The Holy Spirit Part IV Kay Keith Peebles 03/16/18 18.09
The police fingerprinted me and stood me in front of a white wall so that they could take my “mug” shot! Needless to say, being arrested and put in a jail cell for the day was quite intimidating. Several years prior, the Holy Spirit had convicted me that life began at conception and abortion was considered murder to the Lord. See Exodus 21:22-25, Psalm 106:37-38, Psalm 139:13-16, and Exodus 20:13 to cite a few. I had seen a video of an actual abortion on a Christian television program and I began to weep in deep sorrow for at least 45 minutes. The video was entitled “Silent Screams”. I immediately wrote a poem about abortion which I titled “No More Silent Screams”. The poem expressed how God felt about abortion and challenged people to arise and be the voice (advocate) for the unborn. I knew disapproving abortion was not enough. Proverbs 31:8 challenges us, “Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves, for the rights of all who need an advocate.” I soon met a woman in our church who had begun a Crisis Pregnancy Center the year before and signed up as a volunteer. I was the Chaplain on the Board of that center for 5 years.
After coming on board at the CPC, I met a group of other Christians who were also getting involved in another pro-life movement called Operation Rescue. This ministry assembled believers who were willing to silently protest abortion by blocking abortion clinics. There was an Operation Rescue intervention planned in St. Petersburg, Florida near me, in the fall of 1988. I knew I had to be a part of the intervention so that I could be an advocate or voice for the unborn. We gathered at a central location in Tampa at 6 a.m. and boarded buses heading for St. Pete. We did not carry posters, we simply sat down on the ground, sang hymns or prayed silently for the women who would come that morning, intending to have an abortion. We were seated outside the abortion clinic by 7:30, just in time for its opening at 8 a.m. After several hours the police were notified and they came with buses to pick us up and send us to the city jail for booking. We remained seated so they had to carry us to the buses. We were a group of about 100 participants which took some time. They were kind and gentle with us and after we were booked they brought sandwiches for us since we had missed lunch. We were locked in jail cells in groups of four to six for the entire afternoon. At the end of the day we were all released and ministry buses took us back to Tampa where we had left our cars. Operation Rescue had made arrangements with a local Christian lawyer who would be our advocate dealing with the court on behalf of all the protesters’ cases at once. When we returned to court weeks later, we all pled nolo contendere, we were released and our records were sealed. That experience taught me great insight about not only being an advocate but also needing an advocate.
“But I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor-Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. And when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness and about judgment; about sin [and the true nature of it], because they do not believe in Me [and My message]; about righteousness [personal integrity and godly character], because I am going to My Father and you will no longer see me; about judgment [the certainty of it], because the ruler of this world (Satan) has been judged and condemned.” John 16:7-11.
In earlier articles I have covered other aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of believers: The Holy Spirit prays through us what we do not know to pray. He is our 1) Intercessor. The Holy Spirit is the 2) Spirit of Truth. He leads us into all Truth. The Holy Spirit is also our 3) Counselor.
This article will focus on the Holy Spirit our Advocate.
4) Advocate:
Miriam Webster defines advocate as: one who pleads the cause of another; specifically: one who pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court; one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal. Synonyms are support, uphold, advocate, back, and champion.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1.
The advocate and the intercessor have similar roles that complement one another. The intercessor is like a mediator or a “go between”; conversely the advocate represents one side. Spiritually the intercessor prays on behalf of one who either can’t pray or doesn’t know how to pray. The advocate stands in the courts of heaven on behalf of the believer.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin as we saw in the John 16 scripture above. The Lord is gracious to expose the unknown sin in our heart giving us an opportunity for forgiveness. It is impossible for us to confess and repent of sins we cannot see. When we sin, the Holy Spirit (of Jesus Christ) intercedes and intervenes on our behalf before the Father in heaven. He not only enables us to see our sin, He enables us to truly repent of our sin and gain our freedom from the hold of our fleshly sinful nature. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us into all righteousness. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—The Spirit of Truth…” John 14:16-17.
“Even now, my witness is in heaven; my advocate is there on high.” Job 16:19.
This is yet another reason to desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He searches our heart offering conviction and the opportunity to repent. “And all the assemblies (churches) shall recognize and understand that I am He Who searches minds (the thoughts, feelings, and purposes) and the [inmost] hearts, and I will give to each of you [the reward for what you have done]. Revelation 2:23b. Once we have repented of our sins, the Lord stands in the court of heaven to defend us when the devil comes before God to accuse us.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom based on law and order. God’s law not only defines sin, it offers forgiveness through repentance and the shedding of blood. In the Old Testament, the Jews sacrificed animals on the altar of the tabernacle for their sins. God enacted a New Covenant when Jesus (the Messiah) came to be the final sacrifice (the Lamb of God), on behalf of all who would believe in Him. If we sin and truly repent from that sin with godly sorrow, our sin is forgiven and the devil no longer has any accusation to make against us. If he tries, the Lord simply points out that there is no sin on the books because it was wiped away when we repented. The Advocate stands at our defense before God and our accuser! “Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. Romans 8:1
“Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come—the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out! And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]. Revelation 12:10-11.
Jesus was the Advocate for the woman caught in adultery. It was against God’s Law to commit adultery. In the Law of Moses, the punishment for such a person was stoning to death. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus. They asked Him what to do with the woman, reminding Him of the law. They were testing Jesus in hopes they could find grounds to accuse Him. He stooped down and began writing something in the soil. They pressed Him again and He replied, “He who is without [any] sin among you, let Him be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7. No one picked up a stone and they all left in disappointment and shame. Jesus then turned to the woman and said, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She replied, “No one, Lord!” He spoke to her again, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
Jesus knows the beginning from the end. He also knows the true motivations of the heart and therefore He can judge fairly and honestly. He is the Righteous Judge as well as our Advocate through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is to our advantage to allow the Holy Spirit to search our heart and expose every sin so that we will not stand guilty before the Lord one day. God’s love for us is so great we can’t lose or fail. He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us in every area of our lives. I am grateful I had an advocate that day in court and all the more that the Lord Himself is my Advocate in heaven’s court!
