Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest
questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search
and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead
pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth
for the life we're searching for. So very glad that you're with us this morning. If
you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to the Gospel of John today. The Gospel
of John. I'm going to ask you the question, who is the Holy Spirit today as we dive into
our new series called the Holy Spirit? And I promise you it's going to be one of the
greatest journeys that we can take as we walk through three chapters in the book of John
and learn all that Jesus said about the Holy Spirit. You know, we don't talk enough about
the Holy Spirit today and in part because we hear and have heard what others say about
the Holy Spirit and sometimes don't step back and say, well, what did Jesus say about the
Holy Spirit, about His work, about His presence, about what we are to expect, about how that
all works together in the heart of believers. And so that's the conversation we're going
to pick up today. Jesus talking to His disciples about His departure and about the sending
of the Holy Spirit. Let's stand together. We're going to read John chapter 14 beginning
in verse 10 and we're going to read through verse 20 just to get a good summary of what
He says here as He introduces the helper, another helper like Himself as He calls it.
And we're going to be talking about this over the next six weeks. So stay with us as we
walk through three big chapters in the book of John. John chapter 14 beginning in verse
10. Now, John 14 is probably famous for the first six or seven verses where Jesus says,
it's important that I go away. He's going to go away. He's going to prepare a mansion
for the believers in heaven. And remember that we have a compelling question that Thomas
asked and Thomas said, how do we know the way? How do we know where you're going? And
in verse six, Jesus says something that is so important that it really becomes the cornerstone
of the gospel of Jesus. It says this, it says through that question, He said, I am the way
and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me. I love that
passage. I love that verse. In fact, we love that verse so much we have it on the stone,
engraved on the stone at the front way of our entrance here at the commons area. We
want everyone to walk through the door to know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. So Jesus is laying down these
foundational truths for the disciples and they have questions. So He's going to answer
some of those questions and we'll start in verse 10 here. He said, do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not
speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does His works. Believe me that
I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also
and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my
name that will I do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything
in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Now verse 16
is the focus verse or two that we're going to look at this morning. I will ask the Father
and he will give you another helper, that is, 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. I will not leave you
as orphans. I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see me but
you will see me because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am
in my Father and you in me and I in you. Man, I love this passage. We could be, we could
take all the time in the world to mine this. There's so much here today and we'll take
a few moments and get the gist of it today for each of us. Father, in Jesus' name, speak
to us about the Holy Spirit today, helping us know exactly what Jesus is saying to his
disciples and therefore what he's saying to us and I ask you today to give us clarity
and I pray that you'll give us a sense of closeness to what you're doing in us and through
us. We ask this in Jesus' name and all God's people said amen. Please be seated if you
would. I want you to keep your Bibles open, keep your text open today as we walk through
this because so much of this is going to be just word for word and phrase for phrase.
I did verse 16 and verse 17 and I want you to kind of get the scenario that's happening,
that's unfolding as Jesus speaks these incredible words. Now Jesus is preparing to go away.
He's already said that. We've talked about that for a moment and I want you to see the
scene if you would of Jesus with his disciples there, speaking with James and John, with
Peter and all the disciples. It's possible that there were a few others around him in
that area but it's a small group of people of men and women who have been following Jesus
for the previous two and a half or three years. He's just weeks before Jesus is crucified.
He knows where he's going. They're just now learning that it's in some parity that he
goes away and he's explaining all this to them. Now he's already told them I go to prepare
a place for you and then he says in verse 12 something that's got them all talking,
something that has them all asking questions. It's in verse 12. In verse 12 he says truly,
truly I say to you he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also in greater
works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Now you're standing there that
day with Jesus as a disciple and you're remembering everything Jesus did and everything he said
and you're remembering okay Jesus raised the dead, raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus
walked on water. Jesus made the blind to see, the deaf to hear. Jesus did amazing things,
multiplied the bread and the fish and fed thousands and thousands of people. We're going
to do greater things than those because he goes to the Father. How does that work? And
the natural question comes with an explanation. It's not going to be greater in magnitude.
We're going to do something more than raise the dead but greater in scope. For three years
Jesus' public ministry was defined by where he was at that moment in time. He confined
himself, the infinite God, in the form of a man. And so where he was and where the crowds
were, that's where miracles took place. He spoke eternal words but he did works that
were supernaturally in the moment. And with his departure he's leaving the church with
that mission to carry on the work that God gave Jesus through the church and we would
be greater in scope as we go throughout the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As
part of the impossible mindset that the disciples had when the great commission was given to
them, we're to go into all the world with this great news, with this gospel, we're to
go into all the world and do the works of Jesus. That's the greater that Jesus was talking
about in verse 12. Greater in scope, you'll go everywhere, you'll do all the things that
I've called you to do but I'm going to give you some power with which to do that and that
brings us to the subject of the Holy Spirit. If you read verse 12 and 13 and 14, then verse
15 and verse 16 and 17 and go with you as we move towards the introduction of the Holy
Spirit, you'll see that Jesus is saying to the disciples, do the same things you've been
doing when I've been with you except I'm going to give you a gift that allows you to do it
further. For example, as we read verse 13, he says, go ahead and ask, keep asking me
for the things that you've been asking me for. We know that today is prayer. So Jesus
is saying to the disciples, keep carrying on the conversation with me, ask and I'll
provide that for you. Ask in my name and I'll give it to you. He says, if you love me, keep
my commandments, keep obeying me, keep doing the things that I've told you to do. So keep
asking, keep obeying but for you to have the power to do all this, I'm going to give you
a gift. I'm going to ask the Father and he's going to give you this gift and this gift
is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now I'm going to ask you to look with me on John chapter
14, verse 16 and 17. We're going to put it on the screen and we're going to look at the
whole of these two verses together. I want to just walk through this just a bit at a
time before we explain each of them. Jesus said to the disciples, I will ask the Father
and he will give you another helper. Focus in on that for just a few moments. We'll explain
more in a second but I want you to notice that Jesus is saying, I'm going to give you
a helper but not just any helper, I'm going to give you another helper and he's going
to refer back to himself so that he may be with you forever. In other words, this one
will never leave you. That is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because
it does not see him or know him. In other words, I'm going to give you another helper
but he is spiritual in form. The world doesn't see him but then he goes on and says, but
you know him because he abides with you, that's present tense, and will be in you, that's
future tense. A profound statement that when we break it down, it makes complete sense
to the disciples at that moment, it will make complete sense to us as we walk through this
text. I'm going to clarify, I'm going to explain, I'm going to walk through it because
this is such an important thing as we bring clarity to what Jesus said. We're going to
get to the end of all this and I'm going to give you some practical applications of what
the Holy Spirit actually does in your life right here, right now, whether you see it
or not, he's actively working in you. First of all, in these four things that Jesus highlights
in these two verses, he says that the Holy Spirit is another like me. I will ask the
Father, the verse says, and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever.
Now, these are probably two of my favorite verses in all the Bible. I've already said
that one of them is John 14, 6. I'm racking up all my favorite verses right now, aren't
I? I'm already in the top 10 here. Someone said one time, I think your favorite verse
is whatever verse you're preaching on that week and I guess that'd probably be true,
but these are the ones I'm preaching on this week, so these are my favorite ones this week.
So look at what he says, another helper. Now by that phrase, Jesus is indicating that the
Holy Spirit is not a helper of a different kind, but another of the same kind. When you
dig into the original languages, there's two different words for another. One is another
of a different kind, but this one here is used as another of the same kind. Jesus wants
the disciples to know, I'm going to leave you with someone like myself. I'm going to
leave you with someone that is of another helper, but of the same kind. He's not referring
to the same kind of appearance because we find in the next phrase that he is the spirit
of truth. He doesn't have a physical body, but he has the same kind of heart, the same
kind of mission, the same kind of words, the same kind of focus, the same kind of character.
I'm going to give you another helper of the same kind. It is someone just like me. If
I were to phrase Jesus' words in a casual conversational way, I would say it like this,
the Holy Spirit is going to be to you what I am to you. The Holy Spirit is going to be
to you what I am to you. For those of us hundreds of years later looking back at this text,
the Holy Spirit will be to you what Jesus is to you. He's another helper of the same
kind. He is going to be the presence in your life that you desperately want and desperately
need. I'm sure the greatest fear the disciples had was Jesus going away. I mean, everything
great that happened around those disciples happened because of Jesus, right? All the
miracles happened because of Jesus. All the truth speaking happened because of Jesus.
I mean, these disciples were invigorated for living life because they were with the living
one, right? They couldn't imagine Jesus going away. They couldn't imagine living life without
Jesus. So he's reassuring them of that, but in the same way, you and I can't imagine living
life without Jesus. And thank God for the Holy Spirit. We don't have to live life without
Jesus. Here we have Jesus saying the Holy Spirit is going to be another one just like
me. What I am to you, he will be to you. Same mission, same agenda, same love relationship
with us and with the Father. You know, in this day and time when people talk about the
Holy Spirit, sometimes they attribute to the Holy Spirit things that are nothing at all
like what Jesus would have said or done. And that's why it's so important for us to break
down these verses to see, okay, this is another like Jesus. It is the Spirit of Jesus that
we're going to receive. These disciples are getting the message of. So first of all, he's
another like me. Secondly, he is the Spirit of truth. That's in the next phrase. That
is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know
him. So now we have more definition. Another helper like Jesus, but instead of physical
Jesus, this is spiritual being that is going to be with us. The world can't see him the
way they see Jesus with their eyes, but he's the helper of the same kind, but he's not
physical. He's spiritual. He is Spirit. Now, the third thing that we find in this verse
in verse 17, he is with you now, Jesus says to the disciples. It's not someone you haven't
met before. He is with you now. And here's how Jesus says it. He says, but you know him
because he abides with you. That's present tense. And Jesus is basically connecting the
dots for them. The way someone would connect the dots for an immature or young person,
not being able to figure out exactly what he's saying. Jesus is saying, you, my disciples
know him already because he's currently with you. Now if I'm James, John, Peter, and all
those that are standing around Jesus, I'm looking around me and I'm going, okay, who
is it that's going to be another like Jesus? And we basically, we're playing the game of
which one of us is not like the other, right? I mean, you've got James and John who aspired
to greatness. He wanted to sit on the right hand, on the left hand of Jesus. You've got
Peter who's always blurting with his mouth, saying the wrong things, doing the wrong things.
You've got Thomas who's always doubting. We've got all kinds of personalities and characters
and those disciples right then and there. And they're looking around and they're thinking,
well, it can't be one of us. This another like himself, another helper like himself
who is Spirit informed, it won't be any of us. It's got to be Jesus who is with us right
now. He is with you now. It would be obvious to the disciples on that day he's referring
to himself. And then finally, that fourth phrase says, he will be with you forever.
You know him because he abides with you. That's present tense. And we'll be in you. That's
future tense. Now, the significance of this would be maybe illustrated if I were to bring
one of you on the stage and stand you right here in front of me and to say that Jesus
was saying to his disciples right now, I'm side by side with you, but in the future I
will be not side by side, but in you. For them to be able to somehow get that mental
picture side by side is one thing. Walking with Jesus was amazing for those disciples.
Walking with him was mind blowing. Everybody wanted to be around Jesus, but those 12 were
constantly around him and now fearful because he's saying, I'm going away. And Jesus says,
well, you know this other helper, he's the Spirit of truth because he has been with you,
but now in the future he's going to be in you, inside of you. I love the word in in
the Greek language is in and remaining in. He's going to be with you forever, it says
in another part of that passage. In other words, to the disciples, they knew that Jesus
would be with us as the Spirit of truth inside of us and he would never ever leave us that
wherever we go, whatever we do, whatever we ask him for, however we obey, he will be with
us day in and day out. Everything we do will be done with his power and with his presence.
Just an incredible, incredible promise. You know what, living the Christian life is impossible
without that promise. You cannot live the Christian life without the presence of the
Holy Spirit. You never have been able to, you never will be able to. When I was growing
up I loved basketball and I played a lot of basketball and I aspired to be an NBA basketball
player when I was a little kid and ended up playing college basketball, but I always had
these models in front of me and I think my favorite basketball player when I was growing
up was Dr. Julius Irving. He wasn't really a doctor but we called him Dr. J with his
nickname, Dr. Julius Irving. I don't know how many of you know who Julius Irving is
but he was, raise your hand. I'm impressed with the basketball fans in the house. I figured
in this crowd we'd have to talk about Michael Jordan or some other lesser basketball player.
LeBron James. There was only one Dr. J and I remember watching him play basketball and
then going out immediately from watching on the television set out into my driveway and
practicing the moves that he made. He had some amazing moves. I remember I did that
all the way through high school. I even did that into college. He was in his later years
of playing and we would try these moves out on the basketball court while I was in college
and I had this friend of mine that was kind of a plain speaking guy and one day he said
I know you've been practicing your Dr. J move, right? And I said yeah that's my Dr. J move.
He said I can tell you've been practicing that and he said I've just got to tell you
the truth today. He said the only way you could be like Dr. J is if he actually got
in your body and played through you. So thank you for that truth. I appreciate that. But
in reality that's what Jesus is saying in a very holy spiritual sense. The only way
you're going to live this life is if I get inside of you and live through you. The only
way you're going to handle the challenges, the temptations, the calling. The only way
you're going to be able to obey me in your life is for you to allow me in my presence
the spirit of truth, the spirit of the living God to be inside of your life living through
you, giving power, giving discernment, giving wisdom, giving everything you need. That's
the only way you're going to do this. The reason that's so important for us is because
most of the time we live the Christian life in our own power and it would have been traffic
magic if the disciples tried to do that. There would probably be no gospel today had they
tried to do that in their own power. But with the introduction of the Holy Spirit Jesus
is saying no, I've got plans for you and I'm going to work supernaturally through your
life in these ways. And in that fourth principle basically he said the one who has been with
you all along will soon be in you. And that was incredibly reassuring for these disciples
who understood the magnitude of the call of verse 12, greater works than these you shall
do because I go to the Father. Can you imagine how desperate they must have been once they
heard that incredible call that Jesus put on their lives in verse 12? They were already
aware of how tough life is going to be without Jesus but now Jesus reassures them in every
way and says I will be with you. I will be with you. So I want to ask the question today
in a very practical and applied way, what does it mean today that the Holy Spirit has
been given to His followers? By the way there's a sense of time that we have to keep in mind.
Every time you read the scriptures, for example the gospels, you realize that everything that
is being said there is said in the time and in the tense of those speaking and those who
were hearing. In other words all this was said in the presence of Jesus and His disciples
at that time and time is past tense. So we said in the future sense I will be in you
which was present tense to those disciples and was going to unfold at Pentecost. Now
that's past tense for us today. We're on this side of Pentecost. So now we know the
disciples promise, the promise of the disciples that Jesus was with them and will be in them
in the future happened at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down. And today when a person
comes to faith in Jesus and is born again, you're born of the Spirit of God, the Spirit
comes inside of you to cleanse you and to fill you and to dwell within you. And now
when we hear the promise of the Holy Spirit, it's present tense to us, not future tense
if you're a believer in Jesus Christ. If you have Christ, you have the Spirit of Christ
living inside of you. Physical Jesus did not come into your life. Physical Jesus died on
the cross. The Spirit of God came into your life and you have the Holy Spirit in you.
Amen. Are you with me? You have the Holy Spirit inside of your life. So what does that mean?
How does that apply to me right now with just the things that Jesus said? Let me give you
two words that are in this text that help us understand how he presently ministers to
us and in us. First of all I want you to note the Holy Spirit is our comforter. He's our
comforter. The word is translated helper in the New American Standard Version. The word
paraclete or paracletos is a word that's translated often comforter or helper or encourager
or exorderer. So I'm going to use the word comforter here because it has the sense of
presence with you. You are always being comforted by him because he is present in you. Now if
you have your Bibles open turn to John 14 verse 16 I'm going to read again. Verse 16
says I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you
forever. So the emphasis at the very beginning is someone who is with us forever. Alright
so he's with us. Now I want you to look next at the next part where he says that word in
verse 26 of chapter 14. He says you have heard that I said to you I go away. Oh excuse me
back in verse 26. But the helper the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I said to you. So
there is an instructional part that the Holy Spirit plays in our life. Look in chapter
15 now in verse 26. Chapter 15 verse 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 and you will testify also because you have been with me from the beginning. So Jesus
is unfolding this helper ministry of the Holy Spirit in our life. Now look at one more.
Chapter 16 verse 7 where he says 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 go I will send him
to you. So as he says all these things to the disciples we are now looking at this on
the other side of Pentecost and saying okay Jesus literally did that for those disciples
and it performed an amazing ministry and that ministry is at work in us today as well. So
the word comforter emphasizing the fact that he is with us. Do you remember what phrase
was used when the promise of the Old Testament of a Messiah had to come and we talk about
it all the time at Christmas of course that his name shall be called Emmanuel which means
what God with us. And we say great hope in that the Messiah is coming he is going to
be physically on the earth. So there was that promise fulfilled in Jesus Emmanuel God with
us. That is a pretty powerful promise. The Messiah was going to come down to earth and
was going to walk beside us and we were going to see him and we were going to know that
he was God's Messiah Jesus. Well this promise that Jesus makes is even more intimate not
God with us but God in us. Not only is he side by side with us the way Jesus was with
the disciples but now that spirit of truth is going to come inside of our lives and actually
comfort us in all the things that we need. Practically speaking that says he is going
to help you when you need comfort the most. You know when I need comfort the most I usually
feel like I am all alone and I don't have anybody helping me. But the Bible says that
as a believer in Jesus indwelt by the Holy Spirit I am never ever without someone inside
of me. I have the comforter I have the Holy Spirit inside of my life and when days get
hard and dark and difficult and challenging and overwhelming I have to take a step back
and remember I am not going through this alone. People may desert me friends may desert me
people may not understand what is going on but there is a Holy Spirit that lives inside
of each one of us who comforts us in every problem we go through in life. I am so encouraged
by the comforting aspect of the Holy Spirit in my life. Amen. So let's look at another
verse. Second Corinthians chapter one for just a moment. Second Corinthians chapter
one the word for Holy Spirit is actually used in another form here in verse three and four
of second Corinthians one this time Paul is talking about this. Second Corinthians chapter
one verse three and four I won't put it on your screen but I will have it in your Bible
there if you turn it in your Bible. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ
the father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all of our affliction so
that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with
which we are ourselves comforted by God. Now use that word to show you that this word in
a personal form is the Holy Spirit in our life when you use it in a verbal form in second
Corinthians chapter one it's translated comfort is actually the presence of the Holy Spirit
that's bringing us comfort. Our God has given us a comforter to help us through all of life
and yes it is mentioned five times in those two verses you will be comforted by the God
of all comfort so that you can bring comfort to others because you've been comforted with
the comfort of God. That's basically what it says. That's a lot of comfort in those
verses for uncomfortable people. God has promised that when you're going through the worst times
in your life you have the comfort of the Holy Spirit in your life. I am so grateful for
that. I think it was about ten years ago that my wife and I went through some real low points
and in life in general. Our relationship was strong but everything around us seemed to
be really really challenging. There was a really difficult time in our church life here
in Ulysses and it was a big battle in our church life in many ways. You may or may not
know about that and if you don't that's awesome because God won that battle but bottom line
on it is it was tough. We had some family challenges and we were dealing with that.
I remember being at probably the lowest point in my life. I mean so low that I just couldn't
see the future. I just couldn't see what was ahead. In fact I was at the place where I
was saying, Kim I think I ought to just stop what I'm doing. Maybe stop pastoring. Stop
preaching and do something different because right now it's just so low, so dark. I don't
know what the future holds and I'm very very down about it. Of course we prayed and we
asked God to help us with that. At no point in that season of life did I ever think that
I was all alone. I just didn't see many indicators that God was really working the way I thought
He might be working. And in time it was very evident. God gave me strength. He gave us
the encouragement we needed. A phone call took place. A door opened up that we didn't
know about. All kinds of things happened and in the end I didn't quit. I didn't stop.
I didn't cease doing what I was called to do and God began to give incredible victories
one after the other. But I can promise you today without the indwelling presence of the
Comforter I wouldn't have made it through that time. I wouldn't have made it through
that time. I say that to you to say when you're going through hard times you can count on
the presence of the Holy Spirit helping you in those times. He comforts us. He is our
Comforter. He's also going to help you when you need confidence the most. Not just comfort
but confidence. It wasn't long after this conversation that Jesus had with His disciples
that Jesus literally did go to the cross. He did die. He did rise again the third day.
He had post resurrection appearances with His disciples and in one of those He gave
the Great Commission. Now you remember the Great Commission, Matthew 28, 19, and 20 where
He gives the disciples what we know as the Great Commission to go into all the world
and make disciples of all the world. Now think about how big of a deal that was. Just 12
disciples, one of whom had betrayed the Lord and later committed suicide. So 11 disciples
and not really sure about what the future held. Jesus says I want you to go into all
the world and make disciples of every nation. Baptizing them He said in the name of the
Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do you remember what He said next? He said teaching them to
observe all things that I command you and lo, do you know what's next? Do you know what
He says next? And lo, I want you to say it with me. You act like you don't know it. You
need to know this, all right? And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
In other words, forever. Same promise He made in John 16. He's now making to the disciples
who are on the brink, they're on the brink of stepping off into ministry without Jesus
physically. I need to say, you remember the comforter I told you about, another helper
like myself I told you about, He's going to be with you forever? I'm reminding you now
of Him. As you go on your mission, as you meet that challenge, and as you need that
confidence, I'm going to tell you, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And
I say all that to say this to us today, no matter what challenge you have tomorrow, Jesus
will be there in your life helping you meet that challenge with His wisdom to give you
confidence you're not alone. You're not alone. You're not alone. You know in a moment we're
all going to have to clap at the same time. You know that, don't you? I mean, if He comforts
us in all of our afflictions, if He brings encouragement, then we need to all give Him
a round of applause. Give Him a moment just to give applause to the Lord who's present.
I'm so thankful for the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life, as you ought to be as well.
But one more thing I would say, and that is the Holy Spirit is our encourager. He's our
encourager. You remember the third or fourth part of that explanation a few moments ago,
verse 16 and 17, that is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth. He's going to help you
when you need wisdom the most. When you need wisdom the most. He's going to help you when
you need comfort. He's going to help you when you need confidence. He's going to help you
when you need wisdom the most. In fact, chapter 14, verse 26 elaborates on that. He will teach
you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Do you realize how
powerful that was for the disciples? I mean, every time they had a question, Jesus had
an answer, and now He was leaving. But He says this about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
He said, He's going to bring to your remembrance everything I said to you. He'll teach you
all things, every answer you need. He's going to give you when you need wisdom, you have
that wisdom from Him. He's going to run with you through life. Now, the great thing about
the word that we've been talking about, which is translated Comforter or Helper, is that
this word actually is two different Greek words put together. And the English translation
of them would be to call out to from alongside, to call out to from alongside. So I mean,
that's a perfect illustration of what I need day to day when I don't know what to do that
Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus Christ inside of me will call out to me from alongside me as
I go through life. When you need wisdom, you need someone to call out to you from alongside
you as you go through life, to give you wisdom and insight, discernment, to know what not
to do, to know what to do, to make decisions that are based on and built on His truth and
not just your feelings. How desperately we need that kind of wisdom today. And in a day
when everybody's looking for some kind of wisdom and they're all basing it on the wrong
things, we have the Spirit of truth living inside of us. He will not let you stray if
you do not shut Him out. He will not let you wander if you will not ignore Him. He will
run the whole race alongside you as long as you don't run in the opposite direction. The
other day I was watching some YouTube videos of the blind track stars, the blind track
stars. It appeared they were running 100 meter dashes and there were some phenomenal athletes
at the Paralympics and they were blind sprinters. And I don't know if you've ever seen this
before, but blind sprinters are able to run the path that they run on because they are
tethered to other sprinters who have eyesight who run alongside them to help them stay in
their lane so they can be focused to the end of the race. Now when I first saw this phenomena,
I didn't realize that they were tethered together. They're tethered together wrist to
wrist. So if I'm running like this next to someone, that my left wrist is tethered to
their right wrist and we run that race together. So the blind athletes, whenever the starter
gun goes off, come out of the blocks and they begin sprinting full speed, fully confident
that they won't run into anybody else or veer from their lane because they're running side
by side with a runner that can keep up with them and actually surpass them who sees what's
ahead of them and runs stride for stride with them throughout the entire race. It's really
powerful. Do you realize that that's what the Holy Spirit is to us? You have no idea
what tomorrow holds. You have no idea what is around the next curve. You have no idea
what kind of challenges you're going to face, but He does and He is tethered to you as the
Holy Spirit in your life and you have every confidence to run forward as long as you feel
Him at your side, stroke by stroke, stride by stride. One commentator said about this
particular YouTube video, it looks as though they are running as one and that perfectly
describes what the believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit should be like. Like we are walking
as one with the Lord as we live through our lives. That's the calling Jesus gives us.
Yes, what a powerful picture of what He does for us. You don't have to live life by yourself.
You don't have to live life on your own. When you come and put your faith and trust in Jesus
Christ, He's going to give you all that you need, all the comfort, all the confidence,
all the wisdom that you can possibly need. Invite Him to be active in your life. Invite
Him to do that. At the very end of the text, Jesus sums it up by saying this and it makes
more sense when you read it after walking through what we have. He said, after a little
while the world will no longer see me but you will see me because I live, you will live
also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you. That
is a good description of the Christian life right now. Jesus in you, Christ in you, Paul
said, the hope of glory, the confidence that we can live this life is Christ in us. In
just a few moments I'm going to give you some invitations as I always do. First of all,
I'm going to ask you to stop by the decision station on the way out today. Look, if you
don't have the presence of Jesus in your life today, it's a very important decision that
you would make to trust Him as your Lord and Savior. He gives you the presence of the Holy
Spirit. He will not leave you alone. He will not leave you by yourself. When you invite
Christ into your life to ask Him to forgive you of your sins, the price He paid was His
blood to pay for our sins and for us to allow Him to come into our lives, forgive us of
sin and give us eternal life is beginning that relationship. I want to encourage you
to put your trust in Christ and we're here at the decision station to talk to you about
that. That's number one. Number two, I would love to invite you to our guest reception
center at the end of the service after I pray. I'll be there in just a few moments. Love
to tell you some more about Cross City Church and meet you personally. Number three, I invite
you to invite others to come with you next week as we continue our series on the Holy
Spirit. So many questions will be answered. So much encouragement is coming from what
Jesus said about the Holy Spirit. You do not want to miss these next few weeks. Let's
stand up together and I want to close this in a word of prayer. Father, we are so grateful
today for your presence in this room. Lord, not just a sense of your presence but the
reality that you indwell each of us as believers in Jesus Christ. Thank you Father for that
promise that you have fulfilled. I ask you today to allow us to walk by the power of
the Spirit, being very aware that you are in us. Lord, I pray for those today that have
never made the decision that is so critical that they place their trust and faith in you
as Lord and Savior today. I urge you Lord, convict them, draw them Father to the place
of that decision. And then Lord, I thank you so much for the indwelling presence that you
give us. Show us how you work in our lives day in and day out in the days ahead. We ask
for all this in Jesus name, Amen. God bless.