John 14:1-31
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 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[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
John 18:33-40
Jesus Came to Testify to the Truth
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
Job 42:1-6
Job Replies to God
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Acts 10:23-48
Peter Says that Jesus Was Sent to Us with the Holy Spirit
23 The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothesstood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
John 3:31-36
Jesus Gives the Spirit Without Limit
31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
John 4:24
God is Spirit
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
God's Wisdom is Revealed Through the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Does Jesus really matter today?...Does He matter in your life?...Should He (matter)?...Do you feel that He exists?...Jesus believes in relationships so He wants us to have feelings toward Him...And He wants us to have a relationship with Him...
The wisdom of the Gospel is a heavenly, Spiritual wisdom...Jesus is the Truth of the Gospel...He is the One who brings us the Good News of the Gospel...And I say brings and still brings us the Good News, because He lives...He is not dead...He is Spirit...He lives even after His death on earth...And He is the Way, the Life, and the Truth to not only life on earth, but to eternal life...Jesus is the Way of Moral Life, an Abundant Life, and He is our Absolute Truth about Life...The mind of Jesus is eternal, and One with eternal thoughts and much less of the flesh and earthly thoughts...
Jesus is a Man who is removed from us by many years, approximately two thousand years...Yet, He is as significant today as He was two those two thousand years ago...It is true that God wanted to touch us two thousand years ago with His Son, and He still wants to touch us today with Him...To believe in Jesus today, you must believe that the Holy Spirit He sent His Disciples is still around today, and is indwelt in us...That the Holy Spirit is still guiding us toward the Truth...Often times just by a nudge...And the Truth is about eternal life, because Jesus taught and teaches us the eternities...He teaches about eternal life...And to have eternal life, there must be life after death...Otherwise there is no eternal life...If there is no life after death, then there is no Jesus and we then must just live and die once and for all...
So to believe one must believe that Jesus lives...We must believe that He rose to life again on Easter...And we must believe that He did send and does sent the Holy Spirit to us...And that we can feel the Holy Spirit in us at different times, and that this feeling is Spiritual...Remember all the suffering Job went through and how he must have been feeling all those months of his suffering...Job was lost and had to endure and I think the thoughts that ran through his head, runs through others who have Job-type problems...But that changed for Job...The feeling of the Holy Spirit is what Job felt after God came out of the storm...There was a strong connection with God, when Job felt His Presence...And Jesus is the One who promises us the Holy Spirit...If you believe in Him, you then believe that Jesus would not and did not leave us here on earth like orphans and alone...No, He would send us a Helper, an Advocate, the Holy Spirit to guide us to Him, so we would better know the Truth...Jesus came to earth to testify to us about the Truth...And the Truth lives today in Jesus and with His Helper, the Holy Spirit...
God is Spirit...Jesus is Spirit...The Holy Spirit is Spirit...Man is a Spiritual creature, because we are made in the Image of God...The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God...The connection with the One who created us is never lost...Sometimes the connection is stronger or weaker than at other times, but we seek and search for God and these deeper things...
One can see the Truth and still reject it...Jesus talked to Pilate when He was on trial, and the conversation quickly got deep and philosophical and about God and the eternities...The conversation was about God, the Kingdom of God-and that God's Kingdom is from Another World-and Jesus' Kingdom is not of this world...We learn this when Pilate asked Jesus, if He were a King...And Jesus got personal with Pilate and ask him, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about Me?”...“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied...“Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me...What is it you have done?”...Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world...If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders...But now My kingdom is from another place.”...“You are a King, then!” said Pilate...Jesus answered, “You say that I AM a King...In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth...Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.”...“What is truth?” retorted Pilate...With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against Him...But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover...Do you want me to release ‘the King of the Jews’?”...They shouted back, “No, not Him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising...
So Pilate had heard the Truth and rejected it...Even after Jesus told him personally that He had came to earth to testify to the world about the Truth...Pilate had seen Jesus speaking the Truth, after all Pilate says, "I find no basis for a charge against Him.", and then he goes on to to be the one who has Him crucified...
Peter, Jesus' Disciple, said to Cornelius and the other Gentiles that they know of Jesus of Nazareth, and how God had anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him...So we know that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus as He traveled around teaching and healing and preaching the Good News...And while Peter was speaking to these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard Peter's message...The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even to Gentiles...For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God...Then Peter said to the Gentiles, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water...They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”...So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...The Holy Spirit was not only with Peter, but also with the Gentiles that he was with that day...
So back to the Jesus of Today...It is the Holy Spirit that helps us feel Jesus today...He did not leave us as orphans but gives us the Spirit of Truth...Something not so much that we can reach out and touch, but Something we can feel as a feeling...And in this feeling, we are touched by the Spirit in how we feel, because we are Spiritual creatures, made in the Image of God...Let us think more like the mind of Jesus and think more thoughts on the eternal and the Kingdom of God...Let us seek more eternal thinking...He gives the Spirit without limit...Jesus is here, He is now...A Perfect Man, full of the Holy Spirit...