PENTECOST: (The Holy Spirit, The Promise Of The Father)

John 3:5-8 (NCV): "But Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless one is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God’s kingdom. Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit. Don’t be surprised when I tell you,  “You must all be born again.” The wind blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.“ 

John 14:15-17 (NCV): “If you love me, you will obey my commands. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper - Comforter to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth.

John 15:26-27 (NCV): “I will send you the Helper from the Father; He is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When He comes, He will tell about me, and you also must tell people about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

John 16:7-11 (NCV): “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. When I go away, I will send the Helper to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come. When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me. He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore. And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged.”

John 20:21-22 (NCV): "Then Jesus said again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I now send you.“ After He said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." 

Acts 1:4-5 (NCV): "Once when He was eating with them, He told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here to receive the promise from the Father which I told you about. John baptized people with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.“ 

Acts 1:8 (NCV): "But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses - in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world."

Grace To Grow

2 Peter 3:17-18 (ERV): “Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Don’t let these evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful that you do not fall from your strong faith. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to Him, now and forever! Amen.”

Let’s define grace:

• God’s favor toward the unworthy – the undeserving – His unmerited favor.
• God working in us, without which we can do nothing; the active and continual power of God working in the lives of believers.
• The supernatural ability of God given to believers.
• The ability to serve others and exercise our spiritual gifts for the building up of the church.

So, grace is not only a character trait, an inclination in the nature of God, which causes Him to treat us better than we deserve (which is often labeled undeserved - unmerited favor). Grace also embraces this encouraging truth: favor overflows in powerful, practical help from God in our daily lives where we need it most; that help is also called grace because it’s free and it’s undeserved.

As believers our stability comes from our faith in the Word of God, our knowledge of that Word, and our ability to use that Word in the practical decisions of life.

Believers need to be taught the Word of God, or we will be in danger of being “lead away by the wrong others do.."

How can we (believers) maintain our commitment and avoid being easily enticed and led astray?

By growing in grace – by growing spiritually. "But be constantly growing" is the literal translation of 2 Peter 3:18. We should not grow "in spurts,“ our growth should be a constant experience of development.

We must grow "in grace.“ This is in relation to the character traits of the believer, the very things Peter wrote about in 2 Peter 1:5-7: “do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love.”

Peter listed seven characteristics of a godly life, and we are exhorted to develop one quality as we exercise another quality. Just like the "fruit of the Spirit” {Galatians 5:22-23}, these qualities grow out of life and out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not enough for the believer to "let go and let God," as though spiritual growth were God's work alone. Literally, Peter wrote, “make every effort to bring alongside.” The believer and God work together.

• Faith: unfailing confidence in God
• Goodness: godly character; generosity toward others
• Knowledge: the ability to handle life successfully
• Self-control: mastery over our impulses and desires that enable us to live the life God requires
• Patience: the ability to endure when life becomes difficult
• Devotion to God: a deep commitment, love, and dedication to God; an obedience to His Word
• Kindness: a compassionate and selfless attitude towards others
• Love: a sacrificial, unselfish, loyal, and thoughtful concern for others

In this last exhortation given by Peter this truth is inferred: the process of growing is the believer’s responsibility. This process of growth is not a passive mode of existence, it is one in which the individual believer has an active part.

If we follow Peter's instructions and keep growing in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, patience, devotion to God, kindness, and love {2 Peter 1:5-7}, we will indeed bring glory to Jesus Christ, while experiencing the  “grace to grow.”

God's grace inspires us with the profound truth that His desire - His heart longs to treat us far better than we deserve, and it is manifested in the practical help He extends to us.