Date of message: 26 October 2003
Issue
115
Subject: We Have A Helper
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
In 1 Peter 5:8, the apostle Peter described the devil as a roaring lion
prowling around seeking whom he may devour and he admonished the church
to be sober and to be vigilant - "Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour."
It is interesting that Peter should use the word "may" which
leads us to the fact that there will be some of us whom the devil may
not devour. It is also interesting that he also used the clause "the
devil walks about like a roaring lion" and not otherwise. This gives
us hope that he is not a real lion although he loves to impersonate one
to scare some who may be weak in their faith. That is why the apostle
urged the church to be ever vigilant and not lose sight of the blessed
position we are in.
Jesus taught His disciples on the night He was betrayed that the Father
would be pouring forth His Holy Spirit upon all those who believe in Jesus.
In John 14: 16 -18, we read
16. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that
He may abide with you forever -
17. the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will
be in you.
18. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus knew that we will be in great difficulties unless He rendered us
help; hence He promised that He will send the Helper. In the original
Greek, the word 'Helper' is represented by the word 'Paraklete' which
means 'someone who will be alongside us helping us'. In fact it is the
same word that is used for 'parasite'.
After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples not to go anywhere until
the Promise was given to them. In Luke 24:49 we read, "Behold, I
send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem
until you are endued with power from on high." The disciples seemed
to know exactly what Jesus meant for they stayed put in Jerusalem until
the Feast of Pentecost which is exactly fifty days after Jesus rose from
the dead.
In fact the prophet Isaiah did prophesy in Isaiah 44:3, "For I will
pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on dry ground; I will pour
My Spirit on your descendants and My blessing on your offspring."
For centuries, the children of Israel waited for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on them but it was not to be. The Holy Spirit could not be
sent prior to Jesus death on the cross as the apostle John wrote in John
7:39, "But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing
in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus
was not yet glorified."
The Old Testament greats only had the Holy Spirit come upon them and they
would be overcome with exuberant power and wisdom but once the Spirit
left them, they reverted back to themselves as just ordinary people. The
Spirit came and went as the occasion called for Him to be present. And
yet, when the Spirit came upon them, they were able to perform great feats
of power and might.
Samson was an ordinary person until the Spirit came upon him and he would
take a jawbone and single-handedly kill over a thousand Philistines. Again
when the Spirit of God came upon him, with his bare hands, he tore a lion
that came and attacked him. And yet when he was tied to his bed and his
Philistine wife shaved off his long locks of hair, he could not free himself
since the Spirit had left him.
Gideon was an ordinary guy when the Lord called him to deliver Israel
from the Midianites. He was not a warrior but a farmer helping his father
to thresh out the wheat after the harvest and yet the Lord called him
a 'man of mighty valor'. When the Holy Spirit came upon him, Gideon and
his three hundred fighting men defeated the whole army of the Midianites.
When the Lord called Saul to become the first king over Israel, the young
man was out looking for his lost donkeys and he came to the prophet Samuel
to seek directions on where his donkey would be. Soon he became king and
with the Holy Spirit upon him, Saul was able to subdue the Philistines
and established a small kingdom of Israel.
Now that was before our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world and died
for our sins. When He was raised from the dead and after His ascension
back to heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the church and has
been around ever since. He lives inside of each of us as opposed to His
previous modus operandi. He has been given three distinct assignments
while with us: -
" He will convict the world of sin because they do not believe in
Jesus,
" He will convict us of righteousness because Jesus went back to
the Father in good stead
" And He will convict the world of judgment because the ruler of
this world (the devil) had been judged already.
As He lives within each of our hearts, it is important to note that He
Himself is the third Person of the Godhead and that we who believe in
Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives have been made righteous with the
righteousness of Jesus. Since Jesus bore our sins on the cross, since
He took the punishment for our sins, we can now stand before the throne
of God and appear righteous before Him.
This was the Promise that Isaiah the prophet spoke about and he longed
for but they never got it the way we now enjoy the very presence of the
Holy Spirit in our lives. For them in the Old Testament times, the presence
of the Holy Spirit was only momentary but for us we have Him living within
us forever and that is a very long time.
The devil does not want us to know this or to hear it but it is true.
Each time he tries and accuses you of all the things you had done wrong
or had omitted to do, remember you have a Helper inside you. He does not
leave you whenever you sin. On the contrary, we should pray in the Spirit
whenever the devil throws doubts at us and the very fact that we can do
so should refresh our spirits that we are still very much 'in the flow'.
The Holy Spirit is given to us as a guarantee of our position and as a
seal or down-payment of our future redemption.
The Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in Jesus. Do not be fooled
by the devil; you will not be short-changed. You have the Holy Spirit
within you. If you have yet to believe in the Lord Jesus, may I urge you
to do so as soon as possible! Time is really fast running out. Believe
in the Lord Jesus and receive Him into your heart and He will empower
you to become His children. These are favored positions specially reserved
only for those whom He loves dearly (John 1:12).
One day (and I personally believe that it will be very soon), after all
the Christians have been taken home to be with the Lord, and should you
perchance be reading this article, be assured that Jesus loves you so
much that He already demonstrated His love for you on the cross and there
will be no condemnation for you once you put your faith in Him but you
will have eternal life (Romans 8:1). The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever
He speaks will come to pass.
If you have not already received Jesus into your heart and you would like
to do so, then pray this simple prayer to invite Him into your heart and
immediately you will experience His peace coming your way.
O God our heavenly Father, thank you that Your Beloved Son Jesus came
and died for my sins and now I am set free from sin. Because He took my
punishment, I will not be condemned but I receive Your eternal life.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart Your
home. Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit in my life to remind me
of my special position as a child of God the Father and as Your child,
I can start enjoying all Your blessings for my life.
Thank you because of what You had accomplished for us on the cross and
having risen from the dead for our justification, I am now eternally forgiven
of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, a highly favored child of
God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the Lord and
in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray
Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can
obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your
own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together?
You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father,
for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now. You do not need to wait until you reach heaven and
there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 -26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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