Why Follow Jesus - 13. To Have Truth Recalled By The Spirit

Hello and welcome back to Van Life Devotions. Today we are in beautiful Busselton in Western Australia. In our last devotion, we shared that one reason to be a follower of Jesus is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We explained that the Holy Spirit is the invisible person of the Godhead where there is God the Father, God the Son (who is Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. We explained from Jesus’ teaching that a role of the Holy Spirit is Advocate which means coming alongside followers.

The Bible also says what the Holy Spirit does when He comes alongside followers. It was the night before His death and Jesus told His followers that they will not be left alone because He will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them and then He said, “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIV).

This is good news for believers because it hard to remember all what the Bible teaches. For those who have sat under preachers for three years, I’m sure if I asked you what series did they preach two years ago, you would struggle to remember. I would struggle to recall what I preached myself two years ago. And so here were the apostles who spent 3 years listening to Jesus and soon He will be taken away. How were they going to recall all His teachings? God’s Holy Spirit was to come alongside them and help them recall His teachings. This is how some of the Apostles were able to write what Jesus did and taught. The Holy Spirit inspired them!

And it is the same with followers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes alongside and recalls Bible teachings. Rather than overloading with an Encyclopedia full of teaching, the Holy Spirit brings to your mind specific Bible teaching or verses just when you need it for either the life’s circumstances or of serving God.

In the 1800s George Müller was the founder of several orphanages in England. He cared for over 10,000 orphans during his lifetime, relying entirely on prayer and faith without ever asking for donations directly.

One well-known incident involved Müller facing a serious lack of food for the children. The Holy Spirit reminded of the Bible passage where Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26 NIV).

One morning, with nothing left to serve, he gathered the children around the empty table and prayed, and when He thought on that verse thanked God for the food He would provide. Right after they prayed, a baker knocked on the door, saying he had baked extra bread the night before and felt led to bring it over. Soon after, a milkman’s cart broke down in front of the orphanage, and he offered all the milk he had before it went off.

This verse reminded George Muller to trust God fully that He will provide, and it gave him strength in many challenging moments.

And this is one of the wonderful roles of the Holy Spirit. He comes alongside you and helps you to recall His teachings that you need to hear.

Why be a follower of Jesus? To have the Holy Spirit teach you God’s Word. 

How can you have God’s Holy Spirit? Trust and obey. Trust in faith that Jesus is God’s Son who saved you on the cross. And follow Jesus as Lord by obeying His teachings. The Bible promises, “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 NIV).

I invite you to pray this prayer with me:

Father God.

I am sorry that I am a sinner.

Thank you for forgiving me.

May Your Holy Spirit come alongside me

and teach me what I need to hear. 

Enable me to put my trust in You and

to obey Your teachings.

In Jesus’ name

Amen

David Moyes