Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

December 11, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO DO GREATER WORKS (part 1)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”—John 14:12

The whole subject of the ministry of the Holy Spirit has intimidated many of us because of what some teach about it. However, our retreat from the doctrine of the Spirit has robbed us of many of the blessings of the Spirit and of His power. Our uneasiness about the supernatural has closed many Scriptures to us and deprived us of some miracles!

In John 14 and 15 we find the record of our Lord’s principal teachings about the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers, and in these chapters, we will also find access to miracles of a kind that those true to the Bible can expect to see.

1. Divine Help in Obeying the Commandments of Christ (John 14:15-17)

Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit with these words:
“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.”—John 14:15–17

God sent us the Holy Spirit in order to help us keep the Lord’s commandments. Can you see the connection Jesus made between keeping His commandments and God giving us His Spirit? The term “Comforter” is translated from a Greek word that means “helper.” Believers have the Spirit of God in them to act as their Helper in carrying out the orders of the Lord Jesus. As we set out to follow His words, we can expect the supernatural help of His Spirit! Therefore, Peter spoke in Acts 5:32 of “the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” Of course, the indwelling of the Spirit is not a reward earned by people who obey God. The sense in which He is given to those who obey God is the sense in which He is our Helper in obeying Him. We need help in following Jesus, without a doubt. The truth is that we all eventually recognize our need for supernatural help to do what Jesus taught us to do.

No Christian should try to live the Christian life apart from the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. Do you remember reading these verses in the book of Galatians?

* Galatians 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
* Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Baptists and other born-again Christians can expect a miracle when they set out to follow Christ in dependence upon the Holy Spirit for success in overcoming their weakness.