15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 14:15-17, 25-26
The Father will give you a Helper to be with you forever. I am leaving you right now, but I am not leaving you alone. And I’m not leaving you with some jabroni, some cheap substitute. I’m not giving you a picture or some little trinket. No–Jesus is promising God, the Holy Spirit, equal in power and majesty and glory to dwell in those who love him and keep his commands.
Through the Spirit, the disciples of Jesus will do things even greater than Jesus did. Great isn’t necessarily great in the sense of pizzazz or flashiness, but great in its scope. Like, this message will keep going. It will cross continents and oceans. It will survive scorn, suffering, and martyrdom.
It looks bleak right now, but millions will believe. Some of them will soon cower in shame from having forsaken Jesus, but when they receive the Spirit, they will preach the gospel to multitudes.
The Holy Spirit turns cowards into conquerors. The Holy Spirit guides us in the way of Christ, teaches us the truth of Christ, and fills us with the life of Christ. That’s good news, and as the old comedians say, I don’t care who you are.
The Holy Spirit guides us in the way of Christ, teaches us the truth of Christ, and fills us with the life of Christ.
You cannot live the Christian life on your own. You need the Helper; you need the Spirit.
And you can do this because you have him. He will bring the Scriptures to life as you study them. He will guide you in holiness as you walk in faith and repentance. He will fill you with joy as you commune with God in prayer.
The vitality of the Spirit leads us through the dark nights of the soul. He gives us life. We don’t muster anything up; we simply experience his presence as we walk in faith and repentance.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s all good… But you don’t know how lonely I am. You don’t know how tired I am. You don’t know how confused I am. You don’t know how disillusioned I am.” Perhaps.
But let not your heart be troubled because Jesus who sends us the Spirit gives you his peace.