Advocate
So let’s talk about the Holy Spirit. Who exactly is He? Well, first, He is our Advocate. Jesus said "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you." (John 14:16 NIV11)
This word 'advocate' is a legal term. A person who is an advocate has the job of supporting and defending somebody in a court of law. It can be used outside of the courtroom though - you can be an 'advocate for human rights' for example, meaning you support and help that cause.
So for Jesus to use this word means something very special. He was saying that the Spirit would come to be our supporter and our defender! Notice His words: "he will give you another advocate to help you." Who is the Spirit? He is our helper!
The Helper We Need
The Spirit's role is to come support us and help us in our Christian lives. Do I need to remind you that the Christian life is not an easy one? Getting help is so necessary. Doing it all in our own strength is never going to happen.
There's an old saying in the legal system that "a man who represents himself has a fool for a client." I think, similarly, the Christian who tries to live without the Advocate, the helper, is a fool! Because you aren't going to be able to do it if you aren't relying on the Spirit's help!
This is a matter of faith. It's a matter of receiving the Spirit by faith and then living with a fervent, unshakeable belief that the Spirit is dwelling within you. On the day of Pentecost, everything changed for the disciples because they started to live in the Spirit's power and it was faith that enabled this.
Walking in Spirit-Enabled Power
Think about the times you give up on your faith, or give in to temptation, or don't do what you should do. Isn't it often because you ignore the Spirit of God within you? And you start to live on your own feelings instead of on the power He has provided?
The Spirit comes into our lives to help us live the godly life, and with His help we can withstand pain and heartache, we can resist temptation, we can live holy, godly, powerful and good lives. But we have to let Him be the advocate, and let Him help, rather than ignoring Him and doing our own thing.
Are you living with a great sense of the Spirit in you? Do you perhaps need to take a step of faith today, and say "come Spirit and dwell in me, and from now on I will allow You to help in every area?"
When you start to live this way, with a moment-by-moment reliance on the Spirit as your helper, you start to live the life of Christlikeness you are called to.
So today, may we rely not on our own strength or power, but on the Spirit who is here to help and be our Advocate.
