John 16:1-16
Reflect
Today we read a passage that sounds almost too good to be true. Jesus is instructing His disciples about what troubles they may face in the years to come, but He is promising them that they will not be alone. In fact, Jesus tells His followers that it is better for Him to not be present so that He can send the Holy Spirit to be with them. As we seek to be a church that is deep and wide, I think it’s extremely important for us to take time to understand who the Holy Spirit is and what we as Jesus’ followers are empowered and enabled to do as we surrender to the Holy Spirit in our lives. In this passage, Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit as advocate (comforter, friend), convicting us of sin, guider into truth and glorifyer of Jesus, and this is just scratching the surface! God’s presence in us through His Spirit transforms us. I invite you in this next season to ask Jesus to fill you fresh with the Holy Spirit and begin to reveal the fruit, power, and grace of the Spirit in and through you.
Application to go deep: Our understanding of God is given to us through the Spirit’s revelation to us, so ask the Spirit to ‘open the eyes of your heart’ to know God better.
Application to go wide: Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit as one who convicts the world of sin. Take some time to pray for your non-believing friends, asking that the Holy Spirit would convict them of sin and lead them to a relationship with Him.
Pastor Daunavan
Pray
- Pray for our Lead Team Pastor, Terry Okken.
- Pray for Erin Gibbard, Youth Ministry Assistant.
- Pray for all our small group leaders.
- Pray for the ministry of International Student Ministries.
- Pray for our Children’s Ministry Assistant, Kyla Mould.