Jesus 14:15-31
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 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 15:26-27
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:1-15
The Holy Spirit Will Come to Jesus' Disciples
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Luke 12:4-7
Of Sparrows and Men
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Romans 8:1-39
Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 1:23
God is With Us
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Galatians 5:1-6
Through the Spirit We Await Faith
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Ephesians 5:15-20
Be Careful How You Live and Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:7-8
Jesus Will Send His Disciples the Holy Spirit
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 2:1-47
Jesus Sends His Disciples the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 17:24-31
God Has Appointed Jesus as the Anointed One
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Are God and Jesus only from the past?...Where is God today?...Where is Jesus today?...Why aren't they in our lives more today?...Do we hear them or feel Them often?...Is there a soul and a Spirit?...On the other hand, do you just sometimes feel Something you cannot explain, Something that is more Spiritual than physical?...Is there this and order in nature, even among the most mundane of creatures like the sparrows of the air (and all the other living creature)?...And if there is how much more loved is man by His Creator?...In Jesus teaching and examination of the five sparrows selling for two pennies, might lead us to a conclusion that if there is an order and it exists in such mundane aspects of nature like these birds, then wouldn't God have a plan for mankind, His most complex creation to stay in contact with them?...Do you ever have this faint feeling you have inside that makes you wonder about these things?...What is this faint feeling, and where does it come from?...Is there Something that makes you think that maybe this Someone or Something else?...Do you sometimes believe that you are a Spiritual Creature, or just once in a while feel Something Spiritual?...Where do these type of thoughts come from?...And do you think one can be filled with the Holy Spirit?...
Doubts about things you do not understand are natural...So to have doubts about long-held religious beliefs about a queer story about a Man dying and then resurrecting is something hard to believe, so one might have doubts...Many of our life's experiences make us think that that death maybe the end of everything...But what about this Spirit that Jesus talked about and this Advocate He told Disciples would receive after His ascension into heaven?...And they would receive the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, because He was not going to leave them as orphans...They would receive the Holy Spirit, so they would not be alone, but they would receive the Holy Spirit because He wanted to still be near His Disciples and near and with us...And the Disciples felt and were filled with this Holy Spirit after Jesus left earth, yet they still felt His Presence...The Disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and close to Jesus and to God...
And as the Disciples went around sharing the teachings of Jesus after His death, even though He was not with them anymore...But He was of utmost importance to them and their faith...And their prayer life was very important to them...They tried each day to stay in touch with Him, after they were touched by the Holy Spirit...
Still some believe that we do not see or or have not heard for Jesus after His ascension to heaven and that He is out of touch and is not near us...But God is with us, through Jesus...The Holy Spirit is on earth and with us, even though Jesus is in heaven...The Advocate that He sent to His Disciples is sent by Jesus and gives His followers a connection to Him and helps us keep in touch with Him...And maybe the touch of the Holy Spirit is more like a soft, gentile nudge...But He keeps in touch with the world...God is with us...So God is not far from any of us...Those who follow God are led by the Holy Spirit...So by having the Holy Spirit here and with us, means God is with us and that we are not alone...We are not orphans...Jesus told us that if we love Him, we will keep His commands...And He would ask His Father, and He would give us another Advocate to help us, because He had to go away and back to heaven...He wanted to get back to His Father and to heaven...It was time...So Jesus sent this Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever...And the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth...But some of the world cannot accept or believe in the Holy Spirit, because the world neither sees (the Holy Spirit) or believes in the Spirit of Truth...But His followers will believe in this Advocate, and we will know Him and feel Him...But sometimes only faintly...For the Holy Spirit will live with us and be in us...And by giving us this Holy Spirit, so Jesus did not leave us alone when He left earth, as orphans...
The world can be a bad place, a sad place, and a troubled place to live...So we are to be very careful how we live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because there can be days when evil is around...Therefore we should not be foolish, but understand what the LORD’s will is...We should not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery...Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit...Let us speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Holy Spirit...Let us sing and make music from our hearts to the LORD...Let us always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ...When our mind is governed by the flesh, it is hostile to God; the flesh does not submit to God’s righteousness...Those who live in the realm of the flesh cannot please God...We often do not want to know about our sinning ways...But the Holy Spirit reminds us of our sins and these sinning ways...The Holy Spirit reminds us of our temptations...God wants us to remove the obstacles and things that separate us from Him...We need to think more in the ways of the Spiritual, than in the ways of the flesh and of the earth...And when we think more in terms of the Spiritual and the eternities, there is this peace...The mind governed by the Holy Spirit is a full life and one of peace...A mind governed by the Holy Spirit is close to God and Jesus...
After Jesus left earth, we would not see Him anymore physically...His physical body would depart and leave the earth...The Holy Spirit is here and with us...The Holy Spirit assists us and guides us to God, to Jesus, and leads us to the Truth...After Jesus left the earth, those who do not believe in Him would no longer believe or think that He still lives, and is alive, and still exists...But His followers would continue to see Him and feel Him...Because He did not die, believers are also able to live an abundant life...On the day of His resurrection God gave us proof that Jesus is the Anointed One, the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about...He is the Messiah...He is our Savior...On that day of His resurrection, believers realized that Jesus is really in His Father, and His believers could be in Him, and that God is with us, and therefore His Son, the Son of God is in us...He overcame death...God has given us this proof that Jesus is the Messiah and has done this by raising Jesus from the dead, and allowing Him to live on earth for another forty days after His death...
Whoever follows Jesus' teachings and keeps His teachings are the ones who loves Him and are ones who follow Him and are close to Him...They believe that they have an indwelt Holy Spirit...The ones who love Jesus will also be loved by His Father, and Jesus too will LOVE them and He will show Himself and be felt by them, through the Holy Spirit...Through the Holy Spirit, we eagerly await for Jesus...And by our faith the righteousness in Him is that which we hope for...For in Jesus and what He teaches and taught is of utmost importance...Who we are, rich or poor, first or last, great or the least, fame or not known at all -means nothing...The only thing that counts is our faith in Jesus, which is expressed through love...
Those who are led by the Holy Spirit of God are the children of God...The Holy Spirit we received does not make us live in fear; rather, the Holy Spirit we receive brings about our adoption to sonship...And by the Holy Spirit we cry, “Abba, Father.”...The Holy Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children...Now if we are children, then we are His heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory...
God and Jesus are here today with us through the Holy Spirit...