John chapter 13 through 17 is known as the Farewell
Discourse. It is all of the teaching and
dialogue between Jesus and his disciples during their last night together
before the crucifixion. Jesus has washed
their feet and has spoken of a traitor who will betray him. He has given them a “new commandment” to love
one another as he has loved them. Jesus
has said he is leaving them, and where he is going they cannot yet follow. He has said that he is leaving to go to back
to the Father and has declared himself to be equal to and one with God, the one
unique way to God and the promise keeper who answers the prayers of his
followers enabling them to do even greater works than he has done.
For those eleven disciples the atmosphere in that upper
room is filled with tension, apprehension, nervous anticipation, many questions
and more than a little confusion.
They need encouragement and help to deal with their
present circumstances and face what lies ahead.
So do we.
Understanding this full well, Jesus introduces us to the
Holy Spirit.
D. Martin Lloyd Jones accurately stated: If the doctrine of
the Trinity is true—and it is true—then we are most culpable if in our thinking
and in our doctrine we do not pay the same devotion and attention to the Holy
Spirit as we do to the Son and to the Father. So whether we feel inclined to do so or not,
it is our duty as biblical people, who believe the Scripture to be the divinely
inspired word of God, to know what the Scripture teaches about the Spirit. And, furthermore, as it is the teaching of the
Scripture that the Holy Spirit is the one who applied salvation, it is of the
utmost practical importance that we should know the truth concerning Him. I am very ready to agree with those who say
that the low spiritual life of the Church, today or at any time, is largely due
to the fact that so many fail to realize the truth concerning the person and
the work of the Holy Spirit.
As you
prepare for worship this week I encourage you to ask God to give you a deep
desire to better know and love the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Jones also raised
another point that deserves our consideration as we prepare for worship. He asks:
But have you ever thought of asking why He is called the Holy Spirit? Now if you put that question to people, I
think you will find that they will answer, ‘He is described like that because
He is holy.’ But that cannot be the true explanation because the purpose of a
name is to differentiate someone from others, but God the Father is holy and
God the Son is equally holy.
Why, then, is He called holy? Surely, the explanation is that it is His
special work to produce holiness and order in all that He does in the application
of Christ’s work of salvation. His
objective is to produce holiness and He does that in nature and creation, as
well as in human beings. But His
ultimate work is to make us a holy people, holy as the children of God.
I ask
you to join me in praying that the Holy Spirit would accomplish this objective
in our lives, in our families and in our church.
This
Sunday our church family will observe two sacred celebrations. The first is communion. Pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare your
heart for the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
The
second is the recognition of God’s calling in Matthew & Amy Lawrence’s
lives. Matthew has been called to serve
as one of the Pastors at Calvary Baptist Church in McLeansville, NC. We
will formally ordain Matthew and prayerfully send this family out in service to
God. Pray for Matt and Amy as they begin
this new chapter in their journey of faith.
As a part of our service we will hear the beautiful
song Holy
Spirit, by Keith and Kristyn Getty. Read and listen
to the lyrics, and make them a part of your prayers asking God to prepare you
for worship.
Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
to renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.
Holy Spirit, come abide within;
may Your joy be seen in all I do—
Love enough to cover every sin,
in each thought and deed and
attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.
Holy Spirit, from creation's birth,
giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth;
cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ will be clear
for all the world to see.
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