Gift giving is not over
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Transcript of Gift giving is not over
Gift Giving is Not Over
Did you get asked this year “What gift
would you like?” When people ask that
question, they really mean “what can I buy
for you that you would like?” Depending
on who is asking, we edit our gift idea to
match their budget and desire.
Sometimes, people don’t ask what gift
we’d like, but just start paying attention to
our preferences. These are the gift givers
who surprise and please with their intimate
knowledge of us. Then, there are the gift
givers who hope to get inspired by
shopping. These givers will spend more
but delight the receiver less.
Knowing something you love is waiting to
be opened can be a big temptation. This is
the condition God wants to create within
us! He starts by telling us He has
something He wants to give us, He gives
us clues about the usefulness of the Gift.
He reassures us His intention is to give the
Gift. He gives us time for our anticipation
and desire to grow. He brings up the
subject when we talk.
Maybe He is trying to enlarge our desire so
that will seek, appreciate and protect the
Gift? Maybe we have to learn how to
handle it first? Maybe He is afraid the Gift
will replace the Giver, you know like when
parents give a car to a 16 year old. Maybe
we have to wait, like Advent, until the right
time?
Our lesson today is loaded with clues about
this secret Gift that God wants to give us,
intended to grow our anticipation like a
child waiting for Christmas morning.
Luke 11:9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will
be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to
you. For everyone who asks receives; the
one who seeks finds; and to the one who
knocks, the door will be opened.”
Do we get excited about something we
already have? Of course not. We might
have been really excited when we bought
our home or car or boat, but after we have
it for a while, the excitement fizzles. In the
same way, the gift God has for us isn’t
what He already has given: Matthew 6:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or
about your body, what you will wear. Is not
life more than food, and the body more
than clothes? Wherefore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What
shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For
after all these things do the Gentiles seek)
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things.”
We are reminded to: Matthew 6:33 “But
seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.”
If the gift is not tangible like food and
clothes and shelter, then is it an intangible
gift? Is it something to experience, like a
trip or event? The next clue does indicate
traveling for an event. Luke 10 “When you
enter a town and are welcomed, Heal the
sick who are there and tell them, ‘The
kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
Wow! What town would you like to visit
with this ability to demonstrate the
Kingdom of God is near through healing
the sick? Could that include emotionally
sick, mentally sick, and spiritually sick?
What about the disabled, aged, impaired?
Would my power to heal be limited by use
or time or only limited by faith moving by
compassion?
Oh, but here is a caution: Matthew 6: “ But
when you pray, go into your room, close
the door and pray to your Father, who is
unseen. Then your Father, who sees what
is done in secret, will reward you.” My
how quickly I would forget the giver and
become distracted by the gift unless I keep
my gaze upon Jesus. David knew how to
keep himself focused in victory and defeat.
Feast and famine.
Psalm 103 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy
name. 2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and
compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good
things
so that your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s.
Enough with these clues! What is the gift
that ushers in the Kingdom of God in
power? Luke 11 “Which of you fathers, if
your son asks for a fish, will give him a
snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will
give him a scorpion? If you then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him!”
We need wait no longer! Those in the
upper room waited until the Holy Spirit
came. Those at Azusa Street waited until
Holy Spirit came. The gift has arrived. We
open it by faith.
It is an intangible gift! You can’t see it,
only evidence of it, like the wind.
We don’t own it, instead He owns us! The
Gift plugs us into supernatural kingdom of
God purposes with the power of God.
Remember the image of a transistor radio
that needed power, reception, and tuning
into the message? We are like God’s
transistor radio. Holy Spirit is the divine
power supply. Our antenna must be
pointed heavenward to pick up the sounds
coming from heaven. And, when that
supernatural Word begins to vibrate within
us to produce the evidence then the
Kingdom is at hand. Signs and wonders
follow.
We are bringing heavenly messages to
earth, with signs and wonders, setting the
captives free from this world system under
the domination of the devil, sin and death.