the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit

If you abide in me…Jesus encouragement to his disciples in John chapter 15.  He uses wonderful imagery of the branch staying connected to the vine for its life and existence.  Cease being connected and the branch dies and is discarded.  So, we strive to be intentional in our “staying connected”.  We may evaluate our lives each day by our attempts to stay focused on Jesus, participate in godly activities (prayer, quiet times, worship, service) and our keeping ourselves from sinning.  BUT chapter 15 follows chapter 14.

In John 14, Jesus says ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^[e] who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  Jesus says that he will not abandon us as orphans, but that He will come to them and be in them through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  My point is that “abiding” begins with the ever-sustaining presence of the Holy Spirit.  Our part is not “doing” something, rather we are to be good “receivers”.

Benefits of the presence of the Holy Spirit

1.   His presence is continual whether I am consciously thinking about Him or not.

2.   He is “within”.  This means I do not have to go find him.  Jesus said to his disciples that if they understood how the Father would send Holy Spirit to them, they would rejoice.  Jesus said I will no longer be present among you…now I will be in you.

3.   He will empower us to express our love through obeying his commands.  John 14 ²³ Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.

4.   He reminds us of the words of Jesus.

5.   He is a comforter, encourager, counselor and advocate to navigate life’s storms and struggles.

6.   He empowers us to live boldly in witness and worship

7.   He uniquely equips every believer with gifts and purpose to fulfill in the body of Christ

Thank God for His wonderful plan to send the Holy Spirit to his children.  Acknowledge His presence.  Talk with Him and discern how He speaks to you.  Follow the impressions that He gives.  This is exactly how Jesus walked in relationship with His Father.  In Mark 1, Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove.  The next verse says the Spirit led him into the desert where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days.  The Spirit guided Jesus into that desert experience in which we gain encouragement that He overcame temptations.

I truly believe that one of the greatest encouragements for believers is to learn how to acknowledge and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said, “my sheep will follow my voice.”  Paul says that if we follow the Holy Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

Jesus, thank you for your plan to abide in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit teach us how to hear your voice and respond appropriately.