As a Christian I am not going to tell you that things are not all that bad. If I read my Bible correctly, things are going to proceed from bad to worse as the time of our Lord’s return draws near. The days ahead may be difficult indeed, but our Lord has not left us without hope.

It is at the point of facing the frightening prospects of the future that we can find a common ground with the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The words of the Lord Jesus are words of comfort and encouragement. They contain a message of peace and consolation. It is by understanding and applying the principles of this passage that you and I can look the future in the face with faith rather than fear, with hope rather than despair.

(John 14:12-14)  “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. {13} And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. {14} You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Asking in Jesus’ name means more than tacking a required phrase at the end of hasty and often self-centered prayers. The privilege to approach God “in Jesus name” ought not to be taken lightly. We demonstrate maturity in our faith as we practice the use of Jesus’ name in ways which recognize his enabling power and his unlimited resources. Keep in mind:

Þ Christ’s kingdom purpose—Everything Jesus did aimed at glorifying God and bringing those who believe into his kingdom. Do your prayers fit in with Christ’s kingdom purpose?

Þ Christ’s larger perspective—Christ considers our needs in the context of the needs and desires of his larger family. He knows us individually, but responds to us in community. Do your prayers insist on your will being done or do you seek God’s will for all your Christian brothers and sisters

Þ Christ’s requirement to follow him—Because we are his obedient disciples, Christ promises to answer our prayers. Do your prayers flow from an obedient life? Are you willing to fulfill what God has already asked you to do?

Þ Christ’s promise of peace—Lack of peace stems from a prayerless life, not from unanswered prayer. Are you overanxious to speed up God’s timetable for your benefit? His peace enables us to sort through our desires in order to discover what we really want him to do.

We are encouraged to bring all our requests to God—even our desperate and fearful ones

We need to truly understand the awesome force of loneliness! Because when we are deprived of contact with each other, we wither up and slowly die from the inside out.

A person can have food and water and sunshine and air…but if you keep him/her alone, they will be destroyed. Our Lord understood the deep need of our souls for human contact and comfort. Genesis 2:18 speaks clearly to us here: It is not good for the man to be alone.

Sin separates us from God, and we feel forsaken and are left to wonder if he hears us or cares about us. And Satan is quick to come around on those occasions to convince us that we have been abandoned, left on the doorstep by Jesus because we didn’t measure up.

Satan wants us to believe that we aren’t good enough or smart enough or holy enough to deserve God’s favor.

He wants us to recoil in shame, feeling that God doesn’t want us anymore.

(John 14:18)  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Many situations can cause us to feel abandoned:

• Someone dies that we loved and depended on every day, and we feel abandoned.
• Someone whose companionship has nourished us daily for years is horribly sick, and we feel abandoned.
• The lifestyle we enjoyed for many years–maybe for all our lives–becomes impossible, and we feel abandoned.
• The job we depended on to care for us as long as we lived disappears, and we feel abandoned.

All too often we feel like God let us down. Too commonly we are convinced that we made a deal with God. We would worship Jesus Christ and call ourselves Christians and God would take care of us. That was the deal, and we expect God to keep His end of the bargain.

So when life goes in completely unacceptable ways, it is God’s fault–He is not keeping His part of the deal.

• If someone we love dies, God failed us.
• If someone we depend on gets sick, God failed us.
• If our lifestyle changes in unacceptable ways, God failed us.
• If the job we depended on ceases to exist, God failed us.

Today’s general conditions cause me enormous fears for me, for fellow Christians, for everyone in the Lord’s church.  Commonly, American Christians do a horrible job of separating the American dream from Christian hope. Far too often we combine the American dream with Christian hope. We expect Christian hope to produce the American dream.  So if in any way we fail to realize the American dream, God has failed to keep his promises.

I’m afraid because the American dream is the most important thing in our lives. I’m afraid because too many Christians decide the purpose of Christian hope is to produce the American dream.

Too many Christians decide if God does or does not abandon them by using materialistic standards.  If that is your conclusion, you have a basic misunderstanding of Christian existence:

• Jesus’ cross was not about physical advantages!
• Christian suffering was not about physical advantages!
• Christian martyrdom was not about physical advantages!
• Christian existence:
• Is about forgiveness.
• Is about redemption.
• Is about the destruction of guilt.
• It is about a genuine hope that goes beyond death.
• Is about belonging to God in life and death.
• Is about the strength to live for Christ and die for God.

I believe that most of us know, deep down, that God has never stopped loving us. When things get tough and our experiments get us into trouble, we’ll listen to our hearts and we’ll understand that we were never unloved. You cannot destroy the love of God, no matter how far away you go!

(John 14:25-26)  “”All this I have spoken while still with you. {26} But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Having assured the disciples that He was not deserting them but rather going before to prepare a place for them, Jesus proceeded to ask for their obedience:

A Christian, in essence, is one who loves Jesus. We have used our religious exercises (such as offerings, church attendance, and dress), as a barometer of love for Christ. While religious devotion may fulfill the greatest commandment, it hardly touches the second greatest—to love our neighbor as ourself.

If Jesus is correct, this second command will have primary emphasis on Judgment Day (Mt 25:31-46). After all, the best barometer of our love for God is our love for his children.

Those whose love for Christ is validated by their obedience are granted a most precious gift, the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). He is called the Counselor — one called alongside to assist or succor. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was reserved for Christians (Jn 7:39-40).

He actually enters our bodies (Rom 8:9-11; 1 Cor 6:19), and marks us as God’s possession (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30).

Through him we are sanctified (Rom 15:16; 2 Thess 2:13), taught (1 Cor 2:10-16; Eph 1:17-18; 1 Jn 2:27), guided (Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18), and strengthened (Jn 14:26). Through him we receive adoption (Rom 8:12-17), gifts with which we serve the church (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7-11; Eph 4:11-13), and fruit for the glory of God (Gal 5:22-23).

He intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (Rom 8:26), and refreshes us when we are downcast (Acts 3:19; John 7:38-39; Isa 40:1-2; 41:17-20; 44:1-5; 54:11-17; 55:1-5; Heb 4:1-11). Even this brief job description of the Holy Spirit makes one want to shout with thankful praise! The Christian community must be cautious not to allow contention over miraculous gifts to overshadow the beauty and necessity of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer.

He is “another” helper of the same nature and ability as Jesus. It is clear in Acts that the world knows nothing of this marvelous gift (cf. Acts 2:6ff) because it operates on the earthly plane. Because the Holy Spirit can’t be dissected or marketed he is rejected by the worldly person (1 Cor 2:14). Yet verses 19-20 make it clear that we, in our bodies, participate in the unity of the Trinity through the indwelling of the Spirit. We are, indeed, partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4).

If their distress over the prediction of His departure were genuine, it meant that they loved Him. If they really loved Him, they must show it by obedience. Love was to be the new motive for their lives; obedience to Him the  new standard for their activity.

The provision for their future included also a new dynamic: the Holy Spirit. Several assertions were made concerning Him in these verses:

– He is an answer to Jesus’ prayer to the Father  (vs. 16)

– He is another “Comforter” (vs. 16)

– He dwells permanently with the believer (vs. 16)

– He is called the Spirit of Truth (vs. 17)

– He is unknown to the “world” (vs. 17)

– He will dwell in the believer (vs. 17)

The word “Comforter” (Greek: paraklete) is misleading to modern ears. It does not mean “sympathizer” so much as “advocate,” one who is called in to defend against accusation and to represent a client in court or to transact business for him. The only use of this word outside of this gospel is in 1 John 2:1, where Jesus is called an Advocate.

Had Jesus remained upon earth, He would necessarily have been restricted by space and time as are all men. The indwelling of the Spirit in the hearts of Jesus’ followers would provide a fellowship with God even closer than they had experienced in the physical presence of Jesus.