And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
You have heard Me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father, for My Father is greater than I. (John 14:16-20, 28 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit is available to us because the Son intercedes for us. In answer to the prayers of His Son, the Father fills us with His Spirit. The Spirit is God’s down payment of the good things to come; His assurance of Salvation (see Eph. 1:13-14). Assurance isn’t just a mental exersize… it is transformational experience. Assurance is the presence of God in our lives… Assurance is what Moses sought when the Lord commanded Him to lead Israel into the land of promise:
Then Moses said to the Lord, See, You say to me, Bring up this people. But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people. And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. (Exodus 33:12-16 NKJV)
This is the assurance I desire… I really have no desire to brag, “back in such and such a day I confessed His name… I got saved…”
No… My only boast is Jesus… His cross… His abiding presence. My only boast would be Jesus is with me… not by any goodness of my own but by His own grace and love. He is with me because I am a man of great need. He is with me because He chooses the weak things to shame the strong and the foolish things of the world to frustrate the wise. This is my assurance… His faithfulness… His grace… His goodness… His presence… His promise to never leave or forsake.
Prayer: Abide with me Lord Jesus. Send Your Spirit to fill my heart and mind. Dwell with me. Let my life be a bush which Your glory consumes… Your presence is my desire. Your favor is what I need. I want to be crucified… I want to die… I want the life I live to be by faith in Your sacrifice… Make me grateful Lord Jesus… bless me indeed! You are my Blessing Lord Jesus. You are my Savior. You are my All in all.
