Giving? Water! Finding Blessings In Seasons Of Trouble!

#1 GIVING? WATER! FINDING BLESSINGS IN SEASONS OF TROUBLE!

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes) This is a 3 part lesson.

LOVE GIVES THE BEST IT CAN AFFORD. GOD GAVE THE BEST HEAVEN HAD…

TEXT: John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 (MSG) "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

NO ROOM… THE SAD STORY CONTINUES…

In the early 70’s Linda and I were at my Mom and Dad’s for Christmas. We had no children. My Dad pastored 65 years, 42 in Frankfort, Ky. There were 5 of us children. We had a traditional spot where we all sat around the tree. Mom, my wife and my sister distributed the gifts to each person. The gifts accumulated at each persons’ feet. Dad had a prayer of thanks for God’s bountiful love and blessings. Then we all opened our gifts. We were very careful about throwing away the wrapping paper. Each person thanked the givers.

When it was all over and I got alone to thank God for the GIFT OF HIS ONLY SON. My eyes were opened. There were gifts for Mom, Dad and each person in the crowded room. Wow! WHERE WAS JESUS’ BIRTHDAY GIFTS. I was a school teacher at the time. I thought and even cried THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR JESUS IN THE INN. THE SAD CONTINUES. The was not one present under the tree for Jesus. THE LIGHT CAME ON IN MY HEAD… IT IS NOT MY BIRTHDAY, IT IS JESUS’ BIRTHDAY. I did not mean to disappoint Jesus and I quietly repented. I SAID NEVER AGAIN WOULD OUR TREE NOT HAVE A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR JESUS.

I do not do vows. But I said: GOD IF I EVER HAVE THE CHANCE TO TEACH THE LAST SUNDAY OF NOVEMBER I WOULD TELL ALL TO PREPARE A SPECIAL GIFT TO LAY AT JESUS’ FEET FOR HIS BIRTHDAY. I have kept that promise to this day. I have pastored 44 years and I have been truth to my promise. I would like to pour out my heart to you this day and ask each person to have a GIFT UNDER THEIR TREE FOR JESUS’ BIRTHDAY.

The next year I was teaching school I asked my students to prepare on purpose a gift for Jesus. I had a jail ministry, I promised the Lord with his help I would make an effort to win 10 souls for the cross. The was a hard task, but Christmas morning there were 10 names under the tree. One year we had two sons and we practiced for a month on a song, we picked out “UNTIL THEN.” One Christmas we practiced an instrumental song. We went to the rest homes and some old people’s house. One year we went “WASSILING” and caroling with the young people, we sang and shared WASSIL, apple cider. One year I promised to read the entire Bible in the Month of December, on December 31 I completed the Bible.

MY LESSON IS NOT ABOUT MY GIVING… MY LESSON IS WILL YOU THINK ABOUT GIVING SOMETHING TO THE LORD. Some have been blessed to give a special offering? Others can cook and for the month of December you can cook several times and share a meal, cookies or something? There are lonely elderly people all around. Maybe you could visit in the rest home several times?

Want to hear the most memorial time we had with our family. We pastored a small mission work in the mountains of east Kentucky. We saved our money. We wanted to buy a banana for each patient in the rest home. Well, we tears we could not afford the bananas. We found a special deal on yellow apples. As we were going to the rest home my two sons asked to eat an apple. We had to say no, that would short us. So Linda and I took knifes, we peeled the apples and cut them up and watched the old people eat the soft apples. My two sons ate the peelings. My sons are in their mid 40s now. Every now and then my sons will remind me… DAD WE REMEMBER HOW HAPPY THOSE OLD PEOPLE WERE, BUT WE REMEMBER HOW DELICIOUS THOSE YELLOW PEELINGS WERE.

JESUS SENDS HIS DISCIPLES IN A BOAT TO GO TO THE OTHER SIDE. JESUS DISPERSES THE CROWD AND CLIMBS A MOUNTAIN TO BE ALONE AND PRAY…

They that wait on the the Lord shall renew their strength. THERE IS A TIME TO “COME APART” OR “YOU WILL COME A PART!” So the BOYS were on their own in a boat out in the waters of the SEA OF GALILEE…