Day 28: Gifts & Giving

Affirmation #10

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

            Most have heard the story of the Samaritan woman that Jesus meets at the well. Upon sitting on the well to take a break, He asks for a drink of water from her. She brings up how Jews and Samaritans don’t deal with each other. Then we hear this most amazing statement from Jesus. “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” (Joh 4:10) The woman then asks him for this “Water.” As Scripture later explains, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (Joh 7:38-39) The Holy Spirit is the “Water” that He gives to us. We just talked about the Holy Spirit in the previous chapter, and we will talk a little more here in a moment. Before we do, I want to point out Jesus’ statement, “If you only knew what God’s gift is…” I find this verse to be profound. If we only knew what God’s gift is! Be it peace, wisdom, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit, all of it is amazing. If we only knew what God’s gift is! Primarily, the gift is Jesus! Through Jesus all these things are accomplished. Remember John 3:16, “For God so loved…He gave…” Who did He give, “His only begotten Son!” Jesus is what our Daddy gave to us. Please keep that in mind. Let’s continue, after Jesus said “If you only knew,” He ended it with, “You would ask.”  If we only knew, we would ask! My hope through this study we have begun to know, yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. We know who to ask, are we willing to ask? Jesus tells us; “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Luk 11:9-10) I do not know of any known limits to the good things the Fathers will provide us in Jesus’ name.

            The Holy Word tells us, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” (Joh 3:27) John the Baptist declares this truth. It is impossible to receive anything on our own. We cannot build a tower to reach heaven. We cannot die and resurrect ourselves. We cannot approach the unapproachable light of God’s presence on our own. Man has empty hands and can build nothing of worth, without the help from the master builder. Jesus is this builder, and all things have been given Him. “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;” (Joh 13:3) Again we read, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Mat 28:18) Jesus was confident in who He was, and what had been given to Him by His Father. That is why when Jesus was tempted by Satan, He didn’t fall for the counterfeit. “And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” (Luk 4:6) The same temptation is offered today. We can accept what the true source of life offers. Or, we can accept the counterfeit, receiving death instead of life. Do we listen to Jesus, and ask for more of the good gifts from above? Or do we submit to the false lies and empty ideology of the world? I am primarily speaking of the good gift of the Holy Ghost. We cannot divorce the fruits of the Spirit, with the gifts of the Spirit. It is a lie to say that the Holy Ghost now only performs half its work upon the earth. To accept this heresy is to accept Satan’s offer, the very same one that he offered Jesus. God has given all things in the entire universe, seen and unseen, to be under Jesus’ power. “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.” (Heb 2:8) Satan could only offer earthly kingdoms, “And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” (Luk 4:6) Many in the church are offered something very similar today. We can have all the power given to us through the Holy Spirit, or we can settle for the glory of earthly kingdoms. It’s our choice! Jesus best describes the current situation we find ourselves in, “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” (Mat 9:29) So let it be done to us.

            We have been blessed beyond measure through Jesus Christ. If we accept Jesus, then we must accept what He has given us, or should I say what God has given us through Him. How can we say “No Lord” and still call Him our Lord? We are told; “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (1Jn 5:20) Again, we are told, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;” (1Co 1:3-5) Allow me to share some more of this knowledge with you. The Holy Spirit that the Jesus sent through the Father brings to us spiritual provisions. They are usually grouped into two groups. The first is gifts, and the second is fruits. We will start with the fruits of the Spirit. They are as follows, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23) In addition, we find, “(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)” (Eph 5:9) This is how the Spirit transforms us into the image of Jesus, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1Co 15:49) It is impossible for us to be transformed without the Holy Spirit, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom 8:29) The name of this book is “We Shall Be Like Him!” You have just read how much “Like Him” we are to be. You have seen in all the “Proclamations” all that Jesus is sharing with us. Without the Holy Spirit, all of this lost forever.

            Now let’s look at the gifts of the Spirit. They are listed as, “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” (1Co 12:8-11) This is the power spoken of in the book Acts. Without these gifts it is impossible to do what Jesus does, or to fulfill the Gospel Commission fully. Is there any doubt why Satan doesn’t want the church to believe in these gifts? Don’t let what has been given to you be stolen out of your hands. Jesus speaking of the Devil says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (Joh 10:10) Satan wants to steal your gifts, kill your soul, and destroy you future. Are you going to let Him? Or do you choose a life more abundantly? The Holy Spirit dwells within us so we can do the works of Jesus.

            Sometimes when we believe the truth of scripture, it might cost us something. If you give up anything for the cause of Christ it will be returned to you a 100 fold. Let’s read, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Mat 19:29) Some of you might be in churches that do not believe that the Spirit is still active in all its functions. It might cost you to stand for the truth. God is with you, Jesus is with you, the Holy Spirit is with you! If you are persecuted, what you have done is proven your ownership of the kingdom to come, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:10) Ask our Daddy to strengthen you and give you a fresh outpouring of the Spirit; “…how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luk 11:13b) We are encouraged even more, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas 1:17) Once more we read the truth, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Rom 11:29) We must ask, knock, seek, and find all the riches that await us!

            As we learn, what Jesus has been doing for us. We should always seek out what we must do in response. What is the response of someone who is grateful of what has been done for them? Jesus desires we do the same as He has done. We read, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (Joh 13:15) This specifically is talking about foot washing, broadly it is speaking about being a servant to one another. We find this expressed in the following verse, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” (Eph 5:1-2) We are to give our lives in the service of God, Jesus, and the Family of God. This is what is pleasing to God. For us to act as Jesus acted, to do what He did, to live as He lived, and give as He has given; with this you will never go wrong. Then we must; “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luk 6:36-38) We cannot perform these acts on our own; we need the Spirit to live within us. In the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to perform the works as Jesus did. In the fruits of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to live and love as Jesus lived and loved. Without the Spirit, there is no hope to live the way that pleases our Daddy. The great news is that we have this Spirit; we can do what please God in the power of the Spirit. Then it is God within us, which lives for us! “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal 5:24-25) Therefore, let us live and walk by the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit!

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