Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Holy Spirit, The Counselor.” What is God like? Who has ever seen Him? When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to show them the Father for the first time, He said to them, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Because God is spirit, human beings who aren’t born again cannot directly see God. Therefore, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Jesus is the only Son of God who is with Him. Therefore We can know who God the Father is through Jesus’ thoughts, dreams, faith, and creative declarations. Those who belong to flesh only can’t recognize Jesus. When we look at Jesus, we’d better think that God is like Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we can see, dream about, believe, and be proud of God; Jesus and God are one! So Jesus said, ”Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father who sent Me.“ He also said, ”If I go, I will send another Counselor to you.” This Counselor looks after Me so whosoever experiences Him will experience Me, too. John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” Jesus said that if He would go to heaven, He would ask the Father to send the Spirit like Him and that if we receive the Holy Spirit, He will show us Jesus. Whosoever sees Jesus Christ sees the Father while anyone who experiences the Holy Spirit experiences the Father. Today many believers actually are ignorant of the Father and Jesus because they don’t receive the Holy Spirit. If they received the Holy Spirit, they would know them. Therefore, we should know the Holy Spirit our Counselor Jesus sent. Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor.” He said in John 16:7, “But if I go, I will send him to you.” The Lord said that He would send Him. Here, He mentioned the Holy Spirit as “another Counselor” and it is meaningful. The Counselor is sent as our helper to be with us always. We can’t live our life on our own. God sends this Counselor to help us throughout our lives. But another Counselor means that Jesus is the first Counselor while the Holy Spirit is another Counselor. Here “another” has two meanings; ‘allos’ means the same kind but different while ‘heteros’ means the totallly different. The Lord said that He would send ‘allosParacletos’ and it means that He would send the same Counselor like Him. Therefore, Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus did what the Holy Spirit would do. John 16:13 says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit guides believers and Jesus Christ also leads us to truth. If we aren’t led by the Holy Spirit, we are unable to know Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit testifies Jesus to us. John 15:26 says, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” The Holy Spirit our Counselor sent by the Father also witnesses, too. The Father was shown through Jesus and after Jesus went up to heaven He shows us Jesus through the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 says, “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 have said to you.” The Holy Spirit makes us realize the word of God and the way and the truth of God. The Holy Spirit reveals God to us through the word of God. He also says to us through our thoughts in our hearts. The Holy Spirit also holds church and believers up tightly. Acts 9:31 says, “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” “Church grew in numbers.” Why? It is because the Holy Spirit encouraged it. As believers listened to the word of God, they received peace, encouragement, and joy in their hearts so it grew in numbers. We cannot but have worries, anxiety, and restlessness in our hearts, but the Holy Spirit pours out the joy of God into our hearts. When we pray, He will pour out joy. Our worries, anxiety, and restlessness won’t be gone without the joy of God. When we suffer from fear and trepidation, the Holy Spirit calms our hearts with the peace of God. When we are in despair and frustrated and think that it is the end of the world, the Holy Spirit gives us hope instead. Then as the Holy Spirit encourages church and its believers, it grows in numbers. We call the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God. Genesis 1:2 says, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” God has the same meaning like the Spirit of God in Korean. When we imagine this scene, the earth was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep so the whole world was shattered beyond recovery, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. When the third dimensional world was collapsed, the Spirit of the fourth dimension was hovering. God said, “Let there be light. Let there be the earth.” When God created the heavens and the earth, He did it through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also called as the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding. Isaiah 11:2 says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-” The Scriptures shows the prophecy about Jesus. The Spirit of God will come upon Jesus as the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord to work the redemption. And the Bible also says the Holy Spirit as the Counselor. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--” We must keep in mind this verse! “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor.” He isn’t Jesus, but another Counselor. Therefore, now another Counselor Jesus sends is with us who is like Jesus. Jesus came to the earth as our Savior and the Holy Spirit comes to make us know it and to teach us and to help us. We call Him as the Counselor but also the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of holiness. Romans 1:4 says, “and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” The whole world is defied by our sins beyond recovery. Then Jesus cleansed this filth by His blood on the cross and pours out the Spirit of holiness upon us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness to wash away our filthy sinful spirits. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that forgives us and makes us righteous and holy. Therefore, without the Holy Spirit, we can’t be righteous or holy. Jesus makes us righteous and holy through the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of grace. Hebrews 10:29 says, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” The Spirit of Grace shows that grace is free of charge. We can’t pay grace. It is freely given. And the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace. Grace is free and timeless. It is neither 10 years nor 100 years but eternal grace. When we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of grace holds us up and makes us grow in the Lord without any charge. So the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of grace. Next, when we work with the Holy Spirit, His presence exposes our hidden sins in our hearts and starts the movement of repentance from there. Our own strength can’t bring any repentance. When we pray, the Spirit of God reveals our all hidden sins to make us confess them all. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit of God comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment(John 16:8) The Holy Spirit exposes our sins, convicts us rightheousness and settles our sinful, unrighteous, and filthy life and leads us to the life of righteousness, truth, and holiness. The Holy Spirit puts to death the misdeeds of our body and makes us grow by the life of Jesus Christ. Our church must realize that the Holy Spirit brings about this movement of repentance. And the Holy Spirit resists the devil and demons. He casts them out! Acts 10:38 says, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” Diseases come to us when we are oppressed by the devil. The devil’s oppression causes diseases and illness to us. When the devil oppresses our lungs, it becomes tuberculosis and if he keeps oppressing our body, it causes cancer. However, God sends the Holy Spirit to cast out the devil and to bring about healing to us. The Lord healed all who were under the power of the devil. He did not heal one or two sick people, but healed whosoever came to Him for healing. The Lord also forgives everyone sinner who comes to Him. He heals every sick person who comes to Him. God wants us not to live in the midst of worries, anxiety, restlessness, irritation, and despair, but enjoy joy, hope, and grace through the Holy Spirit in our life. God desires to shatter the fruit of sins. He says, “You should be holy because I am holy.” “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." We can’t be holy on our own. Thus God wants us to be holy relying on the Holy Spirit of God because He is holy. Romans 8:2 says, “because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” It is the law of the Spirit of life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life so when the Holy Spirit blows in our life our spiritual energy revives. The devil oppresses our spiritual energy while the Holy Spirit revives and strengthens our spiritual energy. Therefore, when we worship in the Spirit-filled church, our spiritual energy becomes greatly strengthened. The resurrected Jesus commanded His disciples that when they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, they must preach the gospel to the ends of the world. He said that they should do one thing before they started to preach the gospel. What was it? It was to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus ordered them not to leave Jerusalem unless they received the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus went up to heaven, He said to His disciples in Luke 24:49, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." ”Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The Holy Spirit is the source of our spiritual energy. When Peter and John entered Jerusalem after having received the Holy Spirit, they didn’t pass the crippled man at the gate of the temple. They said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. But Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and he jumped to his feet and began to walk! “It will be done according to your faith.” The evidence of church revival comes through believers’ thunderous prayers of repentance and also loud voices of giving thanks and praise! Then we know that church is reviving! When a great revival comes to us, church begins to be boisterous with loud voices of believers. It is the same with today’s church. Believers should receive the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the world. If we go before God and pray with tears when we face difficulties, our problems will be solved and our life will change. It is because God works among us by sending the Holy Spirit.