Do you hear the wind? | Talk 3: The Helper

Talk

BRO. BO SANCHEZ:

WE are in our series on the Holy Spirit, Do You Hear The Wind?

In our Talk 1, we discussed who the Holy Spirit is.

In Talk 2, we recalled Spirit-filled people in the Old Testament.

Today, in Talk 3, we’re going to focus on only one Person. His Name is Jesus, and He was also Spirit-filled. We’re going to see what it means for our lives.

Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet And a Light Unto my path.

One of the beautiful titles of the Holy Spirit is Helper. Who gave that title to the Holy Spirit? It was Jesus. John 14: 16-17 (NASB) says:

Why another helper? Because Jesus is the First Helper. While He was living on Planet Earth, He was helping us.

But after the Resurrection and before the Ascension, Jesus said: “I’m going to send you another helper.”

That’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will now be the one to help us and the Church.

Jesus says, “So, that He may be with you forever.” The Helper is the Spirit of Truth.

One Called Alongside

Helper, in Tagalog, is katulong.

Maybe, some of us think that sounds degrading because we’re talking about the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. But the Second Person of the Trinity is called servant.

St. Paul and the prophet Isaiah call Him servant.

So, the Holy Spirit is our Helper.

Put your hand over your chest and say:

“The Holy Spirit is my Helper.”

The original Greek word for helper is parakletos. Para means beside and cletos means called. So, parakletos means one called alongside.

Thus, the Spirit is Parakletos. That’s what Jesus says.

The Bible authors– such as King James, NIV, NLT, and more– have various versions of the word parakletos. Bible translators could not agree on what is the English word for parakletos. Some would say the Spirit is the Advocate. Others say Counselor. Others say Comforter.

My favorite is Helper. I think it’s such a difficult word to translate to any language because the Spirit is what you need Him to be at a particular moment.

Do you feel alone? Then let the Spirit be your traveling companion every single day. Do you sometimes feel lonely? Let the Spirit be the Parakletos — the one who’s beside you. Do you feel confused? Let the Spirit be your wisdom giver.

Do you feel weak? Let the Spirit be your strength giver. Is there darkness in your life? Let the Spirit be your light.

Jesus is saying the Spirit will be what you need Him to be right now.

Do you feel sad? Maybe you lost someone or something– let the Spirit be your joy and let Him be the One to replace what you lost.

I want you to put your hand on your chest. Let’s pray:

“Jesus, Thank You for sending me the Spirit– the Parakletos, the Helper, who is beside me forever. Holy Spirit, come help me to love Jesus.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

When I was 13 years old, I would see some Christians who would wear this bracelet that bears the letters WWJD which meant What Would Jesus Do?

This was based on the 1896 novel written by Charles Sheldon (The full title is In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?)

I read the book when I was 13. I loved it. I was fascinated by it. It was the story of a pastor who challenged his congregation that in any decision that they would make, they should ask: “What Would Jesus Do?”

In the story, people’s lives were revolutionized story after story. For example, the husband would always ask: “What would Jesus do?” when he relates with his wife. The wife would also do the same.

As I was reading that book, I was thinking: “Oh, the world will change. No more corruption, crime, and war if everybody will ask, “What would Jesus do?”

But maybe, there’s a bigger question: Can we really act like Jesus?

It is very difficult, and our high moral standards and our willpower are not enough. We need something more powerful than our willpower.

Last week, we talked about Old Testament figures who received the Holy Spirit. We now focus on Jesus who was also Spirit-filled. Why? Jesus was Spirit-filled to carry out His mission.

The big question is: Isn’t Jesus God? Why would Jesus need the Spirit?

I will not go into that doctrinal rabbit hole because we will be lost there in answering that question. But let me just say that because Jesus is fully human, He relied on the Spirit to do what He was doing.

Jesus Was Always with The Holy Spirit

So, if you look at His whole life, you will see that Jesus was always with the Spirit. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was baptized by the Holy Spirit. Jesus served by the Holy Spirit. He healed people by the Spirit. Jesus died by the Spirit.

Jesus rose by the Spirit. He was able to live

His life, fulfill His mission, and loved the Father because He was Spirit-filled. This was His strategy: That He wants all of us to implement in our lives. He is a model for us.

Jesus says: “If you want to act like me, you have to be Spirit-filled.”

Three Ways the Helper Helps:

There was this mom and her baby was about to be baptized. She was carrying this cute baby.

The mother came up to me and asked a theological question: “Brother Bo, I’m confused. When will my baby receive the Holy Spirit? Is it during Baptism or Confirmation?”

I said: “The Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation are moments where the Holy Spirit does something beautiful in your life.

In Baptism, you belong to Christ and you belong to His Church. In Confirmation, you are empowered to serve. But when your baby was conceived in your womb, that child already had the Holy Spirit.”

As we read in Genesis 27 NLT:

The moment you were conceived in the womb of your mother, you already had the Holy Spirit. Every time you pray and when you attend the Holy Mass, the Holy Spirit is there. Will you allow Him to continue to work in your life?

That’s your decision.

When we come before the Lord in Worship, the Spirit is there. When we attend a retreat, the Spirit is there. But even before you do anything good, the Spirit already loves you.

Does your company have a mission statement? If a company has a mission statement, you should also have a mission statement. You should sit and craft one.

Do you want to hear my mission statement? It’s “To communicate God’s

love.” Of course, I elaborate that in a 15-page document. But basically, that’s my mission. I do it through writing, speaking, building foundations, and businesses. Jesus had a mission statement but He did not write it. The prophet Isaiah wrote it for Him.

One day, Jesus walked into Nazareth. He entered a synagogue. He picked the manuscript of Isaiah 61:1, and read it to everybody: “This is my mission statement…”

The “Lord’s favor” was about the Jubilee. He was proclaiming that Jubilee is happening.

But did you notice that the prophet Isaiah himself says: “Jesus will fulfill His mission because the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

We need The Helper in every single area of our lives.

Before the public ministry of Jesus,

He was already filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:1 says:

Come, Holy Spirit’

Before I stand onstage, I ask for the

help of the Holy Spirit. In my 45 years of preaching, I’ve had the most incredible experiences. But there was one experience I will never forget.

I gave my talk somewhere. Within five minutes of giving the talk, I knew there was something wrong. The words were not coming. I was stumbling on my own sentences. I was groping for words. I was meandering. I didn’t even know what

I was talking about. I was not connecting with my audience. I just wanted to get it over with.

I went down the stage frustrated with myself. I was embarrassed because the people in the audience came from afar and I wasn’t able to serve them well. I really felt pity. I was about to leave when a woman went after me.

She held my arm and said: “Brother Bo, thank you for your message. You spoke to my heart.”

She even mentioned a quote that I said that really pierced her heart. For the life of me, I do not remember saying that quote at all.

What does that mean? The Holy Spirit has the power to hijack my words from the time it leaves my lips to your ears. The Holy Spirit takes those words, replaces them with His own words.

That experience humbled me so much that it made me realize that I don’t have to succeed for God to succeed.

There are times in your life that you’re going to fail but that failure is a success. Why? It humbled you. It made you more dependent on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will allow you to fail to tell you that you need to rely on Him.

This is not your show. This is His show. This is His victory. Whatever work you do, ask for The Helper.

It’s so simplistic and childish, but that is the secret to cry out and say: “Come, Holy Spirit. I need you.”

Allow the Lord and His work to come into your life.

Mike Viñas, one of our Feast Builders in the Alabang Area, told me this story:

He found out that there is a group of couples who are friends with each other but many of them were not married in church. One of the couples joined his Feast and even volunteered to be a servant. This couple started inviting their friends from the couples group. They even became a Light Group. Mike was surprised because one by one, the couple started getting married in church. No one told them to get married– not even Mike. Do you know who did that? It’s the Holy Spirit.

This Feast cannot help you change your life. I am not here, nor The Feast, to make you act like Jesus. We cannot do that. Only the Holy Spirit can.