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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
The Helper Will Come
A troubled or afraid heart. Somehow we just let it happen. We wake up one day and we have depression or anxiety. What are symptoms of depression? When you have a period of time with a lack of enthusiasm or energy, it can be depression. I used to explain my depression as ‘base-line sad’. I could be happy for moments, but once I was alone or settled, I could feel that I was just sad and deflated. When we lose enthusiasm for things which usually excite us, it can be a sign of depression. When we just want to sleep a lot of the time, this too can be a sign of depression. Depression often looks at life and feels powerless.
Anxiety and fear are different from depression. Fear can actually manifest itself in anger, too. Anxiety is the feeling that something is about to happen which will bring bad consequences. It is often accompanied by the thought that I am not okay. It looks to the future rather than the past. What are you afraid of? Complete the sentence, “When I look at my family, I am afraid …. ‘ Then do the same for your job or your church.
The disciples were troubled and anxious because their rabbi was leaving. He claimed that he was going to leave them peace, but how could this be when their whole lives were wrapped up in their teacher? Jesus knows our need to connect. He knows our need for a counselor. We all need therapy. However, the great therapist is God himself. Empty your heart to the Holy Spirit and he will lead you along the path you must follow. Follow that path all the way to peace.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I am nervous about my ability. I feel like an imposter a lot of the time. I worry about how I parent my children and I am not confident about my role as a spouse. The more I know as a teacher, the more I am aware of what I don’t know. The more I move forward as a follower of Jesus, the more I realise I have to learn. Thank you for your grace and your comfort. May I find your peace. May you bring a seamless harmony between the life I live and the life I was designed to live.
Questions
- How will the disciples be helped through Jesus’ absence?
- How are disciples not to be troubled or afraid?
- What changes must occur in the disciples perspective?
- How are the heart and the mind related in peaceful living?
- What is the role of the Holy Spirit in therapeutic counseling?
Plymothian 
1) The disciples will be helped by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
2) Jesus left peace with them, there is hope of His return, and they were to rejoice in love for Him.
3) They must remember their love for Him and know that He will one day be with them again. This should bring excitement and joy rather than fear and anxiety.
4) Knowing that Jesus is peace and love, our hearts should respond to His Truths through peaceful living.
5) In being honest with the Holy Spirit and asking for direction, the Holy Spirit will guide one’s life in Truth!
1. They will be given the Holy Spirit!
2. By relying on Christ’s peace.
3. They are to believe in Jesus.
4. Jesus calls them to believe in Him and not let their hearts be troubled.
5. The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture to us and helps us to understand it.
Jesus says it will be better for the disciples if He leaves because He will send the Holy Spirit who would be with them always. The disciples are to trust in Christ’s words and hold on to His promises. I think the same is true for us–we must mentally affirm the promises of God and trust in them even when we don’t see what we want to see. I think the Holy Spirit is the one who truly brings us peace. He assures both our mind and our heart.
The Disciples can start there next steps moving forward in God’s word through the Spirit. Knowing peace all day would be a beautiful place. The Disciples believing in Christ and what he has said will happen will bring peace.
Today I was practicing yesterdays message connecting to the Spirit by asking what would you have me do. It worked for a few hours until life and me got in the way. The result was it worked and it was good to reconnect on a deeper level. I was in the Spirit sharing and caring for others while doing my every day life. Now to do this 24/7 or 16/7 I should sleep.
1. Their faith will grow as they feel his presence through the Spirit even when he is physically absent.
2. They are to find relief from their fears through faith, and because Jesus has given them his peace.
3. They must see who Jesus truly is.
4. Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled,” suggesting that it is a battle that we must put effort into instead of something we just wait around to happen.
5. The Holy Spirit must be the basis of counseling, because Jesus says that it is only through him that we find true peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Verse 27 is hitting me hard. I’m going to be honest and say as I read John there are times where I feel like God is leaving me out. I do not understand what is being said and I feel like I am just wanting him to stay and talk it out with me. This verse comforts me because of the context. Jesus is talking to his disciples and they probably felt like I do now. They probably didn’t understand everything and they probably wished he’d stay.
Christ will give them peace, the Holy Spirit will come. It makes me think of a verse I read the other day: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,” (2 Peter 1:19) We are just receiving foreshadows of His Glory that will be fully revealed.
The disciples will be helped by the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ absence. The disciples are not to be troubled or afraid because the Holy Spirit will give them peace. The disciples must trust in Jesus. If the mind is focused upon Christ through the Holy Spirit’s transformation, then the heart will be at peace. The Holy Spirit fills us and leads us to peace.
The Spirit will be with the disciples, they are not to be afraid. The Lord has great plans for his glory. The disciples must stop seeing everything from their perspective and begin to recognize that the Lord has a much bigger picture. Often, in my counseling sessions, I will share painful thoughts or experiences and my counselor will ask me, “would you like to talk to Jesus about that?” We are very aware of the Spirit’s work in my healing and we welcome His presence. The Holy Spirit convicts, brings truth, and guides souls into perfect rest.
I was encouraged when I read this.
The disciples will be helped by the Holy Spirit. The disciples are not to be afraid of Jesus’ absence. When we understand the truth, it is easier to trust what Jesus has to say. When are hearts and minds are on the same page, we can live in peace.
The disciples will be helped by the Holy Spirit while Jesus is gone.
The disciples should not be afraid while Jesus is gone because he prosmises to still be with them.
The disciples must understand that God is always with them even when he is not physically present.
The heart and mind are related in peaceful living because our mind and heart are connected and feed off of each other when worrying. When true peace comes, both heart and mind must be at peace.
The Holy Spirit gives peace.
1. They will be helped through the Spirit
2. We are not to be troubled or afraid because of the peace he gives us that is unlike that of the world.
3. They must trust Jesus.
4. The heart and the mind must both be at peace. We are holistic people.
5. The spirit comforts and guides us, giving us peace.
1. The disciples will be helped by the Holy Spirit who is God, in Jesus’s absence.
2. The disciples are not to be troubled because they have the peace of God. Furthermore, they should rejoice because Jesus has gone to be with the father.
3. A person’s view of God is the single most determining factor of their character and actions. The disciples must keep the faith in their God, who is the only God and whose spirit will guide them.
4. The heart must take the information of the mind and make sense of it, then apply it in Christ.
5. In a counseling setting, the two or more individuals can exchange life stories to see how God has and continues to work in their lives. Also, the one being counseled gets to see what God is like by looking at the counselor who has become more like Jesus.
I still think YOU have counseling skills
In this passage, Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will be sent to them in His absence, in order to help them. Jesus tells the disciples that He provides peace for them; a peace that is unknown by the world and which the world cannot offer. Because they have this peace, Jesus commands the disciples not to be afraid or troubled. In order to accommodate this command, the disciples must trust that Jesus is leaving them for a reason, and that His sovereign plan, while something they may not understand, is good.
In peaceful living, the heart, mind, and body are connected such that the mind allows the heart and body to feel the real emotions that they experience, following anxious thoughts and bodily feeling where they might lead, and not shutting them down unnecessarily. The mind is aware of what the body and heart feel, and the mind seeks to identify why they feel that way, and then identify what resources are available to the individual in order to combat those feelings, and move beyond them. Sometimes, the only resource that seems available is to recognize that the individual belongs to Christ, is a Child of the loving God, and to gain peace from Him and His presence.
Having experienced Christian counseling through Moody, I believe that the Holy Spirit is involved quite heavily in the guiding and directing of the counselor and, potentially in lesser part, the counselee. As the two interact, and as the Christian counselor provides input and guidance to the counselee, the counselor is sensitive to the guiding of the Holy Spirit, following His prompting to speak where she/he should speak, and listen alone when that is what is needed.
1. How will the disciples be helped through Jesus’ absence?
The Holy Spirit will be their helper
2. How are disciples not to be troubled or afraid?
Their hearts are not to be troubled because he gives us peace.
3. What changes must occur in the disciples perspective?
They need to rejoice in the fact that he is going to the Father.
4. How are the heart and the mind related in peaceful living?
They so influence each other. If I am thinking in a worried and untrustworthy way, my heart will feel nervous and unrestful.
5. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in therapeutic counseling?
I am not sure. I have never experienced counseling, but I would say that all things in the Christian life, should be guided by the Holy Spirit.