Originally delivered as the Sunday morning message for New Hope Chapel, Arnold, MD, 2021
Dou you know the story of the Miller’s daughter? Her father was boasting about her to the king one day, and the king said, “Well, if she is all that, then she would make the perfect wife for my son, the crown prince!”
But the miller had been exaggerating about how fabulous his daughter was. He said she could even spin straw into gold. “Oh yeah?” said the king. “Well I’ve got a whole barn full of straw, have her come over tonight, I’ll even provide the spindle. If she can get that barn-load all spun into gold by the morning, I’ll marry her to my son.
But if you are lying, I’m going to put you both to death in the morning.”
It is the story of Rumpelstiltskin, but the part I want you to think about this morning is how that poor girl must have felt that night. According to the story she did not even know how to spin, let alone turn straw into gold. How was she going to do it?
And how were the disciples going to make any impact on the world plunged into deepest darkness, when even after following Jesus night and day for three years, they struggled to really understand his teaching?
I John 16:5-15, Jesus Promises an Advocate
The Holy Spirit convicts the world.
II John 16:16-27, Jesus promises joy
The Holy Spirit conforms believers.
III John 16:28-33, Jesus Promises Peace and Victory
The Holy Spirit confers peace and victory.
Principle of Transformation
The source of the pain becomes the source of the joy
Principle of Inner Peace
Peace does not come through circumstances.
Peace comes inwardly through the Holy Spirit’s presence and work.
[Gospel of John | Oarabile Mudongo, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons]
[The Miller’s Daughter | By Anne Anderson (1874-1930) – http://www.artsycraftsy.com/anderson_prints.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6777091%5D
