REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
“No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.
“Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.
“When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
John 14:18-21 (NLT)
As A Friend…
(“When Jesus said, ‘I will come to you,’ he meant it. Although Jesus ascended to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to live in believers; and to have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus himself with us.” From NLT Study Bible.)
“The Paraclete—‘The Helper’ is here to help us in every part of life. As in the matters of pride, hatred, bias, prejudice, He begins the process of helping us develop the fruit of the Spirit within us—instructing us how to Love, how to have Joy, His Peace, in spite of our having these tougher emotions. He shows us how we can enjoy having His help always as we begin to follow His ways of cleaning the bad out, so we can see more clearly what needs to be done. When we are in need of help, we can call on the Holy Spirit, to also aid in financial or physical problems. We ask Him to help us by saying we have a need—be specific. We always should begin a prayer to the Father with our praise and worship, especially when we come to ask His help in doing His Will. Good intentions do not get God’s Will done. It is just like Love—it’s to be our choice—not only a feeling.”
“We are to love even the lost sinners—the unlovable ones—like a child molester. Although that person has actually stolen a child’s trusting ability and security—and another person seeing this, in the natural, may still want ‘to get them for it’—the Holy Spirit can teach each person a better way. He can give a supernatural way to see forgiveness, thus changing both hearts. With God, He makes all things possible. For mankind alone, it would be an impossibility. (Read Matthew 5:14.)
“Remember, ‘Jesus also said, ‘Father, forgive them…”as He hung there on that Cross. He had the Holy Spirit residing in Him. So He teaches us, as Jesus had the Holy Spirit’s help, we have been offered Holy Spirit’s help, too. How much more we need His help! Jesus could ask the Father by the Spirit of God and now we can, also. Jesus had left His Divinity in heaven and relied solely on the Holy Spirit from His baptism in the Jordan River through the time of His death. We can also now be leaning on the Holy Spirit for ourselves and for situations around us.
“Rev. Benny Hinn, as a child had been raised in a Hindu household, and had ended up staying in his room because of a stuttering speech impediment. Reading the Bible in his room each night, he decided he wanted a relationship with this God who could heal people. He wanted the God of the Bible to help him overcome the stuttering. Now he has a worldwide television and stadium ministry.
This story reminds us to never look down on anyone. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was only with people, but in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is now in us as believers.”
On Pentecost, many people were there in Jerusalem from other countries and would take the Good News back to their homes. Many Jews lived in Jerusalem and passed the Good News on to family and neighbors—becoming the fast-growing, fledgling Church of 3,000. Thirty years later, most of the disciples, including Paul, and other witnesses to the first Holy Spirit Outpouring turned the entire world upside down—and they didn’t have internet or television and radio then to make that happen!
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?”
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or in danger, or threatened with death?”
Romans 8:31, 35 (NLT)
