God for the promise that is laid out clearly in the verse above. Jesus was leaving physically, but He definitely was not leaving them to their own devices. The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, was going to be their companion.

Why was this important? The Holy Spirit is not a theory or concept; He is a Person. Just like Jesus was physically made manifest, so the Holy Spirit was made manifest on the day of Pentecost, as the same disciples gathered in the Upper room in those days. He is called the Spirit of Truth, because He does not lie. He is called the Spirit of Truth because, like God, He is the personification and promoter of all that is God-like. Why is Truth so important? The devil is called a liar, and the father of lies, and all who love lies and falsehoods are children of the devil. You cannot claim to be a child of God and love the things God hates at the same time. God cannot dwell in a vessel that is consistently embracing lies, because that is not a state that reflects who He is, and the work He can do in someone's life. 

He was promised by Jesus at the time He was leaving the earth, and, as we now know, God is not a man who changes His mind like the weather, or when it is convenient for Him. You can trust His promises;  you can depend on His Presence and Power. He will guide into all, not some half-truths. He will speak of God, who He is, what He can do, and what He demands of us. He takes from the Father, because He is also the Spirit of God, and shows the Father to us. He helps us to be able to please God, so that our lives and all we offer are acceptable to Him. As He is also God, He can show us things to come, so we can pray, plan and prepare the right way. What other option can anyone offer that can match this? God wants to do wonders in and through me, but the secret lies in total surrender and submission. Would I do so? Would you? God's time of favour is here.