The Advocate given to us

This was a message Andy Westra wrote for one of my classes, which applies God's promise to us well -- not only those in ministry but all Christians speaking for Christ.

The Spirit works through our words

by Andy Westra

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26).

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Umm… uhh… These were the only sounds that escaped my mouth as I tried to begin my 4H speech when I was in the third grade Spring Hill Elementary School. Now don’t worry. I got over that initial hiccup and delivered a fantastic speech.

I’m preparing for the preaching ministry, and sometimes I think writing and delivering a sermon is one of the biggest fears young men like me have about entering the ministry. I have heard my brothers say things such as “What if I accidentally preach false doctrine?” or “What if I’m not an exciting preacher?” or even “What if I can’t preach at all, and I just freeze up while I am in the pulpit trying to deliver a sermon?” I have also had some of these same fears cross my mind as I think about my future ministry.  I think Christians in general have similar fears in regard to speaking about Jesus in everyday witnessing to others.  We fear we won’t say the right things.

As sinful human beings, we have trust issues. We sometimes feel that we are not worthy of handling God’s Word and bringing it to other people, and we are absolutely right. Every single one of us has fallen short of the requirements God set in place for a person to acquire heaven. Not one person can claim to have met God’s standards, but there is one man who lived on this earth who can make that claim. You all know that one man is Jesus Christ, and through Christ’s innocent life, death, and resurrection he won salvation for us. Christ sends the Holy Spirit out through the Word of God from the Father, and in that Word is the power of Christ.  The power is in his Word, not in us.

Now this does not mean that a pastor will just march up to the pulpit on Sunday morning and just open his mouth and figure the Spirit will make words flow from his mouth without having done any preparation. On the contrary, a diligent pastor will put in hours and hours each week writing and practicing sermons, so he is fully prepared to speak for God. And it doesn’t mean that Christian people will assume the Spirit will make words just flow from their mouths when opportunities arise to speak to others about Jesus.  On the contrary, disciples of Jesus will study Bible often so they know what the Word says and are prepared to share its truth with others.   But when we do speak for God, we always take comfort in Christ’s promise.  Christ has sent us the Holy Spirit and in him is the power.  So where we faithfully preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit is there working.

How comforting is it to know that as we handle the precious Word of God the Holy Spirit is active in our words. What a blessing it is to know that while we speak about the salvation which is ours in Christ to people who so need to hear that message, the Holy Spirit will be with us and going out through the gospel and working in the hearts of those who hear what we say.