The shock, confusion and deep mourning of the disciples is turned to Joy as they encounter the empty Tomb and the risen Savior. He is alive! And now, before He ascends to the Father, the focus is on the task ahead for His followers. We are sent to proclaim Eternal Life in Jesus’ Name. But we can only do that through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Are you sharing your faith - your absolute conviction that Jesus is Lord? Are you asking the Holy Spirit to fill you and use you?

In His prayer for all believers (“those who will believe in Me through [the disciples’] word”), focuses on Spiritual Unity, Heavenly Hope, and Perfect Love. Many see this as a mandate exhorting believers to work to build unity. It is not. We are exhorted elsewhere to seek unity (i.e. Phil. 2:1-4). But here, Jesus prays that we may be so united with Him - as He is with the Father - that unity in the church will be the natural by-product. Unity in the Body of Christ requires humility and mutual respect. That only comes as we are joined in intimate union with Jesus. How personal is your relationship with Jesus?

Have you ever realized that your expectations were different from God's expectations? Have you ever wondered what happened in the history of the Bible from when Israel split into two kingdoms until the time of Christ? This sermon starts with a fictional character who gives a true historical account of those time frame. We see the character, Aaron, unable to align His expectations with Jesus' expectations, even after He has died and rose again. Aaron wants to fight for the freedom of his people, and is determined that the Messiah will too. The sermon then goes to Luke 22 where Jesus is praying at the Mount of Olives and says, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42). We are then faced with this question: Are we aligning our will and expectations with the Father, or are we, like Aaron, unwilling to change our expectations?

In verse 3, Jesus gave the essence of salvation - knowing Him. Here He gives 1) More of what it means to trust Jesus: Holding on the God’s Word and Living it out in our lives, 2) The Assurance we have in trusting Him: He keeps us and prays for us, and 3) the Mission we have as believers: As Jesus was sent into the world, so He sends us. To fulfill our calling we need to be in the world, not of it. The challenge is to be in the world without the world getting into us!

John 17:1-5 - High Priestly Prayer - Pt.1 - Jesus Prays For Himself
Here we have the true Lord’s Prayer. But, since that names already taken, we call it the High Priestly Prayer because we have recorded the prayer of Jesus as He prays for Himself, His disciples, and for all believers. His prayer for Himself is that the Father would Glorify Him through the Cross and return Him to the Glory He had with the Father before the foundation of the world. He also declares that He has glorified the Father and finished the work He was given to do. What about us? Do our lives bring Glory to Jesus?

Through the Resurrection, we are born again and have living hope. In natural birth, a baby goes through an amazing change as it transitions from life in the womb (liquid environment) to life outside (oxygen environment). When we are born again, we go through another amazing change as we are filled with the Spirit and learn to walk by faith, not sight. As we do, we learn more of what Jesus has done for us - and the glorious things He has in store for us. This fills us with Hope. Not ‘wishful thinking’ but a blessed anticipation of things to come.

Jesus tells the disciples "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father." They are having a hard time understanding, so He patiently repeats it in multiple versions until they start to get it. Embedded in the passage is a key to understanding the difficult sayings of Jesus: Ask. When Jesus encourages us to “ask and receive”, we do not usually think of asking for understanding - but that’s often the most important thing we need to ask for - and receive.

When the Holy Spirit works among God’s people, He doesn’t want the attention focused on Himself. He wants Jesus to get all the glory that people will be drawn to Him and find life. Because of this, we can be confident of the Spirit’s help when we seek to glorify Jesus with our lives. In this study, we look at some of the ways we can bring glory to Jesus: Good Words | Spiritual Gifts | Church Unity | Praising Jesus | Pointing to the Cross | Trusting Jesus in Trials & Death | and Godly Living

Through the Prophetic Scriptures, Biblical Principles, and Personal Communication, the Holy Spirit shows us what’s ahead. Not just for all of us, through prophecy, but to each of us through His personal ‘voice’ to us as He leads us towards Heaven. Learning to discern His ‘voice’ to us is a life-long process that takes faith, perseverance, and a growing familiarity with the Word of God. How’s your communication with the Holy Spirit? Take time to listen and learn - it makes following Jesus a Grand Adventure!

The Holy Spirit Guides Us
Like the ultimate mountain guide, the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us, personally, throughout our walk with Jesus. The key is learning to recognize His ‘voice’ in the many ways He makes Himself known to us. The first step is being convinced that He does speak directly to believers - and that He really wants to speak to you. He does. Our part is to develop our spiritual sense of hearing.
Get ready, learning to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit makes walking with Jesus a grand adventure.