"Showing the Way"

 "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." (John 16:13 KJV)

  "But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:10-12 NLT)

 Basically, there are several topics that are packed into this verse; Jesus is showing His disciple that they will not be left in the dark, because the Holy Spirit will come, and when He does, He will guide them into all truth; all meaning, those things they need to know, when they need to know it. 

 This doesn't mean that we will have all the answers, because there are some things that we have no answer for; but, we are still not left in the dark, even though we cannot answer every question. I hope you understand that and are perfectly fine with it, because it is kind of a big deal for us to trust God, even when we don't have the answer! 

 There are so many things that I don't have the answers to; but each and every one of those things, is a thing that I really don't need to know, at least not now, or else God would have shown me an answer. That is what I believe, and that is what I expect to find out, when the time comes for certain things to be shown to me. 

 James has a little insight in this regard, saying, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone." There is great wisdom in that, because the first thing we set out to do, when we have anything to do with wisdom given by God, is to go out and try to get confirmation, as if God may not have really spoken. 

 Additionally, the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself! I feel as though I need to step lightly here as this is a very touchy subject in several areas of the church. Howbeit, if there was anything that I can relate this to, it would be worship, which is basically the Worship leaders and what might happen from time to time with them. 

 From time to time, with no real thought to do so, the Worship Teams will make worship the act of the service; as if they are the ones that enlighten and bring the congregation together, into the throne of God. Well, not to be dogmatic about this, but it is my understanding that we worship before the message is given, to prepare our hearts to receive God's word; it is God's word the enlightens us, not worship. 

 The work of the Holy Spirit, in the same light, does not overshadow the Word, which is Christ! He will edify and manifest Christ Jesus, first and foremost, because that is what the Holy Spirit is meant to do! In us, He presents Christ by showing us how to live as Jesus lived, to react as Jesus would react, and to love, as Jesus loved. 

 Freedom of expression is not what the Holy Spirit is about; He will always manifest the life of Christ, in one form or another. Which brings me to the third portion of this, which is Him showing us the things to come. Hopefully we all know by now, Who it is we are looking for, and why we are expecting Him to come! We might not know the day or the hour, but we know He is going to come! 

 Of all things in this world that we should care about, it should be, to be ready when He comes; because this world is not really what we are expecting to change, but the world to come; there is our focus and our goal...

 "Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. The eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near." (James 5:7-8 NLT)