The Comforter

I prepared this message to preach at the Saturday service but forgot to bring it with me to CHC....panicked big time!

But God was really gracious to me. He gave me another message on John 14:6 on the spot (totally unprepared for it)....I guess the Lord is really teaching me to be dependent on my BFF (best friend forever)...the HOLY SPIRIT...

So here is the message although I didn't get to preach it at all.

I believe the Lord will give me another chance to preach it if it is His will for me to do so.....

THE COMFORTER

John 14:6 

"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give You another Helper (KJV - "Comforter" which seems a more accurate translation), that He may abide with You forever"

Comforter in Greek is "parakletos" one who pleads for others like a lawyer or an advocate.

It is also someone who pleads on behalf of another, an intercessor. 

He is also our Helper, Assistant, destined to take the place of Christ after his ascension. He leads us to a deeper knowledge of the truth, giving us divine strength to enable us to suffer for Christ's sake.

John 16:7-8

"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 depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment"

I want to share about the Holy Spirit as the COMFORTER SENT BY GOD. He is so precious. He is so lovely and He loves us so much. He longs to be with us. He longs for us to fellowship with Him, to worship JESUS, to magnify God.

Father God told me that if I were to teach about the Holy Spirit, speak about the Holy Spirit, love and adore the Holy Spirit....He will surely appear each time to bless the people...He does not seek to draw attention to Himself but He seeks to reveal the heart of the FATHER to us and the supremacy of JESUS'S FINISHED WORK ON THE CROSS to us...

How do we receive COMFORT when we are down?

The people of the world go out and drink. Like the Hong Kong movies I see, people get drunk. Some people like the shopaholic "shop till you drop". Some people eat chocolates or ice-cream.

I saw a TLC movie of a girl named Charity who weighed 600 lbs. Her addiction to eating started when she was a child. She was abused and badly beaten up by her father when she was a child. Her escape - eat, eat, eat. She found solace in food to escape the pain in her heart....

It was only after meeting a therapist to deal with what her father did to her and she forgave her father that the addiction to food broke. She gradually lost up to 200 pounds and had surgery to remove the excess flesh on her body. The last I know she was still dealing with her hurts by continuously releasing forgiveness to her father and still losing weight...

Some people suffering from severe depression will shut themselves up in their room and refuse to eat and drink. Some people take their own lives, jumping down from a high building, cutting their wrists.....

I have good news for you. You have a friend. He is the Holy Spirit. He lives within your heart. He lives deep in Your heart and He wants you to bring all your sadness to Him. He wants to help you overcome the disappointments you are facing. You need not be alone when you are facing suffering, pain, disappointments and hurts.

GOD HAS GIVEN US A COMFORTER. The one who will comfort us in all our pain, our distress, our hurt, our anger, our wounds and bitterness. 

John 14:26 

"But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name..."

When will He appear?

1. When we mourn.

Matt 5:4

"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted"

However we have to mourn in the direct direction. Excessive sorrow or mourning in the flesh is destructive. If we sorrow, let us have sorrow toward God. Let us direct our mourning in God's direction and humble ourselves under His mighty hand....

Do not "mourn to man" but "mourn to God" and He will comfort you. So rejoice when you mourn for you shall be comforted...

2. When we forgive others

The church in this place will grow when you have peace with one another and forgive one another.

Are you upset with someone today? Forgive.

Are you angry with a member of your family. Forgive.

Sometimes forgiveness does not mean immediate forgetting. But that's ok as forgetting is a PROCESS...do not feel condemned if forgetting does not come to us naturally...if you keep on releasing forgiveness you will surely but slowly FORGET....

Forgiveness is a choice. You just open your mouth as a first step to say "LORD I FORGIVE... (name them)...... for what they have done to me. Help me to forgive them for what they have done to me. In Jesus Name. Amen"

Forgiveness is an absolute pre-qualification for GOD'S COMFORT....it is the first step toward FORGETTING....

When Saul came to Jerusalem in Acts 9 everyone was afraid of him. After all he was the one who consented to Stephen's stoning. 

Acts 9:26

"And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple"

They were scared of him. Maybe some were angry, bitter or even hated him for what he did to Stephen. Did not the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of Saul as a sign that they were doing this to please Saul?

Stephen was preaching the Gospel and his listeners knew he was speaking the truth. We need to keep on preaching the Gospel even though we are being rejected by others.

Yet Stephen forgave those who stoned him and fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60. Surely we need to follow the example of Stephen....

However Barnabas shared Paul's testimony of salvation and the disciples accepted him. Thank God for Barnabas the son of encouragement...may we all be like him....

The church forgave Paul. We know that they did because they opened their arms to him and received him as a disciple. God caused the following to happen to the church:

- peace
- edification
- fear of God
- comfort of the Holy Spirit
- multiplication

Do you want to see growth and multiplication? Do you want to receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit in your life? 

FORGIVE...FORGIVE...FORGIVE....

3. When we read the Bible

Romans 15:4

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope"

4. When we prohesy

1 Cor 14:3-4

"But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and COMFORT to men. He who speaks in tongues edifies himself but he who prohesies edifies the church"

5. When we are in trouble for Jesus sake.

2 Cor 1:3-4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all COMFORT, who COMFORTS us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God"

2 Cor 7:4

"Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with COMFORT. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation"

6. When we are doing a good work and speaking good words

2 Thess 2:16-17

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father who loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort you hearts and establish you in every good word and work"