God Gives And Forgives

Introduction:

We love and serve the One and only God Who desires for us to have more (of Him), while we often expect to have just enough to get by. That is, God is so abundant in His giving while we (sometimes) feel we don’t have enough. Most Christians make it habit to limit the Almighty God. We know He is big, but do we realize how much He wants us to have more of His provisions?

Jesus said it so well what I am trying to say:

“O ye of little faith.”

That pretty well sizes it up…amen?

My prayer tonight is that we walk out of here and go back to our humble lives expecting to receive all that God has for us.

To do this we must understand the 3 simple things.

Text: Luke 11:5 thru 13

I. God is willing

A. Verse 7 – A “friend” with a selfish response

1. The time of the request for help is midnight – not a convenient time for most any of us.

2. The response was typical –

a) “Don’t bother me.” (NLT)

b) made from the comfort of the bedroom.

B. By contrast, God is always ready to meet our needs.

1. We have no greater need than to have His Holy Word and His Holy Spirit.

2. The comparison here is that we must come to Him and ask.

C. Verse 9 & 10 - Jesus promises that everyone who asks would receive. “Ask, and it shall be given to you.”

D. Compare this with Acts 10 – God wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit for the house of Cornelius.

1. God sent an angel to make sure they got all that He had for them.

2. God used Simon Peter for the purpose of confirming this blessed gift.

3. God will go beyond our own belief to reach us with His gift.

II. God is kind

A. Verse 13 – Jesus makes a comparison of His Heavenly Father with that of earthly fathers.

1. Earthly fathers won’t refuse their children with whatever they have need of.

2. Our Heavenly Father loves us more than fathers will ever know how.

B. Jesus tells us the abundance of what God has for us is centered on the Holy Spirit.

1. There is a difference between rewards and gifts.

a) Reward – payment for something good that we have done on our own.

b) Gift – not based on merits of what we have done, but simply because the Giver just loves to bless us.

2. The Holy Spirit is given only to those who have accepted Christ as their Savior and are a part of the family of God.

a) The gift of the Holy Spirit is not based on rewarding us for being holy or righteous.

b) The gift of the Holy Spirit is given for the purpose of making us holy.

C. Peter made this clear in Acts 2:38 (KJV)

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

1. Notice the priority here, i.e., repentance must come first.

2. Our guarantee is “you shall receive…”

D. The early New Testament Church is our model for God’s Kindness

1. Acts 2 - on the Day of Pentecost, all they had to do was repent, and be converted to Jesus Christ. They did not have to do anything righteous to prove they were worthy enough. The gift of the Holy Spirit was instantaneous.

2. Acts 9 – Saul’s name was changed to Paul. He once was a very ungodly man full of hate and anger towards God’s people. He had not done anything righteous, but as soon as he repented he received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

III. God is generous

A. Earthly fathers have lots of limitations as to how much they can show their love for their children.

1. Seldom at home to spend time with them.

2. Their wealth is most always limited to how much money they can earn at a job that makes them tired.

3. They have many other interests besides their children, such as sports, television, rest, and taking care of their chores and responsibilities.

B. Verse 13 - Jesus said, “How much more…”

1. Jesus personally knew how generous His Father is.

a) At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit in John 7:38 (KJV)

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

2. Peter made reference (in Acts 2:17) to how God gives to His children when he quoted the prophet Joel. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:…”