The Helper

Fundamentals of Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Reading:

John 14:15-18 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 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. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:25-26 ““These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 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.”

Introduction:

Last week we spoke about how relationships will change after you accept the gift of salvation.

The relationships between you (the now alive soul) and those who aren’t.

The relationships that can hurt you the most are those between your parents, siblings, children. All of them.

The moment you place your trust in Jesus your life changes. That’s the fact; but that’s not the only fact, there are many more.

A major change happens internally. It isn’t the physical changes that you make about choices or duties, or even the disciplines you follow.

The change happens as Jesus did what He promised:

He sent the helper.

Transition:

The moment we relinquish ourselves and submit to His will is when the the Holy Spirit:

Is Given:

As He Promised

Acts 2:38-39 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.””

The passages in Acts is one that many different people have miss understood.

Here is how some could misunderstand it:

A word that is translated into English: “FOR” (Eis-Ice)

This word in the passage here is not a condition to receiving the Holy Spirit.

It is an response “because of”.

The misunderstanding is that the requirement for the Holy Spirit to dwell in you is:

To be baptised.

We can read the rest of Acts and recognize that there were some who received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized; which negates that belief.

Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.”

The Eunuch was not recorded to receive the Spirit in Acts 8:38; yet his joy was an evidence of His receiving Him.

To say that one must be baptized to receive the Spirit is contradictory to the Word, as there isn’t one specific baptism experience that proves a specific formula.

The only consistent formula was: They accepted the gift of salvation by having faith in Christ’s sacrifice to forgive their sins as only God has the authority to do and they received Him.

In Acts 2:39 “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.””

We are reminded that he Holy Spirit was promised to all who the Lord calls and that:

He would be sent from Jesus:

John 15:26 ““But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.”

He reveals many different truth’s about the Spirit.

He will be a helper.

He will be truth.

He will bear witness about Jesus.

The promise for Him to arrive was for our advantage:

John 16:7 “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 go, I will send him to you.”

God promised that His spirit would come and dwell in us and help us.

Transition:

He would come when He was sent; but

Only After Christ was Exalted

John 7:39 “Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Christ had a work to do as the one who occupied the office of Jesus the Christ.

The sacrificial lamb who brought peace between God and man. - It is peace for all to partake in.

Transition:

Jesus promised that He would leave; but wouldn’t leave us alone, He would send

Help for Believers

John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,”

The Helper is promised to be with us forever.

What kind of things would He be helping us with?

He is the almighty Power and ultimate Authority.

The power that can effect and impact things beyond the physical.

He can and does impact the spiritual.

He is always working out His will through man and for man.

He makes it possible to have a relationship with God and to know Him.

Transition:

When the Helper comes He isn’t a conditional resident as in the Old Testament.

He is:

Is Permanent:

For His Child

Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

We are, at the moment of salvation, freed from only glorifying our flesh to being able to praise the Lord by our spirit.

The Spirit of God makes alive our dead spirit when He occupies our lives.

The process of changing us entirely began.

The change of memberships, allegiances, and even families.

We are now a member of God’s discipleship program.

We have an allegiance to the truth, love, and will of our Lord.

We have a family that is closer than blood: He’s our Dad and we have many brothers and sisters.

We are adopted, and the adoption papers are finalized by the Holy Spirit.

We are no longer our own; we belong to Him.

Transition:

The spirit’s permanence will be necessary for entrance into His family; but He is a help:

For His Disciples

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

We are powerless against our enemy and his schemes.

That is before God’s power enters us.

We have the authority to stand firm on the truth of His word and uphold His will:

To make choices that reflect our Lord.

We are powerless against our flesh, until Christ’s power provides us with wisdom and authority.

Then we can believe and obey and watch the Spirit work.

It isn’t our efforts that award us with righteousness.

Transition:

We can’t earn His righteousness, that would be impossible.

Any righteousness isn’t ours, it is Christ’s given to us. It is His work the father accepts, not any of ours.

The Father, when looking at us after salvation, accepts the payment that was made; then in the eternal record He writes our names in the lambs book of life.

His spirit in us:

Is God’s Approval

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

The Spirit in our lives is God’s approval or ticket for entrance into eternity with Him.

Notice we have the promise of Heaven, not redeemed and can’t be revoked until we get there.

The Holy Spirit is permanent and so is our salvation.

That doesn’t mean we have a license to live how we desire; it means that we now have a purpose that is greater than ourselves.

Transition:

Don’t be fooled we aren’t rid of our flesh yet, so we are still prone to sin; not living obediently or righteously is what we struggle with the most.

That’s why Jesus tells us to bear up our cross daily.

Have you ever asked people for an answer to the question:

If you were to die today would you go to heaven?

?What usually is their answer?

It is usually: “I Hope so”.

Then when you ask them to clarify what they mean it is usually that entrance to heaven is only for “good people”.

Yet the Bible teaches there is none good.

The bible teaches the exact opposite:

Because of someone elses’ goodness you can have entrance to heaven and It is permanent!

The permanency comes from salvation given from the authority, not by merit of the sinner.

It cannot be lost as we are told in:

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

The seal is God’s seal, and just like in Revelation, no man is worthy to break it.

God seals the believer, and only God has the authority over that seal.

Transition:

We are sealed until we arrive into His presence; but wait there’s more:

- God’s seal of approval comes with a guarantee:

2 Corinthians 1:22 “and who has also put His seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Transition:

Hear what the Lord is saying through these passages:

You’re salvation is secure. It is eternal, everlasting and we can have assurance of it.

The Holy Spirit reveals the guarantee on our soul; but is also for us to realize that He is present and:

Is Noticed:

First He is noticed by You

John 14:17 “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.”

You can recognize His effect on your own life:

(Illustrate all of these)

The truth of God’s word being revealed to you by Him.

You know His voice and His impact in your life.

The desires He has for you.

The guidance He provides.

Knowing Him and recognizing His working in you should embolden you and give you hope.

Transition:

That knowledge will provide confidence, so when people ask about God you can say with confidence that you are His child and you know Him and are going to Heaven.

? How can one know this?

Do you know your spouse, and have a relationship and can confidently say you know them?

It is no different with the Lord.

You have a relationship with the Lord, you know Him and are given Hope as stated in:

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

You can know, believe and live confidently because the Holy Spirit is actively working in your life.

He is doing His job helping you become more like Christ.

Transition:

You can notice the Holy spirit working in your life.

As you desire to obey Him He will be noticed:

By Others

Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

When A person is cleansed their life begins to change, the change isn’t just noticed by themselves; but others notice too.

Illustration:

If you were to begin a workout program hoping for people to notice the theory is:

About 3 weeks you yourself notice a difference

About 3 months others might notice a difference.

The point of this is that when you allow God to make changes.

You notice first.

Those that know you begin to notice second, and later than you think.

Transition:

This is what we would call our testimony.

Proclaiming that we are saved and being changed by God isn’t proof of that change.

Being different than we once were is.

It isn’t from a desire to “be good”.

It is from the desire to have a life that your living before the eyes of your Father to glorify Him and strive to make Him proud of who you are becoming.

The Bible gives feet to how the Lord will evidence His transformation in His children:

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

This isn’t given for us to have a checklist to mimic.

He says:

You want to know what others see when your obeying the Lord and living your life in His will?

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

All of these words are character traits, you want to know what they are?

Dig into the Bible and see how God defines them.

Conclusion:

The Bible teaches us that the Holy spirit is sent to us by Jesus when He left.

That was the hope for the disciples.

And after Christ ascended, He was sent.

He occupies the cleansed temple of the heart right at salvation, there isn’t any ritual that must be done to bring Him.

It is God’s doing.

Take hope and know that He is the permanent approval from God of your salvation and entrance into Heaven and into His presence.

Nothing, and no one, including yourself, can break or remove that seal.

As the Holy spirit changes you, His work will be noticed.

By you first.

Your desire for His word is a hunger

So is your desire for being around His people: The Church/fellowship.

Your zeal to please Him by your actions becomes 1st place.

Others second.

Your testimony changes with those around you; because they notice your not the person you once were.

The helper has arrived as promised; allow Him to help you!

Pray.

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