The Comforter Has Come
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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.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Introduction.
Gr. Paracletos
literally, “The One standing alongside to help you.”
Charles Dickens perfectly conveys the idea of a comforter in the character of Sydney Carton in “A Tail of Two Cities”.
More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion Comforter: God at Our Side
One of the most moving passages in English literature comes toward the end of Charles Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities, a story of the French revolution. Each day, a grim procession of prisoners made its way on the streets of Paris to the guillotine. One prisoner, Sidney Carton, a brave man who had once lost his soul but had now found it again, was now giving his life for his friend. Beside him there was a young girl. They had met before in the prison, and the girl had noticed the man’s gentleness and courage. She said to him, “If I may ride with you, will you let me hold your hand? I am not afraid, but I am little and weak, and it will give me more courage.”
So they rode together, her hand in his; and when they reached the place of execution, there was no fear in her eyes. She looked up into the quiet composed face of her companion and said, “I think you were sent to me by heaven.”
Comfort through His Presence.
Comfort through His Presence.
I will not leave you “orphanos”.
I will not leave you “orphanos”.
I will be with you.
I will be with you.
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
133 Now, one day they seen Him go to Calvary. They heard Him saying, “A little while, and the world seeth Me no more.” Oh, “I’m the Son of man, must go up to Jerusalem, and be put into the hands of sinful men to crucify, and die.”
How could they stand it? Their hearts was broken. They were depressed. They’re, they was all in gloom. How could they ever give Him up?
Because, the Word that the prophets had spoken, the Word that the sages, and all the great holy men back to the end, the beginning of the world, had spoke of that Word, and here It was among them.
134 But then, look what a promise He made! “I will not leave you comfortless. I will not leave you comfortless.
I’ll pray the Father, and He’ll send you another Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, and He will abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth,
Whom the world cannot receive, because it knoweth Him not. It seeth Him not, neither does it know Him. But you know Him! You know Him because He is with you, and He shall be in you.”
135 There It is! And how long is He going to abide? Forever! Then what is the Word of God? What is our comfort today? It’s when we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the power of the living God living in us.
And that with the Word of the living God, we stand, that Word is made flesh and dwelt among us.
Now that same Word, that was made flesh and dwelt among us, has become our flesh. “He is with you now, but He shall be in you.” Now that same Word that the prophet spoke, that same Word that was made flesh, that same Word dwells in the Church.
Therefore, if we don’t compromise that Word, we stay right with It, if we don’t compromise It, that same Word living in you will produce the same thing that It did when It was made flesh, because your flesh holds It. 61-1001E - The Comforter
His Presence brings Peace.
His Presence brings Peace.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Peace that passes understanding.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peace when you don’t know the words to pray.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Comfort through the Word.
Comfort through the Word.
The Comforter is the Word, Christ.
The Comforter is the Word, Christ.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Noah was comforted by the Word. God said so.
Noah was comforted by the Word. God said so.
Three Hebrew Children comforted by the Word.
Three Hebrew Children comforted by the Word.
104 There was a prophet, one time, by the name of Job. He needed, he needed some comfort. And his church members come, and condemning him, and saying, “Job, you know, you’re just not right with God.”
(Church members don’t always understand)
(Church members don’t always understand)
And they condemned him. But he still needed a comforter. His wife couldn’t even comfort him. She said, “Job, you ought to curse God, and then die the death.”
105 But he said, “Thou speakest like a foolish woman.” And Job stayed with it until God provided for him a vision of Jesus Christ. Now, you believe that? [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.]
106 It said, when the vision come, he said, “I know my Redeemer liveth, and at the last days He’ll stand upon the earth.
And though the skin worms destroys this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, mine eyes shall behold, another.”
107 Now remember, the vision is, he saw Jesus. And Jesus is the Word. Then when Job needed a comforter, God sent him a vision of the Word. Amen. Whew!
108 That’s the comfort I get, is reading the Word, believing the Word, what the Word says. Jesus said, “Let every man’s word be a lie, and Mine be True.”
Don’t care what someone else says. I respect what they say. But when it comes to believing, if it’s contrary to God’s Word, I don’t believe it.
I do not believe nothing but what God’s Word said, for, “Man shall live by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God,” not just so much of the Word.
He said, “all the Word,” the whole Bible through. “Man shall live by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Now, that’s how man lives. That’s God’s provided way for him to live.
109 And Job was a prophet that lived even before the Bible was written. And notice, he was a prophet, and the Word of the Lord comes to the prophet. And then when he wanted comfort, he could find none.
He went to his church, and his church didn’t have any comfort for him, but accusation against him. But he stayed until God showed him the Word, by vision, and then he was comforted.
And he stayed on his feet, and the lightnings flashed and the thunders roared. And he said, “Though the skin worms destroys this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
He talked to me. Let death or anything else strike me, it doesn’t make a bit of difference, ’cause I’ll see God. I saw the vision of His Word.” 63-0731 - There Is Only One Way Provided By God For Anything
The Comforter will correct you but He will not accuse you. He works for our defense. Satan is the prosecutor.
The Comforter will correct you but He will not accuse you. He works for our defense. Satan is the prosecutor.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Have you ever noticed how the people who lead others astray bind them closely to themselves by fear? They say that if the people don’t do what they say, or if they leave, then destruction will follow.
They are false prophets, for a true prophet will always lead one to the Word and bind the people to Jesus Christ and he won’t tell the people to fear him or what he says, but to fear what the Word says. CAB 09 - Laodicean
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
61 What is the Holy Ghost? It’s an Advocate. What is an Advocator? What does It do? Make an advocate. It has mercy.
It, It stands in your place. It, It does things that you can’t do. It’s a propitiation for your sins. It’s your righteousness. It’s your healing. It’s your Life. It’s your resurrection. It’s all that God has for you. He’s an Advocate.
62 How we could go into details with that and break that down, of how that when It makes intercession for our ignorance.
Sometimes when the…we got the Holy Ghost, we ignorantly stagger into something. The Holy Spirit is there to make advocate for us.
He is our Advocator. He stands our…He’s our Attorney. He stands there and pleads for us. We don’t plead for ourself, because the Holy Ghost in us pleads for us.
The Holy Spirit giving utterance, sometimes with words you can’t understand, and He makes intercessions for us. That’s what the Holy Ghost is.
63 When I walk into anything, I walk like a little kid; you walk like a little fellow. We, we’re walking in a dark world full of enemies, full of sin, full of traps, full of everything.
You say, “Oh, I’m afraid. I’m afraid to take Christian life. I, I’m afraid to do this. I’m afraid I’ll do this.”
Don’t be afraid. We have an Advocate. Amen. Oh, He stands by us. He’s in us, and He makes intercessions for us.
The Holy Spirit, constantly, constantly making an advocate for us, all the time. He is our Advocator. Oh, how we thank God for that! 59-1216 - What Is The Holy Ghost?
Comfort through Manifestation.
Comfort through Manifestation.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27 Another statement of the Scripture, is that He would pray the Father, and He would give us “another Comforter.” “And that Comforter would be the Holy Spirit, who the world could not receive, but It would be a Comforter to the believer.
And when He comes, He will testify of Me, and bring things to your remembrance, that I have taught unto you, and will show you things to come. The blessed Holy Spirit!”
28 And in the days of Paul, when he said: “If we…one unlearned come among you, and you all speak with tongues, and there be no interpreter, then the unbeliever will say you are mad.
But if there be one prophesy and reveal the secret of the heart,” said, “then they’ll fall down and say truly God is with you.”
29 And here we are in this day, with that same Comforter manifesting Himself in the same way that He did then. What a consolation, with a promise! 60-0301 - He Careth For You
150 Jesus cared enough for the Message of today to bring these same things to pass as He said, till He died and rose again to send them by the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to show His ministry today that He’s still alive.
He cared enough. Won’t we care? That’s the thing, won’t we care? He died for this ministry. He died in order that the Holy Spirit could be here in this day to show these things. He cared for you.
He cared to bring It here. He cared to make the statement. He cared because He loved you. He cared enough to do it, to send the Holy Spirit to this, make this ministry today.
151 That’s how He proved He cared in that day, because He come to vindicate what God said He would be. That’s the reason the woman recognized Him.
She said, “I know when Messiah cometh, He’s a Prophet. When Messiah cometh, He’ll tell us these things.” See, He cared enough about the Word of God to vindicate It to her. Amen.
152 Now He sent the Holy Ghost, that in this day of intellectual conception, that He might by the same Holy Spirit prove through us that He’s still the Messiah, prove it in the same way. 63-0721 - He Cares. Do You Care?
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Conclusion.
Conclusion.
A Children’s book by Dinah Craik called “the Little Lame Prince” contained the following phrase.
“Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping,and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.”
Pass me not
Someone to Care