Bible Chapter: John 16

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    People have always fought in a powerful spiritual battle.  The goal of the forces of evil is to destroy.  The enemy who hates God is very deceptive and convinces people of lies.  Jesus said that there are those who persecute believers, those who kill them, and they think they are doing God a favor.  This persecution will even come from those in what some would call “the faith community”.  Under the name of religion there are some who persecute believers.  This action shows they are not really followers of God’s plan and purpose for life.  Persecution will come.  It must not cause believers to give up.
    The source of power in the church is The Holy Spirit.  Jesus said He must go away so the Spirit could come to empower the church.  The Holy Spirit came to convict the world of guilt regarding sin.  Part of His work is to expose and convince.  People are good at hiding sin.  The Spirit exposes sin and brings people to a place where they must do something about it.  They can’t just keep pretending it is not an issue.  People come to a place of repentance as a result of the tugging of the Spirit in their hearts.  He leads them to make a choice to believe and receive God’s gift.  The Spirit brings conviction, but the individual must still make the decision to serve Jesus.
    Jesus promised peace to His followers.  He said that we would experience trouble, but, take heart, for “I have overcome the world”.  Believers will experience great pressure.  This must not cause them to give up, for eventually there will be victory.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    I must continually remember the working of the Spirit.  He is the One Who works in the hearts of people to show them their need of Jesus.  I must tell, but I cannot manipulate or trick a person into believing.  A person manipulated may say a prayer of repentance, but they won’t mean it and it won’t “stick”.  They won’t follow up and live the life.  So, I must pray for God to work in lives and be ready to give a reason for the hope I have.  As believing friends and family have passed away, I am reminded of the importance of living with God’s power and being faithful to Him.  I do have hope.  I do wrestle in the spiritual battles, but I still have hope.  God will be with me. God will enable.  God will provide.  I must be faithful and live in His power.
    An explanation in the Full Life Study Bible says that the basic meaning of “trouble” (v. 33) is pressure.  I find that interesting because we often live under pressure.  I experience pressure to do well, to keep people happy, etc.  I do live with pressures.  The comment goes on to say that we can take courage because Jesus has triumphed.  We will share in that triumph.  The promise of victory mitigates the pressure.

3.  How can I help someone?
    People who have not yet made the commitment to follow Jesus don’t like the convicting work of the Spirit. They will often push it aside and do all they can to avoid it.  This is why some refuse to come to church, for they are reminded of their need of submission to Jesus.  I must pray and find God’s leading to help people understand that God is not being mean to them, but showing them their need.  Like a doctor pointing out to a patient that they have a real medical need and radical treatment is necessary, I must help people see that the convicting of the Spirit is showing their radical need.  It’s not enough to know of the need, something must be done.