John 14:16 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever---"

The Counselor will remind us of everything that Jesus taught us, He points us back to Jesus. He urges us to obey, reminds us of what we must do to be a faithful servant of the Savior who we love. When Jesus told his disciples that he was leaving this world, the Holy Spirit was promised in his place to council and to keep the words of Jesus alive in their hearts. He still plays that role today in our lives as well.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I said to you." (John 14:26)

"He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (John 16:14-15)

When Jesus visited the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Luke 10, Mary chose to ignore the business, stress, and worry that Martha was caught up in. Instead she chooses to put that aside, quiet herself, and sit at the feet of Jesus listening to what he has to say. Today, I can not physically sit at the feet of Jesus because Jesus is not physically present in this world, but he has sent his Spirit to council me and remind me of what he has said. Like Mary, I need to humble myself and sit quietly before the Lord. I need put aside distractions and invading thoughts and quietly open my mind to what the Spirit has to remind me of.

"Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." Not only do I need to be attentive to the counsel of the Spirit, I need to be ready to obey. In the parable of the sower in Luke 8, the seed that was sown on hard ground, was plucked away because the ground heard it but did not retain it. That ground hardened itself to conforming to the Word, therefore the Word had no impact on its life.

This study was convicting to me because I realized that I have been hardening my heart to the Holy Spirit's counsel, holding him at a distance in fear of what he was going to convict me of. I read in Hebrews 3 of the Israelites, who, "for forty years saw what I did," yet they still kept unbelief in their hearts that caused them to test God in the desert. God had miraculously led them out of bondage in Egypt, yet "they were not able to enter [his rest, the promised land], because of their unbeleif." Likewise the Lord, has done great things in my life, he has brought me out of the bonds of slavery to sin. Yet he has called me to something higher, a victorious life.

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13)

If I am to live a victorious life, I must rely on the Holy Spirit and be attentive and obedient to his voice. I can no longer hold him at a distance if I want him to change and impact me.