And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter….
— John 14:16
Today as we discuss the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I’d like to give you my favorite translation of the word “Comforter” that encapsulates all the meaning we’ve learned thus far. There are many possible translations for the word “Comforter,” but the one that seems to satisfy me the most is the word “coach,” because it conveys the meaning of the Greek word parakletos so well. Jesus’ words in John 14:16 could read: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Coach….”
The word “Coach” perfectly describes Jesus’ role toward His disciples during the three years they had walked with Him. He had been their Leader, Teacher, Mentor, Revelator, Prophet, Miracle-Worker, Healer, Pastor, and Lord. They did nothing without Him, and everything they did, He had shown them how to do. He was the center of their lives, the focal point of their attention, and their Mentor in everything.
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Jesus was the One who sent the disciples out to spread the message of the Gospel, and He imparted the message they preached. He gave them authority to cast out demons, and He taught them how and when to address demon spirits and lay hands on the sick. Jesus showed His disciples how to deal with religious leaders and how to conduct themselves as ministers of the Gospel. He taught them how to build a ministry and even how to handle money in the ministry (see Matthew 10:5-14). For three years, the disciples carefully followed the Master’s orders and dared not take a step without consulting Him first. In the truest meaning of the word, Jesus had been their Coach.
But at that Passover Supper, Jesus was letting the disciples know it was time to leave them and fulfill His divine destiny on the Cross. So He told them, “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter….” Or as we’ve seen today, we can paraphrase it to say, “I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Coach….”
The good news is that the Holy Spirit has come to teach us everything we need to know — if we’ll listen to Him as the disciples listened to Jesus. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to do what He was sent to do in our lives, He will coach us as Jesus coached the disciples.
Just think! You have a Partner residing inside your heart who knows all the answers you need. He is ready to give you not only the winning game plan, but also the strength and courage you need to achieve victory!
So many people have known the Lord for years — which means the Holy Spirit has been living in their hearts all that time — yet they didn’t know they were supposed to have this kind of dynamic partnership with the Holy Spirit I’m describing. But God wants us to know the Holy Spirit in a personal way. He wants us to begin relying on the Holy Spirit in the same way the disciples relied on Jesus. Just as Jesus was a Coach to His disciples during His time on this earth, we must think of the Holy Spirit as our Coach.
So what exactly does a coach do? Let’s look at few common examples:
- A baseball coach teaches you how to swing that bat and hit the ball. He shows you how to run from base to base and how to use your glove to catch the ball. He says, “Hold the bat at the base with your hands wrapped around it like this. Then when you see that ball coming, swing as hard as you can and hit that ball as far as you can!”
- An acting coach teaches you how to become an actor. He will coach you on how to become more convincing, more dramatic, or more comical, and he will even teach you how to cry when tears are necessary for a certain scene.
- A vocal coach will teach you how to sing, how to make your breath last longer, how to push air from your diaphragm, how to make a sound stronger, how to sing on key, and to how to sing in a way that truly represents the emotional content of the music. If you make a mistake while you are practicing, a vocal coach will stop you right in the middle of a song to correct you, instruct you, and then tell you to go for it again.
Fundamentally, a coach teaches, advises, corrects, instructs, trains, tutors, guides, directs, and prepares you for your upcoming assignment. If you are new at what you are doing, his coaching may include a little coaxing as you develop your confidence. A coach will encourage you as he shows you what you did wrong so you can do it right the next time.
Furthermore, a coach isn’t there to hit the ball for you, sing the note for you, or play the scene for you. He’s there to coach you so you can hit the ball, sing the note, and perform as you should. Like an apprentice learning a new job, if you will listen carefully, the Holy Spirit will direct and guide you. He’ll show you what’s needed. He’ll open your eyes; impress your mind with supernatural direction; bring you up by the hand; and develop, foster, improve, and “break you in” on the things of God and the things of life.
As believers, we must learn to take the Holy Spirit’s advice and follow Him implicitly, taking each one of our cues from Him. He must become our Heavenly Coach, and we must learn to accept His leadership and be willing to yield and concede to His divine guidance with no objections. If we will open our hearts to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He will do everything that Jesus did. He will coach; He will teach; and He will be a Helper. He will be there to teach us how to pack our bags, how to travel, what to say, and how to pray for the sick. He will do everything that Jesus would do, because He is a Coach to us in the same way that Jesus was a Coach to the disciples.
Today I urge you to open your heart to the coaching ministry of Holy Spirit. Simply say, “Holy Spirit, be my Coach.” The truth is, He was sent to be your Coach whether you recognize it or not. But as you open your heart to the Holy Spirit — listening to Him and diligently following every aspect of His instruction in His role as your Coach in life — this I can promise you: It won’t be long until you look back on who you were before you made the decision to allow the Holy Spirit to be your Coach, and you’ll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your decision started a process that has completely changed your life!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, I thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to mentor, teach, advise, correct, instruct, train, tutor, guide, direct, and prepare me for my upcoming assignment. From this moment forward I am going to start thinking of the Holy Spirit as my personal Coach. I will open my spiritual ears to listen to His instruction, I will obey what He tells me to do, and I will carefully implement the instructions I hear Him speak to my heart and mind. You send the Holy Spirit as a Coach to teach me, so I don’t have to figure everything out on my own. So from this moment onward, I position myself as a pupil to the Holy Spirit, who is my divine Coach.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
I declare by faith that I am a willing, obedient, and teachable apprentice of the Holy Spirit! He speaks to my heart, tells me what to do or what actions to take, and I do exactly what I am told to do. My courage to obey is getting stronger by the day. As a result of listening to the Holy Spirit and taking my cues from Him, I am growing in my walk with the Lord, developing more confidence and experiencing greater victories day by day!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER
- Have you ever experienced a moment when the Holy Spirit coached you on what to say or how to act in a certain situation?
- Here’s an example: Has the Holy Spirit ever led you in the way you witnessed to an unbeliever? You naturally didn’t know how to do it, but word-by-word and moment-by-moment, you felt led in what to say as you shared Christ with that person? Have you experienced such a moment in your life?
- Can you think of an area where you need to stop trying to figure everything out by yourself and just allow the Holy Spirit to start coaching you on what to say and what actions to take?