Title: “The Gift of gifts”
Text: Luke11:13; John14:13-17
28thSunday2018
Introduction:
From an inspiration I just read in:
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown BibleCommentary
Luke11:13. the Holy Spirit—...the Gift of gifts descending on the Church through Christ
And so, the title of this sermon.
Luke11:13 “If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”(Amplified)
The Gift of gifts was given by the Father through the asking of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gift of gifts can only be receive if we believe and accept Jesus. Therefore, all of us who received Jesus in our life had this promise in us...
John14:13And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15¶If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
1- UNOPENED vv.13-15
Illustration:
A newly graduated young man from the University was expecting to get a car as a graduation gift from his wealthy father. He had hinted the car to His friends and relatives and even to His Dad. Because the father love His son, on the appointed day, the father handed the teenager a box.
The boy tore open the box excitedly only to find a leather Bible inside.
His father asked, “Do you like it?”
The boy answered that he did, but one could see the disappointment on his face. The father told him to be sure to read John14:13-17 when he got a chance. The lad said that he would.
Actually, however, he went home that day discouraged and tossed the Bible inside a drawer and never opened it.
A few months went by and the father died.
At the funeral, a friend of the family asked the young man if he had gotten his new car. The lad replied that he had not received a car; he told the man that all he got from his Dad was a Bible.
The friend said, “My dear boy, go home and open your Bible and see what you find there.”
Later that day, when the boy was at home, he opened the drawer, pulled out the Bible and turned to John14:13-17.
There he found a letter from his Dad, tucked in the pages of that verse.
He opened the letter and discovered a key to a brand new automobile.
Also, however, he read these words:
“The car I have purchased for you is being held by the dealer for 90 days. You must pick it up by that time or you will lose the car.” The boy quickly looked at a calendar. He threw his hands over his face because he had missed the opportunity for the car by just 3 days. He had lost a great gift.
Many people have done the same thing with the Holy Spirit.
Yes, they believed in God.
Yes, they received Jesus in their life.
But, they focus more on the cares of the world...
They have no peace.
No Joy.
Having the form of godliness but denying it’s power.
They live like the world lives, compromises.
Some have decided to wait for a more convenient time to settle things with God.
Sure, they have Jesus, but intends to look into the Gift of gifts one day in the future. But, then, life slips away and the gift is left unopened....
You see, there is no guarantee in life of another day - even another hour. I wonder how many have unopened life’s Gift of gifts by putting off their hearts to the Holy Spirit.
Don’t wait too long, my friend.
The Gift of The Father through the asking of Jesus is only available while you are living.
Let us open it!
Losing a car is one thing -
losing your Joy,
your peace,
the power working within you,
your fellowship is another!
The “Real” meaning of the Christian life.
The John10:10 in everybody of us...
not just living a life but to give them a rich and satisfying life.(NLT)
Do we want 2Timothy3:5’s? “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...”
OR....
Do we want 2Timothy1:6”.....I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee...
7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
See?
Let us open the Gift of gifts!
2- UNAWARE:
John14:17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Do you have a friend whom you loved so much and yet unaware, unaffected, doesn’t care about you? And most of the time he snobs you? What would you feel?
Yet, Jesus assuredly said to them;
“BUT YOU KNOW HIM!”(v17)
This is our difference with the world.
But sad to say, we are unaware of the HolySpirit’s indwelling presence in us... should we be like Galatians 3?
1- O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2- This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3- Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4- Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
BE AWARE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Illustration:
The Kite
The story is told about a little boy who was flying a kite.
It was a windy day, and the kite kept going higher and higher.
Finally it got so high that it was out of sight.
A man passed by and saw the little boy holding onto the string.
The man could not see the kite, and he asked the boy,
“How do you even know you have a kite up there?”
The boy replied, “Because I can feel it.”
Although we cannot see the Holy Spirit,
we should be able to sense His work in our lives changing us into the image of Christ.
(Source: A Firm Foundation, Paul Chappell)
1 John 4:13
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
3- UNTAPPED:
This is what is happening to all of us once we do not tap on the “Source” our local supply.... the Lord’s Brother, James had this to say;
“You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world, and never realising that to be the world’s lover means becoming the enemy of God! Anyone who deliberately chooses to love the world is thereby making himself God’s enemy. Do you think what the scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality?
Or do you imagine that this spirit of passionate jealousy is the Spirit He has caused to live in us?
No, He gives us grace potent enough to meet this and every other evil spirit, if we are humble enough to receive it.
That is why He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ —James 4:4-6(PHILLIPS)
Tap means:
= to make a strong or advantageous connection with,
= to connect (a street gas or water main) with a local supply
For so long, we have not tapped or used the strong, powerful connection we had with Jesus which gives us the local Supply of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us...
Ephesians 3:20 God can do anything,
you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Zechariah4:6 “...You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,' says GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.”
Illustration:
The Gloves
I have a glove here in my hand.
The glove cannot do anything by itself,
but when my hand is in it, the glove can do many things.
True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts.
The Christian is a glove.
It is the Holy Spirit in us, the Hand, who does the work.
We must make room for the Hand so that every finger in the glove is filled.
(From: ministry127.com)
Tap into the Source of Power!
Luke11:10 "Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in.
11:11 If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate?
11:12 If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider?
11:13 As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing--you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask Him?”
Conclusion:
Let us now open the Gifts of gifts lying dormant in our body
Let us be aware of His Presence in us.
Let us tap to the Source of our Christian existence.
In the world we will have trouble, but we believed in God and accepted Jesus and our Savior already prayed for the Comforter in us.
He is here in our body!
And we all know Him
And we will be a living Testimony of the Holy Spirit’s presence in us.
Power
Peace
Joy
Love
Self-Control
Faith
Strength
And what do we need more?
We got it all in Him
Praise Jesus
Worship You Abba,Father
Thank you Holy Spirit.
More!
When G. Campbell Morgan was a young man he visited two elderly ladies each week to read the Bible to them. When he read Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
He said, “Isn’t that a wonderful promise?”
One of the ladies quickly replied, “Young man, that is not a promise.
It is a fact!”
All of God’s promises are fact.
1137am14july2018saturday@doJpowerHouse
