HOLY SPIRIT…A GIFT FROM OUR FATHER By Gale Maiden   “…IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY”   As I was recently meditating in early morning during the fourth watch (3am to 6am), I heard the Holy Spirit say the following words of Jesus, “Gale, it is to your advantage that I go away.” This phrase is found in the following passage of scripture.   "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7, emphasis added, NAS)   How in the world could Jesus’ exodus or going away be an advantage? Where in the universe could Jesus go that would be an advantage to the world?   “…GO WHERE?”   Jesus repeatedly talked to His disciples about going to His Father. Jesus was not so much talking about a literal trip but more importantly a departure into the heart, mind and will of His Father. Jesus throughout His visible earthly ministry consistently went to His Father. Jesus declared that He never initiated anything on His own but always sought and heard His Father. All good things pertaining to salvation are because Jesus in every respect went to His Father. Jesus became our example in every area of how to go to and abide in the presence of God   “…BECAUSE I GO TO MY FATHER”   This subtitle is the glorious words of Jesus repeated at least three times in the Gospel of John. Following are the highlighted advantages of Jesus going to His Father taken from the three passages of scripture alluded to and referenced below from the Gospel of John.   ·         BECAUSE JESUS GOES TO OUR FATHER…WE WILL DO GREATER WORKS (John 14:12): In the first instance, Jesus tells His disciples that because of His departure to His Father they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe; therefore enabled to do not only the works of Jesus but greater works.   ·         BECAUSE JESUS GOES TO OUR FATHER…WE WILL BE TAUGHT ALL THINGS (John 14:25-29): In the second instance, Jesus recognized that the disciples were troubled in heart over not understanding the essence of His going to the Father. Jesus encourages the disciples by reminding them that because He is going to the Father, the Helper i.e. the Holy Spirit will come and teach them all things and bring to remembrance all which He had said to them.   BECAUSE JESUS GOES TO OUR FATHER…WE WILL BE TAUGHT TO LOVE JESUS: Jesus next speaks peace over their troubled and fearful hearts. Jesus reminds them that they are not yet walking in the love towards Him necessary to deliver them from fear. Jesus explains how He knows that they are yet in fear when He says, “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.” If the disciples had understood the full advantages of Jesus’ departure into the presence of God they would have been totally overjoyed. Jesus had also told them that He would come again. The disciples were obviously troubled in heart and definitely not rejoicing; at least not yet.   ·         BECAUSE JESUS GOES TO OUR FATHER…WE WILL BE EMPOWERED TO REMOVE SIN FROM THE EARTH: In the third instance (John 16:5-22), Jesus again tells the disciples that it is to their advantage that He go away to the Father (verse 7). The advantage to the disciples and all who will believe is that the Holy Spirit will come as a helper to them and through them the Holy Spirit will do the work of righteousness unto truth judging the world of sin. Jesus says that I must go so that the Spirit of Truth can come.   The Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit and will convict the world concerning sin (evil) and righteousness (good) and judgment (choice). This is simply saying that the Holy Spirit of truth will fully identify both good and evil and will empower all believers to choose good. Good overcomes evil; to overcome evil with good is the purpose or good goal of sons of God.   “…BECAUSE WE GO TO OUR FATHER”   In the same manner as our prototype man, Jesus the Christ, we are to go to our Father. Because Jesus has gone to our Father there is a constant flow of the Holy Spirit throughout the earth. Is Jesus literally in heaven with our Father? Of course He sits at the right hand of God…but He is also known as the Holy Spirit of Christ throughout the earth in and upon the heart of every believer. God the Father, God the Word and God the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer. As Jesus is in the world…so are we!   By this (going to our Father), love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment (day of choice); because as He (Jesus) is (in the world), so also are we in this world. (I John 4:17, emphasis & parenthesis added, NAS)   Jesus, being one with our Father God of love, consistently and lovingly convicted the world of righteousness (good), sin (evil) and judgment (choice). As we consistently go to our Father, love is perfected granting us confidence in our day of choice to choose good over evil. Until the age of sin is consummated, there will be daily choices to choose between good and evil. Righteous choices will soon eliminate all evil from the earth.   God has assigned every believer to do the works of Jesus and even greater works. Because Jesus set the precedent of totally “going to our Father”, walking in the glorious power of the Holy Spirit, we too have are totally empowered to release the power of God bringing an end to this age of sin. There is no more sin…if you can believe it!   When God poured out the Holy Spirit, first to the Jew on the day of Pentecost and subsequently to the Gentile approximately three and one half years later at the home of Cornelius, the ONE NEW MAN JESUS took His seat in both the heavenly and earthly realm. Those occasions of Holy Spirit release have forever provided us with the loving and convicting power of the Holy Spirit to usher in NEW BEGINNINGS.   ENOCH, THE SEVENTH FROM ADAM, KNEW BY THE SPIRIT…   Jude, an Apostle, wrote to the church concerning these fabulous truths. Jude penned a prophetic word by the Prophet Enoch which directly speaks concerning this present move of the Holy Spirit in and through us in the earth. BECAUSE WE GO TO OUR FATHER, Jude says…   “And about these (those who refused to come to our Father) also Enoch, {in} the seventh {generation} from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones (Saints who have gone consistently to our Father), to execute judgment (choice) upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 1:14-15, emphasis & parenthesis added, NAS)   Glory to God! Our ongoing believer priesthood assignment is without repentance until that which Enoch prophesied comes totally to pass. Isn’t it wonderful to know that our God calls us to Himself empowering us to fulfill His heart desire to relieve our glorious earth of sin? Spirit led saints who consistently go to our Father are creating a tremendous advantage to the church in releasing the freedom that comes from the Spirit of Truth.   The church must stop preaching “escapism” and preach an ism called “going to our Father-ISM.” Because we go to our Father the earth will soon be set totally free by the Holy Spirit of Truth.