Tuesday, November 1

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John 14:16-18

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."

A number of years ago I arrived home after preaching one Sunday and had a voice message waiting for me at my home. When I called back, the woman who had left the message apologized for calling me at home but said something had happened to her that day at church that she needed to talk to me about. So we arranged to meet at my East Campus office the next day.

She introduced herself, I offered to pray, and when I lifted my head she had already begun to weep. Through her tears she said something like, “I’m sorry, but this happens every time I come into this church. I’ve only been coming for about a month, but every time I walk into the sanctuary, every time I hear the hymns, and each time you start to speak, I start to cry – but I’m not sad! What’s happening to me?”

I said, “I don’t want this to sound spooky to you, but I think that’s the Holy Spirit of God speaking to your heart and drawing you into a relationship with Jesus.” After a little more explanation she said, “Yes, yes, that’s what I want!” and we prayed together as she opened her heart to Jesus in faith. I believe what she experienced that day was what Jesus promised:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." 

Jesus promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to live with us and in us by faith. He is teaching us that one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to make him – Jesus - real and present to us. So when we open our hearts to faith in Jesus; when we sense the love, comfort, peace and joy of Christ in our hearts – those experiences are the result of the ministry and activity of the Holy Spirit.

As we have mentioned throughout this series, the Holy Spirit is often described by or compared to wind throughout God’s word. The Spirit, like the wind, is somewhat mysterious. We cannot see wind directly – only the effect or impact of the wind. Wind can be so gentle as to be almost imperceptible or it can be unimaginably fierce and powerful – yet the wind always moves things and creates impact. So it is with the Holy Spirit of God.

What that woman experienced years ago I believe was the Holy Spirit blowing gently on and in her heart. I cannot explain this clearly using human language – but I can point to the effect or impact of the Spirit’s activity. Her heart was opened to the truth and love of Jesus Christ and her life was then changed from the inside out. Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit and ask the Spirit to make Jesus real to you.

Pastor Brian Coffey