The Comforter Has Come

Read: John 14:16.

Read John 14:16

John 14:16 KJV 1900

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Since God in his infinite wisdom designed and created man - we have been dependent of and inherently in need of God’s presence and connection

It was not man who went and walked with God in the cool of the day - but God came and walked and talked with Adam and Eve

The Holy Spirit has been active and energizing , working and moving for all eternity

Why would that change when God created man

The Holy Spirit worked, and moved all through the Old Testament

and then came upon and in the Church inaugurating the Church of God

And is still active today

We talk about Him moving and working in Pentecost, we talk about him falling on the Gentiles and doing the same thing for them that he did in Jerusalem

we find Him moving upon the church in various forms, ways and means since that time.

Two things we need to remember -

1 - We have been presented a precious Heritage

From its beginnings the Church has been marked by supernatural happenings and revivals.

I think of Cornelius,

I think of the Eunuch in the chariot trying to figure out what in the world Isaiah was trying to say and only getting more and more confused - but The Comforter has come and climbed up in that chariot that day along with Philip and revival broke out

Even following the Biblical narrative we find times when God’s Spirit would be working and energizing people

I think of Madame Guyon alone in her cell physically but they couldn’t lock out the Presence of God - and she had little personal revivals

John Bunyan cast in prison and yet the bars couldn’t keep out the Comforter and we still profit from that move of God in the form of a dream.

Oh I’m so glad we have been given a heritage of revival and glory and moves of God.

But you can scroll forward and find that generation after generation has been touched by the workings of the Comforter.

Wesley would preach and though not all the time - but people would be so moved at times that they would cry out or fall to the ground

Whitfield saw mighty moves of God in his campaigns

Jonathan Edwards preached and tried to get the groaning weeping people to quite down so he could keep preaching - because the Comforter was there speaking and convicting men of sin.

Finney on one occasion simply walked by people and they began to call on God for salvation.

Yes we have been passed a precious heritage

You can scroll on and find that the Comforter moved and worked through Circuit riders, pioneers, pastors, hymn writers. Never stopping continuing to pass on to us a precious heritage

Our Holiness heritage has been marked by times of refreshing from the Mighty Hand of God

So much so that one of the leading periodicals of the Conservative Holiness Movement bears the name REVIVALIST

Dr. Wingrove Taylor talks about a time when he was ministering at a camp with T. M. Anderson and Anderson leaned over to him and said - “Did you see Him?” Taylor was confused and Anderson replied, “Jesus - did you see Him?” And recounting the event the service moved into an altar service and you could see a pattern as people began on on side of the auditorium and moved almost as ushered by God himself from one side to the other

The Comforter had come!!!

Tell about Sis. Penn

Sis. Cora Burbridge

The service at Whiteside

I challenge you to Pass on the Precious Legacy

I was so glad to see God moving on my boys at camp

We must keep this Heritage alive - We dare not lose the Fire - that is all we have - The COMFORTER HAS COME

LETS LET HIM ABIDE WITH US FOREVER

Doris Akers told the story that when she was conductor of the choir at a large church in Los Angeles that on one occasion after prayer before service she exhorted the choir that they didn’t pray enough - she got on to them pretty good.

They went to prayer again and even Doris Akers was surpised at the intensity and Presence of the Lord that came up on that choir as they sought God for help as they sang for the service.

THey prayed and prayed and God moved and moved such a sweet time - but the clock kept ticking - and the pastor and church was waiting to start the service on the choir - finally Doris Akers had to tell them they had to stop and go to service.

Sis. Akers told how as they were being moved on by the Holy Spirit she had a new song come to her - but she couldn’t write it down at that time and figured it was going to be gone as she had to direct the choir.

But when she woke up the next morning the song was there in her heart - she rushed to her piano and begin to write and compose what became # 505 I want us to close by singing that.