Today's Passage - John 16:1-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 16: 1-7   "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.  They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.  I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you.  I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. Now I am going to him who sent me, and yet none of your ask me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.  But I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you. "     There were two purposes when Jesus told His disciples of the persecutions that were to happen. First, their hearts would not be filled with grief when the time came because the Lord had told them already.  Quite often, we are trapped in self pity in times of difficulty feeling that nobody would feel our pain and understand our situation; we feel even God would not understand.    In reality, the Holy Spirit reminds us of God's word. God has already told us the path that all Christians have to take.  As we think of His word and desires, our hearts will be comforted - in fact it is in God's will that all these will happen.  In times of tribulation, you will not be alone, because not only that you are in God's heart, all the apostles through the generations have also experienced these tribulations; they all trusted God providing them with strength and help. Likewise, you can also trust God to overcome all these adversities.    The second purpose was that the disciples would be comforted because the Lord said unless He went away, the Holy Spirit would not come.  When the Holy Spirit is upon us, we will have strength, guidance and comfort.  Also called "the counselor", the Holy Spirit will provide us with both comfort and guidance. When the Holy Spirit is living in us, He is our comforter regardless of what situation we are in; He will bring us peace and fulfillment in our hearts.     In addition, He is also our counselor.  In our life journey, He will provide us with wisdom to face all our encounters every day; He is your best helper.  In fact, there is no counseling in this world that surpasses God's counseling for the former is only blind and short sighted.  Only God knows your life and He will guide you with His miraculous hands so that as you follow His will, you will enjoy all His blessings and fullness.                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, we thank you   for we are living in your will.  Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit so that we will receive comfort and guidance.  We thank you for your grace, and in the name of our victorious Jesus we pray, Amen!