​REVIEW
So, for the past two weeks, we have been on a new series of teachings on how to be witnesses for the Lord.

We have started out talking about the power to be witnesses because as Jesus taught us in Acts 1:8, before we can be His witnesses in our own proverbial Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, we have to receive the promise of power in the person of the Holy Spirit.

You see, far too many Christians who know precious little about the Holy Spirit still try and become good witnesses of the Lord. And these believers certainly mean well, but in their ignorance, they get the cart before the horse. Church, we cannot really be the kind of good & effective witnesses of the Lord that He expects us to be without the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just that simple!

So church, this to me is the absolute first thing we need to know when it comes to being the Lord’s witness—that we cannot do it alone! We need the Helper to help us be the kind of witnesses that we are called to be, and that is because He is the power to be a witness. Yes, we need to be endued with the power of the Holy Ghost as Jesus talked about in Luke chapter 24.

We learned how the word Jesus used here—“endued”—means to be “clothed.” And I’ll tell you, church—the main reason why some Christians aren’t good witnesses is because they aren’t wearing the right clothes! No, I am not referring to our physical clothing, but to the virtues of Christ that we live in. They are wearing their own filthy garments of fleshly efforts, but that’s not what “enables” us to bear witness of the Lord. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that we need to be clothed in to testify of Jesus properly. And the intended result of us wearing our new clothes is that the unbelievers should be so impressed with our sharp attire that they will want to know who our Father is, if He’ll adopt them, and give them the same clothing too!

We then learned how having the Holy Spirit enabling us to be a quality witness for Jesus works together with a very specific ministry of the Holy Spirit—His commission to “convict.”
You see, it’s sad to say but there have been many believers that think that this is their ministry—to bring people under conviction. But, no, this is the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours. The Bible does not call us “convicters”; it simply calls us witnesses (see John 15:27 & Acts 1:8). And there is a big difference between someone who simply witnesses and someone who does the convicting.

And the good news that we learned from this is that when we do our job of being witnesses, the Holy Spirit can do His job of convicting those we are witnessing to.

Church, this is one of the reasons why witnessing for Christ seems so laborious and, frankly, isn’t what most Christians enjoy doing—because most people ain’t doing it right. 

I stated last week that I’m convinced that if the Lord were to write a book on witnessing, chapter one would be entitled “Witnessing Made Fun,” which would be a chapter devoted to the help of the Holy Spirit.

Church, I have seen far too many Christians try and be witnesses for Christ, and while they might have the right words to speak, Scriptures to use, etc., they aren’t utilizing the greatest tool that we have to share the truth with people – the precious Holy Spirit.

You see, we learned that the Holy Spirit is more than just a convicter that leads sinners to repentance; no, He is much more than that, in that He has been sent to help us in every sense of the word.

We looked last week at how Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Helper” several times in the Gospel of John. This word “Helper” here is, of course, the New King James Version’s translation. If you use the original King James Version, you will find a different word—the term “Comforter.” Other translations use the words “Counselor” or “Advocate.”

But we saw that, although this word is translated a few different ways, by far the most elaborate and detailed translation of this word comes from the Amplified Bible, because its description of this word is, for lack of better words, more “amplified.”

Again, John 16:7 says, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”

I believe that this “amplified” description most accurately defines the Greek word into its broad and vast meaning. So, what we did was we looked at each of these words that it uses in order to detail and discuss what the Holy Spirit is specifically called alongside of us to do. We saw that He is our …

1. Comforter – When we don’t know what to say or what to do, He gives us the ability to bring comfort to others—particularly when they are suffering or grieving.
2. Counselor – When we don’t have the answers, He gives us the supernatural ability to counsel those in need.
3. Intercessor – When we don’t know what to pray or how to pray, the Holy Spirit steps in to intercede for us and through us.
4. Advocate – The Holy Spirit’s job is to defend us. So when we are letting Him work through us, He is not going to make people feel guilty or condemned. Yes, He builds us up (i.e. edifies); He does not tear us down.
5. Strengthener – When you feel weak and unequipped to witness for Christ, the Holy Spirit steps in to give strength to the weak.
6. Standby – This means that we aren’t on our own in being the Lord’s witnesses; we have the Holy Spirit standing by our side to help us in every way we need.

So we’ve talked about how the Holy Spirit is the power for us to be witnesses for Christ – by us being baptized in Him, Him coming upon us, and us staying full of Him. And we have also learned that we have to then utilize our fellowship with the Holy Spirit to take advantage of THE Advantage, by our leaning on Him to be our Helper— our Comforter, Counselor, Intercessor, Strengthener, Advocate, and Stand-By.   

Now I want us to begin to look at arguably the most important way that the Holy Spirit helps us to be Christ’s witnesses—through His fruit & His gifts.

You see, the New Testament reveals to us that there are two sets of nine things that the Holy Spirit performs in and through our lives, and these play a big role in our ability to effectively be Christ’s witnesses.

A TREE IS KNOWN BY IT’S FRUIT
Now, first of all, I want to say that the most important way the Holy Spirit helps us be Christ’s witnesses is by the fruit He produces in our lives. That’s why it is called the fruit of the Spirit. This means that these nine fruits are what the Holy Spirit is meant to produce in our lives, which are a big part of our witness. Therefore, the love, joy, peace, etc. that we have manifested in our lives speak to and validate our faith to the world around us.  

Didn’t Jesus teach us that the world will know that we are His disciples by our love for one another (See John 13:35)? Well, that’s fruit #1, isn’t it? And what Jesus was saying here is that the world isn’t going to necessarily know we are Christians because we have a t-shirt or a bumper sticker; it’s by how we love!

But love isn’t the only fruit that testifies of Him. No, joy is one of the greatest things we possess to be a witness of His goodness.

How many of you know that we serve a Happy God, a God who rejoices over us with gladness? We do! He is not like so many imagine Him to be—a grumpy, hard-faced God. No, He actually knows how to smile, laugh, and have a good time. For the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and JOY in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). That means that in God’s kingdom one of the primary things that we will experience is joy. Yes, folks will be happy there—and this certainly includes the Lord.

Church, this is what the world needs to see in God’s children—the same joy that He possesses.

You know, this is one of the main things most people in this world desire—to be happy and find joy. So when they see true, genuine joy of the Holy Spirit in us, they will want what we have. You can bet the bank on that!

How about peace? That is another virtue that very few people ever find in life, but desperately desire. Well, that too is a fruit of a Spirit-filled & Spirit-empowered life.

Another fruit is goodness, right? Well, what does the Bible teach us leads men to repentance? It is the goodness of God (See Romans 2:4). So how do you figure this works? Is God personally showing forth His goodness from heaven so that unbelievers are repenting hand over fist? No, that’s not how it works. It’s the fruit of His goodness in the lives of His children that will draw men to repentance. Amen?   

So my point is that these fruits of the Holy Spirit being produced in our lives is the first and most important part of our witness—for they first of all make what we believe more attractive to others as they see in us the fruit they all long for in their lives. But secondly, it makes witnessing even more fun for us because, when you genuinely love the person you are sharing with, you really have joy in your heart, and walk in this abundance of peace, witnessing just becomes more enjoyable. 

So, it’s the love we have for the brethren and even our enemies, the peace we have that enables us to lie down in the den of lions and get a good night’s sleep, and the joy that helps us to sing at midnight in prison—these are the fruit that the world will see that lets them know we are Christ’s disciples. Yes, these are the fruit that cause people to look at these branches and say, “Yup, that’s a Christian tree! And that’s the tree I want to eat from!”

HOW FRUIT IS PRODUCED
So let me quickly give you a couple of ways that you and I can produce more of His fruit in our lives …

Jesus taught us in John chapter 15 that fruit comes in our lives as a result of us abiding in Him, the True Vine. And the word “abiding” is the key word: This word “abide” means to stay, live, remain, or dwell. So, what Jesus is referring to here is living in His presence habitually—that is, spending time in His presence on a daily basis. Church, this is the only way to bear fruit—to be consistently connected to Jesus through spending time in fellowship with Him.
Don’t we like to say, “You’ll become like who you are around”? Yes, corrupt communications (or, fellowship) corrupts good manners (See First Corinthians 15:33). That means that hanging out with the wrong people will influence a person’s lifestyle. Well, if that works negatively, don’t you think it will work positively too?

That’s why “hanging out” with God is one of the main ways a believer can produce the fruit of the Spirit – because these nine fruit are the nature & character of God Himself.

You see, that is why Paul, through the Holy Spirit, calls these nine virtues of character—the fruit of the Spirit. That’s because they are the fruit of a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life, but they are also the fruit of the Spirit of God Himself. Yes, Paul meant that since they are called “fruit,” they are the fruit that originates from another source of life. In this case, they have come through the Seed of the Spirit. In other words, as fruit, they grow and are produced in our lives after His (the Holy Spirit’s) own kind.

Let me explain what I mean by us looking back at the Book of Genesis …

Do you remember on the third day, after the Lord created the earth, what the Lord said? He said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:11-12). Here we see how God originally designed fruit to be produced:

And I want you to notice that, first of all, in order for the tree to yield fruit, that it must be created as a fruit tree. For example, if the tree is not an apple tree, then what is it not going to produce? Apples! So, the first thing that had to transpire in order for you and I to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is to be recreated as a fruit-bearing tree. And we know that this occurred by the Holy Spirit when we called on the name of the Lord, were born again, and received the new nature, which we received through the Spirit washing, renewing and regenerating us (Titus 3:5).

So, the Lord created things so that a fruit tree will yield its fruit, but notice that it yields fruit “according to its kind.” I like how the New Living Translation says this. It says, “from which they came.” In other words, a fruit tree is only going to produce the fruit, and the seed in that fruit, from the seed from which they came.

So, the reason it is called the fruit of the Spirit is because it is fruit that is according to His kind, or you could say, it is the fruit that came directly from the seed of the Spirit.

Now notice how we are then told in Genesis 1:11— “whose seed is in itself.” Glory to God, saints! Since the Holy Spirit resides in us, we have the seed living in us that will replicate Himself!    

How many of you know that a tree can only bear the fruit that it was created to produce? Likewise, we are only going to be able to produce the fruit of the Spirit because He is the seed that we have living within us and because of the new nature we have been given. Amen? In other words, these nine fruit of the Spirit are a product of the nature living within us.
I don’t believe most Christians have ever considered this—that if these nine virtues are the fruit of the Spirit, then they are attributes of God. It would make sense though—for why would God be producing characteristics in us that He Himself didn’t possess?  No, saints, by possessing the fruit of the Spirit, we have love within us—but not only that; He is also joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Let’s look at these:

1. LOVE – The Bible teaches us that God is love (see First John 4:8). You might have heard this by now. So, He does not just have love; He is love. This is His nature! It is who He is! Well, if God is love then perhaps, we could read some other verses in a different light. For example, take First Corinthians 13:4-8. In it, we can learn more of God’s nature. Yes, God suffers long and is kind; God does not envy; God does not parade Himself, God is not puffed up; God does not behave rudely, He does not seek His own, He is not provoked, God thinks no evil; He does not rejoice in iniquity, but He rejoices in the truth; God bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. God never fails (i.e. He is everlasting).
2. JOY – We are familiar with Nehemiah 8:10 where it says that the joy of the Lord is our strength, but did you ever consider that there really is the joy of the Lord? Sure! Many don’t see Him as joyful, but He certainly is. In First Timothy 1:11, the apostle Paul calls Him the “Blessed (or, Happy) God.” So, because He possesses joy Himself, He has joy to give to us. Amen!
3. PEACE – Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. Elsewhere, God Himself is called “the God of Peace.” This is why I consider peace to be the manifest presence of God. So, He doesn’t just have peace; He is our peace (see Ephesians 2:14). So, because He Himself is and has peace, He can say, “My peace I give to you.” (John 14:27) 
4. LONGSUFFERING – The apostle Paul said, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (Second Peter 3:9). So, God Himself is longsuffering. And why? His longsuffering nature is for the purpose of giving people time and space to repent.
5. KINDNESS – Have you ever considered that God Himself is kind? There are many Scriptures that refer to His kindness like Ephesians 2:7 that talks about that for the ages to come He was going to show you and I the exceeding riches of His grace towards us in His kindness. Titus 3:4 says that it was the kindness of God our Savior that saved us. I mean, how many times in the Scriptures are we made aware of the “lovingkindness” of our God?
6. GOODNESS – This is one we like to say a lot—God is good! But why do so many Christians say God is good in one breath and then accuse Him of doing bad? Would we say someone was exhibiting the fruit of goodness if they were causing their children to suffer like God is accused of doing by much of His church? I think not. 
7. FAITHFULNESS – Oh, this is one that we like to sing about: Great is Thy faithfulness! This is found in Lamentations 3:23 where, in the midst of the children of Israel’s failures and mistakes, God is declared to be faithful, showing us that we might be found faithless at times, but He remains faithful (Second Timothy 2:13). God is always faithful, church—meaning, He is always there, and He always tells the truth.
8. GENTLENESS – This word describes meekness or humility. Many have never considered this, but the Lord is humble too—power under perfect control. We see this in Philippians 2:5-11 where Jesus is described as lowering Himself from heaven and even to the point of a servant before His death on the Cross. Jesus—the express image of God’s person—certainly was, is and evermore shall be “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). 
9. SELF CONTROL – Finally, God is self-control. You know, we like to say things like “God is in control,” right? But what exactly is He in control of? Himself! He is in control of Himself. Yes, He operates within certain parameters that He Himself has set up and is not out of control! This is why we can know and believe that He will do what He said He would do and not have to worry about if He is going to kill one day or give life the next. Yes, God possesses the fruit of the self-control. 

So, what does this have to do with producing the fruit of the Spirit in ourselves? I’m glad you asked. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Now if we consider the context, we see that Paul was describing the difference between the glory of the Old Covenant and the glory of the New Covenant (which was said to exceed much more in glory [see verse 9]). And he uses the example of Moses putting a veil over his face after He came out of the glory of God on Mount Sinai, describing how the glory we’ve received does not pass away. Now we have had the veil removed and can behold His glory, which results in us being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

Now, if you recall, Moses desired to see this glory and the Lord responded that He would make all of His goodness pass before him. Therefore, I equate God’s glory with His goodness. So, if we behold God’s glory, we are seeing His goodness.

And here is my point: If we behold the self-control, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, longsuffering, peace, joy, and love of our God, what does this verse say will happen? We ourselves will be transformed into the same image we are beholding—meaning, you and I will begin to reflect His nature that we are beholding. Yes, we become what we behold, church. So, behold His beauty and watch His fruit become yours, in Jesus name. Amen! 

CONCLUSION
Just consider your own fruit—your children. How do they produce your fruit? First of all, they have to be born of you—holding your nature. Then by abiding with you—they become more like you through their relationship with you. But what we have just seen is a vital part of them becoming like you—they also bring forth your fruit by beholding you—for as they get to know you, observing how you live your life, they grow to become like you.

So sure, it is by being born of those parents and having their nature put in you. Sure, it is by living in the presence of those parents and being raised in their home. But it is also by beholding how those parents do things; that is what produces the fruit of those parents in the child (i.e. fruit). 
​
Church, the greatest way to be a witness for our Lord and Savior is by bearing His fruit. Yes, it is by us exhibiting His love, joy, peace, etc. that people will get to witness Him! This is why the fruit of the Spirit is the most important way that we can be a witness for Him. Amen. 

​INTRODUCTION
So, we have started out this new year with a series of teachings on being witnesses for the Lord. And church, I want you to understand that this subject is so critical to us populating the kingdom of heaven—because in case you haven’t noticed it, God is not in the business of appearing to the world and witnessing of Himself. No, the way He has set things up is that we would be His witnesses to the world around us.

You see, what this Scripture reveals to us is that we—our lives—are the true “Bible” that mankind comes to read and know. Yes, they are looking at how we live our lives and how what we profess is practiced in our everyday lives. Therefore, it is imperative that you and I learn what it means to be His witness and to do everything God has put in us to do to testify of His goodness.

So, let’s turn back over to Acts chapter one, and look again at a passage of Scripture that teaches us along these lines:
Acts 1:4-8 says, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ ”

What we learned last week is that, in verse 4, Jesus essentially told His disciples not to go anywhere or do anything, but to wait for the Promise of the Father—the Holy Spirit of Promise—before they try and “witness” for Him.

Church, this to me is the absolute first thing we need to know when it comes to being the Lord’s witness—that we cannot do it alone! We need the Helper to help us be the kind of witnesses that we are called to be, and that is because He is the power to be a witness …

Notice in verse 8 how Jesus told them (and us) that they shall receive “power” when the Holy Spirit has come upon them, and (then) you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem. So, the power of the Holy Spirit was to come first and then becoming His witnesses came second, correct? And it’s exactly the same with us, church!

You see, far too many Christians who know precious little about the Holy Spirit still try and become good witnesses of the Lord. And these believers certainly mean well, but in their ignorance, they get the cart before the horse. Church, we cannot really be the kind of good & effective witnesses of the Lord that He expects us to be without the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just that simple!

So we then looked at Luke 24:44-49, where Jesus said something similar about the Holy Spirit: These verses read— “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

We saw how Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Promise of the Father” because time and time again in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is forecasted and prophesied as to come. Therefore, He is the Promise made by the Father. But we learned what He is the promise of—the Promise of Power! Hallelujah!

Jesus said here that when the Promise—the Holy Spirit—comes from on high, we will be endued with power. And we learned that the word “endued” means to be “clothed.” So, what will we be clothed with? With power!

I’ll tell you, church, the main reason why some Christians aren’t good witnesses is because they aren’t wearing the right clothes! No, I am not referring to our physical clothing, but to the virtues of Christ that we live in. They are wearing their own filthy garments of fleshly efforts, but that’s not what “enables” us to bear witness of the Lord. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that we need to be clothed in to testify of Jesus properly. And the intended result of us wearing our new clothes is that the unbelievers should be so impressed with our sharp attire that they will want to know who our Father is, if He’ll adopt them, and give them the same clothing too!

But we saw how this word “endued” also has another interesting meaning: In ancient Greek literature this word was used as having “a spell cast on you,” to where a person is transformed from something weak & unattractive into something powerful & attractive. Yes, when the Lord endues us with His power—the Holy Spirit—in a moment’s time we are transformed from a shy, cowardly human being into an empowered, overcoming witness for Christ!   

And we learned then how having the Holy Spirit enabling us to be a quality witness for Jesus works together with a very specific ministry of the Holy Spirit—His commission to “convict.”
You see, it’s sad to say but there have been many believers that think that this is their ministry—to bring people under conviction. No, this is the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours. The Bible does not call us “convicters”; it simply calls us witnesses (see John 15:27 & Acts 1:8). And there is a big difference between someone who simply witnesses and someone who does the convicting.

You see, a witness is not the judge or the jury. A witness just simply testifies of what they have seen, heard, or experienced. And just as sometimes a witness is needed to convict a lawbreaker in a court of law, a witness is needed to open the door for the Holy Spirit to convict an unbeliever of their sin. Yes, we as witnesses, are not to point our finger at them; we are just to tell people what we’ve experienced and then let the Holy Spirit do the convicting.

You see, some people, in their zeal, have gone beyond the witness stand and tried to bring people under conviction themselves. This not only can frustrate the witness, but it can drive the people we are trying to convict away from God. We need to eliminate this “Holy Ghost Jr.” mentality of trying to convict people of their sins ourselves and let the Holy Spirit do His job. Again, He’s the Judge who convicts; we are simply the witnesses—and by doing our part of being Christ’s witness, we open the door for the Holy Spirit to do His part of being Christ’s “convicter!” Therefore, our word regarding this was – “Don’t leave the witness stand”!

WITNESSING MADE FUN
But church, this is one of the main reasons why witnessing for Christ seems so laborious and, frankly, isn’t what most Christians enjoy doing—because most people ain’t doin’ it right. 

I’m convinced that if the Lord were to write a book on witnessing, chapter one would be entitled “Witnessing Made Fun,” which would be a chapter devoted to the help of the Holy Spirit.

Church, I have seen far too many Christians try and be witnesses for Christ, and while they might have the right words to speak, Scriptures to use, etc., they aren’t utilizing the greatest tool that we have to share the truth with people, the precious Holy Spirit.

So, this week, I’d like us to camp on this chapter of being Christ’s witnesses and talk about how the Holy Spirit truly is our Helper—especially regarding this subject of being Christ’s witnesses.

ANOTHER HELPER
Now we talked about last week how the Lord told His disciples that it was more advantageous for them that He went away because if He didn’t go the Holy Spirit would not be sent. And we saw how the reason this is true is because Jesus could only do so many things for His disciples being in a physical body. But when the Holy Spirit comes on each of us, He will indwell our physical bodies and can do for us everything that Jesus did for His disciples. Glory!

But I want you to notice how Jesus several times in the Gospel of John, called the Holy Spirit, the “Helper” …

This word “Helper” here is, of course, the New King James Version’s translation. If you use the original King James Version, you will find a different word—the term “Comforter.” Other translations use the words “Counselor” or “Advocate.” But I want to focus on the word “Helper” right now. 

Now what is a “Helper”? A helper describes an:

1. Assistant—that is, one who helps someone else in accomplishing a task.
2. Associate—that is, a coworker in business or a fellow worker at work.
3. Partner—that is, one who supports another and helps bear the load.
4. Right-hand man or woman—that is, kind of like an assistant and there to give you a helping hand. 
5. Helpmate (or helpmeet)—Now this last term is very interesting because I believe the Holy Spirit was foreshadowed like this in the Beginning…

Do you remember when God created Adam and then sometime after that, said, “It is not good for man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18). Now you could paraphrase this statement like so— “It is not advantageous for man to be alone…” or “It is not beneficial, profitable, or best for man to be alone…” Does that sound a little familiar (See John 16:7)?

Then the Lord went on to say in Genesis 2:18— “I will make a helper comparable to him.” Ah, isn’t that interesting that we see the same word “helper” used here? I believe that is strategic by the Lord to reinforce this truth from John 16:7—that it is to our advantage to have a Helpmeet in the Person of the Holy Spirit! Glory!

But what is interesting is what God did immediately after making this statement. What He did not do was immediately put Adam to sleep, pull his rib out, etc. No, in verse 19, the first thing God did was form every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Then Adam named all of these animals, but we are told at the end of verse 20 that there was still not found a helper comparable to him.

So, after this, the Lord caused that deep sleep to fall on Adam and after He made woman, He brought her to Adam. And verse 23 said that Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” This was essentially Adam choosing Eve to become that helper that God said would be good for him. Therefore, the woman—Eve—was that helper. 

But although this word is translated “Helper” here in the NKJV, by far the most elaborate and detailed translation of this word comes from the Amplified Bible because its description of this word is, for lack of better words, more “amplified.”

John 16:7 says, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].”

I believe that this “amplified” description most accurately defines the Greek word into its broad and vast meaning. So, let’s look at each of these words that it uses in order to detail and discuss what the Holy Spirit is specifically called alongside of us to do.

THE COMFORTER
The first and primary word the Amplified Bible uses to translate parakletos as, is “Comforter.” So, this would obviously describe the Holy Spirit as being called alongside of us to comfort us, but it also would mean that He’s right there with us to comfort others.  

Have you ever been faced with needing to minister to someone who needed comfort but didn’t know what to say or do? I believe we all have. Perhaps it was after they lost a loved one or had some other horrific thing happen to them.  Sometimes when people are going through difficult situations like this, they need someone who will be able to provide the comfort of Christ to them. This is where the Comforter comes in! He can give us the words to speak when we don’t know what to say! He can grace us with the ability to hug someone in a meaningful & impactful way. He can even just provide the atmosphere with the presence of comfort as we are with the person.  

Yes, the Holy Spirit certainly knows how to console during tough times—which is the opposite of Job’s friends. Job’s friends started out right when they first arrived, but then wound up not providing Job with any comfort when they began accusing him.

We don’t want to be Job’s friends, saints. We want to be like the Holy Spirit who truly comes alongside of us to comfort us when we are hurting, to encourage us when we are despairing, and to simply love on us when we need it. Sure, there is a time where He speaks expressly—giving us the truth. But as it is with prophecy, He knows how and when to edify, exhort, and comfort—for He is the author of this wonderful gift. 

So, the Holy Spirit’s presence—both us knowing that we have Him with us wherever we go and Him being there to edify, exhort, and console others through us—should bring us much “comfort.” That’s right—this should make us feel confident when we are faced with times of needing to provide comfort to others—for the Holy Ghost is the “Comforter.”

THE COUNSELOR
The next word that we see used by the Amplified Bible is “Counselor”: This obviously describes the Holy Spirit being called alongside of us to give us His counsel.

The word “counselor” today describes several things, but what we might identify it with the most is a person who is trained to give guidance on personal, social, financial or psychological problems like say a marriage counselor, a financial counselor, or a mental health counselor. What these “counselors” are there to do is provide people with the direction, treatments, etc. that they need in their respective field. 

Now I know that most of us are not trained & licensed counselors. But guess what? You have Someone living in you who is lightyears more qualified to counsel others than the best counselor on this planet! Amen!

I’ll tell you; I’ve found myself many times being faced with needing to give counsel to somebody that in and of myself, I had no experience or qualifications to give it, but the Counselor lives on the inside of me did—and He did!

Church, we need to also know that we all have the fairest of ten thousand counselors living on the inside of us! So, when attempting to help others we ought to go to the Counselor first instead of just giving advice out of our own limited resources.  

Yes, just like we had “guidance counselors” in school to give us advice and guidance for our academic lives, we now have the Holy Spirit to provide far greater advice and guidance. He is with us and lives within us to not only counsel regarding big, spiritual issues, but He is also there to advise on what job someone should take, what car they should buy, who they ought to date, what investments to make, etc. He is our Omniscient Guidance Counselor! Yes, He lives within us to guide us into all truth.

THE INTERCESSOR
Then after we see the Amplified Bible translating this word as “Helper,” which we’ve covered already, it uses the word “Intercessor.” So, this means that the Holy Spirit is called alongside of us to intercede for us and through us.

Have you ever been asked to pray for someone but didn’t know how to pray for them? Well, that’s when the Lord helps us by interceding through us.  

We see this in Romans 8:26 when Paul tells us that when we do not know what to pray for as we ought, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us. That means that He stands in the gap for us when we are ignorant concerning what to pray for. How does He step in, you ask? He does this praying for us by praying through us. Amen! 

Saints, this is why praying in the Spirit is so vital in the life of the believer. You see, there are so many times when we are ignorant of what to pray or even that we need to pray. That is when the Holy Spirit is available to pray through us and for us. All we have to do is yield to Him by praying in other tongues. In fact, He is called in the Old Testament “the Spirit of grace and supplication” (Zechariah 12:10). 

You see, the Holy Spirit is meant to assist us in our prayer life as well, and this certainly includes praying in another tongue. He wants to use our mouths to intercede for people and things that we have no idea about. This is why He is called the Intercessor! 

THE ADVOCATE
The next word used by the Amplified is “Advocate.” In fact, this is probably the most popular definition of this word parakletos because in their days, it described a legal counselor. So, this word certainly describes a lawyer, or more accurately a defense attorney. Therefore, this means that He is called alongside of us to stand by our side and to plead our case for us.

But most Christians do not see the Holy Spirit as our defense attorney; they see Him as the prosecuting attorney. You will hear many Christians accuse the Holy Spirit of “taking them to the woodshed” when they do something wrong, saying that the Holy Spirit “convicted” them of their sin. Church, this is not the nature of the One we have living inside of us.

You see, the problem is that they see Him as being against them and not really for them. They see the Holy Spirit as the One who heaps all of that condemnation on them, but I can assure you that this is not His ministry. How many of you ever see a defense attorney turning around and start accusing and trying to convict their client in a court of law? You won’t—because their job is to defend you and not condemn you.

Likewise, as we are being a witness for Christ, the Holy Spirit is there to use us to encourage and build up, not tear them down. So, if I am having the Holy Spirit help me in being Christ’s witness, He is going to primarily lead me to cover a multitude of sin, not make all of everyone’s sin manifest. Amen?  

Church, the Holy Spirit is for us and not against us! We see this clearly described in Romans 8:31-34. While He does convict us when we are missing it, He never condemns us! His ministry is to defend us. Yes, He builds us up (i.e., edifies); He does not tear us down.

THE STRENGTHENER
I especially like the next word the Amplified Bible translates parakletos as— “Strengthener.” This obviously describes the Holy Spirit as being called alongside of us to strengthen us. Hallelujah! This means that He lives within us to empower us and to give us the ability to do what we might not feel we are able to do!

You see, He doesn’t just give us the counsel on what we should say & do; He also gives us the strength to say & do it! Thank God we don’t have to be a witness for Jesus in our own strength! Through the Holy Spirit’s inner-strengthening we can do all things (Philippians 4:13). All we have to do is stay so full of the Holy Spirit that it is no longer we who live, but Christ living in and through us. Yes, “He works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (See Philippians 2:14).

You see, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just instruct us, He even gives us the strength. He’s kind of like our strength and conditioning coach, in that He trains us to become spiritually fit, developing our spiritual muscles (the fruit of the Spirit).

So, don’t focus on your weaknesses in witnessing—talking about what you cannot do, what you do not know, etc. Focus on Who you have living on the inside of you. He is your strength. Indeed, let the weak say, “I am strong.” We can say this with full confidence because you have the Strengthener living on the inside of you!

THE STANDBY
And, last but not least, the Amplified Bible uses the word “Standby” to translate parakletos. No, this does not mean that the Holy Spirit is on “standby” in the sense that He is on waiting (like a second-string athlete) and not the priority. Rather, it describes His “readiness for duty and immediate deployment.” This would describe the Holy Spirit as being called alongside of us to do just that—stand by us.

You see, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is faithful to never leave us nor forsake us. Oftentimes we quote these Scriptures in reference to Jesus, but they are just as true for the Third Person of the Godhead too. The Holy Spirit is promised to abide by our side forever (John 14:16).

Again, He is faithful to us. Being a part of the Trinity, faithfulness is His nature as well. So, erase that wrong doctrine out of your mind that the Holy Spirit is easily offended and leaves us when we grieve Him. He STANDS-BY us always, even when we are hard to stand by. He won’t leave us or forsake us. 

In fact, as I thought about this term “Stand-By” I came up with a song, which I’m sure could become a hit one day. It’s called “Stand by Me.” But the fact is, the Holy Spirit is there to be yours and my STAND-BY. And He is more than willing to stand by you, with you, and for you until you breathe your last breath. Amen.

CONCLUSION
Yes, the Holy Spirit is called alongside of us to make our witness more fun and effective. He is on this earth to stand by our side—comforting, counseling, and strengthening us. 
​
So today I urge you to open your heart to this ministry of the Holy Spirit. Let Him be your Helper in being a witness. The truth is, He was sent to be your Helper whether you recognize it or not. But as you open your heart to the Holy Spirit—listening to Him and diligently following every aspect of His instruction from His role as your help in life—this I can promise you: you will be changed. It won’t be long until you look back on who you were before you made the decision to allow the Holy Spirit to be your Helper, and you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your decision started a process that has completely changed your life! Yes, you will be the best version of a witness you can be—because you allowed the Holy Spirit to do what He does best.  Amen!

​INTRODUCTION
So, I would like to begin this new year with a series of teachings that I believe are long overdue in the Body of Christ—the subject of us being witnesses of the Lord and for the Lord.

You know, our witness to the world around us is so critical to us populating the kingdom of heaven. Because in case you haven’t noticed it, God is not in the business of appearing to the world and witnessing of Himself. No, the way He has set things up is that we would be His witnesses to the world around us.

Sure, He has given us things that witness of Him like the precious Holy Spirit (whom we will learn more about today) and His Holy Word, but in order for this world to “witness” His love, power, glory, etc. it’s going to take us bearing witness of these things. Amen?

Did you know that you are the only Bibles some will ever read? Yes, there are many who will never pick up a Bible, will never attend church, and aren’t going to ever hear the name of Jesus preached.    

Second Corinthians 3:2-3 says, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”

You see, what this Scripture reveals to us is that we—our lives—are the true “Bible” that mankind comes to read and know. Yes, they are looking at how we live our lives and how what we profess is practiced in our everyday lives.

Therefore, it is imperative that you and I learn what it means to be His witness and to do everything God has put in us to do to testify of His goodness.

So let’s turn over to Acts chapter one, and look at a passage of Scripture that teaches us along these lines: Acts 1:4-8 says, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ ”

So, the Lord told His disciples that they would be witnesses to Him first in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth. And did you know that this commission did not end with them? No, as those who believe on Him by their word, we are called to carry this same mantle and be His witnesses as well in our own proverbial Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. Amen?

THE PROMISE OF POWER
But I want you to notice back in verse 4 how Jesus essentially told His disciples not to go anywhere or do anything, but to wait for the Promise of the Father—the Holy Spirit of Promise—before they try and “witness” for Him.

Church, this to me is the absolute first thing we need to know when it comes to being the Lord’s witness—that we cannot do it alone! We need the Helper to help us be the kind of witnesses that we are called to be, and that is because He is the power to be a witness …

Notice in verse 8 how Jesus told them (and us) that they shall receive “power” when the Holy Spirit has come upon them, and (then) you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem.

So, the power of the Holy Spirit was to come first and then becoming His witnesses came second, correct? And it’s exactly the same with us, church!

You see, far too many Christians who know precious little about the Holy Spirit try still try and become good witnesses of the Lord. And these believers certainly mean well, but in their ignorance, they get the cart before the horse. Church, we cannot really be the kind of good & effective witnesses of the Lord that He expects us to be without the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just that simple!

In fact, in Luke 24:44-49, we see how Jesus said something similar: These verses read— “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

So, notice in verse 48 that Jesus said that they were witnesses of these things. What things? Of how the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day as well as all of the other things that would come as a result of His death, burial, and resurrection.

But now that they were His witnesses, they needed something else, so Jesus immediately tells them, “Behold. I send the Promise of My Father upon you …” So, notice how Jesus then immediately refers to how they were to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. This is obviously talking about the Promised Holy Spirit – how He is the promise of power.

Now also notice here that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the Promise of the Father.” Why does He refer to the Holy Spirit this way? It is because time and time again in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is forecasted and prophesied as to come. Therefore, He is the Promise made by the Father.

But what is He the Promise of? He is the Promise of Power! Hallelujah! Jesus said here that when the Promise—the Holy Spirit—comes from on high, we will be endued with power. The word “endued” means to be “clothed.” And what will we be clothed with? With power!

I’ll tell you, the main reason why some Christians aren’t good witnesses is because they aren’t wearing the right clothes! No, I am not referring to our physical clothing, but to the virtues of Christ that we live in. They are wearing their own filthy garments of fleshly efforts, but that’s not what “enables” us to bear witness of the Lord. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that we need to be clothed in to testify of Jesus properly.

Did you ever notice how the apostle Paul liked to encourage the church to “put on” this and “put off” that. He’s using a similar term there of either clothing ourselves in good virtues versus taking off the bad things.

So, what is the purpose of putting on these good virtues? If we already have all these attributes in us, why must we put them on? The answer is simple—for the same reason we put on clothes in the natural—for other people! We partly wear our physical clothes for the benefit of others. It is the same in the spiritual—we put on the fruit of the Spirit so that unbelievers can see how good our God is. When they see our supernatural peace in the midst of a severe trial, our unconditional love towards an enemy, our great self-control when we should have a fit of carnality, and our consistent joy through up and down circumstances, they will see us wearing the fruit of our new man. The intended result of us wearing our new clothes is that the unbelievers should be so impressed with our sharp attire that they will want to know who our Father is, if He’ll adopt them, and give them the same clothing too!

Well, the truth is that it’s the Holy Spirit who we have to be clothed in and He is the One who enables us to put on any & all good virtues to begin with. Yes, working in conjunction with the Holy Spirit is really the only way to be an effective witness for the Lord. This is because the Holy Spirit is the only real way to be an effective witness for the Lord in regard to my lifestyle, behavior, etc. That’s because the fruit of the Spirit cannot be self-produced. These fruit are generated by the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. But this is also because the Holy Spirit is the One who empowers us in our witnessing.

But this word “endued” also has another interesting meaning: In ancient Greek literature this word was used as having “a spell cast on you.” Now, of course, we don’t believe in these things, but I think it gives us a great illustration …

Let me give you a story to illustrate this: A very meek, shy, and cowardly woman came to a magician and said, “I am so incredibly shy. I cannot even look at other people in the eye. Is there anything you can do to help me?” The magician then cast a spell on her (i.e., an endowment) and then she was supernaturally transformed into a bold & powerful woman (Compare with First Samuel 10:6 when Saul was turned into another man when the Holy Spirit came upon him). Likewise, we come to God saying, “Lord, I need help! I want to be a bolder witness for you than I currently am, but the thought of being this way terrifies me!” And the Lord then endues us with His power—the Holy Spirit—and in a moment’s time we are transformed from a shy, cowardly human being into an empowered, overcoming witness for Christ!   

Again, didn’t Jesus say something similar in Acts 1:8 when He said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you …”? So, again Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, what we are receiving is “power.” I say all of this to say that with the Holy Spirit comes power! He is the power of God, and He is the Promise of that power! Amen.
 
CONVICTING THE WORLD
So now, let’s begin this week looking at how the Holy Spirit helps us in being witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ: And let’s start by looking at what Jesus taught us in John 16:5-11 …

Now if you recall, Jesus had shown His disciples here how important us having the Holy Spirit is by saying, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

I’m sure that Jesus’ disciples had a hard time grasping this because, as a general rule, Jesus was the One doing the majority of the witnessing. So, if He was going away, all of this was going to fall on their shoulders.

Would you have felt this way? Say you and I were going into the marketplace or door to door witnessing to people. I would venture to say that most of you would lean on me to do all the talking. Well, I’m sure Jesus’ disciples did this more times than not.

So, for them to hear Jesus say He was leaving might have made them feel like you would feel if I said to you, “Okay, I am going to go home and I want you to go to these next few people and witness instead of me.” Most of you probably would be terrified and feel completely unequipped to do so.

Well, what Jesus was saying here was that having the Holy Spirit is more advantageous to us than having Himself physically present with us. And if that’s the case, I can guarantee you that having the Holy Spirit is better than having Pastor Trey there when you are witnessing to someone. Amen?

But then notice what Jesus immediately says after this: In verses 8-11, Jesus said, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Now let me begin by dispelling a couple of popular belief systems that people have of these verses and about the workings of the Holy Spirit in general:

Notice, first of all, that Jesus said, “And when He has come (And He most certainly has come!), He will convict the world…” Convict who? “The world.” So, who is it that the Holy Spirit will convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment? The world! And we know that when Jesus refers to the world here, He is certainly including unbelievers because, in verse 9, when He goes on to explain why He will convict the world of these three things, He says, “of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” Therefore, this is certainly talking about those of the world who have not yet believed on Jesus. However, I also see it as including those who are in the world but not of the world as well (i.e., believers) because in verse 10 He says, “of righteousness, because I go to the Father and you see Me no more.” (We will deal with how the Holy Spirit performs this in our lives in the latter part of this teaching) 

So, this particular commission of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-11 is what He is assigned to do for everyone living in the world, and not necessarily just for God’s children. This is important to understand, particularly as it pertains to the sin portion, because how many of us have heard how the Holy Spirit “convicted” one of our brothers & sisters in Christ of their sin—taking them to the woodshed and made them feel horrible for what they did wrong—and they used these very verses to substantiate it?

Well, I’m here to tell you that what a lot of Christians say is the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit—which leads me to point number two: Part of the reason people misunderstand the workings of the Holy Spirit is because of this word we see in the King James version— “convict.”

You see, in our modern-day terminology, the word “convict” has more of a negative tone to it. To us, the word “convict” paints the picture of a courtroom and carries the idea of some judge who is looking down on the guilty and condemning them for their wrongdoing. And religion certainly has not helped this perception of conviction either: It has painted the picture that God is looking down on us with a lightning bolt in His hand ready to strike us down at any moment for our sinful ways. So, therefore, a good portion of the Church teaches that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to constantly hound us—condemning us for all our various faults and shortcomings. Saints, this is not what the Holy Spirit is commissioned to do!

So, what does the word “convict” actually mean? The Greek word translated as “convict” carries more of the idea to “convince or to prove” than it does to “condemn.” In fact, the Greek word that the apostle John used here literally means “to bring something to light, and thus to expose it.” So, don’t get stuck on the word “convict” and let that word paint a negative picture of the Holy Spirit’s dealings with the world.

But the fact is (as we’ve made the point of already), Jesus specifically said that the Holy Spirit’s assignment to “convict” of sin is aimed at the world, and not at the church. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s job of convicting, convincing, and simply bringing to light one’s sinful condition is specifically targeting unbelievers.

Which brings up an important point—Not only is His ministry to convict of sin not aimed at us but at the world, this ministry to convict of sin is His job to perform and not ours.

HOLY GHOST JR.
Now allow me to take a little rabbit trail here concerning this: It is unfortunate, but there have been many believers that think that this is their ministry—to bring people under conviction. No, this is the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours.

You see, the Bible does not call us “convicters”; it simply calls us witnesses (see John 15:27 & Acts 1:8). And there is a big difference between someone who simply witnesses and someone who does the convicting.

You see, a witness is not the judge or the jury. A witness just simply testifies of what they have seen, heard, or experienced. And just as sometimes a witness is needed to convict a lawbreaker in a court of law, a witness is needed to open the door for the Holy Spirit to convict an unbeliever of their sin in the kingdom of God. We, as witnesses, are not to point our finger at them; we are just to tell people what we’ve experienced and then let the Holy Spirit do the convicting.

Have you ever noticed that when you have realized someone has missed it in some area and then you, in your zeal, call them out on their sin, that you rarely get the desired response? Yes, people do not usually respond well to us when we try and do the convicting. However, when we take the humble approach of simply testifying to what we’ve seen and experienced in our own life, we will get more “God-results.”

Second Timothy, chapter two, gives us a good example of this: In Second Timothy 2:22-26, the apostle Paul says to Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

First of all, notice how he first tells Timothy what he should “flee & pursue” Why is this important? Because the first part of being a good witness is to walk in the truth ourselves. And not just because we ought to avoid hypocrisy and ruin our witness, but because our lifestyle and behavior is also what sheds light on the darkness that the world walks in.

Do you remember how in in First Timothy 4:12 that Paul told him – “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

This means that Timothy was not to keep people from despising his youth by verbally correcting that attitude, but by being an example in how he conducts himself. Amen?

But have you ever noticed how the world around us just seems to be convicted from being in our presence? Now we might not have noticed that if we are walking like the world ourselves, but if we have been pursuing the things of God and we are carriers of God’s presence because our relationship with Him is where it needs to be, the ungodly around us will get convicted simply from being in our presence—and here’s the kicker: without us even saying a word. Therefore, by being Christ’s witness simply by our example, the Holy Spirit is able to fulfill His commission to convict.

Now I will say that this does not always mean that the person under conviction will have a repentant reaction. In fact, in most of these cases, the person under conviction will more than likely have a negative response by resenting, hating, or even persecuting us. But that is just the response you get when letting your light shine before men: You will have both the moths & the roaches—the “moths” being those who come to the light and the “roaches” being those who run from the light. And unfortunately, we live in the woods of the world, where there are many more roaches than there are moths.   

Then Paul goes on to show us that we need to avoid disputes and quarrels because all they generally do is generate strife. Why? Because with the vast majority of people, they do not dispute to find the truth, but to defend the truth they think they know. So, arguing and debating is generally fruitless and actually anti-productive according to Paul.

But notice how he goes on to describe that there is a place for correcting others, but just that we should do it “in humility.” For example, when we are tempted to correct & convict someone else for something and we are certain they are doing wrong, it is always a good idea to broach the subject in humility. How? By, instead of correcting them for what they are doing wrong, being a witness of what the Lord has shown you. Say, for example, you see someone having the wrong attitude about something. While you might be tempted to just correct their “stinkin’ thinkin’,” you can give them an example of how you yourself once did what they are currently doing and then share with them how the Lord corrected you. This takes that “holier than thou” perception of you out of the picture and enables them to see more clearly how they need to respond like you did. Not to mention, it opens the door to the Holy Spirit to validate in their heart the truth that you gave witness to. We see this in the remainder of these verses in Second Timothy.  

Paul went on to say, “if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” So, what we see here is that it begins with us being a witness, and then what follows is God—in the Person of the Holy Spirit, I might add—who helps the person to repent, know the truth, and come to their senses to escape the snare of the devil. Amen!

Again, we cannot make a person repent. We cannot make someone come to know the truth. And we cannot bring them to their senses. This is the Holy Ghost’s job! And for us to try and do this ourselves is just pride—thinking we can do His job for Him.

You see, some people, in their zeal, have gone beyond the witness stand and tried to bring people under conviction themselves. This not only can frustrate the witness, but it can drive the people we are trying to convict away from God. We need to eliminate this “Holy Ghost Jr.” mentality of trying to convict people of their sins ourselves and let the Holy Spirit do His job. Again, He’s the Judge who convicts; we are simply the witnesses—and by doing our part of being Christ’s witness, we open the door for the Holy Spirit to do His part of being Christ’s convicter! Don’t leave the witness stand!
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So, in conclusion, the Holy Spirit is here to convict the world, and this is His assignment, not ours. Let’s do our job of being witnesses and not leave the stand to try to do the Holy Spirit’s job. And as we have learned, the good news is that if we just be the witnesses that we are called to be, we can help the Holy Spirit do the convicting that He is called to do. Amen? 

​LIFE, LIFE, LIFE!
 
Through Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord has offered us eternal life - which is knowing God (John 17:3). Therefore, the eternal life we have been given involves the ability for us all to know God, from the least to the greatest (Hebrews 8:11). Friends, knowing God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is where life begins - for we have been called to a life of personal relationship with God.   
 
In Romans 6:4, Paul teaches us that we are called to walk in the newness of life. This is that life where old things have passed away and, behold, all things have become new. We go underneath the waters of baptism as the old man and come up as a new man in Christ Jesus. Our life has been made new in Christ. Behold, He makes all things new!  
 
The Scriptures also teach us that He has made available unto us resurrection life. This aspect of the life of God is the freedom from the death produced through the things of this world. It is the life of God that makes alive our mortal bodies and infuses our lives with His life. This is the Spirit-filled life, church! Sure, when we are born again, we have the Holy Spirit; but when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, He has us. This is the resurrection life!
 
And, finally, Christ came to give us the abundant life - not just life, but life more abundantly. And that’s the life I want to talk about today - the more than enough life!
 
THE OVERFLOWING CUP
 
So, let’s turn over to two openings this morning where we see this abundant life described - Psalm 23:5 & John 10:10…
 
In Psalm 23:5 David said, “He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over!” Here, I want us to focus on the phrase “My cup runs over”.  Now, when it comes to this phrase “My cup runs over,” some translations say, “My cup overflows.” The NLT says, “My cup overflows with blessings.” The Living Bible paraphrase says, “Blessings overflow.” The Easy to Read says, “My cup is full and spilling over.” The Aramaic Bible in Plain English says, “my cup overflows as if it were alive.”
 
In fact, this Hebrew word that is used for “runs over” is only used in one other place in the Scriptures, and that is found at the end of Psalm 66:12 when he says, “But you brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Other translations call this place of “rich fulfillment” a “wealthy place.” 
 
So, the picture we have painted here is of a cup that is not just filled full to the brim, but it describes a cup that is actually overflowing and spilling over - a rich, abundance of drink, hallelujah!
 
From a spiritual point of view, it describes having so much peace, joy, God’s presence, etc., that you are more than fulfilled in your heart. From a financial sense, it describes having “more than enough money”- more than you need, more than you can spend, and extra to give. Whatever example you want to use - our cup running over describes a life spilling over with the goodness of God! Glory!
 
Now let’s go over to John chapter 10 and take a look at where Jesus gives us another description of this “cup running over” kind of life…
 
You see, this was not just what God did for David, it is what Jesus came to provide for all of us!
 
THE ABUNDANT LIFE
 
In John 10:10 we have, what I believe to be, one of the most important truths that Jesus ever gave us concerning God’s nature. He said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
 
Now let me, first of all, make a quick point from this verse: From this very simple yet profound verse we can distinguish between what comes from God and what comes from the devil. Anything that has come to steal from us, to kill us, or to destroy the things in our lives is from the devil! Anything that has come to produce a better quality of life is from God. Now, of course, I need to qualify this. We need to define what is truly “a better quality of life”…
 
Does money necessarily improve the quality of your life? Most people would give a hearty “Amen!” to that question, but that is not exactly the case. Financial prosperity certainly can add to the quality of your life, but it is absolutely contingent upon the prosperity of your soul. If your soul is not full of peace and joy then money, nor any other natural blessing, will ever improve the quality of your life. But this also does not mean that having wealth is of the devil either, the love of wealth is what comes from the devil because covetousness takes away the life of its owner.
 
So, what I wanted us to see in this verse is that Jesus reveals to us a certain aspect of God’s nature that is important for us to understand: Again, Jesus said, “but I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” So, Jesus said, “I have come – that they may have life…” Did He come? Yes! Then, you and I may have life! Amen!
 
Now as it is with salvation or any other provision given to us by God, it doesn’t happen just because Jesus came. In other words, just because He came to provide it, doesn’t mean it is automatically applied to our lives. No! This verse says, “that they may have life.”
 
But notice that Jesus said He not only came to give us life, but He came to give us life more abundantly! This shows me that there are progressive qualities of life to be had. A Christian may have life, but we also may have it more abundantly. 
 
Now the words “more abundantly” come from the Greek word perissos which means “over, above and more than is necessary.” Strong’s says that it means “beyond, super-abundant in quantity, superior in quality and by implication, excessive.” The Amplified Bible gives a great definition to this phrase; it defines it as “to the full, till it overflows.”
 
So, you see, based on Psalm 23:5 and this verse we can clearly see God’s true nature. God’s nature is to not only give us enough life, but to give us more than enough life! This is always what He desires to do for us because He is an excessive God!
 
Allow me to show you several other biblical examples of this excessive nature that He possesses…
 
 
EL SHADDAI
 
Now the first name God ever used to reveal Himself to mankind described this very characteristic that we are talking about…   
 
He appeared to Abram in Genesis 17:1 and revealed one of His names as, “Almighty God.” The Hebrew word that He used here was “El Shaddai.” The word “Shaddai” was derived from the word “shad” which means “breast” and the word “el” which was a word that described God as mighty, strong, and powerful. So, when you combine these two words together, they describe God as the One who is able to supply and provide every need that we have. But if you look a little deeper into the meaning it carries the idea of Him being “All-Sufficient”, or you could say, “more than enough!”
 
You see, God’s nature is to not just be our sufficiency, but to be our all-sufficiency! In other words, His tendency is to not just meet our needs, but to meet them in abundance!
 
As Paul stated in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need…” But he didn’t stop there: How does He meet all our need? It is “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!” Those two words “according to” make a big difference in the way we should look at this verse. If He would have said, “out of His riches in glory” that would mean He could supply them in any way. For example, if I supplied something to you “out of” my riches then that might mean I just gave you a twenty-dollar bill when I’m a multi-millionaire. But if I supply you “according to” my riches then that means I will supply you according to how wealthy I am. So, if I was a multi-millionaire then that would mean you would get a whole lot more than twenty bucks!
 
You see, this is the way God is! He supplies us with more than enough because His provision is not according to the world’s system; it is according to His riches in glory! Hallelujah! That ought to make you shout! As I’ve heard my father in the faith, Andrew Wommack, say time and time again, “God is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo!”  God is too much!
 
TOO MUCH!
 
But there is no greater example of God’s true nature than in the life and ministry of Jesus: Jesus said in John 5:19, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” He also said to Philip in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” In fact, the writer of Hebrews even described Jesus as the “express image of His (God’s) person” (Hebrews 1:3). Therefore, we have three witnesses that clearly show us that Jesus fully expressed the nature of God while He was here with us. So, let’s look at a few examples from His life that echo this “cup overflowing” life of God:
 
First of all, consider the miracles of Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fishes for the thousands. In both of these accounts (where He fed the 5,000 men & then the 4,000 men), we are told that they ate and were filled, and also took up twelve baskets full and seven baskets full, respectively, of leftover bread and fish (see Mark 6:42-43 & Mark 8:8).
 
Now the catalyst for this miracle is clear: It was in Jesus blessing what they had and giving His Father thanks for it. This too is a catalyst for your miracle of provision - being thankful for and blessing what you have!
 
Now let me ask you a question: Did God miscalculate how many people there were? Did He just multiply some extra bread and fish in case there were more people than He anticipated? I think not! 
 
How about In Luke 5:1-10, when Jesus called His fisherman to come follow Him? This was, of course, when Jesus used Simon Peter’s boat to teach those following Him. So, in what was likely Jesus blessing Peter for the use of His boat, He told him to “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Verse 4). Then we are told that they caught such a great number of fish that their net was breaking. This resulted in Simon and his brother calling for their partners to come and help them and after they had come and filled both the boats, the boats began to sink.
 
So, we see here that this “net-breaking, ship-sinking” blessing to Simon Peter’s business came as a result of his willingness to sow his resources into Jesus’ ministry. In other words, he gave to Jesus’ ministry in order for Him to minister to the people and he was repaid with this abundant catch of fish - showing us that another key to experiencing this “too much harvest” is sowing into the kingdom.  
 
But again, let me ask you a question: Did the Lord know how much their nets would be capable of holding without breaking? Did He know how many fish both of their boats could hold without sinking? Sure, He did! He didn’t just command as many fish as He could to come get in their nets. The Lord is much more specific and methodical than that. So, why did they have “too many” fish? It’s because it is simply God’s nature!
 
Let’s look at one other example in the life of Jesus, because it correlates with this one we just looked at:
 
In John chapter 21, after Jesus was raised from the dead, He appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, but they didn’t recognize them. He speaks to them from the shore, asking them if they have caught anything. So, when they answered Him that they hadn’t, He told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat and they would find some. Now, the word “some” is not in the original text, and that is because they didn’t wind up catching just some; we are told that they caught a multitude! In this case, they had to drag the net to land because it was full of 153 large fish. However, the net did not break! (See John 21:1-11) 
 
Now the interesting part of this story to me is that they initially didn’t recognize Him. For some reason, their eyes were constrained from knowing that it was Him just like those disciples on the Road to Emmaus. But it was when they experienced yet another miraculous catch of fish that they recognized Him, saying, “It is the Lord!” In other words, they recognized His goodness!
 
This is yet another important key to experiencing El Shaddai’s nature - recognizing His goodness! You see, we are transformed into what we behold. So, if we see His goodness, His love, His grace, etc., we will be changed into the same image from glory to glory! 2 Corinthians 3:13-18 teaches us this - that as Moses’ face was transformed by beholding God’s glory, we are also transformed from glory to glory by beholding His glory.
 
Well, we see from one of Moses’ experiences with the Lord that when he desired for the Lord to show him His glory that the Lord told him that He would make all of His goodness pass before him (see Exodus 33:18-19) - equating God’s glory with His goodness. Therefore, we could translate 2 Corinthians 3:18 like so - “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the goodness of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from goodness to goodness, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 
 
So, it is apparent that this is God’s nature - He is a too much, more than enough kinda God! So, let’s look back at Psalm 23:5 and look again at this phrase we began with - “My cup runs over!”  
 
Now a good question to ask here is: Like it was with the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the miraculous catch of fish, does God know when the cup is full? Of course, He does! He is omniscient and, therefore, knows everything. So, why does He keep pouring? It is because it’s His nature to be excessive! He just delights in continuing to pour! It is not His fault that our cups are as dinky as they are. He pours out as much as He desires to give, and it is our job to get a bigger cup to hold the excess. And then, of course, if we get one of those “big gulp” cups, He will still keep pouring. Why? Again, because it is His nature to keep pouring - but the bigger the cup, the more we can drink. It is just that simple. But we also have to realize that receiving from God is related to our being able to see God as the God of more than enough. So, this is a continual challenge from the Lord to us – to always be growing and able to receive more, so that we can become more like Him and have more and more to give to others.
 
So, there are many examples of this characteristic of God found throughout the Scriptures, but let’s look at what I consider to be the greatest example of this we have.
 
OUR EXCESSIVE COVENANT
 
I believe the greatest example of God’s excessive nature was demonstrated in this new and better covenant that we have today with God through Jesus Christ.
 
You know, the old covenant that Israel had seemed to me like it was good enough. For God to even provide a means for mankind to come into covenant with Him is amazing enough. He chose the nation of Israel as His own and gave them promises such as healing, prosperity, and protection. All He required of them was to keep their part of the covenant (which was keeping His law) and their promises of protection and provision stayed intact.
 
Now I understand that there were flaws in this covenant (as God did too), but my point is that even that covenant was more than Israel deserved. God would have been righteous to just say something like, “Well, since Adam blew it, they are just going to have to make it on their own. I’ve already done all I’m going to do for them. I already gave them their one shot.” But He didn’t do that! He chose Israel and was gracious to them time and time again.
 
Being included in this original covenant would have been far more than we Gentiles could have ever dreamed. But, thank God, He didn’t stop there…
 
He established a new covenant based upon better promises and made it available for anyone who will simply believe. And under this new and better covenant, we see God’s tendency to be excessive. Not only did we obtain the benefits and promises that were given through the old covenant; we also got “much more.” Here is a list of some of the extra benefits…

1. We have been given a new nature that puts God’s law in our hearts and minds and inspires us to do those things which are pleasing in His sight!
2. We have God’s Holy Spirit living on the inside of us to teach, strengthen, empower, and lead us!
3. We have been given God’s very own righteousness freely!
4. We have been made a kingdom of kings and priests unto our God!
5. All of us are capable of knowing God personally and are able to boldly and confidently approach Him for ourselves!
6. Unlike the sacrifice’s blood under the old covenant which only covered their sins, Jesus’ blood has completely washed away our sins, never to even be remembered again!
7. Not to mention, the good life that He has prearranged for us to live that includes both natural and spiritual blessings that are overflowing!

 
And the list could go on and on… This is an excessive covenant! Amen!?!
 
Thus, the reason the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly (Genesis 17:1-2)!
 
Church, God’s nature and will is to reveal Himself as El Shaddai to us and to multiply us exceedingly! He desires to keep pouring His goodness into our cups, and fill us with His life until we are overflowing! So, as the Psalmist said, “Open your mouth wide and He will fill it” (Psalm 81:10)! Amen and so be it!