letter to a reader: “Don’t let your heart be troubled”

When Jesus prepared Himself to leave this world, He spoke to His disciples,
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, obey[d] my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[e] who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.[f] 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.

30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

Footnotes:

14:2a Or There are many rooms in my Father’s house.
14:2b Or If this were not so, I would have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. Some manuscripts read If this were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
14:7 Some manuscripts read If you have really known me, you will know who my Father is.
14:15 Other manuscripts read you will obey; still others read you should obey.
14:16 Or Comforter, or Encourager, or Counselor. Greek reads Paraclete; also in 14:26.
14:17 Some manuscripts read and is in you.

a day to receive: just ask, seek, knock

A day to receive Good Gifts even though this may not be your birthday. Someone who is able and willing to give you His best gift has made this generous offer. And He says He is your Father in heaven. He is God.

Matthew 7:7-12New King James Version (NKJV) Asking, Seeking, Knocking

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Luke 11:9-13New King James Version (NKJV) Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread^[a] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

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Some may wonder why you need the Holy Spirit. Here are some of the many reasons:

He concerns your new birth into the Kingdom of God

Matthew 3:11 (witnessed by John the Baptist)

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John 3:5

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 3:6

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

He concerns your worship of God

John 4:23

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

John 4:24

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

He concerns your knowing God and God’s truth – the Bible

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

He concerns your effectiveness (power) in witnessing Jesus

Acts 1:4

[ The Holy Spirit Promised ] 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;

Acts 1:5

for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:8

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.”

Acts 2:1

[ Coming of the Holy Spirit ] When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Acts 2:4

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:17

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

Acts 4:31

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 5:32

And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Acts 7:55

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

1 Corinthians 2:4

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1 Corinthians 2:12

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

1 Corinthians 2:13

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2 Corinthians 3:6

who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

He concerns your true status

Romans 8:14

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Journey to see God: God of details

Are Bible details important in our lives? The Holy Spirit has revealed to us how particular is our God with Bible details.Here are some examples.

Mark 12:24

Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

Luke 24:27

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Luke 24:44

[ The Scriptures Opened ] 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.”

Acts 17:11

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Romans 15:4

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

2 Timothy 3:15

and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

John 2:17

Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”

John 2:22

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.

John 10:35

And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered.

John 17:12

During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

Luke 1:1-4 New Living Translation (NLT) Introduction (through a medical doctor’s detailed report after thorough investigations)

1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. ² They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.^{[a] 3} Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, ⁴ so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.

Acts 1:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT) The Promise of the Holy Spirit

In my first book^[a] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. ³ During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

Footnotes:

1. 1:1 The reference is to the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 24:25-27 New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶ Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:43-45 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴³ and he ate it as they watched.

⁴⁴ Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Acts 26:21-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

²¹ Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. ²² But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

Acts 28:22-24 New Living Translation (NLT)

²² But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.” ²³ So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. ²⁴ Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe.

Romans 15:3-4 New Living Translation (NLT)

³ For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”^{[a] 4} Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture (the Bible)

NKJV

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

NLT

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

AMP

Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),

Good News continues to advance

We continue to walk with the disciples of Jesus. We have followed the journey of Paul and Silas to the point of revivals and persecutions in Acts 16-17.  We see how the disciples were led by the Holy Spirit, how they obeyed the Lord’s calling and found doors opened to the Gospel. We also witness how salvation and persecution came almost simultaneously. This is still applicable today. There are people who listen to the Gospel and joyously accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. There are also those who listen with a further hardened heart against Jesus and His followers. Why? When we read the four Gospels we can see the answer everywhere. Jesus Himself encountered the same responses. Some listened and accepted His message of the Kingdom of God. Many rejected Him and thereby rejected the Kingdom of God. One thing that is key to the people’s believing is the words of God. Those who really honor God and His word receive the sharing and preaching of the word. They listen with respect and search the Scripture for the truth. Jesus has promised: Those who seek will find. Those who ask will receive. Those who knock, the door will be opened.

Acts 16 Persecution and Salvation: including successful and devout business woman and even a former enemy of Christ and his family. Honor for those who fear and worship the Lord and believe in Jesus. ⁹ That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ So we^[c] decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

¹¹ We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across^…12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath… we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests… ²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison… ²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!  ²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³² And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. ³³ Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. ³⁴ He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. ³⁵ The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” ³⁶ So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.” ³⁷ But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!” ³⁸ When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city… 

Acts 17 Those who listened were persuaded and joined the disciples and those who became jealous and caused persecution. The people of Berea were more open-minded and many believed. 1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ^{… 4} Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.^{[d] 5} But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd…

¹⁰ That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. ¹² As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³ But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble…

Zechariah 4: The Holy Spirit will work with faith

In the Gospel (Good News) of Chapter three, we were told God sent His Son to remove sins and impute His righteousness on us. In Chapter four, God talks about the Good News of the Holy Spirit.

After the cleansing of the high priest by God (who sent His Son to atone and redeem), God promised the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Summary of this chapter:

1. Re-building the temple of God will be done by the Holy Spirit. Not human efforts or human ability.
2. Faith is the utmost foundational building block. God is pleased with even the first step of faith in action.
3. Faith requires action aligned with the plumb line of God – the words of God.
4. God is pleased with the evidence of faith.
5. The Holy Spirit will work with faith and bring the work to completion.

Zechariah 4 New King James Version (NKJV)

Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

4 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. ³ Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” ⁴ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

⁶ So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
⁷ ‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;^[a]
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
¹⁰ For who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

¹¹ Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” ¹² And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles^[b] of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”

¹³ Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

Footnotes:

1. Zechariah 4:9 Literally house
2. Zechariah 4:12 Literally into the hands of

Acts 6:5

And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

Acts 11:24

For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

James 2:26

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Revelation 22:6

[ The Time Is Near ] Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.