City Life Starter

I. Word: John 16:5-15

5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

II. Questions For Reflection:

1. Have you ever had someone guide you in a place you have never been?
2. Have you ever lost your guide or authority figure in a place you were unfamiliar in?
3. What emotions did you feel and why?

If you know anything about me or my wife you know neither of us has a very good sense of direction. Many times after leaving a restaurant, we will head the wrong way not remembering where the car is or which way is which. We have to depend on signs to lead us, because something occured in the womb where God forgot to internally give us a true north. This, of course, means driving with us almost always includes google maps leading the way to our destination of choice.

This dependency on signs and GPS might make us seem ridiculous to some (Cough, cough…Randy Willis) while I, of course, would call it wisdom. When you know your weaknesses through self-awareness, there is a level of humility about it that causes you to receive any help possible to guide you to where you are heading.

That’s true for my wife and myself when it comes to physical direction, but how many times do we wake up to a new day or challenge and just plow through it without seeking any guidance at all? Many of us seek guidance from other people, but what if God was there to guide us, lead us, and speak to us continually?

As we look at the scriptures above, we see Jesus desperately trying to give us truth and a new, real reality. He told us that He is going, but also that He will not leave us alone and will send to us a guide. The Spirit of truth who will speak to us things to come.

I believe God is constantly speaking and guiding, but we do not humble ourselves to see we have no idea where we are going. We try to discern what’s to come but are stumbling in the dark, feeling our way through this life. We will seek out people and quickly grab their hands to guide us through the dark and hope and pray we are heading the right way. That’s not all bad, and better than going at it alone, but there is a superior way. It’s the way Jesus provides.

This guide, the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of truth is ready to lead you to your destiny. This destination will always, according to Jesus, lead you in the direction that glorifies Christ the most. This will not always be the easiest path, but there is always a light there to see. As Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.” Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will show you things to come and that He’ll light the way.

Why is it then that we do not take advantage of this help? Have you ever turned out the lights only to stumble over something as you tried to find your way to the bed?  You can’t see anything! After a while though, your eyes slowly adjust and you begin to see in part. When this happened to me as a kid, common things in the light like a coat or toy would appear to look like a person or monster in the darkness.  However, I only had to flash a light towards it to see that it wasn’t what it appeared to be and saw the true object. But then when it was time to wake up, my parents would come in the room and flip the light switch on, only to blind me completely. The darkness had become more comfortable than the light because my eyes had adapted to the dark. After getting used to the dark, the light was too overwhelming and I would ask my parents to turn the lights off so I could go back to sleep!

This simple metaphor explains much of our lives. We get comfortable in our darkness because it is the only reality that we have known. Then, when someone comes along and turns on the light it seems too bright, just too much for us. And instead of allowing the light in and truly seeing, we want to shut it out and quickly revert to our comfortable yet fearful darkness. It can feel too strong and overwhelming in the beginning because the truth can hurt and cut deeply, especially when confronting our darkness within. The beauty of it though is once you allow the light in, it truly does cast out all fear. It brings a sense of conviction to your life because you see clearly and move more intentionally.

So how do we receive this guide? We ask. We ask out of desperation to glorify Christ and live for Him and not ourselves. We see, even if just for an instant, long enough to know we need something greater than ourselves to guide us in this life. The true Author, who knows the beginning and the end and everything in between, will guide us if we ask Him. And after you ask, you seek Him. You seek out every opportunity to know Him more and hear Him more clearly. This means other things you seek must come second or not at all. It might seem like a lot, but remember what you get: You get Him and He leads you into your desinty, your mission, and your story within His grand story.