John 16: 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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 position of assistant coach is an interesting one. In many ways they have a more challenging job than the coach. They need to address the needs of the players or athletes, but they need to do so in a way that represents the vision of the head coach rather than their own; in short, they need to honor the head coach in all they do. Probably one of the biggest tasks of the Assistant Coach is consistently disseminating the vision of the Head Coach in all their interactions with the team and those outside.
I read an article entitled “What makes a good assistant coach?”, in SB Nation. The author suggested the key qualities of a good assistant coach are: loyalty; trust; willingness to contribute without second-guessing; communication; and hard work. I’d have to agree with that list, but I would also add that understanding the coach’s vision, and buying into it, are also crucial.
While I acknowledge the Trinity (God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is more complex, at least simplistically speaking the Holy Spirit reminds me of the assistant coach. If we turn to John 16, we read in verses 13-14: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”
Of the three persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is easily the most misrepresented. Some people only think of strange manifestations and powers when they think of the Holy Spirit, but he is so much more. The Holy Spirit, like the assistant coach, understands and communicates the vision of the coach – God’s vision. We read earlier in John 16 that he “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (vs 8). This picture of someone who speaks what he hears from God, who prophesies, who convicts people of sin, is significantly different than what most people attribute to the Holy Spirit, but it is Biblical.
If you are a believer, you are given the scriptural promise that the Holy Spirit lives in you. “14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” (2 Timothy 1:14). Since this is true, then you have access to God the Father, to Jesus the Son. Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to be your counselor? Are you allowing him to lead you and to convict you of sin in your life? If you continue to listen to the Holy Spirit then your conscience will remain tender, but if you do not, you run the risk of developing a hardened heart, experiencing the destruction of sin, and becoming ineffective for Christ.
Acknowledge the third person of the trinity today and welcome him into your heart anew. Let him know that you want to hear from God, you want to be directed by him and you want to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit ever more in your life. And what does that fruit look like? It is supernatural “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”. (Galatians 5:22b-23).
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