GOD THE GIVER OF EVERYTHING.
Then we can say: This
is the good we receive from our heavenly Father. This is a free gift from God
the father. He gives the warmth, the tender caress of light and sunshine, and
peace of mind.
But is that all that
He gives?
NO
God who gives and gives.
In Pentecost time we
again know that God made us his children. His is a giver. There is no one in
the whole universe than can rival his free gifts
to his creation. For millions of years He has just been giving and giving
without stopping.
It is impossible for
us to name everything that God gives. But today we want to listen to the word
that the Holy Spirit gives: He, the Spirit gives us insight in the work of the
Triune God:
Have you ever given
thought to what God the Father
has given to us? He gave the beauty of the creation, the light, the sunshine,
the oceans, all the animals, the colours and all the scent of the plants. He
gave us the functionality of our body, He gave us our children, our
grandchildren, our friends and above all his Word, his promises, his son Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever given
thought to what Jesus Christ
has given to us? He gave us the entrance to God our Father, the meaning of
life, insight in the love of God for us, eternal life, hope, peace of mind,
joy.
Have you ever given
thought to what the Holy Spirit
has given to us?
Everything we have
received through the Bible (every promise and comfort and warning), every
church, every Bible School, Bible Study group, every single prayer group is a
gift from the Holy Spirit.
What
do you desire for yourself? For your children? For your children’s school, the
church council, for your husband or spouse? With what gift would you like to
send them out into the unknown future?
Perhaps you would
say: I want to send them out with strength and spiritual power to withstand
future temptations and dangers and to be worthy witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Your request has been granted, says Jesus Christ:
Act 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power,
and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and
to the ends of the earth."
And this is repeated
in:
Ephesians
1:18-20 I ask that your minds may be opened to see
his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you,
how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people,
and how very great is his power at work in us
who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength
which he used when he raised Christ from death
and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world.
With other words God gives us and our children,
grandchildren and our future kids the power to encounter every spiritual
danger, now and in the future that may exists. And that power is the most
powerful ever, because Christ was raised from death and sits at the right hand
of God.
What do you desire
for yourself? For your children? For your children’s school, the church
council, for your husband or spouse? With what gift would you like to send them
out into the unknown future?
Maybe you would say: I want to send them out with wisdom, knowledge and leadership
skills. I want to send the out into the future with insight in the will of God,
and deep respect and reverence for Him. I desire these things for
them, so that they will implement Gods
plan for their life, so that they will make a difference for the good and be
strong pillars in the Kingdom of God.
Your request has been granted, says Jesus Christ
:
Isa
11:1-3 A new king will arise from among David's
descendants.
The Spirit of the LORD will be with
him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he
will know and honor the LORD. His greatest joy will be to obey the LORD.
You
have received the same Holy Spirit who guided and led Jesus Christ. You have
received the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, insight and power, true
knowledge of God and profound respect for Him.
It
is the will of God that you should pray that this Holy Spirit should rule and
lead your children and grandchildren. Your
request will be granted.
What do you desire
for yourself? For your children? For the church council, for your husband or
spouse? With what gift would like to you
send them out into the unknown future?
Perhaps you would
say: I want to send them out into the
future with the right Biblical
perspective, hope, and a sense of meaning. I desire that the future generations
will be worthy children of Gods amidst wars, earthquakes, persecution because
of their faith, and numerous temptations.
I desire it, because
I myself want to stop worrying about them, like I worry about the survival of
the Church of Jesus Christ and the
conservation of the Holy and uncontaminated Word of God.
Your request has been granted, says Jesus
Christ:
So it will be in the
last days, that is the time between Jesus’ ascension and his second coming. God
says in his eternal Word:
Eze
36:27-28: I will put my spirit in you
and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have
given you.
Then
you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I
will be your God.
What do you desire
for yourself? For your children? For the church council, for your husband or
spouse? With what gift would you like to send them out into the unknown future?
Maybe you would say: I desire that they will be cared for,
now and in the future. My desire is that
You, Lord, will be with them when everything goes wrong.
Your request has been granted, says the Lord.
When the end times
began, everything went wrong with Peter and John. But the Lord helped them and
they could join the other believers. When everything was wrong, the believers
began to pray. This was their
prayer:
Act
4:25-31-30: By means of the Holy Spirit
you spoke through our ancestor David, your servant, when he said, 'Why were the
Gentiles furious; why did people make their useless plots?
the
Lord and his Messiah.'
For
indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together in this city with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel against Jesus, your holy Servant, whom you made Messiah.
They
gathered to do everything that you by your power and will had already decided
would happen.
And
now, Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your
servants, to speak your message with all boldness.
Reach out your hand to heal, and grant that
wonders and miracles may be performed through the name of your holy Servant
Jesus.
Then God the Father
of all believers, gave them what they had asked for:
Act 4:31
When they finished praying,
the place where they were meeting was shaken.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to proclaim God's message with
boldness.
Our conclusion is: If we ask God to fill our home, our congregations,
our children and grandchildren, our Bible study group, our church ward and
every Christian in our country with his Holy Spirit, He will do so.
God the giver will
give his Spirit.
Luk 11:13
As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children.
How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him!"
God will never
forsake us.
Amplified
Bible: Heb 13:5:
“I
will never [under any circumstances] desert
you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any
degree leave you helpless], nor will I
forsake or let you down
or relax My hold on you
[assuredly not]!” 6 So we take comfort and are
encouraged and confidently say,
“The
Lord is my Helper [in time of need], I
will not be afraid.What will man
do to me?”
We
have received the Holy Spirit.
We
may pray for his full control over our lives and the lives of our children and
grandchildren.
With
the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of those we love, we have nothing
to fear. We have all that God has
promised to his children.
