The Role of the Holy Spirit

Transcript

GR 393
3/15/1981
The Role of the Holy Spirit
John 14:18-24
Gil Rugh

John’s Gospel and the 14th chapter. We're in the midst of this very important section where Jesus has been preparing His disciples for His impending departure. The chapter opened up with an exhortation for them not to be troubled about what He has been telling them, that He is going to be leaving shortly and they can't come with Him. "But stop being troubled in your heart about these things" and He shares with them that He is going to His Father's house. As He goes to His Father's house, He will be making special preparation for them. And if He makes special preparation for them, He will come and get them to take them to be with Himself. Then He also tells them they know how to get to His Father's house. They know where He is going and how to get there, explanation being that He Himself is the way. Through that personal relationship with Him, they will be privileged to come in to the presence of His Father, to that place that He has prepared for them. He shared clearly that He Himself is the revelation of the fullness of the character of God. He is the One who has revealed God and when they see Him, they see the Father.

Now, having told them that He is going to leave them and go and prepare a place for them and then come and get them, the question is naturally in the minds, What about this in between time? Between the time He leaves and the time He comes back again? What provision will be made to sustain and enable the disciples to continue in their service for Him? It's exciting to know where He is going and why He is going. It's exciting to know that He is coming back to take us to be with Himself, but what provision for us is there during this time when He leaves and He comes again to take us to be with Himself? That is the thrust of this section beginning with verse 16. That He will ask the Father and the Father will provide another Helper. That word another is the word that means another of the same kind. He'll provide another Helper just like me. The word helper denotes someone or something called alongside of to give aid or assistance. Whatever kind of help or aid is needed. So I will ask the Father and He will give One who will be just like Me who will help you in whatever way you need it, to sustain you, encourage you, to strengthen you. He is the Spirit of truth. The world doesn't know about Him, but you know Him. He is with you but will be IN you. The order here is that Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and will ascend to the Father, and then He will send from the Father the Spirit of God to permanently indwell everyone who believes in Him. Now note. The Spirit of God has always been present. He notes this Spirit has been with you. You know about Him and His ministry, both from the teachings of the Old Testament and from His ministry here on earth while I have been here. But there is going to be a change. I will send Him to carry on a different ministry than He's had. A unique function—to dwell within you and thus to be a helper, an enabler who resides within you. This is God's provision for them, but He is not through. He is continuing the development of this theme and this thought as we pick up with verse 18, when He says, "I will not leave you as an orphan." The word "leave" is a strong word. It means abandon or forsake. "I will not abandon you as orphans." That word was used in two ways in biblical times. One for children who had lost their parents, who were orphans. That's the way we use the word today. It was also used of disciples who were deprived of their teacher or master, thus were orphans. What Jesus is saying is, "I'm not going to abandon you and leave you as orphans. I will come to you." Now that's a real encouraging promise. He just told them He's going to leave them. Now He tells them He is going to come to them. Now it's true, when the Holy Spirit comes, being the third person of the triune God, we could say that in Him is also represented the Father and the Son, just as Jesus said "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" because we are of the same essence and nature, reflections of one another. And that would be true of the coming of the Spirit. But I think there's more to this statement, "I will come to you" and we see that as Jesus follows its development. "I will come to you." "After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also." The world will behold Me no more after a little while. With the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, the world did not see Him again. Now there were revelations, appearances to the disciples after His resurrection, but the world did not again see Him. He never again disclosed Himself to unbelievers. After His resurrection, He made Himself known to the disciples and other believers, but never again to the world. "The world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me." Now that will involve His appearances after His resurrection and more, as we'll see the development. "Because I live, you shall live also." I take it here this is an encouragement to them. The fact that He is going to overcome death is the assurance to His disciples that they too shall have life.

Two things in view here—physical life and spiritual life. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we too are assured bodily resurrection. Because of the bodily resurrection of Christ, we are assured spiritual life and spiritual resurrection.

Look over in First Corinthians chapter 13, a key chapter in all of Scripture on the resurrection of the dead. Paul makes the point that resurrection is built upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It stands or falls on the resurrection of Christ. There were some at the church at Corinth that were questioning the concept of a bodily resurrection, questioning the reality of Christ's bodily resurrection, like much of modern theology, liberal theology that questions a literal, historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul says that is of overwhelming significance to us as believers. Verse 12, "If Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." You note. If Jesus Christ was not bodily raised out of the tomb, then we have believed in nothing. It's worthless to preach about Christ. It’s worthless to preach about believing in Him. Verse 16. "If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” You note. I am saved by believing that Jesus Christ the Son of God died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sins, that He was raised from the dead because He had paid that penalty. But if Christ did not bodily come out of that tomb, then I have believed to no purpose. You note. It is not faith that saves you, but faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And no matter how much faith you have, if Jesus Christ did not come out of that tomb, it is of no value in cleansing you from your sins. It is His work on the cross that saves us. His resurrection from the dead that proves that He indeed accomplished what He said He did. Without that, there is no evidence or testimony. If fact, what He said was not so. And if what He said about His bodily resurrection was not so, what He said about saving us from our sins is not so either. And we are a pitiful people.

Verse 18. "Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If only in this life we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." Pathetic that people would be resting their hope for eternity on a lie. We would have nothing to look forward to but perishing, destruction, condemnation. BUT, "Now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep . . .by a man came death, by a man Christ also came resurrection of the dead. As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." I take it this is in view when Jesus speaks in John 14 and says, "Because I live, you shall live also." The fact that Jesus Christ was raised to life, I have the guarantee that I too shall experience bodily resurrection. I shall be glorified, to stand redeemed in the presence of God. "Because I live, you shall live also." But there is more to that statement than just the guarantee of bodily resurrection. Romans chapter 6 indicates that there is a spiritual resurrection that occurs, and it's based upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because He lives, was raised to life, I too shall live. That's spiritual life. This is the foundation for my being raised to life in His presence.

Romans chapter 6, verse 3. "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" Now the baptism that He is talking about here is the baptism of the Spirit of God, not water baptism. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 13, says "By one spirit we were all baptized into one body." Talking here about being placed into the body of Christ. How does that happen? Paul says it is by spirit baptism, not water baptism. Water baptism is to be a testimony of the spirit baptism that has already occurred. What is spirit baptism? Well, He says at the end of verse 3, that we have been baptized into His death, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him." Verse 11, "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Baptism of the Spirit is that work of the Spirit that occurs the moment a person understands and believes that Jesus Christ the Son of God died in their place personally on a cross, bearing their sins, taking their place. The Spirit of God identifies me spiritually with Christ in His death, in His burial, and in His resurrection to new life. God views me as having died with Christ, having been buried with Him, having been raised up with Him to new life. That is a spiritual transaction. The connection? Because He lives, He was raised from the dead, I too live, have spiritual life. Because were it not for His resurrection and life, even today I would have no spiritual life. I take it John chapter 14, Jesus has both in view. They are inseparable. Because I live, you too shall live. I will be raised from the dead and all who believe in Me will experience spiritual life and resurrection and also physical life and resurrection.

He continues. "In that day, you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." In that day, referring to His resurrection and the events surrounding it. We're going to see in a moment that the disciples still are in the dark, are not understanding that they are on the brink of the crucifixion of the Son of God. He tells them, "In that day, in the day of My resurrection and surrounding events, you will know." They will come to a full and complete understanding that I and My Father, and you in Me and I in you. Note. There is a mutual relationship here, a mutual sharing together. That God is in us and we are in Him. It's going to become important as we come to chapter 15 and talk about the subject of abiding in Christ, to understand that abiding in John's writings is always a mutual relationship, that He abides in Me and I abide in Him. Here He says we will come to know that.

Now I take it the knowledge here will tie to the resurrection. "In that day" that He has just been talking about. Now the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the great demonstration and proof that He was who He claimed to be so that I know He is the Son of God. I know what He said about abiding in me and Me in Him is true because He was raised from the dead. And that testifies to who He is. Romans chapter 1 speaks of this subject.

Romans chapter 1, verse 4. As he speaks about Jesus Christ. You see the resurrection is the heart of God's testimony to us. That's why it has come under such attack by unbelievers today who try to spiritualize the resurrection. They talk about a resurrection that did not actually occur physically but was an experience that the disciples had. They make nonsense out of what the New Testament declares.

Note verse 4 of Romans 1. Regarding Jesus Christ who was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. Now note, He was declared the Son of God. It was at that point that God made clearly known that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God, who He claimed to be. He was raised from the dead. What does Christ's resurrection say? It says that He is the Son of God. He is what He claimed to be—Deity Himself. The testimony is irrefutable. He was raised from the dead just like He said He would be. If I stand up and make a claim to you to be deity—we had a man in Philadelphia called Father Divine and he claimed to be deity. You know what happened? He died. And you know what happened after that? He stayed dead! After these years, his body is still in the process of decay. You know why? He wasn't so divine at all. He wasn't divine AT ALL! But you know? Jesus Christ is the Son of God. There is that declaration. So the day in which He is raised from the dead, that testimony will be clearly made as to His person and so as to the relationship He does have with the Father and we have with the Father because of what He said, but also connected in this context remember (back up to verses 16 and 17 of John 14) is the fact that with the resurrection of the Son and His ascension to the Father, the Spirit of God will be sent to indwell those who believe. And I take it that our experience as believers in experiencing spiritual life and the indwelling of the Spirit is in view here. He, the Spirit of God, the One who will be provided as a result of the resurrection of Christ, will cause us to know that mutual abiding relationship. He, in effect, will confirm that relationship that we have with Christ.

Look over in Romans chapter 5. Having said in verse 1 that we have experienced righteousness, and been declared righteous by God as a result of faith in Jesus Christ, He says down in verse 5, "..and hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." The love that God has for us, His love, has been poured out within our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. In other words, as a result of the resurrection of Christ and the provision of the Spirit, I have entered into an understanding and knowledge of the love that God has for me. Of that relationship I have with Him that He abides with me. The Spirit of God has made that known. That is the experiential aspect that you cannot communicate to a person who is not a believer in Jesus Christ. How do you know that God loves you? Well, He demonstrated His love for me in that while I was a sinner Christ died for me, in verse 8 of Romans 5. But the Spirit of God who now indwells me has confirmed that love. I have the assurance of that by the confirming ministry of the Spirit of God.

Look over in chapter 8 of Romans, verse 14. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Now do I know that I'm a child of God? The Spirit of God residing within me has confirmed to me the word of God. Now you note here. There are many people who believe they have had an experience with God who have been deceived. My experience is only understandable as it is interpreted and sifted through the Word of God. I know that that is the Spirit confirming to me because of what the Word of God says, and it's the Spirit of God who enables me to understand the Word of God. Many people believe they have had a tremendous spiritual experience, but it does not conform with the Word of God. That experience did not come from the Spirit of God. So I need to be careful that I see that this experience that I have with the Spirit of God is a confirmation of the Word of God. But it’s the Spirit within me that gives me the knowledge of that abiding relationship. I am a child of God. I cry out to Him as my Father. I have that mutual relationship as Father and child with Him. The Spirit of God gives me that knowledge and assurance. "In that day" when I am raised from the dead “and the Spirit of God is provided, you will know. That happened for the disciples. Their faith was confirmed after the resurrection of Christ and they saw Him. They realized He had been raised from the dead. You remember when Thomas confronts Him in John 20 and sees Him for himself, he cries out, "My Lord, and My God." His faith in Him as the Son of God was confirmed. But then with the provision of the Spirit, that ministry was further solidified by the work of the Spirit in making known to the disciples and other believers the relationship that they had with God.

In Galatians 4, verse 6, Paul says the same thing—parallel passage to Romans chapter 8, that it is the Spirit of God that cries out within us "Abba, Father!" I dwell in Him and He in me.

Come back to John 14. So we have knowledge. You cannot communicate that level totally to the unbeliever. You can offer him the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is proof that He was who He claims to be. You can tell him about the Spirit of God who resides within and gives that confirmation of the Word of God, but that is only for believers in the full sense. Tt's not until a person believes that they can enter into the fullness of that relationship and understanding of that relationship. Apart from faith in Christ, they are simply being told about it, but faith in Him brings about the transformation.

So Christ comes to talk about this then in verse 21. Those who really belong to Him and will have this understanding and knowledge and mutual abiding. "He who has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to Him." This is the process. Who are those who will enjoy this relationship? The one who has My commandments, and keeps them! Now we saw down in verse 15 of chapter 14, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." The stress here is the one who has His word, has His teaching, and lives in light of it. That's the one who loves Jesus Christ. Now there are people who claim to love Jesus Christ but do not live lives conforming to the Word of God. They are liars. They don't love Him at all.

Now be careful here. We are not talking about some Christians who have more love for God versus some Christians who have less love. We are talking about unbelievers who have no love and believers who are in love. That's the only distinction being made here. The one who has the teaching of Jesus Christ and keeps it, lives in light of it, he is the one who loves Jesus Christ.

Look over in James. This concept is repeated and reinforced throughout the New Testament. James chapter 2. I was impressed this week, I spent this past week teaching through the Book of Jude. I was impressed again on the emphasis regarding apostates or those who claim to have a relationship with God but do not. Their lives demonstrate the lack of a relationship. They do not live in accord with what God says. So James says in verse 14 of chapter 2, "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that kind of faith save him?" Verse 17, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." Verse 19, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and tremble." So you say, 'I believe in God.' Good! You're in good company—the demons believe the same thing! You know the difference? The demons don't have saving faith. There has been no change brought about in them by their faith. They simply acknowledge facts which are true. Such as the existence of God, but that doesn't result in their salvation. There has been no life-transforming faith.

Verse 20. "Are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow...." Or, are you willing to recognize, you fool "...that faith without works is useless."
There is no salvation in this kind of faith. Now note. He does not say you are saved by your works. Many people misunderstand James. He does not say if you work hard enough you will be saved. What does he say? If you have really believed in Christ, your life will be changed. Could it be possible that I would come to trust in the Son of God as my Savior, that He would cleanse me from my sin that the Spirit of God would come and take up residence in my life personally and there would be no difference in my life? Obviously not. And that's what James is saying. That is in evidence. If you have really believed in Jesus Christ, your life will be different. If it's not, then take that as God's message to you. You haven't believed in Him yet. You need to come to grips with reality. Many self-deceived people and they can even come to Indian Hills and not realize that they have no relationship with Jesus Christ. Is your life lived in the realm of obedience to His Word? Is it your delight to serve Him? Evidence and John picks this up in his first epistle. And it's the whole theme of his whole epistle. If your life does not conform to the character of Christ, you don't belong to Christ.

Just pick up chapter 5, one verse. First John 5:2, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments..." Love and obedience are inseparable. When I talk about loving Jesus Christ, I am talking about being obedient to Him. When I talk about being obedient to Him, I'm talking about loving Him. And there is no love of Christ without obedience to Him. And there is no faith in Him without love for Him. There is love for Him without obedience to Him. They are all inseparably joined together. Come back to John 14 then. "He who has My commandments, and keeps them (lives in light of them), he it is who loves Me..."now note—"...and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." Emphasizing here that believers dwell and abide in a mutual relationship with God. Now, it's interesting the way he puts it here. "He who loves Me shall be loved by My Father." John wrote in his first epistle and said, "We love Him because He first loved us." Now note the pattern. He loved us so He sent His Son to die for us; and by His work through the Spirit of God, we are caused to believe in His Son and fall in love with Him and become the special object of God’s love. God has a love for those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ that He does not have for all mankind. He loved the world and made provision through the death of His Son. But we who have come to believe in Him occupy a special mutual relationship of abiding love. He in us, we as believers with Him. He loves us because we love His Son.

"I will love him..." Not only will the Father love us but the Son will love us. And note—"will disclose Myself to him." In verse 20 He said, "In that day you shall know Me." At the end of this verse He says, "I will disclose Myself to him." Only those who truly believe in Him, have fallen in love with Him will see and know and understand Him. The world today is unaware even of the existence of Jesus Christ. They don't know that He is alive and at work today. But you and I as believers do. He is just as real and alive to me as you are. You as a believer know Him. He has disclosed Himself to us. He has made Himself known to us. But He does not do that to the world, so the unbeliever comes and even sits here. He hears the proclamation of the Word but it makes no impact on his life. Why? He has no knowledge of Jesus Christ. He has no understanding that He is alive, that He is here functioning. But we as believers know. He has been disclosed to us.

Now this causes the question. Jesus talks about disclosing Himself or making Himself known to a special group of people—those who love Him. Judas has a question—not Judas Iscariot. This is not the Judas who betrayed Him. Another Judas who is mentioned a couple of times in the New Testament. He has a question, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?" He says, ’I don't understand. The Old Testament is clear that the Messiah will be made known to the world, that when He comes and sets up His kingdom all creation will know Him." The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. He will be known everywhere by everyone. Now what has happened? You note, he doesn’t say future tense, What shall happen? But rather, what has happened to bring about this change? That now you're not talking about making Yourself known to the world as we would except the Messiah to do, but just making Yourself known to us? "Jesus answered and said to Him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word...'" You note that repeated hammering away. "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." That's the testimony. That's the evidence. I'm in love with Jesus Christ. You can test whether that's a reality by whether I live my life according to the Word of God. "He will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." That's who I will disclose Myself to those who believe in Me and not to the world. It is a personal disclosure. We will come to that person who believes in Me, who loves Me and we will make ourselves known to Him. That's going to be developed in our next study with the ministry of the Holy Spirit for believers. But you note, this is a personal disclosure. We will come to him personally. That's not the kind of disclosure you'd think to take in the whole world. We are going to come for a personal encounter, to make our residence with Him personally. So that's why we will be disclosed individually and not to the world.

I think it's worthy of note here. Jesus says, "My Father will love him, and we will come to Him." My Father and I together. Now up in verses 16 and 17 He says the Spirit of God is coming, and it’s true that when one person of the Trinity comes, they all come because there is an identity in essence and nature even though there is a distinguishing personal character for each one. But I think Jesus is stressing here, each person. The Spirit of God is going to come and reside in each believer. The Father and the Son are also going to come and abide with them. And it’s similar to Christ's earthly ministry. When Christ ministered on earth, the Spirit of God was present but the attention was on the Son of God and His ministry. Now that Jesus Christ has ascended to the Father, He is present with us as the Father is but the emphasis is on the Spirit's ministry in us. But all three members of the triune God come and abide, dwell, take up residence with the believer. Now that's God's provision for me. During this time between the first and second coming of Christ, God Himself is going to come and reside with me. I'm not left as an orphan. I'm not left without aid and assistance. The triune God Himself takes up residence with me. And the Spirit of God Himself through His indwelling ministry will provide the enablement and power. So the disciples need not be afraid of being left alone. Not be afraid of being abandoned. You and I as believers need to keep that in mind when the heat builds, when the pressure is on. Oh God, where are you? I'm right here. Don't you love me? I told you I do; I told you I'd abide with you. Well how could things be so stormy? How could there be so many trials? Wait a minute, I didn't say I'd keep you out of a storm; I said I would abide with you and see you through the storm. I didn't say I would keep trials from your life; I said I would abide with you and sustain you through them.

We sometimes lose sight of the emphasis. I get in the storm, I get in the trial and I wonder if God has abandoned me. Wait a minute, no. He said He would abide with me. He resides here. So here we go through the storm together. That's His provision. Not leave you as orphans. The other side of this is verse 24 where we’ll conclude. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words.” The opposite is true. Completes the picture. If you love Him, you obey Him. If you don’t love Him, you don’t obey Him. It's just that clear cut. There are some people whose total concept of a relationship with God is to come to a Sunday morning worship service. They fail to comprehend living a life according to the Word of God that grows out of a love relationship with Him.

"The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." This has been repeatedly driven home by Jesus during His earthly ministry. I am sharing with you what the Father says. This is what God says on the subject.
You can be fully assured of it. So there are two kinds of people in the world today. There are those people who have the eternal God abiding with them.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself resident within us, to empower and motivate and direct our lives. And there are those who have to make it on their own.

Now. There is a marked difference between the person who has the power of God at work in his life to sustain him, to uphold him. One, that strength and provision is within and when the external circumstances cave in, my strength is not gone. My power is not affected because it is resident within me regardless of externals. The world changes. Circumstances change, but God dwells with and in me permanently.

Secondly, those in whom God dwells are those who are being prepared for glory in His presence, who at a point in time will be taken into His presence by the Son of God. This contrast with those who do not have God dwelling within them and thus are destined to eternal destruction in hell. What a glorious thing to be able to live in this world and in this life and have the Spirit of God Himself, the Son of God Himself, the Father Himself dwell within us. To dwell in a mutual love relationship. To be sustained by Him in every circumstance, in every situation, in every trial. What an awful position to be in to be cast upon your own resources as strong as they may be. To not to have that One who is closer than a brother, who abides with us continually? What tragedy to not have that glorious destiny promised to those who love Him. But what a message that God's love is so great that He has made provision for anyone who will believe in His Son. Can you believe that all eternity hangs on such an issue? As whether you personally have ever come to realize that you are a sinner and the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ, died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins? That you must believe in Him as your Savior. The moment you do that, you're forgiven sins and God Himself takes up residence within you and begins to accomplish His purpose in and through you, to prepare you for the glory of His presence. We as believers need to live in light of that. We need to praise God when troubles and trials and difficulties and suffering and obstacles come, that we are privileged to have a source of power and assistance that is from within, that abides with us permanently to sustain us in whatever way we need that we might be assured and guaranteed of being brought safely into the presence of His glory. Let's pray together.

Father, we praise you this morning for the provision you have made for us in living our lives here on earth during this time of the first and second coming of your Son Jesus Christ. Father, even for your presence with each one of us individually as believers today. How we praise you, Lord that you're not just present when we come together in a meeting like this but as we go our separate ways, each one of us as believers in Jesus Christ is privileged to know that you are with us personally and will accomplish your purposes in preparing us for the glories of your presence.

Lord, I pray for those individuals who are here today who do not know what it means to have a relationship with you. Father, at best they are religious. Lord, they have no life. They do not know what it means to have the confirmation and assurance of the Spirit is ministry in their hearts that cries out to you "Abba! Father!" and assures them of your presence, of your life, of your assistance. Lord, I pray the Spirit might cause them to see their situation, their blindness, their hopelessness. Lord, that they might be willing to humble themselves before you, to cast themselves upon your mercy to believe that your Son paid their penalty, and we'll praise you for it in Jesus' name