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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. 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.” (John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 NIV)
May a marvelous Monday be yours, ConCafe Family! May this work week be filled with opportunities to share the love and name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, dear Friend. And as we pray, let us lift high the name of God Who answers prayer! My cousin Bobbie Padilla is now fully awake and no longer needs a lung transplant! We remember she had been in a coma due to Covid for a long time, and we rejoice that she is doing so well. Please pray this continue with her. Also, Daniel Soliz was released on Saturday as he expected, and is home; pray that God would bless him with a full victory over cancer. I have not received any updates on James Dorff, but we pray that he be holding his own. Prayers for all the family members of these brothers who need healing and comfort. LAST MINUTE ADDITION! Please be in prayer for Ms. Sylvia Elisa Gaytan of Dallas, TX, who's undergoing a long back surgery. Pray that all goes well and that she recovers quickly. Sylvia is the daughter of retired UM Pastor, The Rev. Francisco & his wife, Elisa, Gaytan of Edinburg. Pray for him and his wife and all family members. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.
One of the most interesting authors of the New Testament was a non-Jew (Gentile) physician by the name of Luke. He was a convert to the Christian faith by what he experienced in hearing the gospel about Jesus. So intense was his experience he undertook the arduous task of visiting and interviewing as many of the eye-witnesses he could find who could give him first-hand accounts of what they saw and experienced in seeing the Lord Jesus during his ministry among us. So outstanding was his scholarship that he produced a massive volume of Jesus' life and ministry as well as the respond of that ministry that gave birth to the early Christian church. The church councils that viewed and reviewed the book decided that would cut the book into two parts, making the gospel part the gospel we know as Luke. The history of the church was called The Acts of the Apostles. Part of the reason for this division also was that the church authorities believed that more introductory material was needed on the Holy Spirit, so they took the gospel of John called the spiritual gospel in the middle so that people would better undertstand the third person of the godhead. This passage we will study today is part of the desired information the Church wanted us in later generations to have to better receive the work of God the Holy Spirit.
John recorded Jesus as speaking of the Holy Spirit as being first an Advocate. the One who speak on our behalf. An Advocate is fully vested in us and will do all that needs to be done on our behalf to grant us the victory over whatever we are facing. Jesus also said the Advocate would come from the Father, and is The Spirit of Truth, Who would speak on our behalf as a trusted and truthful witness. We too, must testify, but the Holy Spirit gives to us what we should say. The first and best of what we can share is what God has done for us.
The mere fact that Jesus was sharing this was received with grief because it meant that He was going to leave behind His disciples. Yesterday, Nellie and I had a chance to watch a little of The Chosen and I was struck by how much the 12 needed and wanted to have Jesus with them all the time. In one scene, Jesus dismisses Himself as He goes to pray and is met with questions as to where He is going, and how long He would be gone, and where could they find Him in case they needed Him. And we remember that after His crucifixion, the 12 knew only to stay together in the Upper Room behind locked doors. They did not quite understand that Jesus' real presence on the earth after His departure would be the Holy Spirit. "Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." Quite a work assignment! Yet, it has all been taken care of! The Holy Spirit has taken care of the three; we are to believe and follow the example of each; by staying away from sin, for we know that sin leads only to death. We are to seek righteousness, for it leads to God; and judgement will come to all, with the chief recipient being the devil for he stand already condemned, but we know that we too will stand in judgment for our actions and decisions.
Jesus also promises that "When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you. 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." The Holy Spirit became the way to stay connected to Jesus. He makes truth known and if we speak on behalf of the Lord, we are sharing what Jesus needs shared on His behalf. The primary task is to make known Jesus' name in a positive way (Glorifying Him), and our praying and listening gives us that which we need as we continue our journey of faith in His name and spirit.
This passage reminds me of our children and our grandchildren. They go through different stages of dependency and trust. Our oldest, Nellie Maria, when she learned how to crawl, stayed primarily on a blanket that Mom would put on the floor for her. I remember one night when she crawled to the very edge and stopped, looked back at us, smiled and did her little noise of "look at me," and put her little hand on the space just beyond the blanket. It was solid, so again, she looked back, smiled and crawled off the blanket and onto the floor. She stopped when she was completely off, looked back again, made her little noise and crawled off into the hallway. This was a major achievement from the days when she had to have us in plain sight or she would not be happy. And our newest, Eli Ryan, is stuck on that stage. He only falls asleep in the arms of those who love him. If we try to place him on the bed or his crib, he's immediately aware that we are not with him and he cries. Jesus knew the first steps of these disciples and new believers would be just like that. We measure our steps and feel better knowing we are not alone. The coming of the Advocate was that assurance that the Church still needs to make our way forward and upward. We have One who holds our hands and guides us, if we but trust; but the work on the road ahead will depend on our full trust we place on Him. Don't hold back! There's a great big harvest field ready for the picking if we take the right steps in faith and trust.
PRAYER: Loving God, guide us on, with trust in us. Increase the trust we should have in You so that our progress will be ever forward and upward, reaching those we have not yet reached; and doing that which has not yet been done. Yours is the victory; the kingdom and the glory! Take us with You in that way; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be bold and courageous in all that God has asked you to do! He is with you!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
