Feature
The Roles of the Holy Spirit John 15:26-27, 16:5-11
By Drew Severance
Satan, He is our counselor. When the Holy Spirit reminds us of Jesus’ teachings, and helps us apply them to our daily lives, He is our teacher.
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When the Holy Spirit enables us to obey Jesus’ commands, and helps us to become less like us and more like our Savior, He is our . When the Holy Spirit gives us
of life, solely because He is in our midst, He is our peace.
about Jesus
When the Counselor 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 (John 15:26).
I heard part of a radio interview
with Tony Evans, a graduate of Dal- las Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fel- lowship in Dallas, TX. Dr Evans was asked to share his thoughts on the state of our nation. Not surpris- - tion is experiencing moral decline, and that our country is drifting from its Christian roots.
Then he said something that hit me like a ton of bricks: “We have no one to blame but ourselves!” He went on to say, that for far too long, Christians have been silent – com- fortably sitting on the sidelines and in the bleachers.
It’s time for individual believ- ers to get in the game. Everyone else and everything else has come out in the open. It’s way past time for the church to do so as well! It’s way past time for followers of Jesus Christ to speak up – and stand up – for His name.
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hen the Holy Spirit de- fends us against the condemning attacks of
In a legal sense, as Counselor, the Holy Spirit presents the case for Jesus
- tion. But, we can’t just relax and leave it all to Him. No, all Christians have the responsibility to bear witness to the facts of saving grace: And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning (verse 27). But you may think, “I’m not an eyewitness to Jesus’ life and ministry.”
That’s true, but you are an eyewitness to what Jesus has done in your life. You may not have mastered a slick gospel presentation, and you may not have all the answers, but you do have your story – what you were like before Jesus; what you’re like now; how your walk with Jesus has changed your lifestyle as a spouse, a parent, a child, a retiree, an employer, an employee or as a friend. Here’s the bottom line: the Holy Spirit does much of His work through us
– through our relationships and interactions with unbelievers. All of us are equipped and gifted to testify (or witness) about Jesus in different ways. The way you do it may be different than the way I do it, and that’s OK. What’s not OK is doing nothing. According to Luke 12:12, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say. Starting today, what can you do differently, or new, in terms of testifying about Jesus?
Some Practical Suggestions: When sending cards of any kind, include a Scripture verse that points the
recipient to Jesus and His gospel message. In every email you send, encode the words to John 3:16 or another evan- gelistic Bible verse, following your message. Invite your neighbors to your home for a casual drop-in dessert. You can’t testify to them about Jesus if you don’t know them. One of our church’s small groups did this recently and 20 people showed up! At meal time blessings or family devotions, ask the Lord to put someone in your path to whom you can be a blessing – someone with whom you can share Jesus. Now that’s a kingdom prayer – a life-changing prayer, for them and for you.
Alter your lifestyle a bit so you increase the opportunity to meet non- Christians. Join a club or volunteer group, with the goal of sharing Jesus with just one person this year.
Die to Self
The Greek word for “testify” is where we get the English word, “martyr.” Although several of the original disciples were killed for their faith in Jesus, it’s most likely none of us will face the same fate. However, the Bible also calls us to die to self (Luke 9:23, 1 Corinthians 15:31, and Galatians 2:20). We’re way too concerned about what other people will think about us – our image, our name, and our reputation – since Jesus shed His blood for us, shouldn’t we be more concerned about His image, His name, and His reputation?
After Jesus was arrested by the religious authorities, His disciples “de-
By God’s grace, may each of us do the same.
Rev. Drew Severance is the associate pastor at Lake Placid (FL) ARP Church. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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