THE HELPER
Everyone needs help in one way or the other. No matter how capable we are. We all need help at one time or the other. No man is an island, and no man has the answer to all things. Believers also need help no matter how anointed we are.
John 15:5
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The Holy Spirit dropped this scripture in my spirit recently- Apart from me you can do nothing.
Many of us have become experts in most things we do. We have become so dependent on our experiences and less on the move of the Holy Spirit. Many of us have subtly pushed the Holy Spirit to the side, we have unwittingly depended on our limited knowledge and our expertise. We talk about the Holy Spirit, we preach, we teach but we have all become experts needing Him less and less in our daily work with God.
Jesus said to the disciples in John 14:12-15
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus assures the church, that Same work that He did the Church will do also.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
He assures the Church, that whatever we ask the father in His name we will receive.
In John 14:16- 17,
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
JESUS GIVES US AN INTERESTING PROMISE.
The promise of a Helper, a Helper that will dwell in us, He will be with us, He will work with us. He says I am leaving, I am going back to my father, and I
know you will need help, and so I am giving you the Help you will need. Someone like me, Someone who will not lie to you, Someone who will not deceive you. He will be with you.
May I submit to you today that the Helper is the Holy Spirit. The disciples were confused worried, disappointed that Jesus was leaving.
In John 16:7
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus tells His disciples; it is to your advantage that I go away. Jesus’ going away put the church in a better position. His going away put us in a favourable position, because as long as He was here on earth, the Helper could not come and make His dwelling in us. The only way the work He started could continue, was Him returning to the Father, whilst the Helper continued the work Jesus started. He will continue the work through us.
John 14:18
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
John 16: 8- 10
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
IN WHAT WAYS DOES HE HELP THE CHURCH?
1. HE HELPS US WITH OUR WITNESSING
Jesus told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father.
Acts 1:4-5
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The disciples struggled to understand why Jesus wanted them to wait for the promise of the Father.
Jesus had to explain to them that they needed the Helper in order for them to be effective witness.
Acts 1:8
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The Helper is the One who makes us effective in our witness of Who Christ is. Without Him our witnessing is ineffective. Hence Jesus tells us in in John 16:8
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, ……
2. HE CONVICTS THE WORLD OF SIN
Most time we get frustrated, when we preach the Gospel and it seems as though people are not responding, we must never get discouraged. Let us leave the conviction to the Helper. He is the One who convicts. Our witnessing is not complete without the help of the Helper.
3. HE CONVICTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
The Helper will remind the world of Jesus’ righteousness and convince us that we are the righteousness of God. Not because of what we have achieved but because Jesus the righteous one dwells with us and we in Him. Scripture tells us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13-14 and Romans 10:9-10
4. HE WILL JUDGE THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, SATAN
When the disciples came back and told Jesus that even demons were subject to them in His name – Jesus said to them I saw Satan fall like lightening. The Helper helps us walk in that victory, He reminds us that work of Calvary is complete, and we are to walk in that victory, by working the same works that Jesus did and even greater works.
5. HE WILL GUIDE US IN THE TRUTH
The helper helps us walk in the truth; He reveals the truth to us. He will reveal Jesus not just to us but to the world.
John 15:26
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
6. HE WILL ONLY SPEAK OF WHAT THE FATHER TELLS HIM/HE WILL REVEAL THE SECRET THINGS OF THE FATHER.
God wants to reveal His secret to the Church. He does not want us to be ignorant of things to come. Through the Helper He reveals His plans to us. He helps us in understanding the truth of the scripture.
Luke 10:21
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
7. HE WILL GLORIFY JESUS!
The Helper has not come to speak of Himself but to glorify Jesus. His work is to reveal Jesus to you and me. The Helper brings glory and honour to Jesus. Through us the Helper brings glory to Jesus Christ. When a person get saved, healed, delivered etc. The glory goes to Jesus because it is all done by the Helper not us. He comes alongside the Church to do the work Jesus
has called us to. Apart from me you can do nothing.
8. HE WILL DO THE SAME WORK THAT JESUS DID THROUGH US!
The same works that Jesus did, is done through the believer because of the Helper.
9. HE HELPS US WITH OUR PRAYER!
The Helper is the One who helps us with our prayer life. It is therefore important to call on His help. The Church needs Him to pray effectively.
Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession [g]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The truth is that sometimes we struggle with the right words to articulate what we want to pray. However, the Helper knows what is needed and what we should pray for, and He comes alongside us and helps us to pray and articulate what is on the heart of the Father.
10. HE ENABLES US PREACH WITH BOLDNESS
When the disciples where told not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore, the disciples returned to the upper room to pray, and this was their prayer.
Acts 4:29
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
And this was the result.
Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
We need Him to be able to preach the gospel with boldness.
If you feel timid, shy, helpless when it comes to sharing the gospel, remember that the Apostles also were afraid, but they asked the Helper and He helped them. You and I are no different.
THE EARLY CHURCH
The early church depended solely on Him. Everything they did was with the help of the Holy Spirit who is our Helper. Their dependency was on Him.
THE 21ST CENTURY CHURCH
I pray that as a church and as individuals, we begin to recognise the work of the Helper and accept His help and assistance.
He has not come to just make us shake and feel good. He has come to
help us continue the work that Jesus started here on earth. When Jesus said I will not leave you as orphans, He meant it! We have got to trust Him and allow the Holy spirit to Help us!
In Luke 10: 9 Jesus sent the disciples out to preach, to heal, to deliver to raise the dead. In Luke 10: 17-20 The disciples came back rejoicing that the demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus and that was whilst Jesus was with them. Now that Jesus has returned to the father, He has left us with the Helper who is the Holy spirit so we can work the same work, His disciples did whilst He was here on earth.
Now we can do the same thing with the help of the Helper. Preaching the Kingdom, casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, through the help of the Helper who does not draw attention to Himself but to Jesus.
Let us thank God for His Holy Spirit Who is our Helper.
