The Gift of the Holy Spirit — John 14:15–31

John 14 is one of the most beautiful chapters, I believe, in all the Testaments. In verse 15, the Lord gives his disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit. It says here, “...if you love me, Congregación León de Judá, if you love me, keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; but you know him, because he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. The one who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “The one who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who does not love me does not keep my words, and the word you have heard is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.” Amen.

We see the Lord here... These chapters of the Gospel according to Saint John record some of the final words and conversations the Lord Jesus Christ had with his disciples before being crucified, before being subjected to the entire process of judgment and all the other things he suffered in his Passion. And the Lord was, as John suggests, giving his followers some final instructions, and he was speaking about very important things, and he was...

They were sad because they knew something was going to happen. They knew their teacher was going to go through something, and at times they were not exactly sure what it would be, but they knew it was something very serious: that their teacher was at least going to be arrested, that he was going to be put on trial in some way. And he had told them clearly, but it was as though they could not understand the idea that the Messiah, if he was the Messiah, was going to be crucified, because that did not fit with what they had heard from their Pharisee and Jewish teachers.

But the Lord was preparing them for what was coming, and he was telling them: “Do not worry. Many serious things are going to happen, and you are going to see terrible things happen to me, but do not worry; God has a plan. He will make sure that you are not left alone. Do not be anxious. God has a purpose... I am going to be crucified, they are going to bury me, I am going to rise again, and afterward I am going to ascend and disappear from this world. But do not worry, because God has a plan. God is going to do certain things to make sure that what I have begun here on earth during these three years I have been with you does not simply come to an abrupt end, but that the work I have begun continues.”

Then he tells them about... one of the most important elements is the Holy Spirit who is going to be with them, the Comforter. In Spanish, as you know, the New Testament was originally written in what language? In what language? Well, in Greek. Yes, Aramaic was the vernacular, the language Jesus spoke, but it was written in a somewhat more formal language, which was the original Greek, and from there it has been translated into every language on earth.

But in the original Greek in which the Lord spoke, he used the word “parakletos” for the Holy Spirit. And “parakletos” is translated... they have translated it into Spanish as “comforter,” but it is a very complex and very broad word, and “parakletos” refers to the encourager, the strengthener, counselor, supporter, the one who strengthens, the one who defends, the one who instructs; all those ideas were united within the word “parakletos”: the one who stands beside us, helps us, and accompanies us. The Lord wanted to encompass all those ideas under that word, which has very deep historical roots: “parakletos.”

And the Lord was telling them, “God is going to send someone who will remain with you, encourage you, and lead you forward. You are not going to be left alone; do not worry. You are going to see me leave, but God is going to leave a substitute who will continue in you the work that I began. Just as I have walked with you these three years and instructed you, strengthened you, given you my authority to heal the sick, and taught you in different areas concerning my Father’s character and his plan for humanity, do not be anxious, because the one God is going to send to take my place will continue the work I have been doing. He will be with you, he will help you, he will strengthen you, counsel you, instruct you, and he will be with you. So wait for him and seek him.”

So here the Lord is giving them those kinds of specific instructions. In light of what I have just said, look at some of the things this passage teaches us. The Lord says in verse 15, “...if you love me, keep my commandments.”

How can we truly enjoy communion with God through the Holy Spirit? How can we make sure that the Holy Spirit will be in us, counsel us, strengthen us, and endow us with his power? Well, by obeying the word of the Lord.

You know what? It is not a matter of coming to church, brothers and sisters, though coming to church is good. Amen. It is not even a matter of tithing or giving offerings, though it is good to tithe and give offerings. It is not a matter of speaking in tongues; that is good. Amen. But if there is no obedience to the word of God, everything else, brothers and sisters, rests on a very brittle, very fragile foundation. There is nothing like obeying the word of the Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ would say to the Jews, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?” The Lord said, “The one who loves me keeps my commandments.” In other words, how do you know that you love the Lord? Well, if you are obedient to the word of God.

We have to change our mindset, brothers and sisters, and we have to understand that the Christian life is, above all, a life of obeying the word of God. It means knowing the word and then obeying it, incorporating it into our lives. Why do so many people have problems in life and so many disappointments, failures, and difficulties? If we look deeply, it is because we are not adhering to the word of the Lord.

Let us ask the Lord to make us obedient to his word, and, if we fail and stray from it, not to let much time pass before we confess our sins, acknowledge that we have failed the Lord, and get back into God’s fold. Amen. Because we are going to fail the Lord, but the important thing is that we not go around making excuses or saying, “Well, I was born this way, and this is how I am going to remain. It is just that I am weak... or this or that.” No. If we move away from the Lord, if we stray in any way, immediately seek to get back inside and align yourself with the word of God. Do not let much time pass without being under the shadow and covering of the word of the Lord, because that is the only thing that protects us. And that is the only thing that guarantees that the Lord will be able to move freely within us and that we will be able to feel the Holy Spirit.

It is not a matter of emotionalism. Not too much emotionalism. Sometimes we see that in charismatic Pentecostal churches. Everything is emotion, a lot of jumping around, a lot of doing this. But obeying the Lord and keeping the word of God—that is the most important thing. Let us ask the Lord to make us people who are obedient to the word of God. Okay?

Let us not deliberately disobey the Lord or disobey him as a custom and habit. Instead, let obedience be our custom and habit, and disobedience and sin the exception. Amen.

Then it says, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” and as a consequence of your keeping my commandments, I am going to ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter. Who was the first Comforter? Since he says “another,” who was the first? Jesus. While he was with his disciples, he was the Comforter, the strengthener, the teacher, the helper. Then the Lord Jesus Christ says, “I am going to ask the Father to send you another Comforter to be with you forever.” The Lord sent the Holy Spirit; God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us.

Now look at how the Lord characterizes the Comforter in this case. We could speak of many different characteristics of the Holy Spirit, but look at one of the characteristics he points out, one that is typical of the Holy Spirit. He says the Spirit of what? The Spirit of... of truth, whom the world cannot receive.

One of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit is that he speaks truth into our lives; he confronts us with the truth. Brothers and sisters, let us never resist the truth. Let us not disguise the truth. Many people live lives of self-deception, and they deceive themselves and use different words to define things, and they see themselves as better than they are, and they do not acknowledge their character flaws, and they are always projecting their own flaws onto others. They are not the problem; my wife is the problem. It is that people are bad; it is that they are treacherous; it is that they do not love me; it is that no one can be trusted; it is that everyone is against me. And they are always blaming everyone else. But they are not seeing the areas where they need to change, are they? So we blame our parents, we blame society, we blame the pastor, we blame the church. But we are not looking and asking, well, what is my part in it? How must I change so that my life can truly move forward, press on, and grow?

And the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit wants to bring medicine into our lives. The Holy Spirit convicts us and speaks to us about how we should change, how we should be, and what the word of the Lord says. Let us ask the Lord to open our understanding and our ears so that we may hear God’s truth through his word and through the Holy Spirit.

One of the things God wants to do in your life is bring truth. The Lord said in John, chapter 8, verse 32, “...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Psychiatrists know the importance of truth, and that is why they treat their patients... The entire process of psychoanalysis, counseling, and psychiatry is about bringing truth into the life of the person who is repressing the truth and who needs to hear the truth in order to change, to understand himself, and to understand his relationships with others and his past. And psychiatrists and psychologists say that when a person knows the truth and understands the reasons for his actions and the reasons for his motivations, then he can begin to change.

Now, the good thing about the Holy Spirit is that he gives you the truth and also gives you the power to live out the truth. That is the blessing of having the Holy Spirit within you. Then it says, “...the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; but you know him, because he dwells with you and will be in you.”

Do you know that right now the Holy Spirit is inside you? You do not see him; perhaps you do not feel him. You cannot... If they take an X-ray of you, they will not be able to say, “Ah, look, there is the Holy Spirit; he is between rib 22 and rib 19,” or whatever. I do not know, how many ribs do people have? I am giving people more ribs than they actually have... How many are there? I do not even know.

How many... does anybody know how many ribs we have? I don’t know.

Twenty-four, okay, so I was not that far off, 22 or so, okay? No, the Holy Spirit is not located in one place; the Holy Spirit is within us, spread throughout every part of our being. He is spirit, right? He is in our mind, he is in our heart, he is in our body. But the point is that when you walk, the Holy Spirit is inside you.

The Lord Jesus Christ says, “He will be with you and in you.” The Lord says that when we receive him, he enters and dwells with us and is in us, because the Holy Spirit and Jesus are one and the same. They are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So always remember that. When you go through life, when you are at home, when you are at work, the Holy Spirit is inside you. You do not have to go to a telephone to call the Holy Spirit so that he can tell you something or speak to you. No, the Holy Spirit is inside you. All you need to do is tune in to him. In an instant, in a conversation, when you need an answer for someone: Spirit of God, give me wisdom.

You are facing a problem, in a tight spot: Lord, I appeal to you now. Spirit of God, get me out of this tight spot. Strengthen me; protect me.

When you are going to read the word: Lord, give me understanding. Spirit of God, open my understanding so that I may understand your word. Speak with the Holy Spirit continually, because he is inside you 24 hours a day. Appeal to the Holy Spirit.

Brothers and sisters, let us cultivate an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. Do you know one of the characteristics of a Pentecostal Christian? It is this: every Christian who believes in Jesus has the Holy Spirit, but Pentecostals have learned that the Holy Spirit wants to be put to use, wants to be called upon, wants to be cultivated, and we have to be conscious, cultivating the awareness that I have the Holy Spirit and that God has sent him to be my helper, to be my strengthener, to be a resource for my life.

And the more you attune yourself to the Holy Spirit, the more you avail yourself of the resources the Holy Spirit has for your life, the more powerful the presence of the Holy Spirit becomes within you, and the greater access you have to his anointing, his power, and his instruction. The more you use him, the more he develops within you and the more powerfully he works in your life.

That is why it is very important for us always to understand that the Trinity has three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and that each of them wants to be used, wants to be glorified, and wants us to have access to them. Let us cultivate an awareness of the Holy Spirit.

Tell yourself: I have the Holy Spirit within me. And I can use the resources of the Holy Spirit for my life.

And let us practice the presence of the Holy Spirit every day. Let us speak in tongues and pray to the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the sick and ask the Lord for revelation at night, in our dreams, and let us ask the Lord to help us prophesy. And if there is something in our heart that we believe comes from the Holy Spirit, or that God wants us to share with someone, then with respect, love, humility, and prudence, let us activate what God is placing in our hearts. Because many times God speaks to us, but we remain silent, and then the Holy Spirit says, ‘Well, then I am not going to keep speaking to you because you are not using me. Why waste my energy, then?’

But when you activate the Holy Spirit and exercise him, the Holy Spirit develops within you. The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is received through Christ Jesus, but you can indeed have him—you do have him—because you have Christ in your heart.

And that is why God says, “The world does not know him and cannot know him, but you do know him because I have sent him to you.” Every Christian who has Jesus in his heart has the Holy Spirit, along with all the resources that the Holy Spirit brings with him. You have access to that. Do not underestimate it. Do not fail to use the Holy Spirit in your life.

Tomorrow, when you are at work, when you are facing a problem, a temptation, a difficulty, a struggle, or a need, speak to the Holy Spirit. God sent him to be a resource in your life.

That is why the Lord says, “I will not leave you as orphans,” in verse 18. In other words, do not worry; I am going to the Father, and they are going to crucify me and all that, but do not be troubled—you will not be left as orphans. I will come to you.

How interesting! Look at that, huh? That is why passages like these ultimately led Christian theologians, centuries ago, to conclude that Jesus Christ is God, that the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ, that the Holy Spirit is the Father, and that the Father is the Son; because we see so many passages where the Word presents Jesus and the Holy Spirit, or the Father, as equivalent.

For example, he is saying that the Holy Spirit is going to come to them—isn’t that right? Isn’t that what he is saying? But then look at what he says in verse 18: “...I will not leave you alone, but I will come to you.” Do you see? He is saying that it is the Holy Spirit who comes, but it is also I who come to you. In other words, we have to conclude that the Holy Spirit and the Lord are one and the same. Isn’t that right? Yes or no? May the Jehovah’s Witnesses forgive me, but I would rather stick with what the Word says than with what men say.

Because that is what it is saying there: the Lord is going to come to you; I am going to come to you in the form of the Holy Spirit. I will be up there with the Father, but I will also come to you in the Holy Spirit. That is why the Lord says, “I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice, I will enter into him and dine with him, and he with me,” because it is the Holy Spirit who is entering, and it is Jesus who is entering, and it is also the Father who is entering your life. You have the whole package within you: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, within your life, because they are one and the same.

“I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” Glory to the Lord.

And look at what verse 20 says. It says, “...on that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” There is a whole swarm of unity there: the Father is in Christ, Christ is in us, we are in Christ, we are in the Father, and it is a tremendous joy. What we have is an intimate family. It is a celebration. We all share a group hug there; we are all wrapped up in it. What a blessing!

The Lord tells him, ‘I am in the Father’; in other words, it is what we were saying about Philippians, chapter 2, where it says that although he was equal to the Father, he did not regard equality with the Father as something to cling to. He is God, and he is in us through the Spirit: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. The Son is in the Father, and the Holy Spirit is in the Son, so they are the same...

That is why, as the Witnesses say, ‘Well, show me where the word Trinity is.’ Well, the word Trinity is nowhere to be found, but what the Trinity is appears on every page of Scripture; we have simply given a name to a fact.

The word electricity is not in the Bible, but stick your finger into an electrical outlet and see whether all your hair does not stand on end. Isn’t that right? Whether the word is there or not does not matter; what matters is the reality behind the word. And I continually see the reality of the Trinity in Scripture.

And the reality of Christ in my life today, in the twenty-first century: the Lord is in me because he promised it. He was leaving, and he says, ‘I am there in heaven, but I am also with you. The one who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Glory to the Lord.

Oh, brothers and sisters, may the Lord manifest himself in our lives. I ask the Father, ‘Lord, manifest yourself more in my life each day.’ Because it is not merely a matter of being religious, no. You get tired of the same foolishness of... If it were only about coming to church to genuflect and raise our hands, how boring that would be.

I love the Gospel because it is also the manifestation of God’s power in my life: to change, to be a better man, for my family to be blessed, to be a blessing to others, for God to heal me, for God to speak to me, for God to manifest himself through me. That is the Christian life: the manifestation of the Spirit of God in our lives. We should be people who are not satisfied with merely a religious life, but seek the manifestation of the Spirit of God in our lives—to heal, and, as the chorus says, to save, to counsel, to set free. Do not settle for a merely religious life; instead, be ambitious and seek the manifestation of God’s power in your life, so that it can be felt. Seek to feel the Lord in your heart and in your life.

When you come to church, tell him: ‘Father, I do not merely want to have a superficial experience; I want to feel you. I want to enter the Most Holy Place, as that chorus says.’ And when you develop an appetite for the Holy Spirit and for the manifestations of God’s power, brothers and sisters, things begin to happen in your life.

Something wonderful happens when a person becomes ambitious in the Lord and asks God to do things in his life, and his prayer becomes aggressive and militant, and we begin to expect manifestations of God’s power. Then God begins to manifest himself. He says, ‘Ah, you see, I want to work upon that person.’

We have to make room within ourselves for the Holy Spirit. And we have to ask the Lord and expect him to manifest himself in our lives. Do not stop longing for the manifestation of the Spirit of God in your life. I will come to him, and my Father and I will manifest ourselves in him.

Look at that existence; with this I will finish. Verses 23 and 24. That text ends as it began. “The one who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Notice there the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the three of them, that text says—will make our home with him. What a wonderful expression of the Trinity once again! The Son is speaking and tells him: ‘My Father will love him; we will come to him,’ that is, the Father and the Son—and he has just spoken of the Holy Spirit—‘and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who does not love me does not keep my words, and the word you have heard is not mine, but the Father’s, who sent me.’ Glory to the Lord. Amen.

We can believe that word tonight because it is the Father who gave it to the Son so that he could give it to us. That word bears the seal of the Father, the Creator of the earth. That is why it is a trustworthy word, brothers and sisters; we can believe it.

Why don’t we stand tonight and ask the Holy Spirit to become active within us? If there has been any interruption because of some attitude of ours, some sin, or something that has grieved the Holy Spirit—for the Word speaks of not grieving the Holy Spirit—

The Holy Spirit is a person, and he is grieved when we offend him with improper behavior, an improper word, or an improper attitude. It is as though the Holy Spirit shrinks back within us, and then we have to ask the Lord to forgive us, cleanse us, heal us, and remove any obstruction so that he can once again manifest himself freely within us.

And from time to time we have to perform this spiritual cleansing and say to the Holy Spirit: ‘Lord, move within me once again. Become active in my life.’

Tonight I am going to ask that the presence of the Holy Spirit be with you. Let us ask the Lord for a fresh visitation of the Holy Spirit, so that we may leave here filled with the Spirit anew.

Young people, that’s for you. Two young ladies here tonight. I see that you’ve been listening attentively, and that’s wonderful. Ask the Holy Spirit to move in your life tonight.

Let us ask the Lord: Give me a fresh dose of the Holy Spirit tonight, a dose that clears away fears, anguish, anxieties, sorrows, and doubts. Tonight, Lord, take all of that away. Blow, Father, blow upon the darkness; in the name of Jesus, we clear the spiritual air tonight, Lord.

Father, we rid ourselves of sadness, we rid ourselves of uncertainty, we rid ourselves of doubt, we rid ourselves of fear, we rid ourselves of sin tonight, Lord. We renew our covenant with Christ. Forgive us if we have offended you, Lord. If we have doubted the presence of your Spirit in our lives, forgive us tonight, Lord.

And become active, Holy Spirit; I invite you to move within me again with renewed power, with renewed intensity. Tonight, Lord, visit your people.

Father, touch your people tonight with a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, with a fresh visitation of the Holy Spirit.

Touch us tonight, Lord. Every child, every young person, every man, woman, and elderly person in this place, Lord—I declare a fresh activation of the Holy Spirit tonight. Receive the Holy Spirit. Breathe deeply and receive a new portion of the Spirit tonight, so that you may go home renewed, retreaded in the Spirit. Amen. Glory to God.

God is giving you a spiritual tune-up tonight, in the name of Jesus. I declare it so; I declare it so. The immediacy of the Holy Spirit in your life. Receive it tonight. Father, we want the joy of your Spirit within us, Lord. Fresh energy.

Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Spirit of God. We receive new tongues, Lord. We receive the ability to prophesy in the Spirit. Lord, we activate our spiritual antennas to receive revelation tonight and tomorrow about what you want for our lives and how you want us to act each day, Lord.

We receive power to heal the sick, Lord. We receive power to declare deliverance over those oppressed by the devil. We receive power, Lord, to evangelize, to proclaim the lordship of Jesus with authority, and to be active manifestations of your kingdom, Lord, Father. Activate the Holy Spirit within us tonight. Not only upon those who are here, Lord, but also upon those who belong to this congregation and are in their homes; we activate them too, Lord. ...May your Spirit reach many tonight, Father. May tonight mark—mark a new advance, Lord, a refreshing of your Holy Spirit, Lord. Come and fill us, Lord.

Come, Spirit of God. We thank you, Lord. You do it, Father. You do it. You strengthen your people. Lord, a fresh visitation, a breath of your Spirit. Come, Lord. Keep asking the Lord to activate you spiritually tonight, to fill your cup, to fill you with his anointing. Thank you, Lord. He is going to do it tonight. He is doing it. He is going to do something new, something different. I receive it too. I, who am speaking about this, receive a fresh portion of the Holy Spirit to heal me, to fill me with strength and anointing. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God.