Our Divine Supernatural Helper
By Don Vess
John 14:12-18 NLT- “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises Another
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 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. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
The very same night that Jesus was betrayed, He spoke these words to His disciples. He wanted them to know that His mission was soon to be completed and that for them it was not to be a time of mourning or sorrow, but of joy. John 14:1- “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. TRUST IN GOD, and trust also in Me.”
He was preparing them to receive the Holy Spirit that the Father was going to send to empower them to do the greater works that He was speaking of. Verse 16 says, “He will give you another helper (Paraclete: comforter, encourager, or counselor)
The word, “another”: allos- one of the very same kind; same character; same everything; or a
We often ask the question, and I have heard it asked here, “Why don’t we see the
When we get a grip on what Jesus was saying to his disciples it will change our whole perspective on life and ministry. Not all of us are called to the “five-fold ministry: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, but we are all “called” to ministry. We all need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. We all need His wisdom, His insight into things spiritual and things hidden from our sight: past, present, and future. (2 Cor. 5:7- KJV- “We walk by faith and not by sight.”, NLT- “For we live by BELIEVING not by SEEING.”)
Jesus was asked a question by Phillip, one of His disciples, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus responded, “Have I been with you all this time, Phillip, and you still don’t know who I Am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!”
Jesus was saying that when the Holy Spirit that He was promising to send filled them, they would be the exact representation of who He is as they allowed the Holy Spirit to operate from within them. Jesus went on to say, John 14:23-29 NKJV-… “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the [a]Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because [b]I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.
Romans 8:26-28 NKJV- Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
Who do you go to when you feel trapped, cornered, or pinned against the wall because of a situation you’ve fallen into? In those times do you feel overwhelmed with a sense of desperation, or di you know where to turn for help?
Let’s look at the word intercession that’s in the middle of that verse.
Intercession: Greek- huper-en-tug-chano: It is the picture of someone who comes upon someone who has fallen into some kind of quandary. Upon discovering the trapped person’s dilemma, he swiftly springs into action to rescue and deliver the one who is in trouble. It conveys the idea of a
Paul uses the word here to tell us about a special work of divine intercession—a special ministry performed by the Holy Spirit Himself when He sees that you are at a loss for words or that you are trapped in a situation and don’t know how to get out. Suddenly and supernaturally, the Holy Spirit falls into that place with you.
Now you are no longer facing the challenge by yourself, for the Holy Spirit has come along side you to help and is initiating a rescue plan to get you out of that mess!
The Holy Spirit
I can give so many personal accounts of how the Holy Spirit has interceded for me when I didn’t know how to pray. I’m sure that many of you in this room can also testify of how the Holy Spirit has interceded for you in difficult and trying times.
During my trip to Moscow, Russia, my wife Becki and I met someone we believe was an angel at the airport and he helped us make our flight. We were running way behind and he just walked up to us asked where we were going and helped us make an international flight that we were severely late for.
On my way to Mexico I had missed my flight and then began to pray in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit orchestrated a supernatural set-up resulting in seven people giving their lives to Jesus Christ.
On another trip to Mexico: once again on another missed flight this time due to mechanical malfunction. We arrived very late at night and were very weary from the trip. We spent the next day visiting with local pastors and ministering to a man who had lost both of his legs. Then, without any rest I was whisked to a meeting where I was to preach the dedication of a new church building and which I did not know about until we were on the way to the meeting. I didn’t even have my bible or notes or anything, but I did have the Holy Spirit.
I began to pray in the Holy Spirit and in tongues. The Holy Spirit began to put a message in my heart about when Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem and the visitation of the presence of God was so powerful that the priests and singers couldn’t minister. God showed me there is a different kind of paradigm shift today, where the ministers attempt to minister without the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I preached a very simple twenty-minute message and God moved in such power that twenty-eight pastors were filled with the Holy Spirit, twenty-two people that we know of, were born again, including a local prostitute and a young man who was delivered of thirteen demons. The Holy Spirit showed up in the midst of our mess and did what only He can do!
Just last June 20 of 2023 on Father’s Day, I was on my way home from church and was headed to my son’s house for lunch when I suffered a stroke. When it was happening a sense of panic came over me as I had never experienced anything like that before, but I knew what to do and that was to pray in the Holy Spirit. When I began to pray in tongues the most peaceful feeling came over me and a calm that is inexplicable. It is like the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and giving me directions on what to do. I pulled off the road for in that moment, collected myself, and drove with my flashers on to a nearby grocery store parking lot where I called my son Jeremy to come get me and drive me to the hospital. I never once panicked or had any sense of fear.
Let’s finish out the passage in Romans 8:27- Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. This is precisely what Jesus was speaking about in John 14 when He promised “another advocate”, a Person identical to Him who would know exactly what is in the heart of the Father and would reveal it to us, so we could act accordingly. When we are “stuck” and just don’t know what nor how to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us with unintelligible “utterances and groanings” or “cries from the depth of our spirit”, which He understands and transmits to the Father who helps us in our time of desperation or need.
I also pray in the Holy Spirit in a “preparatory sense”. In other words, “I pray in the Spirit as I begin my day and throughout the day as I am working or working out, or driving, or whatever activity I am involved in. Paul said, 1Thess 5:17 NLT- Never stop praying. How on earth can you do that? By praying in the Holy Spirit!
Eph 6:18 NLT- Pray in the Spirit AT ALL
When we pray in power of The Holy Spirit we find peace, comfort, direction and supernatural power over the works of the enemy.
AMEN!