The Counselor is In

The Counselor is In
Words of Faith 2-17-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 16
[5] "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' [6] Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. [7] But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [8] When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; [10] in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; [11] and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

"You need a counselor."
Sometimes we hear or share such words at a time of trouble. We may say, "I need a counselor", because we realize there is a hurt or problem quite beyond our ability to resolve on our own. The truth is we all need a counselor, a great Counselor.
The departure of Jesus from the disciples was a grief-filled process. They had been in nearly constant company for three years. They had experienced the truth and power of God as no one ever had. The thought of departure was painful. But without His departure, which included His death, burial, resurrection, and Ascension, there would have been no gospel.
The Atonement for sin was necessary for Jesus to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Jesus also revealed that unless he departed there would be no glorified Lord to send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit to apply the atonement and comfort of God to the lives of people.
Who is this Counselor? Jesus used a Greek word for legal assistants who pleaded a cause or presented a case. The Counselor is the promised Spirit who came into the world in a new and distinctive sense on the day of Pentecost. He is a person of the Godhead. He is God Himself present with us to convict, guide, comfort and empower.
The first work of the Counselor in our lives is conviction. Conviction is not the same as conversion but is necessary to it. To "convict of guilt" means "to present or expose facts so as to convince of the truth." The Counselor works on the minds and hearts of the unsaved to show them the truth of God for what it is. Without the convicting work of the Counselor we are never aware of our need for Jesus and His atoning work!
Without the convincing exposure of our sin we continue to go through life thinking we are just fine! Without the convicting work of the Spirit we would never be convinced there is a remedy for our wretched broken lives.
Jesus said that we must be convicted and convinced in three ways.
The Counselor exposes us to the truth of our sin and unbelief. Without the convincing work of the Counselor we tend to look around and assume that if God grades on a curve we will do pretty well! The convicting work of the Spirit shows us that we live in a state of separation from God and all our acts of sin are unholy in His sight.
He also convicts us of our most fundamental sin, which is unbelief. Humans consistently prefer to trust in themselves rather than God. Just as Adam and Eve chose to "be like god" in the Garden, so we seek to be our own god rather than believe in the one true God.
The Counselor exposes the truth of the righteousness of Jesus and that He is our only hope. The righteousness of Jesus Christ was revealed on the cross, yet many view Him as simply a prophet or teacher. The righteousness of Jesus is our only hope of atonement. The Counselor convinces us to accept by faith His righteous rather than attempt to stand in our own self-righteousness.
The Counselor convinces us that we stand to be judged along with the enemies of God. In our broken humanity, we are easily convinced that the way of the world is a good bet. The Counselor convinces us that the prince of this world stands condemned and will finally be judged. If we make our life with the world, we too will be condemned.
Have you seen the Counselor? Have you spent time with Him discussing your life? It is an important conversation to have. He will reveal your need and expose you to the answers. The Counselor is in.

Holy Spirit, search me through and through. Expose the sin and unbelief in my life. Convince me daily of the righteousness of Jesus and teach me to stand in that righteousness. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2017
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.