II. The Holy Spirit's Comfort, Guidance and Help
In John, chapter 14, verses 15 to 17, Jesus said:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
Up until the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of God was with Christians. Since He met with the disciples in the Upper Room in John, chapter 20, and came and breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," the Spirit of God moved into the bodies of Christians.
That was foretold in John 7, verses 37-39:
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"
Now Jesus has risen from the dead. Now the Holy Spirit has moved into the bodies of Christians. Now He dwells not only with Christians, but within Christians.
And Romans 8:9 says, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Every saved person has the Spirit of God living in him.
First Corinthians 6:19 and 20 says,
"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
The sweet Spirit of God lives within you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture says the body should be presented a living sacrifice, and kept holy for the Lord.
Now let us come back to this sweet Scripture in John. What about the Holy Spirit within us? John 14:16 says:
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter."
Another? Yes. They are saying, "Jesus, are You going away? Jesus, will You leave us like poor sheep without a Shepherd?" "No," said Jesus, "I am going to leave another Comforter."
Jesus is saying, "The Spirit of God will be better for you than Me." If Jesus was on earth now, I would go across the seas, I would go anywhere in the world, to see Him. But if I could get there, there would be great crowds of people, and I might not be able to see Him. Oh, it may be that one time I could kiss His hand or His feet, but I wouldn't get to be with Him much.
Oh, but the sweet Spirit of God comes - another One like Jesus. He now becomes within us - Christ's personal Representative. In fact, Jesus said in the Great Commission, "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" - meaning through the Spirit of God.
Again, the Scripture says:
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldy say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."
Thank God, He never leaves us! The Spirit of God is Christ in you, the hope of glory. "Another Comforter" - isn't that sweet?
1. The Holy Spirit Is Our Comforter
Now the Holy Spirit is in us. Christians ought to rejoice in that blessed truth. He is within us. What is He? A Comforter! And how we do need comfort!
I saw in a comic strip where a little boy got hurt. He was crying and looking for his daddy but couldn't find him. He hushed crying until he finally opened the door and found where his daddy was, then he went on with his crying.
We too need Someone to comfort us in the sorrows of this world. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." And "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble," says Job. That is right; trouble everywhere. Paul went back and preached to the young converts saved in his meetings that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
The Psalmist David said, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord... . Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down" (Ps. 37:23,24). Trouble is natural in this poor old, wicked world. We ourselves are sinful, frail and weak. But here is comfort; we are not like the lost world - we have a Comforter.
Dr. George W. Truett tells about an unsaved man and a lovely Christian woman who had a little child whom they loved so much. But the child got sick and died. The father said to Dr. Truett, "My wife is so frail and weak, I don't think she can live through it." But they found that this good Christian woman had comfort in her heart, and she said to the lost husband, "Daddy, I am so sorry for you. You don't have the comfort I have."
A Christian can have comfort in every sorrow, light in all darkness, an answer to all his questions, strength in every temptation. The sweet Comforter of God, the Holy Spirit of God, has come to be our Comforter.
The Bible calls Him that several times and we would be wrong to make light of it. I read you where He said, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which preceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." And "he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance." And in John 15:26, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which preceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. Then again in John 16:7,8, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
We had better think of it like God does. Another Comforter. The Comforter is come. He is from God and will guide you into truth. This Comforter will convict the world. The Comforter - a wonderful name for a wonderful Person!
In Fort Worth, Texas, years ago, I went to see a woman. I dreaded to go. It was a time of great depression. The father could not find work. The father thought, "I will get out somewhere, even if I starve so they can get welfare." So he left.
That frail woman went to work. She worked and worked hard, until she took T.B. and was bedfast. They had two children - a little girl 15 and a boy 14.
And the girl died, I am going to preach the funeral of that little girl. I must face that woman who has lost her husband and was a victim of T.B., now her little girl has died. We must take the mother in our arms and carry her to look into the casket and say good-bye to her girl! I must say words of comfort at that funeral. What will I say?
I did not need to fret about it. I went into that sickroom and she took my hand in both of hers and said, "Brother Rice, the Lord Jesus said, 'I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.'" She smiled, along with the tears, and said, "Brother Rice, He came! He came, Brother Rice!"
Oh, the Comforter!
I so many, many times, in the midst of a world of trouble, have found comfort in Jesus. I don't wonder that the Psalms speak about songs in the night. Yes, in the nighttime, the sweet Comforter can be your Comforter. Whatever trouble may come, we can have His comfort.
Never lonely, if the Saviour Walk beside me all the way; Never feeling lost, unwanted, Darkest night or drearest day. Never stumbling, tho' my pathway Oft is stony, oft is rough. But His angels' arms around me, Underneath me, hold me up.
A Christian can have comfort. Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit can be with us all the time.
He is the Comforter, but that is not all.
2. He is the Guide
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). How wonderful that has been to me through these years! I work hard. I have six or seven thousand books in my library, but I don't have much time to read. I preach much of the time twice a day, often three times a day, edit THE SWORD, run a business with some ninety employees, am in conferences everywhere, answer heavy mail, have a broadcast. So I can't do the studying that some men can do. But, thank God, the Bible has become more and more an open Book. There is a light from Heaven on the page of this holy Book when I come relying on the Spirit. I ask and He guides me into truth.
I have written comments on every chapter in the Bible and on every principal verse. The sweet Spirit of God has someway helped me understand spiritual truths.
You can have a Guide. Not only a guide in doctrine, not only a guide in the truth, but a guide about what to do. The Spirit can show us what to do. In Acts, chapter 16, Paul said, "I want to preach in Bithynia," but the Spirit suffered him not. He said, "Well, maybe in this little province Asia, in Asia Minor we can preach. But the Spirit refused. So they waited and prayed and in the night there came a vision of a man from Macedonia, holding out his empty arms saying, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." They assuredly gathered that the Spirit of God was calling, so they went. You can have guidance day by day.
Philip was in a great revival in Samaria and the Spirit of the Lord caught him away to go down to talk to that Ethiopian eunuch. You can have leadership from God. He is the Guide to all truth.
Not only that, but He can bring to your remembrance "whatsoever things I have said unto you." The Holy Spirit has an affinity for the Bible. If you learn the Bible, the Spirit of God brings it to mind when you need it. You have to study it, you have to hide it in your heart, but the sweet Spirit of God will bring to your remembrance what Jesus said, and you can have help.
