"But You Know Him" (John 14:16-17)

Our text says, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you" (John 14:16-17). The Lord tells His followers that they knew the Spirit. This statement raises the questions, "Do you know the Holy Spirit? Do you know that the Spirit abides in you? How do you know that you know the Spirit?" Let's examine another passage of Scripture, "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). According to Jesus' words, we don't know the Holy Spirit by subjective feelings! There is just no way to discern or judge whether your inner feelings come from your hormones or the weather! In other words, you can only discern the reality of the Holy Spirit's presence in your life by His effects! Some of these include: The Holy Spirit has changed your desires and your heart. You used to ignore God and His truth. But now you love God and His Word! You actively seek Him and long for Him. He is life to your soul. You used to be indifferent or bored by the Word of God, if you bothered to read it at all. But now you can't get enough of God's Word, you delight in it! The Word of God nourishes your soul. You used to hate it when the Word of God confronted your sins. Now you welcome and embrace the correction and training in righteousness it brings, because you understand that sin destroys you and your relationships! You used to be indifferent to Jesus and to His death on the cross. But now you love Him for taking your place on that cross and paying the penalty for your sins. You used to yield often to sin. But now you hate yielding to your sins and as you develop in Christ, you walk in obedience to Him! You used to live for the things of this world. But now your mind is set on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. These as well as many other evidences in your life SHOW THAT YOU KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THAT HE'S ABIDING IN YOUR HEART! Your move. Be encouraged!