I was scheduled to speak today on the pulpit, but I won’t be able to do so as some of us are in Michigan to attend the memorial service for Alcione Morrow. Next Sabbath is Youth and Young Adult Sabbath and we have another speaker, meaning that I won’t be on the pulpit for 4 weeks in a row. It feels odd to be away from the pulpit for that long, but when I look at the lineup of speakers in my absence, I see that God has blessed us with better speakers than me to fill our hearts with the Word of God.
Jesus would be absent as He had a ministry to do in the heavenly sanctuary. I wonder what the disciples were thinking when they realized that Jesus would be leaving them soon. They could have panicked, been concerned, felt abandoned, lost hope, or didn’t care. It could have been anything, we don’t know. But Jesus had a special plan for the disciples, and us.
“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 go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 (ESV).
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples, and to us. This would be the role of the Holy Spirit: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you.” John 14:26 (ESV). It’s wonderful to know the plan Jesus already had for us. We have the Holy Spirt today to guide and lead us to the truth. We have to open our ears and heart to listen to the things that the Holy Spirit speaks. But there is something we must do as well. Jesus spoke this a few verses before, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” John 14:21 (ESV). Keeping the commandments of God is a way to love Jesus and it helps us to be more receptive when the Holy Spirit talks to us. I pray that we will be faithful to His Words and open our hearts to listen to the Holy Spirit.
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