Wednesday, February 22, 2017

I Will Not Leave You Orphans (LS25)

        'Last Sermon of Jesus'

John 14:16,18  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—…. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
    Our Lord promised His disciples, who had given up everything to follow Him, that He will come back again and ensure that they will no longer be orphans. After this last sermon, our Lord was arrested, whipped, and crucified. After His resurrection, He appeared to them a few times. Then, He ascended back to heaven, leaving them as orphans.

John 1:33  "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'"
    Up to His ascension, there was no record of Jesus baptizing anyone with the Holy Spirit.

Mat  3:11  "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
    These 2 events must be fulfilled for He is faithful to His word. Our lack of understanding of the bible is probably caused by:-
- Not enough time for the bible,
- Incomplete faith in His word,
- Not keeping His commandments
- Reject His word and teachings
- Unable to understand the truth.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
    So while the disciples were waiting for Pentecost, our Lord Jesus could have made His home with them, for they had loved Him by keeping His word.

Acts 1:4-5  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; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
   On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to fill his disciples and the devout Jews, giving them the gifts of tongues and interpretations of tongues. Meanwhile, our Lord Jesus, who was dwelling in His disciples' physical bodies, baptized each faithful disciple with the Holy Spirit by immersing their very own spirits, one by one in the Spirit of truth.

Acts 1:8  "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
      The evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the transformation of a timid and unlearned fisherman Peter, into a bold and anointed preacher of His everlasting gospel.
    On the day of Pentecost, our Lord Jesus baptised His disciples with the Holy Spirit and also ensured that they were no longer orphans by sending the Helper to shepherd them while abiding in them forever. Praise the Lord that He will always ensure that the scriptures are fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."