Today I continue our new series entitled, “Power of Fellowship.” This is now the fourth week of of this series. I trust it has been a blessing to you. We are just getting started. I have so much to say about this.
Last week I attended a Men’s Conference. The theme of the conference was, “Release the KING In You!” The point was that God — who is the King of kings and Lord of lords — lives inside of us. We are walking around with God in the inside of us and it is time for us to let Him out.
During the conference the Holy Spirit led me to the following passage and told me to share it with you today. Let’s take a look at something Jesus said in John 14, as He was preparing His disciples for His departure. I will share it with you in two translations:
(John 14:15-17 New Living Translation)
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
(John 14:15-17 Easy to Read Version)
“If you love me, you will do what I command. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Jesus’ disciples relied on Him for everything and He relied on the Father. They looked to Him and He looked to God. As Jesus was preparing to leave His disciples, He had to prepare them to look to God directly. Jesus wanted His disciples to learn to do what He was doing. What was true for them back then is true for us today. We can do what Jesus did while He was in the earth, but in order to do so we must live the way Jesus lived. Jesus relied on the Father for everything. He only said what the Father told Him to say and He only did what the Father led Him to do. Jesus received His instructions directly from the Father, through the Holy Spirit. If you are Born-Again, you have the same Holy Spirit Jesus had. Therefore, you can hear from God just like Jesus did.
2. The disciples watched as Jesus would get up in the morning and go away by Himself to spend quiet time with the Father. Jesus would come back with His marching orders for the day. Jesus heard what to say and he received insight concerning what to do directly from the Father, through the Holy Spirit. He did this every day and throughout each day in prayer. The disciples knew that prayer was Jesus’ secret weapon. Being able to hear from God is absolutely critical. This is why the only thing the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was to pray. They never asked to learn how to multiply fish and loaves. They did not ask for a lesson on how to cast out demons or heal the sick. They only asked Jesus to teach them one thing. They said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They wanted to know how to hear from God. Because if they could hear from the Father like Jesus heard from the Father, then they could do what He did in the earth. The same holds true for us today. Whatever you can hear, you can do. Because the Father will never tell you to do something He has not already equipped you to do. If God expects you to do it, it is because He equipped you to do it. And if He equipped you to do it, then He expects you to do it. But you only learn of all of this in prayer. Prayer is critical to the life of the believer.
3. While Jesus was in the earth the disciples relied on Him for everything. They spoke to Him and He spoke to God. But When Jesus was leaving He needed them to shift their focus from Him to the Father. Although He was leaving He told the disciples that God the Father would not leave them comfortless. What He was providing for them would be provided by “another comforter.” The word “another” in John 14 is a Greek word that means: another of the same kind. If you are drinking a coke and you ask me for another soda and I give you a sprite, that is another soda. But it is not another of the same kind. Jesus was saying, “I am about to leave. But the Father will not leave you without support. What I have been providing for you, another [of the same kind] is coming and He will provide it. But the difference is that I am WITH YOU. He shall be IN YOU!” While Jesus walked with the disciples they had contact with the Holy Spirit. But only through Jesus. The Holy Spirit was IN Jesus, but He was only WITH them. Jesus was saying, “Don’t worry. He shall be IN you soon!” If you are Born-Again, the same Holy Spirit who was IN Jesus is IN you. Acknowledge Him as you enter this day.
4. I am sure you have a busy schedule. Think about your calendar for this week for a moment. Think about all the meetings, conversations and all the activity you will engage in. Now think about the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit). What if all three of them came to visit you. Imagine the Father says, “Son/Daughter, I know you have a busy week. I want to go with you to every meeting. Is that ok? And Jesus says, ‘Hey, I want to go too.’ And then the Holy Spirit says, ‘Me too. But they are going to be WITH you. I choose to be IN you. I will be INSIDE of you as we all go and I will be your direct connection to them!’” If you had that conversation with God and you knew that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were going to join you in everything you do this week, would your week be different? Would your confidence level be different if you walked into the meeting with God the Father on your right side, Jesus on your left side, and the Holy Spirit inside of you? Think about that for a moment. Contemplate it. Meditate it. Now think about this: everything you just thought of is actually true. God is living on the inside of you and you are about to take Him into every meeting, conversation and activity. That should impact your confidence level, your perspective, your thoughts and your actions. Enter into this day and every day that follows knowing that God Himself is IN YOU!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for choosing to take up residence INSIDE of me. Jesus came as a man. He was God-man. As a human, He was like every other human. But You placed Your Spirit INSIDE of Him. This made Him a human conduit of the divine. He was a human walking around with God on the inside of Him. Thinking of this blesses me richly. Because, as Jesus is, so am I, in this world. I have the same Holy Spirit Jesus had. You are living INSIDE of me. You go with me into every meeting, every conversation and all the activity I engage in this week. You and Jesus are WITH me. The Holy Spirit is IN me. You are a Spirit and the Holy Spirit is my Spirit-to-Spirit connection to You. I am not comfortless. I am not without support. I enter this week knowing that my God is IN me and WITH me everywhere I go. There is nothing I can’t do, because my God lives IN me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
