If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, – John 14:15-16
Ira Yates and his wife owned a little ranch in West Texas where he tried to raise sheep. It was the Great Depression, and he had difficulty making sufficient profit to pay his mortgage and taxes, so he was in danger of losing it all. They had begun living on government handouts. One day, some men from Midland asked if they could explore his ranch land for oil. They drilled an exploratory well, the Yates 1-A, and at approximately 1,000 feet below ground, they hit a “gusher.” Spewing from the ground was one of the richest deposits of crude oil found in the area. That first well brought in about 80,000 barrels a day, and more highly productive wells were soon drilled. And Ira Yates owned it all. When he purchased the land, he also received the oil and mineral rights. He went from living in abject poverty to a billionaire thanks to the Yates Pool. He had power and resources he did not even know were his.
The late Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ often told that story when discussing the gift given to Christians in the Holy Spirit. Christians, he would say, have such an incredible resource of untapped power at hand that their spiritual lives could be richer than anything they could imagine if they only tapped into Him. The Holy Spirit of God, the third Person of the Trinity, dwells within each person who has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is He who helps you “drill down” into the riches of Scripture; it is He who brings your petitions before the Throne of the Father. It is He who strengthens you, empowers you, comforts you, guides you, and teaches you. You are spiritually rich beyond measure.
Pray today for a revival across America. Pray for believers to be committed to dependence upon the Holy Spirit to live righteously. Pray for those with the gift of evangelism to be encouraged and inspired by God, who convicts people of their sins through His Spirit and prepares them to receive the Gospel. Pray for Christ-followers who serve as spiritual advisors to individuals in government.
Today’s Verse: John 14:15-16
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: John 14:15-18, 22-26
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “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 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
