John 16:7-15 – “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine…”

Here, Jesus explains that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit first required his ascension into heaven.  The disciples did not understand why Jesus had to go away from them.  If the Messiah had come, they thought, why could he not simply stay, and establish his kingdom?  Even if the Messiah had to die for sins and rise again, did he have to ascend into heaven afterward?  Why did Jesus not stay on earth forever after the resurrection? Jesus answers this very question: his ascension into heaven was completely necessary to complete God’s Project of Salvation.  The early church understood this.

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John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This story takes place during Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This was either on the last day of the festival (see John 7:37), or the next day (see John 7:53-8:2).

“I am the Light” – This is a main theme of the Gospel of John (review John 1:4-9; John 3:19-21; John 11:9-10; John 12:35-36; John 12:46). Jesus is not talking about physical light, but rather spiritual light. In Genesis 1:3, “light” existed for three days before the creation of the sun itself (Genesis 1:16-18).  Spiritual light is part of God’s essence – revelation, truth, and clarity.

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John 6:48-51 - “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Jesus fed a large crowd at the beginning of this chapter, miraculously multiplying five loaves and two small fish into enough food to feed several thousand people (John 6:1-13).  The crowds then started following him asking him to do more miracles, especially ones that involve the provision of free food for everybody, like the miracle of “manna” that had occurred centuries earlier.  Jesus rebuked the crowd for focusing on their material and physical needs instead of the spiritual or eternal things (John 6:26-31).  Even today, many people focus on God’s healing power or seek other miracles, but show no real interest in spiritual things, eternity, sanctification and holiness, or learning to hear God’s voice.

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Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”
This verse makes two main challenges to us:

1) to make a choice to have our faith dominate our mindset and decisions – this commands us to “trust”; and

2) to make a choice to place our faith in GOD and not to place our faith in ourselves and our own mental abilities.

This means we must make our decisions based on God’s direct revelation rather than human reasoning or rationalizations.

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Here we summarize seven points that we have found most important for having the Holy Spirit work more freely – and more powerfully – in our midst. These are the seven concepts we most want to share with others, the points that we believe will make the most difference in your church or group.

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Psalm 23:3 – “…He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…”

“He guides me” – God spoke and revealed Himself through the Bible, and He still speaks today. The Bible itself teaches us that God wants to speak to us and tell us His will for our lives, so that we can obey Him fully. God promises, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding, but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Psalm 32:8-9).

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1 John 1:5-7 – “…This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…”

God gives us His light by His revelation. He gives us this so that He might prepare a Faithful Church to live in His presence forever. His light is what guides us day by day to this holy and perfect destination.

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Exodus 10:23 - “…Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

God’s plan is not just for us to have traditional or conventional family units or roles within the household, but to have the church members have their household indwelt with the Light, the Holy Spirit’s revelation. Our relationship with God should permeate our entire household and bring his light to our family members. continue

Exodus 13:21 - “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud … and by night in a pillar of fire …” 

When the Lord called his people Israel out of Egypt, He called them with the intent to guard them and to deliver them completely from the hand of Pharaoh.  

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Exodus 16:31 - “The people of Israel called the bread manna.  It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.”  

The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt with many signs and wonders.  Even so, the Hebrews rebelled against the Lord and complained that they had no food to eat.  The Lord had a plan to provide for His people.  Each morning when the dew on the ground dried, thin white flakes appeared on the ground.  God commanded them to gather manna each morning but only as much as they needed for that day.  He provided this food for them for forty years as they followed Him in the desert.   continue