Note from Jesus

Dear Beloved,

My ascension back to the Father was a wonderful blessing. I know that you would love to have My physical presence with you — to see Me minister, heal, cast out demons, teach, and preach. That was also true of the eleven apostles and My closest disciples that I left behind as I ascended to the Father, so I told them not to believe what seemed so obvious to them:

But the truth is that My departure will be a gift that will serve you well, because if I don’t leave, the great Helper will not come to your aid. When I leave, I will send Him to you.

Without My ascension, My departure, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have come to their aid and the Helper wouldn’t be available to aid you.

My ascension meant that I would send the Holy Spirit to be My people’s Helper — your Helper. The Spirit helps My disciples point others to the truth about Me. The Helper gives My followers strength to face their trials. The Helper works through My friends when they proclaim Me. The Helper convicts lost people of their sin, of their need for righteousness, and of their need to change because the world they trust, along with the powers of evil behind it, have already been defeated. The Helper guides My beloved disciples into the truth about Me.

In a couple of days, I will begin sharing the book of Acts with you. The opening verses of Acts tell about My ascending back to the Father (Acts 1:1-11). I commissioned My disciples to share My story of grace with the whole world, but I told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, before beginning their mission. The Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost ignited them on their mission with power (Acts 2:1-4). All that I promised them about the Helper came true as they lived out this mission. This little band of believers, propelled by the power and presence of the Helper, changed the world. I have given you this same Helper, the Holy Spirit, to empower you to impact your world like this first band of believers altered their world!

Verses to Live

Just as those early disciples changed the world, I am calling on you to rely on this same Helper to empower, to strengthen, to inform, to guide, and to propel you to change your world. The last words in today’s verses remind you that I am confident in the Helper’s power to do this:

The Spirit has unlimited access to Me, to all that I possess and know, just as everything the Father has is Mine. That is the reason I am confident He will care for My own and reveal the path to you.

This same Holy Spirit is at work in you because I have ascended to the Father and sent the Helper to you!

Jesus:

I will send a great Helper to you from the Father, one known as the Spirit of truth. He comes from the Father and will point to the truth as it concerns Me. But you will also point others to the truth about My identity, because you have journeyed with Me since this all began.

I am telling you all of this so that you may avoid the offenses that are coming. The time will come when they will kick you out of the synagogue because some believe God desires them to execute you as an act of faithful service. They will do this because they don’t know the Father, or else they would know Me. I’m telling you all this so that when it comes to pass you will remember what you have heard. It was not important for Me to give you this information in the beginning when I was with you. But now, I am going to the One Who has sent Me, and none of you ask Me, “Where are You going?”

I know that hearing news like this is overwhelming and sad. But the truth is that My departure will be a gift that will serve you well, because if I don’t leave, the great Helper will not come to your aid. When I leave, I will send Him to you. When He arrives, He will uncover the sins of the world, expose unbelief as sin, and allow all to see their sins in the light of righteousness for the first time. This new awareness of righteousness is important because I am going to the Father and will no longer be present with you. The Spirit will also carry My judgment because the one who rules in this world has already been defeated.

I have so much more to say, but you cannot absorb it right now. The Spirit of truth will come and guide you in all truth. He will not speak His own words to you; He will speak what He hears, revealing to you the things to come and bringing glory to Me. The Spirit has unlimited access to Me, to all that I possess and know, just as everything the Father has is Mine. That is the reason I am confident He will care for My own and reveal the path to you.

(John 15:26-27; John 16:1-15)

Response in Prayer

O Father, I take seriously Jesus’ commission to reach the world with Your grace. I trust that the Helper Jesus promised is alive in me. I trust the Holy Spirit will help me share You with the world. I thank You for the Spirit’s presence within me and His power available to me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware.

© 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.